long, almost unbroken front of granite wall, reaching
almost from one end to the other of the hill-crest,
supporting a homogeneous and closely welded series of
buildings. The truth is that very little used to be
accurately noted by Asian travellers before the middle
of the last century.
Of the other great features of Lhasa, the Jo-kang
and the Do-ring remain pre-eminent. The latter, as
was said at the beginning of this book, is the oldest
existing document in Tibetan history ; it records a
treaty made in 783 between King Ralpachan of Tibet and
his neighbour, and late enemy, the Chinese Emperor *
It is a well quarried slab of granite, about six inches in
thickness and five feet in height, set in a granite frame.
It immediately fronts the entrance to the Cathedral,
from which it is distant only thirty paces across the
yard. Immediately over it is the great willow tree
which springs from a hair of Buddha buried among
its roots— a splendid tree, and one which, perhaps, has
been able to grow to greater perfection from the protection
of the wall built round its diverging trunk.
This enclosure fills the western side of the little courtyard
opposite the west door of the Cathedral. Between
it and the projecting wings of the Government offices,
which here, as elsewhere, crowd all round upon the
walls of the Jo-kang, there is a space on either side; and
the Do-ring stands in the direct line between them.
The design of the pediment surmounting the stone is
strong and undoubtedly of the original date of the
monument. It represents two dragons, simply designed
* See Appendix H, paragraph 16 (miscellanea), as to the date of this monument.
Two treaties were made with China, in 783 and 822 respectively, and both were recorded
on granite slabs outside the Jo-kang.
The Do-ring.
THIS IS A COLOURED PHOTOGRAPH, AS I WISHED TO PRESERVE
ALL POSSIBLE DETAIL. THIS PLATE IS FULLY
DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT. I HAVE, HOWEVER, UNDERESTIMATED
THE SIZE OF THE GRANITE SLAB. IT MUST;
IN REALITY, BE SI± FEET HIGH. THE SURROUNDING
f r a m e is Wh i t e w a s h e d , a n d i s in c o n s e q u e n c e a
DEAD WHITE. THE COLOUR OF THE STONE ITSELF IS
ADMIRABLY RENDERED IN THE PLATE.