China Expat is a cultural and literary forum for expatriates interested in China and has been published by Asia Briefing Ltd since 2001. The sites resident China culture writers have included such expatriate luminaries as 
A Visit to Sikkim and the Thibetan Border in 1873
-By Chris Devonshire Ellis
When you find a rare, leather-bound published account of an Englishman trying his hand at the tortuous route between India and Tibet (or Thibet, as it was known) in the 19th century, you buy it. That is exactly what I did when I came across found A Visit to Sikkim and the Thibetan Border in 1873 at one of Old Delhi’s bazaars. In the book, Sir J.W. Edgar details his three-month government-ordered expedition into Tibet to survey the territory for the British.
Edgar traveles with an assortment of companions, to whom he gives thanks: his vassal, the wonderfully named Lassoo Kazi, the court interpreter, a chap just referred to as Gellong, and Tendook Mookhtear, the manager of the estate of the late Cheeboo Lama. The British military are also represented in the form of a Major Lindsay, of the Royal Engineers. This group of mismatched characters makes their way across an area of the world virtually unknown to the West and runs into not a few troubles. Such were the perils of the trip that the government rewarded them upon a safe return with silver jugs and inscribed watches, while Edgar’s expenses during the journey amounted to 2,000 rupees-a very significant sum of money at the time.
Leaving Darjeeling, they make good time to the village of Pheydoong, at an elevation of 4,892 ft, marking the border between Darjeeling and Sikkim, before continuing along the Lingchun Ridge, forested and infested with leeches at 6,000 ft. They manage to cross the border into Tibet via the Jeylap Pass, but only following some difficult negotiations with the border guards. The government in Tibetan was so averse to foreigners that they gave soldiers strict orders not to permit “any Europeans to enter.”
Edgar notes that it was indeed Chinese influence on the Tibetans to retain exclusivity and not to have anything to do with the Europeans. This footnote sheds significant light on the close personal relationship that existed between the Dalai Lama and the Emperor of China, the Empire’s influence on the management of Tibet, and the West’s behavior in China at that time.
Despite the orders to view them guardedly, the Europeans sweeten them up with gifts of Darjeeling tea, which Edgar claims the locals considered superior to the Chinese tea they had been used to, although this account contradicts others. Nonetheless, they are allowed through, but a Chinese ban on the importation of Indian teas at the time makes Edgar a smuggler as well as a briber!
Moving on, and skirting Mt. Temla on the Tibetan border, Edgar’s troupe reaches the monastery of Killoomsi, passing by Choombi, the main ‘heavily snowy’ pass between Tibet and Bhutan. He met salt traders, who frequently made the difficult journey, off to earn cash for crops back in Darjeeling. They then travel through the Chola Pass, camping at 12,300 ft in the shadow of Mount Chomnaga, and head off for Giantzi, en route for Jigatzi (Zigase).
While en route Edgar interviews various Lamas and makes reference to China having conquered Tibet in 1720, and even with the feat accomplished, working to ensure the ruling monks did not undermine its plans. One such attempt was the setting up of rivals such as the Teshoo Lama to direct spiritual influence away from the Dalai Lama. Such is the complex relationship that China has had with Tibet for thousands of years.
Edgar details trade between India and China, consisting of ivory, rhinoceros horns, peacocks feathers, blankets, and madder, an Indian plant for deep red or orange dye for clothing (presumably used for monks robes). A less benign product, opium, also managed to make its way into Tibet and China from Nepal. Ironically, while Buddhism and tea have long tied Tibet and India, the latter was strictly forbidden from importation into China.
Edgar’s travels continue, where he hacks through bamboo and rhododendron forests, continuing up the Tendong mountain range to Tassiding, before heading back, his surveying and explorations complete. Finishing his report, he ponders the construction of various bridges, roads and bridle paths that would need to be built between Darjeeling and Lhasa, if the British were to attempt to trade with the Tibetan kingdom. He estimates this would have cost of 20,000 rupees for each of the two ‘large’ required bridges, amongst a total estimated budget for such a route of 300,000 rupees at the time.
None of the British plans of course ever came into being, but Edgar’s account gives us a rare view into both the Tibetan and Indian worlds of one hundred and thirty years ago. If you are lucky enough to find a copy it would be well worth your time and money to read.
Related posts:
- A Visit to Sikkim and the Thibetan Border in 1873
- A Visit to Beijing’s Tea Street
- Here Be Dragons: A Visit to “the Guilin of the North”
- Patrick French – Tibet, Tibet
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
The thumb-shaped state borders Nepal in the west, Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north and east, and Bhutan in the southeast. The Indian state of West Bengal borders Sikkim to its south.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police is a paramilitary force conceived on October 24, 1962 for security along the Indo-Tibetan border covering 2115 km.
The ITBP is trained in mountaineering, disaster management, and nuclear, biological and chemical disasters. ITBP personnel have been deployed abroad to UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and elsewhere.