Map of the Routes from Dajianlu to Anterior and Posterior Tsang

Qing dynasty (1644�1911), Guangxu period (1875�1908), dated 1901

Illustrated by An Cheng

Handscroll, ink and color on silk; 41.4 x 316.3 cm

Inventory number: 057.63/(227.003)/1901/0146

During the Qing period, Tibet occupied a landmass considerably larger than its present size and comprised four regions from east to west, namely Chams, �, Tsang, and Ngari.� The vastness of Tibet's territory and the great navigational difficulties it presented for travelers made good route maps indispensable.� This hand-drawn map is an excellent example of a Chinese route map covering the distance between western Sichuan and the far west of Tibet.

From 1696, Dajianlu (now Kangding in Sichuan), a walled town some 400 kilometers southwest of Chengdu, was the one place where the Dalai Lama allowed Tibetans to carry on trade and purchase bricks of tea leaves from growers in western Sichuan Province; the town was also the center of Sichuan's thriving logging industry.� The Chinese equivalent for � is Wei, but the province was commonly called Qian Zang (Anterior Tsang), with the capital at Lhasa.� Tsang, with its capital at Shigatse, was known as Hou Zang (Posterior Tsang).

Of the three routes indicated on the map by short black parallel lines, the northern one reaches farthest and terminates in Ngari.� The central route ends at Kyirong, and the southernmost terminates at Nyalam.� A bold red line indicates the border of Sichuan Province, while borders with Yunnan Province, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Vietnam, Siam, the territory of Xinjiang, and Russia are also indicated.� Rivers and mountains are rendered in green, while plains and grasslands are shown in yellow.