Tibet--Ma Shao Yun and Shung Mai-Hai

8vo (207 x 123mm.), engraved folding map of Tibet showing the route from Chen-du to Lhasa, large folding hand-coloured plan of Lhasa, accompanying letterpress key to the plan, errata leaf, contemporary half calf over marbled boards, original printed green wrappers bound in, flat spine gilt, spotting to text, lower section of upper wrapper excised, printer's crease to plan of Lhasa

S.P. Frolov, St Petersburg (ink stamp to lower wrapper and foot of page 101)

not in Yakushi (3rd edition)

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A very rare and valuable account of Tibet from a Chinese perspective. The first and only edition in Russian and the first printing of this work in the West, translated by the Russian monk and Sinologist Iakinf Bichurin from the Chinese original of 1792. With a very fine hand-coloured bird's-eye view of Lhasa, the first detailed view of the city to appear in a Western printed book; the plan and key are present in only a very small number of copies.

This book, edited by Lu Hua Chu, was written by the Chinese civil servant Ma Shao Yun, aided by Shung Mai-hai and was intended as an official government handbook for the Chinese army then occupying Tibet and to give information to the authorities in China about Tibet. The book is divided into two parts: the first is a topographical description of the route from Chen-du in Szechuan province to Lhasa; the second contains information on various aspects of Tibet, including its history, frontiers, the calendar, army, law, finances, dress, food, manners and customs, buildings, medicine, divination, and details of the Chinese administration.

The translator, Iakinf Bichurin, spent 14 years as leader of the Russian Orthodox Mission to China in the early nineteenth century. His scholarly studies of China and Chinese culture brought him distinction as one of the founding fathers of Chinese studies and one of the first Russian Sinologists; he was also a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.