XXI. Ancient Historical Edicts at Lhasa

Hitherto our authentic knowledge of the early history of Tibet has been derived, with one solitary exception, not from any records in the country itself, but solely from the references, contemporary and otherwise, embedded in the imperial chronicles of China, which have been rendered accessible to English students through the excellent translations of Dr. Bushell and Mr. Rockhill. The one indigenous early record we have possessed is the imprint of the treaty edict of “822 A.D. with the Emperor Mu Tsung”, which Dr. Bushell procured at Peking and published in this Journal in 1880. That edict, however, though affording an interesting side-glimpse into the state of civilization in Tibet at that period, and incidentally confirming the Chinese accounts, yielded few important historical data; and no other local source of trustworthy early history has been forthcoming. For the Tibetans, unlike the Chinese, are notably deficient in the true historical sense

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• A Journey in Mongolia and in Tibet

  William Woodville Rockhill•Geographical Journal•1894

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