A historical atlas of Tibet / Karl E. Ryavec.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ryavec, Karl E., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tibet Autonomous Region (China)--Maps.

Tibet Autonomous Region (China).

Tibet Autonomous Region (China)--Historical geography--Maps.

Tibet Autonomous Region (China)--History--Maps.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (221 p.)

Place of Publication:

Chicago, Illinois ; London, [England] : The University of Chicago Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Cradled among the world’s highest mountains—and sheltering one of its most devout religious communities—Tibet is, for many of us, an ultimate destination, a place that touches the heavens, a place only barely in our world, at its very end. In recent decades Western fascination with Tibet has soared, from the rise of Tibetan studies in academia to the rock concerts aimed at supporting its independence to the simple fact that most of us—far from any base camp—know exactly what a sherpa is. And yet any sustained look into Tibet as a place, any attempt to find one’s way around its high plateaus and through its deep history, will yield this surprising fact: we have barely mapped it. With this atlas, Karl E. Ryavec rights that wrong, sweeping aside the image of Tibet as Shangri-La and putting in its place a comprehensive vision of the region as it really is, a civilization in its own right. And the results are absolutely stunning. The product of twelve years of research and eight more of mapmaking, A Historical Atlas of Tibet documents cultural and religious sites across the Tibetan Plateau and its bordering regions from the Paleolithic and Neolithic times all the way up to today. It ranges through the five main periods in Tibetan history, offering introductory maps of each followed by details of western, central, and eastern regions. It beautifully visualizes the history of Tibetan Buddhism, tracing its spread throughout Asia, with thousands of temples mapped, both within Tibet and across North China and Mongolia, all the way to Beijing. There are maps of major polities and their territorial administrations, as well as of the kingdoms of Guge and Purang in western Tibet, and of Derge and Nangchen in Kham. There are town plans of Lhasa and maps that focus on history and language, on population, natural resources, and contemporary politics. Extraordinarily comprehensive and absolutely gorgeous, this overdue volume will be a cornerstone in cartography, Asian studies, Buddhist studies, and in the libraries or on the coffee tables of anyone who has ever felt the draw of the landscapes, people, and cultures of the highest place on Earth.

Contents:

""Contents""; ""Preface""; ""Notes on Gazetteer: Phonetic and Literary Romanization""; ""A Note on Sources""; ""Introduction""; ""Map 1. Tibet and the Tibetan culture region""; ""Map 2. Tibet and surrounding civilizations""; ""Map 3. Major regions and natural features of Tibet""; ""Map 4. Tibetan macroregions""; ""Map 5. The structure of Tibetan history: Core regions, peripheries, and trade networks circa 1900""; ""Map 6. The historical Tibetan world: Travel time and main trade patterns circa 1900""; ""Map 7. The Tibetic languages""

""Map 8. How to use this atlas: Map coverage and cartographic conventions""""Part 1. The prehistorical and ancient periods, circa 30,000 BCE to 600 CE""; ""Map 9. Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures on the Tibetan Plateau, circa 30,000-2000 BCE""; ""Map 10. The ancient Tibetan world, circa 2000 BCE to 600 CE""; ""Part 2. The Imperial Period, circa 600-900""; ""Map 11. Territorial administration system and important religious sites of the Imperial Period, circa 600-842""; ""Map 12. Central Tibet circa 600-842: The imperial territorial administration system""

""Map 13. Central Tibet circa 600-900: Religious and cultural sites of the Imperial Period""""Map 14. Central Tibet 650-764: Annual sites of the royal court and council""; ""Part 3. The Period of Disunion, circa 900-1642""; ""Map 15. Major polities and important religious sites during the aftermath of empire and the Second Diffusion of Buddhism, circa 842-1240""; ""Map 16. Central Tibet circa 900-1240: Aftermath of empire and religious sites founded during the Second Diffusion of Buddhism""; ""Map 17. Ngari circa 900-1100: The kingdoms of Ngari Khorsum""

""Map 18. Religious and cultural sites founded in the core region of the Guge Kingdom, circa 10th-14th centuries""""Map 19. Religious and cultural sites founded in Purang and the Kailash region, circa 10th-17th centuries""; ""Map 20. Ngari circa 1100-1250: Guge divided and the rise of Yatse""; ""Map 21. Amdo circa 900-1240: The Tsongkha Kingdom, and religious sites founded during the Second Diffusion of Buddhism""; ""Map 22. Major polities and important religious sites of the Mongol Empire Period, circa 1240-1354""

""Map 23. Central Tibet circa 1240-1354: Symbolic Sakya rule and religious sites founded during the Mongol Empire Period""""Map 24. Ngari circa 1250-1365: Yatse-Gungtang rivalry during the Mongol Empire Period""; ""Map 25. Amdo circa 1240-1368: The Mongol conquest, and religious sites founded during the Mongol Empire Period""; ""Map 26. Important Tibeto-Mongol Buddhist monasteries founded during the 12th to 16th centuries""; ""Map 27. Important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries of Beijing founded during the Yuan and Ming Periods, circa 13th-16th centuries""

""Map 28. Major polities and important religious sites of the Pakmodrupa Period, circa 1354-1642""

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-226-24394-X

OCLC:

910916462