Bhutan

Aris, Michael

Aris & Phillips

Bhutan (Aris & Phillips Central Asian Studies)

History

Asia

In 1783 Warren Hastings sent a second embassy to Tibet and to the isolated Buddhist state which survives today as the Kingdom of Bhutan. Samuel Davis, a young lieutenant in the Bengal Army, accompanied the mission as draftsman and surveyor. Although he was denied access to Tibet, Davis spent several months in Bhutan and 59 of his original drawings of that country have been traced by Michael Aris to collections in India, the United States and England. The finest of these hitherto unpublished views form the main content of this book.The plates are arranged according to the progress of the 1783 mission, leading from the Himalayan foothills above the plains of Bengal through tortuous ravines up to the old winter capital at Punakha. Several engravings by the artist's close friend, the comparable William Daniell, are included, and all the plates are accompanied by descriptive passages selected from the literature of the period. Part of Davis's fascinating Bhutan journal has been edited to complement his paintings.

Views of Medieval Bhutan: The Diary and Drawings of Samuel Davis, 1783

Serindia Publications / Smithsonian

The hereditary monarchy of the Wangchuk dynasty was established in 1907 in the independent Himalayan state of Bhutan, thus introducing one of the world's most recent experiments in kingship. The new order quickly replaced a theocracy founded in the seventeenth century by the first of the "Dharma Rajas", a lineage of reincarnating lamas known by the title of Shabdrung. The first king of the new dynasty, Ugyen Wangchuk (1862-1926), was a charismatic figure who came to power against a turbulent background of incessant and complex feuding. He adopted as the unique symbol of his authority a crown surmounted by the head of a raven. The bird represents a form of Mahakala, Bhutan's guardian deity. The prototype of the founding monarch's Raven Crown had first been devised as a battle helmet for his father, Jigme Namgyel (1825-81). Known as the Black Regent, he had worn it in bloody struggles against his many rivals within the country and against the British who tried, unsuccessfully, to subdue him. The story of the Wangchuk dynasty's rise and triumph moves from a picture of turmoil and chaos to one of relative peace and stability. In contrast with earlier published ac- counts based solely on the colonial records of British India, here the narrative is founded on the Bhutanese chronicles which offer a new perspective and bring many new details to light. The ethnic and historical context is outlined before recounting the turbulent career of the Black Regent, followed by the lives and achievements of the first two kings. The book is copiously illustrated with rare historical photographs that have come to light in private and public collections in the United Kingdom. Most of these vivid images have never previously been published. They provide a lively depth and focus to the unfolding narrative.

The Raven Crown: The Origins of Buddhist Monarchy in Bhutan

Weatherhill

<p>This texts brings together some 65 contributions by Hugh Richardson to Tibetan Studies written over the course of nearly 60 years. Part 1 contains 27 articles on the crucial and formative phase of Tibet's history in the 7th to 9th centuries AD. In Part 2 nine articles focus on key historical sites and incriptions dating mostly from the early period. Part 3 reproduces fouteen articles on later history down to the 20th century, including a number of studies on Chinese and Western involvement with Tibet. Part 4 is a reprint of Richardson's Tibetan Precis (Calcutta, Govt. of India PRess, 1945), a secret publication containing classified information summarizing British relations with Tibet. The volume concludes in Part 5 with fourteen articles in which the author provides his own personal testimonies and recollections of life in traditional Tibet and his reactions to its subsequent fate. This work should be of interest to both specialists and non-specialists.</p>

High Peaks, Pure Earth: Collected Writings on Tibetan History and Culture

RICHARDSON, Hugh

Serindia Pubns

<p>First published in 1989. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor &amp; Francis, an informa company.</p>

Hidden Treasures and Secret Lives: A Study of Pemalingpa (1450-1521) and The Sixth Dalai Lama (1683-1706)

Reference

Routledge

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