Indian Antiquary Vol 42

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 348

ii
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[CHAPTER I
It was the discovery of the Bower Manuscript and its publication in Calcutta which started the whole modern movement of the archæological exploration of Eastern Turkestan. The late Hofrat Professor G. Bühler, having seen the report of the discovery in the Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, at once announced it in an early issue of the 'ienna Oriental Journal for 1891, p. 103. The Russian Archäological Society, haring thus their attention attracted, addressed, in November 1891, a request to Mr. Petrovski, the Russian Consul General in Kashgar, to endearour to collect similar manuscript treasures. In response to it the Petrovski Collection went to the Imperial Library in St. Petersburg, in the autumn and winter of 1892-3, of which Professor Serge d' Oldenburg published a report and specimens in the Transactions of the Imperial Russian Archæological Society, Vol. VIII, for 1893-4, pp. 47 ff. In the same year, 1892, the Weber Collection of manuscripts was acquired by the Rev. F. Weber, Moravian Missionary in Leh, whose curiosity had been aroused through a meeting with Lieutenant Bower on the latter's return journey to India (see below No, iv, p. vi). This acqui. sition was at once transmitted to me, and a report and specimens were published by me in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXII of 1893, pp. 1 ff.In the following year, 1893, on my motion, the Government of India issued instructions to their Political Agents in Kashmir, Ladak, and Kashgar, to make enquiries for ancient manuscripts, and secure all that might come in their way. It was in pursuance of these instructions that the "three Further Collections” of manuscripts came into my hands, of which a report and specimens were published by me in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXVI. of 1897, pp. 213 ff.' The most important, in the present connection, of these three collections are the Macartney manuscripts, so named after Mr. (now Sir ) George Macartney, K. C. I. E., the British Consul in Kashgar, who secured them in 1895.10
The direct result of these discoveries of ancient manuscripts was the inception of the first expedition of Dr. (now Sir) M. A. Stein, K.C.I. E., into Eastern (or Chinese) Turkestan in 1900-1901, of which a report was published by him, in 1902, in his Ancient Khotan in two volumes. It is true that there had been numerous expeditions into that country in earlier years, such, c.g., as the Russinn expedition of General Prejevalski in 1878 and 1885, the British expedition of Major (now Lieut-Colonel) Sir Francis E. Younghusband, K. C. I. E., in 1887-90, the French expedition of M. Dutreuil de Rhins in 1891-2, and the Swedish expedition of Dr. (now Sir) Sven Hedin, K. C. I. E., in 1894-7,12 but none of these was
5 See, e. g., Bühler in the Vienna Oriental Journal, Vol. VII., (1893), p. 260, Dr. Stein in Ancient Khotan, Introduction p. v; M. Pelliot, in Comptes Rendus des Séances, 1907, p. 166, also infra, No. 2, p. ix; Professor S. d'Oldenburg, in the Journal of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society, Vol VIII., 1893-4.
6 See Transactions of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society (1892), Vol. VII., pp. 81-2.
1 The Weber Manuscripts, which were subsequently purchased by me from Mr. Weber (Journal, As. Soc., Beng., Vol. LXVI., 1897, P. 239, footnote) passed, in 1902, into the possession of the Bodleian Library in Oxford; see its Catalogue, Vol. II., P. 111, No. 1091,
8 For particulars, see my Report on the British Collection of Central Asian Antiquities, Part I., Introd., p. ii; also Proceedings, Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1898, p. 65.
See also my Report on the British Collection of Central Asian Antiquities, Part II, being an Extra Number to the Journal, Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXX., 1901.
10 Since 1902 they are in the possession of the British Museum in London.
11 On its inception, see Introd., pp. V, vi. The expedition started from Kashmir on the 31st May 1900, and returned to London on the 2nd July 1901.
12 For two fuller, though stip not quite complete Usts of such expeditions, see the Geograthicul Jonmal, R. G. S., for 1893, P. 57, and the Journal, R. A. S., for 1909, p. 299; also Professor W. Geiger on Die archeologischen und literarischen Funde in Chinesisch Turkestan muid ihre Bedeutung fir die ortentalische Wissenschaft, Rede beim Antritt des Prorektorates der Königlich- Bayeristhen FriedrichAlexander-Universität Erlangen, November, 1912.