By these really in a way quite primitive techniques, they were able to map the whole of sort of south western Tibet. What's interesting is the survey of Indian map which around today are still based on quite a lot of information which were obtained by the pundit.

Until NanXing went to Lhasa, the western world had no idea really what was, where in Tibet. They didn't even know where Lhasa was. They knew it was up there.

Years later it would be confirmed that NanXing had calculated the position of Lhasa correct to within half a degree of latitude, a remarkable feat. Montgomery while keeping the identity of the superspy to himself, detailed NanXing's amazing journey to the president of the Royal Geographical Society.

I'm quite sure he'd make a good impression anywhere. And I can quite undertand that he has been immense favored with the darkies who conveyed him into the sacred city. The Pundit I think deserves all praise. His work has stood every test capitally, captain George Montgomery.

NanXing would go on to make 2 more secret journeys into Tibet. He then helped Montgomery recruit and train other Pundits who continued filling in the blank spaces on the map of the forbidden land. Some never came back, others like NanXing himself would never be the same.

NanXing paid a really heavy cost in terms of his health. He was totally worn out. His eyesight had also been affected. I mean there was no way to protect himself from snowblindness and the glaring. He just had to retire, he couldn't undertake any more journeys.

For his extraordinary work, Xing was quietly awarded a gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society and a small pension.

He was the first native to be recognized by the Royal Geographical Society as having accomplished someting that was the equivalent to any of the greatest explorers of the west. So in a certain sense that was a real breakthrough.

The Pundits suffer the same fate as so many spies which is that they don't really get much recognition for what they do everything is shrouded in secrecy. What I think is extraordinary is really how little recognition or thanks they got for the remarkably dangerous work that they undertook on behalf of the survey of India and you know,ultimately the British empire in India.

NanXing, one of the most extraordinary spies the world has ever seen died in obscurity at the age of 53. Almost 4 decades would pass before a European following in the Pundit's footsteps would reach the Forbidden City. This journey unlike NanXing's would be marked by bloodshed.

March 31st, 1904, on a desolate plain, some 10.000 feet in the air. 2 forces eye each other wearily. They are devided by a crude stone wall and a tragic chasm of culture time and faith. The defenders, Tibetan peasants and monks burying arms that are centuries out of date. The invaders, a British force equiped with a new killing machines of the 20th century. No one who watches the terrible four minutes that followed would be unmoved. The man responsible would utterly tramsformed by the maelstrom he unleashes here.

As the 19th century push to its close, Tibet was much on the minds of many Europeans. Being the first to reach Lhasa since the closing of Tibet's borders had become the holy grail of explorers as well as for the spies playing out the great game in the Himalayas.

From about I will say about 1870-1880 onwards. You get increasingly sort of an obsessive interest in Tibet. Tibet was seen as ,is accessible" title="a.达不到的，难接近的">inaccessibleforbidden foreign Shangrila. I think there were probably hunderds of thousands of British officers hanging around in the Himalayas at the end of 19 century. All of whom wanted to be the first one to breakthrough and get to Lhasa, the Forbidden City, that no European had been to since 1811.

And it created this great race in the latter part of the 19 century to be the first to get to Lhasa and many tried and many failed.

snowblindness n.雪盲

shroud vt.

用裹尸布裹, 遮蔽, 隐藏

a peak shrouded in mist and cloud笼罩在云雾中的山峰

maelstrom n.

A violent or turbulent situation:

大旋涡一种暴力的或混乱的局势

accessible" title="a.达不到的，难接近的">inaccessible adj.

Not accessible; unapproachable:

无法接近的；不能达到的

Shangrila n. 理想乐园 （还有另一个Utopia）

darkie n.

轻蔑黑人的称呼
关键字:英语文库
生词表: