Chinese Odyssey 69
There, a ceramic basin
reflected no crowds
just a river, a tiger,
an ocean of clouds.
I saw snow on green jade
and a dragon above
Joseph Rock’s photographs
geographical love.
Rock, Joseph Francis. “Seeking the Mountains of Mystery.” The National Geographic Magazine, vol. LVII, no. 2, Feb. 1930, pp. 131-85
“Before leaving for China, he purchased tents, a folding canvas bathtub, aneroid barometers, cameras, guns and ammunitions. Other items essential to his expedition were furs, warm bedding, trunks, photographic supplies, paper made from bamboo for drying specimens, medicines and for transportation mules and, sometimes, yaks. He revealed a distinct preference for such luxuries as canned foods and collapsible bathtubs. Edgar Snow, who traveled with him a time or two, wrote, “During the march, his tribal retainers divided into a vanguard and a rearguard. The advance party, led by a cook, an assistant cook, and a butler would spot a sheltered place with a good view, unfold table and chairs on a leopard-skin rug and lay out a clean linen cloth, silver and napkins. By the time we arrived our meal would be almost ready. At night, it was several courses ending with tea and liqueurs.” Rock kept the same cooks with him on most of his expeditions and even taught them Austrian recipes.” (from: THE STORY OF JOSEPH ROCK by Gwen Bell, Seattle, WA – presentation at the National Rhododendron Convention in Portland, OR). https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JARS/v37n4/v37n4-bell.htm
I first “met” Joseph Rock in the old copies of National Geographic that my grandparents used to keep in the side table next to the bed where my uncle slept growing up in Missoula, Montana during the 30’s and 40’s. Somehow, they had never been thrown out. To leaf through an old copy of National Geographic was to pretend to be in advertisements for Ethyl gasoline, Chris-Craft boat builders, Great Northern Railroads – The Empire Builders, Chrysler sedans, Campbells Soup, Whitman’s Chocolate, the new World Book Encyclopedia, American Express Travelers Cheques, and to see risqué photographs of scantily clad native people from all over the world. I loved National Geographic and I managed to scavenge one copy of a National Geographic from that night table which remains with me to this day. I remember laughing at pictures of early 20th century western explorers like Joseph Rock in Asia, Africa, and South America all decked out in their tropical tweeds, starched white shirts, ties, thick woollen knee high stockings with leather garters, and pith helmets.
It may also have been at Black Acre (my grandparent’s home – named after a legal kadigan – a placeholder name – for parcels of real property) that I picked up James Hilton’s Lost Horizon for the first time. To say I was intrigued would have been an understatement! Was Shangri-la real? Since my initial read, I’ve found several stories which support that possibility. The lost kingdom of Shambala has existed in esoteric Tibetan Buddhist doctrines for centuries. In the Nyingma tradition, there existed hidden treasures and teachings which could only be discovered by tertons (people who had the powers or ability to discover terma (religious texts and treasures). There are also hidden places, sometimes expansive called Beyul which serve as refuges to the blessed ones. These holy places are protected by deities who are assigned by Padmasambhava (8th century Guru Rinpoche – considered by some as the “second Buddha”). Beyul are “secret lands” that somehow transcend physical and conceptual boundaries. Even though they may have specific geographic coordinates, that in no way guarantees that you will be able to find them. Their actual locations are hidden and only those who seek them with the proper spiritual keys will be allowed entrance. According to the stories, the physical beauty of these beyuls is stunning. Rivers, valleys, and hills shrouded in clouds and flowers and huge biodiversity are as important as the spiritual quiet which can most easily be described as harmonious and peaceful.
Amnyi Machen aka Amne Machin (阿尼瑪卿山 Ānímǎqīng Shān) is the name of both a mountain range and the highest peak of that range (6,282 m (20,610 ft). It is located in the province of Qinghai in central China. Getting to Amne Machin was fraught with peril. In nearby Gansu, Labrang was held by a Moslems.
“My own visit, what from extraordinary hardship and the perils of bandits, was so brief that I could make only limited observations. So as yet, the world knows only from the hearsay of all the Amnyi Machen’s mysterious valleys, its lawless Ngokok tribes, and the queen who was supposed to ride over them.” (from Joseph Rock in the February, 1930 National Geographic article “Seeking the Mountains of Mystery)
“The nearby Hetso (合作 Hézuò) monastery was plundered and a Living Buddha was slain.” Rock continues. “One hundred fifty-four Tibetan heads were strung about the walls of the Moslem garrison like a garland of flowers. Heads of young girls and children decorated the posts in front of the barracks.” “Among this carnage,” Rock concludes, “we were forced to give up, for the time being, any hopes of marching on to our difficult goal.”
A year later, he tried again. After spending some time in Labrang in fascinating conversations with the Abbot of Labrang who believed that the Earth was flat and assured Joseph Rock that there were people in the world “with heads of dogs, sheep, and cattle”, Rock and his mile-long entourage comprised of 60 yaks, 34 mules, “20 armed and mounted men of the nomad Sokwu Arik tribe of Mongol origin”, and American missionary, William Ekvall Simpson who he engaged as a Tibetan interpreter, but whom he came to dislike because he felt that Simpson was too much of a “do-gooder” who “lacked firmness with the natives.” As they travelled, they were constantly under the watch of by robber tribes who were somehow held at bay by his Sokwu Arik protectors.
They continued “Uphill and down, through canyons and over passes with odd, gurgling names, we pushed our toiling way through an empty world. Not a human being appeared anywhere in that forsaken region.” As they approached the Gur Zhung Valley, Rock was told “You had better not go, for all the Ngoloks are aroused are awaiting you to rob and perhaps murder you.” Rock persevered.
Until finally “I shouted for joy as I beheld the majestic peaks of one of the grandest mountain ranges of all Asia. . . ” . . atop the Mokhur Nira (Pass), at an elevation of 12,800 feet.
“With difficulty, I tore myself from that sublime view – a view of the eastern massif of the mountain from west of the Yellow River which no other foreigners had ever had. I remained for some time on that isolated summit, lost in reverie and easily comprehending why the Tibetans should worship these snowy peaks as emblems of purity.
Joseph Rock was an Austrian born American botanist, explorer, author and photographer, who was, quite literally National Geographic’s “man in China” during the 1920’s and 30’s. A product of his times, like so many of the characters I’ve discovered in my Chinese Odyssey, Joseph Rock was unique. While fascinated by so much of what he discovered, I would not consider Joseph Rock to have been a sinophile, but he did love living in China and spoke Chinese fluently. He seemed to have been a very solitary man in many ways, and appeared to milk his journey of explorations and adventure for all it was worth. When I visited the small Joseph Rock museum in 玉湖村 Yù Hú Cūn aka 雪嵩村 Xúe Sōng Cūn in the early 2000’s, I found a two story modest home outside of Lijiang near the town of Bai Sha where Joseph Rock lived for 27 years and where he did much of his writing and botanical research. He was fascinated by the Nakyi aka Naxi 納西族 Nàxī minority people who lived in and around Lijiang. His Nahki-English Dictionary Encylopedia, was both a dictionary of the Dongba script and an encyclopedia of Naxi culture.
For those who are curious to know more about Joseph Rock, check out “in the Footsteps of Joseph Rock” This amazing photo blog by Australian journalist Michael Woodhead has extensive links to both Rock’s photos and his journeys. http://www.josephrock.net/2004/
The Panda in the Room PD 