Three letters in Chinese, two with envelopes and typed English translations. Correspondence between Miss D Crawford, Secretary RAS and Ruth B Manning concerning the translations: Typed letter from D Crawford, dated 7 November, 1968; handwritten letter from Ruth B Manning, dated 16 November 1968. Also a note concerning a missing letter from sometime after 1997. The third was rediscovered in 2017. It is in fact a second letter sent by Zhao's father. He mentioned that after the first letter (the one in the archive), he asked someone to write again. It spells out how the father, now aged over 60, misses the son. He urges the son to take good care of himself, but also advises him not to be too money-conscious. No need to make big money. In particular, he urges him to stay away from evil matters. He also tells him to come home soon. It is undated, but we see the name of the father at the end of the letter: Meng Fuyi. (Not from Magg's acquisition)
Three Letters from Thomas [ ] to Brian Houghton Hodgson concerning the identification of plant species. One has annotations by Hodgson. Handwritten, 2 sides, 3 sides, 1 side, all undated.
Three letters from Ranganath Paudel to Brian Houghton Hodgson, October - December 1846. In these letters Ranganath acknowledges Hodgson's letters before giving a detailed description of Nepal's internal political situation during and after the royal palaces Kot and Bhandãrkhãl massacres of 1846. He writes of the rise to power of Jangabahadur, a list of people killed in the Kot and those who have escaped and gone underground. He also writes of Queen Rajyalaxmi's imprisonment and King Rajendra's asylum in Benares. He asks for Hodgson's help for himself and for other Nepali officials. Ranganath was also in asylum in Benares from where the letters were sent. Ranganath's official seal is on accompanying envelope. Handwritten in Nepali, 5 pieces, October - December 1843.
Ranganath Paudel b 1773Three Letters from Dr. Hermann Schlagintweit, Sakünlünski, to Brian Houghton Hodgson to report on a field expedition in the hills of Nepal, including information on climate, rain, thunder, hail, beautiful and clear mornings. He sends copies of drawings and field information to Hodgson with a promise to send more. He thanks Hodgson for his assistance in sending his people for the expedition and for writing a letter to the king of Nepal and other people in Kathmandu. He also thanks Hodgson's staff in Darjeeling (Dārjiling) for their cooperation and help. He sends his best regards to Mrs. Hodgson with appreciation of her help and assistance. Handwritten, 4 sides, 1 side, 2 sides, dated [1855] (Exploration undertaken between 1854-1857)
Schlagintweit Hermann Rudolf Alfred von 1826-1882 Explorer of Central AsiaThree inscriptions reduced from the original rubbings. These are at a scale of a 1/3. The locality of these is unknown.
An envelope containing three folded sheets of impressions of Pahlavi inscriptions of Cave No. 66 at Kanheri. Two appear to have been taken by Walter West on his visit to the caves between December 27th and 29th 1870, while the third seems to be an earlier one taken by Edward William West which has been checked and notated by W. West latterly.
These are page 7 on the folder list.
West Edward William 1824-1905Three envelopes to Brian Houghton Hodgson. Do not seem to accompany any of the letters. All addressed to him at Darjeeling.
Three unglazed earthenware sherds decorated with a scratch design. All probably from the site KT-2-B as each is marked with these initials in ink.They are:
- QW/13/16-1 - A sherd of unglazed earthenware pottery with a square pattern. Dimensions 8.5cm by 7cm.
- QW/13/16-2 - A sherd of unglazed earthenware pottery. Dimensions 8cm by 5cm.
- QW/13/16-3 - A sherd of unglazed earthenware pottery. Dimensions 9cm by 5.5cm.
Three earthenware sherds probably from the site KT-1-B as they are all marked in ink with these initials. They are:
- QW/13/12-1 - A sherd of unglazed earthenware pottery with scratch decoration. Dimensions 9cm x 8cm.
- QW/13/12-2 - A sherd of unglazed earthenware pottery with scratch decoration in a square shape. Dimensions 6.5cm x 6cm.
- QW/13/12-3 - A sherd of unglazed earthenware pottery with scratch decoration in a flower shape. Dimensions 6.5cm x 4.7cm.
Review from the Cambridge Quarterly, 'Three Books on Vietnam' by Martin Bernal.
Bernal Martin