Sir Aurel Stein

The RGS Archives in London contain a small lot of material related to the Ōtani expeditions, and so far these documents have escaped the attention of those working on the history of the exploration of Central Asia. The material consists of a map, some photographs and a short typescript of a report of the expedition. Together, they can help us shed additional light on the details of the two trips led by Tachibana Zuichō (1890-1968) between 1908 and 1914. The material also reveals that there had been repeated efforts to communicate the results of the Japanese expeditions with the RGS in an attempt to publicize them in the West, even though much of this information never came out in print.

In this paper, I will both challenge current assumptions held on progress in climate studies, and re-examine past assumptions on the environment of ancient civilizations. I will touch on important themes, such as science policy in the early 20th century and the relationship that Europe had with colonial Asia and with the past environment of China, Turkestan and Persia. With its uniquely rich collections and experts on Asia, London was assuming one hundred years ago the prime responsibility of mapping the natural history of a continent the ‘Britishers’ had largely colonized. The Geological Survey of China, the British Survey of India, scholarly societies in Berlin and Paris, private libraries in Yale and Stockholm were the privileged venues where new information and concepts were created, exchanged, assessed and recast. The explorers sponsored by the Royal Geographical Society of London (RGS) built a professional network that connected the deserts of Central Asia to mighty Europe and nurtured a relationship between London and peripheral centers of knowledge production. Scientific travel was one tool among many to expand the British Empire and add to its prestige, but exploration results could become irrelevant if they somehow challenged the colonial order by proposing disquieting theories on past trends.

Aurel Stein was one of the pioneers in the archaeological study of Central Asia. Among their findings highlighted the discovery of the Dunhuang Manuscripts. The A. Stein's decision to take out of China the texts found served to initiate a process of dispersing them by various countries, which has generated harsh criticism from Chinese scholars. Due to the large number of manuscripts discovered in Dunhuang, we focus on the case of manuscripts for the reign of Chinese empress Wu Zetian , who are easily recognizable by changes in Chinese writing were in effect only during his reign.

1930 tavaszán Stein Aurél Shanghaiba és Nankingba látogatott, hogy megszerezze a negyedik turkesztáni expedíciójához szükséges engedélyeket a kínai kormánytól. Ennek hatására a félhivatalos Kulturális Kincsek Védelmének Társasága megindított egy, a nyilvánosság megnyerésére irányuló kampányt, amellyel nyomást próbált gyakorolni a kormányra, hogy az bevonja Stein engedélyét. Ekkor figyeltek fel a helyi szervek a fiatal Ligeti Lajosra, aki hosszú hónapok óta Észak-Kína lámakolostoraiban buddhista szövegeket tanulmányozott.
A fiatal kutató azzal érdemelte ki a kormányzóság figyelmét, hogy lelkes érdeklődést tanúsított a régi írások iránt és mindemellett még magyar útlevele is volt, és ez a két örülmény azonnal felvetette a gyanút, hogy ő valójában Stein Aurél.

Sir Aurel Stein (1862-1943) is renowned for his breath-taking archaeological exploration in Chinese Central Asia, India, Iran, Iraq and Jordan, and for his pioneering work on the early civilizations on the "Silk Road". This book brings together over 100 articles and news items relating to Stein and his expeditions, as printed in "The Times" newspaper between 1901-1943, allowing us to follow his achievements as they were first announced in the most important broadsheet of the British empire. Presented in chronological order, they provide a unique narrative of Stein's career as perceived and understood by his contemporaries. Stein had friends all over the world and useful contacts at "The Times". But is there a story behind the publicity? Was Stein media hungry or publicity shy? This hidden context is explored in the introduction.