September 10, 2014:

Quests for Eminence: 20^th century explorers

Ever since European power encroached into the foothills of the Himalayas, says Tsering Shakya in his book Myth of Shangri-La Tibet and the Occident, Tibet had excited the Western imagination, a kingdom hidden behind snowcapped mountains.  Thus the image of a forbidden kingdom was born.  The transmission of this image of Tibet has been constant for centuries, partly due to the fact that Tibet was never conquered by the West.  It has also to do with the question of ruled and rulers.  While European powers were able to rule much of Asia and Africa, Tibet remained an anachronism in the age of imperialism.