A Naturalist in Western China with Vasculum, Camera and Gun
Being Some Account of Eleven Years' Travel

A detailed account of a journey through Western China by a plant collector who spent much of his career there.

Ernest Henry Wilson (Author)

9781108030458, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 July 2011

408 pages, 57 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.3 cm, 0.52 kg

Ernest Henry Wilson (1876–1930) was introduced to China in 1899 when, as a promising young botanist, he was sent there by horticulturalist Henry Veitch (1840–1924) to collect the seed of the handkerchief tree, Davidia involucrata, for propagation in Britain. Subsequent trips saw Wilson bringing back hundreds of seed samples and plant collections, introducing many Chinese plants to Europe and North America. He wrote extensively about his travels in China: this two-volume work was published in 1913. Although much of the text is concerned with plant life, Wilson also gives a great deal of attention to the wider landscape around him. In addition, Wilson took a camera, and these volumes contain photographs of parts of China rarely seen by Europeans in the early twentieth century. Volume 1 covers his travels from Hupeh (Hubei) to Szechuan and into the Tibetan region before ending at Wa Wu Shan.

Preface
Introduction Charles S. Sargent
1. Western China – mountain ranges and river systems
2. Western Hupeh – general topography and geology
3. Methods of travel – roads and accommodation
4. In quest of flowers – a journey in North-Western Hupeh
5. Forest and crag – across the Hupeh-Szechuan frontier
6. The red basin of Szechuan – its geology, mineral, and agricultural wealth
7. Eastern Szechuan – narrative of a journey from Taning Hsien to Tunghsiang Hsien
8. The ancient kingdom of Pa – narrative of a journey from Tunghsiang Hsien to Paoning Fu
9. The Chengtu Plain – 'The Garden of Western China'
10. North-Western Szechuan – narrative of a cross-mountain journey to Sungpan Ting
11. Sungpan Ting – the land of the Sifan
12. The Chino-Thibetan borderland – 'The Marches of the Mantzu'
13. The Chiarung tribes – their history, manners, and customs
14. Across the Chino-Tibetan borderland – Kuan Hsien to Romi Chango
the flora of the Panlan Shan
15. Across the Chino-Thibetan borderland – Romi Chango to Tachienlu
the forests of the Ta-P'ao Shan
16. Tachienlu, the gate of Thibet – the Kingdom of Chiala, its people, their manners and customs
17. Sacred Omei Shan – its temples and its flora
18. Through the Laolin (wilderness) – narrative of a journey from Kiating to Malie, via Wawu Shan
19. Wa Shan and its flora.

Subject Areas: Botany & plant sciences [PST]