Maurerer, Konrad

Manuscript in folio Als deutscher Kaufmann bis an Tibets Grentze, dated Hankow Mai 1918 in ink at end, signed by Konrad Maurerer on front paste-down, 2 + 286 leaves of typescript in German with extensive ink corrections, bound in Chinese half morocco, upper cover lettered in gilt as title, upper inner corner of front cover and first leaves damp-stained.

Diary of a Business Journey in Western China. The author’s own copy of a very interesting and apparently unpublished diary of a business journey in Western China at the time of the First World War, the aim being to maintain and develop business contacts. Maurerer was well-acquainted with the country, he had made earlier travels in the area and also spoke Chinese, which enabled him to establish close links with his Chinese business friends and generally speaking, to move freely in the different milieus visited. He describes in detail every town in which he made a prolonged stay. Most of the contents consists of detailed descriptions and analyses of the economy, prices, the quality of various goods, transport, banking, etc. Maurerer has a good grasp of things and gives himself time both to describe and to analyse. He was familiar with a good many typically Chinese phenomena and conditions, much of it likely to be irretrievably lost within a few decades. He also gives colourful and richly factual descriptions of social life in the towns and of customs and, in addition, historical surveys.
The diary is written in a sober style, but at times the author lets himself go and writes very well.
He set out by train from Hankou, making Suzhou his first stop. He gives knowledgeable accounts of the dissemination of Japanese and European consumer goods and of the British American Tobacco Company, B. A. T., their distribution apparatus and monopoly position in China. He mentions an albumen mill capable of dealing with 1.5 million eggs a day. He writes about the dire poverty and criminality.
The next town en route was Zhengzhou, a railway junction. He describes street life, shops, restaurants, hotels, etc. Standard Oil has taught the Chinese to use paraffin instead of rape-oil. B. A. T. has taught them to smoke cigarettes which to begin with were distributed free of charge, then sold at low prices. However, in the course of ten years the price was increased fivefold.
He visited Kaifeng during a sandstorm of two days’ duration which is dramatically described. He draws a picture of the fashion among young Chinese anxious to imitate Europeans. He sees a man with a high collar and two neckties, one wide and one narrow. European shoes are used, but without laces. In an arts and crafts school the pupils learn to make European furniture, modelling it on pictures in old English periodicals. This includes rocking-chairs of lethal balance and club-style armchairs in which the springs are visible under the imperfect upholstery. Maurerer also visits a modern prison. In Honanfu he is struck by the lively street life. In the hotel he is disturbed at night by young women singing in a guttural style, evidently a common feature. He comes across these nocturnal singing practices on some later occasions as well. He visits a wealthy Chinese family and gives a very detailed description of the house, its inhabitants and their costume.
He reaches Kejintang by train and carries on via Daxing and Dongguan in a mule-drawn cart. He gives an account of all the details of the vehicle, its maintenance, lubrication, etc. As a rule all Chinese roads have the same gauge, but in this instance the road is narrower and the axles of the cart have to be changed. Maurerer makes a point of mentioning that Turkestan has an extra wide gauge and larger cart wheels because of the sandy soil.
A detailed account is given of Xian and its antiquities. A criminal’s decapitated head hangs from a bridge in a lath basket, with a dead raven trapped between the laths.
Social life and the economy are described in detail: architecture, public services, bureaucracy. Maurerer obtains some German propaganda, translated into Chinese, and distributes it in the town. Street life is enlivened by the presence of biauchefus, hefty men with thick pigtails who used to be robbers but now are involved in transporting silver ingots from town to town. Robbers are afraid to attack them.
Visiting a French missionary, Maurerer is shown a bell, found in the ruins of an old Catholic chapel allegedly built by Adam Schall, the Jesuit who was active in China in the 17th century.
A fifty-course farewell dinner was given in Maurerer’s honour at the Henan Merchants’ Club in Xian. Taken on a tour, he is awestruck by the beautiful ancient palace.
The road to Pingliang passes through a poor district with cave dwellings and no fuel or drinking water. Here and there the road negotiates mountain passes with precipices on either side. Dung is used as fuel in simple inns and Maurerer finds the smell unbearable. He always has the dung removed wherever he spends the night and disinfects the rooms with lysol. During a three-day stay in Pingliang he meets the Swedish missionary, David Tornvall, who is in charge of a very well organised missionary station. It is a marvel of good order and contains a school, a hospital and a pharmacy. Tornvall, himself a doctor, enjoys a very good reputation among the Chinese. Maurerer also details exports and imports and gives statistics.
On the road to Langzhou there is a mountain pass of 2694 meters’ height with a marvellous view. In the villages he sees beautiful women, nearly all of them with bound feet, and at home they crawl on their knees. Langzhou has a mixed population of Tibetans, Tungus, Mongolians and Russian merchants. Maurerer receives mail, including lots of propaganda brochures and has coolies distributing them in the streets.
The journey continues towards the Tibetan frontier and he spends some time in Xining. There he falls in with a pleasant Dutch missionary, Father Essens, and a less pleasant Englishman, a Mr Radley, probably a spy. Radley tells him that he had met Sven Hedin, but feelings on both sides seem to have remained cool. A German lieutenant called Feltzschner had evidently stayed with Radley before going off on a Tibetan expedition. Likewise the Dalai Lama had stayed with Radley on his way to Peking in 1910.
The last place visited by Maurerer was Kumbum and its monastery. He takes time to talk to the monks and gives an account of the whole establishment, a detailed and exciting description. He then returns eastwards and he finishes his diary with a half-promise of more to follow.

• GBP 2,400.00 > otras divisas
• nº de pedido: 02873

• librero: Lowendahl Rare Books Ltd (THAILAND)