Abstract
WE have received a communication from Mr. T. K. Koo of Peiping, China, in reference to the article Research in Central Asia which appeared in NATURE of May 20, p. 705. Not only does Mr. Koo regard our statement of the problem as fair, but he admits that exploration has been made difficult by the Chinese, in a reaction against the too great freedom previously granted to foreigners. He goes on to comment on the two most conspicuous instances to which reference was made in NATURE, namely those of Sir Aurel Stein and Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews. Their difficulties, writing from his own knowledge in both cases, he attributes entirely to personal reasons. Both explorers would appear to have offended the susceptibilities of the Chinese. It is beyond question that the Chinese deeply resent Dr. Andrewss general attitude towards them and, more particularly, the tone of his references to the National Commission for the Preservation of Antiquities. Mr. Koo concludes his letter with an expression of opinion that if an international body for scientific investigation, as suggested, should some day become a reality, the difficulties of the present situation would vanish. While NATURE does not feel called upon to comment further on the merits of the contentions put forward by either side, beyond once more deploring the fact that personal matters should have blocked research in an extremely important field, it may, perhaps, be suggested that members of scientific expeditions should take a leaf from the books of their anthropological colleagues, and grasp the outlook of the peoples among whom they have to work. These are, after all, the heirs of the ages which the geologist, the pal¦ontologist and the arch¦ologist desire to investigate.
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Central Asiatic Research. Nature 132, 233 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/132233a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/132233a0