1936 - 1937 Mission Diary

The official diary of the Gould mission to Lhasa sent by the British government. Read more about the mission diary.

November 27th, Friday

see photographs below

We had an 'Old School' party in the evening. There were the three Rugbeians Ringang Kyipup and Mondo; Jigme, who was at St. Paul's School, Darjeeling; Surkang Se and Derge Se, who were at Mr. Ludlow's school at Gyantse. Between them they hold a varied selection of offices: there were two Monk Officials, a General, the Chief of Police, the founder and maintainer of the Lhasa electricity supply, and an official of the Mint and Arsenal - and several of them are absentee jongpens (district magistrates) into the bargain.

After dinner we gave a film show. The other day Tsarong received a letter from his sixteen-year-old son who is at school in Darjeeling. The following is an extract from it :

"Is there any talking picture in Lhasa? I heard there is talking picture in Lhasa, and every gentleman doesn't work, but go to see picture every night. I have nothing more to say’.

Author: Frederick Spencer Chapman [see handwritten annotations in Diary by Hugh Richardson in MS. Or. Richardson 2, Bodleian Libary, Department of Oriental Collections, University of Oxford]

Page Reference: Pt X p.1