An Atlas of the Tibetan Plateau
Series: - Brill's Tibetan Studies Library, Volume: 50
- Browse an online sample copy of the Atlas.
- Read an interview with author Michael Farmer.
- Download sample map 30.
- Download sample map 78.
The Atlas shows for the first time the contemporary geography of the entire Tibetan Plateau, an area where major powers (China, India and Pakistan) meet in the highest landscape on earth, originally inhabited by the unique, ancient Buddhist civilization of Tibet.
Using extensive satellite imagery, the author has accurately positioned over two thousand religious locations, more than a third of which appear not to have not been previously recorded. Nearly two thousand settlements have also been accurately located and all locations are named in both Tibetan and Chinese where possible. This ancient landscape is shown in contrast to the massive physical infrastructure which has been recently imposed on it as an attempt to “Open up the West” and carry forward the Chinese “Belt and Road Initiative”. With 120 maps in full colour.
- Read an interview with author Michael Farmer.
- Download sample map 30.
- Download sample map 78.
The Atlas shows for the first time the contemporary geography of the entire Tibetan Plateau, an area where major powers (China, India and Pakistan) meet in the highest landscape on earth, originally inhabited by the unique, ancient Buddhist civilization of Tibet.
Using extensive satellite imagery, the author has accurately positioned over two thousand religious locations, more than a third of which appear not to have not been previously recorded. Nearly two thousand settlements have also been accurately located and all locations are named in both Tibetan and Chinese where possible. This ancient landscape is shown in contrast to the massive physical infrastructure which has been recently imposed on it as an attempt to “Open up the West” and carry forward the Chinese “Belt and Road Initiative”. With 120 maps in full colour.
Prices from (excl. shipping):
Michael Farmer is a retired architect who has been involved with Tibetan culture for many years. His maps have appeared in many publications, including the Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism, (Wisdom, 1991) and the Tibet Handbook (Footprint, 1996) and among other projects he has recently created a unique, large computer-generated three dimensional Map of Tibet for the Museo di Arte e Cultura Orientale (Arcidosso, 2019). He has designed several Tibetan gonpas, including the major lhakhang of Shechen Monastery in Nepal.
"After the publication of A Historical Atlas of Tibet by Ryavec, I thought that the final word on the historical cartography of Tibet had definitely been written: I was wrong! The commitment to write another work dedicated to the current state of the Tibetan plateau withmore research and database constructionhas been fulfilled by architect and cartographer Michael Farmer, who has been involved with Tibetan culture for many years. With this magnum opus, which took decades to complete, he has compiled an essential reference work warmly welcomed by scholars and students interested in learning about contemporary Tibet as well as spiritual practitioners (...)." -Giorgio Dallorto, The Mirror 157 · September 2022.
Tibetologists, geographers, those studying the history of Tibetan Buddhism.