André Migot (1892–1967)

Well, the benefits of mooching through second hand book stalls. This gem found in a 'book shed' raising funds for a church. At £1 a bargain. M. Migot, a French doctor and traveller, wrote several books but this is the first time I have come across him. He tells us of his march into Tibet in 1947 in the hope of reaching the capital Lhasa, at the time closed to foreigners. He makes a failed, clandestine attempt but is discovered and goood humouredly turned back, which he takes in good part. The fascination with this book is that it tells of a journey in 1947 just over 70 years ago. But in that time the world has changed out of recognition. He starts his journey in Chengdu, at that time a town of half a million with no mains drainage and no mains water supply. Today a city of 20 or 30 million with all modern conveniences. His journey through western China and Tibet is on foot or horse back. There are no roads and no wheeled vehicles. Caravans of goods ferried on the backs of yacks and mules are still the norm. Mr Migot has a significant interest in Bhuddism and is ordained into a Tibetan sect as a lama. To cap it all his journey ends in Peking at the time a nationalist city surrounded by communist forces. He is captured by communist soldiers as he is sightseeing on the outskirts of the city. Treated well and returned to the city. A remarkable journey both in geography and history.… (more)

In 1946/7 Andre Migot, a French doctor, set out to travel from Hanoi to travel through Tibet and China, ultimately to Peking. Eventually, he also travelled back to Indo-China but this book only describes the first part. During the journey, he spends some time in a monastery and is initiated into a tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He fails to reach Lhasa after an attempt to reach the then forbidden city in disguise as a Mongol Lama.

Although in parts, the book reads like diary entries jotted down without much elaboration, most of it is an extremely interesting account of place, time and peoples (largely destroyed soon after as a consequence of the Chinese invasion) that I think remains an important historical document. Especially in the face of more recent attempts by Chinese to rewrite the history of the region.

In the final part of the story, Migot and his companion are arrested as spies by the communist army after inadvertently crossing from the Nationalist to the Communist lines while visiting the Ming tombs outside Peking. Again, his favourable observations of the changes and attitudes of the Chinese in the earliest days of the revolution in China are interesting and an important historical document.… (more)