Hugh E. Richardson
Encyclopedia
Hugh E. Richardson was a British diplomat and Tibetologist. His academic work focused on the history of the Tibetan empire, and in particular on epigraphy. Born in St. Andrews, he studied classics at Keble College, Oxford. He joined the civil service in 1930, and represented Britain in Lhasa
, capital of Tibet
, from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1946 to 1950, in the final years having become the diplomatic representative of the recently independent India
. After his retirement from public service he returned to St. Andrews and spent the remainder of his life as an independent scholar.
He was an accomplished linguist who spoke Bengali
fluently, a skill he put to use when conversing with Rabindranath Tagore
, and his fluent Tibetan
was described by the Tibetan politician Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa
as "impeccable Lhasa Tibetan with a slight Oxford accent."
He was an advocate of the right of Tibetans to a separate political existence, a case he made in two books, Tibet and Its History (1962) and A Cultural History of Tibet (1968), and at the United Nations
when the issue of Chinese oppression of Tibet
was raised by the Irish Republic
. There, in the words of one commentator, "he acted valiantly as a man of honour in a cause which has been largely lost because of the notions of political expediency, where sides are taken without regard to principle and in order not to risk aligning oneself with a potential loser, however deserving he may be" - a position which reportedly earned him the displeasure of both the British and Indian delegations to the UN Assembly.
He later wrote: "The British government, the only government among Western countries to have had treaty relations with Tibet, sold the Tibetans down the river and since then have constantly cold-shouldered the Tibetans so that in 1959 they could not even support a resolution in the UN condemning the violation of human rights in Tibet by the Chinese."
Richardson also said that he was "profoundly ashamed", not only at the British government's refusal to recognise that Tibet had a right to
self-determination, but also at the government's treatment of the 14th Dalai Lama.
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
, capital of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1946 to 1950, in the final years having become the diplomatic representative of the recently independent India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. After his retirement from public service he returned to St. Andrews and spent the remainder of his life as an independent scholar.
He was an accomplished linguist who spoke Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
fluently, a skill he put to use when conversing with Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, and his fluent Tibetan
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
was described by the Tibetan politician Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa
Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa
Tsepon Wangchuk Deden Shakabpa was a Tibetan nobleman, scholar and former minister. Tsepon was his title as Finance Minister- Biography :...
as "impeccable Lhasa Tibetan with a slight Oxford accent."
He was an advocate of the right of Tibetans to a separate political existence, a case he made in two books, Tibet and Its History (1962) and A Cultural History of Tibet (1968), and at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
when the issue of Chinese oppression of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
was raised by the Irish Republic
Irish Republic
The Irish Republic was a revolutionary state that declared its independence from Great Britain in January 1919. It established a legislature , a government , a court system and a police force...
. There, in the words of one commentator, "he acted valiantly as a man of honour in a cause which has been largely lost because of the notions of political expediency, where sides are taken without regard to principle and in order not to risk aligning oneself with a potential loser, however deserving he may be" - a position which reportedly earned him the displeasure of both the British and Indian delegations to the UN Assembly.
He later wrote: "The British government, the only government among Western countries to have had treaty relations with Tibet, sold the Tibetans down the river and since then have constantly cold-shouldered the Tibetans so that in 1959 they could not even support a resolution in the UN condemning the violation of human rights in Tibet by the Chinese."
Richardson also said that he was "profoundly ashamed", not only at the British government's refusal to recognise that Tibet had a right to
self-determination, but also at the government's treatment of the 14th Dalai Lama.
Works of Richardson
- 1949 “Three ancient inscriptions from Tibet” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal 15, (1949): 45-64.
- 1952. Ancient historical edicts at Lhasa and the Mu Tsung / Khri Gtsung Lde Brtsan treaty of A.D. 821-822 from the inscription at Lhasa. London: Royal Asiatic Society Prize Publication Fund 19, 1952.
- 1952-3 “Tibetan inscriptions at Zva-hi Lha Khang” London: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, (1952): 133-54 (1953): 1-12.
- 1954 “A ninth-century inscription from Rkong-po.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. London, (1954): 157-73.
- 1957 “A Tibetan Inscription from Rgyal Lha-khang” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society London, (1957): 57-78.
- 1964 “A new inscription of Khri Srong Lde Brtans.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society London. (1964): 1-13.
- 1965a "How old was Srong-brtsan Sgam-po ?", Bulletin of Tibetology, vol. 2, no. 1, 6-8. Repr. in Richardson 1998: 3-6.
- 1965b "A fragment from Tun-huang", Bulletin of Tibetology, vol. 2, no. 3, 33-38. Repr. in Richardson 1998: 7-11.
- 1968 with David SnellgroveDavid SnellgroveDavid Llewellyn Snellgrove is a British Tibetologist noted for his pioneering work on Buddhism in Tibet as well as his many travelogues.-Biography:...
. A Cultural History of Tibet. 1995 2nd Edition with changes. Shambhala. Boston & London. ISBN 1-57062-102-0. - 1969 “The inscription at the Tomb of Khri Lde Srong Btsan”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1969): 29-38
- 1969b “Tibetan chis and tschis.” Asia Major 14 (1969): 154-6.
- 1972 “The rKong-po Inscription.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society London. (1972): 30-39.
- 1973 “The Skar-cung inscription.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. (1973): 12-20.
- 1974 Ch'ing Dynasty Inscriptions at Lhasa. (Serie Orientale Roma v. 47). Rome: Instituto italiano per l'africa e l'oriente. 1974.
- 1978 “The Sino-Tibetan treaty inscription of A.D. 821/823 at Lhasa.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: (1978): 137-62.
- 1983 “Bal-po and Lho-bal” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 46 (1983): 136-8.
- 1985. A corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions. (James G. Forlong Series no. 29). Hertford: Royal Asiatic Society, 1985. ISBN 0 94759300-4.
- 1987 “Early Tibetan Inscriptions: Some Recent Discoveries” The Tibet Journal 12.2.Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan works and archives, (1987): 3-15. (reprinted with 2 short notes added) Bulletin of Tibetology n.s. 3. Gangtok Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology, (1987): 5-18. High Peaks, Pure Earth. London: Serindia, 1998: 261-275.
- 1988 “More Early Inscriptions from Tibet” Bulletin of Tibetology. New Series 2. Gangtok Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology. (1988): 5-8. High Peaks, Pure Earth. London: Serindia, 1998: 276-278.
- 1989 "Eary Tibetan law concerning dog-bite", Bulletin of Tibetology, new ser. 3, 5-10. Repr. in Richardson 1998: 135-139.
- 1990 "Hunting accidents in early Tibet", Tibet Journal, 15-4, 5-27. Repr. in Richardson 1998: 149-166.
- 1995a “The Tibetan Inscription attributed to Ye shes ‘od” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 3rd Series 5.3. (1995): 403-404.
- 1995b “The inscription at Ra-tshag Dgon-pa” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 58 (1995): 534-9; High Peaks, Pure Earth. London: Serindia, 1998: 286-291.
- 1997 Adventures of Tibetan Fighting Monk with Khedrup Tashi, White Orchid Books; ISBN 9748736873, Orchid Press, 2006, ISBN 9748299171
- 1998 High peaks, pure earth: collected writings on Tibetan history and culture, Serindia publications, London.