1949年以前青藏高原探险和科学考察活动概况

The expedition and scientific investigation activities on the Tibetan Plateau before 1949

本文收集整理了1949年以前对青藏高原区域的主要探险和考察活动。青藏高原的探险和考察主要可划分为4个阶段:(1)古代主要是与国内外宗教活动相关的附带零星记录;(2)晚清时期主要是西方人以科学名义的初步科学考察;(3) 1912—1949年中外联合科学考察;(4) 1912—1949年中国学者主导的较系统科学考察。清代以前对青藏高原的考察,以地理现象描述、资料收集、单学科考察和研究为主,1912—1949年科学考察已过渡到采用简易科学仪器进行地理要素的测量、对某一专题(如植物)的局部区域有了比较深入的研究。1912—1949年中国学者从配合西方科学家开展联合科学考察发展到政府组织国内学者对青藏高原地理、地貌、地质和气象气候、植物等的考察和研究,中国学者的一些成果也开始走向国际,扩大了国内外对青藏高原的认识。

This paper reviewed the main expedition and scientific investigation activities on the Tibetan Plateau(TP) before 1949. The history of scientific investigations on the TP can be divided into four stages:(1) The investigations in ancient times were mainly sporadic records of geographical phenomena in some parts of the TP by Chinese monks and Western Christian missionaries.(2) In the late Qing Dynasty, foreign and Chinese scholars and explorers, mainly Westerners, carried out preliminary scientific investigations.(3) 1912-1949, Chinese scholars began to take part in sino-foreign investigation teams to explore the TP.(4) Chinese scholars led scientific investigations in some regions during the Period of the Republic of China. The expedition on the TP mainly focused on geographical description, data collection, and singlesubject investigation and research before the Qing Dynasty, which changed to the measurement of geographical elements with simple scientific instruments and in-depth research on a certain topic(such as vegetation) in some regions during the Period of the Republic of China. A remarkable feature of the investigations by Chinese scholars on the TP during the Period of the Republic of China was that they changed from cooperation with Western scientists in joint scientific investigations to independent investigation of geography, geomorphology, geology,meteorology, climate and plants. Some achievements by Chinese researchers have spread worldwide, which expanded the domestic and international understanding of the TP.