Sir Charles Alfred BellKCIECMG (October 31, 1870 – March 8, 1945) was the British Political Officer for Bhutan, Sikkim and Tibet. He was known as "British India's ambassador to Tibet" before retiring and becoming a noted tibetologist.
In 1908, he was appointed Political Officer in Sikkim. He soon became very influential in Sikkimese and Bhutanese politics, and in 1910 he met the 13th Dalai Lama, who had been forced into temporary exile by the Chinese. He got to know him quite well, and later wrote his biography (Portrait of the Dalai Lama, published in 1946).
In 1913 he participated in the Simla Convention, a treaty between Great Britain, China and Tibet concerning the status of Tibet. Before the summit, he met in Gyantse with Paljor Dorje Shatra, the Tibetan representative to the British Raj at Darjeeling and advised him to bring to Simla with him all documents concerning relations between China and Tibet, as well as Tibetan claims to land occupied by China. Bell was designated to assist the Tibetans in the negotiations, with Archibald Rose assigned to be his counterpart for the Chinese. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1915 New Year Honours for his services.
In 1919 he resigned as Britain's political officer in Sikkim to devote himself full-time to his research. However, London sent him to Lhasa in 1920 as a special ambassador.[4]
After travelling through Tibet and visiting Lhasa in 1920, he retired to Oxford, where he wrote a series of books on the history, culture and religion of Tibet. He was awarded a knighthood for his Lhasa Mission in 1922.[3]
Palhese, Bell's Tibetan friend and confidant travelled to England in 1927-28 to assist him in editing several of these books.[3]
Some of the photographs that he took in Tibet can be found in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. Some of these were included in the 1997 book Tibet: Caught in Time.
His English-Tibetan colloquial dictionary was first published in 1905 together with a grammar of colloquial Tibetan as Manual of Colloquial Tibetan.
Peter Fleming mentions Bell in the introduction to the book Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer, Flamingo imprint 1997, specifically his surprisingly close relationship to the 13th Dalai Lama even though he was a foreigner.
References
^"Exploring Everest: 100 years on". www.winchestercollege.org. Winchester College. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
^Alex McKay (2001). "'Kicking the Buddha's Head': India, Tibet and Footballing Colonialism". In Dimeo, Paul; Mills, James (eds.). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. p. 91. ISBN9780714681702.
^ abc. National Museums Liverpool. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013.
^Foster, Barbara M. (1987), Forbidden Journey: the life of Alexandra David-Neel, Harper & Row, ISBN9780062503459
Works
Manual of Colloquial Tibetan. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press, 1905. (Part II, English-Tibetan vocabulary; later editions 1919 and 1939)
Portrait of a Dalai Lama: the Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth by Charles Alfred Bell, Sir Charles Bell, Publisher: Wisdom Publications (MA), January 1987, ISBN978-0-86171-055-3 (first published as Portrait of the Dalai Lama: London: Collins, 1946).
Tibet: Past and Present. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924
The People of Tibet. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928
The Religion of Tibet. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1931
Tibet: Caught in Time. Reading: Garnet, 1997. Contains photographs by Charles Bell and John Claude White
External links
the Tibet Album, British photography in Central Tibet 1920 - 1950
Photo
March 03, 2023
charles, alfred, bell, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, febr. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Charles Alfred Bell news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sir Charles Alfred Bell KCIE CMG October 31 1870 March 8 1945 was the British Political Officer for Bhutan Sikkim and Tibet He was known as British India s ambassador to Tibet before retiring and becoming a noted tibetologist Charles Alfred BellBell in 1922BornOctober 31 1870Calcutta IndiaDiedMarch 8 1945 1945 03 08 aged 74 Victoria British Columbia CanadaOccupation s diplomat writer Tibetologist Contents 1 Biography 2 References 3 Works 4 External linksBiography EditHe was educated at Winchester College 1 and then at New College Oxford after which he joined the Indian Civil Service in 1891 2 3 In 1908 he was appointed Political Officer in Sikkim He soon became very influential in Sikkimese and Bhutanese politics and in 1910 he met the 13th Dalai Lama who had been forced into temporary exile by the Chinese He got to know him quite well and later wrote his biography Portrait of the Dalai Lama published in 1946 In 1913 he participated in the Simla Convention a treaty between Great Britain China and Tibet concerning the status of Tibet Before the summit he met in Gyantse with Paljor Dorje Shatra the Tibetan representative to the British Raj at Darjeeling and advised him to bring to Simla with him all documents concerning relations between China and Tibet as well as Tibetan claims to land occupied by China Bell was designated to assist the Tibetans in the negotiations with Archibald Rose assigned to be his counterpart for the Chinese He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George CMG in the 1915 New Year Honours for his services In 1919 he resigned as Britain s political officer in Sikkim to devote himself full time to his research However London sent him to Lhasa in 1920 as a special ambassador 4 After travelling through Tibet and visiting Lhasa in 1920 he retired to Oxford where he wrote a series of books on the history culture and religion of Tibet He was awarded a knighthood for his Lhasa Mission in 1922 3 Palhese Bell s Tibetan friend and confidant travelled to England in 1927 28 to assist him in editing several of these books 3 The 13th Dalai Lama right Sir Charles Bell left and Maharaj Kumar Sidkeong Tulku centre in Calcutta around March 1910 Some of the photographs that he took in Tibet can be found in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford Some of these were included in the 1997 book Tibet Caught in Time His English Tibetan colloquial dictionary was first published in 1905 together with a grammar of colloquial Tibetan as Manual of Colloquial Tibetan Peter Fleming mentions Bell in the introduction to the book Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer Flamingo imprint 1997 specifically his surprisingly close relationship to the 13th Dalai Lama even though he was a foreigner References Edit Exploring Everest 100 years on www winchestercollege org Winchester College Retrieved 15 September 2021 Alex McKay 2001 Kicking the Buddha s Head India Tibet and Footballing Colonialism In Dimeo Paul Mills James eds Soccer in South Asia Empire Nation Diaspora p 91 ISBN 9780714681702 a b c Portrait of Sir Charles Bell CMG KCIE National Museums Liverpool Archived from the original on 30 December 2013 Foster Barbara M 1987 Forbidden Journey the life of Alexandra David Neel Harper amp Row ISBN 9780062503459Works EditManual of Colloquial Tibetan Calcutta Baptist Mission Press 1905 Part II English Tibetan vocabulary later editions 1919 and 1939 Portrait of a Dalai Lama the Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth by Charles Alfred Bell Sir Charles Bell Publisher Wisdom Publications MA January 1987 ISBN 978 0 86171 055 3 first published as Portrait of the Dalai Lama London Collins 1946 Tibet Past and Present Oxford Clarendon Press 1924 The People of Tibet Oxford Clarendon Press 1928 The Religion of Tibet Oxford Clarendon Press 1931 Tibet Caught in Time Reading Garnet 1997 Contains photographs by Charles Bell and John Claude WhiteExternal links Editthe Tibet Album British photography in Central Tibet 1920 1950 List of illustrations from The People of Tibet Sir Charles Bell Oxford Clarendon Press 1928 Photo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Alfred Bell amp oldid 1126881712, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
