The wonders of Vilayet : being the memoir, originally in Persian, of a visit to France and Britain
著者
書誌事項
The wonders of Vilayet : being the memoir, originally in Persian, of a visit to France and Britain
Peepal Tree, 2002
- タイトル別名
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Shigurf nama-e-Vilayet
大学図書館所蔵 全1件
  青森
  岩手
  宮城
  秋田
  山形
  福島
  茨城
  栃木
  群馬
  埼玉
  千葉
  東京
  神奈川
  新潟
  富山
  石川
  福井
  山梨
  長野
  岐阜
  静岡
  愛知
  三重
  滋賀
  京都
  大阪
  兵庫
  奈良
  和歌山
  鳥取
  島根
  岡山
  広島
  山口
  徳島
  香川
  愛媛
  高知
  福岡
  佐賀
  長崎
  熊本
  大分
  宮崎
  鹿児島
  沖縄
  韓国
  中国
  タイ
  イギリス
  ドイツ
  スイス
  フランス
  ベルギー
  オランダ
  スウェーデン
  ノルウェー
  アメリカ
注記
Translation of: Shigurf nama-e-Vilayet
内容説明・目次
内容説明
In 1765, Mirza Sheikh I'tesamuddin, a Bengali munchi (secretary) employed by the East India Company, travelled on a mission to Britain to seek protection for the Mogul Emperor Shah Alam II. The mission was aborted by the greed and duplicity of Robert Clive, but it resulted in this remarkable account of the Mirza's travels in Britain and Europe. Written in Persian, 'Shigurf Nama-e-Vilayet' or 'Wonderful Tales about Europe' is an entertaining, unique and culturally valuable document. The Mirza was in no sense a colonial subject, and whilst he wrote frankly about what he felt accounted for India's decline and Europe's contemporary ascendance, he was a highly educated, culturally self-confident observer with a sharp and quizzical curiosity about the alien cultures he encountered. His account of his sea-voyage, taking in Mauritius and the Cape, combines 'modern' ethnological notes on the countries he passed with an older tradition of travellers' tales.
His accounts of visits to the theatre, the circus, freakshows, the 'mardrassah [University] of Oxford', Scotland, of the racial alarms his presence sometimes provoked and of his impressions of British moral codes are considered and acute, making for fascinating reading. He writes of his perceptions of the commercial energy of London, of the British constitution, of politics and of religious practice and beliefs in England. He records the several conversations he has with his English hosts about the similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity, showing much more familiarity with the latter than that of his hosts with the former. Writing in Persian he makes no effort to flatter the English. He is not impressed with the 'filthy habits of the firinghees' [Whites]) Kaiser Haq's scholarly, modern translation is the first to appear in English since the original abridged and flawed translation of 1827. The Wonders of Vilayet is an important document. Not until Gandhi's early 20th century accounts is there a similarly extended expression of South Asian perceptions of the West.
In this respect, this book is salutary complement to Western accounts of the 'Otherness' of India, orientalism in reverse.
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