Title: Journal of the Voyage of Laurent Lange to China

Description

Swedish born Lorenz Lange was among the many West Europeans to enter Russian service during the reign of Peter the Great. In 1715, he was sent to China as a special envoy to promote Russian commercial interests. This book recounts his overland journey through Tobol'sk, Tomsk, Eniseisk, Irkutsk, the Trans-Baikal region, and northern China. He remained in Beijing for two years. Based on his excellent reporting, the tsar sent Lange back to Bejing as consul in 1719 to supervise the Russian caravan traders in the Chinese capital. His mission was cut short, however, when the Chinese court terminated the Russian trade concession in a dispute about hegemony over the Mongols. Lange was later appointed vice-governor in Irkutsk, the jumping off point for Russian expeditions to Siberia and the North Pacific. There he met such famous explorers as Bering, Gmelin, and Steller.