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The first Englishman into Lhasa, who would rather have been reading Chinese.
Lecture / talkHistoryFree
At Royal Geographical Society.
Thomas Manning reached Lhasa in 1811 and met the Dalai Lama, which is what he is remembered for; he considered it a detour. His real project was the Chinese language, studied alone in Napoleonic France and then in China at a time when no European university taught it. Edward Weech, librarian of the Royal Asiatic Society, reads the notebooks and correspondence and puts Manning at the start of British sinology. Free, in the Education Centre.
Monday 16 November 2026: 14:30 – 15:45
Hours from the page that lists them, checked 15 September 2026.
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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.