A set of 50 photographs and associated handwritten descriptive notes, acquired from the Imperial Russian Geographical Society in St. Petersburg. The complete notes, "1904 View of Great Tibet", are available at: http://collections.lib.uwm.edu/u?/tibet,94
Gah-ldan [Gadan]. [N.]
A panoramic view of the monastery. The mountain to the right of the spectator is the Brog ri and that to the left the Wan-kur-ri [Wangbur]. Tson-k'apa [Tsongkhapa], the founder of the monastery as well as of the now dominant lamaist sect Ge-lug-pa [Gelugpa] or "the virtuous order" is buried in the shrine standing to the left of the principal temple of Tsug-lak'an to whose main entrance a double flight of steps lead. The house where Tson-k'apa lived and died is to the right of Tsug-lak'an.
"Galdan gompa (Kant-tan ssu). Fifty li E. of Lh'asa.(1) 'After crossing the Kichu stream we arrived at Galdan monastery, situated on the summit of a low hill. The circumference of this monastery is about three-quarters of a mile. There are numerous well-built temples, with idols much the same as those at Sera. It is reported to be a very wealthy monastery, and is occupied by 3000 priests.' The Tibetans say that the Kant-tan mountain was the residence of Tson-k'a-pa, a perfectly enlightened man. It is more-over said that he was Jeng-teng-ku Fo (Dipankara Buddha). Inside there is a hall of the classics with images of gods, pendant scrolls of silk, and gorgeous canopies; it is very grand, nearly equal to the Jok'ang or Ramoch'e. A K'an-po lama, who expounds and discourses on the yellow doctrine, resides here." (p.18)
Rockhill, W.W. (1890). Tibet: A geographical, ethnographical, and historical sketch derived from Chinese sources. London: Royal Asiatic Society.
