CHINESE BABER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 June 1941, Page 7

CHINESE BABER

EAST AND WEST BROUGHT TOGETHER. He brought East and West together. At any rate, he taught the Western world more than it had ever known of the Far East. Born at Dulwich in 1843. Edward Colborn Baber was a scholar at Rossall till he went on to Christ's Hospital, from which he went on to Magdalene College at Cambridge. In 1863. when he was 23. he obtained in open competition a student interpret'ership for China and Siam, and sailed at once for Peking, where his merit was soon recognised by the British Minister. Sir Thomas Wade. Edward Baber determined to master Chinese without loss of time. For six months he worked ten hours a day studying the language, and at the end of that time he was conversant with 3000 characters, finishing what was known as the colloquial course in less months than anyone else had ever been known to do.

All this was preliminary to his adventures in the interior. In 1876 he travelled across China to the Burmese frontier. In 1877 he was among the lit-tle-known Sze-Chuen mountains, visiting regions almost new to the outside world, and mastering Ihe language. He came into touch with the astonishing Lolos tribe, and completed the investigations begun by Baron von Richthofen. His account of his travels, together with much information about the habits of the people, was published in 1886. His third journey was northward by a new line of mountain country which brought him to the now well-known town of Tachienlu, on the great Lhassa road. When we remember how remote China is, and how little known the interior was in Edward Baber’s day, we cannot but marvel at his journeys. His books added materially to our knowledge of the land. He died in 1890 nt the early age of 47.