|
HEDIN,
SVEN,
Swedish
explorer
of,
and
prolific
writer
on,
Central
Asia
and
Persia
(b.
Stockholm,
1865;
d.
1952).
He
was
the
eldest
son
of
the
city
architect
Ludvig
Hedin
and
his
wife
Anna.
His
paternal
family
is
known
from
the
17th
cenury,
when
it
took
its
name
from
the
rural
parish
of
Hidingsta
in
Central
Sweden.
His
great-grandfather
was
a
pupil
of
the
famous
naturalist
Carl
von
Linneaus
and
served
in
the
late
18th
century
as
the
personal
physician
of
the
King
Gustav
IV
Adolf,
thereby
starting
the
family's
social
ascent.
On
his
mother's
side
the
line
runs
back
to
a
German
Jewish
rabbi
who
immigrated
to
Sweden
in
1770.
Sven
Hedin
grew
up
in
a
large,
warm,
tightly
knit,
and
politically
conservative
family,
where
royalism,
patriotism,
and
allegiance
to
the
state
church
constituted
cardinal
values.
He
had
one
brother
and
five
sisters.
Only
one
sister
married,
and
Sven
himself
also
remained
single.
The
siblings
and
their
parents
lived
together
for
the
rest
of
their
lives.
It
was
a
well-connected
family
that
took
keen
part
in
the
social
and
cultural
life
of
Stockholm.
It
soon
came
to
be
centered
on
Sven
in
a
mutually
supporting
situation,
with
him
as
the
main
provider
and
the
others
as
his
secretariat.
His
income
was
mainly
earned
from
the
royalties
on
the
many
books
he
wrote
and
the
fees
for
numerous
lectures
he
delivered
all
over
the
world.
He
never
held
any
official
or
academic
position,
though
he
was
offered
professorships,
and
chose
to
remain
an
independent
scholar.
His
achievements
were
exemplary.
He
spent
almost
20
years
on
Asian
soil,
carrying
out
or
leading
expeditions
and
research
into
the
most
forbidding
areas
of
the
continent,
and
wrote
some
65
books
and
voluminous
scientific
reports
as
well
as
thousands
of
scholarly
and
political
papers.
His
expeditions
were
supported
by
private
sponsors
(including
the
royal
family)
and
by
the
Swedish
government,
but
he
hardly
could
have
pursued
such
an
incredibly
active
and
productive
life
without
practical
assistance
from
his
family.
Less
favorable
for
his
posthumous
reputation
were
the
long
years
he
spent
in
propagating
conservative
political
values
and
ideas,
especially
his
emphatic
defense
of
Germany's
cause
during
the
two
World
Wars,
even
to
the
extent
of
glorifying
its
wartime
leaders.
As
a
child
Sven
Hedin
developed
a
deep
interest
in
geographic
explorations,
where
heroism
coincided
with
scientific
achievements.
He
was
aware
that
in
the
late
19th
century
those
who
crossed
deserts
and
frozen
seas,
conquered
mountains,
reached
the
sources
of
rivers,
and
penetrated
jungles,
and
with
their
observations
filled
blank
spots
on
maps,
often
became
national
heroes.
Swedish
scientific
expeditions
of
those
days
were
primarily
dispatched
to
the
arctic
areas,
and
the
foremost
explorer
of
the
country
was
doubtless
Adolf
Erik
Nordenskiöld,
the
first
to
complete
the
Northeast
passage
and
to
circumnavigate
Asia.
On
24
April
1880,
Sven
Hedin,
then
15,
joined
his
family
and
most
Stockholmians
to
welcome
the
triumphant
return
of
Nordenskiöld.
As
he
writes,
this
was
a
determining
moment
for
him,
and
he
resolved
that
he
too
would
return
to
Stockholm
from
many
a
successful
expedition
and
receive
the
same
patriotic
welcome.
He
started
to
train
himself,
reading
books
and
journals
on
geographical
explorations
and
exercising
the
art
of
drawing
maps.
Hedin's
explorations
were
not
in
the
arctic
areas,
however.
When
he
passed
his
matriculation
in
1885,
one
year
late
and
with
mediocre
marks,
a
teacher
of
his
arranged
for
him
to
go
to
Baku
and
serve
as
the
tutor
of
the
son
of
an
engineer
employed
by
the
Swedish
Alfred
Nobel
family
to
explore
the
rich
oil
fields
there.
Hedin
accepted
the
offer
and
thus
entered
Asia,
which
henceforth
was
to
command
his
attention
and
constant
fascination.
While
in
Baku,
he
tirelessly
prepared
himself
for
what
was
to
come,
not
only
polishing
his
knowledge
of
Western
European
languages
but
also
leaning
Russian,
Persian,
and
"Tartarian."
Later
he
was
to
become
an
accomplished
speaker
of
Uighur.
His
capacity
to
master
languages
was
to
be
one
of
his
great
assets
in
the
field
as
well
as
in
the
reception
halls.
He
roamed
the
villages
around
Baku
learning
how
to
ride
a
horse,
gathering
material
for
his
first
scientific
article
(on
the
peninsula
where
Baku
is
situated),
drawing
portraits
of
the
local
inhabitants.
Hedin
was
to
become
an
accomplished
artist,
using
his
skill
both
for
illustrations
and
for
scientific
purposes
(drawing
amazingly
exact
panoramas
of
landscapes
and
geological
formations).
After
finishing
his
assignment
in
Baku
in
April
1886,
Hedin
embarked
on
a
long
journey
through
Persia
(Iran)
that
took
him
to
places
like
Tehran,
Isfahan,
Persepolis,
and
Shiraz.
He
learned
how
to
organize
traveling
in
unknown
areas
and
how
to
endure
both
physical
and
economic
hardships.
It
also
sharpened
his
ability
to
travel
and
work
with
people
of
all
walks
of
life,
a
talent
that
was
to
serve
him
well
in
the
years
to
come.
Upon
his
return
to
Sweden
he
quickly
wrote
a
book
on
his
time
in
Baku
and
his
experiences
in
Persia,
in
which
the
account
of
his
adventures
is
richly
interspersed
with
information
from
the
best
available
sources
on
the
natural
and
cultural
landscape
and
the
history
of
the
visited
sites.
This
book
set
the
tone
for
the
string
of
travelogues
that
were
to
make
him
into
one
of
the
most
widely
read
explorers
of
his
days.
Even
by
the
mid-1880s
Hedin
had
not
received
formal
training
for
his
future
expeditions.
Therefore,
on
his
return
to
Sweden,
he
embarked
on
academic
studies
in
geography,
geology,
and
paleontology.
By
1890
he
had
become
known
in
Sweden
as
an
authority
on
Persia;
and
so,
when
in
that
year
an
official
Swedish
Mission
was
sent
to
the
Shah
of
Persia,
its
leader
requested
the
support
of
Hedin.
The
journey
once
more
enabled
him
to
get
to
know
and
understand
Persia
and,
in
particular,
to
study
Mount
Dama@vand
at
close
hand.
He
also
made
a
reconnaissance
expedition
from
Tehran
to
Kashgar
via
West
Turkestan.
In
the
early
1890s
he
continued
studying
geosciences
in
Berlin
with
Ferdinand
von
Richthofen,
the
foremost
expert
on
geography
of
China
of
his
time.
The
teacher
implored
him
to
continue
his
studies
before
leaving
for
Asia,
but
Hedin
chose
Mount
Dama@-vand,
which
he
had
climbed,
as
the
subject
of
his
dissertation,
so
that
he
could
speedily
finish
the
assignment
and
be
free
for
a
first
expedition.
Hedin's
first
real
expedition
lasted
from
1893
to
1897
and
took
him
via
Russia
to
the
Tarim
basin.
He
mapped
in
the
Pamirs
before
turning
to
the
basin
itself
with
its
extensive
desert.
In
addition
to
geographical
and
geological
work,
he
looked
for
archeological
sites,
not
so
much
for
archeological
reasons
but
for
the
fact
that
their
discovery
would
add
substance
to
his
studies
of
the
changing
landscape
of
the
basin.
In
February
1895
this
took
him
to
Tumshuq/Maralbashi,
and
in
January
1896
he
explored
the
archeological
sites
around
Khotan.
He
then
discovered
the
important
sites
of
Dandan
Uiliq
(q.v.)
and
Kara
Dung
deep
into
the
Taklamakan
Desert
before
turning
to
explore
the
lower
reaches
of
the
Tarim
River.
He
finished
the
expedition
by
mapping
the
northern
part
of
the
Tibetan
plateau.
Hedin's
second
expedition,
lasting
from
1899
to
1902,
was
again
devoted
to
the
Tarim
basin.
The
Tarim
River
itself
was
mapped
in
minute
detail,
and
great
efforts
were
put
into
unraveling
its
lower
flows
and
the
position
of
the
enigmatic
Lop
Nor
Lake.
In
March
1900,
in
this
conjunction,
his
expedition
made
its
most
important
archeological
discovery,
that
of
Lou
Lan.
One
year
later
this
site
was
explored,
and
important
objects
and
documents
were
collected
which
testified
to
its
great
importance
for
our
understanding
of
the
complex
history
of
this
section
of
the
Silk
Road.
The
rest
of
the
second
expedition
was
devoted
to
an
aborted
attempt
to
reach
Lhasa
and
a
final
east-west
crossing
and
mapping
of
the
Tibetan
high
plateau.
Hedin's
third
expedition
(1905-08)
was
entirely
devoted
to
geographical
and
topographical
work
in
Persia
and
Tibet,
devoid
of
any
archeological
contents.
In
Persia
he
carefully
explored
and
mapped
the
great
basins
of
its
eastern
areas,
with
their
salt
lakes
and
deserts
(the
Kavir),
offering
an
explanation
of
the
formation
of
these
intriguing
landscapes
within
a
framework
of
recent
postglacial
climatic
changes.
In
Tibet
he
explored
the
mountain
range
north
of
Yarlung
Tsangpo/Upper
Brahmaputra,
naming
it
Transhimalaya.
He
also
studied
the
lakes
of
the
Tibetan
Plateau
and
pinpointed
the
sources
of
the
Brahmaputra
and
Indus
rivers.
Hedin
then
spent
nearly
twenty
years
writing
a
series
of
books,
venturing
into
politics,
going
as
a
reporter
to
the
battlefronts
of
the
Great
War,
and
traveling
in
Palestine
and
Iraq
in
the
Middle
East.
He
also
wrote
on
the
results
of
his
great
Persian
and
Tibetan
expedition.
Eventually
in
the
mid
1920s
he
could
turn
to
yet
another
expedition,
which
was
to
be
his
last
one.
Hedin's
fourth
expedition
was
carried
out
from
1927
to
1935
and
consisted
of
a
series
of
campaigns,
at
times
conducted
in
more
than
one
field,
with
different
sponsors,
participants,
and
programs.
It
covered
Inner
Mongolia,
Xinjiang,
and
northern
Tibet,
apart
from
small
ventures
into
Gansu
and
Yunnan.
This
time
Hedin
was
heading
various
groups
of
young
scholars
from
a
number
of
countries,
primarily
Sweden,
China,
and
Germany.
The
aims
of
the
expedition
were
first
and
foremost
within
the
fields
of
geosciences,
but
Hedin
also
brought
ethnographers
and
an
archeologist
with
him.
Important
archeological
work
was
also
carried
out
in
northern
Iran
(at
Shah
Tape),
by
the
Swede
T.
J.
Arne,
as
a
part
of
a
project
to
connect
Neolithic
cultures
in
West
Turkestan
and
Iran
with
seemingly
related
ones
in
China.
The
results
were
considerable
in
all
fields,
and
their
publication
as
well
as
the
final
handling
of
the
Chinese
collections
brought
together,
was
regulated
by
an
agreement
with
the
Chinese
government.
Hedin
spent
almost
the
last
twenty
years
of
his
life
overseeing
the
publication
of
the
results
of
the
fourth
expedition.
He
also
again
ventured
into
politics,
something
that
cast
a
shadow
over
his
memory,
nationally
and
internationally.
He
remained
active
to
the
last
days
of
his
life.
For
several
decades
he
had
undoubtedly
been
internationally
the
best
known
and
most
admired
Swede,
certainly
the
most
decorated
and
honored
one.
With
him
had
ended
an
era
of
classical
exploration
of
our
earth.
His
scientific
and
financial
estate
was
bequeathed
to
the
Royal
Swedish
Academy
of
Sciences
in
the
name
of
the
Sven
Hedin
Foundation.
It
is
administered
by
the
National
Museum
of
Ethnography
in
Stockholm,
which,
together
with
the
Museum
of
Natural
History
there,
also
houses
most
of
his
ethnographic,
archeological,
and
natural
science
collections.
Bibliography:
Essential
biographies
of
him
are:
Lasse
Berg
and
Stig
Holmqvist,
I
Sven
Hedins
Fotspår,
Helsingborg,
1992.
Dietlef
Brennecke,
Sven
Hedin,
Hamburg,
1986.
Georg
Kish,
To
the
Heart
of
Asia:
The
Life
of
Sven
Hedin,
Ann
Arbor,
1984.
Sten
Selander,
Sven
Hedin
En
Äventyrsberättelse,
Stockholm,1957.
Eric
Wennerholm,
Sven
Hedin:
En
Biografi,
Stockholm,
1980.
The
works
of
Sven
Hedin
are
catalogued
by
Willy
Hess,
Die
Werke
Sven
Hedins,
Stockholm,
1962
and
Die
Werke
Sven
Hedins.
Ein
Nachtrag,
Stockholm,
1980.
Hedin's
scientific
work
in
Iran
is
described
and
evaluated
by
Alfons
Gabriel,
"Sven
Hedin
in
Persien,"
Die
Entforschung
Persiens.
Die
Entwicklung
abendländischer
Kenntnis
der
Geographie
Persiens,
Vienna,
1952,
pp.
243–56.
Publications
by
Sven
Hedin.
"Om
Baku
och
Apscher-onska
halfön"
("On
Baku
and
the
Apscheron
peninsula"),
Ymer
(Journal
of
the
Swedish
Society
for
Anthropology
and
Geography),
1886,
pp.
337-59.
Genom
Persien,
Mesopotamien
och
Kaukasus.
Reseminnen
(Memories
of
a
Journey
Through
Persia,
Mesopotamia
and
Caucasus),
Stockholm,
1887.
Konung
Oscars
beskickning
till
Schahen
af
Persien
år
1890
(King
Oscar's
Mission
to
the
Shah
of
Persia
1890),
Stockholm,
1891.
"Der
Demavend
nach
eigener
Beobachtung,"
Verhandlungen
der
Gesellschaft
für
Erdkunde
zu
Berlin
19,
1892,
pp.
304-32.
Genom
Khorasan
och
Turkestan.
Minnen
från
en
resa
i
Centralasien
1890
och
1891
(Through
Khorasan
and
Turkestan.
Memories
of
a
Journey
in
Central
Asia
1890
and
1891)
I-II,
Stockholm,
1892-93.
En
Färd
Genom
Asien
1893-97
I-II,
Stockholm,
1898;
tr.
as
Through
Asia
I-II,
London,
1898.
Die
geographisch-wissenschaftlichen
Ergebnisse
meiner
Reisen
in
Zentralasien
1894-1897
(Petermanns
Mitteilungen
Ergänzungsheft
131),
Gotha,
1900.
Asien
Tusen
mil
på
okända
vägar
I-II,
Stockholm,
1903;
tr.
as
Central
Asia
and
Tibet
I-II,
London,
etc.,
1903.
Scientific
Results
of
a
Journey
in
Central
Asia
1899-1902
I-IV
(text),
V-VI
(maps),
Stockholm,
1904-07.
Öfver
Land
till
Indien
genom
Persien,
Seistan
och
Belutjistan
I-II,
Stockholm,
1910;
tr.
as
Overland
to
India
I-II,
London,
1910.
Eine
Routenaufnahme
durch
Ostpersien
I-II
(text)
and
III
(maps),
Stockholm,
1918-27.
Transhimalaya.
Upptäckter
och
äfventyr
i
Tibet,
3
vols,
Stockholm,
1909-12;
tr.
as
Trans-Himalaya.
Discoveries
and
adventures
in
Tibet
I-III,
London,
1909-13.
Southern
Tibet.
Discoveries
in
former
times
compared
to
my
own
researches
in
1906-08,
I–IX
(text)
and
3
vols.
maps
and
panoramas,
Stockholm
and
Leipzig,
1916-22.
Åter
till
Asien.
Min
expedition
1927-1928
med
svenskar,
tyskar
och
kineser
genom
öknen
Gobi,
Stockholm,
1928;
tr.
as
Across
the
Gobi
desert,
London,
1931.
Gobiöknens
gåtor,
Stockholm,
1930;
tr.
as
Riddles
of
the
Gobi
desert,
London,
1933.
Stora
Hästens
Flykt,
Stockholm,
1935;
tr.
as
Big
Horse's
flight.
The
trail
of
war
in
Central
Asia,
London,
1936.
Sidenvägen.
En
bilfärd
genom
Centralasien,
Stockholm,
1936,
tr.
as
The
Silk
Road,
London,
1938.
Den
vandrande
sjön,
Stockholm,
1937,
tr.
as
The
Wandering
Lake,
London,
1940.
In
collaboration
with
Folke
Bergman.
History
of
an
expedition
in
Asia
1927-1935
in
four
parts:
Part
I,
1927-1928
(Reports
from
the
scientific
expedition
to
the
north-western
provinces
of
China
under
the
leadership
of
Dr.
Sven
Hedin
[hereafter
given
as
Reports],
Vol.
23),
Stockholm,
1943;
Part
II,
1928-33
(Reports,
Vol.
24),
Stockholm,
1943;
Part
III,
1933-35
(Reports,
Vol.
25),
Stockholm,
1944;
Part
IV,
General
Reports
of
Travels
and
Fieldwork
(Reports,
Vol.
26),
Stockholm,
1945.
Erick
Norin
and
American
Army
Map
Service,
Central
Asia
Atlas
[20
sheets
of
maps]
(Reports,
Vol.
47),
Stockholm,
1967.
Reports
related
to
Iran.
Carl
M
Fürst
and
J.
Wolfgang
Amschler,
The
Skeletal
Material
collected
during
the
Excavations
of
Dr.
T.J.
Arne
in
Shah
Tepe‚
at
Astrabad-Gorgan
in
Iran
and
Tierreste
der
Ausgrabungen
von
dem
'Grossen
Königshügel'
Shah
Tepe‚,
in
Nord-Iran
(Reports,
vol.
9),
Stockholm,
1939.
Ture
J.
Arne,
Excavations
at
Shah
Tepe‚,
Iran
(Reports,
Vol.
27),
Stockholm,
1945.
(Håkan
Wahlquist)
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