Sir Richard Francis Burton, August 1864, originated in wikipedia.org
Editor's Note:
Burton, an explorer who had fought in the war, disguised himself as an Afghan doctor, circumcised himself for pilgrimage, and had an almost obsessive fascination with roaming the world and adventure. He was controversial for his uninhibited personality, but he eventually left a legacy of contribution to cultural integration and cultural exchange.
Burton was gifted in languages, fluent in 29 languages and dozens of dialects, and had gone deep into the Holy City of Islam and written the monumental Work Towards the Holy City. Unfortunately, after Burton's death, his widow Isabelle burned most of his manuscripts to preserve his reputation, and most of the amazing legends about Sir Burton were permanently buried underground.
Text | Hua Mengyi (Master of Botany, Fudan University)
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Richard Francis Burton, mentioning the name, most people probably don't immediately think of his identity. Admittedly, Burton's roster of explorers is not as impressive as Columbus, who discovered the New World, and Magellan, the world's first circumnavigating the world, but if we pause a little during the Industrial Revolution, we will find that even in the nineteenth century, when the talent was born, the name Richard Francis Burton was like a bright star, shining in the sky of history.
If you look at Burton's self-portraits, you will find that, unlike most Of the Fair Skins of the British, Burton's skin tones are darker and darker, which also sets the stage for him to enter the Islamic holy city of Mecca in disguise and leave behind the far-reaching book "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al Madinah and Meccah". Of course, this is all an afterthought.
In 1821, when this flax-skinned boy descended on a family of officers in Devon, England, he was confronted with a childhood life of home. Burton's father was an army officer and his mother was a wealthy woman, and since Richard was born, the family has traveled extensively throughout Europe, and little Burton's early education has been guided by various tutors hired by his parents. The Burton family's long-term residence in Italy and France, from time to time in Germany, Spain and Portugal, Burton has an almost obsessive fascination with roaming the world, and the humanistic customs of different countries during the trip have also shaped Burton's future open and brave character, in addition, many years of sojourn life have also made Burton's extraordinary talent in language appear early. He began learning Latin at the age of three, and learned Greek at the age of four as well as quickly mastering French, Italian and the local dialect. However, the gifted Burton was not so temperamental, and most of the tutors invited would resign quickly after being provoked by Burton and his brother's mischief.
In 1840, Burton entered Trinity College, Oxford. Despite his age, his behavior continued unabated, which led directly to his dismissal at the end of his second year of university for deliberately violating Oxford University regulations, participating in obstacle races (a more intense horse racing activity, oxford university does not allow students to participate), and openly proposing that the school change the school rules. It is said that the night before he left the College, he also trampled on the Garden of the College in a horse-drawn carriage. During college, Burton was only keen to learn Arabic, philosophy, and mysticism, and often dismissed the courses arranged by the college.
The young Burton had a keen interest in Asian languages and lifestyles. In the same year after his de-listing from Oxford, he joined the East India Company.com. During his service, he took advantage of his resources to systematically learn nearly ten languages, including Persian, Sindhi, Hindustani, etc. In studying foreign cultures, he participated in the way of life of the locals, imitating every detail observed in a form similar to the "participatory observation method" often used in sociological research today. Of course, his natural black hair and flax complexion (Burton always thought he had gypsy ancestry) also became a unimpeded passport to the Eastern world.
During his eight years in India, Burton fought in the war against sindh (present-day southeastern Pakistan, bordering India to the east), where he memorized most of the Qur'an with his gift of language and culture, and gained ascetic status by virtue of his deep understanding of Islamic mysticism, Sufi mysticism. Later facts showed that Burton's formal medical education as a Sufi ascetic during this period was very important for his future adventures, and it was his status as a healer that allowed him to win trust in a foreign country. Ironically, Burton, who suffered from rheumatic eye disease, had to be deported back to The UK for mercury poisoning after three years of "treatment" in India. Burton himself described the experience this way: "After learning that I had rheumatic eye inflammation, an Irish doctor friend offered to treat me. He highly recommended that I rub lemon balm around my eye sockets, and it was only later that I figured out that the so-called lemon balm was actually calomel. His prescription, with my relentless cooperation, caused the inflammation of my eyes to get worse and worse, and eventually I had to return to the UK due to mercury poisoning. ”
Disguised as Burton of Afghan doctor Mizra abdullah, image source: wikipedia
After returning to England for a period of recuperation, Burton's eye disease was basically cured. This time, Burton, who is passionate about travel and adventure, embarks on one of the most important journeys in his life, the Pilgrimage to Mecca. In fact, Burton was not the first European to make a pilgrimage to the Holy City. As early as 1503, the famous Italian traveler writer Ludovico di barthema set out from Damascus for a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. Unlike his predecessors, Burton, who was good at disguise, incarnated as an Afghan doctor named mizra abdullah and began his pilgrimage with a caravan. In 1853, Burton left for Cairo, where he stayed for a while. During this time, Burton completed a lot of meticulous preparation. In order to prove his Islamic identity, Burton not only converted to Islam, but also circumcised himself on the way to the Hajj (circumcision refers to the ritual of Muslim boys cutting off the foreskin of the penis, which is a major religious ritual of the Islamic people). These efforts were enough to demonstrate Burton's determination to make his pilgrimage.
The pilgrimage begins in Alexander, passes through Cairo to Suez, crosses the Strait of Suez and heads south into the Red Sea, follows the Port city of Thimphu on the Red Sea into the Medina and reaches the holy city of Mecca by land. The road is long and long, and the harsh environment along the way brings immeasurable risks to the journey. Burton had struggled forward in the dry desert and had been ambushed by bandits on narrow roads. This land that haunts Burton's soul brings him not only unknown joy and ancient culture, but also the scorching heat, barren desert and rocky rocks that are also inseparable parts of the whole journey. Even so, on the pilgrimage, Burton's every step was still very firm. Not only did he record the scenes of the eastern world that he saw along the way that were very different from the European style, but also took great risks to measure and depict the mosque and the kaaba after arriving in the holy city, and such a seemingly simple thing was actually a frightening step by step.
After returning home through all odds, Burton based on what he saw and heard in the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, a two-volume masterpiece of nearly a thousand pages, Towards the Holy City. The adventure of nine deaths on the Hajj Road, the serious and mysterious Muslim life, the quaint and serene Eastern world flowing from Burton's humorous and detailed words between the lines of the century-old divide between the East and the West, converging into a torrent in the Western world, injected into the cultural ocean of 19th-century Britain. Although he emphasizes in the book that his trip to the Holy City had any political purpose, and that, in his own words, the immediate cause of his trip to the East was "his own utter weariness with so-called 'civilization' and 'progress', and his desire to see with his own eyes what others are content to hear with their ears, namely, Muslim life within the truly Islamic state," his detailed description of the Eastern world did indeed contribute to the colonial expansion of the British Empire.
Burton, who returned from the Holy City, became famous in England, and the book "Towards the Holy City" brought him more attention. In 1854, with the support of the Royal Geographical Society, Burton decided to explore the Arabian Peninsula. It was also this expedition that he and a traveling companion who influenced the trajectory of his life, John Hanning Speke, experienced a life-and-death trial. Somalia was a must for their expedition, and just as they were leaving the camp, they were attacked by 200 Somalis. The attack surprised everyone, and in the unsuspecting situation, the expedition suffered heavy casualties, one of their companions died on the spot, Speke was captured and scarred, and Burton was stabbed in the cheek by somali attackers with a javelin and then from the other cheek. However, such a brutal and bloody experience did not help Burton get a heroic recognition, and instead, because he was suspected of dereliction of duty, he had to be investigated for two years. Although much of Burton's "dereliction of duty" was clarified after a careful investigation, permanent scars on his cheeks and a damaged public image became indelible.
In 1856, Burton was again commissioned by the Royal Geographical Society to search for what Arab travelers call the "inland sea", and although the main purpose of this expedition was to assist the British in finding goods suitable for export, the task of finding the source of the Nile was self-evident. It is worth mentioning that before leaving, Burton and his wife, Isabel Arundell, who later accompanied him throughout his life, made a private life. Because of Burton's non-Catholic status and poor position, Isabel's mother has always strongly opposed their being together, but the persistence of the two eventually brought together as desired, and Isabel has become a gorgeous and feminine scenery in the life of the legendary Iron Man.
Burton's wife isabel Arundell, Image source: wikipedia
In 1857, John Hanning Spieker again accompanied Burton all the way west from the east coast of Africa, but it was soon discovered that the hot and changeable tropical climate seriously hindered the pace of progress. For the expeditions from the civilized world, the African hinterland at this time was like an unknown dark zone. After a long rainy season, the hot steam from the sun's exposed swamps is flowing everywhere, the thorny jungle hides terrible dangers, and passers-by and caravans are constantly attacked by malaria, rheumatism, dysentery, and deadly fevers. On this central African expedition, animal remains were everywhere, and as the disease raged, swollen and decomposed corpses appeared from time to time along the way, most of them were frail travelers who either starved to death or died of illness. In order not to drag down the scarred large army, the sick and poor people can only be left behind and die on their own. There seems to be a saying about inland travel in Africa at that time: "Anyone who comes here should not have internal organs at all." After giving up joy and sorrow, we must also let go of sympathy and compassion. ”
Due to malaria, Spike was nearly blind, and Burton was no longer able to walk, sometimes relying on others to carry him. In addition to the test of Africa's purgatory-like natural environment, the slave road taken by Burton and his party in and out of Africa is also extremely dangerous. Looting or extortion by fragmented tribes is commonplace, and even the local porters and slaves in their own ranks often steal a lot of equipment and necessities, and for explorers, a little carelessness may bring disaster. This difficult journey lasted until February 1858, when the team successfully reached lake tanganyika.
The party stayed on Lake Tanganyika for more than a month, and without the threat of the tribes along the way, the residents of the lake brought new troubles. About this experience, Burton recorded it this way:
"We often feel like bears tied up and teased, and these inquiring villagers are some tiptoeing, some squatting on their shins, some bending their bodies to the side, and some extending their necks as if they are shouting at a flock of geese, and they are like monsters in Greek mythology whose eyes 'shoot out electric light', almost like they are going to swallow us alive." If you force them away, you will definitely run back later. ”
In addition to the strange onlookers of the indigenous people, the local hot and humid environment and the muddy swamp also brought a lot of torture to the members. Unfortunately, after measurements, they found that Lake Tanganyika was only 772 meters above sea level, so it could not be the source of the Nile. By this time, Spike's inflamed eyes had become transiently blind, and Burton's throat was swollen and almost paralyzed. Along the way, due to personality incompatibility and bad conditions, the long-established contradictions between the two also broke out. Spieker believed that Burton was arrogant and arrogant, and what was particularly intolerable to him as a Puritan was that Burton was an alcoholic and had fun with the women he met along the way. Burton, who was proficient in Chinese and had many years of adventure experience, despised Spieker, believing that he was an unlearned and unskilled person who did not understand his Chinese, did not understand folklore, and did not understand the celestial signs.
After a brief stop at Lake Tanganyika, Spiek, intent on finding the source of the Nile, decided to head north on his own, finally finding a vast lake in the heart of Africa in March 1858 and naming it Lake Victoria after the Queen of England. This is the first time Europeans have come to the shores of the world's second largest freshwater lake in terms of area after Lake Superior. Spike decided that this was the source they had been looking for. After learning this news, Burton doubted Spike's conclusion, on the one hand, due to the lack of sufficient measurement data, whether Lake Victoria was the source of the White Nile River needed to be further confirmed, on the other hand, Burton also knew clearly in his heart that if Spike made this conclusion, all his efforts and suffering would be meaningless, and the ultimate honor would only be enjoyed by Spike.
So he and Speck discussed and published together the discovery of the source of the Nile when both returned to England. Spike verbally agreed to his request, but reported his discovery to the Royal Geographical Society in advance while Burton was recuperating in the Gulf of Aden. This incident made Burton believe that Spike was an untrustworthy villain and held a grudge against Spike. Although the data measured by Spick's subsequent trips to the African hinterland supported the previous conclusions, and he himself was awarded a medal by the Royal Geographical Society, Burton, who had been exploring for a long time and experienced, was always unconvinced, and the two had been arguing endlessly on this issue.
To put an end to this situation, the Royal Geographical Society decided to arrange for the two to meet in September 1864 for a public debate. Unfortunately, things are uncertain, and when everyone is looking forward to the final debate between the two, accidentally died the day before the debate. Although the final death identification confirmed that Spike's death was purely accidental, the public opinion about Burton's jealousy killing Spike still pressed against Burton like a flood beast. At this time, Burton was also considered a lack of faith because of a book on Mormonism published in 1861, and some of his daily uninhibited behavior was mentioned at this time, and these invisible shackles made him suffer physically and mentally.
In 1860, Burton married Isabel, who had been in love for 6 years, and began his second life journey by virtue of his extensive adventures and contributions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He took advantage of his position and also carried out some expeditions, large and small. After 12 years of sojourn, Burton ended his career in Trieste, Italy, in 1872.
Until his death, the aging Burton was not idle. He not only revisited India, set foot in Iceland, but also did a lot of translation and academic research. The famous Arabic folktale "The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night" and the classic Indian erotic book the kama sutra of vatsayana were translated and introduced to Europe during this period. In February 1886, Queen Victoria awarded Burton the Knighthood in recognition of his exploits to the British Empire.
As in his youth, Burton's lifestyle had been bohemian, and his long-term heavy drinking and various illnesses and traumas left behind by his expeditions had made his body weaker. On October 20, 1890, Burton died of a heart attack, leaving behind more than 70 books, more than 200 articles, countless manuscripts and notes. Seven years later, Burton's widow, Isabel, died and the two were buried together in mortlake cemetery in southwest London.
Burton's tomb, image source: wikipedia
Throughout richard Francis Burton's life, his unique spirit of uninhibited and adventurous spirit blended with his amazing gift of language, making him a rare and outstanding talent in the Victorian period of England. As an explorer and geographer, Burton trekked through the vast mountains and seas all his life, using his own experience and feelings to write a volume of rare and valuable human and geographical materials; as a linguist, he was proficient in 29 languages and dozens of dialects, translated countless works in his lifetime; as a manned ethnographer, he integrated himself into the culture under study, respected pagan culture, objectively recorded foreign cultures and customs, and unveiled the mysteries of the East to the Western world.
Still, controversy over his "deviant" hobbies and maverick style has never stopped. In fact, Burton never hid his interest in sex-related things. His travelogues are often filled with sexual habits and techniques about the locals he meets along the way, and he even records the length of genitalia of men in different regions in his travelogues. When he was a junior officer in India, he was ordered to go undercover to investigate the Indian male brothels frequented by British soldiers, and in his travelogues, there are also details of the reception of Indian male prostitutes. Therefore, some speculate that Burton not only has a wealth of sexual experience, but also most likely has experience with same-sex sexual behavior. The veracity of such speculations has yet to be examined, but it has to be admitted that for conservative Victorian Britain, Burton's behavior did attract a lot of criticism and accusations.
The pace of history never stops, and today, hundreds of years after Burton's death, the world's eyes have re-examined such a legendary figure. Meteors fall, and the brilliance lives on. Although many of his actions and views are not exemplary of a noble warrior, and there are many immoral elements in his personal character, it is undeniable that such a controversial figure has a great role in promoting cultural integration and cultural exchange. Unfortunately, after Burton's death, his widow Isabelle burned most of his manuscripts in order to preserve his reputation, and most of the amazing legends about Sir Burton were permanently buried underground.
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[3] richard francis burton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/richard_francis_burton. 06/11/2015.
Shi Yunlong. "Exotic Holy City Style: The Perspective of Imperial Scholars: Commenting on Burton's < to the Holy City >" [j]. World Religions and Cultures, 2007, 01(1):58-60.
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[6] Spike and Burton: Arguing While Exploring [Journal Papers] - Juvenile Literature • Juvenile Horn (Late Edition) 2013(7)
[7] Hu Zihua, Richard Burton: An African Expedition from an Imperial Perspective
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