André Migot
Encyclopedia
André Migot was a French
doctor
, traveller and writer
.
He served as an army medical officer in World War I, winning the Croix de Guerre
. After the war he engaged in research in marine biology
, and then practised as a doctor in France, in his spare time climbing in the Alps
and Pyrenees
. In 1938 he set off to India
by bicycle to pursue his interest in Oriental religions. During World War II he worked as a doctor in occupied Paris.
After the war he went to Indochina, whence in 1947 he made a journey alone through Eastern Tibet
and China
in order to research aspects of Tibetan Buddhism
. During this journey he tried but failed to reach Lhasa
disguised as a mendicant lama. As he could speak and write Tibetan, he was able to converse with the lamas, and was initiated into the rituals of one of the Buddhist sects. This journey is described in his best-known book Caravane vers Bouddha, translated into English by Peter Fleming as Tibetan Marches.
From Beijing, where that book ends in 1948, he made an equally adventurous journey back through Tibet to Indochina. Later he spent two years in the Kerguelen Islands
as doctor to a French expedition.
He wrote many other books on his travels, and on Oriental religion and philosophy.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, traveller and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
He served as an army medical officer in World War I, winning the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
. After the war he engaged in research in marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
, and then practised as a doctor in France, in his spare time climbing in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
. In 1938 he set off to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
by bicycle to pursue his interest in Oriental religions. During World War II he worked as a doctor in occupied Paris.
After the war he went to Indochina, whence in 1947 he made a journey alone through Eastern Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in order to research aspects of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
. During this journey he tried but failed to reach Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
disguised as a mendicant lama. As he could speak and write Tibetan, he was able to converse with the lamas, and was initiated into the rituals of one of the Buddhist sects. This journey is described in his best-known book Caravane vers Bouddha, translated into English by Peter Fleming as Tibetan Marches.
From Beijing, where that book ends in 1948, he made an equally adventurous journey back through Tibet to Indochina. Later he spent two years in the Kerguelen Islands
Kerguelen Islands
The Kerguelen Islands , also known as the Desolation Islands, are a group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean constituting the emerged part of the otherwise submerged Kerguelen Plateau. The islands, along with Adélie Land, the Crozet Islands and the Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands are part of...
as doctor to a French expedition.
He wrote many other books on his travels, and on Oriental religion and philosophy.