Chronicling the Turfan expeditions: the German archaeologist Albert von Le Coq in Xinjiang

Abstract

Albert von Le Coq's archaeological exploits are well known from Peter Hopkirk's book Foreign Devils on the Silk Road. His name is not unknown among local people in Xinjiang (both Han Chinese and Uyghur) as one of those Europeans who “plundered” the region's heritage. One of a handful of like-minded and determined scholars who took part in the international race to appropriate the ancient treasures of this region, Le Coq's interests went beyond pre-Islamic archaeology and art history. He displayed more curiosity in contemporary society and culture than most other traveller-scholars of his time. His non-archaeological publications reveal his keen interest in the ethnography of the Turkic-speaking Muslim population, and his popular writings combine highly specialised information about the cultural and material history of the region with entertaining episodes from his personal adventures. Using diverse theoretical frameworks such as those advanced by Mary Louise Pratt, Jürgen Osterhammel and others, this paper scrutinises Le Coq's output as a travel writer. It considers to what extent his travel and ethnographic publications fit contemporary paradigms of imperial travel writing, while drawing attention to those features which mark them out as unique.