Heinz-Murray 2E.book

Chapter 1 Asia as Cultured Space 21

to north), and it will cost far more than the initial $22 billion, but it will be the

largest megaproject ever undertaken anywhere.

In the western Himalayas India’s three great rivers—the Indus, Brahmapu-

tra, and Ganges—are formed from melting snowpack and summer rains drain-

ing the high mountains (see map 1.1). Their “sources”—much sought by

Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims—are within 75 miles of each other at the foot of

Mt. Kailash near the northwestern corner of Nepal in Tibet.^1 Pilgrims circum-

ambulate the mountain in arduous but holy three-day treks.

In the west, the Brahmaputra flows eastward across Tibet, almost to the

Mekong-Salween-Yangzi group, but then suddenly plunges south to mix its

waters with the Ganges in the Bengal Delta. At the same time, across the entire

southern fringe of the Himalayas, more than a dozen smaller rivers drain south,

caught like so many ribbons in the two great North Indian rivers, the Indus and

the Ganges.

Every day several million Hindus bathe away not only their physical dirt

but also their sins in the holy waters of the Ganges. No Asian river is more

beloved, more revered, or more transformed by mythology than the Ganges.

This river is also a goddess the Hindus call “Ganga Ma” (Mother Ganges), one

of the wives of Shiva. The river is said to flow out of his hair at his abode on

Mt. Kailash and down through the Himalayan foothills, spilling out onto the

Yang

tze River

(Huanghe)

Chengdu

Beijing

Shanghai

Kucha

Lo-yang

Guangzhou

Chang’an

Datong

XiRiver

Lhasa

Yello

w Ri

ver

Wei

River

L e g e n d

City

Grand Canal

Great Wall

Silk Road

MONGOLS

HUNS

TIBET

Gaochang

Yellow

Sea

Dunhuang

Map 1.3 The Grand Canal, Great Wall, and Silk Road.