Title: The Second Hemisphere: Alexander von Humboldt's Asian Journey as Reflected in His Writings

Abstract: The expedition through Central Asia in 1829 marked a turning point in the life of the Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt. At the border post Baty, he came into contact with Chinese culture for the first time. From there he brought a copy of The Records of the Three Kingdoms to Berlin. In the following years, a heterogeneous, but extremely important travel work in the history of the exploration of Central Asia emerged: it is available to us today in various printed materials and manuscripts. This article presents the special features of this travel work based on Humboldt's second hemisphere journey, emphasizing in particular the importance of the representative work Asie Centrale (1843) as a key to Humboldt's scientific model.

Keywords: Alexander von Humboldt, travel literature, travel journals, Central Asia, The Records of the Three Kingdoms, history of exploration

Author: Dr. Tobias Kraft, Head of the Academy Project “Alexander von Humboldt auf Reisen-Wissenschaft aus der Bewegung,” Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Berlin, Germany; Florian Schnee, Research Assistant of the Academy Project “Alexander von Humboldt auf Reisen – Wissenschaft aus der Bewegung,” Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Berlin, Germany.

 The Second Hemisphere.pdf