1911-1912 Irving-Wallace Expedition's Investigation Activities And Influences In China

From 1911 to 1912,The Owen-Wallace expedition from Britain to China to investigate,for the purpose of collecting mammal specimens in central and Western China to The British Museum.The tour started at Shanghai and passed through Hubei,Henan,Shaanxi,Gansu,Xinjiang and then returned British.They acrossed Loess Plateau,northern Tibetan Plateau and southern foot of Tian-shan Mountain.It lasted 224 days and traveled more than 6,000 kilometers.Along the way,They mainly collected large and small animal specimens,Observed and narrated Their Habitat environment,Recorded Natural landscape,cultural landscape and social interaction in the late Qing Dynasty,took some photograph and sketched many animars pictures as well.This expedition was a systematic and scientific investigation of the animal,natural and human landscape in Northwest China by Foreigner in the late Qing Dynasty.This paper according to Wallace's travel notes The Big Game of Central and Western China to try to make clear the reasons why they came to china,their route,expedition contents and the results of this expedition in combination with the relevant Chinese and English data.It also compares with other expeditions to Northwest of china in the same period,such as Britain,Russia,Japan and France.In order to objectively evaluate the achievements and influence of Owen-Wallace expedition.The first part of the article,that is,the first chapter,mainly analyze the reasons of the formation of the expedition team,including why the expedition team came to China for Animal Expedition activities,and how to employ the team members during the long journey.The second part of the article,that is,the second chapter,respectively introduces the route,funding of the expedition team,and compares it with the Westerners or teams who visited the Northwest China in the same period.The third part of the article,namely the third and fourth chapters,mainly introduces the expedition and other amateur activities of the expedition team in China,which can reveal the scientific and extensive nature of the expedition.The fourth part of the article,namely the fifth chapter and conclusion,mainly introduces the main results and impact of the inspection.There are two main aspects of the results.The first is the collection of animal specimens for professional investigation.On the other hand,the Shanxi-Kansu region should include the description of the human landscape along the way,such as city walls and towns,agricultural products,local prices and so on.The inpact of this activity is that it not only can replenish the traditional local chronicles,but also let the world zoological research pay more attention to animals in Northwest China.