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The Henry Edmundson Letters contain nine letters, eight of which were written to Edmundson and one, the earliest of the nine, written by Edmundson in 1814 to General John Preston. The senders of the various letters include William Ballard Preston; Francis H. Smith, superintendent of Virginia Military Institute (V.M.I.); Bernard Peyton; Isaac White; and Joseph Robert Woods. One letter, signed simply, "Wade," may indicate John Wade, one of the directors of the Lafayette and Ingles Ferry Turnpike. The subjects of the letters range quite widely, but many have to do with financial matters, including various debts, loans, notes, and Bank of Virginia stock certificates. The letter to General Preston, dated 29 November 1814, refers to Edmundson's task of procuring hogs, perhaps to supply troops. Bernard Peyton's letter to Edmundson of 3 November 1823 is largely about "the progress of our unfortunate business with the Treasury," which refers to the aftermath of John Preston's tenure as Treasurer of Virginia and the disposition of property to satisfy his debt. Francis H. Smith writes to discuss a leave of absence at V.M.I. for Edmundson's son.
RELIGION. The cultural foundation of life in much of the Himalayas remains Tibetan Buddhism. This esoteric offshoot of the Buddha's teaching developed from the 7th century onwards but was only discovered by explorers and scholars a thousand years later. The first tale is about a remarkably different type of reality, how its mysteries were unravelled, and how it continues to survive despite political repression. SCIENCE, The Himalayas are the highest mountain range in the world, but also the youngest. The peaks continue to grow, and earthquakes remain an ever present danger. The struggle to understand how these giant mountains formed began in the mid-19th century. Now we know that its the plates that do the talking. The second tale is one of intrpid exploration and science discovery. POLITICS, The Chinese takeover of Tibet is the latest power play in the Himalayas region. Long ago, the Tibetans were the empire builders. In the 19th century, strongman Gulab Singh gobbled up parts of the Wester Himalay to create Jammu and Kashmir.
However much the three great traditions of medicine - Galenic, Chinese and Ayurvedic - differed from each other, they had one thing in common: scholarship. The foundational knowledge of each could only be acquired by careful study under teachers relying on ancient texts. Such medical knowledge is special, operating as it does in the realm of the most fundamental human experiences - health, disease, suffering, birth and death - and the credibility of healers is of crucial importance. Because of this, scholarly medical knowledge offers a rich field for the study of different cultural practices in the legitimation of knowledge generally. The contributors to this volume are all specialists in the history or anthropology of these traditions, and their essays range from historical investigations to studies of present-day practices.
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