Shangri-La
Shangri- La ( also Shangri -la, shangri-la ) is a paradisiacal, fictional place that in the broadest sense is in the Himalayas, in Tibet lie. The term was introduced by writer James Hilton in Western cultural history. His 1933 published novel Lost Horizon ( Lost Horizon, German moved to as " Somewhere in Tibet " ) describes a remote lamasery at Shangri- mountain pass in the Himalayas. The monastery residents, who came in large part from western countries and western cultures, live in a withdrawal from the world freely chosen and sometimes reach ripe old age. Their way of life and their chosen daily routine are moving away from the rush of civilization without missing completely in the usual amenities. It offers an apocalyptic event for humanity and consider themselves as the last defender of knowledge and culture.
Templates
As a source of ancient wisdom a Chang Shambala is mentioned in the early Buddhist scriptures. Hilton's novel Lost Horizon is based on these ancient Eastern legends of a hidden paradise. Also in the novel by James Redfield, the idea of The Secret of Shambhala (1999) is accepted. In Russia, the legend exist, one must trace the path of the Tartars in Mongolia, then Belowodje would find - a place ( in the land of white water) live apart at which holy men from the rest of the world. The mythological kingdom of Shambala is of great importance in the Buddhist Kalachakra Tantra, as Shakyamuni Buddha is supposed to have according to tradition, the Kalachakra Tantra first transferred to Suchandra, the King of Shambala. A detailed presentation of the Shambhala myth is described in 1982 in the book The Road to Shambala by E. Bernbaum, Hamburg.
Shangri -La is however - as an invention of the author James Hilton - in the tradition of European utopian literature (see utopia ). Thomas More's Utopia is undoubtedly one of the important points of reference for the presentation and design of Shangri -La; Not for nothing has the library of the monastery of the works of Morus ( and for safety's sake, all works of authors with similar names ). Hilton's confrontation with Morus is remarkable insofar as they do not ( as is otherwise common) places the aspect of the political in the foreground, but the problem of human emotions: How the island of Utopia is Shangri-La, a place where a " dispassion " prevails, the conditions and possibilities of Morus and Hilton are seen quite critical.
According to research by the Chinese government, it is to be supposed to the Shangri -La in Yunnan province in the area described in the novel. The circle which had previously been called " Zhongdian " in 2001 to promote tourism officially in " Shangri -La " (Chinese香格里拉, Pinyin Xiānggélǐlā ) has been renamed.
Use up today
Lost Horizon (English title Lost Horizon ) was an international bestseller published in 1933 by James Hilton, who in 1937 was also filmed by Frank Capra ( German title of the film: In the of Shangri - La). Hilton's fictional description of Shangri- La has until now dominated the western views of Tibet and Lamaism sustainable. In Western countries, the almost mystical term Shangri- La developed - separated from the Roman - a real life of its own, which continues today. Even a few Nazis, including Heinrich Himmler, dealing with Asia and Shangri -La as a supposed paradise of supermen, nor untainted by the alleged Buddhist decadence. They sent seven expeditions to Tibet. The most famous was in 1938 under the direction of Ernst Schäfer instead.
The villa ( Quinta ) Shangri -La in Indio (California ) was supposedly built in 1939 for the family of President Roosevelt.