Hsi-tsang Tzu-chih-ch'ü

In “Electronic Navigators” (October) your Loran position readout on the artwork is given as +30° 17.2’ lat. and -90° 90.6’ long. If we accept the convention that plus latitudes are north of the equator and minus longitudes are east of Greenwich, this places the vessel in the Hsi-Tsang Tzu-Chih-Ch’u Province (Tibetan Autonomous Region) of China. In other words, about 285 miles northeast of Mt. Everest. Who is the skipper? Is there a load of paired animals aboard? What is the vessel’s LOA (in cubits)? Is it raining a lot there? Mo Prophet Nazareth, Pa. Both the CIA and the National Council of Churches are investigating.

1977 December, Mo Prophet, “Slow boat to China”, in Motor Boating & Sailing, volume 140, number 6, Hearst Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4

Tibet (Hsi-tsang Tzu-chih-chü). Today the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, the almost mythical country of Tibet is bordered by the Chinese province of Tsinghai on the northeast, Szechwan on the east, Yunnan on the southeast, Nepal, Bhutan and Burma (Myanmar) on the south, Jammu and Kashmir (disputed by India) on the west, and the Sinkiang Uighur autonomous region on the northwest. The capital is Lhasa.

1998, An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Conflict and Conflict Resolution, 1945-1996, Greenwood Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 734