Name Theodore Illion | Role Writer | |
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Books Darkness over Tibet, In Secret Tibet, Tibetische Heilkunde, Die Kunst des Heilens im Fernen Osten | ||
Theodore Illion or Theodor Illion (1898 in Canada (?) – September 4, 1984 in Hallein in the state of Salzburg), is a writer of travel books who claimed to have visited Tibet in the 1930s and discovered an underground city there. He published his Tibetan adventures under that name but later resorted to the pseudonyms Theodore Burang or Theodor Burang and more rarely Theodor Nolling to write various books and articles on Tibetan medicine.
Contents
His life and work
According to Professor Herbert Novak, a longtime friend of Theodore Illion, the latter was born in Canada in a wealthy family descended from a branch of the British royalty, the Plantagenets. He is supposed to have left home at a very young age.
In the 1930s Theodore Illion published two travelogues :
The Hulton Archive at Gettyimages contains photos of the writer, taken in London in April 1934, before his planned departure for Tibet:
After World War II, the author wrote various articles and books on Tibetan medicine under the pseudonym of Theodor Burang or Theodor Nolling, notably :
The first book was criticized for containing vague and superficial assertions that were not supported by genuine references or quotations. Similar criticism was levelled at the second book for containing unverifiable claims.
According to Professor Herbert Novak, Illion was a member of the Club of Rome in the 1980s and 1990s. He was in touch with Italian tibetologist Giuseppe Tucci. Illion was an astute, friendly, helpful, and quite humorous character. He never married and was survived by no offspring. He is buried in the village of Kuchi, 20 km south of Salzburg. The local rag Salzburger Nachtrichten published his obituary.
Reviews
Laura Knight-Jadczyk, author of The Secret History of the world, observes that Illion’s first two books were published during the period when Alexandra David-Néel, back in France from Tibet, wrote and lectured widely (i.e. from 1925 till 1937). She suggests that under the pseudonym of Illion may lie someone who studied the stories of the famous explorer. The same author finds the story of Darkness Over Tibet somewhat "artificial" despite the presence of some elements that strike her as being factual rather than made-up. In his book Lost Cities of China, Central Asia, and India (1998), David Hatcher Childress raises the possibility that Darkness Over Tibet is an alarmist novel under the guise of a travelogue.
Physician and bibliographer Jürgen C. Aschoff highly doubts that Theodore Illion ever went to Tibet or even approached the borders of Tibet. His books are, in his eyes, "truly science fiction, a figment of the imagination." He finds it incredible that Illion’s publications should still be read and cited in so many scientific articles and books on Tibetan medicine although the author never mentioned a single line of published reference or renowned Tibetan doctor in support of his more than vague assertions.