On the edge of a mystery From Ceylon to Tibet, David-Neel, Segalen, and Buddhism

The ­concurrent discovery of the Tibetan border by Alexandra David-Neel and Victor Segalen evokes in their work an imaginary of space where sacred theatricality and lived experience are inextricably bound together. But the interest that the two writers brought to Buddhism innervates, from Ceylon in the first decade of the century to Tibet on the edge of the War, their Asian peregrinations. Buddhism therefore plays a decisive role in the evolution of their literary approach.