Section 1 – Historical Background

1. The term Xiyu 西域 [Hsi-yü] – the ‘Western Regions’ – was sometimes used specifically to refer to the territories that were directly controlled by China to the west of what is generally referred to as “China Proper” – particularly the small oasis states strung along the main branches of the Silk Routes between Dunhuang and Kashgar. At other times, though, the term xiyu was used in a general way to denote all countries to the west of China.
          The term xiyu is sometimes translated as the ‘Western Kingdoms’ or the ‘Western Countries,’ but this is not strictly correct. The character yu signifies ‘frontiers,’ ‘limits’ or ‘territory included within the frontiers.’ It is for this reason I have used the more general term of ‘regions.’

2. Nei 內 [Nei] – literally ‘inner,’ or ‘interior’ – referring to the land within the Wall – within the frontiers; that is, “China Proper.”

3. Shizhe xiaowei 使者校尉 [Shih-che hsiao-wei] = ‘Commandant of Imperial Envoys.’ My translation of this title is based on the following definitions: Hucker (No. 5208) says that shih-che 使者 means: “Lit., someone sent as a representative. (1) HAN: Envoy, occasional designation of a diplomatic representative from China to a foreign state or chief. HB: messenger.” He defines hsiao-wei 校尉 (No. 2456) as: “Commandant, normally prefixed with functionally descriptive or laudatory terms. (1) HAN-SUNG: title of functioning military officers in a wide range of ranks; see under prefix.”
          The Hanshu states that, after the commandery of Jiuquan [Chiu-ch’üan] was established circa 104 BCE, missions to distant lands became commonplace:

“Thereafter [more] envoys were sent out, and reached An-hsi, Yen-ch’i, Li-kan, T’iao-chih and Shen-tu. These envoys were in sight of each other on the roads. A single mission comprised several hundred members, if large, and a hundred or so if small; and the gifts they carried were generally [chosen to] resemble those sent in the time of the noble of Po-wang [i.e. the famous explorer and envoy, Zhang Qian]. Later [the despatch of missions] became more a matter of routine, and they were reduced to smaller numbers. Each year the number of Han missions amounted to over ten, if many, and five or six if few; those that went on long distances returned after eight or nine years, those on shorter distances after several years.” CICA, pp. 219-220. See also the discussions in Chavannes (1907), p. 153, n. 2, and CICA, pp. 57ff. 

4. (Xiyu) duhu = ‘Protector General (of the Western Regions).’ Hucker (No.7237) describes this title, duhu 督護 [tu-hu] : “HAN–YÜAN: Protector-general, a military duty assignment to preside over submitted alien peoples, especially in modern Sinkiang, as an imperial delegate with viceregal powers; appears in many variations....”

“The post of Protector General was created in 59 B.C., and officials were appointed in this capacity from then until the end of Wang Mang’s government. The establishment of the post was an innovation in Han institutions and marked a new and more sophisticated stage in the development of Han policy. It was now recognised that some degree of co-ordination was desirable, both so as to regulate relations with the states of the west and to facilitate the passage of travellers and goods along the northern and southern routes. The post was designed to extend Han protection to those alien communities who wished to benefit from it, to act as an authority to which they could appeal in times of emergency, and to seek help from such communities when this was needed by Han. The existence of the protectorate general served to confirm rather than invalidate the authority of the local leaders and their officials who had received Han titles, seals and ribbons of office; and members of the protector general’s staff would visit the states of the west or were occasionally stationed there.” CICA, p. 64. See also the discussion in Chavannes (1907), p. 154, n. 1. 

5. Maoji xiaowei 戊己校尉 GR, Vol. VI, p. 655 states that this title refers to the Commandant responsible for the military colonies at Cheshi [Ch’e-shih] or Gaozhang [Kao-ch’ang] – in the Turfan oasis – during the Han dynasty. It also mentions that the first character, wu or mou [‘fifth Heavenly Stem’] was pronounced mao until it was changed by an Imperial edict during the Five Dynasty period (907-960 CE). I have, therefore, given preference to the original form of mao (reconstruction: *mug) in my translation.
          The text specifically states here that there were two xiaowei here (“maoji er xiaowei”), but it is unclear whether it means there were two maoji xiaowei, or one Mao and one Ji ‘Commandants.’ I have chosen the latter interpretation as the most likely. Certainly, between 74 and 78 CE, there was both a Mao (Wu) and a Ji [‘sixth Heavenly Stem’] Commandant. However: “In 89 only the wu colonel and his regiment were re-established, to be abolished again in 107 CE.” CICA: 79, note 3. Both the Mou and the Ji Commandants are stated later on in the text (see Section 2) to be stationed “within the walls of Gaochang.”
          Dubs and de Crespigny (1967), p. 65 translate the title as ‘The Wu-and-chi Colonel.’ Hucker (No. 7740) says, “HAN: Commandant of the Centre (?), rank = 600 bushels, from 48 B.C. the designation of some commanders of military garrisons in Central Asia; the title seems to reflect the Taoist concepts that the celestial symbols wu and chi represent the center (chang), but the relevance of this explanation is questionable....” 
          I would suggest that, as the position(s) related to the control of the State Farms, the term is more likely a reference to the attribute ‘earth’ which traditionally applies to the characters mao (or wu) and ji taken together
          For the position of xaiowei see note 1.3 above. ‘Nearer Jushi’ refers to the kingdom or state centred in the Turfan oasis or, sometimes, to the tribe which controlled it. See note 26.1 (see below).

 6. tuntian 屯田 = ‘State Farms’ or ‘agricultural colonies’ were set up to provide for the needs of diplomatic and trade missions as well as Chinese officials and troops stationed in distant regions. This passage is usually translated to imply that they were set up at the “court” of the King of Nearer Jushi, but this comes from a mistaken reading of the word ting 庭 which can be read as ‘court’ but it also carries the meaning of a ‘frontier region’ or ‘march’ – see GR No. 10984. In fact, as Chavannes (1907), p. 155, n. 1, notes, the prince of the court of Jushi resided at Yarkhoto, about 20 li (8.3 km) west of modern Turfan, while the Commandant responsible for the military colonies had his residence at the fortified camp of Gaochang (Karakhojo), 70 li (29 km) southeast of modern Turfan – the southernmost oasis of the Turfan depression, strategically placed to control both the route from Hami and the direct, but far more difficult, alternate route from Dunhuang across the desert, which was used when the Chinese were not able to control the region of Hami. See note 1.25 below.
          For details on the establishment and functioning of the Han ‘State Farms,’ see: Hucker (1985) No. 7409; Stein (1921), pp. 740-745; de Crespigny (1984), pp. 62-67 and 471, n. 17. See also note 1.26 below.

 7. The passage bianyi houwang 貶易侯王 [pien-i hou-wang] is rather difficult to interpret. It seems to imply that the ‘kings’ of the 55 kingdoms were demoted in rank from ‘king’ to ‘marquis’ (which is why they rebelled and submitted to the Xiongnu). This is the sense I have adopted here.
          However, Chavannes (1907), p. 155, interprets it to mean that Wang Mang insulted the Chanyu of the Xiongnu by changing his title to “vassal king”, thus inciting the 55 kingdoms to rebel and join the Xiongnu. Chavannes explains his position as follows:

“In 9 CE, Wang Mang sent an envoy to the Chanyu to notify him of his accession and to give him a new seal of investiture : but, while the seal bestowed on the Chanyu by the Han carried the inscription: “Seal of the Chanyu of the Xiongnu”, the seal given by Wang Mang presented the words: “Insignia of the Chanyu of the Xiongnu, (dependent) of the Xin,” Xin being the name that Wang Mang had given to the new dynasty that he claimed to have founded. – The Chanyu immediately protested these modifications. He remarked that, under the Han dynasty, the seals which were called 章 “insignia” and began with the word 漢 “(dependent of the) Han,” were reserved for vassal-kings or other functionaries of the Empire. By changing the term 璽 [xi – Imperial Seal] to 章 and by making the inscription on the seal begin with the word 新 “(dependent of the) Xin,” Wang Mang was, therefore, treating the Chanyu not as an independent sovereign, but as a simple subject of the Empire (Qian Hanshu, chap. XCIV, b, pp. 8b–9a). This was the cause that provoked the split between the Xiongnu and the Empire.” Translated and adapted from Chavannes (1907), p. 155, n. 2.

          The Xiongnu 匈奴 [Hsiung-nu. K1183d + K94l: *χi̯ung-no; EMC: xuawŋ-nc] were originally a northern nomad people who became very powerful towards the beginning of the 3^rd century BCE. They defeated the Yuezhi and Wusun, and posed a major threat to China itself. They managed , at times, to subjugate most of the countries to the north and west of China. In 51 BCE they split into two groups – the eastern (also known as ‘southern’) horde who submitted to China, and the western (or ‘northern’) horde who became the major power to the north of China. For a discussion of the derivation and possible connections of the name Xiongnu with the later Huns, see Pulleyblank (1963), p. 139.
          However, in spite of Pulleyblank’s arguments, it must be admitted that the name Xiongnu carries strongly derogatory connotations, and was unlikely to have been used by the people themselves.
          The first character 匈 xiong nowadays means ‘thorax’ or ‘chest,’ the seat of intelligence and emotions; but originally it had the meaning of ‘evil hidden within the man’ – see GR No. 4593. The second character, 奴 nu means simply ‘slave’ or ‘serf’. I believe the answer lies in the fact that they did not refer to themselves as Xiongnu but, rather, used other terms ore or less closely related in sound but without the derogatory overtones. The clues may be found, I believe, in the following passage from Yu (2000), p. 180 which apparently lists transcriptions of some of the names the Xiongnu tribes may have used for themselves:

“Of the tribes of the Xiongnu 匈奴as seen in the Shiji 史記, ch. 110, there was a Hunyu 渾庾 and a Hunxie 渾邪, which may have derived from the Kunwu 昆吾. This is because the Hunyu 渾庾 [kuən-jio], Hunxie 渾邪 [kuən-zya] and Kunwu 昆吾[kuən-nga] can be regarded as different transcriptions of the same name.”

Pulleyblank’s EMC reconstructions for these characters are: hunyu 渾庾 – ɣwən-juă; hunxie 渾邪 – ɣwən-zia or ɣwən-yé; kunwu 昆吾 – kwən-ŋ¿.
          Although the question of a connection between some branch of the Xiongnu and the Huns who invaded Europe in the 4th century remains unproven, it does seem likely, and is accepted by many scholars. The strong possibility of phonetic connections between these names and the later names for the ‘Huns’ who invaded Europe is clear. This can be easily seen by looking at the forms of the names for the later Huns in various languages given in Partridge (1958), p. 299.

“Hun, whence Hunnian, Hunnic, Hunnish.
Hun is a b/f from OE Hüne or Hünas, the Huns, itself prob. From LL Hūni (ML, usu Hunni), with less correct var Chūni or Chunni, prob from Ch Han (var Hiong-nu); cf. Skt Huṇa, Gr Ounnoi or Khounoi, and also ON Hūnar and OHG Hūni (G Hunnen). These invaders from Asia overran and terrorized Europe c372-453 A.D., Attila dying in the latter year. Cf the G derivative Hune, MHG hiune, a giant (Walshe).”

8. Suoche 莎車 [ So-ch’e, sometimes written: So-chü] = Yarkand. It is rather difficult to decide on a particular transliteration for this name. The written form in both ancient and modern Chinese is identical. Unfortunately, there are two alternative pronunciations for each of the two characters. In spite of the identical characters, the name is regularly transcribed as Shache on many modern maps and is recorded as So-chü or Suoji in other sources. I have chosen the lead of GR and rendered it, with some hesitation, as Suoche. GR Vol. V, p. 520, No. 9989; Vol. I, p. 288, No. 558. See also note 20.1 below.

 9. Xiao Yuan (or Wan) 小宛 [Hsiao-yüan] was, according to the Hanshu (CICA, p. 92), three days’ march south of Jushi [present-day Qiemo or Cherchen], “It lies secluded to the south and is not situated on the route.” It was bordered on the east by the 婼羌 Chuo [literally, ‘Unsubdued’ or ‘Unruly’– the first character is sometimes transcribed as er] Qiang. It is described as a small place with just over 1,000 inhabitants and was later, according to the Hou Hanshu, annexed by Shanshan. 
          The name Xiao Yuan (literally, ‘Little Yuan’) is evocative of Da Yuan (‘Great Yuan’), or Ferghana. Brough suggests that it might have been the home of the small group of Yuezhi who settled among the Qiang in the mountains to the south of the main trade route when the largest group – the Da (‘Great’) Yuezhi – fled to the west after their defeat by the Xiongnu about 175 BCE. They became known to the Chinese as the Xiao (‘Lesser’) Yuezhi. Brough (1965), pp. 592-593; CICA, p. 93 (including note 130), 121.
          There are two main possibilities for its position. Stein suggested the first. If one travelled south from Qiemo, and then southwest, it must have been located near modern Atqan [A-chiang], about 110 km from Qiemo. Atqan controls the route running southwest along the northern foot of the mountain range:

“As to the still smaller ‘kingdom of Little Wan’ or Hsiao-yüan, which lay about three days’ journey to the south of Chü-mo, and of which a brief account is given in the succeeding notice of the Hsi yü chuan [of the Hou Hanshu], it is certain that it must be identified with the small settlements of cultivators and herdsmen which are scattered along the foot of the K’un-lun south and south-west of Charchan, from Achchan to the debouchure of the Mölcha and Endere Rivers (see Maps Nos 43, 47). To judge from the distance indicated, the ‘capital’ of this tract, the ‘city’ of Yü-ling, may be placed about Dalai-kurghan, as suggested by Dr. Herrman. The population recorded for Hsiao-yüan, 150 families, throws light on the modest resources of this hill tract. It is correctly described as ‘lying out of the way of the high road’ and adjoining on the east of the territory of the nomadic Jo Ch’iang, who held the high plateaus south of the Altin-tagh, including Tsaidam.” Stein (1921), p. 296.

          If, however, as seems more likely, the route headed south from Qiemo and then east, up the Cherchen River gorges, Xiao Yuan must have been near modern Tura [T’u-la], about 125 km or 77 miles from Qiemo or, perhaps, Bash Mulghun [Bashi Maergong, W-G: Pa-shih-ma-erh-kung], about 22 km further east. Tura and Bash Mulghun control an easily defended valley of rich grasslands and guard the junction of two important routes. 
          The first route formed an alternative to the main southern “Silk Route” from Dunhuang to Khotan and is still in use today. It headed west from Lanzhou via Xining and Koko Nor (= Qinghai Hu = Kökenagur or ‘Blue Sea’ – Bailey (1985), p. 80) past Dzun (or Zongjiafangzi) – where a road branched south towards Lhasa, and across the Qaidam [Tsaidam] marshes through Bash Mulghun and Tura to Qiemo.
          The second one forms the main route to the relatively fertile valleys of Central Tibet. It heads almost directly south from Bash Mulghun about a thousand kilometres to Xigaze [Shigatse], presently Tibet’s second-largest city.
          Maillart (1937), pp. 171-175, describes the journey from Bash Mulghum to Cherchen as taking four days; indicating that the journey from Qiemo to Tura, which is about 22 km shorter than to Bash Mulghum, could be easily covered by well-rested travellers from Qiemo in three days – exactly the time indicated in the Hanshu.
          Recently discovered evidence indicates the early use of the route through the Qaidam towards Koko Nor and on to Lanzhou via Xining. The following article was downloaded from: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-17/03/content_468165.htm on 8 July 2002. 
          The town of Xiangride mentioned in the article is about 175 km southwest of (Lake) Koko Nor (Qinghai Hu= Kökenagur or ‘Blue Sea’ – Bailey (1985), p. 80), or 50 km southeast of Dzun (or Zongjiafangzi), on the main road between Xining and Golmud. The people referred to in the article as Tubo are more accurately described as Qiang. Tubo (more correctly, Tufan) refers to “Tibetans,” who had not yet formed a national identity at this period.

 

Byzantine Gold Coin Unearthed in Qinghai

Xinhuanet 2002–07–03 14:12:27

DULAN (QINGHAI), July 3 (Xinhuanet) – A Byzantine gold coin recently unearthed in Dulan in northwest China's Qinghai Province, may shed new light on the history of East-West trade routes.
          Xu Xinguo, head of the Qinghai Cultural Relics and Archeology Institution, said that the coin excavated from a tomb in Xiangride Township in Dulan County was made during the reign of Theodosius II (408-450 AD.).
          The tomb was for an ethnic Tubo who lived in the Northern Dynasties (386-550 AD). This is the second ancient Roman gold coin unearthed in Dulan.
          As sites where coins are found usually indicate the trade and traffic routes, Xu says that archeologists should think again about the east end of the “Silk Road.
          A widely accepted theory is that the road entered the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region through present-day Lanzhou and the Gansu Corridor.
          But Xu said that a number of recent archeological findings from Tubo tombs including this coin had shifted people's attention to Dulan County deep in the Qaidam Basin.
          He believed that the Dulan region occupied a very important position for East-West traffic during the early and middle fifth century. And the route from Xining to Xinjiang through the Qaidam Basin, slightly to the south, may be equally important, he said.
          Before sea routes opened between the East and the West, the Silk Road was the land corridor linking China with Central and Western Asia to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean between 100 BC and 800 AD.
          Experts said that the 2.36 gm coin, with a diameter of 14.5 mm, may have been used as an ornament. 

                                                                                                                                                                       
10. Jingjue 精絶 [Ching-chüeh] = Niya. For the identification of Jingjue as the ancient site of Niya see: Stein (1921), p. 219. Stein had some difficulties with its identification because of a mistaken distance given in the Hanshu and then repeated in the Shuijing. The Hanshu states that Jingjue is 2,000 li (832 km) west of Qiemo which has been “long since identified with Calmad(ana), in the area of modern Cherchen or Charchan.” CICA, p. 92, n. 125. This is a gross overestimate as the actual distance is only about 250 km.
          The location of ancient Niya is made certain by the fact the Hanshu gives a distance of 460 li (191 km) from Qiemo west to Wumi (= Jumi of the Hou Hanshu) which can be confidently identified with the oasis of Keriya, see note 3.1 below. As I measure it on modern maps, it is approximately 92 km in a straight line across the desert from Keriya to modern Minfeng or Niya Bazar, and then about 100 km north, along the course of the Niya He, to the ancient site described by Stein which included the ruins of houses and a stupa. See Stein (1921), Vol. 5, Map No. 37 – Niya. See also: Enoki (1963), pp. 143 and 159; CICA: 93, n. 132.

“Now this definite mention of Chü-mo or Charchan as a territory with which the ruler of the ancient oasis represented by the Niya Site stood in close relation, necessarily forces the question as to the identity of his own ‘kingdom’ upon our attention. Since it is clearly proved by these little tablets that the ancient oasis possessed its own ruling family, I do not hesitate to identify the site as the chief place of the territory of Ching-chüeh . . . which the Chinese historical records from Han to T’ang times place to the west of Chü-mo. In the Former Han Annals ‘the kingdom of Ching-chüeh’ is described as situated to the west of Chü-mo at a distance of two thousand li. Its western neighbour was the kingdom of Yü-mi at a distance of 460 li. Since the latter territory must certainly be identified with the Chira-Keriya tract, we are thus led to place Ching-chüeh on the Niya River in spite of the greatly exaggerated distance indicated between Chü-mo and Ching-chüeh The capital of the kingdom is named ‘the city of Ching-chüeh.’ But the limited size of the ‘kingdom’ is sufficiently proved by the estimates of its population, ‘480 families, comprising 3,360 persons, with 500 trained troops.’
          No details are given about Ching-chüeh by the Later Han Annals, which merely mention it along with Shan-shan and Chü-mo on the route from Yü-men to Khotan. Ching-chüeh figures similarly in the list of territories which the Wei lio, composed between A.D. 239-65, enumerates along the ‘southern route’ leading westwards from Lop-nōr to Khotan. But here we have in addition the distinct statement that Ching-chüeh along with Chü-mo and Hsiao-wan, another small territory which lay to the south of Chü-mo and evidently corresponds to the hill settlements between Kapa and Achchan, was dependent upon Shan-shan or Lou-lan, the territory adjoining Lop-nōr. The statement has its special interest for the identification of Ching-chüeh with the territory of which the Niya Site may be assumed to have been the chief place. On the one hand, it dates from the period immediately preceding the time when we assume the site to have been abandoned. On the other, it helps to explain why among the Chinese documents excavated in 1901 there was the cover, N. xv. 345, of an edict emanating from the ‘king of Shan-shan’, and why the records of N. xxiv discussed below include two covers bearing the seal-impression of the commander of Shan-shan.” Stein (1921), p. 219.

 11. Ronglu 戎盧 [Jung-lu] was, according to the Hanshu, south of Jingjue (Niya), and adjoined Qule (south of Keriya) to the east, and the Chuo (‘Unsubdued’ or ‘Unruly’) Qiang tribes to the south. It was said to “lie secluded to the south and is not situated on the route.” It was, perhaps, near modern Atqan – see note 1.9 above.

 12. Qiemo 且末 [Ch’ieh-mo] = modern Charchan or Cherchen. There has been some confusion about this name as first Chavannes (1907), p. 156, and then Stein (1921), 296 ff., gave the wrong romanization for the first character (Chavannes, using the French EFEO romanization system gave tsiu, and Stein used the Wade-Giles chü). In fact the character is correctly represented by ch’ieh in Wade-Giles and qie in Pinyin. However, there has never been any serious dispute about its identification with modern Charchan – see for example, Stein (1921), p. 295, CICA, p. 92, n. 125; although Pulleyblank (1963), p. 109, following Hamilton 1958, p. 121, suggests it was Shanshan (see note 1.13 below).
          Charchan is strategically located at the junction of the main route from Dunhuang to Khotan, and the route which goes south through the mountains, around the southern shore of Koko Nor, and on to Xining, and China. A branch from this second route goes south from Kharakhoto to Lhasa.
          An ancient trail ran from Xining via Koko Nor and the southern turn-off towards Lhasa at Kharakhoto, and then on to Charchan in the Tarim Basin. Chinese travellers at times attempted to make use of this route to avoid the horrors of the desert journey between Dunhuang and Loulan, south of Lop Nor. West of Koko Nor the trail goes through barren country, with little fodder and was inhabited by a hostile Qiang tribe (or tribes) referred to in the Chinese texts as the Chuo (‘Unsubdued’ or ‘Unruly’) Qiang:

“Charchand is reported to lie at a month’s distance from Khoten by a road which leads all the way along the foot of a mountain range (the so-called Kue-lun of Chinese and European geographers), and between it and the great Desert of Takla-Makān or Gobi. No roads are known to lead across this range further East than that from Poloo, which brings the traveler over to the Pangong Lake in Western Tibet; but there is a road leading eastward into China, which, however, was not used by the Chinese when they were in possession of the country.” Shaw (1871), p. 37.

“We had to go down the other side of the mountain in a cloud of dust, and then, once more, we were on a blistered, yellow table-land. It was bordered with abrupt, eroded mountains on which nothing grew. The great trail from Dulan to Lhasa by Barun wound through here and I even thought I saw traces of the plough. Yes, I was right. There were field shapes, a wall, an earthen roof. We were at Kharakhoto [west of Koko Nor at the junction of the trails from Cherchen to Xining and the road south to Lhasa; about two days’ march to the east of Dzun].” Maillart (1937), p. 101.

13. The kingdom of Shanshan 鄯善 [Shan-shan] = ancient Loulan and included the region around Lop Nor (‘Lop Lake’). Its capital during early Han times is called 扜泥 Yüni (often incorrectly transcribed as Wuni) in the Hanshu – see CICA, p. 81-82 and n. 77 – which probably referred to the region of modern Ruoqiang or the Charklik oasis, to the southwest of the died-up bed of Lop Nor. It is also sometimes referred to as the kingdom of Krorän. For the use of NW Prakrit in Kroraina (and in Kucha and Karashahr) see Bailey (1985), pp. 4-5.

   “Lou-lan is the Kror’iṃna or Krorayina of the Kharoṣṭhī-documents ; it was originally, it seems, the name of the whole country and known as such to the Chinese – although they may have been ignorant of its position – since 176 B.C., when the Hsiung-nu ruler Mao-tun informed emperor Wen of his conquest of this and of other states (HS 94 A.10b, Urkunden I, p. 76). In a more restricted sense, Lou-lan continued to refer to the town of Kror’iṃna, i.e. the area designated LA by Stein (1921), vol. I, pp. 414-415 : see also Enoki (1963), p. 147.” CICA, p. 81, n. 77.

This kingdom also controlled the strategic community located near the northwest corner of Lop Nor, near the outflow of the Tarim River, which was on the route from Dunhuang to Korla. This has caused considerable confusion about where the “capital” lay. I tend to agree with Yu Taishan that the seat of government was always in the fertile Charkhlik oasis:

“On the location of the royal government of Shanshan, there have been two main theories. The first suggests that Wuni was situated southwest of Lob Nor, around present Ruoqiang 婼羌 county. The second suggests that Wuni lay northwest of Lob Nor, around the ruins of Loulan (Kroraimna, Krorayina). In addition, it has been suggested that Shanshan had established its capital at Kroraimna when the name of the state was Loulan, and later moved its capital south of Lob Nor. In my opinion, Shanshan (i.e. Loulan) never moved its capital and the seat of the royal government had always been southwest of Lob Nor.” Yu (1998), p. 197 – and see the whole of his Appendix 2, “On the Location of Capital of the State of Shanshan,” ibid., pp. 197-211 for his detailed presentation for this scenario.

   “The town of Wuni was not situated northwest of Lob Nor, but was situated in the present Ruoqiang country (Qarkilik), on the south bank of the Charchen River, by the northern foothills of the Altyn Tagh, southwest of Lob Nor.” Ibid., p. 201.

As it seems that both CICA and Taishan Yu have given the wrong romanization for the first character of the name of the capital (the modern Pinyin should read yu not wu), I think I should give more details here:

扜 yu [yü] GR 13088 [64:3] “1. To make a hand sign; 2. to pull to oneself (the string of a bow).” Couvrier (p. 345) gives: “to make a hand sign. To take.” This character is, unfortunately, not listed in either Pulleyblank or Karlgren.

泥 ni [85:5] EMC: nεj or nεj^h; K. 563d * niər.

I am unable to see why this original cannot be accepted, but, as I am no expert in these matters, and several alternatives are presented in CICA, I thought I should include them here, for the reader’s consideration:

   “Wu-ni, however, has given rise to considerable discussion because of the uncertainties surrounding the word here transcribed as wu, viz. 扜. According to Yen Shih-ku, it is pronounced ·o· / ·ua, and this view is repeated in T’ai-p’ing yü-lan 792.5a (it is not clear whether this passage belongs to the original Hua-lin p’ien-lüeh of 524, or whether it was copied from a later – T’ang or Sung – manuscript of the Han-shu only around 983; see Tjan (1949), pp. 60-61; Pulleyblank (1963), p. 89, calls it “an anonymous gloss”, but the chances are that it is Yen Shih-ku’s remark).
          Secondly, although wu 扜 is included in the dictionary Shuo-wen chieh-tzu of A.D. 100 (see Shuo-wen chieh-tzu ku-lin 5505a) and even in the earlier wordlist Fang-yen, compiled before A.D. 18, if we follow the emendation by Tai Chen (1937) in his Fang-yen su-cheng, p. 295, in the Shuo-wen it is not written 扜 but 㧍. Still more curious, however, is the fact that it does not seem to occur in Han inscriptions or in pre-Han literature, i.e. it is not found in Uchino’s index to the Li shih (1966) nor in Grammata Serica Recensa. According to its rare occurrences in Han literature, assembled in T. Moroashi’s Dai Kan-wa jiten, vol. V, p. 103, no. 11799, wu 扜 seems only to occur in these few placenames in HS 96!
          Thirdly, there are variant readings, where wu 扜 is replaced by 扞 (K. 139q : g’ân / ɣân), or 拘, K. 108p : ku / ku, or ku / kəu, or g’u / g’u). These variants occur in some editions of SC 123 (Shao-hsing ed. 123.1b. Palace ed. of 1739, 123.3b. This reading has not been adopted by Takigawa, SC 123.7, who writes 扜 without further explanation), cq. HHS Mem. 78.6bff., both not regarding the city of Wu-ni, but the country of Wu-ni (HS 96.16a ; see note 138).
          Now either Wu-mi or Chü-mi (not ni !) may be correct for the completely different country (see below), but, as regards the capital of Lou-lan – Shanshan, it would seem that 扞泥 Han-ni is right, supported as it is by the reading 驩泥 (GSR 158.l : χwân / χuân) in the Hou Han chi by Yüan Hung (328-375), for this agrees with the word occurring in the kharoṣṭhī inscriptions : kuhani (or kvhani), meaning “capital” (Enoki (1963), p. 129-135 as well as Enoki (1961) and Enoki (1967), cf. Brough (1965) ), Pulleyblank (1963), p. 89 reconstructs the “Old Chinese” pronunciation of Wu-ni as ·wāĥ-ne(δ) and believes it “unnecessary … to adopt the reading 扞 … The variant 驩泥 *hwan-nei seems closer to ·waĥ than to *ganh as an attempt to render the hypothetical original behind khvani or kuhani”.” CICA, pp. 81-82, n. 77.

          The name of the kingdom Loulan was changed by the Chinese to Shanshan in 77 BCE. See: Chavannes (1905), p. 537, n. 2; Brough, (1965), p. 592; Molè (1970) p. 116, n. 183 [note that the date of the name change to Shan-shan in AD 77 is incorrect]; CICA, p. 81, n. 77.
          It seems that the ancient kingdom of Krorän also included the territory of the oasis of Charkhlik to the southeast of Lop Nor, on the Southern Route, and that this was, indeed, the “capital” or “seat of government”.
          Note, however, that Pulleyblank (1963), p. 109, suggests that Shanshan was plausibly identified by Hamilton (1958, p. 121): “with modern Charchan < *Jarjan. The name Shan-shan appears as a substitute for the earlier Lou-lan in the first century BCE. If the foreign original had indeed palatials at this period, we must suppose that the Chinese palatials were already beginning to develop, perhaps in and intermediate stage *d. There are too many uncertainties, however, for this to provide a firm argument.” This argument does, however, seem to have been overridden by the argument that it must refer to the largest oasis in the region – that of modern Charklik:

“There can be no doubt that by Shan-shan is here meant [that is, in the Weilue] the present Lop tract with its main oasis of Charkhlik.” Stein (1921), p. 328. See also: Giles (1930-1932), p. 830; Part 4, note 15; Pelliot (1963), p. 770.

“The northern and southern routes came together again on the eastern rim of the Tarim near the great salt marsh of Lopnur in the kingdom of Krorän (Kroraina, Loulan) before continuing into the world of the ethnic Chinese.” Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 64-65.

“The statelet that formed about the great salt marshes of Lopnur was known in Chinese sources originally as Loulan and then later was called Shanshan . . . when the territory came under Chinese dominion in 77 BC. The name Loulan reflects an attempt to render in Chinese what we find in later Indian (Kharoṣṭhī) documents from the region as Krora’ina or Krorayina (now Krorän).... As for the name ‘Shanshan’, this has been seen as a precursor to the name ‘Chärchän’, where some of the most spectacular mummies have been recovered. This is hardly unexpected as the region possesses immense deserts laden with salt that both early Chinese guidebooks and modern explorers have described in detail. A 1st-century BC document informs us that from the Chinese outpost at Dunhuang to Krorän there was a desert that stretched for 500 li [208 km] in which there was neither water nor grass.” Ibid. p. 81.

   “During the Han period the population of Krorän is given as 1,570 households, with 14,100 people of whom 2,912 could bear arms. The agricultural potential of the region is described as limited, its soils being too sandy and salty, and food crops had to be brought in from neighbouring states. There was an important nomadic component in the region where asses, horses and many camels are reckoned. Other products were jade, rushes, tamarisk and balsam poplar.” Ibid, p. 85.

   “Another prominent site to see some excavation is the town of Krorän which was excavated by Sven Hedin, Aurel Stein and, most recently, by Hou Can. Its stamped earth walls still stand up to 4 m (13 ft) in height and ran about 330 m (1,083 ft) on each side. It housed clusters of temples, the government central offie, residential quarters and what has been dismissed as a ‘slum’. Within 5 km (3 miles) of the town Hou Can uncovered seven tombs. Among the burials was a middle-aged woman who had a child placed over her head, reminiscent of the ‘Scream Baby’ excavated at Zaghunluq.” Ibid., p. 165.

“The next town [to the east, after Quemo/Cherchen], Ruoqiang (Charkhlik) is no bigger but is nevertheless the most important in the vast region encompassing the salt seabed of the dried-up Lop Nor. In the first century BC it formed part of the Kingdom of Loulan, which was later to change its name to ‘Shanshan.’ At Ruoqiang the road divides, one branch heading north to Korla, the other taking a more southerly road than the original Silk road, crossing into Qinghai Province and then turning northeast to Dunhuang. East of Ruoqiang lies another archaeological site, Miran, which Stein visited in 1906. In the 1970s Chinese archaeologists found a Han-Dynasty system of irrigation canals here. To the south lie the Altun Mountains, where a large nature reserve has been established. It was here in the 1880s that the Russian explorer, Nikolai Prejewalski, discovered the only existing species of the original horse, which was named Equus prezawalski. Extinct in the wild, the species is now only bred in zoos.” Bonavia (1988), p. 192.  

   “Krorän was included in the lists of conquests carried out by the Xiongnu leader Modu in 176 BC and, with the westward expansion of the Han, it found itself in the middle of two warring empires…. The king saw that it was impossible to navigate between two such masters and tilted his hand towards the Han, who took advantage of the situation, assassinating one king and beheading another until they had installed someone they could trust, and in 77 BC the name of Shanshan. Although ostensibly under Han control, as late as AD 25 it was recorded that Krorän was still in league with the Xiongnu.
          Understandably, during the floruit of the Silk Road, Krorän was a place of great strategic importance. About AD 119 Ban Yong, the son of General Ban Chao, recommended that the Chinese governor be sent to Krorän with 500 men to establish a Chinese colony…. It was intended that that this colony dominate all approaches to Dunhuang, the main Chinese outpost in the west, by way of both the northern and southern routes and it was also intended to check any Xiongnu incursions. In order to provide the colony with a secure agricultural basis, major irrigation works were required and a much later account depicts how attempts to place a barrage across a river in order to dam the water for irrigation were thwarted by an intractable river throwing itself against and over the barrage. First the governor tried prayers and sacrifices to get the water to recede but when these failed he sent his troops in to assault the waters with swords, spears and arrows, and the river, apparently cowed, dropped its water level and supplied the desired irrigation channels.
          The administrative capital of Krorän was discovered and investigated by Sven Hedin…, Aurel Stein and Hou Can. The 429 documents found in these investigations provide contemporary evidence of the running of the Chinese colony in the 3rd century AD and the approximate date of its abandonment in the 4th century (the most recent document dates to c. 330). In addition to the documents written in Chinese there were tablets in Prākrit, a north Indian language, which also contained traces of the language of the native inhabitants…. Stein could only speculate that physical changes robbing the region of adequate water supplies led to its current deserted state and Hou Can supports this theory with documentary evidence, indicating pressure on water resources and the need to build a reservoir upstream. The Chinese abandoned the territory and did not attempt to resettle it during their reconquest of the Tarim in the 7th century Krorän apparently went out with a whimper rather than a bang: in his excavations of the home of one of the leaders of Kroränian society Stein discovered thick layers of sheep dung that preceded its total abandonment – animals had been stalled in rooms where nobility had once dwelt.” Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 86-87.

   “More recent analysis suggests that the Cherchen burials were made about 1000 BC, whilst the Loulan graveyard bodies seem to have been buried as early as 2000 BC. Though the site is now barren, salty, sandy and windswept, the rings of dried tree-trunks surrounding the graveyard, the bundles of ephedra twigs in the graves , and the arrows and baskets all point to a different environment thousands of years ago, enabling a semi-settled life. When the Chinese of the Han dynasty first set out into Central Asia, Loulan was still an important caravan stop with water and food in abundance. A disastrous flood in about AD 330 destroyed the town, and the Lop lake gradually dried up into salt flats, although, out of custom, many travellers still passed through the remains of Loulan on the northern route that offered no shelter or sustenance. From this time onwards the southern route was safer, though longer
          The mummies found at Loulan and Cherchen were strikingly European-looking. They had high-bridged noses, substantial beards, deep, round eye-sockets and fairish or reddish hair. They were tall, if fully grown, and wore clothing of furs, woven cloth, often in an interesting plaid pattern, leather and felt….” Wood (2002), pp. 61 and 63.

Professor Richard Frye (personal communication, 7 July 2003) cautions:

“If the mummies in fact are to be dated very early (= pre 1000 BC) then it is possible that the ancestors of the Hunzakut, Burushaki speaking people, were the mummies. This supposes a pre-Indo-European population extending from the Basques through Rhaetians to the Himalayas etc. (not one people but various pre-Indo-European speakers). On the other hand, if it can be shown that the ancestors of the Tokharians were the same as (or related to) the Guti and Hittites, then Victor [Mair] may be right. It all hangs on the date of the migration of the Tokharians to Gansu from the west. They are hardly the indigenous Indo-Europeans as Narain thought.”

Perhaps DNA analysis of the mummies will be able to give us some more definite answers to these questions. It is of interest to note that a recent study (reported in Nature Science Update and downloaded from http://www.nature.com/nsu/nsu_pf/030616/030616-15.html on 7 July, 2003) has found that peoples related to the Basques may have been widespread before the later invasions of Indo-European speaking peoples:

“Goldstein's team collected DNA samples from more than 1,700 men living in towns across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They took a further 400 DNA samples from continental Europeans, including Germans and Basques. Only men whose paternal grandfathers had dwelt within 20 miles of their current home were eligible.
          The Y chromosomes of men from Wales and Ireland resemble those of the Basques. Some believe that the Basques, from the border of France and Spain, are the original Europeans.”

One hopes that this research is done soon before more damage is done to these important sites by looters. I include the following newsbrief  both to emphasize the need for urgent protection of the sites and because of the inherent interest in terms of Lop Nor history. It was downloaded from: http://www.archaeology.org/magazine.php?page=0305/newsbriefs/silkroad on 7 July 2003:

 

SILK ROAD THEFT

In the remote Lop Nur desert of northwest China, ancient tombs have been ransacked for the second time in two years. A team of archaeologists on an expedition to the area reportedly encountered the tomb robbers and followed their trail back to a previously unknown mausoleum from the Loulan Kingdom, an important stop along the Silk Road, that flourished more than two millennia ago. Inside the 90-foot-high domed mausoleum were high-quality silks, colored coffins, and an extraordinary mural depicting geometric patterns and a gold and a silver camel fighting each other, all of which were damaged by the looters. Mummies were desecrated and scattered bones thrown from the tombs. Although it is still too early to be certain, the quality of the grave goods and the rarity of the funerary architecture suggest that the mausoleum may be royal–or even belong to one of the Loulan kings, whose tombs have never been found. While investigations into the robbery continue, the local heritage administration now faces the tremendous challenge of preserving these unique tombs, which are clearly a popular target for looters. Because of the size of the area in which the tombs are located (they are spread across 25 acres) and the sparse population of this region of China, this will be an extremely difficult task. – JARRETT A. LOBELL

14. Qule 渠勒 [Ch’ü-le] was probably situated along the ancient route that led south from Keriya into northern Tibet, near modern Pulu, at the foot of the mountains.

“However, our old Chinese sources do not fail us altogether about the geography of this region ; for the small territory of Ch’ü-lê..., which the Former Han Annals note to the south of Yü-mi, can be safely identified with the present submontane tract known as Tāgh and comprising,