On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c6.s2: Kuchih

On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c6.s2

Language: English

Kuchih

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The pilgrim now goes on to tell us that from Yenk'i he went south-west above 200 *li*, crossed a hill and two large rivers west to a plain, and after travelling above 700 *li* from that he came to the Ku-chih country. This country was above 1000 *li* from east to west and 600 *li* from north to south: its capital being 17 or 18 *li* in circuit.

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According to the account in the Life the pilgrim passed only one large river in the journey from Yenk'i to Kuchih. In other works the distance between these two places is somewhat greater, and the area of the capital of Kuchih is much less than in our text.

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The Chinese annotator here tells us that the old name of Ku-chih (屈支) was Ku-tse (龜茲), as we are told to pronounce these characters. This is not only the old name but also the only one by which the country was known to the Chinese until a comparatively modern time.¹ A Sanskrit-Chinese Vocabulary gives Kuchina (俱支那) as its Sanskrit designation; but the word does not seem to be otherwise known. There are various transcriptions of the sound Ku-tse, but Wu-k'ung tells us that Ku-chih is the correct form of the name.² The modern Chinese official name of the district and its capital is *K'u-ch'ê* (庫車), the Kuchah and Kocha of our maps. This term is explained as meaning the "Dry well of K'u", but the etymology cannot be accepted.³ In modern Tibetan books the name is given as Khu-chhu or Khu-the. This country was known to the Chinese from the early Han time, and in A. D. 435 it became a vassal to China.¹ The old Kutse embraced, not only the district now called K‘u-ch‘ê, but also that of the present Sairam and other territory. It was an ancient state, and its extent varied at different periods. In a translation of a Buddhist book we find it mentioned as one of the parts of his great empire which Asoka proposed to give over to his son Kunāla.² The capital of Kutse was at one time (in the 1st cent. A. D.) the Yen (延) city, and afterwards it was Yi-lo-lu (伊羅盧).³ In the Yuan period it was a constituent part of the Bishbalik territory, and it was also called I-li-pa-li or Il-balik.⁴ We find it described as being 200 or 170 li south of the Ak-tagh or White Mountains which emitted fire and smoke and yielded sal-ammoniac.⁵

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¹ An old variety of the name is *K'ucha* (苦叉). As Goez calls the country Cucia the modern official name was apparently in use before the Manchu conquest of China (See Yule's Cathay p. 573). Ku-tsang (姑臧), which is sometimes identified with Kutse, was the name of an old district in what is now the Province of Kansu.

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² The first syllable is found written also 丘邱, and 屈, and the second syllable is sometimes 慈. See Shih-li-ching, and J. A. T. VI. p. 363 and note.

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³ Hsin-chiang *ch.* 3. Here it is stated that the country got its name from the "dry wells" in it.

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¹ T‘ung-chien-kang-mu ch. 25 (Sung Wên Huang Ti Yuan-chia 12th year.

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² A-yü-wang-hsi-huai-mu-yin-yuan-ching (No. 1367).

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³ Ch‘ien Han Shu ch. 96: Wei-Shu ch. 102: Ma T. l. ch. 336. It was in the T‘ang period that the capital was Yi-lo-lu.

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⁴ Li-tai-yen-ko-piao, l. c.: T‘ung-chien-kang-mu. ch. 25.

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⁵ Sui Shu ch. 83: Ta-ch‘ing-yi-t‘ung-chih ch. 351: See also Timkowski's Voyage Vol. I. p. 398.

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This country, the pilgrim continues, yielded millet, wheat, rice, grapes, pomegranates, and plenty of pears, plums, peaches, and apricots. It produced also gold, copper, iron, lead, and tin: its climate was temperate and the people had honest ways: their writing was taken from that of India but had been much altered; they had great skill with wind- and stringed-musical instruments; they dressed in variegated woollen cloth, cut their hair short, wore turbans, used coins of gold and silver and small copper ones, and they flattened the heads of their babies. Their king was a Kuchih man, he had few intellectual resources, and was under the sway of powerful statesmen.

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The word here rendered “millet” is the mi (糜) of the previous section. But instead of this character the C text has ma (麻), “hemp”, and the D text has mei as before. The word hsing (杏) here rendered by “apricots” is translated “almonds” by Julien although in his “Documents Geographiques” he has given the correct rendering “abricots”. The skill of the Kuchih people in music is mentioned by other writers, and their music and musical instruments became well known to the Chinese. So also the woollen cloths and good rugs of this country were known to the Chinese before the time of our pilgrim, as were also its iron and copper products. We learn also that its king had a golden throne, and wore a magnificent turban with a long streamer hanging down behind. The reigning sovereign at the time of Yuan-chuang's visit had the surname Pai (白) and was a lineal descendant of the man whom Lü kuang (呂光) had put on the throne more than 200 years before Yuan-chuang's time. This king showed his want of political wisdom in renouncing Chinese suzerainty in favour of an alliance with the Turks, who in A. D. 648 invaded his country and took him prisoner.¹

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¹ Wei Shu, l. c.: Sui shu l. c.: T'ung-chien-kang-mu ch. 40.

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The pilgrim's description proceeds to relate that there were in this country more than 100 Buddhist monasteries with above 5000 Brethren who were adherents of the Sarvāstivādin branch of the "Little Vehicle" and studied the books of their religion in the language of India. These Brethren also were held in the "gradual teaching", and took along with other food the "three pure" kinds of flesh, but they were extremely punctilious in observing the rules of their code of discipline.

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As we learn from other sources the people of this country were good Buddhists, and the number of Buddhist images and buildings throughout the land was very great.² Our pilgrim passed more than one monastery in it on his way to the capital, and he spent his first night there with the Kao-ch'ang Brethren in their monastery. That the lay people, or at least the king, kept the vows of lay disciples we may infer from the Life's account of the king's breakfast to the pilgrim. It is specially mentioned that among the food served at this entertainment were the "three pure" kinds of meat; Yuan-chuang partook of the rest of the food but declined these, explaining that although they were allowed by the "gradual teaching" they were forbidden by the “Great Vehicle” of which he was an adherent. The Brethren, who were all Hīnayānists, gave the pilgrim in their several monasteries as light refreshment grape-syrup which was a strictly orthodox beverage for all. Ku-chih had long been converted to Buddhism but it had not always been Hīnayānist as we read of one of its former kings being a devoted Mahāyānist.

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² Fang-chih ch. 1: Chin (晉) Shu ch. 97: Tarikh-i-Rashid by Elias and Ross p. 124 note.

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The pilgrim's description proceeds to relate that in the eastern part of Kuchih was a large Dragon-Tank in front of a Deva-Temple to the north of a city. The dragons of this tank changed themselves into horses and then coupled with mares: the offspring of this union was a fierce intractable breed, but the next generation formed fine horses patient of harness, and of these there were very many. Local tradition told of a king in recent times named Gold-Flower who by his regal ordinances and judicial impartiality moved the dragons to become his vehicles, and when he wanted to die he touched the dragon's ears with a whip, whereupon he sank out of sight with them to the present time. There were no wells in the city and the people drew water from the Tank: the dragons now changed themselves into men and had intercourse with the women: the offspring of this union became daring and fleet as horses, and all the inhabitants gradually came to have a mixture of the dragon in them; trusting to their might they made themselves feared, and came to slight the king's commands, whereupon the king brought in the Turks who slew all the living creatures in the city, and this was now a jungle without human inhabitants.

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This interpretation of the story about king Gold-Flower differs from the translation of the passage given by Julien which does not seem to be correct. It reads—“Le roi montrait, dans ses lois, une rare pénétration. Il sut toucher les dragons et les atteler à son char. Quand il voulait se rendre invisible, il frappait leurs oreilles avec son fouet et disparaissait subitement. Depuis cette époque, jusqu'à ce jour, la ville ne possède point de puits, de sorte que les habitants vont prendre dans le lac l'eau dont ils ont besoin.” By a comparison of this with the original¹ we see that Julien did not notice that it was the secret influence of the king's wise and impartial government which moved the dragons to become his vehicles, and *Kan-lung-yü-shêng* cannot be made to mean "Il sut toucher les dragons et les atteler à son char." Then "se rendre invisible" is not right for *chung-mê* which means "to die"; the word *yin*, "hereupon" is omitted, and the words *yi-chi-yü-chin*, "down to the present" are divorced from their proper connection. This version also makes the author state that the inhabitants still "vont prendre" water and yet a few lines after we learn that the city was utterly uninhabited.

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¹ The original of the passage quoted from Julien is:—政教明察感龍馭乘王欲終沒鞭觸其耳因即潛隱以至于今城中無井取汲池水

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Our narrative proceeds to relate that above forty *li* north of the depopulated city at the slopes of the hills, and separated by a river, were two monasteries which bore the common name *Chao-hu-li* distinguished respectively as Eastern and Western. The images of the Buddha in these monasteries were beautiful almost beyond human skill; and the Brethren were punctilious in discipline and devoted enthusiasts. In the Buddha-Hall of the East *Chao-hu-li* monastery was a slab of Jade-stone above two feet wide, of a pale yellow colour, and like a clam, and on it was an impress of Buddha's foot; this was one foot eight inches long by above eight (in the D text, six) inches wide, and on fast days it sent forth a brilliant light.

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The *Chao-hu-li* (昭 or 照怙釐) of this passage is apparently a foreign, perhaps an Indian word, but we have no hint as to its meaning. In other works we read of a great *Chio-li* Buddhist monastery in this¹ country, but we also find *Chio-li* Buddhist buildings in other places. This *Chio-li* is perhaps another form of the word transcribed *Chao-hu-li*, although I-ching tells us it is Chinese.² As a Chinese term transcribed 雀離 *Chio-li* would mean "small birds such as sparrows and finches", but it is also written *Chio-li* (鳥梨) and this seems to be a foreign word. Our pilgrim's *Chao-hu-li* and the *Chio-li* of other writers may perhaps represent the Indian word *Chūri* which denotes a small bird like the sparrow. But the tope at the place where the brahmin carrying a sparrow interrogated the Buddha is the only one of the Buddhist buildings called Chio-li to which this interpretation can be applied with any probability. Another suggestion is that Chio-li and Chao-hu-li may be the foreign term represented by the common transcription Chu-li (侏離) which means motley or particoloured, of mixed bright and dark colours. This interpretation would evidently suit some, and perhaps would apply to all, of the buildings to which the terms in question are applied.

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¹ Shui-ching-chu: Kao-sêng-chuan *ch.* 2 (No. 1490).

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² Shih-li-ching and J. A. T. VI. p. 363.

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Outside of the west gate of the capital, the narrative relates, were two standing images of the Buddha, above ninety feet high, one on each side of the highway. These images marked the place where the great quinquennial Buddhist assemblies were held, and at which the annual autumn religious meetings of clergy and laity occurred. The latter meetings lasted for some tens of days, and were attended by ecclesiastics from all parts of the country. While these convocations were sitting the king and all his subjects made holiday, abstaining from work, keeping fast, and hearing religious discourses. All the monasteries made processions with their images of Buddha, adorning these with pearls and silk embroideries. The images were borne on vehicles, and beginning with a thousand, they became a great multitude at the place of meeting. North-west from this place of assembly and on the other side of a river was the A-shê-li-yi (阿奢理貳 or 兒) Monastery. This had spacious halls and artistic images of the Buddha: its Brethren were grave seniors of long perseverance in seeking for moral perfection and of great learning and intellectual abilities: the monastery was a place of resort for men of eminence from distant lands who were hospitably entertained by the king and officials and people. The pilgrim then gives the curious legend about the origin of the monastery.

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We know from the Life that our pilgrim’s account of the Buddhist procession of images here was derived from his own experience as he reached the country in time to witness one of these processions. The native annotator explains the A-shê-li-yi here by “marvellous” and it is evidently a transcription of the Sanskrit word āscharya, meaning a marvel or miracle.¹ According to the legend related by the pilgrim the monastery was erected by a king to commemorate the miracle which was wrought on his pure and noble-minded brother. One of its chief monks at this time, we learn from the Life, was the Brother known in religion by the name Mokshagupta, a Hinayānist who had studied above twenty years in India, and had acquired a great reputation in Kuchih, especially for his knowledge of the commentaries and etymology. When Yuan-chuang arrived Mokshagupta treated him merely with the ordinary courtesy due to any guest, but when the pilgrim exposed the ignorance of his host the latter came to treat him as his master in religion. This monastery is mentioned in Wu-k'ung's itinerary by the name *A-shê-li-yi*. It is also perhaps the Wang-Ssŭ or Royal Vihāra of other writers, and we find Dharmagupta lodged in the Royal Vihāra about A. D. 585 while he stayed in this country. The Miracle Monastery, Yuan-chuang tells us, drew learned Brethren from distant places to it, and it seems that these men came chiefly to study the Vinaya. One of these great students was Vimalāksha, popularly known as the "Dark-eyed Vinaya-Master", a contemporary of Kumārajīva.²