On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c7: Chapter IV. Chuan I Contd: Taras to Kapis

On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c7

Language: English

Chapter IV. Chuan I Contd: Taras to Kapis

The account in the Records proceeds to relate that from Bing-ghyul or Thousand Springs the pilgrim continued his journey westward and after going 140 or 150 *li* he arrived at the city of *Ta-lo-ssŭ*. This city was eight or nine *li* in circuit: here traders and Tartars (or, trading Tartars) from other countries lived pell-mell: in natural products and climate the city much resembled *Su-she*.

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The *Ta-lo-ssŭ* of this passage is undoubtedly the Taras or Talas of several old writers and travellers. Dr Bret-schneider, properly rejecting M. Saint-Martin's identification of Taras, is disposed to place the site of the city near that of the present Aulié-ata on the river Taras, and Dr Schuyler is of the same opinion.¹ This seems to be correct enough for practical purposes, but the old Taras (or Talas) was probably some miles to the south-east of the modern town Aulié-ata. It should be added that while the distance between *Su-she* and Taras in this passage is 540 *li* the distance between the *Sui-ye* city and Taras is given elsewhere as only 310 *li*.²

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¹ Med. Res. Vol. I. p. 18 note and p. 228 note. See Schuyler's Turkistan Vol. II. p. 120.

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² T'ang-Shu, *ch*. 43 and 221.

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Our narrative proceeding tells us that above ten *li* to the south of Taras was a small isolated town inhabited by above 300 Chinese. These men had originally been taken captive by the Turks and carried off to this district: they had afterwards banded together and had settled in and fortified this town: they had then changed their style of dress for that of the Turks but they had still retained their native speech and ways of life.

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In connection with these statements it will be remembered that while Yuan-chuang was at Su-she a Chinese envoy arrived and had audience of the Khan. This may have been the envoy sent by the Emperor T'ai Tsung in A. D. 631 to obtain from the Turks the release of all their Chinese captives. In the time of the Sui dynasty the Turks had invaded China, penetrating far into the country and carrying off many myriads of Chinese prisoners. It was to ransom these that the great Emperor sent his ambassador to the Khan in the year mentioned. The historian tells us that the number of men, women, and children released from captivity among the Turks on this occasion was above 80000. Among those thus happily restored to their homes were probably the 300 Chinese of this little town near Taras.¹

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¹ T'ung-chien-kang-mu, *ch.* 39 (T'ang-T'ai Tsung's 5th year).

Pai-Shui-Ch'êng

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Proceeding on his journey and going in a south-west direction for above 200 *li* from the little Chinese town the pilgrim reached the Pai-shui-ch'êng or "White water city." This was six or seven *li* in circuit, and the district excelled Taras in fertility of soil and in climate.

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As we learn from other sources this was a well-watered region with a rich fertile soil.² Long ago Rémusat identified this "White water city" with the "Isfidjab" or "Esfidjab" of Arabian writers, this name also meaning "White water."³ M. St. Martin adopts this identification and it has been generally followed. Then this "Isfidjab" has been declared to be the Sairam which is now, Dr Bretschneider tells us, "a little town in Russian Turkestan, north-east of Tashkend and about 6 1/2 (but in another place he says 13) English miles east of Chimkend.¹ It is perhaps better, however, to find the representative of the Pai-shui-ch'êng of Yuan-chuang in the modern Mankent. This town, which is also called Ak-su or "White water," is about 15 miles to the north-east of Chimkend. This last town is also regarded by some as being on or near the site of the "White water city."

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² T'ang-shu *ch.* 221.

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³ Rech. Lang. Tart. p. 286.

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¹ Med. Res. Vol. I. p. 74 and II. p. 94. See also Schuyler's Turkistan I. p. 75 and 393.

Kung-Yü

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Continuing to travel south-west our pilgrim went on from "White water" city for more than 200 *li* and arrived at the city Kung-yü or Kung-ya (恭御), which was five or six *li* in circuit. In this district the downs and marshes had a rich loamy soil and were densely covered with forests.

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Of this city no one seems to know anything and even the name is not quite certain as instead of Kung-yü we find in one authority Kung-ching (恭荊).² It is probable, however, that this latter form is only a freak of a copyist and that the former is the correct reading. As we find Ch'üan-ch'êng (泉城) or "City of the spring (or springs)" given as the name of this city we are probably justified in regarding Kung-yü as standing for the Turkic word Kūyu which denotes a well or spring, the native name of the city being Kūyu-shahr. It is remarkable that the Fang-chih here does not mention the "White water city" and makes Kung-yü to be above 200 *li* to the south-west of Taras or half the distance given by the pilgrim.

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² Ma T. l. ch. 336.

Nu-Chih-Kan

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Our pilgrim next proceeds to relate that a journey of 40 or 50 *li* south from Kung-yü city brought him to the country of Nu-chih-kin or kan (笯赤建). This country was above 1000 *li* in circuit and it had a soil rich and fertile, a dense vegetation and fruits and flowers in great luxuriance: grapes were thought much of although plentiful. There were a hundred odd cities and towns each with its own governor: but although the towns and their districts were mutually independent and distinct political divisions yet the collective name for all was the "Nu-chih-kan Country."

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Of a district in this region bearing the name Nu-chih-kan, perhaps pronounced like Nujikkend, little if anything seems to be known beyond what is recorded here by our author. M. Saint-Martin, however, writes of Nu-chih-kan thus—"Nous retrouvons indubitalement ce lieu dans la Noudjkeh (pour Noudjkend) mentionnée par le Mésalek-alabsar entre Taras et Khodjend, mais sans indication précise quant à l'emplacement."¹ This Nujkend, it has been suggested, may possibly represent the Turkic compound Nujabahkend, meaning "the territory of the nobles", a restoration which seems to suit our pilgrim's description.

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¹ Julien III. p. 276.

Che-Shih (Tashkend)

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The pilgrim goes on to state that from Nu-chih-kan going west above 200 *li* he came to the *Che-shih* country. This was above 1000 *li* in circuit, reaching on the west to the *She* (or *Ye*) river, being greater in extent from north to south than from east to west: in natural products and climate it was like Nu-chih-kan: its cities and towns were some tens in number, each with its own chief magistrate and without any general chief, but all subject to the Turks.

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The country here described has been long ago correctly identified with the modern Tashkend. Our pilgrim calls it *Che-shih* (赭時), as we are told to read the characters, or Chesh. This is evidently the *Che-she* (者舌)² of earlier writers with its capital *Che-chih* (赭支): the latter, Dr Hirth's "Tjadj," is also used to designate the country.³ The name is also written *Che-chih* (柘支) and its capital *Che-che* (柘折), and some western writers call the capital "Seket." The river of this country is here called *She* or *Ye* (葉) short for *Ye-ye* or *Ye-she*, the Jaxartes. Another transcription is Yao-sha (藥殺), and the river is also known as the Sihon and the Syr-daria. On entering China, we read in one treatise, it is called Chên-chu (眞珠), but another account makes Chên-chu to be a river of Tashkend alone.¹

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² T'ung-chien-kang-mu, *ch.* 25: Ma T. 1. *ch.* 338 and 339.

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³ Nachworte op. c. S. 70.

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¹ T'ang-shu, ch. 221.

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A note to our text tells us that the Chinese for Chesh kuo was Shih(石)-kuo. The fact that the word Tash and its equivalent Shih mean a stone or stone has led to some rather fanciful writing about this country. Thus Alberuni, who makes the philosophic remark that names of countries "change rapidly, when, for instance, a foreign nation with a different language occupies a country," adds—"Their tongues frequently mangle the words, and thus transfer them into their own language, as is, *e. g.* the custom of the Greeks. Or they keep the original meaning of the names and try a sort of translation, but then they undergo certain changes. So the city of Shāsh, which has its name from the Turkish language, where it is called Tāsh-kand, i. e., Stone-city, is called Stone-tower in the book γεωγραφία."² The Geography here mentioned is that by Ptolemy (about A. D. 150) who tells of a "stone tower" on the road of the caravans between India and Serica: but other writers place the tower at the starting point of the caravans proceeding to the country of the Seres. M. St. Martin considers that this identification of Tashkend with Ptolemy's "Stone tower," the Turris lapidea of later geographers, is not "sans beaucoup de probabilité." But serious objections have been made to this identification and probably it is now abandoned. The Turris lapidea as it appears in old maps is far to the south or south-east of Tashkend, the district of Old Tashkend. Moreover, not to mention any more objections, Tashkend, as has been pointed out by others, is always a city or district, never a fort or tower.³ M. St. Martin repeats the statement that Tashkend means “stone castle,” while Dr Bretschneider says it means “stone city,”¹ and gives “stony country” as the translation of our Chesh. But there does not seem to be anything in the accounts of the city and district to justify the use of the epithets “stone” or “stony.” The land was noted for its fertility and its grain crops made it the granary of the country: among its products are enumerated cotton, silk, woollen stuffs and articles of leather. In Old Tashkend the dwelling-houses are all made of mud, and the mosques and other stone buildings are built of what we may call second-hand stones.¹ The names given to the city and district have a different explanation, and represent a proper name. This was the personal name of one of the nine members of a powerful family of the Ge-ti or Yue-chih (月支) nation. The head of the family, the eldest brother, was chief of the clan the members of which were known by their territorial designation Shao-wu (昭武), that being the name of their original home north of the K'i-lien or Celestial Mountains. When conquered by the Hiung-nu (or, as some writers tell us, by the Turks), and driven away from their native region, they descended to the country between the Ts'ung-Ling and the river Oxus, occupying Kang-kü (Samarkand) and all the surrounding country. The head of the clan ruled in Samarkand and the other chiefs had principalities round about the metropolitan State, Shih or Chesh or Tash being the personal name of the brother who ruled over the district bearing this name. We even find Che-she described as Kang-kü or as a part of that country. In the 6th and 7th centuries also we find this district called the An (安) Country, An being the name of another of the Shao-wu brothers, but this did not supplant the other name. Thus Shih-kuo and Tashkend denote the country or domain of Shih or Tash.³

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² Vol. I. p. 298.

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³ See Paquier op. c. p. 24.

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¹ Julien III. p. 276: Med. Res. Vol. II. pag. 55 et al.

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² Hellwald's Centralasien S. 341, 351, 397: Baber Intr. p. XL. See also Schuyler's Turkistan ch. 3.

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³ T'ang-shu l. c.: Sui-shu, ch. 83: Ma T. l. l. c. In the Sui-shu

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BETWEEN TASHKEND AND SAMARKAND.

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We now come to a part of the pilgrim's narrative which presents some serious difficulties. He relates that—

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"From this (i. e. the Old Tashkend country) to the *Fei-han* country south-east is above 1000 *li*." This country, which was above 4000 *li* in circuit, was surrounded by mountains on all sides: it had a rich productive soil with flowers and fruits in great quantity, and it produced sheep and horses: it was windy and cold and the people were stout-hearted: in speech they differed from other countries, and they were ill-featured. For some tens of years the county had been without a sovereign, and the local chiefs struggled for superiority: their districts and cities were determined by rivers (川) and natural defences.

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The country which Yuan-chuang here calls *Fei-han* has been identified with Ferghana, corresponding in some measure to the present Khanate of Khokand. Ferghana became known to the Chinese in the second century B. C. by the name *Ta-yuan* (大宛) its capital being *Kuei-shan* (貴山), probably pronounced *Kusan*.¹ Another old name for the country was *Kü-so* (渠搜) but this is perhaps only the name of the capital slightly altered.² In later times we find the country called *Po-han* (撥汗) or (金發汗) and *Pa-han-na* (拔汗那), and *Po-lo-na* (破洛那), and in A.D. 744 the Chinese imposed on it the designation *Ning-yuan* (寧遠).³ The modern Chinese name is *Huo-han* (霍罕), in Cantonese *Fok-han*, which apparently represents the word Ferghana.⁴

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¹ Shih-chi, *ch.* 123. In this work Kangkü is placed 2000 *li* north-west from Ta-yuan. Ch'ien Han-shu *ch.* 96.

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² Ma T. l. *ch.* 338.

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³ T'ang-shu, *ch.* 221 : T'ang-chien-kang-mu *ch.* 20, 42, and 43.

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⁴ Ta-ch'ing-i-t'ung-chih, *ch.* 351: Li-ko-yen-piao, *ch.* 3.

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Now the pilgrim does not expressly state that he actually visited *Fei-han*, but some readers of the Records have understood him as describing it from personal observation, while others regard him as writing from hearsay. There

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and the Wei-shu *ch.* 102 the surname of the king of this country is Shi or stone, but he does not belong to the Shao-wu clan.

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are several circumstances in the narrative which seem to indicate that he did not visit the country called Ferghana. Thus he makes Fei-han to be 1000 *li* south-east from Tashkend, and this is double the distance, given in the T'ang-shu and other works, of Ferghana from Tashkend. Then he describes his Fei-han as having mountains on all sides, but Ferghana was free from mountains on the west side. Moreover he represents the country as having been for above a score of years in a state of anarchy, an active rivalry for chieftainship going on among the various cities. But we know from Chinese history that within a few years of the pilgrim's visit to this region there was a king of Ferghana, that the king was murdered by the West Turks, and that he was succeeded on the throne by his son.¹ The royal family belonged to the great Shao-wu clan. Thus we are apparently justified in regarding Yuan-chuang's account of the country as information derived from persons living outside of the district described.

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¹ T'ang-shu l. c.: Ma T. l. l. c.

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The narrative proceeds—

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From this (i. e. Fei-han) going west above 1000 *li* one comes (or, the pilgrim came) to the Su-tu-li-se-na country. This he describes as being 1400 *li* in circuit with the *She* (Jaxartes) river on its east. The *She* river rises in the north end of the Ts'ung-Ling and flows north-west a great muddy rapid stream. In natural products and popular ways Su-tu-li-se-na resembled Tashkend; there was a king but he was under the Turks.

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The name of the country here transcribed Su-tu-li-se-na (窣堵利瑟那) was perhaps a Sanskrit word like Sutushan meaning "happy," "easily satisfied," or Sutrishna which means "dry," "thirsty." It is apparently the same name which is transcribed Su-tu-shih-ni (蘇都識匿), Su-tui-sha-na, and Soh-tu-sha-na. Another name for the district was Ka-pu-tan-na (劫布呾那), and it was called by the Chinese the "Tung Ts'ao (東曹) Country," Ts'ao being one of the Shao-wu brothers.² This is evidently the "Setroushteh" of Ibn Haukal who says the country has no navigable river but has "running streams and fountains and meadows and groves" with mines of gold, silver, copperas, and sal-ammoniac. "It is a mountainous region, bounded on the east by part of Ferghana; on the west by the borders of Samarkand: on the north by Chaje (i. e. Tashkend); on the south it lies near Kish."¹ M. St. Martin identifies the district with the Osrushna or Satrushna of Musulman writers, the modern Uratupe or Uratépé, the Ura-Tube of our maps.² The identification is evidently practically correct, and the distance and direction of Ura-Tube agree with the pilgrim’s account. But the Life, which does not mention Fei-han, makes Yuan-chuang go from Tashkend direct to Sutrishan which it places 1000 *li* west from Tashkend. Here there is evidently a mistake due apparently to the accidental omission of Fei-han. In some Chinese works Sutrishan is placed 500 *li*,³ and in some 400 *li*⁴ to the west of Ferghana and adjacent to Tashkend on the north.

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² T'ang-shu, l. c.: Ma T. l. l. c.

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¹ Oriental Geography (tr. Ouseley) ps. 261. 263.

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² Julien III. p. 278.

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³ T'ung-chih-liao l. c.

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⁴ T'ang-shu, l. c.

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The narrative in the Records proceeds—

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North-west from the Sutrishan country you enter a great desert destitute of water and vegetation, a vast blank where only by following the mountains and observing the skeletons can the course be directed. Going above 500 *li* you reach the Sa-mei-kan country.

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The Life agrees with this account in representing the pilgrim as going north-west from Sutrishan 500 *li* through a great sandy desert to the Sa-mei(or mo)-kan country. This is, as has been shown long ago, the Samarkand of history. Now it is quite true that there is a great sandy desert to the north-west of the Ura-Tube country, but one could not reach Samarkand going north-west from that country. M. St. Martin does not help us here for he carelessly makes the pilgrim put Samarkand to the south of Sutrishan or Ura-Tube. His words on this subject are—“D’Auratépé ou Asrouchna à Samarkand la distance est d’environs 45 lieues au sud-sudouest: Hiouen-thsang marque 500 (37 lieues) de Sou-tou-li-se-na à Sa-mo-kien en marchant au sud.”¹ In a note to the passage with which we are now engaged Julien apparently makes a mistake in stating that M. St. Martin would substitute south-west for the north-west of the text. Bretschneider quotes this note and declares the change to be unnecessary. He, however, gets over the difficulty of the text by cutting out the important but puzzling words “going above 500 li you come to the Sa-mei-kan country.” A traveller proceeding to Samarkand from Ura-Tube would perhaps go north-west as far as Jizak and then turn south-west, performing a journey of about 120 miles. The fact that Yuan-chuang does not seem to have known of the springs of bad brackish water in the northern part of the desert he describes might lead one to think that if he made the journey between the two places he skirted the southern side of the desert. This inference would be strengthened by the mention of mountains and of course by the direction mentioned, viz. north-west.

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¹ Julien III. p. 279.

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But taking all circumstances into consideration we must rather decide to regard the whole passage beginning with—“From this above 1000 li to Feihan,” and ending with “going above 500 li you come to Sa-mei-kan” to be an account obtained from others, and not the result of a personal visit. We should, accordingly, perhaps regard the pilgrim as going direct from Tashkend to Samarkand. From this point of view our text must be regarded here as defective, and the last clause of our passage should read—“From Tashkend going above 500 li south-west he came to the Sa-mei-kan country.” The distance seems to be too short, but we find that it agrees with accounts given in other Chinese works.²

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² e. g. in the T’ang-shu l. c.

Samarkand

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The country at which Yuan-chuang now arrived is called by him Sa-mo (or mei)-kin (or kan) (颯秣建), a name which has been taken to represent "Samarkand." We may, however, regard the region indicated by the term "Samokan country" to be identical with the Samarkand district without holding that the two names are identical. According to popular accounts the name Samarkand was derived from an Arabian hero and was not given to the city in this district until A. D. 643. In Chinese literature this name does not appear until the time of the Mongols. It was introduced by them and it was explained as an Arabian word meaning fan-hua (繁華) that is, bustling, full of life, thronged.¹

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¹ See the Ching-ting-yuan-shih-yü-chie (欽定元史語釋) ch. 4, but see also ch. 6.

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A note to our text tells us that the Samokan country was called in Chinese K'ang-kuo (康國) which is the K'ang and K'ang-kü Kuo of the Han and other histories. This K'ang-kü territory had been at one time a large region embracing the districts since known as Ferghana, Kohistan, Tashkend, Samarkand, and other States.² But it had become split up among several members of the Shao-wu clan, and in the beginning of the seventh century A. D. the K'ang country was, roughly speaking, that region bounded on the north by the Chash (or Tash) kingdom, on the east by Kohistan, on the south by Kesh, and on the west by Bokhara.

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² It was originally, however, a small state kept in restraint by the Yue-chih (Getæ) on the south and by the Hiung-nu on the east, and its inhabitants were nomads. See Shih-chi, ch. 123. Kangkü was one of Asoka's outlying Provinces which he proposed to hand over to Kunāla.

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Up to Yuan-chuang's time K'ang seems to have been the only name by which this country was known to the Chinese generally. Other names had been introduced into literature but they could not be said to have been generally adopted. One of these new names was Samokan (薩末鍵) the same with that used by Yuan-chuang, and another was Si-wan (or man)-kin (悉萬斤), neither of which seems to be explained.¹ After Yuan-chuang’s time we find other names such as Sin-ssŭ-kan (尋思干), and Sie-mi-ssŭ-kan (薛迷思干), and these are said to stand for the Turkish Semez-kand meaning “Fat land.”² Siman is another form of the word for *fat* and the Simankin mentioned above may also mean Fat-Land. But Sie-mi-ssŭ-kan is also interpreted as meaning Sun-Land from Sams one of the names for the Sun in Arabic. This last term is also given by some writers as a designation for Tashkend rather than for Samarkand. The interpretation already mentioned as given for the name Samarkand apparently takes the Sanskrit form Samara-kanda as the correct one. The word Samara means a concourse, a *flocking together*, and Yuan-chuang’s Samokan may be for another Sanskrit word with a similar meaning viz. Samāgama.

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¹ T'ang-shuh, *ch.* 221: T'ung-chien-kang-mu *ch.* 39 (T'ang T'ai Tsung 5th y.) where the commentator gives Si-fang(坊)-kin as the name for Si-wan-kin.

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² See Med. Res. Vol. I. p. 76 note, p. 77, 131 and Vol. II. p. 58, 256. See also Schuyler's Turkistan Vol. I. p. 236.

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An old name for the capital of this country is Su-hie (蘇薤), that is, Su-hak or Sugat, supposed by some to be for the Sogd of old writers.³ It is at least doubtful, however, whether this was the city which afterwards became known as Samarkand. In other Chinese writers Suhak was only one of the royal cities of this country.⁴ With these the capital has other names such as Aluti (阿祿迪) and Pi-t'an (畢闐) in the Ravani land (樂琡匿地).⁵

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³ Ch'in-Shu, *ch.* 97: Sui-shu, *ch.* 83. Hirth, Nachworte op. c. S. 85. Su-hie is also given as a city of the Tashkend country.

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⁴ Ma T. *l.* *ch.* 338.

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⁵ Ch'ien Han-Shu *ch.* 96: T'ung-chien-kang-mu, *ch.* 4.

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Our author describes the country of Samarkand as being 1600 or 1700 *li* in circuit, greater in extent from east to west than from north to south. Its capital was above 20 *li* in circuit, exceedingly strong and with a large population. The country was a great commercial entrepôt, was very fertile, abounding in trees and flowers, and yielding many fine horses. Its inhabitants were skillful craftsmen, smart and energetic. All the Hu (胡) States regarded this country as their centre and made its social institutions their model. The king was a man of spirit and courage and was obeyed by the neighbouring states. He had a splendid army the most of his soldiers being Chei-kie (Chak or Tak 柘羯) men. These were men of ardent valour, who looked on death as a going back to their kindred, and against whom no foe could stand in combat.

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The term *Che-ka* of this passage is evidently a foreign word and it is interpreted in other books as meaning *Chan-shi* (戰士), "soldier" or "warrior."¹ But another supposition is that it stands for Chalak, the name of a town to the north-west of the city of Samarkand. The district in which Chalak lay was at this time famed for its tall strong men who were much sought after as soldiers. The characters read *Che-ka*, however, seem rather to stand for a word like Takka, the name of a country.

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¹ T'ang-Shu, 1. c. Here the word is written 柘羯.

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The Life represents the people of Samokan as being Fire-worshippers. Other accounts describe them as being Buddhists in the sixth and seventh centuries although they worshipped also the gods of other religions and their own ancestors. They probably were not all Fire-worshippers, but they were evidently haters and persecutors of Buddhism at the time of Yuan-chuang's visit. There were two monasteries in the capital and when the young Brethren of Yuan-chuang's party went to perform their religious services in one of these the people drove them out and burned the monastery. The king, however, punished the evil-doers and heard the pilgrim expound Buddhism and extol Buddha, and even allowed him to hold a religious public service for the ordination of Brethren to serve in the monasteries.

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This king was the head of the Shao-wu clan and the name of the particular branch to which he belonged was Wên (溫).¹ The Western Turks had at this time gained the ascendancy in these regions and had become all-powerful. Policy and ambition made this king wed a daughter of the Turkish royal family and the result was that the Samokan (K‘ang) country became a vassal to the West Turks. In the year A.D. 631 the king sent an embassy to China praying to be received as a vassal, but the Chinese Emperor for wise and patriotic reasons declined to accede to the request.²

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¹ Wei-Shu, ch. 102.

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² T‘ung-chien-kang-mu, ch. 39: T‘ang Shu l. c.

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The words here rendered “looked on death as going back to their kindred” are Shih-szŭ-ju-kuei (視死如歸). The expression means that the Che-ka men regarded death as a natural event, as a return to the state from which they had come. It is a literary phrase and is sometimes varied by the addition of chung (終), “the end.”

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Before continuing the narrative of his journey towards India our pilgrim proceeds to give short accounts of several countries in the region around Samokan and connected with that country. His information about these districts was probably obtained from living authorities during his stay at the capital of Samokan (or Samarkand). Commencing with the first country in a southerly direction he tells us that

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“South-east from Samarkand you go to the Mi-mo-ha (弭秣賀) country.” This country, which was situated in the mountains, was 400 or 500 *li* in circuit, long from north to south and narrow from east to west. In the products of the land and the ways of the people it resembled Samokan.

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The Life does not mention this place and Yuan-chuang, it will be seen, does not tell us how far it was from Samokan. In other Chinese books its situation is described as being 100 *li* to the south or south-east of Samarkand, 500 *li* from Ura-Tube on the north-west (a mistake for north-east) and 200 *li* from Kesh on the south-west, or according to one authority 400 *li* from Kesh on the south.³

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³ T‘ang-shu, l. c.: T‘ung-chih-liao, l. c.: Ma T. l. l. c.

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A note to our text tells us that the Chinese name for Mimoho was *Mi* (彌)-kuo, Mi's country, Mi being another scion of the Shao-wu clan. Its foreign name also is given elsewhere as *Mi-mo* (彌末) and it probably was something like Maimak or Memagh. From other sources we learn that the capital, the name of which was *Po-si-tê* (鉢息德), was about two *li* in circuit and was on the west side of the *Na-mi* (那密) River. This country which was formerly a part of the great K'ang kingdom fell into the hands of the West Turks while Yuan-chuang was on his pilgrimage.¹

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¹ Tung-chien-kang-mu *ch.* 40 (T'ang T'ai Tsung, 16th y.)

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M. Saint-Martin identifies Mimoho with Moughian or Maghin, "à 38 lieues de Samarkand vers l'est en inclinant au sud."² This town, the Maghian of our maps, is much too far from Samarkand if we accept the statement that Mimo was 100 *li* or about twenty miles from that place. Maghian is about sixty miles south-east from the site of old Samarkand which was a little to the north and north-west of the present city.

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² Julien III. p. 280.

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The narrative in the Records continues—

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From this [going] north you arrive at the *Kie* (*Ki* or *Ka*)-*pu-tan-na* (劫布呾那) country.

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A note to the text tells us that the Chinese name for this country was *Ts'ao*(曹)-kuo, kingdom of Ts'ao, who was another brother of the Shao-wu family. This information, however, is unsatisfactory as there were at this time in this region four Ts'ao kingdoms, known as East, Middle, West Ts'ao and Ts'ao simply. Of these the first corresponded to the Sutrishan or Ura-Tube district, which, as has been seen, was also called Kaputana. The Ts'ao of the note was apparently understood to include the Middle and West Ts'ao.

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When the narrative states that "north from this" you go to Kaputana the word this is apparently to be taken as meaning Samokan. In the Fang-chih the direction is given as North-west and this is perhaps right. M. Saint-Martin takes the words "from this" to refer to Mi-mo or Maghian, and supposes the Kaputana country to be a city "Kebond" about the situation of which nothing is known.¹ But it is better to understand our author as taking Samarkand as the point of departure; and the Kaputana country is then probably represented by the present Mitan and the surrounding district. The Ts'ao country, we are told, was to the north-west of Kang-kü and Middle Ts'ao to its north. Mitan is about thirty miles north-west from the modern Samarkand and in the district which includes Chalak once famous for its good soldiers.

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¹ Julien III. p. 281.

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Our author continues his account—

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Going west from this country for above 300 *li* you come to the *Ku-shuang-ni-ka* or *Ku-san-ni-ka* (屈霜你迦) country.

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In other treatises we find this name written *Kuei-sang-ni* (貴霜匿) read Kusannik.² The Chinese name, we are told in a note to our text was *Ho*(何)-kuo, the kingdom of Ho, another scion of the Shao-wu clan. The great Buddhist monk named Sangha, who came to China in A.D. 660, declared himself to be a native of this country, and claimed to be a member of the Ho family.³

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² Ma T. l. *ch.* 338: T'ang-shu, *ch.* 221.

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³ Sung-kao-sêng-chuan, *ch.* 18.

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M. Saint Martin supposes the Kusannik of our author to be the "Koschanich or Kochania" halfway between Samarkand and Bokhara. The Life, which has omitted all mention of Mimoha and Kaputana makes Kusannik to be above 300 *li* west from Samokan. This, I think, is also the meaning of the passage in our text; and about 60 miles west of Samokan, or north-west from Samarkand, would bring us to the neighbourhood of the modern Panjshamba district.

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Our text proceeds—

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From this country, that is apparently, Kusannik it is above 200 *li* to the Hoh-han (喝捍) country.

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The note to the text tells us that the Chinese name for this country was *Tung-An*(東安)-kuo or "East-An kingdom." *An*, as we have seen, was the name of one of the Shao-wu brothers, and this chief evidently had a large principality. *Hoh-han* was only a part and was called the "Small country." It was south of the *Na-mi* river, and its capital had the same name also written *Hoh-han* (喝汗) and probably pronounced like Khakan or Khagan.¹ M. Saint-Martin identifies this district with that of the modern Kermineh or Kerminah, and he is probably nearly correct.

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¹ Ma T. l. l. c.: T'ang-Shu, l. c.

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West from *Hoh-han* 400 *li* was the *Pu-hoh* (捕喝) country.

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This country which, a note to our text tells us, was called by the Chinese the "Middle An kingdom," is placed by the *T'ang-Shu* 100 *li* to the south-west of *Hoh-han*. It is the country which is called *Niu-mi* (紐密) in some books, and it is also called the *An* and the Great *An* kingdom. For the *Pu-hoh* of our text we find *Pu-huoh* (布豁) and these two probably represent an original like *Bōkh* or *Bokhar*.² M. Saint-Martin and Dʳ Bretschneider identify the country with the modern Bokhara,³ and they are doubtless right: but the *Bōkh* of our pilgrim was apparently to the north of the present city and district of Bokhara.

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² Ma T. l. l. c.: T'ang-Shu, l. c.

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³ Julien III. p. 282; Med. Res. Vol. II. p. 62.

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Our author continues—

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From this country (i. e. *Bōkh*) west above 400 *li* is the *Fah-ti* (伐地) country.

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This is the reading of the A, B, and D texts, but instead of *Fa-ti* the C text has *Su*(戍)-ti in on place and *Wu* (or *Mu* 戊)-ti in another. Then the *Life*, which also reads *Fah-ti*, reduces the distance from *Bōkh* from 400 to 100 *li*. The usual note to the text tells us that the Chinese name for the country was "Hsi-an-kuo" or "West An kingdom." In the *T'ang-Shu* we find the above *Wu* (or *Mu*)-ti given as the name of one of the nine Shao-wu chiefs; and it also mentions a *Su-ti* district in this region.¹ Taking *Fah-ti* as the reading we may regard this transcription as possibly representing a name like *Paptei*. St. Martin finds the modern representative of Fah-ti in Bētik, “lieu situé sur la droite de l’Oxus, à une trentaine de lieues au sud-ouest de Boukhara.” But we should probably regard the *Fu-ti* of our text as having had a situation in the neighbourhood of the present Darganata district on the west side of the Oxus. This Fa-ti (or Su-ti) is perhaps the principality designated *Niao-na-ga* or *Wu-na-ga* (烏 or 烏那遏) which was to the west of the Oxus about 400 *li* South-west from the *An* country.²

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¹ T‘ang-Shu l. c.

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² Ma T. l. l. c.: T‘ung-chih-liao, l. c. In the Sui-Shu l. c. Wu-na-ka (or-ga) is one of the Shao-wu princes.

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The narrative proceeds—

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From this, that is, Fah-ti it is over 500 *li* south-west to the *Huo-li-si-mi-ka* (貨利習彌伽) country. This lay along the banks of the Oxus being 20 or 30 *li* east to west and above 500 *li* north to south.

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M. Saint Martin substitutes *north-west* for the *south-west* of this passage, and he is doubtless right.³ All the texts, however, have *south-west* and the *Life* has *west*, but the T‘ang-Shu places this country 600 *li* to the north-west of *Su-ti* (Fa-ti). In the B, C, and D texts there is a Chinese note to the text which contains only the words for “in Chinese,” but A supplies the name which had dropped out. This is *Huo-sin*(火尋)-kuo, this kingdom of *Huo-sin* (or *sün*), one of the princes of the Shao-wu family. The country here called *Huo-li-si-mi-ka* or Khorismika(?) has been identified with the modern Khanate of Khiva corresponding to the Kharesm or Khorazm of ancient authors.⁴ In the T‘ang-Shu *Huo-li-si-mi* and *Kuo-li* (過利) are given as synonyms for *Huo-sin*, and the country is described as being south of the Oxus and as having bullock-waggons which were used by travelling merchants.¹ In some of the lists of the Shao-wu princes the name Huo-sin does not occur.

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³ Julien III. p. 283.

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⁴ Med. Res. II. p. 91.

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¹ T'ang-Shu, l. c.

Kasanna

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The pilgrim now resumes the narrative of his journey. He relates that from the Samokan country he went south-west above 300 *li* to the Ka-shuang-na or Kasanna (羯霜那) country. This was 1400 or 1500 *li* in circuit and it resembled Samarkand in its natural products and the ways and customs of the people.

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All texts and the Fang-chih seem to agree in the reading "from Samokan," but the Life makes the pilgrim proceed from Kharesm. This, however, is undoubtedly wrong and quite impossible. In the Chinese note to our text we are told that the Chinese name for this country was Shih(史)-kuo, the kingdom of Shih, another of the nine Shao-wu chiefs. From other sources we learn that the country was called also *K'a-sha* (佉沙) and *K'ê-shih* (渴石)² which are perhaps only different forms of a name like Kesh. This is perpetuated in the modern name of the district, Kesh, derived directly perhaps from the name of the city *Ki-shih* (乞史) which was built in the 7th century. The capital, corresponding to the present Shahr-i-sebs or Shehr, lay about ten *li* south of the *Tu-mo* (獨莫) River.³ This is probably the present Kashka-daria "on which the city is founded." Kesh was formerly a dependency of Kangkü which lay 240 *li* to the north of it.

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² T'ang-Shu, l. c.

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³ Med. Res. Vol. II. p. 273.

The Iron Pass

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Our pilgrim's narrative proceeds— From Kesh he proceeded south-west above 200 *li* and entered a range of mountains. Here his path was a narrow risky track; there were no inhabitants and little grass or water. Travelling among the hills in a south-east direction for above 300 *li* he entered the Iron Pass (lit. Iron Gate). Along this Iron Pass on either side is a very high precipitous mountain. Although there is a narrow path in it this is still more inaccessible. The rocks which rise up on both sides are of an iron colour; when the gates were set up they were also strengthened with iron, and numerous small iron bells were suspended on them. The name it bears was given to the Pass on account of its impregnable nature.

v1.c7.s7.2

Yuan-chuang apparently went from Kesh to the neighbourhood of the place now called Ghuzar Fort, and then turning south-east followed the Ghuzar river until he reached the Iron Pass. But the Life does not make any mention of the change of direction from south-west to south-east. The words for "Although there is a narrow path" are in all my texts *Sui-yu-hsia-ching* (雖有狹徑), but Julien's text seems to have had instead of *sui* the word *li* (離). So his translation of the clause which seems to give better sense is—"Elles (i. e. the "deux montagnes parallèles") ne sont séparées que par un sentier qui est fort étroit, et, en outre, hérissé de précipices." But one does not see how there could be "précipices," and *sui* is the correct reading.

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In Dr Bretschneider's learned treatise, to which reference is so often made in these pages, the reader will find much information about the Iron Pass (or Gate).¹ It is the Buzgola-Khana or Goat-house of the Hindus and it is known by other names. According to some its width varies from 40 to 60 feet and it is about two miles in length: a stream flows through it and it contains a village. The Life represents the actual gate as being made of the raw iron of the mountains plated with iron and furnished with iron bells, and hence, according to it, came the name of the pass or rather Gate. But the pilgrim used *mên* in the sense of Pass or Passage and he understood this to have the epithet Iron because it was strong and impregnable. Later travellers relate that the Pass was guarded by a barrier (or barriers) of the iron-stone of the place clamped or faced with iron. But no one after Yuan-chuang's time seems to have seen an actual gate hung with bells, and we read only of a tradition that there had once been a great gate. This Pass once checked the Tu-kue or Turks in their western advances, and kept them and Tokharans apart; and it became famous in the time of the Mongol conquests. In Chinese works of the T'ang and later periods it is often called the T'ie-mên-kuan or "Pass of the Iron Gate." It is thus described by a recent writer—"The famous ravine of the Iron Gate winds through a high mountain chain, about twelve versts to the west of Derbent. It is a narrow cleft, 5 to 36 paces wide and about two versts long. It is known now as Buzghala Khána (i. e. the house of Goats). Its eastern termination is 3540 feet above the sea; its western termination 3740 feet. A torrent, Buzghala Khána bulák flows, through it."¹

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¹ Op. c. I. p. 82 and II. p. 274. See also Reclus, Geog. T. VI. p. 502. Rémusat, Nouv. Mel. As. T. 1. p. 238; Sui-Shu *ch*. 83; T'ang-Shu *l*. c.; Hirth's Nachworte op. c. p. 84 ff.

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¹ Tarikh-i-Rashid by Elias and Ross p. 20.

Tu-Huo-Lo (Tokhara)

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Our narrative proceeds to describe that going out of the Iron Pass you reach the Tu-huo-lo country. This was above 1000 *li* north to south and 3000 *li* east to west; it reached on the east to the Ts'ung-Ling, on the west to Persia, on the south to the Great Snow Mountains (the Hindu-Kush) and on the north to the Iron Pass; the river Oxus flowed through the middle of it from east to west; for several centuries the succession to the sovereignty had been interrupted and the country was divided into 27 States with separate chiefs and all subject to the Turks, "When the climate becomes warm there is much sickness. and at the end of winter and beginning of spring there is constant rain (in C. "a succession of hoarfrost and rain"); hence in all the countries south of this to Lan-p'o much heat-sickness is a natural characteristic; hence the Buddhist Brethren go into Retreat of the Rainy season on the 16th day of the 12th month and go out on the 15th day of the 3rd month; this is because there is much rain then, thus making their religious precepts conform to the seasons." The people were pusillanimous and ill-favoured, but they were in a manner reliable and were not given to deceitful ways. They had a peculiar spoken language and an alphabet of 25 letters, their writing was horizontal from left to right, and their records had gradually increased until they exceeded those of Su-li in number. They had for clothing more calico (tieh) than serge; their currency consisted of gold, silver, and other coins which were different from those of other countries.

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The *Tu-huo-lo* (睹貨邏) of this passage is undoubtedly the Tokhara of old western geographers. In the Chinese note to the text we are told that an old and incorrect name was *Tu-huo-lo* (吐火羅), which is the transcription used in the Sui-Shu. There are also other transcriptions of the name such as the *Tu-hu-lo* (吐呼羅) of early writers, but the differences are not important. In certain Chinese translations of Buddhist treatises the name is given *Tu-ka-lê* (兜佉勒 (or 吐佉) 勒) or Tukhar.¹ The Sanskrit name is Tukhāra another form of which is Tushāra. This word has the meanings of frost, snow, and mist or vapour.

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¹ Ta-chih-tu-lun, *ch.* 25 (No. 1169); Vibhāsha-lun, *ch.* 9 (No. 1279 tr. A.D. 383).

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The extent and boundaries of the country named Tokhara found in other works differ considerably from those given by our pilgrim.² It was supposed to correspond partly to the great Ta-Hsia of early Chinese records,³ and portions of the present Bokhara and Badakshan seem to have been once included under this name. Saint Martin and Yule⁴ are positive in asserting that Yuan-chuang's Tokhara was the country of the Yetha, but this is against Chinese authority. In the Wei-Shu and Sui-Shu, for example, we have distinct accounts of Tokhara and of the Yetha, and the people of the former are referred to the Small Yue-ti, while the Yetha are said to have been of the original Yue-ti stock. The Yetha and Tokharians lived together; but the former were nomads, while the latter were dwellers in towns.

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² Ma T. I. *ch.* 339.

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³ T'ang-shu, *ch.* 221; T'ung-chien-kang-mu, *ch.* 40 (T'ang T'ai Tsung 16th year).

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⁴ Julien III. p. 285; J. R. A. S. Vol. VI. p. 94.

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The part of the passage within inverted commas reads in Julien's version thus—"La température étant constamment tiède, les épidémies y sont très fréquentes. A la fin de l'hiver et au commencement du printemps, il tombe des pluies continuelles. C'est pourquoi au sud de ce pays, et au nord de Lan-po, il règne beaucoup d'épidémies. De là vient que tous les religieux entrent dans les demeures fixes le seizième jour du douzième mois, et en sortent le quinzième jour du troisième. Cet usage est fondé sur l'abondance des pluies. Les instructions qu'on leur donne sont subordonnées aux saisons."¹ Now the text does not seem to assert that the temperature of this large region was constamment tiède, and that consequently epidemics were frequent. Such a statement, moreover, would be at variance with other passages in this chuan such as the descriptions of Kie-chih and Bamian. It is true, however, that Ma Tuan-lin, on the authority of others, represents the Tokhara country as having a hot climate; but that was evidently only in the summer, for the inhabitants were able to store ice for use during the hot weather. What our author apparently wanted his readers to understand was that the climate became warm or mild in early spring when the rainy season began: this change in the temperature produced much illness which was called "Heat (or Spring) sickness." In all my texts the reading here is wên-chi (溫疾), but Julien's text may have had wên(瘟)-chi, and this is rightly translated in his note "maladies épidémiques." Because the early spring was the rainy season of these countries the Buddhist Brethren in them made that their time of Retreat from the Rain.

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¹ The text of the passage is—氣序既溫疾疫 (in B 吐) 亦衆冬末春初霖 (in C 霜) 雨相繼故此境己南濫波己北其國風土並多溫疾而諸僧徒以十二月十六日入安居三月十五日解安居斯乃據其多雨亦是設教隨時也.

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In India the rainy season was in the summer, and this was the time of year in which Retreat was to be observed according to the Vinaya. By changing the time of Retreat these Brethren departed from the letter but conformed to the spirit of their regulations.

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For a long time the name Tokhara seems to have practically gone out of use, and the country which once bore the name is now to some degree represented by Badakshan.¹ Even in our pilgrim's time it was properly not the name of a country but of a great tribe or people occupying a certain large territory.

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¹ See Med. Res. Vol. II. p. 99.

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Proceeding with his description of the region the pilgrim tells us that

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following the course of the Oxus down northwards you come to Ta-mi (Termed or Termez).² This country was above 600 *li* long (from east to west) and 400 *li* broad (from north to south), and its capital was above 20 *li* in circuit longer than broad. There were above ten monasteries with more than 1000 Brethren: its topes and images of Buddha were very remarkable and exhibited miracles.

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² For the various States here mentioned and briefly described by the pilgrim see Yule in J. R. A. S. Vol. VI. Art. V.

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To the east of Ta-mi was the Chih-ga-yen-na country, above 400 *li* long by 500 *li* wide, its capital being above ten *li* in circuit. It had five monasteries but the Buddhist Brethren were very few.

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To the east of it was the Hu-lu-mo country, above 100 *li* long and 300 broad with a capital above ten *li* in circuit. Its king was a Hi-su Turk: it had two monasteries and above 100 Buddhist Brethren.

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To the east of it was Su-man which was above 400 *li* long by 100 *li* broad, its capital being 16 or 17 *li* in circuit; its king was a Hi-su Turk; there were two monasteries and very few Buddhist Brethren.

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To the south-west and on the Oxus was Ku-ho-yen-na. This country was above 200 *li* long and 300 *li* wide, its capital being above ten *li* in circuit. It had three monasteries and above 100 Buddhist Brethren.

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To the east was Huo-sha, a country above 300 *li* long by 500 *li* wide, its capital being 16 or 17 *li* in circuit.

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On its east was the Ko-tu-lo country above 1000 *li* long and the same in width, its capital being 20 *li* in circuit. It reached on the east to the *Ku-mi-tê* country in the *Ts'ung-Ling*.

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The *Ku-mi-tê* country was above 2000 *li* long and 200 *li* wide; it was in the *Ts'ung-Ling* mountains; its capital was above 20 *li* in circuit: on the south-east it was near the Oxus and on the south it adjoined the *Shih-k'i-ni* country.

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To the south across the Oxus were the countries called *Ta-mo-si-t'ie-ti*, *Po-to-chuang-na*, *Yin-po-kan*, *Ku-lang-na*, *Hi-mo-ta-la*, *Po-li-ho*, *Ki-li-si-mo*, *Ko-lo-hu*, *A-li-ni*, *Mêng-kan*. South-east from the *Huo* (Kunduz) country were the *K'uo-si-to*, and *An-ta-lo-fo* countries, the circumstances about these being related in the account of the return journey.¹ South-west from *Huo* was the *Fo-ka-lang* country which was above 50 *li* long and 200 *li* broad, its capital being above ten *li* in circuit. South of it was the *Ki-lu-si-min-kan* country which was above 1000 *li* in circuit, its capital being 14 or 15 *li* in circuit. To the north-west of the *Hu-lin* country which was 800 *li* in circuit with its capital five or six in circuit. It had above ten monasteries with more than 500 Buddhist Brethren.

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¹ See *Chuan* XII: *ch*. XVIII.

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In the *Life* we are merely told that the pilgrim travelled some hundreds of *li* from Tokhara, crossed the Oxus and came to the *Huo* country (Kunduz). This was the residence of *Ta-tu* (達度) the *Shê* (設) or General in command, the eldest son of the She-hu Khan and a brother-in-law of the king of Kao-ch'ang.² This king had given a letter of introduction, but when Yuan-chuang arrived the Kao-ch'ang princess was dead and the General was ill, and hearing of the pilgrim's arrival with a letter he with his male and female retinue made uncontrollable lamentation. He invited the pilgrim to rest for a time, promising that if he recovered he would accompany the pilgrim to India. The General recovered by the help of the exorcisms of an Indian Buddhist monk, but he was poisoned by a young queen at the instigation of a step-son.¹ Then this stepson T'ê-kin, the son by the Kao-ch'ang princess being a child, usurped the position of General and married his step-mother (the young wife whom he had induced to murder her husband and his father). On account of the funeral services for the General the pilgrim was detained here more than a month. In this time he made the acquaintance of a great Buddhist monk named Dharmasangha who had a very high reputation as a profound scholar in Buddhism. But Yuan-chuang found him to be only superficially acquainted with the Hinayānist books, and he knew nothing of Mahāyānism. When the pilgrim was ready to continue his journey he asked the new General for escort and post accommodation² on the way southwards towards India. The General strongly recom-

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² The whole of this paragraph is taken from the *Life*, *ch*. II. Julien I. p. 62f. In this passage the word *Ta-tu* is apparently treated as a personal name but it was rather a generic name qualifying a title. It is found with a slight variation of transcription prefixed as here to She, and also to Khan. We must regard it as a foreign word, but we may hesitate to accept its identification with Tardush or Tardu. This latter term is generally used to designate a Turkish tribe or horde, but it also occurs in the name of a Kirghiz envoy. The *Ta-tu* of our passage cannot be regarded as having a tribal significance, and here as in other places it seems to qualify the title to which it is prefixed. See *T'ung-chien-kang-mu*, *ch*. 40 (*T'ang T'ai Tsung* 15th y.); Thomsen's Inscriptions de l'Orkhon p*. 63, 114, 146; Hirth Nachworte S. 130f. The *Shê* of this passage is of frequent occurrence in Chinese history treating of the Turks. It is explained as meaning soldier or General, but the title is always applied to a very high military officer usually a near relative of the Khan. This *Shê* is regarded

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Linked texts (7)

Mahāvastu — Sanskrit
Bṛhatsaṃhitā — Varāhamihira, Sanskrit
Divyāvadāna — Sanskrit
Dīpavaṃsa — Pāli
Mahāvaṃsa — Pāli
Vibhāṣāśāstra — Sanskrit
Suman