On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s18: Wu-Sa (or Wu-Sha)
On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s18
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Wu-Sa (or Wu-Sha)
v2.c23.s18.1
The pilgrim's narrative proceeds to relate that "from this", that is perhaps the Puṇyaśāla, going eastward he descended the eastern ridge of the Ts'ung-Ling, over passes and through defiles by risky paths in a constant succession of wind and snow, for above 800 *li*, to the *Wu-sa* country outside of the Ts'ung-Ling. This country he describes as being 1000 *li* in circuit, with its capital above ten *li* in circuit bounded on the south by the Sītā river. The district had a rich soil yielding good crops with plenty of fruit and other trees; it produced various kinds of jade, white, black, and dark-blue; the climate was mild and regular; the people were rude, harsh, and deceitful; their written and spoken language had a little resemblance to those of *Kie-sha* (Kashgar); they were ugly, wore skins and serge, and they were devout Buddhists. There were more than ten monasteries with nearly 1000 Brethren of the Sarvāstivādin School of the Hīnayānists. For some centuries there had been no native dynasty, and the country was subject to Kabhanda. Above 200 *li* to the west of the capital was a mountain the vapours of which soaring up, and coming in contact with the rocks, raised clouds; its sheer cliffs of imposing height seemed on the verge of crashing down. On the summit of this mountain was a magnificent tope of marvellous workmanship, and the pilgrim narrates the legend connected with its erection.
v2.c23.s18.2
In the corresponding passage in the Life the pilgrim is represented as staying in Kabhanda for above twenty days; he then continues his journey in the company of some traders going north-east. When the party was five days on the way it encountered robbers, and its members were dispersed; coming together again they continued their journey, and when they had gone 800 *li* they emerged from the Ts'ung-Ling and arrived at *Wu-sa* (烏 殺 or 靺). The second character of this name we are told to pronounce as *sha*, or *sa*, or *sai*, and also as *cha*, and the two characters probably represent a word like Usa or Osh. We may adopt the latter as a provisional restoration. Cunningham identified the country with the modern Yangihissar, and this is apparently the identification made by recent Chinese writers. Yule, who takes the Si-to river of our text to be the Sirikol, makes the capital of Osh to have been at "Chihil Gumbaz" ("The Forty Domes"), which is to the south of Yangihissar. Dr. Sven Hedin describes Chihil Gumbez as "a collection of stone and clay houses, stables, and yurts, besides a cemetery with a small chapel crowned with a cupola".¹ The district in Chinese Turkestan now called *Wu-shih* (烏 什) does not correspond in situation to the *Wu-sha* of our pilgrim's travels.
v2.c23.s18.3
¹ op. c. p. 119. "Through Asia," Vol. I, p. 261. See Hsin-chiang Intn.