On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s18.2

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.