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On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s19: Ka-Sha (Kashgar)

On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c23.s19

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Ka-Sha (Kashgar)

v2.c23.s19.1

The narrative next tells us that from this (that is perhaps, the capital of Osh) the pilgrim went north across hilly sand-heaps and waste plains for above 500 *li* and came to *Kie(Ka)-sha*. This country he describes as being above 5000 *li* in circuit with many sand-heaps and little fertile soil; it yielded good crops and had a luxuriance of fruits and flowers. It produced fine woollen stuffs and fine woven woollen rugs; the people had the custom of flattening their babies' heads by compression; they were ill-favoured, tattooed their bodies and they had green eyes; their writing had been copied from that of India, and although changes had been made the substance was still preserved; their spoken language was different from the languages of other countries. The inhabitants were sincere believers in Buddhism; there were some hundreds of Buddhist monasteries with more than 1000 Brethren all adherents of the Sarvāstivādin School; these men read their scriptures much, without penetrating the meaning, and so there were many who had in this way read through all the canon and the vibhāshās (or Commentaries).

v2.c23.s19.2

A Chinese note inserted in the text of this passage tells us that *Ka* (or *K'a*)-*sha* is the old *Su* (or *Shu*)-*leh*, that this latter was the name of the capital of the country, and that it was incorrect for *Shih-li-ki-li-to-ti* which was the correct name. The last is restored by Julien as "Śrīkritati", a word which does not seem to be known to the dictionaries. It is possibly a mistaken identification by the Chinese annotator. But the *Ka-sha* of our text is apparently the *Su-leh* of Chinese writers from the time of the Han dynasty down to that of the Mongols (Yuan). In the latter period the foreign name Kāshghar or Kashgar came to be used, but some Chinese writers still occasionally employ the old name. The country called *Su-leh* was evidently in former times of much greater extent than the modern district of Kashgar. Our pilgrim's *Ka-sha* is apparently the *Ka-shih* (伽師) which was the capital of *Su-leh* in the time of the After-Wei and T'ang dynasties.¹ It may be also the *Ka-sha* mentioned in a Mahāyāna treatise as the name of a foreign land the people of which had "fine", that is shrill voices,² and it may be the Khasa which was in the Brihat-Samhitā's north-east division.³ In the Chinese translations of the Divyāvadāna one text gives *Ka-shih*, and the other *Ka-sha*, as the name of the country to which Prince Asoka went from Takshaśilā. This seems to favour Burnouf's suggested correction of Khaśa for the "Śvaśa" of the original text.⁴ *Ka-sha* (or *Ka-shih*) that is perhaps Kāsh, was the name of the capital and of the country. The city, we are told, was in the water, and hence perhaps the name *Su-leh*, that is *Su-lik* or *Su-laq*, from *su*, "water". Its modern designation is translated by the Chinese "Motley (kash) houses (gar),¹ but this seems to be an improbable rendering. There is a Turki word *Kasha* (or Kashka) which means "variously coloured", but *gar*, in Mongolian *ger*, is perhaps for the Chinese interpretation of a corruption of the Hindu word *ghar* which means "a house".

v2.c23.s19.3

¹ T'ang Shu, *ch.* 221 (2d part). In A.D. 435 *Su-leh* and eight other states of the "West Countries" gave in their allegiance to the Wei dynasty (T'ung-chien Kang-mu, Sung Wên Huang Ti, yuan-chia 12th year).

v2.c23.s19.4

² P'u-sa-shan-chie-ching, *ch.* 2 (No. 185); Abhi-ta-vib., *ch.* 79.

v2.c23.s19.5

³ Alberuni Vol. I, p. 303.

v2.c23.s19.6

⁴ Divyāv. p. 372; Bur. Int. p. 362 note; A-yü-wang-ching, *ch.* 1; A-yü-wang-chuan, *ch.* 1.

v2.c23.s19.7

¹ Hsin-chiang, *ch.* 3.

v2.c23.s19.8

The term rendered in the above passage by "hilly sand-heaps" is *shan-chi* (山積) literally, "hill stone-heaps", but *chi* is here, as in many other passages, to be taken in the sense of "sand-accumulation". According to our pilgrim hills covered with sand and waste plains were the features of the country between Osh and Kashgar, and Mr. Sven Hedin describes the country on the east side of Yangihissar as "ranges of low hills of sand, clay, and conglomerate".²

v2.c23.s19.9

² "Through Asia," Vol. I, p. 256.

v2.c23.s19.10

In the expressions "fine woollen stuffs" and "woollen rugs" in the above passage the word for "woollen" is *tieh* (氎). This is the reading of the A and C texts, but instead of *tieh* the B and D texts have *chan* (氈), which means "felt". The term *pai-tie*, as we have seen, is used as a name for "cotton cloth", but *tieh* is also used in the sense of wool. This is, apparently, the meaning of the word here, but we should perhaps regard *chan* as the correct reading.

v2.c23.s19.11

The custom of flattening babies' heads, common to this country with Kuchih, is mentioned by other writers; so also are the tattooing, and the peculiar eyes. But instead of the "green eyes" which the pilgrim ascribes to the people other authorities represent them as having "turquoise pupils (碧瞳)". We are told also that all the inhabitants of this country were born with six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot.³

v2.c23.s19.12

³ Wei-Shu, *ch.* 102.

v2.c23.s19.13

The pilgrim, it will be observed, describes the writing of Kashgar as, like that of Kuchih, borrowed from India; although certain letters had been left out, and other changes made, the essentials of the Indian script had been preserved. As to the Brethren, and their use of the Buddhist scriptures, Julien's rendering seems to make the author contradict himself. What the pilgrim tells us is that the monks spent much of their time humming the books, without studying the meaning, and because they read in this hurried way many of them had succeeded in going through all the Tripitaka and the Vibhashas or Commentaries. He does not say that "il y a un grand nombre de personnes qui lisent et comprennent les trois Recueils et le Vibhacha".

v2.c23.s19.14

The reader of the passage now under notice will observe that the pilgrim does not tell us anything of the form of government in Kashgar. We know, however, that in the T'ang period the country was under Chinese administration, with the designation Su-le-ch'ên or Su-leh Military station, the military governor being a Chinese official.

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