1923%20Memoir%20on%20Maps%20of%20Chinese%20Turkistan%20by%20Stein%20s

34 lIISTORY 012 SURVEYS [Chap. I
jonrlley. ;it, tIlr hgilltling, 110\vever, it allo\\-etl 11s to tnovc: in t,\vo 11:1rties ant1 thus to incrmtse
tilr ertetlt of the nrc.a n~apl,etl. '" 'l'llc sattn,~ :ltl\antage was taken after machitlc Ming-
Ehlli, $1 \\.Ilencc the g~lidance afforded by a fairly clr:lr earavau track permitted ~uhamnlatl
Tnkfib to tletacl~eti to\vanis T:ish-b111ok anti Iliimi. .;2
our 111ai1r llarty now nloved ~rortll-\vest\\-i~rcI?;, the great. sno\~y Illass of the Karliktitgh
cotiting int,o vie\\- far a.wa>- and serving to dirrct ns when in
Passnpe ol emtrrlt- doubt,. Serious trollble \\:IS, Ilo\vever, dill encorintered, wllcl~ nlaking
st ~ :~i.~~li-t~gh.
our way tltroog11 the last, barren range, an easternmost extension of the
T'ic~r-sllan, o\viup to want of water and t,lle conf~~sin~ cotllig:.rlmt~ion of its rngged valleys.
It \\-as \\-it11 relief that \ve deseendrtl to tlle little village of Hai, sit,uated on a wide gravel
pl:~teail \\-11ich receives sonle subsoil water from the easternmost. snows of tlle Iiarlilc-tftgl~
ant1 slopes tiown to t,he plains of Dzongaria. ':' Careful height observations wit11 nierc~lrial
barometer and clinometer taken along the \vhole of onr rol~tes mill help to throw fresh light
tlie uiorpllology of the Pei-shan.
A rapid journey then carried us daring t,lie first half of October from Bai nrest\vards
to Barkul and Ouchen (Iiu-cl16i?ng-tzu) along the northern foot of the
Journe: nlong K. fool. eastern T'ien-shan. Tile rout,e followed l>ermit,ted a closer survey
of T.irn-than.
being made of tllis portion of the great range than had been possible
in 1907 from the south. " I also became acquainted with the physical conditions of a region
which possesses dist,inct historical interest and in geographical character differs great,ly from
the Tirini basin and the smaller but equally arid basins eastwards; for t,hese valleys and
plateaus of Dzungaria, favoured by a somewhat moister climate and offering abundant grazing
grouuds, have played an important part in the great nomadic migrations affecting the history
of Asia, siuce the times of the Indo-Scythians and Huns.
-1fter leaving Guchen I snrveyecl, near Jimasa westwards, the site of the ancient
capital of this region, the Chin-man or Pei-ting of the Chinese Annals,
I'asstaga of Bogdo-ula and then proceeded soot11 to the Turfftn depression by the most direct
range.
route, difticult in places and hitherto unsorveyed. It led across the
Bogdo-ula range, a rugged portion of the T'ien-shan rising to numerous snowy peaks, by a
pass of over 12,000 feet and bearing perpetual sno\v-beds. "' Li1 Singh, by following with
the camels the ~taual caravan route and crossing further east by the easy Ku-ch'iian pass
above Jam-bulak, \\-as able to snrvey a ))ortion of the range mhiclt unfavourable weather
conditions had previonsi~ llitldetl froin view. ""
The first days of No\-clnbcr saw all our parties safely reunited at Kara-khfija, an
import,atit ancient oasis it] the ceutre of t,he Torfsn depression, the
Derrrt ~.outr fron, HGrnl
healr!- baggage having safely arrived from Su-choo and An-11si in
charge of Nail; (no\\- Jamaclir) Sllatns Din. Surveyor BIu1:arnmad
Yakub had also rejoined me. From Himi 11e had in acco~~danec n.it,h my instructions first
revisited the oasis of Lapcl~uk and thence descended to the deep basin ~outh-nrestwards where
the waters of Hinli terminate in the marshes of Shona-nor, then completely dry. 57 His
- .
survejs there and in adjoining depressions were of interest as revealing n~azes of mind-eroded
Mesas and otller surface features characteristic of all terminal basins, from tlle Lop desert to the
Su-lo-ho drainage area. Prom here he tilade his way by a di%cnlt desert route, n.aterless lor
some eight marches, to Pichan, the easternmost of the larger Turfsn oases. fiy
A conibination of geographical and archaeological tasks made the Turfin district
our base during the autumn and winter of 1'314-15. I myself with my
Excavatio~~s I~IKI 8nr-
Turfno district, devoted Indian helpers, Afviz-gul and Shams Din, was hard at work
from November till the first half of February on excavations and snrveys
at the numerous ruined shes in the central part of the depression. 59 I also organized a
'O bee hhcet No. 42. A, B. 3, C.3,4. D. 4. 52 See Sheet No. 28. B. I,?, O. 1.
" Sheet No. 40. A. 1, and for preceding route " See Sheet No. 31. A, B. 1,".
portions ibid. H. 1,2, C. 2,3, 0.4, Sce Sheet No. 34. A, B. 3.
" See Sheet No. 37. A, B. 3. C, D. 4. 5s See Sheet No. 31. A-I). 3.
" See bhcct Nu. 37. C.2,3. D.4. 59 See Sheet No. 28. C, D. 3 ; Third Journey, a. J..
" See Sheets Nos. 37. A,B. 2; 34. A-D. 1,8; 31. xlviii. pp. 202 sqq.
A-D. 1 ; 28. C.D. 1,2.