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

60 THIS MAPS [Chap. Ill
need of special explanat,ion. Othors which had to be specially introduced for tile marking
of ancient sites, ruins and other objects of antiquarian interest, are sufficiently explained in the
fsble of symbols reproduced at the foot of each slieet.
No exact cl~ronologicnl limits can be iixetl for tho 'at~tiquity' wl~ich the use of red
colour indicates ill the case of these symbols; but generally it may be
Ancient ren'nlns
rhowrl
cor~sidered as tielining those objects wl~ich have ceased for a considerable
IU red.
time past. to serve their original purpose.
In the case of sjinbols for inllabited sites, no attempt at systematic differentiation
according to imllortance could be tnade. Large to\\.~~s, ho\ve\er, l~ave
S~mbo's for been distinguisl~ed by black outlines ap~xoxi~nately correspondillg to
sites.
tlie extent of gronntl tiley cover, and among other sett,len~cnts the more
popll~ous are made recopizable by sliglitly enlarged solid blocks. The market-towns of
tracts in the T;irin~ basin are easily recognized by tl~e addition of -6ci:cir (often coupled
,\.itll a nreek-da~) to the name of tile tract. 1x1 li:\n-su nshere practically all villages and
hamlets are walled, the use of the fort sjr~lbol has been restricted to small towns to avoid
over-crowding. Throughont the Inaps a sm,..ll 01le11 square has been used to distinguish
temporarily occupled structures sue11 as roadside stations (luilgur), sl~epl~crds' huts (Cllril), and
the like, fro111 1)ermanent I~abitations.
As iu the l/Million sheets of the Survey of India, no distiuction has been made
between din'erent classes of roads, except that the few nmain lines of
l~epreseutation Of traitic connecting the princil~al oases and usually ~~~arlced by the CI1inese
'roads'.
administration \villi 'mile-stones', rccte IIIU~ to\vers, at dirtatmccs of I() li
(app~Osimat~lj 2 miles) have been S~IV\\U wit11 double lines in red. 'I'lmrouglmout tile regions
represented, 'roads' are only natural t ~~cl;~, practieallle for camels every\\-here in tlle I~lains
for carts also, except wl~ere the strctellos of drift-sand to be crossctl are extensive, as is
the case all the way between 611otan and 'I'un-huang.
In regions ml~ere desert areas vastly predominate, some tlitticulty is naturally espeyienced
as to wl~ich traclis can reasonably be marlied as 'loads and
Indicntion of tracks. 'l'racks such as those which traverse the western Ii ~rul;-tagI~ or lead
along the foot of the easternmost K'un-lun, tlmouglr \vcll-l;uo\\~n to more
people in tl~e nearest snmall settlements, may remain unubed for mally molltlrs, or
even years. The principle 1 have endeavoured to observe was to mark wit;) the red line of
'road or path' only those tracks wliicll an ex11erienced traveller in l~ossession of the map nligllt
u;ith dlle core be able to i'ollo\v unguided. It goes without &a)-ing tllat of hucll tlar.]