Chau Ju-Kua - University of Oregon Libraries

92 OUZERAT. I>16
from -which the hotanical name Curcuma is derived. Hirth, J. C. B. E. A. S. XXI, 221. This
need not necessarily involve that Curcuma is here covered by the word, though it would appear
that India furnished the root in ancient and mediaeval times. Fluckiger, Pharmakognosie des
Pflanzenreiches, 368
from Ki-pin (Kapisha, or rather Kashmir).
(3'^ edit.). The Liang-shu, 54,17, says that yii-kin was procured solely
17.
GUZERAT.
Hii-ch'a-la {-^ ^ ^).
The kingdom of Hu-ch'a-la^ rules over a hundred cities i^\\) and
more; its (principal) city has a four-fold wall. lo
The inhabitants of this country are white and clean looking; both men
and women wear double rings hanging down from holes in their ears; they
wear close fitting clothes with a cotton sarong wrapped around them. On
their heads they wear white hoods (Q >j^), and on their feet shoes of red
leather. They are forbidden to eat flesh.
There are four thousand Buddhist temple buildings, in which live over
twenty thousand dancing-girls (]^) who sing twice daily while offering food
to the Buddha (i. e., the idols) and while offering flowers. When offering
flowers they tie them in bunches with cotton thread, of which they use three
hundred catties every day ^. 20
There are over four hundred war-elephants and about one hundred
thousand cavalry horses. When the king goes about he rides au elephant;
on his head he wears a cap. His followers ride horseback and carry swords.
The native products comprise great quantities of indigo, red kino,
myrobolans and foreign cotton stuffs of every colour. Every year these goods 25
are transported to the Ta-shi countries for sale*.
Notes.
1) This is the earliest mention in Chinese works of the name Guzerat. In the preceding
chapter our author states that it was a dependency of the Malabars; I cannot verify this statement.
2) Guzerat was famous for its many temples, Hindu not Buddhist, most of which were 30
situated on the south-western coast, in the territory of Okamandala. Lassen, Indische Alterthumsk.
I, 134. Polo (II, 350) goes so far as to say that all the Abraiaman (Brahmans) in the world come
from that province (of Lar — possibly roughly the same region to which Chau refers). The word
«Buddhist» and «Buddha» are here used for «idolB. See supra, p. 90, n. 5. On the dancing-girls,
conf. supra, p. 55 n. 7. and infra, p. 95. 35
3) Polo (II, 383) says: «In this province of Gozurat there grows much pepper, and ginger,
and indigo. They have also a great deal of cotton. Their cotton trees are of very great size, growing
full six paces high, and attaining to an age of 20 years». He also refers (II, 363) to the fine
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