The Peoples of the West

Contents
The Peoples of the West
from the Weilue 魏略
by Yu Huan 魚豢
A Third Century Chinese Account
Composed between 239 and 265 CE
Quoted in zhuan 30 of the Sanguozhi
Published in 429 CE
Draft English translation
by
John E. Hill
© September, 2004
“I was not born knowledgeable,
I am devoted to antiquity and am quick to seek knowledge.”
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
About this Translation
About Fonts and Characters
About the Text
Translator’s Notes
About the Dating and Background of the Text
Background Reading
About Measurements and Administrative Divisions
The Text
Kong Qiu 孔丘 (Confucius).
Lunyu, 7, 19.
Section 1. The Di Tribes
Section 2. The Zilu Tribes
Section 3. The Qiang Tribes
Section 4. The three main overland routes to the Western Regions
Section 5. The Southern Route
Section 6. The Kingdom of Linni (Lumbini)
Section 7. The Kingdom of Juli (the ‘Eastern Division’ of the Kushan Empire)
Section 8. The Kingdom of Panyue (Pandya)
Section 9. The Central Route
Section 10. Previous Misconceptions
Section 11. Da Qin (Roman territory/Rome)
Section 12. Products of Da Qin (Roman territory)

– Product List
Section 13. The Sea Route to Da Qin (Roman territory)
Section 14. Roman Dependencies
Section 15. The Kingdom of Zesan (Azania)
Section 16. The Kingdom of Lüfen (Leukê Komê or modern Al Wajh)
Section 17. The Kingdom of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan)
Section 18. The Kingdom of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah = Leukos Limên?)
Section 19. The Kingdom of Sifu (Petra)
Section 20. The Kingdom of Yuluo (Karak)
Section 21. The Kingdom of Siluo
Section 22. The Far West
Section 23. The New Route of the North
Section 24. The Kingdom of Northern Wuyi (Khujand)
Section 25. The Kingdoms of Liu, Yan, and Yancai (the Alans)
Section 26. The Kingdom of Hude
Section 27. The Kingdom of Jiankun (Khirgiz)
Section 28. The Kingdom of Dingling
Section 29. The Kingdom of Duanren (‘Pygmies’)
Section 30. The Author’s Comments
Abbreviations and Bibliography
Appendices
A. The Main Caravan Routes.
B. The territories of Haixi, Haibei and Haidong.
C. The “Great Seas” and the “Western Sea.”
D. Sea Silk.
E. Wild Silks.
F. Maritime Commerce and Shipping during the Han Period.
G. The Water Cisterns on the Route between Petra and Wadi Sirhan.
H. The Identification of the City of Angu with Ancient Gerrha and Modern Thaj.
I. The Spread of Ideas and Religions along the Trade Routes.
J. Climate and other Changes along the Silk Routes.
K. The Identification of Jibin as Kapisha-Gandhāra.
L. The Introduction of Silk Cultivation to Khotan in the 1st Century CE.
M. The Canals and Roads from the Red Sea to the Nile.
N. Kanishka’s Hostage in History and Legend.
Preface
There are several important Chinese texts relating to the early development of the “Silk Routes” that have
not been translated into English previously. They include the ‘Chapter on the Western Regions,’ several
biographies of the Chinese generals who expanded Chinese power to the west, from the Hou Hanshu
(covering the period from 25-220 CE); and an important 3rd century geographical and historical text called
the Weilue. My aim is to complete up-to-date, fully annotated translations of these texts, and make them
easily available to all.
• My first translation, a draft annotated version of The Western Regions According to the Hou Hanshu,
appeared on the Silk Road Seattle website in May of 2002. The response from readers was beyond any
expectations. I was inundated with a wealth of new material, comments and suggestions from scholars in
more than 30 countries. This led to a thorough revision and updating of my original draft which had been
available on this site since July 2003. It is presently being revised once more before being published in book
form.
• I am hoping, by the publication of this draft version of my annotated translation of the Weilue on the same

site to elicit a similar response. This should lead to a more accurate and useful final document. I intend to
add the biographies of several of the Chinese generals who were instrumental in opening the main “Silk
Routes” to the west at a later date.
• I have included a number of lengthy quotations in the notes because I believe they are of importance,
well-stated, and of particular interest. I have also included some notes sent to me privately in emails. I have
tried to get permission from all these correspondents but have not heard back from all of them yet. If
authors have any objections to my use of their material I hope they will contact me and I will gladly make
adjustments.
• Some of the longer notes, which may be of more general interest, I have included as Appendices at the end
of the document so they can be easily found and accessed.
• Publishing this translation will, I hope, make the Weilue of interest to the general reader, while retaining
enough information in the notes to make it useful for specialists. I have tried to keep the text itself as
uncluttered as possible so that it may be comfortably read as a whole.
• I hope the work will help rekindle interest in the extensive early contacts and exchanges between East and
West, and how they shaped the development of our cultures and our technologies. May it inspire readers to
search for answers to some of the many remaining mysteries in the text. I also hope that you will share at
least some of the great pleasure I have received while studying this fascinating work.
• Your comments, corrections, criticisms or suggestions are most welcome and will be taken into account in
future revisions and, if used, full credit will be given. Please contact me directly – not through the Silk Road
Seattle website. I will try to answer any questions – my contact details are:
John E. Hill
PO Box 467
Cooktown, Qld.,
AUSTRALIA 4895
Email: wynhill@bigpond.com
Acknowledgements
Many, many people have helped to encourage me and with the research that went into this new draft version
of the Weilue.
I would like to acknowledge the constant help and encouragement I have received from Jo Wynter,
my beloved partner of almost 30 years. Without her untiring patience and constant help, editing and
suggestions, none of my historical work would have ever come to fruition.
My special thanks go to Professor Fida Hassnain, who originally fired my enthusiasm in early Indian
history, took me to visit many Kushan sites, helped me explore the archaeological collections held in
Kashmir, while conveying the knowledge he had gained through his long career; Professor Daniel Waugh
for his encouragement and for making it possible to publish my work on the Silk Road Seattle website; and
to Professor Victor M. Mair for ongoing advice and assistance. Others who have generously provided
valuable help include:
Nettie K. Adams, Dr. Farhad Assar, Dr. Thomas Bartlett, Professor Christopher I. Beckwith, Dr.
Craig Benjamin, Professor Alison Betts, Professor E. Bruce Brooks, Professor Felix Chami, Dr. T.
Matthew Ciolek, Professor Joe Cribb, Chris M. Dorn’eich, Professor Étienne de la Vaissière, Aayko
Eyma, Professor Richard N. Frye, Professor M. Gawlikowski, Dan Gibson, Gaston Giulliani, Dr.
Irene L. Good, Dr. David T. Graf, Paul Greenhall, Chris Hopkins, Professor Karl Jettmar, Agnes
Korn, Henriette Kress, Whalen Lai, Valérie Lefebvre-Aladwi, Renzo Lucherini, Pavel Lurje, Thomas
K. Mallon-McCorgray, Dr. Michael Macdonald, Professor Daniel L. McKinley, Raoul Mclaughlin,
Felicitas Maeder, Josef Maier, Samir Masri; Professor Irina Merzliakova, John Moffett, Khademi
Nadooshan, Professor Giorgio Nebbia, Mark Passehl, Prof. E. G. Pulleyblank, Lic. Paola Raffetta,
Fr. Yves Raguin, S.J., Professor Nader Rastegar, Professor Donald Redford, Joachim K. Rennstich,

Janet Rizvi, Peter Rowland, Dr. Edmund Ryden, Orit Shamir, Michael Schimmelpfennig, Professor
Steven Sidebotham, Professor Nicholas Sims-Williams, Sören Stark, Dr. Sebastian Stride, Dr.
Mehmet Tezcan, Professor E. H. Uphill, Dr. Chunyun WANG, Professor Donald B. Wagner, Antonia
Willis, Richard Wong, and the Editorial staff of Shen-Nong of Integrated Chinese Medicine Holdings
Ltd., in Hong Kong (www.icm.com.hk).
Almost inevitably I will have forgotten some who have helped me along the way – and a few have asked not
to be named. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you as well.
Thank you all so very much. I will be forever in your debt. This is your work as well as mine – there is
no way I could have written it without the kind support and assistance I received from you. I hope you will
find it worthy and will be pleased with it. I look forward to any suggestions you may have to improve it in
the future.
Introduction
About this Translation
• This translation has been made from the text of the Weilue as contained in the five volume Sanguozhi
published by the New China Bookstore Publishing House, Beijing, 1975, zhuan 30: 858-863. I have also
checked critical passages against other, earlier, editions.
• As in the modern world, the borders of countries were constantly changing. In addition, many of the
peoples mentioned in the Weilue were nomadic, and regularly moved from place to place. Peoples of
different ethnic backgrounds and even languages were sometimes grouped together under a common name
as “confederations” or “tribes,” which at times can be quite confusing for the reader.
• I have divided the text into numbered and headed sections for clarity and ease of use. Modern place-name
equivalents are in rounded brackets after the Chinese names. Many are well-established and widely
accepted. Tentative identifications are indicated with a question mark, and the evidence is discussed in the
notes.
The modern place-names adopted here sometimes only refer to the general location of the ancient sites
mentioned in the text. Usually I have only given the name of the nearest modern town, or the main town of
an oasis. For example, the oasis of Kashgar (Shule) contained several towns, as it still does, and these are
sometimes referred to individually. Literal translations of place-names and products have been put within
single inverted commas, such as: ‘Eastern Division.’
Where needed for clarity, I have added comments and notes in square brackets, eg: “the three
heavenly bodies [the sun, moon, and stars].” Identifications that remain uncertain are indicated by a
question mark.
• Because the older Wade-Giles system of Romanizing Chinese is still commonly used, you will find it
employed in many of the quotes given in my notes. I have, therefore, included the Wade-Giles equivalents
after the Pinyin for many names and terms in italics and within square brackets.
• Chinese characters are omitted from the translation itself to make it easier to read. The characters for all
major place-names and terms are included in the appropriate notes.
• For those wishing to check the reconstructed ancient pronunciations I highly recommend first checking
Edwin Pulleyblank’s masterful Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation in Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle
Chinese, and Early Mandarin (1991), UBC Press, Vancouver. It is arranged alphabetically according to the
Pinyin renderings and also contains references to the entries in Karlgren’s earlier, but still useful,
Grammata Serica (Recensa). Pulleyblank’s listing of the reference numbers to the characters in Karlgren’s
work probably provides the most convenient way of finding particular characters in that work, which is
notoriously difficult to access. Some additional reconstructions have been added from the Grand dictionnaire
Ricci de la langue chinoise. 7 volumes. Instituts Ricci (Paris – Taipei). Desclée de Brouwer. 2001, which is
abbreviated as GR in the entries.

• Note that the EMC reconstructions are only reliable back to the time when the Qieyun dictionary was
completed in 601 CE, as Pulleyblank himself notes on p. 20 of his Lexicon. This means there was a gap of
over 300 years between the composition of the Weilue and the best phonetic reconstructions for the
characters we have at our disposal.
Although the reconstructions back to the late 6th century are frequently useful in helping to identify
place-names, there were undoubtedly significant phonetic changes between the 3 rd century and 6 th century
CE. Also, there were likely significant differences in pronunciation between the Chinese soldiers and settlers
on the northwest frontiers and the inhabitants of the capital.
• The reconstructions of “Archaic Chinese” according to Karlgren’s Grammata Serica, in which he attempts
to reconstruct pronunciations back to the Chou period (up to circa 220 BCE), are also included. These
reconstructions of “Archaic Chinese” are indicated by the use of a preceding asterisk: *. Sometimes
Karlgren’s attempts to provide these earlier reconstructions are of value, but they should be regarded with
caution. They are followed by Karlgren’s “Ancient Chinese,” which are his reconstructions for the period
equivalent to Pulleyblank’s EMC.
As entries are often difficult to find in Karlgren’s book, I have included his numbering system
preceded by “K”, so a typical entry from his work will look like this: K. 139s *g’ân / γân.
• Quotes from French authors have been translated into English and usually adapted (e.g. by changing the
French E.F.E.O. romanizations into Pinyin, leaving out unnecessary footnotes and some of the Chinese
characters).
• Some notes from my earlier translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions According to the Hou
Hanshu (abbreviated here as CWR) are duplicated here to save the reader the tedious task of checking the
notes from one work to the other.
About Fonts and Characters
• I have avoided using Chinese characters in the Text itself. Chinese characters as found in the Notes will
require the enabling of “Unicode” Chinese characters. Most modern computer programs come with the
ability to display Chinese characters but some readers may have to install or “enable” them in their browser
to be able to read the Notes and Appendices properly.
• Some of the rarer characters may not be available in the fonts on your computer. In this case, if you are
using Windows 2000 or XP format, try to obtain the very extensive “Simsun (Founder Extended)” font
which is available on the (unfortunately very expensive) Microsoft Office Proofing Tools CD.
Those with Office XP 2002 or later should be able to install it from your Office XP CD using the
information available at: http://www.i18nwithvb.com/surrogate_ime/background.htm
• For Mac users I recommend checking the following website for information on Chinese fonts for the
various OS X operating systems: http://www.yale.edu/chinesemac/pages/os_x.html
• For Linux users I recommend checking the following website for information on Chinese fonts:
http://seba.studentenweb.org/thesis/linux.php
• For the balance of the document (including Chinese romanizations and the quotes from various other
languages), I have used “Gentium” font throughout as it elegant, and contains the greatest number of
diacritics (or accents) needed. Best of all, is free and available now in Linux, Mac and PC formats.
If this font is not on already your computer it can be easily downloaded and installed from this site,
or: information on the Gentium font can be found at:
http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&item_id=Gentium&_sc=1
Gentium fonts may be downloaded from:
http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&item_id=Gentium_download&_sc=1

Fortunately, it is free, and not a large file, and so should not take too long to download and install in
your “Fonts” folder.
• The use of “Gentium” has allowed me accurately represent almost all the diacritics employed in the
quotes. Don’t forget, if you can’t find exactly the diacritic you need already in the list of characters, you can
combine marks from the “Combining Diacritical Marks” heading, by typing the character you wish to mark
and then going to “Symbol” and adding the appropriate diacritical mark. This works reasonably well in
most cases.
In spite of this, some readers may still experience difficulties. However, I believe that most of the notes
will be meaningful even if the odd character is missed. If readers continue to have problems, or wish to
discuss some point, contact the author directly at: wynhill@bigpond.com . But please – do not contact the
Webmaster.
About The Text.
• The Weilue fills in many gaps in our knowledge of the extensive international contacts and trade networks
at this early period. The kingdom of Wei was one of the ‘Three Kingdoms’ (Wei, Wu and Shu) formed after
the disintegration of the Han dynasty in 220 CE. Its capital remained at Luoyang [Loyang], which had also
been the capital of the Later Han dynasty.
“The Wei controlled the north and north-west, being based essentially on the Yellow River valley
with their capital at Loyang ; the Wu in the south and south-east ruled the Yangtze valley and the
two Kuang provinces, while the Shu were based on the Szechuan basin in the east, but also
commanded the hills of Kweichow and part of Yunnan.” Needham (1978), p. 40.
• The original text of the Weilue, or “Brief Account of the Wei Dynasty,” by Yu Huan has, sadly, been lost.
Fortunately, this chapter on the xirong, or ‘Peoples of the West’, was quoted in as extensive footnote to the
Sanguozhi by Pei Songzhi, first published in CE 429.
• Unfortunately, Yu Huan does not mention his sources in the text that has survived. Some of this new data
undoubtedly came to China via traders from Da Qin. Land communications with the West apparently
continued relatively uninterrupted to the northern state of Wei after the fall of the Han dynasty.
Wei was the northernmost of the three kingdoms the Han empire had split into and it controlled
access to Dunhuang and the main trade routes to the west. It was also, of course, the state that Yu Huan
lived in. An entry of the “Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms” for the year 222 CE informs us:
“Second month (Mar. 1-29). The Kings of Shan-shan 鄯善, Ch’iu-tsŭ 龜玆 (Kutcha), and Yü-tien 于
闐 (Khotan) each dispatched an envoy to offer tribute. [The Emperor said in an edict: “‘The Hsi-jung
西戎 came to submit to his arrangements,’ and ‘The Ti-ch’iang 氐羌 came to seek acknowledgment,’
– these lines are sung in praise in the Shih 詩 and the Shu 書. Now, the distant barbarian tribes of the
Western Regions have all come to offer submission and allegiance to us. Envoys shall be sent to
soothe them.”] From this time on, the Western Regions maintained contact with China, and the
wu-chi chiao-yü 戊己校尉 was appointed.” Fang (1965), p. 98. [Note: this latter title is usually
transcribed as: “wu- (or mao-)chi hsiao-wei” – which translates as the “Maoji Commandant” – see
Hucker No. 2456 and TWR notes 1.5 and 22.5. Also, “the Ti-ch’iang” above would be better rendered
as “the Ti and the Ch’iang.”]
• There is information in the Weilue about the maritime routes to the Roman Empire and it is quite possible
that some, or all, of the new information on the Roman Empire and Parthia came from foreign sailors. One
record of information obtained from such sources (which may have been available to Yu Huan) is recorded
in the Liangshu:
“During the 5th year of the Huangwu period of the reign of Sun Quan [= CE 226] a merchant of Da
Qin, whose name was Qin Lun came to Jiaozhi [Tongking]; the prefect [taishou] of Jiaozhi, Wu Miao,
sent him to Sun Quan [the Wu emperor], who asked him for a report on his native country and its
people. Qinlun prepared a statement and replied. At the time Zhuke [nephew to Zhuke Liang, alias

Kun Ming] chastised Dan Yang [= Jiang Nan] and they had caught blackish coloured dwarfs. When
Qin Lun saw them he said that in Da Qin these men were rarely seen. Sun Quan then sent male and
female dwarfs, ten of each, in charge of an officer, Liu Xian of Huiji [a district in Zhejiang], to
accompany Qin Lun. Liu Xian died on the road, whereupon Qin Lun returned direct to his native
country.” Adapted from Hirth (1885), pp. 47-48.
Note: In the name of the “Roman” merchant Qin Lun above, Qin, as is standard Chinese practice with
foreign names, stands for ‘from Da Qin’ or the Roman Empire. The old pronunciation of the personal name
Lun 論 is reconstructed as: K. 470b *li̯wən / li̯uĕn or *lwən / luən; EMC lwən or lwən h . This, as Renzo
Lucherini has kindly pointed out in a private communication of 23 May, 2004, may well have represented
the Greek name of Leon.
• Yu Huan apparently never left China, but he collected a large amount of information on the countries to
the west of China including Parthia, India, and the Roman Empire, and the various routes to them. Some of
this information had reached China well before Yu Huan’s time, and can also be found in the sections
dealing with the ‘Western Regions’ of the Shiji, the Hanshu, and the Hou Hanshu.
• In spite of this repetition of earlier (and sometimes fanciful) information, the Weilue contains much new,
unique, and generally trustworthy material. Most of it dates from the late second and early third centuries
CE. It is this new information that makes the Weilue such a valuable source. Most of the new information
appears to have come from the Later Han dynasty, before China was to a large extent cut off from the West
by civil wars and unrest along its borders during the late 2nd century CE.
“The time of the Han dynasty, especially the Later Han, was one of the relatively important scientific
periods in Chinese history. There were great advances in astronomy, improvements in the calendar,
an outstanding development in the earth sciences, and foundations laid for methods of classifying
plants and animals; alchemy flourished, and the first book ever written on the subject appeared
(A.D. 142). A sceptical and rationalist way of thinking developed, particularly about A.D. 80 in the
hands of Wang Chhung [Wang Chong].., while there were two Han princes who also took part in
active intellectual life. One, Tê of Ho-Chien, was a scholar and bibliophile who preserved the
important ‘Artificer’s Record’ section of the Chou Li (Records of the Rites of Chou), the other was
the almost legendary Liu An of Huai-Nan, who gave his name to the Huai Nan Tzu, a compendium on
all the science of the day and one of the most important monuments of ancient Chinese scientific
thought. Indeed, bibliography as a whole received great stimulus, for the Han period marked the first
systematic development of book lists; compiled by experts in astronomy, medicine, military science,
history, magic and divination, these were incorporated into the Han histories and list some 700 works
written on wooden or bamboo tablets, and on silk. Buddhism also entered China in Later Han times
and the first sutras were translated into Chinese at the capital, Loyang.
In technology the Han age was marked by the invention and spread of the use of paper, by
numerous developments in ceramics such as the first glazes and the introduction of a material that
was the forerunner of porcelain, by advances in architectural techniques such as making decorated
bricks and tiles, and by raising the level of textile technology to a stage not approached by Iran or
Europe until centuries later. A large number of natural products new to China were also imported:
alfalfa and the grape-vine from the west, oranges, lemons, betel nuts and lychees from the south and
south-west. From the west also came improved breeds of horses, and from Khotan, possibly from
Burma too, jade arrived in large quantities. Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Han people in
nautical technology was the cardinal invention of the axial rudder at least as early as the first century
A.D.
Towards the end of Later Han times, palace revolutions became increasingly frequent, and in
184 a farming crisis led to a peasant revolt guided, in this case, by the ‘Yellow Turban’ secret society.
Although the revolt was suppressed, it left some of the army generals in positions of great power, and
by 220 the central government found itself ineffective. The country became divided, and for the next
half century remained fragmented into three independent kingdoms in a state of permanent mutual
hostility.” Needham (1978), pp. 39-40.
• Along with these great scientific and technological exchanges came new ideas, philosophies and religions.
Foreign ideas and religions spread incredibly quickly via the trade routes across the whole of Eurasia and
much of Africa. The acceleration of information exchange was unprecedented. Buddhism became

established in Central Asia well before the turn of the millennium and in China during the 1 st century CE.
• There is also some fairly convincing evidence that Christianity and Judaism had reached both China and
India by the first century CE, and Christianity was definitely well-established in southern India at least by
the second century CE. This rapid spread of religions was to continue in later centuries with Manichaeism,
Nestorian Christianity and Islam. See: Appendix I: “The Spread of Ideas and Religions Along the Trade
Routes.”
Translator’s Notes
• The section on Da Qin (Roman territory) from the Weilue was translated into English, with excellent
notes, by Friedrich Hirth in his pioneering volume, China and the Roman Orient, first published in 1885. He
also included translations of a wide range of other Chinese texts relating to Da Qin (the Roman Empire) and
the Chinese text of each is included, making it an essential reference, even today.
• This was followed in 1905 by a translation of the rest of the text of the Weilue into French by Édouard
Chavannes, under the title of, “Les pays d’occident d’après le Wei lio.”
Chavannes’ translation is accompanied by copious notes in which he clarified numerous obscurities,
and convincingly identified many of the countries and towns mentioned in the Weilue, especially along the
eastern sections of the overland trade routes. These are, to my knowledge, the only translations of significant
portions of the text into European languages to date.
• In 1980 I was living in India, beginning to study the history of the Kushan Empire, when Professor Edwin
Pulleyblank very kindly sent me copies of Chavannes’ annotated French translations of the Weilue and the
chapter on the ‘Western Regions’ as well as other key texts from the Hou Hanshu. I translated Chavannes’
accounts into English as an aid to my studies. What a wonderful treasure chest of information I discovered
there!
It was soon clear to me, however, that the translations and notes were badly in need of expansion and
updating, and, as there had never been a complete translation of the whole texts into English, I decided to
began teaching myself Chinese so I could study and translate the original Chinese texts.
I had not realised when I first started in 1980 what an immense and lengthy, but rewarding, task the
translating and annotating the Weilue would be. It was an audacious undertaking, as my knowledge of
Chinese was (and still is) very limited. It would have been impossible without the help of many experts and
friends and any merits this new translation might have are due largely to their kind and generous
suggestions and advice.
• An excellent and detailed review of Chavannes’ translation of the Weilue (which, unfortunately, excludes
the section on Da Qin or the Roman Empire) was published by Paul Pelliot in BEFEO 6 (1906), pp. 361-400,
in which he corrected some of the major mistakes and weaknesses in Chavannes’ pioneering translation. I
include here some of his more important observations and notes:
“Mr. Chavannes always makes use of the edition of the twenty-four historians published by the
library of Tushujicheng in Shanghai from 1888. This edition has the advantage of being printed
clearly in a convenient format and is relatively inexpensive. It accurately reproduces the Imperial
edition published in the 18 th century by order of Qianlong and which is authoritative in China today.
It is just that this edition in moving characters 1 , generally correct for the Shiji or the Histories of the
Han, and which is at the same time the first and the only true reflection of the dynastic histories, is
quite careless from the Sanguozhi onwards. Additionally, Mr. Chavannes has had at his disposal the
edition of the Sanguozhi known as the Baorentang (p. 550, n. 2; p. 555, n. 1), but he does not seem to
have always checked it for, in at least two cases it is unlikely that the Baorentang edition gives
readings which, in the edition of Shanghai are clearly printing errors: on p. 522, “自項氐 Zixiang Di”
is incorrect for “白項氐 Baixiang Di” and the correct reading is found in the example in the
xylographic edition published by Jiangnanshuju in 1887 1 . It is the same for the 魏卑 Weibi of p. 526
where Mr. Chavannes clearly sees that it ought to be written 鮮卑 Xianbi and which is, in fact,
correctly written Xianbi in the edition of Jiangnanshuju and, very probably, in that of the

Baorentang. The edition of 1877 that I quote here is, however, far from being satisfactory itself. In
the section on Da Qin that Mr. Chavannes has not translated, it presents a printing fault which has
misled Mr. Hirth and which I have already had the occasion to note (B.E.F.E.-O., iv, p. 175, n. 3). As
to the rest of this section taken from the Weilue, one will find in the large format edition of 1887 the
faulty readings: 祿福 Lufu in place of the 福祿 Fulu of Mr. Chavannes (p. 521); 絶精 Juejing instead
of 精絶 Jingjue (p. 556). On the other hand, this same edition of 1887 gives readings or characters in
certain places that one cannot reject a priori: such as the fact that it always writes Yuedi 月氐 and
not Yuezhi 月氏 2 , 領 ling in place of 嶺 (although I do not believe the two characters were used
interchangeably); in the name of Yulai (p. 558), one finds于 yu in place of its equivalent 於 ; Danduo
(p. 526) is written with 柘 to and not with 拓 tuo [note Chavannes (1905), p. 526, n. 5, writes: “The
character 拓 is also pronounced zhi; but the pronunciation tuo appears preferable when it refers to
the pronunciation of foreign sounds [there is a typographical error here where Chavannes gives
‘nons’ instead of ‘sons’].” The 皮亢 Pikang of p. 558 is not a priori better than the 皮宂 Pirong given
in the edition of 1887. In the enigmatic title that the edition of the library of Tushujicheng gives in the
form of 白疏聞 bosuwen (p. 550), the edition of 1887 agrees with other sources that have 閒 xian in
place of 聞 wen. All these examples show that one cannot safely translate using a single
contemporary edition of the dynastic histories. The first palace edition alone deserves complete trust
for the text adopted under Qianlong, and yet modern criticism can only see there the version which
was followed by the scholars of the 18 th century, but not a sufficiently reliable text that comparison
with the editions of the Sung, Yuan, or the Ming would be without profit 3 .
All these editions, from whatever period, have this in common, that they have not modified the
text even if it was clearly in error. Disregarding the copying or printing faults that they inevitably
present in greater or lesser numbers, the differences between the editions to which Chinese or
European science are able to refer to always provide various readings furnished by previous printed
or manuscript examples, and the various editors have not chosen between them in the same manner.
This prudence, this respect for the text, is one of the principal merits of Chinese scholarship and it is,
in part, due to this that the dynastic histories have retained such great authority. But, as a result,
commentaries are necessary to establish, whether by comparison between the dynastic histories or
referring to other works of Chinese literature, if a certain passage is certainly or probably in error,
and in which manner it ought to be corrected. It is principally under the present dynasty, which is
the great period of Chinese exegesis, that this research has been undertaken.”
Page 365, note 1. I have several times, and with others with me, spoken of the lithographic or photolithographic
edition of the twenty-four historians. This is the edition used here by Mr. Chavannes ; it was published in 1888
and in the following years in a small format, and, in fact, has been carried out with the use of mobile metallic
characters. The same applies to the corresponding edition of the Tushujicheng.
Page 366, note 1. This xylographic edition of 1887 does not, however, reproduce the official edition of the 18 th
century, but that published under the Ming by the 汲古閣 Jiguge. It is known that the Jiguge of the 毛 Mao
family was the best publishing house existing during the Ming. There is the catalogue of what was published
there (cf. WYLIE, Notes on Chinese literature p. 60). The edition of the Jiangnanshuju which appeared in 1887 is
in the library of the École des Langues orientales.
Page 366, note 2. This form 月氐 Yuedi has not been neglected, if one refers to the remarks of Mr. FRANKE in
his Beiträge aus Chinesischen Quellen zur Kenntnis der Türkvölker und Skythen Zentralasiens (Berlin, 1904),
where its existence prior to the Weishu is disputed : yet there was a printing fault. One sees that it is a matter of
the edition. In reality, I believe that the ancient manuscripts rarely distinguished between 大 da and 太 dai, 氐
di and 氏 zhi, 祗 zhi and 祇 qi. The unity of the ancient forms of these dual characters has survived until now in
spirit. As for the form 月支 Yuezhi, it should be noted that it has also served for writing the name of a Korean
principality (Sanguozhi, ch. 30, folio 13).
Page 366, note 3. We have not so much as mentioned ancient Chinese manuscripts. Meanwhile, exception should
be made for those that have been rediscovered in Japan over the last few years. Among them is a manuscript
from the Tang period giving the 食貨忎 Shihuozhi of the Qian Hanshu of Ban Gu with commentary by Yan
Shigu, that is to say, a portion of the three canonical histories which have never ceased attracting attention and
which, as a consequence, have been transmitted with the greatest care. Now, on this chapter alone, there are
about a hundred characters different from the usual text. Cf. on this subject B.E.F.E.-O., ii. 335.
Translated and adapted from Pelliot (1906), pp. 365-367 and nn.
• Throughout this translation I have relied primarily on the Weilue as quoted in the Sanguozhi, New China

Library 1975 Edition, published by the New China Bookstore Publishing House, Beijing. This is generally
regarded as an authoritative an accurate rendition, with the added advantage of including punctuations.
Occasional small differences with other editions have been dealt with in the Notes.
• Paper was a new invention, first recorded in China in the year 105 CE (although recent research indicates
it was probably invented previous to this usually accepted date). Prior to this books were usually written on
bamboo slips or on silk. It is unclear whether Yu Huan had access to paper or not. The reader should be
aware that this chapter has only survived because it was included as an extensive note to the Sanguozhi.
Often it is possible to tell whether a bamboo slip has been lost because they usually only had a limited
number of characters on them; a page of paper could contain a larger text. Unfortunately, here one cannot
tell for certain, but it does seem possible that one or more bamboo slips were lost before the chapter was
recorded in the Sanguozhi – particularly near the end of Section 10.
• The notes, which I hope will make the translation more meaningful and accessible for readers, have
proved to be even more difficult and demanding than the translation itself. In particular, the identification
of some of the place-names and products mentioned in the text are still unresolved; and continue to be
vigorously debated.
About the Dating and Background of the Text
Chavannes, in his introduction, convincingly dates the composition of the text:
“The biography of Yu Huan has not been admitted to the canonical histories. Therefore, we would
only be able to guess at the date at which this author wrote if a celebrated critic of the Tang period,
Liu Zhiji 劉知幾, had not left us, in his Shi tong 史通 published in 710, this very short bit of
information:
‘Previously, during the Wei period (220-265), Yu Huan, originally from the capital (Changan),
composed the Weilue without being officially given the job. The narrative of these events
comes to a halt during the reign of Emperor Ming (227-239). . . . ’
The evidence of Liu Zhiji, dating from a time when the Weilue had not yet disappeared, cannot be put in
doubt. It fixes the composition of the Weilue in the twenty-six years between CE 239, the end of Emperor
Ming’s reign, and 265, the end of the Wei dynasty.” Translated and adapted from Chavannes (1905), pp.
519-520.
Pelliot adds the following information about the date and status of the text in his review:
“The first question to resolve was to establish clearly in which period the Weilue was composed. It is
known that the author was called 魚豢 Yu Huan, and various indications support the late testimonies
that place him under the Wei (220-265), but Mr. Chavannes is the first to base this date on a text
definitely from the 8th century. This text is found in the 史通 Shi tong of Liu Zhiji 劉知幾 [661-721],
published in 710. Mr. Chavannes believes that it is unique and decisive. In fact, it is truly the only
text that the Chinese bibliographers quote regarding Yu Huan that is not taken from the canonical
histories. However, the fact of not coming from the official compilations, regarding material on
Chinese history, does not give more authority to a work. Henceforth we will be able to call upon a
text more than a hundred years older, and more reliable. It is said in the chapter on literature of the
dynastic history of the Sui (581-617) that Yu Huan occupied a post of langzhong 郞中 (“Palace
Gentleman”) under the Wei 2 .”
2. Sui shu, 淮南書局 Huainan shuju edition (1871) ch. 33 folio 4 b.
Translated and adapted from Pelliot (1906), p. 362.
“After the Tang, the only title that survived, before the complete disappearance of the work, is the

Weilue in 50 chapters, mentioned still in 1225 in the 史畧 Shilue of Gao Sisun 高似孫. Xin Zhu
reports another work of Yu Huan, the Zhongwai guan 中外官, of which the title has been preserved
for us in the Nanqi shu 南齊書 chapter dedicated to the administration. This was, without doubt, a
sort of table of the metropolitan and provincial functionaries. Yu Huan is this time qualified as a 官
儀 guanyi, but there is no doubt that it refers to the same individual. Here again it is said that Yu
Huan lived under the Wei. As the Nanji shu deals with the years 479-501, and was compiled in the
first half of the 6th century, we have in this passage new evidence, 100 years previous to the Shui shu,
and 200 years before the Shih tong, which allows us to fix the period in which the Weilue was written
in the second third of the 3rd century.” Translated and adapted from Pelliot (1906), pp. 363-364.
• Although the Weilue was never classed among the official or ‘canonical’ histories, it has always been held
in the highest regard by Chinese scholars as a unique and precious source of historical and geographical
information. Pelliot notes:
“Tianlue and Weilue are classed among the 雜吏 zashi. Mr. Chavannes translates this term by
“historians of mixed value.” I am not sure that this is the meaning. Wylie (Notes on Chinese
Literature, p. 25) renders zashi by “miscellaneous” and perhaps he was right. The term tsa “mixed”
could apply here to the nature of the subjects dealt with, which are “various,” and not to the greater
or lesser knowledge or talent which the author would have to prove.” Translated and adapted from
Pelliot (1906), p. 362, n. 2. [Note: The ABC p. 1230, defines 雜吏 as an “unofficial history.”]
• Since the time of Chavannes and Pelliot, there has been almost a century of scholarship devoted to various
aspects of the text by scholars from many countries.
Recent archaeological finds, and research on other key texts, notably the Periplus of the Erythraean
Sea, and the chapters on the ‘Western Regions’ in the Shiji, the Hanshu, and the Hou Hanshu, have helped
to throw light on this difficult but important work.
In spite of all this attention, many place-names in the text remain unidentified (or the identification is
not convincing), and some sections of the routes outlined in the text have remained unclear. This is
especially true of the sections relating to the Roman Empire, and the sea routes between China and Egypt,
where the data available is very sparse.
• The Weilue contains many place-names which are no longer known in Chinese and which, if left
unidentified, make the trade routes, and much else besides, impossible to decipher.
• Local place-names frequently change, and the ancient names of places are often long forgotten. Nor are we
certain of the local pronunciations in the second and third centuries CE. As in English, the Chinese
sometimes used descriptive names, such as ‘Salt Lake’, or ‘Red Valley,’ and, at other times, literal
translations of foreign names.
• The pronunciation of words change over time, as do the pronunciations of the Chinese characters that
have been used to transcribe them. The Han transcriptions of the sounds of local place-names often amount
to little more than rough approximations. Sometimes syllables were dropped, sometimes the pronunciations
were drastically altered, particularly as certain foreign phonemes did not exist in Chinese. These processes
are also common in English where we find examples such as ‘Roma’ transcribed as ‘Rome’ (single syllable)
and ‘Paris with an ‘iss’ sound at the end instead of the French ‘ee’.
• It was recognised by both Hirth and Chavannes that, although the Weilue was composed during the Wei
dynasty, most of the geographical information it contains, especially that on the regions to the west of the
Tarim Basin, must have been collected at an earlier date.
• The Weilue includes much of the information on the Roman Empire already recorded in zhuan 118 of the
Hou Hanshu on the “Western Regions.” This information seems to have been mainly based on the accounts
of the Chinese envoy, Gan Ying, who had been sent by the famous Chinese General Ban Chao, Ban Yong’s
father, in CE 97, to the west to gather information. It has been either paraphrased from the Hou Hanshu
itself, or taken from the same sources. On the other hand, much of the information on Parthia and the
Roman Empire is additional to that included in the Hou Hanshu. It was presumably collected after the
report of the Chinese General Ban Yong to the Emperor in, or just before, CE 125.
• Gan Ying got as far as the banks of the Persian Gulf but was persuaded not to go further by the Parthians.

He returned to China in 101 CE. Much of this information is duplicated in the Weilue. Fan Ye, the compiler,
who died in CE 445, added a few bits of later material to the Hou Hanshu (dating up to about CE 170). These
include this fascinating passage:
“The king of this country [Da Qin] always wanted to send envoys to the Han, but Anxi (Parthia),
wishing to control the trade in multi-coloured Chinese silks, blocked the route to prevent [the
Romans] getting through [to China].
In the ninth Yanxi year [166 CE], during the reign of Emperor Huan, the king of Da Qin (the Roman
Empire), Andun (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), sent envoys from beyond the frontiers through Rinan
(Commandery on the central Vietnamese coast), to offer elephant tusks, rhinoceros horn, and turtle
shell. This was the very first time there was [direct] communication [between the two countries]. The
tribute brought was neither precious nor rare, raising suspicion that the accounts [of the ‘envoys’]
might be exaggerated.” Hou Hanshu, ch. 118. See TWR Section 12.
• Much of the new information in the Weilue is very specific and quite detailed, giving distances and
directions between cities, and must have been based on actual travel notes. Who supplied this information is
not clear, although the routes described strongly suggest that they were mainly gathered from Arab,
possibly Nabataean, traders.
However, the many references to Anxi (Parthia) indicate that the information in the Weilue on the
Roman Empire and Parthia must date from before the collapse of the Parthians and the founding of the
Sasanian Empire in 224 CE.
Indications in the text strongly suggest that the information on Parthia and the Roman Empire was
gathered after the accession of Meredat to the throne of Mesene/Characene (i.e. sometime after CE 116), and
before the fall of Sura on the Euphrates (along with the whole region between Dura-Europos and Edessa), to
the Romans in CE 164-165.
• Wherever possible, the information in the Weilue has been checked with that of the 1st century Periplus of
the Erythraean Sea. This work can now be confidently dated to between 40 and 70 CE and, most probably,
between CE 40 and 50. See: Fussman (1991); Robin (1991); and Casson (1989): pp. 6-7.
Background Reading
To gain background on the period, and especially of the trade between the Roman Empire and the Orient,
the Weilue can be read alongside the following texts:
– the Shiji [Shih-chi] by Sima Qian [Szu-ma Ch’ien], particularly chapter 123 on Dayuan [Ta-yüan]
which covers up to the end of the 2 nd century BCE. See the very readable translation in: Watson,
Burton, 1961, II: 264-289.
– the chapters on the Western Countries (zhuan 61 and 96) of the Hanshu which covers the period
125 BCE to 23 CE (translated and amply annotated by Hulsewé and Loewe in China in Central Asia,
1979). (Covers 125 BCE to CE 23)
– the chapter on the Western Regions (zhuan 118), of the Hou Hanshu (23 CE to late 2 nd century,
with most of the information on distant countries dating prior to 125 CE): See the 2 nd edition of the
annotated translation of my The Western Regions According to the Hou Hanshu (abbreviated as TWR
in this work), which is freely available on the Silk Road Seattle website:
http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html
– the chapter on Chinese expansion into the Tarim Basin (zhuan 77) of the Hou Hanshu (French
translation by Chavannes in T’oung pao 7, 1906, pp. 149-234). (1 st and early 2 nd century CE). (I hope
to make an English translation of these biographies available soon.)
– the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. 40-50 CE). See the excellent translation (from H. Frisk 1927
with up-dates and improvements) with the Greek text and extensive notes by Lionel Casson: The

Periplus Maris Erythraei. (1989), Princeton, Princeton University Press. Also still useful is William H.
Schoff’s 1912 translation: The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea. Wilfred H. Schoff. New York,
Longmans, Green, and Co. Second Edition. Reprint, New Delhi, Oriental Books Reprint
Corporation. 1974. The main text from the earlier translation by Schoff is now fortunately available
to all on this website, although one should still consult both his book and Casson’s more recent one
for their useful commentaries.
– the Naturalis historia by Pliny the Elder - completed, except for finishing touches, in 77 CE. For a
full translation see: Natural History. Pliny the Elder (77 CE). Translation by W. H. S. Jones, Loeb
Classical Library, London/Cambridge, Mass. (1961). For a widely available, readable and useful
selection see: Natural History – A Selection. Pliny the Elder (77 CE). Translated by John F. Healy,
London, Penguin Books. (1991).
– the Geography by Ptolemy completed c. 150 CE. The only available English translation is by
Edward Luther Stevenson in Geography of Claudius Ptolemy. Reprint New York: Dover Publications,
Inc. 1991. It is, unfortunately, full of mistakes. Additionally the Greek names have been Romanized,
which often makes identifications unnecessarily difficult.
I have not included maps with this translation but strongly recommend having a good atlas at hand while
reading the book. Some of the maps available on the “Silk Road Seattle” website will also prove helpful,
especially the detailed map showing the main routes across the Tarim Basin and the one accompanying the
Schoff’s translation of The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea. Interactive maps and much additional
information may be accessed at the following sites: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~chgis/chgis_home.html,
and http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~chgis/tools/
About Measurements and Administrative Divisions
• The basic units of measurement employed in the Weilue, were the 里li and the chi 尺. They have varied
considerably through the ages and from district to district. Fortunately, measurements remained stable over
the Qin and Han periods, and an inscribed bronze standard measure, dated 9 CE, was discovered in 1924 at
the Imperial Palace in Beijing. This has allowed accurate conversions to modern measurements. The Han
chi, or ‘foot’ is given as equalling 0.231 metres (or 9.095 inches).
• On the basis of this lucky discovery, the li was calculated by Dubs (1955): 160, n. 7 to be 415.8 metres. See
also Chapter IV, Appendix I, Standard Weights and Measures of Han Times, ibid., 276-280.
In most cases, I have given the exact equivalents to the nearest kilometre based on this measurement
even when the number of li given is obviously an approximation (e.g. 8,000 or 10,000 li). For relatively short
distances (less than 100 li), I have calculated to the nearest tenth of a kilometre.
• Most, though not all, of the distances between places given in the Weilue – where they can be checked –
prove to have been surprisingly accurate, especially those in areas controlled at times by the Chinese.
Sometimes there are mistakes in the distances given in the text. This may be because it is not clear
exactly where the ancient route went between two points (or which of several alternatives was used).
Occasionally, especially over longer distances, the figures given are obviously widely inaccurate.
• All other conversions of Chinese measurements are based on the values calculated by Wan Kuo-ting for
the Qin [Ch’in] and Han periods as described by A. F. P. Hulsewé in T’oung pao Archives, Vol. XLIX, Livre
3, 1961: 206-207.
• The main administrative divisions of the Han Empire were the 郡 jun “commanderies” (or ‘provinces’)
and 王國 wangguo ‘kingdoms.’ These were subdivided into 縣 xian “counties,” 鄕 xsiang “districts,” and
里 li “wards.”
• Some Chinese words have no exact equivalent in English. One such example is the word 城cheng, which
literally translates as ‘walled town,’ but it was also used for large towns that were not walled. It is sometimes
rendered ‘city,’ but only a handful of the cheng mentioned in the Weilue would be large enough to be called
a ‘city’ in our age of megalopolises. Most of them were what we would think of as country towns or

provincial centres. I have translated the word simply as ‘town’ and leave it to the reader to add the nuances
according to the context.
Similarly, 國 guo is used to refer to entities ranging from tiny fiefdoms or even villages to entire
empires and can be translated as ‘kingdom,’ ‘fief,’ ‘nation,’ ‘state,’ ‘country,’ or ‘empire.’ I have translated
it as ‘kingdom,’ unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, as most of these territories seem to have
had a hereditary system of rulers at this period.
• I have used “Western Regions” for the term 西域 xiyu rather than the usual translation as “Western
Countries.” I emphasize that xiyu is sometimes used in the specific sense of the kingdoms actually controlled
by China on the routes to the west of “China Proper” (the “Inner” region – the land within the Wall), and
sometimes in the far more general sense of all countries to the west of China.
• The character du 都 is frequently translated as ‘capital’ in spite of the fact that there are many examples
of more than one du existing in a single state. Additionally, Dubs (1938), p. 28, n. 2, says that in “ancient
times” it referred to “a large walled city”. I have, therefore usually translated this word as ‘major centre’ or
‘large town.’ Sometimes the Weilue designates a town as a wangzhi 王治 which translates literally as the
“king’s chief town or residence” and this is much closer to the concept of ‘capital’ as we use it today, so I
have translated it variously as “the (king’s) capital,” or “the king’s residence.”
In one place in Section 11, just after referring to the fact that Rome controlled hundreds of minor
kings, the text becomes more specific, using the term wangsuozhi cheng王所治城 which can be translated as
“the king’s centre of administration city,” which I have rendered: “the king’s administrative capital” – i.e.
Rome itself. See note 11.25.
• Territories referred to as ‘Han,’ ‘Tianzhu’ (India), ‘Anxi’ (Parthia), or ‘Da Qin’ (Rome) were sometimes
used very specifically for the home territory, but often far more loosely for territories controlled by, or
tributary to, the main seat of power. Thus, in the Hou Hanshu, we find references to the ‘King of Da Qin’
(that is, the king of Rome) and, at the same time, subject territories such as Egypt, or the ‘Roman Orient,’
are also referred to simply as Da Qin.
Section 1 – The Di Tribes
THE TEXT OF THE WEILUE
The Weilue’s Chapter on the Western Rong (‘Peoples of the West’), 1 says:
The Di 2 have their own kings. They originally came from far away.
When the Han opened Yi zhou, 3 and established Wudu Commandery, 4 they drove back the people of this
race who dispersed, and took refuge in the mountain valleys. Some were at Fulu, 5 and others in the
neighbourhood of Qian 6 and Long. 7
They are not an homogenous race. They are said to be the descendants of Panhu. 8 Some are called the Qing
Di (Green Di), others the Bai Di (White Di), and others the Ran Di (Giant Python Di), 9 referring to the class
of reptiles in which they are placed.
The people of the Middle Kingdom name them according to the colour of their clothes, 10 but they call
themselves Hezhi. 11
Each (of their tribes) has its kings and chiefs who, in most cases, received their lands and titles from the
Middle Kingdom, and are required by it to fulfil their responsibilities, or they are demoted.
During the Jianan period [CE 196-220], Angui, king of the Xingguo Di (Xing Kingdom Di), 12 and Qianwan,
king of the Baixiang Di (White Section Di), 13 each had tribes of more than ten thousand men.

In the sixteenth year [= CE 211 – but should read 213 CE], they joined forces with Ma Chao and rebelled. 14
After (Ma) Chao had been defeated [in 214], Angui was attacked and killed by Xiahou Yuan. Qianwan made
his way to the southwest and entered Shu (Western Sichuan). 15 His tribes were not able to get away and all
submitted.
The (Chinese) government transported those who had taken a questionable stance during these events, to a
separate place in Meiyang (in the Commandery) of Fufeng. 16
These are now the two tribes of Anyi (Peaceful Yi) and Fuyi (Governed Yi). 17 A Military Protector manages
the region. 18
As to those who behaved wisely, (the Chinese Government) left them their place on the borders of
Tianshui 19 and Nanan. 20 These are the ones who are now dependants of Guangwei Commandery. 21
Their customs and language are not like those of the Middle Kingdom, but similar to those of the Qiang 22
and several Hu peoples. 23 Each person has a family name, like the family names of the Middle Kingdom.
They prefer blue and deep red clothes.
They are commonly skilled at weaving cloth; they are good farmers; they breed and rear pigs, oxen, horses,
donkeys, and mules.
When a woman marries, she wears a renlu 24 that, in the way that it is trimmed and decorated, sometimes
resembles the renlu of the Qiang, and sometimes the tunic of the Middle Kingdom. All braid their hair.
Many of them know the language of the Middle Kingdom because they have lived in the Middle Kingdom
and mixed among the people. Nevertheless, when they return to their tribes they naturally speak the Di
language.
Their marriage (customs) resemble those of the Qiang.
These are, in fact, the people who were previously called the Western Rong, 1 and now live in Jie, 25 Ji, 26 and
Huandao. 27
Although, at present, the fiefdoms 28 are administered by the (Chinese) commanderies and kingdoms, 29
previously they had their own kings and feudal princes living in (now) empty villages. They also had more
than ten thousand (people) living in the region of Wudu, 30 and in the neighbourhood of Yinping 31 and
Jie. 32
Section 2 – The Zilu Tribes
The Zilu 1 originated among the Xiongnu. 2 Zi is the name the Xiongnu used for slaves. Formerly, in the
Jianwu period [CE 25-55], the Xiongnu became weak and dispersed. Their slaves fled and hid in the region
of Jincheng, 3 Wuwei, 4 and Jiuquan (Commanderies), 5 north to Hei Shui (‘Black River’) and Xi He
(‘Western River’). 6
Wandering from east to west, they care for their flocks by leading them in search of water and pasture.
They make raids on the territory of Liangzhou. 7 Their tribes have progressively increased until they
number several tens of thousands of men.
They are not the same as the eastern tribes, who are the Xianbi. 8 They are not all of one race. There are
Dahu, 9 Dingling, 10 and also quite a large number of Qiang living among them. This is because they were
originally slaves of the Xiongnu.

During the period (at the end) of the Han and (the beginning) of the Wei [circa 220 CE], one of their great
chiefs was named Tantuo. 11 After he died, some great chiefs, descendants of his, were living to the south
near the frontier of Lingju (Prefecture) in Guangwei (Commandery). 12 There was Tugui 13 who came (to
invade our territory), and rebelled several times. He was killed by (the Prefect of) Liangzhou. Now there is
(the chief named) Shaoti. 14
Sometimes these tribes come to submit, sometimes they withdraw in hiding. They often make trouble on the
routes to the western provinces. 15
Section 3 – The Qiang Tribes 1
From Dunhuang in the Western Regions 2 to the Chuo Qiang (‘Disobedient Qiang’) 3 in the Nan Shan
(‘Southern Mountains’), 4 and several thousand li west to the Congling (the Pamirs), 5 are the remnants of
the Yuezhi 6 and the Congzi (‘Brown Onion’), 7 the Baima (‘White Horse’), 8 and the Huangniu Qiang
(‘Yellow Ox’ Qiang). 9
Each of these peoples has its’ own chief. They are bordered to the north by various kingdoms. Neither the
distance (from China), nor the extent (of their territories), is known.
It is rumoured that the Huangniu Qiang (‘Yellow Ox’ Qiang) are of a separate race, and are born after a
pregnancy of (only) six months. To the south, they border on the Baima Qiang (‘White Horse’ Qiang).
Section 4 – The three main overland routes to the Western Regions
It was at the beginning of the Han that the routes were opened leading to the kingdoms of Xiyu (‘The
Western Regions’ – the countries of the Tarim Basin and adjoining areas). 1
At this time the kingdoms numbered thirty-six. Later they split into more than fifty. From the Jianwu
period [CE 25-55] to our time, they have torn each other to pieces, and destroyed one another, and now they
number twenty. 2
There were previously two roads, but now there are three 3 , which go to the Western Regions from
Dunhuang and the Yumen guan (‘Jade Gate Frontier Post’) 4 :
[1] Heading west from the Yumen (‘Jade Gate’) Frontier Post, and passing through (the territory of)
the Chuo Qiang (‘Disobedient Qiang’), 5 one turns west to pass over the Congling (the Pamirs), 6 and
through the Xuandu (the ‘Hanging Passages’ in northern Hunza), 7 to enter (the territory of) the Da
Yuezhi (Kushans). 8 – This is the Southern Route. 9
[2] Heading west from the Yumen (‘Jade Gate’) Frontier Post, leaving the Dadu jing (The Protector
General’s Well), 10 turning around the northern end of the Sanlongsha (‘Three Sand Ridges’), 10 one
passes by the Julu cang (‘Depot Dwellings’). 12 Then, on leaving the Shaxi jing (‘West-of-the-Sand
Well’), 13 and turning northwest, passing by the Longdui (‘Dragon Dunes’), 14 one arrives at ancient
Loulan 15 and, turning west, goes to Qiuci (Kucha), 16 and on to the Congling (Pamir) mountains. –
This is the Central Route. 17
[3] Heading northwest from Yumen (‘Jade Gate’) Frontier Post, passing through Hengkeng
(‘East-West Gully’ = the Bēsh-toghrak Valley), 18 one avoids the Sanlongsha (‘Three Sand Ridges’) 11

as well as the Longdui (‘Dragon Dunes’), 14 and emerges to the north of Wuchuan (‘Five Boats’) 19
and arrives in the territory of Jushi at Gaochang (47 km SE of Turfan), 20 which is the residence of
the Mao (Wu) and Ji Colonel (in charge of the agricultural garrisons). 21 Then it turns to the west and
rejoins the Central Route to Qiuci (Kucha). This is the New Route. 22 [Note that there is also a ‘New Route
of the North’ outlined below in Section 10].
Previous historians have already described the products of the Western Territories in detail; therefore, I
will now be brief.
Section 5 – The Southern Route
The Southern Route 1 heads west to:
• the kingdom of Qiemo (Cherchen), 2 the kingdom of Xiaoyuan (‘Little Yuan’ – 3 marches south of
Qiezhi), 3 the kingdom of Jingjue (Niya), 4 the kingdom of Loulan (north of Lop Nor), 5 which are all
dependencies of Shanshan (Lop Nor and surrounds). 6
• the kingdom of Ronglu (4 marches south of Jingjue or Niya), 7 the kingdom of Hanmi (Keriya), 8 the
kingdom of Qule (south of Keriya), 9 and the kingdom of Pikang (modern Pishan or Guma), 10 which
are all dependencies of Yutian (Khotan). 11
• the kingdom of Jibin (Gandhāra- Kapisha), 12 the kingdom of Daxia (Bactria), 13 the kingdom of
Gaofu (Kabul), 14 and the kingdom of Tianzhu (Northern India), 15 which are all dependencies of the
Da Yuezhi (Kushans). 16
Section 6 – The Kingdom of Linni (Lumbini)
Regarding the kingdom of Linni (Lumbini), 1 the Buddhist books say:
“The king of this country fathered Futu (the Buddha). 2 The Buddha was the heir apparent. His father was
called Xietouye (Suddhodana). His mother was called Moye (Maya).
The Buddha wore yellow clothes. His hair was silky black. The hair on his chest was black; his complexion a
coppery-red. 3
Initially Moye (Maya) dreamed of a white elephant and became pregnant. When the Buddha was born, he
emerged from the left side of his mother. 4 At his birth, he had a topknot (the ushnisha) of hair. 5 As soon as
he touched ground, he was able to take seven steps 6 .”
This kingdom is in the centre of the towns of Tianzhu (Northern India). Also, there was another holy man
named Shalü (Sāriputra) 7 in Tianzhu (Northern India).
Previously, in the first Yuanshou year (2 BCE), during the reign of Emperor Ai of the Han dynasty, the
National University Student, 8 Jing Lu, received verbal instructions from Yicun, the envoy of the king of the
Da Yuezhi (Kushans), 9 on the Buddhist sūtras which say this man (the Buddha) is the one who is
reincarnated. 10
The Buddhists mention linpusai (upâsaka – a male lay disciple), 11 sangmen (śramaṅa – monks, ascetics), 12

owen, 13 shuwen (śrāvaka – ‘a hearer’, a follower of the Hīnayāna), 14 baishuwen (‘white’ or ‘pure’ or
‘elder’ śrāvaka’), 15 biqiu (bhiksu – an ordained monk), 16 chenmen (‘Guardian of the Gate’), 17 which are all
terms for disciples.
The Buddha’s [teachings] are related to, but different than, the scriptures of Lao Zi of the Middle Kingdom.
Indeed, it is believed (by the Taoists) that Lao Zi left the passes and, heading west, crossed the Western
Regions to Tianzhu (Northern India), where he taught the Hu (Westerners). 18
There are, altogether, twenty-nine titles for disciples of the Buddha, which I am not able to give in detail, so
I have summarised them as above. 19
Section 7 – The Kingdom of Juli (or, rather, Dongli)
The kingdom of Juli (should read ‘Dongli’ = ‘Eastern Division’ of the Kushan Empire 1 ) is also called
Liweite (Ayodhyā), 2 and Peiliwang. 3
It is more than 3,000 li (1,247 km) to the southeast of Tianzhu (Northern India). 4 This country is low,
humid, and very hot.
The king rules from the town of Shaji (or Shaqi = Sakēta). 5 There are several tens of other towns.
The people are cowardly and weak. The Yuezhi (Kushans) and Tianzhu (Northwestern India) attacked and
conquered them. 6
This territory is several thousand li from east to west, and north to south. The men and women of this nation
are all eighteen chi tall [mistake for 8 chi = 1.85 metres, or just over 6 feet, as in the Hou Hanshu]. 7 They
ride elephants and camels into battle. Currently they provide military service and taxes to the Yuezhi
(Kushans). 8
Section 8 – The Kingdom of Panyue (Pandya)
The kingdom of Panyue (Pandya) is also called Hanyuewang. 1 It is several thousand li to the southeast of
Tianzhu (Northern India), and is in contact with Yi Circuit. 2 The inhabitants are small; they are the same
height as the Chinese. Traders from Shu (Western Sichuan) travel this far. 3
The Southern Route, after attaining its most westernmost point, turns southeast until it reaches its end.
Section 9 – The Central Route
The Central Route goes west to:
• the kingdom of Weili (near modern Korla), 1 the kingdom of Weixu (Hoxud = Chokkur), 2 the
kingdom of Shanwang (in the western Kuruk mountains), 3 which are all dependencies of Yanqi
(Karashahr). 4
• the kingdom of Gumo (south of modern Aksu), 5 the kingdom of Wensu (Uqturpan), 6 the kingdom
of Weitou (Karaqi), 7 which are all dependencies of Qiuci (Kucha). 8

• the kingdom of Zhenzhong (Arach?), 9 the kingdom of Suoju (Yarkand), 10 the kingdom of Jieshi, 11
the kingdom of Qusha, 12 the kingdom of Xiye (Khargalik), 13 the kingdom of Yinai (Tashkurghan), 14
the kingdom of Manli (modern Karasul), 15 the kingdom of Yire (Mazar – also known as Tágh Nák
and Tokanak), 16 the kingdom of Yuling, 17 the kingdom of Juandu (‘Tax Control’ – near
Irkeshtam), 18 the kingdom of Xiuxiu (‘Excellent Rest Stop’ – near Karakavak), 19 and the kingdom
of Qin, 20 which are all dependencies of Shule (Kashgar). 21
Leaving there (Kashgar), and going west, you reach Dayuan (Ferghana), 22 Anxi (Parthia), 23 Tiaozhi
(Characene and Susiana), 24 and Wuyi (Arachosia and Drangiana – capital, Kandahar). 25 Wuyi is also
called Paizhi. 26 These four kingdoms succeed each other to the west. These are kingdoms that existed
previously and have not been modified.
Section 10 – Previous Misconceptions
In earlier times, it was mistakenly thought that Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana) was west of Da Qin
(Roman territory). Now it is known to be to the east. 1
In earlier times it was also mistakenly thought to be more powerful than Anxi (Parthia), but it has been
changed into a dependency said to mark the western frontier of Anxi (Parthia).
In earlier times it was also mistakenly thought that the Ruo Shui (‘Weak River’) was west of Tiaozhi
(Characene and Susiana). Now it is (thought to be) west of Da Qin (Roman territory). 2
In earlier times, it was also mistakenly thought that if you left Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana), and
travelled more than two hundred days to the west, you reached the place where the sun goes down. Now, (it
is thought that) you travel west from Da Qin (Roman territory) to reach the place where the sun sets. 3
Section 11 – Da Qin (Roman territory/Rome)
The kingdom of Da Qin (Rome) 1 is also called Lijian. 2 It is west of Anxi (Parthia) and Tiaozhi (Characene
and Susiana), and west of the Great Sea. 3
From the city of Angu (Gerrha) 4 , on the frontier of Anxi (Parthia), you take a boat and cut directly across
to Haixi (‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt). 5 With favourable winds it takes two months; if the winds are slow,
perhaps a year; if there is no wind, perhaps three years. 6
The country (that you reach) is west of the sea (haixi), which is why it is called Haixi (literally: ‘West of the
Sea’ = Egypt). There is a river (the Nile) flowing out of the west of this country, and then there is another
great sea (the Mediterranean). The city of (Wu) Chisan (Alexandria) 7 is in Haixi (Egypt).
From below this country you go north to reach the city of Wudan (Tanis?). 8 You (then) head southwest and
cross a river (the Sebannitus branch of the Nile?) by boat, which takes a day. You head southwest again, and
again cross a river (the Canopis branch of the Nile?) by boat, which takes another day. 9 There are, in all,
three major cities [that you come to]. 10
Now, if you leave the city of Angu (Gerrha) by the overland route, you go north to Haibei (‘North of the Sea’
– the lands between Babylonia and Jordan), then west to Haixi (Egypt), 11 then turn south to go through the
city of Wuchisan (Alexandria). After crossing a river, which takes a day by boat, you circle around the coast
(to the region of Apollonia, the port of Cyrene). (From there, i.e. the region of Apollonia) six days is

generally enough to cross the (second) great sea (the Mediterranean) to reach that country (Da Qin =
Rome). 12
This country (the Roman Empire) has more than four hundred smaller cities and towns. It extends several
thousand li in all directions. 13 The king has his capital (that is, the city of Rome) close to the mouth of a
river (the Tiber). 14 The outer walls of the city are made of stone.
This region has pine trees, cypress, sophora, catalpa, bamboo, reeds, poplars, willows, parasol trees, and all
sorts of plants. 15 The people cultivate the five grains [traditionally: rice, glutinous and non-glutinous millet,
wheat and beans], and they raise horses, mules, donkeys, camels and silkworms. 16 (They have) a tradition of
amazing conjuring. They can produce fire from their mouths, bind and then free themselves, and juggle
twelve balls with extraordinary skill. 17
The ruler of this country is not permanent. When disasters result from unusual phenomena, they
unceremoniously replace him, installing a virtuous man as king, and release the old king, who does not dare
show resentment. 18
The common people are tall and virtuous like the Chinese, but wear hu (‘Western’) clothes. They say they
originally came from China, but left it. 19
They have always wanted to communicate with China but, Anxi (Parthia), jealous of their profits, would not
allow them to pass (through to China). 20
The common people can write in hu (‘Western’) script. 21 They have multi-storeyed public buildings and
private; (they fly) flags, beat drums, (and travel in) small carriages with white roofs, and have a postal
service with relay sheds and postal stations, like in the Middle Kingdom (China).
From Anxi (Parthia) you go around Haibei (‘North of the Sea’ – the lands between Babylonia and Jordan)
to reach this country. 22
The people (of these countries) are connected to each other. Every 10 li (4.2 km) there is a ting (relay shed or
changing place), and every 30 li (12.5 km) there is a zhi (postal station). 23 There are no bandits or thieves,
but there are fierce tigers and lions that kill those travelling on the route. If you are not in a group, you
cannot get through. 24
This country (Rome) has installed dozens of minor kings. The king’s administrative capital (Rome) is more
than 100 li (42 km) around. 25 There is an official Department of Archives.
The king has five palaces at 10 li (4.2 km) intervals. He goes out at daybreak to one of the palaces and deals
with matters until sunset and then spends the night there. The next day he goes to another palace and, in
five days makes a complete tour. They have appointed thirty-six leaders who discuss events frequently. 26 If
one leader does not show up, there is no discussion. When the king goes out for a walk, he always orders a
man to follow him holding a leather bag. Anyone who has something to say throws his or her petition into
the bag. When he returns to the palace, he examines them and determines which are reasonable. 27
They use glass to make the pillars and table utensils in the palaces. 28 They manufacture bows and arrows.
They divide the various branch principalities of their territory into small countries such as that of the king
of Zesan (Azania?), 29 the king of Lüfen (Leucos Limen), 30 the king of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan), 31 the king of
Xiandu (Leukê Komê), 32 the king of Sifu (Petra), 33 (and that of) the king of Yuluo (Karak). 34 There are so
many other small kingdoms it is impossible to give details on each one.

Section 12 – Products of Da Qin (Roman territory)
This country produces fine linen. 1 They make gold and silver coins. One gold coin is equal to ten silver
coins. 2
They have fine brocaded cloth that is said to be made from the down of ‘water-sheep’. It is called Haixi
(‘Egyptian’) cloth. This country produces the six domestic animals, which are all said to come from the
water. 3
It is said that they not only use sheep’s wool, but also bark from trees, or the silk from wild cocoons, 4 to
make brocade, mats, pile rugs, woven cloth and curtains, all of them of good quality, and with brighter
colours than those made in the countries of Haidong (“East of the Sea”). 5
Furthermore, they regularly make a profit by obtaining Chinese silk, unravelling it, and making fine hu
(‘Western’) silk damasks. 6 That is why this country trades with Anxi (Parthia) across the middle of the sea.
The seawater is bitter and unable to be drunk, which is why it is rare for those who try to make contact to
reach China.
The mountains (of this country) produce nine-coloured jewels (fluorite) of inferior quality. They change
colour on different occasions from blue-green to red, yellow, white, black, green, purple, fiery red, and dark
blue. 7 Nowadays nine-coloured stones of the same type are found in the Yiwu Shan (a mountain range east
of Hami). 8
In the third Yangjia year (CE 134), the king of Shule (Kashgar), Chen Pan [who had been made a hostage at
the court of the Kushan emperor, for some period between 114 and 120, and was later placed on the throne
of Kashgar by the Kushans], 9 offered a blue (or green) gem and a golden girdle from Haixi (Egypt). 10
Moreover, the Xiyu Jiutu (‘Ancient Sketch of the Western Regions’) now says that both Jibin
(Kapisha-Gandhāra) and Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana) produce precious stones approaching the quality
of jade. 11
Product List 12
Note: The translator has added the numbering in brackets for the convenience of the reader in checking the notes on the various
items. For information on any of the items mentioned in the list, please click on the blue superscript No. 12 after “Product List”
above, and then scroll down the page of notes until you come to the number you are looking for. For instance, if you want to
check the notes on tin, scroll down until you reach note number 12.12 (6).
Da Qin (the Roman Empire) has plenty of:
(1) gold
(2) silver
(3) copper
(4) iron
(5) lead
(6) tin
(7) ‘divine tortoises’ – tortoises used for divination
(8) white horses with red manes

(9) fighting cocks
(10) rhinoceroses
(11) sea turtle shell
(12) black bears
(13) ‘red hornless (or immature) dragons’ (which produced the famous “dragons’ blood” resin)
(14) ‘poison-avoiding rats’ = mongooses
(15) large cowries
(16) mother-of-pearl
(17) carnelian
(18) ‘southern gold’
(19) kingfisher feathers
(20) ivory
(21) coloured veined jade
(22) ‘bright moon’ pearls
(23) luminescent ‘pearls’ or pearl-like jewels (probably large diamonds)
(24) genuine white pearls
(25) yellow amber
(26) (red) coral
(27) ten varieties of glass: red, white, black, green, yellow, blue-green, dark blue, light blue, fiery red, purple
(28) a magnificent jade
(29) white carnelian?
(30) rock crystal or transparent glass
(31) various semi-precious gems
(32) realgar
(33) orpiment
(34) nephrite
(35) multicoloured jade or gemstone
(36) ten sorts of wool rugs: yellow, white, black, green, purple, fiery red, deep red, dark blue, golden yellow,
light blue and back to yellow
(37) finely patterned multicoloured wool carpets
(38) nine colours of multicoloured lower quality wool carpets (kilims rather than knotted carpets?)
(39) gold threaded embroidery

(40) polychrome (warp twill) fine silk or chiffon
(41) woven gold cloth
(42) purple chi cloth
(43) falu cloth
(44) purple chiqu cloth
(45) asbestos cloth
(46) fine silk gauze cloth
(47) shot silk, ‘clinging cloth’ or ‘cloth with swirling patterns’?
(48) dudai cloth
(49) cotton-wool cloth?
(50) multicoloured tao cloth
(51) crimson curtains woven with gold
(52) multicoloured ‘spiral curtains’?
(53) yiwei
(54) myrrh
(55) storax
(56) diti
(57) rosemary
(58) probably dhūṇa – an incense made from the resin of the Indian Sal tree.
(59) bai fuzi – lit. ‘white aconite’ – but it is not clear what plant this refers to here. See notes.
(60) frankincense
(61) turmeric, saffron or tulips
(62) rue oil
(63) Oriental lovage – Lysimachia foenum-graecum Hance
Altogether (they have) twelve types of aromatic plants. 13
Section 13 – The Sea Route to Da Qin (Roman territory)
As well as the overland route from Da Qin (Roman territory) through Haibei (‘North of the Sea’ – the lands
between Egypt and Parthia), one can also follow the sea south along the seven commanderies of Jiaozhi
(stretching down the north Vietnamese coast), 1 which are in contact with foreign countries. 2 Nearby (or
‘North’) 3 is a waterway (the Red River) 4 which leads to Yongchang 5 in Yizhou (a commandery in
present-day southern Yunnan). 6 That’s why rare items come from Yongchang.

In early times only the maritime routes (to Da Qin) were discussed because they didn’t know there were
overland routes. 7
Section 14 – Roman Dependencies
Now, (the Roman Empire) can be summed up as follows: the number of people and families cannot be given
in detail. It is the biggest country west of the Bai Congling (‘White Pamir Mountains’). 1 They have installed
numerous minor kings so only the bigger dependencies are noted here:
Section 15 – The Kingdom of Zesan (Azania)
The king of Zesan (Azania) 1 is subject to Da Qin (Rome). His seat of government is in the middle of the sea. 2
To the north you reach Lüfen (Leukê Komê). 3 It can take half a year to cross the water, but with fast winds
it takes a month. 4
(Zesan) is in close communication with Angu city (Gerrha) in Anxi (Parthia). 5 You can (also) travel (from
Zesan) southwest to the capital of Da Qin (Rome), but the number of li is not known. 6
Section 16 – The Kingdom of Lüfen = Leukê Komê or modern Al Wajh
The king of Lüfen (Leukê Komê) 1 is subject to Da Qin (Rome). It is 2,000 li (832 km) from his residence to
(the nearest) major city (= Daphnae) of Da Qin (the Roman Empire). 2
From the city of Lüfen (Leukê Komê) going west to Da Qin (alongside the Butic Canal), you cross over the
sea by an ‘elevated bridge’ 230 li (96 km) long; 3 then you take the sea route southwest, travelling around the
sea (coast), and then head west (to reach Da Qin). 4
Section 17 – The Kingdom of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan)
The king of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan) 1 is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From the kingdom of Sitao (Istakhr,
Stakhr) 2 you go south, cross a river (the Rūd-i Kor), then head west 3,000 li (1,247 km) to go to Qielan
(Wadi Sirhan). 3 The route leaves south of the river (the Rūd-i Kor), only then do you head west. 4
From Qielan (Wadi Sirhan) you again travel west 600 li (250 km) to the kingdom of Sifu (Petra). 5 The
Southern Route joins (this east-west route) at Sifu (Petra). Also, (a route) goes southwest to the kingdom of
Xiandu (‘Aynūnah). 6
Due south from Qielan (Wadi Sirhan) and Sifu (Petra) is Jishi (‘Rock Piles’). 7 To the south of Jishi (‘Rock
Piles’) there is a big sea (the Red Sea) which produces coral and pearls. 8
North of Qielan (Wadi Sirhan), Sifu (Petra), Sibin (Susa) 9 and Aman (Ariana) 10 there is a mountain range
(the Taurus mountains) 11 running east to west.
East of both Da Qin (Roman territories) and Haixi (= Egypt) 11 there is a mountain range (the Jibāl ash
Sharāh Range or Mount Seir) 12 running north to south.

Section 18 – The Kingdom of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah = Leukos Limên)
The king of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah = Leukos Limên) 1 is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From his residence it is 600 li
(250 km) northeast to Sifu (Petra). 2
Section 19 – The Kingdom of Sifu (Petra)
The king of Sifu (Petra) 1 is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From his residence northeast to Yuluo (Karak), 2 you
go 340 li (141 km), and cross over a sea (mistake for ‘river’ = the Wadi al-Ḥesa). 3
Section 20 – The Kingdom of Yuluo (Karak)
Yuluo (Karak) 1 is subject to of Da Qin (Rome). The seat of government is northeast of Sifu (Petra) across a
river (the Wadi al-Ḥesa). 2 From Yuluo (Karak) you go northeast, and again cross over a river (River
Arnon). 3
Section 21 – The Kingdom of Siluo (Sura)
Northeast of Siluo (Sura) 1 you again cross over a river (the Euphrates). The kingdom of Siluo (Sura) is
subject to Anxi (Parthia), and it borders on Da Qin (Roman territory).
Section 22 – The Far West
West of Da Qin (Rome) is sea water. West of the sea water are rivers. West of the rivers there are big
mountains running south to north. 1 West (of this) is the Chi Shui (‘Red River’ = Kāshgar-daryā?). 2 West of
the Chi Shui (‘Red River’ = Kāshgar-daryā?) are the Baiyu shan (‘White Jade Mountains’). 3
In the Baiyu Shan (‘White Jade Mountains’) lives Xi Wangmu (‘Spirit-Mother of the West’). 4 West of Xi
Wangmu are the long Liusha (‘Shifting Sands’). 5
To the west of the Liusha (‘Shifting Sands’) is the kingdom of Daxia (Bactria), the kingdom of Jiansha
(‘Stable Sands’), 6 the kingdom of Shuyao (Sogdiana),< 7 and the kingdom of the Yuezhi (Kushans).
West of these four kingdoms is the Hei Shui (‘Black River’), 8 which is as far west as I have heard of.
Section 23 – The New Route of the North
The New Route of the North 1 goes west reaching the kingdom of Eastern Jumi (near modern Dashito), 2 the
kingdom of Western Jumi (near modern Mulei), 2 the kingdom of Danhuan, 4 the kingdom of Bilu, 5 the
kingdom of Pulu, 6 and the kingdom of Wutan, 7 which are all dependencies of the king of the Further Jushi
Section (near Jimasa).

The king has his capital in the city of Yulai. 8 The Wei (dynasty) conferred the title of ‘Probationary Wei
Palace Attendant’ 9 on Yiduoza, the king, with the honorific name of ‘Great Defender of the Wei’. 10 He
received the ‘Seal of King (appointed by the) Wei’. 11
The (New Northern) Route then turns northwest to reach Wusun (Issyk-kol and Semirechiye), 12 and
Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins). 13 These kingdoms existed previously
and have neither grown nor shrunk. 14
Section 24 – The Kingdom of Northern Wuyi (Khujand – Alexandria Escharte)
Northern Wuyi (modern Khujand) 1 is a distinct kingdom in the northern part of Kangju.
Section 25 – The Kingdom of Liu (Turkestan? Kzyl-Orda?), Yan (north of Yancai), and
Yancai (= the Alans between the Black and Caspian Seas).
Then there is the kingdom of Liu (between Kangju and Yancai?), 1 the kingdom of Yan (to the north of
Yancai), 2 and the kingdom of Yancai (between the Black and Caspian Seas), 3 which is also called Alan. 4
They all have the same way of life as those of Kangju.
To the west, they border Da Qin (Roman territory), to the southeast they border Kangju (Tashkent plus the
Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins).
These kingdoms have large numbers of their famous sables. 5 They raise cattle and move about in search of
water and fodder. They are close to a big marsh (to the northeast and north of the Aral Sea). 6 Previously
they were vassals of Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins). Now they are no
longer vassals. 7
Section 26 – The Kingdom of Hude
The kingdom of Hude is north of the Congling (the Pamirs), northwest of Wusun (Issyk-kol and
Semirechiye), northeast of Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins). They have
more than 10,000 men able to bear arms. They follow their cattle. They produce excellent horses, and have
sables.
Section 27 – The Kingdom of Jiankun (Kirghiz)
The kingdom of Jiankun (Kirghiz) 1 is northwest of Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu, Talas, and middle
Jaxartes basins). They have more than 30,000 men able to bear arms. They follow their cattle and have lots
of sables and excellent horses.
Section 28 – The Kingdom of Dingling (Around Lake Baikal and on the Irtish River)
The kingdom of Dingling is north of Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins). 1
They have 60,000 men able to bear arms. They produce famous sable pelts, 2 as well as white and blue Arctic

fox pelts. 3
Of these three states Jiangun (the Kirghiz – in the region of Omsk?), is the central one. It is 7,000 li (2,911
km) from the court of the Chanyu (Shah) 4 of the Xiongnu (which was close to modern Ulan Bator) on the
Anxi River (Juul Gol?).
It is 5,000 li (2,080 km) 5 south to the six kingdoms of Jushi; 6 3,000 li (1,247 km) southwest to go to the
frontier of Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins); 8,000 li (3,326 km) west to
go to the capital of the king of Kangju.
It was thought that perhaps these Dingling were the Dingling to the north of the Xiongnu (around Lake
Baikal), but the Northern Dingling are west of Wusun (and north of Kangju), and it seems they are of
another race. Furthermore, north of the Xiongnu (near modern Ulan Bator) is the kingdom of Hunyu, the
kingdom of Qushi, the kingdom of Dingling, the kingdom of the Gekun, and the kingdom of the Xinli. 7
It is known that if you go south from Bei Hai (‘Northern Sea’ = Lake Baikal) you find the Dingling again.
They are not the same as the Dingling to the west of the Wusun (Issyk-kol and Semirechiye). 8
The Wusun elders say that north of the Dingling is the kingdom of Majing (‘Horses Shanks’). These men
make sounds like startled wild geese. From above the knee, they have the body and hands of a man, but
below the knees, they grow hair, and have horses’ legs and hooves. They don’t ride horses as they can run
faster than horses. They are brave, strong, and daring fighters. 9
Section 29 – The Kingdom of Duanren (‘Short Men’)
The kingdom of Duanren (‘Short Men’) 1 is northwest of Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu, Talas, and middle
Jaxartes basins). The men and women are all three chi tall [0.693 metres or 2.27 feet]. They are very
numerous.
It is a long way from Yancai (at the mouth of the Syr Darya near the Aral Sea) and the other kingdoms. The
elders of Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins) say that merchants frequently
cross this kingdom. 2 It is possibly more than 10,000 li (4,158 km) from Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu,
Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins).
Section 30 – Yu Huan’s Comments
Yu Huan (the author) observes: It is commonly believed that a fish living in a little stream does not know
the size of the Qiang (Yangtze River) and the sea. 1 The mayfly, 2 for that matter, does not know of the
changing of the four seasons. Why is this so? Because one lives in a small place, and the other’s life is short.
I am, at the moment, intensively examining Da Qin (the Roman Empire) and all the other foreign kingdoms.
Still, it seems to me that I am neglecting to (fully) instruct the uninformed.
Moreover, as to the speculations of Zou Yan, 3 or the hypotheses of the Dayitai xuan, “The Great Mystery of
the Noble Yi (-jing)”, 4 alas, I am limited to travelling by foot, and living in the puddle left in the hoof print of
an ox. 5 Besides, I don’t have the longevity of Peng Zu. 6
It has not been my fate to see things first hand, travelling with the rapid winds, or enlisting swift horses to
view distant vistas. Alas, I have to strain to see the three heavenly bodies [the sun, moon, and stars] but, oh,
how my thoughts fly to the eight foreign regions! 7

Section 1 – The Di 氐Tribes
1.1. By the time of the Han dynasties (206 BCE – 220 CE), the term Xirong or ‘Western Rong’ 西戎, was used in
the very general sense of ‘the tribes to the west of Han.’ The term once applied to a specific people from whom a
number of tribes descended, which helps explain how the more generalised version of the name came about. It will
be useful here to have a look at early Chinese concepts of ethnicity and how they had developed by the period of
the Han dynasty:
“By the beginning of the first millennium BC an awareness of being “Chinese” had emerged in
northern China. This identity is intimately connected with the growth of early states, especially the Shang
and the Zhou, whose centers lay in the region of what is today Henan 河南, Shanxi 山西, and Shaanxi 陕西
Provinces. This area, known as the Zhongyuan 中原 (Central Plains) or zhongguo 中國 (central states),
formed a nucleus around which early “Chinese” civilization flourished.
Texts written down by the mid-first millennium BC suggest that the people living in this area
regarded themselves as “civilized,” a concept that was closely connected to li 禮. Li is commonly translated
as ceremony or rite, as well as etiquette. In reality, the concept of li is complex and implies an entire system
of behaviour and ritual – a kind of customary law. Its principles regulated the lives of the people living
within the zhongguo. Whoever practised li was eligible to be regarded as a member of the Hua-Xia
“We-group.” Thus, it seems entirely reasonable to suggest, as have many (Creel 1970; Eberhard 1982;
Pulleyblank 1983), that the concept of being “Chinese” at this early date was not fixed and static. It was a
flexible category defined in cultural and political terms, and membership expanded along with the spread of
the early Chinese state.
Some of the earliest categorizations and perceptions of “other” people in ancient China are found in
the Zhouli 周禮 and the Erya 爾雅, texts that date from the latter half of the first millennium BC. What is
striking in both of these texts is the classification of groups into broad categories that set up oppositional
clusters of cultural traits. The key here is the word “broad” – the categories are defined in such a way that
individuals or groups of people could easily shift in and out of the categories as the boundaries of “Chinese
civilization” expanded and people adopted the trappings of what the “Chinese” perceived as “being
Chinese.”
The Zhouli (c. third century BC) defines the Chinese world in terms of “inner” (nei 內) and “outer”
(wai 外). According to this view, the world consisted of nine concentric circles surrounding a central zone
known as the king’s domain. In this schema, the six zones closest to the king’s domain were considered
neifu內府, i.e., outside. They did not belong to the world of the king’s domain and were inhabited by
“outsiders.”
This basic concept of “inside” vs. “outside” continues as a constant theme in Chinese literature and
is further developed in the Erya, a Han period (second century BC) text. In the Erya the inside / outside
theme is given a stronger geographical basis. The “outsiders” were consequently subdivided into four
groups associated with the four cardinal directions – the “Four Seas.” There were the northern Di氐, the
Eastern Yi 東夷, the southern Man 蠻, and the western Rong 戎. Each of the Four Seas was further split
into “inside” and “outside.” The nei or inside groups were again dissected into sheng 生 (raw), i.e.,
uncivilized and hence potentially dangerous, and shu 熟 (cooked or ripe), i.e., civilized in the sense that
these groups had been tamed by the influence of Chinese civilization (see Cushman 1970: ch. 2 for a
detailed discussion of this analysis).
The constant sub-theme running through these texts is politics. The groups are first defined
according to categories of “inside” and “outside.” Those groups on the inside are linked with the growing
authority and strength of the early Chinese state and are beginning to lose their sense of differentiation.
Those groups living at the peripheries of the Chinese state are, in contrast, perceived of as “different” and
are consequently potential threats to the unity of the state.
To sum up, while Chinese texts do provide information on how the Chinese texts do provide
information on how the Chinese distinguish between themselves and others, the categories are not fixed or
rigid. Individuals or groups could abandon those cultural traits regarded as “raw” or non-civilized, and
adopt those used by the Chinese. In doing so, the people became “cooked,” i.e., more civilized, and
potentially less ethnically distinct.
During the Han Dynasty, descriptions begin to appear in texts that still reflected the broader
categories of “inner” and “outer,” and “raw” and “cooked,” but also provided more detailed information
about what these “other,” i.e., non-Chinese, people looked like, how they lived, and what names they were

called.” Peters (2002), pp. 83-85.
“The Sai 赛 tribes, which appeared in the valleys of the Ili and Chu rivers by the end of the seventh
century B.C. had possibly come from the east. The precursors of the Asii, the Tochari, the Gaisani and the
Sacarauli seem to have been the Rong of the surname Yun 戎姓之允, the Daxia, the Yuzhi 禹知 (Yuzhi 禹
氏) and the Suoju 莎車 who appeared in pre-Qin records and books. In 623 B.C., Duke Mu 穆 of Qin 秦
dominated the Western Rong 戎 and opened up territories which extended for 1,000 li [416 km]. This event
possibly caused the Sai 赛 tribes’ westerly migration.
The Rong 戎 of surname Yun 允, the Daxia 大夏 and the Yuzhi 禹知 (Yuzhi 禹氏) can respectively
be traced back to the Shaohao 少昊, the Taotang 陶唐 and the Youyu 有虞.
The Shaohao 少昊, which has known [sic] as the state of the surname Yun 允, originally dwelt in the
valley of the Ruo 若 River, then moved to Qiongsang 窮桑 in the north of Lu 鲁. A branch of the
descendants of the Shaohao 少昊 dwelled at Ruo 鄀, and of them, those who moved to Guazhou 瓜州 were
called “the villains of the surname Yun 允”. Among the “villains of the surname Yun 允”, some moved
inwards (the Central Plains) and the others went westwards. Of the latter, those who reached the valleys of
the Ili and Chu rivers became a tribe of the Sai 赛 people, but those who remained to the west of Hami 哈
密 (Kumul) were known as the Wusun 烏孫.” Yu (2000), pp. 1-2.
There are references in Chinese literature to a work or works by Yu Huan, the Weilue 魏略, or “Summary of the
Wei Dynasty,” and the Dianlue 典略, or “Records of the Wei Dynasty.” The originals have long since disappeared
and there are varying accounts of how many chapters each contained or, indeed, whether they were even separate
documents.
The surviving text translated here was quoted by Pei Songzhi in his notes to the Sanguozhi 三國志, or “Memoir of
the Three Kingdoms,” published in 429 CE. It begins thus: “The Weilue’s Chapter on the Western Rong says: . . . .
” For further information see: Chavannes (1905), p. 519; Pelliot (1906), pp. 362-363; de Crespigny (1970), pp.
75-76.
“According to the Book of History, Yu divided the world into five concentric domains, the outermost of
which was the wilderness domain 荒服. Yen Shih-ku says, “The Jung and Ti [occupied] the wilderness
domain, hence it is said, ‘The four wildernesses.’ It says that it is a wilderness, [where] they suddenly go
and come without any regularity. The Erh-ya says that Ku-chu [in the north], Pei-hu [in the south],
Hsi-wang-mu [a place in the west], and Jih-hsia [in the east] are called the four wildernesses.” Dubs (1938),
p. 263, n. 1.
The Rong, Qiang, and Di peoples were known to the Chinese by Shang times [1765-1122 BCE]. ‘Rong’ was
originally used by the Chinese to refer to a people they later described as the ancestors of the Qiang tribes.
Considered a major threat, the Shang mounted large campaigns against them.
The Rong moved into the area to the south of the Yellow River soon after the middle of the 7 th century BCE.
Although the Di are usually considered “a clearly defined national and political grouping,” the name ‘Rong’ was
commonly used in the looser sense of “barbarian” or “bellicose.” By Han times, the meaning of ‘Rong’ had been
expanded to refer generally to all non-Sinitic populations of the West. See: Průšek (1971), pp. 38-42, 210; Molè
(1970), p. 86, n. 61; Dictionnaire Français de la Langue Chinois. 1976: 478, No. 2486. See also the notes on the
Di and Qiang (nn. 1.2 and 1.19).
1.2. The Di 氐 [Ti ] people.
Di 氐– K. 590a: *tiər / tiei; EMC: tɛj.
The Bamboo Chronicles contain the first historical mention of the Di referring to the capture of “twenty Di kings”
during an expedition against the Gui or Di peoples by the Zhoujing Ji in the 12 th century BCE.
“It appears that the term Di referred to people originally of Qiang origin settled in the Qin Ling ranges and
further south. As this territory was occupied by the Chinese, the Di became increasingly heavily influenced

y that culture, though still retaining elements of the Qiang. [Chinese records refer to a “White Horse”
(Baima) Qiang and a “White Horse” Di, both on the frontiers of Wudu and Guanghan commanderies in
northern Sichuan. These are probably references to the same people.] See, in particular, HHS 86/76,
2359-60, and also HHS 87/77, 2898-99.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 470, n. 8. See also: de Crespigny (1977),
pp. 6-7, and n. 8; Rogers (1968), pp. 4-5, and nn. 6, 9; Molè (1970), p. 83, n. 50; Holmgren (1982), p. 116;
Wu (1982), pp. 107-108; CICA: 101, n. 178.
“Earlier History of the Ti People. Of the “Five Races of Barbarians” traditionally associated with the
“Sixteen States,” Fu Chien’s clan was affiliated with the Ti race, a proto-Tibetan group ethnically related to
the Ch’iang 羗, with whom they are associated in the Book of Songs. [Fu Chien (Pinyin: Fu Jian), 338-385,
took power in 357 and subdued all of northern China, founding the Former Ch’in or Qin – one of the ‘Six
Kingdoms’]. There are no clearly identifiable remains of the Ti language in the Chinese sources. 6
Information about the history and distribution of these people is contained in the dynastic histories in
sections specifically devoted to them as well as in separate documents; 7 of the latter, a memorial composed
by Chiang T’ung 江统 (d. 310) is especially informative.
In pre-Han times the Ti were spread principally in the mountainous country that extended from
southern Kansu to northern Szechwan, one of their most important seats being at Ch’ou-ch’ih. In 36 A.D. a
considerable number of Ti and Ch’iang were moved into Kuan-chung and Ho-tung, a fact which Chiang
T’ung later deplored on the grounds that the descendants of those people, having grown in numbers and
strength, oppressed the Chinese inhabitants of the areas. Eruptions of the Ch’iang and Ti which began in
107 lasted a decade and were unprecedentedly devastating. Chiang T’ung asserts that during the last years
of the Later Han the barbarians of Yung Province reduced Kuan-chung to desolation, and the Wei-lüeh’s
account of the activities of the Ti in Kansu, Shensi, and Szechwan tends to confirm this. There can be no
doubt that, as Chiang T’ung says, the Ti profited substantially during the rise of the kingdom of Wei from
the rivalry between it and the state of Shu; indeed, the bargaining position which they then enjoyed must
have been of prime significance in the history of their entrenchment in China. One episode which is of
particular interest for the history of the Fu clan was the removal in 236 of on Fu Chien, who then held the
title “King of the Ti of Wu-tu,” with his following of 400 Ti house-holds into Kuang-tu (in Szechwan).
This Ti leader is probably to be identified with the illustrious ancestor after whom Fu Chien’s uncle, Fu
Chien, was named.”
6. Eberhard states that the Ti could be regarded merely as more sinicized Ch’iang, were it not for the fact that their
language is said (in TT) to have differed from that of the Ch’iang; but according to the Wei-lüeh their language was the
same as that of the Ch’iang.
7. WS 101, SS 98, Chou-shu and PS 96. The relevant portion of the Wei-lüeh, preserved in P’ei Sung-chih’s
commentary on SKC, was translated by Chavannes (“Wei Lio”). Its opening section is devoted to the Ti.
Rogers (1968), pp. 4-5; 80, nn. 6 and 7.
1.3. Yi zhou 益州 [I-chou]. During the Han a zhou 州 was a territory under Chinese control, but outside China
proper. It was equivalent to a jun 郡, which is usually translated as: ‘commandery.’ Yi zhou was established in 109
BCE by Emperor Wu. Its administrative centre was to the east of modern Puning County, Yunnan (Prefecture and
Province). The Yi zhou of the Han must not be confused with the Yi zhou of the Five Dynasties which corresponds
with Chengdu fu of Sichuan. See Chavannes (1905), p. 521, n. 1. Yi zhou, during the Han, included most of
modern Yunnan and southern Sichuan. It bordered on Jiaozhi (centred near modern Hanoi) to the southeast, and
modern Burma to the southwest.
1.4. Wudu Jun (Wudu Commandery) 武都郡 [Wu-tu chün] was established by Emperor Wu in 111 BCE to the
west and southwest of Changan.
“South of the Wei and the Tao was Wudu commandery, which had been in Yi circuit under the Former
Han, but was in Liang Province of Later Han. The commandery covered the mountainous country of the
Min Shan in present-day southern Gansu and the borders of Sichuan, with the upper course of the Han
River and of the Bailong Jiang. In this region also, both non-Chinese and the Chinese settlements were
scattered and isolated among the mountains at the foothills of Tibet and the base of the great ridge of the
Qin Ling.” de Crespigny (1984), pp.13-14, and the maps on pp. 92, 98.

“Han Wu-ti decreed the establishment of Wu-tu Commandery at Ch’ou-ch’ih in 111 B.C. (HS 28: Ti-li chih
8B. 1a; Dubs, II, 82). Ch’ou-ch’ih was the seat of the “White Horse (Po-ma) tribe, which is described as the
strongest of the Ti tribes. Ti rebellions against the Chinese colonists of that region were recorded for the
years 108 B.C. (Wei-lüeh; Dubs, II, 93; de Groot, Urkunden, II, 198) and 80 B.C. (HS 7; Dubs, II, 163).”
Rogers (1968), p. 81, n. 9.
See also: Note 3.8, and Chavannes (1905), p. 521, n. 2, where he mistakenly gives 118 BCE instead of 111 BCE
for the establishment of Wudu Commandery. He says that its centre was 80 li to the west of Cheng County
(Sub-prefecture of Jie, Gansu Province).
1.5. “Fulu 福祿was the name of a County (xian) of Jiuquan Commandery (now Su County, Gansu Province).”
Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 521, n. 3.
“It was not until the time of Emperor Wu, shortly before 100 BC, that the Han established a military and
political presence northwest across the Yellow River and founded the commanderies of Hexi [Ho-hsi]
“West of the River”. Jiuquan [Chiu-ch’üan], Zhangye [Chang-yeh] and Dunhuang [Dunhuang] were
probably established in 104 and subsequent years, Wuwei [Wu-wei] and Jincheng [Chin-ch’eng] in the
half-century following.
Under Later Han, the commanderies of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang stretched in that order
from southeast to northwest along the present-day Gansu corridor. On the southwest, they were backed by
the Qilian Shan [= Nan Shan] and the mountainous regions of present-day Qinghai [Ch’ing-hai]. To the
north and east they faced the Helan [He-lan] Shan, the Tengger and other deserts on the edge of the Gobi.
The cities and settlements were based on oases, supplied by the snowmelt streams which flow from the
high ground to the south and then disappear into marshes in the desert. As in the Tarim basin of central
Asia, irrigation agriculture was maintained around these cities, and the settled farming economy was
sufficient to provide a frontier defence for the trade and communications of the Silk Road which led
through the Western Regions to India and Rome.” de Crespigny (1984), pp. 7-8.
For a discussion of the dates of the establishment of the four commanderies, see also: Dubs (1944), p. 83 and note
23.1.
1.6. Qian 汧 [Ch’ien].
“The ancient County of Qian was to the south of the present County of Long (Fengxiang Prefecture, Gansu
Province)”. Adapted from Chavannes (1905), p. 521, n. 4. Qian County was approximately 180 km
northwest of Changan (modern Xian) on the Long road.
“(Shensi, S of Lung hsien) LTYT 36a, SLKCYC 4133.2. A prefecture of Fu-feng Commandery, Ssu-li.”
Rogers (1968), p. 310.
1.7. Ancient Long 隴 [Lung] County was to the west of Qian County, and included the strategic Long Pass which
is approximately 215 km northwest of Changan on the Long Road.
“(Shensi, Lung hsien) LTYT 36b, SLKCYC 4137.1. Area of Lung Mountain near the Lung-ch’eng
Prefecture that lay in Lüeh-yang Commandery in Ch’in Province. It was the western of the Four Fortresses
of Kuan-chung.” Rogers (1968), p. 324.
“Lung is the name of a chain of mountains at the sources of the river Wei on the border between Shen-si
and Kan-su”. Molè, (1970), p. 71, n. 13.
“The main communications route east and west along the Wei River was the Long Road, so called from the
mountain by which it passed. It seems most probable that the ancient road generally followed the line of the
modern railway from Xian along the Wei valley, then crossed the watershed to the Tao River, and then
went north to the Yellow River near Lanzhou, where it joined the Silk Road leading northwest into central
Asia. Most of the country of eastern Gansu is rolling loess hills, not a major obstruction to open movement
and manoeuvre, but sufficient to render attractive the silted flood-plains of the major streams, while in the
upper reaches of the Wei and about the Yellow River the terrain is steep enough to make travel away from
the valleys quite difficult.

Near Long Mountain, however, on the borders of present-day Gansu and Shaanxi, the Wei River runs
through gorges in the loess. In this region the road left the Wei valley and crossed the hill country through
the Long Pass, north of the river. The Long Pass was a fortified barrier, and it appears also that the Long
Road itself was protected as a military highway, with patrols, garrisons, stores and arsenals at intervals
along its course.” de Crespigny (1984), pp. 14-15.
1.8. Panhu 縏瓠 [P’an-hu]. In spite of the popular etymology recounted below, the name Panhu was probably a
transliteration of a Di name.
“At the beginning of Chapter CXVI dedicated to the Barbarians of the South (translated by WYLIE, Rev.
de l’Extr. Orient, 1882, pp. 200-201), the Hou Hanshu has recounted in full the legend of the dog, Panhu,
who married the daughter of Emperor Gaoxin (identified by Sima Qian with Emperor Ku), and who was
the ancestor of the Barbarians of the South. The commentary on the Hou Hanshu quotes, on these remarks,
a passage from the Weilue itself which indicates to us a popular etymology of the name Panhu: ‘Emperor
Gaoxin had an old married woman who lived in the house of the king, and who had an earache. While
removing the problem, an object was found big as a cocoon. This woman placed it in a gourd (hu), which
she covered with a bowl (pan). In an instant, the object transformed itself into a multicoloured dog. That is
why it is called Panhu.” Translated from Chavannes (1905): 521, n. 6. Note: the reign of the legendary
emperor Gaoxin or Di Ku is traditionally assigned to c. 2436 BCE to 2366 BCE.
1.9. Ran Di 蚺氐 [Jan Ti] – ‘Giant Python’ Di. Williams (1909), p. 403, identifies the word jan as:
“A large serpent found in southern China, described as 50 [Chinese] feet long, which can seize deer
for food; it has long teeth and a bright variegated skin which is cured for covering guitars; it carries its head
close to the ground. . . the gall is reputed to be useful in curing consumption; this description doubtless
refers to a sort of boa like that reported to be found in Hainan Island.”
This description of a snake up to 50 chi [about 17 metres] is undoubtedly an exaggeration, but the description
could otherwise refer to either of two giant pythons common in Southeast Asia: the Reticulated Python (Python
reticulatus), or the Indian Python (P. molurus).
The Reticulated Python ranges from southern Burma to Indonesia and the Philippines and is probably the
world’s longest snake, with specimens found up to at least 9.6 metres (31 feet) long, although the Anaconda is
heavier. It has been known to take deer and even, occasionally, children.
“The reticulated python gets its name from the distinctive color and pattern on its scales. According to
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary the word “reticulated” is an adjective defined as “having
lines intercrossed, forming a network.” It is also known as the regal python (regal is a word that refers to a
king). Its scientific name is Python reticulatus. . . . Reticulated pythons live in tropical forests on the
continent of Asia. Their range extends from Myanmar and India, across Southeast Asia and on many of the
islands of the Philippines and Indonesia. They are at home on the ground, in caves or in trees and they have
adapted to living in towns and cities where they hunt chickens, ducks, rats and domestic cats, dogs and
pigs. Large reticulated pythons have eaten monkeys, wild boar, deer and even people. There are not many
cases of these pythons capturing and eating people, but it has been reported even in recent years. . . . The
largest reticulated python ever found in the wild was reported in 1912 from the island of Celebes (now
known as Sulawesi) in Indonesia. This snake measured thirty-three feet.” Shwedick (2002).
However, ran, according to GR Vols. III, p. 449 and IV, p. 334, refers to Python molurus bivittatus Schlegel. It
adds that it is edible and that its flesh and bile are used as medicines. This snake, commonly known as the ‘Indian
Python’, is usually less than 4 metres but is sometimes twice that length, or about 8 metres (26 feet).
I have translated ran as ‘Giant Python,’ as it is impossible to decide which of these two species of python
was intended in the text.
1.10. Early Chinese accounts refer to at least two main groups of Di: the ‘Red Di’ and the ‘White Di’. It has been
suggested that this could be a reference to geographical divisions, with the White Di to the west, and the Red Di to
the south, but it seems:
“quite clear that the term Red Di was not a geographical one and did not distinguish the bearers of it from
Ti living in other places; it was a political and particularly a social term, distinguishing one group of
implacable enemies of Chin from others who were tired of fighting and anxious to come to terms; it was

primarily the distinction between one aristocratic ruling group and another subordinate group.” Průšek
(1971), p. 219.
There seems to be little reason to doubt the early claims, repeated here in our text, that the names refer to the
colour of the clothes worn by various clans or groups. “Thus explaining the terms ‘Green Di’ 青氐, ‘White Di’ 白
氐 above.” Translated from Chavannes (1905): 522, n. 2.
1.11. Hezhi 盍稚 [Ho-chih]. Ancient pronunciations:
he – K. 642n: *g’âp / γâp; EMC: γap; he: g’âp / γâp
zhi – EMC: dri h . Reconstructed pronunciations of this word are not included in Karlgren.
1.12. Xingguo Di 興國氐 [Hsing-kuo Ti]. Xingguo refers to the ancient state of Xing in the Hebei plain at the foot
of the Taihang Shan, which the Di conquered circa 660 BCE and was settled by the ‘Red’ Di. See: Průšek (1971),
pp. 144-145. GR Vol. II, p. 1196 states that it refers to the ancient prefecture of Hubei which is now known as
Yangxin.
1.13. Baixiang Di 白項氐 [Pai-hsiang Ti] literally reads: “The White Section of the Di”. Chavannes (1905), p.
522. mistakenly gives Zi [Tzu] for the similar Bai [Pai] (which can also be pronounced bo).
“Mr. Chavannes always makes use of the edition of the twenty-four historians published by the library of
Tushujicheng [T’u-shu-chi-ch’eng] in Shanghai from 1888. This edition has the advantage of being printed
clearly in a convenient format and is relatively inexpensive. It accurately reproduces the imperial edition
published in the 18 th century by order of Jianlong [Ch’ien-lung] which is authoritative in China today. Only
this edition in moving characters, generally correct for the Shiji [Shih-chi] or the Histories of the Han
which are the first and only true readings of the dynastic histories, is quite negligent from the Sanguozhi
[San kuo chih] onwards. Moreover, Mr. Chavannes has had at his disposal the edition of the Sanguozhi
known as the Barentang [Pao-jen-t’ang](p. 550, n. 2; p. 555, n. 1) but it does not seem to have been always
checked, for in at least two cases it is unlikely that the Barentang edition gives readings which, in the
edition of Shanghai are clearly printing errors: on p. 222, “Zixiang Di” [Tzu-hsiang Ti] is incorrect for
Baixiang Di [Pai-hsiang-ti],and the correct reading is found in the xylographic edition published by
Jiangnanshuzhu [Chiang-nan-shu-chu] in 1887. It is the same for the Weibi [Wei-pi] of p. 526, where M.
Chavannes clearly sees that it ought to be written Xianbi [Hsien-pi] and which is, in fact, correctly written
Xianbi [Hsien-pi] in the edition of Jiangnanshuzhu and, very probably, in that of [the Barentang].”
Translated from Pelliot (1906), pp. 365-366.
“Po-ching 百頃 was another name for Ch’ou-ch’ih. It is explained as indicating the area (100 ch’ing) of the
Pond (ch’ih); in late editions (e.g. K’ai-ming: Wei-chih 30. 1006. 2) Wei lüeh wrongly writes Tzu-hsiang
自項, which Chavannes in his translation (n. 7) fails to correct. Po-na (SKC 30.31a) has Po 白-hsiang.”
Rogers (1968), p. 84, n. 47.
The Chinese text of the Weilue that I have been using (the five volume Sanguozhi published by the New China
Bookstore Publishing House, Beijing, 1975, zhuan 30: 858-863), like the Po-na edition, also has Bai- (or Bo-)xiang
白項 [Pai- (or Po) hsiang]. This name would appear to be correct and carries the meaning of the ‘White Section.’
This interpretation seems to be confirmed by the description given earlier in the text of the various sections
(or clans) of the Ti peoples: “Some are called the Qing Di (Green Di), others the Bai Di 白項氐 (White Di), and
others the Ran Di (Giant Python Di), referring to the class of reptiles in which they are placed. The people of the
Middle Kingdom name them according to the colour of their clothes, but they call themselves Hezhi [盍稚].” See
also notes 1.11 and 3.8.
1.14. Ma Chao 馬超.
“In chapter 1 of the Wei zhi section of the Sanguozhi, one reads that Ma Chao’s rebellion indeed broke out
in 211, but it was only in 213 that he obtained the cooperation of the Di tribes: ‘In the eighteenth Jianan
year (213), . . . Ma Chao, finding himself at Hanyang (to the south of the County of Qingfu, Xuchou
Prefecture, Sichuan Province), began to make trouble again using the Qiang and the Hu. The king of the Di,
Qianwan, rebelled to join forces with him. (Ma) Chao camped at Xingguo. Xiahou Yuan attacked him.’ In
the first month of the nineteenth year [29 January to 26 February, 214], Xiahou Yuan defeated Qianwan

and put him to flight. He exterminated the people of Xingguo.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 522,
n. 3.
“During the Chien-an period (196-220), according to the Wei-lüeh . . . , the Ti leaders A-kuei 阿貴 of
Lüeh-yang and Ch’ien-wan of Ch’ou-ch’ih each controlled tribes numbering more than a myriad [10,000].
They made common cause with the rebel Ma C’hao 馬超 (176-222; SKC 36. 6b-9a) in 213 (SKC 1, 38a;
Wei-lüeh’s 211 seems to be wrong). After Ma Ch’ao’s defeat in the following year, A-kuei and his
followers were wiped out by Hsia-hou Yüan夏侯淵 (d. 219; SKC 9, 3b-7b), while Ch’ien-wan went
southwest into Shu, where his tribes all submitted to Han authority. The latter deported those whose
conduct had been equivocal, placing them in Mei-yang; at the time of the composition of the Wei-lüeh
these were under the jurisdiction of a Protecting Army (hu-chün). Those who had “conducted themselves
wisely” were left in Nan-an and T’ien-shui commanderies.” Rogers (1968), p. 82, n.12.
“By 214, however, Ma Chao was finally driven into exile in Sichuan, and in the same year Han Sui and his
allies, who included the Shaodang Qiang, were decisively defeated at the Changli River in Hanyang,
identified with the present-day Hulu River, north of Tianshui. In the winter of 214, Xiahou Yuan followed
that success with a campaign against Song Jian. Song Jian died, his capital at Fuhan was captured, and all
his officials were killed. With this victory, the whole territory east of the Yellow River was in the control of
Cao Cao.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 165.
1.15. For a more detailed description of these events see: Haloun (1949-50), pp. 126-130; de Crespigny (1984), pp.
162-172. Shu 蜀 = modern Western Sichuan.
“Shu designates the western part of presentday Ssu-ch’uan province, the Red Basin around Ch’eng-tu, or
the commandery of that name. . . . ” CICA, p. 220, n. 829
“(Szechwan) A state of high antiquity traditionally thought to stem from the enfeoffment of a cadet line of
the descendants of Ti-kao as Marquis of Shu. Used specifically as an area designation for the part of
Szechwan centering on Ch’eng-tu and generally for the whole Szechwan basin.” Rogers (1968), p. 331.
“6. (Hist. Geog.) Shu : a. Anc. name of the region corresponding to the central part of 四川 of modern
Szu-ch’uan (Sichuan). b. A state annexed by the state of 秦 Ch’in [Qin] during the 戰國 [403-222 CE] era
of the Warring States and corresponding to the plain of 成都 Ch’eng-tu (Chengdu), in四川 modern
Szu-ch’uan. Against this state a military operation was organised by 孝公 Hsiao Kung [Xiao Gong]
(381-338 BCE) of the state of秦 Ch’in, which prepared the way for the great military expeditions of the 秦
Ch’in and 漠 Han empires. c. chün 4 or commandery, under the 秦 Ch’in and Han, corresponding to the
anc. State.” GR Vol. V, No. 9891.
1.16. Meiyang 美陽.
“Meiyang was a county (xian) [縣] of the Commandery of you Fufeng (that is to say, the Fufeng to the
right, or west, of the capital). It is to the southwest of the present District of Wugong (Jian County, Shensi
Province).” Translated from Chavannes (1905): 522, n. 4. Meiyang was approximately 100 km northwest
of Changan. See also: Rogers (1968), p. 82, n. 12.
1.17. Anyi 安夷 [An-i] literally, ‘Peaceful Yi’ and Fuyi 撫夷 [Fu-i] literally, ‘Governed Yi’.
“The I, “barbarians of the east” settled in southern Shang-tung, northern Kiang-su and northern An-hui, had
generally faded before the Chou epoch and the last remnants disappeared in the IIIrd century B.C.
(Eberhard, Kultur und Siedlung, p. 385ff). As is evident here, the name can only have the very general
meaning of “barbarians”.” Molè (1970), p. 86, n. 61.
1.18. Hujun 護蕈 [Hu-chün] = Military Protector.
“(1) HAN: Military Protector, briefly from A.D. 1, an officer on the staff of the Defender-in-chief (ta
ssu-ma), one of the eminent Three Dukes (san kung); rank apparently 2,000 bushels, but functions not
clear; not continued in Later Han. . . . HB: commissioner over the army.” Hucker, No. 2775.
Professor Dubs translates hu-chün as ‘The Protector of the Army’. See: de Crespigny (1967), p. 12. I think it is

quite clear that the title refers here to a military officer supervising previously pacified tribes. I have, therefore,
used Hucker’s suggestion of ‘Military Protector.’
1.19. Tianshui 天水 [T’ien-shui].
“The centre of Tianshui Commandery was to the southwest of the present Tong County (Gongchang
Prefecture, Gansu Province).” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 523, n. 1.
“During the Han period, under the arrangements of Emperor Wu, the commandery of Tianshui was
established to control the Wei valley immediately west of Long Mountain. . . . ” It was renamed Han-yang
in AD 74. de Crespigny (1984), pp. 13, 70.
“The commandery of Tianshui (later Hanyang), in the upper Wei valley, appears to have been regarded as
marginal territory between East and West.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 57.
1.20. Nanan 南安 [Nan-an].
Chavannes (1905), p. 523, n. 2, places Nanan County in Jianwei Commandery in present Sichuan. This must be a
mistake. The reference here is undoubtedly to Nanan Commandery that was established in CE 188 to the west of
Hanyang Commandery. See the map in de Crespigny (1984), p. 148.
“. . . the city of Nan-an (near Kung-ch’ang). . . . ” Kung-ch’ang is to the south of Lan-chou, near Min in
the lower valley of the T’ao shui (western Kan-su). Molè (1970), pp. 126, n. 236, and 86, n. 59.
1.21. Guangwei 廣魏 [Kuang-wei] Commandery.
“The text reads thus: 今之廣平魏郡所守是也 [jinzhi guangpingwei jun suoshoush ye]. But further on, one
finds the name 廣魏郡 Guangweijun, which proves that the word 平 [ping] is superfluous here and, in fact,
the introduction of this parasite character renders the text unintelligible. Meanwhile, the name of the
Guangwei Commandery is itself very puzzling, for it does not figure in the geographical chapters of the
Jinshu (chaps. XIV and XV) and, consequently, is not found in Li Zhaoluo’s dictionary of historical
geography which is solely based on the canonical historians. By good luck, the geographical chapters of the
Jinshu were made the object of a study by Bi Yuan 畢沅published in 1781 under the title of 晉書地理志新
補正 “The Geographical Treatise of the Jinshu Recently Completed and Corrected”. It is in this work that
we finally find the desired solution. Indeed, we read there (chap. I, p. 4 b of the reprint made in the
Jingxuntangcong shu 竞訓堂从叢書:” Emperor Wu (= Cao Cao, who lived from 155 to 220), of the Wei
dynasty, established Guangwei 廣魏Commandery. Under the Jin, during the Taishi period (265-274), this
name was changed for the first time to Lüeyang 略陽.”
The name of Lüeyang Commandery is, in fact, raised again in the Jinshu (chap. XIV, p. 15, b) with a
commentary confirming that the name of Lüeyang was formerly Guangwei. Li Zhaoluo’s dictionary,
furthermore, informs us that the administrative centre of Lüeyang Commandery (ancient Guangwei), was
90 li [37 km] to the northeast of the present Qinan 秦安 County (Qin 秦Prefecture, Gansu Province). Thus,
the site occupied by Guangwei Commandery is resolved. – We remark, incidentally, that the use Yu Huan
made of the name of Guangwei, which was only in use from about 220 to 265, is in perfect agreement with
the approximate date assigned by Liu Zhishi to the work written by this author.” Translated from
Chavannes (1905), p. 523, n. 3.
1.22. The Qiang 羌 [Ch’iang]. See note 3.1.
1.23. The Hu 胡 peoples. Hu is a rather vague term used for northern and western peoples of non-Sinitic origin,
usually, but not exclusively, for those of Caucasian appearance. It was commonly used for people of Persian,
Sogdian, and Turkish origin, Xianbi, Indians, Kushans and even, occasionally, for the Xiongnu (who, however, are
usually clearly differentiated from the Hu).
Pulleyblank (1991), p. 126, gives as definitions of hu 胡: “dewlap; interrogative adverb, why?, how?;
general name for horse-riding nomads (Han); for Iranians from Central Asia (Tang); foreign, western.”
On this subject I am greatly indebted to Thomas Bartlett of Latrobe University in Melbourne, Australia who,
in a private communication dated 14th April 2002, wrote:

“Etymologically, the graph “hu(2)” means literally “old flesh.” According to the Shuo-wen dictionary, this
character originally meant the dewlap – loose skin that hangs down from the neck of an ox. Later the word
was used to refer to certain central Asian peoples, perhaps because the heavy beards of such men may have
seemed to Chinese to resemble the flesh hanging down from the necks of oxen (dewlaps). Such central
Asian peoples were usually cattle-raising pastoralists, so the classifying epithet “Hu” may have pejoratively
implied a fundamental affinity between the people and their animals. Many ancient Chinese names for
foreign peoples had such uncomplimentary implications.
Later, “Hu” in China became a general term for “northern barbarians,” whether they were of central
or east Asian origin. This usage apparently has less to do with beardeness than with non-Chineseness. Thus,
for example, Han period historians refer to a certain Tungusic people as “eastern Hu.” In the 17th and 18th
centuries, one purpose of the literary inquisition carried out in China by the Manchus, a Tungusic people
not known for heavy beards, was to remove derogatory remarks to “Hu” in extant Chinese literary works.”
Hulsewé’s translation of hu as “nomad” (CICA: 80, n. 71) cannot be justified, as his own translation from the
Hanshu on the state of Xiye [Hsi-yeh] shows. Ibid. p. 101. To say that the people of a ‘land of nomads’ are
‘different from the nomads’ is meaningless.
I have translated the word hu here as “Westerner” with considerable hesitation, but feel that this, at least,
closely represents the way it is used in the Hou Hanshu and the Weilue.
1.24. The ‘renlu’ 衽露 [jen-lu].
Ren refers to the front of a garment, a skirt, or the lapel or flap in front of a coat which is buttoned under the right
arm, and lu means to bless, or blessed. The ‘renlu’, therefore, is likely to have been similar to the pang-gdan, or
striped apron, which Tibetan women, to this day, wear from the time they are married.
1.25. Jie 街 [Chieh].
“The locality of Jie is mentioned further on as adjoining the ancient Commandery of Wudu and the District of
Yinjin. It is, therefore, probably necessary to read 邽 in place of 街and to identify this place with the District of
Shanggui 上 邽which was a dependency of the Commandery of Longxi, and which was to the southwest of the
present Secondary Prefecture of Qin 秦, in Gansu Province.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 524, n. 2. See
also note 1.32.
1.26. Ji 冀 [Chi].
“Ji was a District of the Commandery of Tianshui. This is nowadays the District of Fuqiang (Gongchang
Prefecture, Gansu Province).” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 524, n. 3.
Ji was also the name of the capital of Tianshui Commandery (renamed Hanyang Commandery in CE 74), and was
west of the Long Pass on the main route to the northwest from Changan. See the map in: de Crespigny (1984), p.
92.
1.27. Huandao 獂道 [Huan-tao].
“The District of Huandao (the correct orthography is 豲道) was in the Commandery of Tianshui. It was to
the northeast of the present District of Longxi 陇西隴 (Gongchang Prefecture, Gansu Province).”
Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 524, n. 4.
1.28. The fiefdoms du 都 [tu]. The word is used here meaning a fiefdom. Although it often refers to a large city or
capital, it can also mean a fief granted to a prince. See, for example, Williams (1909), p. 846; GR Vol. VI, No.
11668, 4b.
1.29. The ‘Commanderies and Kingdoms’ shaoguo 郡國 [shao-kuo].
“. . . this term designates the principal administrative divisions of the Chinese who had divided all their
territory into a certain number of Commanderies and Kingdoms.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p.
524, n. 5. Also, see the discussion in: de Crespigny (1984), pp. 1-3.
1.30. Wudu 武都 [Wu-tu]. See note 1.4.

1.31. Yinping 陰平 [Yin-p’ing] 陰 平
“The District of Yinping was to the northwest of the present District of Wen (Jie Prefecture, Gansu
Province.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 525, n. 2.
1.32. Chavannes interpreted this passage somewhat differently than I have, thus:
“Regarding those who live (in the region of) Jie 街, Ji 冀, and Huandao 獂道, although they are now under
Chinese administration, they have, nevertheless, preserved their kings and chiefs who live in their territory
and among their tribes. Besides, in the ancient region of Wudu, in the region of Yinping 陰平 and Jie 街,
there are some tribes numbering more than 10,000 men.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), pp. 524-525.
See also n. 1.25.
Section 2 – The Zilu Tribes
2.1. The Zilu 貲虜 [Tzu-lu].
zi 貲 – ‘ransom,’ ‘property,’ ‘valuables’ – not in K; EMC: tsia̭ /tsi
lu 虜 – ‘capture’, ‘captive’. K. 69e *lo / luo; EMC: lɔ’
The Zilu gradually grew into a powerful state centred around (Lake) Koko Nor. They were later known to the
Chinese as the Tuyuhun [T’u-yü-hun], and to the Tibetans as the ‘A-zha.
After many years of warfare, they were decisively defeated by the Tibetans in 663, and never recovered their
independence. Some of them fled to the Chinese, others remained, and were gradually absorbed by the Tibetans.
See: Molè (1970), pp. 2, 30, and 73, n. 22.
2.2. Xiongnu 匈奴 [Hsiung-nu].
xiong 匈 – ‘breast’, ‘heart’. K. 1183d *χįung / χįwong; EMC: xuawŋ.
nu 奴 – ‘slave’, ‘dependents’, ‘wife and children’. K. 94l *no / nuo; EMC: nɔ
“As the Hsiung-nu empire continued to expand throughout Mongolia, Sinkiang and parts of Manchuria, the
Han rulers were forced to greater efforts to defend themselves and garrison the silk route. During the early
Han the throne had become so weakened by internal revolts that a takeover by the Hsiung-nu would have
been possible, but the Shan-yü may have avoided the temptation in the belief that conquest would only
serve to alienate them completely and that permanent control would be impossible. The Shan-yü may not
have been quite so astute, but all the alien powers that have gained the Chinese throne were either forced to
retreat or were eventually assimilated.
Toward the end of the Han, the loosely organized Hsiung-nu empire fell apart through over-extension
and internal dissensions. The northern faction broke away to appear later in the Orkhon-Selenga region,
while the southern faction fled further southward. The northerners were shortly faced with the emergence
of the Hsien-pi, who became powerful contenders for control of the northern steppes. For a time they held
their own, but eventually they were forced to retreat westward. The defeat of the northern Hsiung-nu and
their flight to Ili, the land of the Wu-sun – whom they defeated - marks the beginning of the western
Hunnic empire and the pillaging of Europe under Attila in the fifth century AD.” Bowles (1977), p. 260.
“The Hiung-nu headed a powerful alliance of stock-raising tribes in the late 3 rd – the early 2 nd century B.C.
and dominated the eastern part of Central Asia during two centuries, laying the foundations for the
emergence of tribal alliances there in the Middle Ages. The military-political events of Hiung-nu rule are
well-known from written sources but the origin of the Hiung-nu themselves and the early stages of their
history remain obscure to this day. It is difficult to “picture and expound consistently” all those stages, as
Ssu-ma Ch’ien, a contemporary of the Hiung-nu, pointed out in his time. Having rounded up all the

information about that tribe, the great historiographer of old, remarked only that “the Hiung-nu descended
from Shun-wei, a scion of the Hsia rulers’ family.” The evidence of written sources alone is not sufficient
to resolve the above question.” Minyaev (1985), p. 69.
“Hsiung-nu is the designation for the nomad tribes living to the north of China ; they have often, but by no
means certainly, been identified with the Huns ; see Sinor (1963), p. 263 (cf. p. 220) for the literature on the
point ; cf. also Pulleyblank (1963), p. 39, for further identifications.” CICA, p. 71, n. 4.
2.3. Jincheng 金城 [Chin-ch’eng] Commandery was to the east of the salt (Lake) Koko Nor and had its centre to
the northwest of the prefectural capital of Lanzhou (Gansu Province). See: Chavannes (1905), p. 525, n. 7.
“It was not until the time of Emperor Wu, shortly before 100 BC, that the Han established a military and
political presence northwest across the Yellow River and founded the commanderies of Hexi “West of the
River.” Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Dunhuang were probably established in 104 and subsequent years, Wuwei
and Jincheng in the half-century following.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 7.
“It is not certain where the Silk Road from China crossed the Yellow River during Han times, but it was
surely in the region of present-day Lanzhou; and this frontier place of early Han became the base for
expansion to the west of the river. The commandery of Jincheng was not formally established until 81 BC,
but administrative and political control had been maintained for a generation before that time, based
notably upon the garrison city of Lianju, on the Datong River, about a hundred kilometres northwest of
present-day Lanzhou. . . .
The establishment of Jincheng commandery, therefore, served two purposes: firstly as the base for
the communications line across the Yellow River which led north through Wuwei and into central Asia;
second as an area for colonisation by the Chinese, north of the Yellow River and among the Xining valley.”
de Crespigny (1984), pp. 11-13.
“Around 60 B.C., the Han extended the name Chin-ch’êng to cover the whole region inhabited by the
Ch’iang between Huang-ho and the Kuku-nor and set up a protectorate there centred upon present-day
Lan-chou.” Molè (1970), p. 92, n. 88.
2.4. Wuwei 武威 [Wu-wei] Commandery was situated to the west of the Tengger Desert, its centre at what is now
modern Wuwei (seat of Liangzhou prefecture since Tang times), in Gansu Province.
“For the dates of the establishment of the four commanderies of the north-west, see Hulsewé (1957), pp.
6-7, and RHA I pp. 59-60, where it is concluded, tentatively that (i) Chiu-ch’üan and Chang-i were
established in 104, (ii) Tun-huang was established shortly afterwards, at least before 91 B.C.; (iii) Wu-wei
was probably set up between 81 and 67, although minor administrative units had existed there previously.
See also Chang Ch’un-shu (1967), p. 748 : Chiu-ch’üan 111 B.C.; Chang-i between 111 and 109 B.C.;
Tun-huang between 101 and 94 B.C. ; Wu-wei c. 7 B.C.” CICA, p. 75, n. 40.
2.5. Jiuquan 酒泉 [Chiu-ch’üan] Commandery was centred where modern Jiaquan is now, just to the southeast of
Jiayuguan [Chia-yü-kuan]. Situated on the main road to the west, it also protected the approaches to the strategic
Etsin Gol delta to the northeast. See CICA, p. 75, n. 40 in note 2.4.
2.6. The Hei Shui 黑水 [Hei Shui] literally ‘Black River;’ and the Xi He 西河 [Hsi Ho] literally ‘Western River.’
“It appears the Hei shui can be identified with the Dang He, or the Shazhou [Dunhuang] river. Cf. Sima
Qian, French trans., bk. I, p. 126, n. 2. The term ‘Hei shui’ designating a river, and not an administrative
district. It must be the same with the term ‘Xi He’ which cannot apply here to the Commandery of Xi He
straddling the Huang He in the north of Shanxi and Shenxi. I therefore consider the Xi He in our text as
being the western branch of the great loop of the Huang He. The domain of the Zilu is thus bordered by
Shazhou [Dunhuang] to the west, and the Helan Shan massif to the east.” Translated from Chavannes
(1905), p. 525, nn. 5 and 6.
While I agree with Chavannes that these are references to rivers, not administrative areas, I do not agree with his
identifications. I believe it is far more likely that they refer to the upper and lower reaches of the Ruo Shui or Etsin
Gol (Etsin River), which flows north into two lakes, the Sogo Nur (Sokho Nōr) and the Gaxun Nur (Gashun Nōr).

The well-watered valley of the Ruo Shui led directly southwest from the homelands of the Xiongnu would
have provided the shortest and most practicable escape route for their slaves to reach Chinese-controlled territory.
The river which flows from the Loulang Nanshan and Lenglong ranges across the ‘Gansu corridor,’ through
ancient Jiuquan [Chiu-ch’üan] Commandery to the north and west of Zhangye [Chang-yeh ; formerly known as
Kan-chou], to join the river at the entrance to the Etsin Gol valley, is known to the Chinese as the Hei He.
Still, today, it is called the Hei He on some maps as far as the Heli Shan range where it changes its name to
the Ruo Shui. This is undoubtedly the Hei Shui of this text (the characters shui 水 and he 河 are often used
interchangeably for river).
“The Edsin Gol springs from two sources, in the Kan Chou and Hsü Chou oases at the foot of the Nan
Shan. After watering several minor oases, of which the chief is Chin-t’a (the Golden Pagoda), they unite
near Mao-mei, off the southeastern extremity of the Pei Shan. Thence they flow somewhat east of north, as
the Hei Shui or Black Water, crossing the indeterminate borders of Kan-su and entering Inner Mongolia.
The Hei Shui then separates into the Eastern and Western Edsin Gol, which, after reaching Outer Mongolia,
end in two communicating lakes or meres, Gashun Nor and Sokho Nor.” Lattimore (1929), p. 205.
Further north, the Ruo Shui splits into the Xi He (‘Western River’ – also known as Mörün-gol or Ar-gol), and the
Dong He (‘Eastern River’ – also known as Ümne-gol or Iké-gol), before flowing into the two lakes. The former,
the Xi He, is almost certainly the same river as the Xi He of the Weilue. I should note here, however, another
possibility: Xi He [Hsi Ho] is also used to refer to “the eastern vertical leg of the great bend of the Yellow River.”
Rogers (1968), p. 84, n. 44.
The importance of this region, at the junction of the main ‘Silk Route’ to the west, and the easiest, and most direct
route to central Mongolia, is hard to overestimate:
“Nature, by affording water and grazing over a continuous line of some two hundred miles, has at all times
provided in the valley of the Etsin-gol an exceptionally easy route for raids and invasions from the Altai
region, that true home of the Mongols and other great nomadic races, towards the line of the westernmost
oases of Kan-su. These, extending along the foot of the Nan-shan, constitute the great natural highway
between China and innermost Asia. Wide belts of desert and barren hill-ranges stretch both to the west and
the east of the Etsin-gol. These belts, very difficult for any large bodies of men to cross, hardy nomads
though they may be, help to protect this important ‘corridor’ for trade and military operations against
serious attack from the north. But the valley of the Etsin-gol stands open, like a gate inviting invasion. . . .
It will suffice to point out that those who since the first Chinese advance under the Emperor Wu-ti into
‘Ho-hsi’ were concerned with the safeguarding of this indispensable passage land between China and
Central Asia, were not likely to ignore or neglect the advantage that a cultivated area, well to the north of
the great highway and yet easily capable of support from the side of both Su-chou and Kan-chou, would
necessarily present for the purpose of a barrier whereby to close that gate against inroads, or as an advanced
base for offensive movements against nomadic hosts.” Stein (1928): Vol. I, pp. 409-410.
“It is here that the route of invasion from the Mongolian steppes cuts through the ancient border line
drawn by the Chinese when they first occupied the passage land to the north of the Nan-shan. The ruined
forts of imposing size and evident antiquity which we found here on both sides of the river were, no doubt,
intended to guard the gateway for invasion here presented. One fort built with clay walls of exceptional
strength looked an exact counterpart of the ancient frontier post of the “Jade Gate” as located by me seven
years before on the Limes in the desert west of Tun-huang.
As we moved down by the Etsin-gol from that last outlying Chinese settlement we found the sandy
bed of the river nearly a mile wide in places but absolutely dry at the time. Only at rare intervals could
water be obtained from wells dug in deep hollows below the low rocky spur thrown out by the Pei-shan and
then spreads out in a delta extending for some 110 miles to the north before it terminates in a line of
brackish lakes and marshes.
The conditions brought about here by a succession of low-water seasons furnished a striking
illustration of the appearance which the Lou-lan delta may have presented before the Kuruk-darya had
finally dried up. Where river beds lined by narrow belts of jungle had been left dry for long years, we found
many of the wild poplar trees already dead or dying. The wide stretches of ground separating the several
beds showed but scanty scrub or else were absolutely bare. No wonder we heard sad complaints in the
scattered camps of the two-hundred-odd families of Torgut Mongols which are established in the Etsin-gol
delta, and about the increasing difficulties caused by inadequate grazing. Yet this extensive riverine tract,

limited as are its resources, must always have been of importance for those, whether armed hosts or traders,
who would make the long journey from the heart of Mongolia in the north to the oases of Kansu. The line
of watch towers of later construction met at intervals afforded proof that this route into Mongolia had been
frequented and guarded during late medieval times.
The analogy thus presented with the ancient Lou-lan delta impressed me even more when I
proceeded to examine the ruins of Khara-khoto, the “Black Town,” which Colonel Kozloff, the
distinguished Russian explorer, had been the first to visit in 1908–09. There remained no doubt for me then
that it was identical with Marco Polo’s “City of Etzina.” Of this we are told in the great Venetian traveler’s
narrative that it lay a twelve day’s ride from the city of Kan-chou, “toward the north on the verge of the
desert; it belongs to the Province of Tangut.” All travellers bound for Karakorum, the old capital of the
Mongols, had here to lay in victuals in order to cross the great “desert which extends forty days’ journey to
the north and on which you meet with no habitation nor baiting place.”
The position thus indicated was found to correspond exactly to that of Khara-khoto, and the
identification was completely borne out by the antiquarian evidence brought to light at the ruined site. This
soon showed me that through the walled town may have suffered considerably, as local Mongol tradition
asserts, when Chingiz Khan with his Mongols first invaded Kansu from this side about A.D. 1226, yet it
continued to be inhabited down to Marco Polo’s time and at least partially even later, down to the fifteenth
century. This was certainly the case with the agricultural settlement for which it had served as a local
center, and of which we discovered extensive remains in the desert to the east and northeast. But the town
itself must have seen its most flourishing times under the Tangut of Hsi-hsia rule from the beginning of the
eleventh century down to the Mongol conquest. . . .
There was much to support the belief that the final abandonment of Khara-khoto was brought about
by difficulties of irrigation. The dry river bed which passes close to the ruined town passes some seven
miles away to the east of the nearest branch still reached by the summer floods. The old canals we traced
leading to the abandoned farms eastward are removed considerably farther. It was impossible definitely to
determine whether this failure of irrigation had been brought about by a reduction in the volume of the
Etsin-gol’s water or had been caused by a change in the river course at canal head with which the
settlement had for some reason been unable to cope. Anyhow, there seemed good reason to believe that the
water supply now reaching the delta during a few summer months would no longer suffice to assure
adequate irrigation for the once cultivated area. Even at Mao-mei oasis, over 150 miles farther up the river,
and with conditions far more favourable for the maintenance of canals, serious trouble had been
experienced for years past in securing an adequate supply of water early enough in the season. Hence,
much of the once cultivated area had been abandoned.” Stein (1931), pp. 188-191.
“In one part of this region, now known by the Mongol name of Edsin Gol, the Ruo Shui flows past the
present city of Jiuquan for more than three hundred kilometres into the desert. Nowadays, the Edsin Gol
provides little more than brackish water and salt pans, but in the time of Han these marshes were fertile,
and abundant with wild life. The whole river system then provided a salient of arable land stretching into
the heart of the desert.
This territory, called Juyan by the Han Chinese, was maintained and garrisoned by the empire from
the time of Emperor Wu till the last century of Later Han. Militarily, the outpost of the Great Wall was
important for two reasons: as a supply point for the garrisons in the northwest and, perhaps more
significant, as a means to deny this prosperous region to the northern nomads. Left undefended, Juyan
would have provided an ideal route for attack against the Chinese commanderies of the corridor itself.” de
Crespigny (1984), p. 9.
2.7. Liangzhou 涼州 [Liang-chou].
“The Liang province of Later Han was divided in two by the Yellow River, flowing eastwards from the
Tibetan massif and then north towards the desert land of the Ordos. In this region, unlike other territories,
the Yellow River was of only minor importance as a communications route: its valley and its waters
provide some opportunity for travel upstream or down, but river transport is generally practicable only
during the high water of summer, and there were, in any case, few places of interest or value along the
stream. On the contrary, in fact, in the time of Qin and at the beginning of the Former Han the Yellow
River served as the frontier line of the empire, and during later centuries it was a barrier to overcome for
communication between China and central Asia.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 7.
2.8. The Xianbi or Xianbei 鮮卑 [Hsien-pi or Hsien-pei] people.

“The Hsien-pi, who took over control of Mongolia after the fall of the Hsiung-nu state, had emerged as a
powerful tribal union as early as the first century B.C. The main clan of the Hsien-pi had set up their
nomadic camp in south-east Mongolia and lived along the middle course of the Liao-ho river. A large
number of Hsien-pi now settled in central Mongolia and over 100,000 Hsiung-nu families, who had settled
there earlier, adopted their tribal name. T’an-shih-huai, leader of the Hsien-pi tribal union, in A.D. 155
established the Hsien-pi state, which rapidly became one of the most powerful empires of its day, as
powerful as the previous Hsiung-nu Empire. The Han court considered that the Hsien-pi’s horses were
swifter and their weapons sharper than those of the Hsiung-nu, and the Hsien-pi, too, managed to acquire
good-quality iron from the border regions of China. Their political centre, the headquarters of
T’an-shih-huai, was in the south-east near the Darkhan mountains but was later moved to the former
shan-yü’s headquarters in the Khangay mountains.
Between A.D. 155 and 166, T’an-shih-huai conducted a series of major military campaigns that led
to the extension of Hsien-pi power over the Great Steppe as far as southern Siberia and from Ussuri to the
Caspian Sea. Until the third decade of the third century A.D. the Hsien-pi was the leading power in Central
Asia.” Ishjamts (1994), pp. 155-156.
“The place of origin of the Hsien-pi as a political force was in the Khingan range area of the upper Amur
basin, in a region inhabited later by speakers of Tungusic languages; for this reason it was assumed that
they were also Tungusic, but more recent research links them with the Mongols. . . .
Having defeated the northern Hsiung-nu in AD 166, the Hsien-pi shifted to the Orkhon-Selenga basin
just west of the Amur in northern Outer Mongolia. There they formed the nucleus of what became within a
few centuries the Mongol empire. Just as the control of Sinkiang shifted from Indo-European speakers to
the Turks with the defeat of the Yüechih-Tochari between 174 and 161 BC, so the control of Mongolia
switched from the Turks to the Mongols.” Bowles (1977), pp. 260-261
“The histories are agreed that the manners and customs of the Xianbi were very close to those of the
Wuhuan (HHS 90/80, 2985, SGZ 30, 836, commentary quoting the Wei shu of Wang Shen; Schreiber,
“Hsien-pi”, 147 ff. and 162-163. . . .
The Xianbi are said to have taken their name from the mountain called Xianbi, now identified as a
peak of the Great Xingan range, west of the Horqin/Khorqin West Wing Centre banner in Kirin (Gezu
jianshi, 46). It is equally possible, however, that the mountain took its name from the tribe. . . . ” de
Crespigny (1984), p. 524, n. 12.
“Initially, the socio-political institutions of the Hsien-pei centred around Hsien-pei clan and tribal
alliances, but the Hsien-pei ultimately sought to create a nomadic “state on horseback.” As the Northern
Hsiung-nu retreated, relations between the Hsien-pei and other nomadic groups became more volatile, with
the Hsien-pei staging frequent raids to secure essential goods and expand their grazing areas and power.
“[The Hsien-pei] looted along the [Han] border on the south, resisted the Ting-ling on the north, repulsed
the Fu-yü on the east, attacked the Wu-sun on the west, and occupied all the old territories of the
Hsiung-nu, all of which spanned [approximately] four thousand li [1,663 km] east to west and seven
thousand li [2,911 km] south to north.” 39
Hsien-pei power solidified under the leadership of Tan-shih-huai (d. 181 A.D.), and the Han dynasty
viewed their growing strength as a threat. During the reign of Emperor Huan-ti (r. 147-167 A.D.), the court
responded by ordering Lieutenant General Chang Huan, who was responsible for the supervision of the
Southern Hsiung-nu, to attack the Hsien-pei, but he failed to subdue them. The court thereupon sent an
envoy with a seal and sash to confer the title of prince on Tan-shih-huai and propose a marriage alliance
with him. Tan-shih-huai rejected the offer, and the border intrusions and lootings worsened. 40
. . . . As a powerful nomadic force north of China during the decline of the Han, the Hsien-pei
became deeply involved in the struggle for power in China as that dynasty disintegrated. Hsien-pei’s
relations with Ts’ao Ts’ao, the founder of the Wei dynasty (220-264 A.D.) of the Three Kingdoms period
(222-280 A.D.), suggests that the pattern of interaction between the nomad and agriculturalist courts
changed very little during he middle of the third century. The Hsien-pei leader, K’o-pi-neng, initially allied
himself with Ts’ao Ts’ao and aided him in pacifying a rebellion led by T’ien Yin in present-day Hopei. He
then joined with the Wu-huan when they revolted against Ts’ao. K’o-pi-neng’s forces were defeated by
Ts’ao’s, and he was forced to retreat north of the Great Wall. However, he soon sent tribute to Ts’ao’s Wei
dynasty in northern China and sought to establish peace. The Hsien-pei leader’s desire to normalize
relations suggests that he was faced with the same economic difficulties that the Hsiung-nu had suffered.

After he and his people withdrew from close proximity to arable territory toward more remote areas, it was
difficult to acquire agricultural products, and during this time, the Hsien-pei were not strong enough to
breech and loot the powerful Wei borders. Consequently, K’o-pi-neng was forced to negotiate peace with
the Wei. The Wei court, eager to gain the Hsien-pei as allies, granted K’o-pi-neng the title Fu-I Wang
(“Prince of Upright Subordination”), thereby suggesting his subordinate status to the dynasty. K’o-pi-neng
accepted the title and took advantage of renewed ties with the Wei to lead three thousand horsemen in
driving twenty thousand horses and oxen to the border markets for exchange.” 42
39. [Hou Han shu] 90, chüan 80, “Account of the Hsien-pei,” 9b.
40. San-kuo chih, “Book of Wei,” 30, “Account of the Hsien-pei,” 6a.
41. Ibid., “Biography of K’o-pi-neng,” 8b-9a.
42. Ibid., 8a.
Jagchid and Symons (1989), pp. 34-37.
“In transcriptions of the Later Han period we begin to find cases of *kh- and we find *th also in the
transcriptions of the Chin-shu. These my perhaps reflect increasing penetration and admixture with the
Eastern Hu, that is the Hsien-pi and Wu-yüan 烏桓 (or 丸) [should be read Wu-huan (or –wan)] M.
‧ou-h̑wan < *‧aĥ- ĥwan = Avar, who probably spoke a Mongolian type of language. It was the Hsien-pi
who became dominant on the steppe after the collapse of the Hsiung-nu empire in the second century A.D.”
Pulleyblank (1963), II, p. 242.
“The Wu-huan and the Hsien-pei people, who created the most powerful nomadic states after the
Hsiung-nu decline, also traded their livestock and furs: “In the twenty-fifth year [of Chien-wu, 4 AD],
Hao-tan, the leader of the Wu-huan on the west of the Liao [River] and others . . . admired [our] culture.
They led their people to the court and presented their tribute, male and female slaves, cattle and horses,
bows and the furs of tigers, leopards and sables.” And again, “The Hsien-pei are a branch of the Eastern
Barbarians [Tung-hu]. . . . Their animals, which are different than those of the Middle Kingdom, are wild
horses, great horned goats, and chiao-tuan cattle. The bow made from horns is commonly known as the
chiao-tuan bow. Besides, there are sables, na [= seals – presumably the seals from Lake Baikal], and
ermines. Their skin and hair are tender and soft and they are known as the best furs under heaven.” Jagchid
and Symons (1989), p. 167. From the Hou Hanshu, zhuan 80, “Account of the Wuhuan”, 5a.
“When the ruler of the Northern Hsiung-nu was beaten by Chinese forces in 91 and fled in an unknown
direction, a new people, the Hsien-pi, took the opportunity to migrate, and settled on his territories. The
remaining Hsiung-nu clans, which numbered more than 100,000 yurts, began to call themselves Hsien-pi,
and from that time on the Hsien-pi began to gather strength.
According to the Chinese chronicles, the Hsien-pi originated in a land of forests and high mountains near
the basin of the River Amur. Their language and customs are described as similar to those of the Wu-huan,
except that before a wedding they first shaved their heads, then held a large assembly on the river during
the last month of spring; they feasted, and once the feasting was over, celebrated the marriage. Wild birds
and beasts not found in the Middle Kingdom of China lived in the territories of the Hsien-pi, who made
bows out of horns. There were also sables, foxes and squirrels with soft fur, from which fur coats renowned
for their beauty were made in the Celestial Kingdom. The breeding of cattle, sheep, goats and horses by the
Hsien-pi is also mentioned and they are said frequently to rustle each other’s herds of livestock and horses.
The Hsien-pi were described by one of the Chinese emperor’s councillors in 117 as follows:
After the Hsiung-nu fled, the Hsien-pi, who took over their former territories, grew in strength. They have
hundreds of thousands of warriors, they are remarkable for their physical strength, and are more
quick-witted than the Hsiung-nu. It should also be noted that, as a result of lack of discipline at the
guard-posts on the line of fortifications, there are many ways of evading the embargo, which robbers use to
obtain fine metal and iron of good quality. The Chinese get in [through these gaps] and become the main
counsellors of the Hsien-pi, and so they acquire keener weapons and faster horses than the Huns.

During the reign of the Han emperor Huang-ti (146-168), an energetic leader named T’an-shih-huai
appeared among the Hsien-pi. He subjected the elders to his authority, introduced laws, gathered large
forces and defeated the Northern Hsiung-nu around 155.
All the elders of the eastern and western nomadic communities submitted to him. As a result of this he
looted the lands along the line of fortifications, repulsed the Ting-ling in the north, made the Fo-yü
kingdom retreat in the east, attacked the Wu-sun in the west, and took possession of all the former
Hsiung-nu territories, which extended for more than 14,000 li [5,821 km] to the east and the west, were
intersected by mountains and rivers, and had large numbers of fresh and salt-water lakes.
Thus the territories of the Hsien-pi extended as far as those settled by the Wu-sun in the Ili basin in the
west, while in the north they adjoined those of the Ting-ling alliance of tribes which occupied the Altai
mountains, the basins of the upper and middle Yenisey and the areas adjoining and to the west of Lake
Baikal.” Kyzlasov (1996), pp. 318-319.
Apparently, the “edition of the twenty-four historians” published by the library of Tushujicheng
[T’u-shu-chi-ch’eng] in Shanghai from 1888 of the Weilue, which Chavannes used, has mistakenly used Weibi 魏
卑 here instead of 鮮卑 Xianbi, as Chavannes himself recognised, (1905), p. 526 n. 1. See also the discussion in
Pelliot (1906), pp. 365-366, quoted in note 1.13.
For an excellent French translation of the major texts referring to the Xianbi, see: Mullie (1969), pp. 24-51.
2.9. The Dahu 大胡 [Ta-hu] people.
da, dai 大 = ‘great,’ ‘big.’ K. 317a *d’âd / d’âi; EMC da’, daj h , da h
hu 胡 = ‘why?’ or ‘how?’ – name for non-Chinese peoples to the west of China. K. 49a’ *g’o / γuo; EMC
ɣɔ
As the name does not seem to be verified in any other text, it is possible that Dahu 大胡 [Ta-hu] was a simple
copyist’s error for Donghu 東胡 [Tung-hu] or ‘Eastern Hu.’
“東胡 tung 1 hu 2 (Hist.) Tung-hu or Eastern Hu : anc. name of the Tungus, a horse-breeding people from
southeastern Mongolia and the basin of the 遼Liao, and who, at the time of the 漠 Han dynasty (206 BCE –
220 CE) were dominated by the 匈奴 Xiongnu. The 漠 Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) tried to put an
end to this domination, but also to control the Donghu’s territories.” GR 11836, p. 347.
However, the Weishu states that the Xianbi are the remnants of the Donghu – see Mullie (1969), p. 41. So, it is
rather odd to find the Weilue saying that there are Dahu (= Donghu?), as well as Dingling and Qiang, living among
the Xianbi.
It seems more likely that the Weilue was referring here to another group of people and the obvious similarity
between the name Dahu and that of the Dahur or Daghur people mentioned in the following quotes suggest that
they may be one and the same people. The present-day Chinese name for this Mongol people is Dawoer 達斡爾
[Ta-wo-erh].
There is, on the other hand, a very long gap between the time of the Weilue and when the first accounts of
these people came to the notice of Western scholars, and so the identification remains uncertain.
“Daghur, also called DAGUR, DAHUR, or DAUR. Mongol people living in the Heilungkiang Province of
China. Their language, formerly thought to be Tungistic of a mixture of Mongolian and Tungus, is now
known to be an archaic Mongolian dialect preserving features found in 13 th -century documents. Their own
name is Daghur; the Manchu form is Dahur; the Russian form Daur occurs in the name of the Daur
mountain range.
Russian settlers in the 17 th century found the Daghur well established in eastern Transbaikalia and
the Amur region. . . . Their chief occupations are agriculture, logging, hunting, stock raising, and horse
breeding. The clan system prevails. The religion is shamanistic, although some of them are adherents of
Tibetan Buddhism.” NEB III, p. 343.

“The Tungus tribes today are divided loosely on a regional and linguistic basis into two groups: the
northern Evenk and Even (Lamut) of Siberia and the upper Amur basin; and the southern Nanay (Goldi),
Ulchi, Oroch (including Udege), Orok, Negidal and Solon. To these some would add the Dahur, who are
generally classed with the Mongols. In a special category are the Manchu and ancient tribes of the lower
Amur, some of whom appear later in history as the Koreans and as part of the ancestral population of
Japan.
The origin of the Tungus is closely related to the east coast Neolithic province which spread
southward into the Yangtze basin and northward into the Tung-Pei (‘East–North’) – the basins of the Liao
and Amur. The Amur or Hei-lung (‘Black Dragon’) basin forms the northern third of the Chinese Neolithic
culture area of the second millennium. With the commencement of the Chinese Bronze Age Tung–Pei
became the land of the Tung or ‘eastern’ barbarians [Donghu or Tung-hu]. The term Manchuria has been
applied only since the emergence of the highly sinicized Manchus, successors to the earlier Jurchen Tungus
who ruled China as the Jin or Chin dynasty.
The earliest Chinese reference to the inhabitants of Tung-Pei is to the Su–Shen of the second
millennium BC, the ancestors apparently of the I-lou. By the time of the Han dynasty the I-lou were located
in eastern Manchuria. They seem to have combined cattle, horse and pig-breeding with millet and wheat
agriculture. They lived in semi-subterranean houses with corridor entrances, wore hemp and shredded
tree-bast garments and enjoyed falcon hunting. The economy is similar to that of other sedentary Tungus
tribes of northern Korea of approximately the same time.” Bowles (1977), pp. 282-283.
2.10. The Dingling 丁令 [Ting-ling] people
“Nor. . . should the detail, recorded by Yü Huan [in the Weilue], be overlooked that in the early part of
the third century old men of K’ang-chü still told of their journeys – 10,000 li in extent – beyond the
kingdom of the Yen-ts’ai to the kingdom of the Dwarfs, in other words, to the country of the Lapps. . . .
Further, they [the Xiongnu] were in contact, north of the T’ien Shan, with the Wu-sun, on the river Ili, and
with the Ting-ling on the Irtish.” Teggart (1939), pp. 204, 212, and n. 48.
“A description of the Ting-ling (probably a Turkish people) given in the Wei-lüeh was translated by
Chavannes (“Wei Lio,” pp. 560 ff.). The accuracy of the Wei-lüeh account [especially that there were two
different northern peoples named ‘Ting-ling’] has been challenged by Mori Masao in his two articles and
upheld by Uchida Gimpū. Maenchen-Helfen concludes that from the third century B.C. to the third century
A.D. the Ting-ling occupied the territory from Lake Baikal to slightly beyond the Yenissei. Immediately
following the Fei River debacle of 383, Ti Pin rebelled against Ch’in . . . , and his successors ruled a
quasi-independent nation until 392, when it was wiped out by the Later Yen (CS 9.9b, TCTC 108.1b).”
Rogers (1968), p. 231, n. 274.
“On the Dingling people, who lived to the north of the Xiongnu, in the general region of Lake Baikal, there
is little recorded. Most of the material has been collected by Wang Jih-Wei “A Brief History of the
Ting-ling People”. Pulleyblank, “The Chinese and their Neighbours”, 445, identifies them as a
proto-Turkish people.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 510, n. 25.
2.11. Tantuo 檀拓 [T’an-t’o]: a great chief of the Zilu [Tzu-lu]. “The character tuo is also pronounced zhi; but the
pronunciation tuo appears preferable when transcribing foreign names.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p.
526, n. 5.
2.12. Lingju 令居 [Ling-chü] Prefecture in Guangwei 廣魏 [Kuang-wei] Commandery. For Guangwei
Commandery, see note 1.21.
2.13. Tugui 禿瑰 [T’u-kuei]: a Zilu Chief.
2.14. Shaoti 劭提 [Shao-t’i]: a Zilu Chief.
2.15. Xizhou 西州 [Hsi-chou] Chavannes, in his translation of the Weilue, translated this term by the “districts of
the western wards,” Chavannes (1905), p. 526. This is the sense it should be understood here.
It should not be confused with the later use of the same name. The whole territory of Turfan was reoccupied
by the Chinese c. 640 and turned into the district of Xizhou. Later again it was specifically used to refer to the
town of Yarkhoto, about 20 li (8 km) west of Turfan. See: Chavannes (1900), pp. 6, 8, 357; Stein (1928), pp.
578.

Section 3 – The Qiang 羌 Tribes
3.1. The Qiang 羌 [Ch’iang] tribes. Qiang is a general term referring to the tribes living to the southwest of the
‘Gansu corridor,’ in the area of present-day Qinghai province, Shenxi, Shu and Han. See: Molè (1970), p. 75, n.
25; CICA: 80, n. 69.
The Qiang have been commonly referred to as ‘Tibetans,’ which is misleading. They appear in the literature
many centuries before a ‘Tibetan’ state had emerged. While it is true that many Tibetans are descended from Qiang
tribes, they were only one of many peoples who contributed to the genetic and cultural inheritance of modern
Tibetans. For a detailed discussion of the various Qiang groups during the Han, see de Crespigny (1984), pp.
54-75.
“Collectively the tribal confederacies and petty principalities were referred to as the 150 Ch’iang (Chiang)
tribes. The ideograph means simply ‘sheep-raisers,’ and their land was called the ‘grass country’ (ts’ao-ti).
White stone-worshipping Ch’iang, who claim to be the pastoralists of Chinese history, still survive near
Li-Fan on the edge of the plateau [between Kansu and Burma].” Bowles (1977), p. 257.
“In my “Die Bedeuttung der Na-khi für die Erforschung der tibetischen Kultur” (Hummel 1960), p. 308, I
have set the presence of the Ch’iang in the Küke-noor region and in A-mdo around 2000 B.C., and the
beginning of a southward migration of the Miao (akin to the Ch’iang), possibly in connection with the
arrival of ox-breeders from the Eurasian steppe-belt, at the close of the 3 rd century. Another possible
explanation for this movement of people is offered by the so-called Pontic Migration, the last offshoots of
which reached the Küke-noor area before the middle of the 1 st century B.C. The presence of the Ch’iang
(which the Chinese believe to be the descendents of the Miao) in this region would then have to be fixed
accordingly. By and large, this would be in agreement with the annals of the Han period. Concerning the
Indo-European influences in Tibet see M. Walter and C.I. Beckwith (1997) “Some Indo-European
Elements in Early Tibetan Culture”. Hummel (2000), p. 64, n. 19.
“The early histories describe conquest and pressure by the Chinese against the western frontier peoples, and
HHS 87 states that in the time of Ch’in and Han the territory of the Ch’iang lay west of the region of
modern Lanzhou.
The greater part of Ch’iang territory remained forever beyond the frontiers of Han, so that much of
the geographical description is inevitably vague. . . . But the Ch’iang tribespeople with whom the Chinese
had greatest contact were living in the east of the great salt lake, the Kokonor, along the upper reaches of
the Yellow River and its tributaries, the modern provinces of Tsinghai, Kansu and parts of Shensi. From
this point of view, though the term Ch’iang is sometimes rendered as “Tibetan,” the ascription is not
particularly helpful. The Ch’iang who dwelt on the frontiers of Han can be traced as distant ancestors to the
peoples of modern Tibet, but they were not then closely associated with that territory, and there is clear
implication that they had a long history in the northwestern region of China.
In discussing Chinese dealings with the Ch’iang during the Han dynasty, the official histories make
some distinction between the Western and the Eastern Ch’iang: the Western Ch’iang were those of the
frontier valleys and hill country, the Eastern Ch’iang inhabited the lower ground and loessland of the
present-day provinces Kansu and Shensi. The distinction is not always clearly maintained: some tribes
either emigrated or were forcibly resettled from the west to the east, and the records do not indicate how
many of the Ch’iang people were formerly settled under Chinese control east of the Yellow River. The
earliest references to the Ch’iang describe them as inhabitants of the frontier region in the west.
This territory of the Ch’iang is bounded on the north by the Nan Shan, or Richthofen range, along the
Kansu corridor, and on the south by the Min Shin, a ridge of the great Tsin Ling divide. The climate of the
region is cold and dry. . . . ” de Crespigny (1977), pp. 4-5.
“In these accounts [in the Hanshu and the Hou Hanshu], the Qiang barbarians of the Han period were
identified with the San Miao, who were banished to the lands of the west by the legendary Emperor Shun.
The name Qiang is related to the ancient clan-name Jiang and the history of these tribes is identified with
that of the Rong and Di barbarians of the west during the time of Zhou and Qin. The early histories
describe conquest and pressure by the Chinese against the western frontier peoples, and Hou Hanshu 87/77
states that in the time of Qin and Han the territory of the Qiang lay west of the region of modern Lanzhou. .

. .
According to the tradition of the Zuo zhuan, the Qiang-Rong people of the Zhou period had been
farmers in the region of modern Gansu, and there is archaeological evidence for some farming and
painted-pottery settlements even in the upper reaches of the Yellow River.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 55-58.
“The geographical area covered by the Zhang-zhung confederacy, which comprised north-eastern
Tibet, and above all the ethnic links with the Ch’iang, should naturally induce us to shift the focus of our
linguistic comparisons towards the northern border regions of the Sino-Tibetan settlements, rather than to
the western Himalaya. 17 This would also solve some problems raised by Stein (1951, “Mi-ñag et Si-hia”),
for example the fact that in Tibetan texts mu (in the forme rmu [dmu, smu]) appears to be a typical
indicator of the Zhang-zhung religion, as a more specific term for the country of Zhang-zhung, but at the
same time rmu is also used to indicate the Mo-so (or Na-khi) who once populated north-eastern Tibet, and
were beyond doubt akin to the Ch’iang. The Ch’iang in turn call themselves rma [rme, rmi]. In fact, rme
means ‘man’ and ‘tribe’ in the Si-hia language. Probably no connection exists between the meaning of
Zhang-zhung-smar [smra and dmar] and rma [rma, rme] or rmu [dmu, smu], even if these ancient words
are occasionally mixed up or used one for the other by the Tibetans. It is, however, possible that an identity
exists between rmu or rma [rme, rmi] = ‘man’ and dmu [mu, rmu] = ‘sky’ in Zhang-zhung, or mu [ma]
used by the Ch’iang and mo in Si-hia. This view is supported by an investigation of the origination myths
and of the lists of divine ancestors of northern Mi-nyag, located around the Küke-noor, which was
anciently part of the reign of Si-hia, annihilated in the 14 th century. These legends are reminiscent of the
myths of ‘O[d]-de[lde]-spu[r]-rgyal as ancestor of the Central Tibetan royal family, equally of north-eastern
Tibetan provenance.”
17 My views on the eastern-Tibetan origin of the Tibetan tribes, and hence of their language, seem to be
shared by D.L. Snellgrove: “. . . it would seem certain that the various waves of people who occupied Tibet, speaking
early styles of Tibetan, came from the east, pressing ever further westward. They certainly penetrated at an early period
deep into the Himalayan Range to the south, as is proved by the survival of ancient oral traditions, still intoned largely
uncomprehendingly by priests of the people now usually referred to as Gurungs and Tamangs, who live mainly on the
southern side of the main range almost the whole length of present-day Nepal. Is it therefore conceivable that those
early Tibetan speakers did not also press westward up to the main river valley of the Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) and so
reach the land of Zhang-zhung? It is also significant that Tibetan dialects are still spoken far to the west of the
boundaries of modern Tibet, not only throughout Ladakh, but also in Gilgit and Baltistan, now controlled by the
Pakistan Government.” (D.L. Snellgrove, 1987, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, p. 392).
Hummel (2000), pp. 9 and 63, n. 17.
“Our next stop was the homeland of a small ethnic minority of some 100,000 people known as the Qiang,
who live north of Chengdu in Sichuan Province. The villages of the Qiang resemble fortifications, with
slender watchtowers that rise as high as 13 stories, or roughly 30 meters. From a distance the towers look
like factory smoke-stacks. They are usually located at the most strategic places, on cliffs or precipices with
the farthest view. The abundance of these towers, which today are used mostly for grain storage, attests to a
darker period in Qiang history.” Wong (1984), p. 105.

3.2. Dunhuang 燉煌 [Tunhuang]. Often written in later works as Dunhuang 敦煌.
“The nearest oasis [to the ‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’] is Tunhwang (Blazing Beacon), which is
marked on many maps as Shachow (City of Sands). The latter name is appropriate to a town standing
among towering sandhills, and the former is equally suitable, for at a short distance from Tunhwang there
are several of the desert landmarks called tun by the Chinese. These old erections were used to convey
messages by fire-signal across desert spaces, hence the name Blazing Beacon for the town and tower placed
at this strategic point. When Shachow was destroyed the new town was built on the old site and the ancient
name of Tunhwang, which dates from the Han dynasty (206 B.C. – A.D. 220), was revived. The locality is
one which figures prominently in Chinese history by reason of its geographical position, for it stands at the
point where the oldest trade-route connecting China with the West is crossed by the road which leads from
India through Lhasa toward Mongolia and Southern Siberia.” Cable and French (1943): 41. See also CICA:
75, n. 40 in note 2.4.
“It does not seem possible, either in hsieh-sheng series or poetic rhymes or transcriptions, to
distinguish separately *-l (Sino-Tibetan –r) and *-n words. In transcriptions we find the same characters
used for both, thus 安敦 M. ·an-tuən = Anton(inus), but 安息 M. ·an-si̯ək = Aršak and 敦煌 M.
tuən-h̑waŋ = Sogdian δrw”n, Greek θρόανα [Throaua]. This means that the two phonemes must have
coalesced at an early period.” Pulleyblank (1963), II, p. 228.
3.3. The Chuo or Er Qiang 婼羌 – [Ch’o or Erh Ch’iang] – Literally: ‘The Unconquered’ or ‘Disobedient’ Qiang.
The Chuo 婼 (or Er) Qiang were the first people the Chinese met on the ancient Southern Route after leaving
Dunhuang, on the way to Shanshan. Several scholars have discussed the various pronunciations of the name. See,
for example: Chavannes (1905), p. 526, n. 8; CICA, p. 80, n. 70.
Paolo Daffinà (1982), pp. 313-314, makes the point that historically the name would have been read êrh
rather than the more common ch’o: “…all ancient commentators (Fu Ch’ien, Mêng K’ang, Su Lin) are unanimous
in stating that as a name of one of the Qiang tribes the character must be read either兒êrh < *ńźie̯ < ńi̯ĕg (873a), or
according to the fan-ch’ieh 兒遮 êrh + chê < ńźi̯a < *ńi̯ăg (982a + 804d).” Pulleyblank’s EMC gives: chuò [ch’o]
婼 tr h iak; and, for er [erh] 兒: ɲiə̆ / ɲi.
Personally, I doubt whether the Chinese word is an attempt to transcribe a local name but is more likely to
refer to its meaning of ‘disobedient,’ ‘disobliging,’ or ‘intractable.’ This seems probable as the word was used,
originally, to refer to any of a very wide-ranging group of Qiang tribes in the Southern Mountains who were not
yet under the control of, or recently, and tentatively, subject to China. It would have distinguished the various
Qiang tribes, stretching in a wide arc from south of Dunhuang through to the Pamirs, from the tribes further east,
who were mostly under Han control. They were often as a direct threat to China and the trade routes, explaining
why the name was meant in the sense of ‘intractable,’ ‘unruly,’ or ‘unpacified.’ The name seems to be used in this
context in the Hanshu (see, for example, CICA, pp. 80, 96, 97, 103), as well as here, in the Weilue.
“The greater part of the Qiang territory remained forever beyond the frontiers of Han, so that much of the
geographical description is inevitably vague. There are references to the Fa or “Distant” Qiang, who appear
to have inhabited the higher ground of the Tibetan massif, and the Account of the Western Regions in
Hanshu tells of the Er Qiang who lived south of the Silk Road in the Tsaidam Basin. But the Qiang people
with whom the Chinese had greatest contact were living to the east of the great salt lake, the Koko Nor,
along the upper reaches of the Yellow River and its tributaries, the modern provinces of Qinghai, Gansu
and parts of Shaanxi.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 56.
Towards the end of the Former Han at least some of the Chuo Qiang tribes were forced to ally themselves with
China:
“Before Han secured the Ho-hsi area, the Western Regions had served as the meeting ground for the
Ch’iang and Hsiung-nu. As Wang Shun and Liu Hsin pointed out in 6 B.C., Wu-ti had established the
frontier commanderies of Tun-huang, Chiu-ch’üan, and Chang-i with the specific aim of separating the
Ch’o-Ch’iang from the Hsiung-nu, thereby “cutting off the right arm” of the latter. The Ch’o-Ch’iang were
a powerful Ch’iang tribe, described as the first state southwest of the Yang barrier on the route to the west
(in the mountains southeast of Lop Nor). By the middle of the first century A.D. they had dwindled to

insignificance, with a registered population of only 1,750 individuals. But in the early years of the Han
dynasty, they had been active throughout an extremely large area in the Western Regions, stretching along
the K’un-lun Mountains from the neighbourhood of Tun-huang in the east to the Pamir in the west. The
king of the Ch’o-Ch’iang bore the unique title ch’ü-Hu-lai, “the king who had abandoned the Hsiung-nu
and made over to the Han empire.” This suggests that the Ch’o-Ch’iang must have been forced to switch
sides after Han expansion to the northwest. After their submission the Ch’o-Ch’iang not only joined the
Han side to fight against the Hsiung-nu, but also occasionally took part in punitive campaigns against other
Ch’iang tribes.” Yü (1986), pp. 424-425.
“Setting out from the Yang barrier the state nearest to Han is that one of the Ch’iang [tribes that is
termed] Ch’o. Its king is entitled Ch’ü Hu lai (abandoner of the nomads who made over to the King).”
CICA, p. 80.
This submission to the Chinese did not last long:
“In addition, T’ang-tou the Ch’ü-hu-lai-wang king (abandoner of the nomads who make over to the
king) lay close to the Red Water Ch’iang of the Great Tribes, 667 and was several times subjected to raiding.
Finding the situation intolerable, he reported a state of emergency to the protector general, but Tan Ch’in,
the protector general [who held this post between 4 and 13 CE] did not bring him relief or help at the right
time. T’ang-tou was in a grave and urgent situation ; angry with [Tan] Ch’in he went east to seek [the
means of] defence from the Yü-men barrier, where he was not admitted. He took his wife and children and
over 1000 of his people and fled to surrender to the Hsiung-nu. The Hsiung-nu received him and sent an
envoy [to Han] with a letter describing the state of affairs.”
667 The text reads: 國比大種赤水羌 (Ssu-ma Kuang, TCTC 35, p. 1137, under pen-shih 2 = A.D. 2, adopts a
different reading). The Han texts know no Ch’ih Shui, “Red River”; we have been unable to locate it [but see note
22.2 where Ch’ih Shui is shown to refer to the Kāshgar-daryā]. We have not been able either to find a formal
distinction between “greater” and “lesser” tribes, but it is perhaps not without significance that Fu Ch’ien says of a
certain name “this is the name of the Ch’iang of the Lesser Tribes” (HSPC 69.8b).” CICA, p.191 and note 667.
3.4. The Nanshan 南山 [Nan shan], literally, ‘Southern Mountains’.
“Nan Shan . . . the general term applied to a vast mountain range, actually a complex of ranges, in
Northwest China. The ranges lie between the Tsaidam Basin to the southwest and the plateau of
northwestern Kansu Province (sheng) to the north. The Nan Shan consists of a complex system of ranges
with a predominantly northwest to southeast axis. . . . The ranges are for the most part about 13,000-16,000
ft (4,000-5,000 m) high; however individual peaks often exceed 20,000 ft and the highest peak reaches
20,820 ft (6,346 m). The ranges are higher and more complex in the west, to the south of Tun-huang and
Yü-men (both in Kansu), where, in spite of the aridity of the climate, many peaks are covered with snow
and glaciers. The eastern section of the mountains is somewhat lower, and only a few high peaks have a
permanent snow cover. Among the ranges are a number of large intermontane depressions and fault basins.
The largest of these is the depression in which lies Koko Nor (lake).” NEB, VII, p. 183. See also: de
Crespigny (1977), p. 5.
3.5. Congling [Ts’ung-ling], literally the “Onion Range,” refers to the mountain ranges at the southwestern and
western end of the Tarim basin = the Pamir Mountains.
“At last Semyonov [the famous Russian explorer and collector, in 1857] reached the top of a pass so high
that the mountains now appeared as an undulating plain, dotted with green lakes only partly covered by ice.
It was the highest point they had reached – well above 15,000 feet. The expedition now descended on the
south of the main range, crossing the alpine meadows thickly strewn with blue and white gentians, pale
blue ranunculi and white and golden buttercups. The explorers also found broad glades covered with the
golden heads of an unclassified species of onion, shortly to be named after Semyonov (Allium semenovi).
Semyonov later learned that onions were so widespread here that the Chinese had given this part of the
Tien Shan the name Tsun lin, or “onion mountains”.” St. George, et al. (1974), p. 153.
“The Ts’ung-ling or Onion Range, so called because of the alleged growth of wild onions there, has long
been identified with the Pamirs, see, e.g. E. Chavannes (1907), p. 168.” CICA, p. 72, n. 8.

“The Ts’ung, or ‘Onion’ range, called also the Belurtagh mountains, including the Karakorum, and forming
together the connecting links between the more northern T’een-shan [T’ien-shan] and the Kwun-lun
[Kun-lun] mountains on the north of Thibet.” Legge (1886), p. 20, n. 2.
3.6. Yuezhi 月氏 [Yüeh-chih]
“Ta yüeh-chih 大月氏or 氐, GSR 317a, 306a and 867a or 590a : *d’âd / d’ai - ngįwǎt / ngįwɐt, *d̑įěg/ źięg
or tiər / tiei. In view of the fact that our text [Hanshu 96A] further on mentions Yüeh-chih as the name of
this people when they were still living in the present-day Kansu area and that it calls this remnant that
stayed there after the main group had migrated, the hsiao, i.e. “Little’ or “Lesser” Yüeh-chih, it seems
likely that the word ta, meaning “great”, does not belong to the name, as in the case of Ta Yüan and Hsiao
Yüan.
For the Yüeh-chih see Haloun (1937) and Pulleyblank (1966), (1968), (1970), and cf. Pelliot (1929),
pp. 150-151. Pulleyblank (1963), p. 92 (cf. ibid., p. 106 and Pulleyblank (1966), p. 17), is inclined to accept
the identification (already suggested by Marquart, Eranšahr, 1901, p. 206) of the Yüeh-chih with “the
’Іάτιoι on the north side of the upper Yaxartes in Ptolemy”, but this refuted by Daffiná (1967), p. 45, note
5. Maenchen-Helfen (1945), p. 77 and p. 80, note 110, believes Yüeh-chih to be a transcription and
etymologization of “Kusha”, the Moon people.” CICA, p. 119, n. 276.
“The Little Yuezhi were descended from those of the Yuezhi people who had taken refuge in the Qilian
ranges at the beginning of the Former Han period, when the Yuezhi were attacked by the great Xiongnu
leader Modun and their main force was driven west into central Asia. In later Han times, they evidently
numbered some nine thousand fighting men, their chief centres of population being in the Xining valley
and the territory of Lianju in Wuwei [Wu-wei], with a few groups further north in Zhangye. See HHS
87/77, 2899.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 478, n. 15.
“What may have been a crucial formative influence on the proto-Tibetans was the migration of the people
known in Chinese sources as the Hsiao- (or “Little”-) Yüeh-chih, a branch of the Ta- (or “Great”-)
Yüeh-chih. After defeat by the Hsiung-nu in the second century B.C., the Ta Yüeh-chih migrated to Bactria
, and are generally identified with the Tokharians, who according to Greek sources invaded and conquered
Bactria at just that time. Those among them who were unable to make the trip moved instead into the Nan
Shan area, where they mixed with the Ch’iang tribes, and became like them in customs and language. 7
Unfortunately, we know nothing substantial about the customs of the early Tokharians, and cannot guess
what sorts of practices and beliefs they may have introduced.”
7 HHS, 87:2899. See B. Watson, Records of the Grand Historian of China, Translated from the Shih
Chi of Ssu-ma Ch’ien (1961) 2:163, 264, 267-268, for a translation of the famous account of the fall
of the Ta Yüeh-chih. It is my opinion that the Chinese name Ta Yüeh-chih was etymologized by the
ancient Chinese to give a convenient name to those who had settled in the Nan Shan. If the Greek
transcription Thagouroi (i.e., T’a-gur if converted to a Chinese-style notation) – for a people
thought to be in the area of the Nan Shan – is indeed a reflection of the name of these “Lesser”
Tokharians, one could not object to the vowel of the initial Ta-. A form gar lies behind the
T’ang-period Yüeh according to the earliest phonetic transcriptions of Chinese, the T’ang-period
Tibetan-script works. The final -chih may be either a Central Asian ending, as thought by some
scholars, or the Chinese word (the same character, pronounced in all other cases shih) meaning
“clan” or “family”.
Beckwith (1987), p. 6, and n. 7.
“Hsia-hou’s lieutenant, Chang Ho crossed the Huang-ho [in late CE 217] and reached the territory of “Little
Huang-chung” to the east of Köke-nōr, the seat of the Yüeh-chih tribe which had been the prime movers of
the rebellion.” Haloun (1949-50), p. 128.
Huang is the name of a river in Gansu, a tributary of the Datong and Huang He near Xinan fu. Formerly a portion
of the department was called Huang zhou and Huang zhong. See Williams (1909), p. 370, and Couvreur (1890), p.
526.
3.7. Congzi 葱茈 [Ts’ung-tzu]. Literally, ‘Brown Onion.’

3.8. Baima 白馬 [Pai-ma] or ‘White Horse’ Qiang. These are the same people who are also described as the Poma
Di, the most powerful of the Di tribes. They are variously referred to as either Qiang or Di. Their seat at Zhouchi
was made the centre of Wudu Commandery in 111 BCE. See note 1.4. The Baima Di still survive in their ancient
home in northwestern Sichuan, near the border with Gansu and Qinghai:
“Deep inside the Min Shan, home of the giant panda, we visited a little-known tribe [of about 10,000
people] sometimes referred to by outsiders as the White Horse Tibetans. . . . The name derives from the
White Horse Valley, one of the areas they inhabit.
The tribe calls itself the Di people – a name that appears in ancient Chinese histories. Yet all written
records of the Di end around the year A.D. 420, more than 15 centuries ago. Though the Di have no written
language, they enjoy a colorful oral history. . . . ” Wong (1984), p. 305; and note on p. 288.
It seems probable that the “White Horse Valley” mentioned above is the original home of the White Horse Qiang
or Di. This valley is on the upper reaches of the Min Xiang (river), which flows south from the Min Shan
(mountains) near the town of Zhangla [Chang-la]: 32.50° N, 103.40° E.
3.9. The Huangniu Qiang 黄牛羌 [Huang-niu Ch’iang] or ‘Yellow Ox’ Qiang. Note that Yu Huan, while reporting
this folk tale, is careful to say only that it “is rumoured that” (傳聞 – chuanwen) the Huangniu Qiang are born after
a six month pregnancy.

Section 4 – The three main overland routes to the Western Regions
4.1. Xiyu 西域 [Hsi-yü] translates literally as “the Western Regions.” This term is used sometimes to refer all the
countries to the west of China, but often refers specifically to the countries of the Tarim Basin, as in this passage
from the Hanshu, chap. 96A:
“Communications with the Western Regions started only in the time of Emperor Hsiao Wu. Originally
there had been thirty-six states, but afterwards these were gradually divided into more than fifty. These all
lie to the west of the Hsiung-nu and south of the Wu-sun. To the north and south there are great mountains,
and a river flows through the middle. The distance from east to west extends for more than 6000 li and from
north to south more than 1000 li.
On the east the area adjoins Han [territory], being blocked by the Yü-men and the Yang barriers. On
the west it is confined by the Ts’ung-ling. Its southern mountains emerge in the east in Chin-ch’eng
[commandery] and are linked with the Nan-shan of the Han. Its river has two sources, of which one rises in
the Ts’ung-ling and the other in Yü-t’ien. Yü-t’ien lies at the foot of the southern mountains, and its river
runs northward to join the river that comes from the Ts’ung-ling. Eastward it flows into the P’u-ch’ang Sea.
. . . ” CICA, pp. 71-72.
This confirms that China began communicating with the Western Regions during the reign of Xiaowu or Wudi
[Hsiao Wu or Wu Ti], who reigned 140-87 BCE.
As the translators make plain in their notes (ibid., p. 72, notes 8-12), Jincheng [Chin-ch’eng] Commandery
was in the region of modern Lanzhou [Lanchou] in southeast Gansu [Kansu]; Nanshan [Nan-shan] referred to the
Zhongnan shan [Chung-nan shan]; south of Xian [Hsi-an], the Congling [Ts’ung-ling] refers to the Pamirs; Yutian
[Yü-t’ien] is Khotan; and the Puchang [P’u-ch’ang] Sea is Lob-nor.
Although the distance given from east to west – more than 6,000 li [= 2,496 km] is too long, and the distance
from north to south – more than 1,000 li [= 416 km] is too short, there can be no doubt whatsoever that Xiyu
[Hsi-yü] – ‘the Western Regions’ – here refers to the region of the Tarim Basin.
4.2. Hulsewé and Lowe (CICA: 71, n. 2) add:
“The Chinese commentators attempt, with some difficulty, to relate the figure 36 to states actually
mentioned in the text. The figure was probably chosen for a symbolical significance or mythical
connotation, it is in fact a “pseudo number” ; see Liu Shih-p’ei (1928), 8. 6a-9a, Katō (1952), p. 432 and Ise
(1968), pp. 21-37. For the figure of 36 commanderies of which the Ch’in empire was alleged to have been
formed, see Kurihara (1960), p. 76-81, and Kamada (1962), p. 74f. For a reference to the “36 states beyond
the seas” mentioned in the Huai-nan-tzu, ch. 4, see Erkes (1917), p. 65, and Haloun (1926), p. 135.”
The Hou Hanshu, chap 118, says:
“In the period of Emperor Wu [140-87 BCE], the Western Regions were under the control of the Interior
[China]. They numbered thirty-six kingdoms. The Imperial Government established a Colonel (in charge of)
Envoys there to direct and protect these countries. Emperor Xuan [73-49 BCE] changed this title [in 59 BCE]
to Protector General. Emperor Yuan [40-33 BCE] installed both a Mao and a Ji Colonel to take charge of the
agricultural garrisons on the frontier of the king of Nearer Jushi (Turfan).
During the time of Emperor Ai [6 BCE-1 CE] and Emperor Ping [1-5 CE], the principalities of the
Western Regions split up and formed fifty-five kingdoms.” From: TWR by John Hill.
The exact number of kingdoms is of little relevance. The stark figures indicate the continuous grouping and
regrouping of these kingdoms throughout the Han period. This was undoubtedly due to the struggle to control the
massive increase in East-West trade and its profits, both by the local kingdoms themselves, and by the major
regional powers of the time, China, the Xiongnu, and the Kushans.
4.3. The routes to the West.
The Weilue actually describes four overland routes to the west after leaving China (not three, as stated in the text):
1. The ‘New Route of the North’ (sometimes referred to as the ‘New Southern Route,’ which travelled to
the north of the Tianshan range, and three routes that crossed the Tarim Basin:

2. The ‘Southern Route’ which left Dunhuang, and went south of Lop Nor to Khotan and Yarkand, via
Hunza and Gilgit, and on to northwestern India or Jibin (Kapisha–Gandhāra).
3. The ‘Central Route’ (called the ‘Northern Route’ in the two Han histories) which headed from Dunhuang
to Loulan north of Lop Nor, and on to the region of Korla where it met up with the route coming from
Turfan and headed on, along the southern foot of the Tianshan range to Kashgar
4. The ‘New Route’ which turned north before reaching Loulan and headed directly to the Turfan oasis.
From Turfan it turned west, where it met up with the ‘Central Route’ at Kucha.
For details of the various caravan routes see Appendix A. For the maritime route, see Appendix F.
4.4. Yumen Guan 玉門關 [Yü-men kuan] or ‘Jade Gate Frontier Post.’ Sir Aurel Stein seems to have definitively
located the Yumen Guan or ‘Jade Gate’ frontier-post or ‘barrier’ of the Han period about 85 km west of Dunhuang:
“From the very beginning, when the western frontier of the empire was extended to the region of
Tun-huang, we find the two ‘barriers’ of Yü-mên and Yang always mentioned in close conjunction by the
Annals of both Han dynasties. There can be no doubt that the frontier troops stationed there were meant to
offer mutual support. We have seen above that the ‘Yang barrier’ must be located at the present Nan-hu,
and that the Jade Gate was certainly situated to the north-west of it and on the line defended by the main
wall and watch-stations of the Lime.” Stein (1921), pp. 695-696.
“In connexion with the documentary evidence from the site of T. xiv it only remains for me to point out that
its identification with the ‘Jade Gate’ headquarters is consistent with our knowledge of the other localities
that we find mentioned besides Yü-men in the records of this site. As regards Ta-chien-tu (or Chien-tu),
named in Doc. Nos. 304, 307, 356, I have already had occasion to show that it must in all probability be
identified with the westernmost section of the Limes, and it was controlled from Yü-men. As the
first-named document, No. 304, dates from 96 B.C. and the last from A. D. 15, we see that this
administrative connexion was maintained for more than a century. The watch-station Ta fu, named in T.
xiv. iii. 64, Doc., No. 309, is not mentioned elsewhere and cannot be located. We are in a better position as
regards the local name P’ing-wang, Doc., Nos. 313, 314, 377, repeatedly met with also in records from
other sites as designation of a watch-station, a company, or a ‘barrier’. From an examination further on of
these records, more definite than those from T. xiv, we shall see that the name was probably borne by the
section of the wall extending from T. xxii. c, on the Khara-nör, to T. xiv. a, where it joined the ‘Yü-men
barrier’.
If we review the conclusions arrived at by the detailed scrutiny of the records from T. xiv, join with
them what our preceding survey of the natural advantages of the site and its topographical setting has
shown us, it is easy to realize that, for the period covered by the extant dated remains of the Limes, the
position of the ‘Jade Gate, the chief frontier station through which all traffic westwards by the ancient
Lou-lan route had to pass, may now safely be fixed at T. xiv. Well withdrawn behind the defensive line of
wall and watch-towers, and protected besides from direct attack by impassable marshes to the north-west
and south-east, the position was admirably adapted to serve as a point d’appui for the posts along the most
advanced section of the Limes. It was equally well chosen as a head station for controlling traffic by the
route which, from the reign of the Emperor Wu-ti down to the close of the Former Han dynasty, was
certainly the main link between the Chinese empire and its Central-Asian ‘sphere of influence’. Fortunately
an archaeological discovery made on this ground permits us to clinch the argument, while at the same time
illustrating once again the accuracy of Chinese historical records.” Stein (1921), Vol. II, p. 691.
“For discussions regarding the location of the Yü-men and Yang-kuan, which were located at the western
terminal of the Han defence lines at the northwestern tip of present-day Kansu province, see Hulsewé
(1957), p. 7, Lao Kan (1959), pp. 375-382 and (1960 : 1), pp. 40-52 (abstracted in RBS 6, no. 101), Lo
Che-wen (1964) and Ch’en Meng-chia (1965); see also Chavannes (1902), p. 67, note 2, and Chavannes
(1913), p. vi.” CICA, p. 71, n. 7.
4.5. The Chuo Qiang 婼羌 [Ch’o Ch’iang]. The ‘Unruly’ or ‘Disobedient Qiang’. See note 3.3.
4.6. The Congling 葱嶺 [Ts’ung-ling] or Pamirs. See note 3.5.
4.7. Xuandu 縣度 [Hsün-tu] – the terrifying, narrow and dangerous ‘Hanging Passages’ or rafiks in the Hunza

valley.
It is significant that Xuandu is never listed as a guo (= ‘kingdom’ or ‘country’) in the literature. The name
translates literally as ‘Hanging Passages,’ and it has long been recognised that it refers to the terrifying hanging
pathways, locally known as rafiks, which are so characteristic of the route through the Hunza valley to Gilgit. See,
for example, Chavannes (1905), p. 529, n. 5. For details, see Appendix A, under the subheading: South to India
over the ‘Hanging Passages.’
4.8. The Da Yuezhi 大月氏 [Ta Yüeh-chih] or the Kushans. See note 5.16.
4.9. The Southern Route. Refer to Appendix A, under the subheading: “The Southern Route.”
4.10. The Dadujing 都護井 [Ta-tu ching], literally: ‘The Protector General’s Well’.
“With this point [the location of the ‘Three Ridges’, see next note] of the Wei lio’s itinerary once
determined, it is possible to fix upon the probable locations also for the ‘well of the Protector-General’,
which precedes it, and ‘the Chü-lu granary’, which follows it. In the former, I think, we can safely
recognize the depression within the westernmost angle of the Limes wall, guarded by the watchtowers T.
iv. a, b (Map No. 74. B. 3; also Plate 33), which, owing to plentiful grazing and to fresh water obtainable in
springs and wells, would offer a very convenient halting-space for caravans following the protected border
line. My description of this locality further on will show that I found here traces of what seems to have been
a large entrenched camp, probably dating back to the time when the route and the line of the wall guarding
it up to this point were first established. It is certain that there is no place on the route between the Jade
Gate (T. xiv) and Bēsh-toghrak which could offer similar advantages for a half-way halting-place.” Stein
(1921), Vol. II, pp. 556-557.
“Starting from Yü-mên kuan, the famous ‘Jade Gate’, the position of which in Han times near the ruined
fort T. xiv of the Limes west of Tun-huang is established without doubt [see Map No. 35. D. 4], the ‘route
of the centre’ followed the Limes westwards, just as the present caravan track does, to its extreme end near
the watch-towers T. iv. a. b. There I place the ‘well of the Protector General’.” Stein (1928), Vol. I, p. 308.
4.11. The Sanlongsha 三隴沙 [San-lung-sha], literally: ‘The Three Sand Mounds.’
“A clear indication is next supplied in the statement that the route ‘turns back at the northern extremity of
the San-lung (‘Three Ridges’)[desert of] sand.’ With the knowledge of the ground which my explorations
have furnished, I feel assured that by this must be meant that part of the route which lies immediately to the
east of Bēsh-toghrak and has been described above as the end of its second section. A reference to Map No.
74 and 70 will show that the route, where it passes through the old terminal basin of the Su-lo Ho, in some
places skirts round, and in others actually crosses, the northernmost off-shoots of the high range of dunes
which flanks the Bēsh-toghrak valley all along on the south. This range represents, as it were, only the
foot-hills of successive ranges of drift-sand which extend upwards to the great gravel glacis of the high
Anambar-ula portion of the Āltin-tāgh (Map No. 75. A-D. 1) and further west find their continuation in the
area of high sand dunes spoken of by the Lopliks as Kum-tāgh (the ‘Sand Mountains’), south of the
dried-up Lop lake-bed.
Looking at the general map, we see quite clearly that the northern extremity of this great desert is
formed by the low sand ridges which jut out like promontories into the above-mentioned basin and are
crossed by the route. There we can safely locate ‘the northern extremity of the [desert of] sand of the Three
Ridges’. This identification is further supported by the change of bearing which the Wei lio’s account
implies, where it says that the route ‘turns back (revient)’ at this point. As we follow the route on the map,
we see plainly that, after leaving the western end of the Limes, it runs almost straight to the north-west until
it crosses the dune promontory nearest to Bēsh-toghrak, whence it strikes a south-westerly course in
conformity with the general direction of the Bēsh-toghrak valley.
The agreement between the wording of the text and the topographical configuration is so close that I
am tempted to connect the name of San-lung, ‘the Three Ridges’, with the fact of the route actually crossing
three distinct offshoots or promontories of the high sand ridge on the south. The maps show these plainly
stretching across the line of route between Camp 153 (Map No. 74. A. 3) and the head of the Bēsh-toghrak
Valley (No. 70. D., 4). This feature of the ground must have impressed itself all the more on the Chinese
wayfarers of old because it is only at this point that real dunes have to be traversed on the Lou-lan route.
The dunes of the three offshoots referred to did not appear to me to rise anywhere above 40 feet or so, and

would certainly be practicable for Chinese cart traffic such as I have seen elsewhere. Yet I know only too
well from experience how troublesome an obstacle they are bound to present to weary men and beasts
engaged upon such a desert journey.” Stein (1921), Vol. II, p. 556.
“As regards the ‘Three Ridges Sands’, the evidence furnished by the actual configuration of the ground, by
the reference to the route which there ‘turns back’, and by the very name, makes it practically certain that
we have to place them at the northern extremity of a belt of high sand dunes crossed by the present caravan
route to the east of Bēsh-toghrak. It is at or near the last-named important halting-place that I consider that
the ‘Chü-lu Granary’ was probably situated.” Stein (1928), Vol. I, p. 308.
4.12. Julucang 居盧倉 [Chü-lu ts’ang], literally: ‘The Depot Dwellings’.
It is most unlikely that Julu is meant to be a name as Daffinà (1982), p. 331, points out. The character ju means
‘residence,’ or ‘to dwell;’ and lu means ‘cottage,’ ‘cabin,’ ‘hut,’ ‘house,’ or ‘inn;’ cang means ‘granary,’ ‘depot,’
‘magazine,’ ‘storehouse.’
It is likely that there would have been several buildings near such a strategic granary and depot. There would
undoubtedly have been guards, and possibly an inn of some sort. I have translated the term as the ‘depot dwellings’
but it could equally be rendered as the ‘Granary Inn’ or even the ‘granary residence and inn.’
“The ‘Chü-lu granary’, which is likely to have been one of the early ‘resting stations’ established soon after
the Lou-lan route was first opened, may with some probability be located at Bēsh-toghrak. There is no other
site likely to have offered such advantages as this place, which nowadays, too, has more grazing than any
other west of the Limes. Being just beyond a difficult stage of the route, Bēsh-toghrak would be particularly
suited for an advanced base of supply. But I could trace no remains to give archaeological support to the
identification, and considering the character of the ground, with subsoil water near the surface and a good
deal of shōr in the soil, no structures of mud bricks or mere clay would have had much chance of leaving
visible traces here after many centuries of abandonment. No one who, like myself, has seen the wretched
mud hovels which serve as Chinese ‘inns’ and guards’ quarters on the desert route from An-hsi to Hāmi,
the modern pendant of the Lou-lan route, could feel any doubt about their complete disappearance in the
course of a thousand years or even less after they were abandoned. And yet they somehow suffice for a
traffic which at times may not be much less than that seen by the Lou-lan route in its heyday.” Stein (1921),
Vol. II, p. 557. See also: Stein (1928), Vol. I, p. 308.
“. . . . Wang Kuo-wei, in his Preface to the Liu-sha chui chien, KTCL 17.6a., believed this granary to have
been situated to the West of the sand dunes of the White Dragon Mounds Pai-lung tui, but Enoki (1963), p.
146f., referring to Chavannes, (1905), pp. 529-531, has demonstrated that this granary was located to the
East of the White Dragon Mounds, between these dunes and the San-lung sha Desert. . . . ” CICA, p. 156, n.
460
4.13. The Shaxi jing 沙西井 [Sha-hsi ching], literally: “The West-of-the-Sand Well.”
“As regards the position of the Sha-hsi well, we are furnished with a very helpful indication by the
statement that the route there turned to the north-west. This, read in the light which my explorations of
1914 have thrown upon the line followed by the ancient Lou-lan route, takes us clearly somewhere near the
point where it turns the last south-western offshoot of the low Kuruk-tāgh range, overlooking the
Bēsh-toghrak valley from the north. This point approximately corresponds to 91° 32 ’ long. 40° 23 ’ lat. in
Map No. 67. From there the line of the ancient route, as I have traced it, makes a sharp turn to the
north-west and follows this bearing, along the shore of the dried-up Lop sea, till it reaches the point where
its salt-encrusted bed and the ‘White Dragon Mounds’ flanking it are traversed. It was within about twelve
miles to the north-east from this point that, when tracking in 1914 the line of the ancient route in the
opposite direction, I came upon the first living vegetation at the foot of the clay cliffs lining the eastern inlet
of the ancient sea-bed, north-west of Kum-kuduk. Three miles or so further on we succeeded in digging a
well on a strip of ground where the soil became sandy. Though the water proved too salt even for the
camels, its presence suggests that in early times, when desiccation had not yet proceeded so far, a ‘resting
station’ with drinkable water, corresponding to the ‘Sha-hsi well’ of the Wei lio, might have existed
somewhere near this place at the western end of the Bēsh-toghrak valley.” Stein (1921), Vol. II, p. 557. See
also: Stein (1928), Vol. I, pp. 308-309.

“Is it possible that a characteristic feature of the ground here suggested the designation Sha-hsi 沙西 for
this station? It may literally be interpreted to mean ‘the west [end] of the sand’. The place mentioned in the
text is certainly the last westwards to which the light drift-sand covering the bottom of the Bēsh-toghrak
valley extends. Beyond it no drift-sand is met with now on the ancient route until the vicinity of the Lou-lan
site is reached.” Ibid., p. 557, note 20.
4.14. Longdui 龍堆 [Lung-tui], literally, ‘The Dragon Dunes.’ The Weilue mentions only the Longdui, dropping
the Bo (‘white’) of the name Bo Longdui as given in the Hanshu and certain other texts. See CICA, pp. 89, n. 108;
190 (but note that on ibid., p. 202, they are translated as, simply, the “Dragon Mounds.”).
“It is called “Dragon-shaped Dunes” or “White Dragon-shaped Dunes” 白龍堆, a part of the desert where
the dunes of white sand are stretched out regularly, looking like dragons. Here, in fact, is what the
commentator Meng Kang 孟康 says in the third century of our era (in the Hanshu, chap. XCIV, b, p. 7 b):
‘The Dragon-shaped Dunes have the appearance of the body of an earthen dragon without a head,
but with a tail. The tallest are two to three zhang high [15.2 feet, or 4.63-6.93 m]; the lower ones are
more than one zhang [7.6 feet, or 2.31 m]. All are turned towards the northeast and look alike.”
According to Xu 徐松 Song (Hanshu Xiyu zhuan bu zhu 漠書西域傳補注 1829, chap. II, p. 27 a), the
Longdui, or desert of the Dragon-shaped Dunes, is the part of the Gobi desert of which one crosses the
northern extremity when going through Shisan jianfang 十三間房 [note – Chavannes incorrectly wrote this
place name as: 三十間房] on the route from Hami to Turfan. The locality of Shisan jianfang is shown about
350 li to the east of Pizhan 闢展 [modern Shanshan or Piqan] on the map of the territory of Turfan in the
Xin jiang shi lue 新疆識畧 of Song Yun 松筠 (1821). This work, describing the present route from Hami
咍密 to Turfan, says (chap. I, p. 8b of the little edition published in Shanghai in 1894):
“From Hami, walking towards the west, you turn and go towards the north to cross the Wukeke 烏
克克 [Bogdo Ula] Mountains. You go between two mountains to avoid the dangers of the windy
Gobi 風戈壁.” In the margin the author adds: “To the south of these mountains the windy Gobi is
found. It extends for several thousand li in all directions. This is what is called the (bitter) sand
desert of Gahun 噧順沙噧 . These are the White Dragon-shaped Dunes of Antiquity 卽古之白龍堆
也.”
If you glance at map 62 of the Stieler Atlas (1902 edition), you will verify that the highway from Hami to
Turfan, in fact, describes a circular arc to pass the mountainous northern region. It thus avoids the Valley of
the Devil (Teufelsthal) or, more exactly, the Valley of the Demons, which is situated on the most
dangerous, but most direct route going from Hami to Turfan.
It is this more southerly route which the Chinese ambassador Wang Yande 王延德 [Wang Yen-to] took in
981 A.D. to make the journey from Hami to Turfan (Sungshi, chap. CCCCXC, p. 4 b; cf. STAN. JULIEN,
Mélanges de géographie asiatique, pp. 91-92):
“Setting off from Hami 伊州 (Yizhou), this traveller then went through Yidu 益都 [I-tu], then he
went through Nazhi 納職 [Na-chih]. . . . This town is the closest place to Yumen guan [Yü-men
kuan] which is to the southeast of the desert of the extremely evil demons 城在大患鬼魅磧之東南
玉門關管甚近.*
In this region there is neither water nor pasture. (Wang Yande) set out taking some roasted grain with him.
After three days he arrived at the relay of Bifeng (‘Shelter from the wind’) at the outlet to the Valley of the
Demons 至鬼谷口避風驛. Conforming to the rule of this country, he made a sacrifice and offered an
invitation to the gods to stop the wind, and the wind then ceased. After eight days in all, he arrived at the
Zetian (‘Field Fertilising’) Temple 澤田寺. (The king of) Gaochang 高昌, learning of the arrival of the
ambassador, sent some men to meet him. He then went through a place called Baozhuang 寶莊 (this must
be Pizhan), then through Lukchung 六種 (Luzhong), and then arrived at Gaochang 高昌, which is none
other than the district of Xi 西州 (Yar-khoto, 20 li to the west of Turfan).”
* [According to Pelliot (1906), p. 369, this sentence should read, “This town is to be found to the
southeast of the desert of the extremely evil demons; it is very close to Yumen guan.” Therefore the
desert of the demons is between Nazhi and Hami, not between Yumen guan and Nazhi as this

paraphrase by Chavannes indicates].
It was necessary to reunite here all these texts in order to show that the route followed in antiquity, to go
from Hami to Turfan, crossed the northern extremity of the great desert which extends to the south as far as
Yumen guan (near Dunhuang or Shazhou). The term Bolongdui (the White Dragon-shaped Dunes) applies
in fact to an immense region. This is why the Hanshu can tell us that, “straight to the west of Tunhuang
(Shazhou), outside the passes (Yumen guan and Yang guan) is the Bolongdui sand desert and there is
Puchang Lake (Lop Nor) 正西關外有白龍堆 蒲昌海.” It does not necessarily follow that the route which
crossed the Bolongdui headed straight to the west from Shazhou to Hami (or, to be more exact in speaking
of the ancient route, “to the west of Hami”. . . . ), then to Turfan since, between these two localities, you
cross the northern extremity of the Bolongdui. We are going to show in the following note that it is this
second route which must be the route called ‘Central’ in the Weilue.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p.
529, n. 7. Also see note 4.9.
“I believe that the designation of Po-lung-tui, ‘the White Dragon Mounds’, was applied by the Chinese,
from the time of the first opening of the route, to that particular portion where it skirts and then crosses the
extreme north-eastern extension of the dried-up salt bed of the ancient Lop-nōr. There strings of salt-coated
clay terraces, all undoubtedly carved out by wind-erosion from what was the lake bottom of an earlier
geological period, run parallel to each other in the direction from east-north-east to west-south-west, and
extend for a considerable distance along both the western and eastern shores of the ancient salt-encrusted
lake bed. Their fantastic and yet curiously uniform shapes would readily suggest to Chinese eyes the form
of ‘a dragon in earth which was without a head but had a tail. The highest rise to two or three chang (twenty
or thirty feet); the lowest to over one chang (over ten feet). All of them are turned towards the north-east
and resemble each other.’ Thus a Chinese commentator of the Former Han Annals, writing in the third
century A.D., accurately and graphically describes them.
These belts of salt-impregnated ‘Mesas’ form the most striking feature of the dismal ground crossed
by the last two marches but one of the ancient route before it reached the extreme eastern limit of the
Lou-lan area which once possessed water and vegetation. This explains why the Wei lio, where it describes
‘the route of the Centre’ which led direct from Tun-huang towards Kuchā, places the Lung-tui or ‘Mound in
the shape of Dragons’ immediately before the station of ‘the ancient Lou-lan’. My explorations of 1914
have proved that on the line followed by the old Han route, the Wei lio’s ‘route of the Centre’, there was,
for a distance of over 120 miles [193 km], a stretch of ground to be crossed which in Han times was already
a waterless desert of salt, bare clay, or gravel. This forbidding waste lay between the line of wells still
available in the long-extended depression which connects the terminal Su-lo Ho drainage with the
easternmost end of the ancient salt lake-bed of Lop-nōr and the furthest point reached by the Kuruk-daryā,
the river branch which is now quite dry, but then stretched its delta to the northern settlements of Lou-lan,
including the ruined station of ‘Lou-lan’.
It was for crossing this absolutely barren desert without water or vegetation that the Chinese missions
required provision to be made, from the nearest part of inhabited Lou-lan, for guides and for the carriage of
water and supplies to meet them near the ‘White Dragon Mounds’. Even with the help thus provided, it
remains somewhat of a problem how those ancient Chinese organizers of transport succeeded in
maintaining traffic, including the movement of large bodies of men, over so great a stretch of ground
devoid of all resources and presenting formidable natural obstacles. In any case, the passage from the
Annals plainly shows to what tribulation the use of the ancient route north of the dried-up Lop sea-bed by
large Chinese convoys &c., must have exposed the Lop population, semi-nomadic as it was.” Stein (1921),
Vol. I, pp. 341-342. See also: Stein (1928), Vol. I, pp. 3089-310; CICA, p. 89, n. 108
4.15. Loulan 僂籣 [Lou-lan]
“The evidence thus afforded by the Ch’ien Han shu enables us to feel certain that, from about 77 B.C.
onwards, the capital of the ‘kingdom’ corresponding to the medieval and modern Lop was situated in the
present Charkhlik tract. It also supplies the definite date when the name of the territory was changed from
the original Lou-lan to Shan-shan. There is nothing in the record of the Annals to suggest that this change
in the official Chinese designation was prompted or accompanied by any change in the position of the
capital. . . .
In reality the ‘ancient Lou-lan’, which the Wei lio mentions on its ‘route of the Centre’, is identical
with the ruined ‘site of Lou-lan’ to the north of the Lop-nōr, but yet within the Lop region. The exploration
of these ruins, first discovered by Dr. Hedin in 1900, has convinced me by conclusive archaeological

evidence that the ‘route of the Centre’, which the Wei lio’s author knew about the middle of the third
century A.D., passed this site, and that it was not abandoned until about the middle of the fourth century.
Documentary evidence obtained at the site, and discussed in Chapter XI, shows that the Chinese military
station represented by those ruins was actually called Lou-lan in local Chinese records of the third and
fourth centuries.
This proves that the Wei lio and the source used in Li Tao-yüan’s commentary on the Shui ching were
right in giving the name of Lou-lan to the Chinese military colony which guarded the route along the north
side of Lop-nōr in their own time. But the continued application of the archaic name Lou-lan to this
particular locality cannot be accepted as proof that the capital of the whole Lop tract or Lou-lan, as the
Chinese called it down to 77 B.C., must also necessarily have stood there. It is simple enough to assume
that the Chinese retained in use or revived the antiquated designation of Lou-lan for that part of Lop
through which the most direct route westwards from Tun-huang led, and which to them was consequently
of special importance, while for the capital of the territory situated to the south of Lop-nōr and the terminal
Tārim the new official designation of Shan-shan took root.” Stein (1921), Vol. I, pp. 343-344.
“The original name of the state of Shan-shan was Lou-lan. The seat of the king’s government is in the town
of Wu-ni, and it is distant 1600 li [666 km] from the Yang barrier and 6100 li [2538 km] from Ch’ang-an.
There are 1570 households, 14100 individuals with 2912 persons able to bear arms. . . . To the north-west
it is a distance of 1785 li [743 km] to the seat of the protector general [at Wu-lei = modern Yangisar, 350 li
or 146 km east of Kucha]. It is 1365 li [568 km] to the state of [Mo]-shan, and to the north-west it is 1890 li
[786 km] to Chü-shih [Karakhoto or Kao-ch’ang near Turfan].
The land is sandy and salt, and there are few cultivated fields. The state hopes to obtain [the produce
of] cultivated fields and looks to neighbouring states for field-crops. It produces jade and there is an
abundance of rushes, tamarisk, the balsam poplar, and white grass [which was said to be used as an arrow
poison in Yarkand]. In company with their flocks and herds the inhabitants go in search of water and
pasture, and there are asses, horses and a large number of camels. [The inhabitants] are capable of making
military weapons in the same way as the Ch’o [‘Unconquered’] of the Ch’iang tribes. . . .
Shan-shan is situated on the Han communication routes; to the west it is connected with Chieh-mo
[near modern Cherchen] at a distance of 720 li [300 km]. . . . ” CICA, pp. 81-85, 92
“Shan-shan 鄯善 [205a? and] 205a : [di̯an / źi̯än] – dźan / źi̯än. . . . Shan-shan was the name adopted when
the state had come under Chinese domination in 77 B.C. The name has been identified as being the origin
of Cherchen or Charchan by Hamilton (1958), p. 121 ; see also Pulleyblank (1963), p. 109. . . . ”. CICA, p.
81, n. 77. See also the discussion in Giles (1930-1932), pp. 827-830.
[Note: Pulleyblank gives the EMC for Shanshan as: dʑian’ or dʑian h + dʑian’ or dʑian h ]
“In antiquity Lop Nor was a large salt lake at the hub of communications between the Gansu corridor and
the Tarim basin, but changes in the course of rivers have caused it to dry up and become a salt marsh. The
famous Lou-lan site lies on the north-west bank of the Lop Nor marsh, where the Kongque river now flows
into the marsh. In the first century B.C. it was the capital of the state of Shan-shan. The graves found near
by used to be considered as graves of the Western Han period, but recent Chinese excavations have yielded
material from the seventh to the first century B.C.” Ma and Wan (1994), p. 211.
4.16. Qiuci 龜玆 [Ch’iu-tz’u] = Kucha. Qiuci unquestionably refers to the Kucha oasis. See, for example: CICA, p.
163, note 506. It has frequently been transcribed as Qizi [Ch’iu-tzu] (as in the previous reference), but this is
incorrect, the last character is properly ci [tz’u] in this name. See: Daffinà (1982), 331; DFLC, p.1026; Pelliot
(1920), pp. 181 and nn. 1-3; 182 and n. 1; and, especially, the detailed study of the name in Pelliot (1923), pp.
126-128 and nn. It has long been the most populous and productive oasis state in the Tarim Basin. The Hanshu
gives a total population of 81,317 for the oasis, with 21,076 people able to bear arms. CICA, p. 163.
“One MS. [of the Tarikh-i-Rashidi] reads Kus and others Kusan. Both names were used for the same
place, as also Kos, Kucha, Kujar, etc., and all appear to stand for the modern Kuchar of the Turki-speaking
inhabitants, and Kuché of the Chinese. An earlier Chinese name, however, was Ku-sien.” Elias (1895), p.
124, n. 1.
“The country of Ch’iu-tz’u is 170 li̲ south of the Po-shan (“White Mountains”), and 6.700 li̲ west of
Ch’ang-an. . . . The walled city which is its capital is five or six li̲ square. In its penal laws, a murderer is

executed, and a robber has one arm and one leg cut off. For its military and civil administrative taxes, they
measure the land in order to assess the levies. Those who hold no fields remit in silver specie. Marriages,
funerals, customs, and products are about the same as in Yen-ch’i [Karashahr], but one difference is the
climate, which is here somewhat warmer. It also produces delicate felt, deerskin rugs, cymbals, a great deal
of “salty green,” orpiment, and exotic cosmetics, as well as good horses, wild oxen, and the like. . . . Three
hundred li̲ to the south there is a great stream, which flows east and is called the Chi-wu River; this is the
Yellow River [a common Chinese misconception – it was actually the Tarim River].” Chou shu
50.13b–14a; covering the years 557-581 CE. From Miller (1959), p. 10.
“Far more favourable conditions prevail in the T’ien-shan north of the territory of Kuchā. Agricultural
settlements of some size are to be found among the foot-hills. . . ; mines of copper, lead and iron attest
valuable mineral resources ; the presence of conifer forests at the head of several of the valleys draining the
southern slopes affords striking evidence of the effect that atmospheric moisture, carried across the range
from the north, has produced, by clothing the higher slopes with more abundant vegetation and thus
favouring grazing. More important still is the fact that north of the watershed there extends along this
portion of the main chain of the T’ien-shan a series of wide lateral valleys – those of Yulduz and of the
Tekes and Kunges rivers – which provide not only rich grazing grounds but also, in their lower portions,
large areas suitable for cultivation. We know that in Han times these fertile hill tracts were included in the
territory of the powerful Wu-sun nation. . . .
Channels for profitable trade between these attractive valleys and the oases included in the ancient
kingdom of Kuchā are provided by a number of passes. Of these the Muz-art pass, situated on the flank of
the great Tengri-khān massif, at an elevation of about 11,400 feet. . . , is the westernmost and best known.
Others lead from the head-waters of the Kuchā and Bugur rivers to the plateau-like top portion of the Great
Yulduz. All of them, though closed by snow during part of the winter and early spring, are practicable with
laden animals during the rest of the year. These routes provide adequate openings for the trade which is the
natural outcome of the abundance of natural products on both sides of the range. Yet owing to their height,
and the narrowness of the valleys by which they debouch southwards, they are far easier to defend against
nomadic inroads and domination than the corresponding routes from the north into the territories of
Karashahr, Turfān, and Hāmi, all farther to the east.” Stein (1928), Vol. II, p. 805.
“Kuchā must always have been a considerable trade nucleus upon the great Central-Asian high road which
passed through it. . . . The importance of the main oasis in this respect, apart from its local resources, is
sufficiently indicated by the fact that it lies about half-way between Kāshgar in the west and Turfān in the
east; or, if we consider the times when the ancient Chinese ‘route of the centre’ was in use, between
Kāshgar and Lou-lan.
. . . . During this [Han] period, when the region north of the T’ien-shan was still independent of
Chinese control, there was an additional advantage in placing the administrative centre near Kuchā : it was
easy to watch from this point the several routes leading down from the north, by which barbarian inroads
might threaten the main line of communication of Chinese trade and military operations. Finally it should
be remembered that the riverine belts of the Tārīm and Khotan-daryā provide the shortest practicable line of
access from the great northern high road to Khotan and the other oases south of the Taklamakān, as well as
to those of Yārkand and Lop in the south-west and south-east.” Ibid., pp. 805-806.
“The Oasis of Kuchar, the town with its wide lanes of poplars, and the active population make a
better impression than the rest of the Hsin-chian Oasis [sic] south of the Celestial Mountains. The oasis
occupies a very favourable position which from ancient times made it an important economical and
political center. It is situated at the point where the Muzart and the Kuchar rivers emerge from the T’ien
Shan Mountains and direct their course toward the Tarim Basin.
Kuchar is by far the most important trading center along the caravan route from Kashgar to
Urumchi. The abundant supply of glacier water, carried down by the two rivers of the oasis, and the
numerous springs of subsoil water make the oasis an ideal place for cultivation and an important fruit
growing center of the whole Province. From early times, Kuchar was known as an emporium of Chinese
trade, with nomad tribes occupying the higher grazing valleys of the Tekes and Kunges in the central T’ien
Shan and the steppe country of Jungaria. Nowadays, the oasis conducts an extensive trade with Kalmuck,
Torgut, and Ölöt tribes, occupying the higher mountain valleys of the T’ien Shan and the steppe country
round Karashahr. Kuchar is connected with Khotan by a desert route following the bed of the Keriya River,
and receives by that route its share of the Khotan trade.” Roerich (1931), pp. 98-99.

“Kucha was the largest of the 36 kingdoms of the Western Regions noted in the second century BC
by the first of the Silk Road travellers, the Chinese emissary Zhang Qian. In AD 91 Kucha surrendered to
General Ban Chao, whose wide-ranging Central Asian campaigns against the Xiongnu brought 50
kingdoms under the suzerainty of the emperor. By the fourth century, the Kuchean Kingdom of Guici was
an important centre of Central Asian trade and Indo-European culture. Subsidiary trade routes running
north to Junggar and south across the Taklamakan Desert (along the Khotan River) to Khotan intersected
with the Silk Road at Kucha.” Bonavia (1988), p. 154.
“The extensive ruins of this ancient capital of the Kingdom of Guici [the ‘City of Subashi’] lie 20
kilometres (12 miles) north of Kucha. They are divided into two parts by the Kucha River, which in flood
cuts access to the northern section. The city dates from the fourth century and includes towers, halls,
monasteries, dagobas and houses. The ruins of the large Zhaoguli Temple date from the fifth century. A
recently excavated tomb revealed a corpse with a square skull, confirming Xuan Zang’s claim that, in
Guici, ‘the children born of common parents have their heads flattened by the pressure of a wooden board’.
The city was abandoned or destroyed in the 12 th century.” Bonavia (1988), p. 159.
4.17. The Central Route.
The ‘Central Route’ (known to the two Han histories as the “Northern Route”) left from Yumen Guan (‘Jade
Gate’), west of Dunhuang, and headed via Loulan to the north of Lop Nor on to Kucha where it met up with the
‘New Route’ and headed on to Kashgar. For further details see Appendix A, under the subheading: “The Central
Route.”
4.18. Hengkeng 橫坑 [Heng-k’eng] – literally: ‘East-West Gully’ = the present Bēsh-toghrak Valley. Seeing as
Hengkeng translates literally as the ‘East-West Gully,’ it undoubtedly refers to the Bēsh-toghrak valley which has
always provided the only practicable corridor of communication between Dunhuang and Loulan, to the north of
Lop Nor, and between Dunhuang and Charklik.
“The ground through which the route leads from Achchik-kuduk [= ‘Bitter Well” – east of Lop Nor on the
route from Charklik to Dunhuang] to beyond Bēsh-toghrak, for a total marching distance of over 80 miles,
bears the unmistakable impress of a great desert valley, flanked by the Kuruk-tāgh on the north and the
sand-buried glacis of the Āltin-tāgh on the south.” Stein (1921), Vol. II, p. 550.
“The northern route leading to Lou-lan must have remained the main line of communication from
Tun-huang westwards during the first centuries after Christ. But when the Later Han Annals mention the
route leading to Shan-shan, they do not give any detail regarding it except that it started from the barrier of
Yü-mên, the ‘Jade Gate.” Fortunately we fare better in the case of the record which the Wei lio, composed
between A.D. 239-65, furnishes regarding the three routes used from Tun-huang to the ‘Western Countries’
during the ‘Epoch of the Three Kingdoms’. I have already had occasion, when dealing with the historical
topography of the Lou-lan Site, to discuss the interesting information which this text supplies, and which
M. Chavannes’ translation and full commentary have rendered conveniently accessible. I quoted there the
whole of the important passage, and shown that the ‘central route’ of the Wei lio is identical with our
Lou-lan route, passing from the Jade Gate through the Bēsh-toghrak valley to the ancient Lop lake-bed, and
across it to the extreme north-east end of the once habitable Lou-lan area.” Ibid, p. 555.
4.19. Wuchuan 五船 [literally: ‘Five Boats’].
The Hanshu says:
“During the reign-period Yüan-shih [1-5 A.D.] there was a new route in the further royal kingdom of
Chü-shih. This led to the Yü-men barrier from north of Wu-ch’üan, and the journey was comparatively
shorter. Hsü Pu, the Wu and Chi colonel, wanted to open up this route for use, so as to reduce the distance
by half and to avoid the obstacle of the White Dragon Mounds. Ku-kou, king of the further state of
Chü-shih, realised that because of [the passage of] the road he would be obliged to make provisions
available [for Han travellers] and in his heart thought that this would not be expedient. In addition, his lands
were rather close to those of the southern general of the Hsiung-nu. . . . [Ku-kou was finally beheaded by
the Chinese for disobedience].” CICA, pp. 189-190, 192.

“Wu-ch’uan 五船, lit. “Five Boats”, GSR 58a and 229e: ngo / nguo - di̯wan / dźi̯wan. Hsü Sung thinks
these might be five flat topped hills with steep sides on the Hsiao Nan lu (Lesser Southern Route?) which
neither Chavannes (1905), p. 533, note 1, nor we have been able to locate.” CICA, pp. 189, n. 658.
“That we are so far unable to identify the intermediate locality of Wu-ch’uan (literally meaning ‘the five
boats’) and that of Hêng-k’êng, which the Wei lio mentions in addition, is not to be wondered at, since that
portion of the easternmost Kuruk-tāgh which lies west of the route from Tun-huang to Hāmi, and which
‘the new route of the north’ must have crossed, has up to the present remained practically unexplored.”
Stein (1921), Vol. II, p. 706.
4.20. Gaochang 高昌 [Kao-ch’ang] – the southernmost town of the Turfan oasis; 47 km southeast of the modern
town of Turfan.
“The name Kao-ch’ang goes back to Han times. As Kao-ch’ang-pi, or “Wall of Kao-ch’ang”, it was the
designation of a Chinese military colony which first existed for a short time in 59 B.C. Its aim was to
strengthen Chinese influence in the territory of the king of Anterior Chü-shih, whose capital was at Yar, to
the north-west of Turfan. Kao-ch’ang grew enough in importance to become in 327 the seat of a chün
(“commandery” in Chavannes’ terminology), which was created by the irregular dynasty of the Anterior
Liang of Kan-su.” Pelliot (1959), pp. 162-163.
Gaochang was later chosen by the Uighurs as the capital of their kingdom which flourished from about 850 to 1250
CE. During the Han period it seems to have been mainly a garrison town for Chinese troops.
There were two kingdoms of Jushsi [Chü-shih], one centred in the Turfan oasis, which the Chinese called
‘Nearer Jushi’, while the other which was over the mountain range to the north, near modern Jimasa, the Chinese
called ‘Further Jushi’. See: CICA, pp. 76, n. 49, 183, nn. 618, 621; Daffinà (1982), p. 312.
“Liu-jong in the east of the Turfan basin was the long-term central location for the garrison troops and
farming colonies [t’un-t’ien]. These troops were under the command of an officer of higher rank called the
Wu-chi commandant. The site of his headquarters was called Kao-ch’ang-pi, this being the origin for the
use of the name Kao-ch’ang (Qocho) for the Turfan basin as a whole. During the latter days of the Eastern
Han, the Wu-chi commandant had become the highest commanding officer of the Western Regions
garrisons, comparable to the secretary-general, who held authority over the inhabitants of the Western
Regions; duties were divided between the two.” Ma and Wan (1994), p. 240.
For details on the early history and structure of the kingdoms of Jushi, see: Shimazaki (1969), pp. 27-81.
4.21. The Mao (Wu) and Ji Colonel(s) 戊己校尉 = Colonel(s) or Commandant(s) in charge of the military
agricultural garrisons.
Maoji xiaowei 戊己校尉 GR, Vol. VI, p. 655 states that this title refers to the Commandant responsible for
the military garrisons at Jushi [Chü-shih] or Gaozhang [Kao-ch’ang] – in the Turfan oasis – during the Han
dynasty. It also mentions that the first character, 戊 – wu or mou [‘fifth Heavenly Stem’] was pronounced mao until
it was changed by an Imperial edict during the Five Dynasty period (907-960 CE). I have, therefore, given
preference to the original form of mao (reconstruction: *mug) in my translation.
The text specifically states here that there were two xiaowei here (“maoji er xiaowei”), but it is unclear
whether it means there were two maoji xiaowei, or one Mao and one Ji ‘Colonels.’ I have chosen the latter
interpretation as the most likely. Certainly, between 74 and 78 CE, there was both a Mao (Wu) and a Ji [‘sixth
Heavenly Stem’] Colonel. However: “In 89 only the wu colonel and his regiment were re-established, to be
abolished again in 107 CE.” CICA: 79, note 3. Both the Mou and the Ji Colonels are stated later on in the text (see
Section 2) to be stationed “within the walls of Gaochang.”
Dubs and de Crespigny (1967), p. 65 translate the title as ‘The Wu-and-chi Colonel.’ Hucker (No. 7740)
says, “HAN: Commandant of the Centre (?), rank = 600 bushels, from 48 B.C. the designation of some
commanders of military garrisons in Central Asia; the title seems to reflect the Taoist concepts that the celestial
symbols wu and chi represent the center (chang), but the relevance of this explanation is questionable. . . . ”
It is difficult to determine what exactly is meant by the terms mao and ji, or maoji, here. Mao (or wu) 戊
usually refers to the fifth of the ‘Ten Heavenly Stems’ and, by extension, can mean ‘the fifth’ or ‘the central’. See
GR No. 12341. Ji 己, on the other hand, refers to the sixth of the ‘Ten Heavenly Stems’ and, by extension, ‘the
sixth’. It also can carry the meaning of ‘to direct;’ ‘to govern;’ ‘to moderate;’ ‘to restrain.’ ‘Moderation;’

‘moderate.’
So, it is possible that the two titles together – maoji – traditionally referred to the earth and may have been a
reference to their function of organizing the military agricultural colonies.
On the other hand, Maoji xiaowei may have implied something like: ‘Central Governing Commandant.’
‘Nearer Jushi’ refers to the kingdom or state centred in the Turfan oasis or, sometimes, to the tribe which
controlled it.
Tuntian 屯田 = ‘agricultural garrisons,’ or ‘military agricultural colonies’ were set up to provide for the
needs of diplomatic and trade missions as well as Chinese officials and troops stationed in distant regions. For
details on their establishment and functioning during the Han, see: Hucker (1985) No. 7409; Stein (1921), pp.
740-745; de Crespigny (1984), pp. 62-67 and 471, n. 17.
“For the wu-chi hsiao-wei, see Lao Kan (1959), pp. 485-496. Lao’s conclusion is that the latter post was
established in 48 B.C. and filled by one officer down to the end of the Former Han, although as early as 31
B.C. a chi regiment was split off from his command and placed elsewhere under the command of a ssu-ma
major. After the renewed penetration of the Chinese into Central Asia in 74 A.D., there were two officers, a
wu and a chi colonel, down to 78 A.D. In 89 only the wu colonel and his regiment were reestablished, to be
abolished again in 107 A.D. See also, Chavannes, (1907), p. 153, note 2, and Ise (1968), pp. 9-14.” CICA:
79, note 63.
“In 48 B.C. an additional office, that of the wu-chi colonel (wu-chi hsiao-wei), was established at Turfan.
Though the title suggests a post of a military nature, the duties of the office revolved mainly around
financial and logistical matters, especially those related to the management of the agricultural garrisons
(t’un-t’ien), and the general provisioning of food and services for Han forces. At an earlier date, there had
been a post of colonel of agricultural garrisons (t’un-t’ien hsiao-wei) attached to the protector-general. The
office of the wu-chi colonel was in all likelihood a reorganization of that of the colonel of agricultural
garrisons, with expanded functions. Apart from the regular responsibility for the supervision of the
agricultural garrisons, we find wu-chi colonels engaged in a number of other activities: a colonel by the
name of Hsü P’u took charge of road construction around A.D. 3; another named Tiao Hu arrested, in A.D.
10, the king of a Turfan statelet (in Jimasa) who had refused to provide a Chinese diplomatic mission to the
Western Regions with the required supplies of food and service; and a third such officer, Kuo Ch’in, led an
army to attack Karashahr in A.D. 16.” Yü (1986), p. 412.
“In 48 B.C. the Han stationed a wu-chi hsiao-wei (colonel of Wu and Chi) in the Anterior Chü-shih city of
Kocho (Kao-ch’ang), 30 km south-east of Turfan in Xinjiang. The wu-chi hsiao-wei’s main responsibilities
were, first, to command the Han troops from the central plains of China and, second, to make the soldiers
work the agricultural colonies which provided food for the Han troops garrisoned in the Western Regions
and for the Han diplomatic envoys passing through the area. During the period of Yüan-shih (A.D. 1–5),
the wu-chi hsiao-wei Hsü P’u-yü opened the ‘New Northern Route’, which greatly shortened the journey
from the Jade Gate in the Dunhuang limes to the territory of the Posterior Chü-shih. With the opening of
this direct route via Hami (Qomul), Turfan was destined to become even more important to the Chinese
than before.
In the first century A.D., control of Turfan constantly changed hands between the Han and the
Hsiung-nu. From 73 onwards, and especially after 89 when General Pan Ch’ao of the Eastern (Later) Han
(24-220) brought the Tarim basin back under Han control, the Chü-shih were once again under Han
jurisdiction. Following the conquest of Chü-shih, the Eastern Han re-established, after an interval of some
60 years, the offices of Protector-General and wu-chi hsiao-wei. Increasing numbers of Han garrison troops
were stationed in the area and the newly opened up territory was expanded. Pan Chao’s [sic – should read
Pan Ch’ao’s] son Pan Yung, who was appointed chang-shih of the Western Regions in 123, stationed his
troops at Lukchun (T’ien Ti), an important site located in the centre of Turfan, not far east of Kocho.
Gradually, the Han Chinese from the central plains of China and the Ho Hsi corridor intermingled with the
Chü-shih natives. During the Wei dynasty (220-265), founded by the House of Ts’ao, and the Western Chin
dynasty (265-316), the kingdom of Chü-shih was basically loyal to China thanks to the implementation of a
continuous policy of ‘control by reconciliation’ through the wu-chi hsiao-wei. The so-called ‘Kocho
soldiers’ of the Wei and Chin dynasties may have been a local army made up of Chü-shih natives and
immigrant Han Chinese.” Zhang (1996), p. 304.
In 74 CE, a Ji Xiaowei (a ‘Ji Colonel’) was stationed in the town of Chinbu (near Jimasa), on the territory of the
tribe of the Further King of Juwei, and a Wu Xiaowei (a ‘Wu Colonel’) was stationed in Lukchun (near Turfan), a

dependency of the King of the Nearer Jushi. See: The ‘Biography of Keng Kung’ in Hou Hanshu, chap. XLIX, p. 6
b; Chavannes (1907), pp. 225-226.
4.22. The ‘New Route.’ Refer to Appendix A: subsection (c) “The New Route.”
Section 5 – The Southern Route
5.1. The Southern Route. See the notes in Appendix A in subsection: (a) “The Southern Route.”
5.2. Qiemo 且末 [Ch’ieh-mo] = modern Charchan or Cherchen. There has been some confusion about the Chinese
name as Chavannes (1907), p. 156, and later Stein (1921), 296 ff., gave the wrong romanization for the first
character (Chavannes, using the French EFEO romanization system gave tsiu, and Stein used the Wade-Giles chü).
In fact, the character is correctly represented by qie in Pinyin and ch’ieh in Wade-Giles. There has never been any
serious dispute about its identification with modern Charchan – see for example, Stein (1921), p. 295, CICA, p. 92,
n. 125; although Pulleyblank (1963), p. 109, following Hamilton 1958, p. 121, suggests it was Shanshan (see note
1.13).
Charchan is strategically located at the junction of the main route from Dunhuang to Khotan, and the route
which goes south through the mountains, around the southern shore of Koko Nor, and on to Xining, and China. A
branch from this second route goes south from Kharakhoto to Lhasa.
An ancient trail ran from Xining via Koko Nor and the southern turn-off towards Lhasa at Kharakhoto, and
then on to Charchan in the Tarim Basin. Chinese travellers at times attempted to make use of this route to avoid the
horrors of the desert journey between Dunhuang and Loulan, south of Lop Nor. West of Koko Nor the trail goes
through barren country, with little fodder and was inhabited by a hostile Qiang tribe (or tribes) referred to in the
Chinese texts as the Chuo (literally, the ‘Unruly’ or ‘Unsubdued’) Qiang:
“Charchand is reported to lie at a month’s distance from Khoten by a road which leads all the way along the
foot of a mountain range (the so-called Kue-lun of Chinese and European geographers), and between it and
the great Desert of Takla-Makān or Gobi. No roads are known to lead across this range further East than
that from Poloo, which brings the traveler over to the Pangong Lake in Western Tibet; but there is a road
leading eastward into China, which, however, was not used by the Chinese when they were in possession of
the country.” Shaw (1871), p. 37.
“We had to go down the other side of the mountain in a cloud of dust, and then, once more, we were on a
blistered, yellow table-land. It was bordered with abrupt, eroded mountains on which nothing grew. The
great trail from Dulan to Lhasa by Barun wound through here and I even thought I saw traces of the plough.
Yes, I was right. There were field shapes, a wall, an earthen roof. We were at Kharakhoto [west of Koko
Nor at the junction of the trails from Cherchen to Xining and the road south to Lhasa; about two days’
march to the east of Dzun].” Maillart (1937), p. 101.
5.3. Xiao Yuan (or Wan) 小宛 [Hsiao-yüan] was, according to the Hanshu (CICA, p. 92), three days’ march south
of Jushi [present-day Qiemo or Cherchen]: “It lies secluded to the south and is not situated on the route.” It was
bordered on the east by the 婼羌 Chuo [‘Unruly’ or ‘Unsubdued’ – the first character is sometimes transcribed as
er] Qiang. The Hou Hanshu described it is as a small place with just over 1,000 inhabitants that was later annexed
by Shanshan.
The name Xiao Yuan (literally, ‘Little Yuan’) is evocative of Da Yuan (‘Great Yuan’), or Ferghana. Brough
suggests that it might have been the home of the smaller group of Yuezhi who settled among the Qiang in the
mountains to the south of the main trade route when the largest group, the Da (‘Great’) Yuezhi – fled to the west
after their defeat by the Xiongnu about 162 BCE. See Benjamin (2003), p. 1.
They became known to the Chinese as the Xiao (‘Lesser’) Yuezhi. Brough (1965), pp. 592-593; CICA, pp.
93 and n. 130; 121.
There are two main possibilities for the location of Xiao Yuan:
1. Stein suggested that if one travelled south from Qiemo, and then southwest, it must have been located near
modern Atqan [Ajiang], about 110 km from Qiemo. Atqan controlled the route running southwest along the
northern foot of the mountain range:

“As to the still smaller ‘kingdom of Little Wan’ or Hsiao-yüan, which lay about three days’ journey to the
south of Chü-mo, and of which a brief account is given in the succeeding notice of the Hsi yü chuan [of the
Hou Hanshu], it is certain that it must be identified with the small settlements of cultivators and herdsmen
which are scattered along the foot of the K’un-lun south and south-west of Charchan, from Achchan to the
debouchure of the Mölcha and Endere Rivers (see Maps Nos 43, 47). To judge from the distance indicated,
the ‘capital’ of this tract, the ‘city’ of Yü-ling, may be placed about Dalai-kurghan, as suggested by Dr.
Herrman. The population recorded for Hsiao-yüan, 150 families, throws light on the modest resources of
this hill tract. It is correctly described as ‘lying out of the way of the high road’ and adjoining on the east of
the territory of the nomadic Jo Ch’iang, who held the high plateaus south of the Altin-tagh, including
Tsaidam.” Stein (1921), p. 296.
2. However, it seems more likely that the route headed south from Qiemo and then east, up the Cherchen
River gorges, Xiao Yuan must have been near modern Tura [T’u-la], about 125 km [77 miles] from Qiemo or,
perhaps, Bash Mulghun [Bashi Maergong, W-G: Pa-shih-ma-erh-kung], about 22 km further east. Tura and Bash
Mulghun control a valley of rich grasslands, easily-defended and guarding the junction of two important routes.
The first of these branches formed an alternative to the main southern “Silk Route” from Dunhuang to
Khotan and is still in use today. It headed west from Lanzhou via Xining and Koko Nor (= Qinghai Hu =
Kökenagur or ‘Blue Sea’ – Bailey (1985), p. 80) past Dzun (or Zongjiafangzi) – where a road then branched south
towards Lhasa, and across the Qaidam [Tsaidam] marshes through Bash Mulghun and Tura to Qiemo.
The second branch forms the main route to the relatively fertile valleys of Central Tibet. It heads almost
directly south from Bash Mulghun about a thousand kilometres to Xigaze [Shigatse], presently Tibet’s
second-largest city.
Maillart (1937), pp. 171-175, describes the journey from Bash Mulghum to Cherchen as taking four days;
indicating that the journey from Qiemo to Tura, which is about 22 km shorter than to Bash Mulghum, could be
easily covered by well-rested travellers from Qiemo in three days – exactly the time indicated in the Hanshu.
Recently discovered evidence indicates the early use of the route through the Qaidam towards Koko Nor and
on to Lanzhou via Xining. The following article was downloaded from: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/
2002-17/03/content_468165.htm on 8 July 2002.
Byzantine Gold Coin Unearthed in Qinghai
Xinhuanet 2002–07–03 14:12:27
DULAN (QINGHAI), July 3 (Xinhuanet) – A Byzantine gold coin recently unearthed in Dulan in
northwest China's Qinghai Province, may shed new light on the history of East-West trade routes.
Xu Xinguo, head of the Qinghai Cultural Relics and Archeology Institution, said that the coin
excavated from a tomb in Xiangride Township in Dulan County was made during the reign of Theodosius
II (408-450 AD.).
The tomb was for an ethnic Tubo who lived in the Northern Dynasties (386-550 AD). This is the
second ancient Roman gold coin unearthed in Dulan.
As sites where coins are found usually indicate the trade and traffic routes, Xu says that archeologists
should think again about the east end of the “Silk Road.”
A widely accepted theory is that the road entered the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region through
present-day Lanzhou and the Gansu Corridor.
But Xu said that a number of recent archeological findings from Tubo tombs including this coin had
shifted people's attention to Dulan County deep in the Qaidam Basin.
He believed that the Dulan region occupied a very important position for East-West traffic during the
early and middle fifth century. And the route from Xining to Xinjiang through the Qaidam Basin, slightly to
the south, may be equally important, he said.
Before sea routes opened between the East and the West, the Silk Road was the land corridor linking
China with Central and Western Asia to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean between 100 BC and 800
AD.
Experts said that the 2.36 gm coin, with a diameter of 14.5 mm, may have been used as an ornament.
The town of Xiangride mentioned in the article is about 175 km southwest of (Lake) Koko Nor (Qinghai Hu=
Kökenagur or ‘Blue Sea’ – Bailey (1985), p. 80), or 50 km southeast of Dzun (or Zongjiafangzi), on the main road
between Xining and Golmud. The people referred to in the article as Tubo are more accurately described as Qiang.

Tubo (or, more correctly, Tufan) refers to “Tibetans,” who had not yet formed a national identity at this period. For
further information on the recent finds of Byzantine gold coins in China see: Lin (2003).
5.4. The kingdom of Jingjue 精絶 [Ching-chüeh] = Niya. For the identification of Jingjue as the ancient site of
Niya see: Stein (1921), p. 219.
Stein had difficulties with this identification because of a mistaken distance given in the Hanshu and then
repeated in the Shuijing. The Hanshu states that Jingjue is 2,000 li (832 km) west of Qiemo which has been “long
since identified with Calmad(ana), in the area of modern Cherchen or Charchan.” CICA, p. 92, n. 125. This is
clearly a gross overestimate as the actual distance is only about 250 km.
The location of ancient Jingjue (Niya) is made certain by the fact the Hanshu gives a distance of 460 li (191
km) from Qiemo west to Wumi (= Jumi of the Hou Hanshu) which can be confidently identified with the oasis of
Keriya, see note 3.1. As I measure it on modern maps, it is approximately 92 km in a straight line across the desert
from Keriya to modern Minfeng or Niya Bazar, and then about 100 km north, along the course of the Niya He
(Niya River), to the ancient site described by Stein which included the ruins of houses and a stupa. See Stein
(1921), Vol. 5, Map No. 37 – Niya. See also: Enoki (1963), pp. 143 and 159; CICA: 93, n. 132.
“Now this definite mention of Chü-mo or Charchan as a territory with which the ruler of the ancient oasis
represented by the Niya Site stood in close relation, necessarily forces the question as to the identity of his
own ‘kingdom’ upon our attention. Since it is clearly proved by these little tablets that the ancient oasis
possessed its own ruling family, I do not hesitate to identify the site as the chief place of the territory of
Ching-chüeh . . . which the Chinese historical records from Han to T’ang times place to the west of
Chü-mo. In the Former Han Annals ‘the kingdom of Ching-chüeh’ is described as situated to the west of
Chü-mo at a distance of two thousand li. Its western neighbour was the kingdom of Yü-mi at a distance of
460 li. Since the latter territory must certainly be identified with the Chira-Keriya tract, we are thus led to
place Ching-chüeh on the Niya River in spite of the greatly exaggerated distance indicated between
Chü-mo and Ching-chüeh. The capital of the kingdom is named ‘the city of Ching-chüeh.’ But the limited
size of the ‘kingdom’ is sufficiently proved by the estimates of its population, ‘480 families, comprising
3,360 persons, with 500 trained troops.’
No details are given about Ching-chüeh by the Later Han Annals, which merely mention it along
with Shan-shan and Chü-mo on the route from Yü-men to Khotan. Ching-chüeh figures similarly in the list
of territories which the Wei lio, composed between A.D. 239-65, enumerates along the ‘southern route’
leading westwards from Lop-nōr to Khotan. But here we have in addition the distinct statement that
Ching-chüeh along with Chü-mo and Hsiao-wan, another small territory which lay to the south of Chü-mo
and evidently corresponds to the hill settlements between Kapa and Achchan, was dependent upon
Shan-shan or Lou-lan, the territory adjoining Lop-nōr. The statement has its special interest for the
identification of Ching-chüeh with the territory of which the Niya Site may be assumed to have been the
chief place. On the one hand, it dates from the period immediately preceding the time when we assume the
site to have been abandoned. On the other, it helps to explain why among the Chinese documents excavated
in 1901 there was the cover, N. xv. 345, of an edict emanating from the ‘king of Shan-shan’, and why the
records of N. xxiv discussed below include two covers bearing the seal-impression of the commander of
Shan-shan.” Stein (1921), p. 219.
“Niya, with its inhabited surface of 45 sq km, was one of the largest city oases on the Southern Silk
Road in those times. While Stein had already identified over forty ancient structures during the course of
his three excavations, a Sino-Japanese team was able, from 1993 on, to lay open thirty more buildings as
well as two graveyards. As in other oases only half-timbered buildings have withstood the winds and
sandstorms, while the more numerous clay buildings have long since crumbled away. A cautious estimate
of the population figures arrives at about 800 to 1,000 families and perhaps 100 monks. According to the
Han Chronicle, the local prince in the oasis also had kept an army of about 800 men.” Baumer (2000), p.
100.
5.5. The kingdom of Loulan 僂籣 [Lou-lan] = Lop Nor and surrounds. The site plan included at the end of Volume
III of Serindia by Aurel Stein (1921), Plan No. 23 shows that the external stamped clay walls of Loulan were about
4,050 ft or 1,235 metres long and were almost square in form.
“Loulan is first mentioned in 176 BC, in a letter of the Xiongnu ruler addressed to the Chinese
emperor Wen Ti, in which the Hun leader praises the victory of his commander-in-chief over the Yüeh-chih
and the fact that he had subjugated Loulan as well as twenty-eight other kingdoms. The mention of Loulan

is a clear indication of the significance of that town in those times. In 126 BC, Zhang Qian, the famous
travelling ambassador of the Han emperor Wu Di, concisely yet revealingly describes Loulan: “The areas of
Loulan and Gu-Shi have a walled city and walled suburbs; they are situated on a salt marsh. Therefore, the
city played a military role even then.
But it seems that Loulan had abused its strategic position on the Middle Silk Road to raid and plunder
Chinese trade caravans, leading to the first Chinese military reprisal under General Cao Po Nu in 108 BC.
Thus, the weak King of Loulan had to send one of his sons to the Chinese court as a hostage and also put a
second son at the disposal of the Huns.
When a new prince had to be chosen in the year 92 BC, it was the prince who had been educated by
the Xiongnu who was to occupy the throne, as his unfortunate brother had been castrated at the imperial
court. But, because the new king recommenced the plunder of Chinese traders and also informed the
Xiongnu of Chinese troop movements, China sent off a second punitive expedition in the year 77 BC. The
commanding Chinese general, Fu Gia Dsi (Fu Jiezi), captured the treacherous king by an underhand trick,
had him beheaded, and then sent the head to the imperial court as proof of having done his duty. Thus
ended Loulan’s history as a more-or-less autonomous kingdom, for the Chinese no longer installed the new
prince in Loulan, but rather in southern Shan Shan (today’s Kargilik, or Ruoqiang), in this way removing
him from Xiongnu influence. Loulan, however, remained an important garrison city on the Middle Silk
Road and until about AD 330 was part of a chain of forts and watch-towers securing the stretch from
Dunhuang to Korla, as an extension of the Great Wall.
From the old, dried-up mulberry trees discovered by Stein, one may conclude that at one time
sericulture was practised in Loulan and silk was manufactured. However, as with the rest of the Tarim
Basin, Shan Shan once again fell under the control of the Huns in the beginning of the 1 st century AD when
the Han Dynasty was shaken by a severe crisis. But although General Pan Ch’ao successfully re-established
Chinese supremacy in around AD 75 (as already mentioned) it is not possible to determine the strength and
duration of Chinese military presence in Loulan after AD 124 and during the following 140 years.
On the other hand, on the basis of numerous documents dating back to the time between AD 264 and
AD 330, we are well informed in respect of Loulan’s last golden age. It began with the establishment of a
military colony of one thousand men by General So Man about AD 260. . . .
Loulan’s revival as a garrison city falls in the era of the Western Jin Dynasty (AD 265-316) which,
under the leadership of its energetic first emperor, Wu Ti, once again brought the “Western Countries” –
today’s Xinjiang – under their sovereignty. However, the small garrison city rapidly seems to have fallen
into oblivion, for the last dated document of AD 330 was still written in the name of the last Western Jin
emperor whose rule ended in 316. Hence, in the year 330 Loulan already must have been isolated from the
central government for fourteen years. As mentioned elsewhere, Loulan was abandoned in that year
because of hydrological changes in the Lop Nor area. The military garrison was transferred some fifty
kilometres further south, to Haitou, designated by Stein as L.K. Maybe the successful attack on Shan Shan
in 335 by the Former Liang (317-376) of Gansu also influenced the decision to move the garrison from
L.A. to L.K. But the fort of Yingpan, situated to the north-west, remained occupied right into the time of
the Tang Dynasty.” Baumer (2000), pp. 133-135.
“Concerning the many registered names of places it is worth mentioning that Miran was called “Fort
of the small Nob” and Karglik “Fort of the large Nob”. The latter is considered to be the capital of the
Shan-Shan principality, to which Loulan probably belonged as from 77 BC.” Baumer (2000), p. 115.
“The evidence thus afforded by the Ch’ien Han shu enables us to feel certain that, from about 77 B.C.
onwards, the capital of the ‘kingdom’ corresponding to the medieval and modern Lop was situated in the
present Charkhlik tract. It also supplies the definite date when the name of the territory was changed from
the original Lou-lan to Shan-shan. There is nothing in the record of the Annals to suggest that this change
in the official Chinese designation was prompted or accompanied by any change in the position of the
capital. . . .
In reality the ‘ancient Lou-lan’, which the Wei lio mentions on its ‘route of the Centre’, is identical
with the ruined ‘site of Lou-lan’ to the north of the Lop-nōr, but yet within the Lop region. The exploration
of these ruins, first discovered by Dr. Hedin in 1900, has convinced me by conclusive archaeological
evidence that the ‘route of the Centre’, which the Wei lio’s author knew about the middle of the third
century A.D., passed this site, and that it was not abandoned until about the middle of the fourth century.
Documentary evidence obtained at the site, and discussed in Chapter XI, shows that the Chinese military
station represented by those ruins was actually called Lou-lan in local Chinese records of the third and
fourth centuries.

This proves that the Wei lio and the source used in Li Tao yüan’s commentary on the Shui ching were
right in giving the name of Lou-lan to the Chinese military colony which guarded the route along the north
side of Lop-nōr in their own time. But the continued application of the archaic name Lou-lan to this
particular locality cannot be accepted as proof that the capital of the whole Lop tract or Lou-lan, as the
Chinese called it down to 77 B.C., must also necessarily have stood there. It is simple enough to assume
that the Chinese retained in use or revived the antiquated designation of Lou-lan for that part of Lop
through which the most direct route westwards from Tun-huang led, and which to them was consequently
of special importance, while for the capital of the territory situated to the south of Lop-nōr and the terminal
Tārim the new official designation of Shan-shan took root.” Stein (1921). Vol. I, pp. 343-344.
5.6. The kingdom of Shanshan 鄯善 [Shan-shan] included as dependencies the “kingdoms” of Loulan and all the
region around Lop Nor (‘Lop Lake’) and along the southern route including the oases of Miran and Ruoqiang
(Charklik) and Qiemo (Cherchen), all the way west to Niya (Jingjue) and south to Xiaoyuan. The text here informs
us that the kingdom, at this time, extended over 800 km from Loulan west to Jingjue.
Its capital during early Han times is called Yüni 扜泥. It is often incorrectly transcribed as Wuni in the
Hanshu – see CICA, p. 81-82 and n. 77. It probably referred to the region of modern Ruoqiang or the Charklik
oasis, to the southwest of the died-up bed of Lop Nor. It is sometimes referred to as the kingdom of Krorän.
“Lou-lan is the Kror’iṃna or Krorayina of the Kharoṣṭhī-documents ; it was originally, it seems, the
name of the whole country and known as such to the Chinese – although they may have been ignorant of its
position – since 176 B.C., when the Hsiung-nu ruler Mao-tun informed emperor Wen of his conquest of this
and of other states (HS 94 A.10b, Urkunden I, p. 76). In a more restricted sense, Lou-lan continued to refer
to the town of Kror’iṃna, i.e. the area designated LA by Stein (1921), vol. I, pp. 414-415 : see also Enoki
(1963), p. 147.” CICA, p. 81, n. 77. For the use of NW Prakrit in Kroraina (and in Kucha and Karashahr),
see Bailey (1985), pp. 4-5.
Shanshan controlled both the main ‘Southern’ and ‘Central’ routes to the west of Dunhuang:
“From the mid-third to the mid-fifth century the kingdom of Shan-shan maintained its control over
the southern route of the Tarim, leading from Dunhuang to Khotan, and incorporating the smaller kingdoms
and principalities of Ch’ieh-mo (Calmadana, Cherchen), Hsiao Yüan and Ching-chüeh (Niya, Cad’ota). At
the height of its power, Shan-shan seems to have been composed of a series of rājas or rāyas (districts)
administered by rājadarāgas or rājadareyas nominated by the king. Ching-chüeh was listed, for example,
among the rājas, retaining the original ruler.” Zhang (1996), pp. 288-289.
The kingdom of Shanshan also included the important strategic community, Loulan, located near the northwest
corner of Lop Nor, which, at that time was near the outflow of the Tarim River. Loulan provided an invaluable
supply point on the difficult but important desert ‘Central’ route from Dunhuang to Korla.
This has caused considerable confusion about where the “capital” lay. I tend to agree with Stein, Baumer and
Yu Taishan that the seat of government was always in the fertile Charklik oasis:
“On the location of the royal government of Shanshan, there have been two main theories. The first
suggests that Wuni was situated southwest of Lob Nor, around present Ruoqiang 婼羌 county. The second
suggests that Wuni lay northwest of Lob Nor, around the ruins of Loulan (Kroraimna, Krorayina). In
addition, it has been suggested that Shanshan had established its capital at Kroraimna when the name of the
state was Loulan, and later moved its capital south of Lob Nor. In my opinion, Shanshan (i.e. Loulan) never
moved its capital and the seat of the royal government had always been southwest of Lob Nor.” Yu (1998),
p. 197 – and see the whole of his Appendix 2, “On the Location of Capital of the State of Shanshan,” ibid.,
pp. 197-211 for his detailed presentation for this scenario.
“The town of Wuni was not situated northwest of Lob Nor, but was situated in the present Ruoqiang
country (Qarkilik), on the south bank of the Charchen River, by the northern foothills of the Altyn Tagh,
southwest of Lob Nor.” Ibid., p. 201. See also note 5.5.
Both CICA and Taishan Yu have given the wrong romanization for the first character of the name of the capital
(the modern Pinyin for 扜泥 should read yu not wu), hence the following detail:
扜 yu [yü] GR 13088 [64:3] “1. To make a hand sign; 2. to pull to oneself (the string of a bow).” Couvrier
(p. 345) gives: “to make a hand sign. To take.” This character is, unfortunately, not listed in either

Pulleyblank or Karlgren.
泥 ni [85:5] EMC: nεj or nεj h ; K. 563d * niər.
I believe the original should be accepted, but, as several alternatives are presented in CICA, I have included them
here, for the reader’s consideration:
“Wu-ni, however, has given rise to considerable discussion because of the uncertainties surrounding
the word here transcribed as wu, viz. 扜. According to Yen Shih-ku, it is pronounced ·o· / ·ua, and this view
is repeated in T’ai-p’ing yü-lan 792.5a (it is not clear whether this passage belongs to the original Hua-lin
p’ien-lüeh of 524, or whether it was copied from a later – T’ang or Sung – manuscript of the Han-shu only
around 983; see Tjan (1949), pp. 60-61; Pulleyblank (1963), p. 89, calls it “an anonymous gloss”, but the
chances are that it is Yen Shih-ku’s remark).
Secondly, although wu 扜 is included in the dictionary Shuo-wen chieh-tzu of A.D. 100 (see
Shuo-wen chieh-tzu ku-lin 5505a) and even in the earlier wordlist Fang-yen, compiled before A.D. 18, if we
follow the emendation by Tai Chen (1937) in his Fang-yen su-cheng, p. 295, in the Shuo-wen it is not
written扜 but ?. Still more curious, however, is the fact that it does not seem to occur in Han inscriptions or
in pre-Han literature, i.e. it is not found in Uchino’s index to the Li shih (1966) nor in Grammata Serica
Recensa. According to its rare occurrences in Han literature, assembled in T. Moroashi’s Dai Kan-wa jiten,
vol. V, p. 103, no. 11799, wu 扜 seems only to occur in these few placenames in HS 96!
Thirdly, there are variant readings, where wu 扜 is replaced by 扞 (K. 139q : g’ân / γân), or 拘, K.
108p : ki̯u / ki̯u, or ku / kəu, or g’i̯u / g’i̯u). These variants occur in some editions of SC 123 (Shao-hsing ed.
123.1b. Palace ed. of 1739, 123.3b. This reading has not been adopted by Takigawa, SC 123.7, who writes
扜 without further explanation), cq. HHS Mem. 78.6bff., both not regarding the city of Wu-ni, but the
country of Wu-ni (HS 96.16a ; see note 138).
Now either Wu-mi or Chü-mi (not ni !) may be correct for the completely different country (see
below), but, as regards the capital of Lou-lan – Shanshan, it would seem that 扞泥 Han-ni is right,
supported as it is by the reading 驩泥 (GSR 158.l : χwân / χuân) in the Hou Han chi by Yüan Hung
(328-375), for this agrees with the word occurring in the kharoṣṭhī inscriptions : kuhani (or kvhani),
meaning “capital” (Enoki (1963), p. 129-135 as well as Enoki (1961) and Enoki (1967), cf. Brough (1965)
), Pulleyblank (1963), p. 89 reconstructs the “Old Chinese” pronunciation of Wu-ni as ·wāĥ-ne(δ) and
believes it “unnecessary … to adopt the reading扞 … The variant驩泥 *hwan-nei seems closer to ·waĥ than
to *ganh as an attempt to render the hypothetical original behind khvani or kuhani”.” CICA, pp. 81-82, n.
77.
The name of the kingdom Loulan was changed by the Chinese to Shanshan in 77 BCE. See: Chavannes (1905), p.
537, n. 2; Brough, (1965), p. 592; Molè (1970) p. 116, n. 183 [note that the date of the name change in CICA to
Shan-shan in AD 77 is incorrect]; CICA, p. 81, n. 77.
Pulleyblank (1963), p. 109, suggests that Shanshan was plausibly identified by Hamilton (1958, p. 121):
“with modern Charchan < *Jarjan. The name Shan-shan appears as a substitute for the earlier Lou-lan in the first
century BCE. If the foreign original had indeed palatials at this period, we must suppose that the Chinese palatials
were already beginning to develop, perhaps in and intermediate stage *di̯. There are too many uncertainties,
however, for this to provide a firm argument.”
Hamilton’s argument does seem to be overridden by the argument that it must refer to the largest oasis in the
region – that of modern Charklik:
“There can be no doubt that by Shan-shan is here meant [that is, in the Weilue] the present Lop tract with its
main oasis of Charkhlik.” Stein (1921), p. 328. See also: Giles (1930-1932), p. 830; Part 4, note 15; Pelliot
(1963), p. 770.
“The northern and southern routes came together again on the eastern rim of the Tarim near the great salt
marsh of Lopnur in the kingdom of Krorän (Kroraina, Loulan) before continuing into the world of the
ethnic Chinese.” Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 64-65.
“The statelet that formed about the great salt marshes of Lopnur was known in Chinese sources originally
as Loulan and then later was called Shanshan . . . when the territory came under Chinese dominion in 77
BC. The name Loulan reflects an attempt to render in Chinese what we find in later Indian (Kharos̱t̲hī)
documents from the region as Krora’ina or Krorayina (now Krorän). . . . As for the name ‘Shanshan’, this

has been seen as a precursor to the name ‘Chärchän’, where some of the most spectacular mummies have
been recovered. This is hardly unexpected as the region possesses immense deserts laden with salt that both
early Chinese guidebooks and modern explorers have described in detail. A 1st-century BC document
informs us that from the Chinese outpost at Dunhuang to Krorän there was a desert that stretched for 500 li
[208 km] in which there was neither water nor grass.” Ibid. p. 81.
“During the Han period the population of Krorän is given as 1,570 households, with 14,100 people of
whom 2,912 could bear arms. The agricultural potential of the region is described as limited, its soils being
too sandy and salty, and food crops had to be brought in from neighbouring states. There was an important
nomadic component in the region where asses, horses and many camels are reckoned. Other products were
jade, rushes, tamarisk and balsam poplar.” Ibid, p. 85.
“Another prominent site to see some excavation is the town of Krorän which was excavated by Sven
Hedin, Aurel Stein and, most recently, by Hou Can. Its stamped earth walls still stand up to 4 m (13 ft) in
height and ran about 330 m (1,083 ft) on each side. It housed clusters of temples, the government central
offie, residential quarters and what has been dismissed as a ‘slum’. Within 5 km (3 miles) of the town Hou
Can uncovered seven tombs. Among the burials was a middle-aged woman who had a child placed over her
head, reminiscent of the ‘Scream Baby’ excavated at Zaghunluq.” Ibid., p. 165.
“The next town [to the east, after Quemo/Cherchen], Ruoqiang (Charkhlik) is no bigger but is
nevertheless the most important in the vast region encompassing the salt seabed of the dried-up Lop Nor. In
the first century BC it formed part of the Kingdom of Loulan, which was later to change its name to
‘Shanshan.’ At Ruoqiang the road divides, one branch heading north to Korla, the other taking a more
southerly road than the original Silk road, crossing into Qinghai Province and then turning northeast to
Dunhuang. East of Ruoqiang lies another archaeological site, Miran, which Stein visited in 1906. In the
1970s Chinese archaeologists found a Han-Dynasty system of irrigation canals here. To the south lie the
Altun Mountains, where a large nature reserve has been established. It was here in the 1880s that the
Russian explorer, Nikolai Prejewalski, discovered the only existing species of the original horse, which was
named Equus prezawalski. Extinct in the wild, the species is now only bred in zoos.” Bonavia (1988), p.
192.
“Krorän was included in the lists of conquests carried out by the Xiongnu leader Modu in 176 BC
and, with the westward expansion of the Han, it found itself in the middle of two warring empires. . . . The
king saw that it was impossible to navigate between two such masters and tilted his hand towards the Han,
who took advantage of the situation, assassinating one king and beheading another until they had installed
someone they could trust, and in 77 BC the name of Shanshan. Although ostensibly under Han control, as
late as AD 25 it was recorded that Krorän was still in league with the Xiongnu.
Understandably, during the floruit of the Silk Road, Krorän was a place of great strategic importance.
About AD 119 Ban Yong, the son of General Ban Chao, recommended that the Chinese governor be sent to
Krorän with 500 men to establish a Chinese colony. . . . It was intended that that this colony dominate all
approaches to Dunhuang, the main Chinese outpost in the west, by way of both the northern and southern
routes and it was also intended to check any Xiongnu incursions. In order to provide the colony with a
secure agricultural basis, major irrigation works were required and a much later account depicts how
attempts to place a barrage across a river in order to dam the water for irrigation were thwarted by an
intractable river throwing itself against and over the barrage. First the governor tried prayers and sacrifices
to get the water to recede but when these failed he sent his troops in to assault the waters with swords,
spears and arrows, and the river, apparently cowed, dropped its water level and supplied the desired
irrigation channels.
The administrative capital of Krorän was discovered and investigated by Sven Hedin…, Aurel Stein
and Hou Can. The 429 documents found in these investigations provide contemporary evidence of the
running of the Chinese colony in the 3rd century AD and the approximate date of its abandonment in the
4th century (the most recent document dates to c. 330). In addition to the documents written in Chinese
there were tablets in Prākrit, a north Indian language, which also contained traces of the language of the
native inhabitants. . . . Stein could only speculate that physical changes robbing the region of adequate
water supplies led to its current deserted state and Hou Can supports this theory with documentary
evidence, indicating pressure on water resources and the need to build a reservoir upstream. The Chinese
abandoned the territory and did not attempt to resettle it during their reconquest of the Tarim in the 7th
century. Krorän apparently went out with a whimper rather than a bang: in his excavations of the home of

one of the leaders of Kroränian society Stein discovered thick layers of sheep dung that preceded its total
abandonment – animals had been stalled in rooms where nobility had once dwelt.” Mallory and Mair
(2000), pp. 86-87.
“More recent analysis suggests that the Cherchen burials were made about 1000 BC, whilst the
Loulan graveyard bodies seem to have been buried as early as 2000 BC. Though the site is now barren,
salty, sandy and windswept, the rings of dried tree-trunks surrounding the graveyard, the bundles of
ephedra twigs in the graves, and the arrows and baskets all point to a different environment thousands of
years ago, enabling a semi-settled life. When the Chinese of the Han dynasty first set out into Central Asia,
Loulan was still an important caravan stop with water and food in abundance. A disastrous flood in about
AD 330 destroyed the town, and the Lop lake gradually dried up into salt flats, although, out of custom,
many travellers still passed through the remains of Loulan on the northern route that offered no shelter or
sustenance. From this time onwards the southern route was safer, though longer.
The mummies found at Loulan and Cherchen were strikingly European-looking. They had
high-bridged noses, substantial beards, deep, round eye-sockets and fairish or reddish hair. They were tall,
if fully grown, and wore clothing of furs, woven cloth, often in an interesting plaid pattern, leather and felt.
. . . ” Wood (2002), pp. 61 and 63.
Professor Richard Frye (personal communication, 7 July 2003) cautions:
“If the mummies in fact are to be dated very early (= pre 1000 BC) then it is possible that the ancestors of
the Hunzakut, Burushaki speaking people, were the mummies. This supposes a pre-Indo-European
population extending from the Basques through Rhaetians to the Himalayas etc. (not one people but various
pre-Indo-European speakers). On the other hand, if it can be shown that the ancestors of the Tokharians
were the same as (or related to) the Guti and Hittites, then Victor [Mair] may be right. It all hangs on the
date of the migration of the Tokharians to Gansu from the west. They are hardly the indigenous
Indo-Europeans as Narain thought.”
Perhaps DNA analysis of the mummies will be able to give us some more definite answers to these questions.
It is of interest to note that a recent study (reported in Nature Science Update and downloaded from
http://www.nature.com/nsu/nsu_pf/030616/030616-15.html on 7 July, 2003) has found that peoples related to the
Basques may have been widespread before the later invasions of Indo-European speaking peoples:
“Goldstein's team collected DNA samples from more than 1,700 men living in towns across England,
Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They took a further 400 DNA samples from continental Europeans, including
Germans and Basques. Only men whose paternal grandfathers had dwelt within 20 miles of their current
home were eligible.
The Y chromosomes of men from Wales and Ireland resemble those of the Basques. Some believe
that the Basques, from the border of France and Spain, are the original Europeans.”
One hopes that this research is done soon before more damage is done to these important sites by looters. The
following newsbrief emphasizes the need for urgent protection of the sites because of the inherent interest for the
region’s history. It was downloaded from:
http://www.archaeology.org/magazine.php?page=0305/newsbriefs/silkroad on 7 July 2003:
NEWSBRIEFS Volume 56 Number 3, May/June 2003
SILK ROAD THEFT
In the remote Lop Nur desert of northwest China, ancient tombs have been ransacked for the second time in
two years. A team of archaeologists on an expedition to the area reportedly encountered the tomb robbers
and followed their trail back to a previously unknown mausoleum from the Loulan Kingdom, an important
stop along the Silk Road, that flourished more than two millennia ago. Inside the 90-foot-high domed
mausoleum were high-quality silks, colored coffins, and an extraordinary mural depicting geometric
patterns and a gold and a silver camel fighting each other, all of which were damaged by the looters.
Mummies were desecrated and scattered bones thrown from the tombs. Although it is still too early to be
certain, the quality of the grave goods and the rarity of the funerary architecture suggest that the mausoleum
may be royal–or even belong to one of the Loulan kings, whose tombs have never been found. While
investigations into the robbery continue, the local heritage administration now faces the tremendous

challenge of preserving these unique tombs, which are clearly a popular target for looters. Because of the
size of the area in which the tombs are located (they are spread across 25 acres) and the sparse population
of this region of China, this will be an extremely difficult task. – JARRETT A. LOBELL
5.7. The kingdom of Ronglu 戎盧 [Jung-lu] (4 marches south of Jingjue / Niya). Ronglu 戎盧 [Jung-lu] was,
according to the Hanshu, south of Jingjue (Niya), and adjoined Qule (south of Keriya) to the east, and the Chuo
(‘Unruly’ or ‘Unsubdued’) Qiang tribes to the south. It was said to “lie secluded to the south and is not situated on
the route.” It was, perhaps, near modern Atqan – see note 5.3.
5.8. The kingdom of Hanmi 扞彌 [Han-mi] = Keriya. Unfortunately, the name of this kingdom is recorded with a
wide variety of characters used for the first syllable.
The Hou Hanshu gives Jumi 拘彌 [Chü-mi] = Keriya. It is described as Yumi 扜彌 [Yu-mi] in the Hanshu.
Unfortunately, this is incorrectly rendered as Wu-mi in CICA p. 94, although the extensive note (p. 94 n. 138)
contains much useful information about the various forms of the name and the geography of the region.
The Weilue and the Tangshu both refer to it as Hanmi 扞彌, which Chavannes thinks is the preferable
reading, but there are several other variants in other texts. See the note in Chavannes (1905) p. 538, n. 1 for a
discussion of the various forms of this name. Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 88-89, discusses its derivation and notes that
it probably relates to the Kema in the Kharoṣṭhī documents from Loulan, as well as the Kan 坎, City of the Tang
and the Gan 紺, Prefecture of the 10th century.
Stein (1907), p. 467, suggested that Hanmi represented the whole area between Chira and Keriya. This was
undoubtedly due to his faulty estimation of the li as being approximately one fifth of a mile, or about 322 metres.
The Han li is now known to have been 415.8 metres, as I have discussed in my Introduction under ‘Measurements.’
Both the Hanshu, and the Hou Hanshu place this kingdom 390 li [162 km] east of Khotan. This is almost
exactly the distance between Khotan and Keriya on modern maps. Besides, the Keriya oasis is the only place in the
region capable of supporting the populations indicated in the two Han histories (20,040 are mentioned in the
Hanshu account, which does seem a bit high as it only lists 3,340 households and 3,540 persons able to bear arms).
“. . . . This kingdom must be identified with the territory of Keriya.; the Xiyu shuidaoji (Chap. II, p. 7a),
which follows this identification, remarks meanwhile, that the present town of Keriya is to the west of the
river, while the Tang zhou places the capital of the kingdom of Jumi to the east of the river; but it is clear
that the displacement of the town is not a serious objection.” Translated from Chavannes (1900), p. 128, n.
1. See also, Chavannes (1907), p. 167, n. 8; CICA, pp. 94, n. 138, and 95-96.
There is confusion caused by the present Chinese name for Keriya where Yutian is written with the identical
characters as for the ancient name for Khotan, only dates back to the late 19th century. See CICA, p. 96, n. 4.1.
The 16 th century Tarikh-i-Rashidi has a description of this whole region:
“To the east and south of Káshghar and Khotan are deserts, which consist of nothing except heaps of
shifting sands, impenetrable jungles, waste lands and salt-deserts. In ancient times there were large towns in
these [wastes], and the names of two of them have been preserved, namely Lob and Katak ; but of the rest
no name or trace remains: all are buried under the sand. Hunters, who go there after wild camels, relate that
sometimes the foundations of cities are visible, and that they have recognised noble buildings such as
castles, minarets, mosques and colleges, but when thy returned a short time afterwards, no trace of these
was to be found ; for the sand had again overwhelmed them. On such a scale were these cities of which,
nowadays neither name nor vestige remains! In a word, the habitable districts of Káshghar and Khotan lie
along the western skirts of these mountains. On the frontier of Káshghar is the district of Artuj ; 1 from there
to the confines of Khotan, at Kariyá and Jariyá, 2 is one month’s journey. But as for the breadth of fertility
of the cultivated region (from the foot of the western range to the eastward) by travelling quickly one can
leave all cultivation behind in a day or two. On the banks of every stream that comes down from that range,
corn is sown and the land is cultivated.”
1 This place is often mentioned in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi. It is, nowadays, a favourite summer resort of the townspeople
of Kashghar. According to the late Mr. R. B. Shaw the proper spelling is Artush. (J. R. G. S., 1876, p. 282.)
2
Usually Kiria and Chiria or Chira [= modern Keriya and Qira]. Both exist to the present day, the former a town of
some size.”

Elias (1895), p. 295, and nn. 1-2.
5.9. The kingdom of Qule 渠勒 [Ch’ü-le] (to the south of Keriya). Qule 渠勒 [Ch’ü-le] was probably situated
along the ancient route that led south from Keriya into northern Tibet, near modern Pulu, at the foot of the
mountains.
“However, our old Chinese sources do not fail us altogether about the geography of this region ; for the
small territory of Ch’ü-lê. . . , which the Former Han Annals note to the south of Yü-mi, can be safely
identified with the present submontaine tract known as Tāgh and comprising, as mentioned above, the
various small settlements from the Keriya River to those on the river of Chira. Of Yü-mi I have made it
certain as I believe, that it comprised the whole of the oases between Chira and Keriya, and the Tāgh
subdivision lies, as Maps Nos. 28, 32 show, exactly to the south of these. Ch’ü-lê is described as a very
small territory with only 310 families. We have no means of fixing the position of its ‘capital . . . the city of
Keen-too’.” Stein (1921), pp. 1322-1323.
The Hanshu says:
“The seat of the king’s government is at the town of Chien-tu, and it is distant by 9950 li [4,139 km] from
Ch’ang-an. There are 310 households, 2170 individuals with 300 persons able to bear arms. To the
north-east it is a distance of 3852 li [1,602 km] to the seat of the protector general. It adjoins Jung-lu in the
east, the [land of the] Ch’iang [tribes who are termed] Ch’o in the west and Wu-mi in the north.” CICA, p.
96.
5.10. The kingdom of Pikang 皮亢 [P’i-k’ang] = modern Pishan or Guma. The Hou Hanshu gives: Pishan 皮山
[P’i-shan] = modern Pishan or Guma.
The Hanshu Chap. 96 A states that Pishan is 380 li (158 km) west of Khotan, which is as close as I can
measure the distance between the two towns on modern maps. See CICA, p. 97, and n. 152.
See also Chavannes (1900) p. 125 and (1907) 174, n. 1, and the discussions by Aurel Stein (1907) pp.
99-103, and (1921a) p. 86 where he says: “. . . . the identity of P’i-shan with the modern Guma is certain.”
5.11. The kingdom of Yutian 于寘 [Yü-t’ien] = Khotan. The identification of the ancient name of Yutian with the
Khotan oasis has long been confidently established – the evidence from the ancient histories is overwhelming. See,
for example, Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 91, 100, 213. Other accounts include:
“Khotan (Khotana in Kharos̱t̲hī script, Hvatäna in Brāhmī and Hvamna or Hvam in the later Khotanese
texts) was known throughout its 1,200 years as a kingdom (Hvatäna-kshīra).” Zhang (1996), p. 284.
“As the main source of jade, the Khotan envoys carried pounds (kīna) of the stone for presentation to
the heads of states. They used the word īra- ‘stone’ for their stone par excellence, the ‘jade’, and the Bud.
Skt. word śilā. Hence they could call their river the Śailodā and in Khotan-Saka ranījai ttāji ‘the river of
precious stone (ratna-)’. The īra- in the adjective form īrīnaa- was also used to render the mountain name
Vajraka. The rivers in Khotan were in Turkish times called the yörüng qaš öküš and qara qaš öküš ‘the
white and black jade rivers’.” Bailey (1985), p. 14; also p. 58.
“The major oasis of the southern Tarim basin, Khotan, was favourably set amidst the Yurung-kāsh and the
Qara-qāsh, the only two rivers to carry the melt waters of the Qurum (Kunlun) Mountains northwards to
join the Tarim rather than, like so many others, dissipating into a sea of sand. The fertile loess soils of the
Khotan oasis ensured that its agricultural foundation would support a major settlement, and when Aurel
Stein and other explorers visited it at the turn of the [20th] century, they observed that the region was
underpopulated given its agricultural potential (the population at that time was estimated roughly at c.
200,000, approximately ten times larger than that given in the Hanshu). But despite all its fertility, like all
the other oases its agricultural potential depended entirely on irrigation.
Khotan was also the centre of silk production in the Tarim Basin and Stein suggested that it might
have been the actual Serindia of the ancient geographers (rather than China) whence the West learned of the
product itself. The legend tells that at the time when the Chinese prohibited the export of silk worms,
mulberry trees and the knowledge of the manufacture of silk, a wily king of Khotan requested the hand of a
Chinese princess in marriage. Before she departed to her new land, her husband made it clear that if she
expected to be kept in silks, she had better procure what was necessary for their production, so she secreted
silkworms’ eggs and seeds of the mulberry tree in her headdress and carried them to Khotan.” Mallory and

Mair (2000), p. 77.
For a broader discussion of the early introduction of silk cultivation to Khotan, see: TWR Appendix A: The
Introduction of Silk Cultivation to Khotan in the 1st Century CE.
“The paper mulberry tree (Broussonetia papyrifera) is also found primarily in the region of Khotan
and its bark was pulped into the earliest paper in the region [c. 105 CE], another gift of Chinese technology
to the West. Both cotton and wool production have been major products of Khotan since antiquity, while
Khotan was also a major supplier of jade to China (the ‘Jade Road’ between Khotan and China is
considerably older than the Silk Road).
Khotan also occupied a remarkably strategic position. To its south, the forbidding Qurum and
Qaraqurum ranges were absolutely desolate and Stein could count but a mere 400 people scattered across a
territory of 9,000 sq. miles [23,310 sq. km]. To its east one could follow the Silk Road, but beyond Niya
(Minfeng) the oases were so few and far between that it would have been difficult to facilitate any major
approach to Khotan other than one that had been highly organized, such as might be found in Chinese
military operations. To the north lay the full expanse of the Täklimakan Desert. Only the west provided a
relatively easy route through which populations might have entered this region in deep antiquity. Khotan
itself, despite its prestige, was surprisingly small. The sole historical source (Beishi) to provide a dimension
of the town reckons its circuit at 8 or 9 li [3.4 to 3.7 km] and this is roughly confirmed by Aurel Stein’s
own excavations at Yōtkan which discovered that the circumference of the town was merely about 2.5 to
3.2 km (1.5 to 2 miles).” Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 77-78.
The invention of paper is attributed by the Hou Hanshu (chap. CVIII, p. 2b) to 蔡倫 Cai Lun in 105 CE (although
there is a heated debate presently underway as to whether paper was, in fact, first invented some time earlier):
“In the first Huanxing year (105 CE) he [Cai Lun] offered his invention to the Emperor who praised his
skilfulness. From this moment there was nobody who did not adopt the use (of his paper), and this is why
throughout the Empire gave the name of 紙 zhi (to paper) from the honourable 蔡Cai.” Translated from
Pelliot (1905), p. 6.
“Old Khotan experienced an economic golden age in those days [c. 4 th century], thanks to silk
production and exports to the west. The mulberry trees in the plantations not only furnished the leaves to
feed the silkworms, but from the bark valuable paper was manufactured, an export article also in great
demand. This kind of paper manufacture was widespread in Khotan even at the beginning of the 20th
century, as recorded in the diary of the British Consul-General in Kashgar, C. P. Skrine. . . .
Khotan’s wealth was not based on silk and paper alone, but also on the production of felt and woollen
carpets and on the export of precious jade. Khotan was indeed predestined to be the centre of jade
commerce, for jade was found along the upper course of both rivers that surround the city. In the west runs
the Yurung Kash which means “white stone” in Uighur and where white jade is found, while in the east
flows the Kara Kash – the “black stone” – which yields green jade.
Apparently, a lively jade exchange with central China had taken place from the 3rd BC onwards. . . .
” Baumer (2000), p. 59.
“I have left to the last the mention of the gold produce of Khotan ; for if we except the little gold washed
from the sand of the Yurung-kāsh, the precious metal with which the name of Khotan is often associated is
found in its natural state only at places situated at considerable distances from the oasis. The gold mines of
Surgak, Kapa, near the headwaters of the Cherchen river and on the high plateaus of the Arka-Tāgh towards
Tibet, may well have been worked in ancient times. But no mention is made of them in the old Chinese
notices of Khotan ; and it is doubtful whether, with the exception of the first-named place (on the upper
course of the Niya river), any of these localities ever fell within the political boundaries of the Khotan
kingdom. That the gold extracted from them must have helped to increase the commercial importance of
Khotan, as the nearest emporium for its disposal, may, on the other hand, be considered certain.” Stein
(1907) Vol. I, p. 136.
“Landsell [H. Landsell, Chinese Central Asia. London] (1893) noted, among other occurrences, the
presence of gold at twenty two places in Khotan.” Lahiri (1992), p. 79.

Note: Unfortunately, since late in the 19th century the identical name, Yutian 于寘, has been used for the
subprefecture centred in Keriya, which has, naturally, caused considerable confusion. See note 3.1 and Stein
(1907), pp. 166-172; CICA p. 96, n. 147.

5.12. Refer to Appendix K.
5.13. Daxia 大夏 [Ta Hsia] = Bactria – derived from Old Persian Bākhtri-, an Iranian but non-Persian form of the
name. Frye (1963), p. 69. The Avesta gives the form Bāxδi (or ‘Bachdi’). Negmatov (1994), p. 442. For other
possible derivations of this name see Bailey (1985), p. 130.
There can be no doubt that Daxia referred to the ancient region of Bactria. It was taken over by the Da
Yuezhi and other nomad hordes in the late second century BCE. The previous rulers were of Greek descent and
heritage and had been there since Alexander’s conquest c. 328 BCE. It had become independent of the Seleucids
about the middle of the third century CE but had retained its largely Greek ruling class and was heavily influenced
by Hellenistic culture.
Bactria is best described as a region (rather than a state) consisting of the fertile plains on either side of the
Amu Darya or Oxus River, and was known to the Persians as the Jayhun. It is usually thought to have included
most of northern Afghanistan, including Badakhshān in the east, and what is now southern Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan, at least as far west as the region of Termez.
“It should be emphasized that Bactria never resembled Parthia in being a unified state. Bactria is above all a
historico-geographical term, rather than a political one. During these nearly five hundred years various
states were formed in this area – the Graeco-Bactrian state, the empire of the Kushans (which continued to
exist for a while after the fall of the Parthian state, and the various principates of the Great Yüeh-chih.”
Rtveladze (1995), p. 181.
Bactria’s major city, under both the Persians and Greeks (and probably the Kushans), was Zariaspa or Bactra
(modern Balkh). It was situated south of the Oxus, 84 km southwest of Termez, and about 15 km northwest of
modern Mazar-e Sharif. It is a very ancient city, still known throughout the region as the ‘Mother of Cities.’
It is not clear whether the Greeks managed to retain control of the city or whether, as some claim, it was
taken from them by the Parthians:
“The root of the name Aspionus [an eastern district of Bactria taken by the Parthians probably between 160
and 150 BCE] is clearly the word asp (horse), which was used to form many toponyms in Central Asia. In
Bactria in particular, it was one of the main components of the name of the town Bactra-Zariaspa (golden
horse), which is mentioned by Strabo and Pliny. In view of the linguistic similarities, it is a reasonable
hypothesis that the satrapy of Aspionus was connected with the region of Bactra-Zariaspa. If this is true,
during the reign of Mithradates I the Parthians wrested from the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom of Eucratides the
western territories of Bactria, including Bactra.” Rtveladze (1995), p. 185.
Mark Passehl commented (personal communication July 7, 2003) on the two quotes from Rtveladze above, and I
believe his criticisms are worthy of serious attention:
“I don’t understand Rtveladze’s distinctions between Parthia and Baktria. . . .
Both were former Persian satrapies which became the “home territories” of successful conquests
states/dynasties (Parthian Empire of the Arsakids, Bactrian dominion of the Diodotids, Euthydemids, etc.)
Next page the comments about the Arsakid seizure of Baktra seem quite wrong. The Arsakids
probably took the two satrapies right near the end of Eukratides’ reign when he was campaigning in India
(ca. 146 BC), but the archaeology (Rapin’s article) seems to say that even when the great nomad invasions
came in the 140s-130s BC Baktra held out longest as a Greek-dynasty outpost. So either at their weakest
they retook it from the Parthians (unlikely!) or never lost it when they lost the two westernmost provinces.”
The middle reaches of the mighty Oxus River, which presently forms the northern boundary of Afghanistan, is
frequently up to a mile [1.6 km] wide. It, however, has a number of important fordable points, each of which,
naturally, became the site of fortifications to control traffic across the river. The system used to ford the river
during the Kushan period probably hadn’t changed very much by the time the 1911 version of the Encyclopædia
Britannica was compiled:
“The principle on which the Oxus ferries are worked is peculiar to these regions. Large flat-bottomed
boats are towed across the river by small horses attached to an outrigger projecting beyond the gunwale by
means of a surcingle or bellyband. They are thus partially supported in the water whilst they swim. The

horses are guided from the boat, and a twenty- or thirty-foot [6-9 metres] barge with a heavy load of men
and goods will be towed across the river at Kilif [approximately 100 km west of Termez] (where, as already
stated, the width of the river is between 500 and 600 yards [457–549 metres] – only) with ease by two of
these animals. The Kilif ferry is on the direct high-road between Samarkand and Akcha. It is perhaps the
best-used ferry on the Oxus.” EB – under ‘Oxus’.
By the time of Fitzroy Maclean’s visit to the region in 1938, horses had given way to steamboats:
“The frontier post is situated at Patta Hissar [near Termez]. Along the river, stretch for a mile [1.6
km] or so in a narrow strip the barracks of the frontier troops, the officers’ bungalows and piles of
merchandise awaiting transhipment; then, as far as the eye can reach, a jungle of reeds ten or eleven feet
high [3-3.6 metres], reputed to harbour tigers as well as a great deal of smaller game. The Oxus must at this
point be almost a mile wide, a vast muddy river full of mud flats and sandbanks, flowing between low mud
banks. I have seen more exciting rivers, but its name and the knowledge that very few Europeans except
Soviet frontier guards have ever seen it at this or at any other point of its course, made up for its rather drab
appearance. In the distance there were some blue mountains. . . .
The crossing took half an hour or more, the sandbanks making navigation rather complicated. From
the upper floor of the two-storeyed cottage which combined the functions of bridge, engine-room and
sleeping-quarters for the crew, I commanded an extensive view of the river and of the jungle on both
shores, with, on the Soviet side, watch towers at intervals and a patrol of frontier troops setting out to look
for Diversionists. On the Afghan side there was, as far as I could see, nothing except jungle.” Maclean
(1949), pp. 129, 131.
“After a few miles’ riding we emerged from the reeds of the jungle into the desert. It was very much
like any other desert in Central Asia, with its dunes of drifting sand and shrivelled tamarisk bushes.
Marmots with their short forelegs, long hind-legs and bushy tails whistled petulantly and scuttled in and out
of their holes. From time to time we came upon the bleached skeletons of horses and camels. Then, after
some miles of crawling up sand dunes and slithering down the other side, we came out on to a flat,
completely barren plain with absolutely nothing in sight. Underfoot was hard white clay. There was no
road, but something approaching a track had been worn by the caravans making their way down to the
Oxus. . . .
[After a stop at a small mud fort] An hour or two later we sighted a small earth-coloured hump on the
horizon. The drab, khaki-coloured desert was absolutely flat and it was a very long time before we came
near enough to see that it was the immense dome of a ruined mosque, apparently of very great age. From
now onwards the plain was scattered with ruins, sometimes a few crumbling stones, at others, whole cities
with mosques and watch towers and city walls stretching for miles. Away to the west lay what is left of
Balkh, the ancient Bactria, the Mother of Cities. . . . . There were no signs of vegetation near any of these
ruins and any water supply there may have been must have dried up or been diverted.
Towards sunset we came to the cultivated fields and plantations of the oasis of Seyagird [about 25
km north of Mazār-e Sharif], the first we had seen since the Oxus. Here a large military fort, with
crenellated mud wall, towers over a cluster of houses and gardens surrounded by high walls and a small
mosque, all built of the mud bricks used throughout Turkestan. In a large open space before the fort the
camels of a number of caravans were resting, before setting out once more.” Maclean (1949), pp. 134, 135.
Bactria, with its major trade emporium of Balkh or Baktra, was a key centre on the extensive trade routes
developed to transport lapis lazuli, spinel rubies and, quite possibly, emeralds – from the mines in the mountains –
see Giuliani et al (2000), pp. 631-633; Giuliani et al (2000b), pp. 58-65; Schwarz and Giuliani (2001), pp. 17-23;
Bowersox (1985), and refer to Appendix K.
Lapis lazuli from Badhakshan was being traded to Mesopotamia, and Egypt from the second half of the
fourth millennium and to the Indus River cultures by the third millennium BCE. Sarianidi (1971), pp. 12-15. These
routes were later to form the basis of the networks we now call the ‘Silk Routes.’
“Daxia (Bactria) is described as lying more than 2,000 li [838 km] southwest of Ferghana, south of the Gui
(Amu Darya). Like the people of Ferghana, its occupants were a settled people living in walled towns. They
lacked powerful chiefs and rather were divided into small individual towns with their own leaders. Their
armies are described as insignificant and cowardly, a clear come-down from their reputation when they
faced Alexander, but they excelled in commerce with enormous markets, especially in their capital
Lanshicheng (Bactra). They numbered about a million people. While in Bactria, Zhang saw trade goods

from Sichuan and asked how they had come there. He learned that they were obtained from a land called
Shendu (i.e. Sind, the Punjab), which lay in the region of a great river (the Indus) and was occupied by a
people who employed elephants in warfare.” Mallory and Mair (2000), p. 59.
“Archaeological evidence reveals intensive exploitation of new agricultural land and the expansion of
agricultural oases at the beginning of the Christian era in the river valleys and ancient agricultural oasis
areas of Central Asia, especially in the southern regions, even though the best and most suitable croplands
were by that time already under cultivation. It has also been established that, with the opening up of new
regions and the extension of crop-farming to the northern provinces of Central Asia on the lower reaches of
the Zerafshan, on the middle reaches of the Syr Darya and in the Tashkent oasis, large numbers of nomadic
livestock-breeders switched to a settled way of life and new centres of urban civilization were formed. As a
result of the extensive development of irrigation networks, practically all the main provinces of Central
Asia were brought under cultivation during this period and the establishment of the major crop-growing
oases was completed. The extent to which northern Bactria was populated and brought under cultivation at
this time can be judged from the 117 archaeological monuments of the Kushan period recorded in recent
years in the territory of the Surkhan Darya province. A major channel, the Zang canal, leading from the
Surkhan river, was constructed. In the zone irrigated by it a new oasis, the Angor, was established around
the town of Zar-tepe. The founding of Dalverzin-tepe as a major urban centre also dates back to this period.
The Surkhan Darya and Sherabad Darya valleys, with their flourishing agricultural oases, fortified towns
and extensive grazing lands, were able to provide a strong base for unifying the domains of the Yüeh-chih
on the right [northern] bank of the Amu Darya. When they were unified by the ruler of the Kuei-shuang
[Kajula Kadphises], who subjugated the four other Yüeh-chih principalities, the nucleus of the Kushan
Empire was formed.” Mukhamedjanov (1996), pp. 265-266.
Strabo (c. 23 CE), XI. xi. 1, also describes the exceptional fertility of ancient Bactria and proves that its reputation
had spread as far as the Mediterranean world:
“As for Bactria, a part of it lies alongside Aria towards the north, though most of it lies above Aria and to
the east of it. And much of it produces everything except oil. The Greeks who caused Bactria to revolt grew
so powerful on account of the fertility of the country that they became masters, not only of Ariana, but also
of India, as Apollodorus of Artemita says: and more tribes were subdued by them than by Alexander. . . . ”
“The coexistence of Hellenistic traditions might have continued after the Yuezhi-Kushan entered into
Daxia. One Tang Dynasty scholar, who also annotated Sima Qian’s History, quoted from the a now-lost
text [the Yiwuzhi by the 3rd century scholar, Wan Zhen] as saying:
“The Great Yuezhi is located about seven thousand li north of India. Their land is at a high altitude;
the climate is dry; the region is remote. The king of the state calls himself “son of heaven.” There
are so many riding horses in that country that the number often reaches several hundred thousand.
City layouts and palaces are quite similar to those of Daqin (the Roman empire). The skin of the
people there is reddish white. People are skilful at horse archery. Local products, rarities, treasures,
clothing, and upholstery are very good, and even India cannot compare with it.” 36
It is difficult to verify the sources of this record about the Kushan, since the quoted book appears to
be lost. 37 The descriptions, however, accord very well with the horse-riding Kushan who ruled a formerly
Hellenistic country. The climate and location sound like Bactria; the kings of the Kushan did indeed call
themselves devaputra, meaning “son of heaven” or “son of god.” They owned numerous good horses and
cultivated nomadic skills and cultures. Yet they ruled a country with a population of Greeks and other
immigrants from the Mediterranean, so that the architecture of the country combined Greco-Roman style
with local materials and flavor. At least it looked similar to the Roman style in Chinese eyes, and the people
looked fairer than Indians and some other Central Asian populations.”
36. Sima Qian, Shiji, 123/3164.
37. The book entitled Nanzhouzhi, literally “the history of the southern states,” authored by Wan Zhen [3rd century CE
– see Leslie and Gardiner (1996), p. 333], was available to Zhang Shoujie, the Tang scholar who annotated the History
by Sima Qian, as it was listed in the bibliographies of the Tang History with the title of Nanzhou Yiwuzhi, meaning
“history of exotic things in the south states.” However, it did not appear in the bibliographies of later official histories.
Liu (2001), pp. 278-279.

Liu (2001), p. 278.
The Da Yuezhi overran Bactria and settled there in the late second century BCE. This gave them control of the
main, and increasingly busy, overland trade routes between China, India and the West. This not only quickly made
them rich and powerful, but their exposure to Persian, Hellenic and Indian cultures helped them become a more
sophisticated and effective force. It is thought that before they entered Bactria they were not literate. By the time
they invaded northern India in the first century CE they had become capable administrators, traders and scholars.
The ‘Iron Gates’ – the northern border of Daxia
About 107 km northwest of Termez (13 km west of Derbent) the main trade route passed through a formidable,
very narrow and easily defended gorge known in antiquity as the “Iron Gates” which has traditionally marked the
boundary between Sogdiana and Tokharistan and almost certainly marked the frontier between Kangju and Kushan
territory during the period of the Kushan Empire.
“When he spoke of borders, Euthydemus [Graeco-Bactrian monarch, late 3rd century CE] probably meant a
dense ridge of mountains consisting of a spur of the southern part of the Hissar chain together with the
adjacent Baysuntau and Kughitang Mountains. In this area, near the settlement of Darband, a monumental
defensive wall of the Kushan period (1st–2nd centuries A.D.) has been discovered. This wall (Fig. 1) was
probably built to block the main entry route into Bactria and also the gateway which in early medieval,
especially Chinese texts, is known as the «Iron gates». Further investigation of the wall and of the adjoining
fortifications has brought to light fragments of pottery of the Graeco-Bactrian period, a fact which may
indicate that the wall was already in use in the preceding period, i.e. in the early Graeco-Bactrian period. It
is possible that after Euthydemus’s political successes and the consolidation of his power, he and the later
kings of Graeco-Bactria managed to defend this part of the border against the onslaught of the nomads. The
most valuable part of the border, the one about which the Graeco-Bactrian kings were worried, was in my
opinion the north-western side of the country, the area along the middle reaches of the Amu-darya (the area
of modern Gaurdak, Mukry, Kerki and Chardjow), where entry into the centre of Bactria was facilitated by
the ford over the river at Kerki and not impeded by impassable mountains. At any rate it is precisely this
region that Strabo means when he tells of the Parthians annexing «part of Bactria, driving back the
Scythians, and even earlier Eucratides and his successors» (STRAB. XI, 9, 2). In the same passage, listing
the principal towns of Bactria, Strabo mentions Eucratidea (Dilberdjin) [identified in Rapin (2001), pp.
217-218 however, as Ay Khanum]. «After seizing this region the Greeks divided it into satrapies; of these,
the Parthians took the satrapies of Aspionus and Turiva from Eucratides» (X, 9, 2). When he speaks of
Sogdiana, «which is situated above Bactria», the ancient author is referring to the region known to modern
scholars as southern Sogdiana (the western and south-western parts of the modern region of
Kashka-darya).” Abdullaev (1995). In: ITLOTG, pp, 151-152.
When Xuanzang passed through here in 630 CE he described it as having iron or ironclad gates with numerous
small bells suspended on it. Later writers make no mention of actual gates. Clavijo, the Spanish ambassador to the
court of Timurlane passed through the Iron Gates in August 1405 CE. He said the ravine looked:
“as if it had been artificially cut, and the hills rise to a great height on either side, and the pass is smooth,
and very deep. In the centre of the pass there is a village, and the mountain rises to a great height behind.
This pass is called the Gates of Iron, and in all the mountain range there is no other pass, so that it guards
the land of Samarkand in the direction of India. These Gates of Iron produce a large revenue to Timūr, for
all the merchants who came from India pass this way.” Quoted in Verma (1978), p. 39, [from G. Le
Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate. Cambridge, 1930, pp. 441-2.]
“The texts in this place [in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi], have Darband-i-Ahanin, or “Iron Gate,” but in all
other places Kulugha, the name by which this pass was usually known. It is often mentioned by ancient
travellers, but has very rarely been visited in modern times, at any rate up to within the last few years, or
before the Russians became possessors of Samarkand and Khokand. The gates, in ancient times, were a
reality, for the Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang, who passed the Darband in 630 A.D., describes the defile as
“closed by folding gates clamped with iron.” (See Sir H. Yule in Woods Oxus, 1872, p. lxix.) At the time of
Chingiz Khan, when Chinese travellers frequently went backward and forwards between China and the
conqueror’s camp in various parts of Central Asia, the pass of the Iron Gates is frequently mentioned under
the name of Tie-men-Kuan (literally, Iron Gate barrier) ; and one of them, the Taoist monk Cháng Chun,

describes his passage through the defile in 1222, with carts and an escort of a hundred Mongol and
Muhammadan soldiers : “We crossed the mountains in a south-east direction and found them very high.
Masses of rock were lying scattered about. The escort themselves pulled the carts and took two days to pass
to the other side of the mountains.” (Chinese Mediæval Travellers to the West, by Dr. E. Bretschneider
1875, pp. 41, 42) The gates themselves seem, thus, to have disappeared by the thirteenth century, and they
had certainly done so at the beginning of the fifteenth, when Ruy Gonzalez Clavijo visited the spot, in the
course of his embassy (1403-5) from Henry III, of Spain to Amir Timur. He wrote : “These mountains of
the Gates of Iron are without woods, and in former times they say that there were great gates covered with
iron placed across the pass, so that no one could pass without an order.” (See Embassy of Ruy G. Clavijo to
Court of Timur, by C. R. Markham, Hakluyt Series, 1859, p. 122.) From the time of Don Ruy down to
1875, when the Russian Hisar Expedition passed the Darband, no European appears to have seen (or, at any
rate, to have described) the defile. Mr. N. A. Mayef, who accompanied the Russian Expedition, described
the spot thus : “The famous ravine of the Iron Gate winds through a high mountain chain, about twelve
versts to the west of Derbent. It is a narrow cleft, 5 to 35 paces wide and about two versts long. It is known
now as Buz-ghala Khána (i.e., the House of Goats). Its eastern termination is 3540 feet above the sea ; its
western termination 3740 feet. A torrent, Buz-ghala Khána bulák, flows through it . . .” (Geogr. Magazine,
Dec., 1876, p. 328).” Elias (1885), p. 20, n. 3.
After passing through the Gates of Iron one could either head north to Samarkand through Kesh (modern
Shahrisabz), or northwest towards Bukhara. From Bukhara one route led southwest via Merv into Parthia – the
other avoided Parthian territory by heading northwest along the Syr Darya (or Jaxartes) to the Aral Sea and then
continued around to the north of the Caspian before reaching Tanais, the port on the Sea of Azov which gave
maritime access via the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.
The derivation of the name ‘Daxia.’
The derivation and significance of the Chinese name for Bactria, Daxia 大夏 [Ta Hsia], is still being contested. I
tend to favour a connection with the name ‘Tajik’ (Tibetan ‘Tzag-zig’), as proposed by Charles Allen:
“The Persian-speaking peoples of the upper Oxus or Amu Daria are known as the Tajiks, a name
preserved in the former Soviet republic and now the state of Tajikistan, which borders the northern shores
of the Oxus. The name ‘Tajik’ carries a special resonance for followers of Bon because, as Tzag-zig, it is
linked inextricably with Olmo-lungring, the homeland of their religion.
The Tajik country is set amongst the almost impenetrable mountain barriers of the Hindu Kush and
the Karakoram but softened by broad, fertile valleys which give access from the west. These valleys form
the main migratory and trade routes of the region, a frontier between the settled agricultural peoples of the
south and the nomads of the inner Asian steppes. For those seeking to break through the mountains and
plunder the fertile Indian plains they provided a natural gateway, which is why they have so often been
shaken by the passage of invaders. Between about 500 BCE and 500 CE this Tajik country – known to the
Chinese as Ta-hsia and to the Greeks as Bactria and Sogdiana – was ruled over in turn by Achaemenid
Persians, Mauryans, Alexander’s Greeks, Parthians, Scythians, Sasanid Persians and Huna – as well as a
nomadic people known to the Chinese as the Yuezhi, who came to call themselves the Kushans.” Allen
(1999), p. 184.
Following are accounts of some of the other main theories:
“Haloun (1926), pp. 136, 201-202, has made it clear that the term Ta Hsia originally referred to a mythical
or fabulous people, vaguely located in the North (but eventually shifted to the West and even to the South).
He states that it was Chang Ch’ien personally who identified the Bactrians with the Ta Hsia, the
westernmost people he knew, but that he did not use the words ta and hsia to reproduce their actual name.
Haloun rightly stresses this last point, viz. that the pronunciation of this old-established, mythological term
need not have been anything like an approximation of the name of the actual country. Henri Maspero
completely endorses Haloun’s views in his review of the latter’s work in JA 1927, pp. 144-152.” CICA:
145, n. 387.
“Further to the west the Chinese name for Ferghana, “Dawan,” and that for Bactria, “Daxia,” were also
variations of Tuhara. 15 Bactria, a name given by the Greeks to northern Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, was
known as the “land of the Tuharans” as late as the seventh century C.E., according to the Chinese pilgrim

Xuanzang. 16
15. Yu Taishan. A Study of Saka History, p. 72.
16. Ji Xianlin, Da Tang Xiyuji Jiaozhu (An Edited Edition of the Travelogue of the Western Region by Xuanzang of the
Great Tang Dynasty) Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1985, p. 100.
Liu (2001), p. 268.
Taishan Yu also has some interesting comments to make on “Daxia” and its history:
“In the “Xirongzhuan” 西戎傅 of the Weilue 魏略 it is recorded: “the states of Jibin, Daxia, Gaofu
and Tianzhu are all subject to the Da Yuezhi.” “Da Yuezhi” here also refers to the Guishuang Kingdom. If
the Guishuang Kingdom was established by the Daxia, the record of the Weilue would be tantamount to
saying that the Da Yuezhi were both the conqueror and the conquered.
In my opinion, “Da Yuezhi” here actually refers to the Guishuang Kingdom. However, “Daxia” here
must refer to Tukhārestān. Therefore, the statement that the state of Daxia was subject to the Da Yuezhi
only shows that Tukhārestān (the land of the former state of Daxia) was a part of the Guishuang kingdom,
namely the Xihou of Guishuang, was established by the Daxia, but it was not equal to the state of Daxia,
and that the territory of the Guishuang Kingdom far exceeded the boundary of the former state of Daxia.”
Yu (1998), pp. 31-32.
“Daxia” was a transcription of “Tochari”, but there were some differences between “Daxia” as
described in the Shiji, ch. 123 and the Hanshu, ch. 96 and “Daxia”, in the pre-Qin books. The latter was
referring to the Tochari. The former had in fact included the Asii, the Gasiani and the Sacarauli. As far as
the Tochari, those who had migrated west to the valleys of the Ili and Chu and then to Tukharestan should
be different from those who remained in the Hexi region, due to being affected by different surrounding
tribes. More accurately, there must have been some differences in language, custom and physical
characteristics between them.
Also, there must have been differences between the Tochari who moved south into the Pamir region
from the valleys of the Rivers Ili and Chu and then spread east to the Tarim Basin, and those who entered
Tukharestan from the northern bank of the Syr Darya.
For the same reason, though “Yuezhi” “Guishuang”, and “Jushi” and “Qiuci” all were transcriptions
of “Gasiani”, there must have been some differences between those who migrated west in late [sic] of the
7 th century B.C. and those who migrated west in c. 177/176 B.C. The former had divided into two groups
later. One of them entered Tukharestan, and the other entered the Tarim Basin. There must have been some
differences between the two groups. The circumstances of the Asii and the Sacarauli may be explained at
the same time.” Yu (1998), p. 35.
“Markwart (1901), p. 206, suggests that the Tochari must have been identical with the Daxia. The Hellenic
Kingdom of Bactria was destroyed by the Daxia, and the latter was destroyed by the Yuezhi. I think his
theory is correct. . . . ” Yu (1998), pp. 38-39, n. 18.
“. . . . Tarn suggests that “Asii”, whose adjectival form was “Asiani”, may have been identical with
“Kushān”. I disagree. Yu (1998), p. 40, n. 30.
5.14. The kingdom of Gaofu 高附 [Kao-fu] = Kabul. Gaofu is almost universally taken to represent Kabul or,
rather, Kabulistan. The Greek form of the name is usually given as Kophen, although Strabo writes it Kophes – the
Vedic form was Kubha. See Lèvi (1895), pp. 372-373. This identification as the phonetic resemblance plus the
geographic indications make, I believe, a convincing case. Pulleyblank (1963), p. 223, reconstructs the name as
*kauĥ-bōh = Kabul, Κάβουρα [Kaboura]. See also, Chavannes (1907), p. 192; CICA, p. 122, n. 296.
Bailey (1985), p. 10, gives: “Kābul, Καβουρα, Zor. Pahl. K’pwl k’wl *kāpul, kāvulastān, N Pers. Kābul. For
more details, see ibid., p. 119.
Kabul naturally related more to the west and south than to the valley containing Kapisha/Begram which joins
the lower Kabul River valley on the way to Jalalabad and Peshawar. The easily-defended and extremely narrow
gorge which the Kabul River runs through to the west of the city was always difficult to traverse and often
completely flooded.

5.15. The kingdom of Tianzhu 天竺 [T’ien-chu] = Northern India). These names for India: Tianzhu 天竺
[T’ien-chü] – a transcription of the Iranian, ‘Hinduka, – and Juandu身毒 [Chüan-tu] – a transcription of Sanskrit,
‘Sindhu,’ seem to be merely different forms of the same name and are practically interchangeable.
Tian 天 K.361a *t’ien / t’ien; EMC: t h ɛn
zhu 竺 K.1019f *tô / tuok; EMC: truwk
Juan 身 K.386a *śi̯ĕn / śi̯ĕn; EMC: ɕin
du 毒 K.1016a *d’ôk / d’uok; EMC: dəwk
The name Juandu is sometimes (less correctly) rendered Shendu. They are both ultimately derived (perhaps via
Iranian Hinduka) from Sanskrit Síndhu – a river or stream – especially the Indus. A form of this name was used in
very early Indian literature to refer to the country around the lower Indus – known today as ‘the Sind’ or ‘the
Sindh.’
Juandu seems to be used here in a more general sense than Tianzhu, which is specifically stated to be beside
a ‘great river,’ i.e. the Indus. However, Tianzhu is also frequently used in later times in a much broader sense –
sometimes referring to the whole of northern India, including the Ganges valley and sometimes, even, to the whole
sub-continent. For a detailed discussion of the derivation of these names see Bailey (1985), pp. 22-24. Also see:
Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 108, 117.
Mukherjee (1988), pp. 297-303) argues quite convincingly that the name Juandu referred only to the region
of the lower Indus at the time of Zhang Qian’s report included in the Shiji (completed c. 100 BCE). Later, as
Chinese knowledge of the subcontinent expanded, Juandu, and by association, Tianzhu, came to include lands
further and further east until, by the time of Kang Dai’s mission to Funan (c. 245-250 CE), Tianzhu referred to the
whole of northern India and even included the kingdom of Danmei (Tāmralipti) at the mouth of the Ganges on the
Bay of Bengal. By the time of Xuan Zang’s visit in the 7th century it included “roughly the whole of the
subcontinent.” See also: CICA, p. 97, note 154 and the discussions in Leslie and Gardiner (1996), pp. 257-258.
“We next come to T’ien-chu (天竺) and T’ien-tu (篤) said to represent only one name pronounced
something like Tendu or Tintok. We are told by one Chinese writer that the name Tien-chu was first
applied to India in the Han Ho-Ti period (A.D. 89 to 106) but the authority for the statement is not given.
Another account makes Mêng K’an (about A.D. 230) the first to identify T’ien-chu with Shên-tu, but this
likewise is unsupported by authority. We are also told that the chu (竺) of T’ien-chu is a short way of
writing tu (篤), a statement which is open to very serious doubt. This word tu occurs in the ancient classical
literature, and native students declare that it represents an earlier chu. This is specially noted with reference
to the occurrence of tu in a wellknown passage of the “Lun-Yü”. Then as to the first part of the name there
seems to have been an old and perhaps dialectical pronunciation of the character as Hien or Hin. This
pronunciation is found at present in the dialect of Shao-wu foo in the Province of Fuhkeen in which天竺 is
read Hien-tu.
But what was the sound originally represented by the character now read Chu in the compound
T’ien-chu? It seems that no satisfactory and decisive answer can be given at present to this question. We
find that in the Han period the character represented several sounds which cannot be said to be very like
each other. The upper part chu meaning bamboo is not significant here, we are told, but only phonetic; and
the lower part is significant, and refers the word to the category earth. The character might then be read
something like du. But this account of the syllable may be doubted, as we learn also that the character was
read like tek, an old and still current pronunciation of the word for bamboo. Then this same character was
also read as chah, tuh, kat, and kc or gou. . . .
T’ien-tu, on the other hand was the name of a place in the Eastern Sea mentioned in the
“Shan-hai-ching” along with Chao-hsien or Korea. This place was afterwards identified wrongly with the
T’ien-chu of writers on India and Buddhism. But we find mention also of another T’ien-tu (written in the
same way), a small country to the west of China, which has been supposed by some to be the Shên-tu of
Chang Ch’ien.
Whatever the name T’ien-chu may have signified originally, however, it came to be given by the
Chinese in their literature to the great extent of territory between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea,
and reaching from the Kapis country in the north to Ceylon in the south. Thus used it supplanted the old
Shên-tu, and all other names for India among the Chinese; and it continued to be the general literary
designation for that country down to the T’ang period when the new name Yin-tu was brought into fashion.
We even find the term T’ien-chu used with a wider application, and it is employed as a synonym for
“Buddhist countries”, for example, in a title given to the “Fo-kuo-chi” of Fa-hsien.” Watters (1904-05), I,

pp. 135-137.
5.16. The kingdom of the Da Yuezhi 大月氏 [Ta Yüeh-chih] = the Kushans. There is a translation of this whole
passage, plus others on the Kushans, in the useful and interesting article by Zürcher (1968), pp. 346-390. See also:
Enoki (1968), pp. 1-13.
Theories abound regarding the possible connections of this name, Yuezhi. Translated literally, it means
something like “The Moon People.” This explanation seems to lead us nowhere, although among the many gods
represented on the coins of Kanishka and his successors was Mao, the Iranian moon goddess, partner of Miiro /
Mihr, the sun god. The moon goddess is also found represented by the name of the Greek goddess, Salene or
Selene.
Of more interest, perhaps, are the theories connecting the Chinese name (Da) Yuezhi with one or the other
tribes or peoples mentioned by Classical and Indian writers as invading first the Bactrian region and, later, India
itself.
The first theory, developed by W. B. Henning in his 1965 paper, “The first Indo-Europeans in history,” is
discussed at some length in Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 281-282. They explore Henning’s suggestion that the
ancient pronunciation of ‘Yuezhi” could be approximately reconstructed as *Gu(t)-t’i and related it to the ‘Guti’
people who began harassing the western borders of Babylon from c. 2100 BCE.
According to Assar (2003), the Parthian king Mithradates II mounted a major campaign into the “Gutian
country” circa 120 BCE and there is a reference to actions by Parthia involving the Guti as late as circa 77 BCE.
Apparently, Henning believed that Guti in the ‘Kuchean-Agnean’ or ‘KA’ language “would have been
rendered Kuči, and hence be equivalent to Kuchean. As for the toχri mentioned in the Uighur colophon, Henning
believed one need look no further than the name of the Tukriš who had been neighbours of the Guti in western
Persia and hence had given their name both to the toχri of the northern Tarim and the Tocharians of Bactria.”
Unfortunately, for this theory, Mallory and Mair find his supposed support on the basis of similar ceramics
unconvincing but, “Of greater detriment to such a theory is that Henning accepted a reconstructed Chinese
pronunciation of Yuezhi as *Gu(t)-t’i, when, in fact, it is commonly reconstructed now as *ngi wāt-ti̯ĕg – which
makes it a far less transparent correspondence.”
A far more convincing argument is made in the detailed essay on the name ‘Gara’ in Bailey (1985), pp. 110-141
and his ‘Epilogus’ on p. 142. I will have to summarize the development of his position by quoting brief excerpts
from his text:
“In Khotan-Saka script this name is written gara, inflected as an -a- stem, plural gara, gen. plural –garām̲,
loc. plural garvā, garrvā, and allative (‘towards’) garvās̲t̲ä. . . .
Below, reasons are given for equating the Khotan-Saka gara- with the γαρα of Greek Θογαρα, and
Tibetan -gar in to-gar. The -a- is always an essential part of the name, and was emphasized by the long -āin
Bud. Skt. tukhāra, N Persian tuxāristān and Khotan-Saka ttahvāra. . . .
The development of g, γ, χ (stop, fricative, unvoiced fricative) is important. Tibetan had -gar, -ggar
in tho-gar and thog-gar, but also bh̲o-gar for Bukhāra, and could put -d-k, -dk- in place of -g-.
The replacement of voiced γ by unvoiced χ is fairly common in various languages. . . .
The forms of the name Gara involve many complex differences. In the ninth- to tenth-century
Khotan-Saka texts, when the Turks of various tribes are reported in the Chinese cities of S̲acū and Kamcū
(Θροανα and Θογaρα) in good orthography, the people of Gara are cited: KT 2.113.102 mājā gara ‘our
Gara (allies)’. . . .
The Chinese records report a people whom they named with the syllable 月 (with added suffix 支 or,
with the same pronunciation according to an old gloss, 氏) one of whose centres was the very Čaʼn-ie, the
centre also of (θο-)γαρα, Tibetan hgar and, as proposed above, of the Khotan-Saka gara- in the region of
Kamcū (Θογαρα). . . .
This 月, if it can in any way be found to indicate such a syllable as this gara-, will easily express the
same ethnic name in the very place of its base. This can in fact be shown. . . .
For 月 the Tibetans spelt hgvyar, hgyar, hgvar in which the laryngeal h- could also indicate a nasal
sound, as in Ga-hǰag for Kančaka-, the name of Kāšγar. . . .
The importance of the unaccepted transcriptions of 月 by G. Haloun (sgu), K. Enoki (sguǰa), and Ed.
Pulleyblank’s (i̭at-), lies in their recognition that the name began with 月 and that consequently the 大 t’ai,
ta ‘great’ placed before was an adjective epithet. When later two divisions of these people were known,
besides the 大 ta ‘great’ they employed also 小 ‘small, little’ for the group remaining beside them in the
Nan-şan and in the Köke-nagur (Kokonor) region.

The Chinese quoted this name adding to 月 ( = γar) a syllable 支 K 1212 t̲s̲ï < tśie̯ (from t’a), G 864
a t̑iě, and 氏 K 879 s̲ï < tśie̯, G 864 a t̑iĕg. The syllable is then a foreign -čik, -jik to be read -čik, with either
-i- or -ī-.
To an Iranist the -čik is the commonest of suffixes to form ethnic names. Three forms are known. . . .
The base tau-: tu- ‘to increase in size, strength or number’ is very widely attested in Indo-European. .
. .
For the present problem of the gara- it is important to recognise Iranian tu- ‘great’. . . .
In the θο- of θογara (second century A.D.) and το- of τόχαροι of 300 years earlier (second century
B.C.) is transmitted and Iranian tu- ‘great’ (from earlier tuυi-, as in Old Ind. tuυi-). Note that Old Iranian did
not have the graphic means to distinguish ŭ from ǒ, so that foreigners recorded Iranian u as either u or ǒ.
With u and o distinct, Greek τόχαροι, Armenian toxara-stan, touuxrstan, touxari-k’ (ou = u), Bud. Skt.
tukhara-, Old Ind. tokşāra-, Kuči-Skt tokharika, Arabic script tuxāristān. . . . ” Bailey (1985), pp. 110-115
+ 118-119, 123. For those with a special interest in the issue, I recommend a thorough study of his original
essay.
Following from this, it is likely the ‘Kara’ mentioned of some of Kujula’s coins denotes that he belongs to the
Gara people = the Yuezhi.
There is also a possibility worth considering that the name Yuezhi is related to that of the Άσιοι or Asiani
mentioned in Classical sources along with the Tochari as one of the tribes who invaded ancient Bactria:
“Pelliot cited this example apropos of the famous and controversial name Yüeh-chih 月氏 M.
ŋiwαt-cie, pointing out that the initial ŋ- was unlikely to have represented a foreign g-, as has been
generally assumed, before the mid-T’ang period. Pelliot did not himself make any proposal as to the true
equivalent of the name but his argument greatly strengthens the case for one of the many proposals that
have been made, namely that of the ’Ιάτιοι found on the north side of the upper Yaxartes in Ptolemy. The
initial of the second syllable would have been still unpalatalized *t- ath the beginning of the Han dynasty
when the Yüeh-chih first appear. The labial element in the Chinese transcription remains unexplained. The
true initial may have been the yw- found in some Tocharian words (= I.P. ´?) which could not have been
exactly represented in any other way in Greek. The question as to whether the ’Ιάτιοι are the same as the
Άσιοι or Asiani, as has often been stated, must be left aside for the moment. The equation seems highly
probable on historical grounds.” Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 93-94. For a discussion of the occasional later
replacement of the second character in Yuezhi (zhi: rad. 83) by other characters (zhi: rad. 65; zhi: radical
75-4), see ibid. pp. 106-107.
Other proposals and quotes of interest on this subject follow:
“As we have just mentioned, the people who emerge as Tocharians in Western sources are often
equated with a branch of the Yuezhi of Chinese sources who were driven first from the Gansu borderlands
by the Xiongnu, then further west by the Wusun, arriving at the Oxus, and going on to conquer Bactria and
establish the Kushan empire. Narain argues that once one accepts the equation Tocharian = Yuezhi, then
one is forced to follow both the Chinese historical sources (which for him would propel the Yuezhi back to
at least the 7th century BC) and the geographical reference of their first cited historical location (Gansu) to
the conclusion that they had lived there ‘from times immemorial’. Narain infers that they had been there at
least since the Qijia culture of c. 2000 BC and probably even earlier in the Yangshao culture of the
Neolithic. This would render the Tocharians as virtually native to Gansu (and earlier than the putative
spread of the Neolithic to Xinjiang) and Narain goes so far as to argue that the Indo-Europeans themselves
originally dispersed from this area westwards. Seldom has a tail so small wagged a dog so large.” Mallory
and Mair (2000), p. 281.
“By the third century B.C.E., when the Xiongnu became a real threat to the border of the Chinese empire,
the Yuezhi were better known as suppliers of horses.” Liu (2001), p. 272.
“In the Sanguozhi 三國志, ch. 3, it is recorded that on the date of Guimao 癸卯 of the 12th month, in the
third year of Taihe 太和 (i.e., A.D. 229), “The king of the Da Yuezhi, Bodiao 波調 (Vāsudeva), sent his
envoy to present tribute and His Majesty granted him a title of “King of the Da Yuezhi Intimate with Wei
魏.” If the Guishuang Kingdom was established by the Daxia, it would not have accepted this title.

In my opinion, the so-called Da Yuezhi actually [by this time] included the Asii, the Tochari, the
Gasiani and other tribes. The Xihou of Guishuang may have been the Gasiani, because “Guishuang” can be
a transcription of “Gasiani”. As mentioned above, the Gasiani and the Yuezhi had the same origin, thus
“Guishuang” and “Yuezhi” were objectively different transcriptions of one and the same name. Therefore,
there was no difference between “the king of the Da Yuezhi” and “the king of the Great Guishuang”. Why
should Podiao not have gone ahead to accept?” Yu (1998), p. 31.
“The Yuezhi resided on the border of agricultural China even earlier that the Xiongnu. While the Xiongnu
were famous in history because of their conflicts with Chinese empires, the Yuezhi were better known to
the Chinese for their role in long-distance trade. Ancient economist Guan Zhong (645 B.C.E.) referred to
the Yuezhi, or Niuzhi, as a people who supplied jade to the Chinese. It is well known that ancient Chinese
rulers had a strong attachment to jade. All of the jade items excavated from the tomb of Fuhao of the Shang
dynasty [a royal consort of the early 12th century BCE], more than 750 pieces, were from Khotan in
modern Xinjiang. As early as the mid-first millennium B.C.E. the Yuezhi engaged in the jade trade, of
which the major consumers were rulers of agricultural China.” Liu (2001), p. 265.
Section 6 – The Kingdom of Linni (Lumbini)
6.1. Linni (Lumbini). Lin-ni 臨兒.
臨 – K669e *bli̭əm / pi̭əm; EMC lim
兒 – K873a *ńi̭ĕg / ńźie̯; ni/ er; EMC ŋgj
The character兒 – ni, is also pronounced er, and this is how Chavannes transcribed it in his translation. Chavannes
(1905), p. 539, n. 2, and others have noted, it is clearly meant to be a transcription of the name of Lumbini, the
garden in which the Buddha was born and, therefore, should be read ni not er.
The famous Chinese Buddhist monk, Faxian, in c. 405 CE , visited Lumbinī which he transcribed as 論民 –
Lunmin.
論 – K470b *li̯wən / li̯uĕn; EMC lwən h
民 – K457a *mi̯ən / mi̯ĕn; EMC mjin.
“Lumbinī is Rumminideī in the Nepalese Terai, 2 miles to the north of Bhagavanpur and about a mile to the
north of Paderia” Law (1932), p. 45.
“It was not till the nineties of the last century [i.e. the 19 th century] that Lumbinī came to light once
again. In the forest the wood-cutters were plying their axes as usual, felling timber-tress. Through an
opening in the trees, something strange and man-made showed itself, – a yellowish pillar of sandstone cleft
down to the middle by a stroke of lightening and the top of it shattered and largely embedded in the
accumulated debris. Below the crack made by the lightening, the ruined pillar showed some strange
unintelligible inscriptions.
The existence of the inscribed pillar had been known to the foresters of the Terai for some years
before it attracted in 1894 the attention of an official archaeologist Dr. Führer, – just 2,175 years after
Emperor Asoka had set it up. On 1st December, 1895, it was identified as Asoka’s monolith, and the ‘river
of oil’, Hsüan-tsang had heard of centuries before, it trickled down still within sight. Hill-men still called it
by the same ancient name, Tilaur, the ‘river of Til (oilseed)’. Buried in a thicket and perched on a mound
was also a small brick-built shrine to a goddess unknown to Hindu or Buddhist mythology. The shrine had
been kept up by local hill-men since forgotten antiquity.
The inscription below the crack in the pillar was deciphered and edited by Dr. Bühler in 1898. It is in
five lines containing three sentences only :
(a) when king Devānampiya Piyadasi had been anointed twenty years, he came himself and
worshipped (this spot), because the Buddha Sākymuni was born here.
(b) (He) both caused to be made a stone bearing a horse (?) and caused a stone pillar to be set up (in

order to show) that the Blessed One (Bhagavaṁ) was born here.
(c) (He made the village of Lumminī [in later readings – Lumbinī] free of taxes, and paying (only)
an eighth share (of the produce).
The language of the inscription was an eastern dialect, possibly the court language of Pāṭaliputra in
Asoka’s time, of which the principal peculiarity was the tendency to convert ‘r’ into ‘l’. Thus in the
inscription the ‘Rājina’ (by the king) is modified as ‘Lājina’, and this phonological peculiarity was
particularly helpful in equiparating the name, Rummin, by which the hill-men called the find-place of the
pillar, with the Lumbinī of the legends.
The ‘goddess of Rummin’ also was identified through the discovery near the shrine of a much
defaced relief in stone showing the Buddha’s nativity as given in the legends, – Queen Māyā holding the
branch of a tree and the divine child, just delivered, standing by her side. The nativity panel was of
yellowish sandstone like the Asokan pillar, though its age and original emplacement are unknown, the
likelihood being that it belonged to the original shrine.” Dutt (1955), pp. 21-22. Another (later) translation
of the inscription on the pillar is given in Thapur (1961), p. 261:
Rummindei Pillar Inscription
“The beloved of the Gods, the king Piyadassi, when he had been consecrated twenty years, came in person
and reverenced the place where Buddha Śakyamuni was born. He caused a stone enclosure to be made and
a stone pillar to be erected. As the Lord was born here in the village of Lumbinī, he exempted it from tax,
and fixed its contribution [i.e. of grain] at one-eighth.”
6.2. Futu 浮屠 [Fu-t’u] = the Buddha. An early and common transcription of the Buddha’s name into Chinese. See,
for example, GR Vol. II. p. 709, No. 3615.
6.3. The body of the Buddha was endowed with a yellow colour. His hair was blue like blue silk. His breast was
blue, his body-hair red like copper.
“The “golden colour” (suvarṇa-varṇa) of the Buddha is one of his 32 characteristics (lakṣana).” Zürcher
(1972), p. 383, n. 168.
Regarding the blue breast and hair of the Buddha; blue represented ‘refined’ and ‘true’ – see Zürcher (1972), pp.
178 and 384, n. 181. It was commonly used in illustrations of Buddha (and other holy personages):
“In early Buddhist texts liu-li also denoted blue or green precious stone, primarily lapis lazuli. The
Buddhist literature which was translated into Chinese in the fourth and early fifth centuries describes the
enlightened Buddha showing his hair, as beautiful as liu-li, to his father; devotees who did not hurt others
would be born with hair the colour of liu-li. From the earliest times up to now Buddhist artists always paint
the hair of the Buddha, Bodhisattvas and even other heavenly beings, sky-blue. . . . At least in the Buddhist
context of the early centuries AD, vaidūrya in Sanskrit and liu-li in Chinese meant lapis lazuli. Probably
because the liu-li sold to the Chinese included not only lapis lazuli and similar precious stones but also blue
or green glass, the Chinese gradually, certainly by the fifth century, found out that certain kinds of liu-li
could be made by melting different kinds of stones together (WS: CII, 2275).” Liu (1988), p. 59.
6.4. At first I assumed that the statement that the Buddha was born from the left side of his mother was a simple
mistake as he is usually always represented as having emerged from the right side of his mother, if not from her
womb itself. This apparent mistake was noticed by Chavannes (1905), p. 545, n. 2, and p. 540, line 5 of the note.
However, there may be some basis for it in Chinese literature. There is a Taoist tradition dating back at least
as far as the 4th century CE that Laozi [Lao-tzu] was born from his mother’s left arm-pit. See the discussion in
Zürcher (1972), p. 433, n. 70, where he explains: “The change from left to right is understandable: in general, left
is the direction which corresponds with the male principle (yang) (cf. M. Granet, Pensée chinoise, p, 369).”
6.5. The “topknot” or ushnisha is commonly represented on Buddha images and signifies the additional wisdom
and knowledge a Buddha possesses.
“The representations of the Buddha must always have either the chignon or the protuberance on the skull
which is presumably the seat of the manas, or divine mind (soul) of the Buddha.” Getty (1928), p. 18.

For more details on the Buddha’s ushnisha see: Banerjea (1931); and Chandra (1934).
6.6. “As soon as he touched ground, he was able to take seven steps.” This is a condensed version of the popular
accounts of the birth of the Buddha as recounted in many early Indian Buddhist texts such as the Mahāvastu (c. end
of 2 nd century BCE), Nidānakathā and Lalitavistara, and the celebrated Buddhacarita or The Acts of the Buddha by
Ashvaghosha, who wrote in the first or early second century CE.
“There lived once upon a time a king of the Shakyas, a scion of the solar race, whose name was
Shuddhodana. He was pure in conduct, and beloved of the Shakyas like the autumn moon. He had a wife,
splendid, beautiful, and steadfast, who was called the Great Maya, from her resemblance to Maya the
Goddess. These two tasted of love’s delights, and one day she conceived the fruit of her womb, but without
any defilement, in the same way in which knowledge joined to trance bears fruit. Just before her conception
she had a dream. A white king elephant seemed to enter her body, but without causing her any pain. So
Maya, queen of that god-like king, bore in her womb the glory of her dynasty. But she remained free from
the fatigues, depressions, and fancies which usually accompany pregnancies. Pure herself, she longed to
withdraw into the pure forest, in the loneliness of which she could practise trance. She set her heart on
going to Lumbini, a delightful grove, with trees of every kind, like the grove of Citraratha in Indra’s
Paradise. She asked the king to accompany her, and so they left the city, and went to that glorious grove.
When the queen noticed that the time of her delivery was approaching, she went to a couch
overspread with an awning, thousands of waiting-women looking on with joy in their hearts. The propitious
constellation of Pushya shone brightly when a son was born to the queen, for the weal of the world. He
came out of his mother’s side, without causing her pain of injury. His birth was as miraculous as that of
Aurva, Prithu, Mandhatri, and Kakshivat, heroes of old who were born respectively from the thigh, from
the hand, the head or the armpit. So he issued from the womb as befits a Buddha. He did not enter the world
in the usual manner, and he appeared like one descended from the sky. And since he had for many aeons
been engaged in the practice of meditation, he now was born in full awareness, and not thoughtless and
bewildered as other people are. When born, he was so lustrous and steadfast that it appeared as if the young
sun had come down to earth. And yet, when people gazed at his dazzling brilliance, he held their eyes like
the moon. His limbs shone with the radiant hue of precious gold, and lit up the space all around. Instantly
he walked seven steps, firmly and with long strides. In that he was like the constellation of the Seven Seers.
With the bearing of a lion he surveyed the four quarters, and spoke these words full of meaning for the
future: ‘For enlightenment I was born, for the good of all that lives. This is the last time that I have been
born into this world of becoming’.” From: Conze (1959), pp. 35-36. For another translation of the same text
see: Johnston (1936), Part II, pp. 1-4.
6.7. Shalu 沙律 [Sha-lü] = Sāriputra.
“Mr. SYLVAIN LÉVI (Journal As. Jan.-Feb. 1897, p. 16, n., and May-June 1900, p. 461–462), has shown
that the characters Shalu could be a vernacular transcription of the name of Sāriputra.” Translated from
Chavannes (1905), p. 546, n. 2.
“According to Ch’en Tzu-liang 陳子良, as quoted in Fa-lin’s 法琳 Pien-cheng-lun 辨正論 (Treatise on the
Discernment of the Right), Sha-lü was aged and white-haired, constantly instructing men to construct
Buddha (stūpas) 沙律年老髮白, 常敎人浮圖. Sha-lü appears to be Śāriputra, one of the Buddha’s most
renowned disciples. While the Lao-tzu hua-hu-ching 老子化經 (the Scripture of Lao-tzu’s Conversion of
the Barbarians) is said to be the work of Taoist practitioner Wang Fu 王符, composed during the reign of
Emperor Ch’eng of the Eastern Chin 東晉成帝, its origins can be detected as early as in Hsiang K’ai’s 襄
楷 memorial; in sum it is a work of considerable age.” Wada (1978), p. 34, n. 8.
Note the phonetically almost identical to the first part of the Tibetan name, Sharu, in the following quote:
“S’ÂRIPUTRA or S’arisuta or S’aradvatiputra (Pali. Sariputta. Singh. Seriyut. Burm. Thariputra. Tib.
Sharu by or Saradwatu by or Nid rghial). . . . One of the principal disciples of S’âkyamuni, whose “right
hand attendant” he was; born at Nalandagrama, the son of Tichya (v. Upatichya) and S’ârika, he became
famous for his wisdom and learning, composed 2 works on the Abhidharma, died before his master, but is
to re-appear as Buddha Padmaprabha in Viradja during the Maharatna pratimandita kalpa.” Eitel (1888),
pp. 148-149.

The Singhalese name, Seriyut, is almost identical to the hypothesized Prakrit form, *Sariyut, proposed by Zürcher:
“S. Lévi (in J. As. 1897, p. 16 and 1900, p. 461-462) has demonstrated that this sha-lü沙律 (Arch.
*sa.bli̯wət > Anc. *sa.bli̯wĕt) must be a very archaic rendering of the name Sāriputra or of a corresponding
Prākrit form *Sariyut.” Zürcher (1972), p. 428, n. 23.
Apparently, the Yellow Turban rebels who led a rebellion from 184 to c. 204 CE under the leadership of a Daoist
faith healer named Zhang Jue [Chang Chüeh], claimed that Shalu or Sāriputra, the Buddha’s elder disciple, was
actually Laozi. For a detailed discussion of this story and Chavannes’ rather convoluted attempts to explain it, see
Zürcher (1972), pp. 391-392 (5); 428, n. 25.
6.8. boshidizu [po-shih ti-tzu].
“HAN: lit., disciple of the Erudites (po-shih), first appointed in 124 B.C.: National University Student, a
promising man admitted to the National University (t’ai-hsüeh) at the dynastic capital on the basis of a
recommendation by a territorial administrator; pursued studies of classical texts for one year; if successful
in examinations given then, became a qualified member of the official class and might join the pool of
expectant appointees to office called Court Gentlemen (lang) at the capital or might seek an appointment on
the staff of a District Magistrate (hsien-ling) or a higher territorial administrator. Comparable to
chien-sheng of the late imperial dynasties. Commonly abbreviated to ti-tzu. . . . ” Hucker (1985), p. 390,
No. 4753.
6.9. Yicun 伊存 [Yi-ts’un], the envoy of the king of the Da Yuezhi (Kushans).
“If we accept the [Weilue’s] text as it stands, this doubtless means that Ching Lu obtained this instruction in
China, most probably at the capital, from a Yüeh-chih who had come to China as an envoy.” Zürcher
(1972), p. 24.
This interesting passage has appeared in a number of later Chinese texts in a bewildering variety of forms which
are frequently contradictory. This has caused much discussion among scholars; see, for example, the discussions in
Chavannes (1905), p. 547, n. 1, and Zürcher, (1972), pp. 24-26.
I personally feel that there is nothing improbable in having a Da Yuezhi envoy instruct a Chinese scholar in
Buddhist teachings in 2 BCE. The Da Yuezhi by then had been in control of the trade routes through Bactria for
well over a century and would have been in close contact with Indian thought and philosophies throughout this
period.
As the account in the Weilue predates the others by a couple of centuries, and contains nothing that would
seem implausible, it deserves serious consideration. However, Zürcher, (1972), p. 25, says:
“. . . but if this tradition after more than two centuries of silence turns up in some seven versions which are
partly unintelligible and in which neither the name of the Chinese scholar nor the function of the Yüeh-chih
nor the place of action appears to be fixed, we are no longer allowed to use it as reliable material for
historical research.”
Zürcher (1972), pp. 24-25 translates the term koushou 口授 [k’ou-shou] in this sentence as ‘oral instruction’ or
‘orally to instruct,’ but on page 31 he gives a fuller picture of its meaning:
“The master either had a manuscript of the original text at his disposal or he recited it from memory. If he
had enough knowledge of Chinese (which was seldom the case) he gave an oral translation (k’ou-shou 口
授), otherwise the preliminary translation was made, “transmitted”, by a bilingual intermediary (ch’uan-i 傳
譯). Chinese assistants – monks as well as laymen – noted down the translation (pi-shou 筆受), after which
the text was subjected to a final revision. . . . ”
6.10. “… Buddhist sūtras which say this man (the Buddha) is the one who is ‘reincarnated’ – 復立 fuli.” The
meaning of the term fuli here is unclear. Literally, it means something like ‘the reappeared.’
Zürcher (1972), p. 429, translates it as “the reinstated.” Rather, it could be an early attempt to represent the
Buddhist concept of ‘reincarnation’ in Chinese and that it refers here to the Buddha. The word 復 fu was used in
descriptions of the “calling back the soul” ritual and, although it was not used in the combination fuli, it adds
weight to my hypothesis that fuli was probably an early attempt to represent the foreign Buddhist concept of
reincarnation in Chinese.

“The Northern equivalent to the ritual of “Calling back the soul” would be the fu “return-ritual” mentioned
repeatedly in the three classics on rites. In the Liyun chapter, the ritual is connected with the beginning of
ritual practices (compare Ruan Yuan, Shisanjing zhushu, (Zhonghua shuju 2. vol version), p.1415. Here
only po is mentioned, zhi qi “knowing/aware? Qi” (de Groot “sentient afflatus”) seems to be used instead of
hun. In the following text hun is mentioned too, but the connection between the ritual and hun and po are
not clear. A more detailed description of the performance of fu is contained in sangdaji, SSJZS, p.1572.
Unfortunately no mention of hun and po here. Even more details in Yili, SSJZS, p.1128. The locus
classicus for hun and po is the discussion between Zhao Yingzi and Zi Chan regarding the return of the soul
of Bo You contained in the Zuozhuan, Zhao 7, SSJZS, p.2050.
Unfortunately no mention of the ritual here. This is where the story almost ends. In the preparation of
my master thesis on the “Zhaohun” I came across more references to hun and po in WS texts, but to my
knowledge the fu ritual is only mentioned in Zhouli, Yili and Liji. Yet the details mentioned suggest a clear
awareness of the ritual practice on the side of the authors.
Hope this information is of some help.” Michael Schimmelpfennig (University of
Erlangen-Nuremberg). Posted on wsw@yahoogroups.com on April 24, 2003.
“I am glad my comment was of some use to you. Let me add one remark. In the Shuowen jiezi under the
entry of yun grass or Rue (Matthews’, 7749) Xu Shen adds a quotation from Liu An saying that Rue grass
can bring the dead back (fu) to life. When I came across the remark, I surmised that it could indicate that
the Han lacked the concept of unconsciousness which is sort of supported by the fact that the Chinese
language lacks genuine expressions for the loss of consciousness. But here, Don Harper may know more.
At the same time fu is the central expression in and designation of the “Northern” Calling back the Soul
ritual, if such a procedure was ever practiced.” (A reply from Michael Schimmelpfennig on 21 August,
2003 kindly giving me permission to use the information).
“The following custom exists in China: When someone has just died, a fine new garment, for example, is
shown to the soul from the housetop and it is implored to return to the body. This ritual is abundantly
attested in the classical texts 80 and has continued to our day; 81 it even supplied Sung Yü with the subject of
a long poem entitled, precisely, “Calling Back the Soul.” Sickness, too, often involved the flight of the soul,
and then the sorcerer pursues it in ecstasy, captures it, and replaces it in the patient’s body. 83
80 Cf. S. Couvreur, tr. Li Ki; ou, Mémoires sur les bienséances et les cérémonies ( 2 nd edn. ), I, 85, 181, 199 ff.; II, 11,
125, 204, etc.; J. J. M. de Groot, The Religious System of China, I, 245 ff. On Chinese conceptions of the life after
death, cf. E. Erkes: “Die alt-chinesischen Jenseitsvorstellungen”; “The God of Death in Ancient China.”
81 Cf., for example, Theo Körner, “Das Zurückrufen der Seele in Kuei-chou.”
82 Erkes, Das “Zurückrufen der Seele” (Chao-Hun) des Sung Yüh. Cf. also Maspero, Les Religions chinoises, pp. 50 ff.
83 This type of cure is still practiced today; cf. Groot, VI, 1284, 1319, etc. The sorcerer has the power to call back and
replace even the soul of a dead animal; cf. ibid., p. 1214 (the resurrection of a horse). The Thai sorcerer sends some of
his souls to search for the strayed soul of the patient, and he does not fail to warn his souls to take the right road when
they come back to this world. Cf. Maspero, p. 218.
Eliade (1964), pp. 447-448 and nn.
Chavannes (1905), p. 547 and n. 2 translated the term as “the reappeared” and believed it referred to the Taoist
story of Lao Tzu travelling to the West and being reincarnated in India as the Buddha. This hypothesis seems
unnecessary and unconvincing in light of the above discussion.
Wada (1978), p. 33, gives fudu 復豆 as an alternative to fuli 復立 and seems to treat it as another attempt to
transcribe Buddha into Chinese. First, of all, I am unable to determine where he found 復豆, or on what grounds he
proposes to replace fuli 復立, with 復豆.
Additionally, the Buddha’s name is clearly transcribed as Futu, a regular transcription of the name, at the
beginning of this same passage and I find it hard to believe that the author would have used a completely different
transcription, which is otherwise unknown, in the same chapter for the Buddha.
6.11. linpusai 臨蒲塞 [lin-p’u-sai] = Sanskrit upasâka – a male lay disciple. “UPÂSAKA (Singh. Upasika. Tib.
Dge snem. Ming. [sic] Ubaschi)… lit. male devotees. Lay-members of the Buddhist church who, without entering
upon monastic life, vow to keep the principal commandments. If females, they are called Upâsikâ (Sing.

Upasikawa. Tib. Dge snen ma. Mang. [sic] Ubaschanza).” Eitel (1885), p. 187.
See also: Chavannes (1905), p. 550 and n. 1; Zürcher (1972), p. 27. The first character, lin 臨, in linpusai is
probably, as Sprecht first pointed out, and Chavannes explains in the note, a mistake for yipusai 伊蒲塞 [i-p’u-sai],
or youpose 優婆塞 [yu p’o sai], the initial characters of which are all quite similar and are attempts to phonetically
transcribe Sanskrit upâsaka – a faithful lay Buddhist).
The form yipusai is first found in Hou Hanshu zhuan 72, referring to the gift of food in 65 CE toyipusai 伊
蒲塞 [i-p’u-sai] and sangmen 桑門 [sang-men] (phonetic transcription of Sanskrit śramaṇa or monk) by Ying, the
king of (the dependent kingdom of) Chou.
“Let the cloth be returned, therewith to supplement the feasts of the i-p’u-sai 伊蒲塞 and sang-men 桑門.
I-p’u-sai is the same as yu-p’o-sai 優婆塞 (upāsaka), translated into Chinese as chin-chu 近住 (dwelling
close by). It means that, undertaking ascetic behaviour, he is allowed to approach the dwellings of the
Saṃgha. Sang-men [桑門] is the same as sha-men 沙門 (śramaṇa). The decree was distributed and
displayed throughout the realm.” Quoted from Wada (1978), pp. 32-33.
As Chavannes notes, this text proves that the Buddhist church in China was well enough established at this early
date to have both monks and lay disciples.
6.12. sangmen 桑門 (śramaṇa – monks, ascetics).
“(Pali. Saman. Burm. Phungee. Tib. Dges by ong). . . . Ascetics of all denominations, the Sarmanai or
Samanaioi or Germanai of the Greeks. (2.) Buddhist monks and priests “who have left their families and
quitted the passions.” Eitel (1888), p. 157. See also the previous note, 6.11.
6.13. bowen 伯聞 [po-wen].
“This term and the two following are very obscure. SYLVAIN LÉVI (J. A., May-June 1900, p. 463) has
proposed to see them as translations of the word “śrāvakas” (the hearer) – The Dongdiangives the reading:
伯開 [bokai], 疏間 [shujian], 白間 [baijian]; the Taipinghuanyuji writes: 伯聞 [bowen], 疏閒 [shuxian], 白
閒 [baixian]. Meanwhile, although the Shanghai edition (1888) of the Sanguozhi, presents for the last of
these three terms, the reading 白疏聞 [baishuwen], I find in the Baorentang, the reading 白疏間
[baishujian].” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 550, n. 2.
6.14. shuwen 疏聞 [shu-wen] = śrāvaka – literally, ‘a hearer’, a follower of the Hīnayāna. It seems probable that
shu(su)-wen 疏聞, like the better-known form, sheng-wen 聲聞, was meant to represent Sanskrit śrāvaka, lit.
‘voice-hearer’, later used for followers of the Hīnayāna. From DEABT:
“聲聞 [py] shēngwèn [wg] sheng-wen [ko] sŏngmun [ja] ショウモン shōmon ||| śrāvaka. ‘voice-hearer’;
originally, a disciple of the Buddha (who heard his voice); later, a follower of Hīnayāna. . . . ” DEALT. See
also GR, Vol. V, No. 9701, p. 268
“(Pali. Savako. Sing. Srawaka. Tib. Nan thos. Mong. Scharwak). . . . (1.) All personal disciples of
Śàkyamuni, the foremost of whom are called Mahâśrâvakas. (2.) The elementary degree of saintship, the
first of the Triyâna, the śrāvaka (superficial yet in practice and understanding) being compared with a hare
crossing Sañsara by swimming on the surface.” Eitel (1888), p. 157.
6.15. baishuwen 白疏閒 [pai-shu-wen] – literally: ‘White (or ‘pure’) śrāvaka’.
6.16. biqiu 比丘 [pi-ch’iu] – a regular transcription of the Sanskrit bhiksu – a mendicant monk. (Pâli. Bhikkhu.
Singh. Bhikchu. Tib. Dgeslong. Mong. Gelong). Eitel (1888), p. 31.
6.17. chenmen 晨門 [ch’en-men]. According to GR No. 637, chen-men was an ancient term meaning, ‘guardian of
the door.’ It is equivalent to the Sanskrit Dvārapāla – ‘Keeper of the Gate.’
“It appears from the legends that a functionary whose designation was ‘Guardian of the Gate’ acted at
both Nālandā and at Vikramaśilā. The gate-keeper of Nālandā, evidently a learned monk of high status, is
designated as ‘men-che’ [門者 = ‘doorkeeper’ – Pinyin: menzhe] and of Vikramaśilā as ‘go-srun’ in the
Tibetan. The Chinese and the Tibetan expressions are synonymous. Nālandā had one gate, while
Vikramaśilā had six, each ‘kept’ by a Go-srun, equivalent to Sanskrit Dvāra-pāla (Keeper of the Gate).

The function at Nālandā is reported in the Chinese records to have been to judge the qualifications
of persons intending to join one of its ‘schools of discussion’. Whether the Vikramaśilā ‘gate-keeper’
exercised the same function is not known, but those named in the Tibetan legends as incumbents of the
office of Go-srun or Dvāra-pāla were all scholars of high eminence and celebrity, holding the office on
royal commission.” Dutt (1962), pp. 360-361.
“We have referred already to another important officer – the ‘Door-keeper’ who used to hold the
‘screening examination’ of candidates seeking admission to one of the ‘schools’ of Nālandā.” Ibid., p, 338.
See also ibid., p. 351.
6.18. Fotu suosaiyu zhongguo Laozijing xiangchru 佛屠所載與中國老子經相出入 . For an alternate translation of
this rather difficult paragraph see Zürcher (1972), p. 291 (4) and for a discussion of its possible meanings and
Daoist influences, see p. 428, n. 19.
This passage has been the subject of lengthy discussion by a number of eminent scholars including Sylvain
Lévi, Paul Pelliot, and E. Zürcher. All these discussions, however, have been complicated by the faulty rendering
of the term churu 出入 [ch’u-ju] as “analogies” rather than “discrepancies” or “differences.” (See: GR, p. 115, No.
2512; ABC, p. 137). This has led to much fruitless speculation.
The text now becomes much easier to comprehend – it is clearly a statement intended to discredit the Daoist
legend that Laozi [Lao-tzu] went to the West and converted the Barbarians and was later reincarnated as the
Buddha. This finds confirmation in the quotation from the Xiyu zhuan of the Weilue by Chen Ziliang [Ch’en
Tzu-liang] in his commentary to Falin’s [Fa-lin’s] Bianzhenglun [Pien cheng lun] of 626 CE. This apparently refers
to the same original as our text – the Xiyu zhuan of the Weilue quoted by Pei Songzhi [P’ei Sung-chih] in his
commentary to the Sanguozhi [San kuo chih]. See especially Zürcher (1972), p. 428, nn. 19 and 25.
6.19. One of my correspondents kindly sent me the following information on this passage:
“In the text Anavatapta-gatha, twenty-nine disciples reported their previous life stories to the Buddha in the
Anavatapta Lake. The text is in the Taisho vol. 4, text no. 199, page 190-202. Since you have mentioned
that Yu Huan, the author of the Wei lue, composed the text between 239-265 A.D., he is not likely to have
referred to the version of Anavatapta-gatha I just mentioned, because it was translated by Dharmaraksa in
303 A.D. However, there is another text closely related to AG, translated by Kang Mengxiang, in the Hou
Han period (25-220 A.D.). In other words, if Yu Huan did refer to the text AG in his mention of 29
disciples of the Buddha, there must be some materials existing preceding the received text in Taisho, on
which Yu Huan based his comments.”
This would seem very likely. Zürcher (1972), pp. 36, and 333, n. 99, makes the point that the Indian Tanguo
[T’an-kuo], who is said to have come from Kapalivastu and worked together with another Indian, Zhu Dali [Chu
Ta-li = ?Mahābala] and the Sogdian Kang Mengxiang [K’ang Meng-hsiang] translated: “the earliest extant Chinese
accounts of the Buddha : the Chung pen-ch’i ching . . . (T 196) and the Hsiu-hsing pen-ch’i ching . . . (T 184).”
“The poverty of our information on Buddhism during the Han period is certainly due to the terrible
troubles which ravaged the whole Chinese Empire at the end of the 2 nd and the beginning of the 3 rd century
of our era. Certain paragraphs of Muzi prove that at this period a great many Buddhist works had already
been translated into Chinese. But the same writer shows all the provinces in the hands of governors who
had, in fact, become independent sovereigns who did not allow passage through their territory by subjects
of the neighbouring provinces. Long and bloody wars were needed to reduce all these principalities. Still
unity was unable to be recovered, and three sovereign princes had to be allowed to secure for each one a
relative calm in a portion of the Empire. As a result of these constant quarrels, in which every town was
taken and pillaged many times, innumerable documents perished. The same held when, at the beginning of
the 4 th century, the Tartar invasions took the dominance of the Huang He basin away from the Chinese for
about three hundred years. We have some short works on this subject. M. Chavannes has spoken very
recently (Mémoires historiques, bk. V, p. 465) of the two works known to have been lost during the
troubles which obliged the Qin to leave Luoyang in Henan to establish their capital at Nanjin in 417.
Buddhist literature refers to the destruction it underwent then. We know that one of the two monks who
arrived at Luoyang in 67 AD, Zhu Falin, besides the Sūtra in 42 Sections, translated four, and perhaps five,
other works of Indian Buddhism. Mr. Nanjio (Catalogue, Appendix II, No. 2) states that all those works
were lost by the 8 th century, but it can be specified more exactly, for the author of the Gaosengzhuan,
Bojiao, says in his biography of Zhu Falin that, since the troubles which marked the change of capital these

works were lost, and did not reach the “left of the River.” In other words, from the beginning of the 5 th
century, the revolutions had destroyed almost all the work of the first translator whose memory has been
preserved by Chinese Buddhism.” Translated from Pelliot (1906), p. 395, n. 6.

Section 7 – The Kingdom of Juli (the ‘Eastern Division’ of the Kushan Empire)
7.1. Juli 車離 [Chü-li]. The character 車 is correctly transcribed as chē, but is pronounced jū in modern Mandarin,
I have transcribed the name of this kingdom as Juli. Ju (or che) means a ‘chariot’ or a ‘vehicle.’
The Hou Hanshu gives Dongli 東離 [Tung-li] for the name of this kingdom. Ju車, in the Weilue therefore,
may well be an error for the easily confused character, dong 東 = ‘east’.
The character li 離 can mean: ‘distant’ or ‘division.’ It seems unlikely that Dongli was intended as a
transcription of some foreign name. It translates literally as the ‘Eastern Section’ or ‘Eastern Division;’ from: dong
= ‘east’ + li = ‘division.’ Dongli 東離 [Tung-li], therefore = the ‘Eastern Division,’ or ‘The Far East’ (of the
Kushan Empire).
I have rendered Juli (= Dongli) as the ‘Eastern Division’ (of the Kushan Empire), as it clearly refers (in both
texts) to the Kushans’ newly conquered territories in eastern India.
In the excellent article by F. W. Thomas: “Sandanes, Nahapāna, Caṣṭana and Kaniṣka : Tung-li P’an-ch’i
and Chinese Turkestan,” New Indian Antiquary VII. 1944, pp. 81-100, Thomas also concludes (ibid. pp. 90-92)
that the name Dongli was probably not a transcription of a local name but, rather, should be translated as ‘Eastern
Division.’ He notes that the second Chinese character in the name, li:
“ancient lyie < lyia (KARLGREN no. 533 [Analytical Dictionary – in his later Grammata Serica, no. 23f –
*lia] meaning ‘oriole’, ‘leave,’ ‘quit,’ ‘separated,’ ‘pass through,’ etc., is frequently used in rendering
Sanskrit expressions denoting ‘separation,’ ‘lack,’ etc., especially compounds with v i - (including vibhāga,
‘division’), it seems possible that Tung-li is not a transaction, but a translation, meaning ‘Eastern Division,’
in Sanskrit prācya (or pūrva)- vibhāga or prāg-deśa, an expression which by reason of its intelligibility
would be specially likely to be rendered by a translation. [Thomas notes here that: “In later times the
Chinese uses the expression ‘Tung T‘ien-chu’, ‘Eastern India.’]. Now prāg (or pūrva) -deśa is a regular
term for the eastern half of Hindustan, and its popular use, so as to cover the whole country from Magadha
in the east to the borders of the Panjāb, appears from the fact that Alexander’s Indian campaign, if
continued further east, would have brought him into collision with the Prasioi, the Prācya people, sc. the
Magadha empire.” Thomas (1944), p. 91.
Conversely, some writers believe Juli 車離 is an attempt to transcribe Kosala, and that Dongli is a mistake for Juli
東離. For example:
“Again the name Kosala may be compared with Ch’ê-li, the main name which the Wei-liao gives for the
country. Now, the first character of the latter [sic] ch’ê 車 has two pronunciations, tsai and kio, and using
the latter we find that the whole name, pronounced Kiao-lei, could well be a contraction of Kosala. If this is
so it would suggest that the Hou-han-shu name Tung-li is also a corruption.” Shiratori (1956b), p. 40.
However, I find the argument that ju 車 (K. 74a *ki̯o / ki̯wo; EMC kɨə̆) could be used to transcribe the Kos of
Kosala unconvincing.
Eitel (1888), p. 68, in discussing “Prācya or the eastern country,” places it to the east of Madhyadeśa (in
which Śāketa and the kingdom of Kosala were located). Its western borders did change and, according to some
ancient authors, stretched at times almost as far west as Prayāga, which is south of Śāketa. Other ancient
authorities place it further east, in the catchment area of the Brahmaputra River.
7.2. This phrase, 車離國一名禮惟特, 一名沛隸王 Juliguo yi ming li wei te, yi ming pei li wang, Chavannes
translates as: “Le royaume de Kiu-li est aussi appelé Li-wei-t’o 禮惟特, ou encore P’ei-li-wang 沛隸王;...”.
Chavannes (1905): 551.
The reconstructed transcription of Liwete [Li-wei-t’o] is:
li 禮 K. 597d: *liər / liei; EMC lεj
wei 惟 K. 575n *di̯wer / i̯wi; GR 12144: sgi̯wər / i̯wi; EMC jwi
te 特 K. 961h i * d’ək / d’ək; EMC dək
“According to the account in the Life it was from Kanauj that Yuan-chuang [Xuanzang] went 600 li

south-east to Ayudha [阿踰陀 – Ayutuo. W-G: A-yü-t’o]. The capital of this country, which was about a
mile [1.6 km] to the south of the river, has been identified with the Ayodhyā of other writers, the old capital
of Oudh. On account of difficulties of direction and distance Cunningham proposes a different site for
Yuan-chuang’s Ayudha. But it seems better to adhere to Ayodhyā, and to regard Yuan-chuang’s Ganges
here as a mistake for a large affluent of the great river. The city was on the south bank of the river, and
about 120 miles [193 km] east-south-east from Kanauj. Its name is found written in full A-yü-t’ê-ye (阿喩
駃也)[Ayujueye. W-G: A-yü-chüeh-yeh], Ayudhya (Ayodhyā), and the city is said to have been the seat of
government of a line of kings more or less mythical. We know also that to the Hindus Ayodhyā was the old
capital of Rāma and the Solar race. It is possible that an old or dialectic form of the name was Ayuddha,
and the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word, which suits either form, means invincible or irresistible.
Moreover we find that Yuan-chuang makes his Ayudha the temporary residence of Asanga and
Vasubandhu, and other authorities represent Ayodhyā as a place of sojourn for these two illustrious
brothers. Then the Ayudha of Yuan-chuang is apparently the Sha-ki or Saket, that is Ayodhyā, of Fa-hsien ;
this was ten yojanas south-east from the Holi village which was three yojanas south from Kanouj. Alberuni
makes Ayodhyā to have been about 150 miles [241 km] south-east from Kanauj, being 25 farsakhs down
the Ganges from Bāri, which was 20 farsakhs east from Kanauj. It is the Sākētā or Oudh of the
Brihat-sanhitā which merely places it in the “Middle country”.” Watters (1904-05), I, pp. 354-355.
7.3. Peiliwang 沛隸王 [P’ei-li-wang]. This term or phrase is not clear. It could indicate that an alternative name for
the kingdom is Peiliwang, as implied by the Chinese sentence construction; or it could mean that the king’s name
is Peili (= Pala or Bala)?
Pāla in Sanskrit is not necessarily a name, it can also mean, ‘governor,’ ‘guard,’ ‘protector,’ ‘king,’ ‘prince,’
– which raises new possibilities. See Monier-Williams, p. 627.
Pei 沛 – K. 501f *p’wâd / p’uâi; EMC p h aj h
li 隸 – K. 1241m – liei; EMC lεj h
wang 王 – K. 739a *gi̯wang / ji̯wang; EMC wuaŋ h
7.4. Tianzhu 天竺 [T’ien-chü] = North(west)ern India. See note 5.15.
7.5. Shaji or Shaqi 沙奇 [Sha-chi or Sha-chih] = Sāketa.
Sha 沙 – K. 16a *sa / ṣa; EMC: ʂaɨ / ʂɛː
qi, ji 奇 – K. 1s *g’ia / g’jie̯; EMC: giə̆ / gi, and kiə / ki
zhi 祗 – K. 590p *t̑̑i̯ǝr
/ tśi; EMC: tɕi
da 大 – K. 317a *d’âd / d’âi, and t’ âd / tâi, and *d’ âr / d’ â; EMC: da’ / dài, and – da h / daj h
The Chinese form of this name Shaqi 沙奇 is identical in both the accounts of the Hou Hanshu and the Weilue. Fa
Xian’s account of c. 405 CE, gives Shazhi 沙祗 [Sha-chih] for the city and, possibly, Shazhida 沙祗大
[Sha-chih-ta] for the name of the kingdom.
This latter reading would make a fuller and more accurate transcription for Sāketa but, unfortunately, it is
impossible to tell whether the last four characters in the sentence, 沙祗大國, should be read: “the kingdom of
Shazhida” or “the great kingdom of Shazhi.” The Rabatak Inscription writes: [ζ]αγηδ̣ο = [z]agēḍo for Sāketa – see
Sims-Williams (1998), p. 81.
The Hou Hanshu says:
“The town of Shaqi (Sāketa) is the capital of the kingdom of Dongli東離 (‘the Eastern Division’). It is
more than 3,000 li (1,248 km) to the southeast of Tianzhu (Northwestern India). It is a large kingdom.
The climate and products of the country are similar to those of Tianzhu (Northwestern India). There
are several tens of towns of the first rank whose leaders give themselves the title of king. The Da Yuezhi
(Kushans) attacked and enslaved it.”

By modern maps it is about 1,250 km from Sāketa to Taxila, the ancient capital of Gandhāra, which lends
credibility to the accounts of both the Hou Hanshu and the Weilue.
From this it follows that Dongli was composed of a number of small kingdoms with Sāketa as the
administrative centre. It would seem fairly safe to assume that this “Eastern Division” included the cities such as
Kausambi, Pataliputra and, probably, Champa, that we now know from the Rabatak inscription, were conquered by
Kanishka by the first year of his era (127 CE).
Sarnath (near modern Varanasi) should be included in this list, as two inscriptions from year 3 of the same
era have been found there. See: Sims-Williams and Joe Cribb (1995/96), p. 83; Sims-Williams (1997), p. 2; Falk
(2001), pp. 121-136; Kumar (1973), pp. 42, 245.
The Sūtrālakāra or Kalpanāmaktikā, ascribed to Aśvaghoṣa, but probably by Kumāralāta, and translated by
Kumārajīva in the early fifth century CE, mentions a ‘Dong Tianzhu,’ or ‘Eastern India,’ which must surely refer to
the same division or region as Dongli. See: Zürcher (1968), p. 385. Also see: Chavannes (1905), p. 551, n. 1;
Chavannes (1907), p. 194, n. 5; and Mukherjee (1968), p. 35. Faxian, in his account of c. 405, says:
“. . . they came to the great kingdom of Shâ-che.” Beal (1885), p. 54.
This passage could equally well have been translated as beginning: “. . . they came to the kingdom of Shazhida. . . .
” It is not clear whether the character 大 da is part of the name Shazhida (which makes for an excellent and more
complete transcription of Sāketa), or whether it relates to the following character, 國 guo, making it read: “they
came to the great kingdom of Shâ-che,” as Legge has interpreted it in his translation above. Either interpretation is
acceptable.
In either case, it almost certain they refer to the same town. Both names share the same first character, and
祗 – zhi gives a reconstructed pronunciation of K. 590p *t̑i̯ər / tśi; EMC tɕi – which is close enough to the
reconstructed qi in the Weilue’s Shaqi (= K. 1s *g’ia / g’jie̯; EMC: giə̆ / gi). The Chinese name Shaqi 沙奇
[Sha-ch’i] has been identified with Śāketa by Thomas (1944), p. 90:
“Returning to Tung-li (Dongli), we may note with some considerations in favour of an identification with
the central region of northern India, madhya-deśa, the ‘mid India’ of Chinese writers. It was a great
country, extending over ‘several thousand li’ from north to south and from east to west ; it had dozens of
great cities, each with a king ; nevertheless it was a unity having a capital city. This cannot fail to recall to
mind the fact that from the time of the Nandas and Mauryas the great central part of Hindustan had
continued to constitute an imperial state, which in the period of Aśvaghos̲a and Kaniṣka had two capital
cities, namely Śāketa/Ayodhyā and Pāṭaliputra. As regards Śāketa, LÉVI has noted (pp. 90-1) that
sometimes the Chinese transcriptions of its name, Sha-chi resemble the Chinese form, Sha-ch’i, of the
name of the capital of Tung-li ; but, since one of LÉVI’s Sha-chi forms should in fact be Sha-chi’s [sic –
should read Sha-ch’i] (KARLGREN, no. 879), there is rather identity than similarity in the two cases ; and,
if it is urged that the Chinese ch’ should represent an Indian g rather than a k, that is no difficulty since the
Indian name would naturally have been heard in the Prākrit form Sha(sa) geda, which is the one reproduced
in Ptolemy’s Σαγδα [Sagda].”
There has often been confusion between Ayodhyā and Sāketa, which some writers consider the same, and, others,
as separate cities. Ayodhyā is considered by Hindus to be the birthplace of the god Rama and is, therefore, a
particularly holy place. A dispute between Muslims and Hindus in recent years (in which Hindus insisted that the
famous Babari mosque in modern Ayodhyā was built on the site of the original temple marking the birthplace of
Rama) finally led to a violent confrontation which resulted in the destruction of the mosque by orthodox Hindus.
The destruction of the mosque apparently uncovered a large (5 ft by 2.5 ft) slab of sandstone with an
inscription in Sanskrit proving the existence of a Hindu temple (a Vaishnava temple – Vishnu being regarded as an
incarnation of Rama) “during the closing years of the eleventh century AD and its reconstruction/renovation
sometime about the mid-twelfth century AD.” Shastri, Ajay Mitra. (Date unknown), p. 3.
It also makes clear that, at this time, the “temple city of Ayodhyā [was] situated in the Saketamandala
(district, line 17), showing that Ayodhyā and Saketa were closely connected, Saketa being the district of which
Ayodhya was a part.” Lal (Date unknown), p. 4.
The phrase: qi wang zhi Shaqi zheng 其王治沙奇城, in the Weilue, translates as ‘the seat of the king (of this
country – i.e. Juli 車離 or Dongli 東離) is the city of Shaqi.’ Shaqi 沙奇 is undoubtedly a transcription of Sāketa,
one of the two capital cities of Kośala (the other being Sāvatthī or Śrāvastī).
The name 沙奇 Shaqi in the Weilue is very close to the Shazhi(da) 沙祗(大) [Shâ-chih(ta)] that Fa Xian [c.
400 CE] uses for the country of Sāketa (Beal rendered it Sha-che). Shiratori (1956b), p. 40, says:

“Fa-hsien’s 法顯 Fo-kuo-chi 佛國記 puts Shê-wêi 舍衞, the then capital of Kosala, at a distance of eight
yojana 由延 from a city called Sha-chih-to 沙祗多. This name, evidently transcribed from the Sanscrit
name Sāketa, may be confidently connected with Sha-ch’i, the name given in the Wei-liao to the capital of
the country.”
I believe that in the accounts of Faxian and Xuanxang we have proof that Sāketa and Ayodyha were either
identical or very close to one another. Faxian, speaking of Shazhi (Sāketa), says:
“As you go out of the city by the southern gate, on the east of the road (is the place) where Buddha, after he
had chewed his willow branch, stuck it in the ground, when it forthwith grew up seven cubits, (at which
height it remained) neither increasing or diminishing. . . . Here also is the place where the four Buddhas
walked and sat, and at which a tope was built that is still existing.” Legge (1886), p. 54.
Xuan Zang [Hsüan-tsang], speaking of Ayoutuo(ye) [A-yü-t’o-(yeh)] or Ayodhyā says:
“To the north of the city 40 li (but only 4 or 5 li according to Hui-li - see the next quote), by the side of the
river Ganges, is a large sanghârâma in which is a stûpa about 200 feet high [46.2 metres or 152 English
feet], which was built by Aśôka-râja. . . . By the side is a stûpa to commemorate the place where are traces
of the four past Buddhas, who sat and walked here.” Beal (1884), p. 225.
The account in the biography by Xuanzang’s companion Huili says:
“North-west of the city [Ayodhyā] four or five li, and by the side of the river Ganges, is a great
Sanghârâma, in which is a Stûpa about 200 feet high. This was built by Aśôka râja on the spot where
Buddha in old days delivered the Law for three months. By the side of this Stûpa is a spot where the four
Buddhas of the past age walked for exercise.” Beal, (1884), p. 85.
It is clear from the above accounts that Shazhida and Ayodhyā are either identical, or so close to each other as to
be considered twin cities. Even if we take the maximum distance given of 40 li between them, this is considerably
less than 20 km (no matter which of the various suggested measurements we take for the Tang li). If, on the other
hand, we take Huili’s account as more accurate, it is a matter of less than 2½ kilometres.
Sāketa is included among the six great cities of early Buddhism in the early Buddhist scriptures of Sri Lanka:
“When this had been said, the venerable Ānanda, spoke to the Bhagavā, saying: ‘Let it not be, Lord, that
the Bhagavā should pass away in this mean place, this uncivilised township in the midst of the jungle, a
mere outpost of the province! There are great cities, Lord, such as Champā, Rājagaha, Sāvatthi, Sāketa,
Kosambi and Banares - let the Bhagavā have his final passing away in one of those! For in those cities
dwell many wealthy nobles and brahmanas and householders who are devotees of the Tathāgata, and they
will render due honour to the remains of the Tathāgata.” From the Mahā-Parinibbāna Sutta translated in:
Vajira (1961), p. 68.
The texts of the Hou Hanshu and the Weilue specifically state that Śāketa was under the control of the Da Yuezhi
or Kushans. It is known from the Rabatak Inscription that Śāketa was one of the conquests of Kanishka in the first
year of Kanishka’s era, see Sims-Williams & Cribb (1995/6), especially pp. 78 and 83; Sims-Williams (1998), p.
83.
There is now seemingly convincing new evidence that the Kanishka era began in March circa 127 CE – see
Falk (2001), especially p. 130. There are also inscriptions dated in year 2 of this era at both Kosam (ancient
Kauśāmbī – to the southwest of Sāketa) and at Sarnath, well to the east of Sāketa. See: Kumar (1973), pp. 244-245.
Finally, if Kanishka’s era started as late as 127 CE, the information on Śāketa and Dongli in the Hou Hanshu
and the Weilue must necessarily have been collected some time after Ban Yong’s report to the Emperor c. 125 CE.
Mac Dowall (2002), pp. 163-164, states that:
“Fussman reminds us that the Rabatak inscription by itself gives no assurance that Kanishka’s grandfather
bore the name of Vima Taktu. The restoration was apparently suggested not by anything visible on the
stone itself but by comparison with (a) the Brahmi inscription from the devakula at Mat near Mathura in
India and (b) the trilingual inscription in Bactrian, Kharoshthi and an unknown language from Dasht-e
Navur near Ghazni in Afghanistan.” Also: “Fussman pointed out that the inscription does not derive from

Kanishka himself- the first person is never employed: and it does not date from year one of Kanishka–this
is the hypothetical restoration of Sims-Williams whereas the stone is completely effaced at this point. But
whatever his name was there was a prince between Kujula and Vima Kadphises.” See also Appendix N.
Sims-Williams, however, has never dated the Rabatak Inscription to year one of Kanishka’s era, although, as he
said in a recent email: “The Rabatak Inscription is largely concerned with events of the first year of Kanishka.”
I am very pleased and grateful to Professor Sims-Williams for his kind permission to reproduce here the
revised second edition of the translation of this remarkable inscription as presented in his article, “Further Notes on
the Bactrian Inscription of Rabatak, with an Appendix on the names of Kujula Kadphises and Vima Taktu in
Chinese.” See Sims-Williams (1998), pp. 81-90. It is quite clear from this translation that the inscription must have
been written some time after the events it mentions. The revised translation of the inscription says:
“. . . . of the great salvation, Kanishka the Kushan, the righteous, the just, the autocrat worthy of divine
worship, who has obtained the kingship from Nana and from the gods, who has inaugurated the year one as
the gods pleased. And he *issued a Greek *edict (and) then he put it into Aryan. In the year one it has been
proclaimed unto India, unto the *whole of the realm of the *kṣatriyas, that (as for) them – both *Wasp, and
Sāketa, and Kauśāmbī, and Pāṭaliputra, as far as Śri-Campā – whatever rulers and other powers (they might
have), he had submitted (them) to (his) will, and he had submitted all India to (his) will. Then King
Kanishka gave orders to Shafar the karalrang *at this . . . to make the sanctuary which is called B . . . ab, in
the plain of the (royal) house, for these gods, whose *service here the . . . *glorious Umma leads, (namely:)
the above-mentioned Nana and the above-mentioned Umma, Aurmuzd, the Gracious one, Sroshard, Narasa,
(and) Mihr. And he gave orders to make images of the same, (namely) of these gods who are written herein,
and he gave orders to make (them) for these kings: for King Kujula Kadphises (his) great grandfather, and
for King Vima Taktu (his) grandfather, and for King Vima Kadphises (his) father, and for himself, King
Kanishka. Then, as the king of kings, the scion of the race of the gods . . . had given orders to do, Shafar the
karalrang made this sanctuary. [Then . . . ] the karalrang, and Shafar the karalrang, and Nukunzuk the
ashtwalg [performed] the (king’s) command. (As for) *these gods who are written here––may they [keep]
the king of kings, Kanishka the Kushan, for ever healthy, fortunate, (and) victorious, and [may] the son of
the gods *rule all India from the year one to the year *one thousand. . . . the sanctuary was founded in the
year one; then in the *third year [it was] completed . . . according to the king’s command, also many *rites
were endowed, also many *attendants were endowed, also many . . . . . . the king gave an *endowment to
the gods, and for these . . . *which [were given] to the gods . . .”
I should also mention that Professor Sims-Williams is currently working on a third edition of this inscription
“based on examination of the inscription itself rather than just photos.” It is to be expected that his examination of
the actual inscription may lead to some changes and/or additions, giving us a better understanding of the
inscription.
7.6. This conquest of Sāketa apparently occurred just prior to, or during, 127 CE, as outlined in note 7.5.
7.7. “The people, the men and women are all eighteen chi tall”. This would indicate an unbelievable height of
4.158 metres or 13 feet 9 inches. This is clearly a mistake. The character for 10 appears to have been inserted in
front of the account in the parallel text of the Hou Hanshu which says “The men and women there are eight chi
tall.” This latter gives the far more credible height of 1.85 metres, or just over 6 English feet. See also: Chavannes
(1905), p. 551, n. 2.
7.8. This statement shows that Ju- (or Dong-)li was, therefore, fully subservient, and considered part of the Kushan
Empire, not just a tributary state. This is probably also implicit in the name ‘Dongli’ which may be read as the “Far
East (of the Kushan Empire).”
Section 8 – The Kingdom of Panyue 盤越 [P’an-yüeh] = The kingdom of Pandya at the southern tip of India.
8.1. The kingdom of Panyue 盤越 [P’an-yüeh] = Pandya – is also called Hanyue wang 漢越王.
“Pandian kingdom. – This was Pāndya, the southernmost, and traditionally the earliest, of the three Tamil
states. Roughly it coincided with the modern districts of Tinnevelly and Madurā; at the time of the Periplus

it extended beyond [sic] the Ghāts and included Travancore. The capital, originally at Korkai ( the Colchi
of § 59, which see ) had been removed to Madurā ( 9 o 55’ N., 78 o 7’ E. ).
Here too, as in the Chēra kingdom, the name is used for the country and as a dynastic title, not as the name of any
king.” Schoff (1912), p. 211. Pelliot discussed the name ‘Hanyue wang’, and the name 磐起 ‘Panqi’, which is used
in the Hou Hanshu for this kingdom:
“...but there can be no doubt that the form Panqi is due to a copyist’s error, and it is probably quite late, as
the name Panyue was used again in the 7th century when the Tang reorganised the western countries using
the names from previous histories in a whimsical manner (Cf. Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-kiue
occidentaux, p. 68). And, on the other hand, Panyue, with the same orthography, is also found in the Liang
shu (ch. 54, folio 7 a, of the edition of the Tushujicheng Library).
The alternation of pan for han in the Weilue is interesting. . . . the alternation of pan and han in
transcriptions is established through other examples. . . . ” Translated from Pelliot’s review of Chavannes’
translation of the Weilue. Pelliot (1906), p. 371, n. 2.
“Towards the end of the first millennium BC south India moved from pre-history into history, and literary
records reflecting contemporary events are available. Ashoka in his inscriptions refers to the peoples of
south India as the Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas and Satiyaputras – the crucible of the culture of Tamilakam –
called thus from the predominant language of the Dravidian group at the time, Tamil. The use of the suffix
putra in some of these names would suggest a system of clans and chiefs. The first three chiefdoms became
almost generic to societies based on clans and lineages in the area and acquired the status of kingdoms in a
later period. The Cholas and the Pandyas were located in the eastern area, with a Chola concentration in the
lower Kaveri. Korkai and Alagankulam are recently excavated sites, thought to have been exchange centres
in Pandyan territory. The first is linked to pearl fisheries and the second developed as a port. Karur on the
banks of the Kaveri was an important inland centre, as was Kodumanal, with excavated evidence of
working semi-precious stones. Gradually, over time, the Cheras were associated with the western coast.
The Satiyaputras, with a more limited history, have been identified through being mentioned in a local
inscription in Tamil-nadu.” Thapar (2002), p. 229.
“Muchiri or Muziris, located perhaps in the vicinity of Kodangallur/Cranganore (near Kochi)
[recently shown to be at Pattanam, north of Paravoor, on an ancient branch of the Periyar River – see the news items in note
12.12 (5)], was linked to the trade in pepper, spices and beryl. A recently discovered Greek papyrus of the
second century AD, documents a contract involving an Alexandrian merchant importer and a financier that
concerns cargoes, especially of pepper and spices from Muziris, which provides evidence of the large
volume of this trade. References to the rich pepper trade with Malabar continue for centuries, up to the time
of the Portuguese. Location of coin hoards suggest a link from Muziris via the Palghat Gap – tapping the
beryl mines – and along the Kaveri Valley to the east coast.” Thapar (2002), p. 241.
“The earliest Roman coin [found in the Tamil kingdoms of the southern part of the peninsula] is that of
Emperor Augustus 31 b.c. to 14 a.d It is towards the end of the reign of Augustus, contact between the
Tamils and the Roman empire, is recorded. Even then trade and contact remained along the West coast,
keeping the land and its vicinity and through middlemen. No Roman coin seems to have reached the Tamil
land, before the Christian era. In all probability they reached the Tamil Kingdoms in the reign of Tiberius,
in whose time there was a great increase in trade. The coins of Tiberius in gold and silver found in the
South are quite numerous (18) . It is only after the establishment of direct trade between the Roman world
and the Tamil Kingdoms, as a result of the discovery of the monsoon by Hippalus, Roman artefacts are
found in increasing number in the Tamil soil. Though Romans themselves never seemed to have reached
the Tamil Kingdom it is the Greeco [sic – should read “Graeco”] Romans from Egypt who represented
them. Hence for the identification of the imported pottery found in Roman context in Tamil Nadu, one has
to look to Egypt. The identification of the red slipped ware as the African red ware thus confirms that they
were brought by the Egyptian Greeco [sic] Romans.” Nagaswamy (1995), pp. 76-77.
“Roman coins have been found in large numbers in and near Coimbatore. They point: (1) active overland
trade between the Malabar coast and the eastern coast at Arikamedu via Coimbatore (Palghat) gap thus
avoiding the sea voyage around cape Comorin and (2) to a natural concentration of the trade of the three
Tamil Kingdoms in Coimbatore District” Nagaswami (1995), p. 79.

“It should be noted that in the extreme south of the Indian peninsula, the Pandyas played a dominant role in
sea trade and even had control over the Sri Lankan trade as well as the pearl fishery. The location of a
Roman trading center on the Pandyan coast [Alagankulam -at the mouth of the Vaigai river, southeast of
Madurai] is quite understandable from the geopolitical point of view. The mention in Tamil texts of the
Pandyan king’s special liking for yavana wine also becomes significant in this context. . . .
The extreme south of Tamil Nadu was the ancient Pandya-nadu comprising the districts of Madurai,
Tirunelveli, and Ramanathapuram. The capital was inland at Madurai and the important ports were Korkai,
Tondi and Kumari. Excavations at Alagankulam provide important archaeological evidence for trade
between the Mediterranean and Pandyan country. We may also note that some “hoards” of Roman coins
have been recovered from different parts of the Pandyan country such as Madurai, Kaliyamputhur, and
Karivalamavandanallur. The last mentioned is close to the newly discovered site of Alagankulam.” Raman
(1991), pp. 129, 130.
“The classical geographers and the Tamil literature of the ‘Śaṅgam’ age have familiarized historians with
the outlines and some of the details of Indian trade with the West in and after the first century A.D. At its
prime, the trade was extensive. It included as Indian exports pepper, pearls, gem-stones, muslin,
tortoise-shell, ivory and silk; and as imports from the West coral, lead, copper, tin, glass, vases, lamps,
wine and, at first, coined money.
By the latter part of the first century A.D. the literary evidence makes it clear that this trade was
organized on lines not unlike those of the European ‘factories’ established in India from the sixteenth
century onwards. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. A.D. 60-100) speaks of ὲµπόρια νόµιµα, the
unqualified ὲµπόρια of Ptolemy (c. A.D. 150), which may fairly be described as treaty-ports. That is to say,
permanent lodges of Western traders were settled in them under formal agreement with the appropriate
Indian ruler, and were visited at the proper seasons by convoys of deep-sea merchantmen. And just as the
agents of the Portuguese, Dutch, French or British establishments in the days of the Companies travelled
widely in the interior to circumvent the middlemen, so we may with probability recognize in some of the
Roman coin-hoards far from the sea (fig. 48) the penetration of earlier Western traffickers with similar
interest.
On the scale indicated, this organised interchange implies, a knowledge of the periodicity of the
monsoons. Without that knowledge, which, according to Pliny, could restrict the crossing of the Indian
Ocean to forty days the laborious coastal voyage to India or the still more precarious overland routes must
have prevented the development of regular and direct trade with southern or eastern India. The
establishment of permanent agencies in those parts must therefore have post-dated the discovery of the
so-called ‘Hippalus’ or north-western monsoon ; a discovery of unknown date but appreciably earlier than
Pliny and the Periplus, and possibly, though not certainly, earlier than c. A.D. 21, when Strabo speaks of
120 ships sailing for India from Myos Hormos on the Red Sea. On the other hand, there is no hint that the
monsoon was familiar to Mediterranean merchants before the time of the Roman principate. The unification
of the western world under Augustus (23 A.D. – A.D. 14) and the recorded reception by him of at least two
Indian delegations (c. 25 B.C. and 21 B.C.) provide an obvious context, if not for the actual discovery, at
least for its diffusion beyond the corporations of Arab sailors and other agents who had previously
monopolized the Indian trade thitherto.
Further than this the literary evidence fails to carry us. Warmington conjectures from it that the direct
route to the Malabar coast, i.e. the full use of the monsoon, was introduced ‘soon after 41‘. Archaeology
now indicates a rather earlier date. Some considerable time prior to the abandonment of the manufacture of
Italian red-glazed pottery (Arretine and related fabrics) – an event which is unlikely to be later than A.D. 50
– a Roman emporium is now known to have been firmly established far up the eastern coast of India, near
Pondicherry. We may infer that at least as early as c. A.D. 30, and possibly before the death of Augustus,
regular monsoon-trade had been established between the Mediterranean and western India, with a
coastwise or overland extension to the Coromandel coast. Whether at this early date the route was carried
to its logical conclusion in Malaya and China is at present unknown.” Wheeler, Ghosh and Deva (1946),
pp. 18-19.
“Arabian and Indian traders had doubtless been crossing the Indian Ocean for years, and it is hardly
conceivable that they had not learned to use the periodic winds, the chief meteorological phenomenon of
this sea. Indeed, some believe that voyages westward were made as early as the seventh century B.C., that
they had become common by the time of Nabonidas of Chaldea (556-539 B.C.), when Indian and Chinese
ships reached Babylonia, and that this trade continued to flourish without interruption down to Ptolemaic
times [“..., see Kennedy in J.R.A.S., 1898, 241-87”]. At any rate, Hippalus’ discovery – whether made in

the age of Augustus or, as some think, in that of Claudius (perhaps c. A.D. 45) – at once affected eastbound
trade from Rome and Greece, and in this respect he may justly be said to have been quite as great a
discoverer as if he had really been
the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.
Merchants now spoke of a wind called the hippalus, but no geographer mentioned him as a person, or knew
that a mariner of that name had discovered a new route to India.
The chief depot for pearls was Ceylon. For this reason and because the route up the Nerbudda to
Barygaza was hard to navigate and the Gulf of Cutch a little to the north was full of shoals, the successors
of Hippalus soon learned to cut across the sea from Syagrus, and later even from Guardafui, to Melizigara
on the site of the present fishing village of Jaigarh or to Rajapur farther south, between Bombay and Goa.
Still later mariners cut across to the coast of Damarike in the land of the Tamil even farther south, the usual
route being to Muziris or Nelcynda below modern Calicut. As we have already noted, the voyage to
Muziris from Berenice below Myos Hormos took seventy days [Pliny, 6, 103-4]. The voyage to India from
Puteoli, the southern port of Italy, took 112 days, which means the round trip took nearly two thirds of a
year. Lucian, the second-century satirist, says that within two Olympiads three return trips of 16 months
each could be made from the Pillars of Heracles to India with time off for exploring [Hermotimus, 4].”
Hyde (1947), pp. 206-207. See note 12.12(6) for the recent discovery of ancient Muziris, just south of the
mouth of the Periyar river mouth in Kerala State, southwestern India.
Before we turn to the Pondicherry site, the literary picture of these trading-cities may be completed in
outline by reference to one or two familiar passages in the Tamil literature. This literature is very insecurely
dated, but the relevant passages, which are numerous, may be ascribed on general grounds to the early
centuries A.D. . . . And Tamil rajas employed bodyguards of western mercenaries, ‘the valiant-eyed
Yavannas whose bodies were strong and of terrible aspect’ and who, equipped with ‘murderous swords’,
were ‘excellent guardians of the gates of the fort-walls’. In this capacity they are said to have been
employed at Madurā [the inland capital of the Pandyan kingdom]. Yavana craftsmen were also sought after
in southern India especially for the manufacture of siege engines. In one way and another, the Yavana in
partibus [i.e. in inhospitable or hostile surroundings] enjoyed a considerable prestige whether as trader or
as settler.” Wheeler, Ghosh and Deva (1946), pp. 19-20.
“Alagankulam (1) , a village about 20 km from Ramanathapuram, near Ramesvaram in Ramanathapuram
District of Tamil Nadu, is situated on the banks of the river Vaigai. It is virtually at the mouth of the river
about two kilometres inland from the sea. Originally the sea was skirting the village during ancient times
but now has receded far. Now a tiny village Arrankarai is situated on the coast that overlooks the Sri
Lankan coast. It is claimed that the opposite side could be reached in about 25 minutes by country boats
from this village.
The river Vaigai passes through the city of Madurai, the ancient capital of the Pandyas. It is dry for nearly
half of the year and empties itself in a big tank near Ramanathapuram town, and beyond that, the river bed
has now dried up totally, only traces of the bed passing through Alagankulam and joining the sea are
visible, to show that it ever reached the sea some centuries ago.
However, there are copious references in the Sangam Tamil literature to this river since it passed through
the Pandyan capital Madurai. The Pandyas were called the rulers of the Vaigai Vaigai Koman, just as the
Cholas were called the rulers of the Kaveri. The Sangam work Maduraik kanchi (2) , calls it a perennial river
(line 356). The commentator Naccinarkkiniyar also confirms it.”
1. Nagaswamy, R., Alagankulam on [sic – should read “an”] Indo-Roman Trading Port.
2. Maduraikkanchi in ‘Patthu Pattu’, Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, (ed) Madras, line 356.
Nagaswamy (1995), p. 70 and nn. 1-2.
”With the discovery of Alagankulum, indicating profuse Roman contacts in the later period, the centre of
attraction now shifts to the Pandyan Kingdom. situated on the river Vaigai, the river of the Pandyas, it is

tempting to identify the site with Saliyur mentioned in the accounts of the classical geographers. “The
far-famed Saliyur (Selur, Salur, Delur in Ptolemy) opposite the north end of Ceylon, was a similar mart
overcrowded with ships which had crossed the dangerous ocean and from which costly wares were
landed” (24)
24. Warmington, op. cit., p. 62.
Nagaswamy (1995), pp. 78-79.
There are also a number of references in early Tamil literature to the “Yavanas” (Romans or Roman subjects)
playing an integral part Tamil Nadu life – not only in trade, but as bodyguards and craftsmen. Some of the
references specifically mention the Pandyan Kingdom. For details see: Nagaswamy (1995), pp. 96-102.
8.2. Yibu 益部 [I-pu] translates as ‘Yi Circuit’, also known as 益州 ‘Yi Province.’ The sentence in Section 8 of the
Weilue: [盤越] 與益部相近, should be read as “[Panyue] is in contact with Yi Circuit.”
This phrase has regularly been translated by earlier scholars as “it [meaning Panyue] was near [or nearest]
Yibu.” The Chinese text uses the word 與 yu here. This certainly can be used to translate the English word ‘near,’
or ‘to be close to,’ but it can also represent, ‘to associate with’, ‘to make contact with’, ‘to frequent’, ‘an allied
country.’ I feel certain that, in this context, it should be read ‘in contact with’ or ‘in communication with.’ See note
15.5 for a detailed discussion of a similarly constructed sentence using this same word 與 yu.
Chavannes (1905), p. 552 n. 1, suggests that 益部 Yibu (‘Yi Circuit’) should be read as, 益郡 Yiqun: “the
commandery of Yi, during the Han period, which had its centre to the east of the secondary prefecture of 普寧
Puning (Prefecture and Province of Yunnan).” However, I see no need for this. The region (basically the region of
present-day southern Yunnan) was commonly known as Yi Circuit during the Han Dynasty.
“By and large, during Later Han, it appears that the terms circuit and province were essentially
interchangeable. Strictly, however, a circuit was supervised by an Inspector, while the term province
implied that the same region was controlled by a Shepherd (mu, also rendered as Governor), an official of
senior rank with effective executive powers. During the reign of Emperor Ch’eng, in 8 B.C., the office of
Inspector of a circuit had been changed to Shepherd of a province. The title and functions were restored to
their former situation in 5 B.C., under the government of Emperor Ai, but shepherds were again established
in 1 B.C., and the office continued in force until the end of Former Han.” Holmgren (1980), p. 55.
8.3. Chavannes (1905), p. 552, translated this passage to read: “Jia Si 賈似, who was a man of the country of Shu
蜀 (Western Sichuan), went there.”
I believe, however, that the sentence: Shurengushu zhiyan 蜀人賈似至焉 [Shu-jen-ku-shu chih-yen], should
be read “Traders from Shu (Western Sichuan) travel this far.” I believe the third character 賈, is intended here in
its form of gu – a ‘trader’ or ‘merchant’ rather than in its other form, jia – which is frequently used as a personal
name.
If traders were coming to India from Western Sichuan (i.e. from well inland, near the border of Assam and
Tibet), they presumably travelled there by one of the several overland routes. For detailed discussions of these
routes see Pelliot (1904), pp. 131-413.
“Shu 蜀 (Szechwan) A state of high antiquity traditionally thought to stem from the enfeoffment of a cadet
line of the descendants of Ti-kao as Marquis of Shu. Used specifically as an area designation for the part of
Szechwan centering on Ch’eng-tu and generally for the whole Szechwan basin.” Rogers (1968), p. 331.
It is quite likely that things were much the same to the end of the 19 th century as there were overland trade routes
to India at this time from western Sichuan [Szechwan]. There were certainly routes that a loaded porter or ‘coolie’
could negotiate as recounted by Mesny (1896), pp. 122-123:
“A coolie will carry 200 lbs of brick tea destined for Tibet and the West through the province going at a
rate of fifteen or twenty miles a day over terrible mountain passes, with which the reports of various
travellers, such as the late lamented Mr. E. C. Baber, have made us acquainted.”
Mesny (ibid., p. 141), adds:

“The military jurisdiction of this Viceroy [of Sichuan] extends across Tibet to the very confines of Assam,
Nepaul, India, Kashmere and Kashgaria. Chinese garrisons having been established in those remote regions
for the past century and a half; the troops being periodically relieved by detachments from the Ssŭ-ch’uan
forces. The soldiers in those garrisons are allowed to have Tibetan wives.”
“Finally, if one adds the less commonly used, extremely dangerous overland route through the
Chinese province of Sichuan southwards to Burma and East India (an early predecessor of the notorious
World War II Burma Road), we have three large arteries for east-west trade, of which the Silk road is the
most famous.” Baumer (2000), p. 11.
Section 9 – The Central Route. (Refer to Appendix A for details).
9.1. The kingdom of Weili (or Yuli) 尉梨 [Wei-li or Yü-li] = Korla.
Wei or yu 尉 – K. 525a,b: *i̯wəd / jwe̯i; EMC ?uj h , or as yu: ?ut
li 梨 – K. 519h,i: *li̯ər / lji; EMC li.
Stein (1921), Vol III, pp. 1230 ff., and (1928), Vol. II, pp. 724, 777 ff, locates Weili at Kara-kum (actually marked
Weili, some 40 km south of Korla, on modern maps), and Weixu at Korla itself.
The Hanshu places Weili 100 li (42 km) south of Yanqi, or Karashahr, and Weixu the same distance away,
but no direction is given. Kara-kum is twice as far from Karashahr as the Hanshu indicates Weili and Weixu are.
By modern road, it is about 47 km southwest from Yanqi (Karashahr) to Korla. The small difference of 5 km
from the measurement of the Hanshu between Yanqi and Weili can be explained by changes in the route, or the
town centres since the Han period.
Korla has long been the largest centre in the region after Karashahr itself, having abundant water and
extensive farmlands, and control of the main routes to the south and west of Karashahr. Weili is given a population
of 9,600 compared to only 4,900 for Weixu in the Hanshu, which also mentions that it adjoins Shanshan and
Qiemo (Charchan) to the south.
The Hanshu states it is 300 li (125 km) west from Weili (Korla) and 350 li (146 km) east of Kucha to the
seat of the Protector General at Wulei. Measured either west from Korla or east from Kucha this brings one to the
oasis of Yangisar [or Yanghi-hissār].
Because Stein was not aware of the true length of the Han li (he thought it to be about 1/5 of a mile, or 322
metres, instead of the true length of about 416 metres), he was unable to properly choose between the three oases
of Bugur, Yanghi-hissār, and Chādir, as the site of modern Wulei. See Stein (1928). Vol. II, p. 794. He favoured
the Bugur oasis as the probable site because it is the largest oasis between Korla and Kucha (ibid. 796). However,
he also gave Yanghi-hissār serious consideration and noted its strategic importance:
“The importance of Yanghi-hissār is increased by the fact that a route leads from it across the high
range northward of the Yulduz plateau at the head of the Kara-shahr valley. It was stated to be the first
practicable route east of Kuchā to the plateau, and to be much used by Mongols taking supplies from the
oasis to their grazing grounds. The pass crossing the watershed was said to retain snow all through the year
; but these hardy Mongol customers, I was told, find it practicable even during the winter months.” (Ibid.
791).
“Wei-li 尉犂, GSR 55b and 519g : *iwcd/*jwei - licr/liei or li̯cr/lji. The 19 th and 20 th century Han
shu commentators locate it around Bugur. Chavannes (1905), p. 552, note 5, and (1906), p. 234, note 2
locates Wei-li – and Wei-hsü . . . [see note 9.2] – in the vicinity of Lake Bagrash or Bostang nor. He
criticizes Wylie for following the Hsi-yü t’ung-wen chih 西域同文志 of 1766, and consequently locating
Wei-li at Kalgan-aman, close to and NE of Korla. Huang Wen-pi (1958), pp. 6-7, suggests that the
extensive ruins NE of Korla and South of Ssu-shih li ch’eng 四十里城 (marked on his “additional map 5”
at c. 86° 28’ E and 41° 55’ N) might still be the capital of Wei-li, containing a Han settlement. Shimazaki
(1969), p. 44, still places Wei-li at Kalgan-aman.” CICA: 177, n. 585.
“The prosperous town of Korla lies on the Baghrach Kol, a large lake, through which the Kaidu river
pursues its course. The water of the lake is of fabulous transparency, and enlivened by endless numbers of

large fish, most of them belonging apparently to the barbel family. There are, however, shad as well – ugly
creatures as long as a man and with enormous mouths.
Herr Bartus, as an old sailor, could not resist throwing his line in here. . . . He had flung into the
water a pound of meat on a gigantic hook and strong line, and an antediluvian monster had swallowed the
bait. With great effort he dragged it out of the water, to the intense delight of the entire population, who
were watching the visitors’ doings. It weighed about fifty pounds, had a smooth skin – brown spotted with
white – and was something like our eel-pout. In spite of my warning – for some of the fish here are
dangerous eating – Herr Bartus persisted in having some of it for dinner and found it excellent. . . .
There are only two districts in the whole country where fish are often eaten, viz. round about
Maralbashi, where the River Tarim brings down enormous quantities, which are enjoyed by the Dolans
living there ; and, secondly, in the neighbourhood of Lake Lop-nor, where the whole population, apparently
differing in many respects from the other Turks, live chiefly on fish, either fresh or dried. It is remarkable
that both the Dolans and the dwellers round Lop-nor are looked upon as people of another race by the
Turks.
The lake at Korla is the playground, too, of innumerable flocks of water-birds, and is the
breeding-place of swans, whose plumage is in much demand by the Chinese as an edging for valuable
robes. Geese and ducks of different kinds frequent the shores and surface of water in great quantities, and
we always saw numbers flying in their hook-shaped flocks across the sky. Herons of every kind are also to
be found there, but we could never inspect them closely as they always took to timid flight at the approach
of men on horseback.” von Le Coq (1928), pp. 109-110.
Put together, I think this evidence confirms the identification of Weili as Korla, and Yangisar [Yanghi-hissār] as
the seat of the Protector General during the Former Han.
9.2. The kingdom of Weixu 危須 [Wei-hsü] = Hoxud = Chokkur.
Stein (1921), Vol III, pp. 1230 ff.; and (1928), Vol. II, pp. 777 ff) places Weixu 危須 at Korla. However, the
Hanshu states that Weixu is 200 li (83 km) farther from the seat of the Protector General at Wulei 烏壘 than Weili
(500 li instead of 300), and places it 100 li (42 km) from Yanqi (Karashahr). One must, therefore, assume it is
further east than Karashahr, on the route to Turfan.
This identification is supported by the Shuijingju [Shui-ching chu] which indicates that the Yulduz river used
to have a northern branch, flowing into the northwest of Lake Bostang, to the west of Weixu. This old course of the
river is now indicated by the network of irrigation channels, to the west of the present town of Hoxud, that service
this region, the water being used up before it can flow into the lake.
“Wei-hsü 危須, GSR 29a and 133a : ngwia/ngwie̯ - si̯u/si̯u. The Shui-ching chu 2.30ff., says that the
Tun-hung river’s ... eastern tributary flows southeast and then divides into two [although the present-day
Yulduz River (= Tun-hung) apparently does not bifurcate]; coming from Yen-ch’i (i.e. Karashahr), it is led
West of Wei-hsü and then flows southeast to end in the Tun-hung Marsh. . . . The latter is identified with
Bostang Lake or Bagrash Kul and the former with the Hai-tu or Yulduz. Hsü Sung locates Wei-hsü to the
Southeast of Bostang Lake; Chavannes (1905), p. 552, note 6, seems to accept this localization, criticizing
Wylie for following the Hsi-yü t’ung-wen chih (see note 585 above) and placing Wei-hsü at Chagan-tungi,
Northeast of Karashahr.” CICA, p. 177, n. 587.
These descriptions and the distance, (travelling east from the seat of the Protector General at Wulei) 100 li (42 km)
past Yanqi (Karashahr), makes it very probable that Weixu was located somewhere closer to the present town of
Hoxud.
9.3. The kingdom of Shanwang 山王國 [in the western Kuruk mountains]. This placename could just as well be
translated as “the kingdom of the King of the Mountains.”
Chavannes (1905), p. 552, n. 7, points out that this kingdom is undoubtedly the same as the kingdom of Shan
山國 in the Hanshu and the kingdom of Moshan 墨山國 [‘(Black) Ink Mountain’] in the Shuijing. He says that it
must have been located between Lake ‘Bagrach’ (‘Bagrax’, ‘Bostang’, or ‘Bosten Hu’) and Lop Nor and that
Grenard’s proposal to locate it at Kyzyl sanghyr, 130 km southeast of Korla is “very plausible.”
The 6 th century Shuijing places Weili, which I identified as Korla, 240 li (100 km) to the west of Moshan [
‘(Black) Ink Mountain’]. See Stein (1928) Vol. II, p. 724.
The Hanshu places the kingdom of Shan only 160 li (67 km) southeast of Yanqi (Karashahr) so it must be
located near the extreme western end of the Kuruk-tāgh, although its exact position remains to be determined.

Stein (1921) Vol. I, p. 334, says it “can only roughly be located in the Western Kuruk-tāgh,” although he
does consider the possibility that it might have been located at Singer (= Kyzyl sanghyr); but this is much further
than 67 km to the southeast of Karashahr. See also: ibid., p. 420; CICA, pp. 85, n. 85, and 182, n. 615.
9.4. The kingdom of Yanqi 焉耆 [Yen-ch’i] = Karashahr.
Yanqi 焉耆 [Yen-ch’i] has long been confidently identified with the region of modern Karashahr. The
Buddhist Sanskrit name was Agni-. For detailed discussions of the derivation of the name and its likely
associations, see Bailey (1985), pp. 1-2; 137-138, and Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 99; 123. During the time of the
Moghuls it was called Chálish (Jálish) – see, for example, Elias (1895), pp. 99, 100, 102, 122 of the Introduction.
“The whole of this district round Kara-shahr and Korla is, from a geographical and political point of
view, both interesting and important ; for whilst all other parts of Chinese Turkestan can only be reached
either by climbing high and difficult passes – the lowest of which has the same elevation as Mont Blanc –
or traversing extensive and dangerous waterless deserts of sand-hills, here we find the one and only
convenient approach to the land through the valleys of several rivers in the neighbourhood of Ili, where
plentiful water abounds in the mountain streams on all sides, and where a rich vegetation makes life
possible for wandering tribes. Such Kalmuck tribes still come from the north-west to Tal. They are Torgut
nomads who pitch their yurts round about Kara-shahr and live a hard life with their herds. . . .
Just as these Mongols wander about here at the present day, so the nomadic tribes of an earlier period
must have used this district as their entrance and exit gate. The Tochari (Yue-chi), on their way from China,
undoubtedly at that time passed through this gate to get into the Ili valley. . . . ” von Le Coq (1928), pp.
145-146.
The Hanshu mentions that Yanqi (Karashahr) “adjoins Wu-sun on the north.” CICA, p. 177, n. 588, p. 178. This
was of particular concern to the Chinese as Stein makes plain in the following passage:
“These observations on the present conditions of Kara-shahr will make it clear that, while the territory has
been favoured by nature in various ways, its geographical position must at all times have exposed it to a
very serious drawback. I mean its close vicinity to, and its easy access from, mountain tracts which, as far
back as history takes us, have always had a particular attraction for nomads. It is unnecessary here to
explain in detail how the famous grazing uplands of Yulduz have been cherished haunts for all the great
nomad nations, from the Wu-sun and Huns downwards, which held sway along the T’ien-shan, that natural
spina, as it were, in the cycle of Central-Asian migrations. Situated as Kara-shahr is at the very mouth of
the big valley leading down from Yulduz, it must have been like a gate specially inviting those who had
their favourite summer camps on those grassy plateaus and necessarily looked to the oases on the south as
their richest grounds for raids and exactions. Whenever Chinese power was firmly established from Turfan
to Kashgar or beyond, the gate might be kept safely closed. The same is likely to have been possible during
periods while internal feuds or conflict with nomad aggressors weakened the tribes in the north. But the
danger must always have been close at hand, and from time to time Kara-shahr was bound to suffer from its
onset. The oases further west would then be exposed, too, to plunder and heavy exactions of tribute. But the
additional risk of prolonged occupation would be reserved for Kara-shahr, which alone could offer grazing
grounds adequate for the maintenance of large nomad hosts.” Stein (1921), p. 1180.
“Some distance before the town of Yanqi, soda-whitened marshes, tall grasses and grazing cattle indicate
the proximity of the vast Baghrash Lake. Though today Yanqi is only the country seat of the Yanqi Hui
Autonomous County, where one of the main industries is the making of reed screens for fencing and
roofing, historically it was the very important oasis of Kara-shahr (Black Town), which in AD 11 revolted
against Han domination by murdering the Chinese protector-general. The revolt was ruthlessly stamped out
by the Han-Dynasty general Ban Chao, who sacked the town, decapitating 5,000 inhabitants and carrying
away 15,000 captives and 300,000 head of livestock.” Bonavia (1988), p. 147.
“On MARCH 26 we passed along the northern outskirts of the Korla Oasis, and turned northeast
following the courses of the Konche darya. The trail led over a plain of piedmont gravel, gradually rising
toward the mountains. . . .
The road entered a narrow river gorge. Not far from the entrance stood a Chinese outpost and we
had to produce our permits to travel to Karashahr. For some reason the Torgut region was carefully
watched by the Chinese.

We camped on the banks of the river not far from a grove of trees. The air was wonderfully cool and
refreshing, and we rested from the dusty atmosphere of the desert. In the early morning we broke camp and
started for Karashahr, still some twenty miles distant. Not far from our camp, the Konche darya turned its
course eastward and our route crossed a low hill and then descended into the basin of the Lake Baghrash.
The road lay over a sandy tract covered by tamarisk shrubs. . . .
We passed by the village of Shorchuck, in the vicinity of which are situated important ruins,
explored by German and British expeditions. After five hours’ ride, we reached the Karashahr darya and
had to spend a considerable time waiting for rafts to come from the other bank of the river.” Roerich
(1931), p. 102.
“Yen-ch’i 焉耆, GSR 200a and 5521 : *ian/*iän or gian/jiän - g’i̯ɛr/g’ji, traditionally identified with
Karashahr. Huang Wen-pi (1958), p. 7, suggests that “the old walled town of Ha-la-mu-teng” 哈拉木登, a
few li South of the modern settlement of that name and North of the Haidu River might have been the
administrative centre of Yen-ch’i; the site is located on Huang’s map nr. 2 at c. 86 o 5’ E and 42° 16’ N. –
For different ancient misspellings of this name see Chavannes (1905), p. 564, note 2. Wang Ching-ju
(1944), p. 91, believes that in Han-times Yen-ch’i was pronounced *ārgi, leading to a later *arśi; it is to be
noted that the Αoρσoι mentioned by Strabo are usually identified with the people of Yen-ts’ai. . . . ” CICA:
177, n. 588.
9.5. The kingdom of Gumo 姑墨 [near modern Aksu].
Gu 姑 – K. 49g: *ko/kuo; EMC: kɔ
mo 墨 – K.904c: *mək/mək; EMC: mək
Although many writers assume that the largest centre of the ancient kingdom of Gumo is identical with modern
Aksu, I suggest that, while it may have included the site of Aksu, its seat of power was considerably to the south.
The main town of the kingdom of Gumo in the Hanshu is called Nancheng 南城 ‘Southern City,’ which, by
its very name, suggests it was located near the southern end of the region watered by the Aksu River. CICA, p. 162
and n. 498. The exact site is yet to be located, but Nancheng was likely in the strategic region of modern
Wuxuntamu or Aral, approx 40 o 26’ N, 80 o 51’ E, more than 100 km southeast of modern Aksu, near the junctions
of the Khotan and Aksu rivers with the Kashgar River.
From here, one had many choices of routes across the desert. One could follow the Kashgar river west to
Kashgar, or the branch tributary, the Yarkand River to Yarkand. Alternatively, one could follow the Khotan River
due south to Khotan, or the main Tarim River east to Loulan and Lop Nor.
Grenard was the first to say that the earlier identification of Wensu with ancient Aksu was wrong, and
showed that Aksu was represented in the Han period by Gumo. Chavannes (1905), p. 553, n. 1, has outlined strong
evidence in favour of the latter identification which is backed up by Stein’s observations (1921) Vol. III, pp.
1297-1298.
The Hanshu says that Gumo was 670 li (279 km) west of Kucha (the modern road is 262 km) and 1,021 li
(425 km) from the seat of the Protector General stationed at Wulei 烏壘 = Yengisar (see CWR note 20.10). It
adjoined the Wusun to the north, and was 15 days by horseback south to Khotan. CICA, p. 162, and n. 497.
Stein (1921), p. 1299, notes that it was a “seven-miles [11.3 km] ride from the ‘New’ to the ‘Old Town’ of
Ak-su. . . . ” Given that we still don’t know the exact positions of the Han settlements at either Kucha or Aksu, the
distance of 273 km along the road from modern Kucha to ‘Old Aksu’ is remarkably close to the distance of 279 km
given in the Hanshu.
“The area is frequently visited by light dust storms generating an eery, creeping ‘fog’ around the base of the
sand mounds and the occasional ruins of the Han-Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) beacon towers.
Neolithic artefacts from 5000 BC have been discovered in the Aksu area. By the first century BC news had reached
the Chinese imperial court of the Kingdom of Baluka, one of the 36 kingdoms of the Western Regions. The
kingdom, aided by the Xiongnu, held out against the Chinese army under General Ban Chao for a time, only to
have him march upon the capital city in AD 78 and execute 700 inhabitants.” Bonavia (1988), p. 160. The Hanshu
– see CICA, p. 162 – says that Gumo produced copper, iron and orpiment.
“The 262 kilometre (162 mile) journey from Kucha to Aksu [by bus] takes between five and six hours. The
area is frequently visited by light dust storms generating an eery, creeping ‘fog’ around the base of the sand

mounds and the occasional ruins of the Han-Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) beacon towers.” Bonavia (1988),
p. 160.
9.6. The kingdom of Wensu 溫宿 [Wen-su] = modern Uqturpan or Wushi 烏什.
wen 溫 – K. 426c *·wən / ·uən; EMC ?wən
su 宿 – K. 1029a *si̯ôk / si̯uk; EMC suwk
The Hanshu (CICA, p. 163) places Wensu at an impossible 2,380 li (990 km) from the seat of the Protector General
at Wulei (Yengisar), which was only 350 li (146 km) east of Kucha.
However, it states that it was 270 li (112 km) west of Aksu (Kumo), 610 li (254 km) south of 赤谷 Chigu, the
capital of the Wusun near lake Issik-kol, and 300 li (125 km) east of 尉頭 Weitou.
These indications place it firmly near modern Uqturpan (= Uch-Turfan) or Wushi 烏什, in the valley of the
Toxkan (or Toshigan) River, further up the Aksu River from the Kingdom of Aksu or Gumo.
It must be emphasized that several earlier writers confused Uqturpan with modern Wensu, which is written
with the same characters as ancient Wensu. Modern Wensu is less than 20 kilometres northwest of Aksu whereas,
ancient Wensu was about 90 km to the west, on the site of modern Uqturpan or Wushi 烏什. See: Chavannes
(1905), p. 553, n. 1; 1906: 224, n. 3); Stein (1921) Vol. III, pp. 1299-1301; Pelliot (1959), p. 492; CICA, p. 162, n.
502.
Ancient Wensu controlled access up the Toshigan valley and also the approach to the Bedel Pass, the main
route north to Issik-kul. Stein (1921) Vol. III, pp. 1300-1301, remarks:
“The usual dust haze of the spring was hiding the view of the great snowy range of the T’ien-shan
northward. It was thus impossible to obtain even a distant glimpse of the Bedel Pass, by which Hsüan
Tsang had once gained the Issik-kul region and thence Sogdiana. But even without that imposing
background Uch-Turfān presented itself to me as the most picturesque and pleasant of any district
headquarters I had visited in Chinese Turkestān. The view of the fertile green valley, set off vividly by the
chain of barren grey hills which encircle the town from the south, was particularly striking from the height
of the Chinese citadel. . . . This crowns the top of a precipitous rocky spur, which adjoins the west wall of
the town and projects beyond it like a huge natural ravelin, rising with its westernmost cliffs to a height of
some 250 feet. The citadel and the flanking defences joining it to the town walls are recent, having been
built in the place of fortifications destroyed when Uch-Turfān was besieged and taken during the
Muhammadan rebellion. But this natural stronghold is bound to have been utilized since early times.
. . . . the ‘kingdom’ and town are referred to [as Wen-su] in the Former Han Annals, the Hou Han
shu, and the Wei lio. The former Han Annals ascribe to it a population of 2,200 families, which seems
proportionate, and indicate its position quite correctly with reference to the Wu-sun capital which lay 610 li
to the north, to Ku-mo, or Ak-su, and to Wei-t’ou 尉頭, 300 li westwards. . . . ”
9.7. The kingdom of Weitou 尉頭 [Wei-t’ou] = modern Karaqi, to the west of Akqi.
Weitou is located in the Han shu (CICA: 163), as being 300 li (125 km) west of Wensu or Uqturpan
[Uch-Turfan]. The only place it could possibly be, assuming the distance of 125 km west of Uqturpan is correct, is
the small community called Karaqi or Ha-la-ch’i.
The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, Tenth Edition, 1999, places Karaqi at 40 o 44’ N; 77 o 59’ E,
while the U.S. Defence Mapping Agency Aerospace Center ONC, 1:1,000,000 map (Sheet F6, Edition 5, revised
1981) places Ha-la-ch’i at 40 o 50’ N; 77 o 55’ E.
Karaqi controls a key fork in the routes of the region, the main summer route from Aksu to Kashgar heads
southwest from here, while another route leads almost due west towards Ferghana. Its importance undoubtedly
derives from its strategic position.
Most previous writers have mostly located it at Safyr Bai or Akqi, but both of these places are far too close
to Wensu to explain the statement in the Hanshu that it was 300 li (125 km) to the west of that place.
“[Wei-t’ou] is mentioned by the Later Han Annals as on the road leading from Su-lê or Kāshgar
north-eastwards to Wên-su, Ku-mo, and Kuchā, and may be located with much probability about Akche on
the upper Tushkan-daryā (map No. 14. A. 2). This place is passed by the much-frequented summer route
between Ak-su and Kāshgar, and the adjoining area shows now a good deal of Kirghiz cultivation.” Stein
(1921), Vol. III, p. 1301.

“The distance of about 70 miles [113 km*] between Uch-Turfān and Akche agrees well with the 300 li
indicated by the Former Han Annals between Wên-su and Wei-t’ou. Safar-bai, which M. Grenard, Mission
Dutreuil de Rhins, ii. p. 61, has suggested for the name of the latter place, is too near; see Map No. 14. c. 2.
It is worth noting that Akche is the first place with agricultural resources which the traveller by this route
reaches after leaving the Kashgār district.” Ibid., p. 1301, n. 26. *Note that with the most careful
measurements on Stein’s own maps, I cannot get any distance further than 63 miles or 101 km between
Uch-Turfān and Akche.
“Wei-t’ou 尉頭, GSR 525b and 118e : *•i̭wəd / *•ὶjwḙi - d’u/d’ə̭u; [Note: Karlgren’s reconstructions here are
incorrectly given in CICA] Wang Hsien-ch’ien identifies it with Wu-shih County, at approx. 41° N, 79° E.
Chavannes (1905), p. 554, note 1, refers to Grenard, Mission scientifique en Haute Asie II, p. 61, who
localizes Wei-t’ou at Safyr bay, Southwest of Uch Turfan.” CICA, p. 142, n. 374.
9.8. Qiuci 龜玆 [Ch’iu-tz’u] is universally accepted as referring to the Kucha oasis. See note 4.16.
9.9. Zhenzhong 楨中 [Chen-chung] = Arach (near Maralbashi). Not much is known of this place during Han times
– there is no mention of it in the Hanshu, and no major entry in the Hou Hanshu. It appears to have been close to
Kashgar.
The first brief reference to this “kingdom” seems to be in the biography of Ban Chao, under the name of
Sunzhong 損中 [Sun-chung]. Zhong 忠 [Chung], a king of Kashgar who had been unseated and replaced by Ban
Chao with the help of Kangju and the Kushans, returned and established himself here in 86 or 87 CE. He tried to
make an alliance with Kucha, but Ban Chao tricked him to a meeting, and had him beheaded. Chavannes (1906),
pp. 230-231.
The next reference to Zhenzhong 禎中 [Chen-chung] (note the slightly different initial character) dates to
169 CE in the Cefuyuangui [Ts’e fu yüan kuei] (chap. 973, p. 8b):
“The Prefect of Liangzhou, Meng Tuo, ordered the Congshi Ren She to take five hundred soldiers from
Dunhuang (Shazhou) and, with the Wuji Marshall (Wu-chi Szu-ma) Cao Kuan and the Chief Administrator
of the Western Regions (Xiyu Zhangshi) Zheng Yan who was at the head of more than thirty thousand men
from Yanqi (Karashahr), Qiuci (Kucha) and the Anterior and Posterior tribes of Jushi (Turfan and Jimasa)
to go to attack Sule (Kashgar). They attacked the town of Zhenzhong for more than ten days without being
able to subdue it. Then they withdrew.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 554, n. 2.
Zhenzhong 禎中 (or Sunzhong 損中) was obviously a very well-fortified site to withstand such a substantial siege.
We have scant information except that, as it was attacked by troops from Karashahr, Kucha, Turfan and Jimasa,
who were en route to conquer Kashgar, it was probably some distance to the east of Kashgar, guarding the main
route via Aqsu. That it was mainly a defensive position, rather than a thriving oasis town, is probably the reason it
is not included in Han itineraries.
The most likely place is Arach (39 o 58’ N; 78 o 40’ E) on the “Old road to Tumshuk,” where Stein found
remains of a ruined fort and watchtowers controlling the only viable pass though the Achal-tāgh range. This would
have controlled the main routes from the northeast to both Kashgar and Yarkand:
“Having thus traced the ancient road from Ak-su as far as the Lāl-tāgh site, there still remains for us
to consider the line of its probable continuation to the south-west. Such a line had necessarily to cross the
chain of hills represented by the Bēl-tāgh and its southern extension, the Achal-tāgh or Ōkur-mazār-tāgh ;
and the map shows that only two passages were available for it. One is represented by the gap in the
Bēl-tāgh above described ; the other leads through the defile that separates the southern end of the Bēl-tāgh
from the northern offshoot of the Achal-tāgh formed by the low rocky spur of Arach. I had visited this
defile on my first rapid reconnaissance from Marāl-bāshi in May, 1908. I ascertained on that occasion that
the high road from Tumshuk to Marāl-bāshi had in quite modern times, until after the Chinese reconquest
of the Tārīm basin in 1877, passed through it, the present line past the Ōkur-mazār being then impracticable
owing to great undrained marshes in the area now occupied by the lands of Chār-bāgh. I had been able to
trace there the remains of old watch-towers and of other fortifications meant to guard the defile, and their
presence left no doubt that an important road must have passed there in ancient times.
I had not time then to examine the desert ground to the east of the defile, and this was an additional
reason for now returning to Marāl-bāshi by this passage, appropriately known as Achal, ‘the opening’. I
found no reason to regret the decision. We passed numerous lines of dead Toghraks with shallow dry

channels between them for the first two miles from the Lāl-tāgh site, clearly showing by their direction that
running water must have reached this part from the south, i.e. from the area west of Tumshuk still liable to
inundations from the Kāshgar-dārya. Then, after crossing a belt of tamarisk-cones, we emerged upon a bare
clay steppe undergoing wind-erosion, and here for more than a mile came across frequent patches of
ground covered with ancient potsherds and other ‘Tati’ remains. In the midst of them we crossed the
unmistakable embankment of an old canal about 12 feet across at its top and owing to erosion of the
surrounding land raised some 5 feet above the present ground level.” Stein (1928), pp. 77-78 and map
MARAL-BĀSHI, Serial No. 8. See also: Stein (1921), III, pp. 1311-1312, and map 15.
“At the small town of Sanchakou, 214 kilometres (133 miles) southwest of Aksu, is a turnoff for
Bachu, called Maralbashi [also known as Tumschuk] in the records of the 19 th - and 20 th -century
European explorers. Sir Aurel Stein traced the walls of a fort and the structures of an extensive city, both
long abandoned. A direct desert route along the Yarkand River linked it with Yarkand (Shache), a journey
accomplished by Stein in five days.” Bonavia (1988), pp. 162-163.
“In view of the old remains traced at and near the gap of Achal, it is, I think, safe to assume that the
ancient route passed on from Lāl-tāgh to this defile, as did the modern route via Tumshuk until some forty
years ago. But beyond it, topographical facts, combined with such archaeological indications as I have
discussed above in connexion with my journey from Kāshgar, point to a bifurcation. On the one hand it is
on general grounds highly probable that there was a south-western continuation of the ancient route to the
present Marāl-bāshi ; for though the present town is of avowedly modern origin, and probably the
surrounding oasis also, yet a look at the map shows that the branch of the road which forms the easiest and
most direct connexion between Ak-su and Yarkand must always have passed the site in question. Whether
there existed any large settlement during ancient times corresponding to the present Marāl-bāshi is
doubtful, seeing that the detailed accounts of the ‘Western kingdoms’ contained in the Han and T’ang
Annals make no mention of a special territory or tract at this place.” Stein (1928), p. 80.
“The distance from Faizabad [the last settlement of the Kashgar Oasis] to Maral-bashi was covered in four
stages. The road ran through a sandy country covered by jungle, said to abound in game. In the past this
must have been a huge forest area, but nowadays the jungle is retreating to the north and the sands are
rapidly encroaching on the forest. The road was made difficult by numerous dry tree stumps and roots
completely buried under the sand. . . .
On March 3, we entered the large and important Oasis of Maral-bashi, connected by two important
routes with Kashgar and Yarkend. The oasis itself is not large but it is well irrigated and has an abundant
supply of subsoil water and several lakes. The Yarkend darya approaches it from the south. To the
northwest and north rise low, rocky ridges – southern offshoots of the outward T’ien Shan. . . .
Our next stop was Ak-tumshuk or simply Tumshuk. On leaving the cultivation zone of Maral-bashi
and Char-bagh Bazaar, a small hamlet some fifteen miles northeast of Maral-bashi, we emerged on a vast
sandy plain covered by shrubs. The stage was a very long one, about thirty miles, and we reached the
village of Tumshuk at about eleven o’clock at night. Not far from the village stands a Chinese inscription
dating back to the time of the reconquest of the New Dominion in 1877. North and southeast of Tumshuk
lie important ruins. The ancient sites were excavated by the eminent French sinologist, Professor Paul
Pelliot, during his expedition in 1906-8.
From Tumshuk it took us four long stages to reach Aksu. . . .” Roerich (1931), pp. 95-96.
9.10. The kingdom of Suoju 莎車 [So-chü] = Yarkand.
Suo 莎 – K. 16f: *swâ / suâ; EMC: swa.
OR Sha – K. 16f: *sa / ṣa; EMC: ʂaɨ / ʂɛː
ju 車 – K. 74a: + *ḳi̯o / ki̯wo; EMC: kɨǝ̆
OR che – *ẗ’i̯å / ẗś’ia; EMC: tɕ h ia
There has never been any question that the Suoju (or Suoche) 莎車 [So-chü or So-ch’e] of the Han period is to be
identified with modern Yarkand or Suoche (also written Shache). Pelliot (1963), pp. 876-885, discusses the

identification of Yarkand in detail and, as he notes in an earlier work:
“All scholars, both Chinese and European, agree that the kingdom of So-chü of Han times must be
identified with Yarkand.” Pelliot (1959), p. 879.
“For this city Ptolemaios’s text has four variants σοÃτα, σοÃγα, σότα, σάγα. Here the fourth is
nearest to the Saka word. The modern, half-Turk name is Yār-kand. The Turkish yăr is ‘cleft’ and ‘rock’ as
in yar tuzï ‘rock salt’. The Turkish has kept the meaning of the original name and added the word kand
‘city’. Here yar is from yarmaq ‘to split’.” Bailey (1958), p. 73.
“Yarkend impressed us as being a much more active and thriving place than Khotan. It is the chief
entrpôt of Indian and Afghan trade and its roofed bazaars and chaikhaneh or restaurants were thronged by
different nationalities. Yarkend is the largest oasis in the country. It is well watered by irrigation channels
and has an extensive cultivation of rice, which is exported to Khotan and Kashgar. Besides rice, the oasis
produces corn, wheat, barley, cotton, flax, hemp, sesamum, and tobacco. According to recent official
estimates, the population of the oasis is over 200,000. The Mohammedan town or Kone-shahr is surrounded
by a brick wall with several towers. The Han-ch’eng or Chinese section lies to the northwest of the native
quarter. The Afghan Government maintains a consul at Yarkend who, although not recognized by the
Chinese as such, supervises the Afghan colony and its interests in the oasis. The most costly products of
Afghan export are opium and Badakhshani horses. The trade is clandestine and the offenders are usually
punished. For the past few years the export of Badakhshani horses has been prohibited by the Amir, and
Afghan traders, travelling to Chinese Turkestan or elsewhere, have to sign a document that they will return
to the country with their horses. Notwithstanding these strict measures, Badakhshani horses are constantly
seen on the Yarkend market, the horse trade being carried on through Kirghiz traders.
Most of the Yarkand trade is conducted with India and the Indian colony is the largest foreign
colony in the oasis. . . .” Roerich (1931), pp. 86-87.
Also see: Stein (1907), p. 88; CICA, p. 139, n. 361; Bailey (1985), p. 73; Bailey (1958), p. 133; Daffinà (1982), pp.
325-326.
9.11. The kingdom of Jieshi 竭石 [Chieh-shih]. Possibly one of the smaller towns in the Kashgar oasis. Stein
(1907), p. 15, believed it may have represented an early attempt to render the name Kāshkār in the Kashgar oasis,
and in Chitral (also known as Kāshkār), where we find an identical, or very similar, name:
“The open and fertile part of the main valley, containing the large villages which bear collectively the
name of Chitrāl and form the political centre of the Kāshkār or Chitrāl State, answers remarkably well to
the description given in the T’ang Annals of the mild climate and rich produce of Chieh (Chieh-shih). And
in view of the topographical arguments already adduced for its identification, we need not hesitate to
suggest also that it was the local name Kāshkār, or an earlier form of it, which the Chinese endeavoured to
reproduce by Chieh-shih or Chieh-shuai. The application of the term Kāshkār to the territory of Chitrāl is
well attested from Muhammadan sources, and its use is still current throughout those regions. Chieh-shih,
as an attempt to represent Kāshkār by Chinese sounds, would have a parallel in the name Ch’ia-sha which
Hsüan-tsang gives to the present city and oasis of Kāshgar, in Chinese Turkestān.” Stein (1907), p. 15.
“Chavannes (1906), p. 554, note 3, believed that the place name Chieh-shih 竭石, GSR 313r and 795a :
g’i̯at/g’i̯ät - d̑‘ǎi̯k/z’i̯äk in the Wei-lüeh should be compared to the T’ang names 佉沙 ki̯wo-ṣa and 迦帥,
Karlgren (1923), no. 342 and GSR 559a : ka-ṣi, both indicating Kashgar; the Wei-lüeh term would then
provide the necessary authority to identify Kashgar with Ptolemy’s κασια χώρα. Pulleyblank (1963), p.
219. . . reconstructing an “Old Chinese” pronunciation *sa̲ĥ-gleats, believes this to be an early form of
transcribing Soghd, to be identified with Kesh.” CICA: 130, n. 320.
9.12. The kingdom of 渠沙 Qusha [Ch’ü-sha]. Literally ‘Big Sands’ or ‘Spacious Sands’.
“Qusha 渠沙 appears identical to Qusuo 渠莎 [also pronounced Qusha] that the Pei shi (chap. XCVII, p. 3
b) mentions as occupying the ancient town of Suoju莎車 (Yarkand). Qusha or Qusuo was therefore not a
principality distinct from Yarkand.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 554, n. 4.

“But a much earlier source [than the Weishu or the Peishi], the Wei-lio, which was written in the second
quarter of the 3 rd cent., mentions in succession “the kingdom of So-chü (Yārkänd), the kingdom of 碣石
Chieh-shih (*G’i̯ät-źi̯äk; perhaps read 竭石Chieh-shih, *G’i̯ät-źi̯äk, and cf. CHAVANNES, Doc. sur les
Tou-kiue, 69), the kingdom of 渠沙 Ch’ü-sha (*G’i̯ w o-a), the kingdom of 西夜 Hsi-yeh, ...” (cf.
CHAVANNES, in TP, 1905, 554). The Hou-Han shu (118, 4 a) has a notice on “the kingdom of Hsi-yeh, also
called 漂沙 P’iao-sha” (*Pi̯äu-a; CHAVANNES, misled by a misprint in the T’u-shu-chi-ch’êng Shanghai
edition, gives 虜沙 Lu-sha in TP, 1907, 174; but all the ancient editions have P’iao-sha, adopted in DE
GROOT Chin. Urkunden, II, 79). The Hou-Han shu owes much to the Wei lio, and I hold it for certain that
its P’iao-sha is merely a copyist’s error for the Ch’ü-sha of the Wei lio. It is no less clear that the Ch’ü-sha
of the Wei lio and the Ch’ü-so of the Pei shih also represent one and the same name. In all likelihood,
Ch’ü-sha, indirectly supported by P’iao-sha of the Hou-Han shu, is the correct form, and sha was altered to
so in the Pei shih under the influence of the following So-chü. But even the identification of Ch’ü-sha =
Ch’ü-so with So-chü = Yarkand is unreliable, since both the Wei lio and the Hou-Han shu (this with the
corrupt form P’iao-sha) agree in mentioning Ch’ü-sha quite apart from So-chü (Yarkand). The wrong
identifications of ancient names in this chapter of the Pei shih are numerous.” Pelliot (1963), p. 880.
My own suggestion is that Qusha referred to a settlement on the main route between Yarkand and Khotan, possibly
in the region of modern Kizil Bazaar, two stages towards Khotan from Yarkand, and a notoriously sandy region.
Aurel Stein (1912), pp. 138-139 reports finds of ancient Uighur manuscripts and the remains of ancient dwellings
and a part of a leather slipper in this region, although he was unable to provide chronological evidence for the
finds.
“Next day we were in Kizil Bazaar – a half-ruined village with a vast desert plain called Karakum or
“Black Sands.” The next stage to Yangi-hissar lay across a desert country intersected by hamlets with small
patches of cultivation.” Roerich (1931), PP. 87-88.
9.13. The kingdom of Xiye 西夜 [Hsi-yeh] = Karghalik.
Chavannes (1903), p. 397, n. 4, (1905), p. 554, n. 5, and (1907), p. n. 3, identified this kingdom with modern
Yularik, south of Yarkand. However, the directions given in the Hanshu and the population figures given in the
Hou Hanshu make it almost certain that it refers to modern Karghalik, as Aurel Stein first pointed out:
“. . . we are necessarily led to identify Hsi-yeh as Karghalik ; for only on the assumption that this great
oasis is meant can we account for the striking difference in population which the notice of the Later Han
Annals indicates by stating the number of households as 2,500 at Hsi-yeh and only 350 at Tzu-ho. The
proportion is about the same as a modern census would be likely to reveal between the oasis of Karghalik
proper and the Beg-ship comprising Kök-yar, Yül-arik and Ushak-bashi. The identification of Hsi-yeh with
Karghalik is in striking agreement with the statement in the Ch’ien Han shu that Hsi-yeh joined P’i-shan on
the east and So-ch’ê on the north ; for Guma and Yarkand are the neighbours on these sides exactly as here
represented.” Stein (1921a), pp. 86-87.
My only qualification to Stein’s analysis is that he locates Zihe [Tzu-ho] too close to Kharghalik, partly due to his
under-estimation of the Han li (at about 322 metres instead of the true 415.8 metres).
But, even using his figures, the text would place Zihe 322 km from Kashgar – a figure impossible to
reconcile with him situating Zihe not far south of Karghalik, around Kokyar (which is only about 50 km south of
Karghalik), and the tiny oasis of Yularik, about 10 km further east. Kokyar lies on the winter route (zamistani)
between Yarkand and the Karakoram Pass. See: von Le Coq (1928), p. 153.
The text states that Zihe was in a gorge, some 1,000 li, (about 416 km from Kashgar) – which makes it
almost exactly at modern Shahidulla (or Xaidulla = Pinyin: Saitula). Shahidulla is a strategically important centre
on the way to the Sanju and Karakoram Passes on the main route south to Ladakh. This shortcut to India via
Ladakh was in regular use until the Chinese closed the borders soon after the Communist victory in 1949.
The main obstacle on the route was the high and dangerous Karakoram Pass (5,575 m or 18,291 ft).
Caravans would often rest and graze their animals in the fertile valley near Shahidulla until conditions were
favourable to cross the less rigorous Sanju Pass, also called the “Suget Pass’ (5,364 m or 17,598 ft), and then the
notorious Karakoram.
Shahidulla controlled the route to the north of the Sanju Pass from where one could head northwest to Pishan
and Yarkand or northeast towards Khotan. Although the Suget is a difficult pass, it is possible to take laden yaks
across it:

“On the 5th of November, after passing through the gorge of the Karakash River, at the foot of the
walls of the fortlet of Shaidullah, built by the Kashmiraians and long since abandoned by them, we came at
Toghrusu, into the midst of the gay tumult of a Kirghiz wedding. . . .
On the 7th, we left the Karakash Daria, the valley of which is impracticable in the downward
direction, and began to ascend the gorge of one of its affluents which runs down from the Sanju Pass.
Imagine an exceedingly narrow gorge, whimsically tortuous, deeply confined within tall peaked rocks, bare
and strangely hewn and slashed and the whole gorge obstructed by flint rubbish. On reaching the end of
this gorge, we found ourselves as though at the bottom of a well. With the assistance of some Kirghiz oxen,
we scaled one of the walls of the well and thus reached the summit of the Sanju Pass, which is at a height of
16,800 feet. From there, according as one turns to the north or the south, the view offers a striking contrast.
In the south is a monstrous chaos of gigantic snow mountains and dazzling glaciers, which the rays of the
sun sometimes cause to look like great blue lakes slumbering amid a polar whiteness ; in the north, a few
brown hills, beyond which stretches something like a vast ocean wrapped in a shroud of grey mist : this is
the Kashgarian plain and its atmosphere laden with dust.
The ascent of the pass was not easy, but the descent was worse. The slope is so steep that, in a league
of horizontal projection, one descends 1,880 metres and, for a distance of 800 metres, the slope, at 45
degrees, is covered with a thick layer of ice. The yaks are really wonderful animals which, descending a
mountain like this, carry over two hundred pounds on their backs without stumbling. Our horses, although
carrying no burden, did three-fourths of the road in some other way than on their feet : one of them slipped
so badly that it was hurled to the bottom of the valley and broke its spine. . . .
From the foot of the pass, one follows a deep, grassy valley, here and there meeting the round tents of
Kirghiz herdsmen. Little by little, the mountains grow lower, the valley wider, the grass disappears, the
sand shows itself and one sees, between two dusky hills, the trees of the oasis of Sanju. Here there are some
thousand houses, scattered on every side, and a considerable amount of ground under cultivation ; and it is
easy for the traveller to procure all that he wants provided that his wants are modest.” Grenard (1904), pp.
28-30.
Notes on Sanju Pass adapted from Merzliakova (2003):
“The Pass leads to Shahidula. The uplift starts in the valley of Chibra.” “The uplift is not steep, but the
terrain is rocky without any vegetation, covered with snow in some places. It is practicable for laden
animals. The way down the Pass is steep into the deep and narrow valley. . . . The ancient Lekh [sic] trade
route lead over the Pass toward Kargalyk between India and China through Karakorum, Chuchu-Dawan,
Sasser. . . .”
Shahidulla also controlled access to a lesser-known route which headed west, eventually passing by a settlement
called Mazar and then through the Shimshal Valley and over the Shimshal Pass into the upper Hunza Valley or
into Wakhan. This provided an alternative to the route through Tashkurghan to northern Hunza or Wakhan, and
would have been shorter and more convenient for travellers coming from the east or south.
Notes on the Shimshal Pass adapted from Merzliakova (2003):
“Height: 4735 m [or 15,535 ft]. [From another source]: 4420 m [or 14,501 ft]. “The route is not very
difficult, it is practicable for ponies, but goes along the precipice in 800 m over the river. . . . The Pass is
not under permanent snow. In winter the route to the Pass goes along the river Khunza, but in summer there
is no road at all, because it is flooded. According to Younghusband the Pass is used in summer. [At
present]:"There is an overgrazed high pasture around the Pass. The women of Shimshal graze here about
1000 yaks and 3000 sheeps and goats in July and August. . . . . There is a collection of shepherds huts in
one mile from summit. There are also two small lakes.”
In the 19th and early 20th century this route was closed as it became the base for a band of notorious robbers who
preyed on the caravans travelling between India and the Tarim Basin via the Karakoram Pass. See the chapter on
“The Raiders’ Stronghold,” in Younghusband (1924), pp. 127-141.
Another piece of supporting evidence that Zihe was in the region of modern Shahidulla – the Hanshu
remarks that “the soil of Tzu-ho produces jade-stone.” CICA, p. 101.
In 1868, Robert Shaw, a British trader based in India, set out on a journey from Ladakh to Yarkand. On his
way, not far from Shahidulla, on the upper courses of the Karakash river, he passed a group of stone huts:
“We found out afterwards that this valley had formerly been frequented by the Chinese, who obtained jade

from hence. This industry is now extinct, as the Mussulmans of Toorkistân have no taste for ornaments of
this stone. A line in the Chinese ‘Thousand Character Classic,’ enumerating various productions, says,
“Jade comes from the Kuen-lun Mountains” (which are those in question). I am indebted to Mr. Aston, of
the India Museum, for this quotation.” Shaw (1871), p. 98, n. 1.
“To the west of Khotan was the small kingdom of Cu-gon-pan or Karghalik, 3 which was important
as the usual starting-point for intercourse with the western Himalaya, India, and the Pamir countries, via
Sarikkol or Tashkurghan, and later by the Karakoram passes. The high mountain valleys south of the main
watershed which led to these passes were, no doubt, dependent upon Cu-gon-pan rather than Khotan, so
long as it existed as a separate entity ; but it is to be suspected that this kingdom was in general
overshadowed by Khotan, though clearly it would derive support from its relations to its northern
neighbours Yarkand and Kashgar.”
3 [Chavannes, Documents], pp. 124-5; Stein, Ancient Khotan, pp. 91-3.
Thomas (1935-1963) Part I, p. 150.
9.14. The kingdom of Yinai 依耐 [I-nai]. I have been unable to locate this tiny community with any confidence.
Undoubtedly it was close to Tashkurgan as Chavannes (1905), p. 555, n. 1, notes.
“ ..., and it [Yinai] is distant by 10150 li [4,597 km] from Ch’ang-an. There are 125 households, 670
individuals with 350 persons able to bear arms. To the north-east it is a distance of 2730 li [1,136 km] to
the seat of the protector general. It is a distance of 540 li [225 km] to So-chü [Yarkand] and 540 li [225 km]
to Wu-lei; to the north it is a distance of 650 li [270 km] to Shu-lo [Kashgar]. To the south it adjoins
Tzu-ho and the way of life of the two places is similar. There are few cereals and the state hopes to obtain
[the produce of] cultivated fields from Shu-lo [Kashgar] or So-chü [Yarkand].” CICA, p. 102.
“I-nai 依耐, GSR 550f and 982h : *i̯ər/*jc̯i nəg/nậi. – I-nai is supposed to have been situated in the same
area as P’u-li, see note 180.” CICA, p. 102, n. 182.
“The exact location of P’u-li and I-nai, the other small territories which Chu-chü-po or Karghalik had
absorbed in T’ang times, cannot be determined at present. But the mention made in the Chien Han shu of
their position north of Tzŭ-ho, and of their dependence on So-ch’ê or Yarkand for agricultural produce,
suggests that they may represent the isolated hill settlements found in those little accessible valleys like
Asghan-sal, Öch-b’ldir, Tong, which are drained by the middle course of the Zarafshān, or Yārkand, River.
. . . ” Stein (1921), Vol. 1, p. 87.
9.15. The kingdom of 滿犁 Manli [Man-li] = Tashkurghan. Chavannes made the point that this place is identical
with the 蒲犂 Puli of the Hanshu:
“In place of Manli 滿犂 (the second character being written 犁 in the edition of the Sanguozhi said to be by
Bao Rentang), the Qian Hanshu (chap. XCVI, a, p. 4 b) gives the reading 蒲犂 Puli; in place of 億若
Yiruo, the Hou Hanshu (chap. CXVIII, p. 4 a) gives the reading 得若 Deruo. – The three kingdoms of
Yinai, Puli and Deruo should be in the region of Tashkurgan; cf. BEFEO, III, p. 397, n. 4.” Translated from
Chavannes (1905), p. 555, n. 1.
“The Tashkurghan kingdom of Sarikkol adjoined Cu-gon-pan [Karghalik] on its own eastern side, while
more northwards it was connected by direct routes with Kashgar : its rulers were more in relation with the
latter. On the west the Sarikkol kingdom extended up to the Wakhan Pamir, where its neighbour may be
designated by the general term Tokharestan. 4 ”
4 [Chavannes, Documents], p. 155.
Thomas (1935-1963) Part I, p. 150 and n. 4.
“P’u-li 蒲犂, GSR 102n and 519g : b’wo / b’uo - liər / liei. – Wang Hsien-ch’ien refers to the Shui-ching

chu 2.12a which says that the Southern River, after having flowed eastward through P’u-li, descends
northward to the country of P’i-shan; he then quotes the Shui-ching t’u-shuo ... which says : “The waters
that flow separately between Yengihishar and Yarkand from here on flow eastward to unite with the
Yarkand at Yarkand.” CICA, p. 101, n. 180.
“The seat of the king’s government is at the valley of P’u-li, and it is distant by 9550 li [3,973 km] from
Ch’ang-an. There are 650 households, 5000 individuals with 200 persons able to bear arms. To the
northeast it is a distance of 540 li [225 km] to So-chü [Yarkand] and to the north of 550 li [229 km] to
Shu-lo [Kashgar]. To the south it adjoins Hsi-yeh and Tzu-ho, and to the west it is a distance of 540 li [225
km] to Wu-lei. [There are the following officials] : a noble and a commandant. The state hopes to obtain
[the produce of] cultivated fields from So-chü [Yarkand]. Its race and way of life are similar to those of
Tzu-ho.” CICA, pp. 101-102.
The identification of Manli/Puli with modern Tashkurghan appears certain. The directions in the Hanshu provide
accurate directions and distances from both Suoju or Yarkand – 540 li or 225 km to the east – and Shule or
Kashgar – 550 li or 229 km north. These distances are very accurate when checked on modern maps. There is no
other settlement on these routes or in this region that it could be.
The dependence on food supplies from Yarkand (referred to in the Hanshu) and the size of the population
(about 5,000) have not changed since the time of the Former Han, thus providing additional confirmation of its
identification. See CICA, pp. 101-102. There is only one piece of evidence that does not fit. In the Hanshu’s
description of Suoju [Yarkand], it is said that Puli is 740 li (308 km) to the southwest (CICA, p. 140). This must be
a simple copyist’s error for the 540 li listed in the section on Puli (CICA. p. 101 – see above).
Heading south from Tashkurgan the traveller in ancient times had two main choices. The first route (and the
only one practicable for laden pack animals, led over the Neza Tash Pass and southwest through the Ak Tash
(‘White Stone’) Valley along the Aksu or Oksu (‘White Water’) River – which here flows to the northeast – until
one entered the Wakhan Valley proper. The second route, through Hunza and Gilgit was not passable for beasts of
burden.
“Our first day’s journey [from Tashkurgan] was to the foot of the Neza Tash pass, sixteen miles [26 km] in
a south-westerly direction up the Shindan stream, which flows through the defile of the same name and
falls into the Sirikol river. The defile at several places is extremely narrow, and shut in by precipitous rocks
and bold steep hills which rise high above it. The fallen stones and stream boulders make the road
particularly bad for many miles. Willows and thorn bushes grow plentifully at the head of the defile, and
the hills there lose their bold character, and become rounded and sloping. Our camp was in snow, but large
patches of grass free from it were found in the vicinity sufficient for our horses, which ate it greedily,
preferring it greatly to the chopped straw we carried for mixing with their grain. This grass was similar to
what we found in many parts of the Pamirs, and in the Aktash valley, rich and sweet to the smell,
resembling English meadow hay, and relished immensely by our animals. Judging from what we saw of it
in the end of winter, it is easy to believe in its fattening properties in summer, as related by Marco Polo and
other travellers, and also told us by the Wakhis. Neza Tash, meaning spear-stone, is named from a
spear-like pointed rock near the place.
On the second day we crossed the Neza Tash pass (14,920 feet)[4,548 m], leading over a high range
running about north-west, and encamped at the mouth of the ravine leading down from it to the Aktash
valley, travelling a distance of seventeen miles [27 km] in a general westerly direction. Snow fell in the
night time, and our journey for this and the following three days, covering a total distance of seventy-eight
miles [126 km], was made mainly through snow. We found plenty of grass in scattered patches and
brushwood fuel at this day’s camping place. We were here joined by a party of Sirikolis with yaks and
ponies carrying supplies sent by Hussan Shah to accompany us to Wakhan.” Gordon (1876), pp. 123-124.
Notes on the Neza Tash Pass adapted from Merzalikova (2003):
“Height: 4328 m [14,199 ft]. The Pass leads down Karasu stream to valley Aksu in “Sarez Pamir.” “On the
west side it is very easy to ascent. Descent more difficult steep and stony.” From there one travelled past
the Little Pamir Lake roughly 80 km to Langar:
“…twenty-five miles [40 km] from the lake. A deserted village and traces of cultivation were observed
here, and numerous yaks and cattle were seen grazing on the opposite side of the valley. A stream of
considerable size also joins at Langar, flowing from the south-east, and a road goes by it to Kunjut, over the
Kura pass.” Gordon (1876), p. 129.

When one reached Sarhad (literally, ‘frontier’), approximately another 40 km west from Langar, one could cross
south over the relatively easy Baroghil Pass (3,798 m; 12,460 ft) towards Mastuj which leads to either the Chitral
Valley. From here there was relatively easy access to both the region around modern Jalalabad in Afghanistan,
with somewhat more difficulty, through Swat to the region of ancient Gandhāra near Peshawar.
If, on the other hand, one headed due west from Sarhad through the Wakhan Valley, one travelled through
Badakshān to Bactra (Balkh) and beyond.
The quickest route into northern India, usually open all year, was extremely dangerous and only suited for
travellers on foot. From Tashkurgan one travelled just over 70 km south to the junction of the Minteke River.
Heading west up this valley one reached the Kilik and Mintaka Passes which both led into upper Hunza from
which one could travel over the infamous “hanging passages” to Gilgit and on, either to Kashmir, or to the
Gandhāran plains.
9.16. The kingdom of Yire (or Yiruo) 億若 [I-je or -jo] = Mazar, also known as Tágh Nák and Tokanak.
This is undoubtedly the same small kingdom, Dere (or Deruo) 德若 [Te-je or –jo] that is mentioned in the Hou
Hanshu (note the very similar first characters) – see Chavannes (1905), p. 555, n. 1.
億 yi; K. 957e: *i̯ək; EMC ?ik
德 de; K. 919k: *tək; EMC tək
若 re or ruo.; K. 777a: *ńi̯ak; EMC: ɲia’, also ɲɨak (commonly used to transcribe the Sanskrit sounds of:
j, ya, and jña.)
The reconstructed Chinese pronunciations above show a remarkably close resemblance to the name Tágh Nák used
twelve centuries later in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi, which was completed in 1547 CE.
“The Kingdom of Dere controls more than 100 households, 670 individuals, and 350 men able to bear
arms. On the east, it is 3,530 li (1,468 km) to the residence of the Chief Scribe [at Lukchun]. It is 12,150 li
(5,052 km) from Luoyang. It borders on Zihe (Shahidulla), and their customs are the same.” Hou Hanshu
Chap. 118 (TWR, Section 7).
For some years I had suspected that the site of the tiny ‘kingdom’ of Dere mentioned in the text of the Hou Hanshu
after Zihe (which I had confidently identified as Shahidulla – see note 7.13) was in the region of the hamlet marked
Mazar [Ma-cha] on modern maps (approx. 77 o 0’E, 36 o 26’N – about 90 km west of Shahidulla).
The reasons for my identification of Dere with Mazar includes the fact that Mazar, like Shahidulla, was of
strategic importance and that they were not far apart and were connected by a broad, fertile river valley and, as said
in the Hou Hanshu, shared a border. Settled communities near Shahidullah were, few.
Mazar was important strategically because it controlled the junction of the route via the Shimshal Valley to
Hunza; the one which led to Wakhan and, thus, to Badakshan; as well as an another important route which led
directly north to Kokyar and Karghalik which then branched either northwest to Yarkand and Kashgar, or
southeast to Pishan and Khotan.
“We had intended to travel by the Kokyar route to Yarkend and then to Khotan. Nazar Bai strongly
advocated the alternate route across the Sanju Pass and we decided to follow his advice. The Sanju route
was shorter by six days and there were fewer streams to cross.” Roerich (1931), p. 44.
The name ‘Mazar’ refers to a shrine of a Muslim saint and had no connection with the ancient name of Dere (or
Yire) of the ancient Chinese texts.
Elias’ 1895 translation of the Tarikh-i-Rashidi, contains a note that, in 1535, the author of the work, Mirza
Muhammad Haidar, had been travelling north from Tibet with a few remaining men, but decided it would be too
dangerous for him to head to Yarkand and that he would head for Badakshan instead, after being told (ibid., pp.
464-465):
“. . . that from a place called Tágh Nák, 1 there was a bye-path leading to the Pamirs of Badakhshán.” It
appears that this Tágh Nák is identical with the modern “Mazar.”
“ 1 Mirza Haidar’s spelling of this name is probably the right one. It appears on our latest maps as Tokanak, and
is a spot on the Yárkand river just below Kulan-uldi, where the track to Kugiar and Yárkand leaves the valley of that

iver. Mirza Haidar’s party (it will be seen by the map) branched of [sic] from the direct route to Yárkand at Ak-tágh
[just south of the difficult Suget Pass leading to Shahidullah], then followed down the Yárkand river past Kulan-uldi,
Tágh-nák, etc., first into the district known as Ráskám and eventually on to the Pamir of Taghdumbásh. The route is an
exceedingly difficult one, on account of the river crossings, and is seldom or never followed by traders or travellers.”
Elias (1895), p. 464, n. 1.
Suffice to say that, after a difficult passage, the travellers finally reached Wákhán, “which is the frontier (sar-hadd)
of Badakhshán” (ibid., p. 467), and then into Badakshan proper were he and his followers spent the winter safely
before heading on to Kabul and Hindustan in the spring.
Even more than the geographic indications, what is of great interest here is the fact that the name Tágh Nák
is almost perfectly rendered by the phonetic reconstructions of the Chinese name used in the Hou Hanshu some
1,400 years previously: *tək – *ńi̯ak (and see above for other closely related possibilities).
Taken together I believe there is no doubt that the Yire/Dire of the Weilue and Hou Hanshu represents the
tiny, but strategically-placed, hamlet marked on our modern maps as Mazar.
9.17. The kingdom of Yuling 榆令 [Yü-ling].
yu (GR 13100), literally ‘elm’ (Ulmus pumila L.); EMC: jǔa; K. 125g: *di̯u
ling (GR 7153) EMC: liajŋ, also liajŋ h ; K. 823a: *li̯ěng
I am unable to find any other reference to this place and have to leave it unidentified, as did Chavannes (1905), p.
555, n. 2.
9.18. The kingdom of Juandu 捐毒 [Chüan-tu], literally, ‘Tax Control’ – near modern Irkeshtam). See CICA, p.
139 and n. 358, and also the discussion in Appendix A: (b): “The Central Route”.
“All this leads one to search for the Scythian Emod and the Homodotes of that region on the upper Qizil
Su-Vakhsh. Chinese sources contain additional information that makes it possible to locate the Emod and
the Homodotes more precisely. Here, it seems relevant to propose a correlation between the Scythian Emod
and the Juandu (ancient form: i̯wan-d’uok), the nomadic confederation of “ancient Saka tribes.” The basic
source of information about Juandu is the Qian Hanshu. As for the location of this confederation, it is
generally agreed that it occupied territories west and south-west of Kashgar, evidently in the basin of the
Kashgarian Qizil Su and its tributaries. On the west, its lands extended up to the crest of the Congling,
probably up to the Taunmurun pass, which is situated somewhat west of Irkeshtam at the headwaters of the
Qizil Su-Vakhsh. Thus, the Homodotes might correspond to the Juandu; and Mount Emod, as the place
where the Oxus rises, might refer to the Congling, by which in this instance the eastern areas of the Alai
and Trans-Alai ranges are meant.” P’iankov (1994), pp. 40-41.
9.19. Xiuxiu 休脩 [Hsiu-hsiu ], literally, ‘Good Rest Stop,’ must have been near modern Karakavak. See CICA, pp.
138-139 and n. 355; Shiratori (1957), p. 27.
Xiu 休 (GR No. 4562) means ‘to rest,’ ‘to stop for a few moments;’ 脩 hsiu (GR No. 4579) carries among
its meanings: ‘beautiful,’ ‘good,’ ‘excellent,’ ‘long,’ ‘high,’ ‘big;’ 循 xun (GR No. 4770) can mean ‘to walk’ ‘to
console’, ‘comfort, or ‘good’ . So, I think I am justified to translate the name in both cases as ‘Good Rest Stop’.
See also CICA, pp. 138, 139 and nn. 355-358.
Stein (1928), Vol. II, pp. 849-851 makes a very strong case for placing Juandu in the region of Irkeshtam,
about 200 km west of Kashgar, on the modern border between China and Kyrgyzstan, and Xiuxiu not too far to the
west (260 li or 108 km), on the Alai Plateau. Stein places Xiuxiu/Xiuxun near modern Chat, but this is too far from
Juandu, being about 155 km southwest of Irkeshtam.
Instead, measuring it on a modern map, Xixun/Xiuxiu corresponds closely to the small modern settlement of
Karakavak (Turkic for: ‘Black Poplar’ – Populus nigra L.), about half way along the fertile pasturelands of the
Alai Valley at approximately 39 o 39’ N; 72 o 42’ E.
The Alai Valley through which the Kizil Su (‘Red River’) runs, is the favoured summer pasture grounds of
the local Kirghiz. This fits well with the description of Xiuxiu in the Hanshu as a very small settlement of only
1,030 pastoral nomads and adds that “in company with their stock animals they go after water and pasture.” It
would have been an ideal place for caravans to exchange goods and rest and refresh their animals after the long
haul from Bactra or the Tarim Basin. Interestingly, they, and the inhabitants of Juandu are both said to be
originally of the “Sai race.” For detailed discussions see Yu (1998), pp. 86-90.

Irkeshtam is near a major fork in the route from Kashgar to the west. One branch headed over the Terek Pass
to Ferghana; the other led down the Alai Valley past Karakavak, Daraut-kurghān and Chat (where Stein locates
Xiuxiu/Xiuxun), along the valley of the Surkhab (or Kizil-su) and on to Termez, where there was a famous
crossing of the Oxus River (or Amu Darya) which led to ancient Bactra (modern Balkh).
“Chinese and medieval Islamic sources are helpful in tracing the further history of the Komedes.
Chinese sources reflecting the situation during the first century B.C.– third century A.D. locate the Xiuxun
[= Xiuxiu – see CICA, p. 138, n. 355], a nomadic confederation of ancient Saka tribes similar to the Juandu,
in the areas where the Classical sources place the Komedes. They lived west of the Congling, i.e., of the
Taunmurun pass–and they were centred in the valley known as the Migration of the Birds (the Alai valley),
whose ancient name by then was only a toponymic relic of the Amyrgians who had formerly inhabited it.
There are also indications that the Xiuxun territory extended about as far south as the lands of the
Komedes. It is evident that one and the same Saka tribe was called Xiuxun by the Chinese and Komedes by
the Greeks.” P’iankov (1994), p. 41. Note: For the “valley where the birds fly” or valley of the “Migration
of the Birds.” For more details see CICA, p. 138, n. 356.
I do not agree with some of the identifications made by P’iankov below [indicated by my notes in square brackets]
but, in other respects, his geographical discussions are well worthy of consideration:
“The reports from the Classical authors can be refined and supplemented by Chinese sources, in
particular the Qian Han Shu. Jibin [Kaspiria] beyond the Hanging Passage undoubtedly corresponds to
Kashmir [Refer to Appendix K. which shows that Jibin at this period refers to Kapisha–Gandhāra – not
Kashmir]. However, there is no exact information on the site of Jibin, and it is possible that the source
sometimes refers to a more extensive territory than modern Kashmir. Northeast of Jibin and subject to it lay
the territory of Nandou [the Chitral valley]. To the east lay Wucha [= Wuhao – see TWR note 8.2 where it
is located near modern Ghujak Bai (Aijie Keboyi), at the junction of the Mintaka and Tashkurgan Rivers,
about 70 km south of Tashkurgan]; the road from Wucha to Jibin must have run through Nandou. In the
north Nandou bordered on Xiuxun [or Xiuxiu]; in the west, on Wulei and the Great Yuezhi; and in the
south on Chuo Qiang (i.e. the Tibetans of Baltistan). . . .
It is more difficult to interpret the report that Xiuxun [=Xiuxiu] was Nandou’s [Chitral Valley’s]
neighbour to the north. Nevertheless, this appears to be correct. The Xiuxun/Komedes, who had settled far
up the Panj River, might have come as far south as Shughnan and Ishkashim and penetrated into the
domains of the Great Yuezhi. In this area, they would have bordered on Nandou. In addition, the road to the
center of Xiuxun in the Alai valley actually did lead directly north from that point.” P’iankov (1994), p. 43.
[This identification of the Chuo Qiang as “the Tibetans of Baltistan” must be challenged. Tibet, as a nation did not exist at that
time. One can only assume that some group with affiliations or similarities to other Qiang tribes had been reported to the south
of Nandou – perhaps in the upper Swat Valley. See the discussion of the Chuo or Er Qiang (literally, the ‘Unruly’ or
‘Unsubdued’ Qiang) in note 3.3.]
9.20. The kingdom of Qin 琴 [Ch’in]. One of the meanings given for this name which is, perhaps, significant, is
‘tumulus’ or ‘tomb’ – see GR 2023, 3. Like Chavannes (1905), p. 555, n. 5, however, I am unable to find this name
mentioned elsewhere.
9.21. Shule 疏勒 [Shu-lo] = Kashgar – or Qäshqär – Mallory and Mair (2000), p. 69. There can be no doubt that
Shule = Kashgar. See, for example, Stein (1907), pp. 47-57; CICA, p. 141, n. 373, and the detailed discussion of
the various names for the town in Bailey (1958), pp. 50-54; also note 1.58.
Shu 疏– K. 90b: *ṣi̭o / ṣi̭wo; EMC: ʂɨə̆ or ʂɨə̆ h
le 勒 – K. 928f: *lək / lək; EMC: lək
“The pilgrim Xuanzang tells us that its name in Sanskrit was Śrīkrīrāti which means something like
‘Fortunate Hospitality’ ; the local name was transcribed in Chinese as Shule..., which provides fairly
dramatic evidence for what happens when a Chinese tongue tries to articulate Indo-European clusters of
sound. From the perspective of the Chinese traveller, Shule was a main emporium en route to Ferghana and
Bactria; it is highly likely that General Li Guangli led his forces through it in his quest for the ‘heavenly
horses’ of Ferghana. During the Han period its population was initially recorded as about a quarter of the
size of Kucha, i.e. 1,510 households, 18,647 people of whom 2,000 could bear arms (but the town was
booming by the 2nd century AD when the number of families was about 21,000 and it was fielding ten
times the earlier number of soldiers). We are informed that there were markets with stalls in the town. It

was an important garrison town in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 9), but early in the 1st century
AD it fell to Khotan only to be retaken by the Chinese under General Ban Chao. Thus, the trade route west
was secure at the time that Marinus of Tyre was gathering information about the Silk Road through the
agents of Maës the Macedonian in the early 2nd century AD.” Mallory and Mair (2000), pp. 69-70.
From Kashgar the main route headed west to Irkeshtam (= Juandu – see note 9.18), on the present border between
Xinjiang and Kygyzstan. From this point there were two main choices for major caravans, (although smaller
parties could cross via Tashkurgan to the Pamirs and then descend through Wakhan into Badakhshan):
One route headed over the Terek Pass entering the rich Ferghana Valley near modern Osh, and then through
the valley towards Samarkand. The alternative was to head down the Alai Valley towards modern Dushanbe, and
then on to Termez and Balkh.
The reason the route from Kashgar through the Ferghana Valley was so popular was that the Terek Pass was
open all year and there was an abundance of fodder and fuel en route:
“But Osh [the first major town in the Ferghana valley for caravans approaching from the east] to-day,
as of yore, is a centre for more than health seekers. It is, and has been for centuries, the caravan town
whence camels and donkeys and horses set forth for Kashgar and China, and south to Tibet and Hindustan.
Even the coming of the railway to Andizhan in the valley below has not changed the caravan centre from
Osh to the railway. For the mountains about Osh are plentifully covered with grass and camping costs
nothing. But most of a trip’s profits might well be squandered for the cost of hay in Andizhan.
The presence of grass near Osh, and on the trail from Osh through the passes, is more important than
the casual visitor guesses. For centuries gone this simple fact has drained far-away Europe of gold and
heaped up gold in India, so that Indian princes became world-famous for their treasuries of precious metal,
though India has no gold mines of her own. The reason lies in the grass of Osh and the high breathless pass
of the Karakorum.
Since time unknown a three-cornered trade has been carried on between Chinese Turkestan, India
and the land now known as Russia, which leads to Europe. The exports of Chinese Turkestan are
heavy–sheepskins, furs, raw cotton. The road from Kashgar to India is long and high and most of it
grassless. To go and return takes for a caravan an entire season, and much of the transport must be wasted
carrying fodder. But the road to Russia by Osh has grass all the way, and the hardy animals travel without
cost to their owners. To Osh and back to Kashgar the trip may be made two or three times in a long summer
season.
So the heavy export from Kashgar goes regularly to Russia, locking these two countries in a natural
economic alliance. But Kashgar desires the silky and light-weight cotton weaves of India ; her luxury
imports come from the south. So Chinese Turkestan carries the heavy wares to Russia, and takes her pay in
gold, which she carries in turn to India. Even the grassless pass of the Karakorum is insufficient bar against
valuable luxury goods.” Strong (1930), pp. 51-52.
“The abundance of grazing [in the Alai valley] was bound to be appreciated by caravans, particularly those
coming from the arid valleys on the Kāshgar side. Quite as important is the fact that places permanently
occupied, and hence capable of offering shelter and some local supplies, could be found on either side up to
an elevation of about 9,000 feet ; for some cultivation exists not only at Irkesh-tam, but also above it at a
point known as Nōraning-sōwa on the route to Taun-murum. Thus the distance on the Alai route over
which habitations were not to be found is reduced to less than 70 miles or three easy marches. The route
remains open for laden animals, including camels, during eight or nine months of the year. Even in the
months of December to February, when it is reported to be closed by deep snow, it would probably be made
practicable in the same way as the route from Irkesh-tam across the Terek pass (12,700 feet above
sea-level), provided there were sufficient traffic to tread a track through the snow and keep it clear.” Stein
(1928), Vol. II, p. 848.
Stein (1928), Vol. II, pp. 849-851 makes a very strong case for placing the Juandu of the Hou Hanshu (see note
9.18) in the region of Irkeshtam, about 200 km west of Kashgar, on the modern border between China and
Kyrgyzstan, and Xiuxiu not too far to the west (260 li or 108 km), on the Alai Plateau. Stein places Xiuxiu/Xiuxun
near modern Chat, but this is too far from Juandu, being about 155 km southwest of Irkeshtam.
Measuring it on a modern map, we find that Xixun/Xiuxiu coincides with the small modern settlement of
Karakavak (Turkic for: ‘Black Poplar’ – Populus nigra L.), about half way along the fertile pasturelands of the
Alai Valley at approximately 39 o 39’ N; 72 o 42’ E.
The Alai Valley through which the Kizil Su (‘Red River’) runs, is the favoured summer pasture grounds of

the local Kirghiz. This fits well with the description of it in the Hanshu as a very small settlement of only 1,030
pastoral nomads and adds that “in company with their stock animals they go after water and pasture.” A perfect
place for caravans to exchange goods and rest and refresh their animals after the long haul from Bactra or the
Tarim Basin. Interestingly, they, and the inhabitants of Juandu are both said to be originally of the “Sai race.” For
detailed discussions see Yu (1998), pp. 86-90.
Irkeshtam is near a major fork in the route from Kashgar to the west. One branch headed over the Terek Pass
to Ferghana; the other led down the Alai Valley past Karakavak, Daraut-kurghān and Chat (where Stein locates
Xiuxiu/Xiuxun), along the valley of the Surkhab (or Kizil-su) and on to Termez, where there was a famous
crossing of the Oxus River (or Amu Darya) which led to ancient Bactra (modern Balkh).
Notes on the Terek Pass adapted from Merzliakova (2003):
The Terek Pass: “Height = 3,871 m [12,700 ft]. The Pass leads from Irkeshtam to the valley of Kush-Aba.
. . . The main trade route linking Kashgar and Fergana went over the Pass. It was used in winter. An
alternative summer route went through Alai valley and Passes: Taldyk [11,200 ft or 3,414 m], Archan [or
Archat: 11,600 ft or 3,536 m] and Shart [14,000 ft or 4,389 m]. This road was the shortest one free of any
natural obstacles. x_coord = “73.666664”, y_coord = “39.950001”.
“The road from Irkeshtam to the Terek Pass was passable only by laden animals. No carriage could
go there. . . . “Permanent snow.”
The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica gives its height as 12,205 ft or 3,720 m and records that it is open all year
round. Other sources on the internet give its height as 3,730 m or 12,238 ft.
I am deeply indebted to Professor Merzliakova, who very kindly sent me an excellent map illustrating the
old route from Irkeshtam to Osh over the Terek Pass, with the main points marked in English, and she had
measured the route accurately to 156.5 km.
The Hanshu (CICA, p. 139) states that it is 1,030 li (428 km) from Juandu northwest to Dayuan. If we take
the distance of 156.5 km from Irkeshtam to Osh from the total, we get another 271.5 km. If we measure this
distance westwards from Osh through the Ferghana Valley, we come to Khujand – or ‘Northern Wuyi’ – see note
24.1 for details on this key town which, apparently, had become an independent kingdom by the time of the
Weilue.
The Hanshu says that it was 1,610 li (670 km) west to the Da Yuezhi from Xiuxun. Measured on modern
maps this is the distance from Balkh (Bactra) via Termez and Shahr-i Nau (40 km west of the modern Dushanbe),
to Karakavak. This provides convincing evidence of the identifications of the “capital” of the Da Yuezhi as being
Bactra/Balkh, as well as ancient Xiuxun being in the region of Karakavak, and Irkeshtam representing ancient
Juandu.
The construction of the major fortified Kushan town of Shahr-i Nau in the 1 st or 2 nd century CE, is shows the
increasing importance of the Alai valley to Termez route at this time:
“The huge town of Shahr-i Nau (40 km west of the modern Dushanbe), which came into being in Kushan
times under Vima Kadphises or Kanishka I and was surrounded by a strong defensive wall that was 7 km
long and more than 8 m high, with towers every 25 m, was abandoned at the turn of the fifth century like
many other settlements in the Hissar valley.” Zeimal (1966), p. 126.
The Hanshu also gives a distance of 690 li (287 km) from Dayuan southwest to the Da Yuezhi. Unfortunately, as
Yu (1998), p. 59, points out, this is far too short a distance, even if the Da Yuezhi were presumed to still have their
main settlement on the north bank of the Oxus.
I must assume there was a scribal error here – the most likely one being caused by a copyist dropping out the
character qian 千 for a thousand. If this was the case, the original text would have instead read 1,690 li (703 km).
This is very close indeed to the 716 km I measure on modern maps from Balkh (Baktra) via Kara Tepe (just to the
west of Termez), the Iron Gates, Guzar and Samarkand, to modern Kokand.
“But during the centuries before and after the beginning of the Christian era, when Baktra was a chief
emporium for the great silk trade passing from China to Persia and the Mediterranean, all geographical
factors combined to direct this trade to the route which leads from Kāshgar to the Alai valley and thence
down the Kizil-su or Surkh-āb towards the Oxus. Nature has favoured the use of this route, since it crosses
the watershed between the Tārīm basin and the Oxus where it is lowest. Moreover, it has, in Kara-tēgin, a
continuation singularly free from those physical difficulties which preclude the valleys draining the Pāmīrs
farther south from serving as arteries of trade. According to the information received at Daraut-kurghān and

subsequently on my way through Kara-tēgin, the route leading mainly along or near the right bank of the
Kizil-su is practicable for laden camels and horses at all seasons right through as far as Āb-i-garm. From
there routes equally easy lead through the Hissār hills to the Oxus north of Balkh.” Stein (1928), Vol. p.
848.
For details on the ‘Iron Gates,’ which apparently formed the northwestern frontier of Yuezhi territory, see note
5.13 under the subheading: The ‘Iron Gates’ – the northern border of Daxia.
9.22. The kingdom of Dayuan 大宛 [Ta-yüan] = Ferghana is generally accepted as being centred in the Ferghana
valley. See, for example: Negmatov (1994), pp. 454-455; CICA, p. 131, n. 325; Tarn (1984), pp. 474-477,
Appendix 10, “Ta-Yuan.”
Dayuan appears as a quite powerful state in both the Shiji and the Hanshu. However, by the time of the Hou
Hanshu it appears to have weakened with Xian, the king of Yarkand, conquering it just after the middle of the 1 st
century CE, and then it gradually fades from view, although according to the Hou Hanshu it sent tribute and
offerings to the Chinese court in 130 CE along with Kashgar and Yarkand: “In the fifth year [130 CE], Chen Pan
sent his son to serve the Emperor and, along with envoys from Dayuan (Ferghana) and Suoju (Yarkand), brought
tribute and offerings.” See TWR Section 21.
I suspect that Dayuan came more under the influence of the Kangju, and the caravans from China tended to
head down the Alai valley and through Kushan territory to Termez and Balkh, rather than via Ferghana and
Kangju. Therefore, it became of less importance to the Chinese, and received only scant attention in the later
chronicles. By the time of the Weilue, the old capital, Khojend had become a separate kingdom – see note 24.1.
Dayuan 大宛 is sometimes written Dawan – the latter character 宛 can be read either way, though the former
is preferable, and more commonly employed – see GR No. 10210 (on p. 688). Pulleyblank (1963), p. 90, writes
that Dayuan was, “…the first western country which Chang Ch’ien [Zhang Qian] visited (Shih-chi 123) = Greek
Τόχαροι, Τάχαροι, Latin Tochari, Sanskrit Tukhara, Tuṣara, etc., based on an original which Henning
reconstructed as *Taxwār (1938). . . . ” Also see Ibid. p. 224.
The capital of Dayuan is named Guishan 貴山 [Kuei-shan] in the Hanshu (CICA, p. 131 and n. 326).
Taishan Yu (1998), pp. 69 and 92, n. 22, makes a strong case for identifying it with Khojend / Kujand / Northern
Wuyi – see note 24.1.
“On the location of the town of Guishan, the seat of the royal government of Dayuan, there are five
theories. They are: a) Kokand, b) Ura-tübe, c) Akhsikath, d) Kāsān and e) Khojend. Up to now, the first
three have already been discarded. But which of the last two is correct has not been determined. I believe
that Khojend is better than Kāsān.” Yu (1998), p. 69.
Yu refers the reader to Kuwabara (1934-2, 3, 4) for critiques of the first three theories he mentions (see above). He
then outlines his reasons for choosing Khojend. (However, note that by a slip of the pen he has, in his second point,
mistakenly quoted from Shiji, ch. 123: “Dayuan is situated more than 2,000 li southwest of Dayuan. . . . ”. This
should, of course, read: “Daxia is situated more than 2,000 li southwest of Dayuan. . . . ”).
Khojend (ancient Alexandria Escharte or ‘Alexandria the Furthest’, during Soviet times, Leninabad) is very
strategically placed and not only guards the entrance to the fertile Ferghana Valley, but controls the main trade
route from the east which branches here either southwest towards Samarkand, or north towards Tashkent. Yu
(1988), p. 69, no. 3, correctly emphasizes that:
“3. In the Hanshu, Ch. 96A, it is recorded that “[to the northwest of the state of Xiuxun] is a distance of 920
li to the state of Dayuan;” and that “[to the northwest the state of Juandu] is a distance of 1,030 li from
“Dayuan.’ The “920 li” and “1,030 li” were equal to the distances from Khojend to the Alai Plateau and the
upper reaches of the Kizil River respectively.”
“In the mid-second century B.C. the Yüeh-chih tribes passed southwards through Ferghana and Usrushana,
and subsequently conquered Bactria. It seems likely that the far-flung, wealthy and densely populated state
of Ta-yüan arose about the same time. Much detailed information about this state is given by the Chinese
chronicler Szü-ma Ch’ien, who passed through Ta-yüan in the latter half of the second century B.C. The
name Ta-yüan was used until the second century A.D., when it was replaced by Pu-han and Pa-han-na (fifth
century A.D.) – the Chinese transcriptions of the name ‘Ferghana’. The identification of Ta-yüan with
Ferghana is firmly established in historical literature.
According to the Chinese sources, the country had many large and small towns and settlements,

numbering over seventy. The population was 300,000 and the inhabitants had deep-set eyes and thick
beards; they were skilled merchants and held women in high esteem. The country’s army numbered 60,000
fighting men armed with bows and spears, skilled in shooting from horseback. It was a land of highly
developed agriculture; both wheat and rice were grown; there were large vineyards, wine was made and
stored for dozens of years, and much mu-su (lucerne) was sown. Particularly famous were the Ferghana
horses, highly prized in neighbouring lands and especially in China. They were said to ‘sweat blood’ and
were considered ‘heavenly’. Emperor Wu-ti was particularly keen to have these blood-sweating horses. At
one time they were worshipped in China and poets wrote odes to them.
Ta-yüan also included Khojand and Usrushana. To the north and west it bordered on K’ang and to
the south on the Yüeh-chih or Kushan possessions. Its capital was the city of Ershi, identifiable either with
the ancient site of Markhamat in Andizhan District or with Khojand or Ura-Tyube. Its rulers also had a
residence in the city of Yu-chen, possibly present-day Uzgen.” Negmatov (1994), pp. 454-455. Note that
Pulleyblank (1963), p. 120 identifies Ershi with “Nesef, Naskhšab, present Karchi in Sogdiana. Historical grounds for this
identification of the capital of Ta-yüan which the Chinese besieged and captured in 101 B.C. will be given elsewhere (Shih chi
123).”
“The powerful state of Dawan in modern Ferghana was similar to the Yuezhi in custom and style,
according to the description in the History of the Han Dynasty. 27 Dawan was famous for its grape wine and
for its horses. Grape wine might be one of the legacies of Hellenistic influence or Hellenization of the
region before the Tuharan speakers took over. The name Dawan, as mentioned above, was a variation of
Tuharan. The horses of Dawan were so famous that Wudi sent two major military expeditions to defeat the
king and obtain horses. As for the Yuezhi, who lived further west now, their major trading item with the
Han was probably no longer horses. They now controlled the resources not only of Central Asia, but also
those on the fertile agricultural land of Bactria, they were not poor nomads in tatters, but rich, proud
horse-riding people skilful at trade.”
27. Ban Gu, Hanshu (History of the Han Dynasty) (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1964), 96a/3894.
Liu (2001), pp. 274-275.
“1. In the Shiji, ch. 123, it is recorded that “Wusun is situated some 2,000 li northeast from Dayuan.” The
“2,000 li” [832 km] was roughly equal to the distance from Khojend to the town of Chigu, the seat of the
royal government of Wusun.” Yu (1998), p. 69.
As described in Appendix A, under the subheading, “(d) The “New Route of the North”– the route from
Jeti-Öghüz [which I identify as Chigu, the capital of the Wusun] around the north of the Lake (still, today, the most
practicable route) to the western end of Issyk-kol and then past Lake Ozero Sonkel and through the Ferghana
Valley to Khojend was about 820-830 km between Jeti-Öghüz and Khojend by this route. So, it seems fair to
assume that this is route mentioned in the Shiji, ch. 123, in the quote above.
The capital of the main branch of the Wusun, referred to as the ‘seat of the Greater Kunmi’ in the Hanshu,
was named Chigu 赤谷; literally, ‘Red Valley’ [chi = ‘red’ + gu = ‘valley’. Ch’ih-ku]. I believe it is now possible
to locate Chigu with a fair degree of precision and certainty.
First, there is the name of the town, Chigu which means, ‘Red Valley.’ There is, in fact, a very dramatic and
famous red-coloured mountain and valley not far west of the present town of Karaköl:
“About 25 km west of Karakol, at the mouth of the Jeti-öghüz canyon is an extraordinary formation of red
sandstone cliffs that has become a kind of tourism trademark for Lake Issyk-Kul.
A village of the same name is just off the main around-the-lake road. Beyond it the earth erupts in red
patches, and soon there appears a great splintered hill called Razbitoye Serdtse or Broken Heart. (Legend
says two suitors spilled their blood in a fight for a beautiful woman; both died, and this rock is her broken
heart.)
Beyond this on the west side of the road is the massive wall of Jeti-Öghüz. The name means Seven
Bulls, and of course there is a story here too – of seven calves growing big and strong in the valley’s rich
pastures. Erosion has meant that the bulls have multiplied. They are best viewed from a ridge to the east
above the road. From that same ridge you can look east into Ushchelie Drakanov, the Valley of Dragons.
Below the wall of the Seven Bulls is one of Issyk-Kul’s surviving spas, the ageing Jeti-Öghüz
Sanitorium, built in 1932 with a complex of several plain hotels, a hot pool, a restaurant and some
woodland walks. . . .

From here you can walk up the park-like lower canyon of the Jeti-Öghüz river to popular summer
picnic spots. Some five km up, the valley opens out almost flat at Dolina Svetov, the Valley of flowers. . . .
There are also said to be pre-Islamic petroglyphs up here, similar to those at Cholpon-Ata.” King, et al.
(1996), p. 392.
As there are no other noteworthy red-coloured rock or cliff formations around Issyk-köl, it seems probable that
Jeti-öghüz is identical to the ‘Red Valley’ and ‘Red Mountain’ of the early Chinese accounts. This is confirmed by
the distances contained in the Hanshu between Chigu and the town of Wensu, to the south of the mountains.
Secondly, the Hanshu (CICA: 162) gives the distance from Wensu to Chigu as 610 li (254 km). Wensu, was
located in the valley of the Dashigan He (also known as the Taushkan Darya), and is usually identified with the
region of modern Wushi (Uch Turfan or Urqtur pan), about 85 km west of Aksu (see note 9.6).
My measurements range from 230 to 270 km from the Jeti-Öghüz Sanatorium, over the relatively low (4,284
m or 14,055 ft) Bedel Pass to the town of Wushi, depending which of several possible routes are chosen through
the mountains. (Checked on Russian Military 1:100,000 topographic maps, 1970 and 1973, and the U.S. Defence
Mapping Agency Aerospace Center map ONC, Sheet F6, 1:1,000,000, revised Feb. 1981). This confirms the
likelihood that Chigu was located somewhere in the upper Jeti-Öghüz Valley.
9.23. The kingdom of Anxi 安息 [An-hsi] = Parthia. GSR 146a and 925a : *·ân/*·ân – si̯ək/si̯ək “M. *·an-siək =
*Arśak (Parthia).”
“Kingsmill (Journ. R. Asiatic Soc., vol. XIV, 1882, p. 81) appears to have been the first to see the
transcription of the term Arsak in the Chinese words An-xi as designating the Parthian sovereigns called
Arascides. Hirth has confirmed and rendered this identification scientific by showing that the consonant n
can correspond to an r, and that, on the other hand, the word xi was previously pronounced sak; thus Anxi
is the strict equivalent of Ar-sak (cf. Hirth, Syrisch-chinesiche Beziehungen, p. 438, n. 2.” Translated from
Chavannes (1907), p. 177, note 1. See also: CICA, p. 115, n. 267; Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 77, 221; Yu
(1998), p. 173.
“It does not seem possible, either in hsieh-sheng series or poetic rhymes or transcriptions, to
distinguish separately *-l (Sino-Tibetan –r) and *-n words. In transcriptions we find the same characters
used for both, thus 安敦 M. ·an-tuən = Anton(inus), but 安息 M. ·an-si̯ək = Aršak and 敦煌 M.
tuən-h̑waŋ = Sogdian δrw”n, Greek θρόανα [Throaua]. This means that the two phonemes must have
coalesced at an early period.” Pulleyblank (1963), II, p. 228.
“Wu Di, around 115 or 105 BC, sent another delegation to the Parthians with the task of establishing
direct contacts. The Chinese ambassadors were received by King Mithridates II, who was to establish
diplomatic relations with Rome in 92 BC. These circumstances lead one to suppose that direct
Sino-Parthian trade contacts originated with the journey of this delegation and that they laid the foundations
for trade between east and west that later on was to grow so extensively.” Baumer (2000), p. 36.
“The Kingdom of Parthia emerged as a result of the socio-economic crisis affecting the Seleucid
state in the mid-third century B.C. In the course of that crisis the governors of the extreme eastern satrapies
– Diodotus in Bactria and Andragoras in Parthia – seceded from the Seleucid kingdom. While in Bactria an
independent Graeco-Bactrian kingdom came into being, the situation in Parthia was much troubled by
incursions of nomads belonging to the confederation of the Parni who had occupied land along the edges of
the agricultural oases from the Caspian Sea to the River Tedzhen. The Parni, with Arsaces at their head,
invaded Parthia. In the ensuing struggle Andragoras was killed and control of the country passed to the
nomadic aristocracy of the Parni headed by Arsaces. The Parni soon seized Hyrcania (a region on the
southern and south-eastern Caspian seaboard), and this boosted the economic and military potential of the
infant state.
. . . . The long and variable struggle between Rome and Parthia over this [control of Armenia] ended
with an agreement in A.D. 63 that the brother of the Parthian king Vologases should be proclaimed King of
Armenia and crowned in Rome by the Roman emperor Nero. This agreement was extremely important
since it led to a long period of peace on the frontier between Rome and Parthia interrupted by only minor
disputes.
Peace was next broken in A.D. 114 when the Roman emperor Trajan began his carefully prepared
campaign against Parthia. The Roman army marched to the Persian Gulf, and the Roman fleet sailed down
the Tigris. The success of the Romans owed much to the bitter conflicts within Parthian society between

ival claimants to the Arsacid throne, and to the revolts that had broken out in Elymais and Persia [i.e.
Persis]. But at the height of the Roman success the situation radically changed. In all the Parthian territories
conquered by the Romans, insurrections broke out, triggered off by the introduction of the Roman system
of provincial administration, which strictly controlled towns, taxes and requisitions, and by the discontent
of the petty rulers who had recognized Rome’s authority and had subsequently been stripped of the
remnants of their independence. The rival representatives of the Arsacid house united against the invader
and in A.D. 117 the Romans were compelled to abandon all their conquests in Parthia. Although the Roman
frontier was peaceful again, Parthia was still not secure and faced severe complications on its northern and
eastern borders. It appears that Hyrcania finally achieved independence; the separatist trends of other
regions of the state became more marked; and Parthia’s northern provinces suffered incursions from the
Alani. The emergence and growth of the powerful Kushan Empire created a permanent danger in the East.
Exhausted by internecine wars and constant difficulties with Rome, Parthia sought to reduce tension in the
East to a minimum. The stumbling block in relations between Rome and Parthia, however, remained
Armenia, where in the time of Vologases III there was a bitter clash in A.D. 161-63. The northern flank of
the Roman defence collapsed and Parthian troops invaded Syria. Rome, alarmed that there might be a
general uprising against its rule in the East, mustered its strength to stabilize the situation and then to
launch a counter-offensive. The peace treaty concluded at the end of the war was harsh for the Parthians,
since the whole of Mesopotamia as far as the River Khabur was ceded to Rome. Even harsher for Parthia
were the consequences of the war which broke out in A.D. 195. The Romans found that Vologases IV
(A.D. 191-207), who seemed to have invaded eastern Iran, had at the same time to oppose the large-scale
revolts that had broken out in Media and Persia. The Roman military expedition dealt a heavy blow to
Parthia: the richest parts of the country were devastated and some 100,000 inhabitants were taken to Syria
and sold into slavery. The last war between Rome and Parthia began in A.D. 216. The conflict between
Vologases V and Artabanus V, the two pretenders to the Parthian throne, made the conditions ripe for
Roman intervention. The Romans, under their emperor Caracalla, invaded Parthian territory and laid waste
much of Mesopotamia and part of Media. In the summer of A.D. 217, Artabanus V, who had mustered
sizeable forces, started to wage a resolute campaign against the Romans. Caracalla fell at the hands of
conspirators and Macrinus became emperor. After a decisive battle at Nisibis the Romans had to sue for
peace. However, this was the Parthians’ last success. The ruler of Persia [i.e. Persis], Ardashir, united with
a number of other local rulers to raise a revolt against the Arsacids. In 223 he defeated and killed Vologases
V. A few years later Artabanus V was defeated and killed at the battle of Homizdagan, and the entire
territory of the Arsacids soon passed into the hands of the new dynasty of the Sasanians.” Koshelenko and
Pilipko (1994), pp. 131, 135-136.
“The origin of the Parthians is traced to the Parni or Aparni, a Scytho-Sakian nomad tribe identified as part
of the Daha. Their main occupation had been pillaging along the by-paths leading to the Siberian gold
fields and the caravan routes connecting Syria with the oasis settlements of Sogdiana and Media. Following
these major revolts [of Bactria and Parthia against the Seleucids] a spate of minor rebellions ensued, and in
the general turmoil many Greek and Macedonian settlers returned to western Iran or to their native
homelands. Only Bactria was strong enough to retain its Greek traditions and Graeco-Macedonian settlers
and develop eventually a new Graeco-Bactrian tradition of its own. Although Seleucid power declined,
hellenization continued. Even in regions under Parthian control, Greek replaced Aramaic as the language of
the élite and the court in all of the urban centres.
By 250 BC the Parthians under the Arsacids had developed into a powerful force which gradually
gained control of the northern two-thirds of Iran. Eventually even Bactria lost its nominal independence
and the centre of control shifted from Persis in the south-west to Parthia in the north-east – a shift that
profoundly influenced the development of Persian civilization.” Bowles (1977), p. 107.
“About 18 km. north-west of Ashkabad two towns, Old Nisa and New Nisa, were excavated. It is possible
that Nisa was really the first capital, or at least the home town of Arsaces I [r. circa 238 BC]. The size and
splendour of the excavated halls attest to the wealth of the Parthian rulers. It is not known whether the
original Parthian name of Old Nisa was Mithradatkirt, or whether this was a renaming of the old site by
Mithradates I. . . . ” Frye (1966), p. 210.
9.24. The kingdom of Tiaozhi 條支 [T’iao-chih] = Characene and Susiana. Almost all recent writers agree that this
territory of Tiaozhi – the furthest point reached by the Chinese envoy Gan Ying in 97 CE, which bordered on the
‘Western Sea’ and was a dependency of the Parthians at the time – must refer to the region near the head of the
Persian Gulf. It was first mentioned in the Shiji and again in the Hanshu where it presumably referred to the

Seleucid territories in the lower Tigris-Euphrates region.
I tend to agree, on the whole with Chavannes’ notes on the identification of this kingdom, although I would
extend it to include Susa and the surrounding region, known as Susiana :
“Tiaozhi appears to me to correspond to the Arab kingdom of Characene which was founded between 130
and 127 BCE in Mesene, at the mouths of the Tigris. Mesene is called Dest Misau in a fragment of Ibn
Qutaybah [828-829], and Amru, quoted by [Joseph] Assemani [1687-1768], simply calls Desht the country
of Desht Misan; this name of “Desht”, is the Persian word desht which signifies “plain” [or “desert”].
Perhaps it is this word which is hidden in the Chinese transcription of Tiaozhi 條支. The Characenes were
subject to the Parthians during the reign of Trajan (98-117 CE), for we see this emperor waging war against
the Parthians and the Arabs at the same time. The Chinese historian tells us in fact several lines later on that
Tiaozhi (Desht Misan) was subject to Parthia.” Translated from Chavannes (1907), p. 176, n. 3.
There have been a number of suggestions for the derivation of the name Tiaozhi but the question remains
unresolved. Some of the more plausible suggestions by recent writers are:
“For SC and HS, T’iao-chih refers to the Seleucid Empire. By the later Han period, with HHS and HHC, we
can hardly accept this identification, for the Seleucid Empire had long ceased to exist. Though occasional
references seem to be echoes of earlier information, we must look for a more contemporary country.
We are inclined to follow the view of Chavannes and Shiratori in particular that T’iao-chih must be
Characene (or Mesene), with capital Charax, in the delta of the Tigris and Euphrates. This requires the
concomitant identification of the Western Sea (sometimes the Great Sea) which it overlooks as the Persian
Gulf leading to the Indian Ocean.” Leslie and Gardiner (1996), p. 260.
Pulleyblank (1999), pp. 73-74 makes a case for the phonetic derivation of Tiaozhi from Seleukia:
“Tiáo- in Tiáozhī 條支 EMC dεw tɕia̭, with yōu 攸 EMC juw as phonetic, shows the same pattern [as
in the note on Wuyishanli in note 9.25 by Pulleyblank]. Moreover, the Middle Chinese palatal initial of the second
syllable can be shown to go back to an earlier *k. Compare the Amoy colloquial pronunciation [ki]. The
name was reconstructed as *δeuɦ kēɦ in Pulleyblank (1962: 101). At the time, unfortunately, I did not
recognize the obvious similarity to (Se)leukia but accepted the identification of Herrmann and Fujita with
Taoke, a place near Bushire on the Persian Gulf. The connection with Seleukia was, however, later made
by Wu Chi-yu (1977). Wu took my 1962 form, *δeuɦ kēɦ at face value and made the connection with
(Se)leukia through a change of [l] to [δ] in Middle Iranian. If *δ is replaced by *l- in the reconstruction, this
roundabout route is unnecessary.
It should be further noted that the xiéshēng series of tiáo 條 includes words with initial s- like xiū 修
EMC suw and xiăo 篠 EMC sεw’. The rules governing initial clusters in Old Chinese in such cases are still
uncertain but these xiéshēng connections clearly support the possibility of reconstructing tiáo 條 with
initial *sl- rather than simply *l-. In view of the perfect geographical as well as phonetic fit, we can feel
very confident that, as Wu argued, Tiáozhī stood for Seleukia and there is no need to look for a connection
with Antioch, whether the more famous city of that name in Syria or, as claimed by Shiratori, a more
shadowy Antiochia in Persis at the head of the Persian gulf.” Pulleyblank (1999), p. 74.
David Graf (1996), p. 203, presents an intriguing alternative:
“It seems far more likely that T’iao-chih is simply an attempt to transcribe the word “Tigris”
(Assyrian-Babylonian Idiglat; Old Persian Tigra). Support for this view can be found in the rendering of
the Ganges river valley as Huang-chih in CHS [Hanshu] (ch. 188/32ab), suggesting that the character chih
in the name T’iao-chih was pronounced ga in the Han period. T’iao-chih can then be considered as the
Chinese transcription for the Persian form of the name for the Tigris. Just as the Chinese name for the
Ganges designated the kingdom on the Indian seacoast, so T’iao-chih represents the kingdom on the Tigris
near the coasts of the Persian Gulf. In fact, in the later Chinese account of Persia by Ma Tuan-lin (Po-ssū
ch. 339/6), the region south of Su-li on the banks of the Ta-ho-shui (i.e. Seleucia on the Tigris) is equated
with the territory of ancient T’iao-chih. All of this territory may have earlier been under the administration
of Charax Spasinou, the central city of the Lower Tigris.”
It is generally agreed that Tiaozhi must have included the lands at the head of the Persian Gulf, and that its main

city and port was Charax Spasinou, the ‘capital’ of the semi-autonomous territory of Characene.
On the other hand, I believe Sōma (1978), pp. 1-26, is probably correct when he argues that the big city,
described as 40 li (or over 16 km) around in our text, could not possibly be Charax Spasinou, as we know from
classical sources that it was much smaller than this. It does, however, admirably fit with what we know of Susa –
the second largest city in the region (after Seleucia/Ctesiphon). Susa used Charax Spasinou as its port. We know
Susa retained its importance throughout the Roman period and retained a considerable degree of autonomy from
the Parthian capital at Ctesiphon, though the details are anything but clear.
“The region of Susiana is distinguished from Elymais by Strabo XVI.1.8, 17, 18 and Pliny, NH VI.135-136.
For the absorption of Susiana and its capital by the kingdom of Elymais, see U. KAHRSTEDT, Artabanos
III, 40-47 and G. L. RIDER, Suse, 426-430, who dates the end of Parthian Power in Susa to c. A.D. 45 and
places a mint of Elymais in the city by c. A.D. 75. Possibly at this time Susa became the capital of
Elymais.” Raschke (1976), p. 817, n. 721.
Pliny the Elder seems to indicate that Charax Spasinou was (at least at his period) considered to be under Arab
control at this time:
“A particularly inaccessible part of it [the coast at the head of the Persian Gulf] is called Characene, from
Charax, a town of Arabia that marks the frontier of these kingdoms [Elymais and Farsistan]. . . . ” Pliny NH
(b), p. 136. (VI. Xxxi).
“After Petra the country as far as Charax was inhabited by the Omani, with the once famous towns of
Abaesamis and Soractia, founded by Samiramis ; but now it is a desert. Then there is a town on the bank of
the Pasitigris named Forat, subject to the king of the Characeni; this is resorted to by people from Petra,
who made the journey from there to Charax, a distance of 12 miles [17.6 km] by water, using the tide. But
those travelling by water from the kingdom of Parthia come to the village of Teredon below the confluence
of the Euphrates and the Tigris ; the left bank of the river is occupied by the Chaldeans and the right bank
by the Scenitae.” Pliny NH (b), pp. 145-146. (VI. Xxxii).
Although I have only tentatively identified Tiaozhi as Characene and Susiana, it clearly referred to the region
about the mouth of the Tigris River, at the head of the Persian Gulf. See also: CICA, p. 113, n. 253.
Other indications that the identification is correct can be found in the Hanshu which points out that Tiaozhi
“is warm and damp, and the fields are sown with rice ; there are bird’s eggs as large as [water] jars.” CICA p. 113.
It is well known that rice was cultivated in this region during ancient times. See for example the short but
excellent: “A note on rice cultivation in Mesopotamia and Susiana” by Potts (1991-2).
Also, ostriches were still living in the wild at this time throughout the dryer parts of the Middle East,
including Parthia:
“The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus recorded that during a day’s hunt King Herod the Great killed 40
different kinds of animals, from lions to wild boars, from gazelles to ostriches.
Ostriches were common then and their range immense: from today’s Morocco to Egypt, from
southernmost Africa through the Middle East to Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), ancient Persia (Iran) and
Arabia. They were avidly hunted. Their plumes were in great demand for the majestic fans of the pharaohs
and as panache for the headdresses of nobles and knights. Ostrich eggshells, set in gold or silver, became
the precious goblets of the rich. The Egyptians, noting the perfect balance and symmetry of the ostrich
feather, revered it as a symbol of truth and justice. . .
The Middle Eastern, or Syrian, ostrich – smallest of the six ostrich races – was hunted mercilessly
with cars and guns, a thrilling “sport” that quickly eradicated the great birds. The last ostrich of the Middle
East drowned in a flash flood in southern Jordan in 1966.” Bruemmer (1997).
9.25. The kingdom of Wuyi 烏弋 [Wu-i] = Kandahar (and Arachosia, of which it was the capital).
The full form of this name, Wuyishanli 烏弋(山離) [Wu-i-shan-li], is found in the Hou Hanshu but it is also
found in the same shortened form in the Weilue – see CWR note 8.5. It is probably a transliteration of Alexandria
or Alexandropolis and, according to most authorities, stands here for Kandahar, the chief city of the province of
Arachosia. See the discussions in Daffinà (1982), p 319; Chavannes (1905): 555, n. 6; Pelliot (1959), p. 29;
Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 116, 128; and CICA, p. 112, n. 250.
“A good example of a Han transcription that shows both Old Chinese *r > Middle Chinese *l and
Modern Chinese l-, corresponding to foreign –r-, and Old Chinese *l > Middle Chinese *j- corresponding

to foreign –l- is the name Wūyìshānlí 烏弋山離 EMC ?ɔ jik ʂəɨn lia̯, long accepted as equivalent to the
name Alexandria (not the great metropolis in Egypt but one of the other cities by this name founded by
Alexander in present Afghanistan). Greek –r- is correctly represented by Middle and Modern Chinese l-,
while Greek l- is represented by the initial consonant of the second syllable. The graph yi 弋 (a Type B
syllable) is phonetic in dài 代 EMC dəj h (a Type A syllable) showing the typical pattern of the Han dynasty
*l-.” Pulleyblank (1999), pp. 73-74.
Alexandria-in-Arachosia or Alexandropolis, from which the modern name of Kandahar was most probably
derived, was probably founded in the spring of 329 BCE.
“Arachosia, Persian HARAUVATISH or HARAHVATISH, in ancient times a province of the
Achaemenid, Seleucid, and Parthian empires. It occupied southern Afghanistan and was bounded on the
south by Gedrosia (Baluchistan). The capital city, Alexandria-of-the Arachosians, was founded by
Alexander the Great and is usually identified with Qandahār. Arachosia was famous for its ivory and
elephants.” NEB, I, p. 471.
A number of scholars have suggested that Wuyi could refer to both Arachosia and Drangiana (modern Seistan), to
the west. I agree with them as the descriptions in both the Hanshu and the Hou Hanshu mention only one state
(Wuyishanli) between Jibin to the northeast and Tiaozhi and Lijian to the west.
Arachosia and Drangiana were closely associated from early times, forming two adjoining provinces of the
Achaemenid empire, and later, in the time of Aśoka and the Seleucid king, Antiochus II, “it is clear that the two
kingdoms were then contiguous with a frontier west of Kandahar. . . . ” Sherwin-White and Kuhrt, p. 80. Michael
Witzil’s excellent article, “The Home of the Aryans” provides further confirmation of the combination of these two
satrapies later on:
“The extent of Arachosia has shifted over time (cf. also GNOLI 1980: 36), see the distinction in the O.P.
inscriptions and Greek sources which distinguish between Arachosia and Drangiana. . . . Strabo [writing
circa 23 CE] 11.560, on the contrary, has both Drangiana and Arachosia within one satrapy; the Avestan
*Drangiana/Sistan and Arachosia indeed share the same x v dialect, as is clear from the very name,
Harax v aitī, and not the usual Avestan –huu. . . . ” Witzel (2000), p. 26, n. 59. See also, Yu (1998), pp.
168-169.
No discussion of Wuyi(shanli) here identified as Kandahar would, however, be complete without giving space to
some of the dissenting opinions and other suggestions:
“Alexandropolis near Sacastene can only be Kandahar and this settles the question of its foundation, for a
place called Alexandropolis cannot have been a city founded by Alexander (p. 7), and in fact there is no
record that he founded Kandahar; Alexandropolis at best was a military colony which (possibly quite
correctly) attributed its settlement to him. I need not consider conflicting opinions about the name
Kandahar, whether it be derived from Alexander (Iskandr), from Gandhāra (for which there seems no
historical reason), or (most probably) from the Parthian Gondophares (Gundofarr). . . . ” Tarn (1984), p.
471 (which see for more details).
“CANDAHAR, n.p. Kandahār. The application of this name is now exclusively to (a) the
well-known city of Western Afghanistan which is the object of so much political interest. But by the Ar.
geographers of the 9 th to 11 th centuries the name is applied to (b) the country about Peshāwar, as the
equivalent of the ancient Indian Gandhāra, and the Gandharitis of Strabo. Some think it was transferred to
(a) in consequence of a migration of the people of Gandhāra carrying with them the begging-pot of the
Buddha, believed by Sir H. Rawlinson to be identical with a large sacred vessel of stone preserved in a
mosque of Candahar. Others think that Candahar may represent Alexandropolis in Arachosia. We find a
third representation of the name (c) in Ibn Batuta, as well as in earlier and later writers, to a former port on
the east shore of the Gulf of Cambay, Ghandhar in Broach District.” Yule and Burnell (1886), p. 154.
Yu (1998), p. 169, proposes that Wuyishanli probably referred to Alexandria Prophthasia (Farāh), south of Herat.
However, I feel that his arguments could better be applied to Kandahar.
Kandahar has for long been the larger and more prosperous region, and famous as one of the few places
where elephants could be bred and raised successfully in captivity (meaning this was the coveted production area

of the ancient equivalent of army tanks), I am inclined to accept, along with most other authorities, that Wuyishanli
here referred primarily to Arachosia, a kingdom centred on Kandahar and probably including Drangiana.
“Arachosia (Old Persian harahuvati, corresponding to Sanskrit sarasvati ‘rich in rivers’) was the
well-named land of present southern Afghanistan, the valley of the Upper Helmand (Avestan Ha’tumant
‘rich in dams’) and the tributaries where the Thamani (Herodotus III.93, 117) lived.., the people of
Arachosia must have been settled agriculturalists from an early time in this fertile land comparable to
Bactria in the north. Similar to Bactria in the north, Arachosia was the centre of Achaemenid rule over
neighbouring tribes to the south and east and Darius was fortunate to have a loyal satrap who, after a
number of battles with the rebels sent against him from the west, was able to consolidate the rule of the new
king.
The lower course of the Helmand river and the Hamun lake was occupied by the Zrangi (Old Persian
Z(a)ra(n)ka, with local zB for Old Persian d-), which name has been explained as ‘sea land’ by many
scholars, unsuccessfully, I believe. The name survived into Islamic times as Zarang, the capital of the
country. The Hamun lake area played an important role in Zoroastrian tradition and as the homeland of the
hero Rustam. By geography and history it has been connected with Arachosia and the upper Helmand
rather than with Fars province or the west. The invasion of Saka tribes in the second and first centuries
before our era undoubtedly changed the population for their name was applied to the land which has held to
this day, Seistan. In pre-Achaemenid times as today it is a land where the steppe and sown are intermingled
and nomads are on all sides of the lake which is large in winter while almost vanishing in the late summer.”
Frye (1963), pp. 71-72.
Pavel Lurje of the Department of Ancient Near East, St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies,
Russian Academy of Sciences, kindly wrote on 18 May 2002, informing me that the form Ha’tumant in the above
quotation is incorrect: “Avestic Haetumant-, (Greek Etymandres), not Ha’tumant. The Kandahar inscription of
Ashoka seems to be not in Aramaic language, but some local Iranian or Indian language in Aramaic script. . . . ”
The rich agricultural lands along the Helmund River centred on Kandahar have, since ancient times, formed
an essential link and staging post on the shortest and easiest route between southern Persia and India. From
northern Parthia one travelled to Herat and then on to Kandahar. From southern Parthia the route travelled through
Persepolis to Kandahar. The Persian name for the city was Kapisakaiš but it was renamed Alexandria after
Alexander’s visit in 329 BCE and the present name, Kandahar, is ultimately derived from Alexandria.
Kandahar and the associated district of Arachosia were of great importance because of its fertility in an
otherwise barren region and its strategic position in controlling the main southern route between India and Persia.
It also provided the rare combination of hot and steamy conditions and abundant fodder needed for the breeding
and raising of herds of war elephants along the Helmand River to the west of Kandahar.
“Suitable sites for elephant-parks are rare in both Syria and Afghanistan. And the Seleucids’ war-elephants,
like the Ghaznavids,’ were sinews of war in the literal sense. In discussing Ashoka’s inscription at
Qandahar, I have recalled that the first Seleucus ceded all his provinces west of Qandahar and south of the
Hindu Kush to Chandragupta Maurya in exchange for 500 of the Indian emperor’s elephants; and the price
in terms of ceded territory turned out not to be excessive from Seleucus’s point of view. Those 500
elephants were trumps. They won him his victory over his rival Antigonus ‘One-Eye.’ In fact, they won
him his empire. No wonder that he and his successors took trouble to provide their elephants with
congenial accommodation.” Toynbee (1961), p. 72.
Here is the account of the Hanshu on the Kingdom of Wuyishanli:
“The seat of the king’s government is at . . . [the text seems to be defective here] and it is distant by 12,200
li [5,073 km] from Ch’ang-an. It is not subject to the protector general . . . [There are many] households,
individuals and persons able to bear arms, and it is a large state. To the north-east it is a distance of 60
days’ journey to the seat of the protector general. It adjoins Chi-pin in the east, P’u-t’ao in the north, and
Li-kan and T’iao-chih in the west ; after travelling for some one hundred days one then reaches T’iao-chih.
. . . [a passage on Tiaozhi (T’iao-chih) is unaccountably inserted here in the Chinese text – in the middle of
the section on Wuyi]
The land of Wu-i is very hot ; it is covered in vegetation and flat. For matters such as grass, trees,
stock-animals, the five field crops, fruit, vegetables, food and drink, buildings, market-stalls, coinage,
weapons, gold and pearls, [conditions] are identical with those of Chi-pin, but there are antelope, lion and
rhinoceros.

The way of life is such that a serious view is taken of arbitrary murder. The obverse of the coins
shows only a human head with a rider on horseback on the reverse. Their staves are embellished with gold
and silver.
[The state] is cut off and remote and Han envoys reach it only rarely. Proceeding by the Southern
Route from the Yü-men and the Yang barriers, and travelling south through Shan-shan one reaches
Wu-i-shan-li, which is the extreme point of the Southern Route; and turning north and then proceeding
eastward one arrives at An-hsi.” CICA, pp. 112-115.
This description of the region of Kandahar (Arachosia) seems valid. Certainly it is hot and fertile. The mention of
pearls is presumably a reference to an active trade in pearls, though it is not clear whether they originated in the
Persian Gulf or in Indian waters. (Pearls are also mentioned in the account on Jibin – which was even further
inland).
The reference to the “serious view taken of arbitrary murder” is perhaps reflective of the influence of
Buddhism. The early arrival of Buddhist ideals in the region is confirmed by a bilingual inscription (in both Greek
and Aramaic) by Ashoka (died c. 238 BCE) which advocates a vegetarian diet and the avoidance of, or at least
restraint in, the hunting and killing of animals.
I have been unable to find references to coins from Kandahar with the portrait of the king on one side and a
horseman on the other, but the coinage of the area is poorly known. Certainly silver coins that would fit this
description were issued by Eucratides I (c. 170-145 BCE) – probably from Taxila, and by the late 1st century CE
Kushan monarch, who according to Cribb (Sims-Williams and Cribb (1995/96), pp. 97-99) now known as Wima
Tak[to] or Soter Megas [but see Mac Dowall (2002), p. 163], apparently issued from Balkh and/or Kapisha. So, it
is quite possible that similar coins were circulating in, or were issued from, Kandahar during the time of the
informant for the Hanshu.
The reference to lions and rhinoceroses in the Hanshu is accurate. Lions were found in southeastern Iran
until recent times. Rhinoceros, though now extinct in the region, were still being hunted in the Afridi hills
northeast of Kandahar in the sixteenth century:
“c. 1555. – “We came to the city of Purshawar, and having thus fortunately passed the Kotal we reached the
town of Joshāya. On the Kotal we saw rhinoceroses, the size of a small elephant.” – Sidi ‘Ali, in J. As. Ser.
1. tom. ix. 201.” Yule and Burnell (1886), p. 700.
“1519. – “After sending on the army towards the river (the Indus), I myself set off for Sawâti, which they
likewise call Karnak-Khaneh (kark-khâna, ‘the rhinoceros-haunt’), to hunt the rhinoceros. We started many
rhinoceroses, but as the country abounds in brushwood, we could not get at them. A she rhinoceros, that
had whelps, came out, and fled along the plain; many arrows were shot at her, but... she gained cover. We
set fire to the brushwood, but the rhinoceros was not to be found. We got sight of another, that, having been
scorched in the fire, was lamed and unable to run. We killed it, and everyone cut off a bit as a trophy of the
chase.” – Baber, 253.” Quoted from Baber in: Yule and Burnell (1886), p. 762. Also see Chandra (1977), p.
9.
The so-called “antelope” is discussed at some length in CICA, p. 114, n. 262. Unfortunately, the authors seem to
have made a mistake with the Chinese and rendered it tiaoba 挑拔 [t’iao-pa] – first character GSR 1145o, instead
of taoba 桃拔 [t’ao-pa] – first character GSR 1145u. In any case, the important thing is that they point out that it
was said to be another name for the fuba, a specimen of which was sent as a present to Emperor Zhang in 87 CE by
the king of Parthia.
The fuba 符拔 [fu-pa] was, according to Von Gutschmid to be identified with the βούβαλς antelope [the
Bubal antelope], and this identification was noted by Chavannes (1906), p. 232, n. 1. The Bubal antelope
(Alcephalus boselaphus)is a purely African species and is most unlikely to have been sent to China by Parthia and
even less likely to have been sent by the Kushans in 88 CE, as the biography of Ban Chao notes. It also sports
conspicuous horns in both sexes, contradicting the information given in the text.
The text of the Hou Hanshu says the fuba was similar to a lin 鳞, but without a horn. Unfortunately, except
for the fact that the fuba does not have a horn, this doesn’t help us very much. The lin is usually referred to as a
female Chinese unicorn (commonly drawn with a scaly body). The Digital Dictionary of East Asian Literary
Terms describes it as “an auspicious, mythical East Asian horse-like animal,” but Williams (1909), p. 527, notes
that this character “seems to have also been intended for a large elk.” GR Vol. II, p. 716, No. 3631 says (translated
from the French): “(Myth.) A fabulous animal represented either in the form of a stag endowed with a long tail and
with one or two horns, or in the form of a mythical horse.”
As this animal was sent to China, it was definitely a real, and not an imaginary animal. And, as the text

specifies that it did not have any horns, it most probably was the common and very graceful Persian or Goitered
gazelle, Gazella subgutterosa, found from Asia Minor to Mongolia. The female has only rudimentary or no horns,
the only member of this family showing this feature. It is called the Goitered gazelle because the larynx of the male
swells in the breeding season.
The city of Kandahar itself is located on the Tarnak River, a tributary of the Helmand and has, since early times,
been a major centre of trade. The ancient city, which was sacked by Nadir Shah in 1738, was located about 6 km
west of the present city and had been the capital of the whole region since Achaemenid times. Its pomegranates,
melons and grapes are still deservedly famous throughout Afghanistan. There is also an abandoned gold mine
about 3 km north of the city that may have had some importance in antiquity.
Apparently, the Kushans did not conquer this region and it remained under a series of semi-autonomous or
autonomous Parthian or “Indo-Parthian” rulers until the arrival of the Sasanians about 240 CE. See: Simonetta
(1978), p. 186.
“Alexander moved on swiftly to Kandahar [from the west] to Kandahar, where he founded [or,
rather, renamed!] another town, Alexandria in Arachosia (the part of Baluchistan which lies behind the
Quetta Hills). Again, this has been a strategic site throughout Afghan history, and Kandahar has been
occupied from then till now. In the old citadel, a temple to the deified Alexander has been discovered,
along with an inscription in Greek and Aramaic by the Indian emperor Ashoka who lived a few decades
after Alexander. (This is a place where the Indian and West Asian culture zones have always overlapped.)
In the bazaar in the old town, the hakims (traditional doctors) claim descent from the doctors who went
with Alexander – descendants of the physicians Philip and Critobulos. They still practise the Yunnani
(Greek) herbal medicine which can be found right across Pakistan and North India.” Wood (1997), p. 136.
From Kandahar there were two main routes to the Indian subcontinent. One route ran northeast upstream along the
Tarnak River past modern Ghazni to Kabul and, from there, through either the Khyber Pass (1,067 m or 3,500 ft)
into the Gandhāran plains of northern Pakistan, or one of the several other passes – said to be more frequented in
ancient times than the Khyber – such as the Nawa (Nawar or Spinasuka Pass) through Swat to the region of the
ancient capital of Puṣkalāvatī or Chārsaddā some 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Peshawar. See Verma (1978), pp.
52-56 and nn.
The other ran southeast, via the relatively easy Khojak (2,707 m or 8,881 ft) and Bolan (1,798 m or 5,899 ft)
passes, to the lower Indus River, in what is now southern Pakistan. All three passes are open all year.
“1552 – Those who go from Persia, from the kingdom of Horaçam (Khoraṣan), from Bohára, and all the
Western Regions, travel to the city which the natives corruptly call Candar, instead of Scandar, the name by
which the Persians call Alexander. . . . ” – Barros, IV, vi. 1.” Yule and Burnell (1886), p. 154.
“A Persian army was reported to be massing for an attack on Herat in western Afghanistan [in 1836].
Encouraged, partly financed and probably officered by Russians, it looked as if the hour of reckoning might
already be nigh. Herat could not be expected to hold out for long and, as Burnes knew only too well from
his strategic studies, once Herat fell the easiest of approaches to India, that via Kandahar, would lie right
open.” Keay (1977), pp. 142-143.
“Zaranj-Kandahar-Ghazni Route: The other important route from Zaranj [in the Helmand basin in Seistan]
was the famous Kandahar route which still plays an important role in the political and economic system of
modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. The main stages on this route were Bust Banjaway and Ghazni. This
route went through the Garmsil region, that is, Zanbuk, Sanizan and Haruri on the left bank of the river
Khwash. Between Haruri and Bust it crossed a desert. Between Bust and Banjaway of Rukhaj it crossed
two tributaries of the Helmand namely the Arghandab and the Tarnak and reached Ghazni which was
situated to the northeast of Banjaway.” Verma (1978), pp. 46-47.
9.26. Wuyi is also called Paizhi 排持 [P’ai-chih]. This may have been transcribed from a foreign name, but the
reconstructed ancient pronunciations do not resemble any name known from other sources and neither of the
characters in it are commonly used to transcribe foreign sounds. According to K. 579x + 961p, 排持 should have
been pronounced something like: *b’εr-diəg. See CICA, p. 112, n. 250. However Yu (1998), p. 168, suggests:
“In the Houhanshu, ch. 88, it is recorded: “[The state of Wuyishanli, which] covers several thousand li 里,
has changed its name into Paite 排特.” Similarly, the “Xirongzhuan” of the Weilue records that “Wuyi’s

other name is Paichi” (持 is noted mistakenly as 持 in the original text). “Pai-te” [buəi-dək] can be read as a
short transcription of “Prophthasia”.
I am not sure from which edition of the Hou Hanshu Yu got the form of the name: 排特 Paite, although it is
known in other sources:
“This information [i.e. 排持 as an alternate name for Wuyi(shanli)] is found again in the Hou Hanshu
(chap. CXVIII, p. 4b). The edition of the Sanguozhi, said to be of the Northern Song gives the reading Paite
排特 (critical notes of Qianlong).” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 555, n. 7.
The Shanghai edition of 1888 which Chavannes used; the Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju, Min guo 25 [1936] edition,
and the Shanghai Zhonghua Shuju 1965 edition (reprint 1973), all have the same form: 排持 Paichi, which is also
found in the Weilue. This form does not suggest the reconstruction of the name “Prophthasia.”
Another suggestion has been that 排持 Paichi might have been a “slip of the pen” for 塞持 Saichi (literally:
“Governed by the Sai/Saka”). I consider this unlikely, as the characters for Pai 排 and Sai 塞 not only look so
different, but the reconstructed ancient pronunciations are quite dissimilar, and were unlikely to have been
confused.
The name could be a literal translation. The character pai 排 (GR 8449) can have the meaning of ‘shield’ or
‘platoon(s), and chi 持 (GR 1872) means ‘to take in hand,’ ‘to govern,’ ‘maintain,’ or ‘guard with firmness.’
Therefore, an explanation of the name Paichi, is that it could have represented something like, “Guarded or
governed by platoons,” or “Military Post,” being similar to the English military term, “Cantonment”.
Finally, see Chavannes (1907), p. 176, n. 1, for a very speculative association with the feichi bu 緋持布
[fei-ch’ih pu], or ‘scarlet chi cloth,’ mentioned as a product of Da Qin in the Weilue.
Section 10 – Previous Misconceptions
Translator: The reader should be aware that there is a real possibility of some missing text in this section which
might explain some of the geographical absurdities it contains. As Chinese geographical knowledge kept
expanding, legends traditionally located in the west were continually moved further to the west when proof of them
was not found. It is also possible that one or more bamboo strips were mislaid (bamboo strips were still in use for
centuries after the traditional invention of paper in 105 CE). If paper was used by Yu Huan one or more pages
could have been lost.
10.1. “In earlier times, it was mistakenly thought that Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana) was west of Da Qin
(Roman territory). Now it is known to be to the east.”
I believe this statement originates from a deduction made on the basis of the various accounts of the position of the
so-called “Weak Water” and “Queen Mother (or ‘Spirit Mother’) of the West.” It can be seen from the texts that, as
the Chinese knowledge of the true geography of Parthia and other western countries advanced, these legendary
places were thought to be further west. A similar situation occurs in regard to the place where it was thought that
“the sun sets.” See also note 10.3.
10.2. “In earlier times it was also mistakenly thought that the Ruo Shui 弱水 [Jo-shui. Literally, ‘Weak River’],
was west of Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana). Now it is (thought to be) west of Da Qin (Roman territory).”
“The “Weak Water”, Jo-shui, and the “Queen Mother of the West”, Hsi Wang mu, are situated in the
extreme West of the world by a number of ancient Chinese texts. Both were specifically Chinese concepts
and so they cannot have been known to “the elders of An-hsi”. Their presence in this text is presumably to
be explained by a Chinese having asked an elderly man from An-hsi about these - to us mythological -
geographical features and the elder replying that they might be there, this evasive answer being turned
again into a more positive statement, which the author of this section of HS 96 considered worthwhile to
insert into his account.
To the Chinese, the Weak Water continued to be a reality ; the Wei lüeh, apud Chavannes (1905), p.
556, corrects the Han shu, saying that the Weak Water was not to the west of T’iao-chih..., but to the West
of Ta Ch’in, i.e. the Roman Orient. Chavannes adds that in T’ang times the Weak Water was identified
with the river Yasin, referring to his Documents sur les T’ou-kiue occidentaux (Petersburg, 1903), pp. 153
and 313.” CICA: 114, n. 260.

It is of interest to note that there was, apparently, another Ruo Shui [Jo-shui], to the north of China:
“Jo River 弱水. (Kansu) TSFYCY 45.14a-b. North of the desert above Shensi.” Rogers (1968), p. 320. See
also ibid. p. 140 – this is where the king of Dai [Tai], Sheyijian [She-i-chien] led when he was defeated in
376 CE.
10.3. The Hou Hanshu says:
“It is said that to the west of this kingdom is Ruoshui (the ‘Weak River’) and Liusha (the ‘Shifting Sands’)
which are close to the place where Xiwangmu (‘Spirit-Mother of the West’) lives, and which go almost as
far as the place where the sun sets.”
The Hanshu says:
“Leaving Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana), if you head west for more than two hundred days, you
approach the place where the sun sets.” This does not agree with the books of today. [The reason is that] the
Han envoys under the first [Han] dynasty all returned after reaching Wuyi (Arachosia and
Drangiana), 20 and none of them went as far as Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana).
Chavannes points out that that the Hou Hanshu misquotes the Hanshu here:
“The actual wording of the Qian Hanshu (chap. XCVI, a, p. 6a) is a little different: “On leaving Tiaozhi,
when on goes by water about a hundred days, one reaches the spot where the sun goes down”.” Translated
from Chavannes (1907), p. 185, n. 4.
Another translation of this same passage (from CICA, p. 115) throws extra light on this quote, making it clear that
this was very much a second-hand story passed on by the elders of Parthia:
“It is said : “The elders of An-hsi have learnt by hearsay that in T’iao-chih there is the Weak Water and the
Queen Mother of the West ; but they have all the same never seen them. If you travel by water westward
from T’iao-chih for some hundred days you draw near the place where the sun sets.”
The Weishu, “written previous to A.D. 572, and embracing the period A.D. 386-556, ch. 102; Hsi-yü-chuan. With
one exception, this account is identical with one contained in the Pei-shih, a revised history of this same dynasty”,
says:
“Although in that country [i.e. Da Qin] sun and moon, and the constellations, are quite the same as in
China, former historians say that going a hundred li west of T’iao-chih you come to the place where the sun
sets ; this is far from being true.”
See also TWR, Section 12 and note 12.19.

Section 11 – Da Qin (Roman territory/Rome)
11.1. The kingdom of Da Qin 大秦 [Ta Ch’in] = Roman territory. The use of the exalted name “Da Qin” (literally,
‘Great Ch’in’ = ‘Great China’) for a foreign state is unexpected.
The Hou Hanshu states:
“The people of this country are all tall and honest. They resemble the people of the Middle Kingdom and
that is why this kingdom is called Da Qin.”
While the Weilue claims:
“The common people are tall and virtuous like the Chinese, but wear hu 胡 (‘Western’) clothes. They say
they originally came from China, but left it.”
This folk etymology, charming as it is, does little to really explain the origin of the rather surprising name, Da Qin.
It is reminiscent of the rather similar names for Ferghana – Dayuan = ‘Great Yuan,’ and for Bactria – Daxia =
‘Great Xia’? Graf (1996), pp. 199-200 says:
“For Hirth and the initial interpreters of the HHS and WL accounts, the country designated as Ta-ch’in
(“Greater Ch’in”) was to be identified with the Roman East. Although the term Ch’in referred to the
Chinese as early as the second century A.D., the name Ta-ch’in perhaps is best understood as simply a
reflection of Ch’in as the western region of China, i.e. Ta-ch’in represents the country beyond and
comparable to Ch’in. It has also been observed, first by Shiratori and later by others, that the accounts of
Ta-ch’in bear a deep resemblance to the Taoist Utopia and are therefore not to be completely understood
literally, i.e. they present a fictitious religious world, not a real one. As will become obvious later, this fact
did not prevent Shiratori from respecting the essential historical framework of the Chinese accounts of
Ta-ch’in. For the most part, such mythological elements are so strikingly evident that they represent only a
minimal problem.”
“In the Roman world stories, some based on fact though often much distorted in transmission, others
completely fanciful, began to circulate about the Seres, that is, the Silk People. A little later the name Sinae
based, like Sanskrit Cīna and our present China, on Qín 秦, the name of the short-lived dynasty that
preceded Han and united China in 221 B.C.E., also appears in western sources. At the same time the
Chinese began to hear about a country in the far west which they called Dà Qín, Great Qín, apparently
thinking of it as a kind of counter-China at the other end of the world.” Pulleyblank (1999), p. 71.
“Moreover, as their geographical knowledge of the world grew with time, the Han Chinese even came to
the realization that China was not necessarily the only civilized country in the world. This is clearly shown
in the fact that the Later Han Chinese gave the Roman Empire (or, rather, the Roman Orient) the name of
Great Ch’in (Ta Ch’in). According to the Hou-Han shu, the Roman Empire was so named precisely
because its people and civilization were comparable to those of China.” Yü (1986), p. 379.
These place-names which begin with Da 大 may originally have been formed as attempts to transcribe foreign
names into Chinese. Yu (1998) believes Daxia [dat-hea] stands for the Tochari (pp. 22, 35). and thinks it possible
(ibid. p. 68) that Dayuan [dat-iuan] may have likewise represented the Tochari. It is just possible that Da Qin
represents some similar process though, if this is the case, it is difficult to imagine what name it was originally
intended to represent.
Hirth, and many other scholars who followed him, have taken Da Qin to refer to the ‘Roman Orient.’ I think
that the term is often clearly used in a broader sense than this to mean the Roman Empire, or any territory
subservient to Rome. It is true that all the dependencies mentioned in the Weilue are probably found in the ‘Roman
Orient,’ but it specifically mentions that it only lists a few of the dependencies of Da Qin, presumably the ones
visited by the Chinese, or those reported on to the Chinese, because of their importance for east-west trade. These
are, quite naturally, territories in the ‘Roman Orient.’
Sometimes, the name is used more specifically: the Weilue gives directions across a ‘Great Sea’ (the
Mediterranean) to “that country” (i.e. Da Qin) from Wuzhisan in Haixi, which is undoubtedly Alexandria in Egypt
– see notes 11.5, 11.7 and Appendix C.
This is rather similar to the situation today when it is commonly said that one is “entering China,” when one

enters territory inhabited by other people, but controlled by the Chinese, such as Tibet, or Chinese Turkestan
(Sinjiang). Similarly, ‘Mexico’ may be used to refer to either the city or the country.
Therefore I have translated Da Qin as either ‘Rome’ the city, ‘Roman territory,’ or the ‘Roman Empire,’ as
the context demands. The reader should remember, meanwhile, that in each case the Chinese text will have only
‘Da Qin’.
11.2. 黎靬 Lijian [Li-chien] – another name for Da Qin. Lijian [Li-chien – sometimes written Li-kan] is given here
as another name for Da Qin or the Roman Empire.
“The pronunciation jian (鉅連反 or 鉅言反) [for the second syllable of Lijian] is indicated by Yan Shigu
(Qian Hanshu, chap. XCVI, a, p. 6a).” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 556, n. 4.
“It becomes clear that, as first proposed by Brosset (1828) and accepted by a number of other scholars,
including Markwart, De Groot, and Herrmann (1941), Líjiān is actually a transcription of Hyrcania, Old
Persian Wrkāna, a country that existed in the second century B.C.E. on the southwest [sic – should read
southeast] corner of the Caspian Sea; and that, surprisingly, it is Tiaozhi that is a good transcription of
Seleukia. The difficulty with identifying Líjiān with Hyrcania is that, although it fits perfectly with the
earliest account in the Shĭjì, the name was displaced when the passage was copied into the Hànshū and in
later texts it reemerges as another name for Dà Qín. The latter identification led Pelliot to propose that it
transcribed the name of Alexandria in Egypt, of which more will be said below.” Pulleyblank (1999), p. 73.
“As for Líjiān, Hulsewé and Loewe, using Karlgren’s Old Chinese reconstruction, remarked that
“although Liɘr-g’iän [for which they cite Yán Shīgǔ’s gloss to 靬 in the Hànshū which I believe is of
doubtful authority in this case] could be said to resemble ‘Hyrcania’, it is a far cry to the original ‘Vehrkāna
[i.e., Old Persian Wrkāna]” (1979: 118). In fact the sequence –rkan is common to both the Greek and the
Old Persian and fits well with EMC lεj/li xɨan/kɨan, with Chinese l- EMC *wríj > EMC lεj. We find a similar alternation in initials in
the xiéshēng derivatives of lì 立 EMC lip ‘stand’ which include the etymologically related word wèi 位
EMC wi h ‘position’.
The earliest occurrence of the name Líjiān (in the variant reading Líxuān 黎軒) is in Shĭjì 123 in what
purports to be Zhāng Qiān’s report on the countries of the far west after his return to China ca. 125 B.C.E.
It comes at the end of his account of Ānxí (Parthia) and reads:
. . .。其西則條枝。北有奄蔡黎軒。條枝安息西數千里 , 臨西海。
. . . To the west [of Ānxí] lies Tiáozhī and to the north Yăncài and Líxuān. Tiáozhī is situated
several thousand li west of Ānxí and borders on the Western Sea. . . .
This is the standard and most natural pronunciation found, for example, in the Takigawa edition and the
recent Zhónghuá shūjū edition. That is, the section on Ānxí ends with mention of three other more distant
countries, after which a new section begins on one of these, namely Tiáozhī. Yăncài, already mentioned in
the text as a country northwest of Kāngjū (at that time in the region of Tashkend), has long been identified
with the Aorsoi of western sources, a nomadic people out of whom the well-known Alans later emerged
(Pulleyblank [1962: 99, 220; 1968:252]). On the assumption that Líxuān (that is, Líjiān) was in roughly the
same direction, the equation with Hyrcania on the southeastern side of the Caspian Sea fits perfectly.
There are two other references to Líxuān in Shĭjì 123, neither of which contradicts this. In the first,
which has a parallel in Hànshū 61 but is not referred to by Leslie and Gardiner, it is said that after Zhāng
Qiān’s death “more envoys were sent to Ānxí, Yăncài, Líxuān, Tiáozhī and Shēndú (India)” 因益發使安
息, 有奄, 黎軒, 條枝, 身毒 (Zhonghua ed., p. 3170). Though Líxuān again comes in juxtaposition to
Tiáozhī, it also again comes immediately after Yăncài.” Pulleyblank (1999), pp. 74-75. [Note that Pulleyblank
has considerably more detail on the name Líjiān in this article, if you wish to check it further].
GR No. 1611, gives discusses several possibilities for the derivation of the name Lijian in its various forms:

“[a] JIAN [CHIEN 1 ]
(Etymological) Skin of a dried animal
1. Piece of copper from the harness of a horse. 2. From 梨靬 or 犛靬 or黎靬 li 2 jian 1 [li 2 chien 1 ]
(Historical geography – phonetic transcription of the ancient Greek Seleukidai) Li-chien: a. The Persian
Hellenistic Empire of the Seleucides (365-64 BCE), of modern Afghanistan to the Aegean Sea; plus
particularly : The Hellenistic Syria of the Seleucid kings (c. 358-93 BCE). At this period (dynasty: 西漢
Western Han 206 BCE – 8 CE) beginning, after the conquest of Bactria by the 月氏 Yuezhi, about 100 BCE,
the exchanges, across the Pamir, between China and the West. B. All lands and kingdoms to the west of
China; by extension : The Roman Empire (dynasty: 東漢 Eastern Han 25-220). – Cf. 大秦 da 4 qin 2 [ta 2
ch’in 2 ].
[b] QIAN 2 [CH’IEN 2 ]
From 麗靬 or 驪靬 li 4 qian 2 [li 4 ch’ien 2 ] (Historical geography) Liqian (Li-ch’ien) : ancient
sub-prefecture situated in modern 甘肅 Gansu (Kan-su), instituted under the 東漢 Eastern Han dynasty to
settle prisoners originally from territories designated under the name of 梨靬, 犛靬, 黎靬 “Lijian
[Li-chien]” (Cf. supra), and abolished during the 北魏 Northern Wei dynasty (南北朝 period of the
Dynasties of the South and the North, 420-589).” Translated and adapted from the French.
The character 黎 li is another form of 梨; both translated as ‘pear’ (although Karlgren gives ‘to plough’ for the
first character and ‘pear’ for the second, and GR No. 6842, while giving ‘pear’ as the primary meaning, also gives,
‘old’, ‘aged’, ‘to divide’, and ‘dismember,’ as alternate meanings). All three forms of li show similar reconstructed
pronunciations.
黎 – K. 519g * liər / liei; EMC lεj
梨 – K. 519h *li̯ər / lji; EMC li
犛 – K. 979j * li̯əg / lji; EMC lɨ / li
Hirth (1885), p. 159 ff., and 170, n. 1, suggested it represented Rekem, an old name for Petra – both meaning
‘rock.’
Several scholars have suggested that it must have been originally derived from ‘Alexandria’ or ‘Alexander.’
See, for example: Dubs (1957), pp. 2-3, and Sitwell (1984), p. 213, n. 22. Leslie and Gardiner (1996), pp.
XVIII-XXVI and 253-254 argue that Li-kan (Lijian) referred originally to the Seleucid Empire. Also – see quote
from GR above and under GR, No. 6864. For detailed reviews of the many theories about the origin and various
forms of the name, see CICA: 117, n. 275, and Dubs (1957), pp. 24-26.
“[Li-jien was also] used by the Chinese for Rome and the Roman empire. Their later name for the Roman
empire was Da 4H -ts’in 2TU , the use of which begins in the Later Han period, when, in A.D. 166, a man
came to the border of China, stating that he was an envoy from “the King of Da 4H -ts’in 2TU ,
An 1JZ -dun 1WA [Marcus Aurelius Antoninus].” Da-ts’in was used for the Roman empire until the Middle
Ages, when the name Fu 25DZ -lin 3TS came to be used instead (for the Eastern Roman Empire). Prefacing
the account of Da-ts’in in the History of the Later Han Dynasty, there is the statement, “The country of
Da 4H -ts’in 2TU is also called Li 2MGDZ - jien 1MGG .” This statement is repeated in other Chinese accounts of
foreign countries, so that there can be no reason for doubting it.
The name Li-jien was almost surely a Chinese transcription of the Greek word “Alexandria” and originally denoted
the Alexandria in Egypt. We may even perhaps be able to tell how this word came into use in China.
“Between 110 and 100 B.C., there arrived at the Chinese capital an embassy from the King of
Parthia. Among the presents to the Chinese Emperor are stated to have been fine jugglers from Li-jien. The
jugglers and dancers, male and female, from Alexandria in Egypt were famous and were exported to

foreign countries. Since the King of Parthia obviously esteemed highly the Emperor of China, he naturally
sent the best jugglers he could secure. When these persons were asked whence they came, they of course
replied “from Alexandria,” which word the Chinese who disliked polysyllables and initial vowels and could
not pronounce certain Greek sounds, shortened into “Li-jien.”. When they also learned that this place was
different from Parthia, the Chinese naturally used its name for the country of these jugglers. No Chinese
had been to the Roman empire, so they had no reason to distinguish a prominent place in it from the
country itself. The Romans moreover had no name for their empire other than orbis terrarum, i.e., “the
world,” so that these jugglers would have found it difficult to explain the name of the Roman empire! In
such a fashion there probably arose the Chinese name Li-jien which, for them, denoted the Roman empire
in general.” Dubs (1957), pp. 2-3. See also Dubs’ detailed discussion of the various forms of this name,
ibid., pp. 24 n. 6.
“It is possible that Li-jien originally meant ‘the land of Alexander’, just as An-hsi meant ‘the land of the
Arsaces’; and that, having first been applied to the Seleucid kingdom, it was then extended to cover the
nations (including Rome) whose rulers regarded themselves as the heirs of Alexander. It was a convenient
coincidence that one of the largest cities of the West also bore this man’s name; but, pace Dubs, it seems
most unlikely that Roman soldiers would ever have described themselves as ‘Alexandrians’.” Sitwell
(1984), p. 213, n. 22.
11.3. Dahai 大海 [Ta Hai] – ‘a great sea.’ I believe this must refer to what we now know as the Indian Ocean
including the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. For details refer to Appendix C.
11.4. The city of Angu 安谷 [An-ku] = Gerrha or modern Thaj.
It seems probable that the ‘Angu’ of the Weilue refers to the ancient trading city of Gerrha, and its port on
the Arabian coast of the Persian Gulf. We are told that to travel by boat from Angu to Haixi [= Egypt] with
favourable winds took two months and with slow winds half a year. In Section 16 of the text it says that that, from
Zesan, “can take half a year to cross the water, but with fast winds it takes a month” (to reach Lüfen, which is only
a short distance by land and “across the sea” by a very long bridge from Haixi or Egypt). So, it is reasonable to
deduce that Zesan was approximately half way between Angu to Egypt, and the northern part of Azania fits this
description remarkably well.
Gerrha admirably fits the statements in the Weilue that Angu is, “on the frontier of Anxi (Parthia)” and is in
close communication with Zesan [= Azania].”
“There was more about Gerrha [in the Greek and Roman writers] than about any other place in Arabia, but
even so it was not more than could be committed to a small piece of paper. Oddly enough, in Arrian’s
description of Alexander’s preparation for a campaign against Arabia, including the coastal explorations of
323 B.C., there was not the slightest mention of Gerrha. But Eratosthenes, writing about a hundred years
after Alexander, tells of the merchants of Gerrha carrying their spices and incense overland to
Mesopotamia. This is contradicted by Aristobulus, says Strabo, who tells that the merchants travelled by
raft to Babylonia. Strabo, who wrote in the last two decades B.C., quotes Artemidorus, of the previous
century, as saying: “By the incense trade . . . the Gerrhaei have become the richest of all tribes, and possess
a great quantity of wrought articles in gold and silver, such as couches, tripods, basins, drinking vessels; to
which we must add the costly magnificence of their houses; for the doors, walls, and roof are variegated
with inlaid ivory, gold, silver, and precious stones.”
The historian Polybius about the same time tells of a campaign of the Seleucid king, Antiochus III,
who took a fleet along the Arabian coast in 205 B.C., with the intention of conquering Gerrha; but he was
persuaded by large presents of silver and precious stones, to leave the city unharmed.
There was thus little doubt that in the first, second, and third centuries B.C. Gerrha was an
exceedingly wealthy city, trading overland and by sea in aromatics, presumably the frankincense of the
Hadramaut. Strabo even tells us where Gerrha lay, but his account is difficult to interpret. Gerrha, he says,
is “a city situated on a deep gulf; it is inhabited by the Chaldeans, exiles from Babylon; the soil contains
salt and the people live in houses made of salt. . . . The city is about 200 stadia” – about 60 miles [actually
only about 37 km – as 1 Greek stadium = 185 metres] – “distant from the sea.” And you sail “onward,” he
says, from Gerrha to Tylos and Arados, which are the Bahrain islands.
The elder Pliny, writing in the middle of the first century A.D., is more explicit, and I knew the
description by heart. Describing the Arabian shore of the Gulf he comes to the island of Ichara, which must
be our Ikaros, and then the Gulf of Capeus, and then the Gulf of Gerrha. “Here we find the city of Gerrha,
five miles [five Roman miles = 7.41 km] in circumference, with towers built of square blocks of salt. Fifty

miles [74.1 km] from the coast, lying in the interior, is the region of Attene, and opposite to Gerrha is the
island of Tylos, an equal number of miles distant from the coast; it is famous for the vast numbers of its
pearls . . .”
Tylos, we knew, was Bahrain, and the region of Attene fifty miles inland was normally believed to be
the Hofuf oasis. . . .” Bibby (1970), pp. 317-318.
D.T. Potts has, I believe, convincingly identified the town of Gerrha with modern Thaj, and located the port of
Gerrha near the modern port of al-Jubayl:
“A recent attempt by W. W. Müller to deduce the Semitic origin of the Greek name ‘Gerrha’ has
important implications for the solution to the problem of the site’s location. Müller postulates that the
ancient Hasaitic designation for ‘the city’ would have been *han-Hagar, from which an Aramaicized
‘Hagarā’ could have developed. As the use of Aramaic in this area is well-attested (see ch. 5 below), this
presents no difficulties. From the form ‘Hagarā’, then, the Greek form ‘Gerrha’ can be derived. The
application of the term ha—ar to a walled city with towers and bastions was stressed by H. Von Wissmann
in his final, posthumously published work on Sabaean history. If a similar usage obtained in north-eastern
Arabia where, as we have seen, the South Arabian alphabet was used in the indigenous Hasaitic
inscriptions, then one immediately thinks of Thaj as a likely candidate for the site of ancient Gerrha. Pliny’s
statement that Gerrha ‘measures five miles round and has towers made of squared blocks of salt’ is,
moreover, reminiscent of the white limestone city wall at Thaj discussed above; nor are there any other
sites of the period in eastern Arabia which fit such a description. Finally, if we remember the admittedly
rough calculation of the distance between Gerrha and Teredon which brought us to the region of al-Jubayl,
it is interesting to note that this is in fact Thaj’s traditional and indeed only outlet to the sea. Thus, there
exists at least a strong possibility that Thaj and al-Jubayl are the sites of the inland town of Gerrha and its
coastal port.” Potts (1990), pp. 89-90.
“As we have seen, Androsthenes’ information on Tylos [modern Bahrain], and by extension that of
Theophrastus, can be dated to the lifetime of Alexander. Some of Pliny’s material, such as the parts drawn
from Juba, can be dated roughly to the time of Christ, around the middle of the Parthian period. When we
move into the second century AD, an altogether different perspective on Bahrain is afforded by an
important inscription discovered during the 1939-40 season of excavations at Palmyra. The text belongs to
a group of Palmyrene texts known as ‘caravan inscriptions’, in which a prominent citizen was honoured by
his compatriots for services rendered in the caravan trade between Palmyra and Babylonia. In this case, the
text records that in AD 131 the Palmyrene merchants of Spasinou Charax erected a statue at Palmyra in
honour of Iarhai, son of Nebozabad. What makes this text so important, however, is the added fact that
Iarhai is said to have served as ‘satrap of the Thilouanoi for Meredat, king of Spasinou Charax’. Spasinou
Charax, a city located near modern Basra in the southernmost Babylonian province of Mesene, was the
capital of the small but important kingdom of Characene. Situated in the shadow of Parthia, this kingdom
enjoyed commercial success and attendant fame out of all proportion to its size, since Spasinou Charax was
the most important Babylonian port of call for ships arriving laden with luxury goods from the East during
the first century BC and the first two centuries AD. Palmyrene traders, as purveyors of these Eastern goods
to Roman Syria and ultimately to the wider Mediterranean world, had established permanent colonies at
Babylon, Vologesias, and, most importantly, at Spasinou Charax.
The Palmyrene caravan inscriptions leave us in no doubt that Palmyrene commerce with the kingdom
of Characene was a great success. Given the close commercial ties between Charax and the Palmyrene
community, therefore, it is hardly surprising that the king of Charax should have employed a citizen of
Palmyra in a political capacity, as satrap of the Thilouanoi. For many years, however, scholars did not
recognise the significance of the satrapal name implied here. It was not until 1968, when a collection of
notes completed by E. Herzfeld in 1948 was published posthumously, that the meaning became clear. The
Thilouanoi were the inhabitants of Thiloua or Thilouos, which name is clearly an Aramaicised form of
‘Tylos’ [modern Bahrain]. Thus, by the early second century AD Bahrain was a satrapy of the kingdom of
Characene.
Meredat will be dealt with in greater detail in Chapter 6 below, but it is important to note that, as we
now know from a Graeco-Parthian inscription recently discovered at Seleucia-on-Tigris, he was a member
of a high-ranking Parthian family. Thus, as a Parthian on the Characene throne, his rule represented an
extension of Parthian influence over Charax and the Gulf. That he came into conflict with other branches of
the Parthian nobility, however, is likely, and twenty years after he was mentioned in the inscription from
Palmyra, he was driven off the Characene throne by the Parthian king Vologases IV and heard of no more.

From this time on, a more purely Parthian political presence was established in the central Arabian Gulf. . .
. ” Potts (1990), pp. 145-146.
Although modern Thaj is situated well inland, there are some recent indications that the town may, during
historical times, have actually been at the edge of a large inlet that joined with the Persian Gulf itself (thus averting
the need for a separate port), as the following abstract indicates:
“Holocene sedimentation processes at the Saudi Arabian Gulf coast”
Projekte unter Leitung von PD Dr. Hans-Jörg Barth
Funding: Deutsche Forschungs Gemeinschaft (DFG), National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and
Development (NCWCD), Riyadh
Abstract
Eustatic fluctuations of sea level during Pleistocene and Holocene times resulted in remarkable shifts of the
shoreline along the Arabian Gulf. But even after the establishment of the present sea level around 1000
years ago, the coastal geography experienced significant alterations. Satellite data indicate that a large
territory west of Jubail might once have been part of the Arabian Gulf. Concerning the location of the lost
city of Gerrha, which Alexander the Great was planning to invade shortly before his death, archaeological
sources mention a large inlet east of the city. The ruins of Thaj 90 km west of Jubail in the middle of the
desert are located directly at the western shore of the assumed inlet. That leads to the assumption that Thaj
is the “lost city of Gerrha”. Recent accumulation in the Jubail area at the Saudi Arabian Gulf coast is
dominated by terrestrial aeolian processes. Cyanobacteria which is abundant in the intertidal flats, were
discovered below about 70 cm of terrestrial and marine sediments in a sabkha environment. This sabkha is
located in a distance of more than two kilometers from the actual intertidal. 14 C dating of the cyanobacteria
provided an age of not more than 700 years. Sedimentation characteristics indicate a significant change in
sedimentation processes from marine to aeolian accumulation of terrestrial dune sand some time after the
cyanobacterial growth 700 years ago. Progradation at rates of more than three meters per year implies a
considerable sand source as well as intensive sand movement. Therefore a reduction in vegetation cover
seems most probable to have caused this development. Strong winds moved sandy substrate in southern to
southeastern directions where it finally accumulated in the intertidal. Whether a climatic change or human
impact or even both led to this reduction in the vegetation cover, is presently unknown.” Downloaded on 10
November 2003, from:
http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_III/Geographie/phygeo/barth.htm
For more details on these identifications refer to Appendix H.
11.5. Haixi 海西 – literally: ‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt. Refer to Appendix B, especially subsection (a) “Haixi 海西
– literally: ‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt.”
11.6. “With favourable winds it takes two months; if the winds are slow, perhaps a year; if there is no wind,
perhaps three years.” This account from the Weilue gives a somewhat different account of the time it can take to
reach Da Qin from the Persian Gulf, than the story told to Gan Ying recounted in the Hou Hanshu:
“In the ninth Yangyuan year [97 CE], during the reign of Emperor He, the Protector General Ban Chao sent
Gan Ying to Da Qin (the Roman Empire). He reached Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana) next to a large sea.
He wanted to cross it, but the sailors of the western frontier of Anxi (Parthia) said to him:
“The ocean is huge. Those making the round trip can do it in three months if the winds are
favourable. However, if you encounter winds that delay you, it can take two years. That is why all
the men who go by sea take stores for three years. The vast ocean urges men to think of their
country, and get homesick, and some of them die. When (Gan) Ying heard this, he gave up his
plan.” TWR.
The shorter time of 2 months to make the round trip from the Persian Gulf to Da Qin in the Weilue compared to the
3 months mentioned in the Hou Hanshu can be explained by the expansion of Parthia to include the port of Gerra,
which was considerably closer to the Red Sea ports than Charax Spasinu, the port Gan Ying reached in 97 CE.

11.7. The city of (Wu) Chisan (烏) 遲散 [(Wu) Ch’ih-san] = Alexandria.
“On the name of Alexandria in Indian literature, cf. in the first place S. Lévi’s paper of 1934,
reprinted in Mémorial Sylvain Lévi (Paris, 1937, 413-423). Lévi concurs with the opinion I first upheld in
1914 (JA, 1914, II, 413-417) that the Alasanda of the Questions of King Menander was the Egyptian
Alexandria. Moreover, ālisaṃdaga, the name of a bean, and ālakandaka, a name of the coral, must be
nouns derived from Alexandria.
In Chinese Buddhist texts, the Chinese version of the Questions of King Menander gives a form 阿茘
散 A-li-san (* •Â-ljie̯-sân), nearer to the Greek original for the vowel of the second syllable than Pâli
Alasanda. Lévi (loc. cit. 418) also thought he had found the name of Alexandria in the Chinese version of
Nāgārjuna’s commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā; but he elicited it through a correction which I hold as
very doubtful.
Apart from Buddhist texts, I proposed in TP, 1915, 690-691, to identify with Alexandria of Egypt the
name 黎軒 Li-hsüan (*Liei-χi̯ɐn), Li-kan 犂靬 (* Liei-kân), etc., known in China from the end of the 2nd
cent. B. C. Although others entertain different views, I still think that the equivalence is substantially
correct. It remains doubtful whether, in the first half of the 3rd cent. A. D., the name of Alexandria
underlies the transcriptions 遲散 Ch’ih-san (* D´’i-sân) and 烏遲散 Wu-ch’ih-san (*·Uo-d´’i-sân) of the
Wei lio; cf. HIRTH, China and the Roman Orient, 181-182 (but the equivalence has gained in probability
now that we know for certain that 烏弋山離 Wu-i-shan-li [*·Uo-i̯ək-ṣǎn-ljie̯, still more anciently
·O-di̯ək-sǎn-ljia], certainly renders the name of another Alexandria; cf. ZDMG, 1937, 252; TP, 1938, 148).
Chao Ju-kua, writing in 1225, has a whole paragraph on 遏根陀 O-ken-t’o (*·Ât-kən-d’â), and describes its
Pharos with the wonderful mirror (HR, 146-147; cf. LE STRANGE, Nuzhat-al-Qulūb, transl., 239-241);
this last transcription is made the Arabic form Iskandariya.” Pelliot (1959), p. 29.
“A better phonetic correspondence to Alexandria in a western context [than Lijian] is provided by
Chísăn 遲散 or Wūchísăn 烏遲散 EMC ?ɔ dr̮i san’ (or san h ), said in the Wèilüè to be the first place one
reaches in Dà Qín and identified by Hirth as Alexandria. The first syllable wū 烏(truncated in the first case)
is the regular equivalent in Han times for a foreign initial a-, replaced by ā 阿 EMC ?a, in the new-style
transcriptions that appear in the early Buddhist texts. The few xiéshēng connections of chí 遲, which
appears to have xi 犀 EMC sεj as phonetic, do not give the kind of clear-cut evidence for *l- as the source
of the Middle Chinese retroflexed stop, dr̮, that we find in the cases of EMC d < *l cited above; but neither
do they support a connection with Old Chinese dental stops. It is relevant that, as Hirth noted, Middle
Chinese dr̮- was sometimes used in transcriptions of Sanskrit to represent the voiced retroflex stop ḍ, a
sound that is rather close to [l].” Pulleyblank (1999), p. 76.
“Ancient Alexandria stood about twelve miles from the Canoptic branch of the Nile, with which it was
united by a canal. The lake Mareotis bathed its walls on the south, and the Mediterranean on the north. It
was divided into straight parallel streets, cutting one another at right angles. One great street, two thousand
feet wide, ran through the whole length of the city, beginning at the gate of the sea, and terminating at the
gate of Canopus. It was intersected by another of the same breadth, which formed a square at their junction
half a league in circumference. From the centre of this great place, the two gates were to be seen at once,
and vessels arriving under full sail from both the north and the south. In these two principal streets, the
noblest in the universe, stood their most magnificent palaces, temples, and public buildings, in which the
eye was never tired with admiring the marble, the porphyry, and the obelisks, which were destined at some
future day to embellish the metropolis of the world. The chief glory of Alexandria was its harbor. It was a
deep and secure bay in the Mediterranean, formed by the shore on the one side, and the island of Pharos on
the other, and where numerous fleets might lie in complete safety. Without the walls of Alexandria, and
stretching along the shores of the Mediterranean, near to the promontory of Lectreos, was situated the
palace and gardens of the Ptolemies. They contained within their inclosure the museum, an asylum for
learned men, groves and buildings worthy of royal majesty, and a temple where the body of Alexander was
deposited in a golden coffin. It were endless to enumerate the many palaces, temples, theatres, and other
buildings with which Alexandria and its suburbs were adorned.” Edwards and Brown (1835), p. 57.
“This position [as: “the most important commercial city of the Mediterranean world”] Alexandria owed to
its natural advantages. There were two magnificent harbours, the Great Harbour to the east and the
Eunostus (Harbour of Fortunate Return), with a smaller, artificially excavated harbour at its rear, to the
west. The harbours were separated by an artificial dyke, the Heptastadium, linking the mainland to the

island of Pharos on which the famous lighthouse stood. These accommodated an immense volume of
maritime trade with the Mediterranean world and also made Alexandria an important centre of the
shipbuilding industry. To the south of the city, Lake Mareotis, which itself had a harbour on its northern
shore, was linked by canals to the Canopic branch of the Nile delta, giving access to the river valley. Not
only did this make available to Alexandria as much of Egypt’s domestic produce as she required – the
large-scale transport of grain from the valley was, of course, absolutely essential to feed the city’s populace
– but it also linked her through the important entrepôt of Coptos to the ports of the Red Sea coast and a
network of trading relations with India and Arabia, which reached its apogee in the Roman period. Great
though the volume of imports through this route was, it was outweighed, as Strabo noted, by the volume of
exports which Alexandria despatched to the south.” Bowman (1996), pp. 218-219.
“But to form an estimate of the number of Jews that statedly resided in Alexandria, it may be sufficient to
mention that about the year of Christ 67, while the quarrel was going on between that people and the
Romans, which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, the subversion of their ecclesiastical
polity and their ruin as a nation, fifty thousand of them were put to death at one time in the city of
Alexandria! It is said that at the time this terrible event took place, there were not less than a million of
Jews dispersed through the whole province of Egypt, in which they had a vast number of synagogues, and
oratories which were either demolished or consumed by fire, for refusing to set up the statues of the Roman
emperor, Caius Caligula.” Edwards and Brown (1835), p. 58.
For a discussion of the various Chinese transcriptions of Alexandria see: Pelliot (1959), p. 29.
11.8. The city of Wudan 烏丹 [Wu-tan] = Tanis? I believe that Wudan, Egyptian Ta-an, or Tsàn, refers to the
Egyptian city of Tanis, capital of the Eastern Nile Delta.
烏 K. 61a *•o / uo; EMC ?ɔ
丹 K. 150a *tân / tân; EMC tan
“The Ancient Egyptian name of that place was “D’n.t”, in egypto-speak rendered Djanet. I suppose it rather
sounded like *Dja’ane, for the Greeks heard it as Tanis (-is Greek ending), but the Hebrews heard it as
Zoan, and the Assyrians heard it as Saanu. Perhaps someone else can give you the Coptic, which would be
the most relevant for you.” Email correspondence from Aayko Eyma, 24/12/98.
It appears from the Weilue that one could sail all the way from Zesan to the city of Wudan. Assuming this
identification of Wudan and Tanis is correct, then reaching Tanis via the ancient Nile canal to the Red Sea was
possible. The canal had been recently re-dredged by Trajan and Hadrian. For more details, see Appendix M.
11.9. This text appears to refer to crossing the Sebannitus and then the Canopis branches of the Nile. For details
see Appendix M.
11.10. fayudadusan 凡有大都三. “There are, in all, three major cities.” I understand this text to mean that there are
three major cities that you meet with on the journey from the Pelusic branch of the Nile to Alexandria. These
would have been, at the time, Daphnae, Tanis and Alexandria. In the Chinese text accompanying the translation by
Hirth (1885), p. 111, end of line 12, he has the character xi 郤 – ‘interval,’ ‘gap.’ but he doesn’t include this word
in his translation – “There are three great divisions of the country [perhaps : three great cities].” It is clear that it
must be mistaken for the commonly confused character, que 卻 = ‘now,’ ‘meanwhile,’ etc.
In fact, the use of the character xi does not make sense here and it was obviously intended to be attached to
the beginning of the next sentence, as is made clear in the punctuation of the New China Library 1975 Edition. The
translation then reads smoothly, with the following sentence beginning: “Now (or, ‘meanwhile’), if you leave the
city of Angu. . . . ”
Also, Hirth’s suggestion that du 都 might represent a division of the country cannot be supported. The
character at this period had the meaning of a large walled town, city, or a provincial capital; although much later –
during the Song and Qing dynasties – it sometimes had the meaning of a small territorial unit. See GR, No. 11668.
11.11. The territory called 海北 Haibei ‘North of the Sea’ here must refer to the lands between Babylonia and what
is now Jordan and/or Syria. Refer to Appendix B, especially under the subheading: (b) Haibei 海北 ‘North of the
Sea.’

11.12. This text seems to imply that there was a journey of more than a day from Alexandria along the coast before
actually sailing for Rome. This gives a total time of seven or more days from Alexandria to Ostia. Six days would
seem to be about right for the sailing time from the neighbourhood of Appollonia in Cyrene (west of Egypt) to
Ostia, the port for Rome.
The total sailing times between Alexandria and Puteoli, to the south of Rome, are given in The Times Atlas
of World History (1978), p. 91, as “15-20 days (fastest 9 days)”.
“Egypt sent 150,000 tons of annual grain tribute to Rome in the 1 st – 3 rd centuries CE. Sailing to Puzzuoli
or Ostia took a month or more, and the return voyage 10-20 days.” Baines and Málek (1984), p. 54.
However, these figures relate to the ordinary voyages of merchantmen. If the winds were right, a fast ship could
make it from Italy to Alexandria in less than six days as Priscus of Panium (5 th century CE) reported – refer to
Appendix B, subsection (a) Haixi 海西 – literally: ‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt.
11.13. The overall description of the Roman Empire is self-explanatory and quite accurate: “This country (the
Roman Empire) has more than four hundred smaller cities and towns. It extends several thousand li in all
directions.”
11.14. wangchi 王治 [wang-chih] = ‘the king’s seat of government’ must undoubtedly refer here to the city of
Rome, which is situated on the Tiber River some 24 km (15 miles) inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea.
11.15. 松 song = pine trees, bai 柏 = cypress (a generic name for cypresses, thujas, etc), 槐 huai = Sophora
japonica L., 梓 zi = catalpa (Catalpa ovata G. Don.), 竹 zhu = bamboo, 葦 wei = reeds, 楊 yang = poplars, 柳
liu = willows, 梧桐 wutong = the “Chinese parasol” or “phoenix” tree (Firmiana simplex = Sterculia platanifolia).
See: Schafer (1963), p. 186.
While the name, Wutong [Wu-t’ung], was used to denote other species of trees (especially outside of China),
it is of interest to examine some of the significance this name would have had for the Chinese reader:
“The desert poplar (Populus diversifolia), which is also called the unequal-leaved poplar, bears two kinds
of leaves at one time; those on the new growth are narrow and lancet-shaped like the willow, while those on
the older branches are broad and tooth-edged. The Chinese name for this strange tree is wutung. Hardy as it
is, and able to endure both cold and dryness, it is yet the very first tree to feel the touch of autumn, change
colour and cast its leaves. For this reason the Chinese have chosen to make the wutung symbolic of sadness,
and the eldest son of a family should lean on a staff cut from the wutung when he follows his father’s coffin
in the funeral procession. The bark of the tree carries masses of spongy growth called “tears of the wutung,”
doubtless because of this association with sorrow. These trees rise to a height of seventy-five feet, and the
branches, meeting overhead, form dignified arched alleys. The patches of woodland are as symmetrical as
though they had been planted by hand, and the edge is a clear-cut line with no straggling growth.” Cable
and French (1943), p. 280.
“Near the camp we reached that night was a clump of wu-t’ung trees, the first I had seen closely, though we
had passed a few in the dark on one of the marches through Kuai-tze Hu – their most easterly range, so far
as I know it. The caravan men call them “false” wu-t’ung for some reason of their own. The true wu-t’ung
is the Dryandra of the upper Yang-tze, the tree from which is obtained wood oil, one of the most valuable
exports of Hankow. 1 The Dryandra may have been originally a sacred tree of the aborigines of the
Yang-tze valley, judging from the legends with which the later-coming Chinese adorned it. They say that
the first fall of its leaf is the undeniable beginning of autumn – a fitting symbolism for a holy tree. It is yet
more venerable because it is the only tree on which the phoenix will alight when it visits the earth. I have
never seen the true wu-t’ung, nor do I know how the “false” wu-t’ung got its name, since I have heard
Chinese say that it has not much resemblance to the Dryandra; the caravan men explain very simply that it
is false because no phoenixes ever perch on it. The masquerading wu-t’ung is the toghraq or wild poplar of
the Tarim desert. It is found throughout the half-deserts and desert fringes of Chinese Turkestan and
Zungaria, and also, I am told, in India. One of its peculiarities is that parasitic willow shoots are often found
growing in the notches of old trees; another is the great variation in the form of the leaf. On the Edsin Gol
the leaf is fairly uniform, but in the Tarim basin it is sometimes very nearly round, with slightly serrated
edges, and sometimes almost as deeply indented as a maple leaf, The wood is of no use for any carpentry,
and burns rather weakly without giving an intense heat. It is impregnated, apparently, with salts of the
deserts where it grows. A plentiful sap or pitch oozes out of it when burning, which is used like soda or

yeast to raise bread; the camel men call it “wu-t’ung soda.
1 I now find that, according to Giles (Dictionary), the wu-t’ung associated with the phoenix is not the Dryandra but
Sterculia platanifolia, while the oil-producing tree also is not Dryandra but Aleurites cordata (t’ung-yu-sha).”
Lattimore (1929), pp. 195 and n. 1; 196.
11.16. sangcan 桑蠶 [sang-ts’an].
“This passage can hardly be translated as anything other than, “The customs of the inhabitants are the
following: they practice agriculture and plant the five types of cereals; as for domestic animals they have
horses, donkeys and camels; they cultivate the mulberry tree and raise silkworms.” But it is evident that Yu
Huan, the author of the Weilue, may have come under the influence, unconsciously perhaps, of the more
ancient texts which he compiled.” Translated from Chavannes (1907), p. 180, n. 1.
The term 桑蠶 sangcan [sang-ts’an] is not really as clear-cut as Chavannes states, and the text certainly does not
state that they: “cultivate the mulberry tree and raise silkworms” – only that they raise sangcan. The term sangcan
is listed by itself immediately after the word 駱驼 luoduo – the normal term for camels.
On its own like this, sangcan may indeed have meant ‘silkworms,’ but this is not certain – and may not have
been the intention here. In the entry under GR No. 9430 we find three definitions: 1. (Entomological) another name
for the larvae of the Capricorn beetle, which were used as a medical material. 2. mulberries and silkworms. 3. To
feed silkworms with mulberry leaves.
Additionally, the similar-looking Black Mulberry (Morus nigra L.) tree was native to the Mediterranean
region, and may be what is referred to here. They could well have been confused unless they were fruiting, when
the large black fruits of the Black Mulberry would have clearly distinguished it from the White Mulberry (Morus
alba L.), the leaves of which are used to raise the cultivated silkworm, as it bears white fruits. See the discussion in
Hirth (1885), p. 256.
11.17. See the quotes in note 11.2 by Dubs (1957), pp. 2-3, and the translated quote from Saint-Denys (1876), pp.
268-269, in Appendix B, subsection (a) “Haixi 海西 – literally: ‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt.”
The Shiji chapter 123 – written about 91 BCE – records that when the first envoys from China reached Anxi
[Parthia]; “the king sent some of the eggs of the great birds which live in the region [ostriches], and skilled
tricksters of Li-hsüan, to the Han court as gifts.” Dubs (1944), p. 277. See also this same event recorded in the Hou
Hanshu, Chap. 96A, translated in CICA, p. 117-118.
11.18. This appears to be nothing more than a fabulous story told of an ideal country far-away and is reminiscent
of many such stories told by early European travellers to distant lands.
11.19. For an account of these extravagant descriptions of the Roman Empire and its people, see note 11.1.
11.20. This sounds like a sober description of the Parthians’ desire to keep control of and raise taxes on the
lucrative trade between China and the Roman Empire. The net result of this policy was, predictably, the
development of alternative routes, particularly the route that headed north around the Aral and Caspian Seas to the
country of the Alans who had contact with the Romans via Black Sea ports, and the long maritime route from
southern Chinese territory (in what is now northern Vietnam) to East Africa and Egypt. Some of this maritime
trade could have taken place through the intermediaries of the Roman trading stations or “factories” set up around
the Indian coasts and at Oc Eo near the mouth of the Mekong.
11.21. This may well record Chinese surprise at the number of ordinary people who were literate in the Roman
Empire. In China, at this time, it was only the privileged elite and government bureaucrats who were able to read
and write. This was partly due to the fact that it is easier and quicker to learn an alphabetically-based phonetic form
of writing. In addition, Jews (and some of the early Christian groups), insisted that every male learn how to read
and write – so they could study the holy scriptures themselves in the original. There was the long Greek tradition
of teaching men, in particular, to read and write and this heavily influenced the later Romans to value literacy as
well:
“Literacy in Greece was never a craft skill, possessed only by experts, from the start writing was used for a
great range of activities, from composing poetry to cursing enemies, from displaying laws to voting, from
inscribing tombstones or dedications to writing shopping lists. To be completely illiterate was to be

ignorant, uncultured: but our evidence shows that there existed all levels of skill in writing, spelling, and
grammar: only a society in which literacy is widespread can offer such a range of evidence from
semi-literacy to illiteracy. There is of course no sign that women were expected or encouraged to read,
although many of them could. To be cautious, we may say that in a city like Athens well over half the male
population could read and write, and that levels of literacy in the Greek cities of the classical and
Hellenistic periods were higher that at any period in western culture before this century.” Boardman,
Griffin and Murray (1986), pp. 227-228.
After the rise of the Roman Empire, it was common for Greek slaves to act as tutors to the sons of well-to-do
Roman families.
11.22. Haibei 海北 [Hai-pei], literally: ‘North of the Sea,’ must refer to the lands between Babylonia and what is
now Jordan and/or Syria. Refer to Appendix B for details.
11.23. This passage has caused some confusion to modern scholars. A ting 亭 [t'ing] in China was basically a shed
or simple lodge for travellers to stop at, which I have called a ‘stage,’ and a zhi 置 [chih] was a ‘postal station’ or
inn that could provide shelter, fresh horses, food and supplies.
The Roman and Parthian systems of postal relays were further developments of the famous Achaemenid
system initiated by Darius I circa 515 BCE. The road from Sardis to Susa was 2,475 km in length, and had 111
postal stations [i.e. on average, one every 4 parsangs, or about one every 22 km]. At normal rates of travel, the
whole could be covered in 90 days (average speed = 27.5 km/day). However, by changing mounts and couriers,
over 350 km could be covered in a day, and messages could be taken the whole length of the route, from Sardis to
Susa, in just seven days. From: Ciolek (2000). See also: Dandamayev (1994), p. 52.
In fact, the Chinese, Parthians, and the Romans all had well-developed systems of postal stations and relays
which were quite similar to each other:
“The voyager, having picked a conveyance or riding and pack animals, having loaded up and got under
way, next faced the problem of where to stop for the night, and, if he was travelling with hired gear, where
to find a change of animals and equipment. As it happened, his choices were often determined by the
network of inns and hostels that belonged to the cursus publicus, the government post.
Rome’s cursus publicus was created by Augustus, but the idea of such a service was hardly original
with him; it is an essential tool for any government that rules extended areas. The earliest examples we
know of go back to the third millennium B.C., when the city-states of Mesopotamia first began to build
miniature empires. . . . By the third century B.C., China’s Han dynasty and the super-centralized
administration that the Ptolemies had set up in Egypt were running the nearest thing to a modern postal
system that the ancient world was to know. The carriers were all mounted. In China the post-stations were
some eleven miles apart, with two or more substations in between. In Egypt they were sparser, at intervals
of six hours by horseback or roughly thirty miles apart. Some records of one of these Egyptian post offices
have been dug up by the archaeologists, so we have a fair idea of the way they worked. Thanks to Egypt’s
geography, mail had to go only north and south, along the ribbon of inhabited land bordering the Nile. The
offices handled at least four deliveries daily, two from each direction. For packages and other heavier
matter there was an auxiliary camel-back service.
When Augustus conquered and annexed Egypt in 30 B.C., the system was right at hand to serve as a
model. He, however, was interested neither in speed nor regular delivery. What he sought was a facility
which would forward dispatches when necessary and permit him to interrogate the carriers as well as read
the papers they brought. So he fashioned a service in which there were no relays: each messenger went
himself the whole route, and since time was not of the essence, travelled in carriages rather than on
horseback. As the system developed, the couriers were more and more drawn from the army, especially
from the elite unit called speculatores ‘scouts’; instead of scouting the situation of an enemy, they scouted,
as it were, the situation at the headquarters they were delivering to. . . .
In Egypt the Romans may well have maintained the Ptolemies’ mail service, since it was so feasible a
system there. But everywhere else the Roman post operated as Augustus had designed it, making sporadic
deliveries according to need – or rather the emperor’s need, since officially only men carrying dispatches
from him or for him were entitled to the privileges of the cursus publicus. Every user had to have a
diploma, as a post warrant was called, signed by the emperor or, in his absence, his authorized agent;
governors of provinces could also issue them, but they disposed of a limited number only, rationed out by
the emperor. A diploma, entitling one to travel with the use of government maintained facilities, was a
prized possession, and inevitably some fell into hands which did not deserve them. . . .

. . . . All along the routes at strategic intervals were more or less well-equipped inns called
mansiones or stationes; the first term originally applied to places with the facilities to handle an imperial
party, the second to posts maintained by the road police, but by this time the two had gradually merged. In
between the mansiones or stationes were very simple hostels, mutationes ‘changing places’ as they were
sometimes called, which could supply the minimum of a traveller’s needs – a bite to eat, a bed, and, as the
name implies, a change of beasts or vehicle. The distance from one mansio to the next depended on the
terrain and how thickly an area was populated, but in general an effort was made to keep them twenty-five
to thirty-five miles apart, that is, the length of an average day’s travel. In densely settled districts, such as
around the capital, they tended to be a good deal closer. There might be one or two hostels between a pair
of mansiones, again depending on the terrain. . . .
The inns and hostels of the cursus publicus were not built specifically for it, nor did they service only
those travelling on official business, although these had an ironclad priority. The post, despite the fact that
it was run wholly for the benefit of the central government, was largely maintained by the communities
along the routes. The emperors simply selected given existing inns of the required quality and incorporated
them into the system, requiring them to put up without charge any holder of a diploma who came along.
Only in remote areas, as on mountain passes or along lonely tracts of road, did they have to build from
scratch. . . ; such places, too, to help meet expenses put up all voyagers, private as well as official. Vehicles,
animals, drivers, stablehands – all were requisitioned, wherever possible, from local citizens.” Casson
(1974), pp. 182-186.
“As it happens, the Romans were not the only skilled road-builders of antiquity. On the other side of the
world the powerful lords of the Han dynasty of China (c. 200 B.C. – A.D. 200) ruled an equally farflung
empire, which they too knit together by means of a comprehensive system of highways. Their engineers,
like Rome’s, laid the tracks as straight as possible, cutting through forests and bridging streams, and even
outdid Rome’s when it came to hacking out roads in dizzying heights. They went in for greater width than
Rome; fifty feet is mentioned for major routes, wide enough for nine chariots abreast. We cannot confirm
the figure since the Chinese never used paving – gravel surfaces satisfied their needs – and accordingly
hardly a trace of their ancient roads has survived. We have only contemporary or near contemporary
descriptions to go on, and these cannot always be taken as gospel truth.” Casson, (1974), p. 174.
11.24. The report that there were no bandits or thieves along the roads in the Roman Empire is probably an
accurate reflection of the effectiveness of Roman policing and severe application of the law within their territories.
However, dangerous wild animals were common – to a degree it is hard to imagine these days.
Herodotus (5 th century BCE) informs us that in the time of Xerxes’ invasion of Greece in 480 BCE, lions were
still a danger to caravans in the eastern parts of Greece:
“This road which led him [Xerxes] through Paeonia and Crestonia to the river Echeidorus, which rising in
the country of the Crestonians, flows through Mydonia, and reaches the sea near the marsh upon the Axius.
Upon this march the camels that carried the provisions of the army were set upon by lions, which left
their lairs and came down by night, but spared the men and sumpter-beasts, while they made the camels
their prey. I marvel what may have been the cause which compelled the lions to leave the other animals
untouched and attack the camels, when they had never seen that beast before, nor had any experience of it.
That whole region is full of lions, and wild bulls with gigantic horns which are brought into Greece.
The lions are confined within the tract lying between the river Nestus (which flows through Abdera) on the
one side, and the Acheloüs (which waters Acarnania) on the other. No one ever sees a lion in the fore part
of Europe east of the Nestus [which divides Greek Macedonia and Thrace], nor through the entire continent
west of the Acheloüs [which empties into the Ionian Sea near the southwest corner of mainland Greece];
but in the space between these bounds lions are found.” Herodotus (VII, 124-126), 1996 edition, p. 556.
“Game was plentiful: lions existed in the Euphrates valley until the middle of the nineteenth century. . . . ”
Fedden (1955), p. 134.
“From the writings of the ancient historians it appears very clear that Lions were at one time found in
Europe, but they have long since totally disappeared. They are also no longer seen in Egypt, Palestine or
Syria, where they once were evidently far from uncommon ; and, as Cuvier remarks, even in Asia
generally, with the exception of some countries between India and Persia, and some districts of Arabia, they
have become comparatively rare. . . . How different it was in the time of the Romans! Struck with the
magnificent appearance of these animals, they imported them in vast numbers from Africa, for their public

spectacles.” Maunder (1878), p. 382.
11.25. For the translation of wangsuozhi cheng 王所治城 as ‘the king’s administrative capital’ – refer to the
section titled: “About Measurements and Administrative Divisions,” at the end of the Introduction.
For the circumference of Rome to have equalled 42 km, outlying suburbs must have been included. The
greatest extent of the walled area of Rome was enclosed by the brick-faced concrete walls built by Aurelian in 270
CE. These were almost 12 miles (19 km) around and enclose an area of approximately 60 sq. kms. Many suburbs
were, however, outside the walls.
The population of Rome by the late 1 st to early 2 nd centuries has been estimated to be over a million people.
The population began to decline rapidly during the plagues of the second century:
“Forty years later [after the ‘plague of Orosius in 125] there followed the plague of Antoninus, sometimes
known as the plague of the physician Galen. The story is better documented than that of previous outbreaks.
Disease started among the troops of the co-emperor Lucius Verus on the eastern borders of the empire. It
was confined to the east for the two years 164-6 and caused great mortality among the legions under the
command of Avidius Claudius, who had been sent to repress a revolt in Syria. The plague accompanied this
army homewards, spreading throughout the countryside and reaching Rome in A.D. 166. It rapidly
extended into all parts of the known world, causing so many deaths that loads of corpses were carried away
from Rome and other cities in carts and wagons.
The plague of Antoninus or Galen, is notable because it caused the first crack in the Roman defence
lines. Until A.D.161 the empire continually expanded and maintained its frontiers. In that year a Germanic
barbarian horde, the Marcomanni from Bohemia and the Quadi from Moravia, forced the north-eastern
barrier of Italy. Owing to the fear and disorganization produced by the plague, full-scale retaliation could
not be undertaken; not until A.D.169 was the whole weight of Roman arms thrown against the
Marcomanni. Possibly the failure of this invasion was as much due to the legions carrying plague with them
as to their fighting prowess, for many Germans were found lying dead on the battlefield without sign of
wounding. The pestilence raged until A.D. 180; one of the last victims was the noblest of Roman emperors,
Marcus Aurelius. He died on the seventh day of his illness and is said to have refused to see his son at the
last, fearing lest he, too, should succumb. After A.D.180 there came a short respite followed by a return in
189. The spread of this second epidemic seems to have been less wide, but mortality in Rome was ghastly;
as many as 2,000 sometimes died in a single day.
The name of the physician Galen is attached to the plague of A.D. 164-89 not only because he fled
from it, but because he left a description of the disease. Initial symptoms were high fever, inflammation of
the mouth and throat, parching thirst and diarrhoea. Galen described a skin eruption, appearing about the
ninth day, sometimes dry and sometimes pustular. He implies that many patients died before the eruption
appeared. There is some resemblance to the Athenian plague, but the undoubted Eastern origin and the
mention of pustules have led many historians to assert that this was the first instance of a smallpox
epidemic. One theory holds that the westward movement of the Huns started because of virulent smallpox
in Mongolia; the disease travelled with them, was communicated to the Germanic tribes upon whom the
Huns were pressing and, in turn, infected the Romans who were in contact with the Germans. Against this
theory must be set the fact that the later history of the Roman outbreak in no way resembles the later history
of European smallpox in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. But, as we shall see in some of the following
chapters, the first appearance of a disease often takes a form and a course which is quite different from that
of the disease once established.
After A.D. 189, plague is not again mentioned until the year 250. . . . ” Cartwright and Biddiss
(1972), pp. 12-14.
11.26. The title used here is jiang 將 [chiang], which is commonly translated as ‘general.’ However, it
sometimes had a less militaristic meaning. Hucker, No. 690 includes: “(3) HAN: Leader of the expectant
and unassigned officials who attended the Emperor as courtiers with the title Court Gentleman (lang).”
Here, the mention of the “thirty-six leaders” seems probably to be a reference to the consuls:
“Lastly, though Augustus did not form a Privy Council after the pattern of the Hellenistic
monarchies, he laid the foundations of such a body. In 27 B.C. he instituted a committee of the Senate,
consisting of the two consuls, of one representative apiece from each of the other colleges of magistrates,
and of fifteen private members selected by lot, for a period of six months, to prepare the agenda and
expedite the business of the whole House. In A.D.13 he reinforced this committee with members of the
imperial family and additional nominated members of the equestrian order, and he carried out its

ecommendations without submitting them to the Senate for confirmation. In addition to this regularly
constituted committee, Augustus also convened from time to time informal consilia of assessors in judicial
cases, according to the ordinary custom of the republican magistrates. From these two sources the formal
Consilium Principis was eventually derived.” Cary (1954), pp. 481-482.
“The reign of Hadrian also marks an important stage in the history of Roman law. Under this emperor
the annual edicts of the Praetors charged with civil jurisdiction at Rome, and presumably also the edicts of
the provincial governors, were cast into final shape by a distinguished jurist named Salvius Iulianus.
Henceforward the function of interpreting and expanding Roman law devolved mainly upon the Consilium
Principis, to which the chief jurists of the day were regularly invited for consultation on judicial matters.”
Cary (1954), p. 634.
I have not been able to confirm the existence of any body that had exactly thirty-six members or, if it did, at what
time. It seems the largest number of consuls (25) existed under Commodus’ rule about 190 CE. They may have be
joined by the consilium princeps, a council of usually five (but, perhaps, at times, more) men who advised the
consul on civic improvements and laws that affected the Empire.
11.27. This seems to be another example of exaggerated travellers’ tales – an idealistic account of an exotic foreign
civilisation. It may also be an embellished reference to the appeal process under the law afforded to Roman
citizens.
11.28. The Romans were justly famous for their magnificent glassware. The term used here is shui-ching (crystal
or clear glass). The Chinese at this period apparently did not know how to make transparent glass so rock crystal
and clear glass were often confused. Glass must be what is meant here. See also note 12.12 (30). Furthermore, the
idea that the pillars of the palaces were made of glass is not as fanciful as it first sounds:
“Fused mosaic glass of marble-like or figural patterns was employed, for instance, to adorn the surfaces of walls
and furniture. When Pliny describes the Theatre of Scaurus, built in 58 B.C. – where the second story of the stage
building was faced with glass – he is probably alluding to mosaic glass made to imitate the swirling grains of
marble (Natural History XXXV.24). Mosaic glass in bold patterns seems to have been used throughout the Empire
period to decorate walls. Figural inlays of mosaic glass also decorated walls and furnishings.
Colorful opaque inlays for opus sectile mosaic were created from pre-formed shapes fitted together. Glass
also came to be used in place of marble for tessera mosaics laid on floors, walls, and vaulted ceilings. The
advantage of glass tesserae over marble one rested primarily with their consistently glittery quality and their range
of colors, which could be produced on demand. According to Pliny, glass mosaic for walls and ceilings was
introduced at Rome in the late first century B.C. The myriad uses made of opaque and colorful glass
notwithstanding, clear glass was the most frequently admired in the world of Rome. In Pliny’s words:
. . . there is no other material nowadays that is more pliable or more adaptable, even to painting. However,
the most highly valued glass is colorless and transparent. . . (Pliny, d. CE 79, Natural History XXXVI.66).”
From: Root, et al. (1982).
“Thanks to the discovery of glass-blowing in the Syro-Palestinian region during the first century B.C., glass
vessels became commonplace throughout the empire by the first century A.D. and from time to time were
exported to places as far afield as Scandinavia and the Far East.
. . . . Augustan Rome was a rich city with a population that probably approached one million. Italy
had other large cities, too, and the demand for manufactured items, including glass, was enormous.
Glassmaking quickly became established, and blowing came into its own as the only technique that made
large-scale glass production practicable.
At the same time, glass became fashionable. Although lacking the intrinsic value of rock crystal and
precious metal, it is attractive and, while some looked down on glass because it was cheap, others admired
it. . . . The Romans’ ambivalence about glass is neatly summed up in Petronius’ Satyricon, where
Trimalchio, the quintessential parvenu, remarks to his guests at dinner, “You will excuse me for what I am
about to say: I prefer glass vessels. Certainly, they don’t smell and, if they weren’t so fragile, I would prefer
them to gold. These days, however, they are cheap.” As Timalchio observed, glass vessels do not impart a
taste or smell to substances they contain, and for this reason they were frequently used for food, perfumes,
and medicines; indeed, the physician Scribonius Largus (active about A.D. 50) insisted that certain medical

preparations should only be kept in glass containers.
Glass was used at all stages in the preparation and consumption of food. Although the very rich
would eat from gold and silver plates, many more used glass vessels for serving food, for drinking, and for
washing hands between courses. Indeed, Propertius (died ca. 2 B.C.) reported that glass services were used
instead of metal ones for drinking or dining in summer, and Seneca (died ca. A.D. 65) maintained that fruit
appears more beautiful when it is in a glass vessel. At his absurdly lavish dinner party, Trimalchio served
rare, vintage wines in glass amphorae. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, various foods and condiments, such as
garum, a popular fish sauce, were stored in glass bottles and jars. In his treatise on agriculture (written ca.
A.D. 60-65), Columella recommended using glass jars for preserving pickles. The jars should have vertical
sides, he wrote, so that the contents can be compressed. Glass containers not only preserved the flavor, but
also had the advantage (in a society with a high level of illiteracy) of allowing one to see the contents
without removing the cover.” Whitehouse (1997), pp. 79-81.
“The Sanskrit word vaiḍūra, which means lapis lazuli, beryl or cat’s-eye gem, is the origin of liu-li.
Before Buddhism spread to China, the Chinese name for lapis lazuli, a precious stone from the north-west,
was miu-lan. From the Han to the Northern dynasties miu-lan and liu-li came to be interchangeable terms
for a few kinds of precious stones. . . .
The word po-li underwent the same kind of transition [as liu-li]. The Sanskrit word sphāṭika, phalika
in Pali, meaning crystal or quartz, is related to po-li. In the early Chinese context po-li and crystal
(shui-ching) were synonyms (Chang Hung-chao 1921: 43). However, imported fake crystal enabled a few
Chinese to realize that both po-li and the so-called crystal were man-made materials. Ke Hung (AD
284-386) pointed out that the imported ‘crystal vessels’ were actually made by mixing five kinds of
minerals. He also ridiculed the ‘ignorant people’ who believed that the ‘crystal’ was a kind of natural
precious stone like jade (Pao-p’u-tsu Nei-p’ien: II, 21). Because, by the third and the fourth centuries, most
buyers did not distinguish between po-li and crystal, the two terms came to mean either rock crystal or
transparent glass.
During the period when the ancient Chinese imported po-li or liu-li they also continued to make their
own glass, probably in order to imitate jade. The Later Han scholar Wang Ch’ung describes man-made jade
thus: ‘The jade made out of melted jade-like stones is as brilliant as real jade’ (Yang Po-ta 1979: 77). The
major characteristic of Chinese glass, as analysed by P. D. Ritchie, is the high proportion of lead, and in
some samples, barium (1937). It contains much less silicon, the major element of modern glass, than does
the glass from Egypt and other ancient countries. The high lead content resulted in a lower melting point
and the greater fragility of the glass. Barium and other elements made it opaque. Wang Ch’ung made his
comments in the period when the Chinese continued to make this opaque fragile glass long after they had
seen the transparent glass vessels from foreign countries, they apparently did not understand that both their
opaque material and the transparent glass shared similar chemical components and thus belonged to the
same category of glass, at least as classified by modern glass experts. When the author of the history of the
Northern Wei records that a merchant from the Yüeh-chih taught the Chinese how to make liu-li (WS: CII,
2275), he does not consider the jade-like materials long produced in China to be liu-li.
The distinction between liu-li and po-li is not always clear outside Buddhist literature. The category
liu-li includes transparent or translucent glass, which was a treasure for the emperors and other élite. In the
legends about the Former Han Emperor Wu, liu-li was one of the treasures in his ‘Exotic Jewels Palace’,
and the screen of another palace was made of ‘white liu-li’ – which can mean either white or transparent
glass (Lu Hsün 1939: 347-9). In the Chin period, a minister, Wang Chi, who was considered extremely
generous and extravagant, entertained Emperor Wu with po-li utensils (CS: XLII, 1206). An anecdote of
Chin times records a comment on a liu-li vessel: ‘Why is this empty vessel a jewel? Because it is clear and
transparent’ (Shih-shuo-hsin-yü: XXV, 595). What the owners actually treasured was the transparency of a
glass vessel, be it called po-li, liu-li or crystal [shui-ching].
Chinese élites were not alone in yearning for the transparent material. Pliny complains that crystal
was a ‘crazy addition as a symbol of wealth and prestige’ in Rome (XXXVII 10). He says that Indian
crystal was the most preferred (XXXVII 9). When the Indians exported crystal to the Roman empire some
genuine crystal was probably also transported to China. Pliny’s time also saw a rapid development of
glass-making in the West. He says that the glass-ware of his days closely resembles rock-crystal (XXXVII
10, XXXVI, 67). A few centuries later in China, the most extravagant prince Yüan Chen in the Northern
Wei boasted of a few dozen crystal plates and bowls, glass (liu-li) vessels and red-jade cups. All of these
vessels came from the Western Region (YHC: IV, 207). These ‘crystal plates and bowls’ were very likely
transparent glass, as Ke Hung had pointed out two centuries earlier. . . .
From the Han period on the Chinese viewed both the Roman empire and India as producers of liu-li.

The official history of the Former Han described liu-li as a product of Chi-pin in the Kashmir region [sic –
refer to Appendix K](HS: XCVI, 3885). At that time liu-li still mainly denoted lapis lazuli, whose origin
was not far from Kashmir. By the time that the Later Han history identified the Roman empire as the origin
of liu-li (HS: LXXXVIII, 2917) the word liu-li had come to mean glass. Later historians followed this
tradition of viewing liu-li as of Roman origin until the Northern Wei History, when Yüeh-chih merchants,
probably citizens of the small state surviving from the Kushan empire, are credited with the introduction of
glass-making techniques.
Like China, India began to produce glass much later than Egypt and Mesopotamia, but unlike China
it produced good-quality glass very early. Very few samples from Taxila, Nalanda, Ahicchatra, Arikamedu
and other sites show traces of lead, and none of them show any barium (B. B. Lal 1952). This feature
enabled Indian workers to make transparent and clear glassware. Pliny referred to glass from India as being
of good quality (XXXVI, 66; Schoff 1912: 220). Moreover, Roman traders brought flint glass to Barygaza
(Periplus: 49). Indian workers must have been familiar with the technology of processing glass. The early
Christian era witnessed the best period of glass production in ancient Indian history (Dikshit 1969: 25).
However, Indian workers in the Kushan period do not seem to have been familiar with glass-blowing
techniques. Most glass vessels found in Taxila were foreign imports, the local products being limited to
moulded objects such as seals and beads (Dikshit 1969: 81ff.) Glass tiles in Taxila reveal that Indians were
skilful at moulding large pieces of glass (B. B. Lal 1952: 22).” Liu (1988), pp. 58-62. See also: Stern
(1991), pp. 113-124.
“Among the products of Nature, the most expensive... on the earth’s surface, it is rock-crystal...” Pliny NH
(a), p. 377 (bk. XXXVII, chap. 204).
11.29. 澤散 Zesan [Tse-san] – Azania in East Africa. See note 15.1.
11.30. 驢分 Lüfen [Lü-fen] = Al Wajh on the east coast of the Red Sea? See note 16.1.
11.31. 且蘭 Qielan [Ch’ieh-lan] = Wadi Sirhan. See note 17.1.
11.32. 賢督 Xiandu [Hsien-tu] = Leuke Kome. See note 18.1.
11.33. The king of Sifu 汜復 [Szu-fu] = Petra. See note 19.1.
11.34. The king of Yuluo 于籮 [Yü-lo] = Karak. See note 20.1.
Section 12 – Products of Da Qin (Roman territory)
12.1. Fine linen – xichi 細絺 [hsi ch’ih] – fine linen. The term can refer to any ‘linen’ but in China usually referred
to dolichos or hemp cloth. Here, in the Roman context, though, it undoubtedly referred to linen from flax – a major
product of the Empire.
“Egypt, which had long been a big supplier of wheat, linen, and building stones, and the sole provider of
papyrus and mosaic glass, now became [under the Julian-Claudian emperors, AD 14-68] the great entrepôt
for Rome’s African and Asian trade. This hinged upon Alexandria, a city of about 500,000 inhabitants [the
second largest in the Roman Empire], and a great processing as well as a great trading centre. Its linen
industry made special cloths for the Asian trade, and its weavers also worked on Indian cottons and Chinese
silks.” Simkin (1968), p. 38.
“Chinese silk, moreover, is mentioned only twice [in Diocletian’s famous Edict of 301 CE]; white silk at
12,000 denarii a pound, against 1,200 for the best linen yarn. . . . ” Simkin (1968), p. 47.
“The ancient world’s writing paper was either papyrus or parchment; papyrus was cheaper, practically all
of it came [during the time of the Ptolemies] from Egypt, and its manufacture and sale belonged to the
crown. So too did the textile industry, which, using native flax, produced for export not only fine fabrics
but very likely much of the linen that went into sailcloth.” Casson (1959), p. 159.
“Originally a pleated robe was the mark of haute couture. Then the robe with a spotted pattern became
démodé. Fenestella writes that the togas of Phyrgian wool with a smooth surface began to be in vogue in

the last years of the late Emperor Augustus. Togas closely woven with poppy fibres go back further, and
are already alluded to by the poet Lucilius in the case of Torquatus. The toga with a purple border had its
origin in Etruria. I understand that kings used robes of state. Embroidered robes were already in existence
in Homer’s time and are the origin of those worn at triumphs.” Pliny the Elder (1991), pp. 125-126 (NH
VIII.195).
12.2. The Roman exchange rate in the 3 rd century Weilue of gold to silver at 1 : 10 is very close to the 1 : 11 ratio
of Pliny’s time (c. 77 CE):
“Pliny, a well-informed adviser of Vespasian (A.D. 69-79), reckoned that each year Indian trade drained
Rome of 12,500,000 denarii and that the Arabian and Chinese trade together of at least another 12,500,000
denarii. The denarius was a silver coin – perhaps it was helpful that Rome preferred silver to gold while
India had the opposite preference – and in Pliny’s day had a content of 3.1-3.3 grams. The aureus had a
gold content of 7.3 grams so that, as an aureus was worth 25 denarii [and, therefore, Rome was exporting
the equivalent of 7,300 kg of gold each year], the two metals had an exchange ratio of 1 :11. . . .
By modern standards this is not a large drain for a great empire, but it was substantial for the Ancient
World as a few comparisons may indicate. It has been estimated that, between 200 and 150 B.C., the
Roman Republic obtained 261,000,000 denarii as booty or indemnities from the Mediterranean conquests,
Gaul, Asia, and Spain’s gold mines, the chief western source. This works out at 50,000,000 denarii a year,
twice Pliny’s estimate of the annual loss to Asia. The Emperor Tiberius, moreover, a frugal man, left his
successor only 750,000 denarii. In China, the usurping Emperor Wang Mang, by A.D. 23, had accumulated
a gold treasure of 156,200 kilograms and so equivalent to 540,000,000 denarii, or about twenty-two times
Pliny’s estimate.
The crucial question, of course, is the relation of Rome’s gold drain to its Asian imports. Rostovtzeff
held that ‘the goods of the east were paid for, without doubt, partly with silver and gold coins, as Pliny
says, but mostly by goods produced in the empire, especially in Alexandria’. No evidence is adduced for
this view but it is, perhaps, supported by the apparent success Vespasian had in halting the outflow of coins
to India. Although, too, the Periplus refers to ‘a great quantity of coin’ being sent to South India, and a
profitable exchange for gold and silver at Barygaza, it does not mention significant exports of coin to other
ports of the Erythraean Sea and lists many exports from Rome or Egypt. . . . ” Simkin (1968), pp. 45-46.
“It was later decided to strike denarii at 40 to the pound of gold and the emperors gradually reduced the
weight of the gold denarius; most recently Nero devalued it to 45 denarii to the pound.” Pliny NH (a), p.
293 (bk. XXXII, chap. 47).
To follow these quotes it should be pointed out that 25 silver denarii equalled one gold denarius. Also, one Roman
pound equalled 327.25 grams.
Thus, from the latter quote of Pliny’s it can be calculated that the Roman gold to silver standard had been 10
: 1 and was gradually reduced. By the time of Nero it was about 1 : 11. However, it may have been raised again
after Nero’s time. According to Prasad (1977), p. 174:
“in Plato’s and Xenophon’s time and more than 100 years after the death of Alexander 10 : 1.” This,
apparently, continued for some time, probably into the period covered by the Weilue: “The relative value of
silver and gold was 10 : 1 which continued for a long time. It was an international relative value. Ancient
India by establishing the Mana standard of exchange currency internationalised the relative value at 10 : 1.”
For the trade of Roman coins to India see also: Lebedeva (1988); Sherkova (1990); Nagaswami (1995), pp. 21-27;
Ray (2003), esp. pp. 181, 210-213.
12.3. ‘Sea wool’ or ‘silk’. There are two early references to shuiyang 水羊 – literally, ‘water-sheep,’ in Chinese
literature that have caused considerable confusion for many years. It appears that it referred to the very rare byssus
or thread like filaments produced by the large Pinna nobilis shell found in the Mediterranean. These shells
produced an extremely fine, yet strong and beautiful silky fibre. Refer to Appendix D.
12.4. ye jiansi 野繭絲 – “silk from wild cocoons.” For a full description of the use of wild silks in the Roman
Empire, refer to Appendix E.
12.5. Haidong – ‘East of the Sea’ = Persis, and other lands to the east of the Persian Gulf. Refer to Appendix B.

12.6. The Chinese terms for the silks in this passage are: 絲 szu – silk thread; a general word for silks; and 綾 ling
– damask or twilled silk = Sogdian parang (pr’ynk, pryng) – Kageyama (2003). See note 12.12 (46).
“It has been supposed that the Greeks learned of silk through Alexander’s expedition, but it probably
reached them previously through Persia. Aristotle (Hist. Anim., V, xix, 11) [4 th century BCE] gives a
reasonably correct account: “It is a great worm which has horns and so differs from others. At its first
metamorphosis it produces a caterpillar, then a bombylius, and lastly a chrysalis – all these changes taking
place within six months. From this animal women separate and reel off the cocoons and afterwards spin
them. It is said that this was first spun in the island of Cos by Pamphile, daughter of Plates.” This indicates
a steady importation of raw silk on bobbins before Aristotle’s time. The fabric he mentions was the famous
Cos vestis, or transparent gauze (woven also at Tyre and elsewhere in Syria), which came into favour in the
time of Cæsar and Augustus. Pliny mentions Pamphile of Cos, “who discovered the art of unwinding the
silk” (from the bobbins, not from the cocoons) “and spinning a tissue therefrom; indeed, she ought not to be
deprived of the glory of having discovered the art of making garments which, while they cover a woman, at
the same time reveal her naked charms.” (XI, 26). He refers to the same fabric again in VI, 20, “the Seres,
so famous for the wool [= silk floss. See: Casson (1989), pp. 238-239] that is found in their forests. After
steeping it in water, they comb off a soft down that adheres to the leaves; and then to the females of our part
of the world they give the twofold task of unravelling their textures, and of weaving the threads afresh. So
manifold is the labor, and so distant are the regions which are thus ransacked to supply a dress through
which our ladies may in public display their charms.” Compare Lucan, Pharsalia, X, 141, who describes
Cleopatra, “her white breasts resplendent through the Sidonian fabric, which, wrought in close texture by
the skill of the Seres, the needle of the workman of the Nile has separated, and has loosened the warp by
stretching out the web.”
Silk fabrics of this kind were much affected by men also during the reign of Augustus, but this
fashion was considered effeminate, and early in the reign of Tiberius the Roman Senate enacted a law “that
men should not defile themselves by wearing garments of silk.” (Tacitus, Annals, II, 33) the cost was
enormously high; from an account of the Emperor Aurelian we learn that silk was worth its weight in gold,
and that he neither used it himself nor allowed his wife to possess a garment of it, thereby setting an
example against the luxurious tastes that were draining the empire of its resources.” Schoff (1912), pp.
264-265.
It seems that quite early in the silk trade from China to the Mediterranean, the silks were taken to Sidon and Tyre
to be dyed and a method was found to reweave the thick Chinese cloths into transparent gauzes. It is of great
interest to find descriptions of this process corroborated in both the Roman and the Chinese sources. These dyed
silk gauzes soon became fashionable.
Ma Duanlin [Ma Tuan-lin] in his Wenxiantongkao [Wên-hsien-t’ung-k’ao], ch. 330 has a rather similar
passage to the one in the Weilue but gives more details:
“They [people from Ta Ch’in] make all kinds of rugs [Chü-sou, T’a-têng, Chi-chang, etc.]; their colours are
still more brilliant than are those manufactured in the countries on the east of the sea. They always made
profit by obtaining the thick plain silk stuffs of China, which they split in order to make foreign ling kan
wên [lingganwen 綾绀紋 = ‘purple patterned damask’], and they entertained a lively trade with the foreign
states of An-hsi [Parthia] by sea.” Ma Duanlin [Ma Tuan-lin], quoted in: Hirth (1885), pp. 80-81.
Procopius, writing about 500 CE said:
“The manufacture of silken garments had for many generations been a staple industry of Beirut and Tyre,
two cities of Phoenicia. The merchants who handled these and the skilled and semi-skilled workmen who
produced them had lived there from time immemorial, and their wares were carried from there into every
land.” Williamson (1966), pp. 115-116.
“In Parthian times, some of the high officials of both Palestinian and Babylonian Jewry participated in the
international silk trade. The Babylonians included Ḥiyya the Elder, Abba the father of Samuel, Judah b.
Bathyra of Nisibis, and others; the first named was probably related to, and a Palestinian representative of,
the Babylonian exilarch (see below). Among the Palestinians was R. Simeon the son of R. Judah.
Babylonia was the western entrepôt of silk from China; the thread was woven and manufactured into
clothing for the Roman market in Palestine and Syria. Jews, represented on both sides of the frontier, were
in a favourable position to profit from the trade. So, in particular, were the representatives of the Jewish

administrations established by the respective imperial régimes. Since the silk trade was closely supervised
by the Parthian government, it stands to reason that the Jewish participants were encouraged by the
government, which found them an efficient means of carrying on the international exchange.” Neusner
(1983), pp. 912-913.
“The Chinese trade differed from the Indian trade mainly in that the bulk of its material consisted in silk
textures which, before they were thrown on the Roman market, had to undergo the process of dyeing,
chiefly purple dyeing, at Tyre or Sidon, or that of being woven (rewoven?) at Berytus or Tyre. The next
route from the Red Sea to the manufacturing towns of the Phœnician coast, however, did not lead through
Egypt, but through the country of the Nabataeans.” Hirth (1885), pp. 158-159.
“Towards the other extremity of the line of commerce, at Palmyra, some woolen cloths and Chinese silks
found in tombs and having, perhaps, served as shrouds, present similarities of style and technique with
fragments of material from Lou-lan, in the eastern region of Lop-nor, likewise found by Aurel Stein. An
exchange of professional knowledge had been able to take place between the two races of weavers. Fabrics
of monochrome silk with a damask weave have been found at Palmyra which Mr. Pfister calls the Han
weave. It produces a thick material, as it has two faces; on one side it shows the pattern of damask; on the
other it has the appearance of a taffeta, which serves to stiffen it (the specialists pronounce taffeta or linen
cloth the simplest fabric to weave, the warp and the weft are mixed together like in darning; this is the most
rudimentary technique). The combination of these two weaves into one represents quite an advanced art of
weaving, which is attributed to the Chinese. These materials, damasked according to the Han weave, had a
scintillating appearance. The Parthian standards of the battle of Carrhae [53 B.C.], to which history has
definitely attributed a heavy responsibility, were probably made of Chinese damask.
It was the taste for light weaves which caused the abandonment of these heavy silks, even though in
the 2 nd and 3 rd centuries Chinese silk had become abundant. A Palmyrene material has been found from
the 2 nd century – it has a woolen weft dyed with cochineal, an expensive dye (yet less than the
prohibitively priced purple) on a weft of Chinese silk, almost invisible, dyed with madder, which colours
cheaply. The silk served only as a base like the coarse canvas of a beautiful tapestry, and it was the damask
wool that was shown.” Translated from: Boulnois (1992), pp. 147-148.
“A piece of crimson damask with a rhombic design was recovered from one of the 2 nd century B.C. tombs
excavated at Mawangtui, Changsha, Hunan Province: A Damask is a monochrome fabric made by the use
of the drawloom. The background is woven by plain weave, while the decorative patterns appear as twill
weave with warp threads three up and one down. . . . ” Anonymous, 1976: note 56.
“Similarly, the use of other prohibited textiles [for the Buddhist clergy] such as silk obtained from
the silk-worm (koseyya) is also associated with the Chhabbagiyas [“or ‘Group of Six,’ who were prone to
the emulation of an elite lifestyle”], as is the use of silk-mixed woollen rugs and wrappers. The Buddha is
shown as reluctantly accepting gifts of expensive silk and woollen shawls imported from the Sibi country in
the north-west (Vinaya Piṭaka I: 281). This association of expensive and fine textiles with elite status is
evident in descriptions of the nāgaraka or urban elite in Sanskrit literature. The Mandasor inscription refers
to women wearing two garments of silk on special occasions, while Kalidasa describes weddings where
both the bride and the groom were attired in expensive fabrics termed dukūla and identified as silk
(Kumārasambhava VII: 7, 26, 73; Raghuvaṁśa VII: 18, 19).” Ray (2003), p. 221.
“Another use of textiles was as a medium of exchange. The Kharoshthi inscriptions from Central
Asia dated to around the fourth century indicate that silk was used as a payment in transactions, and even
render the price of a woman as equivalent to forty-one bolts of silk (Burrow 1940: 27,95). Similarly, there
is mention of Buddhist monasteries fining monks in silk.” Ray (2003), p. 227.
12.7. These “nine-coloured jewels” are almost certainly fluorite (calcium fluoride - also known as fluorspar). It not
only comes in more colour varieties than any gem other than quartz, but it also exhibits fluorescence,
phosphorescence and thermoluminescence.
The reference to them being of “inferior” or “second-rate” quality stems, I would imagine from the fact that
fluorite is relatively soft and is easy to scratch or damage (unlike jade).
Interestingly, the colours attributed to it in our text (blue, carnation red, yellow, white, black, green, purple,

ed, dark blue) closely approximate the following modern description (which also lists nine distinct colours):
“Fluorite is a mineral with a veritable bouquet of colors. Fluorite is well known and prized for its glassy
lustre and rich varieties of colors. The range of common colors for fluorite starting from the hallmark color
purple, then blue, green, yellow, colorless, brown, pink, black and reddish orange is amazing and only
rivaled in color range by quartz. Intermediate pastels between the previously mentioned colors are also
possible. It is easy to see why fluorite earns the reputation as “The Most Colorful Mineral in the World”. . .
.
Most specimens of fluorite have a single color, but a significant percentage of fluorites have multiple
colors and the colors are arranged in bands or zones that correspond to the shapes of the fluorite’s crystals.
In other words, the typical habit of fluorite is a cube and the color zones are often in a cubic arrangement.
The effect is similar to phantomed crystals that appear to have crystals within crystals that are of differing
colors. A fluorite crystal could have a clear outer zone allowing a cube of purple fluorite to be seen inside.
Sometimes the less common habits such as a colored octahedron are seen inside of a colorless cube. One
crystal of fluorite could potentially have four or five different color zones or bands.
To top it all off, fluorite is frequently fluorescent and, like its normal light colors, its fluorescent
colors are extremely variable. Typically it fluoresces blue but other fluorescent colors include yellow,
green, red, white and purple. Some specimens have the added effect of simultaneously having a different
color under longwave UV light from its color under shortwave UV light. And some will even demonstrate
phosphorescence in a third color! . . . .
Another unique luminescent property of fluorite is thermoluminescence. Thermoluminescence is the
ability to glow when heated. Not all fluorites do this, in fact it is quite a rare phenomenon. A variety of
fluorite known as “chlorophane” can demonstrate this property very well and will even thermoluminesce
while the specimen is being held in a person’s hand activated by the person’s own body heat (of course in a
dark room, as it is not bright enough to be seen in daylight). The thermoluminescence is green to blue-green
and can be produced on the coils of a heater or electric stove top. Once seen, the glow will fade away and
can no longer be seen in the same specimen again.” Amethyst Galleries Inc. (2000).
Fluorite was considered a luxury item in the Roman Empire as this account from Pliny makes clear:
“That same victory [over Mithradates IV of Pontus, in eastern Anatolia in 63 BCE] first brought myrrhine
ware to Rome. Pompey was the first to dedicate fluorspar bowls and cups from his triumph to Capitoline
Jupiter. Vessels of fluorspar immediately passed into everyday use, and even display stands and tableware
were eagerly sought. This kind of extravagance increases daily. An ex-consul drank from a fluorspar cup
for which he had paid 70,000 sesterces, although it only held 3 pints. He was so enamoured of it that he
used to chew the rim. Yet this damage increased its value, and no item of fluorspar today bears a higher
price-tag on it. . . .
When the ex-consul Titus Petronius was at the point of death, he broke a fluorspar ladle for which he
had paid 300,000 sesterces, thus depriving the emperor’s dining-room table of this legacy. Nero, however,
as was fitting for an emperor, outdid everyone by paying a million sesterces for a single bowl. That a
commander-in-chief and Father of his Country paid so much to drink is a matter worthy of record.
The East exports fluorspar vessels. There the mineral is found in many otherwise unremarkable
places, especially in the kingdom of Parthia. The best specimens of fluorspar, however, occur in Carmania.
The actual mineral is thought to be a liquid that is solidified underground by heat. Pieces of fluorspar are
never larger than a small display stand, and usually seldom even the size of the drinking vessels to which I
have alluded. They shine, but not intensely – indeed, they can more accurately be said to glisten. Their
value lies in their variegated colours. As the veins swirl round they vary repeatedly from purple to white to
a mixture of the two, the purple becoming fiery, and the milk-white, red, as though the new colour was
passing through the vein.
Some people reserve special admiration for pieces whose edges reflect colours as we see them in the
inner part of a rainbow. The smell of fluorspar is also one of its attractions.” Pliny NH, XXXVII, 18, 20-21;
(1991), pp. 366-367.
12.8. This probably refers to a mountain near the important oasis of Hami (I-wu 伊吾 – modern Kumul).
Alternatively, it could possibly be a reference to the Yiwulu [I-wu-lü] Mountains to the west of Shenyang
(Mukden) in Manchuria (modern Liaoning Province), where an unusual stone, called xunyuqi [sün-yü-k’i or
hsün-yü-ch’i], which was classed as a type of jade is found. A piece of it was obtained by Da Cheng [Ta-Ch’êng],
an Imperial Commissioner when he passed through the region circa 1884, who said:

“I obtained a piece of jade produced in the I-wu-lü mountains. It was cut and polished into the shape of a
girdle pendant, in size not exceeding an inch. I confess I have not yet seen such big ones. The common
name is ‘stone of Kin chou.’ It is not very expensive or esteemed. The jade substance in the ring under
consideration is similar to the Kin chou stone. There are especially differences between the old and the
modern ones: if it has lain underground for a long time, the color receives a moist gloss and reflects under
the light. Truly it is an unusual kind of jade.” Laufer (1912), p. 109.
12.9. Chapter 118 of the Hou Hanshu provides interesting details of Chen Pan’s career:
“During the Yuanchu period [114-120 CE] in the reign of Emperor An, An Guo, the king of Shule
(Kashgar), exiled his maternal uncle Chen Pan to the Yuezhi (Kushans) for some offence. The king of the
Yuezhi became very fond of him. Later, An Guo died without leaving a son. His mother directed the
government of the kingdom. She agreed with the people of the country to put Yi Fu (literally, ‘Posthumous
Child’), who was the son of a younger brother of Chen Pan, and born of the same mother as him, on the
throne as king of Shule (Kashgar). Chen Pan heard of this and appealed to the Yuezhi (Kushan) king,
saying:
“An Guo had no son. The men of his mother’s family are young and weak. I am Yi Fu’s paternal
uncle; it is I who should be king.”
The Yuezhi (Kushans) then sent soldiers to escort him back to Shule (Kashgar). The people had previously
respected and been fond of Chen Pan. Besides, they dreaded the Yuezhi (Kushans). They immediately took
the seal and ribbon from Yi Fu and went to Chen Pan, and made him king.” See CWR Section 21.
In the section on the Kingdom of Jumi or Keriya the Hou Hanshu (CWR Section 3) adds:
“In the first Yangjia year [132 CE], Xu You sent the king of Shule (Kashgar), Chen Pan, who with 20,000
men, attacked and defeated Yutian (Khotan). He beheaded several hundred people, and released his soldiers
to plunder freely. He replaced the king [of Jumi] by installing Cheng Guo from the family of [the previous
king] Xing, and then he returned.”
These accounts involving the Kashgari prince, Chen Pan, being held hostage by the Kushan king (who “became
very fond of him”) almost certainly form the basis of the story that Xuan Zang, the famous Chinese pilgrim monk,
heard when he was travelling through the Punjab in 633 CE. Of interest is the fact that the Kushan king, who
remains unnamed in the Hou Hanshu, is named as Kanishka in Xuan Zang’s account:
“When Kanishka was reigning the fear of his name spread to many regions so far even as to the outlying
vassals of China to the west of the Yellow River. One of these vassal states being in fear sent a hostage to
the court of king Kanishka, (the hostage being apparently a son of the ruler of the state). The king treated
the hostage with great kindness and consideration, allowing him a separate residence for each of the three
seasons and providing him with a guard of the four kinds of soldiers. This district was assigned as the
winter residence of the hostage and hence it was called Chinabhukti. The pilgrim proceeds to relate how
Peaches and Pears were unknown in this district and the parts of India beyond until they were introduced by
the “China hostage.” Hence, he tells us, peaches were called “Chināni” and pears were called
“China-rājaputra.” Watters (1904-1905); reprint 1973, I, pp. 292-293 and p. 194. See also: Beal (1884), pp.
56-58; Wriggins (1996), pp. 48, 229, n. 22.
If the recent dating of the beginning of Kanishka’s era in 127 CE – see Falk (2001) – is accepted, it becomes
necessary to explain the traditional association of Kanishka with Chen Pan – as the text says that he was sent as a
hostage to the Kushan king “during the Yuanchu period [114-120 CE] in the reign of Emperor An.” [Note: a
number of writers have repeated the mistake (made first, I believe, by Sten Konow in his work of 1929) of
claiming that the Yuanchu period ran from 114-116. In fact, the Yuanchu period ran 114 to 120 CE – see Tung
(1960)].
The involvement of Kanishka several years before the beginning of his era, could be explained in any of
several ways: Chen Pan could have been sent to the Kushans while Kanishka was still a prince; Kanishka could
have ruled jointly for a period with his father, Wima Kadphises; or Kanishka might have been ruling for some time
before 127 CE. It is, in fact, likely that the inauguration of this new era celebrated Kanishka’s conquests in
northeastern India, rather than the beginning of his reign, as is usually assumed.
In addition, the first character of Chen Pan 臣槃 was possibly not intended to represent a part of the king’s

name but was, rather, a title that meant something like a ‘subject,’ ‘vassal,’ or ‘minister.’ See Williams, p. 44, also
GR No. 649.
12.10. jingshi 青石 [ching shih] is not specific. The term often referred to lapis-lazuli, but could have been any
other blue or green stone. As it came from Haixi (Egypt), and was presumably considered rare and valuable, it
could have been emerald or peridot from the Egyptian mines. It is impossible to decide definitively. GR No. 2136,
lists under ching shih: Chlorothionite; granite; freestone; diorite; and ultramarine and lapis lazuli. See also: Pelliot
(1959), pp. 58-61; Williams (1909), p. 158; Schafer (1963), pp. 230-234 and nn.
Hirth (1875), p. 72, translates this phrase: 疏勒王臣磐獻海西靑石金帶口各一 as: “… the king and minister
of Su-lê presented to the court each a golden girdle beset with blue stones from Hai-hsi. . . .”.
geyi 各一, the last two words in the phrase, mean “one of each,” so that the gift from the Chen Pan was not
“a golden girdle beset with blue stones” but, rather, “a blue (or green) gem and a golden girdle.” See GR 5909, p.
685.
This king, Chen Pan 臣磐, was surely the same Chen Pan 臣磐 mentioned in the Hou Hanshu who was
made a hostage of the Yuezhi during the Yuanchu period [114-120 CE], and was later placed on the throne of
Kashgar by the king of the Yuezhi.
In 132 CE, Chen Pan defeated Khotan and: “In the second Yangjia year [133 CE], Chen Pan again made
offerings (including) a lion and zebu cattle.”
Chen Pan seems to have had a very long reign because the next paragraph from the Hou Hanshu tells us:
“Then, during Emperor Ling’s reign, in the first Jianning year [168 CE], the king of Shule (Kashgar) and
Commandant-in-Chief for the Han (= Chen Pan?), was shot while hunting by the youngest of his paternal uncles,
He De. He De named himself king. (see TWR Sections 3 and 21).
12.11. 卽次玉石也. This could be read literally as either: ‘approaching the quality of jade’ or, possibly,
‘approaching second-class jade.’
“Chinese sources refer to the production of jade in the prefecture of Kue-lin, Kuang-si Province (G.
DEVÉRIA, Histoire des Relations de la Chine avec l’Annam, p. 95, Paris, 1880). But this remains
somewhat doubtful, as the designation in this case is yü shih, “jade-stone” (instead of yü) which may refer
and usually refers to only jade-like stones.” Laufer (1912), p. 25.
12.12. Roman Product List
12.12 (1) gold – 金 jin.
“I must not pass over the fact that gold, with which all mankind is madly obsessed, is scarcely tenth in the
list of valuable commodities, while silver, with which gold is bought, is almost twentieth.” Ibid. p. 377 (bk.
XXXVII, chap. 204).
“According to some sources, Asturia, Gallaecia and Lusitania produce 20,000 pounds of gold in a year;
Asturia supplies the largest amount. Spain has long been the main gold-producing area in the world.” Pliny
NH (a), p. 299 (bk. XXXIII, chap. 78).
“All gold contains a varying proportion of silver – some a tenth, some an eighth. In one mine only –
Albucrara in Gallaecia – the proportion of silver found is a thirty-sixth, which makes this gold more
valuable than the rest. Where the proportion of silver is at least one-fifth, the ore is called electrum; grains
of this are found in ‘channelled’ gold. An artificial electrum alloy is also made by adding silver to gold. If
the proportion of silver exceeds one-fifth, the electrum offers no resistance to the anvil.” Ibid. pp. 299-300
(bk. XXXIII, chap. 80).
“If we wish to speak of an area where Roman coins had no currency this is the territory east of
Mesopotamia. There are not sufficient grounds, therefore, to suppose (as Lebedeva does, p. 52) that Roman
coins penetrated the Afghano-Pakistan area along caravan routes and not across the sea. This suggestion
used to be made, it is true, concerning the Central Asian finds of Roman coins. However, Zeimal links them
to the “steppe” section of the continental trade route and not with the main route that ran across the Iranian
plateau from Egypt and the Near East.
A different solution may be offered concerning the Indian finds as a whole, and not just those of
coins: that Roman coins penetrated India through the ancient ports of Barigaza and Barbarikon. Here the
author of the Periplus made a very relevant comment. Gold and silver coins were imported into Barigaza,

he said, because it was profitable to exchange them for local coinage. This remark is also interesting in
terms of the economic bases of Egypto-Roman trade with India through this port. In any case, this passage
alone provides quite direct testimony of the monetary basis of Roman trade with India. . . . ” Sherkova
(1990), pp. 108-109.
For an interesting account of the role played in international trade at the time between China, Rome, and other
countries, see Dubs (1958), Appendix II, “Wang Mang’s Economic Reforms,” especially pp. 506-516.
12.12 (2) silver – 銀 yin. Silver has always been in rather short supply in most of China requiring imports from the
south (modern Yunnan) or overseas.
“But the eight provinces mentioned above combined cannot produce half as much silver as Yunnan. The
mining and refining of this metal, therefore, can be carried on continuously only in the latter province.”
Sung (1637), p. 238.
12.12 (3) copper – 銅 tong.
“In China there was a customary ratio between gold and [copper] cash (10,000 cash to 1 catty of gold, 130
to 1).” Dubs (1958), p. 515. [Note: One Han “catty” or jin 斤 equalled 244 grams or 7.85 troy ounces.]
“According to the Shan-hai ching [Geographic Classic] there were 437 copper producing mountains
in China. This is an estimate probably based on fact. Among the present sources of supply in China,
Szechuan and Kweichow are foremost in the west while in the southeast there are imports from overseas.
There are, in addition, many copper mines at Wuchang in Hukuang and Kuang-hsin in Kiangsi.” Sung
(1637), p. 242.
For the nationalisation of copper production and its use in currency see Dubs (1958), pp. 526-527.
“Gold, silver and copper were the main metals traded and exchanged in antiquity both as currency and as
bullion. Though sources of copper, lead and some tin are available in the subcontinent, the Periplus refers
to the import of copper, tin and lead to Kane (section 28), Barygaza (section 49) and Muziris (section 56).”
Ray (2003), p. 233.
12.12 (4) iron – 鐵 tie. Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) makes a brief reference (Natural History, bk. XXXIV, chap.
144) to the production of iron with a high carbon content (nucleus ferri, or steel) to provide hard edges for blades.
In the next section (145) he pointed out that the Chinese (‘Seres’ – who may have been the Central Asiatic tribes in
contact with the Chinese) produced the best iron and that it was imported into the Roman Empire:
“There is also a great difference in the way furnaces are used: by one special process the iron is smelted to
give hardness to a blade; by another, to give solidity to anvils and hammer-heads. But the chief difference
is the water into which the red-hot metal is at intervals plunged. . . .
Of all the various kinds of iron Chinese takes first prize: it is exported to us along with fabrics and
skins. The second prize goes to Parthia. These are the only kinds of iron forged from pure metal, all others
being alloyed with a softer metal. . . . ” Pliny NH (a), p. 320 (bk. XXXIV, chaps. 144-145).
12.12 (5) lead – 鉛 qian. China possessed good supplies of lead and had no need to import any:
“There are more lead-producing mines than there are copper or tin. . . . The price of lead is low, yet it
is an amazingly versatile metal.” Sung (1637), p. 252.
“Lead offers what at first sight seems to be a problem. The Periplus’s lists of objects of trade reveal
that the sole market for Western lead was India: shippers delivered it to Barygaza (49:16.21) on the
northwest coast and to Muziris/Nelkynda on the southwest (56:18.19). Conformably, Pliny states
categorically (34.163) that India has no lead. This is not so: she has ample deposits of it; as an authority
cited by Watt (iv 602) puts it, “there is probably no metal of which the ores have been worked to so large an
extent in ancient times, excepting those of iron.” But there is a plausible explanation why Pliny thought
otherwise and why we find India importing lead: the commonest lead-bearing ore there is galena, and, as
Watt suggests, it may well have been worked solely for the silver it contained.” Casson (1989), p. 28. See
note 12.12 (6) for the recent discovery of ancient Muziris, just south of the mouth of the Periyar river

mouth in Kerala State, southwestern India.
“Lead. – Pliny ( XXXIV, 47-50 ) distinguishes between black lead and white lead; the former being
our lead, the latter tin. . . . White lead he says came from Lusitania and Galicia, doubting its
reported origin in “islands of the Atlantic,” and its transportation in “boats made of osiers, covered
with hides.”
Black lead, he says, came from Cantabria in Spain, and his description suggests galena, or sulphide
of lead and silver. It came also from Britain and Lusitania – where the Santarensian mine was farmed at an
annual rental of 250,000 denarii.
Lead was used in the form of pipes and sheets, and had many medicinal uses, being used in calcined
form, made into tablets in the same way as antimony…, or mixed with grease and wine. It was used as an
astringent and repressive, and for cicatrization; in the treatment of ulcers, burns, etc., and in eye
preparations; while thin plates of lead worn next to the body were supposed to have a cooling and
beneficial effect.
As an import at Barygaza lead was required largely for the coinage of the Saka dominions.” Schoff
(1912), p. 190.
12.12 (6) tin – 錫 xi. Tin has always been in high demand for making bronze and is far less common (and
therefore expensive) than the other ingredient, copper.
“Tin is produced in many places in southeastern China, but in very few in the northeastern parts of
the country. Tin is called ho in ancient books, because it was produced most abundantly in Lin-ho
Commandery [in modern Kwang-si], Eight-tenth’s of today’s tin supply comes from Nan-tan and Ho-ch’ih
in Kwangsi, followed by Heng-chou and Yung-chou [both in Hunan]; large quantities are also produced in
Ta-li and Ch’u-hsiung [in Yunnan], but these places are too remote and not easily accessible.” Sung (1637),
p. 251
Recent research shows that tin was being exported long distances at a very early date. The following abstract from
the 33 rd International Symposium on Archaeometry, 22-26 April 2002 Amsterdam. The evidence shows that tin
from East Africa was being brought to the Mediterranean by about 1000 BCE.
“163 Central Africa as a Source of Phoenician Tin
John E. Dayton
University College London, The Institute of Archaeology, 78 Dean Street, London W 1V 6BE, UK
Recent lead isotope analyses of tin ingots found in Haifa in 1982 have thrown new light on possible sources
of Bronze Age tin. The writer analysed Central African leads in 1971, 1978 and 1986, and found that they
had a very young and unmistakable signal. The analyses of Begernanli show that some of the Haifa tin
came from the extensive tin fields of Central Africa. These are not from mythical locations with ppm’s of
tin but from areas with large tin mines exist producing thousands of tons a year.
The ancient Egyptians made voyages from about: 2500 BC to “The Land of Punt” whose location has
been the subject of much speculation. Tin bronzes are late in appearing in Egypt, with the arrival of foreign
rulers known as the Hyksos c. 1650 BC (In the writer’s opinion the true bronzes of Ur dated c. 2400 BC are
an anachronism).
Now we have firm evidence of the Phoenicians, great sea-faring traders obtaining tin from Uganda at
about 1000 BC. The mineral deposits of Central Africa and other load isotopes analyses will be discussed.
showing that long distance trade in metals existed from early in the 2nd millennium B.C. More lead
isotopes analyses are needed to clear up this mystery, and the route to Punt.” [Downloaded from:
http://www.geo.vu.nl/archaeometry/abstracts/metaltopic.pdf on 9/12/03. Some minor typing errors have been corrected]
It would seem likely that this trade would have been continued into Roman times, although we have no direct proof
of it yet.
“Tin presents a somewhat similar problem [to lead, in that it was imported into India], but in this case
there is no ready explanation. Tin was a commodity much in demand in ancient times for, alloyed with
copper, it forms bronze. Western tin found a market in Avalitês (7:3.18) and the “far-side” ports

(presumably included under the term “the aforementioned” in 8:3.26-27 and the passages noted above), in
Kanê (28:9.15), and in two places in India, Barygaza (49:16.21) and Muziris/Nelkynda (56:18.19). It so
happens that just across the Bay of Bengal, there are rich deposits in Burma, Thailand, and Malay (Watt vi
4 57-60), some of which recent archaeological discoveries indicate were exploited in very early times. 36
The Periplus makes it clear that India had trade contacts with these places (see under 63:21.1), and perhaps
she did fill part of her requirements from them; if so, one wonders why she did not fill all her needs from so
convenient a source.”
36. See R. Smith and W. Watson eds., Early South East Asia (New York, 1979), 25, where D. Bayard affirms that
current evidence supports a date prior to 2000 B. C. for the first appearance of bronze in mainland Southeast Asia, and
37-38, where I. Selikhanov argues not only for the use of local tin but for its exportation to the Near East. On India’s
scanty tin resources, cf. J. Muhly in AJA 89 (1985): 283.
Casson (1989), p. 28.
Tin was imported from the West into India, as the Periplus mentions it was imported to Barygaza and
Muziris/Nelkynda, ports on the western coast of India (see news item about the rediscovery of Muziris below).
This was probably because it was cheaper to import it from the West rather than ship it from Southeast Asia, land it
on the east coast of India and then transport it overland, or ship it all the way around Sri Lanka. Alternatively,
political problems at the time might have interrupted the supplies of tin from the East.
“Tin. – Hebrew, bedil; Greek, kassiteros; Sanscrit, kasthira; Latin, stannum. This metal, the product of
Gallicia and Cornwall, was utilized industrially at a comparatively late period, having been introduced after gold,
silver, copper, lead, and mercury. It made its appearance in the Mediterranean world soon after the migration of the
Phœnicians to Syria. The Phœnician traders may have found it first on the Black Sea coast, coming overland from
tribe to tribe; and finally that of Cornwall. The value of tin in hardening copper was soon understood, and the trade
was monopolized for centuries by the Phœnicians and their descendants, the Carthaginians. How carefully they
guarded the secret of its production appears in Strabo’s story ( III, V, 11 ) of the Phœnician captain who, finding
himself followed by a Roman vessel on the Atlantic coast of Spain, ran his ship ashore rather than divulge his
destination, and collected the damage from his government on returning home.
There is much confusion in the early references to this metal, because the Hebrew bedil ( meaning “the
departed” ) was also applied to the metallic residue from silver-smelting – a mixture of silver, lead, and
occasionally copper and mercury. The same comparison applies to kassiteros and stannum. Pliny, for example,
distinguishes plumbum nigrum, lead, and plumbum candidum, stannum. Without any definite basis for determining
metals, appearance was often the only guide.
Suetonius ( Vitell. VI, 192 ) says that the Emperor Vitellius took away all the gold and silver from the
temples, ( 69 A. D. ) and substituted aurichalcum and stannum. This stannum could not have been pure tin, but
rather an alloy of lead, like pewter.
The letters from the King of Alashia ( Cyprus ), in the Tell-el-Amarna tablets, indicate the possibility of the
use of tin there in the 15 th century B. C., and of the shipment of the resultant bronze to Egypt; and tin, as a separate
metal, is thrice mentioned in the Papyrus Harris, under Rameses III ( 1198-1167 B.C. ). This confirms the mention
of tin in Numbers XXXI, 22. By the time of Ezekiel ( XXVII, 12 ) it was, of course, well known; here it appears
with silver, iron, and lead, as coming from Spain. The stela of Tanutamon describes a hall for the god Amon, build
[sic] by the Pharaoh Taharka at Napata (688-663 B. C. ), of stone ornamented with gold, with a tablet of cedar
incensed with myrrh of Punt, and double doors of electrum with bolts of tin. (Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt,
Vol. IV ).
By the Greeks the true tin was understood and extensively used, and the establishment of their colony of
Massilia was largely due to the discovery of the British metal coming overland to the mouth of the Rhône. The
Romans ultimately conquered both Galicia and Cornwall, and then controlled the trade; but to judge from Pliny’s
account, their understanding of it was vague.
According to the Periplus, tin was shipped from Egypt to both Somaliland and India.
Lassen ( Indische Alterthumskunde, I, 249 ) and Oppert, arguing from the similarity between the Sanscrit
kasṭhira and the Greek kassiteros, would transfer the earliest tin trade to India and Malacca; but it seems probable
that the Sanscrit word was a late addition to the language, borrowed from the Greek with the metal itself; which, as
stated by the Periplus in §§ 49 and 56, came to India from the west.” Schoff (1912), pp. 77-79. [Recent archaeological
information showing the very early development of bronze manufacture in the East would seem to put in question Schoff’s assertion
here].
It now appears that the site of ancient Muziris has finally been discovered south of the present mouth of the Periyar

River in Kerala State, southwestern India:
Archaeologists stumble upon Muziris
By M. Harish Govind
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 22. Striking archaeological evidence suggests that the legendary
seaport of Muziris, which was a bustling Indo-Roman centre of trade during the early historic period
between the first century BC and the fifth century AD, could have been located at Pattanam, near Paravur
on the south of the Periyar rivermouth.
K.P. Shajan, geoarchaeologist, who has put forward the hypothesis, says that despite its legendary status,
researchers had not so far been able to identify the actual physical location of Muziris. The search for the
legendary town on the Malabar coast had been focussed on the northern banks of the Periyar, on the basis
of literary evidence from Sangam literature and "Periplus of the Erythrean Sea", among others.
However, the remains unearthed from the area belonged to the 12th century AD, whereas Muziris had been
a bustling urban settlement more than 1,000 years earlier. Nothing had been found from the area with a
clear Roman connection, a fact which baffled both Indian and foreign researchers. All that they knew was
that it was located near the mouth of the Periyar.
Among other things, what led Dr. Shajan and his team to Pattanam was clear geological evidence which
suggested that the river Periyar had shifted its course from the south to the north over the millennia. A
branch of the Periyar, called the Periyar Thodu, runs close to Pattanam and satellite imagery indicates that
the Periyar delta lies on the southern side and the river could have flowed close to Pattanam about 2,000
years ago. This would place the ancient site alongside the Periyar in keeping with the descriptions in
literary sources.
The residents of the Pattanam site, which is known by the names of ‘Neeleswaram’ and ‘Ithilparambu’ at
present, regularly used to come across a large amount of broken pottery shards and ancient fired bricks
while digging the ground. In fact, the ancient bricks were commonly being used along with laterite blocks
for construction purposes, Dr. Shajan said.
The site covers an area of about 1.5 sq km and the deposit is about two metres thick. It has produced
fragments of imported Roman amphora, mainly used for transporting wine and olive oil, Yemenese and
West Asian pottery, besides Indian rouletted ware common on the East Coast of India and also found in
Berenike in Egypt. Bricks, tiles, pottery shards, beads and other artefacts found at Pattanam are very similar
to those found at Arikamedu and other early historic sites in India.
The most striking finds from Pattanam are the rim and handle of a classic Italian wine amphora from
Naples which was common between the late first century BC and 79 AD, when pottery production in the
region was disrupted by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Islamic glazed ware from West Asia indicate that the
site remained active beyond the early historic period. The finds from Pattanam were displayed at the
Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan today.
The director of the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR), P.J. Cherian, said etymological
evidence supplemented the other evidence gathered from Pattanam. “The word ‘pattanam’ is derived from
Prakrit and Pali and means coastal town in almost all Indian languages. Oral traditions in the area too
suggest that Pattanam was inhabited by foreigners in the distant past and was a well-known marketplace
with wealthy people.”
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Archaeologist Confirms Ancient Indo-Roman Site in Kerala
Francis C. Assisi
Southampton, April 21: A historical mystery surrounding Indo-Roman trade routes may have been solved,

says a report by Southampton University archaeology research fellow Roberta Tomber.
Armed with an Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) grant to investigate Indo-Roman trade, and
with the guidance of David Peacock who heads Archaeology at the University of Southampton, Tomber
worked with local archaeologists in Kerala where she identified the first fragments of Roman wine
amphorae found on the south-west coast of India.
The striking archaeological evidence suggests that the legendary seaport of Muziris, which was a bustling
Indo-Roman trading center during the early historic period between the first century BC and the fifth
century AD, could have been located at Pattanam, near Paravur on the south of the Periyar river delta.
“These were found in Pattanam, north of Paravoor. The whole area is strewn with pottery samples. Though
many of them are of Indian origin, a few pieces of Indo-Roman era were also found. A detail exploration of
the area will alone help establish this fact,” said Dr K. P. Shajan, who chanced upon the evidence during a
geological survey.
What led Shajan, geoarchaeologist, and his team to Pattanam was clear geological evidence which
suggested that the river Periyar had shifted its course from the south to the north over the millennia. A
branch of the Periyar, called the Periyar Thodu, runs close to Pattanam and satellite imagery indicates that
the Periyar delta lies on the southern side and the river could have flowed close to Pattanam about 2,000
years ago. This would place the ancient site alongside the Periyar in keeping with the descriptions in
literary sources.
The site covers an area of about 1.5 sq km and the deposit is about two metres thick. It has produced
fragments of imported Roman amphora, mainly used for transporting wine and olive oil, Yemenese and
West Asian pottery, besides Indian ware common on the East Coast of India and also found in Berenike in
Egypt. Bricks, tiles, pottery shards, beads and other artefacts found at Pattanam are very similar to those
found at Arikamedu and other early historic sites in India.
According to the University of Southampton report, the most striking finds from Pattanam are the rim and
handle of a classic Italian wine amphora from Naples which was common between the late first century BC
and 79 AD, when pottery production in the region was disrupted by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Islamic
glazed ware from West Asia indicate that the site remained active beyond the early historic period
Archaeologists have long believed in the existence of the ancient port of Muziris in this area, where
Romans traded for pepper and other spices from India and even further East, but its location was still
unknown. 'We now have for the first time archaeological evidence of where Muziris was located,' she said.
'It was a very important port for the Romans and would repay careful excavation. I hope to be involved in
this work in the future.'
Tomber claims that the pottery pieces found by Shajan, a marine geologist, from Pattanam near Paravoor,
are parts of Roman wine amphora, Mesopotamian torpedo jar and Yemenite storage jar. “It is the first time
that we have found evidence in Malabar coast. The clay is very different from what was used in India
during the same period. A lot of black minerals are present,” she says.
If this claim is true, then the pieces are the first evidence of Roman pottery to be found in Kerala. It also
strengthens the theory that the port of Muziris was in the belt of Kodungallur-Chettuva.
Tomber suggests there are several factors that strengthen the belief that these are remnants of first century
Roman trade. “Pottery is considered a very important evidence to solve an archaeological enigma. Here we
work on typology. Such examples have also been found during excavations in Egypt,” says Tomber.
Tomber has extensive experience of working on Roman sites at the Red Sea ports of Quseir al-Qadim
(ancient Myos Hormos) and at Berenike, both in Egypt, with Professor David Peacock. Now, with David
Peacock, she has an Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB) grant to investigate Indo-Roman trade.”
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12.12 (7) ‘divine tortoises’ – shengui 神龜 [shen-kuei]. Literally “divine tortoises (or turtles)” – tortoises suitable
for divination.
“Another object deserving attention is named in the same list [the Weilue’s list] Shên-kuei神龜 (‘ divine
tortoises ‘). Tortoises might be found in any country, but the idea of divine tortoises was purely Chinese.
According to ancient folklore, some tortoises were naturally inspired with a magical virtue, and whoever
happened to obtain one of such a kind was sure to make an enormous fortune, while men might foresee the
future by burning its shell and auguring from the cracks thus produced thereon. The Shih-chih, in its
Kuei-t’sê-lieh-chuan 龜策列傳, expatiates on the nature, variety, and treatment of these mysterious
creatures, suggesting at the same time that they might be caught about the Yang-tzŭ-chiang.” Shiratori
(1956b), p. 64.
“[The Yüeh-shang were] Southern tribes settled to the south of Chiao-chih 校趾 (Tonking) by others
identified with Nan-chang 南掌 (Laos) on the border between Yunnan, Burma and Annam.
They are recorded in Chinese sources for their very special tributes consisting in the time of Yao of a
fabulous divine tortoise with a history of the world from the creation downward carved on its shell, of a
white pheasant at the beginning of the Chou dynasty, and of another white pheasant in the year 1 A.D.,
etc.” Molè (1970), p. 132, n. 272.
“Buddhists sell turtles for the devout to release at temples.” Parry-Jones and Vincent, (1998), p. 29.
The Hanshu records that Wang Mang in 10 CE set the values of the various kinds of monies then in use in China:
“gold, silver, tortoise-[shells], cowries, cash, and spade-money. . . . ”:
“Sovereign’s tortoise-[shells], the edges of whose carapaces reached a foot and two inches were [declared
to be] worth 2160 [cash] and were [made the equivalent of] ten pairs of large cowries. Duke’s
tortoise-[shells, the edges of which reached] nine inches [or more], were [declared to be] worth five
hundred [cash] and were [made the equivalent of] ten pairs of big cowries. Marquises’ tortoise-[shells, the
edges of which reached] seven inches or more, were [declared to be] worth three hundred [cash] and were
[made the equivalent of] ten pairs of small cowries. Viscount’s tortoise-[shells], the edges of which
reached] five inches or more, were [declared to be] worth a hundred [cash] and were [made the equivalent
of] ten pairs of little cowries. The [foregoing] were the four denominations of tortoise-[shell] currency.
Of large cowries (ta-pei), four inches eight fen or more 9.25 cm or 3.6 English inches [in length], two
made one pair (p’eng), and were [declared to be] worth 216 [cash]. . . . ” Dubs (1958), pp. 487-488. [Note on
sizes: “one foot two inches” = 27.7 cm or 10.9 English inches; “nine inches” = 20.8 cm or 8.2 English inches; “seven inches” =
16.2 cm or 6.4 English inches; “five inches” = 11.55 cm or 4.5 English inches.]
“Tortoise-shell receives more mention in first-century Greek texts than any other object of trade. It was
available in several regions of the Indian Ocean littoral: the Red Sea, the Horn and east coast of Africa, the
southern coast of Arabia, India, Sri Lanka and the Indonesian archipelago. Commercial tortoise-shell today
comes from a single source, the hawksbill turtle, and is used for objects of personal adornment. The Greeks
and Romans used shell of several large varieties, terrestrial as well as aquatic, but above all they used it for
large objects such as for veneering beds, sideboards, doors and so on. According to the Periplus Maris
Erythraei, the fishing communities or Ichthyophagoi were involved in the trade of tortoise-shell, which
they collected from the islands just off Massawa on the west coast of the Red Sea (section 4) (Casson 1989:
101-2).” Ray (2003), p. 27.
It is of interest that popular Chinese culture still shows special veneration for turtles and tortoises, although this
does not stop people from eating them or their eggs. See Mesny (1899), 335, 352.
12.12 (8) white horses with red manes: 白馬朱髦 baima zhumao. White horses with red manes are mentioned in
ancient Chinese accounts as being very desirable, costly, and fit for the use of the emperor. ‘White horses with red
manes’ were probably a particular breed and it is interesting to find them mentioned here in the list of products
that, “Da Qin (the Roman Empire) has plenty of.”
“Shuo-wen 10A: 2a, sub wen (Chin Shao quotes this passage in a summary form) says, “A horse with a red
mane, a white body, and eyes like actual gold is named wen. It is auspicious for the chariot of the emperor.
In the time of King Wen of the Chou [dynasty], the Dog Jung presented one. . . . The comment on the
Spring and Autumn [Tso-chuan, Dk. Hsüan, II, (Legge, p. 289b)], says, ‘The hundred quadrigae of wen

horses’, which are horses with more than one color 畫馬. The Chief of the West, [later King Wen],
presented Chou with one in order to save himself.”
The Yi-wen Lei-chü (compiled by Ou-yang Hsün, 557-641), 93: 3b, quotes the Grand Duke’s Liu-t’ao
(prob. iv or v cent. B.C. or later) as saying (this passage is not found in the present Liu-t’ao), “When the
King of Shang arrested the Chief of Chou, [Chi] Ch’ang, [later known as King Wen], at Yu-li, the [Forseen]
Grand Duke, [Lü Shang], with San Yi-sheng, took a thousand yi of gold and sought for the [most] precious
things in the world to ransom the crime of their lord. Thereupon they obtained from the clans of the Dog
Jung wen horses with fine hair, red manes, and eyes like actual gold, and named [the chariot drawn by
them], “The quadriga with chi-szu [sic – should be written chih-sheng] 斯雞之乘 [the name of a
supernatural variety of horse...”] and presented it to the King of Shang.” Dubs (1958), p. 290, n. 9.14.
“Horses for imperial cavalries [during the Tang dynasty] were imported by the thousands from Fergana in
central Asia. More necessity than luxury, these strong, swift creatures were essential for China’s ongoing
struggles with the northern nomadic tribes. The Chinese bred the horses for such special color combinations
as white horses with black manes or yellow horses with red manes, and military units prided themselves on
having matched pairs.” Levathes (1994), p. 37.
12.12 (9) Fighting cocks: 駭雞 haiji [hai-chih] = fighting cocks according to a personal communication (2 nd July,
1998) from Dr. Edmund Ryden, Fujen Catholic University, Taiwan. Dr. Ryden also kindly pointed out that:
“Zhuangzi knew of fighting cocks”.
12.12 (10) Rhinoceroses: 犀 xi.
“Another commodity which was fed into the trade of the Indian Ocean from the Barbarā coast was
rhinoceros horn, possibly the single most valuable item in the Chinese pharmacopoeia, a veritable
apotropaion of apotropaia, which could also afford raw material for the jeweler. The Chinese could, of
course, obtain horns from their own southern provinces and from South and Southeast Asia, but the market
was so elastic that from time to time Arab merchants found it worth their while to bring to China the horn
of the African rhinoceros.” Wheatley (1975), p. 106.
“Contrary to a universally held Western misconception, the rhino’s horn is not widely considered to be an
aphrodisiac. Only the Romans (and, nowadays, a few Indians) believed it to have this property, presumably
either because it is long, hard and pointed upwards or because the rhino itself is so generously endowed by
the size of its penis and takes over an hour to complete its copulation. This is the only time that rhino’s horn
has been given a medicinal value in Europe, although its value as a wondrous object associated with the
unicorn existed for hundreds of years. . . .
In the Far East, however, it is another story and rhino horn has been on the books of traditional
herbalists and exponents of folk-medicine since well before the time of Christ. . . .
Depending upon where one looks in the Far East, rhino horn has a variety of wonderful properties. In
India, it is still – though very infrequently – offered as an aphrodisiac when mixed with herbs and
swallowed in milk or honey: it was from the East that the Romans heard of this supposed property.
Similarly taken, it is also said to cure arthritis, muscular pains and spasms and paralysis: fat and stomach
lining are also said to cure polio and skin diseases. In the past, the horn was burnt under the anus of
hæmorrhoid sufferers to alleviate their condition and to counteract constipation. . . .
It has been the horn of the Asian rhinoceroses which has been considered the most effective medicine
but, with the decline of the Asian rhinos in the last two centuries, the Chinese have turned to the African
rhinos for their supplies, dosages being increased because the African rhinos do not apparently have the
concentrations of power of the Asian ones. . . .
Rhino horn shavings are given as a treatment for the lowering of fever such as typhus and malaria.
The idea, as is so often the case with such traditional brews, is that the liquid cleanses the body of poisons.
Additionally, it is regarded as a cure for laryngitis, bronchitis, tuberculosis and poor eyesight. Dried and
powdered rhino’s blood is sold as a tonic for sufferers of anæmia which it probably does help to cure being,
like snake’s blood, rich in iron.” Booth (1988), pp. 156-159.
The kingdom of Huang-zhi [Huang-chih] (which was probably the kingdom at the mouth of the Ganges – Colless
(1980), pp. 164-172), sent a rhinoceros to the court of Wang Mang in 2 CE, and perhaps also in 5 CE. Dubs (1958),

pp. 71, 214-215. The Hou Hanshu has this interesting passage:
“In the ninth Yanxi year [166 CE], during the reign of Emperor Huan, the king of Da Qin (the Roman
Empire), Andun (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus), sent envoys through Rinan (Commandery on the central
Vietnamese coast), beyond the frontiers, to offer elephant tusks, rhinoceros horn, and turtle shell. This was
the very first time there was (direct) communication (between the two countries. The tribute brought was
neither precious nor rare, raising suspicion that the accounts (of the ‘envoys’) might be exaggerated.”
TWR,Section 12.
“The rhinoceros, like the elephant, was a familiar animal in north China in prehistoric and perhaps early
historic times, but was already a rarity by the time of the ages illuminated by books. It is likely that two of
the three Asian species of rhinoceroses were familiar to the archaic Chinese: we have small sculptures of
both a one – and a two-horned kind surviving from Shang, Chou, and Han times; these must represent the
Javanese (or Sunda) rhinoceros and the Sumatran rhinoceros respectively, both once widespread on the
mainland and in the islands, but now restricted to remote parts of Indonesia, and on the verge of
extinction.” Schafer (1963), p. 83.
“The horn of the rhinoceros played a role in the minor arts of T’ang very similar to that of ivory, and indeed
the two substances were regularly linked in language, particularly in parallel verse. The demand for
rhinoceros horn was very great, so that, although many rhinoceroses still lived in Hunan, as we have seen,
and their horns were submitted to the court as tribute, it was also necessary to import them. From close at
hand, they were obtained in Nan-chao and Annam; more remotely, they came to the port of Canton from
the Indies, and in such quantities that the near extinction of the Indochinese rhinoceroses in modern times
can in large part be attributed to the China trade of the T’ang. . . .
Rhinoceros horn was important in medieval Chinese medicine, especially as an antidote for all kinds
of poison. Belief in its efficacy goes back to the fourth century, and may have originated in China, to spread
to Western Asia and the Roman empire.” Schafer (1963), p. 241.
“Similarly, medicinal use of rhinoceros horn has accounted for much of the animal’s decline in numbers.
Between 1970 and 1993, 95 per cent of the world’s population of black rhinoceros disappeared, and Javan
and Sumatran rhinos hover on the brink of extinction. . . .
. . . . One repeated fallacy is that rhinoceros horn is used as an aphrodisiac in TCM [‘traditional
Chinese medicine’]. It is, in fact, prescribed for life-threatening fevers and convulsions and has been
clinically shown to have fever reducing properties.” Parry-Jones and Vincent (1998), pp. 27, 29.
“Despite the fabled creature’s existence in ancient legend, the real rhino was certainly known to the Greeks
and Romans. Both Agatharcides and Strabo wrote about it in recognisable detail, and the Roman poet,
Martial, wrote of its ability to ‘toss bears into the stars’: Pliny states that the rhino was the sworn enemy of
the elephant which it attacked by gouging its horn into the soft under-belly of the larger animal. These
accounts were most probably inspired by the writers having seen animal contests between rhinos and bears
or elephants: exotic animal fights were frequently staged for public entertainment in Rome. That Pliny
writes of a single horn suggests that he had not seen an African two-horned rhino, but an Indian one. And
yet other contemporary sources clearly distinguish between the one-horned and two-horned varieties.”
Booth (1988), p. 32.
“The skin of the Rhinoceros is an article in great demand in several countries of Asia and Africa. It is
manufactured into the best and hardest leather that can be imagined; and targets and shields are made of it,
that are proof against even the stroke of a scimitar. When polished, the skin is very similar in appearance to
tortoise shell. Their horns are manufactured into drinking cups, the hilts of swords, and snuff-boxes, by
several oriental nations ; and in the palmy days of ancient Rome, we are told, the ladies of fashion used
them in their baths, to hold their essence bottles and oils.” Maunder, (1878), p. 574.
“A wide range of personal items were made from rhino horn: I have seen cutlery and manicure sets with
rhino horn handles, snuff boxes carved out of blocks of horn, brass document seals mounted on horn and
even rhino horn combs for holding hair in place, inlaid with silver, gold or ivory. These items are today
very scarce on the antique market and consequently valuable.” Booth (1988), p. 154.
12.12 (11) Sea turtle shell: 玳瑁 daimei. Tortoise shell – “especially the precious sort from the hawk’s bill tortoise
(Chelonia imbricata).” Williams, p. 747. Also see: GR No. 10278 where it is said to mean: Sea turtle. Shell from

the carapace of the sea turtle used to make luxury items.
“The men of T’ang got tortoise shell, 247 for making ladies’ hairpins and headdress ornaments and inlays in
expensive household objects, from Lu-chou in Annam.”
247 From the “hawk-billed turtle” (Chelonia imbricata), Chinese tai-mei.
Schafer (1963), pp. 245, 337, n. 247.
“Tortoise shell receives more mention in the Periplus than any other object of trade. It was exported by, or
available at, ports in all the regions the author mentions. . . . Commercial tortoise shell today comes from a
single source, the handsome shields of the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), a large sea turtle, and
is used mostly for smaller objects: combs, brushes, and personal adornments such as rings, brooches, and
the like. The Greeks and the Romans, as is clear from this passage and others... as well as from other
authors (Pliny 9.39, 33. 146; Martial 9.59.9), used the shell of several varieties, terrestrial as well as
aquatic, and used it above all for large objects, for veneering beds, sideboards, dining couches, doors, etc. .
. . The “genuine” tortoise shell is no doubt that of the hawksbill turtle, which is found in many waters,
including the Red Sea. . . . ” Casson (1989), pp. 101-102.
“From those animals that breathe, the most expensive produce found on land is ivory; in the sea, the turtle’s
shell.” Pliny NH (a), p. 377 (bk. XXXVII, chap. 204).
12.12 (12) Black bears 玄熊 xuanxiong. This is undoubtedly a reference to the Eurasian Brown Bear (also known
as “Black Bear”) that produced the gall and bile still highly valued today in Chinese medicine.
“For over a thousand years, the bear has been an important part of traditional Oriental medicine as well.
During the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, the Korean government imported thirty live Asiatic
black bears from Thailand to feed to its country’s athletes in the belief that the bear meat would enhance
the athletes’ performance.
Most people have heard about bear paw soup. Today a small bowl of the watery broth, which is
reputed to confer health, costs wealthy Japanese and Korean diners eight hundred dollars a bowl.
In the Oriental medical pharmacopoeia, the most important part of a bear is the animal’s gall bladder.
A freshly removed gall bladder looks like a plastic bag, 10 to 12 centimetres (4 to 5 inches) long, filled with
thick, greenish fluid. The gall bladder and its contents of bile are dried and then crushed. Once the
powdered ingredients reach a consumer in the Orient, they may sell for $50 a gram ($1764 an ounce). The
powdered gall bladders are prescribed to treat heart disease, headaches, abdominal pain and even
hemorrhoids. . . .
The bile of bears was first mentioned in a pharmaceutical report written in China in the fifth century.
By A.D. 1000 in China, the ingestion of bear bile was the treatment of choice for jaundice, abdominal pain
and distention – all complications known to be caused by liver and bile duct disease, and in particular,
gallstones. It was not until the early decades of this century that western scientists finally investigated the
composition of bear bile, and when they did they identified a new bile acid and coined the scientific name
ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), the “Aurso” prefix in recognition of the origin of the compound.
In subsequent research, it was learned that administration of UDCA could dissolve gallstones in
humans and thus alleviate the symptoms, namely, the pain, jaundice and abdominal distention, without
producing any substantial side effects. Today, after extensive clinical testing, UDCA is the medical
treatment of choice in many hospitals in North America for the dissolution of certain kinds of gallstones. It
appears that the Chinese were right two thousand years ago. . . . ” Lynch (1993), pp. 213-214.
“Demand for bear bile still threatens Asian bears, even though there are now regulations on international
trade in all species.
. . . . Bear farming in China is particularly controversial. Around 7600 captive bears have their bile
“milked” through tubes inserted into their gall bladders. According to Chinese officials, 10,000 wild bears
would be needed to be killed each year to produce as much bile. But many Westerners argue that bear
farming is cruel.
. . . . Tauro ursodeoxycholic acid, the active ingredient of bear bile, can be synthesised and is used
by some Western doctors to treat gallstones, but many TCM [‘traditional Chinese medicine’] consumers
reject it as being inferior to the natural substance from wild animals.” Parry-Jones and Vincent (1998), pp.

27-29.
“BEAR-GALL:– Hsiung-tan 熊膽. The bear is met with in Manchuria, Shensi, Kansuh, and perhaps
other provinces. Fêng-t’ien Fu Sheng-king is said to be the source of the animals which supply the
drug-market with sundry articles, which are just of that degree of scarcity which serves to place any very
nauseous substance in the very fore-front of Chinese estimation. Mr. Swinhoe reports that one species only
of the bear, the Helarctos formosanus, is met with in Formosa. “It is black with a white crescent on the
breast, and is allied to the Sun-bear of Japan.” Ho-nan, Shan-si and Shan-tung formerly supplied this
animal, whose paw, called Hsiung-fan 熊蹯, is a great delicacy, and is supposed to strengthen and harden
the constitution. Bear’s grease is credited with much the same power of nourishing the hair in China as in
the west. Bear-gall is a very expensive substance, sold in the form of a soft, black, sticky bolus, having a
bitter aromatic flavour. It is seldom genuine. If it be drawn across a pool of ink, the ink (Chinese) should
retreat from the track. Cooling, alterative, astringent, anthelmintic, and neurotic properties are supposed to
reside in this substance, which is given homoeopathically in hepatic and abdominal affections. It is
probably useful as a laxative and stomachic to the same extent as Ox-gall.” Mesny (1895), p. 150.
12.12 (13) chichi 赤螭 [ch’ih-ch’ih] – Red hornless dragon(s).
GR No. 1918 says that chi, “red”, refers particularly to the colour of cinnabar, or of fire. It is true that
cinnabar was considered to be the “Blood of the Red Dragon” – especially among Taoist alchemists (see Shafer
(1957), p. 133), but this always referred to the chilong 赤龍 – long 龍 being the ‘normal’, or ‘common’ variety of
dragon, whereas chi 螭 is an unusual form. It is sometimes described as a ‘hornless’ variety, and sometimes as a
baby long. In either case, it seems likely here that that an unusual form of ‘dragon’ was chosen to distinguish its
product or ‘blood’ from real cinnabar.
I have not found any other reference to chichi. It seems most likely that that the term refers to the red resin,
known in the Roman world as “dragon’s blood,” or, rather, to the dragons that were supposed to produce it.
“Dragon’s blood” is a cinnabar-coloured gum exuded from a various species of Dracæna tree grown on the
island of Socotra, and the neighbouring areas of Arabia and Africa. It was used as a dye and medicine in the
Mediterranean. It was also used for ceremonial purposes in India.
The “dragon’s blood” known to the Romans was mostly collected from the base of the leaves of Dracaena
cinnabari which is native to the island of Socotra and is mentioned in the Periplus (30:10. 17) as one of the
products of Socotra:
“This [“Indian cinnabar”] is dragon’s blood, the resin secreted at the base of the leaves of Dracaena
cinnabari (see Western Arabia [op. cit. under 24:8. 10] 208, Watt, ii 18), which was used as a pigment and
a drug. The tree is native to Socotra, and the islanders have exported its product for centuries (Watt ii 18,
Wellsted [op. cit. under 27:9] ii 286–88). Pliny (33.115–16) refers to cinnabar as the name given to
dragon’s blood by the Indians. It would appear that the term “Indian cinnabar” was used of the vegetable
pigment as against the mineral (red mercuric sulphide). Perhaps this was because another form of dragon’s
blood, very similar to that from Dracaena, did come, if not from India at least by way of India, namely, the
resin of a palm, Calamus draco Wild., which grows in Malay and the East Indies and is the source of the
dragon’s blood of modern commerce (Watt ii 17). This could well have been called “Indian” in the West
because it arrived there through Indian merchants or on Indian ships.” Casson (1989), pp. 169-170.
Socotra had been an important trading centre since at least the time of the Ptolemies, and was strategically placed
126 nautical miles east of Cape Guardafui on the Horn of Africa, near the entrance to the Gulf of Aden. There was
great confusion in the Roman world between the resin, “true” dragon’s blood, and the mineral cinnabar:
“Cinnabar, that called Indian – (Dragon’s blood). The confusion between dragon’s blood (the exudation of
a dracæna) and our cinnabar (red sulphide of mercury) is of long standing, but less absurd than it seems at
first sight. The story is given by Pliny (XXXIII, 38, and VIII, 12). The word kinnabari, he says, is properly
the name given to the thick matter which issues from the dragon when crushed beneath the weight of the
dying elephant, mixed with the blood of either animal. The occasions were the continual combats which
were believed to take place between the two. The dragon was said to have a passion for elephant’s blood;
he twined himself around the elephant’s trunk, fixed his teeth behind the ear, and drained all the blood at a
draught; when the elephant fell dead to the ground, in his fall crushing the now intoxicated dragon. Any
thick red earth was thus attributed to such combats, and given the name kinnabari. Originally red ochre
(peroxide of iron), was probably the principal earth so named. Later the Spanish quicksilver earth (red

sulphide of mercury), was given the same name and preferred as a pigment to the iron. Later, again, the
exudations of Dracæna cinnibari in Socotra and Dracæna schizantha in Somaliland and Hadramaut (order
Dracænae), and Calamus draco in India (order Palmeæ), were given the name kinnabari. Being of similar
texture and appearance, the confusion is not surprising, as the Romans had no knowledge of chemistry.
Pliny noted the errors made by physicians in his day, of prescribing the poisonous Spanish cinnabar
instead of the Indian; and proposed a solution of the problem by calling the mercury earth minium, the
ochre miltos, and the vegetable product kinnabari, but usage did not follow him. We now give the mercury
earth the old Greek name for dragon’s blood, and the dried juice we give the same name in English.” Schoff
(1912), p. 137.
“Legend has it that the tree sprung up from the congealed blood shed by a dragon and an elephant as they
fought to the death. Cinnabar, the crimson red resin from the tree’s leaves and bark, was highly prized in
the ancient world. It was used as a pigment in paint, for treating dysentery and burns, fastening loose teeth,
enhancing the colour of precious stones and staining glass, marble and the wood for Italian violins.
Although it no longer has a commercial value, cinnabar is an important resource for the 40 000 people who
live on Soqotra. They use it to cure stomach problems, dye wool, glue pottery, freshen breath, decorate
pottery and houses and even as lipstick.” Downloaded from
www.rbge.org.uk/Arabia/Soqotra/misty/page03.html on 10/10/01, the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
site.
Shiratori (1956b), p. 65, n. 99, quotes in Chinese from the Yunmengfu in the Sima Lie zhuan which I translate and
adapt as follows:
“According to the Zhengyi: ‘The Wen-ying says that chi 螭 is the offspring of a long 龍 dragon. The
Zhengyi, moreover, says it is a female long dragon. Both are wrong. The Guanya [name of a dictionary
based on the Erya, and compiled about 230 CE] says if it has a horn it is called jiu 蚯; if it doesn’t have a
horn it is called chi. According to it, jiu and chi are different species of long [dragon] and not [true] long.”
The confusion between the resinous ‘dragons’ blood’ and true cinnabar in the Roman world seems to be echoed by
the Chinese. Chinese alchemists called the mineral cinnabar chilong 赤龍, which literally means, ‘red dragon.’ GR
No. 1918, p. 1012. For: “Blood of the Red Dragon,” see Shafer (1957), p. 133. [Note, however, that long refers to
the ‘true’ or common dragon and is not identical with chi 螭, the hornless dragon.]
In later centuries ‘Dragons’ blood’ from the various species of Dracæna trees was replaced to a great extent
by a similar red resin produced by one of the rotang or rattan palms of the genus Daemonorops, found in the
Indonesian islands and known there as jerang or djerang, which is used in China to give a red surface to writing
paper.
“The effusion of the lac insect was in turn confused with the blood of a mythical or semi-mythical animal,
the Chinese “unicorn.” One of the red kinos which was traded about the Old World under the name of
“dragon’s blood” was in China styled “unicorn gutta” and was thought of as desiccated blood. It was the
product of the fruit of an Indonesian rattan palm, but trade in it was confused with Socotran dragon’s blood,
the resin of an entirely different plant, and with a different Indonesian kino, and also with lac. In T’ang it
was used as an astringent drug and prescribed for hemorrhages, partly at least on the principal of imitative
magic, because of its bloodlike color. It cannot be said with certainty that it was also used as a dye, but it
was commonly employed in this way in its Malayan homeland, and the Chinese pharmacologists emphasize
that it was used in just the same way as lac.” Schafer (1963), p. 211.
Another, less likely possibility, is that “red dragons” may have been seen as the origin of (red) amber:
“But Tuan Ch’eng-shih, our T’ang bibliophile and collector of curiosa, has this to say:
“Some say that when the blood of a dragon goes into the ground it becomes amber. But the Record
of the Southern Man has it that in the sand at Ning-chou there are snap-waist wasps, and when the
bank collapses the wasps come out; the men of that land work on them by burning, and so make
amber of them.” Schafer (1963), p. 247.
12.12 (14) bidushu 辟毒鼠 [pi tu shu] – ‘poison-evading rats’ = mongooses? The Chinese use the character shu,
usually translated ‘rat,’ to also designate mustelids, a family of small animals, often sought for their furs, including
the weasel, the ermine or stoat, the mink, the otter, martens, and the like. The mongoose looks very similar to

weasels, and many species are famed for their ability to fight and kill poisonous snakes – a favourite entertainment
at village fairs in India. They are not immune to snake poison but, are very quick and agile, usually striking at the
snake’s head and cracking its skull.
They are easily tamed and are frequently kept around households for their ability to rid the area of rats,
snakes and cockroaches. They readily perform their snake-killing abilities if placed together with a cobra or similar
poisonous snake, and this is a common stunt performed at India fairs. In fact, they are only really effective against
snakes such as the cobra which is relatively slow-moving and the mongoose can get too close for the snake to
strike effectively.
“There may be a similarity to the description of the *noudyi rat (mongoose, according to Schafer), sent by
Kapisa (Chi-pin, ancient Gandhâra), in 642. This is more likely than a ferret or a weasel, well-known to the
west, which Schafer also mentions as sent to China by the Persians.” Leslie and Gardiner (1996), p. 203.
“A number of mongooses, including those of the genus Herpestes, will attack and kill poisonous
snakes. They depend on speed and agility, darting upon the head of the snake and cracking the skull with a
powerful bite. They are not immune to venom, as popularly believed, nor do they seek and eat an herbal
remedy, if bitten.” NEB VI, p. 996.
For some interesting early references to mongooses, see Yule and Burnell (1886), pp. 596-597, under
“Mungoose.”
12.12 (15) dabei大貝 [ta pei] – large cowries. See also note 12.12 (7).
Couvrier, p. 876, defines ta pei [= da bei] as “large and precious tortoise carapace.” However, the period
when the term had this meaning is uncertain. It seems unlikely that we have a second reference to tortoise shell
after the specific reference in item No. 12.12. (11) above.
The word bei usually has the meaning of shellfish, particularly cowries, which were used as money in China
up until the Han period and so the term could well mean here “large cowries” or “large shells.” I have, chosen the
latter on the basis of its use in the edict of Wang Mang in 10 CE as discussed by Dubs – see item (7) above.
For information on the use of cowries as money in China and neighbouring regions see: Ke and Zhu (1995).
Cowries have been used as a form of money from East Africa to inland northern Asia.
These shells were still used as money until recent times. This use has proved to be widespread and
remarkably persistent. A young lady in her twenties from a village on the north coast of New Guinea told me
several years ago that, when she was a child, her grandfather’s house had many strings of cowries hanging from the
rafters. Sometimes she was sent to the local store with several strings of them to buy small items.
Shiratori (1956b), p. 64, refers to ‘tai-pei’ 大貝 as “large conches,” but I have not found any evidence to
support his identification.
“The cowrie is the shell of the gastropod Cypaea moneta gathered in the shallow waters of the Maldive
islands off the coast of India. Some other species are native to East Asia and hence the issue of the source
of cowries found extensively in South and Southeast Asia remains problematic. In the second millennium
BCE, these occur as far apart as Harrapan sites in north-west India and prehistoric sites in north China
(Wicks 1992: 308-10).
Cowries were widely used in the historical period, sometimes together with coins. In the middle
Ganga valley, excavations at Masaon (Ghazipur district, IAR 1964) brought to light a hoard of 3,000
cowries in a pot in levels dated between 600 and 200 BCE. Cowries were also recovered from the iron Age
horizon at the site of Khajuri (Allahabad district, IAR 1985-6). The Mahasthan inscription from eastern
India of the third to second centuries BCE refers to aid in the form of kākaṇīs and gaṇḍakas, i.e.
low-denomination coins and perhaps cowries respectively. The Harśacarita refers to heaps of black and
white cowries sent to Bhaskarvarman of Assam, while the Tezpur inscription of the seventh century CE
refers to a fine of 100 cowries for failing to obey the Brahmaputra shipping regulations (Singh 1991).” Ray
(2003), pp. 30-31.
“. . . . It [the cowrie shell] was used as a currency in Africa until recent times, though it does not
figure in the historical record of island Southeast Asia [however, see my note on their recent use in Papua New
Guinea above]. Cowries have been found at archaeological sites in the Indian subcontinent, mainland
Southeast Asia and north China dated to the second millennium BCE. The question of provenance,
however, has no simple answers since some species of the cowrie are native to East Asia as well. Cowries,

eferred to as gaṇḍaka in the inscriptions from Bengal and Assam, are frequently mentioned in the
historical records and epigraphs of mainland Southeast Asia (Wicks 1992: 308-9).” Ray (2003), pp.
208-209.
“Burial goods sets 2 and 3 [from Dian burials in Yunnan] are cowrie containers and marine shells
respectively. some of the container lids are decorated with anthropomorphic figurines depicting various
activities . . . . Archaeologists call them cowrie containers simply because thousands of cowries shells were
held in them. Earlier cowrie containers were made from used bronze drums by cutting open the top surfaces
of the drums. Later cowrie containers were specifically designed as receptacles. The frequency distribution
of cowries illustrates that they were exclusively distributed in the high elite graves. Traditionally, cowries
are believed to have been used as a currency (Wang Ningsheng 1981). Nevertheless, the differential
distribution of cowries suggests that they were reserved for the elites only. The majority of the Dian
cowries that have been identified as marine cowries (Cypraea annulus L.) originated mostly from the
Indian Ocean (Pirazzoli-t’Serstevens 1992). It seems that the Dian elite group was in control of the cowrie
source through an exchange network with mainland Southeast Asia. Therefore, cowries were more likely to
be used as status markers and for intergroup exchanges between elites (Pirazzoli-t’Serstevens 1992). If
cowries were used as a currency in the market, it is difficult to explain the distribution patter that they were
restricted only to the high-ranking elite graves, in spite of hundreds and thousands of cowries having been
recovered from the Dian burials.” Lee (2002), pp. 116 and 118.
12.12 (16) chequ 車渠 [ch’e-ch’ü] – mother of pearl.
The ABC, p. 113 defines chequ as 1. giant clam; tridacna 2. mother of pearl. The GR No. 558, defines chequ
[ch’e-ch’ü] as a variant of 硨渠 chequ, meaning tridacne (= giant clam) or, alternatively, a ‘basin,’ the large shells
of which are still use in many tropical countries. It produces a nacre used by jewellers.
It seems to me that ‘mother-of-pearl’ is what is meant here and (due to the several different kinds of pearls
mentioned later in the list), it probably came from the various types of pearl oysters. The other meaning of chequ –
‘giant clam,’ may possibly have been what was indicated here:
“The giant clam called Neptune’s cradle 252 lends the stuff of its glossy white, deeply furrowed shell to the
uses of lapidary. In ancient China this “mother-of-pearl” (and perhaps others) was regarded as a stone, its
source being unknown, and it was polished like jade. It was especially popular in early medieval times for
making wine cups and other drinking vessels. Under the T’ang emperors nacre was reputed to be a product
of Rome, 253 and it was known to be one of the Seven Precious substances, the Saptaratna, of Indian
tradition. 254 The chances are that the shell of this great scallop was still being imported in T’ang times, but
the available texts are not conclusive.”
252 “Tridacna gigas. Chinese * ki̯w w o-g‘i̯ w o. See Wheatley (1961), 91-92.”
253 ATS, 221b, 4155c.”
254 Li Hsün, in PTKM, 46, 38a. Its Indian name was musāragalva, but the lexicographers disagree
as to the meaning of this word; some say “coral”; some say “mother-of-pearl.”
Schafer (1963), p. 245.
“The shells of some of the Tridacna gigas weigh 500lbs [227 kg], and are used in some Catholic countries
as receptacles for the holy water used in churches. The animal is correspondingly large.” Maunder (1978),
p. 700.
“Although the translators consistently translated the Sanskrit word musāragalva as ch’e-ch’ü, the meaning
of the Chinese word is as obscure as that of its Sanskrit counterpart. Chinese dictionaries define it either as
a kind of sea-shell or as a kind of precious stone.” Liu (1988), p. 161.
‘Mother of pearl’ or the lustrous nacre which is found in many shells, is frequently used in jewellery. Its
position in the list between large cowries and carnelian makes this choice particularly likely. In recent centuries
most commercial mother of pearl has been produced from trochus shells which have beautifully nacreous shells
(family Trochidae – particularly T. niloticus. The family is widespread throughout the tropical regions of the Indian

and Pacific oceans).
Sheikk (1987), pp. 73, 85, states that Mother of Pearl is found at Indus sites from earliest Neolithic times. It
was traded from its source in the Persian Gulf.
12.12 (17) manao 瑪瑙 [ma-nao] – carnelian.
Carnelian is a form of reddish chalcedony which is hard and polishes well. It was, and is, commonly used for
impressing seals as wax does not stick to it:
“By “carnelian” we mean a reddish variety of chalcedony, that is, of translucent cryptocrystalline silica.
Here the word is used to translate Chinese ma-nao (etymologized as “horse brain”), a word which has more
often been Englished as “agate.” “Agate” is a name given to banded chalcedony, the bands being in
contrasting colors – say, bluish gray and white. But ma-nao is (in T’ang at least) usually some shade of red,
and if we say that ma-nao is “agate” it is necessary to explain that we mean an agate in which that color is
prominent. But it is simpler to say “carnelian.”
Carnelian was imported in some quantity from the West, and all of it was used to make small
utensils. We have specific instances of carnelian (including a vase of that material) sent to the court from
Samarkand and from Tukhāra. The latter nation offered the raw mineral as a worthy gift, and it must be
assumed that this was turned over to the T’ang court lapidaries. . . . ” Schafer (1963), pp. 228-229, 233.
Carnelian intaglios have been found at two major archaeological sites rich in Roman artefacts in India and southern
Vietnam:
“Meanwhile, there remains for us a curious trace of the passage of the Romans through Indochina: in
1944, at Oc-Eo, in the province of Iranbassac [in southern Vietnam] about twenty kilometres from the Gulf
of Thailand, French scholar Louis Malleret’s party discovered in an archaeological site, alongside Chinese
and Indian objects, a certain number of jewels set in gold and silver, intaglios of local or Roman
inspirations, mostly in carnelian, some medallions from the period of the Antonines [138-192 CE], and
several other objects. According to all the latest interpretations by the specialists, these objects “furnish the
proof that during the first two or three centuries of the Christian era, the site of Oc-Eo produced artists who
created intaglios of the purest Roman style and were capable of reproducing the skilful technique. These
are not the flotsam of a distant current carried from the Western world that have grounded on the furthest
shores of a peninsula of the Asiatic world. These are the creations of an art incorporated into the domestic
and social life of the populations of this country...”
What can be concluded from this? Has an important Roman mission stayed in this place; has it taught
the western techniques to the local artisans? Was a real Roman colony founded here? It has been ignored. . .
.
This lucky find of Indian and Roman objects in the same site is comparable to the discoveries of
Virapatnam (without doubt the ancient Pouduke or “New town of Ptolemy”). There, near Pondicherry, on
this [east] coast [of India] which was believed to be less visited than the other [western coast] by
Mediterranean navigators, have been found glass pearls, cornelian, agate, jasper, garnets and coloured
quartz, a ring bezel of carnelian, engraved with [what is], perhaps, the effigy of Augustus, typical Italian
pottery from the celebrated works of Arezzo (Arretium) in Tuscany, all dating from the first century of our
era. In the same spot were discovered some lapidary tools: grindstones, stones to crush and polish, precious
stones in the process of cleavage, or unpolished. Lapidary art is very ancient in India. It is assumed,
therefore, that these pieces have not been imported from Rome and that they are, mostly, local imitations. It
could be that here, as at Oc-Eo, there was a community of artisans where Indian workers, directed by
Roman agents, created objects with the intention of exporting them in the style determined by
Mediterranean purchasers – or simply of the spontaneous appearance of an imitative industry, undoubtedly
profitable – , for the stones were cheaper, and the workmanship at least capable enough. It could also be
that we are in the presence of a real Roman colony, perhaps of groups of Western merchants, tempted by
the hope of a better life, married to local women; or even of artisans who had rebelled against their lot as
slaves, and had taken advantage of a landing to escape?” Translated from: Boulnois (1992), pp. 95-97.
People living along the Central Asian trade routes used various forms of chalcedony, including carnelian, to carve
intaglios, ring bezels (the upper faceted portion of a gem projecting from the ring setting), and beads that show
strong Graeco-Roman influence. Fine examples of first century objects made from chalcedony, possibly Kushan,
were found in recent years at Tillya-tepe in north-western Afghanistan. See Sarianidi (1985), pp. 45-46, 129, 244,

253-254; also: Sarianidi (1989), pp. 124-134.
“By sardonyx, as the name itself implies, was formerly meant a sarda [‘sard’ – a deep orange red
type of chalcedony, sometimes classed as a carnelian, but darker in colour] with a whiteness in it, like the
flesh under a human finger-nail, the white part being transparent like the rest of the stone; 3 and that this
was the character of the Indian sardonyx is stated by Ismenias, Demostratus, Zenothemis, and Sotacus. The
last two give the name of blind sardonyx to all the other stones of this class which are not transparent, and
which have now monopolised the name. . . . Zenothemis writes that these stones were not held in esteem by
the Indians, and that some were so large that the hilts of swords were made of them. It is well known that in
that country they are laid bare to view by the mountain streams, and that in our part of the world they were
at the outset prized from the fact that they were almost the only ones 1 among engraved precious stones that
do not take away the wax with them from an impression. We have in consequence taught the Indians
themselves by the force of our example to value these stones, and the lower classes more particularly pierce
them and wear them round the neck ; and this is now a proof that a sardonyx is of Indian origin. Those of
Arabia are distinguished above others by a broad belt of brilliant white which does not glitter in hollow
fissures or in the depressions of the stone, but sparkles in the projections at the surface above an underlying
ground of intense black. In the stones of India this ground is like wax 2 or cornel [cherry] in colour, with a
belt of white also around it. In some of these stones there is a play of colours as in the rainbow, while the
surface is even redder than the shells of the sea-locust. C. 6 (24). Zenothemis says there are numerous
varieties of the Indian onyx, 3 the fiery-coloured, the black, the cornel with white veins encircling them like
an eye, and in some cases running across them obliquely. Sotaeus mentions that there is also an Arabian
onyx, which differs from that of India in that the latter exhibits small flames each encircled with one or
more belts of white in a different way from the Indian sardonyx, which is speckled but not marked with
circular veins like the onyx. According to this writer onyxes are found in Arabia of a black colour with
belts of white. Satyrus says that there is an onyx in India of a flesh colour, 4 partly resembling the carbuncle
and partly the chrysolite and the amethyst, and he condemns the whole of this class. The real onyx, he
points out, has numerous veins of varying colours, along with streaks of a milk-white hue, and as these
colours harmoniously shade into each other they produce, by their combinations, a tint of a beauty which is
inexpressibly charming.”
3 Ktêsias informs us that in India there are certain high mountains with mines which yield the sardine-stone
and onyxes and other seal stones. He gives no indication of the locality of these mountains, but Dr. v. Ball
says that possibly Oujein, in Malwa, or some of the other places where mines of Chalcedonic minerals
occur, was intended. The word sardonyx is compounded of the Greek words σάρδιov, ‘sard,’ and Śvυξ, ‘a
finger-nail.’
1 He probably intends to include the sarda or cornelian here. – Bohn’s Trans. of Pliny.
2 A variety, probably, of common chalcedony.”
3
The onyx is an agate formed of alternating white or black or dark brown stripes of chalcedony. The finest specimens
are brought from India. The word means finger-nail.
4
It is somewhat doubtful whether this kind of onyx (carnelian or cornelian) derives its name from caro, carnis, ‘flesh,’
or from cornus, ‘the cornel.’
McGrindle (1901), pp. 130-132 and nn.
“Some precious stones found at Chinese archaeological sites may have been of foreign origin, but it is
impossible to determine their provenance. For example, the Chinese word for agate or carnelian, ma-naô,
derives from the Sanskrit word aśmagarbha and was introduced by Buddhist literature in the Later Han
(Chang Hung-chao 1921: 36). Some of the agate and carnelian ornaments found in China might have been
imported from Central Asia and India under the inspiration of Buddhism. However, since agate was
indigenous to China one cannot tell which artifacts are foreign.” Liu (1988), p. 64.
Carnelian is found at Mehgarh-III, an early Indus site, by about the early 4 th millennium B.C. Possible sources

include Rajasthan and Kathiawar, the Helmund River in Seistan, and the Lyari hills, Porali basin, Kohistan and
Hab River valley. Sheikk (1987), pp. 72, 85).
12.12 (18) nanjin 南金 [nan-chin] – literally, ‘southern gold’. The identification of this product is not at all clear.
David R. Knechtges (2003) discusses its poetic references but then (ibid., pp. 39-40), adds that it was a precious
product sent from the southeast as a tribute item:
“Southern Gold” is an old phrase that first occurs in the Classic of songs in one of the praise songs for a
ruler of Lu (Mao shi 299), who by virtue of his moral example obtained the allegiance of the southeastern
tribes. The last stanza of the song reads:
Fluttering are those soaring owls,
They land in the grove by the circular pool,
They eat the mulberry fruit,
And present us with fine songs.
Awakened are the Huai River tribes,
Who come and offer their treasures:
Large turtles and ivory tusks,
And large gifts of southern gold.
I should point out that what I have translated as “gold” is more correctly “metal.” More specifically it
probably should be understood as copper, which was the ore of which the Wu area had a rich supply. I have
translated it as “gold” here better to fit the poetic line. Somehow “southern metal” does not resonate well in
English. The phrase ‘southern gold” as Lu Ji uses it has several meanings. First, it represents a valuable
resource of the southeast. Second it is an ancient tribute item that was presented at the royal court in the
Zhou. Like “southern gold,” Lu Ji is one of the great treasures of the southeast. Indeed, in a letter attributed
to Lu Ji’s contemporary Zhang Hua, Lu Ji and his brother are specifically referred to as “gold of the south.”
And like southern gold, he has been presented as tribute from his fallen Wu kingdom to the Western Jin
court.”
It is hard to believe that copper would ever have been so highly valued as to be included with “large turtles and
ivory tusks” as a tribute item. Copper was commonly and widely available in many parts of China. The ancient,
and still standard, word for copper is: 銅 tong, and this list in the Weilue makes specific mention of copper as its
third item. It seems unlikely to me that copper would have been .
I suggest that ‘southern gold’ was more likely to refer to bronze 青铜 qingtong, for which the southeast has
been famous from ancient times; or it could have been brass. Both these metal alloys (copper plus tin or,
sometimes lead, for bronze – copper plus zinc for brass) were considered far more valuable than copper, and both
had a striking “golden” hue. Both metals were imported into China from the southeast.
Bronze was particularly important to early Chinese culture and is stronger than iron if properly alloyed (1
part tin to 8 parts copper). It also expands slightly on cooling making it an ideal material for moulding, as it
faithfully reproduces the details of the mould. In fact, it was only after the technology for making true steels rather
than iron were developed, that bronze was surpassed as a material for weapons such as swords and spear points.
The rapid spread of iron use around the end of the Zhou and beginning of the Han dynasty may be attributed
more to the ready availability of iron ore compared to tin rather than to any inherent advantage of iron over bronze.
With a higher proportion of tin, bronze also makes excellent sonorous chimes.
Yunnan (to the southeast of “China proper”) was an important source of tin and had ample supplies of
copper ore plus a very ancient tradition of superb bronze working. It seems probable that superior bronze
implements were traded into China from an early age, and possibly given the name, nanjin or “southern
gold.”
Brass also may be considered a candidate for “southern gold”:
“1684. HUANG TUNG黄銅: – Yellow copper. Brass generally, a wonderful alloy of copper and

other metals, any alloy of copper and zinc is called brass in English and Huang-tung in Chinese.
When the alloy is hard and sonorous for gongs an musical instruments it is called Hsiang-tung 響銅
[‘sonorous copper’]. In such cases the alloy may possibly be wholly or in part tin. Six parts copper and four
parts zinc make a fine soft brass like Muntz’s metal called lailon in French. This can be polished almost as
bright as gold when warm. . . .” Mesny (1899), p. 350.
“Brass. – The Greek word is oreichalos, “mountain-copper,” which Pliny ( op. cit. XXXIV, 2 ) makes into
a hybrid, as aurichalcum, golden copper; brass, a yellow alloy, as distinguished from pure copper or the
darker alloys. Pliny describes it as an ore of copper long in high request, but says that none had been found
for a long time, the earth having been quite exhausted. It was used for the sestertium and double as, the
Cyprian copper being thought good enough for the as.
Oreichalch seems to have been a native brass obtained by smelting ores abundant in zinc; the Roman
metallurgy did not distinguish zinc as a separate metal.
Mines yielding such ores were held in the highest estimation, and their exhaustion was deeply
regretted, as in the case of the “Corinthian brass.” But later it was found by accident that the native earth,
calamine, an impure oxide of zinc, added to molten copper, would imitate the true oreichalch; and this the
Romans did without understanding what the earth was, just as they used native oxide of cobalt in coloring
glass without knowing the metal cobalt.” Schoff (1912), p. 69.
“Oreichalkos (the variant spelling in the text [of the Periplus] also occurs in the Greek papyri from Egypt;
cf. P. Giss. 47.6 and Frisk 41-42), literally “mountain copper,” originally referred to some kind of copper
but by the end of the first century A.D. was used of brass. Brass was produced by alloying copper with
zinc-bearing ore (zinc as a metal was unknown in ancient times); see R. Forbes, Studies in Ancient
Technology 8 (Leiden, 1964), 265-75 and, on the nomenclature, 275-76.” Casson (1989), p. 112.
For details on the sources, production and uses of copper, bronze, brass and tin in China in the 17 th century, see:
Sung (1637), pp. 197, 242, 247, 251-252.
Alternatively, the name, nanjin or “southern gold,” could possibly refer to the striking golden colour of
certain wild silks; although this is by no means certain. See item 12.12 (3) in this list.
There are a number of references in early Chinese literature to nanjin as a very rare and highly-prized tribute
item coming from the south. Unfortunately, as seen above, it has never been clear exactly what this product was.
The Hanyu da cidian has several references to nanjin which show that as early as the Later Han it was being
included in a list of rare treasures which also included precious jewels, special fine silk (used to produce fans), and
fine mulberry paper. In the Pan shui it is listed along with ivory as a tribute item and says in a later entry that it
was a form of unbleached silk.
“Nan Jin see Pei Wen Yun Fu p. 1425. I think this is a kind of silk.” Dr. Ryden, personal email 2/7/98.
“India has a monopoly on the muga caterpillar, which thrives in the humidity of the Assam Valley and
produces a shimmering golden silk. The eri silkworm, raised on the castor plant in India, produces silk that
is extremely durable, but that cannot be easily reeled off the cocoon and must be spun like cotton or wool.”
Hyde (1984), p. 14.
The beautiful and expensive golden-coloured “wild” silk called “Muga” is produced only in the Brahmaputra
Valley - mainly Assam and adjoining parts of Burma. This silk has always been highly prized - not only for its
beautiful natural golden sheen, which actually improves with ageing and washing – but for the fact that it is the
strongest natural fibre known. Garments made of it outlast those made of ordinary silk - commonly lasting 50 years
or more.
In addition, it absorbs moisture better than ordinary silk and is, therefore, more comfortable to wear.
Nowadays, it is mainly sought after for the highest-quality saris given as dowry presents to wealthy brides in India.
There is, apparently, quite a racket in India, where other “wild” silks are dyed so they can be passed off as the
more expensive Muga variety.
12.12 (19) cuiqueyuhe 翠爵羽翮 [ts’ui-ch’üeh yu-he] – kingfisher feathers.
This term has caused some confusion among previous scholars:
“22. Tsui-chüeh yü-ke 翠爵羽翮 (WL, Sung-shu) 69 . Hirth and Needham suggest that this must be a jewel or

mineral, “green nephrites”, not kingfisher feathers. Others punctuate as two items, perhaps a jewel and
feathers?
69
HIRTH, p. 46, NEEDHAM, vol. 3, p. 665, SCHAFER, pp. 110-111, H/R, pp. 235-236, FANG HAO, p. 184. See
also KCTSCC 28, 46.
Leslie and Gardiner (1966), p. 212 and n. 69; also ibid, p. 73, n. 78.
The division of the phrase is, I believe, unjustified and unnecessary. Nor is there any indication or reference to a
gem or other mineral product.
I have identified this phrase as “kingfisher feathers” on the basis that kingfisher feathers were an important
and valuable import into China at this period. Furthermore, the actual meanings attached to the Chinese characters
are clear and unambiguous. Here are the definitions of the following entries according to Le Grand dictionnaire
Ricci de la langue chinoise:
翠 (GR 11530) – 1. (Ornith.) Kingfisher : Alcedo atthis. 2. The blue-green plumes of the kingfisher (used
as ornaments).
爵 (GR 3080) – [b] ch’üeh [= Pinyin: que] – generic name for little birds (e.g. sparrows)
羽翮 (GR 13156 + 3879; Vol. VI, p. 1050) – “羽翮 yü 3 he 2 (Ornith.) Quill of a bird feather. b. (by
extension) Plume, plume of the wing.
Kingfisher feathers had been an important luxury trade item since early times in China. During the Han they were
particularly sought after for wall hangings and bedcovers – in later centuries they became fashionable as headdress
decorations and bridal adornments. The Hanshu gives an interesting account of their early use in the Chinese court:
“In the time of Emperors Wen [170-157 BCE] and Ching [156-141 BCE] [the mood] had been one of silent
contemplation [rather than one of positive action]: for five reigns the people had been nurtured; the lands
below the skies were prosperous and rich; there was wealth and strength in plenty, and military horses in
full abundance. It was therefore possible [to accumulate manifold resources]. Having beheld rhinoceros
horn, ivory and tortoise shell, [the men of those days] founded seven commanderies, including Chu-ai;
allured by betel-nuts and bamboo staves, they opened up the commanderies of Tsang-k’o and Yüeh-sui;
and learning of the horses of Heaven and of the grape they started communicating with Ta Yüan [Ferghana]
and An-hsi [Parthia]. From then on rarities such as luminous pearls, striped shells, lined rhinoceros horn
and kingfisher feathers [were seen] in plenty in the empress’ palace; the p’u-shao, dragon-stipes, fish-eye
and blood-sweating horses filled the Yellow Gate; groups of great elephants, lions, ferocious beasts and
ostriches were reared in the outer parks; and wonderful goods of diverse climes were brought from the four
quarters of the world.
Thereupon [the emperor] had the Shang-lin [Park] enlarged and the K’un-ming Lake dug out; he laid
out the palace with its thousand gates and myriad doors, and erected the [two] eminences, [the one] where
the spirits dwell and [the other] which leads to Heaven; he hung aloft the curtains in their different series,
fastened together with Sui pearls and Ho jades. The Son of Heaven took his place within, with his back
against a screen figured in black and white; he was decked in a coverlet of kingfisher plumes and reclined
on an armrest decorated with jade. Wine was set out [sufficient to fill] a lake, and meats [in plenty like] a
forest, to entertain the guests of the four barbarian peoples; and as spectacle for them to admire, there were
exhibited [the dancers] of Pa-yü, [the perch-climbers] of Tu-lu, the pole springing up from an [artificial]
sea, with [the ballets] of the Man-yen [monster] and of the fishes and dragons, and [the performance] of the
bull game.” CICA: 198-201.
“Fairy feathers, plumes to satisfy the heart, had to be beautifully colored. So, like the royal artisans of
Hawaii, who plundered the nectar-eating drepanids, the royal artisans in Ch’ang-an desired such feathers as
the as the glorious yellow ones of the oriole, and the iridescent turquoise ones of the kingfisher. Kingfisher
feathers were by far the most important, and had been used since the earliest times in jewelry and the
richest kind of decoration, whether of the human body or of dwelling places. T’ang literature abounds in
references to objects as large as tents or canopies and as small as finger rings and other ladies’ trinkets
embellished with pieces of kingfisher plumes:
Mud stuck to her pearl-sewn shoes;

Rain wet her halcyon-plume hairpins.
Some of the highly prized feathers of this enameled bird came from a remote part of Lingnan, but most
were a product of Annam, where an uneasy T’ang protectorate still ruled.” Schafer, (1963), p. 110.
“The ancients attributed to the Kingfisher innumerable habits and properties equally improbable. They
supposed that it built its nest upon the ocean; but as this floating cradle would be likely to be destroyed by
storms, they endowed the bird with powers to lull the raging of the waves during the period of incubation:
hence those tranquil days near the solstice were termed halcyon days: and that the feathered voyager might
want no accomplishment, they attributed to it the charm of song. They also kept the dead body of the bird
as a safeguard against thunder, and as a relic by which the peace of families would be preserved. But it is
not to the fanciful genius of the ancients alone that this bird is indebted for wonderful attributes. The
Tartars and Ostiaks preserve the skin about their persons as an amulet against every ill; and they consider
that the feathers have magic influence, when properly used, in securing a female’s love: nor are such
superstitions entirely confined to barbarous nations; for there are persons, it is said, who believe that if the
body of a Kingfisher be suspended by a thread, its breast, by some magnetic influence, will invariably turn
to the north.” Maunder (1878), pp. 359-360.
12.12 (20) xiangya 象牙 [hsiang-ya] – ivory.
“From those animals that breathe, the most expensive produce found on land is ivory; in the sea, the turtle’s
shell.” Pliny NH (a), p. 377 (bk. XXXVII, chap. 204).
“The other product of Barbarā [the coast to the north of Tse-san / Azania, from the port of Opone, around
the Guardafui Peninsula to the entrance of the Red Sea] mentioned by Tuan Ch’eng-shih [in his Yu-yang
Tsa-tsu, ‘Assorted dishes from Yu-yang’, written “soon after the middle of the ninth century A.D.”] was
ivory, but he offered no further comment, and we have to wait until Sung times for details of the African
trade. The primary sources of ivory available to the Chinese in Sung times were South and Southeast Asia,
both lying within the natural range of the Indian elephant, but there were also supplementary supplies to be
obtained through Arab intermediaries from the coasts of Zangibār and Barbarā, where the African elephant
was laid under tribute. It is symbolic of the Arabo-Persian monopoly of trade in the Arabian and Azanian
Seas that the ivory staple seems not to have been on the African continent at all, but at Murbāt on the
Hadramaut coast. According to Chao Ju-kua, African ivory, with its delicate streaking on a white ground,
was considered superior to that from any part of Asia.” Wheatley (1975), p. 106.
“Ivory was a valuable commodity in the maritime network. The Muziris papyrus indicates that it made up
7.4 per cent of the cargo for transport between Muziris and Alexandria. Assuming a talent weight of 31.5
kilograms, the full shipment before collection of the quarter tax would have included 105 talents 13 minas
of tusks, that is 3,314 kilograms and 17 talents 33 minas of ivory fragments, that is 553 kilograms. Thus the
extremely valuable nature of the cargo in the western Indian Ocean trade is evident (Rathbone 2001:461). .
. .
The finds of ivory objects have, however, been few and include figurines from Pompeii, Ter and
Bhokardhan and comb, bangles, mirror handles, dice and other objects from Taxila. Two sites stand out for
their hoards, Begram in Afghanistan and the Jetavana treasure from Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. The fame
of the site of Begram rests on the 1937 and 1939 discoveries by J. Hackin’s team of a large number of
extraordinary artefacts in two sealed-off rooms in that part of the ‘New Royal City’ referred to by the
excavators as the palace, dated to the first century CE. The Sasanians are said to have destroyed this
structure in the third century. These objects consisted of glassware, bronzes, plaster medallions, porphyry
and alabaster objects from the Graeco-Roman world, fragments of Chinese lacquer boxes and bowls and
ivories and bone objects.
The extraordinary collection of ivory and bone carvings from Begram is unparalleled by any other
single find from anywhere in South or Central Asia. More than a thousand individual pieces were
discovered in the two excavated rooms and can be roughly divided into two categories: plaques and bands,
either engraved or in relief, and sculptures in high relief. The ivories vary in thickness from approximately
2 millimetres thick to between 8 and 12 millimetres thick (Mehendale 1997: 46). On some ivory and bone
objects traces of red and black paint were also found. While red appeared predominantly on floral and
zoomorphic decoration, black was sometimes used to accentuate the contours of the bodies, strands of hair
or the eyes of human figures. . . .

A somewhat different use may be indicated for the 400 objects of bone and ivory, which formed
part of the foundation treasure buried at the second-century BCE to third century CE Buddhist stupa at
Jetavana, Anuradhapura, in Sri Lanka. The Jetavana treasure comprises a very large collection of local and
imported objects including ceramics, intaglio seals, Roman, Indian and foreign coins, more than 600,000
beads, ivory, bronze ornaments, jewellery in a range of materials, sculptures, seven gold sheets with
assorted pages of the text of the Prajñāpāramitā and so on (Ratnayake 1990: 45). The ivory and bone
objects include nearly thirty types of artefacts, but it is significant that some of these are stylistically similar
to the ivories from Begram. Another significant find of an ivory figurine was from a relic casket from the
Ruvanvali dagaba in Sri Lanka dated to the second century CE. The nude female figurine wears a girdle of
beads around the waist (Ray 1993/1959: 266-7).” Ray (2003), pp. 231 and 233.
12.12 (21) fucaiyu 符采玉 [fu ts’ai-yu]. Coloured, veined jade.
It is not exactly clear what is meant here, but GR Vol. II under No. 3631, , p. 718, gives: “符彩 fu 2 ts’ai 3 1. Veins
and colours (of a jade).” The ABC dictionary gives (p. 270): “fūcăi 符采N. markings on jade.” And, of course, 玉
yu means jade (or other precious gemstones). So, I have translated the term as, “coloured veined jade.”
12.12 (22) mingyuezhu 明月珠 [ming-yüeh-chu] – ‘Bright moon’ pearls.
“The large pearls range from 0.5 to 1.5 inch across. There is a variety known as “pendant pearl,” which is
slightly oval in shape, somewhat resembling an inverted cooking pot, with one side highly lustrous
suggesting gold plating. One of these is worth as much as a thousand taels of silver. This pearl since ancient
days, has been labelled “bright moon” or “light at night.” Actually, these beautiful names have been
accorded to the pearls because they glimmer with a thread of light if held against the sun on a fair day, not
because there are pearls that really shine in the dark of night.” Sung (1637), p. 298.
“Ming-yüeh-chu are pearls produced in the southern seas, and if compared with those produced in the fresh
water inside China, they are bigger in size and of a superior quality. Since the ancient times, pearls are
produced mainly from the southern seas such as the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Persia, the Red Sea, and so
on. In the Han period, pearls produced in the Red Sea were imported through the eastern territory of the
Roman Empire. . . . ” Harada (1971), p. 72.
“The Indian Ocean is our main source of pearls, the most prized of all jewels. To get pearls men – including
the Indians – go to the islands, which are very few in number. The most productive are Taprobane [Sri
Lanka] and Stoidis, together with the Indian promontory of Perimula. Special praised are the pearls from
the islands around Arabia and in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.” NH (b), IX, 106 (p. 135).
“Ranking first among Oriental pearls for superior form, lustre, and orient are those produced by the
mohar, a variety of the Pinctada martensii species of saltwater mollusk. Found in the Persian Gulf with the
richest harvest taken from the waters of the great bight that curves from the peninsula of Oman to that of
Qatar, the pearls come from depths of 8 to 20 fathoms (48 to 10 feet). Pearls of fine quality are also fished
near Bahrain.
Another important source of Oriental pearls produced by Pinctada martensii is the neighbourhood of
Sri Lanka, particularly the Gulf of Mannar between South India and Sri Lanka. These pearls are marketed
in Madras, India, together with African pearls, taken chiefly from the banks that lie in the coastal waters of
East Africa.” NEB Vol. VII, p. 821.
“Sung shu 29.1509b. “Luminous pearls” f , according to later scholiasts, are “night-shining pearls” g . a
variant expression is “luminous-moon pearls” h , a term current before the Han dynasty. Actually the two
latter terms are synonymous, since yeh-kuang i “light of the night” is a metaphor for “moon.” Conrady has
observed the use of both of these expressions in reference to precious gems in texts of the Chou Dynasty,
ming-yüeh chi chu j being first observed in Chan-kuo ts’e. He suggests an Indian origin for them, with
analogues in candrakânta “moon-beloved” (a gem created by rays of moonlight, and shining only in the
moonlight) and harinmaṇi “moon-jewel” (used for emerald”). See A. Conrady, Das Älteste Dokument zur
Chinesischen Kunstgeschichte, T’ien-wen, Die “Himmelsfragen” des K’üh Yüan (Leipzig, 1931), pp.

168-169.”
f 明珠
g 夜光珠
h 明月珠
i 夜光
j 明月之珠
Schafer (1952), p. 155, n. 8.
“The “pearl as clear as the moon”, etymologically, gives the sense of the “astrion” of Pliny, perhaps,
according to Laufer, our asteria [probably the star sapphire].” Translated from: Boulnois (1992), p 171.
The following lines taken from the charming Han ballad, “Mulberry on the Bank” in Birrell, (1988), p. 169, gives
us a picture of a beautiful woman wearing ‘bright moon pearl’ earrings:
“Lo-fu loves the silkworm mulberry,
She picks mulberry at the wall’s south corner,
Of green silk her basket strap,
Of cassia her basket and pole.
On her head a twisting-fall hairdo,
At her ears bright moon pearls.
Of apricot silk her lower skirt,
Of purple silk her upper blouse.
Passersby see Lo-fu,
They drop their load, stroke their beard.”
12.12 (23) yeguangzhu 夜光珠 [yeh-kuang chu], literally – ‘Night-shining pearls,’ or, rather, ‘night-shining
(pearl-like) jewels or beads.” These are probably identical to the yeguangbi 夜光壁 [yeh-kuan-pi] – literally:
‘night-shining bi’ that are mentioned in the Hou Hanshu – see TWR Section 12 and note 12.1.
The identification of these “night-shining” gems has been a matter of extensive debate both in China and the West
for many years. Recently, balls of fluorite have been claimed to be the famous “night-shining” gems of Chinese
history. Specimens have been sold recently in the antique markets of China and Taiwan for truly astronomical
sums. Apparently, a 6 kilogram ball of fluorite was sold for 6 billion H.K. dollars in Guangzhou, and a 700
kilogram fluorite ball fetched 80 billion Taiwan dollars in Taiwan.
The claims that the “night-shining” gems were fluorite are almost undoubtedly false, and are based on the
well-known ability of certain types of fluorite to glow in various colours (fluoresce) under ultraviolet light and
continues to glow (phosphoresce) for some time after the light has been removed. However, it is most unlikely that
the ancients were able to produce artificial sources of ultraviolet light and, although some forms of fluorite will
also glow when heated (thermoluminescence) or crushed (triboluminescence) – but specimens will only show these
qualities once. Although often beautiful and showing a wide range of colours, fluorite is a very common mineral
both in China and in other parts of the world and is, therefore, unlikely to have been a much sought-after trade
item, or seen as a rarity.
Recently, Dr. WANG Chunyun of the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Guangzhou, has made, I believe, a very strong case that the yeguangzhu (sometimes called yemingzhu) of the

ancient texts actually referred to large diamonds of roughly spherical shape which were capable of concentrating
the light from weak sources at night and producing a relatively brilliant sparkle or beam of light. He also
documents the fact that these very rare and unusually large diamonds were, in fact, found in ancient China as well
as India, and convincingly demolishes the theories put forward by previous scholars favouring a number of other
minerals, such as fluorite. I am inclined to accept his proposals and refer interested readers to his three recent
papers (each with an English abstract): Wang (2004a, b, and c – see Bibliography).
“Then the index system was applied to the discrimination of diamond in ancient literature and records, and
it was recognized that at least ten different historical names such as night-shining jewel, precious jewel,
white jewel, etc. actually referred to diamond. From the ancient literature covering the nearly 4000 years
history lasting from the Five-Emperor Period to the Song Dynasty, about 58 diamond-related items of
literature records were initially deciphered, and at least 198 historically famous diamonds thus recorded
were discovered, among which there are at least 26 giant grained diamonds with per grain weight exceeding
100 carats [= 200 grams].” From the English Abstract to Wang (2004c).
“The lustre of the diamond is adamantine, a hard brilliant lustre, which is the result of the high reflective
index and the strong dispersion ( prismatic effect ) of the mineral. The term is derived from the Greek name
adamas (“invincible”) for the diamond. . . .
Since the beauty of the colourless, relatively small diamond is dependent on the fire that it displays,
great care must be taken in cutting. It was for this gem that the brilliant cut was designed, and the angle
between the crown and pavilion facets is cultivated so that the maximum of white light entering the crown
will be reflected back from the pavilion facets and be as widely separated into its spectral colours as
possible. If the diamond is large enough, such cutting is not required, because the white light travels far
enough in traversing the stone so that its spectrum is well developed. Such is the case with large Indian
diamonds that still retain their rather crude pre-18 th century cutting.” NEB, 7, p. 971.
For the sake of completeness I include here a couple of quotes on some of the more plausible alternative theories:
Both the Romans and the Chinese apparently had quite sophisticated crystal lenses at this early period and the
Egyptians had glass globes filled with water which were used to magnify as well as to start fires by focussing the
sun’s rays circa 3000 BCE and they were “extremely common in the Roman Empire – See Temple (2000), pp.
57-59, 89-90, 92. Conceivably, either the lenses or the water-filled globes could have been used to concentrate
weak sources of light at night and were, therefore, called “night-shining” gems, although they never seem to be
described as such in Chinese literature:
“A 4-cm biconvex rock-crystal lens was excavated in 1992 from a tomb at Jiangling in Hubei Province.
The date of the tomb was the so-called Spring and Autumn Period (722-480 BC); at that time the tomb was
in the ancient State of Chu. I have been unable to inspect this lens in person. I believe it is in a small
museum in that area, but I was prevented from getting there by floods on the occasion that I tried. The
philosopher Wang Chong (Wang Ch’ung in old style) 王充 who was born in 27 AD (in the later Han
period) wrote a famous work called the Lun-Heng 论衡. In it he mentions burning lenses. Much of the
work was translated by Alfred Forke (Forke, Alfred, Lun-Heng, 2 vols, 2nd edition, reprinted by Paragon
Book Gallery, New York, 1962). He says: ‘by burning-glasses . . . one may obtain fire from the sun . . .’
(Vol. II, p. 132) and ‘With a burning-glass one draws fire from Heaven’ (Vol. II, p. 351). And Forke points
out that James Legge had found evidence that burning-mirrors were very common during the Zhou Dynasty
(1030-221 BC), for which see Forke, Vol. II, p. 497 and the reference he gives to Legge, James, Sacred
Books of the East, Vol. XXVII, p. 449. An enormous survey of optical lenses in China and India was
written by the indefatigable Berthold Laufer in 1915: Laufer, Berthold, ‘Optical Lenses’, T’oung Pao,
Leiden, Vol. XVI, 1915: pp. 169-228 and 562-3. I have not the space to discuss it. Chinese optics is also
discussed by Jin Quipeng in an essay published in English in 1986: Jin Quipeng, ‘Optics’, in Ancient
China’s Technology and Science, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1986, pp. 166-75. In his essay, Jin
quotes Zhang Hua of the Jin Dynasty (265-420 AD) in his book Record of the Investigations of Things: ‘Cut
a piece of ice into a sphere, lift it in the sun and let its shadow fall on a piece of moxa [tinder made from an
Artemisia related to wormwood]; the moxa will be set alight’ (p. 174). This is the earliest surviving record
which I have found of ice being cut to make a burning-lens; later in the book we encounter a Frenchman
who did the same thing in the 18 th century.” Temple (2000), pp. 124-125, n. 13.
“The Chinese lore of “luminous pearls” (or “beads”) and “night-shining pearls” and “luminous moon

pearls” . . . goes back to Chou times, and may be ultimately of Indian origin. It has parallels and analogues
in many cultures. . . .
Actually, the luminescent “gems” seen in China were often the eyes of whales, which, like the body
parts of many marine creatures, were naturally phosphorescent. . . .
But there were also luminescent gems of mineral origin; some stones have this quality continually,
others only when rubbed or heated. During Hsüan Tsung’s first reign an embassy from Māimargh presented
the monarch with a gem called simply * piɒk. This was the name of an archaic flat stone ring, a symbol of
the heavenly kingship in Chou times; but it was also a word used interchangeably with *piäk, “dark
blue-green stone” and sometimes “luminescent blue-green stone.” If not a ceremonial jade ring, then, this
gift was probably made of chlorophane, the thermoluminescent variety of fluorite, which was undoubtedly
the material of the phosphorescent “emeralds” of classical antiquity, such as the green eyes of the marble
lion on the tomb of King Hermias of Cyprus, though the Hellenistic alchemists had methods, seemingly
magical, of making night-shining gems by the application of phosphorescent paints to stones, the most
famous being their “emeralds” and “carbuncles.” Schafer (1963), pp. 237-238. See also the notes under
item No. (22) above from Schafer (1952), p. 155, n. 8.
“Allow us to add that, according to Berthelot [Berthelot (M.). Introduction à l’étude de la chimie des
anciens et du Moyen Age. Paris, 1893 et Paris, Libraire des sciences et des arts, 1938], the Romans knew
how to make gems phosphorescent by rubbing them with tortoise bile. This “trick” had perhaps impressed
the Easterners.” Translated from: Boulnois (1992), pp. 170-171.
12.12 (24) zhenbazhu 白珠珠 [chen-pa chu] – genuine white pearls.
“In ancient times the Chinese had obtained some pearls from the waters off their central coast, but with the
establishment of the Han dynasty the old province of Ho-p’u, in what is now southwestern Kwangtung,
then a savage outpost, became the chief source of pearls. These, along with ivory, rhinoceros horn, silver,
copper, and fruits, came to typify the luxury-providing south to the well-to-do northerners. The pearl
fisheries of Ho-p’u were worked so intensively that the supply was exhausted. The Grand Protector of the
region in Later Han, Men Ch’ang, was able to restore the people’s livelihood by wise methods of control
and conservation. He was deified and became the spiritual patron of the fisheries, and the theme of the
“return of the pearls” to Ho-p’u was celebrated even in T’ang times in many ‘rhapsodies” (fu) illustrating
the bad economic effects of avarice and unrestrained exploitation. . . .
But the pearls brought in merchant vessels from the South Seas were esteemed above all Chinese
pearls for their color and lustre.” Schafer (1963), pp. 243, 244.
“As a result of the destruction of the Kingdom of Yüeh, which had been founded by the hero Chao
T’o in the wilderness about Canton, by the troops of the Warlike Emperor in 111 B.C., the natural wealth of
the South and its adjacent waters became available to the monarchs of the Han. Among the new
administrative areas set up by the central government for the control and exploitation of this land was
Ho-p’u chün – the Province of the Estuary of the Ho River. The province comprised a considerable territory
in what is now largely western Kuang-tung, including the Lei-chou Peninsula. The official census states
that the province included five counties (hsien), 15,398 (taxable) families, and 78,980 adult persons. The
seat of the provincial administration was established at Hsü-wen County near the southwest corner of
Lei-chou Peninsula, but was subsequently moved to Ho-p’u County, close to the modern town of that name
just east of the Ho River, and north of Pakhoi. The region represented a virtually untouched source of
luxury goods for the Chinese court and aristocracy. In the words of the Book of Han: “It is situated by the
sea, and abounds in rhinoceros and elephant [i.e. horn and ivory], tortoise-shell, pearls, silver, copper, fruit,
and stuffs. Many merchants going from the Central States obtain riches there.” The text goes on to describe
Hsü-wen and Ho-p’u Counties as important ports-of-call for ships trading in the South Seas.
Henceforth pearl-gathering was an important industry in southern China.” Schafer (1952), p. 155.
“With the partition of the Empire at the close of Later Han, Ho-p’u became the portion of the
maritime state of Wu. This southernmost of the Three Kingdoms changed the name of the province from
“Estuary of the Ho” to “Pearl Officer” aa . The renaming was restored before the end of the dynasty.”
aa 珠官 [zhuguan]

Schafer (1952), p. 157.
“Pearls, like coral, were highly valued in ancient China. In Pan Ku’s poems praising the Han palace, pearls
figure as importantly as coral. Unlike coral, pearls originated in south India and Ceylon. Pearls were one of
India’s important exports to the West during the early centuries AD (Periplus: 56, 59, 61). Fa-hsien
[beginning of the 5 th century AD] also remarked on the advanced organization of the Ceylon pearl fishery.
The king controlled the sources and took three-tenths of all the pearls that were harvested (864c). It was
more convenient to ship these pearls to south China via the sea than overland to the north through Central
Asia.
However, the Periplus mentions that pearls from Persia, although of lower quality than those of south
India, were also exported to Barygaza (36). . . .
It is difficult to determine whether pearls found in north China came by sea or via Central Asia. A
Japanese team found pearls in a site along the Amu Darya in Afghanistan (CAKP: I, 179). The fact that
pearls were among the jewels found in the tomb of Chang Chün in Liang-chou (CS: CXXII, 3067) proves
that at least part of those in China came from India through Central Asia. The following anecdote in the
Northern dynasties also suggests that pearls travelled the Northern Route: after the Northern Wei, when
north China was again divided into two parts, the Northern Ch’i (AD 550-77) in the east tried to purchase
pearls from their neighbours to the west, the Northern Chou. The Northern Chou controlled the route to the
Western Region. The fact that the Northern Ch’i sought pearls from a hostile neighbour – and not from the
South – suggests that pearls were more easily available in north than in south China.” Liu (1988), pp.
57-58.
“The Indian Ocean is our main source of pearls, the most prized of all jewels. To get pearls men – including
the Indians – go to the islands, which are very few in number. The most productive are Taprobane [Sri
Lanka] and Stoidis, together with the Indian promontory of Perimula. Specially praised are the pearls from
the islands around Arabia and in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea. . . .
There is a great variation in their brilliance. Pearls found in the Red Sea are bright, while those in the
Indian Ocean are like flakes of mica and exceed others in size. The longer ones have their own intrinsic
charm. The greatest praise is for pearls to be called alum-coloured.” Pliny NH (a), pp. 135, 136 (IX, 106,
112).
“Among the products of Nature, the most expensive derived from the sea is the pearl. . . . ” Pliny NH (a), p.
377 (bk. XXXVII, chap. 204).
12.12 (25) hupo 虎珀 [hu-p’o] – yellow amber – see GR No. 4870.
“... the most expensive products. . . from trees or shrubs, [are] amber, balsam, myrrh and frankincense. . . . ”
Pliny (a), p. 377 (XXXVII, 204).
“Hu-po 虎珀, GSR: 57b and 782o : χo / χuo – pak / pɐk. Pulleyblank (1963), p. 124, reconstructs as the
“Old Chinese” pronunciation of hu-po *ha̲-•phlak, and thinks – contrary to Laufer (1919), p. 523 – that this
may represent Greek ἅρπαξ, [‘arpax’] “amber”.” CICA: 107, n. 226.
“AMBER :– Hu-po 琥珀, abounds in Yun-nan especially the clouded variety bright or clear
Ming-p’o 明珀, Clouded Yün-p’o 雲 珀, flowery ‘Hua-p’o 花珀, stony Shih-p’o 石珀, variegated dark,
Chüeh-p’o 碏珀 q.q.v. Dr. F. P. Smith says. The first Chinese name Hu-po is founded upon the legend that
the soul P’o 魄 of the tiger 虎 is changed after death into this substance. It is supposed to be the resin of a
Pinus or liquid amber, buried for some thousand years, or, perhaps some altered fungus. Small pieces of an
indifferent colour are brought from Li-chiang Fu and Yung-chang Fu in Yun-nan, but the market is
supplied from Annam, the islands of the Indian archipelago, and according to Dr. Williams, from Africa.
O-shih-mo Chüeh-p’o, 阿濕摩掲婆, is given as its Sanscrit name. Cambodia, Korea, and Japan are said to
have yielded this substance, whose electrical and chemical and chemical properties are tolerably well
described in the Pen-ts’ao. Retinite is probably included under this head. Pieces containing insects &c., are
held in great repute. The best pieces are all made into courtbeads and ornaments. Much of what is
attempted to be sold is fictitious, being made from colophony and copal. Lenitive, diuretic, sedative, tonic,
nervine, astringent and many other fanciful properties are attributed to this inert substance. A dark,
jade-like kind of amber called Hsi-p’o 璽珀 said to come from Tangut, yields succinic fumes, and is
supposed to be an older fossil than amber.” Mesny (1896), pp. 90-91.

“The ‘Baltic’ Balts are first mentioned by Tacitus, under the name of Aestii; he praises their skill at
growing crops, ‘with a patience quite unusual among the lazy Germans’. Of more general importance was
that the land of the Aestii produced (and still does produce) most of the world’s supply of amber. Beads of
this substance made their appearance in Greece as early as 1500 BC, and were also exported to many other
parts of the world. The Roman Empire, as usual, operated on a larger scale than anything done before.
From Pliny, for example, we hear that in Nero’s reign (AD 54-68) a Roman businessman visited the amber
country and brought back enough amber to decorate all the equipment for a large gladiatorial show. The
biggest piece weighed thirteen pounds.” Sitwell (1984), p. 41.
“In Europe the biggest and most important supplies of amber traded in early times were found at Samland
on the Baltic coast and in smaller quantities on the North Sea. The chief mining area was near Kaliningrad
(formerly Konigsberg). . . . An important eastern route ran from the Baltic coast along the Vistula and
through the territory of Kiev southeastwards to the Black Sea. Here this Eastern amber route linked up with
the long and ancient overland connections to the Near East, central and east Asia and India. . . . Some of
the amber sold in Asia came from Burma.” Raunig (1984), pp. 14-15.
“Of the extreme tracts of Europe towards the west I cannot speak with any certainty; for I do not allow that
there is any river, to which the barbarians give the name of Eridanus, emptying itself into the northern sea,
whence (as the tale goes) amber is procured; 123 . . . . ” Herodotus, 5 th cent. BC, 1996 edition: 274 (III.115).
[“Here Herodotus is over-cautious and rejects as fable what we can see to be truth. The amber district upon
the northern sea is the coast of the Baltic about the Gulf of Dantzig, and the mouths of the Vistula and
Niemen, which is still one of the best amber regions in the world. The very name, Eridanus, lingers there in
the Rhodaune, the small stream which washes the west side of the town of Dantzig. The word Eridanus
(Rhodanus) seems to have been applied, by the early inhabitants of Europe, especially to great and
strong-running rivers.” Ibid, note 123 on page 301 by George Rawlinson. See also: Miller (1959), pp. 15
and 41, n. 26.
12.12 (26) shanhu 珊瑚 [shan-hu] – (red) coral.
“Since the period of the Former Han dynasty coral had been an extremely valuable commodity. . . .
From where and on what route did coral – so highly valued by the Chinese – come to China? Red
coral from the western Mediterranean and the Red Sea was one of the major items shipped to the East from
the time of the Periplus (28, 39, 49). The histories of the Later Han (HHS: LXXXVIII, 2919), the Three
Kingdoms (SKC: XXX, 861) and the Chin (CS: XCVII, 2544) mention coral as a product of Ta-ch’in, i.e.
the Roman empire. A later Chinese account gives a detailed description of how coral was collected from
the sea in Ta-ch’in: the Romans dropped iron nets on the coral reefs so that the yellowish young coral
would grow on them. Three years later they came back to collect the coral once it had turned red (Hsin
T’ang-shu: CCXXI, 6261).
Those records definitely refer to Mediterranean red coral. There were three possible routes to ship the
coral to China. The most frequented route was the Southern Route to India. In the time of the Periplus the
primary destination of coral in Roman cargo ships was India. Pliny mentions that coral was as highly
treasured in India as pearls were in Rome (XXXII, 11). Coral beads along with beads of other precious
materials have been found in north-Indian sites, for example at Rajghat in the level of the pre-Kushan
period (Narain 1976-8: II, 12). . . .
The second possible route was through the Northern Route of Central Asia. The Wei history
describes coral as originating in Persia, probably because some coral was transported through Persia and
the Northern Route into Central Asia. Ferghana’s gift to the Chao state in 331 AD included coral (Wang
Chung-lo 1979: 704).
The sea route from the Red Sea to south China was the third, and the most unlikely, way. Although
there are some vague references to coral imported from southern ports during Han times (Shu-i-chi: 1/3a-b),
most other Chinese sources call coral one of the commodities from the Western Region. . . . No matter
where the coral originated, north India was probably the main supplier of trans-shipped coral to China
before the T’ang dynasty.” Liu (1988), pp. 54-57
“The author lists coral as an import at Barygaza (49:16.21) and at Muzuris and Nelkynda (56:18.19) as well
as here [at Barbarikon, near the mouth of the Indus]. According to Pliny (32.21), the Indians prized coral as
highly as the Romans did pearls. They have continued to prize it. Watt (ii 532) reports that fine pieces of
red coral from the Mediterranean were worth twenty times their weight in gold. The coral exported to India

in ancient times must have come from the Mediterranean (cf. under 28:9.16). Indeed, so much was exported
from there that by Pliny’s day supplies had become scarce (Pliny 32.23 and cf. Warmington 263-64).”
Casson (1989), p. 191.
“Coral is as highly valued among the Indians as Indian pearls. It is also found in the Red Sea, but there it is
darker in colour. The most prized is found in the Gallic Gulf around the Stoechades Islands, in the Sicilian
Gulf around the Aeolian Islands, and around Drepanum. . . .
Coral-berries are no less valued by Indian men than specimen Indian pearls by Roman ladies. Indian
soothsayers and seers believe that coral is potent as a charm for warding off dangers. Accordingly they
delight in its beauty and religious power. Before this became known, the Gauls used to decorate their
swords, shields and helmets with coral. Now it is very scarce because of the price it commands, and is
rarely seen in its natural habitat.” Pliny (a), p. 281 (XXXII, 21, 23).
“CORALS. The name commonly given to the stony skeletons of polypes, which in warm seas build up the
well-known and dangerous reefs. The term is also applied to the skeletons of another group of polypes,
which produce the red and pink coral so much used for personal ornaments. The Coral Fishery, to be
noticed presently, is only for the latter kind, as the white coral – that which is best known by the beautiful
arborescent or massive specimens in our museums – has little commercial value. . . .
A few words in this place regarding the CORAL FISHERY may not be inappropriate. . . . Red Coral
is found in the Mediterranean, on the shores of Provence, about the isles of Majorca and Minorea, on the
south of Sicily ; on the coast of Africa ; and, lastly, in the Ethiopic Ocean, and about Cape Negro. The
divers say that the little branches are found only in the caverns whose situation is parallel to the earth’s
surface, and open to the south.” Maunder (1878), pp. 148, 149.
“The red coral of the Mediterranean, which is not of great value today, was appreciated in Antiquity, in the
Orient and the West, in various grades. Some unusual qualities were attributed to it: that of fading on the
skin of those who were seriously ill (replacing diagnosis!); and that of protection from dangers. They were
put into certain charms of the Middle Ages, and something of its magical character survives in the present
practice of wearing it against the “evil eye” in certain superstitious quarters of the Mediterranean. It is
always very sought after in Central Asia and in Tibet, and in China it has been made part of medicinal
substances for a long time.” Translated from: Boulnois (1992), p. 74.
“Coral was exported [from Egypt] to India as well as to Arabia. . . . Red Sea coral, to be had all along the
western coast of Arabia, hardly required importation via shippers from Egypt; moreover, it was considered
of inferior quality (Pliny 32.21). The coral referred to here [in the Periplus] must have come from the
Mediterranean, which produced prized varieties. . . . ” Casson (1989), p. 163.
12.12 (27) Ten varieties of glass: red, white, black, green, yellow, blue-green, dark blue, light blue, fiery red,
purple: 赤白黑綠黃青紺縹紅紫十種流離.
Glass = liuli 流離 [liu-li]. There has been much discussion about whether liuli in these early texts referred to glass
or to some natural gemstone. See, for example, Leslie and Gardiner (1996), p. 213.
By the first century CE glass in all its forms had become one of the major exports of the Roman Empire. This
was due to three main factors:
a. Rome had recently acquired the main glass-producing centres of the ancient world which were mainly
centred in Syria and Egypt. Rome not only controlled their production and exports but imported the latest
technologies (and top craftsmen) to Italy itself where a huge new industry was established.
b. The Syrians, in particular, had not only developed techniques for producing clear glass wares (which,
until foreigners became aware of the scam) could be passed off as valuable rock crystal wares, but were
able to produce transparent glass in a very wide range of colours. It seems that it was several centuries
before transparent (rather than merely translucent or opaque) varieties of glass were produced in China –
see below.
c. The development of glass-blowing in the second half of the first century BCE – probably in Syria – meant
that, for the first time, glass vessels could be cheaply and quickly mass-produced. The industry expanded
rapidly and by the end of the first century CE free-blown and mould-blown glassware formed the bulk of
glass objects produced in the Roman Empire.

It is generally accepted that only opaque glass was produced in China until superior manufacturing technology was
introduced by Yuezhi merchants in the fifth century. The following account of this technology transfer also makes
it clear that the liuli previously imported from the west was indeed glass:
“According to the Pei-shih . . . it was during the time of T’ai-wu of the northern Wei dynasty (A.D.
424-452) that traders came to the capital of Wei from the country of the Ta-yüeh-chih . . . , bordering on the
north-west of India 1 who said that, by fusing certain minerals, they could make all colours of liu-li. They
then gathered and digged in the hills, and fused the minerals at the capital (near the present Ta-t’ung-fu in
Shan-hsi). When ready, the material so obtained was of even greater brilliancy than the liu-li imported from
the west. The Pei-shih specially states that, after this event, articles made of glass became considerably
cheaper in China than they had been before. . . .
1. According to the Wei-shu, quoted in the Yüan-chien-lei-han, ch. 364, p. 31, they came from India . . .”
Hirth, pp. 230-231 and n. 1. [Note that Hirth quotes another story from Grosier’s Description de la Chine, edition of 1787,
Vol II, p. 464, which relates this event to an “Emperor Tai-tsu” of the Sung, which Hirth maintains was another name for
emperor Wen-ti of the Sung (A.D. 424 to 454). Doubt has, however, been cast on the authenticity of this latter story – see Leslie
and Gardiner, p. 214 and n. 75. Also: Boulnois (1992), pp. 178-179.]
“Tracing the history of glass as a commodity in Chinese foreign trade poses several problems.
Previously, scholars thought that China did not develop glass-making techniques until the fifth century AD.
But since the 1930s, many glass samples have been found in tombs dating from the fifth century BC. Doris
Dohrenwend recently summarized the history of Chinese glass comprehensively. She divides Chinese glass
into two categories. The small opaque items pre-dating the third century AD are liu-li, and the transparent
vessels from the T’ang dynasty onwards are po-li. Between the two phases during the Northern and
Southern dynasties there was a ‘glass mini-boom,’ as indicated by a series of glass vessels of doubtful
provenance (Dohrenwend 1980: 426-46).
Today no one doubts that the Chinese made glass long before the Christian era. There is also clear
evidence that China imported glass from foreign countries even up to the Ch’ing dynasty. The real question
is: did the Chinese regard the ancient opaque items made by them or their ancestors as being the same thing
as the transparent or colourful glass they imported at the same time? Obviously not. Both terms, liu-li and
po-li, appeared in the Chinese vocabulary after contact with the Western Region, and both have Sanskrit
origins.” Liu (1988), pp. 58-59. See also ibid. pp. 60-63, 80, 160-161.
“Glass had been familiar to the Chinese for centuries, and had been manufactured by them since late Chou
times. Their language distinguished two kinds of glass, liu-li and po-li. Liu-li was colored glass, either
opaque or only dully translucent, or even a colored ceramic glaze; it was akin to the lead glass which we
call “paste,” and like paste was thought of as a substitute for natural gemstones, especially for green and
blue ones. Indeed, it was sometimes confused with real minerals, such as lapis lazuli, beryl, and, no doubt,
turquoise. Po-li, on the other hand, was transparent, either colorless, like rock crystal, and compared with
water and ice, or else palely tinted. Liu-li was already old in China, but blown vessels of po-li were a
novelty in T’ang.
Little need be said of the false gem liu-li. It was familiar in both life and literature, and was doubly
exotic in that it came occasionally with embassies from the West, and was also reported of distant cultures,
such as Pyü in Burma. . . . ” Laufer (1912), pp. 235-236.
“The Chinese word liu-li apparently transcribes Pali veḻuriyam (Sanskrit vaiḏūrya) and in the Buddhist
literature continues to have the same referent, that is, “beryl” or some other green gem. For this reason,
Laufer (1946), 111-112, did not accept the meaning “glass” for it, and, though he admitted that certain
colored glazes were sometimes called liu-li, he considered po-li the only usual word for glass in China.
Po-li transcribes a form close to Sanskrit sphaṯika, “crystal.” Cf. Needham (1962), 105-106.” Schafer
(1963), p. 335, n. 137.
“One of the products that Rome exported further and further afield, was glass objects, particularly coloured
glasses, containers of all sorts, cut glass, glass beads for necklaces from the workshops of Syria or those of
Puteoli. These necklace beads have been found from the shores of England to those of the Annam Sea, in
Central Asia and the Ukraine. They were made round or oval, pear-shaped and cylindrical, in the shape of

disks and amphora, in opaque and translucent glass. There were blues and greens, and whimsical beads
made of alternating layers of blue glass, bronze, and white pottery.” Translated from Boulnois (1992), p.
75.
“Glass, for example, initially imported from Hellenistic nations, was first introduced in China during the
Warring States period [481-221 BCE], as the fragments discovered at Jincun near Luoyang, or at Changsha
have confirmed. Apart from being prized for its beauty, glass, which was as uncommon in China as jade
and served as a substitute for jade, was considered priceless by the rulers of that era on account of its rarity.
Under the Han dynasty, glass was imported from Syria which filled specific orders for the Chinese market.
Indeed, glass was used to produce jewels and inlaid work for belt plates or bronze mirrors. Sometimes it
was substituted for jade in the form of small plates that were inserted in the mouths of corpses. Authors
even wrote admiring poems to praise this extraordinary substance.” Elisseeff (1983), pp. 163-164.
“The evidence for Roman trade in glass with the cities along the east coast of South India is exactly the
opposite of that on the west coast. There is no written evidence, but finds from excavations are abundant. A
Chinese record from the end of the second century B.C. says that, among other goods, the Chinese got glass
from Kanchipuram. 30 No published archaeological evidence for glass trade at Kanchipuram is known to
me, nor for glass trade from its ports at Vasavasmudram and Mahabalipuram. However, the chance find of
a large fragment of a Mediterranean amphora at Vasavasmudram indicates that Mediterranean wares
reached this port. Therefore, the possibility cannot be excluded that glass exported from the West to
Kanchipuram was destined for transit trade with China.”
30. J. Duyvendak, China’s Discovery of Africa (London 1949) 9-10. See also Stern (infra n. 37) [E. M. Stern, Ancient
Glass at the Fondation Custodia (Collection Frits Lugt) Paris (Groningen 1977) 25-30.]
Stern (1991), p. 117 and nn. 30, 37. See this article for a detailed discussion of the types of glass
manufactured in the Roman Empire and exported to India and Africa and which are probably indicative of
the types of glass and glass wares exported to China as well. Also see the excellent chapter on the
development of glass technology in Uberti (1988), pp. 536-561.
12.12 (28) qiulin 璆琳 [ch’iu lin] – a magnificent form of jade. The oldest reference I can find to qiulin and
langgan are in the Guanzi 管子 which says that they originated:
“. . . from the mountains nearby the Yuzhi [Yuezhi];” specifically the Kunlun mountains.
Now, the compilation of the Guanzi “was probably begun by the scholars of the Chi-hsia Academy
founded c. 302 B.C. in Ch’i State, that most of the chapters belong to the third century, while some may
still be earlier, and others were added in the second or even the first century B.C. Thus the book was mostly
written before the Han period, even though some of its ideas are of a later date. . . .” Pokora (1973), pp.
31-32.
“In the “Qingzhong Jiapian 蜻重甲篇 of the same book [the Guanzi] it is also recorded:
If what is valued at no less than one thousand pieces of gold are white jade discs, then we should be
able to persuade the Yuezhi, who are at a distance of 8,000 li, to present tribute. If clasps and
earrings worth no less than one thousand pieces of gold are made from qiulin 璆琳 (a kind of
beautiful jade) or langgan 琅玕 (a kind of white carnelian), then we should be able to cause the
Kunlun Hills 昆侖之虚, which are at a distance of 8,000 li, to present tribute.
The “Qingzhong Yipian” records also: “Jade originates from the mountains nearby the Yuzhi [Yuezhi],
which are at a distance of 7,000 li from Zhou 周.” Yu (1998), p. 48.
Yu believes these “Kunlun” Mountains “may have referred to the Altai Mountains,” but I prefer the more usual
definition of them as the high chain of mountains separating the Tarim Basin from the Tibetan Plateau and, in
particular, the famous jade-bearing regions south of Khotan and Yarkand. Other definitions of qiulin are listed
below:
璆琳 is defined in GR No. 2199 as a “beautiful precious stone”; magnificent jade.”
璆 – ch’iu is listed in Williams, p. 171 as: “a hard jaspery kind of stone hung up to tinkle in the wind; the

inging of jade ornaments.”
The character 璆 – ch’iu is listed in Couvrier, p. 386 as a “beautiful stone…” and the equivalent of 球 –
ch’iu: “Name of a beautiful stone, which was offered by Yungchou”. Yungchou was one of the nine
divisions of the empire made by Yü the Great.
Williams (p. 526) defines 琳 – lin as: “A valuable stone mentioned among the articles of tribute with the球
[ch’iu] in the Shu King; it was brought from the west, and was probably a variety of veined jade.”
12.12 (29) langgan 琅玕 [lang- kan] – probably a whitish chalcedony. There have been many definitions of
langgan and, perhaps, it has meant different things at different times. For example, it has frequently been described
as a kind of branching coral or “coral tree.”
The Qingzhong Jiapian of the Guanzi (quoted under 12.12 (28) above), which was probably written around
the time of the Early Han, describes langgan being traded into China from Central Asia by the Yuezhi. Probably
the Weilue’s account refers to a type of precious stone rather than some form of coral. Yu’s identification of it as a
“kind of white carnelian” undoubtedly indicates the whitish form of chalcedony. Carnelian, a form of chalcedony
is, by definition, a reddish colour, but it is found in a variety of other colours, including bluish-white, grey, yellow,
or brown. It is a waxy, fine-grained form of silica much favoured by gem engravers.
On the other hand, the GR No. 6687, gives, among its definitions: “balas-ruby : a precious stone of yellow or
red from the Indies; a stone in the form of a pearl; name of a tree : a tree of pearl.
Williams (1909), p. 498 says: “[lang kan:] white coral of a firm texture, branched like a Gorgonia,
but not susceptible of polish.”
“Lang-kan 琅玕is a stone variously said to resemble pearl and jade; the term occurs in the Shu-ching
(6.21a; Couvreur, p. 79; Legge, III, 127). Legge suggests that it is lapis lazuli. Schafer describes lang-kan
as a fairy gem, the stuff or fruit of a tree of paradise, or of an axial world-tree” (“The Origin of an Era,” p.
545; cf. his The Golden Peaches of Samarkand, p. 246, and The Vermilion Bird, p. 159).” Rogers (1968), p.
257, n. 486.
“Since the period of the Former Han dynasty coral had been an extremely valuable commodity. In eulogies
describing the court’s brilliance in Former Han time, Later Han writers such as Pan Ku mentioned ‘coral
trees’, i.e. branch coral (Liang-tu-fu, 4a). In fiction written in a later period coral trees symbolize the
extravagance of the Former Han court. It is said of Emperor Wu of the Former Han built a shrine with
‘coral window lattice’, and with ‘coral trees’ planted around it, where he searched for immortality in vain
(Lu Hsün 1939: 347). This tradition of using coral continued after the Han. 1 It seems that coral was the
most precious and, hence, the ideal item of tribute. More specific records about the use of coral appear after
the Han. . . . ”
1
“Even as late as the T’ang. In the famous picture by the T’ang artist Yen Li-pen: ‘Foreign envoys coming with their tributes’
(Schafer 1963), many envoys carry a piece of ‘coral tree’.”
Liu (1988), p. 54, and n. 1. On these “tree corals” see also, for example: Maunder (1878), p. 398 under
“Madrepore”.
“Related to the trees of red coral in P’eng-lai were trees of the mysterious mineral lang-kan in
P’eng-lai’s continental counterpart, K’un-lun, where the peaches of immortality grew. These trees of fairy
gems, colored blue or green or blue-green, were well known in ancient days, and were reported in the
classical books of Chou and early Han. Though the lang-kan tree of the West was, for the medieval
Chinese, another fable, like the coral tree of the East, and as Aladdin’s jewelled tree is to us, nonetheless a
substance called lang-kan was imported in T’ang times from the barbarians of the Southwest and from
Khotan. Some said it was a kind of glass, that is, related to the colored paste called liu-li, but others told of
a stony lang-kan, which was a species of coral fished from the sea, red when fresh but gradually turning
blue. Perhaps some lang-kan was blue or green coral, and some a glassy blue-green mineral; in any case, it
was related to “dark-blue kan,” from which were made miniature mountains brought to China in the tenth
century from Yünnan. . . .” Schafer (1963), p. 246.
12.12 (30) shuijing 水精 [shui-ch’ing] – rock crystal or transparent glass – see GR 9942. The Chinese at this period

apparently did not know how to make transparent glass so rock crystal and clear glass were often confused but,
glass must be what is meant here. See note 11.28.
12.12 (31) meigui 玫瑰 [mei kuei] – various semi-precious gems. The GR, under No. 7682, says that mei kuei
referred in ancient times to black mica or biotite. It seems probable that the term meigui 玫瑰originally referred to
a bright red sparkling gem, possibly garnet, from whence the word mei derived its other meaning of ‘a (red) rose.’
Dictionaries and other sources turn up a wide variety of definitions of meigui ranging from red garnets to black
mica.
The reason for this confusion is made clear in the 17 th century T’ien-kung K’ai-wu, which states that meigui
refers to uncut (though possibly polished) semi-precious stones in a wide variety of colours:
“As for the mei kuei or “round” gems [probably garnet or mica] of the sizes of beans or green lentils, they
are of all colors – red, green, blue, and yellow. The mei kuei gems occupy the same rank among gem stones
as that of chi among pearls.” Sung (1637), pp. 299-300. Of interest here is the fact that the chi are defined
as the lowest grade of pearls: “. . . . and the odd-shaped and fragmentary pearls are called chi.” Ibid, 298).
I have accepted this broader interpretation of mei kuei as uncut semi-precious stones here as the most likely,
although I must note that it is not certain the term had this connotation during the Han period.
12.12 (32) xionghuang 雄黃 [hsiung-huang] – realgar – literally, ‘Masculine Yellow.’
“HSIUNG HUANG 雄黃 :– Red Orpiment of Realgar, also supposed to be allied to Hartal, if not the
identical substance.
Hsiung Huang however abounds in Kuei-chou, and is found in other parts of China. It runs in veins
in the mountains whence it is extracted much the same way as cinnabar which it somewhat resembles in
appearance.
The Prefectures of Hsing-yi Fu, Tsun-yi Fu, Ssū-nan Fu, and the Sub-prefecure of Lang-tai Ting, are
known to have produced it for ages. It is of a bright red colour with nodules of yellow stuff, and is said to
be a natural combination of sulphur and arsenic in equal parts.
The price in Kuei-chou for the best is about a shilling a pound, 30 cents a catty. See Red Orpiment.
The semi-transparent substance known in Kuei-chou as Ming Huang 明黃 and found at Chê-hêng in
the Prefecture of Hsing-yi, in that Province, is I believe a superior kind of orpiment or realgar and sells in
Kuei-chou where it is found at one tael a catty, say one dollar a pound. Its use is, I believe, confined to
medicine, whilst Hsiung Huang 雄黃, the subject of this paper, is made up into household ornaments, such
as wine pots, wine cups, images, paperweights, and various other kinds of ornaments and charms, to be
kept near at hand in use, or worn about the person, with a view of warding off disease.” Mesny (1899), p.
251.
“HSIUN-HUANG 雄黃, Hsiung 雄, which means the Masculine Yellow, or an equivalent to
Superior in quality of colour or effect, and which I believe ought most properly be applied to the mineral
when prepared for use as medicine or colouring.” Mesny (1905), p. 425.
“Realgar (AsS) is a soft, sectile mineral, often powdery. It has a resinous luster, and varies in color
from aurora-red to orange-yellow. It occurs commonly in association with orpiment and other arsenic
minerals, with stibnite, and with lead, silver and gold ores. It is frequently encountered as a sublimation
from volcanoes and hot springs. . . .
As to the location of realgar mines outside of China, Pliny [Nat. Hist. 35, 22] tells of one on the
island of Topazus in the Red Sea, but he says that the mineral was not imported thence. He adds elsewhere
[Ibid, 33, 22] that it could be found in gold and silver mines. . . .
There is little to say about the use of realgar as a pigment in China. Li Shih-chen mentions it, saying
it yields a yellow color when ground fine. So say also the writings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
but ancient references are lacking, and nowhere is there any indication that it was regarded as at all
comparable to orpiment for painting, as indeed it is not.
On the other hand, realgar has been important in Chinese medicine since antiquity. Its virtues are
basically of three sorts, and all three of these are mentioned in the Shen-nung pen-ts’ao ching. The are: (1)
as a general restorative and rejuvenator ; for lightening the body to the condition of a deity or Taoist sylph ;
(2) for specific diseases, notably chills and fever, scrofula, ulcers, abscesses, and necrosis ; (3) against
insect and reptile poisons. These applications of the drug are mentioned again and again, with some

variations, in all of the Chinese medical writings down to the time of Li Shih-chen himself.” Schafer
(1955), pp. 78, 79, 80, 83.
“Like orpiment, realgar is a compound of sulphur and arsenic, and (also like orpiment) it was thought to be
a “seed of gold,” all the more so because it was found near gold deposits. In alchemical lore it was believed
to have the power of transforming copper into gold, and even to become gold itself. . . .
Realgar also had an important place in the materia medica being recommended as a cure for skin
diseases, as an antiseptic for poisoned wounds, as a rejuvenator, and as an apotropaion [an amulet to ward
off evil]; a prepared realgar egg in the Shōsōin collection of old medicines may be supposed to have the
last-named role. In particular, the drug was effective against the incubi which haunted mad women; the
sufferer was relieved by fumigating her genitals with a burning ball of realgar and pitch.
Realgar has been mined, with orpiment, in several parts of China in early times, but in T’ang the best
was imported from unnamed countries in the West. There were important deposits of the arsenic sulphides
south of Ta-li in the country of Nan-chao; possibly some came into T’ang as well.” Schafer (1963), pp.
219-220.
12.12 (33) cihuang 雌黃 [tz’u-huang] – orpiment; literally,’ Feminine Yellow.’
“TZ’U HUANG 雌黃 :– Feminine Yellow. The female of Hsiung Huang 雄黃, which is Realgar.
The name Tz’u-huang, I believe ought to be applied to the artificial variety of Realgar, which is
equivalent with our orpiment or sulphuret of arsenic, called in India Hartal. Asz Sz.
According to Thomson’s Chemistry “Orpiment when artificially prepared is in the form of a fine
yellow coloured powder, but it is found indigenous in many parts of the world, particularly in Bohemia,
Turkey, China and Ava. It is exported from the last two in considerable quantities, and is known in the East
by the name of hartal. Native orpiment is composed of thin plates of a lively gold colour intermixed with
pieces of a vermillion red, of a shattery foliaceous texture, flexible, soft to the touch like talc, and sparkling
when broken. Specific gravity 3.45. The inferior kinds are of a dead yellow, inclining to green, and want
the bright appearance of the best specimens. Its principal use is as a colouring drug among painters,
bookbinders, etc.”
In China it is used as a medicine, but is highly poisonous, and deadly, to flies. It is sometimes used to
poison arrows and other weapons, and is used for some purpose in the Arsenals at Nanking and other
places.” Mesny (1899), p. 251.
“Orpiment (As2S3) is a beautiful yellow mineral, frequently with a lustrous golden color. Sometimes
it is found in association with other ores of arsenic and antimony. It is soft, sectile, and markedly cleavable.
. . .
It cannot be told whether orpiment was clearly distinguished from other yellow pigments before the
beginning of the Han dynasty. In the second century B. C., the name which became standard for all time
appears in the literature of China. . . .
Since realgar has generally been regarded in China as a more valuable product than orpiment, mines
where both of these minerals occurred are usually first referred to as sources of realgar. . . .
It seems likely that the Chinese would have used orpiment as a pigment in prehistoric times, but the
presence of the mineral has not been verified on any object made before the beginning of the Christian era. .
. .” Schafer (1955), pp. 73, 75,76,77.
“The beautiful yellow arsenic sulphide named orpiment (from auripigmentum), also called “king’s yellow”
by Western painters, was in China “hen yellow” because it was found associated with realgar, which was
“cock yellow.” The alchemists called it, in their cabalistic jargon, “blood of the divine woman” or “blood of
the yellow dragon,” and they claimed that the kind like “spat blood” brought up by ship was superior to the
native mineral mined in Hunan. It was also named “sperm of gold,” because of supposed mineralogical
relation with gold, as azurite was “sperm of copper.” This fine color had been imported from Champa and
Cambodia at least as early as the fifth century, and was therefore also called “Kurung yellow.” Accordingly
we are not surprised to find it as the golden yellow of the paintings on silk brought back from Tun-huang.
The vicinity of Mastūj was reputed in T’ang times to be rich in orpiment and grapes, but we don’t know if
either of these products was exported thence to China.” Schafer (1963), pp. 213-214.
“Tz’u-huang. . . Orpiment (represents the yin principle in the pair of substances, orpiment – realgar).”
Translated from: Glossaire de l’alchimie chinoise. By Pregadio (undated).

“There is a method of making gold from orpiment which is mined in Syria for painters; it is found on the
surface and has the colour of gold, but is brittle and like selenite. Its potential attracted the Emperor Gaius
Caligula who was obsessed with gold. He ordered a great weight of orpiment to be melted; and certainly it
produced excellent gold, but the yield was very low and so, although orpiment sold for 4 denarii a pound,
he lost out by the experiment which his greed had led him to initiate. The experiment was not subsequently
repeated by anyone else.” Pliny NH (a), p. 299 (bk. XXXIII, chap. 79).
12.12 (34) bi 碧 [pi] – a precious stone – sometimes green – sometimes blue. Perhaps a form of nephrite or
chalcedony.
GR No. 8810, gives: “1. name of a greenish-blue stone, resembling jade; nephrite; jasper. 2. Blue-green;
green jade; jade blue; sky blue. Azure.”
“Pi (pyĕk), on the other hand, though a respectably old word, was less brilliant [than lang-kan] and not
exotic at all. In early post-Han times, it had still been the name of a mineral (prase?). 64 By T’ang, it had
been reduced to the status of a color word (except in archaic allusions), apparently a blue or green of high
saturation and low brilliance – I have sometimes translated it “cyan” or “indigo.” Apparently Liu Yü-hsi
used it as the name of a Nam-Viet gemstone only artificially and allusively.”
64 TPYL, 809, 2a, quoting a book called Chin T’ai k’ang ti chi, gives it as a product of Yunnan. Kuang ya quoted in the
same place states that some pi is blue and some is green, and that it is produced in Yüeh and Yunnan.
Schafer (1967), pp. 159 and 296, n. 64.
12.12 (35) wuseyu 五色玉 [wu se yü] – multicoloured (literally, ‘five coloured’) jade or gemstone.
“Dr. BUSHELL informs us that the first sovereign of the Han Dynasty, the Emperor Kao-tsu (B. C.
206-195), announced his accession to the throne by sacrificing to Heaven on a jade tablet engraved with
one hundred and seventy characters. The jade was of a bright white color spotted with moss-markings,
shining in colors of red, blue, vermilion, and black. The writing was in the li shu of the Han, and the style
was clear and strong.
The question of varicolored jade was brought on the tapis when the Emperor Kuang-wu (25-57 A.
D.) made his preparations for the sacrifices on the T’ai-shan and gave instructions to search for a blue stone
without blemish, but it should not be necessary to have varicolored stones.” Laufer (1912), 117.
“The perennial demand for beautiful jade, the most magnificent of minerals, underlies the following story:
Hsüan Tsung, midway in his reign, marvelled that there was no artifact made from the almost legendary
five-colored jade among the gifts recently received from the West, though he had in his treasury a belt
decorated with plaques of this handsome stone, and a cup carved from it, both submitted long before. He
commanded his generals in charge of the “Security of the West” to reprimand the negligent (but
anonymous) barbarians who were responsible. The delinquent savages may have been natives of Khotan,
the inexhaustible source of jade, and savages they seemed to the Chinese, despite the refinement of their
music and the charm of their women. Whoever they were, they did not fail to start a shipment of the pretty
polychrome stuff on its way to Ch’ang-an. Alas, the caravan was attacked and robbed of its cargo by the
people of Lesser Balūr, turban-wearing lice-eating marauders from the frigid and narrow valleys on the
fringes of the snowy Pamirs. When the bad news reached the sacred palace, the Son of Heaven, in his
wrath, sent an army of forty thousand Chinese and innumerable dependent barbarians to lay siege to the
capital of the marauders and recover his jade. The king of Lesser Balūr quickly surrendered his booty and
humbly sought the privilege of sending annual tribute to T’ang. This was refused, and his unhappy city of
Gilgit was pillaged. The victorious Chinese general, leading three thousand survivors of the sack, set out
for home. He was followed by a prediction of doom, pronounced by a barbarian soothsayer. And indeed the
whole multitude was destroyed in a great storm, except for a lone Chinese and a single barbarian ally. The
unfortunate Hsüan Tsung, thus finally deprived of his treasure, sent a party to search for the remains of his
host. They found an army of transparent bodies, refrigerated prisoners and soldiers of ice, which melted
immediately, and were never seen again.” Schafer (1963), p. 36.
“There are only two colors in jade, white and green; the latter known as “vegetable jade” in China. As for
the so-called red jade or yellow jade, they are varieties of unusual stones, spinel and the like, which are not
jade even though they cost no less than the latter. . . . Besides the above, the only unusual jade is produced

in So-li in the Western Ocean. Under ordinary light, this jade appears white in color, but under the sun red
color is reflected from it, and on rainy days it turns blue. We may call this “uncanny jade.” It is part of the
Imperial Palace treasures.” Sung (1637), p. 303.
12.12 (36) qushu 黃白黑綠紫紅絳紺金黃縹留黃十種氍毹 [ch’ü-shu] – ten types of wool rugs – yellow, white,
black, green, purple, fiery red, deep red, dark blue, golden yellow, light blue and back to yellow.
“Pan Ch’ao’s elder brother, the historian Pan Ku, asked Ch’ao to buy him some wool blankets and rugs. He
also mentioned that Tou Hsien, an influential minister in the court, had purchased wool blankets, horses
and styrax from the Western Region. They all paid with bolts of white silk (Ch’üan Hou-Han Wen: 25/4a).
That the border markets continued to function even during the war suggests that there was regular trade
with Central Asians along the border (SC: CX, 2905).” Liu (1988), p. 16.
This account of the qushu in the Weilue seems to find support with some interesting extra details in a number of
other 3 rd and 4 th century (and later) texts. These texts, however, refer to qusou 氍 rather than the qushu 氍毹 of the
Weilue, although they are usually taken to be identical. Unfortunately, Leslie and Gardiner (1996), mistakenly give
the character shu 毹 in their note 30 on page 87:
“9. 29 In the country of Ta-Ch’in they weave Ch’ü-sou cloth from wild silkworms, and by means of wool of
different colours taken from all kinds of beasts, they weave into them (patterns of) birds, beasts, human
figures, and other objects; grass, trees, clouds and numerous oddities. On these rugs they represent parrots
flying gaily at a distance 30 . The cloth shows the following ten colours: carnation, white, black, green, red,
crimson, gold, azure, jade colour, and yellow. (KCCY 54, quoting I-wu-chih; TPYL 708, quoting Nan-chou
i-wu-chih; PTSC 134, K’ang-hsi tz’u-tien, quoting I-wu-chih).”
29. KCCY 54, p. 14; TPYL 708, p. 3288, which is shorter, and does not mention Ta-Ch’in; PTSC 134 (no. 30), p.
14b; KHTT, vol. 4b, p. 70a. This passage was noted by HIRTH, p. 255, PARKER, 1884-5, vol. 14, p. 42, no. 403,
and by CHANG SHU, p. 11b. For wild silkworms, see our discussion in 17.5. Ch’ü-shu cloth was listed in WL, and
also mentioned in HHS account of Ta-Ch’in, see our 16.8. We have here a little extra.
30. The reference to parrots is new, but it is unlikely that they are supposed to have come from Ta-Ch’in. The
characters for parrots 鸚鵡 [ying-wu] might be considered similar to those for Ch’ü-sou 氍毹 [sic] cloth. Parrots of
course have a multitude of bright colours. The colours written here are probably rewritten from those of the WL,
with ch’ü-sou in place of ch’ü-shu. See also Hirth (1885), pp. 80; 115, line 27; and 255.
Additionally, carpets were woven from wild silk patterned with coloured wools. In later times, silk was
commonly used for the warp material in knotted wool carpets as it is far stronger than wool in relation to its
thickness. We probably have here the earliest reference to this technique.
“In 726, the king of Bukhāra sent envoys to T’ang, asking help against Arab raiders. These emissaries
brought with them a number of valuable gifts, such as saffron and “stone honey,” and also a “Roman
embroidered carpet.” 21 the king’s wife, the “Qatun,” sent the Chinese empress two large rugs and one
“embroidered carpet.” 22
21 Here “carpet” is *g’i̯u -g’ i̯əu [sic – probably should read *g’i̯u-g’ i̯e̯u = quqiu 氍毬 – see p. 378
and note 22 below]. Compare the * g’i̯u-ṣi̯u [= qushu 氍毹] of other texts. The latter is equated with
Sanskrit varṇakambala, “colored woolen blanket”; see Pelliot (1959), 484.” Schafer (1963), p. 325,
n. 21.
22 Here both “rug” and “carpet” are *g’i̯u-g’i̯ə̯u [see note 21], but the former is qualified by *tś
i̯a-p’iek [柘辟] , which Laufer takes to be akin to Persian tāftan, “to spin,” and our “taffeta.” See
Laufer (1919), 493. Among the gifts from Turgäch, Chāch, and other places, to be mentioned
presently, we find *t’âp-təng [毾?], which is plainly from the Persian root. All these forms refer to
woollen carpets.”
Schafer (1963), pp. 198; 325, nn. 21, 22.
12.12 (37) wuse tadeng 五色毾? [wu se t’a-teng] – finely patterned multicoloured wool carpets. The characters,

wuse 五色, literally mean ‘five-coloured,’ but are commonly employed to denote ‘multicoloured.’ GR No. 10241,
gives:
“t’a 4 teng 1 Rug (manufactured in India, finely made and closely-woven); carpet.” Williams (1909), p. 745
gives: “A kind of coarse woolen serge, first called毾?. . . .” The online “Chinese Character Dictionary”
gives: “a course woollen serge” for ta 4 毾, and “[1] woollen blanket with decorative design or pattern. . . .”
for deng 1 ?.
A multicoloured knotted wool rug attributed to the 2 nd century CE was found some years ago in a tomb at
Saiyiwake, to the east of Khotan. Interestingly, it contains wool dyed in five colours, as in the description in the
Weiue:
“It had been placed over the saddle of a horse buried in this tomb and was discovered nearly intact,
complete with corner tassels. The central black field is covered with a diamond grid in red containing
leaf-like forms, also in red, with perhaps some yellow. The central field is bordered with four narrow red,
yellow, buff and black lines. The wide outer border has a design in bright blue-green, each panel containing
a tree in buff and yellow. The tassels are red. Believed to date from the second century A.D., it is the
earliest extant example of a type of carpet design generally associated with later Central Asian cultures.”
Laing (1995).
There were also two multicoloured fragments of wool tunics found at Saiyiwake and Loulan. The latter has a
border which “is a running, mirror-image wave pattern of a type common in third-century Western Asiatic fabrics
found, for example, at Dura Europos and Palmyra.”
12.12 (38) wusejiuse shouxia tadeng 五色九色首下毾? [wu sechiu se shou hsia t’a-teng] – ‘multicoloured, lesser
quality wool carpets.’ Nine colours of multicoloured (literally: ‘five colours, nine colours’) lower quality wool
carpets (shouxia can be translated as: ‘of inferior appearance’). This was, perhaps an indication that these were
woven kilms or felt numdah rugs, rather than knotted pile carpets.
12.12 (39) jinlu xiu 金縷繡 [chin lü hsiu] – gold-threaded embroidery.
“Embroidered robes were already in existence in Homer’s time and are the origin of those worn at triumphs.
The Phyrgians introduced embroidery with the needle, and for this reason embroidered robes are called
‘Phrygian’. Also in Asia Minor, King Attalus invented weaving with gold, the origin of the term ‘Attalic’ robes.
Babylon in particular made famous the weaving of different colours, and gave this process its name. Alexandria
introduced damask, a material woven from very many threads, and Gaul invented check patterns. Metellus Scipio
includes among the charges laid against Capito that Babylonian throw-over covers for couches were sold for
800,000 sesterces, when not long ago in Nero’s principate these cost 4 million.” Pliny the Elder (VIII.195-196)
(1991), pp. 125-126.
The following note from the China Daily dated 17 th May 1999, details archaeological evidence which backs up the
Weilue’s listing of gold embroidered cloth:
“URUMQI (Xinhua) - A garment made of fabrics with dazzling gold foil sewn on applique work, dating
back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 24), was recently unearthed from a tomb in Lop Nur, a
desolate area in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Chinese archaeologists believe this is the earliest woven material with gold patterns ever found in
China.
The discovery pushes the history of fabric-making with gold back 1,000 years earlier than previously
believed,” said Li Wenying, an archaeologist participating in the excavation.
The gold foils were sewn by two different methods. One was to cut coloured silk in the shape of
flower buds, petals, stamen and fruits, which were then pinned to the collar, sleeves, lower hem, and back
of the garment. Then gold foils were pasted on the silk designs. The other way was to spread gold powder
onto the design.
One archaeologist, Zhou Jinling, described the embroidery as distinctive, dazzling and harmonious in
colour.”
This garment was one of the 200-plus rare cultural relics unearthed from 32 tombs built in the period

etween the Han and Jin dynasties (206 BC- AD 420) at the Yingpan Ruins in Lop Nur.
The site lies 200 kilometres east of Loulan, one of the busiest commercial cities on the ancient Silk
Road which served as a transportation artery for the flow of goods from China to the West more than 2,000
years ago. The flourishing trade route began to decline in the fourth century.
The recent excavation, which lasted for more than a month, was the continuation of a protective
excavation begun in 1995. During the three-year period, Chinese archaeologists opened 32 ancient tombs
and cleared more than 100 robbed tombs over a large area.
One-third of the unearthed objects were burial accessories, including garments, wooden, bronze, and
lacquer wares, gold and silver ornaments, and pearls.
The most significant finding was three woolen robes with designs of flying men, eagles, and snakes
woven with a jacquard technique.”
12.12 (40) zaseling 雜色綾 [tsa se ling] – polychrome (warp twill) fine silk or chiffon.
“Mutlicoloured textiles” are listed in the Periplus (39.8) among the products traded by the Romans at Barbaricon at
the mouth of the Indus River. These were probably similar to the ones traded to China. Casson says in his notes on
paragraph 39:
“These were a specialty of Egypt: cf. Pliny 8, 196 (where he claims the art of weaving them was invented at
Alexandria), Martial 14.150. They were used for garments as well as hangings, carpets, and the like; see H.
Blümner, Die römischen Privataltertümer, Müllers Handbuch der klassischen Alterumswissenschaft 4.2.2
(Munich, 1911 3 ), 253. Apparently they were much in demand in India, since Muziris and Nelkynda
imported them (56:18.19) as well as Barbarikon, while Barygaza imported one particular type
(49:16.22-23).” Casson (1989), p. 190.
“Cf. Gloss. 5.524.34: polimatus est textus multorum colorum; 5.524.32: polimita multicoloria, i.e. any
textile, such as brocade, woven with threads of different colors (not “damask,” as in LSJ).” Casson (1989),
p. 259.
Schoff says of this same passage:
“Figured linens. – The text is polymita. Pliny ( VIII, 74 ) says: “Babylon was very famous for making
embroidery in different colors, and hence stuffs of this kind have obtained the name of Babylonian. The
method of weaving cloth with more than two threads was invented at Alexandria; these cloths are called
polymita; it was in Gaul that they were first divided into chequers.”
Martial’s epigram, “Cubicularia polymita” ( XIV, 150 ) indicates that the Egyptian tissue was formed
in a loom, like tapestry, and that the Babylonian was embroidered with the needle.” Schoff (1912), p. 167.
“In ancient China, twills had not been much used, though the warp twill was known.” Schafer (1963), p.
196.
“The polychrome damasks of Han had been warp reps. “Brocade” customarily translates Chinese chin.”
Schafer (1963), p. 325, n. 4.
“There were fragments of very fine silk [discovered in the Han tombs excavated at Mancheng, Hopei
Province in 1968] in plain weave (200 warp and 90 weft threads per square centimetre), embroidery and
silk damask. . . . ” “Archaeological Work During the Cultural Revolution” by Hsia Nai, in: Anonymous
(1974), p. 9.
A fragment of dark-red embroidered silk was found in a 2 nd century BC tomb at Mawangtui, Changsha, Hunan
Province in which: “Vermillion, golden yellow, dark yellow and dark-green silk threads are used in the chain stitch
to form this design.” Anonymous (1976), note 54.
“The practice of emperors in the Later Han who granted their ministers and tribal chiefs tens and hundreds
of thousands of bolts of silk reveal China’s enormous capacity for silk production (Fang Hao 1963: 134).
During the periods of division after the Han the region producing the best silk, Shu, was separated from the
north. Rulers in the north nevertheless made up for this loss by encouraging silk production. . . . silk
weaving in the north certainly developed rapidly in this period. . . . ” Liu (1988), p. 70

“From Han to T’ang a dramatic change took place in the technique of silk weaving. Weft-faced
weaving, the wool weaving technique in the west of Central Asia, replaced the typical warp-faced Han
weaving in producing polychrome silk. A group of textile samples of ‘Sassanian design’ is associated with
the new technique. The representative design in a pearl roundel – a ring formed by a string of small circles
– enclosing animal motifs. The animal motifs of Persian design could be boars, deer or a pair of horses
facing each other, with or without riders. They are stiff in style in contrast to the lively horses, birds or
other animals on Han textiles. Having studied these samples carefully Hsia Nai attributes the technical
change to influence from Central Asia and to a change in style to suit the Persian market (1963).
Falling between the typical Han silk and weft-faced silk of T’ang, some samples dated to the
Northern dynasties and the Sui dynasty show a transitional technique, the ‘twill’ technique. ‘Twill’ means a
basic warp-faced textile using weft to cross two (or more) warps, thus forming some design. Pattern design
also differs from both that of the Han and the T’ang silks. Chinese scholars who have studied those samples
consider silk of this period as a technical and stylistic extension of the Han. However, just as the twill
marked a transition to a new weaving technique, the motifs also changed substantially from the Han style. .
. .
Having examined a series of Chinese damasks and brocades Michael Meister points out that roundel
designs using twill technique existed on damask as early as the Han; the roundel was a popular design on
Gupta sculpture, especially the pearl roundel with the lotus inside (1970). Indeed this kind of roundel even
appears in Kushan sculpture in Mathura, as in a decorative plaque (Rosenfield 1967: Text of Figure 3). . . .
Another interesting pattern the silk of the Northern dynasties incorporates is a striped or chess-board
design. The weaver used different-coloured warps to form narrow or wide stripes which provided a
background for stylistic motifs. The entire textile was divided into coloured stripes. The use of different
coloured wefts regularly spaced forms a chess-board design. Because this is the simplest method of making
a textiles design it is still used in hand weaving in many regions. But, as polychrome patterned silk was an
expensive textile, the design must have been produced to suit consumers’ tastes rather than to accommodate
a simple technique. Actually, many samples of this design show a complicated weaving technique.
Han silk did not adopt this simple design. Elaborate motifs are displayed on a one-colour
background.” Liu (1988), pp. 72-74.
12.12 (41) jintu bu 金塗布 [chin-t’u pu] – woven gold cloth. The word bu, translated as “cloth” here (and in the
notes below): “specifically refers to hemp or linen cloth (later to cotton), never to silk.” Cammann (1958), p. 6, n.
24.
12.12 (42) feichi bu 緋持布 [fei-ch’ih pu] – purple chi cloth. Hirth (1885), p. 74, n. 1, records that it is: “Called
Fei-ch’ih-chu-pu (緋持竹布) in a quotation of the corresponding passage in the Yüan-chien-lei-han, ch. 366, p. 7.”
GR 3441 gives for fei: “1. (Imp. Admin.) Cloth of red silk (under the 唐 T’ang dyn., dark red for
functionaries, light for functionaries of the fifth rank). 2. Red; purple.”
GR 2455 gives for chu-pu [zhubu]: “1. (anc.) Material woven from bamboo fibre in 廣州 Kuang-chou
(Guangzhou) or Canton. 2. (present) Cloth of light blue or white cotton.”
The colour fei mentioned here and in note 12.12 (42), refers to either a rich red or a purple and most probably
refers to one or more shades of the famous dyes made from murex shells in the eastern Mediterranean which varied
in colour from rich deep reds to Imperial purple:
“From amphibious creatures the most expensive products are scarlet and purple dyes made from shellfish.”
Pliny the Elder (bk. XXXVII, chap. 204), p. 377.
“The only other extant price list [other than Pliny’s] is from Diocletian’s famous Edict (A.D. 301), issued in
an unsuccessful attempt to halt inflation. As it puts the wage of unskilled labour at 25 denarii per day, and
that of skilled labour at 50, prices must have risen twenty-five times since Pliny’s day. The text has
survived only in fragmentary form so that, although we have prices for about nine hundred items, many
prices are missing. This, however, does not explain the surprising omission of Indian cottons among related
references to linens and woollens. Chinese silk, moreover, is mentioned only twice; white silk at 12,000
denarii a pound, against 1,200 for the best linen yarn, and purple-dyed raw silk at 150,000 a pound, three
times the price for purple-dyed wool. The famous purple from the shellfish of Tyre was an even more
expensive commodity than silk.” Simkin (1968), p. 47.

“At any rate, by 1000 B.C. Tyre and Sidon had become the centres for dyed wool and silk of a quality
unsurpassed throughout the ancient world.
The dye came from a small gland in the body of the murex, which had to be removed from a living
snail if the brightest hues were to develop properly. Each gland yielded only a drop or two of a yellowish
liquid that darkened when it was exposed to sun and air. Processing required constant slow simmering in an
outdoor pan for almost two weeks, during which time the precious liquid boiled down to about one
sixteenth of its original volume. At this rate it took the glands of some 60,000 snails to produce only one
pound of dye, which explains why the essence was so fantastically expensive. One expert has calculated
that a single pound of fine quality silk dyed according to the highest Tyrian standards could have fetched as
much as $28,000 in modern currency.
The best dyers did all their processing in lead or tin pans, knowing that brass or iron would discolor
the essence. Mainly they used two species of murex . . . [Murex trunculus and Murex brandaris]. Brandaris
alone produced a heavy dark tint in cloth, and needed just the right admixture of trunculus plus a carefully
controlled double-soaking with added dye from a third snail – not a murex at all – to achieve the lustrous
royal purple that was so avidly sought. Other tints – shading down to a pale pink... were achieved by
varying the mixture and the amount of exposure to light. All Tyrian purple dyes were colorfast – that is,
they did not fade, which contributed as much to their value as their beauty did.
There was a time, as Rome’s power and prestige began to grow, when any rich citizen could “wear
the purple,” a narrow band on his toga. Later this privilege was reserved for senators and, finally, for the
emperor alone. Antony and Cleopatra are reputed to have had a warship notorious for its ostentation; its
mainsail was colored with Tyrian purple dye.
Murex dyeing was practiced in several places in the Mediterranean area, including the islands of
Malta and Motya, but nowhere was it done with a skill that matched that of Tyrian and Sidonian dyers.
Their immense productivity is attested to by the mounds of shells – literally millions of them – that still lie
piled around the ruins of the old dye works. In both Tyre and Sidon the works were located to the south,
just out of town and downwind, because of the dreadful stench that emanated from the rotting bodies of the
mollusks.
Throughout many ups and downs the dyeing industry continued, surviving even the fall of Tyre and
struggling on to 800 A.D., when Charlemagne was importing Tyrian-dyed cloth. It languished thereafter
because of its prohibitive cost. Cheap, colorfast aniline dyes ensure that it will never again be revived.”
Edey, et al. (1974), p. 61.
“Purple. – A dye derived from various species of Murex, family Muridicidæ, and Purpura, and family
Buccinidæ. Pliny ( IX, 60-63 ) tells of its use at the time of our author [of the Periplus]: “The purple has
that exquisite juice which is so greatly sought after for the purpose of dyeing cloth. . . . This secretion
consists of a tiny drop contained in a white vein, from which the precious liquid used for dyeing is distilled,
being of the tint of a rose somewhat inclining to black. The rest of the body is entirely destitute of this
juice. It is a great point to take the fish alive; for when it dies it spits out this juice. From the larger ones it is
extracted after taking off the shell; but the smaller fish are crushed alive, together with the shells, upon
which they eject this secretion.
“In Asia the best purple is that of Tyre, in Africa that of Meninx and Gætulia, and in Europe that of
Laconia. . . .
“After it is taken the vein is extracted and salt is added. They are left to steep for three days, and are
then boiled in vessels of tin, by moderate heat; while thus boiling the liquor is skimmed from time to time.
About the tenth day the whole contents of the cauldron are in a liquid state; but until the color satisfies the
liquor is still kept on the boil. The tint that inclines to red is looked upon as inferior to that which is of a
blackish hue.
The wool is left to lie in soak for five hours, and then, after carding it, it is thrown in again, until it
has fully imbibed the color. The proper proportions for mixing are, for fifty pounds of wool, two hundred
pounds of the juice of the buccinum and one hundred and eleven of the juice of the pelagiæ. From this
combination is produced the admirable tint known as amethyst color. To produce the Tyrian hue the wool is
soaked in the juice of the pelagiæ while the mixture is in an uncooked and raw state; after which its tint is
changed by being dipped in the juice of the buccinum. It is considered of the best quality when it has
exactly the color of clotted blood, and is of a blackish hue to the sight, but of a shining appearance when
held up to the light; hence it is that we find Homer speaking of purple blood. (Iliad, E. 83; P, 360 )

“Cornelius Nepos, who died in the reign of the late emperor Augustus, has left us the following
remarks: ‘In the days of my youth the violet purple was in favor, a pound of which used to sell at 100
denarii; and not long after the Tarentine red was all the fashion. This last was succeeded by the Tyrian
dibapha ( double dyed ) which could not be bought for even 1000 denarii per pound. Nowadays who is
there who does not have purple hangings and coverings to his banqueting couches even?’ ” Schoff (1912),
pp. 156-157.
Hirth notes (1885), p. 74, n. 1, that this cloth is:
“Called Fei-ch’ih-chu-pu (緋持竹布) in a quotation of the corresponding passage in the
Yüan-chien-lei-han, ch. 366, p. 7.”
GR Vol. II, p. 89 gives for chu-pu (zhubu): “竹布 chu 2 pu 4 (Text.) 1. (anc.) Material of bamboo fibre,
woven in 廣州 Kuang-chou (Guangzhou) or Canton. 2. (pres.) Cloth of light blue or white cotton.
12.12 (43) falu bu 發陸布 [ fa-lu pu] – falu cloth. Hirth (1885), p. 74, n. 1, records that it is given as: “Fa-lung-pu
(發隆)” in a quotation of the corresponding passage in the Yüan-chien-lei-han, ch. 366, p. 7.”
12.12 (44) fei chiqu bu 緋持渠布 [fei ch’ih-ch’ü pu] – purple chiqu cloth. See note 12.12 (42).
12.12 (45) huohuan bu 火浣布 [huo-huan pu] – asbestos cloth.
“The wonderful quality of asbestos was familiar to both Romans and Chinese from about the beginning of
the Christian era. The men of Han regarded it as a Roman product, quite properly since this mineral fiber
was very well known to the Romans, who also understood that it came from a rock. Here is Apollonius
Dyscolus [2 nd century CE] on asbestos napkins:
When these napkins are soiled, their cleansing is performed not by means of washing in water, but
brush-wood is burn, the napkin in question is placed over this fire, and the squalor flows off; while
the cloth itself comes forth from the fire brilliant and pure.
This natural but somewhat ostentatious display is said to have had its counterpart in China in the second
century, when a man purposely soiled his asbestos robe, and hurled it into a fire with simulated anger, only
to bring it out fresh and clean. These anecdotes make the Chinese name for the mineral fabric
understandable – it was “fire-washed linen.” But asbestos was also called “fire hair,” which illustrates
another (and false) theory of the origin of the stuff. In the Hellenistic Orient it was sometimes thought to be
of vegetable origin, like cotton, but among the Chinese, until the sixth century, and after that among the
Arabs, the most popular theory was that it was the fur of the salamander-rat (but sometimes the phoenix)
which was cleansed and renewed by fire.” Schafer (1963), p. 199.
12.12 (46) eluode bu 阿羅得布 [e-lo-te pu] – fine silk gauze cloth. One of the definitions of the character 阿 (a, e,
or he) under GR 3, is: “ [f] E 1 . . . 10. Delicate silk.” GR 7232 gives for lo [Pinyin – luo] 羅: “1. Bird net. To net. 2.
silk gauze; silk chiffon . . .”
The character 得 te [de] can have the meaning of ‘excellent’ or ‘special’ – see GR 10573; Williams, p. 766.
From this one gets the picture of a very fine silk cloth – perhaps some of the Chinese silks that were unplucked and
rewoven into a transparent material that had become so popular in the Roman Empire (and attracted much criticism
by various writers. See note 12.6 for the accounts of Chinese silks being unravelled and rewoven in the Roman
Empire, especially to produce see-through garments.
“It has been supposed that the Greeks learned of silk through Alexander’s expedition, but it probably
reached them previously through Persia. Aristotle ( Hist. Anim., V, xix, 11) gives a reasonably correct
account: “It is a great worm which has horns and so differs from others. At its first metamorphosis it
produces a caterpillar, then a bombylius, and lastly a chrysalis – all these changes taking place within six

months. From this animal women separate and reel off the cocoons and afterwards spin them. It is said that
this was first spun in the island of Cos by Pamphile, daughter of Plates.” This indicates a steady importation
of raw silk on bobbins before Aristotle’s time [384-322 BCE]. The fabric he mentions was the famous Cos
vestis, or transparent gauze ( woven also at Tyre and elsewhere in Syria ), which came into favor in the time
of Cæsar and Augustus. Pliny mentions Pamphile of Cos, “who discovered the art of unwinding the silk” (
from the bobbins, not from the cocoons ) “and spinning a tissue therefrom: indeed, she ought not to be
deprived of the glory of having discovered the art of making garments which, while they cover a woman, at
the same time reveal her naked charms.” ( XI, 26 ). He refers to the same fabric in VI, 20, where he speaks
of “the Seres, so famous for the wool that is found in their forests. After steeping it in water, they comb off
a soft down that adheres to the leaves; and then to the females of our part of the world they give the twofold
task of unraveling their textures, and of weaving the threads afresh. So manifold is this labor, and so distant
are the regions which are thus ransacked to supply a dress through which our ladies may in public display
their charms.” Compare Lucan, Pharsalia, X, 141, who describes Cleopatra, “her white breasts resplendent
through the Sidonian fabric, which, wrought in close texture by the skill of the Seres, the needle of the
workman of the Nile has separated, and has loosened the warp by stretching out the web.” Schoff (1912),
pp. 264-265.
The characters luode are used (at least in modern times) to transcribe foreign rhode as in Rhode Island, Cecil
Rhodes, and Rhodesia. Luode could have been a transcription for the Aegean island of Rhodes.
12.12 (47) ‘clinging cloth’ or ‘cloth with swirling patterns’ – baze bu 巴則布 [pa-tse pu].
ba 巴 – a large mythical serpent capable of eating an elephant; to cling, stick. GR 8377.
ze 則 – ‘imitate,’ ‘do,’ ‘make,’ ‘rule,’ ‘model.’ See GR 11308.
It is impossible to know what this term really meant here, but there are several possibilities. One is that it refers to
the shimmering colours and clinging qualities of shot silk, alternatively the name baze might be a phonetic
representation of a placename, presumably of the place of origin:
ba 巴 – K. 39a *på / pa; EMC paɨ / pεː
ze 則 – K. 906a * tsək / tsək; EMC tsək
The character ba is frequently used to represent foreign ba sounds, as in some representations of the name Bactria,
Bactra – see Ts’en (1981), p. 574. Moreover, ze is sometimes used for foreign se.
12.12 (48) dudaibu 度代布 [tu-tai pu] cloth. Hirth (1885), p. 74, n. 1, records that it is given as: “Lu-tai-pu (鹿代)
in a quotation of the corresponding passage in the Yüan-chien-lei-han, ch. 366, p. 7.” It is possible that this is a
matter of a scribal error here as the characters lu 鹿 and du 度 are quite similar in appearance.
12.12 (49) wense bu 溫色布 [wen-se pu] – cotton-wool cloth?
Wen 溫 means: ‘warm,’ ‘mild,’ ‘tepid,’ ‘sweet.’ Wense 溫色 [wen-se] is translated in GR 12241, p. 598 as
“sweet manner” or “affable.” As se means ‘colour,’ it could also mean ‘warm coloured cloth.’
Hirth (1885), p. 74, n. 1, records that the name of this cloth is given as: “Wên-su-pu (温 宿) in a quotation
of the corresponding passage in the Yüan-chien-lei-han, ch. 366, p. 7.” Now, this wen 温 (GR No. 12240) is merely
an alternate form of the character wen 溫 examined above. The su 宿 means ‘resting-spot,’ ‘night,’ or old.
I suspect that wense 溫色 [wen-se] may represent a faulty early form of wenxu 縕絮 [wen-hsü], literally:
‘brown or orangey-yellow silk or cotton waste,’ which Pelliot (1959), p. 460, translates as ‘cotton-wool.’ I base
this solely on the obviously close phonetic connections between the various characters and it should not, therefore,
be taken as a definite identification:
wen 溫 : K. 426c *·wən / ·uən; EMC ?wən
wen 温 : [Not listed in Karlgren or Pulleyblank but presumably identical to above character]
wen 縕 : K. 426f *·i̯wən / ·i̯uən; EMC ?wən

se 色 : K. 927a *ṣi̯ək / ṣi̯ək; EMC ßic
su 宿 : K. 1029a *si̯ôk / si̯uk; EMC suwk
xu 絮 : K. 94u *sni̯o / si̯wo; EMC sɨə̆
12.12 (50) multicoloured tao [t’ao] cloth 五色桃布.
Hirth (1885), p. 74, n. 1, records that it is given as: “Five colours Chên-pu (枕 布) in a quotation of the
corresponding passage in the Yüan-chien-lei-han, ch. 366, p. 7.”
Tao 桃 means ‘peach’ or the colour of it’s flowers, ‘rose’ (GR 10548) – which seems unlikely here as it is
clearly qualified as: ‘five-coloured’ or ‘multicoloured.’
Zhen 枕 [chên] which means [GR 568] ‘pillow,’ ‘cushion,’ ‘cross-bar,’ or ‘bolster,’ seems hardly more
informative unless a cloth for making cushions is intended.
I suspect that tao 桃 = ‘peach’ was mistaken for the similarly-pronounced tao 絛 = ‘(silk) cord or ribbon.’ The
reconstructed pronunciations = tao 桃 – K. 1145u *d’og / d’âu; EMC daw; and tao 絛 (which is not in Karlgren);
EMC t h aw.
The word could have been easily confused when transcribed or copied. If correct, this item should be read as
‘multicoloured (silk) cords or ribbons.’
12.12 (51) jiang dijin zhizhang 絳地金織帳 [chiang ti chin chih chang] – crimson curtains woven with gold.
12.12 (52) wuse douzhang 五色斗帳 [wu-se tou-chang] – multicoloured ‘spiral curtains’?
12.12 (53) yiwei 一 溦 [i-wei]. Unidentified name of an incense or perfume. Probably a transcription of a foreign
term.
一 yi: – K.394a * ·i̯ĕt / ·i̯ĕt; EMC jit?
溦 wei or mei: – K. 584d *mi̯wər / mjwe̯i; EMC muj
12.12 (54) muer 木二 [mu-erh] – myrrh. I have made this tentative identification purely on the phonetic
resemblance of the words and its place in the list along with other fragrances.
木 mu – K. 1212a *muk / muk; EMC məwk. This character was also used to represent foreign mu sounds.
二 er – K. 564a *ni̯ər / ńźi; EMC ŋi h (but notice that Pulleyblank’s Late Middle Chinese reconstruction for
this character is: ri` – I suspect it may well have had an earlier ‘r’ or ‘rh’ value as well as the ones given
here.
“Myrrh: ME myrre, mirre (influenced by OF mirre) : L myrrha : Gr murrha : of Sem origin ; cf H mör, myrrh,
and mōr, bitter, and also Ar murr, Aram mūrā, bitter. Perh cf Eg kher, myrrh.” Partridge (1983), p. 423.
“In China, as contrasted with usage elsewhere, some aromatic imports, such as myrrh, were regarded more
as medicines than as incenses and perfumes. See Yamada (1957), 25.” Schafer (1963), p. 315, n. 25.
Mesny (1905), p. 106, refers to myrrh as “Mu Yao” – a “gum resin with a duty of Tls. 0.4.5.0 per picul, while Yang
Mu Yao 洋沒藥 or “Foreign Myrrh,” which also attracted a duty of Tls. 0.4.5.0 per picul.
The modern term, moyao 沒藥, is probably not, however, like the name in the Weilue, an attempt to
reconstruct the sound of a foreign term. Rather, it is descriptive and translates as something like, ‘coveted
medicinal plant.’
“沒 藥 mo 4 yao 4 (Chin. pharm.) Myrrh from Commiphora myrrha Engl. and Balsamodendron
ehrenbergianum Berg. It reduces swelling, regenerates tissues and stops pain.” Translated from GR No.
7674, vol. IV, p. 370.

“On myrrh in the ancient world, see A. Steier, RE s. v.myrrha (1935). The Egyptians used it in embalming,
the Greeks and the Romans as incense and deodorant and spice, in pomades and perfumes, and in
medicines (Steier 1142–45; for the evidence of the Greek papyri, see I. Andorlini in Atti e memorie
dell’Accademia Toscana di Scienze e Lettere 46 [1981]: 61-65). As a medicine it was particularly used for
treating wounds (modern experiments confirm its effectiveness; see G. Majno, The Healing Hand
[Cambridge, Mass., 1975], 215-19) and as an ingredient in prescriptions for eye trouble (Andorlini 64).
According to Pliny (12.70), on the Roman market myrrh cost between 11 and 16½ denarii a Roman pound;
this makes it expensive–over twice the price of the finest frankincense (6 denarii; see under 27:9.8–9) and
four times that of bdellium (3 denarii; see under 37:12.20)–but far less expensive than the aromatics
imported from India, such as cinnamon (see Casson 1984.230), nard (see under 39:13.10b), or malabathron
(see under 65:21.21–22.6). Myrrh comes from Commiphora myrrha Nees, a scraggly, thorny tree found in
Somalia and South Arabia. In Somalia it grows in the northwestern parts (see R. Drake-Brockman, British
Somaliland [London, 1912], 302–5; G. Van Beck, “Frankincense and Myrrh in Ancient South Arabia,”
JAOS 78 [1958]: 141-52 at 143-44 [both of these writers use the older name for the tree, Balsamodendron
myrrha]; N. Groom, Frankincense and Myrrh [London, 1981], 118-19) and has remained an important
export right up to this century (see R. Pankhurst, “The Trade of the Gulf of Aden Ports of Africa in the
Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries,” Journal of Ethiopian Studies 3.1 [1965]: 36-81 at 40-41
[Zeila], 45, 51, 56 [Berbera]). Since Avalitês was on the western edge of where the myrrh trees grew (Map
6), it handled only a “minimal amount”; cf. under 10:4.13. The ancients considered “Trogodytic myrrh,”
i.e., the myrrh from this area (cf. under 2:1.7-10), the very best (Pliny 12.69, Diosc. 1.64.1); this may
explain why Arabia, which produced myrrh of its own (cf. 24:8.9-10), also imported from Somalia.”
Casson (1989), pp. 118, 120.
“The myrrh of Arabia comes from the same tree as the Somalian (see under 7:3.20), Commiphora myrrha
Nees, although Arabia has other myrrh-bearing trees as well (cf. Van Beek [op. cit. under 7:3.20] 143,
Groom [op. cit. under 7:3.20] 118-20, Schwartz [op. cit. under 8:3.31a] 128-29). They all grow only in
Yemen and the westernmost part of the Hadramaut, in other words, west of the area that produces
frankincense (Map 6). Pliny (12.69) states that Minaean myrrh, i.e. from northeastern Yemen (see under
24:8.10a) is inferior to Trogodytic, i.e., the myrrh of northwestern Somalia (see under 2:1.7–10, 7:3.20).
This is strikingly confirmed by a schedule of tariffs found at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt (WChrest 273, 2d–3d
century A.D.; cf. ESAR ii 607), which lists Minaean “unguent” at one-third the tariff for Trogodytic; the
“unguent” must be myrrh, the only plant common to both regions that produced an unguent worth exporting
(cf. W. Wilcken in Archiv für Papyrusforschung 3 [1906]: 187-88).” Casson (1989), pp. 154-155.
“Myrrh, – a gum exuded from the bark of a small tree, native in South Arabia, and to some extent in
Oman, and the Somali coast of Africa; classified as Balsamodendron Myrrha (Nees), or Commiphora
Abyssinica (Engl.), order Burseraceæ. It forms the underwood of forests of acacia, moringa, and euphorbia.
From earliest times it has been, together with frankincense, a constituent of incense, perfumes, and
ointments. It was an ingredient of the Hebrew anointing oil (Exod. XXX), and was also one of the
numerous components of the celebrated kyphi of the Egyptians, a preparation used in fumigations,
medicine, and embalming. It was the object of numerous trading expeditions of the Egyptian kings to the
“Land of Punt.” A monument of Sahure, 28 th century B. C., records receipts of 80,000 measures of myrrh
from Punt. The expedition of Hatshepsut (15 th century B. C.) again records myrrh as the most important
cargo; its list of the “marvels of the country of Punt” was as follows: All goodly fragrant woods of God’s
Land, heaps of myrrh-resin, fresh myrrh trees, ebony, pure ivory, green gold of Emu, cinnamon wood,
khesyt wood, ihmut incense, sonter incense, eye cosmetic, apes, monkeys, dogs, skins of southern panther,
natives and their children. The inscription adds: “Never was brought the like of this, for any king who has
been since the beginning.” (Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, II, 109; Flücker and Hanbury, op. cit.,
140-6.)
“. . . . And he [Pliny (XII, 35)] continues: “They give no tithes of myrrh to the god, because it is the
produce of other countries as well; but the growers pay the fourth part of it to the king of the Gebanitæ.
Myrrh is brought up indiscriminately by the common people and then packed into bags; but our perfumers
separate it without any difficulty, the principal tests of its goodness being its unctuousness and its aromatic
smell.
There are several kinds of myrrh: the first among the wild myrrhs is the Troglodytic; and the next are
the Minæan, which includes the aromatic, and that of the Ausaritis, in the kingdom of the Gebanitæ. A third

kind is the Dianitic, and a fourth is the mixed myrrh, or colatoria . . . a fifth again is the Sambracenian,
which is brought from a city in the kingdom of the Sabæi, near the sea; and a sixth is known by the name of
Ausaritic. There is a white myrrh also which is produced in only one spot, and is carried for sale to the city
of Messalum.” (This is the same as the port of Masala or Muza. See Glaser, Skizze, 138.)
The name myrrh is from Hebrew and Arabic mur, meaning “bitter.” The ancient Egyptian word was
bala or bal, and the Sanscrit was vola. The modern Persian and Indian call it bol or bola.” Schoff (1912),
pp. 112-114.
“. . . the Japanese word for “mummy” is MIIRA – a transcription of “myrrh.” It was one of the ingredients
used in the recipe for preserving mummies in the Near East, and this lore (well, at least the fact that myrrh
was one of the ingredients) was transmitted to East Asia along with ground up mummies which were used
for medicinal purposes.” Email from Professor Victor Mair, 27 February 2004.
12.12 (55) suhe 蘇合 [su-he] – storax.
“The classical storax [Storax officinalis] imported to China long ago from Rome and Parthia had been dark
purple in color, and some said it was lion’s dung – a fearful drug. This scented resin was, it seems, popular
and well-known in pre-T’ang times. . . .
The place of this Western resin in China can be compared with that of another, myrrh, but unlike it,
myrrh was the least noted of the exotic resins.” Schafer (1963), pp. 168-169.
“Storax is made by mixing and boiling the juice of various fragrant trees; it is not a natural product. It is
further said that the inhabitants of Ta-ts’in gather the storax [plant, or parts of it], squeeze its juice out, and
thus make a balsam [hsiang-kao]; they then sell its dregs to the traders of other countries; it thus goes
through many hands before it reaches China, and, when arriving here is not so very fragrant.” From the
Liang-shu, “written about A.D. 629, and comprising the period A.D. 502-556, ch. 54: the account of Chung
T’ien-chu,” translation by Hirth (1885), pp. 46-47.
12.12 (56) diti 狄提 [ti-t’i]. Probably a transcription of staktê [Greek: στακτή, fem. of στακός distilling in drops;
Latin: stacta, stactae] – the oil of myrrh, which was vastly more expensive than myrrh itself, and is listed as a
separate product in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
狄 di [ti]. K. 856a: *d’iek / d’iek; EMC dεjk. Ti barbarians; barbarian.
Although I have not been able to find di used to transcribe ancient Sanskrit terms, Chinese does not have an st
sound and the character would have been about as close a transcription as one could have made to represent the
sound stac in stacte in Han period Chinese. It is used to transcribe foreign di, de, te, the (as in Theodore) in modern
Chinese. GR Vol V, No. 10651, p. 938.
提 – tí [t’i]. K. 866n: *d’ieg / d’iei; EMC dεj – lift, raise, propose. Also – dī – EMC tεj – dam, dike; dĭ –
EMC tεj’ throw, hit with a stone; and shí – EMC dʑiə̆ / dʑi – shíshí in a flock (of birds); at ease, calmly.
Commonly used as a transliteration of Sanskrit d; dê; dhri; di or ti – see, for example, Eitel (1888), pp.
42-43, 48, 50, 55.
“Stactê is oil of myrrh produced by crushing and pressing (Theophrastus, de Odor. 29, Diosc. 1.60, 1.64.1)
which is rich and thick enough to serve as an unguent by itself (Diosc. 1.60, Pliny 13.17). It was a very
choice form (Pliny 12.68) and costly (Diosc. 1.60); on the Roman market its price ranged from 13 to 40
denarii a Roman pound as against 11 to 16 for all other types (Pliny 12.70). Pliny (12.68) wrongly took
stactê to be the natural exudation from the tree as against the exudation caused by gashing the bark; see
Steier (op. cit. under 7:3.20) 1136.” Casson (1989), p. 155.
“Stacte, he [Pliny (XII, 35)] says, sold as high as 40 denarii the pound; cultivated myrrh, at a maximum of
11 denarii; Erythræan at 16, and odoraria at 14.” Schoff (1912), p. 113.
12.12 (57) mimi 迷迷 [mi-mi] – an error for 迷迭 midie = Rosemary – Rosemarinus officianalis L. or its perfume.
See, for example, GR IV, p. 424. No. 7812.
“This paragraph of the Fayuanzhulin permits the interpretation of a passage of the Weilue on Da Qin quoted
in the Sanguozhi and studied by Mr. Hirth (China and the Roman Orient, p. 74): Mr. Hirth speaks of a

perfume 狄提迷迷兜納; but the edition of the Sanguozhi published by the library of Tushujicheng writes
迷迭 midie and not mimi; this reading is confirmed by the Fayuanzhulin and as the Fayuanzhulin gives
some independent citations on the perfumes midie and douna, we also see that the six words should be cut
two by two. Douna is perhaps Sanskrit dhūnaka; cf, also Watters, Essays, p. 442.” Translated from Pelliot
(1904), p. 173, n. 3.
The Guangzhi, a work by Guo Yigong, considered to be of the 4 th or 5 th century, along with several later works,
also gives the variant, midie 迷迭 [mi-tieh]:
“7. 65 Mi-tieh fragrance comes out of the Western Sea. (TPYL 982, IWC81)”
65 Ma, B, p. 12a, TYPL 982, p. 4481, IWLC 81, p. 12b, PTKM 14, p. 52, citing Ch’en Ts’ang-ch’i, pen-ts’ao shih-i.
Leslie and Gardiner (1996), pp. 91, 92 and n. 65; see also p. 204, n. 26.
“rosemary, (Rosemarinus officinalis), small perennial evergreen shrub of the mint family (Laminaceae, or
Labiatae) whose leaves are used to flavour foods. Rosemary leaves have a pleasant, tealike fragrance, and a
pungent, slightly bitter taste. They are most pleasing used sparingly, dried or fresh, to season foods. . . .
In ancient times rosemary was supposed to strengthen the memory. In literature and folklore it is an
emblem of remembrance and fidelity. Rosemary is slightly stimulating; the ancients valued its aromatic
qualities and used it as a medicinal tonic. Native to the Mediterranean regions it has been naturalized
throughout Europe and North America. . . .
In modern time rosemary is valued for its perfume; the essential oil content is from 0.3 to 2.0 percent,
and it is obtained by distillation. Its principal component is borneol. . . .” NEB VIII, p. 673.
12.12 (58) douna 兠 (or 兜) 納 [tou-na] – probably from Sanskrit dhūna – an incense made from the resin of the
Sal tree.
According to Couvreur, p. 68, the character 兠 can be substituted by 兜, and it is the reconstructions for the latter
character that I give here:
dou – K. 117a *tu / tǝ̯u; EMC tǝw
na – K. 695h * nǝp / nâp; EMC nǝp/nap
In the quote in note (57) above, Pelliot indicates that douna may be related to Sanskrit dhūnaka, which can
represent all types of resin. However, the word seems even more closely related to the Sanskrit word, dhūṇa
which, according to Monier-Williams, p. 518, refers specifically to the resin of Shorea robusta L.
This is an important and widespread Indian timber tree, usually known in India as ‘Sal.’ The resin or incense
is known as dhuna in modern Bengali.
Probably the earliest other mention of this resin being used as an incense is in the Mahābhārata, Aṅṹsasana
Parva Section XCVIII:
“. . . . Dhupas [= incenses] made of the exudation of the Shorea robusta and the Pinus deodara, mixed with
various spirits of strong scent are, O king, ordained for human beings. Such Dhupas are said to immediately
gratify the deities, the Danavas, and spirits.” Downloaded from: http://www.hinduism.co.za/flowers-.htm
on 26 Oct. 2003.
“Sal tree when tapped, yields white opaline resin which is burnt as incense in Hindu homes during religious
ceremonies. It is also used for caulking boats and ships.” Downloaded from:
http://www.haryana-online.com/Flora/sal.htm on 26 Oct. 2003.
“An oleoresin called Sal dammar (Ral, Guggal, Laldhuna), obtained on tapping the trunk, is used in paints,
varnishes and as an incense. It also finds use as plastering medium for walls and roofs and as cementing
material for plywood and asbestos sheets. It possess [sic] valuable medicinal properties also. Sal leaves are
reported to be used for bidi-making [cigarette wrappings] and for preparing platters and cup like articles for
serving food. Sladammar on distillation gives ‘Chua Oil’, that is employed in perfumery and for flavouring
chewing and smoking tobacco.” From: “Is there any possibility to save the Sal-borer infested forests of

Chhattisgarh, India?” by Pankaj Oudia ©2001, 2002, 2003. Downloaded 26 Oct. 2003 from:
http://www.botanical.com/site/column_poudhia/213_saveforest.html
“Shorea robusta: sal, sala, asvakarna (Skt.); sakhu, sal (H.); sal, taloora; (resin) : ral, dhuna (B.); sal
(M.); jalari-chettu (Te.); taloora, kungiliyam (Ta.); karimaruthu (Ma.); bile-bovu, bile-bhogimara
(Ka.); habitat: common in the sub-Himalayan regions and the forests of Western Bengal. Bark yields on
boiling with water, an extract similar to catechu . . . Resin (gum) which exudes from incisions made in the
bark is a mild astringent, aphrodisiac and stimulant . . . The resin is burnt as an incense in sick-rooms for its
fragrant smoke. (Indian Materia Medica, pp. 1132-1133).” Downloaded on 17 th May, 2004, from:
http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/Indian%20Lexicon/shorea.htm
[Douna] – “A perfume, kind of incense, drives out evil, not poisonous. [From the] Pei Wen Yun Fu p.
4163.” Personal communication from Dr. Ryden.
The Bencaogangmu [Pen-ts’ao kang-mu (PTKM)] by Li Shizhen [Li Shih-chen] (1596), 14, cites the 4 th or 5 th
century Guangji [Kuang-chi] by Ma Guohan [Ma Kuo-han]:
“Tou-na fragrance comes from the various mountains of the robber countries of the Western Sea.” From:
Leslie and Gardiner (1996), p. 94 and n. 68.
12.12 (59) baifuzi 白附子 [pai fu-tzu] – literally: “white aconite.”
Bai Fuzi is used in Chinese medicine as the name for the roots two separate plants: Aconitum coreanum (Lévl.)
Raipaics, known as Korean Monkshood; literally, “white monkshood or aconite,” and, also, Typhonium giganeum.
The GR Vol. IV, No. 8437, p. 767, gives for pai 2 fu 4 tzu 3 [Pinyin – bai fuzi]: “(Bot. – anc.) aconite :
Aconitum coreanum (Lévl.) Raipaics.” In English it is known as Korean Monkshood.
This information was kindly confirmed and expanded in an email on 3rd Nov., 2003, by the editorial staff
of Shen-Nong – Integrated Chinese Medicine Holdings Ltd. (www.icm.com.hk).
“. . . . BAI FUZI, according to Chinese Medicine (by Dr. Lui Zai Quan, Shanghai Scientific and Technical
Publishers), BaiFuzi recorded in most of the ancient Chinese Medicine literature should be Aconitum
coreanum (Lévi.) Raipaics as you mentioned. In Chinese, it is known as Guanbaifu.
Nowadays, Guanbaifu is seldom used in clinical practice, most of Baifuzi used in the prescription is
Yubaifu (Typhonium giganteum) and it is now considered as the official species for Baifuzi.
In Chinese Medicine, both species of baifuzi have similar functions in expelling wind phlegm and relieving
spasm. But Yubaifu (Typhonium giganteum) has less toxicity and can help disperse “knotted” stagnation
and help relieve toxic materials. Guanbaifu (Aconitum coreanum), on the other hand, has greater toxicity
and its functions are more specialized in dispersing cold dampness and relieving pain.
According to Dictionary of Chinese Materia Medica (Shanghai Scientific and Technical Publishers),
Guanbaifu (Aconitum coreanum)(Baifuzi in ancient term) was recorded in herbal medicine literature in
Tang Dynasty to be originated from Gaoli (former name of Korea). It is pungent and sweet, hot and with
toxicity. It enters liver and stomach meridian. Active ingredients identified include Hypaconitine, etc. . . . ”
The good people from Shen-Nong wrote again on 13 November 2003, after I sent them a copy of the Chinese text
from Hirth (1885), p. 113:
“In Chinese, the word, xiang as appeared at the end of iii [i.e. at the very end of this list of products, as
referred to in Hirth (1885), pp. 74 and 113] does not necessarily refer to aromatic materials. It also refers to
materials that confer xiang aromatic properties though most of them are aromatic. The understanding of
aromatic properties in Chinese is usually the promotion of qi circulation. That means xiang botanicals are
usually able to “run” the stagnant qi in the body and hence has some kind of analgesic properties. Therefore
we feel that the grouping of the last three botanicals [i.e. Bai fuzi, xunlu, and yüjin] is likely to be based on
their analgesic properties.
Although Guanbaifu (Aconitum coreanum) is not aromatic, according to the properties of the herbs around.
. . Bai fu zi [in Hirth’s work], we think that Bai fu zi is likely to be Guanbaifu. For more concrete

confirmation, more historical cross reference might be needed.”
There are over 300 species of the Aconitum genus of the buttercup family. They all contain aconite, a
powerful poison. It has been used since ancient times to reduce fever and as a poison on arrowheads. It was
also used as a medicine and poison in the Roman Empire:
“Who could show sufficient respect for the diligent research of men of former times? It is agreed that
aconite takes effect more quickly than all other poisons. If the sexual parts of a female are touched by the
aconite, death comes on the same day. . . .
But men have turned this plant to the advantage of their health, having found by experiment that
when given in warm wine it counteracts scorpion-stings. Its nature is to kill a human being unless it finds
something else in him to destroy.” Pliny the Elder, NH (bk. XXVII, chaps. 4, 5), p. 248.”
“ARIDEAE:– Pa-fu-tzu 白附子. An uncertain species of Aroid plant, brought from Fêng-t’ien Fu in
Shing-king, is correctly referred to this order by Tatarinov. It is called “white futsze” to distinguish it from
the root of the aconite. The tuberous, oval, elongated roots sold by this name, vary a good deal in size, as
from an inch to two inches in length. The epsdormi is of a brown colour, mottled, withered and reticulated.
The interior is pure white, starchy, but firm in texture. It is said to have been originally imported from
Korea and Sin-lo. The plant grows in sandy soil, and is evidently deleterious, although but a very slight
degree of acridity seems to exist in the drug. It is said to be useful in apoplexy, aphonia, wry-neck,
paraplegia, choreic affections, heat apoplexy, and similar diseases. It is principally used at the present time
as a face-powder, to remove pock-marks, stains and pigmentary deposits. The powder is used as a desiccant
in scabious and other eruptions. Many of the drugs in former use having undoubted effects in internal
diseases, are now seldom used by the faculty, save as external remedies, from utter ignorance of their own
pharma-cological literature.” Mesny (1896), p. 100.
“Typhonium refers to the rotund roots of Typhonium giganteum. . . . The Chinese name is baifuzi, which
refers to the light color of the root material (bai = white) and its similarity in appearance to aconite (fuzi). In
fact, a substitute herb for baifuzi is Aconitum koreanum, which is processed the same way as fuzi to yield a
non-toxic herb material. Typhonium is not a commonly used herb, but it is well known by Chinese
herbalists. The herb is used for a condition of wind-phlegm, which produces stiffness or convulsions.
Commonly, it is administered for post-stroke syndromes, characterized by tongue and facial paralysis, or
difficulty with speech. . . .
Little is known about the active constituents of typhonium or its pharmacology. In addition to its
applications for neurological disorders, typhonium has been utilized for pain and swellings, though the
substitute aconite species may be the ones used for that purpose. According to the book Sichuan Chinese
Pharmacological History, typhonium is “very warm in nature and has an acrid-sweet taste, it contains
toxins, and cures gastric pain and joint pain that is due to a blood disorder.” In Origin of Materia Medica, it
is stated that typhonium “penetrates stomach yin to reach the yang, leads the effect of medicine upwards to
activate the heart and the lung, clears away heat accumulated as the result of cold stagnation due to yang
deficiency; it is used with herbs that expel pathogenic wind but does not itself function to overcome
pathogenic wind.” Other Chinese texts point to the use of typhonium for lymphatic swellings (8).”
Dharmananda (2001).
12.12 (60) xunlu 熏陸 [hsün-lu] = frankincense.
“(Xun lu) matches part of the old name of Olibanum (Resin from the bark of Boswellia carterii Birdw).
And according to Dictionary of Chinese Materia Medica (Shanghai Scientific and Technical Publishers),
xun lu xiang is one of the other names for Olibanum recorded in the Transactions of Famous Physicians at
the end of the Han Dynasty. The additional word xiang means “aromatic” smell. In some case, this word
may make a difference and mean different part of the same botanical. Since olibanum itself is aromatic, our
view is that… (Xun lu) as listed is likely to be Olibanum (Resin from the bark of Boswellia carterii Birdw).
Unlike the use in Europe, Olibanum is not often used as incense, it is used internally and externally for
relieving pain and relaxing the tendons and meridians.” From an email sent by the Editorial staff of
Shen-Nong in Hong Kong on 13 November 2003.
“Frankincense, or olibanum, is a gum resin produced by a south Arabian tree and by a related tree in
Somaliland. The gum was known to the Chinese under two names, one going back to the third century B.C.

and transcribing Sanskrit kunduruka, “frankincense,” and the other a descriptive phrase, ju hsiang, “teat
aromatic,” given to mamillary pieces, of the kind described by Pliny: “The incense, however, that is most
esteemed of all is that which is mammose, or breast-shaped, and is produced when one drop has stopped
short, and another, following close upon it, has adhered, and united with it.” The cabalistic name, “Floating
Lard from the Holy Flower” was probably only used by alchemists.” Schafer (1963), p. 170. See also: ibid,
318, n. 146, 378; Laufer (1918), p. 30. [The name given by Schafer here: hsün-lu, 薰陸 – ancient
pronunciation: *ki̯uən-li̯uk, has a different, though closely related, first character to the one used in the
Weilue.]
“Next would have come cinnamon, if this were not an appropriate point to mention the riches of Arabia and
the reasons that have given it the names ‘Happy’ and ‘Blessed’. The principal products of Arabia are
frankincense and myrrh; it shares myrrh with the country of the Cave-dwellers, but Arabia is the sole
producer of frankincense – and even then, not the whole of Arabia. . . .
It is said that not more than 3,000 families retain as a hereditary privilege the right to trade in
frankincense; and so the members of these families are called sacred and not allowed to be defiled by
meeting women or funeral parties when they are tapping the trees to obtain frankincense. In this way the
price is inflated through religious scruples. Some authorities state that frankincense in the forests is
available for all people without distinction, but others say it is shared out each year between different
people.
There is no agreement about the appearance of the tree itself. We have conducted campaigns in
Arabia, and Roman arms have penetrated a large part of the country – indeed, Gaius Caesar, son of
Augustus, won renown there. Yet no Roman writer to my knowledge has so far described what this tree
looks like. Greek descriptions of it vary.” Pliny the Elder, NH (bk XII, chaps. 51, 54-55), p. 166. See also:
Miller (1959), pp. 14 and 42, n. 135.
“To understand the role Yemen was destined to play in the Silk route it is necessary to understand it role in
both space and time. The relationship of Iran, India and Ceylon trading east to China and also west to
Yemen is critical. They were early pivot points. In the first millennium BC, Yemen is trading alone,
carrying the products from these three by overland camel trade to Gaza. The shift to maritime transportation
was essentially the point when a more fluid China to Gaza operation began, and the long Yemeni coastline
profited the homeland in the second phase of the route in the first millennium AD.
To follow the overland route, we must start at the area of its greatest resource wealth. The
southeastern region of Yemen in modern Shihr and Hadramawt was the prime growing area for
frankincense producing trees. While it appears that the trees were farmed in earlier times the range of
suitable habitat is primarily but by no means only in this area. Earlier explorers report frankincense trees in
all of the main river valleys as far north as the Asir highlands of modern Saudi Arabia. The gum was
gathered in spring and autumn when the tree trunks were tapped. The resin was gathered and transported to
the first station at Shabwa. This is located inland, on the southwestern edge of the desert. The Royal Palace
of the king of Hadramawt was excavated by the French, and an associated deep sounding made. Today, it is
a ruin and only occasional tourists make a visit. We have no documentation from this site of the trade
policies. A sealing and seal from the deep sounding date to the first millennium BC. The documentation of
commodities in this case appears to have been made on parchment, with the document rolled and held by a
string, the knot sealed and stamped. This is the only example I know of this technique in Yemen. Close to
Shabwa is an old salt mine, called Ayadime, and this must certainly have been a strategic resource in the
ancient period for the preservation of fish. Today, chunks of salty dried shark are carried north and held in
high esteem as an aphrodisiac. The salt is excellent and still used today.
The next stop is Tumna, the capital city of Qataban. Excavated from this site is a market decree
dating to the fifth century BC. This text was published by Beetson, and it can be compared to the rules of
the Sanaa Suq today. The text was inscribed on a stone column, and was set up in the middle of a central
clearing for all to see. Those who could trade were named, and taxation and payment rules rigorously
stipulated. A rasifum building, possibly a raised platform associated with a temple, was probably the area of
the ancient market.” Pickworth (2003).
12.12 (61) yüjin 鬱金 [yü-chin] – turmeric, saffron, or the common tulip, Tulipa gesneriana L.
It is impossible to tell which of these three items is meant here. The term yüjin is sometimes used on its own
to denote either turmeric or tulips. Sometimes the xiang was added to these names as well, although usually, with
the addition of xiang (“aromatic”), yüjin denoted saffron.

Unfortunately, the Weilue’s list rather vaguely says at the end: “(altogether) twelve types of aromatic plants
(shier zhongxiang),” making it unclear whether yüjin is meant to be read as a separate item, or whether it is
intended to be read “yüjin xiang.” All three items were considered as “xiang,” which means “aromatic” or
“analgesic.” Possibilities include:
12.12 (61)a. Saffron
Saffron has long been confused, both in China and the West, with the common turmeric (Curcurma longa) and
zeodary (Curcurma zeodaria), also used in perfumes and medicines. The dictionaries at my disposal all identify
this word as the root tuber of the aromatic turmeric.
True Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) was, apparently, native to the Mediterranean region, Asia Minor and Iran. It
may well, therefore, have been exported at this early date from the Roman Empire. Cultivation in Kashmir
apparently started about 500 AD. Achaya (1994), p. 215; Schafer (1963), pp. 124-126.
“One of the rarest, most expensive and aristocratic flowers of antiquity was the saffron crocus. This
fragrant purple, autumn-blooming flower apparently had its original home in the vicinity of Persia and
northwest India, regions in which it has been intensively cultivated since antiquity. An aromatic dye
produced from its deep-orange stigmas was an important article of ancient commerce. It was grown in
Greece and Sicily in Pliny’s time, and used by the Romans to flavor sweet wines and to diffuse as a spray
to perfume theatres; it was favored as a hair dye by Roman ladies, and naturally disapproved of by the
Fathers of the Church. The plant was introduced into China in the Middle Ages, and the fragrant powder
was in demand there in T’ang times as a drug to cure internal poisons, and as a perfume, but it is not certain
whether it was used as a dye.
The Chinese called it “yü gold aromatic,” meaning “a golden substance as sweet-smelling as the yü-plan
in making sacrificial wines in antiquity.” Unfortunately the name “yü gold” had already been given to
imported turmeric, though the “aromatic” was not suffixed in that case. Nonetheless, the two were often
confused, as they were also in other parts of the world where they were known only in powdered
commercial form. For that matter, saffron was also confused with safflower, which was much used to
adulterate saffron and had been introduced into China much earlier, and with zedoary, a fragrant rootstock
of India and Indonesia, a close relative of turmeric, and important in the perfume trade. (It should be
remembered that drugs, perfumes, and incenses were not clearly distinguished in medieval times, and in
putting a plant under one heading or another here, I am forcing a modern distinction on medieval culture. . .
. ).” Schafer (1963), pp. 124-125.
“saffron, purple-flowered saffron crocus, Crocus sativus, a bulbous perennial of the iris family (Iridaceae)
or its golden-coloured, pungent dried stigmas, which are used to flavour and colour foods and as a dye; also
the golden colour the dye produces. Saffron is named among the sweet-smelling herbs in Song of Solomon
4: 14. It has a strong, exotic aroma and a bitter taste. It is used to colour and flavour many Mediterranean
and Oriental dishes, particularly rice and fish, and English, Scandinavian, and Balkan breads. It is an
important ingredient in bouillabaisse.
The golden-coloured, water-soluble fabric dye was distilled from the plant stigmas in India in ancient
times. Shortly after Buddha died, his priests made saffron the official colour for their robes.
As a perfume, saffron was strewn in Greek halls, courts, and theatres and in the Roman baths. The
streets of Rome were sprinkled with saffron when Nero made his entry into the city. Saffron dye produced a
royal colour in early Greek times. Afterward, perhaps from its abundant use in the baths and as a scented
salve, it was especially appropriated by the hetaerae, professional female entertainers of the time.
Believed native to the Mediterranean area, Asia Minor, and Iran, the saffron crocus has long been
cultivated in Iran and Kashmir and is supposed to have been introduced into Cathay by the Mongol
invasion. It is mentioned in the Chinese materia medica (Pun tsaou, 1552-78). . . . In the 13 th century
saffron was worth much more than its weight in gold; it is still the most expensive spice in the world. . . .
The three stigmas are handpicked from each flower, spread on trays, and dried over charcoal fires for use as
a food flavouring and colouring. A pound (0.45 kilogram) of saffron consists of 75,000 blossoms. . . .” NEB
VIII, p. 764.
12.12. (61)b. Turmeric
“KUÑKUMA 鬱金香 Perfume, prepared from the Turmeric (rhizome) plant, either Curcuma longa or
Curcuma aromatica.

KUÑKUMASTÛPA鬱金香窣堵波 A stupa (covered with a paste of Kuñkuma), in honour of
Avalôkitês’vara, at Gâya.” Eitel (1888), p. 80.
“Turmeric is the product of one of a number of pigmented and more or less aromatic rhizomes of genus
Curcuma. In the narrowest sense it is a species [Curcuma longa = C. domestica] which is only slightly
pungent and is most used as a dye; this common turmeric is believed to have been indigenous to southwest
China. Closely related to it is a highly aromatic species of India and Indonesia known as zedoary [Curcuma
zedoria. The English name may include C. aromatica of India], which is used chiefly as a source of
perfume. There are many other species in Indonesia and Indochina which are used as coloring agents, in
medicine, in curries, and in aromatic preparations. The collective Chinese name for these was “yü gold,” a
name which was also given to saffron, as we have seen (p. 125), though saffron is described more
specifically as “yü gold aromatic.” In any case, they were commonly confused in trade and practice alike.
In contexts where aroma is emphasized it can be assumed that we have to do either with saffron or with
zedoary, and otherwise with turmeric.” Schafer (1963), pp. 185-186.
The root tuber of the aromatic turmeric (Curcuma longa L. and Curcuma aromatica Salish), and was used in
Chinese medicine.
“It was exported from south-east Asia at an early date also to China, where it was called yü-kin, or the plant
with the golden tuber. 2
2 Bretschneider, Bot. Sin. Vol. Ii, chap 2 (Plants mentioned in Chinese Classical Works), p. 231, item 408, under yü.”
Miller (1969), p. 63.
The GR Vol. VI, p. 1077 defines yü-chin as the tuber of the “saffron of the Indies” (Curcuma longa L.) and of
Curcuma aromatica Salish.
“turmeric (Curcuma longa), perennial herbaceous plant of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) or its
tuberous rhizomes, or underground stems, used from a remote period as a condiment, a dye, and medically
as an aromatic stimulant. In Biblical times it was used as a perfume as well as a spice. In the Middle Ages it
was called Indian saffron because of its orange-yellow colour. The rhizome has a pepperlike aroma and a
somewhat bitter, warm taste. It is the ingredient that colours and flavours prepared mustard and is used in
curry powder, relishes, pickles, spiced butters for vegetables, in fish and egg dishes, and with poultry, rice,
and pork. In Asia turmeric water is applied as a cosmetic to lend a golden glow to the complexion.
Native to southern India and Indonesia, turmeric is cultivated on the mainland and in the islands of
the Indian Ocean. . . . Dried rhizomes vary from about 2.5 to 7.5 centimetres (1 to 3 inches) in length. The
spice is usually sold in powdered form. . . .” NEB X, p. 199.
“Zedoary. . . . The rhizome of Curcuma zedoaria (Zingiberaceæ), resembling ginger in odour and taste.
Uses. It has been used as an aromatic stimulant and carminative in doses of 0.6 to 2 g. (10 to 30 grains).”
Martindale (1958), p. 639.
12.12 (61)c. Tulips – Tulipa gesneriana L.
The Editorial staff of Shen-Nong of Integrated Chinese Medicine Holdings Ltd., in Hong Kong (www.icm.com.hk)
kindly sent me the following notes in an email on 13 November 2003:
“(Yu jin) According to different Chinese medicine literature, there are two possibilities that match the name
of… (yu jin). One is Yu jin xiang, the flower of Tulipa gesneriana L. The other is Yu jin, root tuber of
Curcuma aromatica Salish.
Yu jin (root tuber of Curcuma aromatica Salish) is a more common herb used nowadays. The herb
is pungent, bitter and cold, and enters heart, liver and gall bladder meridian. In TCM, the herb is able to
promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. It also promotes qi flow and disperses stagnated qi in
the body. Other functions include promoting the excretion of bile, clearing away heart fire and eliminating
phlegm.
Yu jin xiang (the flower of Tulipa gesneriana L.) is less commonly used in clinical practice. Early in
Wei Dynasty, Yu jin xiang was recorded in Weilue to be originated from Da Qin. The name was also
mentioned in Tang Dynasty. Although the additional Chinese word xiang was missed in the Weilue list,

clear difference between Yu jin and Yu jin xiang was highlighted later in the Compendium of Materia
Medica (Dr. Li Shizhen, Ming Dynasty).
Therefore, our view is that (Yu jin) is likely to be Yu jin xiang (the flower of Tulipa gesneriana L.).”
Email from Shen-Nong Editorial staff, 13 November 2003.
Tulips were being grown in what is now northern Vietnam before the turn of the second century CE:
“The existence prior to the first century B.C.E. of a Viet ca (Song of Viet) ascertains that the Viets at that
time had their own language, spoken and written, that differed greatly from the Chinese. During that time,
the Vietnamese people already knew how to grow flowers called Uat kim huong, a kind of tulip, to make
offerings to the Buddha. 13
13. Li Shih-chen (1518-1593). Pen ch’ao chiang mu 14, 69b4-5 under entry “Yu chin hsiang” quoting Nan chou yi wu
chih by Yang Fu (fl. c. 100 C.E.).”
From: Le and Budden (2000).
I tend to think that tulips are the least likely of the three products if only on the basis that I don’t know of any trade
or particular interest in tulips in the Roman Empire.
12.12 (62) yunjiao 芸膠 [yün-chiao] = rue oil or resin. Yun = 芸. Common (or Fetid) Rue (Ruta graveolens L.) GR
Vol VI, p. 1149, No. 13367.
Jiao 膠 [chiao] is defined in GR No. 1299, Vol. I, p. 704, as: “1. a. strong glue. b. (by ext.) Firms; solid tenacious.
Obstinate; intractable. 2. vegetable gum; glue . . . .”
“Rue (Ruta graveolens) is a narcotic and a stimulant. Its leaves are used as savory in Mediterranean
regions, and oil of rue is also distilled from it.” NEB 16, p. 103.
“But among our chief medicinal plants is rue. The cultivated kind has the wider leaves and the more bushy
branches ; the wild variety is harsh in its effects and sharper in all respect. The juice is extracted by
pounding with a moderate sprinkling of water, and is kept in a copper box. An overdose of this juice
possesses poisonous qualities. . . . Any sort of rue, however, is even by itself a powerful antidote, the
pounded leaves being taken in wine, especially against aconite and mistletoe ; likewise, whether given in
drink or in food, against poisonous fungi. In like manner it counteracts the bites of serpents, seeing that
weasels, when about to fight with them, first protect themselves by eating rue. Rue is good for the stings of
scorpions and for those of spiders, bees, hornets and wasps, for injuries caused by cantharides [Spanish Fly]
and salamanders, and for the bites of mad dogs. . . .” Pliny, Natural History, Book XX, LI. Translation by
W. H. S. Jones 1961. Loeb Classical Library, London/Cambridge, Mass., Vol 6, p. 77.
Michael Schimmelpfennig kindly sent me an email with the following information on 21 August, 2003:
“In the Shuowen jiezi under the entry of yun grass or Rue (Matthews’, 7749) Xu Shen adds a quotation
from Liu An saying that Rue grass can bring the dead back (fu) to life. When I came across the remark, I
surmised that it could indicate that the Han lacked the concept of unconsciousness which is sort of
supported by the fact that the Chinese language lacks genuine expressions for the loss of consciousness.
But here, Don Harper may know more. At the same time fu is the central expression in and designation of
the “Northern” Calling back the Soul ritual, if such a procedure was ever practiced.” See also note 6.10.
“Yün (-chiao) 芸(膠 ) (WL) L. Giles gives yün as rue (with yün-chiao as a glue made from rue, Ruta
graveolens). Some scholars take these as two items, yün and chiao, almost certainly wrong.” Leslie and
Gardiner (1996), p. 205.
The T’ai-p’ing Yü-lan (TPYL) 982 cites the 4 th or 5 th century Kuang-chih by Ma Kuo-han states:
“The gum of the yün fragrance is An-hsi [‘Parthian’] gum and black gum.” From: Leslie and Gardiner
(1996), p. 94.

“Rue originated in Southern Europe and was introduced to Britain by the Romans. It is one of the
historically well known bitter herbs, the others being tansy and wormwood. . . .
This herb is not sought after for culinary use because of its acrid bitter taste. However, in ancient
Rome it was eaten for the preservation of sight, and we have been told that to this day a little fresh rue is
added by some Italians to their salads. . . .
Ancient and modern herbalists agree on the potency of rue in helping to remedy several maladies. As
it is very powerful, all experts warn laymen on its use – it should be administered only by a qualified
therapist, and doses should be taken strictly as directed. Pregnant women are advised against taking it, and
large amounts can be toxic. When given in the right doses, rue relieves colic and indigestion, has been
useful in eliminating worms, and has improved the appetite. It has been found valuable when made into an
ointment for external use to help relieve the pain of sciatica, rheumatism, and gout. It has also been used in
skin disease.
Oil distilled from rue has a use in perfumery. This may seem contradictory as we have emphasized its
peculiar bitterness: when judiciously employed, an opposite scent or flavor can intensify the potency of
other ingredients in many different kinds of blends, whether in fragrances or food.” Hemphill (1995), pp.
144-145.
“Rue (B.P.C. 1934, Fr. P., Swiss P.). Ruta; Herb of Grace; Herbygrass; Rutæ Herba. The dried herb Ruta
graveolens (Rutaceæ), containing a small amount of volatile oil (about 0.1%). Its properties are virtually
those of the volatile oil. An infusion has been used as an emmenagogue.
Rue Oil (B.P.C. 1934). Oleum Rutæ. A pale yellow oil with a characteristic sharp unpleasant odour
and an acrid taste, obtained by distillation from rue. It contains about 90% of methyl nonyl ketone,
C11H22O, with small amounts of other ketones, esters, and phenols. Wt per ml. about 0.84 g. Soluble 1 in 3
of alcohol (70%). It has been used as an antispasmodic and emmenagogue. It is a powerful local irritant.
Toxic effects: large doses cause violent gastric pains, vomiting, and prostration. Dose: 0.12 to 0.3 ml. (2 to
minims).” Martindale (1958), pp. 1386-1387.
12.12 (63) Xun 薰 [hsün] – Oriental lovage.
Xun, on its own, is defined in GR No. 4795, Vol. III, p. 91, as: “1. (Bot.) Lysimachia foenum-graecum Hance (an
odiferous plant that one carries on oneself to repel noxious emanations). 2. Perfume; good odor, to perfume. . . .”
See also, Couvreur, p. 799.
Lysimachia foenum-graecum (“Oriental lovage”) is also known in Chinese as linglingxiang 鈴鈴香
[ling-ling-hsiang] – GR: No. No. 7192. The root is used to prevent halitosis and to scent the hair.
“Lysimachia foenum-graecum
Jap. Reiryoko
Chi. Ling-ling Xiang
This is one of the rare ingredients which make oriental incense so special and unique. It exudes an aroma
that is difficult to define. It is spicy, sweet, and quite musky in nature, although these are merely the surface
of its true scent. It possesses the power to bring the mind to a state of presence. Awake and alert while at
the same time calm and reflective are the thoughts while experiencing this incredible ingredient.” ©
Hikoshin Ryu 2002. Downloaded from: http://www.hikoshin.org/Incense/MED_HERBS/reiryoko1.htm on
3/11/2003.
12.13 caomu shier zhong xiang 草木十二種香 [ts’ao-mu shih-erh chung hsiang] – altogether (they have) twelve
types of aromatic plants.
For xiang 香 see: GR No. 4242 (Rad. 186): 1. Agreeable odor; scent; aroma; perfume. Odoriferous; perfumed. 2.
a. Incense. b. (by ext.) Temple; cult. 3. a balsam; perfumed. b. Aromatic plant; . . . . Williams, p. 307 gives:
“Fragrant, odoriferous, sweet; . . . ; perfume, aroma, effluvia ; incense . . . .”
See also the note from the Editorial staff of Shen-Nong in 12.12 (59) on the use of the word xiang, where in
which they point out that, while most such substances are aromatic, “The understanding of aromatic properties in
Chinese is usually the promotion of qi circulation. That means xiang botanicals are usually able to “run” the
stagnant qi in the body and hence has some kind of analgesic properties.”

This leaves open the problem that there are only 11 such “aromatic” substances in the list as I have
interpreted it. This could be due to one of three reasons – either only eleven such substances were originally listed
due to miscalculation or that the author did not know the name of one of them, that one was missed in transcribing
the original text into the Sanguozhi or, I have misinterpreted the name(s) of one or more items.
It is a difficult list to translate and some items I have not been able to identify – so it is quite possible that
this apparent inconsistency is due to an unintentional error of my own. I leave it for the reader to decide or
comment upon.
Section 13 – The Sea Route to Da Qin (Roman territory).
13.1. The seven commanderies of Jiaozhi 校趾 [Chiao-chih]. The Circuit of Jiaozhi, was made up of the following
commanderies (from south to north): Rinan 日南 [Jih-nan], Jiuzhen 九真 [Chiu-chen], Jiaozhi 交趾 [Chiao-chih],
Hepu 合浦 [Ho-p’u], Nanhai 南海 [Nan-hai], Cangwu 蒼梧 [Ts’ang-wu], and Yülin 鬱林 [Yü-lin].
The administrative capital was at Longbian [Lung-pien], in the commandery of Jiaozhi, near modern Hanoi
in the delta of the Red River, of what is now Vietnam. According to the census of CE 2 they contained altogether
215,448 households. See Holmgren (1980), p. 64.
As Jiaozhi Commandery was divided into Guan [Kuan] and Jiao [Chiao] Provinces in CE 226, it seems the
Weilue’s text was based on information that was gathered prior to CE 226.
“Throughout the greater part of the Later Han dynasty, the region of Tongking was administered as
Chiao-chih Commandery in Chiao-chih Circuit. It seems appropriate at this point to define and explain the
significance of these administrative areas.
Chiao-chih Circuit (pu) of Later Han, sometimes described loosely as a province (chou), extended
from the south of the Ling Nan range, on the borders of present-day Kwangtung and Hunan, through
present-day Kwangtung Province and Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region, and across the greater part of
northern Vietnam. The circuit contained seven commanderies: Nan-hai, Ts’ang-wu, Yü-lin, Ho-p’u,
Chiao-chih, Chiu-chen, and Jih-nan. Like other circuits of Later Han, Chiao-chih was supervised by an
Inspector (tz’u-shih); however, where other Inspectors of circuits had authority only to report wrongdoing
to the central government offices, we are told that the Inspector of Chiao-chih, presumably because of the
great distance from the capital, possessed imperial credentials (chieh) which gave him the right to carry out
punishments on his own initiative without prior reference to the throne.
As will be observed already from the list above, Chiao-chih was the name not only of a circuit, but
also of a commandery, and it was Chiao-chih Commandery, written with the same characters as the name
of the circuit that supervised it, which occupied the great part of the area of Tongking during the Later Han
period. Though this double nomenclature is confusing to many scholars, the same system may be observed
in Yi Circuit, also known as Yi Province (yi-chou), which included a commandery named Yi-chou.”
Holmgren (1980), pp. 54-55.
Jiuzhen had its capital at Xupu [Hsü-p’u], near modern Thanh Hoa, and Rinan’s centre was Xiquan [Hsi-ch’ien],
near modern Quang Tri, in northern Vietnam. However, towards the end of the Han dynasty:
“Rinan commandery below the 16th parallel appears to have been lost, and the non-Chinese kingdom of
Linyi was established in the region of Hue, extending south beyond present-day Da Nang. Further around
the coast, on the Mekong delta, the kingdom of Funan, which traded regularly with the Han empire, and
which was developing political authority along the eastern coast of the Malay peninsula and a dominance of
the regional trade, was powerful enough and sufficiently distant to avoid any military confrontation.” de
Crespigny (1989), Chap. 1.
“Chiao-chih was the name of the chün (“commandery”) which corresponds to our Tongking, and its
seat was practically identical with the present Hanoi. . . . In the first centuries of our era, Chiao-chou
included Kuang-tung, Kuang-hsi, Tongking and North Annam.” Pelliot (1959), p. 460.
“Ch’in Shih-huang-ti, the first true Emperor of China (221-210 BC) and the first Chinese ruler to give his
country the shape it has today, did this by conquering the whole of Nan Yüeh – all South China as well as
North Vietnam – and bringing it for the first time under the rule of an Empire whose power had hitherto
been confined to North China. The new dependency broke away in the confusion that followed the fall of
the Ch’in dynasty, but was reconquered by Emperor Wu (141-87 BC) of the succeeding Han dynasty.
Census reports of the Han Empire list its three southernmost territories as Chiao-chih (modern North

Vietnam, round the delta of the Red River, with its capital not far from modern Hanoi); Chiu-chen, further
south near the recent short-lived demarcation line between North and South Vietnam; and Jih-nan, the most
southerly of all, with its capital near the modern town of Hue. (The name Jih-nan is picturesque; it means
‘South of the Sun’ and indicates the surprise of the Chinese when they passed the Tropic of Cancer and
found the sun on the wrong side of the sky.) Chinese rule in Vietnam had to contend with frequent
rebellions – including one led by two women, the Trung sisters, who were older contemporaries of
‘Boadicea’ and have a place in Vietnamese tradition similar to her place in the tradition of Great Britain. In
the late second century AD the declining Han dynasty was forced to abandon its control of Vietnam. . . . ”
Sitwell (1984), pp. 137-138.
Zhang Qian [Chang Ch’ien] reported seeing products from Szechuan in Bactria in 128 BCE, and assumed that they
had been brought overland from Southern China.
“When in the second century B.C. Chang Chhien went on his protracted embassy . . . he found some sort of
trade already in existence between India and the west of China, running from Szechuan southwards by way
of Yunnan and either Burma or Assam. Such a route to India, coupled with other routes from India to the
Middle East, would explain how he could bring back information on countries as far off as Parthia and
Syria. It was Chang Chhien’s journey that paved the way for the Old Silk Road, that Titianus’ agents were
to use, a road that did more, however, than act as a route for the export of Chinese silk to the West. The Old
Silk Road was also used for imports into China, especially plants like the grape vine as well as alfalfa,
chives, coriander, cucumbers, figs, safflower, pomegranates, sesame and walnuts, half of which have the
character hu (胡) in their names, including their origin in Central Asia or Persia. The traffic in plants was
not, of course, one way : from China westwards went oranges and, in due course, pears and peaches, which
reached India by the second century A.D. Many centuries later China was also to provide an altogether
surprising proportion of the cultivated flowers now to be found in Western gardens : roses, peonies,
azaleas, camellias and chrysanthemums.” Needham (1978), pp. 64-65.
Ptolemy, in his Guide to Geography (Bk. 1, 17), written in Alexandria between CE 127 and 151, mentions a port
called Cattigara beyond the “Golden Chersonese” (the Malaysian peninsula), from whence a road led to the
‘Metropolis of the Sinai” (Changan?).
It is probable that Cattigara of Ptolemy refers to the port Jiaozhi (near modern Hanoi) as the reconstructed
pronunciations seem to indicate – the ‘gara’ quite possibly being the common Indian suffix for ‘town’:
Jiao – 校 K. 1166i *kŏg / kau or *g’ŏg / γau; EMC kaɨw h / kɛːw h or ɣaɨw h / ɣɛːw h
zhi – 趾 K. 961g * t̑’i̯əg / tśi; EMC tɕɨ’ / tɕi’
For Jiaozhi’s critical role in the early development of maritime contacts with the West see Appendix F.
13.2. Waiyi 外夷 [Wai-i]. The core meanings of the character wai are or “foreign” or “exterior” (in the sense of
being outside of China territory). See: GR No. 12025. According to GR No. 5297, the character yi 夷 refers to
“non-Chinese populations of the East” or “Eastern Barbarians.” ABC, p. 972, simply gives for waiyi: 1. foreigner 2.
foreign country.
13.3. Instead of bei 北 [pei], ‘north,’ as in Hirth (1885), p. 113, the 1975 China Library Edition of the text gives the
character bi 比 [pi], ‘nearby.’ I have chosen bi 比 as the most likely reading.
13.4. The Red River – Chinese: Yuan Jiang; Vietnamese: Sông Hông. See also note 13.1 and Appendix F.
13.5. Yongchang 永昌 Yung-ch’ang (Prefecture)
“Yung-ch’ang was during the first centuries of our era the name of a vast region in western Yün-nan,
between Ta-li and Bhamo, and its name has survived down to our days.” Pelliot (1959), p. 460.
“There was, however, a northerly land route from India to China through Assam, Upper Burma and
Yunnan. Historical evidence shows it to have been in use as early as 128 B.C. when Chang Ch’ien
discovered the products of Szechwan in Bactria. Steps were taken to develop it, and in A.D. 69, for its
better control and protection, China founded the prefecture of Yung-ch’ang across the upper Mekong with

its headquarters east of the Salween, about sixty miles from the present Burma frontier. Along this route in
A.D. 97 travelled envoys from the eastern part of the Roman empire to Yung-ch’ang. The Buddhist pilgrim
I-tsing tells us that it was used at the end of the third century by twenty Chinese monks, who went to the
Court of Śri Gupta.
In the fourth century China relaxed her hold on the Burma frontier to such a degree that in 342 the
Yung-ch’ang prefecture was abolished.” Hall (1968), p. 23.
“There was a road of sorts linking south-west China with north-east India, but this was one of the most
difficult and dangerous routes in the world, repeatedly climbing over snow-clad mountain passes and
plunging down again into the jungly valleys of great rivers – a botanist’s dream, but a traveller’s
nightmare.” Sitwell (1984), pp. 151-152.
“YUNG-CH’ANG FU:– This prefecture is [i.e. in 1894] divided into one sub-prefecture of the T’ing
class and two counties or Hsiens. The prefectural city is situated in a fine plain about 420 miles [676 km]
west of the Provincial Capital, Yün-nan Fu. Yung-ch’ang is especially rich in precious stones and silver
ore. Gold is also found in some places. Pears of immense size and good flavour are plentiful and cheap. The
pears average about two pound in weight, and I have seen some weighing over three pounds [1.4 kg]. The
city is a fine one, and enjoys in peaceful times a considerable amount of trade with Bhamo and Ava in
Burma.” Mesny (1895), p. 269.
“A sort of fair or market is held at Ta-li on the 2 nd and 16 th day of each moon, and an annual Fair
called the Yüeh-chieh is held during the third moon. This latter is said to last for three days, but in reality
lasts during the whole of the third moon. Strangers from all the neighbouring States attend this Fair, to
exchange commodities.
The Burmese bring rubies, jade-stone and cotton. The Thibetans bring gold nuggets, musk, rhubarb
and some valuable dyes. A variety of things are brought from Siam, whilst the Shan states send some of
their famous tea, called P’u-êrh Ch’a, a name derived from the fact of Chinese obtaining it principally in
the prefecture of P’u-êrh Fu. This tea is the best in the world, and if properly prepared for the foreign
market would, no doubt, be appreciated there. It now makes its way right up to the very borders of our tea
plantations in Assam. If our tea planters were truly alive to their own interest they might compete
favourably in the tea market near their gardens at least.
On the 20 th day of the 9 th moon annually, large caravans of traders leave Ta-li for Ava in Burma.
The journey occupies about two months, and is divided into 48 stages of a day each. Some of these
caravans number as many as three or four thousand mules, and they camp out on the journey; there being
no suitable caravanseries in those parts to accommodate such numbers.
These caravans do not go by way of Bhamo, preferring the payment of regular duties in the Shan
States to an uncertain amount of Black Mail in the Katchen mountains. These caravans take musk, opium,
walnuts, felts, hats, copper cooking traps and a variety of other articles suitable to the Burmese markets.
They bring back cotton and British piece goods, as well as a variety of other articles of Burmese and
European manufacture. . . .” Mesny (1895), p. 270.
“The Chinese invented the suspension bridge, and built the first iron chain bridge at least 1,000 years
before the earliest examples to appear in Europe. The design may very well have originated here in western
Yunnan, where the mountains are steep and the rivers fast. The same provincial chronicle that records
Zhuge Liang’s visit mentions that he ordered the sinking of holes for the attachment of chains or cables at
this very spot [across the Mekong River at Shanyang, to the southwest of Dali and Baosshan] around AD
225, making it the site of one of the earliest suspension bridges on record.
At the bottom of the dark gorge where the green-brown water of the Mekong rushes silently by on its
way towards Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and the South China Sea, I saw that the
fifteenth-century Jihong Qiao, 60 metres (197 feet) long and supported by seventeen chains made of links
the size of your forearm, was indeed a ruin. All that remained were the stout stone abutments protruding
into the stream, the iron chains spilling down the shattered masonry where they had snapped like old rubber
bands.
An old man with a leaky boat was there to paddle the occasional villager who wanted to make the
crossing, bailing out the ferry each time he got to the opposite bank. I handed him a note and we went over,
the flimsy vessel quivering in the stiff current. On the other side were the remains of an entry arch to the
bridge and, behind it, yellow cliffs covered with the inscriptions of travellers past. I followed the path a
little way up the bank, searching for the spot where Jensen had photographed the scene. It didn’t take long.

Looking back to the west side of the gorge, I saw the treacherous zig-zag footpath leading from the pass
down to the bridge, which I had just descended, hadn’t shifted for a century. God knows how many coolies
must have lost their footing on it over the centuries, ending their livers in that haunted place.” McDonald
(1995), p. 132.
“If you had the right kind of boat and permission from two governments and an insurgent army, you could
paddle all the way from Tengchong to Rangoon – and on into the Bay of Bengal and beyond for that matter.
From Tengchong the Daying River flows across the border to join the Irrawaddy River at Bhamo, which in
turn becomes the major artery of Burma, navigable the year round. It wasn’t hard to see why 2,500 years’
worth of trade had funnelled out of south-west China through here on its way to Burma, India and beyond.
Or why the Brits had been keen to build a railway through here in Morrison’s day; or why they’d decided to
annexe Upper Burma, for that matter. The nearest Treaty port was 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) in the other
direction over roads we’ve already heard enough about. And the French were ensconcing themselves in
Vietnam, which placed them in an advantageous position to dominate the trade of Yunnan.
Unfortunately, I had neither a boat nor the requisite paperwork to get me over the border and, from
the look of my map, the trail was beginning to peter out. The only highway across the border was the
Burma Road, which had forked off to the south after Baoshan. Following Morrison’s route, there was a
road as far as the town of Yingjiang; from Yingjiang to Manyun there was a thin brown line on my map
that signified ‘Secondary road, cart track, path’; and from Manyun to the border, about 30 kilometres (19
miles) beyond, there was nothing at all. At least it was downhill all the way.” McDonald (1995), p. 137.
“Between Chongqing in central China and Dali, 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) to the south-west, ran a
highway that was laid out by the Qin dynasty – whose name, pronounced Chin, is the origin of the Western
term ‘China’ – as part of a road-building program that was as crucial to the development of Chinese
civilisation as Roman roads were to Europe. The road, a causeway designed for foot traffic, was known as
the Five Foot Road (Wuchidao), so-called because in many places five feet wide was as wide as they could
make it. When it was built in the third century BC this remarkable bit of engineering, which included many
hanging galleries (wooden walkways banged into sheer cliffs through otherwise impassable gorges), had
prised open the vast, rugged Yunnan-Guizhou Tableland like a can opener. The same route remains in use
today, but it was a footpath until as late as 1938, when a motor road replaced it.
When Morrison travelled from Kunming to Dali, he followed this route, then the major artery of
trade, thick with coolies and pack animals and the occasional sedan chair. In some places it was paved, in
others it was just a dusty track winding up pine-covered hills and down dark gorges, its decay mirroring the
decline of dynastic power. In 1894 Yunnan, China’s sixth-biggest province, was only two decades away
from secession.” McDonald (1995), pp. 17-18.
“The old imperial highway from Peking to Yün-nan runs through the provinces of Chih-li, Shan-tung,
Ho-nan, H’u-pei, H’u-nan and Kuei-chou to its destination at the capital of Yün-nan, and even extends
further by way of Ta-li Fu and Yung-ch’ang Fu to the borders of Burma. It is followed by the Imperial
couriers and provincial graduates, who are provided with accommodation all the way to Peking at
government expense. . . .” Mesny (1896), pp. 286-287.
13.6. Yizhou 益州 [I-chou], or I Province.
“As will be observed already from the list above, Chiao-chih was the name not only of a circuit, but
also of a commandery, and it was Chiao-chih Commandery, written with the same characters as the name
of the circuit that supervised it, which occupied the great part of the area of Tongking during the Later Han
period. Though this double nomenclature is confusing to many scholars, the same system may be observed
in Yi Circuit, also known as Yi Province (yi-chou), which included a commandery named Yi-chou.”
Holmgren (1980), p. 55. Note 13.1 includes the first part of this discussion.
Chinese control over this vast region in what is now Yunnan Province was probably made much easier by a large
earthquake destroying the main centre of the local Dian culture in 110 CE when it was inundated by the waters of
Faxian Lake, southwest of the modern city of Kunming:

Lost Empire Ruins Discovered Under Chinese Lake
[Original headline: City that sank sheds light on a lost empire ]
Archaeologists in China claim to have found the capital of an empire that disappeared in
floods two millennia ago.
Divers discovered ancient city walls, dwellings and paved roads covering several square
miles at the bottom of Fuxian Lake in southwestern China. The ruins are said to be what is
left of the administrative centre of the Dian Kingdom, a neighbour of China’s Han
dynasty.
According to Yu Xixian, of Beijing University, the city was located in a valley that
flooded after a massive earthquake in AD 110. “The valley filled with water, probably
killing all the inhabitants,” he said.
The city was forgotten for almost 1,900 years until a local man claimed to have found
walls in shallow water. Subsequently, other divers spotted patterns of urban development
on the sandy lake bottom.
Archaeologists inspected the site from a research submarine earlier this summer and
concluded that it was genuine. Carbon dating has apparently confirmed that pottery found
in the lake is from the Dian period. Excavation work has now been taken over by the
Chinese Government. Experts have compared the site to Pompeii, the Roman city buried
by a volcanic eruption.
Professor Yu said: “The flooding of this city was only 30 years after Pompeii. All sorts of
terrible catastrophes happened around that time. When the earthquake struck in Dian, there
would already have been an air of panic in the city. Many people may have gone there to
escape disasters elsewhere.”
Several walls show ancient carvings, including two snakes facing each other, a known
religious symbol, according to Professor Yu. He said: “Daily life in the city was marked
by violence. Rich and poor worshipped many gods and for the rich this meant human
sacrifices during grand ceremonies.” The Dian people worshipped nature gods, he said.
“We can imagine that when the earthquake came and they were submerged in water, it
was a cruel irony for everyone to see themselves killed by their object of worship. As they
were dying, they probably imagined the world was coming to an end.”
The city was about 1½ miles long and one mile wide, according to sonar readings taken
from the surface. The central boulevard is said to run along a perfect north-to- south
alignment, with smaller streets going off at right angles. The ruins are 600ft from today’s
shoreline and 50 ft to 300 ft below the surface.
The site is made up of eight clusters of houses, assumed to form different city districts.
Poorer districts lie outside the partially surviving city wall.
The districts inside the wall have houses made of bigger stones, which are better
preserved. The walls were built from stones with flat, polished surfaces. None of the
dwellings has a roof and most walls have fallen over. The longest standing wall is 100ft
long and 12ft high.
The first sighting was made by Geng Wei, a local man with a fascination of legends of the
city’s existence. He found the site, 50 miles south of Kunming, near the borders with
Burma, Laos and Vietnam, after 38 dives over the past year. The lake is 25 miles long,
five miles wide and among the deepest in China.
The Dian Empire is said to have covered approximately the same territory as the modern

province of Yunnan. Little is known about the Dian period and historians have long
speculated about the location of its capital.
Professor Yu said: “All the Chinese experts agree that the city was flooded instantly and
that there were no survivors.” After consulting records he concluded that the earthquake
struck in AD 110. “However, there are no known records of the city’s existence, I think —
and so far nobody has disagreed — that this city was the capital of the Dian border
kingdom.”
• Story originally published by: The Times, London, England. August – Sept 01, 2001.
Downloaded on 11 December 2001
from: http://www.100megsfree4.com/farshores/amempire.htm
Underwater town unveiled
FOLLOWING China’s first underwater archaeological studies at Fuxian Lake in the southwestern
province of Yunnan yesterday morning, experts said the lake may house an ancient city akin to
Pompeii.
Archaeologists, using a special submarine and a robot, discovered a carved stone, a piece of
earthenware, a 30-metre wall and a huge flat stone platform at the bottom of the lake after they
began the expedition shortly after 8 am.
The earthenware was brought to the surface. Judging from the relics brought from the lake, some
experts said the site was the capital of the Dian State. But others said it is too early in the expedition
to establish the site’s history.
The shell unearthed from a ruined wall in the lake, experts said, suggested the underwater buildings
could be dated back at least to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220).
They said an earthquake or subsidence could have caused the buildings to sink into the lake, which
is now 157 metres deep.
Before yesterday’s operation, some experts believed the lake contained ancient wharves. Others
argued they were tombs, or platforms for sacrifice, or even a dam.
Yesterday’s expedition was China’s first underwater archaeological studies on any lake, the first use
of robots in archaeological activities, and the first time to offer live TV reporting of underwater
archaeological studies.
Located deep in Fuxian Lake, 56 km southwest of Kunming, capital of Yunnan, the site is 1,200
metres by 2,000 metres in size, according to an estimate by experts using sonar devices.
The site first attracted people’s attention in 1992 when an underwater explorer called Geng Wei
discovered large pieces of bluestone. Eventually, pieces of stone were found with man-made
markings.
The lake covers 212 square kilometres and there are about 100,000 residents living in areas
surrounding the lake. (SD News)
Downloaded from: Shenzhen Daily of the 6/4/2001 on 11 December, 2001:
http://www.7cworld.com/szdaily/2001/0604/2.htm
This event seems likely to be the one referred to by Mesny (1896), p. 351, in his discussion of Lake Kunming

(K’un-ming Hu), which is just to the northwest of Lake Fuxian. The story of the inundation of the city seems to
have been transferred from one lake to a neighbouring one over the centuries or, perhaps, more than one lake
flooded, and more than one city was destroyed:
“Lake K’un-ming. This lake extends south from the walls of the prefectural city of Yün-nan Fu, Capital of
the province of Yün-nan. . . . The lake is said to have been formed by the destruction of a former city in
earthquake.”
13.7. This quote probably indicates the truth – that the Chinese were aware of maritime routes to Da Qin before
they became aware of the overland routes, i.e. the maritime route to Egypt (which later became Roman territory).
Also, because trade was usually relayed through middlemen. It may not have been until quite late that it became
known in China that on the overland routes, also led to the Roman Empire.
It is well-established that Egyptian, Mesopotamian and the Indus River civilisations had been linked by sea
for at least a couple of millennia before the Roman period. However, direct contact with China probably came
quite late:
“It was physically possible to make a round trip entirely by sea from Egypt to China, but it took three
years. People who undertook such long journeys usually had specific reasons to do so or a desire to travel
far abroad. Arab and/or Persian merchants had colonies in China, but they were permanent emigrants and
did not constantly travel back and forth.
Because of the circumstances outlined above, the maritime route was principally composed of three
interconnected stages, rather than one long voyage. . . . The Arabian Sea linked the West with India, the
Bay of Bengal linked India with the Malay world, and the South China Sea linked the Malay lands with
China. In the tenth century, Muslim traders learned to make a crossing in one season by leaving on just the
right day, avoiding Sri Lanka, and refreshing at the Maldives. This southern route took them from Malaysia
or Sumatra to the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, or East Africa. However, this bypassed the riches of India.”
Francis (2002), pp. 5-6.
“Bibby had found references to Makan in Mesopotamian inscriptions dating from the days of Sargon
of Akkad, about 2300 BC, when he boasted of ships from Makan tying up alongside his quay together with
ships from Dilmun [Bahrain] and Meluhha. King Sargon’s grandson claimed that he ‘marched against the
country of Makan and personally took captive Mannu-dannu, King of Makan’. And Gudea, a governor of
Lagash around 2130 BC, imported diorite from the mountains of Makran to fashion numerous stone statues,
and some of these still exist with incised inscriptions recording the fact. But references to ‘copper from
Makan’ or to merchandise ‘for the purchase of copper, loaded on a ship for Makran’ petered out about 1800
BC, according to Bibby. From then on, he found, there seemed to be no more direct sailings to Makran;
now all the copper trade went through the markets of Dilmun. But Makran was still known as the primary
producer. There were still listed references to ‘diorite, produce of Makran’, and ‘copper, produce of
Makran’, as distinct from ‘palm-trees: produce of Dilmun, produce of Makan, produce of Meluhha’.”
Heyerdahl (1980), pp. 240-241.
“To me there was no longer any doubt. I agreed with those scholars who identified the Indus region
with Meluhha. Meluhha could be nothing else. Dilmun, Makan and Meluhha belonged together.”
Heyerdahl (1982), p. 311.
“The historian Pliny the Elder, in the first century after Christ, recorded the truly impressive volume of
trade carried on in his days between Egypt and Ceylon, with further communication between Ceylon and
‘the country of the Chinese’. He made it abundantly clear that the early Romans had learnt local sailing
directions from the ancient Egyptian, who knew exactly where to steer and when to hoist sail in the right
seasons. Thanks to Pliny and his informant, the leading Egyptian librarian and geographer Eratosthenes, we
knew that Tigris was not the first reed-ship to have accomplished this easy voyage. He recorded that in
earlier times the Egyptians, ‘with vessels constructed of reeds and with the rigging used on the Nile’,
visited not only Ceylon, but also sailed on to mainland India, trading with the Prasii on the river Ganges.
He gives the exact sailing route learnt by Eratosthenes from the Egyptian merchant mariners, and states that
the voyage from the Red Sea ports begins in midsummer at the time the dogstar rises. Then, ‘Travellers set
sail from India on the return voyage at the beginning of the Egyptian month Tybis, which is our December,
or at all events before the sixth day of the Egyptian Mechir, which works out before 13 January in our
calendar. . . .’ Heyerdahl (1982), p. 357.

Likewise, maritime connections between India and Malaysia/Indonesia and from there to the Philippines and the
Red River basin almost certainly existed since ancient times.
That there was a maritime route to these advanced cultures in the west must have become known to the
Chinese at the very latest by the time c. 218 BCE when Shi Huangdi conquered the state of Nanyue, which included
the basin of the Red River in what is now northern Vietnam. In fact, I presume it is likely that Chinese knowledge
of this route considerably antedated this event. As Thor Heyerdahl (1998), p. 264, says:
“Humans learned to paddle and sail before they learned to saddle a horse or discovered the wheel.”
Section 14 – Roman Dependencies
14.1. The Chinese text clearly shows here that the Chinese were aware that the Roman Empire was the largest
known Empire at the time other than China itself.
Section 15 – The Kingdom of 澤散 Zesan = Azania.
15.1. The Kingdom of Zesan 澤散 [Tse-san] = Azania. “Azania” was the name used by the Greeks and Romans for
the East African coast from the port of Opôné (modern Ras Hafun about 137 km south of Cape Guardafui), down
to mouth of the Rufiji River and included Mafia Island off the coast. Recent archaeological research suggests this
is probably the region where the trading station of Raphta, mentioned in the Periplus, was located.
The Chinese name, Zesan 澤散 shows a clear phonetic similarity to ‘Azania’ or, better, ‘Azan’ – the ending
ia presumably being a Latin suffix. Other forms include – ‘Zanj,’ ‘Sa-,’ and ‘Zanji.’
Karlgren’s reconstruction of the “archaic” pronunciations of the characters as: *d’ǎk-sân (Karlgren: 790o
and 156a). Pulleyblank’s EMC reconstructions are: draɨjk/drε:k-san’ or -san h .
It should also be considered that the first character, 澤, was, and is, also used interchangeably with the
characters yi 醳 [i], ‘liquor,’ and yi 懌 [i], ‘happy,’ ‘joyous,’ (see GR Nos. 1136 [c] 1 and 2). K. 790g, 790c, gives
the reconstructions of both of these characters as: *di̯ǎk / i̯äk; Pulleyblank gives both the EMC reconstructions as:
jiajk. These indicate an even closer early approximation of ‘Azan’ than the character 澤.
From the account of sailing times given in the Weilue, it is likely, that the text refers to the text is to the
northern part of this territory, near Cape Guardafui, at the so-called “Horn of Africa”, which the Romans aptly
named, “The Cape of Spices’. Section 11 says:
“From the city of Angu (Gerrha), on the frontier of Anxi (Parthia), you take a boat and cut directly across to
Haixi (‘West of the Sea’ = Egypt). With favourable winds it takes two months; if the winds are slow,
perhaps a year; if there is no wind, perhaps three years.”
With good winds, the direct journey from Angu (Gerrha) to Egypt took about two months. In the account on Zesan
we are told that it takes about a month with fast winds to head north to Lüfen (Leukê Komê), which was probably
at Al Wajh on the eastern shore of the Red Sea opposite Myos Hormos or Quseir al-Qadim – see notes 12.12. (6)
and 16.1. This agrees well with Lionel Casson’s estimation of the journey from Cape Guardafui to Egypt (Myos
Hormos) of probably taking “over thirty days” – see Casson (1989), p. 287.
So the Zesan of the Weilue’s account must be approximately half way between Angu and Egypt – a position
which fits well with the port of Opôné, just south of Cape Guardafui itself.
It is most unlikely that the Weilue was referring to any of the more southerly places along the Azanian coast
mentioned in the Periplus, as the distances covered would have been too great (6 “runs” to the ‘Small and Great
Bluffs’ + 6 “runs” to the ‘Small and Great Beaches’ + 7 “runs” to the ‘Pyralaoi Islands’ + 2 day-and-night runs, or
4 “runs,” to ‘Munthias Island’ + another 2 “runs” to ‘Rhapta’) – see Casson (1989), p. 280.
“According to The Periplus, written around AD 40 [now generally accepted to have been written
between 40 and 70 CE], the place was at least theoretically under the control of Arab merchants from the
Yemen. It appears that they intermarried with the local women, gave gifts of wine and grain to the local
chiefs and had royal Yemeni approval to exact tribute from the area.
From The Periplus and Ptolemy, it is clear that Rhapta was simply the most remote – and the largest
– of four ancient east African trading ports, from north to south: Opone (now known as Ras Hafun in
Somalia), Essina and Toniki (both near modern Barawa in Somalia), and Rhapta itself.
Opone – spectacularly sited on a virtual island linked to the coast by a 30 mile-long sandbar – may

have had several hundred inhabitants, covered up to five acres and appears to have gone out of business
some time in the mid sixth century AD. The latest pottery found by archaeologists on the site dates from the
fifth or early sixth century. Up till that time, it seems to have acted as a transhipment point for
Mediterranean, African and Indian trade goods.
The other three ports, Essina, Toniki and Rhapta, have never been archaeologically detected [but see
the entries below] – probably because, like Opone, they never made it into the medieval period. . . .
Opone, a nearby site called Daamo, and probably Essina, Toniki and the lost ‘metropolis’ of Rhapta
went out of business in the sixth century, while approximately 90 per cent of known coastal medieval
archaeological sites appear to have no history prior to the seventh. That strongly suggest severe settlement
discontinuity in the immediate pre-seventh-century period – i.e. the sixth century.” Keys (1999), pp. 20-21.
Professor Felix Chami of the University of Dar-es-Salaam, in Tanzania, very kindly wrote an email on 22 July,
2003 saying:
“1. Following my detailed discussion of the word Zanj in my co-edited book called Southern African and
Swahili World (you can find it with African Books Collective) and a brief mention of it on those articles
cited above, it seems now the word Zanj or Azania or Zangion had nothing to do with the colour of people
or even slavery the way the first one has been conceptualized. What is in those words is the word ‘za’ or
‘zi’ an ancient Bantu word for waters-oceans or lakes, and another word ‘nchi’ or ‘nji’ another Bantu word
meaning country or settlement respectively. The people of the coast of East Africa identified themselves
with the ‘Indian Ocean’ which was then known as ‘za’ and hence the people of the country or settlement of
‘za’ and hence ‘Zanchi’ or ‘Zanji’. Not that even the early Greek reference of a country called Paanchi had
the same connotation suggesting East Africa.
2. There is no doubt that Rhapta was a settlement between 7 to 8 degrees south of Equator. Note that
Ptolemy has the exact latitudes for Rapha and it is in this same latitude where many sites of the same period
are found around the delta of Rufiji and the island of Mafia (see my short articles in Current Anthropology
of 1997(38/4) and 1999 (40/2).”
On 4 August, 2003, Professor Chami sent further details on the name “Azania”:
“Again the issue of Zanj or Zing does need much debate. . . . Some of the words recorded in the travellers
literature are still in use and we know the meaning. For instance the traditional God around Lake Victoria is
called Mu Ka Sa meaning the living spirit who dwells in the lake. Most lakes (Nyanja, Nyancha, Nyanza,
Nyasa, Zakwati, Eyasi, Manzi) in the region have something to do with SA/SI OR ZA/ZI and when the
people of the coast of East Africa are identified with Azania, Zangion or Zanj (Zingion, Zinj), and we know
even today the word ‘nchi’ or ‘nji’ means territory or settlement, then it meant territory along the Ocean.”
“We should note, too, that Ptolemy refers to the promontory Zingis (Ζιγγις), probably at the northern end of
Azania; the root occurs again in Cosmas Indicopleustes (mid-sixth century) as Zingion (ζίγγιov). This is
certainly the equivalent of the Arabic Zanj, or Zinj, the name applied to both the country and the inhabitants
beyond the Berber region.” Chittick (1975), p. 20.
“Zang ز جذ
or something like it, was a designation for African Negroes employed by their neighbours since
at least the beginning of the Christian era. . . . ” Wheatley (1975), pp. 86-87.
“Beyond the Axumite kingdom, in the Horn of Africa, were several marts involved in the famous spice
trade between the Indies and the Roman Empire. Cape Guardafui, the easternmost point of the continent,
was known as the Cape of Spices, and the surrounding region was often given the name of ‘the Cinnamon
Country’. In fact it produced no cinnamon (this, like most spices, came from South-East Asia) but the
Arabs who handled much of the spice trade concealed this from their customers in the Western world.
Guardafui itself had for some time been regarded as the southern limit of Africa, the coast thereafter
supposed to turn to the north-west and continue in this direction till it reached the Straits of Gibraltar. The
Periplus, however, is better informed. It describes the coast as continuing southward, as far as the port of
Rhapta. The exact site of this place is disputed, but it undoubtedly has the honour of being the most
southerly settlement recorded in ancient writings – at least five degrees south of the equator and possibly
more. In the time of the Periplus it was controlled by the ruler of Mapharitis, a district of south-western
Arabia; and Arab influence on East Africa has remained noticeable ever since. Rapta was also visited by

people in ‘sewn boats’ (rhapton ploiarion in the Greek, from which the place was supposed to take its
name). Most probably these were local craft, though it has been suggested that they had come all the way
across the Indian Ocean from Indonesia, bringing with them the spices of that region for redistribution by
the Arabs. Sitwell (1984), p. 78.
“Beyond Tabai, after a 400-stade sail along a peninsula towards which, moreover, the current sets, comes
another port of trade, Opônê, and it too offers a market for the aforementioned [spices and frankincense].
Its products for the most part are: cassia, arôma, motô; better quality slaves, the greater number of which go
to Egypt; tortoise shell in great quantity and finer than any other.
Departure from Egypt for all these “far-side” ports of trade is around the month of July, that is
Epeiph. To these “far-side” ports of trade it is also common to ship in from the inner regions of Ariake and
Barygaza (both in northern India) goods from those places that find a market: grain; rice; ghee; sesame oil;
cotton cloth, the monachê [cotton cloth] and the samatogênê [cotton cloth]; girdles; cane sugar. Some ships
sail principally to these ports of trade but some follow the coast and take on whatever cargos come their
way. The area is not ruled by a king but each port of trade is administered by its own chief.
Beyond Opônê, with the coast trending more to the south, first come what are called the Small and
Great Bluffs of Azania . . . , six runs by now due southwest, then the Small and Great Beaches for another
six, and beyond that, in a row, the runs of Azania: first the so-called Sarapiôn run; then the Nikôn; after that
numerous rivers and also harbors, one after the other, numbers of them separated by daily stops and runs,
seven in all, up to the Pyraloi Islands and what is called the Canal; from here a little more towards the west,
after two night and day runs, lying due west ... comes Menuthias Island, about 300 stades from the
mainland. It is low and wooded and has rivers, a wide variety of birds, and mountain tortoise. There are no
wild animals at all except crocodiles; these, however, are not harmful to humans. The island has sewn boats
and dugout canoes that are used for fishing and catching turtles. The inhabitants of this island also have
their own way of going after these with baskets, which they lower instead of nets round the mouths of [?
rocky inlets?].
Two runs beyond this port comes the very last port of trade on the coast of Azania, called Rhapta
[“sewn”], a name derived from the aforementioned sewn boats, where there are great quantities of ivory and
tortoise shell. Very big-bodied men, tillers of the soil, inhabit the region; these behave, each in his own
place, just like chiefs. The region is under the rule of the governor of Mapharitis, since by some ancient
right it is subject to the kingdom of Arabia as first constituted. The merchants of Muza hold it through a
grant from the king and collect taxes from it. They send out to it merchant craft that they staff mostly with
Arab skippers and agents who, through continual intercourse and intermarriage, are familiar with the area
and the language.
The principal imports into these ports of trade are: spears from Muza of local workmanship; axes;
knives; small awls; numerous types of glass stones. Also to certain places, wine and grain in considerable
quantity, not for trade but as an expenditure for the good will of the Barbaroi. The area exports: a great
amount of ivory but inferior to that from Adulis; rhinoceros horn; best-quality tortoise shell after the Indian;
a little nautilus shell.” Translation from: Casson (1989), pp. 59, 61.
The Periplus explicitly states that Azania was subject to Charibaêl, the king of both the Sabaeans and Homerites in
the southwest corner of Arabia (including Aden). The kingdom is known to have been a Roman ally at this period.
Charibaêl is stated in the Periplus to be “a friend of the (Roman) emperors, thanks to continuous embassies and
gifts” and, therefore, Azania could fairly be described as a vassal or dependency of Rome, just as Zesan is
described in the Weilue.
“Trajan had another canal dug to link Alexandria with the new port of Clysma. By this time a Roman fleet
was patrolling the Red Sea in order to give protection from pirates, and its control extended to the Arab
anchorage at Ocelis [near the mouth of the Red Sea], where Rome had trading rights secured through costly
gifts to the local ruler.” Simkin (1968), p. 39.
“Ḥimyar [in the Periplus] exercises a guardianship over the Ma’āfir; together these two countries have
possessions in Africa, towards modern Tanzania. The dependent ports of Arabia are: of Ma’āfir (Muza and
Ocelis), of Ḥimyar (Arabia the Happy = Aden). Abyssinia, whose name is not quoted, but is easily
recognised through the mention of its capital, Axum, is a vast country but its king has no influence over the
Arabian coast of the Red Sea [as was the case by the third century].” Robin (1991), p. 22.
The Periplus describes the complexity of the control of the African coast south of the straits at the entrance to the

Red Sea:
“At the straits began the “rest of Barbaria” (5:2.20). It included the African side of the Straits of Bab el
Mandeb (cf. 7:3.19, 25:8.14-15), the northern coast of Somalia right up to Cape Guardafui (12:4.21), and a
short stretch of the cape as far as Ras Hafun; strung along its shore were the so-called “far-side” ports
(7:3.10-11), from Avalitês on the strait (7:3.13) to Opônê on Ras Hafun (see under 13:5.3). Like the port of
Barbaria just below Roman Egypt, it had no central authority but was ruled by local chieftains (14:5.14-16).
South of Opônê began what the author calls Azania (15:5.17-18, 16:6.3), the coast of Africa down to
Rhapta in the vicinity of Dar es Salaam. At this time it was under Arab rule, a possession of the kingdom of
the Sabaeans and Homerites (see under 23:7.27-29) in the southwest part of the Arabian peninsula, more or
less modern Yemen. Azania was administered directly by the governor of Mapharitis (31:10.19-20), a
province of the kingdom concentrated in the southwestern tip of the peninsula whose port of Muza was the
foremost in the kingdom’s trade with Africa (cf. 17:6.21-23). Rhapta, Azania’s largest and most active port,
was administered, like the rest of the region, by the governor of Mapharitis, but its taxes were handled in a
special fashion: the crown farmed them out to the shippers of the port of Muza (16:6.10-13).” Casson
(1989), pp. 45-46.
“Better conditions were available, however, at the southern end of the Red Sea. Here lay the substantial
port of Muza, visited by seafarers who sometimes sailed as far as India. It belonged to the king of Ma’afir,
or Mapharitis; but he was only a petty chief, subordinate to a more powerful inland ruler whose royal line
we have already met:
. . . Charibael, the lawful king of two tribes, the Homerite [Himyar] and that lying beside it called
Sabaite [Sheba]; he is called ‘Friend of the Emperors’ on account of his continual embassies and gifts.
(This mention of a ‘lawful king’ gives a hint of the turbulent political life of ancient South Arabia:
Charibael’s ‘embassies and gifts’ had convinced the Roman authorities that he was ‘lawful’, but there may
well have been pretenders in the region who would have disagreed.) Charibael also controlled a large port
at Aden further around the coast; the Greek name for this was the same as that given to the whole
peninsula, Arabia Eudaemon or ‘Araby the Blest’ – a singularly inappropriate name, as more recent visitors
to Aden have often pointed out. Eudaemon Arabia was called Eudaemon when in former days it was a
city, when men had not voyaged from India to Egypt, and those from Egypt had not ventured to sail to the
places further inside the sea-corridor, but came here where the cargoes from both India and Egypt were
received, just as Alexandria receives them, both from overseas and from Egypt itself. But now, not very
long before our time, Caesar destroyed it.
The last sentence of this difficult passage [from the Periplus] has aroused much controversy. Some
authorities assert that ‘Caesar’ is a mistake for some other name, such as Charibael or Elisar, and those who
take the word to mean what it says disagree about the identity of the ‘Caesar’ concerned; suggestions range
from Augustus in 23 BC to Caracalla in AD 196.” Sitwell (1984), pp. 89-90. [Note that the recent fixing of
the date of the Periplus to between 40 and 70 CE places a limit on the upper date].
“There is universal agreement that Opônê is Hafun – the modern name may be descended from the ancient
– an excellent harbour on the south shore of Ras Hafun, the prominent peninsula some eighty-five miles
[137 km] south of Cape Guardafui (10° 27’ N, 51° 24’ E); Hafun was still serving the sailing ships of
Arabia and Persia up to a few decades ago. . . . Recent archaeological investigation has brought to light
ancient remains dating to the 2d and 3d centuries A.D. and perhaps latter (N. Chittick in Azania II [1976]:
120-22 and IJNA 8 [1979]: 276). Some material produced a radiocarbon date of the 2nd or 1st century B.C.,
but there is doubt about its validity (G. Mgomezulu in Journal of African History 22 [1981]: 447).” Casson
(1989), p. 132.
“The attempt to control South Arabia may have been resumed with a Roman occupation of the port of
Arabia Eudaemon [‘Arabia the Blessed’ – modern Aden], in the reign of Claudius (A.D. 41-54) or earlier.
Such an event is reported in the Periplus in one brief sentence: “But not long before our time Caesar
[Καĭσαρ] subdued it.” But this statement has been much disputed. The most I shall maintain is that such an
action was navally possible. The distance by sea from Myus Hormus or Berenice to Aden would be no
more than from Puteoli to Alexandria. There would be no need for warships if the states bordering the
southern portion of the Red Sea had none – and there is no sign that they had any. In any case, all that was
required was some innocent-looking merchant ships filled with a few hundred Roman legionaries; once
ashore, the forces of the local prince would be no match for them, even if they tried. The whole action
would be considerably easier than the expedition of Gallus [into southern Arabia in 25/24 BCE], or the

Persian invasion of South Arabia by sea in the sixth century A.D.
What is more certain is that at the time of the Periplus Rome was in alliance with the Himyarite
prince of Ẓafār in the Yaman mountains. The tribe of Ḥimyar, whom the Greeks called “Homeritae,” were
superseding the Sabeans as the leading South Arabian power. Their alliance, possibly combined with the
presence of a Roman garrison at Arabia Eudaemon, would be sufficient to ensure the good behaviour of the
South Arabians.
Graeco-Roman intervention, commercial and naval, still left plenty of scope for Arab traders. The
Periplus gives an account of their overseas trade in the middle of the first century A.D., at the same time
describing the coasts of Arabia and the neighbouring countries. Starting in Northwest Arabia, it describes
Leuce Come as a market of the Nabataeans for local shipping from Arabia. Beyond this the Arabian coast is
foul and inhospitable and the Beduin plunder and enslave those who are unfortunate enough to be
shipwrecked on its reefs. Passing this country “as fast as possible” we come to al-Yaman where the people
are more peaceful, and anchor off Muza, “a market-town established by law,” at or near the modern Mukha.
. . . And the whole place is crowded with Arab ship-owners and seafaring men, and is busy with the
affairs of commerce; for they carry on a trade with the far-side coast [Eritrea and Somaliland] and with
Barygaza [in India], sending their own ships there.” The next anchorage is Ocelis on the straits of Bāb
al-Mandab, a mere watering-place for ships on their way to India. After this comes Arabia Eudaemon,
“Arabia the Blessed,” the only real harbor in the Arabian peninsula. As we have seen, this was in former
times the mart for exchange of Indian and Egyptian goods. But now that it is no longer even a port of call of
the Greek and Roman ships sailing to India, it has sunk to the rank of “a village by the shore,” possibly
enlivened by a Roman garrison.” Hourani, (1995), pp. 31-32.
“On the East African shore Arab merchants were found everywhere, as far south as Rhapta, near Zanzibar.
Inside the Red Sea there was the young independent kingdom of Axum, founded by South Arabian
colonists. In Somaliland and beyond, Arab princes were ruling, just as Zanzibar still had its Arab sultan. Of
Rhapta the Periplus says, “The Mopharitic chief [a Yamanite prince] governs it under some ancient right
that subjects it to the sovereignty of the town that you come to first on the coast of Arabia [Muza]. The
people of Muza now hold it under his authority, and send thither merchant ships, on most of them
employing Arab captains and agents, who are familiar with the natives and intermarry with them, and who
know the coast and the language.” Hourani (1995), pp. 33-34.
It is very likely that there was an active trade in spices such as cloves and nutmeg with Indonesian vessels
bringing them directly from the Moluccas to the East African coast (i.e. from the “Cape of Spices” south to
Raphta), by the first century CE. All the evidence points to an active trans-oceanic trade between Indonesia,
Madagascar and East Africa about this period as cloves and nutmeg were known and being used in Rome
by the time of Pliny. At the time, the only places cloves and nutmeg were grown were in the so-called
“Spice Islands” of what is now Indonesia. See: Ricotti (1994), pp. 106-107; Milton (1999), p. 20.
15.2. I believe this reference that: “His seat of government is in the middle of the sea”, shows that the king of
Zesan did not live in Zesan itself, or as previously assumed, that he lived on an island.
Charibel, the king of Homerite and Sabaean kingdoms, now the southwestern corner of the Arabian
Peninsula, was in control of Azania, and ruled it through his governor of the province of Mapharitis, stationed in
Muza. Muza had become the main port of the region since the destruction of Aden (Eudaimôn Arabia), “not long
before our time.” See Casson (1989), pp. 37, 46, 63, 65, 149-151, 159-160.
My contention is that King Charibel’s realm could reasonably be described as being “in the middle of the
sea,” as it was roughly half way between the Persian Gulf and Egypt, and also about half way between (the
southern part) of Azania and Egypt.
15.3. Lüfen 驢分 [Lü-fen] = Al Wajh, on the east coast of the Red Sea. See 16.1.
15.4. “It can take half a year to cross the water, but with fast winds it takes a month.” This quote is supported by
Casson (1989), p. 287, where he notes:
“If we allow for the sail from Guardafui to Egypt the same amount of time on the outbound voyage,
over thirty days, he would arrive home in November of December, a year and a half after his departure.
This left six months or so to collect a cargo for another venture to the area the next July. In effect, two years
were required for a round trip [to Raphta].”
“Most of the Arabian Red Sea coast, from where Nabataean jurisdiction ended to a point north of Muza

where that of the kingdom of the Sabaeans and Homerites began (cf. under 20: 16-17), had no central
authority, being inhabited by primitive fisher folk and herdsmen; the latter eked out their meagre livelihood
with the profitable returns from piracy (20:7. 6-11). The southwest corner of the peninsula, from north of
Muza on the Red Sea around to at least Eudaimôn Arabia on the site of modern Aden (26:8. 23-24), was the
kingdom of the Sabaeans and Homerites to which Azania was subject; it was ruled by Charibaêl, with its
capital at Saphar (23:7. 27-29 and note ad loc.). The southwestern tip of the peninsula, site of the ports of
Okêlis (25:8. 19) as well as Muza, made up the province of Mapharitis under Charibaêl’s governor,
Cholaibos; the provincial capital was at Sauê (22:7. 24-26). Charibaêl’s realm ended somewhere east of
Eudaimôn Arabia. Then came a stretch of coast inhabited by primitive fisher folk that extended to just short
of Kanê (27:9. 1-4). Kanê was the major port of the “frankincense-bearing land,” ruled at this time by
Eleazos, with his capital at Sabutha (27:9 4-8). This kingdom, corresponding roughly to the Hadramaut of
today, reached eastward to a point on the coast opposite to the Isles of Zênobios (33:11. 10-12) or Kuria
Muria Islands (see under 33:11. 10-11). The “frankincense-bearing land” had its own overseas possession,
the island of Socotra (31:10. 19-20). The coast eastward of this point, an area the author characterizes as
primitive (33:11. 11), was at this time under the control of the kingdom of Persis (33:11. 12 and note ad
loc.).” Casson (1989), p. 46.
Because of their dependence on the monsoon winds, it took about six months for merchant ships to make the round
trip from Egypt to India.
“Passengers generally set sail at midsummer, before the rising of the Dog-star, or else immediately after,
and in about thirty days arrive at Ocelis in Arabia, or else at Cane in the region which bears frankincense.
There is also a third port of Arabia, Muza by name; it is not, however, used by persons on their passage to
India, as only those touch at it who deal in incense and the perfumes of Arabia. . . . Travellers sail back
from India in the beginning of the Egyptian month Tybis – our December – or at all events before the 6th
day of the Egyptian month Mechir, that is before the ides of January. In this way they can go and return in
the same year. They sail from India with a south-east wind, and on entering the Red Sea catch the
south-west or south.” From the Natural History of Pliny the Elder (published circa. 77 CE), as quoted in
Majumdar (1981), pp. 338-339.
“As noted at the outset, the Periplus treats of two major trade routes, one that ran along the eastern coast of
Africa and another that crossed the water to the western coast of India. These involved very different
sailing conditions–and as a consequence, very different kinds of traders.
Along the African route sailing conditions were excellent, the chances of meeting trials at sea
minimal. Thus it could be traversed by small craft as well as big, even by craft indifferently maintained.
This meant it was open to small-scale merchants, those whose funds extended to only buying in a very
modest supply of trade goods and chartering space at bargain rates on some unprepossessing freighter. The
route to India, on the other hand, was just the opposite: the outbound voyage took place when the southwest
monsoon was blowing the hardest, always strong and frequently increasing to gale force. Skippers of later
ages waited until it had lost its bite before venturing forth during its period, but not the Greeks or Romans,
thanks to the nature of their ships. For these were built in the special fashion favored by ancient
shipwrights, one that guaranteed a hull of massive strength, and they carried a rig that not only was
conservative but allowed quick and efficient reefing.” Casson (1989), pp. 34-35.
Navigation in the Red Sea is notoriously dangerous with many shoals and reefs, sudden storms and the prevailing
northerly winds generally made it difficult and slow to sail to its northern end:
“In the northern part of the Red Sea area, extending down to 19° N, the prevailing winds are north to
northwest. Best known are the occasional westerly, or “Egyptian,” winds, which blow with some violence
during the winter months and are generally accompanied by fog and blowing sand. From latitudes 14° to
16° N the winds are variable, but during the months of June through August strong northwest winds move
down from the north, sometimes extending as far south as the Straits of Bāb el-Mandeb; by September,
however, this wind pattern retreats to a position north of 16° N. South of 14° N the prevailing winds are
south to southeast.” NEB Vol. 15, p. 545.
“The eastern side of Africa is easier to explore by sea than the western. The Red Sea does present the same
difficulty as the Atlantic off Morocco, a prevailing wind from the north, but this is nothing like as strong or
persistent as the North-East Trade. And when one leaves the Red Sea for the Indian Ocean, the situation
becomes surprisingly straightforward, since the wind here is of the ‘monsoon’ type (named from an Arabic

word meaning ‘seasonal’). From May to September the South-West Monsoon blows from Africa to India;
from November to March the North-East Monsoon blows back again, so that by choosing the right time of
year a ship can sail a very long way without ever having to beat against the wind.” Sitwell (1984), p. 74.
“My vessel was one of those called a sambuk on the Red Sea. [The author describes a sambuk as: “A vessel
similar in the shape of the hull and in rigging to a small baggalah, except that the stempost and stern are
without decoration and superstructures. The sambuk carries a crew of 15 to 20 men, and can transport 15
to 60 tons of cargo according to size. Sambuks were once the principal pearling vessels.] Sixty feet long
and fifteen feet wide, it was not decked except at the stern, where there was a sort of poop-deck under
which an enclosure had been arranged which was honoured with the title of “cabin”, and was just big
enough to hold our two mattresses, but nothing else. It was there that we slept; by day, we lived in the open
air, on the poop. The sambuk also proceeds under oars but has two quasi-lanteen sails; one of them, the
fore, billows right out when the wind fills it, and forms a sort of hemispherical balloon before the prow, as I
have seen shown on ancient frescoes and medallions. I would wager heavily that nothing has changed in
those parts for centuries, that the barques, the sails and the oars are absolutely the same as they were in
remotest antiquity, and that the mariners frequent the same roadsteads and have the same customs, the same
prejudices and the same superstitions as they did in the era of the Troglodytes. . . .
Such are the vessels in use on the Red Sea, frail barks for so difficult a navigation. The sea is one of
the most difficult known to mankind: cut and crossed in all directions by submarine currents, bristling with
reefs and banks of coral, it lies wide open to violent squalls which the proximity of coast and mountain
makes very frequent and very sudden; thus shipwrecks are common occurrences, despite the excessive
caution and timidity shown by the mariners. . . .
Never had the voyage been completed faster: subtracting pauses that we had made of our own
volition, plus the excursion to Sinai, we had taken only eleven days to get from Suez to Jiddah, which
implies an average of approximately sixty sea miles sailed each day. That is certainly good going, when it
includes lying-to each day.
A voyage which outward bound had required only a few days would, thanks to the northerly
monsoon which prevails almost constantly in the northern part of the Red Sea, require five or six times as
long for the return, often more, and I recoiled from the prospect of a crossing [from Jiddah to Qusair] that
would take from thirty to forty days to accomplish.” Didier (c. 1857), pp. 45-46, 155.
15.5. The text 最與安息安城相近 is usually translated as something like: “Angu City on the frontier of Parthia is
close (or near) to [Zesan].” This clearly does not make sense in this context, and the true meaning is, in fact, very
different.
The characters zuiyu 最與 [tsui-yü], GR No. 11503 – “the most,” “superlatively,” “very,” “in total,”
“together,” plus GR No. 13162 – “with,” “together,” “associated with,” “allied country.” See also note 8.2.
This is strongly reinforced by the term xiangjin 相近 [hsiang-chin] later in the sentence. The character xiang
相 means: “reciprocal,” ‘together,” “with,” “mutual,” (GR No. 4195), plus jin 近 – which although it can mean
“close,” also has the additional meanings of “intimate,” “closely related,” “to associate with,” “visit,” or “related
to” (See GR No. 1992, 4a and b; ABC, p. 451).
This clearly implies that Angu and Zesan were in close contact or communication with each other – not that
they were physically close to each other. I have, therefore, translated the sentence as: “in close communication
with,” although the Chinese text may well imply an even closer relationship than that. For Angu 安谷 [An-ku] =
Gerrha. See note 11.4.
15.6. This clear statement of the Weilue shows that Chinese scholars of the period were aware that it was possible
to reach Rome by another route from Zesan = Azania, to the southwest and, therefore, around Africa.
There is a striking parallel passage in the Periplus. After discussing ports south along the East African coast
as far as Rhapta (probably a port in southern Somalia), it says:
“These are just about the very last ports of trade on the coast of Azania to the right of Berenicê [i.e. to the
south]. For, beyond this area lies unexplored ocean that bends to the west and, extending on the south along
the parts of Ethiopia and Libya and Africa that turn away, joins the western sea [i.e. the Atlantic Ocean].”
Casson (1989), p. 61 and 143.
This is surely a reference to the knowledge that it was possible to circumnavigate Africa. Educated Romans of the
1 st and 2 nd centuries CE were aware that it was possible to sail around Africa to Asia. They would have known of

Herodotus’ account of the successful circumnavigation of Africa by Hanno the Carthaginian, and of the attempts of
Eudoxus of Cyzicus to reach India by sailing around Africa in the late second century BCE, which were recorded
by Strabo. Eudoxus’ trips and expeditions are set out in a clear and approachable way in Landström (1966), pp.
44-47.
Furthermore, Seneca made a confident prediction in his Naturales quaestiones (CE 63-5), that Spain would
soon be linked to the Indies by sea. It seems likely that his confidence was based on current accounts of the
possibility of the circumnavigation of Africa. See: Cary (1954), p. 568.
“To the question whether the ‘Dark Continent’ was circumnavigated in antiquity it may be answered that
we have authenticated records of four attempts to do so. The first, apparently successful, was made c. 600
B.C. by Phoenician sailors in the employ of the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II. The second, known to have
been a failure, was made in the early part of the fifth century B.C. by Sataspes, a Persian grandee of the
court of Xerxes. Both the third, which was unsuccessful, and the fourth, whose outcome is in doubt, were
made in the late Ptolemaic period by the Greek mariner Eudoxus of Cyzicus, whose voyages on the Indian
Ocean have already been noted.” Hyde (1947), p. 233.
Section 16 – The Kingdom of Lüfen 驢分 [Lü-fen] = Leukê Komê (‘White Village’).
16.1. Lüfen 驢分 [Lü-fen] = Leukê Komê or modern Egra = Al Wajh, 26° 13’ N, 36° 27’ E, on the east coast of the
Red Sea.
Lü 驢 – not in Karlgren; EMC – lɨə̆. This character could well have represented a foreign “lu,” “ru,” “ra,”
or “ro,” sound. It was almost certainly used here to represent an attempt to transcribe a foreign sound, as its
literal meaning is ‘ass’ or ‘donkey.’
fen 分 – K. 471a *pi̯wən / pi̯uən; EMC – bun h or pun. GR No. 3467 gives: pi̯wən / pi̯uən and bi̯wən / bi̯uən.
This character carries the meanings of (among others): ‘to divide,’ ‘separate,’ ‘limits between different
sectors,’ ‘boundary,’ ‘border,’ ‘part,’ ‘portion,’ ‘branch (office, etc.)’
The first character, lü, might represent an abbreviated attempt to phonetically represent Leukos = ‘white.’
The Weilue states that from Lüfen you travel west “crossing over the sea” over a 230 li (96 km) long
“elevated bridge.” It probably refers to a road atop an embankment on the canal cutting across the delta en route to
Alexandria. At the time of the Nile’s flooding it would, indeed have looked like a bridge crossing the sea. This is
discussed in detail in note 16.3.
“Then to go to another extreme, there was the barren and mountainous zone of the northern Hedjaz.
But here too there were substantial settlements, above all at Hegra (Medain Saleh), marked by a large
number of fine rock-cut tombs of the first century AD, many with long inscriptions in Nabataean. On the
coast there was also the harbour of ‘Leuke Kome’, ‘through which’, as the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
reports, ‘there is a way inland up to Petra, to Malichus, king of the Nabataeans’. Because of the trade
coming up from Arabia (Felix), there was also a customs-officer, to collect a 25 percent duty, and a
‘commander of 100 men’ (ekatontarchēs) with soldiers. The king will be Malichus II, AD 40-70, and the
commander will not have been a Roman centurion, but a Nabataean officer. At Hegra the equivalent rank is
even given the title centurion, transliterated into Nabataean (QNṬRYN’). . . . ” Millar (1993), pp. 388-389.
It is clear from the account in the Weilue that there were at least two itineraries leading to Roman territory, one
overland, and another one by sea from Parthia. The maritime route described in the Weilue ended at Lüfen –
probably the port of Leukê Komê on the eastern shore of the Red Sea.
I had assumed previously that Myos Hormos (Mussel Harbour”) was located near Abu Sha’r (27 o 23’N., 33 o
35’E), with Leukos Limen situated at Quseir al-Qadim, just 8 km the north of modern Al-Quseir, and Berenicê
securely located further south at Ras Banas. Until recently a number of eminent scholars supported these
identifications. See, for example, Casson (1989), pp. 94-97; Millar (1993), p. 389.
I am indebted to Professor David Peacock for information on a recent series of excavations at Quseir
al-Qadim. It now seems certain that this was the site of ancient Myos Hormos – not Leukos Limen. Information
leading to this conclusion has been found in the region including ostraca and a papyrus contract drawn up at ‘Myos
Hormos on the Erythraean sea’ in 93 CE. See, for example, www.arch.soton.ac.uk/Research/Quseir . The Periplus
(19-20) says:

“To the left of Berinicê, after a voyage of two or three runs eastward from Myos Hormos past the gulf lying
alongside, there is another harbour with a fort called Leukê Kômê [“white village”], through which there is
a way inland up to Petra, to Malichus, king of the Nabataeans. This harbour also serves in a way the
function of a port of trade for the craft, none large, that come to it loaded with freight from Arabia. For that
reason, as a safeguard there is dispatched for duty in it a customs officer to deal with the (duty of a) fourth
on incoming merchandise as well as a centurion with a detachment of soldiers.
Immediately after this harbour begins the country of Arabia, extending lengthwise far down the
Erythraean Sea. It is inhabited by a variety of tribes speaking languages that differ, some to a certain extent,
some totally.” Casson (1989), pp. 61, 63.
As Casson points out in his notes (ibid., p. 143), a journey of “two to three runs” would have been about 1,000 or
1,500 stadia, or 100 to 150 nautical miles (185 to 278 km). Now, if one heads due east, across the Red Sea 175 km
in a straight line (and one rarely goes in a dead straight line in a sailboat) from Quseir al-Qadim, one arrives at the
small port of Al Wajh. This port, on the western coast of Arabia, was at the beginning of the road which led
through the mountains to the important Nabataean city of Mada’in Salih or Hegra, on the main incense route
leading from southern Arabia up to Petra.
“This Nabataean center is located in Saudi Arabia, about 320 kilometers south of Petra. It is located 15
kilometers [sic – should read “miles”] from Dedan (modern Al Ula), the ancient capital of the Thamuds and
Lihyanites. It is interesting to notice that the Nabataeans preferred this sheltered location to the metropolis
of Dedan. Most likely they were not very welcome by the Lihyanites, and lived outside of their city limits.
This is similar to the situation at Selah where the Nabataeans were living just outside of the Edomite
capital.
Around 65 BC, the Nabataeans absorbed the Lihyanite realm and Hegra became their southern
capital. This center was well located, being at the crossroads of the caravan routes of Arabia, and also
having limited access to the sea [through Al Wajh].” Gibson, D. (2002), pp. 127-128.
As there are no other ports anywhere near Al Wajh along this coast and, based on the identification of Myos
Hormos at Quseir al-Qadim, I consider the location of Leukê Kômê to be near modern Al Wajh as certain.
“Dedan is one of the largest and most fertile oases in North Arabia. Like Taima it had extensive
fields which, in antiquity, appear to have been irrigated by a sophisticated system of dams and sluices
diverting the seasonal flash floods, and possibly a network of underground channels. It lies on the
northwestern route from Yathrib [modern Medina] to Tabuk, Transjordan, and Palestine at a point where
the road is forced into a narrow pass between mountains and broken-up lava flows. . . .
It is probable that the Minaeans chose Dedan as their center, rather than Taima, because it was
closer to the Red Sea ports [particularly modern Egra = Al Wajh – by far the closest Red Sea port to Dedan] and the sea
trade with Egypt where they had commercial interests. Darius I’s opening up of the canal between the Nile
and the Red Sea must have made this route even more attractive, although it is not certain how long it
remained open after his death. . . .
From the end of the first century BCE with the absorption of northwest Arabia into the Nabataean
kingdom, the settlement at Dedan appears to have declined and Hegra (modern Meda’in Salih), some
twenty-five kilometres (15 miles) farther north, became the major city of the region.” Macdonald (1995),
pp. 1361 and 1362.
“The word Arreni [in Pliny] is transcribed from Agreni or Hagreni; these are the inhabitants of the
town of Haegra, or Hegra, the modern al-Ḥeğr, which forms an important halting place on the caravan route
connecting southwestern Arabia with Syria and Egypt. At this point a branch of the ancient trade route
leads off along the southern border of the sandy desert of Nefûd to the Persian Gulf and southern
Babylonia. Pliny therefore is right in saying that all trade is concentrated on this town.” Musil (1926), p.
311.
“El-Wijh,” meaning the face, a word which the Egyptian Fellah perverts to “Wish,” lies in north lat. 26°
14’. It is the northernmost of the townlets on the West Arabian shore, which gain importance as you go
south; e.g., Yambá’, Jeddah, Mocha, and Aden. It was not wholly uncivilized during my first visit, a quarter
of a century ago, when I succeeded in buying opium for feeble patients. Distant six stations from Yambá’,
and ten from El-Medínah, it has been greatly altered and improved. The pilgrim-caravan, which here did
penance of quarantine till the last two years, has given it a masonry pier for landing the unfortunates to

encamp upon the southern or uninhabited side of the cove. A tall and well-built lighthouse, now five years
old, boasts of a good French lantern, wanting only soap and decent oil. Finally, guardhouses and
bakehouses, already falling to ruins like the mole, and an establishment for condensing water, still kept in
working order, are the principal and costly novelties of the southern shore.
The site of El-Wijh is evidently old, although the ruins have been buried under modern buildings.
Sprenger (p. 21) holds the townlet to be the port of “Egra, a village” (El-Hajar, or “the town, the townlet”?)
“in the territory of Obodas,” whence, according to Strabo (xvi. c. 4, § 24), Ælius Gallus embarked his
baffled troops for Myus Hormus. Formerly he believed El-Aúníd to be Strabo’s “Egra,” the haven for the
north; as El-Haurá was for the south, and El-Wijh for the central regions. Pliny (vi. 32) also mentions the
“Tamudæi, with their towns of Domata and Hegra, and the town of Badanatha.” It is generally remarked
that “Egra” does not appear in Ptolemy’s lists; yet one of the best texts (Nobbe, Lipsia, 1843) reads
instead of the “Negran” which Pirckheymerus (Lugduni, MDXXXV.) and others placed in north
lat. 26°.
My learned friend writes to me – “El-Wijh, on the coast of Arabia, is opposite to Qoçayr
(El-Kusayr), where Ælius Gallus landed his troops. We know that ‘Egra’ is the name of a town in the
interior, and it was the constant habit to call the port after the capital of the country, e.g., Arabia Emporium
= Aden. We have now only to inquire whether El-Wijh had claims to be considered the seaport of El-Hijr.”
This difficulty is easily settled. El-Wijh is still the main, indeed the only, harbour in South Midian; and,
during our stay there, a large caravan brought goods, as will be seen, from the upper Wady Hamz.” Burton
(1879), I, chap. 14.
“Sharm al Wajh (26 o 13’N., 36 o 27’E.) is free of dangers in the approach. The shores of the inlet
are fringed by a reef; the head of the inlet is foul. There are depths of 27.4m in the entrance, which is about
0.1 mile wide between the reefs, shoaling to about 5.5m about 0.2 mile within.
The coast in the vicinity consists of coral cliffs 15 to 21m high. A low plain, which is marshy near
the sea and covered with salt encrustation, lies between these coral cliffs and the steep hills 3 or 4 miles
inland. A fort, about 6 miles E of this inlet, is surrounded by hills. Al Wajh, a village on the NW shore of
the inlet, consists of some stone houses, a few minarets, and a fort. Two jetties, in ruins, on the NW side of
the inlet, constitute a danger for boats approaching the landing quay.
A lighted radio mast, 75m high, stands about 3 miles ENE of town.”
From: http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUB3/SD/Pub172/172sec06.pdf , p. 85. Downloaded 28/8/2004.
“According to Sprenger, the “White Village, or Castle,” was not a Thamudite, but a Nabathæan port. Here
Æelius Gallius disembarked his troops from Egypt. Strabo (xvi. c. 4, § 24) shows that [Leukè
Kóme] was the starting-place of the caravans which, before the Nile route to Alexandria was opened,
carried to Petra the merchandise of India and of Southern Arabia. Thence the imports were passed on to
Phoenicia and Egypt:--these pages have shown why the journey would be preferred to the voyage
northward. He is confirmed by the “Periplus,” which relates (chap. xix.) that “from the port, and the
castellum of Leukè Kóme, a road leads to Petra, the capital of the Malicha (El-Malik), King of the
Nabathæans: it also serves as an emporium to those who bring wares in smaller ships from Arabia (Mocha,
Múza, and Aden). For the latter reason, a Perceptor or toll-taker, who levies twenty-five per cent. ad
valorem, and a Hekatontarches (centurion), with a garrison, are there stationed.” As the Nabatæ were
vassals of Rome, and the whole region had been ceded to the Romans (Byzantines) by a chief of the Beni
Kudá’ tribe, this Yuzbáshi or “military commandant” was probably a Roman.” Burton (1879), I, chap. 15.
Strabo’s account of the failed expedition of C. Aelius Gallus to the incense-producing lands of southeastern Arabia
in 25-24 BCE fortunately gives us a few details on the port of Leukê Komê; in particular, the fact that camel
caravans regularly travelled from this port and that aromatics were conveyed by land to Petra and then on to
Rhinocolura (modern Al Arish):
“Now this was the first mistake of Gallus, to build long boats, since there was no naval war at hand, or even
to be expected ; for the Arabians are not very good warriors even on land, rather being hucksters and
merchants, to say nothing of fighting at sea. But Gallus built not less than eighty boats, biremes and
triremes and light boats, at Cleopatris, 1 which is near the old canal which extends 2 from the Nile. But
when he realised he had been thoroughly deceived, he built one hundred and thirty vessels of burden, on
which he set sail with about ten thousand infantry, consisting of Romans in Aegypt, as also of Roman

allies, among whom were five hundred Jews and one thousand Nabataeans under Syllaeus. After many
experiences and hardships he arrived in fourteen days at Leucê Comê 3 in the land of the Nabataeans, a
large emporium, although he lost many of his boats, some of these being lost, crews and all, on account of
difficult sailing, but not on account of any enemy. This was caused by the treachery of Syllaeus, who said
there was no way for an army to go to Leucê Comê by land ; and yet camel-traders travel back and forth
from Petra to this place in safety and ease, and in such numbers of men and camels that they differ in no
respect from an army.
. . . . However, Gallus put in at Leucê Comê, his army now being sorely tried with scurvy and with
lameness in the leg, which are native ailments, the former disclosing a kind of paralysis around the mouth,
and the latter around the legs, both being the result of native water and herbs. At all events, he was forced
to spend both the summer and the winter there, waiting for the sick to recover. Now the loads of aromatics
are conveyed from Leucê Comê to Petra, and thence to Rhinocolura near Aegypt, and thence to other
peoples ; but at the present time they are for the most part transported by the Nile to Alexandria ; and they
are landed from Arabia and India at Myus Harbour ; and then they are conveyed by camels over to Coptus
in Thebaïs, which is situated on a canal of the Nile, and then to Alexandria.”
1 Also called Arsinoê (Suez) . . . .
2 i.e. to the gulf.
3 i.e. “White Village.”
From: Strabo (c. 23 CE)b: 16, 4, 23 and 24 – p. 357 and nn. 1-3, and p. 359.
Cargoes arrived from Rhinocolura (to the east of Egypt) via the crossing near modern al‑Qantara (‘the bridge’) –
see note 18.1. The road then led on west Daphnae, the first major city after arriving in Egypt from the east (and
somewhat over 800 km from Al Wajh by land – as indicated in the Weilue). From Daphnae the road ran on to
Tanis, skirting the southern bank of Lake Manzalah, and then to Alexandria.
This road formed from the earth excavated to make the canal, created a raised dry passageway alongside the
canal. It passed between Lake Manzalah and other lakes and swampy land which would explain the phrase:
‘crossing over the sea by an elevated bridge,’ which would have been a very apt description of the conditions
during the period of the annual Nile flood.
It is important, also, to remember that this area was wetter during Roman times than it is now. Lake
Manzalah extended considerably further south, and the Pelusiac branch of the Nile still emptied into the
Mediterranean.
Casson also provides some interesting notes on the mention of the customs service at Leukê Komê:
“A debate has raged over whether the customs officer and the centurion mentioned in this passage were
Roman officials, and hence Leukê Komê was an outpost of Roman authority, or whether they were
Nabataean. For the extensive bibliography, see Rashke 982, n. 1350. Bowersock (op. cit. under 19:6.26-28,
70) properly points out that “with the great Nabataean settlement inland at Madā’in Ṣāliḥ, as well as other
Nabataean installations in the Ḥejāz, it is inconceivable that the port of Leuke Kome was being
administered by Roman officials.” Both officials must have been Nabataeans (centurion was a rank in the
Nabataean army as well as the Roman; see Bowersock 71). Rome might possibly have stationed its own
personnel at some major commercial center where imperial interests could be involved but hardly at a place
like Leukê Komê. As the text plainly states, it was not much of a port of trade, and whatever facilities it
offered where for small-scale merchants from Arabia, a point that is underscored by the absence of the
author’s usual list of imports and exports; here they were irrelevant to his readers. The facilities included a
fort, a garrison, and, since Leukê Komê was the first Nabataean port traders from Arabia came to, a
customs office.” Casson (1989), p. 145.
“In Strabo’s day Myos Hormos apparently was the chief port for trade with Africa and India, for it is the
only one he mentions (2. 118, 16. 781) in that connection. In the archive of Nicanor, Myos Hormos and
Berenicê seem of equal rank. By the time the author of the Periplus was writing, Berenicê clearly took
precedence: it is from here that he starts the trade routes to both Africa (18:6.21-22) and India (19:6.26),
and from here that he reckons the length of the voyage down the Red Sea (21:7.19-20). Berenicê had one
great advantage over Myos Hormos: it was some 250 nautical miles further south, and that spared
homewardbound vessels days of beating against the northerlies that prevail in the Red Sea above latitude

20 o (Wellsted ii 166; Murray 138-39; SDRS, sector 1-27). Merchants might have saved six to seven days in
overland transport to discharge at Myos Hormos but they might well have lost a month in making the
attempt (cf. Claire Préaux in Chronique d’Égypte 53 [1952]: 271; she was told by locals that from Qusayr
to Suez, some 230 nautical miles, could take a month) [actually, as it is now established that Qusayr al-
Qadim was Myos Hormos – it was only about 270 km, or 146 nautical miles, north of Berinicê]. These
troublesome northerlies may well lie behind Strabo’s remark (17.815) that Ptolemy II made Berenicê
accessible by opening up a road to it “because the Red Sea is hard to sail, particularly for those who set sail
from the innermost recess”; those who set sail from the innermost recess obviously had to get back there,
and that, no question about it, involved hard sailing.” Casson (1989), pp. 96-97.
There was an overland route along the coast from the port of Al Wajh (Lüfen or Leukê Komê) to Petra via
‘Aynūnah (Xiandu = Leukos Limên?). This was made necessary for several reasons:
1. The overland route via Hegra, or modern al-Ḥeğr, to Petra was longer than the coastal route.
2. The Gulf of Aqaba is notoriously difficult to navigate due to its narrow entrance, many coral reefs,
islands, and sudden squalls. Because of this, incense destined for Petra and beyond was usually unloaded at
Al Wajh – known to the Greeks as Leukê Komê (Latin: Leucê Comê), or ‘White Village,’ on the coast of
the Red Sea before entering the Gulf, and carried overland to Petra.
3. It was difficult to sail further up the coast from Al Wajh due to the prevailing winds, which is the same
reason the Romans unloaded most of their cargoes at the harbour of Myos Hormos which, as has been
shown, was in the same latitude and directly west of Al Wajh on the eastern coast of Egypt.
4. There was a well-used major route from ‘Aynūnah to Aqaba at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, and from
there, the Romans had paved the road and provided it with rest stops and forts for protection all the way to
Petra and beyond. There was a viable coastal route from ‘Aynūnah south to Al Wajh as is shown in the
following account of the later pilgrimage route to Mecca:
“It is more difficult to define the exact direction of the coast road to Mecca [for pilgrims coming
from Egypt, Syria and northern Africa]. From Madjan it led to the inhabited halting place of ‘Ajnûna
[‘Aynūnah], which has still preserved its name in the oasis fifty kilometres south of Madjan. The other
halting places situated in our territory are: al-‘Awnîd, aṣ-Ṣala’, an-Nabk, al-Ḳuṣejbe, al-Buḥra, al-Muṛajṯa,
Ẓbe’, and al-Weğh [Al Wajh]. The situation of Ẓbe’ is known for certain. This settlement is nearly one
hundred and five kilometres distant from ‘Ajnûna. Between these two halting places al-Ja’ḳûbi mentions
six others, while between Ẓbe’ and al-Weğh, the halting place 150 kilometers beyond Ẓbe’, he mentions not
a single one. It is certain that something must be wrong with the text here. If we distribute the seven halting
places between ‘Ajnûna and al-Weğh, we obtain seven marches of forty-five to fifty kilometres each, and
this distance agrees with the length of the daily marches as calculated from the halting places to which
al-Ja’ḳûbi refers. Ẓbe’ is then not the seventh but the second halting place from ‘Ajnûna, but regarding the
others al-Ja’ḳûbi gives us no clue as to where we should insert them.” Musil (1926), p. 322.
16.2. The word du 都 [tu] is commonly translated into English as “capital,” but often the word does not mean the
“capital” of a country in the sense of the administrative centre of the country but, rather, or any large and
regionally important city. Sometimes several du are mentioned within one country. When the Chinese wish to
specify the administrative “capital” they usually use a term meaning “the king’s residence.”
In the context of this text it seems clear that it refers here to one of the three major cities (presumably
Daphnae, Tanis and Alexandria) mentioned above as being in the Egyptian Delta – see note 11.10 – and
presumably the first one that one would reach (i.e. Daphnae), and not Rome is meant – as Rome is much further
than 832 km from any point in Egypt, much less one further away.
If my theory that Lüfen = Leukê Komê or modern Al Wajh is correct, it would confirm the 2000 li (832 km)
mentioned in the text as the distance from Lüfen to the first “du” in Roman territory, which would have been
Daphnae. As measured on modern maps, the most likely overland route up the coast from Al Wajh via ‘Aynūnah,
Petra, Rhinocolura (El Arish) to Daphnae works out to be close to the distance mentioned in the Weilue.
16.3. There are references to this long feiqiao 飛橋 [fei-ch’iao] = ‘high,’ ‘rapid,’ ‘raised,’ or ‘elevated’ bridge in
several early Chinese texts including the Hou Hanshu, the Hou Hanji and the Weilue.

The GR Vol. II, p. 598 gives two interpretations for this term: 1. A raised bridge or foot-bridge (crossing a
valley). 2. A floating bridge.
For discussion of the various theories and arguments I refer the reader to the discussions in Hirth (1885), pp.
187, 192 ff; Leslie and Gardiner (1996), pp. 191-193; and Graf (1996), pp. 205-206.
I believe the text refers to a road along canal embankments that crossed the Nile floodplains between the
Egyptian border town of Pelusium in the east and the delta cities further west.
The term flying bridge was first used by Hirth, and repeated by most writers since, to translate the term
feiqiao. Flying bridge suggests some unusual or exotic type of bridge whereas, in fact, feiqiao is a common and
standard Chinese term for an elevated or high bridge.
All the texts remark on the great length of the bridge. The Hou Hanshu says it is “several hundred li long;”
the Weilue says it was 230 li (96 km); while Ma Duanlin, the great 13th century encyclopaedist, records it as being
240 li (100 km), which difference probably only reflects the fact that the li was given different values after the fall
of the Han dynasty.
Previously, this great length has been considered to be either a gross exaggeration or a simple mistake. The
“bridge” must have been unusually long or it would not have been mentioned at all. I have not found any other
reference to the length of a bridge in the Chinese histories; it is certainly most unusual. Nor is there any
qualification by the historians, as one would expect if they were just repeating some story, such as “it is said.” It is,
rather, clearly stated as a fact in all the texts.
Obviously, no conventional ‘bridge’ could be so long. One can only assume that it was a raised road to take
traffic across a wide expanse of water – not a ‘bridge’ in the usual sense of the word, but something more like a
‘highway;’ a roadway raised above the surrounding country. The exact position of this long ‘elevated bridge’ is
difficult to establish because the location of the countries it is said to have linked are still being disputed by
scholars.
“The roads [in the “Land of Goshen” – i.e. the fertile lands along the easterly branch of the Nile and
immediately to the east of it] are usually high above the rest of the country. They run along the canals, and
consist of the dirt banked up to hold back the waters. The side roads are chiefly camel paths or foot paths,
and one sees everywhere the traffic moving along through the fields. Even on the main roads there are few
wagons. Most of the freight is carried on donkeys and camels, which are the common riding animals as
well.” Carpenter (1928), p. 8. See note 16.1.
One can well imagine that when the Nile flooded it was only the main highways that could be traversed and they
could accurately be described as long bridges “across the sea.”
The Hou Hanshu has the bridge leading from Haixi (which I identify as Egypt) to Haipei (‘North of the
Sea’), which I identify as the lands stretching between Egypt and the head of the Persian Gulf.
The Roman dependencies mentioned in the corresponding passage from the Weilue are very difficult to
identify confidently.
The route from Lüfen (Leuke Kome) to Da Qin probably included the section of the ancient caravan route
from Judea to Egypt along the isthmus between Pelusium and Pi-Ramses/Qantara Sharq, which separates Lake
Manzala from Lake Balah, and then on to Tanis and Alexandria.
There was a very ancient major trade route all the from the Hellespont to Alexandria. It was known at
various times as the “Horus Military Road,” the “Way of the Sea,” or “Road of Kings.”
“The great Roman coastal road from Tangiers to Alexandria (in Egypt) was, if one measured in a straight
line, 2,100 miles [3,380 km] long. Its last course lay along the menacing sands close to the sea, and the way
was marked only by cairns of stones although there were regular way-stops which sheltered water sources.
The goal of this coastal road was, of course, Alexandria.
There were five principal roads in Egypt. The first was the coastal road, which Strabo called ‘the way
of the sea’. It crossed seven of the streams of the Nile and followed the coast to Palestine, Sidon, Tyre and
Lebanon. Under Trajan after AD 100 the road was rebuilt along the Mediterranean and extended from
Alexandria to Antioch and along the serrated outer edge of Anatolia to the Bosporus.” von Hagen (1967), p.
106.
“A parallel communication to Trajan’s interior road in the Middle East was the coastal ‘Way of the
Sea’. As a primitive pre-Roman track it went back to dimmest antiquity ; ‘the overland journeys’, wrote
Strabo of this road, ‘are made on camels through deserts and sandy places’. The track began at Alexandria
in Egypt, followed the long sweep of the Mediterranean shore into Palestine and Lebanon and went on to
Antioch and along the Anatolian shore to the Hellespont.

The Egyptians, as early as 1950 BC, used it when they traded with Tyre and Sidon for wood and
purple dye. It was designed for pedestrian and mule traffic. When the wheel was perfected, domesticated
onagers – wild asses – were used to pull huge, solid-wheeled carts. Still later, after 700 BC, after camels
had been introduced from Mongolia [or from Arabia?], they were used by caravans.
This ancient track connecting Egypt with Tyre was an important trade route. Ancient Tyre, which
was on a fertile coast watered by the rivers from the heights of Anti-Lebanon, was well known for its trade.
The prophets of the Old Testament were livid with resentment over Tyre’s wealth ; their enumeration of the
splendours to be found in the purple land gives an idea of Tyre’s opulence. Tyrian imports are listed as
silver, iron, tin from Cornwall, lead from Spain ; ivory and ebony from Edom ; horses and horsemen from
Armenia ; brass from Cilicia ; linen and wheat from Syria ; cassia from Damascus, not to mention camels,
wine, and sheep. Tyre had two export items : cedars from Lebanon and the purple dye. The mollusc –
source of that dye that gave Tyre its fame and wealth – is now possibly extinct ; there are only high mounds
of murex shells as a tangible memorial to that once-great dye industry.
This coastal road had already been paved by the time of Trajan. The same way passed through Sidon,
which is listed in the Roman itineraria as both a seaport and a way-stop on the road. From there the road
went to Beirut [and beyond to the Hellespont].” Von Hagen (1967), p. 127.
The main route leading from Daphnae to Tanis would have, at that time, skirted the southern bank of Lake
Manzala. This road must have been raised to keep it dry and passable. It is likely that the main road was along top
of the embankment beside the Butic canal which ran, in Roman times, south of Lake Manzala, in practically a
straight line, directly west from Daphnae across the delta lands via Tanis to Sebannytos (at the Damietta branch of
the Nile), and then on to Lake Mariut, thus connecting with Alexandria. The section from Daphnae via Tanis to
Sebannytos would have been just about exactly 96 km.
Professor Eric Uphill very kindly responded to a query of mine, and sent (on 30 March 2003) not only his
personal comments on this matter, but also his article on Egyptian canals – see Uphill (1988) – and some abstracts
of presentations he made at the “Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists – Cairo 2000, which includes the
following quote from, “The Butic Canal: Its Date and Functions,” pp. 186-7:
“This artificial waterway had an estimated length of 180 kilometres, and starting from Tell Defenneh
[Daphnae], connected eleven Lower Egyptian nomes on or near its route. Inscriptional evidence suggests it
was created by, or else completed under King Psamtek I (664-610 BCE). Among its varied uses, it could
have served to transport grain and commodities by boat, and help irrigate lands on either side of it. In
addition it could also have been used for moving troops as was done by Emperor Titus [reigned 79-81 CE].
At a time of military threat by the world power Assyria, a major canal protected by and communicating
with Greek and Egyptian troops at Marea in the west and Daphnae in the east would also clearly serve as a
first line of defence for the Saite rulers.”
Professor Uphill suggested that where there were canals, merchants would tend to have used them to cart their
goods rather than the embankments beside them, due to the relative cheapness of water transport.
However, I suggest that the routes reported to the Chinese are obviously ones provided by merchants
carrying goods:
1. From Myos Hormos (al-Wadj) to Petra and then via Rhinocolura (Al Arish) west to Daphnae and from
there to Tanis via the embankment alongside the Butic canal, and then on to Alexandria, or:
2. From the head of the Persian Gulf, via Petra, there joining the route outlined above into Egypt. As such,
the goods would have had to been loaded on to pack animals and it may have proved cheaper and/or more
efficient to continue take these laden animals directly into the delta cities along the canal embankments
rather than off-loading them onto rivercraft and paying others to carry them the rest of the way.
16.4. This would seem to me to be a rather sketchy description of sailing along the coast to the west (slightly
southwest to begin with – then more westerly, even slightly northwest) from Alexandria to the region of ancient
Cyrene or Apollonia and then northwest (not “due west”) to the Italian peninsula.
Section 17 – The Kingdom of Qielan 且蘭 [Ch’ieh-lan] = Wadi Sirhan.
17.1. Qielan 且蘭 [Ch’ieh-lan] is said in the text to be 3,000 li (1,248 km) due west of Sitao 思陶 = Istakhr or
Stakhr, and 600 li (250 km) east of Sifu 汜復 = Petra.

Now, if the identification of Sifu as Petra is accepted (see note 19.1), then Qielan must be somewhere around
250 km east of Petra. About 250 km east of Petra the old caravan trail reached the first wells the great shallow
valley of Wadi Sirhan which stretched southeast about 400 kilometres from the oasis of Azraq in Syria to the oasis
of Jauf in northern Saudi Arabia.
From Jauf there were well-used caravan routes to the head of the Persian Gulf and to Gerrha (= modern Thaj
– see note 11.4) on the western coast of the Persian Gulf. The Weilue says:
“Due south of Qielan [Wadi Sirhan] and Sifu [Petra] is Jishi 積石 [literally, ‘Stone Heap’]. South of Jishi
there is a big sea [the Red Sea] which produces coral and pearls.”
This provides strong confirmation of the identifications I make that Qielan was (Wadi) Sirhan and, of Sifu as Petra
– see note 19.1. South of the route between Petra and Sirhan the desert is particularly stony and noted for its odd
stony formation appearing like heaps of rocks. Additionally, the Persian Gulf was famous for producing the best
pearls in the ancient world, while the Red Sea was particularly noted for the corals found there. Of course, pearls
were also found in the Red Sea (near Quseir, or ancient Myos Hormos) and coral was to be found in the Persian
Gulf as well. See: notes 12.12 (22) and 12.12 (24).
“From the moment of the annexation of Arabia, the Romans inherited the desert patrol of the Near East to
the south of the region that was policed by the Palmyrenes. The extent of the Roman province was almost
certainly identical to that of the Nabataean kingdom. . . .
With the evidence that has accumulated it becomes clear that the Romans undertook from the start to
continue and strengthen the patrol system they took over; and they did this, as much as they could, with
Nabataean personnel. Trajan, who authorized the annexation of the new province, was responsible for
installing a legion there (I am now persuaded by Speidel that this was the Third Cyrenaica) and for raising
troops from the former Nabataean army both to serve in the legion and to supplement it with auxiliaries.
The natives were particularly valuable to Rome for their expertise in mounted archery and in camel riding.
Some indeed, like the new cohorts Ulpiae Petraeorum (Trajanic units from Petra), were used elsewhere in
the Near East to reinforce defences. But there is explicit epigraphical testimony for the use of Nabataean
cavalry in the Third Cyrenaica and for camel riders in the Arabian auxilia. . . .
The presence of detachments of the Third Cyrenaica at key points deep in the desert is now at last
beyond doubt, thanks to the new discoveries, and proves that the Roman administration undertook a general
patrol of the desert, just as the Nabataeans did, far away from settled areas. The pattern discernable in the
Ḥejāz could be expected to recur in the Wādī Sirḥān. And it does. A centurion is strikingly attested at the
main oasis of the central desert, Jawf, whence traders took the inner route of the Wādī Sirḥān into Syria. . .
. At the head of the Wādī Sirḥān is a cluster of military installations (forts or watchtowers) set up by the
Third Cyrenaica, some at Nabataean sites like the desert city of Umm al-jimāl, others of a simple design on
elevations or at oases. The system of forts and watchtowers provided for early warning as well as for the
prompt intimidation and dispersal of nomadic raiders. The exact chronology of this Roman move into the
desert, with the aid of experienced native recruits, is elusive; but the name Ulpia attached to various cohorts
and cavalry units suggests that the strategy was adopted in principle by Trajan soon after he annexed
Arabia and was carried forward by others.
Of subsequent emperors before the tetrarchy, Septimus Severus was particularly concerned to
strengthen the desert defenses. This may have been due to his annexation of Mesopotamia, which required
that the intervening tracts of desert be even more secure than before. In any case, his reign witnessed
notable activity in the Arabian frontier zones, especially at the head of the Wādī Sirḥān in the vicinity of
Azraq. . . . Severus’ extension of the provincial boundaries of Arabia in the north seems, in the light of
present evidence, to reflect a recognition of the central role of the Wādī Sirḥān in the administration of the
area. That passage through the desert, from south to north (in the direction of Bostra and Damascus), was at
least as crucial for trade and for control as the old King’s Highway to the west.
It is gratifying to observe that the Nabataeans fully understood the importance of the Wādī Sirḥān in
the geography of their realm. With their ancient desert traditions, that was to be expected of them. More
remarkable perhaps was the Roman arrogation of the Nabataean organization of the region, with the help of
the Nabataeans themselves. The Wādī Sirḥān played a vital role in the prosperity and the defenses of
Roman Arabia.” Bowersock (1996), pp. 156-159.
“Duma (Akkadian Adummatu, medieval Arabic Dumat al-Jandal) is the large oasis known today as al-Jawf.
It lies at the southern end of the Wadi Sirhan, which is one of the most important routes between North
Arabia and Syria. From here caravans could go either northwest to Syria and Palestine or northeast to

Babylonia [or directly west to Petra – see Appendix G]. Its position, therefore, made it an ideal base for the
Qedarite confederation, for which it was also the religious center.
. . . . The oasis was certainly important in the Nabataean and Roman periods, but we must await
archaeological excavations there for further evidence of its early history.” Macdonald (1995), pp.
1360-1361.
“More significant still [for showing Roman military power in the region] is the cluster of evidence from the
area of the Azraq oasis, lying in the true steppe made up of a vast field of dark stones and, more important,
on the route to the Wadi Sirhan, leading southeast into Arabia proper. Whether this was, as has been
suggested, a major trade-route leading to the Persian Gulf will have to be discussed later. But the fact that it
was a route is beyond question. Azrak lies some 80 km east of Amman, and military occupation in this area
was eventually to be significant in relation not only to the Wadi Sirhan but to a Roman road leading north
towards Damascus. For the Severan period, however, what we know for certain is that there was
road-building here under Severus, though in what direction is uncertain (the milestones recording it are not
in position); and that some 14 km south-west of Azraq, at Qasr el Uweinid, a detachment of III Cyrenaica
constructed a castellum et praesidium Severianum in 205.
This activity would be of some interest even if there were no probable connections to the Wadi
Sirhan. But in fact from Jawf, some 400 km down the Wadi from Azraq, there is a Latin inscription of a
centurion of III Cyrenaica, dedicated ‘for the safety of our (two) lords the Augusti’ to Iuppiter Optimus
Hammon and a deity called Sanctus Sulmus. The date should certainly be the early part of the third century.
There is nothing to show whether a permanent post was established here; but given the vast distances
involved, even occasional patrols would reflect a Roman involvement in this area which would have been
unimaginable in the first century. Dumatha (Jawf) was also, it may be recalled, the place whose people,
according to Porphyry, had carried out human sacrifice and still conceived of an altar as being itself an
object of worship.
Much – indeed everything – is speculative about how the Roman army operated in such a context,
and what it was intended to achieve. But what is certain is that, as on the Euphrates and Chabur, it must
represent a line of movement through an area, not a ‘frontier’ held as a line against a putative enemy
attacking from the side. Much the same will be true of the military presence in the central and southern part
of Arabia, where the traceable evidence of the Roman army never appears far from the Via Nova Traiana,
built in the first few years of the province. From Bostra the road ran south-east to Amman (Philadelphia)
and then south along the border between the cultivated plateau of Moab and the steppe proper, then to
descend a steep escarpment to reach the sea at Aila. In fact, however, to say that is simply to repeat in effect
what is claimed on milestones of the reign of Trajan, found (only) on the northern part of the road, between
Bostra and Philadelphia; other milestones of later reigns can be found in considerable numbers both in that
area and further south, as far as Petra. But for the stretch between Petra and Aila there is no precisely
datable physical evidence, though stretches of the road, with associated small forts, are visible.
Though the line of the road across the southern desert, the Hisma, to Aila (Aqaba) has some
milestones, no inscriptions have been read on these, so nothing definite can be said on dating. While it need
not be doubted that Trajan’s Via Nova did reach Aqaba, we cannot identify anything more than a road, with
side-roads westwards, and watch-towers. Why it was built at all, whether it had some relation to trade from
the Red Sea, and how occupation in this area in the Roman period compared with that in the preceding
Nabataean period are all uncertain.
What is certain, however, is that a Roman official and military presence did not stop at Aqaba, but
followed the earlier Nabataean presence at least as far as Medain Saleh in the northern Hedjaz. For from the
region of Medain Saleh – some 900 km from Bostra and the main camp of the legion III Cyrenaica – there
are graffiti in a mixture of Greek and Latin in Greek transliteration (as well as other Nabataean ones),
which reveal Roman dromedarii and cavalrymen of an ala [a squadron consisting of 300 men or more] of
Gaetuli; and a roughly inscribed stele contains a Greek dedication to the Fortune of Bostra by a painter with
the legion III Cyrenaica. It is worth reflecting that the march back to the legionary base at Bostra would
have taken at least a month.
As so often, we do not know how permanent the Roman presence here was. Certainly there is nothing
to suggest a regular military occupation; once again we seem to be concerned with a route, for we know
from Pliny the Elder, writing in the 70s, that there was a land-route from Arabia Felix (Yemen) which
passed through this area, needing sixty-five camel-stages to reach Gaza.” Millar (1993), pp. 138-139.
“New evidence, in the form of a Latin inscription from Azraq, serves both to show how the road-system all
the way from Bostra to Dumatha were envisaged and to demonstrate a very surprising level of military

investment here:
[The Emperor built?] through his very brave soldiers of the legion XI Cl(audia) and VII Cl(audia)
and I Ital(ica) and IV Fl(avia) and I Ill(yricorum) linked by manned posts (praetensione coligata) to
his soldiers from the legion III Cyr(enica). From Bostra to Basien(s)es 66 miles [97.6 km], and from
Basien(s)es to Amat(a) 70 [103.5 km] and from Amata to Dumata 208 miles [307.6 km].
The involvement of these four legions becomes all the more surprising when one realises that they (or
detachments of them) had come from Moesia on the Danube. The date is certainly the 290s, when
detachments of these same legions are found in Egypt.” Millar (1993), p. 185.
“Two final questions need to be raised about the steppe peoples and the ‘desert frontier’. First, to what
extent were there trade-routes across the steppe (and the true desert) in the vast zone south of Palmyra? If
there were any, they would represent further links between the Roman Near East and Babylonia and the
Persian Gulf, and ones which were independent of the Fertile Crescent. The clear evidence for both a
Nabataean and then a Roman military presence far down the Wadi Sirhan must strongly suggest that this
was a frequented trade route. Dumatha (Jawf), the furthest point which we know Nabataean and Roman
forces to have reached, seems indeed to be mentioned in a passage of Pliny’s Natural History, which speaks
of travel between Gaza, Petra and Characene at the head of the Persian Gulf; however, Pliny’s ideas of
distances and locations here are completely confused; but by much interpretation a route via Dumatha to
the Gulf can (perhaps) also be discerned in another passage of Pliny. This route would have involved a
passage of some 500 km from Philadelphia or Bostra via Azraq Oasis (Basiensis?) to Dumatha, and then
nearly another 500 km to the nearest point on the Euphrates, before the descent to the Gulf. It is hardly
possible to imagine that it can have borne constant traffic. But, as always, firm negative conclusions cannot
be justified. One reason for the caution is that Pliny the Elder gives a much clearer description of a route
from Thomma in Arabia Felix (the Yemen) to Gaza in Judaea, covered by camels in sixty-five stages;
Pliny’s figure for the distance is unclear, but even as the crow flies it would have been very much longer
than the route through Dumatha to the Euphrates, in fact well over 2000 km. This route, it is true, will have
led through the mountainous and (by comparison) well-watered region of the Hedjaz, passing the area of
the later cities of Mecca and Medinah, as well as, further north, the Nabataean and then Roman outpost of
Medain Saleh. But its existence must mean that we cannot altogether discount the feasibility of a regular
trade-route through the Wadi Sirhan and Dumatha to the Gulf.” Millar (1993), pp. 515-516. [For
information on the route from Petra via Wadi Sirhan and Dumatha to the Gulf refer to Appendix G.]
“The control of the caravan end of this Syrian traffic was a more delicate and difficult operation. Caravan
traffic had, of course, existed in Syria from the earliest times, and Totmes III speaks of receiving lapis
lazuli from Persia overland. On the whole, however, early traffic had avoided crossing the Syrian desert and
preferred a northern route following the Euphrates into tolerably watered country before striking west to the
coastal belt, while later Egyptian traffic under the Ptolemies had taken the Arabian route south of Syria
through Petra to Lower Mesopotamia. Before the introduction of the camel from Bactria and Arabia
somewhere about 1000 B.C., the most northerly of the Syrian routes had been the only one possible, since
no other pack animal could normally be relied upon to make the desert crossing. The Seleucids, both on
account of the northern position of their capital at Antioch and because they wanted to keep their trade well
out of the way of the Ptolemies, had maintained the same route in use. The Romans had no such strategic
reasons for favouring the northerly route, while their practical sense appreciated the shortness of the central
desert route that halved the distance to Mesopotamia. Thus it only needed organization, and the
acquiescence of the Parthians on the Euphrates, to establish the caravan routes of Central Syria.
Organization Rome never lacked, and when it became evident that the Parthians could not be crushed,
Augustus decided to come to terms. A compromise was arrived at – and was on the whole honoured – by
which both parties agreed to call a truce and to foster for their mutual advantage the caravan trade across
the no man’s land which lay between them.” Fedden (1955), pp. 80-81.
“Together with George and Agnes Horsfield, we discovered a whole group of fascinating rock drawings at
Kilwa, among the hills of the Jebel Tubaiq. That is situated in the south-easternmost corner of Transjordan,
on the border of Arabia. A number of important roads met there. One led southward from Amman, the
capital of Transjordan, to the history-soaked oasis of Teima. Another passed it going eastward from Aila,
on the north shore of the Gulf of Aqabah, to the great oasis of Jauf, which is likewise in Arabia. The latter
place marks the southern end of the economic and military lifeline through the long and shallow and wide

Wadi Sirhan, that connected Nabataean Syria with Nabataean Arabia.
In other words, these rock drawings are to be found usually, though not exclusively, at sites along
travel routes, and at burial places, way-stations and crossroads. The position and prominence of Jebel Ideid
(Odeid), which of old may have had a certain sanctity attached to it, may explain why so many of them,
together with occasional inscriptions, were chiseled into the blackened surfaces of its large sandstone
boulders and smooth rock faces. There is, we think, a certain religious feeling reflected in them.” Glueck
(1959), pp. 237-238.
“Al-Jauf was known as Duma in antiquity and as Dumat al-Jandal in mediaeval Arab texts. We do not
know the ancient name for Wadi Sirhan. Three other oases in North West Arabia were of great importance.
One is Hegra (modern Mada’in Salih) which the Nabataeans made one of their great cities. The second was
called Dedan (modern al-’Ula, though there is some evidence that a similar name (‘ly) may also have been
applied to a part of the oasis in antiquity); the third is Tayma’. All three were bitter rivals for the trade from
Southern Arabia: Dedan (and later Hegra) dominated the route to Egypt and the Mediterranean, while
Tayma’ dominated that to Mesopotamia.
From Duma (al-Jauf) one could go either way. Further south on the western route from Yemen were
Khaybar and Yathrib (modern Medina), both important staging posts at which the routes divided. Najran,
on the northern border of Yemen was called Ra’ma in early antiquity, but by the fourth century AD at least
was known as Nagran. See M.C.A. Macdonald, “Trade Routes and Trade Goods at the Northern End of the
³Incense Road² in the First Millennium B.C.” Pages 333-349 in A. Avanzini (ed.), Profumi d’Arabia. Atti
del Convegno. (Saggi di Storia Antica, 11). Roma: ³L’Erma² di Bretschneider, 1997.
Badana (east of Jauf and on one route to southern Mesopotamia) is also found in ancient texts, as is
a kingdom of Hagar in North East Arabia. Also in East Arabia, though the exact location is disputed, was
the great trading city of Gerrha. There is also a great ruined city nowadays called Thaj, and there is some
evidence that this may also have been its ancient name. Finally, in central Arabia, on the north-eastern edge
of the Empty Quarter, was a large and very wealthy trading city called in antiquity Qaryat Dhat Kahil
(modern Qaryat al-Faw).
Arsinoe is the Ptolemaic name for the town which was earlier called Crocodilopolis (because of the
cult of a crocodile there). It was in the Fayum in west-central Egypt and was the source of clothing
according to the first century AD Periplus Maris Erythraei (L. Casson (ed.), Periplus Maris Erythraei
(Princeton, 1989), 111. Muza (usually identified with modern al-Mocha, 13 19’N 45 15’E) was a busy port
on the Red Sea coast of what is now Yemen and is mentioned several times in the Periplus (see Casson, op.
cit, p. 147)” Michael Macdonald, personal communication, 17th June, 1999.
17.2. Si- (or Sai-) tao (or yao) 思陶 [Tzu- (or Sai-) t’ao (or yao)] = Istakhr, Stakhr.
Si (or Sai) 思 – K. 973a: *si̯əg / si, or *səg / si; EMC sɨ / si, or sɨ h / si h , or səj
tao (or yao) 陶 – K. 1047d: *d’ôg /d’ âu; EMC daw, or jiaw
Persepolis (and nearby Stakhr) were on the main southern trade route from the head of the Persian Gulf and the old
capital of Susa which headed south to Persepolis / Stakhr, then east to India via Kandahar:
“It is in these regions, which combine facility of defence with pleasantness of climate, that the principal
cities of the district have at all times been placed. The earliest known capital of the region was Pasargadæ,
or Persagadae, as the name is sometimes written [From note 49 on p. 613: Probably the true original form
of the name was Parsa-gherd, “the castle of the Persians” (as Stephen of Byzantium explains the name). For
the root gherd compare the modern Darabgherd, Lasjird, Burujird, &c., and the certa of the old Parthian
cities, Tigrano-certa, Carcathio-certa, &c.]. . . . Neither the shape nor the extent of the town can be traced.
The situation was a plain amid mountains, watered by small streams which found their way to a river of
some size (the Pulwar) flowing at a little distance to the west.
At the distance of thirty miles from Pasargadæ, or of more than forty by the ordinary road [just 3
miles past the customs station and later capital, Istakhr or Stakhr], grew up the second capital, Persepolis,
occupying a more southern position than the primitive seat of power, but still situated towards the edge of
the plateau, having the mountain-barrier to the south-west and the desert at no great distance to the
north-east. Like its predecessor, Persepolis was situated in a plain, but in a plain of much larger dimensions
and of far greater fertility. The plain of Merdasht is one of the most productive in Persia, being watered by
the two streams of the Bendamir [or Araxes] and the Pulwar [or Murgab], which unite a few miles below

the site of the ancient city. From these two copious and unfailing rivers a plentiful supply of the precious
fluid can at all times be obtained ; and in Persia such a supply will always create the loveliest verdure, the
most abundant crops, and the richest and thickest foliage. The site of Persepolis is naturally far superior to
that in which the modern provincial capital, Shiraz, has grown up, at about the same distance from
Persepolis as that is from Pasargadæ, and in the same – i.e. in a south-west – direction.” Rawlinson (1870)
II, p. 270.
“Pasagarda spoke too eloquently of the supplanted dynasty, and Darius sought a new site for his capital.
Twenty-five miles down the winding gorge of the Median River that watered the Pasagarda Plain, a
rock-cut road led into another and broader plain. Through it followed a yet larger river, the Araxes, to
irrigate the fertile soil, until the stream disappeared in the great salt lake of southwestern Persia. . . .
Just before the Median River entered the northeast corner, the valley opened. In this secure nook,
where painted sherds witness another prehistoric settlement, Darius, it would seem, founded Stakhra, the
“Fort,” ancestor of the famous medieval capital of Istakhr. A wall of massive stones closed the gap between
hill and city fortifications and formed a “Gate.” Here the traveller was compelled to pay his toll at the
single gateway under its guard tower. Chariots and beasts of burden might use the central two-way passage,
whose wooden roof supported by a pillar and two piers; pedestrians employed the footpath under low stone
lintels at either side. . . .
From this opening the hills to the left turn southward and fall back. Three miles almost due south, but
hidden from the city by projecting spurs, an isolated rock tending north-northwest and south-southeast
offered a natural terrace at the foot of the Mount of Mercy. Here the king determined to establish his
residence. Like the land, so the new palace group was to be called Parsa. Early Greeks called it the “City of
the Persians” or “Parsai.” Later writers followed the deliberate mistranslation of the poet Aeschylus,
Perseptolis, “destroyer of cities”; and, with them, we also speak of the site as Persepolis.” Anonymous
(1998), p. 1.
During the period of the Periplus [40-70 CE] Persis (or Fars), with its seat of power at Stakhr, was, for practical
purposes, almost independent of Parthia and controlled much of the Persian Gulf and the southern coast of Iran to
the east along the Makran coast:
“Persis was originally a district of the Persian empire that embraced the lands along the eastern shore of the
Persian Gulf; see W. Hinz, RE Suppl. 12 s. v. Persis (1970). During the centuries when a Parthian dynasty
ruled in Persia (ca. 248 B.C. to A.D.226), the district became virtually an independent kingdom, with its
own rulers and coinage, acknowledging vassalage to Parthian overlords only when these were strong
enough to insist on it (cf. Raschke 815, n. 719). To judge from the statements in the Periplus, at the time of
writing Persis controlled a broad expanse of territory, from a point on the Arabian coast opposite the Kuria
Muria Islands to past Omana on the Makran coast (see under 36:12. 3–4). It controlled as well the head of
the Persian Gulf (cf. 36:12. 5–6).” Casson (1989), p. 174,
“And Persis held the coast east of the Persian Gulf at least as far as Omana, six days sail from its
mouth (36:12. 3-4). Beyond this began the rule of the Indo-Parthian kings. First came a district inhabited by
a people called the Parsidai (37:12. 13-14 and note ad loc.) and then Skythia, more or less modern Sind [in
southern Pakistan] (38:12. 23 and note ad loc.); here was the area’s major port, Barbarikon at the mouth of
the Indus. The author names no king presumably because, as he drily comments, the rulers were “constantly
chasing each other off” the throne (38:13. 3-4). The capital was at Minnagar, upriver from Barbarikon
(39:13.3, 6).” Casson (1989), p. 46.
It is difficult to establish the degree of control of Persis or Fars by the Parthians. There are a number of indications
that it was more a matter of nominal vassalage than a truly subservient ‘province’ of the Parthians. For example, in
the Hou Hanshu (see TWR Section 10) there is the interesting passage:
“In the thirteenth year [101 CE], the King of Anxi (Parthia) named Manqu again offered lions, and some of
the large birds of Tiaozhi (Characene and Susiana), which people call ‘Anxi birds’ [ostriches].”
As already shown in TWR, note 10.8, the name Manqu does not relate to Pacorus II, the ‘King of Kings’ of the
Parthians at that time, and probably referred instead to Manchihr I of Persis or Fars. If so, it shows that the King of
Persis at the time was powerful enough to be considered ‘the King of Anxi’ by the Chinese, and to send substantial
– and difficult to transport – gifts to the Chinese Emperor. This also reinforces the theory that China’s main contact
with Anxi at this time was by the south, either overland through Kandahar, or by sea, or both.

The Parthians’ control over Persis would have been seriously undermined by the invasion of Trajan in 114
CE, the Roman sack of Ctesiphon and the burning of Seleucia by Avidius Cassius in 165, and the sacking again in
193, as well as the regular wars with nomad forces in the northeast. It is probably not taking too many liberties to
assume that Persis was independent from the Parthians in all but name throughout much of the second century.
This growing independence and power culminated in the downfall of the Parthians and the establishment of the
Sasanian state in 224 CE.
“I found that all the four Farsi capital cities I visited [Pasargadae, Ishtakhr, Shahpur and Persepolis]
were sited on the edge of a plain in a position commanding the mouth of a gorge that was wide enough to
serve as an important human thoroughfare. Cyrus II’s capital, Pasargadae, on the edge of the plain of
Morghab, commands the gorge (abandoned by the modern wheel-road) through which the River Pulvar
threads its way to the plain of Marvadasht. In the throat of the gorge, where it debouches into Marv-dasht
lie the ruins of a city, called Ishtakhr in the ‘Abbasid age, which was the ecclesiastical capital of Fars in the
time of the Sasanian Empire. And then, just round the corner, on a terrace overhanging the plain and
backing on to a mountain, comes Darius I’s capital Persepolis.” Toynbee (1958), p. 179.
“Between the ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae a new provincial capital rose, called Istakhr. Exactly how
conscious its citizens were of being the guardians of Persia’s first golden age we cannot know; but a flame
was kept burning in Istakhr, at the temple of Anahita, the Zoroastrian provider of water.
At the turn of the second and third centuries, the provincial king of Fars was one Papak, erstwhile
keeper of the Anahita shrine. In AD 208, Papak’s son Ardashir succeeded to the throne. The court was
ritualistic, without a bureaucratic tradition, and modest in keeping with its relatively small dominion. But
Ardashir’s horizons were far wider. . . . [In 224]. . . . Ardashir and Ardewan [the last of the Parthian kings]
resolved the future of Persia by fighting in single combat, two mailed figures circling each other in the vast
desert arena in the heroic style of a medieval joust, with an empire hanging on the result. Ardewan was
bludgeoned to death with a club. That day, Ardashir took the title King of Kings, knowing full well what it
meant. The Sassanian dynasty lasted four centuries. In that time the art of kingship was elaborated and
refined into a cosmic force.” Irving (1979), p. 76.
“At Istakhr, the ancestors of the Sassanian family were guardians of a temple of Anahita where burnt Athur
Anabit, or ‘the fire of Anahita’; and according to certain scholars, the cult of fire was particularly associated
with this goddess. Ardashir I hung the heads of his enemies on the walls of this temple and exposed the skin
of Artabanus V, whom he had defeated and killed, in that of Ardeshir Khurra.
Of the Iranian triad, it was Anahita who enjoyed most popularity beyond the western frontiers of
Iran, and her cult spread to Lydia, where she was called ‘the lady of Bactria’, to Pontus, Cappadocia, and
Armenia. It was probably even more popular than that of Mithra, which the pirates captured by Pompey
took to Rome, whence it was carried by the Roman armies as far as the Rhine and the Danube.” Ghirshman
(1954), p. 270.
“When the Sassanian dynasty came to power its native province of Fars was thus the centre of a cult of
Anahita and Ahuramazda. The principal sanctuary of Anahita at Stakhr was served by the herbads or fire
priests, among whom the ancestors of the ruling family seem to have been prominent. As has been seen,
both Sassan and his father held important positions in this religious centre: Papak succeeded his father in
office there before becoming king, and Ardashir exposed the spoils of his defeated enemies in the temple.”
Ghirshman (1954), pp. 314-315.
“Fars, which had hibernated for five hundred years as a cul-de-sac, was suddenly well placed for the new
combination of northern land routes and southern sea traffic. Two miles to the south of the gorge where
Ardashir built his first palace, a new Sassanian city arose at Firuzabad. Its circular shape symbolized the
spirit of being at the centre of the world: at each of the four points of the compass a gate led out to a trade
route – to China, to India, to Arabia and to Rome.” Irving (1979), p. 84.
“Sometimes Istakhr was simply called Fars, for the entire name may have been Istakhr-i-Fars, or ‘the
fortress of Fars’.” Frye (1975), p. 10.
“IṢṬAKIR, a large and ancient town, which had been the seat of the Sasanian kings. In it ancient
buildings, images (naqsh), and figures (ṣūrat) are found. Iṣṭakhr has many districts (nawāḥī), and (some)
wonderful buildings called Solomon’s Mosque (maztig-i Sulaymān). In it grows an apple, of which one half
is sour, and the other sweet. In its mountains iron mines are found, and in its region, silver mines.” From

the Ḥudūd al-‘Ālam (982 CE) – Minorsky (1937), p. 126.
“After Persepolis had been gutted and Alexander’s meteoric career had come to an end, Persia became the
Satrapy of his most powerful lieutenant, Seleucis, and for a hundred and fifty years the kingdom of his
descendants, the Seleucids. They, in turn, gave place to the Parthians for three and a half centuries. But
when the Parthians declined, power returned to the true Iranians with the dynasty of Sassan.
Sassan himself was high priest of the temple of Anahita at Istakhr, which lies three miles to the north
of Persepolis, and in A.D. 224 his grandson, Ardashir, priest-king of Persis, revolted against Artabanus V
and killed him. Ardashir founded the dynasty of the Sasanians, and thus the seat and centre of power
returned to the south, to the heartland of Fars, replacing the Parthian summer capital of Ecbatana and winter
capital of Ctesiphon on the left bank of the Tigris.” Forbes (1963), p. 162.
“Of all the Parthian vassal-kingdoms the proudest was that of Persis in south-western Iran. Persian kings
had been ruling most of the civilized world at a time when Rome was still a village and the Parthians’
ancestors an insignificant sub-tribe roaming the steppes of the Caspian. The old capital of the region,
Persepolis, had been devastated by Alexander (in 330 BC) and left in ruins; but a new capital soon
appeared not far away, also known as Persepolis to Western writers although its real name was Istakhr.
Here stood a great temple of the goddess Anahita, burning one of the everlasting fires which were
important in early Iranian religion. One of the high priests at the temple bore the name of Sasan; he himself
is not important in history, but his descendants – the Sasanid dynasty – certainly are. His grandson Ardashir
launched a successful revolt against Parthian rule; his forces defeated and killed the last Parthian king,
Artabanus V, in about AD 224, and thereafter defended themselves against attacks by Kushans, Romans,
Armenians (for the royal house of Armenia was related to that of Parthia) and even ‘Scythians’ from
beyond the Caucasus.” Sitwell (1984), p. 110.
“The famous ruins of Old Persepolis are locally called Takht-i Jamshid: the much less well-known ruins of
New Persepolis or Istakhr are locally called Takht-i Tavoos. . . . ” Sitwell (1984), p. 208, n. 14.
“The essentially southern provinces [of the Sasanian empire] were Pārs, Parthau, and Khūzistān, although
Kirmān could also be included. Pārs was the homeland of the Sasanians and a focal area of the Zoroastrian
church. It occupied most of the Gulf coast from Qais island in the east to the Jarrāhī river in the west, which
during the Parthian period was part of Elymais. (Ptolemy also makes the eastern part of the coast, up to
Nāband river, part of Kirmān.) It reached north through the Abors’n mountains – the southern Zagros and
its easterly continuations. The border with Parthau lay toward the population concentrations along the
Zanda River.
The city of Stakhr (Iṣṭakhr) served as an administrative and religious centre from Achaemenian
times. Under the Sasanians the latter function was especially important; the dynasty’s fire, Anāhīd-ardashīr,
was the ideological heart of the empire. But the city also functioned as a major crossroads, communicating
with the coast and the adjoining provinces. The Tabula Peutingeriana terms it “the market town of the
Persians”; and its district must have extended from Parthau along the road to the Kirmān border at Pantyene
(Sīrjān). The adjoining district of Dārābjird may have connected Fārs with the ports of Kirmān. The city of
that name had already become a governmental centre under the Bāzrangid dynasty and was a Nestorian
diocese by 424.” Brunner (1983), pp. 750-751.
“The early Seleucids established mints along the trade routes – Susa and Persepolis for the southern way to
India; Hamadan, Herat and Bactra for the north; and a particular money for the Indian trade. . . .” Stark
(1966), p. 102.
17.3. The text says that after leaving Sitao (which I identified in note 17.2 as Stakhr) you head due south and cross
a river (the Rūd-i Kor – see note 17.4) and “then head due west 3,000 li (1,247 km) to go to Qielan (Wadi Sirhan),
and from there it is said to be 600 li (250 km) west to the kingdom of Sifu (Petra).
As closely as I can measure it on modern maps, while making allowances for the extension of the Tigris and
Euphrates deltas which have spread further into the Gulf over the past two millennia, it was 1,200 to 1,300 km
between Stakhr and the Nabk Wells in the Wadi Sirhan. This would be the first watering place a traveller would
reach in the Wadi Sirhan after travelling east from Petra and just about exactly 250 km from it – as indicated in the
Weilue. Refer to Appendix G.
17.4. The Rūd-i Kor (or Bendamir) River.

It is clear from a glance at a map, that the text is quite correct in its emphasis that, after leaving the towns of Stakhr
or Persepolis, one has to go south and cross a river, before heading west.
“Another river is KURR which rises from the limits of Azd (*Urd?) in the district (rustā) of Karvān
belonging to (az) Pārs. It flows in an easterly direction until it has passed south of Iṣṭakhr (hamī tā
ba-Iṣṭakhr bigudharadh) and joined the lake *Bijagān [now Bakhtagān].” From the Ḥudūd al-‘Ālam (982
CE) – Minorsky (1937), p. 74.
“The Bendamir rises in the mountains of the Bakhtiyari chain..., and runs with a course which is generally
south-east, past the ruins of Persepolis, to the salt lake of Neyriz or Kheir. . . . It receives, where it
approaches nearest to Persepolis, the Pulwar or Kur-ab, a small stream coming from the north-east and
flowing by the ruins of both Pasargadæ and Persepolis. A little below its junction with this stream the
Bendamir is crossed by a bridge of five arches, and further down, on the route between Shiraz and Kerman,
by another of twelve. Here its waters are to a great extent drawn off by means of camels, and are made to
fertilize a large tract of rich flat country on either bank, after which the stream pursues its course with
greatly diminished volume to the salt lake in which it ends. The entire course, including only main
windings, may be estimated at 140 or 150 miles.” Rawlinson (1870), pp. 268-269.
17.5. It is close to 250 km from Petra, via the oasis of al-Jafr, and the water cisterns (discussed in detail in
Appendix G), to the nearest wells in the Wadi Sirhan (‘Sirhan Valley’).
17.6. The “Southern Route” mentioned here as joining the east-west route at Petra is undoubtedly the famous
‘incense route’ which ran all the way from southern Arabia to Petra. For the identification of Xiandu with the
region of ‘Aynūnah – see note 18.1.
17.7. On Nov. 1, 2002 Dan Gibson posted the following note in reply to a question of mine on his excellent
website.
“Humeima
Due south of Petra on the way to Ail (Aqaba) was the Nabataean city of Humeima. It is located on the edge
of a range of very rugged mountains, and is located in the western Hisma desert, which has large rocks in it.
Check out http://Nabataea.net/humeima.html, and also http://www.nabataea.net/water.html. The pictures in
the first section of this page were taken in the desert very close to Humeima. You can see why the place
would be called “Rock Piles” by the Chinese. This name, however, suggests that the Chinese explorers
actually visited this location, otherwise, they would have transliterated the name from the Nabataean name
of : ‘Hawara’.”
This description is amply supported by the following three quotes:
“The next transverse depression to the south is nothing less that the end of the plateau itself, which
descends steeply below the modern town of Ma‘ān [to the east of Petra] to a flat desert of hard mud with
jagged extrusions of sandstone.” Bowersock (1996), p. 6.
“In antiquity, as in the present, there was an inevitable symbiosis between the inhabitants of the Jordanian
plateau and the residents of the lava fields to the north. A major reason for the constant interchange is the
route that heads southeast from the lava fields to the great interior depression in the desert known as the
Wādī Sirḥān. This long depression with major oases at its northern and southern ends has long been a
favorite route between the interior of Saudi Arabia and southern Syria.” Bowersock (1996), p. 7.
“EDOM; a province of Arabia, which derives its name from Edom or Esau, who there settled in the
mountains of Seir, in the land of the Horites, south-east of the Dead Sea. . . .
The ancient greatness of Idumea must, in no small degree, have resulted from its commerce.
Bordering with Arabia on the east, and Egypt on the south-west, and forming from north to south the most
direct and most commodious channel of communication between Jerusalem and her dependencies on the
Red Sea, as well as between Syria and India, through the continuous valleys of El Ghor, and El Araba,
which terminated on the one extremity at the borders of Judea, and on the other at Elath and Ezion Geber
on the Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea, Idumea may be said to have formed the emporium of the commerce of
the East. A Roman road passed directly through Idumea, from Jerusalem to Akaba, and another from Akaba
to Moab. . . .

Of its [Edom’s] eastern boundary, and of the adjoining part of Arabia Petræa, strictly so called,
Burckhardt writes: “It might, with truth be called Petræa, not only on account of its rocky mountains, but
also of the elevated plain already described, which is so much covered with stones, especially flints, that it
may with great propriety be called a stony desert, although susceptible of culture; in many places it is
overgrown with wild herbs, and must once have been thickly inhabited; for the traces of many towns and
villages are met with on both sides of the Hadj road, between Maan and Akaba, as well as between Maan
and the plains of the Hauran, in which direction are also many springs. At present all this country is a
desert, and Maan (Teman) is the only inhabited place in it. . . . ” Edwards and Brown (1835), pp. 488-489.
17.8. The pearl fisheries in the Persian Gulf were famous for producing the best pearls in the world. There were
also commercial quantities in the Red Sea near modern Quesir. The Mediterranean and Red Seas were noted for
their corals which were actively harvested there.
“Specially praised are the pearls from the islands around Arabia and in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.” NH
(b), IX, 106 (p. 135).
“Coral is as highly valued among the Indians as Indian pearls. It is also found in the Red Sea, but
there it is darker in colour. . . . Now it is very scarce because of the price it commands, and is rarely seen in
its natural habitats.” NH (a): XXXII, 21, 23. See also notes 12(22), 12(24) and 17.1.
17.9. Sibin 斯賓 [Szu-pin] – was identified by Hirth (1885), pp 154-155, as the Parthian city of Ctesiphon, built on
the eastern bank of the Euphrates directly opposite, and most scholars since have followed this identification.
I believe it to be far more likely that Sibin represented Susa –with the bin 賓 a mistake for the
similar-looking character, sai 賽. Therefore, instead of Sibin it would have been Sisai. The reconstructed
pronunciations of the three characters are:
si 斯 K. 869a *si̯ĕg / si; EMC siə̆ / si.
bin 賓 K. 389a (variant of this character) *pi̯ĕn / pi̯ĕn (identical to those in GR); EMC pjin
sai 賽 this character is not included in Karlgren; EMC səj h ; GR No. 10164 gives: s-gi ĕg / siḙ
Sisai would seemingly have formed quite a reasonable transcription of Susa, but Sibin would have made a poor one
for Ctesiphon. This identification of Sibin as Susa (rather than Ctesiphon) is also supported by the following
points:
a. The route Gan Ying took in 97 CE undoubtedly led him through the region of Tiaozhi to the shores of the
Persian Gulf, see: TWR Appendix D. As I shall show later, the major city of Tiaozhi was most probably
Susa.
b. The Yuluo which Gan Ying apparently visited, was Charax Spasinou on the Gulf, as I shall show later.
c. The most direct route from Aman (Herat) to Charax Spasinou ran through Susa. It would have required
quite a long and unnecessary detour to go to Charax through Ctesiphon.
d. The Hou Hanshu specifically states that Yuluo (Charax) was 960 li (399 km) southwest of Sibin. Charax
was southeast of Ctesiphon, but southwest of Susa. Therefore, Susa fits the information given in the Hou
Hanshu, whereas Ctesiphon does not.
See note 9.24 on the kingdom of Tiaozhi 條支 [T’iao-chih] = Characene and Susiana. Susiana was the province
administered by the city of Susa (‘city of the lily’), the ancient capital of the Elamite royal family said by Pliny to
have been founded by Darius I the Great (reigned 522 to 486 BCE). It seems Darius merely restored the
fortifications and extended the town when he made it his seat of government in 521 BCE.
Susa is not referred to as a ‘capital city’ or ‘seat of government’ in the Hou Hanshu, although it is described
as a very large city on a hill more than 40 li (16.6 km) in circumference. This accords with Susa’s status as a key
regional administrative centre, that never functioned as a Parthian ‘capital.’
“Greek cities, such as Seleucia on the Tigris and Seleucia on the Eulaeus [Gk. Seleukeia on Eulaios] (Susa),
formed enclaves in the vassal kingdoms and were permitted by the Parthians to retain their Greek

organization. Their life underwent little change apart from the fact they had to obey an Iranian satrap
appointed by the Arsacids instead of a Greek satrap.” Ghirshman (1954), p. 264.
It was possible to sail right up the Pasitigris River to the city of Susa (as, indeed, Alexander the Great did) even
though it was some 250 Roman miles (371 km) from the Persian Gulf at the time of Pliny’s report in the 1 st
century CE: NH (b), p. 134. (VI. Xxxi).
“The territory of Susa is separated from Elymais by the river Karún, which rises in the country of the
Medes, and after running for a moderate distance underground, comes to the surface again and flows
through Massabatene. It passes around the citadel of Susa and the temple of Diana, which is regarded with
the greatest reverence by the races in those parts ; and the river itself is held in great veneration, inasmuch
as the kings drink water drawn from it only, and consequently have it conveyed to places a long distance
away.” Pliny NH (b), p. 135. (VI. xxxi).
I tend to agree with the detailed arguments by Sōma that the big city, described as “more than 40 li” [i.e. more than
16.6 km] around in the Hou Hanshu, could not possibly be Charax Spasinou, which, as we know from Pliny (6.38),
was only 2 Roman miles around [= almost 3 km, or just over 7 li]. Sōma, MTB, No. 36 (1978), pp. 11-12.
It fits with what we know of Susa – the largest city in Parthia after Seleucia. Susa used Charax Spasinou as
its seaport. We also know Susa retained its importance throughout the Roman period and retained a considerable
degree of autonomy from the Parthian capital at Ctesiphon, though the details are anything but clear.
“The region of Susiana is distinguished from Elymais by Strabo XVI.1.8, 17, 18 and Pliny, NH VI.135-136.
For the absorption of Susiana and its capital by the kingdom of Elymais, see U. KAHRSTEDT, Artabanos
III, 40-47 and G. L. RIDER, Suse, 426-430, who dates the end of Parthian Power in Susa to c. A.D. 45 and
places a mint of Elymais in the city by c. A.D. 75. Possibly at this time Susa became the capital of
Elymais.” Raschke (1976), p. 817, n. 721.
“Susa, earlier Shushan, Shush (later Seleucia on the Eulaeus), the capital of Susiana (Elymais, formerly
Elam), now in southwestern Iran. Susa lay at the foot of the Zagros mountains near the river Choaspes or
Eulaeus (of which part was known as the Pasitigris from at least c 400 BC; precise identifications with
course of the modern rivers Karkeh [or Kercha, see Charax], Ab-i-Diz, Khersan and Karun are impossible
due to hydrographic changes). The place served as the chief residence of the Achaemenid Persian monarchs
since Darius I (521-486), and after the suppression of their kingdom by Alexander the Great it provided the
mint for a victory coinage issued by Seleucus I Nicator (c 304). The city was refounded as Seleucia on the
Eulaeus by a Seleucid monarch; this colony is first heard of under Antiochus III the Great (223-187), but is
probably earlier.
In about the middle of the second century Susiana achieved independence under a dynasty whose
kings bore the name of Kamnaskires. The first of these monarchs, surnamed Nicephorus struck silver coins
imitating Seleucid mintages. Kamnaskires II (c 82) struck pieces with busts of himself and his queen
Anzaze, while a seated Zeus holding a figure of Nike appears on the reverse. Abundant bronze coinages,
issued from the time of Kamnaskires IV (c 72) onward, bear the portraits of Parthian kings after the first
century AD. Their inscriptions are in barbarously formed Greek letters or in Chaldaeo-Pahlavi script.
However, Susa-Seleucia long retained a Greek constitution and the rank of a city state, as
inscriptional evidence of AD 21 confirms. Its local decrees were framed in Greek, and its citizens produced
a number of poems, including a lyric ode of the first century BC addressed to Apollo. But the poet gives
him his Syrian title of Mara: and the city goddess was the Elamite Nanaia, equated with Artemis. Traces of
Persian, Babylonian, Syrian, Jewish, and Anatolian elements can be detected in records of the ancient
population.” Grant (1986), pp. 610-611.
17.10. Aman 阿蠻 [A-man] = Ariana, the province of which Herāt (also spelled Harāt) is the centre, was known to
the Greeks as Areia. (Avestan: Haraēuna; Latin: Aria).
“The Heravia [people] occupied the oasis of Herat in the southern district of Khorasan [in the middle of the
9 th century BCE].” Ghirshman (1954), p. 90.
Mark Passehl sent an email on 7 July 2003, saying that:
“In all Greek texts the province is called Aria/Areia and the capital founded by Alexander is called

Alexandreia in Areia (or “among the Arians”). The Persian capital/palace town there was Artakoan(a).
Strabo repeatedly refers to the general area of Ariana which apparently corresponds to Chinese Anxi
but with the addition of Sogd, Baktria and Gandhāra as far as the Indus (i.e. where Indo-Iranian languages
were spoken).
I note with some interest that the so-called Bactrian language deciphered by Professor Sims-Williams
is called precisely “Arian” in the Rabatak Inscription.”
The character man 蠻 ; (GR 7588), K. 178p *mlwan / mwan; EMC maɨn / mεːn, was interchangeable with lüan
(GR No. 7523). Interestingly, the lüan form seems to have been the earlier, as GR remarks that it was always used
for 蠻 man on bronze inscriptions.
The character lüan is not included in Pulleyblank’s Lexicon, but it is given in K. 178a, as: *blwân / luân / luan; and
*bli̯wan / li̯wan / lüan, and, according to GR No. 7523, should read: [l]wân / luân.
Due to its rarity, the character lüan is not included in the normal “CJK” character sets in my software, only
in the “compatibility ideographs,” where it is represented in a rather squashed form like this: �.
The alternative lüan for this second character is not recorded in many dictionaries – which is presumably
why the obvious phonetic similarity of the name Aman (= Alüan) with Areia / Arian (i.e. Ariana with Herat as its
centre) has previously been overlooked. See, however, the suggestion by Pulleyblank (1963), p. 124, that:
“One of the stages on the journey to Ta-ch’in, the Roman Orient, mentioned in the Hou Han-shu and the
Wei-lüeh is 阿蠻 M. ‧a-man. Hirth’s identification with Ecbatana is still often quoted but there is only the
vaguest of phonetic resemblances and the suggestion of Miyazaki that it represents Armenia is much more
likely. I hope to discuss this itinerary in detail elsewhere. (See Hirth 1885, Miyazaki 1939.) The
transcription should go back to *‧aδ-mlan and the –l- could represent the foreign –r-, once again by a
metathesis. I do not know of any examples of *ml in Buddhist transcriptions.” Pulleyblank (1963), I, p.
124.
The distance given in the Hou Hanshu between (presumably the eastern border of) Anxi to Aman is 3,400 li or
1,414 km. There is no evidence of the Kushans conquering Sind in the first century CE, which appears to have
remained under “Parthian” or “Indo-Parthian” rulers.
Careful measurements on modern maps from the present town of Mithankot (which is strategically located
just below the junction of the Jhelum and Indus rivers and the site of an important ferry crossing) through Quetta,
Kandahar and Farah to Herat produce a figure of 1,410 km, which is remarkably close to the figure given in the
Hou Hanshu. This suggests that Gan Ying may have come via Hunza / Gilgit (the “Hanging Passages”) through
Kushan-controlled Jibin (Gandhāra) entering Anxi (Parthian or, rather, “Indo-Parthian” territory) further down the
Indus valley. This route is based on:
a. the distances and directions given in the Hou Hanshu;
b. partly on the excellent phonetic correspondence between Aman (or, rather, Alüan) and Aria(n) with its
capital in Herat;
b. and the fact that Yuluo is an almost perfect phonetic representation of the Greek name Karax / Charax (a
‘palisade’ or ‘fort’). See TWR note 10.12, where I identify the Yuluo in the Hou Hanshu as (Spasinou)
Charax, the famous port at the head of the Persian Gulf. Charax was a common Greek name for fortified
towns. It is clear that the Yuluo of the Weilue that the Yuluo of that Hou Hanshu refer to a completely
different towns called Charax. Also check note 20.1.
The alternative proposals are, I believe, far less credible:
Aman was first identified as modern Hamadan by Hirth (1885), p. 154: “A-man, I presume, is the city of
Acbatana (= Assyrian Akmatan, the present Hamadán), the first centre of population on the road west of
Hekatompylos.” Pavel Lurje of the Department of Ancient Near East, St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of
Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (email 18 May 2002) suggests that Aman may refer to “Media,
Akkadic Amadai, Medieval Māy or Māh? It is not a town, but a country, as it is stated in Hou-Han-shu as well.
Hamadan (OPers. Ham-gma-ta-na) is, however, its capital.” Hamadan was known to the Greeks as Ecbatana or
Epiphaneia.
There is a major error here with the distances – the text states that it is 3,400 li (1,414 km) west of Anxi.
Similarly, we read that it is 3,600 li (1,497 km) from Aman to Sibin and from there south across a river and then

southwest 960 li (399 km) to Yuluo 于羅. These are impossibly large distances – for example, the distance from
Hamadan via Ctesiphon right through to the head of the Persian Gulf is less than a thousand kilometres – a far cry
from the 1,813 km indicated in the Hou Hanshu.
Hirth attempted to deal with this problem by reading the li as stadia (1885, pp. 142; 212; 222 seq.; 224) in
this section of the text. The stadium he is referring to was 1/8 of a Roman mile or about 185.25 metres. This would
make the distance from Anxi to Aman, 630 km; from Aman to Sibin, 690 km; and 178 km from Sibin to Yuluo.
These fit fairly well for the Anxi to Aman section, if we take Anxi to refer to the capital at Hekatompylos near
modern Damghan. Nevertheless, they do not fit Hirth’s identifications of Sibin as Ctesiphon, or Yuluo as Hira.
These identifications of Aman as Hamadan, and Sibin as Ctesiphon, have been accepted by almost all
scholars since Hirth except Ogawa and Miyazaki, supported by Tazaka and Leslie and Gardiner (1996, p. 268 and
n. 14). They propose Armenia and Sophene for Aman and Sibin, based on the apparent phonetic similarities.
Leslie and Gardiner also propose that Yuluo might be Dura Europos but this makes it very difficult to
account for the very clearly stated passage in the Hou Hanshu that Yuluo “is the extreme western frontier of Anxi
(Parthia). Leaving there, and heading south, you embark on the sea and then reach Da Qin (Roman territory).” To
add to the confusion, there is also another Yuluo (same characters) mentioned in the Weilue as a vassal of Da Qin
(not of Parthia), and located elsewhere.
17.11. Hirth (1885), p. 196, was the first to identify this range with the “Taurus Mountains” of Antiquity: “The
range running east to west in the north of Emessa, Palmyra, Ktesiphon and Acbatana must be the Taurus. . . .”
Of course, its use here must be taken in a very broad sense, as they are said to extend to the north of Aman
(which, as we have seen above = Ariana, including Herat). The definitions of the limits of this range were, in
ancient times, far more extensive than they are today:
“Taurus (Toros) Mountains. The principal mountain range of Asia Minor, extending through the
southwestern part of the peninsula, along the coast of Lycia, and through Pisidia and Isauria to the borders
of Cilicia and Lycaonia. The off-shoots of the range include Antitaurus (Cappadocia, Armenia) and Manaus
(at the junction of northwestern Syria and Asia Minor). The Taurus Massif, regarded by the ancients as the
backbone of Asia, was also loosely enlarged by their geographers to include the mountains of Mesopotamia
and Armenia and northern Iran and even the Paropamisus (Hindu Kush) and Imaus or Emodus (Himalayas),
and was extended, by rumor, as far as the unexplored Eastern Ocean.” Grant (1986), p. 630.
17.12. I have examined three versions of the text because Hirth (1885) pp. 76 and 114, and Shiratori (1956c), p.
118, n. 98, both have “Haidong” instead of “Haixi” here. The New China Bookstore Publishing House, Beijing,
1975 edition of the Sanguozhi, which I used, clearly has Haixi. It seems probable to me that the texts used by the
earlier authors mistakenly repeated the word dong – ‘east’ – twice in a row. I believe the 1975 edition is more
likely to be correct.
17.13. I presume this must refer to the Jibāl ash Sharāh Range which sits astride the main routes leading from
Egypt to the east. This range was known in ancient times as ‘(Mount) Seir’ or ‘Mount Hor.’
“SEIR, (MOUNT ;) a mountainous tract, extending from the southern extremity of the Dead sea to the gulf
of Acaba, or Ezion-Geber. The whole of this tract was probably before called mount Hor, and was
inhabited by the Horites, the descendants, as it is thought, of Hor, who is no[t] otherwise known, and whose
name is now only retained in that part of the plain where Aaron died. These people were driven out from
their country by the Edomites, or the children of Esau, who dwelt there in their stead, and were in
possession of this region when the Israelites passed by in their passage from Egypt to the land of Caanan.
The country had, however, been previously overrun, and no doubt very much depopulated, by the invasion
of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam. At what time the name of Hor was changed to that of Seir cannot be
ascertained.
Mount Seir rises abruptly on its western side from the valleys of El Ghor and El Araba ; presenting
an impregnable front to the strong country of the Edomite mountaineers, which compelled the Israelites,
who were unable (if permitted by their leader) to force a passage through this mountain barrier, to skirt its
western base, along the great valley of the Ghor and Araba, and so to “compass the land of Edom by way of
the Red sea;” that is, to descend to its southern extremity at Ezion-Geber, as they could not penetrate it
higher up. To the southward of this place Burckhardt observed an opening in the mountains, where he
supposed the Israelites to have passed. This passage brought them into the high plains on the east of mount
Seir, which are so much higher than the valley on the west, that the mountainous territory of the Edomites
was everywhere more accessible : a circumstance which perhaps contributed to make them more afraid of

the Israelites on this border, whom they had set at defiance on the opposite one. The mean elevation of this
chain cannot be estimated at less than four thousand feet. . . .” Edwards and Brown (1835), p. 1061.
Section 18 – The Kingdom of Xiandu (‘Aynūnah = Leukos Limên)
18.1. Xiandu 賢督 [Hsien-tu] was probably located near the village of modern ‘Aynūnah, and was probably the
site of ancient Leukos Limên (‘White Harbour’).
賢 xian K. 368e *g’ien / ɣien (same in GR No. 4458); EMC ɣεn = ‘worthy,’ ‘wise,’ ‘eminent,’ ‘virtuous,’
‘able.’
督 du K. 1031n *tôk / tuok; EMC tawk = ‘to supervise,’ ‘inspect,’ ‘oversee,’ ‘control,’ ‘General-in-Chief,’
‘Governor,’ ‘Viceroy,’ ‘Inspector.’
I have never found either of the characters in Xiandu used to transcribe foreign sounds, and it seems likely to me
that the name was either meant to be descriptive or a translation of some foreign term.
The village of ‘Aynūnah is almost exactly 250 km southwest of Petra on the main route southwest of that
city via Aqaba to the Red Sea. This, in itself, goes a long way to support the statement in the Weilue that: “The
king of Xiandu is subject to Da Qin (Rome). From his residence it is 600 li (250 km) northeast to Sifu (Petra).”
‘Aynūnah (28° 5’ 8 N; 35° 11’ 13 E), was an important settlement in a strategic position, controlling the
entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba, connected by road with Petra, providing convenient quick access by sea to and from
Egypt. I suspect this was the site of Leukos Limên.
“According to Agatharchides, Periplus [Müller, Vol. 1]), pp. 177–179 [ca. 113 BCE]. . . . The bay
five hundred stades (79 km.) long, which Agatharchides mentions, is identical with the strip of sea
seventy-five kilometres long by fifteen kilometres broad, which is bordered on the east and the north by the
coast, on the south and west by the shallows, islands, and islets, and which extends from Târân eastward
and terminates by Cape Mṣajbe Ṧarma.
The coast line of this bay, together with the oases of ‘Ajnûna [‘Aynūnah], Šarma, terim, and
al-Mwêleḥ, and the adjacent eastern uplands, belonged to the Batmizomani tribe. . . . The stony shore,
stretching for a long distance and belonging to the Thaumudenoi, extends to the southeast from Cape
as-Sabḫa. It has very few bays, and there are only two places, one by the settlement of Ẓbe’ and the other
south of al-‘Wejned [modern Al Wajh], where ships can safely anchor.” Musil (1926), pp. 302-303.
The present small port of the region is now at Ash Sharmah, some 5.7 nautical miles (10.56 km) east of ‘Aynunah:
“Ash Sharmah (27 o 56’N., 35 o 15’E.), a small subsidiary port of Yanbu, is reached by a buoyed channel
leading from a point off the N end of Yubu [island], NE to the pilot boarding station. Range lights in
alignment bearing 036 o , lead from the pilot boarding ground to the port area. A grounded barge, with a
length of 130m, offers a berth which will accommodate drafts of 7.8m alongside. . . .
Caution.— The fairway entrance N of Yuba is about 2 miles wide, and shows depths of 96 to 239m
but leads between isolated shoal patches with a depth of 9m. The areas outside of the buoyed channel are
unsurveyed.
Take care when steering on the entrance range, as shoal water lies close NW, and in the vicinity of
the pilot station. The least charted depth on the range line is 70m.
Jazair Silah is a low group of coral reefs and islets extending from 6 to 12 miles SE of Jazirat
Yuba.”
From: http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUB3/SD/Pub172/172sec06.pdf , p. 84. Downloaded 28/8/2004.
It was thought by many scholars until recently, when convincing evidence that Myos Hormos was located at
Quseir al-Qadim, that ‘Aynūnah was the site of ancient Leukê Komê. It is clear that Leukê Komê was located
further south, near modern port of Al Wajh, as I have shown earlier – see notes 15.1 and 16.1. ‘Aynūnah was also
the port and industrial centre for a very ancient gold and copper mining region:
“We were again much puzzled concerning the form of industry which gave rise to such a large

establishment as Sharmá. Agriculture was suggested and rejected; and we finally resolved that it was a
branch-town that supplied ore to the great smelting-place and workshop of the coast, ‘Aynúnah, and
possibly carbonate of lime to serve for flux.
The distance along the winding Wady, between the settlement and the sea westward, where the
watercourse ends in sand-heaps, is seven to eight miles, and the coast shows no sign of harbour or of
houses. About three miles, however, to the northwest is the admirable Bay of ‘Aynúnah, unknown to the
charts. Defended on both sides by sandspits, and open only between the west and the north-west, where
reefs and shoals allow but a narrow passage, its breadth across the mouth from east to west measures at
least five thousand metres, and the length inland, useful for refuge, is at least three thousand. At the bottom
of this noble Límán, the Kolpos so scandalously abused by the ancients, are three sandy buttresses metalled
with water rolled stones, and showing traces of graves. Possibly here may have been the site of an ancient
settlement. The Arabs call the southern anchorage, marked by a post and a pit of brackish water,
El-Musaybah or Musaybat Sharmá. Its only present use seems to be embarking bundles of rushes for
mat-making in Egypt. The north-eastern end of the little gulf is the Gád (Jád), or Mersá of El-Khuraybah,
before described as the port of ‘Aynúnah. . . .
In the afternoon Mr. Clarke led a party of quarrymen across the graveyards to El-Khuraybah, the
seaport of ‘Aynúnah, and applied them to excavating the floor of a cistern and the foundations of several
houses; a little pottery was the only result. It was a slow walk of forty minutes; and thus the total length of
the aqueducts would be three miles, not “between four and five kilometres.” I had much trouble and went to
some expense in sending camels to fetch a “written stone” which, placed at the head of every newly buried
corpse, is kept there till another requires it. It proved to be a broken marble pillar with a modern Arabic
epitaph. In the Gád el-Khuraybah, the little inlet near the Gumruk (“custom-house”), as we called in
waggery the shed of palm-fronds at the base of the eastern sandspit, lay five small Sambúks, which have
not yet begun fishing for mother-of-pearl. Here we found sundry tents of the Tagaygát-Huwaytát, the half
Fellahs that own and spoil the once goodly land; the dogs barked at us, but the men never thought of
offering us hospitality. We had an admirable view of the Tihámah Mountains--Zahd, with its “nick;” the
parrot-beak of Jebel el-Shátí; the three perpendicular Pinnacles and flying Buttresses of Jebel ‘Urnub; the
isolated lump of Jebel Fás; the single cupola of Jebel Harb; the huge block of Dibbagh, with its tall
truncated tower; the little Umm Jedayl, here looking like a pyramid; and the four mighty horns of Jebel
Shárr.
I left ‘Aynúnah under the conviction that it has been the great Warshah (“workshop”) and
embarking-place of the coast-section extending from El-Muwaylah to Makná; and that upon it depended
both Wady Tiryam and Sharmá, with their respective establishments in the interior. Moreover, the
condition of the slag convinced me that iron and the baser metals have been worked here in modern times,
perhaps even in our own, but by whom I should not like to say.” Burton (1879), I, chap. 2.
The description by Casson who, like many earlier scholars prior to the recent discoveries at Quseir al-Qadim,
thought it was the site of Leukê Komê, nevertheless shows that it must have been a port of some significance:
“Identification with ‘Aynūnah is supported by the findings of archaeologists who have surveyed the
area. The port would not have been at ‘Aynūnah itself but at the nearby village of Khuraybah on the water.
Between the two sites archaeologists have identified signs of extensive occupation that date to the early
centuries A.D. or even before: remains of impressive building complexes, a necropolis with over one
hundred tombs, an abundance of Nabataean-Roman pottery; see M. Ingraham and others in Atlal 5 (1981):
76-78.” Casson (1989), p. 144.
Richard Burton as early as 1879 found ancient artefacts at Wady Tiryam just two marches south of ‘Aynanum:
“Early next morning I set the quarrymen to work, with pick and basket, at the north-western angle of the
old fort. The latter shows above ground only the normal skeleton-tracery of coralline rock, crowning the
gentle sand-swell, which defines the lip and jaw of the Wady; and defending the townlet built on the
northern slope and plain. The dimensions of the work are fifty-five mètres each way. The curtains, except
the western, where stood the Báb el-Bahr (“Sea gate”), were supported by one central as well as by angular
bastions; the northern face had a cant of 32 degrees east (mag.); and the northwestern tower was distant
from the sea seventy-two metres, whereas the south-western numbered only sixty. The spade showed a
substratum of thick old wall, untrimmed granite, and other hard materials. Further down were various
shells, especially bénitiers ( Tridacna gigantea) the harp (here called “Sirinbáz”), and the pearl-oyster;
sheep-bones and palm charcoal; pottery admirably “cooked,” as the Bedawin remarked; and glass of

surprising thinness, iridized by damp to rainbow hues. This, possibly the remains of lachrymatories, was
very different from the modern bottle-green, which resembles the old Roman. Lastly, appeared a ring-bezel
of lapis lazuli; unfortunately the “royal gem,” of Epiphanus was without inscription.” Burton (1879), I,
chap. 2.
The fact that the port of Leukos Limên was not mentioned in Greek or Roman works before Ptolemy is, I believe,
in itself significant. It probably indicates it was probably of little importance to them before the Romans annexed
Nabataea in 105/106 CE.
“Leukos Limên must have flourished after the Periplus was written, for the first mention occurs in Ptolemy
(4. 5. 8).” Casson (1989), p. 96.
As there are no other contemporary ports of significance mentioned in the Greek and Roman accounts in the
northern Red Sea region which remain unaccounted for – I suggest that Leukos Limên was probably the port near
modern ‘Aynūnah – and that it was almost certainly the Xiandu of the Weilue.
The name Leukos Limên or ‘White Harbour’ may well have been derived from the striking white “regular,
round-headed cone” of quartz and granite called, Jebel el-Abyaz or ‘White Mountain,’ which could be seen from
the sea as one approached the port:
“The height of the Jebel el-Abyaz, whose colour makes it conspicuous even from the offing when sailing
along the coast, was found to be 350 (not 600) feet above the plain. The Grand Filon, which a mauvais
plaisant of a reviewer called the “Grand Filou,” forms a “nick” near the hill-top, but does not bifurcate in
the interior. The fork is of heavy greenish porphyritic trap, also probably titaniferous iron, with a trace of
silver, where it meets the quartz and the granite. Standing upon the “old man” with which we had marked
the top, I counted five several dykes or outcrops to the east (inland), and one to the west, cutting the prism
from north to south; the superficial matter of these injections showed concentric circles like ropy lava. The
shape of the block is a saddleback, and the lay is west-east, curving round to the south. The formation is of
the coarse grey granite general throughout the Province, and it is dyked and sliced by quartz veins of the
amorphous type, crystals being everywhere rare in Midian (?) The filons and filets, varying in thickness
from eight metres to a few lines, are so numerous that the whole surface appears to be quartz tarnished by
atmospheric corrosion to a dull, pale-grey yellow; while the fracture, sharp and cutting as glass or obsidian,
is dazzling and milk-white, except where spotted with pyrites--copper or iron. The neptunian quartz, again,
has everywhere been cut by plutonic injections of porphyritic trap, veins averaging perhaps two metres,
with a north-south strike, and a dip of 75 degrees (mag.) west. If the capping were removed, the sub-surface
would, doubtless, bear the semblance of a honeycomb.
The Jebel el-Abyaz is apparently the centre of the quartzose outcrop in North Midian (Madyan
Proper). We judged that it had been a little worked by the ancients, from the rents in the reef that outcrops,
like a castle-wall, on the northern and eastern flanks. There are still traces of roads or paths; while heaps,
strews, and scatters of stone, handbroken and not showing the natural fracture, whiten like snow the lower
slopes of the western hill base. They contrast curiously with the hard felspathic stones and the lithographic
calcaires bearing the moss-like impress of metallic dendrites; these occur in many parts near the seaboard,
and we found them in Southern as well as in Northern Midian. The conspicuous hill is one of four
mamelons thus disposed in bird’s-eye view; the dotted line shows the supposed direction of the lode in the
Jibál el-Bayzá, the collective name.” Burton (1879), I, chap. 2.
The Chinese name Xiandu may well have been meant to imply that it was the seat of an Inspector, Governor or
Viceroy, or that Xiandu was an “official” or “designated” port similar to ports mentioned in the Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea as a “designated harbour.” That is, an official port were there taxes were collected and the
equivalent of modern customs or inspection services were available.
“Designated ports. –Trade was limited to ports of entry established, or, as the text has it,
“designated” by law, and supervised by government officials who levied duties. There were many such
ports on the Red Sea under the Ptolemies. There were also ports of entry maintained by the Nabatæan
Kingdom [which was, of course, under Roman control at the time of the Weilue], by the Homerite Kingdom
in Yemen, and by the newly-established Kingdom of the Axumites; the latter, possibly, farmed to Roman
Greeks, now Roman subjects.” Schoff (1912), p. 51. Also see Casson (1989), pp. 51, 69, 173.
The Periplus (19) says:

“To the left of Berenicê, after a voyage of two or three runs eastward from Myos Hormos past the gulf
lying alongside, there is another harbor with a fort called Leukê Kômê [“white village”], through which
there is a way inland up to Petra, to Malichus, king of the Nabataeans. This harbor also serves in a way the
function of a port of trade for the craft, none large, that come to it loaded with freight from Arabia. For that
reason, as a safeguard there is dispatched for duty in it a customs officer to deal with the (duty of a) fourth
on incoming merchandise as well as a centurion with a detachment of soldiers.” Casson (1989), pp. 61, 63.
Although this refers to conditions around the middle of the first century CE, it would seem likely that the Romans
continued to use the port in a similarly lucrative manner after they annexed Nabataea in 105 or 106 CE. It provided
a much shorter (and, therefore, cheaper) access to bring incense from southern Arabia into the Roman Orient rather
than shipping it to Egypt and then carting it from there all the way to Israel, Damascus, etc. The Romans charged
exactly the same duty – 25% – on cargos imported through their Egyptian Red Sea ports. See Casson (1989), p. 14.
“To the left of Berenicê, after a voyage of two or three runs eastward from Myos Hormos past the gulf
lying alongside, there is another harbor with a fort called Lêuke Kômê [‘white village’], through which
there is a way inland up to Petra, to Malichus, king of the Nabataeans. This harbor also serves in a way the
function of a port of trade for the craft, none large, that come to it loaded with freight from Arabia. For this
reason, as a safeguard there is dispatched for duty in it a customs officer to deal with the (duty of a) fourth
on incoming merchandise, as well as a centurion [presumably Nabataean, not Roman] with a detachment of
soldiers” Casson (1989), pp. 61, 63.
18.2. It is almost exactly 250 km or 600 li northeast of the village of ‘Aynūnah (see the previous note 18.1) to
Petra, or Sifu (see note 19.1), adding credibility to the identification of both places.
Section 19 – The Kingdom of Sifu 汜復 [Szu-fu] = Petra.
19.1. The Chinese name, Sifu 汜復 [Szu-fu], is probably not a transcription of a local name. I have not been able to
find examples of either character being used to transcribe foreign sounds. However, the reconstructed
pronunciations are:
Si 汜 K. 967i *dzi̯əg / zi ; EMC: zɨ’ / zi’
fu 復 K. 1034d *b’i̯ôk / b’i̯uk ; EMC: buwk
The name Sifu appears to be descriptive rather than phonetic. Si refers to a branch of a river which rejoins the main
river, and fu can mean to return, turn around, or to go and come.
The first character, si 汜 [szu] is, according to the Shuowen [Shuo Wen]: “an arm of a river which rejoins the
main stream,” or, alternatively: “a canal filled to the brim.” The Shijing [Shih Ching] says: A river with two arms
of water which rejoin.” Translated from GR No. 10171.
It seems likely that the Chinese name refers to the many streams which wind through the great canyons or
wadis in which the city was built. The stream in the main valley, the Wadi Musa, is fed by the famous spring of
‘Ain Musa, near the town, where, according to legend, Moses struck a rock and water gushed forth.
The basic meaning of 復 fu means “to return” (GR 3594). Thus, the name Sifu forms an apt description of
the city of Petra, in which the courses of the main streams were cleverly paved over by the Nabataeans, directed
through the city, and any overflow channelled into a huge water cistern which formed the city’s water reserves and
prevented flooding of the city: “a large Birket, or reservoir of water, still serving for the supply of the inhabitants
during the summer.” Burckhardt (1822), p. 427.
“Water, however, was an essential which often determined the location of a major city or
trading-post, and Petra’s supply was beyond the wildest dreams of the most optimistic caravaner. The
physical configuration of the mountains at this point would enable Man, if he was prepared to employ
himself, to create a natural reservoir for the storage of water against even the harshest circumstances. The
high rolling limestone ridge in the east describes a wide semicircle, with parallel arms stretching out
westward in the direction of the Wadi Arabah. It is subtended by two parallel folds of the exotically
coloured Nubian sandstone, about a mile apart. The northern and southern ends are tipped up slightly, thus
forming a natural basin. The Wadi Mousa flowed, and still does during the torrential winter rains, into this
basin, but instead of being held there where it could be put to some good effect, it escapes down the Wadi
Siyagh and spends itself wastefully in the sands to the Wadi Arabah [except when the Nabataeans put an

end to this waste].” Browning (1989), pp. 13-14.
“The Edomites had started the process of water conservation in Petra but it was the Nabataeans who
took such great pains to develop this into an elaborate system of control and regulation. Their water
engineering was in fact their most impressive achievement: their architecture is remarkable, their pottery
exceptionally fine, but their techniques of collecting, distributing and conserving water display outstanding
ingenuity, skill and imagination which even the Romans could not better.
They had to contend with the problem that, at the height of its prosperity, the city area by itself
probably housed between 18,000 to 20,000 persons. With the various suburbs such as the Adi Siyach, el
Sabrah, el Barid, el Madras, etc, the total would have been as great as 30,000. The springs in the valley
were quite inadequate to meet the need by themselves, but up the hill, outside the Siq, above the village of
Elji, is the abundant and perpetual spring of Ain Mousa – Moses Spring. Other springs in the area also
augment the generous supply. By means of conduits and lengthy stretches of earthenware piping (Fig. 13),
the Nabataeans brought the precious waters Ain Mousa through the Siq and round the great flank of the
mountain el Kubtha, right into the heart of the city area – perhaps to feed the Nymphaeum, the ruins of
which stand on the Colonnade Street. . . .” Browning (1989), p. 49.
It appears that the unequalled conservation and control of water at Petra led the Chinese to name it Sifu, which
means something like, “rejoined water courses.”
“Petra, Arabic BARĀ, an ancient city, centre of an Arab kingdom in Hellenistic and Roman times; its ruins
are in Ma’ān muḥāfaẓah (governate), Jordan. The city was built on a terrace, pierced from east to west by
the Wādī Mūsā (the Valley of Moses) – one of the places where, according to tradition, the Israelite leader
struck a rock and water gushed forth. The valley is enclosed by sandstone cliffs veined with shades of red
and purple varying to pale yellow; and for this reason Petra is often called the “rose-red city.”
The Greek name Petra (Rock) probably replaced the biblical name of Sela. The site is usually
approached from the east by a narrow gorge known as the Sik (Wādī as-Sīk), one and a fourth miles long.
Remains from the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic periods have been discovered at Petra, but little is known
about the site up to c. 312 BC, when the Nabataeans, an Arab tribe, occupied it and made it the capital of
their kingdom. Under their rule, the city prospered as a centre of the spice trade.
When the Nabataeans were defeated by the Romans in AD106, Petra became part of the Roman
province of Arabia but continued to flourish until changing trade routes caused its gradual commercial
decline. After the Islāmic invasion in the 7th century, it disappeared from history until it was finally
rediscovered by the Swiss traveller John Lewis Burckhardt in 1812.” NEB: VII, p. 914.
There have been many other identifications proposed for Sifu. Pulleyblank apparently accepts Pelliot’s argument
(outlined below) that the first character si 汜 was a mistake for the very similar fan 氾. He therefore gives the
reconstructed pronunciation of the first character as M. biam – very different from his later reconstruction for the
character si 汜 as E. zɨ / zi in his 1991 Lexicon, op. cit. p. 292.
It seems that, on the basis of this dubious substitution for the character actually used in the Weilue, he finds
support for Pelliot’s suggestion that Sifu stood for ancient Bambyke:
“On the other hand there is also good evidence that 汜M. biam had no cluster, since it is used in the
Wei-lüeh in transcribing the first syllable of a place name in the Middle East which Pelliot has convincingly
identified with Bambyke (Pelliot 1921).” Pulleyblank (1963), p. 114.
Unfortunately, this misguided proposal by Pelliot, probably strengthened by the desire to see all Chinese
representations of foreign names as attempts to phonetically transcribe local names, continues to influence modern
scholars, in spite of their misgivings:
“Pelliot, for example, wants to change ssu 汜 to fan 氾 (changing the name Ssu-fu to Fan-fu, which he then
reads as Bambuke) 22 . He quite rightly (though we believe he is mistaken in his identification) gives two
arguments to strengthen his case. Firstly, by giving other cases where such a change has been made; and
secondly, by pointing out the fan is commonly used in transcriptions, ssu is not. This last argument is
especially powerful.
22 PELLIOT, 1921, pp. 141-142.”

Leslie and Gardiner (1996), p. 29.
For details of the alternative proposals that Ligan [Li-kan] / Lijian [Li-chien] or Wudan [Wu-tan] stood for Petra,
see Graf (1996), pp. 207-210. Hirth (1975), pp. 169-173 also discusses the Ligan = Petra theory.
“Petra, ‘the Rock’, lies within a high sandstone outcrop in southern Jordan, a desert area which was
part of the ancient kingdom of Edom. It is approached, on horseback, from Ain Musa, ‘Moses Spring’. The
bed of the Wadi Musa leads through the famous Sik, the gorge at times only 5 feet wide with bulging sides
300 feet high, cut by the water in the soft rock. Paved by the Romans, with separate tunnels to carry the
water, it can now be dangerous when the rare floods sweep down.” Macaulay (1964), p. 49.
“In front of the great temple, the pride and beauty of Petra, of which more hereafter, I saw a narrow
opening in the rocks, exactly corresponding with my conception of the object for which I was seeking [the
main entrance through the Sik]. A full stream of water was gushing through it, and filling up the whole
mouth of the passage. Mounted on the shoulders of one of my Bedouins, I got him to carry me through the
swollen stream at the mouth of the opening, and set me down on a dry place a little above, whence I began
to pick my way, occasionally taking to the shoulders of my follower, and continued to advance more than a
mile. I was beyond all peradventure in the great entrance I was seeking. There could not be two such, and I
should have gone on to the extreme end of the ravine, but my Bedouin suddenly refused me the further use
of his shoulders. He had been some time objecting and begging me to return, and now positively refused to
go any farther; and, in fact, turned about himself. I was anxious to proceed, but I did not like wading up to
my knees in the water, nor did I feel very resolute to go where I might expose myself to danger, as he
seemed to intimate. While I was hesitating, another of my men came running up the ravine, and shortly
after him Paul and the sheik, breathless with haste, and crying in low gutturals, “El Arab! el Arab!” – “The
Arabs! the Arabs!” This was enough for me. I had heard so much of El Arab that I had become nervous. . . .
” Stephens (1837), p. 252.
There are several names for Petra in ancient literature: Selah and Rekem, the Hebrew and ‘Syrian’ names for the
city, as well as the Greek Petra, all mean ‘Rock’. It is called ‘Rakmu’ in a Nabataean inscription from Petra itself.
Gatier (1995), p. 118.
“Ethnic and cultural labels were always used very loosely, and it may be significant that Eusebius [Onom.,
ed Klostermann, 142] was later to say that Petra ‘is (still?) called “Rekem” among the Assyrians’. But is he
reflecting current usage, or just rephrasing a similar point made earlier by Josephus [Ant. IV, 7, 1 (161)]?”
Millar (1993), p. 504.
My identification of Sifu with Petra depends on more than just the descriptive nature of its name:
a. If Yuluo stands for Karak in the Weilue (see note 20.1), then Sifu must be Petra, which is about 140 km
(340 li) southwest of ancient Karak (depending on one’s exact route through these rugged mountainous
regions), as indicated in the Weilue.
b. The distances and directions given in the Weilue to other places:
– Petra is about 1,200-1,300 km due west of Istakhr, near Persepolis, which was the seat of the
Sassanids, soon to become the masters of Persia, and the last major centre on the southern trade
route via Kandahar (identified as the Wuyi in note 6.25) on the ancient route to India. This distance
agrees with the distance given in the Weilue of 3,000 li (1,247 km) between Sitao [= Istakhr, Stakhr]
and Sifu. See notes 17.2 and 17.3.
– I identify Yule as Kerak. Kerak is slightly more than 140 km by the modern road north (instead of
northeast) of Petra to Kerak – which agrees with the 340 li or 141 km given in the Weilue as the
distance between Sifu and Yule).
c. The fact that Petra was under Roman control from 106 CE and throughout the rest of the second and third
centuries CE.
d. South of Petra and Wadi Sirhan is a stony desert noted for its piles of rocks and odd rock formations
(Jishi – ‘Rock Piles’) to the south of which are the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. The

Persian Gulf was particularly famous for its pearls and the Red Sea for its coral, though both, of course,
were found in each gulf. See note 17.1.
e. It is said to be in the text 600 li or 250 km from Xiandu northeast to Sifu or Petra. This is just about
exactly the distance to Petra from the village of Aynūna, just south of the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba. See
note 18.1.
f. Sifu was at the junction of a major route from the south (the “Incense Route”) with a major east-west
trade route, as clearly noted in the Weilue. Petra, controlled the main perfume route from southern Arabia,
and from it important routes extended west to Egypt via Rhinocolura, and east to the head of the Persian
Gulf.
Because of the interest in Petra and the importance of its identification for the determination of the trade routes in
the eastern Roman Empire, as outlined in the Weilue, I have included some additional observations:
“Round the south-east of Jebel Neby Harun and on its north side narrow defiles lead up from the
Arabah to the edge of the most singular and most famous site on Mount Edom, the Wady Musa, in which
lies the city of Petra. It is beyond the capacity of these pages to compass the features of this incomparable
and fascinating basin, only some 1250 yards [1,143 metres] by from 250 to 500 [229 to 457 metres], in
which nature and human art have worked together as nowhere else in the world. . . . By her position and its
security, and by her later importance, Petra must have been at a very early period a centre of commerce
between Arabia and all to the west and north of her. But it is very doubtful whether the Old Testament ever
refers to Petra; the name usually taken for her, Ha-Sela’, The Rock, being too general for a single town.
Josephus says, “the capital of all Arabia, formerly Arkē, Arkem or Rekemē, is now called Petra by the
Greeks”. Towards the end of the fourth century B.C. the place was twice attacked by the forces of
Antigonus, one of the Greek rivals for the Seleucid sovereignty; but these assaults, not till after they gained
much spoil, were repulsed by “the Arabs”, doubtless the supplanters of the Edomites, the Nabatæans, who
in the second century had their capital in Petra. In 55 B.C. Gabinius, a general of Pompey, brought the town
and district under the Romans, who called the region Arabia Petræa after it; and in 105 the Nabatæan
kingdom was added to the Roman province of Arabia. . . .
One of the intricate shîḳs or corridors through the deep rock of Wady Musa, called The Shîḳ, leads up
from Petra by the village of Eljy on a five hours’ march south-east to Ma‘an, a small double-town, due with
its gardens and orchards to several springs in an otherwise inhospitable area. It is the last Syrian merkez or
rest-station on the Hajj Road, and has a market and on the railway a station. Thence to Jauf, the nearest
oasis in Arabia, is ten camel-marches. Ma‘an is said to have been a Roman military post, and has been
suggested as the Ahamant of the Crusaders. . . . ” Smith (1931), pp. 369-370.
“JOKTHEEL, (obedience to the Lord;) a place previously called Selah, which Amaziah, king of Judah,
took from the Edomites, and which is supposed to have been the city of Petra, the celebrated capital of the
Nabathæi, in Arabia Petræa, by the Syrians called Rekem, 2 Kings 14: 7.
There are two places, however, which dispute this honor ; Kerek, a town two days’ journey south of
Syault, the see of a Greek bishop, who resides at Jerusalem; and Wady-Mousa, a city which is situated in a
deep valley at the foot of mount Hor, and where Burckhardt and more recent travellers describe the remains
of a magnificent and extensive city. The latter is no doubt the Petra described by Strabo and Pliny. –
Calmet” Edwards and Brown (1835), p. 698.
“SELA; 2 Kings 14: 7. Sela, in Hebrew, signifies a rock, and answers to the Greek word petra; whence it
has been reasonably inferred that the city bearing this name, and which was the celebrated capital of Arabia
Petræa, is the place mentioned by the sacred historian. The remains in the valley of Wady Mousa, which are
described by Burckhardt and Legh, and by captains Irby and Mangles, attest the splendour of the former
city. At the western end of the valley, the road ascends to the high platform on which mount Hor and the
tomb of Aaron stand; in the vicinity of which Josephus and Eusebius agree in placing the ancient Petra.”
Edwards and Brown (1835), p. 1061.
“Trajan’s catastrophic Parthian policy shifted the interest of the Euphrates from Armenia to Mesopotamia :
but, even before his reign, the Romans had discovered how the dues and harbours of the south could relieve
their chronic embarrassment, when imports like spikenard had risen to three times the value they had in the

days of Mary Magdalene: a new Arabian chapter, or perhaps the continuation of the older chapter of
Augustus, was emphasized by Trajan in 106 A.D. when he annexed the Nabataeans round Petra. The
termini of all the southern trade routes – Jerash, Petra, Gabala, Rabbat-Ammon and Damascus – were in
their hands. They had their own docks, and warehouses to distribute the Arabian spices even near Naples at
Puteoli. Their absorption gave little trouble and they prospered under Rome. Their archers were used as
garrison troops to save the legions and protect the trans-Arabian trade, and the new capital of the new
province was established in A.D. 106 at Bostra (Bosra). . . .
Under the Romans this south-western trade route was still the main source of wealth for Egypt as it
had been through the ages, and city life prospered along it, though Petra declined with the rise of Palmyra.
Two other great desert cities – Vologasia and Hatra – owed their existence to it; and others – Jerash,
Amman, Edessa, Babylon – grew and flourished, and so did Parthian Ctesiphon in spite of its destructions.
The trade with Europe through Palmyra continued: the Egyptian linen paid for Arabian spices and helped to
limit the Indian circulation of Roman money; Trajan repaired his ‘river’, the Cairo to Suez canal; and
before A.D. 216 the Red Sea was to be patrolled and Coptos was to be garrisoned by Palmyrenian archers
officered by Rome.
Hadrian exploited the situation, maintained a friendship with the south Arabian kings, and was called
the second founder of Palmyra. He favoured the southern trade route in all its length, and kept friendly
intercourse alive between Syrian Rome and the Euphrates. Imperial bureaucracy had not yet closed down
on Palmyra; when peaceful relations with the Parthians were re-established, Hadrian was careful to arrange
for the free passage of the Roman (Palmyrenian) caravans, and pushed his troops as far as the Euphrates,
possibly running a flotilla there when threatened from the East. He adopted Parthian cavalry equipment for
his desert wars and a merchant of Palmyra was allowed to dedicate a temple to him in Vologasia, for his
popularity was great with the Parthians. They ‘regarded him as a friend because he took away the king
whom Trajan had set over them’.
There were other inducements. The Sarmatian-Alani, pressing continually against the northern
frontier, gave a common defensive interest to both empires in the north. There was no need for Rome to
hold Mesopotamia while Petra and Palmyra were under her control – just as there was no need to hold
Armenia while the Black Sea was open and the Caucasus was at peace. Whether Hadrian’s policy was
meant to be permanent, or merely to tide over a crisis is not certain, but – reversing that of Trajan – it was a
policy of peace: his frontier system showed itself useless only when his tactics were reversed by the
emperors who followed him. The Roman defence then broke down and the thin frontier crumbled, and only
the strongest walled cities were able to survive.” Stark (1968), pp. 252-254.
“The spectacular rise and development of the Nabataean kingdom to great wealth and power between the
first centuries B.C. and A.D. may be attributed in part to the fact that it was situated on important trade
routes between Arabia and Syria. Along them were carried not only the spices and incense of southern
Arabia, but also goods which had been transported from Africa, India and very possibly even from China.
Heavily laden caravans converged on the great trade emporium of Petra, with some of them coming from
the related centres of Meda’in Saleh and Teima in Arabia. Other caravans came from as far away as Gerrha
on the Persian Gulf. Both in Petra and Meda’in Saleh, bold architects carved buildings out of the solid rock,
as if they were slicing through the most insubstantial material.
From Petra, goods were reexpedited northward to Syria, southwestward across the Negev and Sinai
to Egypt, and westward across the northern Negev to Gaza and to Ascalon on the Mediterranean. From
Ascalon, the precious freight was transhipped to Alexandria in Egypt and as far away as Puteoli in Italy,
with ships hired by the Nabataeans touching Rhodes and Greece on the way. Along with their merchandise,
the Nabataean traders carried their gods, so that by worshipping familiar deities in foreign ports they would
always feel at home and secure. . . . ” Glueck (1959), pp. 195-196.
“While still under Nabataean rule, Petra controlled the caravan routes from the south, since the original
trade route went through a waterless desert west of Petra. In order to gain the northern route, all caravans
had to take the narrow exit through the Sîk. So, in AD 106 Trajan annexed Petra; later, Hadrian renamed it
‘Hadriana’. After that began its full Romanization.
The Sîk road that led into Petra was paved; in the city itself a fine Roman road of gleamingly white
limestone was laid down. A wall was erected to give dignity to the forum; a Temple to Zeus and a
triumphal arch to Hadrian were built, and an amphitheater was hollowed out of the side of a sandstone cliff,
gigantic enough to seat 10,000 spectators.
Petra’s influence, however, disappeared with the pax Romana since the main Roman road – the Via
Traiana or Way of Trajan – by-passed the city.” von Hagen, (1967), p. 114.

“Further to the east another independent state was established by the Nabataeans, with their headquarters in
Petra (South Jordan) and Madain Saleh (Saudi Arabia). In the second century BC their powerful kingdom
stretched deep into the Arabian peninsula and flourished by controlling the caravan trade which brought
Chinese and Indian spices, perfumes and other luxuries from southern Arabia to Syria and Egypt. The
Nabataeans spoke Arabic, but their writing was Aramaic. Their culture was superficially Hellenic. The
people of present-day Jordan regard them as their ancestors.” Mansfield (1992), p. 8.
“The city certainly maintained its old pride. Its self-image was grandiose, probably larger than reality. Petra
has the long title of “Imperial-Colony Antoniana, distinguished, Holy, Mother of the Colonies, Hadriana,
Petra, Metropolis of the Tertia Palestina Salutaris”. The exalted rhetoric is clear. Most of the elements of
this titulature are traditional, but some of the individual titles and the series as a whole are new. The
composite title reflects the history of the city within the Roman empire, specifically that Petra received the
title of metropolis under Hadrian and was honored under Elagabalus (M. Aurelius Antoninus) [reigned
218-222] who called Petra an “Imperial Colony,” a great honor and a title which was also given to Bostra
(J. Gascou per litteras). But there is also a un-Greek, un-Roman element, “Mother of the Colonies”, a title
known previously on an inscription from the area of Petra. Tertia Palaestina Salutaris too is grandiose.
Palaestina Tertia and Palaestina Salutaris occur in other sources, but the three-word combination is new
and reflects an ear for the rhetorical effect of such combinations. This effect reaches far beyond the actual
meaning. The grandiose title of the city is a mirror image of the grandiose titles of individuals. The pride in
being the centre of the Roman province, honored by Roman emperors throughout history, is matched by
indigenous self-consciousness. Members of the upper class used Greek, Latin or Nabataean names.
Obodianus, for example, a name derived from that of former Nabataean kings, was combined with the
Byzantine/Roman status-name Flavius, just as Greek and Roman names were.” Koenen (1996).
“By 114 there is no doubt that the emperor intended to march farther east, against the great empire in the
Iranian heartland. And it was obviously important to him to secure the countries behind him as he moved
eastward. The organization of Arabia with the great road linking Syria to the Gulf of ‘Aqaba and the
establishment of Roman authority at Bostra may well have been part of Trajan’s master plan for conquest
of the Parthians.
It is perhaps no accident that the greatest memorial to Trajan in Roman Arabia was on the triumphal
arch at Petra, where the city honored him with a magnificent inscription, only recently made known in full,
shows that the honorific title of the city, long associated with Hadrian’s visit later, is Trajanic. Furthermore,
Arabia’s legion, the Third Cyrenaica, which contributed to Trajan’s expedition, itself commemorated the
emperor with a great arch in the following year at Dura Europus near the Euphrates. It looks very much as
if the mission of Claudius Severus in the province of Arabia over the course of nearly a decade was to
provide continuity in preparations for the fulfilment of Trajan’s great dream to reenact the conquests of
Alexander the Great and conquer the kingdom in Iran. Trajan could not have known exactly when Rabbel
would die, but he must have had good reason to judge from Rabbel’s age that it would happen at some
point in his own imperial rule. When the occasion arose, the arrival of Roman troops forced the Nabataeans
into submission and allowed the Romans to accomplish a thorough organization of the region while the
attention of the Roman world was directed to the brilliant conquests in Dacia. By 120 when the reports of
the private life of the family of Babatha resume, Trajan is already dead, his great expedition a failure. But
the province of Arabia remained as his legacy in the Near East, with its Roman troops, its Roman governor,
and its Roman law.
It had become clear from Trajan’s grant of the title of metropolis to Petra by 114 that it was not his
intention, in placing the capital at Bostra, to diminish the role of Petra as a centre for the southern part of
the Arabian territory. . . . In the following year [125 CE] we find Babatha herself summoning a guardian to
be judged by the governor of the province of Arabia, Julius Julianus, at Petra. The presence of the governor
in that city on such an occasion does not prove, as some have surmised, that the city was the provincial
capital as late as the reign of Hadrian. It simply shows that, in this province as in others, the governor
travelled to the major cities outside the capital in order to hold assizes and administer justice. The assizes to
which Babatha had recourse at Petra do indicate that the city was considered among the most important in
the province.
There are additional indications that Petra continued to flourish under Roman administration. . . .
That the city of Petra should have been thought an appropriate place for the construction of a tomb for a
major Roman official [Governor T. Aninus Sextius Florentius who was definitely governor in 127] in the
province is sufficiently eloquent testimony to the preeminence of the city in the Hadrianic age.
Furthermore the careful excavation of the domestic area of Petra has provided evidence of unbroken

habitation through the Roman period, down to the great earthquake of the mid-fourth century A.D.”
Bowersock (1996), pp. 84-86.
“To envisage the area of the kingdom and the province realistically, we have to take into account the
following elements. First, there was a band of settled territory stretching across the northern Negev almost
to the Mediterranean, bordering on the southern part of Judea/Syria Palaestina, and incorporating towns
such as Elusa, Nessana, Mampsis and Oboda (Avdat).
Then, to go to the other extreme, there was the barren and mountainous zone of the northern Hedjaz.
But here too there were substantial settlements, above all at Hegra (Medain Saleh), marked by a large
number of fine rock-cut tombs of the first century AD, many with long inscriptions in Nabataean. On the
coast there was also the harbour of ‘Leuke Kome’, ‘through which’, as the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
reports, ‘there is a way inland up to Petra, to Malichus, king of the Nabataeans’. Because of the trade
coming up from Arabia (Felix), there was also a customs-officer, to collect a 25 percent duty, and a
‘commander of 100 men’ (ekatontarchēs) with soldiers. The king will be Malichus II, AD 40-70, and the
commander will not have been a Roman centurion, but a Nabataean officer. At Hegra the equivalent rank is
even given the title centurio, transliterated into Nabataean (QNRYN’). Leuke Kome itself will be the
Nabataean settlement of Aynuna, just east of the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba.
Very little has been found of any settlement on the presumed land-route up the east side of the Gulf
of Aqaba. But from Aila northwards up the east side of the Wadi Arabah, and especially north of the
escarpment which rises up from the barren plain (the Hisma) stretching down to Aila, traces of settlement
are increasingly dense. The ‘King’s Highway’, soon to be marked out as the Via Nova Traiana ‘from the
borders of Syria to the Red Sea’, indicates the approximate eastern limit of such settlement as there was.
But Petra, which lies just beyond the zone of 200-mm annual rainfall, which covers the fertile high plateau
of Moab, in fact comes – very significantly – just within the tip of a narrower zone, between the Wadi
Arabah and the steppe, in which some trees will grow. The question of the relation of the steppe and its
peoples to the culture of this whole area is fundamental. Petra itself, however, is not a desert settlement, but
a city carved out in a hollow among dramatic sandstone outcrops, with springs, and within a zone where
there is vegetation.
Whatever contribution was made by long-distance trade to the extraordinary urban development of
Petra in the first centuries BC and AD, it owed its role as a royal city to the combination of inaccessibility
and defensibility, on the one hand, and on the other to its location at the limits of a zone where agriculture
and settlement were possible. The main area of Nabataean settlement, and the core of the Roman province,
thus lay to its north, in the fertile plains of Moab, bisected by great wadis running down to the Wadi Arabah
and, further north, to the Dead Sea. From around Petra northwards we are again entering a world of villages
and small towns. . . . ” Millar (1993), pp. 388-390.
“It is difficult to demonstrate from textual sources exactly when and how the camel breeders took over the
incense trade. The process was a gradual one, as has already been pointed out. The Nabataeans of Petra,
Strabo’s “hucksters and merchants,” had definitely become an important factor in the trade by the first
century B.C., and by the first century A.D. they probably controlled the desert route as far north as
Damascus. Another entrepot, Gerrha, which was not peopled by camel herders, transshipped incense
northward to Babylonia by sea in the fourth century B.C., according to Aristobulus who should have been
in a good position to know having accompanied Alexander on his campaigns. But two centuries later in the
time of Diodorus, Gerrha’s trade had become redirected overland to Petra. Bulliet (1975), p. 100.
“The indication in Diocletian’s edict on prices that camel transport was 20 percent cheaper than wagon
transport is entirely explicable on practical grounds alone – cost of fodder, cost of wood to build a wagon,
and so on – assuming there is a ready supply of camels. Since 600 B.C. at the very latest camels had been
present in the deserts bordering the settled land of Syria and the Tigris-Euphrates valley in sufficient
quantity to compete successfully with wagon transport. Between camel and farmer, however, was a cultural
gulf far broader than the few miles that separated them geographically. That gulf had to be bridged before
significant competition could occur, and a number of intricately interrelated elements went into building the
bridge.
In schematic summary, the North Arabian saddle made possible new weaponry, which made possible
a shift in the balance of military power in the desert, which made possible the seizure of control of the
caravan trade by the camel breeders, which made possible the social and economic integration of
camel-breeding tribes into settled Middle Eastern society, which made possible the replacement of the
wheel by the pack camel. But, of course, in reality this neat schematic development becomes much too

complex to be followed with precision. Different stages in the process were reached at different times. The
process in locations situated upon major caravan routes was different from that in more remote areas. While
some tribes ultimately became primarily suppliers of camels for the general transport market, others, such
as those in southern Arabia, continued throughout the centuries to use their camels primarily for milk. Yet
however confusing the process appears, it did lead in the end, after perhaps five hundred years of gradual
change, to the disappearance of the wheel in the Middle East. The impact of the process on different
camel-breeding tribes was very uneven, but its impact upon settled society was uniform and its effects
far-reaching.” Bulliet (1975), pp. 109-110.
19.2. See note 20.1.
19.3. The Wadi al-Ḥesa. There is obviously a mistake in the text here. In this section it says that going northeast
from Sifu you cross a ‘sea’ (hai – 海) to get to Yuluo, while in the very next passage it says that Yuluo is northeast
of Sifu across a ‘river’ (he – 河).
“Looking south from the point where the road begins its descent into the Wadi al Hasa [travelling
south from Karak towards Petra], a change in the nature of the scenery can be observed; no longer is there a
rolling plateau with smooth, rounded hills rising from it. Instead, numerous steep little valleys appear, and
the hill-tops take on a rough and jagged outline, which represents the change-over from limestone to
sandstone rock. The view down the Wadi to the west is very impressive, and prominent in the mid-distance
is a high, isolated hill, on the top of which are the remains of a Nabataean temple, called today Khirbat al
Tannur. The stream, which is perennial and as usual filled with oleanders, is crossed by a bridge, and soon
after passing this the foot of the hill on which Tannur stands is reached. It is a steep and arduous climb to
the summit. . . . The temple dates from the first century B.C.–A.D., and is so far the only Nabataean temple
to have been excavated. . . .
. . . farther on a fine stretch of the great Roman road of Trajan can be seen beside the modern road; it
is part of the great paved way which ran from Damascus to Aqaba.” Harding (1960), pp. 111, 113.
Section 20 – The Kingdom of Yuluo 于羅 [Yü-lo] = Karak, Kerak or al-Karak.
20.1. The character yu – K. 97a: *gi̯wo / ji̯u; GR: gi̯wo / ɣi̯u; EMC wuâ – was sometimes used to transcribe foreign
ka sounds, as in the yu of Yutian – for Khotan, and for the kha of Khara. Furthermore, luo commonly represents
foreign ra, or ar sounds, as in a number of Sanskrit names and terms, as well as in the name Khara itself. See, for
example, Ts’en (1981), pp. 580-581, and Eitel (1888), pp. 80, 127-131. Therefore, the name Yuluo was
pronounced something like Kara which is a very good representation of the commonly-used Greek name of Karax
or Charax – literally, a ‘palisaded’ or fortified place.
The reconstructed pronunciation of Yuluo in the Han period (ka-ra) provides a very good transcription of the
Greek καραξ – Karax, or Charax, a ‘palisade’ or a ‘fort.’ This explains the identical names given to both Karak and
Charax (Karax) Spasinou by the Chinese. Also see Hirth (1885), p. 156, n. 1, where he states that the very similar:
“Χάραξ in Greek, and Karka in Syriac (see Kiepert, 1, c., p. 146) means “town” or “city.” The vocalising of the
initial character yu 于during the Later Han period is discussed by Pulleyblank:
“The use of Chinese ĥ / ĥw to represent Sanskrit h and v has already been touched upon. In a number of
transcriptions of the Western Han it appears to be used to represent a foreign voiced back-velar, or perhaps
uvular, consonant, that is as a voiced counterpart to initial glottal stop. An interesting example of this is in
the name of Khotan 于闐 M. ĥi̯ou-ḍen. This transcription, which first occurs in Shih-chi in the account of
Chang Ch’ien’s journey, remained the standard Chinese name from that time onward. The earliest
non-Chinese form of the word is Khotana, found in the Kharoṣṭhī documents at Lou-lan (ca. A.D. 300).
Later we have the Brahmī spellings Hvatäna, Hvaṃna, representing the native Khotanese pronunciation.
Though these spellings use the Indian h (originally a voiced consonant), they ought, Professor Bailey tells
me, to represent a voiceless aspiration in Khotanese. This is also implied in Hsüan-tsang’s spelling 渙那 M.
hwan-na said to represent the local pronunciation in the seventh century A.D. Nevertheless there are
indications pointing to an original voiced initial. The sanscritized form *Gostana, known through
Hsüan-tsang’s 瞿薩旦那 M. giou̯-sat-tan-na [Pinyin: qusadanna] and from Gaustamä in a Khotanese
document, is in no doubt etymologizing (meaning “earth-teat”) but it must have had some basis in a native
original. (Besides these forms cited by Pelliot, we have Gaustana-deśa in a Sanskrit text from Khotan – see
Bailey 1938 p. 541). The Tibetan forms with voiced initial H̲u-ten, H̲u-then or H̲u-den, might be based on

Middle Chinese M. ĥi̯ou-den as Pelliot suggests, in which case they do not give independent evidence
about the original form of the word. I fear that the same may be true of the Altaic forms which Pelliot
discusses at length and in any case I cannot agree that the Chinese are likely to have first heard the name
through an Altaic intermediary. I agree however in general terms with his conclusion that the native
original must have been something like *Godan. The initial was probably not a stop but a spirant. (See
Pelliot 1958, “Cotan”.)
The same character appears in a number of Hsiung-nu words. Two of these will be discussed in the
Appendix, 單于 M. ji̯en-ĥi̯ou < *dān-ĥwāĥ and 護于 M. ĥou`-ĥi̯ou < *ĥwax-ĥwāĥ, in which it is
proposed to see the ancestral forms of Turkish tarqan/tarxan and qaγan/xaγan. Though we have no direct
knowledge of Hsiung-nu phonology it may be conjectured that the underlying forms were something like
*dārγā or dārγ w ā and *γaγā or γ w aγā.” Pulleyblank (1963), p. 91.
The same name, Yuluo, with exactly the same characters, appears in both the Hou Hanshu’s ‘Chapter on the
Western Countries,’ and in the Weilue. It is clear that they refer to different towns on very different routes. The
Hou Hanshu says:
“From [the eastern frontier of] Anxi (Parthia), if you travel 3,400 li (1,414 km) west, you reach the
Kingdom of Aman (Herat). Leaving Aman and travelling 3,600 li (1,497 km), you reach the Kingdom of
Sibin (Susa). Leaving Sibin (Susa) and travelling south you cross a river, then going southwest, you reach
the Kingdom of Yuluo (Charax Spasinou) after 960 li (399 km). This is the extreme western frontier of
Anxi (Parthia).”
It is evident that the Yuluo in the Weilue refers to a quite different place than the one mentioned in the Hou
Hanshu. From the indications given that it was a Roman dependency, and not far north of Petra, we can safely
assume it refers to modern al-Karak, Karak or Kerak. Its name, like that of the Yuluo of the Hou Hanshu is also
derived from the same Greek name, Karax.
“al-Karak, often written KERAK muḥƒāfaẓah (governorate), Jordan, on the Wādī (watercourse) al-Karak,
10 mi (16 km) east of the Dead Sea. Built on a small, steep-walled mesa, about 3100 ft. (950 m) above sea
level, the town is the Kir-hareseth or Kir-heres [note the similarity to Greek Karax] of the Old Testament,
one of the capitals of ancient Moab. The ancient name means Wall of Potsherds in Hebrew, or City of
Potsherds in ancient Moabite; the modern Arabic form can be traced back through Greek charax
“palisade”, to the corresponding Hebrew word kir (modern transliteration qir), as found in the Bible.
. . . . The natural fortress has evidences of settlement throughout post-biblical times; in the 3rd
century AD [sic – should read 2 nd century] it was known as Characmoba to the classical geographer
Ptolemy. Subsequently settled by the Byzantines, who had a bishopric there, it is represented as a walled
city on the Ma’dabā mosaic map, the oldest map of the Holy Land and environs known (6 th century AD).”
NEB I, p. 248.
As it is very common to have more than one city or town with the same name (especially when that name means
something as common as “a fortified place”), it is surprising to find Leslie and Gardiner (1996), p. 198, remarking
that:
“Our WL passage links up Yü-lo with other satellite states, in particular putting it north-east of
Ssu-fu. The HHS passage has Yü-lo south-west of Ssu-pin, which in WL is south of the same mountain
(range) as Ssu-fu.
One must admit the possibility that there is a contradiction between the HHS and WL texts, though
we are reluctant to suggest that there are two distinct places called Yü-lo. Were we to do so, we might place
the earlier HHS Yü-lo towards Greece [sic], the later WL one in Mesopotamia.”
The fortified town of Karak is situated on a roughly triangular hill, about 900 metres along each side and protected
by deep ravines on all sides but one.
“In contrast to the Land of Edom, a broken mountain-range with lofty peaks, the land of Moab is a more or
less sustained plateau, Hebrew Ha-Mishôr, mainly of limestone, resting upon sandstone with outcrops of
basalt, and cut across from the desert, The Wilderness east of Moab, to the Dead Sea by several valleys,
shallow at their upper ends, deepening westward and with considerable plains, but less passable towards
their issue upon the sea. The border between the two Lands is the Wady Ḥesa-Ḳeraḥi. From this the Land of

Moab stretches north, divided by the valleys into four parts, which with their names are as follows:
1. Arḍ el-Kerak, the southernmost of the four, is also the largest, extending from Wady Ḥesa north
to Wady Mojib or Arnon. On the whole well-watered it is drained by wadies within itself as well as
by the Arnon affluent, Wady es-Sulṭani or Mkheres, which may be taken as its natural boundary on
the east. All travellers affirm the fertility, and signs of a large ancient population, both of which
somewhat revived after the Turkish Government was established in Kerak. The most important
ancient sites are Kerak and Rabba, Rabbath-Moab, Areopolis of the Greeks, which Musil takes to be
Ar Moab, a name sometimes applied to the whole district. . . . El-Kerak itself, Kerakka of the
Targums, Ptolemy’s Charakmoba, Mōbou Charax of Uranius, Krak or Crac of the Crusaders, stands
on one of the finest positions offered by nature to the military engineer. The town was entered by
zigzag tunnels under its walls, through which I found in 1904 recent breaches, and was told that the
chapel I sought in the Frankish citadel had ceased to exist. Probably el-Kerak is Kir-hareseth or Kir
of Moab of the time of the Hebrew kings and prophets. The name Harasha applies to a lower stretch
of Wady Kerak.”
Smith (1931), pp. 371-372.
“In Transjordan, where the Mādabā map unfortunately breaks off, there is still enough of the mosaic to see
that Characmoba, modern Karak, was given a splendid representation, second only to that of Jerusalem
itself, and perhaps equal originally to that accorded Ascalon and Pelusium. Characmoba became a major
Byzantine city, although it had also existed in the earlier period under Roman domination. But despite its
commanding location and its role as a local administrative centre, it had not been one of the principal cities
at that time. The absence of Characmoba on the Peutinger Table, by comparison with its prominent
appearance on the Mādabā map, is another very strong indication of the date of the information provided in
these two documents. In short, with the Mādabā map we have a picture of late antiquity that, where
comparison can be made, is utterly at variance with that of the Peutinger Table.” Bowersock (1996), p. 184.
“There are no other sites of interest on the road [south of the village of Rabbah] until the town of Karak is
reached; this is imposingly situated on an almost isolated hilltop, and commands a magnificent view in all
directions, especially towards the Dead Sea. Such a fine site must have been occupied since earliest times,
though there is no actual evidence of such until the Iron Age, about 1200 B.C. It is given various names in
the Old Testament – Kir Hareseth, Kir Heres, Kir of Moab – and was certainly one of the chief cities of the
kingdom of Moab, even perhaps the capital at some time. The chief Biblical reference to it occurs in II
Kings 3, when Mesha was king of Moab, Jehoram king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, about 850
B.C. . . . Most other Old Testament references are curses against the city by the prophet Isaiah. Very little
else is known of its history; in Byzantine times it was the seat of an archbishop, and contained a
much-venerated ‘church of Nazareth”. Its greatest prominence was during the Crusading period, when it
was called Crac des Moabites or Le Pierre du Desert, and was the capital of the province of Oultre
Jourdain. . . .
The present remains are all of the Crusading period and later..., the only material evidence of its
earlier occupation – apart from occasional sherds and other objects of the Iron Age turned up in the course
of road-making – being the rear half of a lion carved on a basalt slab, and a headless bust of the Nabataean
period. Both these pieces are built into later walls. In its Crusading plan the town was entered only by three
underground passages, one of which can be seen beside the present road just before it passes through a gab
in the walls to enter the town.” Harding (1960), pp. 109-110.
20.2. See note 19.3.
20.3. The Arnon or Wadi el-Mojib.
“The Arnon, the present Wady el-Mojib, is an enormous trench across the plateau of Moab. It is
about 1700 feet [518 m] deep, and two miles [3.2 km] broad from edge to edge of the cliffs which bound it,
but the floor of the valley down which the stream winds is only forty yards [36.6 m] wide. About fifteen
miles [24.1 km] up from the Dead Sea the trench divides into branches, one running north-east, the other
south-south-east, and each again dividing into two. The plateau up to the desert is thus cut not only across
but up and down, by deep ravines, and a difficult frontier is formed. You can see why the political
boundary of Eastern Palestine has generally lain here, and not farther south. The southern branch, the
present Seil Sa‘ideh, called also Safiah, is the principal, but all the branches probably carried the name

Arnon right into the desert.” Smith (1931), pp. 377-378.
“Soon after leaving Dhiban [travelling south to Karak], the river Arnon (the present name of which is Wadi
Mojib) is reached; both the descent and ascent are very steep and tortuous, and have given pause to many a
good motorist. But there is a regular bus service between Amman and Karak which does the crossing twice
a day without too much fuss; except, of course, when the river is in spate or a minor landslide carries away
a part of the road. The gorge itself is immensely impressive, being at this point some 4 kilometres wide at
the top and having a depth of nearly 400 metres. On the northern edge of the gorge, a few kilometres east of
the road, is a small site called Arair, which is the Biblical Aroer. Close by the point where the road crosses
the stream are the remains of a Roman bridge.” Harding (1960), p. 108.
Section 21 – The Kingdom of Siluo 斯羅 [Szu-lo] = Sura?
21.1. The character Si 斯 [Szu] – ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘completely’, ‘tear apart’ – is frequently used to transcribe ‘s-’
sounds in foreign words. K. 869a: *si̯ĕg / sie̯; EMC: siə̆/si.
The character luo 羅 [Lo] – ‘bird net’, ‘gauze’, ‘lace-like’ – K. 6a: *lâ / lâ. EMC: la – is commonly used to
transcribe ‘ra’ and ‘ar’ from Sanskrit and other languages.
Unfortunately, the Weilue gives no distances from Yuluo (Karak) to Siluo. It says that you go northeast from
Yuluo (Karak), and cross a river before reaching Siluo. After Siluo, you again cross a river to the northeast. If
Siluo does, indeed, refer to Sura, then the river mentioned after leaving would be the Euphrates, as I have indicated
in the text.
If my identification of Yuluo as Karak is correct, then it is most likely that Siluo refers to Sura, which is
roughly north-northeast of Karak, travelling via Palmyra. Sura was on the border of Roman and Parthian territory
and changed hands at least once.
The Weilue makes it explicit that Siluo was held by the Parthians at the time the information was gathered.
Although we know Sura most of the time functioned as a frontier-post for Roman Syria, no records tell how long it
was held by the Parthians. The most likely period would seem to be the period after Hadrian withdrew from
Trajan’s eastern conquests until Avidius Cassius’ retaking of Dura Europa, Sura, and surrounding regions in 164
CE, as Freya Stark describes:
“In the north, a Roman Syrian senator – soon to be in trouble – was made king of Armenia; and in the
south, Avidius Cassius, following in Trajan’s footsteps, conducted a brilliant campaign down the
Euphrates, rolling up the Parthian stations in his stride. The Parthians hurried back so as not to be cut off
west of the river, and were beaten at Dura and again at Sura on the river-bank. Seleucia opened its gates to
Cassius and Ctesiphon stood a siege, and both were equally destroyed. . . . The plague – endemic in
Baghdad in spring and autumn even in my day – increased until it broke the invasion: year after year it
carried desolation through the peoples of the Empire, and diminished their numbers, often piling up two
thousand dead in Rome in a day, altering the balance of the classes like the Black Death later in Europe,
and helping to bring the humiliores to the top. It was looked upon by many as a vengeance of the Gods for
Seleuceia – the bastion of Hellenism, a town at that time of three or four [hundred?] thousand inhabitants,
and founded by the friend of Alexander. It never recovered; Greek culture was almost extinguished east of
the Euphrates; ‘and it was probably now that the kings of Charax put Aramaic inscriptions on their coins’.”
Stark (1966), pp. 236-237.
“Sura on the Euphrates was not a metropolis like Dura, and graduated from food producer to garrison town
with the building of a paved road from Palmyra by Trajan’s father in the reign of Vespasian. Control
references are vague because it was not so much of a trophy as part of the garrison chain.” Information
kindly supplied by Samir Masri on 6 November 2003 to a question of mine posted on
Parthia-L@yahoogroups.com.
“The steppe descends gently on the approach to the Euphrates. A few kilometres to the north of Qaraqol
al-Ḥammâm, appears the important shelf of Surya, the ancient Sura, dominating the crossing of the river. . .
. Sura was the post of the Commandant (praefectus) of the Legio XVI a Flavia Firma in the Notitia
Dignitatum.
“Sura was for some centuries the frontier fortress (Grenzfestung) of the Roman Empire

against the Parthians ; nearby, at Callinicum, was the final garrison of Syrian territory. The town
lost some of its importance, when Diocletian, by the fortification of Circesium, advanced the
frontiers as far as middle Mesopotamia. Meanwhile Sura always remained, even during the
Byzantine period, an important strongpoint. During the Persian war, in 540, it was able to withstand
the first shock. After this war it was fitted with strong defences. (PROCOPIUS, De Aedificiis, II, 9,
p. 72). The present ruins, in their architecture, deviate a little from the later fortresses of Justinian on
the Euphrates. They probably go back to the period in question” (MORITZ, op. cit., p. 29).
The Peutinger Table marks this importance of Sura before Diocletian by this note inscribed before the
town, in the desert on the right bank of the Euphrates :
Finis exercitus syriatic(a)e (sic)
Et commertium Barbaros (= Babarorum).”
Poidebard (1934), pp. 83-84.
The Romans managed to hold the strongly fortified Dura-Europos (and, presumably other nearby posts
along the right bank of the Euphrates such as Sura), from the time they captured it from the Parthians in CE
164, until it was lost to the Sasanian Shapur I in 253.
Roman troops in the east (and, presumably, the Parthians as well) were badly weakened by a terrible
plague beginning in 164:
“Forty years later there followed the plague of Antoninus, sometimes known as the plague of the physician
Galen. The story is better documented than that of previous outbreaks. Disease started among the troops of
the co-emperor Lucius Verus on the eastern borders of the empire. It was confined to the east for the two
years 164-6 and caused great mortality among the legions under the command of Avidius Claudius, who
had been sent to repress a revolt in Syria. The plague accompanied this army homewards, spreading
throughout the countryside and reaching Rome in A.D. 166. It rapidly extended into all parts of the known
world, causing so many deaths that loads of corpses were carried away from Rome and other cities in carts
and wagons.
The plague of Antoninus or Galen, is notable because it caused the first crack in the Roman defence
lines. Until A.D. 161 the empire continually expanded and maintained its frontiers. In that year a Germanic
barbarian horde, the Marcomanni from Bohemia and the Quadi from Moravia, forced the north-eastern
barrier of Italy. Owing to the fear and disorganization produced by the plague, full-scale retaliation could
not be undertaken; not until A.D. 169 was the whole weight of Roman arms thrown against the
Marcomanni. Possibly the failure of this invasion was as much due to the legions carrying plague with them
as to their fighting prowess, for many Germans were found lying dead on the battlefield without sign of
wounding. The pestilence raged until A.D. 180; one of the last victims was the noblest of Roman emperors,
Marcus Aurelius. He died on the seventh day of his illness and is said to have refused to see his son at the
last, fearing lest he, too, should succumb. After A.D. 180 there came a short respite followed by a return in
189. The spread of this second epidemic seems to have been less wide, but mortality in Rome was ghastly;
as many as 2,000 sometimes died in a single day.
The name of the physician Galen is attached to the plague of A.D. 164-89 not only because he fled
from it, but because he left a description of the disease. Initial symptoms were high fever, inflammation of
the mouth and throat, parching thirst and diarrhoea. Galen described a skin eruption, appearing about the
ninth day, sometimes dry and sometimes pustular. He implies that many patients died before the eruption
appeared. There is some resemblance to the Athenian plague, but the undoubted Eastern origin and the
mention of pustules have led many historians to assert that this was the first instance of a smallpox
epidemic. One theory holds that the westward movement of the Huns started because of virulent smallpox
in Mongolia; the disease travelled with them, was communicated to the Germanic tribes upon whom the
Huns were pressing and, in turn, infected the Romans who were in contact with the Germans. Against this
theory must be set the fact that the later history of the Roman outbreak in no way resembles the later history
of European smallpox in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. But, as we shall see in some of the following
chapters, the first appearance of a disease often takes a form and a course which is quite different from that
of the disease once established.

After A.D. 189, plague is not again mentioned until the year 250. . . . ” Cartwright and Biddiss
(1972), pp. 12-14.
“Possibly even before the end of 164 Seleucia, a Greek city, surrendered voluntarily to the Romans, while
Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital was destroyed. But in the following year Seleucia too was sacked and burnt,
on the grounds that it had not fulfilled the conditions of the surrender. The Parthian expedition was
regarded as concluded in 165, the year of the two Emperors’ third salutation as imperator and of Lucius’s
assumption of the title Parthicus Maximus, which was also assumed by Marcus in 166.
With that, the whole war was virtually over, for the above-mentioned operations on the far side of the
northern Tigris, in Media, which went on until the beginning of 166 and gained the Augusti their fourth
salutation and the title of Medicus, were only the finishing touches to the great success. Peace was
concluded in the early months of 166; we don’t know if it was hastened by the appearance in the Roman
army of the plague, from which Avidius Cassius had already suffered losses at Seleucia and on the way
back from Babylon. . . . ” Garzetti (1976), p. 479.
“The eastern frontier that Trajan inherited, though neater than the confused patchwork of client states of the
Julio-Claudian era, was still highly unsatisfactory. From the ill-defined borders of the Nabataean client state
(east of Judea and south into northwest Arabia), the frontier cut across the desert by way of Damascus and
Palmyra to the Euphrates, probably reaching the river above Sura. From there it followed the river through
Zeugma to the north until its eastward turn into Armenia, then overland to the Black Sea, to a point east of
Trapezus (Trabzon).
In fact, as drawn on the map of the empire at the accession of Trajan, this frontier was scarcely
tenable. Largely as a result of the distribution of rainfall, Roman territory in the Levant was limited for all
practical purposes to a narrow strip almost five hundred miles long (from Petra to Zeugma), much of it less
than sixty miles wide. Though theoretically in Roman hands, the lands to the east of this fertile strip were
mostly desert, which required no security force for border defense against low-intensity threats (“point”
defenses would suffice) but which, on the other hand, could not support the substantial forces which would
be needed to meet any high-intensity threats. The Romans were in the uncomfortable position of holding a
long and narrow strip with the sea to the west and a vulnerable flank to the east. Opposite Antioch, the
greatest city of the region, the depth of territory controlled by Rome was scarcely more than a hundred
miles – not enough if Parthian armies were to be contained until forces more numerous and better than the
Syrian legions could arrive from Europe.” Luttwak (1976), pp. 107-108.
“The annexation of the major clients of Anatolia and Syria had substituted the presence of Roman legions
for the “leisurely processes of diplomacy” from the Black Sea to the Red. With the deployment of direct
military force where before there had been only a perception of Rome’s potential for ultimate victory, there
came the need to provide new administrative and communications infrastructures. Under the Flavians, a
network of highways was constructed in Anatolia; also, very likely, a frontier-delimiting road from Palmyra
to Sura on the Euphrates was built (under the supervision of Marcus Ulpius Traianus, father of the future
emperor). Behind the highways a chain of legionary bases spanned the entire sector, from Bostra in the new
province of Arabia, to Satala, only seventy miles south of the Black Sea.” Luttwak (1976), p. 113.
“There was also structural innovation in the opposite direction: the introduction of a new kind of
force, the numeri, commonly associated with Hadrian but possibly already in existence under Domitian.
The numeri are far less familiar to historians than either legions or the alae and cohorts. They can be
recognized primarily by the structure of their names: an ethnic designation followed in most cases by a
functional one. It is likely that the numeri were smaller units than the quingenary auxilia (300 men?), and
that as newly raised ethnic units they retained a pronounced national character, which most of the auxilia
had lost long before. It is recorded that they were allowed to retain their native war cries, and it is
sometimes said that their introduction was motivated by the need to renew the fighting spirit of the
now-staid auxilia. . . .
While it seems improbable that the Romans looked to the numeri to infuse the troops with barbarian
energy, mounted archery was very much an eastern specialty, and it is natural to find numeri of mounted
archers from Palmyra and Sura side by side with regular auxiliaries such as those of Ituraea. Mounted
missile troops were obviously suitable as border forces, since they could deal with elusive infiltrators and
skirmishers. . . .” Luttwak (1976), pp. 122, 123.
“There are limits even to the distances which a camel can go without water, and the essential preliminary to

the organization of the trans-Syrian desert routes was the provision of wells. Mention has already been
made of the Roman roads in Syria. Those that linked the Euphrates to the coast were strengthened with
forts and provided, at intervals of twenty-four miles, with wells. It was typical of the Roman thoroughness
that these should have been sunk with absolute regularity regardless of the depth which had to be dug
before water was found. To protect the caravans themselves the desert was patrolled by the Roman Camel
Corps, and in addition a regular convoy system was evolved. Strabo says that these huge trade columns,
trekking across the desert, sometimes two and three thousand camel strong, were like armies on the march.
Considerably more capital was needed to launch these great enterprises than the average merchant could
find, and it was provided by the Empire banking system in which the Syrians played a notable part. In the
coast towns bankers would guarantee a 50 per cent return on money invested in one of the
Mesopotamian-bound ventures. General political stability, local security, water and capital: Rome provided
them all and the fantastic florescence of the Syrian caravan trade became possible, indeed almost inevitable.
The focus of this trade, as everyone knows, was Palmyra. From the caravan city ran three major roads
eastward to the Euphrates: the northernmost to Raqqa [across the Euphrates from Sura], the next to
Circesium at the junction of the Euphrates and the Khabur, and the third to Hit. The last was the chief route
to Mesopotamia, and the care which the Romans lavished in wells and fortification on its two hundred and
ninety-five miles had preserved for it among the Arabs the name of Darb el Kufri, or Road of the
Unbelievers. Westward from Palmyra another group of roads led to Egypt via Bostra and Petra, and to the
coast via Damascus, Homs, or Hama. Palmyra was geographically the centre and key of Roman caravan
traffic, and it is to Palmyra that one must go to get a notion of the wealth and civilisation to which this
traffic gave birth.” Fedden (1955), pp. 81-82.
“The Roman limes on the Euphrates consisted merely of a number of strong points created at positions of
strategic importance. Such were Zeugma where the northerly traffic crossed the river; Sura near the ford at
Thapsacus; Callinicum which we know as Raqqa; Circesium at the junction of the Khabur and the
Euphrates (a transit point for Palmyra traffic); and lastly Dura Europos and Halebiya whose extensive ruins
are so well preserved.” Fedden (1955), p. 93.
Section 22 – The Far West
22.1. This passage does not make geographical sense, and certainly cannot be taken as indicating that the Chinese
thought that one could reach China by travelling west from Da Qin. It was, perhaps, caused by the joining of
information from two or more sources; or perhaps confusing real geographical information with fanciful Chinese
notions about the far west. It most likely resulted, as Pulleyblank expounds below, by the continual shifting to the
west of Chinese mythological concepts as their sphere of factual geographic information expanded in that
direction. The first clear geographical information is the reference further on to the Baiyu shan [Pai-yü shan] – see
note 22.3.
“A point that needs to be stressed is that the Chinese conception of Dà Qín was confused from the
outset with ancient mythological notions about the far west. In the same way that Dà Qín replaced Zhāng
Qiān’s Dà Xià as the “counter-China,” the Weak Water (ruò shuǐ 弱水) and the Queen Mother of the West
(Xī Wáng Mǔ 西王母), reported by hearsay as features of Tiáozhī in the Shǐji and Hànshū, were moved to
the western extremity of Dà Qín in later texts. Attempts to identify them with actual western places are
obviously futile.” Pulleyblank (1999), p. 78.
22.2. Chishui赤水 [Ch’ih shui] – literally the ‘Red River’ – possibly originally referring to the Kāshgar-daryā –
and then continually shifted westwards as Chinese geographical knowledge advanced.
The passage is so confused it is impossible to know where the original for this Chishui (‘Red River’) was
located. One possibility is the Kizil-su, which was called Chihe [Ch’ih ho] in a Tang itinerary. Both these names
also translate as ‘Red River.’ Stein (1928) Vol. II, p. 840, while discussing the Tang itinerary, says:
“Considering the general direction which the ancient route must have followed past Marāl-bāshi and the
isolated hills to the east of it, there seems to me to be little doubt that the Kāshgar-daryā is meant by the
‘Red River’. The identical name, in the form of Kizil-su is still borne nowadays by the main branch of the
Kāshgar river, which passes to the south of the ‘Old Town’ of Kāshgar and by the river as a whole higher
up.”
22.3. Baiyushan 白玉山 [Pai-yü shan], literally – ‘White Jade Mountains.’

Baiyushan, literally the ‘White Jade Mountains’, traditionally referred to the mountains just to the south of Khotan,
and are the earliest place given as the abode of the mythological Xi wangmu, (see note 22.4). It seems clear they
were continually moved to west to accommodate the legend of their association with the ‘Weak River’ and Xi
wangmu, as Chinese knowledge of the land to their west increased and no sign was found of either the ‘Weak
River’ or Xi wangmu.
22.4. The legends relating to Xi wangmu 西王母 [Hsi wang-mu], the so-called ‘Queen Mother of the West,’ (or
‘Spirit-Mother of the West’) appear by the 4th century BCE. She was considered to be the personal goddess of the
Emperor of China.
Although Xi wangmu has usually been translated as ‘Queen Mother of the West’ I prefer ‘Spirit-Mother of
the West’ as proposed by Paul Goldin recently. He has summed up the reasons for this choice of term neatly in the
brief abstract at the beginning of his paper:
“Xi wangmu, the famous Chinese divinity, is generally rendered in English as “Queen Mother of the
West.” This is misleading for two reasons. First, “Queen Mother” in normal English refers to the mother of
a king, and Xi wangmu’s name is usually not understood in that manner. More importantly, the term wang
in this context probably does not carry its basic meaning of “king, ruler.” Wangmu is a cultic term referring
specifically to the powerful spirit of a deceased paternal grandmother. So Xi wangmu probably means
“Spirit-Mother of the West.” This paper discusses occurrences of wang as “spirit” in ancient texts, and
concludes with a consideration of some etymological reasons as to why wang is sometimes used in this less
common sense.” Goldin (2002), p. 83.
22.5. Liusha 流沙 [Liu-sha], literally, ‘Shifting Sands’ or ‘Drifting Sands’, originally referred to the sands of the
Taklamakan which were notorious for sudden sandstorms which, at times, could bury whole caravans or even
towns, especially along the Southern Route.
“Stein speaks of “tame deserts”: those found in Arabia, America, and South Africa that are deserts in their
sense of solitude and emptiness, but “tame” because in them whole tribes can wander about for long
periods of time sure of finding water at least at certain regular seasons.” How different the true desert, “the
dune-covered Taklamakan and the wastes of hard salt crust or wind-eroded clay of the Lop desert which
stretch almost unbroken for a length of eight hundred miles from west to east. In them the absence of
moisture bans not only human existence but also practically all animal and plant life.”
. . . . Like ocean swells, the dunes move, the effect of northeast winds that rage over the desert much
of the year, that are also constantly abrading the soft clayey soil unless it is already covered by dunes or
anchored by desert tamarisks and poplars. At the ancient sites ruins of buildings or what were once
orchards and arbors often rise above the wind-eroded bare ground on island-like terraces: these preserve the
original level while around them the ground has been scooped out lower and lower.” Mirsky, (1977), p.
113.
Shiratori, (1956c), p. 135, n. 131, points out that the term Liusha first appears in the Book of Wukang in the
Shujing connected with the term Ruo Shui 弱水 [Jo-shui or, as Shiratori gives it, Jao-shui] “and since then it has
been almost the rule with Chinese writers to use the expression “Liu-sha and Jao-shui” when speaking indefinitely
of the remotest western world. In the case under review [in the Peishi and, by inference, in the Weilue], Liusha
must have referred to a particular desert region.
He refers to the testimony of the Weilue that the Middle Route swept around the northern head of the
much-feared Sanlungsha (‘Three Sand Ridges’) and the Longdui (‘Dragon Dunes’) on the Southern Route:
“It is these sandy deserts, which laid the most formidable obstacles before the traveller going through this
part of Asia, that answer best to Liu-sha, as mentioned in the Pêi-shih.”
The Zhoushu, zhuan 50, provides a graphic description of their terrors, and places them to the northwest of Qiemo
[situated on the east bank of the Charchan River, opposite the modern town of Charchan]:
“Northwest [of Qiemo = modern Charchan] there are shifting sands for many hundreds of li. On summer
days there is a hot wind which is disastrous for travelers. Only the old camels know that the wind is about
to strike; then, crying out and huddling together, they stand burying their mouths and noses in the sand.
Whenever this happens, the men recognize it as a sign, and themselves take felt and press it over their noses
and mouths to cover them up. This wind is swift, but after a while it is completely calm. Still, those who do

not take precautions are sure to come to grief and perish.” Miller (1959), pp. 8, and 24, n. 44.
22.6. Jiansha 堅沙 [Chien-sha], literally, ‘Stable Sands.’
Shiratori (1956d: 172) suggests that Jiansha was probably a transcription of Kešš. However, as this name is
unknown in other sources, and follows soon after Liusha or “Shifting Sands,” in the text, and, as the characters
literally mean, “Stable Sands,” I have left it in the literal form.
22.7. Shuyao 屬繇 [Shu-yao] = Sogdiana.
Shu 屬 K. 1224s * d̑i̯uk / źi̯wok; EMC: dʑuawk
yao 繇 K. 1144n *d’i̯og / i̯äu; EMC: jiaw
This is a well-known transcription of Sogdiana. Enoki agrees that Shuyao = Sogdiana but gives the ancient form of
the name as: *Zi w ok-iu. See: Enoki (1955), pp. 51-52; Shiratori (1956d), p. 172; Ts’en (1981), p. 586.
Sogdiana was centred in the Zerafshan (Zaravshan) and Kashka Daryâ valleys, including the important oases
cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, on the main trade route to Merv and beyond.
“The name of Soghdak or Sogdiana first appears in the Hou-han-shu, Bk. 118. It is transcribed Li-i, which
is to be read Su-i [the very similar characters su and li are commonly confused], *Si w ok-ick (*Si w ok-dck)
“Soghdak”. The passage runs as follows: “The country of Li-i belongs to K’ang-chü. Excellent horses,
cattle, grapes and many other kinds of fruit are produced there. Among other things the country is famous
for wine because of (its) water of superior quality.” The description could apply quite well to Sogdiana in
Central Asia, which has been famous for its beautiful water, wine, and splendid horses from ancient times
to the present. K’ang-chü is the present Kirghiz Steppe to the north of the Syr and must not be identified
with Sogdiana.” Enoki (1955), p. 51.
There is no evidence that the Kushans ever directly controlled Sogdiana (although they might have passed through
it at some point) but, as the Hou Hanshu makes clear, it was at times definitely controlled by the Kangju who
appear to have maintained friendly relations with the Kushans. This friendship was sealed by the marriage of a
Kangju princess to the Kushan Emperor in 84 CE. (See the biography of Ban Chao in Hou Hanshu, 77.6 b,
Chavannes (1906), p. 230; Zürcher (1968), p. 369.
“Still more definite evidence of the political independence of most parts of Transoxiana in the Kushān
period is provided by the independent local strikings found there. In most cases they go back, without
perceptible breaks, to those “barbarous imitations” which earlier (in the 2 nd and 1 st centuries B.C.) were
issued and circulated in the same regions. Apart from coins we have practically no sources from which to
reconstruct the internal political life of Transoxiana. . . .
In Samarkandian Sughd in the 1 st or 2 nd century A.D. there began the issuing of coins that showed,
on the reverse side, a standing archer. . . .
Since the archer coins bear no titles (if we do not include the Greek legend, rapidly subjected to
ornamentation), and one and the same legend remains on coins struck over a period of a hundred years and
more, it is clear that these coins did not bear the personal, nominal mark of the rulers of Samarkandian
Sughd between the 1 st and 2 nd centuries. . . . ” Zeimal (1983), pp. 250-251.
“It is difficult to understand the next step in the establishment of Sogdian communities in China [after the
first century BCE]. It seems that some of the ambassadors and their families settled in China, especially in
Gansu. Some late genealogies of Sogdian families in China seem at least to imply such a reconstruction.
We know on a firm textual basis that as early as 227 CE, In Liangzhou (Gansu), when a conquering army
was approaching from the South, “The various kings in Liangzhou dispatched twenty men including Zhi Fu
and Kang Zhi, the enobled leaders of the Yuezhi and he Kangju Hu, to receive the military commander, and
when the large army advanced north they competed to be the first to receive us” [Sanguo hi, 4, p. 895]. The
Hu from Kangju are the Sogdians, while the Yuezhi are the traders from Bactria and Gandhāra, the Kushan
Empire created by the Yuezhi tribes. The leaders of the biggest trading communities in Gansu were sent to
the invading army, and the Sogdians were already on a par with the greatest merchants of Antiquity, the
Kushan ones.” de la Vaissière (2003).

22.8. Heishui 黑水 [Hei shui], literally: ‘Black River.’ Heishui or ‘Black River’ is a common name. There are
several rivers in China and neighbouring countries with this name, including one near Osh in Ferghana also known
as Kara Su – which also translates as “Black River.”
Stein (1928), Vol. I, p. 457, notes that the Etsin-gol was known as Heishui, but I can find no mention of a
Heishui west of the countries named.
Section 23 – The ‘New Route of the North’.
23.1. This route must be distinguished from the “New Route” described in Section 4 which headed from Dunhuang
across the desert to Gaochang [Kao-ch’ang] = Turfan, and then along the southern slopes of the Tianshan
[T’ien-shan] Mountains, and rejoining the Central Route to Qiuci [Ch’iu-tz’u] = Kucha.
Unfortunately, the first part of the “New Route of the North” is not described in the Weilue. When political
conditions allowed, the preferred route was undoubtedly, then as now, from northern China via Hami directly to
the region of the Further Jushi [Chü-shih], near modern Guchen or Gu Chengzi [Ku Ch’eng-tze]:
“From Kuei-hua he [Younghusband in 1887] had followed the Small Road, carrying on past its coincidence
with the Great Road. Then striking off from the wells and springs fed by drainage from the Altai which
define the course of the Great Road, he crossed over by Ming Shui, rounding the eastern end of the Qarliq
Tagh, and reached Hami. This is a little-used variant from the established roads, but for the study of trade
routes it is of the first importance, because Hami is the most easterly point on the arterial cart roads of
Chinese Turkestan. Under the special conditions of the caravan trade, camel traffic usually overshoots
Hami, going on all the way to Ku Ch’eng-tze. This is partly because the pastures near Ku Ch’eng-tze are
more adequate to caravan needs, but still more because, transport being cheaper by camel than by cart, it is
to the advantage of merchants to have their goods carried as far as possible by caravan.” Lattimore (1929),
p. 250.
There is no mention in the Weilue of the important stages of Hami or the Barköl lake and valley, or the great camel
routes from northern China through to the region of Further Jushi to the north of Hami and Barkol. Presumably this
is because the Chinese had again lost control of Hami and Barköl to the Xiongnu soon after 150 CE – Chavannes
(1907), pp. 214-215. There is no record of them regaining control of Hami or Barköl before the fall of the Han
dynasty.
Undoubtedly the ‘New Route’ was developed so Turfan could be reached without having to travel through
Hami (see note 4.22). Presumably the ‘New Route of the North’ would have been accessed either through the
gorge to the north of Jijiaojing [Ch’i-chiao-ching – literally, the ‘Seven-Horned Well’], or via Turfan.
It is probable that, when the Chinese had control of Yiwu (Hami), the route headed through there, and then
north to Jijiaojing and through the narrow gorge across the Bogda Shan mountains to Dzungaria and the territory of
Further Jushi (south of Jimasa). Cable and French (1943), pp. 297-298.
From Jushi, the ‘New Route of the North’ went north of the Tianshan Mountains into the Ili Valley. From
here it split into two branches, one that ran via the northern shore of Lake Issyk Kol, and another that avoided the
lake, running to the north through the region of what is now Almaty (Alma Ata). Both these routes joined up again
near modern Bishkek (Frunze) and then headed around the north of the Aral and Caspian Seas to the Black Sea
where there was trade with Roman ports. Of course, this route had been well-known to nomadic groups and
merchants for centuries, and was only “new” to the Chinese:
“It is now ascertained that from the days of Herodotus and before, the Black Sea appears to have
communicated with the Altai steppes across the flat lands of Dzungaria. These lands, slowly desiccating but
geographically easy, where horse and horsemen were at home, are slowly opening out to the fascinated
eyes of the West. Their salty grasslands are excellent for sheep in the two per cent area of their oases, and
their climate, with the ups and downs of a few centuries, has not greatly varied; a route across them was
followed in the sixth century from the Crimea to China by the ambassador of the Byzantine Emperor Justin
II; and it must have been already known to a good many merchants from whom Ptolemy – about A.D. 150
– got his information, for he shows himself well at home in the geography of the Don and the Volga to
about 55 degrees North. The importance of Asia in his day may be gauged from the fact that only ten out of
his twenty-six maps deal with Europe, as against twelve for Asia and four for Africa; and he got much of
his vast information from these slowly accumulating reports of unrecorded travellers. Along the great
eastern trade routes the Parthian frontiers impeded Roman merchants, but the northern information seems to
have had the traditional itinerary of the steppes to rely on. ‘The itineraries consulted extended much farther

north than most commentators have supposed; no doubt they continued the ones traced across western
Scythia, the great Turkish-Siberian steppe.’ North of the Caspian, the route crossed a pass to Dzungaria and
made for Mongolia. The discoveries of the Tarim basin, says Berthelot, ‘have concentrated attention on the
high passes of the Karakorum, Pamirs, and Altai, but the far easier route of Dzungaria must have been the
more usual one in the age of Ptolemy as in that of the Milesians and Mongols’ before and after.
Two passes, Dzungaria and Ferghana, form corridors which connect the Asiatic and European
portions of the vast and gradually sand-invaded plain where the nomads, divided rather vaguely into
Massagetae, Dahae, Sacae, Scythians, lived a uniform life and spoke a more or less homogeneous Iranian
language under conditions that were much the same from the Don (Tanais) to the ice-preserved graves of
the Altai that have shown them as they lived. ‘Countless tribes of the Scythians extend over territories
which have no ascertained limit; a small part of whom live on grain. But the rest wander over vast deserts,
knowing neither plough time nor seed time; but living in cold and frost, and feeding like great beasts.’ So
wrote Ammianus Marcellinus in the fourth century A.D. Their carpeted tents lined with patterned rushes as
their Luristan descendants still weave them, their Chinese carts and mirrors, their gay and rich horse
trappings and clothes are there from the fifth century B.C. intact.” Stark (1968), pp. 195-196.
The Weilue mentions six small kingdoms which were dependencies of the King of Further Jushi. They apparently
formed an arc along the route north of the mountains towards the territory of the Wusun to the west, in the Ili
Valley. Chavannes (1905), p. 556, n. 5, very plausibly suggests that these vassal ‘kingdoms’ stretched from Lake
Barkol in the east to Lake Ebi Nor in the west.
The Weilue gives us almost no details on these small ‘kingdoms’ other than presenting them as dependencies
of the king of Further Jushi, seemingly listed in order from east to west, along the trade route.
The Hanshu gives us more information on these kingdoms (and a number of others in the region). “But, as
already observed by M. Chavannes, the bearings and distances there recorded are unfortunately too confused to
afford safe clues to the location of these territories.” Stein (1921), Vol. I, p. 542, n. 15.
This is presumably the result of measurements taken along differing routes by various people and also the
fact that that many of the ‘kingdoms’ were extremely small, some no more than hamlets, and were often tucked
away in valleys off the main routes, making it difficult to locate them precisely.
Although the Hou Hanshu only mentions Pulei, Eastern Jumi, and Posterior Jushi, I have found that the
distances given from them to the seat of the Zhangshi [Chang-shih], or ‘Adjutant General’, in Lukchun, appear to
be accurate, and are, therefore, of some help in confirming their locations.
Another clue is that, in the Han histories, some of the kingdoms are said to be west of, and others east of, the
‘Tianshan.’ Rafe de Crespigny suggests (1984), pp. 43, 465 n. 57, that, in Han times, the ‘Tianshan’ referred to the
Barköl Tagh (stretching east from Urumchi to near Hami), and not the massive range stretching to the west of
Urumchi now known as the Tianshan. Assuming this is correct, it allows us to check whether these kingdoms were
to the west or to the east of this range.
Eastern and Western Jumi [Chü-mi] – the Jiemi [Ch’ieh-mi] of the Weilue – and Beilu [Pei-lu] (= Bilu) are
said (in the Hanshu) to be east of the Tianshan, while Pulei [P’u-lei] (= Pulu) is said (in both the Hanshu and the
Hou Hanshu) to be west of it.
Fortunately, Chavannes and Stein have convincingly located the seat of the king of the Posterior Tribe of
Jushi, the most important of the kingdoms, just north of modern Jimasa. Their identification is confirmed by the
distance given in the Hou Hanshu between Lukchun and Posterior Jushi of 500 li (208 km). See TWR notes 1.21,
1.37, and Section 27.
“I may point out here that the direct tracks leading from Turfan to Guchen across the high, snowy portion
of the T’ien-shan intervening are open only for a part of the year, and, as my crossing in 1914 of the least
difficult of the passes, the Pa-no-p’a, showed, impractical at all times for any but the lightest transport.
Trade caravans and military convoys would at all times have to make a great detour either west (via
Urumchi) or east (via Ulan-su) in order to get round the Bogodo-ula range by a route practicable for camels
or carts.
This point has to be borne in mind when we compare the two routes referred to in the notice on the
Former Han Annals. The ‘new route of the north’ coming from the Shona-nōr must have crossed the
T’ien-shan by the easy and low saddle north of Ch’i-ku-ching over which the present Chinese cart-road
from Hami to Guchen and Urumchi passes.” Stein (1921), Vol. II, p. 706, n. 6.
“Another possible route..., went round Parthian territory on the other side, towards the north. Instead of
taking the regular route through the deserts of Sinkiang, Turkestan and Iran, a traveller could follow the
steppe belt through Siberia, north of the Aral and Caspian Seas, and so down to one of the

Roman-controlled ports on the Black Sea. This was apparently the route followed by Aristeas in his quest
for the Hypoboreans, and later by the anonymous people who supplied Ptolemy with his new information
about the Volga...; later still, it was the route followed by the Polo family on their visits to Kublai Khan.
But it was always hard going for anyone not used to the way of life of a nomad horseman. The more
southerly route, though steep and arid, did at least have permanent settlements along it, some of them very
large and beautiful, where travellers could recuperate after a long march; the northern route had none.
A still more serious objection to the northern route was that most of the time it must have been more
expensive, not less, than the southern one. No tribe, however primitive and disorganized, was likely to let a
valuable cargo pass through its territory without exacting a toll; and when the steppe-belt was divided
among a multitude of small tribes, as it often was, the cumulative effect of such tolls would have been more
than those of the larger states on the regular southern route. Thus we find all the longest commercial
journeys across the steppe being made when it happened to be dominated by a tribal group of exceptional
size and power – the Royal Scythians in Aristeas’ time, the Alans in Ptolemy’s, the Mongols in Marco
Polo’s. And in the fluid society of the nomads no such group could last for any length of time.” Sitwell
(1984), p. 189.
“Evidence for the trade route that in antiquity linked the northern Black Sea coast with Central Asia and
farther east, with China, or south with India, is provided by ancient writers and by archaeological material.
Central Asia has yielded finds of objects from the north Pontic areas, while Central Asiatic and Chinese
objects have come to light in the Black Sea region – fragments of a patterned silk fabric have been
discovered in the Crimea, in a Bosporan grave dated to the first century AD.
Among materials that indicate trade relations of the north Pontic centres with Central Asia, coin finds
are also listed. They include coins of Greek rulers of Bactria and their imitations found in the Black Sea
area, coins of Bosporan cities allegedly found at Dzungary (near lake Ebi-Nor, China) and Roman coins
found in areas north of the Amu-darya, in Uzbekistan and Tadzhikistan.
The discussion of numismatic finds, which have not yet been analysed, has led to an assessment of
the problems posed by the trade route that linked the Black Sea area with Central Asia and farther east, with
China. The route, defined as the northern Silk Route, ran through the northern Caucasus, across the Lower
Volga region and along the northern coast of the Caspian Sea to Central Asia.” Mielczarek (1997), p. 131.
“Beyond Pontus were three little kingdoms – Colchis, Iberia, and Albania – ‘free people without kings
living about the Araxes [Aras River]’, Plutarch describes them erroneously, for they had numerous kings.
They held the southern Caucasus, from whose uplands at least seven summits rise to over fifteen thousand
feet. The people in summer fasten to their feet ‘broad shoes made of raw ox-hide, like drums, and furnished
with spikes . . . and descend with their loads by sliding down upon skins’. Of the three passes, even when
Bryce travelled there some eighty years ago, only the Dariel had a road. On the south-west of this range the
Phasis [Rioni River], and on the east the Araxes [Aras River] and Cyrus [Kura River], linked the Black and
Caspian Seas by a four days’ journey with a paved road between them, the Phasis [Rioni] ‘made passable
by one hundred and twenty bridges . . . with a rough and violent stream’. At its estuary [at the port of Phasis
on the Black Sea] stood a statue of its god together with the legendary anchor of the Argo, and a fort with
walls and towers and four hundred men inside it: and in the mountains above, the Iberians lived ‘like the
Scythians and Sarmatians of whom they are both neighbours and kinsmen . . . and assemble many tens of
thousands, from them and from their own people, when anything alarming occurs’. Below the slopes on the
eastern side, the Albanian nomads who had been free throughout their history, simple people who could not
count up to a thousand, lived quietly on the Caspian plain, which was ‘better watered by its rivers and other
waters than the Babylonian and Egyptian and consequently keeps a grassy appearance always, and is good
for pasture’. Here the Albanian, or Derbend pass led northward by the shore. The only other passage is the
Dariel in the middle of the range, a gigantic crevasse within four thousand feet vertical walls, and both are
confusingly apt to be called the Caspian or the Caucasian Gates. Pompey, making for the more central pass,
attacked the Iberians. He left a garrison and advanced to the Cyrus [Kura], until the conquered Iberians
concluded a treaty. He was securing the gateway to Sarmatia.” Stark (1968), pp. 193-194.
Pliny, in his Natural History, Book VI, 17 (19) says:
“He (M. Varro) adds that under the direction of Pompey it was ascertained that it is seven days’ journey
from India to the river Iachrus, which flows into the Oxus, and that people have been conveyed from the
Oxus through the Caspian into the Cyrus, and that Indian merchandise can be brought by land to Phasis [on
the Black Sea] in Pontus in five days at most. 2 ”

2 Strabo (XI. vii. 3) writes to the same effect: ‘Aristobulus [who accompanied Alexander the Great] says that the Oxus is
easy to navigate (a circumstance which both he and Eraosthenes borrow from Patrokles), and that large quantities of
Indian merchandise are conveyed by it to the Hyrcanian [Caspian] Sea, and are thence transferred into Albania by the
Cyrus, and through the adjoining countries to the Euxine [Black Sea].’ From the Cyrus the merchandise was conveyed
in four days along a carriage road to the fortress of Sarapana, whence it was carried down the Phasis to the Euxine. See
Strabo, XI. Ii. 17. A passage to the same effect is quoted by Lassen from Fragm. Hist. Græc., ed. C. Muller, ii. 444. The
Iachrus is supposed to be the Bactrus, which from Bactra (Balkh) joins the Oxus. there may have been an error in the
transcription of the name.”
McGrindle (1901), p. 110, and n. 2.
“Chersonese, Tauric, in ancient geography, the Crimea and the city of Chersonesus (Heracleotic
Chersonese), located on the peninsula three mile west of modern Sevastopol. . . . Under the Roman
Empire, Chersonese was treated as a free city protected by the Bosporan client king; a Roman military
station guarded its considerable grain trade. The city continued to flourish in the 1 st and 2 nd centuries AD,
in the early Hellenistic Age, and again under the Byzantines.” NEB, Vol. II, p. 809.
The Weilue specifies that kingdoms stretching from Kangju west to the Alans/Yancai (Wuyi, Liu, Yan, and
Yancai), “all have the same customs as those of Kangju.” This is confirmed by what is known from archaeological
and classical sources, about an alliance of related tribes known as Sarmatians:
“The Sarmatians were a people who, during the 4 th century BC – 4th century AD occupied much of
southern European Russia and penetrated into the eastern Balkans beyond.
. . . . The earliest accounts of the Sarmatians are those of Herodotus and other Greek historians who
stated that the Sarmatians, or Sauromatians, were an association of tribes. As with the Scythians and the
Cimmerians before them, the most vital element in their political group came from central Asia. Its
members were of Iranian stock and language; their tongue closely resembled that of the Scythians
(Herodotus, Book IV, 117). Like the Scythians they were nomadic, excelling in horsemanship and
displaying the same skill in warfare. They also had a keen political sense and administrative ability and
followed their conquest of the western Eurasian plain by obtaining full political control over what is now
southern European Russia. In consequence their name acquired generic significance; it quickly came to
represent a large group of kindred and allied tribes that remained thenceforth attached to the smaller
Sarmatian core. The Alani and Roxolani were the most important of these secondary tribes, yet, even when
acting independently, all retained their place in the Sarmatian community. All of them accepted the culture
favoured by the Sarmatians, practicing and disseminating it with such vigour and enthusiasm that Sarmatian
taste and influence were felt even on the shores of the Black Sea and in the west.
. . . . In the last phase of their history, spanning the 2 nd to the 4 th centuries AD, the Sarmatians and
their Germanic allies entered Dacia (Romania) and began raiding the lower reaches of the Danube, but in
the 3 rd century the Gothic invasion put an end to their independence. Many Sarmatians nevertheless
retained their position and influence under the Goths; others joined them to sweep into western Europe,
fighting at their sides. Soon after AD370, however, waves of migrating Huns effectively ended the very
existence of Sarmatia; the majority of the Sarmatians who remained in southern Russia perished at the
hands of these Asian invaders. . . .
. . . . The Sarmatians were excellent craftsmen. Perhaps artistically less inventive than the Scythians,
they were nevertheless equally proficient metalworkers, better potters, and no less adept at curing hides;
they were thus able to maintain the important trade in furs, grain (levied from local settlers), honey, fish,
and metal that the Scythians had established with the Greek cities on the northern shores of the Black Sea.
The Sarmatians also developed commercial contact with the Syr-Darya region, the borderlands of China,
and the kingdom of Khwārezm (Chorasmia).” NEB, Vol. 16, pp. 249, 250.
23.2. The kingdom of Eastern Jumi 東且彌 [Chü-mi] – near modern Dashito [Ta-shih-t’o].
“Chü-mi 且彌 (according to Yen Shih-ku 且 has to be pronounced chü); GSR 46a and 369m : tsi̯o/tsi̯wo
(usually ts’i̯å/ ts’i̯a) - mi̯ăr/mjie̯. The Hsi-yü t’u-kao places both Eastern and Western Chü-mi in the area of
Hu-t’u-pi 呼圖壁 River, South of Manass. Matsuda (1956), p. 91-95, argues in favour of a location in the
Yulduz area.” CICA: 181, n. 608. [I have followed the advice of Yen Shih-ku that the name of this country should be
pronounced Chü-mi – Pinyin, Jumi, rather than Ch’ieh-mi – Pinyin, Qiemi. On the other hand, both of the locations given in this
quote appear very unlikely to me, as the Hanshu specifically notes that they were both east of the Tian or Bogodo mountains.

See note 23.1]
“At the conquest [in 60 BCE] of Ku-shih [the state] was not completely destroyed but was split between the
two kings of Nearer and Further Chü-shih and six other states north of the mountains.” Hanshu 96A in
CICA, pp. 76-77.
“As enumerated by Hsü Sung these six states were East and West Chü-mi..., Nearer and Further Pi-lu...,
and Nearer and Further P’u-lei..., but cf. Shimazaki (1969). . . . ” CICA, 79, n. 51
“The territories of Eastern Chü-mi and Western Chü-mi are the first to be named in the list [in the Weilue]
among those dependent upon Posterior Chü-shih through which ran the ‘new northern route’ after emerging
from the desert to the north-west of the Jade Gate barrier. I have shown in Serindia that this route between
the Jade Gate and Posterior Chü-shih, first opened in A. D. 2, must necessarily have crossed the T’ien-shan
by the easy saddle over which passes the present Chinese cart-road from Hāmi to Guchen, between the
stations of Ch’i-ku-ching and Ta-shih-t’o (Map No. 31. C. I. ; D. 2). Eastern Chü-mi, like the rest of the
small ‘kingdoms’ dependent on Posterior Chü-shih, must have lain on the northern side of the T’ien-shan.
Hence we can safely locate it in the valleys and plateaus to the west of the Barkul lake which are reached
across the saddle and which we crossed on our way from Barkul to Guchen , as seen in Maps Nos. 34. A. I ;
31. A-D. I.
I shall have occasion farther on to give a brief description of this region ; but I may at once observe
that its physical character entirely agrees with what the Hou Han shu tells us of the Eastern Chü-mi. The
territory is there said to include over three thousand households and some two thousand fighting men. Its
people are described as nomads living in huts and tents and leading a pastoral life, agriculture being
practised only to a small extent. The T’ien-shan sinks to a much lower elevation to the west of Barkul,
before it rises again to a crest line carrying permanent snow in that portion of the range which divides
Guchen from Turfān. Consequently there is less moisture to be found in the valleys west of Barkul until the
forest-clad slopes east of Mu-li-ho (Map No. 31. A. I) are reached. Yet grazing grounds are to be found in
most of this area, and also patches of cultivation, which gradually increase in size and importance as the
tract of Guchen is approached.” Stein (1928), Vol. I, pp. 542-543.
The Hou Hanshu says that Eastern Jumi is 800 li (333 km) east of Lukchun. This makes it 300 li (125 km) east of
Posterior Jushih (just north of Jimasa). Measured out on Stein’s maps (1928, Maps 28 and 31), and the U.S.
Defence Mapping Agency’s ONC, Sheet F-7, this brings one almost exactly to the modern village of Dashite
[Ta-shih-t’o], the first village reached after crossing the range from the south into the Dzungarian plain. (See note
13.1).
“At San-t’ang Hu we had joined the old Great Road, so that my camel man was at last in country known to
him ; but still, the last marches between us and Ku Ch’eng-tze [Guchen] were not to be lightly undertaken.
The end of the Great Road is, in reality, a choice of three routes : one going straight to Bar Köl and thence
by the Road Inside the Mountains, through hilly country, emerging by Mu-li Ho and Ta Shih-t’ou almost at
the gates of Ku Ch’eng-tze ; one following the outer edge of the mountains for a number of stages, before
entering them and joining the first ; and a third skirting the mountains all the way. The first two are better
than the open desert until the winter has fully set in, but once they are encumbered with snow the only safe
way is by the open desert, where in an ordinary winter snow lies neither long nor deep. This route is
reckoned at eleven or twelve stages, but owing to unusual snow we had in the end to keep still farther out
from the mountains, the distance, at my estimate, running to 230 miles.” Lattimore (1929), p. 314.
23.3. The kingdom of Western Jumi 西且彌 [Hsi Chü-mi] – near modern Mulei. The Hanshu (CICA: 181) states
that it was 1,487 li (619 km) southwest from Western Jumi to the seat of the Protector General and that it was
1,237 li (515 km) southwest from the capital of Further Jushi (ibid: 184), which we have located (see note 23.8)
close to modern Jimasa. It is probable that the distance from Western Jumi to the seat of the Protector General at
Wulei, west of Korla, would have been measured through the kingdom of Further Jushi. Therefore, if the
measurements can be trusted, Western Jumi would have been about 104 km east of Jimasa, placing it in the region
of the modern town of Mulei.
23.4. The kingdom of Danhuan 單桓 [Tan-huan]
“The seat of the king’s government is at the town of Tan-huan, and is distant from Ch’ang-an by 8870 li.
There are 27 households, 194 individuals with 45 persons able to bear arms. [There are the following

officials:] the noble of Fu-kuo (support of the state), the leader, the commandants of the left and the right,
and the interpreter-in-chief.” CICA, p. 180.
“The Hsi-yü t’u-k’ao places it in the area of Urumchi.” CICA: 180, n. 604.
23.5. The kingdom of Bilu 畢陸 [Pi-lu].
The Hanshu mentions both a Beilu [Pei-lu] and a ‘Further state of Beilu [Pei-lu]’:
“Pei-lu 卑陸 GSR 874a and 1032f : pi̯ěg / pjiě - li̯ok / li̯uk. The commentators are uncertain about the
location of this country and the seat of the king. Chavannes (1905), p. 557, note 2, merely notes that the
Wei-lüeh writes Pi 畢 lu. Matsuda (1956), p. 116, locates it at Tzu-ni-ch’üan 紫泥泉 or Pai-yang i 白楊
驛.” CICA:, p. 179, n. 596
23.6. The kingdom of Pulu 蒲陸 [P’u-lu].
“It is probable that Pulu is here the equivalent of Pulei 蒲類. But Pulei is the name of Lake Barkol and,
consequently, the kingdom of Pulei would have to be at the head of the list seeing as it follows a regular
progression from the east to the west. The solution of the difficulty appears to me to be supplied by the Hou
Hanshu (chap. CXVIII, p. 8 a)[T.P. 8, pp. 209-210]. Indeed this book informs us that the chief of the
Xiongnu, having been displeased by the king of Pulei, transported the people of Pulei, numbering more
than 6,000, en masse to the region of Ao 阿惡, which was more than 90 days’ journey by horse to the north
of the posterior court of Jushih (Jimasa near Gutchen). Some of the most pitiful of those who had been
displaced in this way managed to escape and took refuge in the mountain gorges where they founded a new
kingdom which kept the name of Pulei. As for the territory of the ancient kingdom of Pulei near Lake
Barkol, it was occupied, according to the Hou Hanshu, by the kingdom of Yizhi 移支. These events took
place during the Former Han and it is this, no doubt, that explains why the Hanshu, as well as the Hou
Hanshu place the kingdom of Pulei to the west of the Tianshan, that is, in the region of Urumchi and
Manass. This being the true position of the new kingdom of Pulei, one will naturally find that it occupies
the last place but one in the enumeration of the Weilue.” Translated from: Chavannes (1905): 557, n. 3.
“The name P’u-lei 蒲類 given to the fifth of the ‘kingdoms’ is undoubtedly that borne by the Barkul
lake. But the account given by the Hou Han shu of this territory makes it equally certain, as already pointed
out by M. Chavannes, that it must have been situated in a valley of the T’ien-shan much further away to the
west, probably well beyond the present Urumchi. M. Chavannes has also indicated, in the same passage of
the Hou Han shu, what is a most likely explanation of this transference of the name P’u-lei. It records that,
at a period when the ‘Western Countries’ were controlled by the Hsiung-nu, the king of P’u-lei had
offended the ‘Shan-yü’ 單于 or supreme chief of the Huns. The angry Shan-yü thereupon departed more
than six thousand people of P’u-lei to a territory known as A-o 阿惡 situated at a distance of ninety
marches from Posterior Chü-shih on the extreme right or western flank of the Hsiung-nu. But some of the
exiled people ‘in their wretchedness escaped thence to this mountain gorge and settling there founded a
kingdom’.” Stein (1928), Vol. I, p. 542.
The Hou Hanshu notes that Pulei is “west of the Tianshan” [= the Bogda Tagh mountains], and says it is 1,387 li
(577 km) northwest of the seat of the Zhangshi [Adjutant General] at Lukchun, see Chavannes (1907), p. 209.
Measured on modern maps, this places it past modern Wusu to the southeast of Lake Ebi-nor, probably near
modern Shaquanzi.
23.7. The kingdom of Wutan 烏貪 [Wu-t’an].
Wutan is called 烏貪資離 Wutanzili [Wu-t’an-tzu-li] in the Hanshu and is said to adjoin “Danhuan on the
east, Jumi on the south and Wusun on the west” CICA, p. 179. The seat of government “is at the Yulou 于婁
valley”. It is not mentioned at all in the Hou Hanshu.
Wutan is not only said to adjoin the Wusun on its west. It also comes last in the east-to-west listing of the
dependencies of Nearer Jushih in the Weilue. This strongly suggests that it should be looked for in the area
southeast of Lake Ebi-nör, before the main route crosses the via Lake Sairam and the Talki Pass into Wusun
territory in the Ili River valley.
This would put it in the region of modern Jinghe [Ching-ho], or even further east near Wutai [Wu-t’ai], at the
foot of the main route through the mountains. Unfortunately, there are no useful distances to work from (the
Hanshu only gives a distance from Changan) and there are a couple of puzzles remaining with the rest of the

information given.
The Jumi mentioned as south of Wutan cannot refer to the kingdoms of Eastern and Western Jumi, which
has already been located hundreds of kilometres to the southeast (see notes 23.2 and 23.3). I have been unable to
find any other references to this Jumi.
It is also said to adjoin Danhuan to the east, but the Weilue gives both Bilu and Pulu between Danhuan and
Wutan. Note that the population of Wutan had shrunk to only 231 individuals by the time the notice on the
‘kingdom’ in the Hanshu was written (see CICA, p. 179).
“In the time of emperor Yüan [49-33 BC] the additional post of the Wu and Chi colonel was established to
set up agricultural colonies at the royal court of Nearer Chü-shih. At this time Tzu-li-chih, king of P’u-lei
[Barkol] to the east of the Hsiung-nu, led more than 1700 of his people to submit to the protector general.
The protector general separated the western part of [the land of] the king of further Chü-shih to become the
territory of Wu-t’an-tzu-li, in order to settle them there.” CICA, p. 79.
“This kingdom is called Wutanzili 烏貪資離 in the Qian Hanshu (chap. CXVIII, p. 1 a) [see Chavannes
(1907), p. 156]. According to the Hanshu, this kingdom bordered on 單桓 Danhuan to the east, Jumi 且彌
to the south, and the Wusun 烏孫 to the west. This last piece of information is valuable for it shows us that
the kingdom of Wutanzili was indeed the westernmost of the kingdoms situated along the route which
passed to the north of the Tianshan, as the Weilue has already led us to believe.
The Hsi yü t’ung wen chih (chap. 1, p. 6 a) identifies this country with the place called Teneger
today. According to the map of the district of Urumchi in the Xinjiangshi lue [Hsin chiang shih lüeh],
Teneger is the name of the river which passes by the sub-prefecture of Fukang 阜康 [Fu-k’ang], to the east
of Urumchi. It is, therefore, probable that Teneger is the indigenous name of the town which the Chinese
have baptised Foukang. However, the identifications of the Xiyu tungwenji[Hsi yü t’ung wen chih] appear
very carelessly made and, as far as I am concerned, I consider that Wutanzili must have been situated
further to the west, between Manass and Ebi Nor.” Translated from Chavannes, (1905), p. 557, n. 4.
“The Hsi-yü t’u-k’ao identifies it with modern Sui-lai 綏來, i.e. Manass, but Chavannes (1905), p. 557,
note 4, believes it was situated between Manass and the Ebi-nor.” CICA: 179, n. 592.
23.8. The king has his capital in the city of 于(於)賴城 Yulai [Yü-lai]. The 1975 China Library Edition of the
Sanguozhi, which I have used as the basis of my translation, gives 于賴 Yulai as the name of this town whereas the
edition M. Chavannes used it seems to have been written 於賴 – see Chavannes (1905), p. 558.
“Both the Qian Hanshu and the Hou Hanshu say that the capital of the Further Jushi was in the valley of
Wutu 務塗谷. Perhaps Yulai was the name of the town situated in this valley.” Translated from: Chavannes
(1905), p. 558, n. 2.
23.9. wei shizhong 守魏侍中 – ‘Probationary Wei Palace Attendant’.
“shóu 守 (1) HAN-SUNG: Probationary, prefix to a title during the appointee’s first year in service, only
after which he was normally entitled to substantive (shih, chen) status and full salary. . . . + 魏 Wei – one of
the Three Kingdoms (220-265) + Hucker (1985), p. 431, No. 5355. shih-chūng 侍中 Lit., serving in the
palace. (1) HAN–N-S DIV: Palace Attendant, supplementary title (chia-kuan) awarded to officials of the
central government chosen by the Emperor as his confidential advisers, led by one among them known as
Supervisor of the Palace Attendants (shih-chung p’u-yeh); from Later Han on, regular officials ranked at
2,000 then = 2,000 bushels, headed by one of them designated as Chancellor of the Palace Attendants
(shih-chung chi-chiu), all on the staff of the Chamberlain for the Palace Revenues (shao-fu). In the era of
N-S Division sometimes served as officers of the Imperial Bodyguard (san-lang nei-shih) under 4 Directors
of Palace Attendants (nei-shih chang), but steadily gained status as 4, 5, or 6 autonomous counsellors at
court associated with the emerging Chancellery (men-hsia sheng) and known colloquially as Junior Grand
Councilors (hsiao tsai-hsiang). . . .” From: Hucker (1985), p. 423, No. 5229.
23.10. 大都尉 (da duwei) ‘Great Defender of the Wei’. From: 大 da + Hucker (1985), p. 545:
“No. 7326 tū-wèi 都尉 (1) Commandant or Commander-in-chief: throughout history a common military
title, in later dynasties used mostly for merit titles (hsün); in all cases, specific identification is possible
only by taking note of prefixes. . . . (2) HAN: Defender, rank 2,000 bushels, head of military forces in a
Commandery (chün) a Region (chou), or a Dependent State (shu-kuo). . . .”

Although this refers to the Wei Dynasty which immediately followed the Han, the meaning of the title appears to
fit the latter description best.
23.11. 印魏王 (yin weiwang) ‘Seal of King (appointed by the) Wei. From: Hucker (1985), p. 581, No. “7968 yìn
印 Seal, an official’s formal emblem of authority; its size, shape, and inscription varied according to the rank
status of the office. . . .” + weiwang. This title was bestowed on king Yiduoza 壹多雜.
23.12. The “New Route of the North” turns northwest to reach 烏孫 Wusun (Issyk-kul and the upper courses of the
Ili, Naryn and Chu rivers in Semirechiye).
“In the Tien Shan region the Wu-sun were the first tribal group about which substantial evidence is
available. The Chinese sources refer to the Wu-sun or nomad state. The Wu-sun were bounded by the
Hsiung-nu to the east, by the settled peoples of East Turkestan to the south, by Ta-yüan (Ferghana) to the
south-west and by K’ang-chü to the west. Their federation included locally conquered Saka tribesmen, as
well as some Yüeh-chih. The question of the ethnic origin of the Wu-sun themselves remains debatable,
and contradictory hypotheses have been advanced. The one thing that is clear is that the majority of the
population consisted of linguistically Iranian Saka tribes.
The administrative and political centre of the Wu-sun state was the walled city of Ch’ih-ku, ‘the City
of the Red Valley’, situated in the basin of the Issik-köl. Lying on one of the branches of the Silk Route, it
was also an important trade centre, but its exact location has not yet been established. The principal activity
of the Wu-sun was cattle-raising. They freely wandered with their livestock seeking pasture and water, but
the geographical conditions in Semirechye and T’ien Shan did not allow constant wandering, and the
economy of the Wu-sun remained semi-nomadic, with the population moving from one climatic zone to
another with each change of season. They combined cattle-breeding with agriculture as is evident from
archaeological finds in the Chu valley, the Issik-köl basin and in eastern Semirechye. . . .
Little is known of the Wu-sun during the early centuries of the Christian era. Under pressure from the
Ju-jan, a new group of nomadic tribes from Central Asia, the Wu-sun were obliged to abandon Semirechye
and seek refuge in the T’ien Shan mountains. The last reference to the Wu-sun in the historical sources is in
A.D. 436, when a Chinese diplomatic mission was dispatched to their country and the Wu-sun reciprocated.
It is probable that by the middle of the fifth century A.D., the Wu-sun, with other neighbouring peoples,
had succumbed to the Hephthalites.” Zadneprovskiy (1994), pp. 459-460, 461.
Most scholars place the Wusun capital somewhere in the region of Issyk-köl, usually in the region of the modern
town of Karaköl (formerly, Przhevalsk), in the fertile flatlands at the eastern end of the lake. See CICA, p. 143, n.
376 for a discussion of previous attempts to locate the Wusun capital.
I believe that it is now possible to locate the ancient capital of the Wusun with more accuracy and certainty.
The Hanshu 96B (CICA, p. 143) says that the seat of the Wusuns’ foremost leader, the “Greater Kunmi,” was “at
the walled town of 赤谷 Chigu” [literally, ‘Red Valley’]. In the Tang shu, chap. XLIII, b, p. 14 a – see Chavannes
(1900), p. 9 – it is called 頓多城 – the town of Dunduo [Tun-to], “which is none other than the walled town of
Chishan 赤山 [literally, ‘Red Mountain’], capital of the Wusun 烏孫.”
There is, in fact, a very dramatic and famous red-coloured valley and mountain not far west of the present
town of Karaköl:
“About 25 km west of Karakol, at the mouth of the Jeti-Öghüz canyon is an extraordinary formation of red
sandstone cliffs that has become a kind of tourism trademark for Lake Issyk-Kul.
A village of the same name is just off the main around-the-lake road. Beyond it the earth erupts in red
patches, and soon there appears a great splintered hill called Razbitoye Serdtse or Broken Heart. (Legend
says two suitors spilled their blood in a fight for a beautiful woman; both died, and this rock is her broken
heart.)
Beyond this on the west side of the road is the massive wall of Jeti-Öghüz. The name means Seven
Bulls, and of course there is a story here too – of seven calves growing big and strong in the valley’s rich
pastures. Erosion has meant that the bulls have multiplied. They are best viewed from a ridge to the east
above the road. From that same ridge you can look east into Ushchelie Drakanov, the Valley of Dragons.”
King, et al. (1996), p. 392.
As there are no other comparable red-coloured formations around Issyk-köl, it seems very likely that Jeti-Öghüz is
identical to the ‘Red Valley’ and ‘Red Mountain’ of the early Chinese accounts. This is confirmed by the distances
contained in the Hanshu between Chigu and the town of Wensu, to the south of the mountains.

There are also accounts from the Tang period of the route to Issyk-köl from the south. The distances given in
the itinerary in the Tang shu are clearly far too short – see: Chavannes (1900), p. 9. Xuanxang’s [Hsüan Tsang]
account is, unfortunately, too vague to be of much help. He describes the route as being “over 400 li”, and the Life
says it took seven days to cross the mountains to Issyk-köl. Beal (1884), p. 25, and nn. 76-80; Beal (1911), p. 41;
Watters (1904-05), pp. 66-70.
Wensu, was located in the in the valley of the Dashigan He [Ta-shih-kan Ho, also known as the Taushkan
Darya], and is usually identified with the region of modern Wushi (Uch Turfan or Urqtur pan), about 85 km west
of Aksu. The usual route to Issyk-köl departed from the region of Uch Turfan and crossed over the relatively low
(c. 14,000 ft) Bedel Pass. This was the route Xuanxang describes – Stein (1923), Vol. III, p. 1300, n. 1. During the
Tang:
“The Bedel Pass was the border between Turkish and Chinese territory, it is on the ridge of the watershed,
some (rivers) flow to the south into China, the others to the north, into Turkish country. . . . ” Translated
from Chavannes (1900), p. 143, n. 2.
The Hanshu (CICA, p. 162) gives the distance from Wensu to Chigu as 610 li or 254 km. Measuring carefully, I
estimate 255 km for the current route, from Jeti-Öghüz, west along the southern bank of Issyk-köl to Barskoön,
south to Karasay (77 0 53’ E, 41 0 32’ N), then west, and south over the Bedel Pass to the village of O-t’o-le (78 0
44’ E, 41 0 9’ N), about 40 km to the west of Wushi, further up the valley of the Aksay River (T’o-shi-kan Ho).
(See: U.S. Defence Mapping Agency Aerospace Center map ONC6, Sheet F6, scale 1: 1,000,000, revised Feb.
1981). This is remarkably close to the 610 li or 254 km given in the Hanshu (see above).
The itinerary in the Tang shu – Chavannes (1900), p. 9, n. – indicates that the route, at that time, after
crossing the Bedel Pass and the Terskey Alatau mountains to the north of it, headed down towards Issyk-köl
through the Jeti-Öghüz valley:
“50 li further on [after crossing the mountains], one arrives at the town of Dunde, which is the same as the
town of Chishan (“Red Mountain”), capital of the Wusun.” Translated from Chavannes (1900), p. 9 n.
As Chavannes notes, the capital of the Wusun, the town of Chishan (“Red Mountain”), is undoubtedly the same
place as the Chigu (“Red Valley”) in the Qian Hanshu (and the Weilue). See also the discussions in Stein (1923),
Vol. III, pp. 1300-1301, and n. 26; Minorsky (1937), pp. 293-297, notes 13-15.
“Mr. Schuyler gives a good account of the lake and come to a different conclusion [than that the level of
Issyk Kul had recently subsided]. He writes : “Lake Issik-Kul, which is a large body of water, 120 miles
long by 33 wide, has at present no outlet. Its shores, however, afford indubitable evidence of numerous
elevations and depressions.” He admits that “at one time” the water may have reached the bases of the
mountains 100 feet above its present level, but adds (in another place): “the fact that ruins are visible under
the water would seem to show either a subsidence of the soil, or that the lake is higher than it once was.”
He relates that “diamond-shaped tiles, some plain red, others covered with a blue glaze, have been obtained
partly from the lake and partly from ruins, ploughed up by the peasants. At a place on the northern shore of
the lake called Koroi-Saroi, and in two places at the eastern end, remains of submerged cities are still to be
seen a few feet under water. Many objects have been found here, some thrown up by the waves and others
fished out of the water, chiefly broken pottery and pieces of metallic vessels.” He mentions the discovery of
two ornamented copper kettles, a lamp bearing an inscription in an unknown alphabet, etc. and continues :
“These ruins have never been carefully investigated, but in 1869 General Kolpakofsky examined some of
them, and says that between the mouths of the streams 2 nd and 3 rd Koi-Se, at seven feet from the shore and
at a depth of three feet, there are visible traces of brick walls which go parallel to each other at a distance of
a few feet until the depth of the lake prevents their being seen. He also saw a large stone, on which was
carved the representation of a human face, and which he succeeded in getting out of the water. Subsequent
observers, who had succeeded in rigging out a boat, assured me that especially near the river Tub, on a
clear day, they could see the remains of buildings.”
Issigh-Kul means warm lake, and it is the equivalent of the Chinese Jhe-hai. Other Chinese names
are Yen-hai, salt lake (for the water is brackish), and Tsing-hai, or clear lake. By the Kirghiz it is sometimes
called Tuz-Kul, meaning ‘salt lake,’ and by the Kálmáks Timurtu Nor or ‘iron lake,’ on account of the
ferruginous sand found on its shores. Schuyler remarks that old Chinese maps place the city of Chi-gu on
the shores of Issigh-Kul, while the Catalan map of 1375 (as noted already) marks on the southern shore, a
Nestorian monastery containing the bones of St. Matthew. . . .” Elias (1895), Part I, Chap. XXXIX, p. 78, n.

1.
“. . . the upper Ailah, which may also be read Ilah, and is the river nowadays called the “Ili,” which passes
by Kula and flows into the Balkásh Lake. “Ili” is the Chinese pronunciation, while the Turki-speaking
people of the present day call it “Ila.” Elias (1895), p. 66, n. 2.
“To the Turks the area to the south and east of Lake Balkhash was known as the Yeti Su (Land of the Seven
Rivers), and from this is derived the Russian name of Semerechiye.” NEB 18, p. 792b.
Semerechiye includes the important basin of the Ili River, the southern part of which, together with the lands
surrounding (Lake) Issyk Kul to the south, formed the homeland of the Wusun during the period described by the
Weilue.
23.13. Kangju 康居 [K’ang-chü] = Tashkent and the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes (Syr Darya) basins. There has
been confusion in the literature over the extent of Kangju’s territories during the Kushan period, and it is difficult
to determine exactly. The character jū means ‘residence,’ ‘settled part of the country;’ so Kangju can be translated
as either: ‘the territory of Kang,’ or ‘the territory of the Kang (people).’
“The most extensive and stable state in the west of this region was K’ang (the ancient Kangha in the Avesta
or K’ang-chü in the Chinese chronicles). Some scholars believe that the K’ang-chü state was centred on
oases situated between the upper and lower reaches of the River Syr Darya (Jaxartes), known in ancient
times as the River Kanga. During the early period, the power of the rulers of K’ang-chü extended to the
territories of Transoxiana and the valley of the River Zerafshan, while in the north were vassal states, the
largest of which was Yen-ts’ai. According to the Chinese chronicles, by the second century it had been
renamed Alania and was dependent on K’ang-chü. Alania was situated between the Caspian and the Aral
Sea. . . .
In K’ang-chü itself, which lay north-west of Ta-yüan (Ferghana), although there were many
semi-nomadic herdsmen, most of the Iranian-speaking population were reported to be farmers and
craftsmen. The inhabitants of the region were said to lead a settled life, have towns, cultivate the land and
breed livestock. Originally all the territories were dependent on the great Hsiung-nu power. The sources
mention that in the first century B.C. dissent among the Hsiung-nu leaders weakened their power and
Chih-chih (56–36 B.C.), a rebellious shan-yü (ruler) of the Hsiung-nu, sought refuge for a short time in
K’ang-chü and was killed there. K’ang-chü is still mentioned in fifth-century sources, but in the sixth
century instead of K’ang-chü we find five principalities which, as the chronicles stress, were situated in the
‘former territories of K’ang-chü’.” Kyzlasov (1996), pp. 315-316.
As Mark Passehl kindly pointed out in an email (7 th July, 2003), Kangju territory was described as “small” at the
time of Zhang Qian’s visit c. 129 BCE:
“… probably concentrated around the Tashkent oasis as you say. They probably had no common frontier
with the Wusun until a bit later when Kangju land became the name of a much larger and more powerful
federation which seems to have included a great slab of the Massagetans dispersed west and south by the
westward migrations forced by the Xiongnu victories and expansion, as also probably most of the nomad
inhabitants of Kazakhstan displaced westwards at the same time.”
The Shiji, chap. 123 says:
“K’ang-chü is situated two thousand li northwest of Ta-yüan. Its people likewise are nomads and resemble
the Yüeh-chih in their customs. They have eighty or ninety thousand skilled archer fighters. The country is
small and borders Ta-yüan. It acknowledges nominal sovereignty to the Yüeh-chih people in the south and
the Hsiung-nu in the east.” Watson (1961), p. 267.
There was a considerable expansion of Kangju territory and population after the time of Zhang Qian’s visit to the
region. The Hanshu records that were 120,000 households, 600,000 individuals and 120,000 men able to bear arms
(CICA, p. 126). This represents an increase of their fighting force by at least a third. By this time their territory had
also increased:
“1. In the Hanshu, Ch. 96 A, it is recorded that “[Wusun adjoins] Dayuan in the west. In the same book, ch.
70, it is also recorded:

Zhizhi 郅支, the Chanyu 單于 of the Xiongnu 匈奴, turned west and went to Kangju, and
borrowed troops from Kangju. With troops [given by Kangju], he attacked Wusun many times and
penetrated as far as the town of Chigu 赤谷, he slaughtered and plundered the people and seized
their domestic animals. The Wusun dared not pursue him. The west of [the state of Wusun] was
then weakly defended, an uninhabited area extending for 1000 li.
This shows that the town of Chigu, the seat of the royal government of Wusun, which was situated in the
upper reaches of the Naryn River, was about 1,000 li [416 km] from the western boundary of the state.
Therefore, the natural boundary between Dayuan and Wusun may have been the Kagart Mountain and
Yassi Mountain.
2. In the Hanshu, Ch. 96A, it is recorded that “[Dayuan adjoins] Kangju in the north.” Since the
metropolitan territory of Kangju lay on the northern bank of the Syr Darya and its eastern boundary
extended as far as the east of the Talas River, the natural boundary between Dayuan and Kangju may have
been Chatkal-tau and Urtak-tau.” Yu (1998), p. 67.
In general, I agree with Yu’s analysis here although I have been unable to locate the “Kagart Mountain and Yassi
Mountain” he mentions. The Chaktal and Urtak-tau ranges, on the other hand, look like logical boundaries:
“From the middle of the Alexander range [now referred to as the Kirghiz Range], in about 74 o E., a
chain known as the Talas-tau breaks away from its south flank in a W.S.W. direction, and from near the
western extremity of this latter two parallel ranges, the Chotkal or Chaktal (14,000 ft.)[ 4,267 m], and the
Alatau, break away in a south-westerly direction, and running parallel to one another and to the river
Naryn, or upper Syr-darya, terminate at right angles to the middle Syr-darya, after it has made its sweeping
turn to the north-west. The Talas-tau, sometimes known as the Urtak-tau, while the name of Ala-tao is also
extended to cover it, has an average elevation of 14,000-15,000 ft. [4,267-4,572 m], but lifts its
snow-capped summits to 15,750 ft. [4,801 m]; it is crossed by passes at 8,000-10,650 ft. [2,438-3,246 m].”
From the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911 edition), downloaded from:
http://17.1911encyclopedia.org/T/TIARA.htm on 27 April 2003.
I assume that the “uninhabited area extending for 1000 li [416 km],” threatened by the Xiongnu and their Kangju
allies, refers to that stretch of the important northern route between modern Tokmak (to the northwest of Issyk-kul)
as far west as the region of modern Taraz (Dzhambul), to the north of the Kirghiz Range. This would have allowed
the Xiongnu and Kangju to bypass the Wusun and control the far northern route, until the Han defeated Zhizhi in
36 BCE. These events are described in Hanshu 96A:
“In the east [the inhabitants] were constrained to serve the Hsiung-nu. In the time of Emperor Hsüan,
the Hsiung-nu became ill-disciplined and disordered, with five Shan-yü contending for power
simultaneously. Han supported the Shan-yü Hu-han-yeh and had him established; so the Shan-yü Chih-chih,
felt offended and put the Han envoys to death and blocked the way west to K’ang-chü. Later the
protector-general Kan Yen-shou and deputy colonel Ch’en T’ang brought out troops of the Wu and Chi
colonel and of the various states of the Western Regions. On reaching K’ang-chü he punished the Shan-yü
Chih-chih and exterminated [his line], as is described in the biography of Kan Yen-shou and Ch’en T’ang.
These events occurred in the third year of the reign-period Chien-chao of Emperor Yüan [36 B.C.].” CICA,
p. 126.
Direct communications were then re-established by the Han with Kangju. They continued to be somewhat
unhelpful and disrespectful in spite of sending hostages to Changan. See CICA, pp. 127-128.
Taishan Yu (1998), pp. 105-107, does, I think, a good job of identifying the seats of the five “lesser kings” of
the Kangju listed in the Hanshu. The identifications are based on the accounts in Xin Tangshu, ch. 221B, which
make mention of their earlier names. See also Chavannes (1900), I, pp. 136-147.
“According to this, of five lesser kings of Kangju, the seats of governments of Ji [Chi], Fumo [Fu-mo], and
Suxie [Su-hsieh] were situated at Bokhāra, Tashkent, Kashania, and Kesh respectively. As mentioned
above, these oases had been subject to Kangju in the Han times. As for “Huoxun” (Khwarizm), the seat of
the royal government of Aojian must have been identical with “Huanquian,” a small state west of Dayuan,
recorded in the Shiji, ch. 123. Khwarizm which lay on the left bank of the Amu Darya, had once confronted
Anxi. In view of its location, since Sogdiana was subject to Kangju, Huanqian (Huoxun) also was possibly

subject to Kangju. In the Hanshu, ch. 96A, it is recorded that Anxi adjoined Kangju in the north. As
mentioned above, this shows that Anxi adjoined Sogdiana, a dependency of Kangju, in the middle reaches
of the Amu Darya. As this was so, the relevant records in the Xin Tangshu, ch. 221B, are, generally
speaking, reasonable. It has been suggested that the records are all fantastic talk. I disagree.” Yu (1998), p.
106.
Again, in the Later Han, we find Kangju taking hostile action against Chinese expansionism. In the Biography of
Ban Chao – see Chavannes (1906), p. 230 – it is said that the Kangju sent troops in 84 CE to help Kashgar against
the Han. Ban Chao was able to bribe the king of the Yuezhi, who was in the process of making a marriage alliance
with the Kangju, to get the Kangju to desist. Kangju then captured the king of Kashgar (allowing China to gain
control of the key route to the west through Kashgar for over 20 years.
“The K’ang-chü were of course an important people in Sogdiana in the Han period. They later gave their
name to Samarkand but in the Former Han period were centred around Tashkent. The Ch’iang-ch’ü group
in the Hsiung-nu were presumably a part of the K’ang-chü people who had at some time been captured and
incorporated by the Hsiung-nu. Now it happens that Tashkend was later known in China as Shih Kuo
“Stone Country” and people from there who came to China took the surname Shih “Stone”. Tashkend itself
means “Stone City” in Turkish. This is usually regarded, following Marquart (1901, p. 155), as simply a
Turkicization of the earlier Čāč, but this does not account for the Chinese name which is long before the
region became Turkish.
The K’ang-chü people are usually thought of as Iranian but they had close links with Ta-yüan (=
*Taxwār, Tochari) and the Yüeh-chih and they shared the title hsi-hou = yabgu with the latter and the
Wu-sun. It is quite likely therefore that they too were Tocharian in origin and that they moved into
Sogdiana as part of the same westward movement that brought the Yüeh-chih and then the Tochari spilling
over the Pamirs. In this case we may look in Tocharian for an interpretation of their name. It happens that
there is a word kāṅka- in Tokharian A about which Sir Harold Bailey has kindly given me the following
note.” Pulleyblank (1963), p. 247. [This is followed by Bailey’s rather lengthy note that can be summed up
in his sentence: “The above contexts seem to assure a Tocharian word kāṅk- meaning “stone”.”]
Kangju certainly controlled the oasis of Tashkent (which was possibly the administrative centre of their kingdom)
and the middle and lower reaches of the Syr Darya or Jaxartes (also known in ancient times as the Kanga or the
Jayhun) river, and they almost certainly also had control of the rich grazing lands and trade routes along the valleys
of the Chu and Talas rivers.
Pulleyblank (1963), p. 94, states on the basis of the account in Hanshu 96A, that the Kangju had their capital
in their summer territory at Beitian “= Bin-kāth, the old name for Tashkend, with Bin < *Bidn through loss of
medial d?”. See also, ibid, p. 247, and CICA, p. 124, n. 299. Exactly where their eastern border with the Wusun
was, though, remains to be discovered.
“The construction of the Salar-Karasu-Dzhun irrigation system in the second and first centuries B.C.
gave impetus to the development of the agricultural oasis of ancient Tashkent. The origin of crop-raising on
the territory of the Chirchik-Ahangaran basin dates back to an earlier period. However, as the Buzgon-tepe,
Taukat-tepe, Kugait, Shash-tepe and other archaeological monuments located in the irrigation zone of the
Salar-Karasu-Dzhun system show, the intensive application of irrigation in that region and the urbanization
of a part of its settled area began at the dawn of the Christian era. One characteristic feature of the
establishment of the Tashkent agricultural oasis is the fact that all the lands comprised in it were not
brought under cultivation at the same time. Priority was given to the use of water resources for irrigation
areas which were most favoured by natural conditions and were, for the most part, situated in regions
adjacent to the water supply.” Mukhamedjanov (1996), p. 267.
“It must be noted, however, that although the inhabitants of Tashkent and Ferghana at that time followed a
settled way of life and were engaged in crop-raising, livestock-breeding and highly artistic handicraft work,
careful study and analysis of written and material sources indicate that ancient Ta-yüan (Ferghana) and
Chach (Tashkent) were less developed economically than Parthia, Bactria and Sogdiana.” Mukhamedjanov
(1996), p. 277.
“Pulleyblank discusses the possible Tocharian origin of the name ‘Kangju’, in his reconstruction of ‘Old
Chinese’ *khan-kiah. In the Tokharian vocabulary (Tokaharian 1A) there is the word kank, which means

‘stone. Thus Kangju could mean the ‘Stone Country’, i.e. Samarkand (or equally Tashkend as ‘Stone
City’). A.K. Narain offers a precise geographical location for Kangju: ‘the northeastern wedge formed part
of Dayuan’. This description, however, does not allow for the inclusion of any lands south of the Syr
Darya, thus excluding the entire Zeravshan Valley, the cultural heart and population centre of Sogdia.
The information provided by the texts is hardly ambiguous, however, and clearly suggests the
identification of the ‘state’ of Kangju with ancient Sogdia. Kangju is to the north of the Amu Darya and the
Yuezhi’s principal city of Jianshi (Khalchayan in the Surkhan Darya valley?); to the west and northwest of
the Ferghana Valley (where it also apparently adjoined the clearly substantial, post-132 realm of the
Wusun); and southeast of the western realms of the Xiongnu (which must have included the steppes of
present-day Kazakhstan). Kangju incorporated lands on either side of the middle Syr Darya, particularly the
densely occupied Zeravshan Valley south of the Syr Darya, and must surely have included Samarkand and
Bukhara (as Shishkina also argues below). Hence, according to the textual evidence at least, Kangju can
only convincingly be located within the general geographical region of ancient Sogdia.” Benjamin (2003).
[My only disagreement with this quote is that I believe I have convincingly shown that the “Yuezhi’s
principal city of Jianshi” must have been in the region of Bactra or modern Balkh, and that the distances
given in the Hanshu from Xiuxun to the Yuezhi completely eliminate the possibility of it being
Khalchayan. See TWR note 12.2 for details.]
It has been suspected for a long time that the Kangju had conquered and controlled of ancient Sogdiana during the
Kushan period. This now may be confirmed. The key is in a short passage in the Hou Hanshu on the kingdom of
Liyi, which is said to be dependent on Kangju (see TWR Section 17).
As Professor Enoki (1955), p. 51, and others, have suggested, Liyi 栗弋 is an obvious error for Suyi 粟弋, a
common Chinese representation of Sogdiana (see note 22.7 for the quote from Enoki). The characters li and su are
so similar that they are commonly confused. Chavannes (1907), p. 195, note 1, noticed that the Tangshu used the
form Suyi 粟弋, but wrongly deduced that this was a mistake for the Liyi of the Hou Hanshu.
Sogdiana included most of the territories between the Jaxartes (Syr Darya) and the Oxus (Amu Darya) rivers.
It was centred in the Zerafshan valley, which includes the key oases of Samarkand and Bukhara and also controlled
the rich and strategically important centres of Kesh (modern Shakhrisabz) and Alexandria Eschate (modern
Kujand).
“Intensive trade was also conducted during this period with Han China, which exported silk, nephrite
[jade], lacquerware, hides, iron and nickel. Central Asian merchants exported glass, precious stones and
ornaments to China. Luxury goods were the main articles of trade, as was usually the case in ancient times.
The Sogdians played an important role in the development of trade links with China. In Tun-huang (East
Turkestan), letters in the Sogdian language have been found dating back to the early fourth century A.D. (or
to the end of the second century A.D.). One of them notes that 100 freemen from Samarkand were living in
Tun-huang. W. B. Henning estimates the number of Sogdians (including slaves and their families) in
Tun-huang must have totalled 1,000. Several letters contain information on merchandise, trade, prices, etc.
The Sogdians living in East Turkestan maintained close contact with their home town in Samarkand.”
Mukhamedjanov (1996), p. 286.
Kangju, therefore, controlled the two major caravan routes from China to the West: the main “Silk Route” which
ran from Kashgar through Ferghana, Samarkand, and Bukhara before it entered Parthian territory in Merv, or
headed south through Balkh, as well as the important alternative route north of the Aral and Caspian Seas (thereby
avoiding Parthian territory) to their kinsmen, the Alans, who were in direct contact with Roman ports on the Black
Sea.
Relations between Kangju and the Kushans were close as shown by the marriage of a Kushan emperor to a
Kangju princess in 84 CE. See the biography of Ban Chao in Hou Hanshu, 77.6 b, Chavannes (1906), p. 230;
Zürcher (1968), p. 369.
The Kushans controlled the routes from Balkh to the west, and all the routes into northern India. Therefore,
all the overland trade routes between Chinese territory and India, and the main routes to Parthia, and the Roman
Empire were under the control of either the Kushans or their allies, the Kangju.
“The nomadic federation of the K’ang-chü was the second great power after the Yüeh-chih in Transoxiana.
According to the Chinese sources, K’ang-chü lay north-west of Ta-yüan and west of the Wu-sun, bordering
upon the Yüeh-chih to the south. The territory of the K’ang-chü, therefore, covered the region of the
Tashkent oasis and part of the territory between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya rivers, with its heartland
along the middle Syr Darya. It seems to have emerged as a powerful state in the second century B.C. As the

historians of Alexander do not refer to the existence of any political confederation on the Jaxartes (Syr
Darya) except Chorasmia, the K’ang-chü must have appeared a little later. They united a number of regions
which had sedentary, agricultural and nomadic populations.
The K’ang-chü were inevitably affected by the events of the mid-second century B.C., when the
Central Asian tribes invaded Graeco-Bactria. The migration of the nomadic peoples (the Asii, Tochari, etc.)
to the south altered the balance of power in the valley of the Syr Darya. Taking advantage of these
circumstances, as the Hou Han-shu suggests, the K’ang-chü subjugated Yen-ts’ai in the region of the Aral
Sea, and the still more remote land of the Yen in the southern Urals. Yen-ts’ai is identified with the large
confederation of Sarmatian tribes led by the Aorsi. Thus, K’ang-chü established direct contact with the
Sarmatian world to the north-west. The expansion of K’ang-chü in this direction in the first and second
centuries A.D. was occasioned by the rise of the powerful Yüeh-chih confederacy (subsequently the
Kushan Empire) to the south and by the presence in the east of the formidable Wu-sun state allied with the
Hsiung-nu and the Han Empire. The Chinese sources inform us that K’ang-chü was tributary to the
Yüeh-chih in the south and to the Hsiung-nu in the east. The north-west advance of K’ang-chü and its
conquest of Yen-ts’ai apparently obliged some tribes of the Aorsi, and later of the Alans, to move west; it
may, therefore, be concluded that K’ang-chü played a major historical role in the initial stages of the Great
Migration of Peoples, which was such an important event in world history. In this way, K’ang-chü gained
control over the northern sector of the international trade route known as the Northern Route.”
Zadneprovskiy (1994), p. 463.
“Undaunted, K’ang-chü continued to pursue an independent policy. It maintained its independence up to
the end of the third century A.D. and continued to send embassies to the Chinese court. Convincing
evidence of its independent status may be seen in the coinage it issued in the second and third centuries.
During this period, the K’ang-chü rulers at Chach (the Tashkent oasis) began to issue their own currency,
similar to some of the early coin issues of ancient Chorasmia. Soon afterwards the fortunes of K’ang-chü
declined and it was absorbed into the Hephthalite state – a fate which it shared with other states of
Transoxiana.
The Han-shu describes the typically nomadic way of life of the K’ang-chü élite and particularly of its
sovereign, who spent his winters in the capital, the city of Pi-t’ien, and his summers at his steppe
headquarters, situated seven day’s journey away on horseback. The ruling nucleus of K’ang-chü consisted
of nomadic tribes whose customs resembled the Yüeh-chih.” Zadneprovskiy (1994), p. 464.
“Although it is a barbarian town (Maracanda, Samarkand), you find carpets dyed in a matchless purple
shade, if not that of wine sparkling in a cup in the sun, and so thick that in treading on them it is like sailing
on a galley ship.” CATULLUS, c. 84 – c. 54 BCE. From: The Silk Road Saga by Jean-Pierre Drège and
Emil M. Bührer, 1989. Facts On File, New York, Oxford.
Mark Passehl kindly wrote (7th July, 2003) stating that most, if not all, of Catullus’ extant poems were written in
the 50s (mostly 58-53) and adds the following interesting observations: “His interest in the wares of Samarkand are
probably because the poem in question was written about the time of Crassus’ expedition to conquer Parthia
(which departed Rome in the winter 55-54 BC). . . . He also belonged to a wealthy trading family (his father had a
personal friendship with Julius Caesar) with interests and property in the Asia and Bithnyia provinces. For all we
know his father may have traded in some of the wares brought into the Roman empire along the Silk Road.”
23.14. This evidently refers to the relative stability of these two nations, at least through the Later Han dynasty.
Section 24 – The ‘Kingdom of Northern Wuyi’ –Bei Wuyi北烏伊 [Pei Wu-i] = Khujand – Alexandria Escharte)
24.1. “Northern Wuyi” undoubtedly refers to Alexandria Eschate or ‘Alexandria-the-Furthest,’ modern Khujand or
Leninabad, south of Tashkent, and northeast of Samarkand.
As shown in note 9.22, it was, during the time covered by the Hanshu, Kujand was probably the capital of
Dayuan. As outlined in that note, Dayuan weakened during the Later Han period, the last record of it as a separate
state was when it sent tribute and offerings to China along with Kashgar and Yarkand in 130 CE.
By the time of this report in the Weilue, the city had become an independent kingdom. There are several
good reasons for identifying Northern Wuyi as ancient Alexandria Eschate:
a. First, the name 北烏伊 Bei Wuyi (‘Northern Wuyi’) is very similar to the form of the name 烏弋 Wuyi

given by the Weilue earlier on in its description of the Central Route, which I have identified as referring to
‘Alexandria Arachaton’, or Arachosia, centred on modern Kandahar.
The last character here is different, but similar in pronunciation, as they were in ancient times
according to the reconstructed pronunciations:
伊 K. 604a: * ̇̇i̯εr
/ ̇i; EMC: ?ji
弋 K. 918a: *di̯ək / i̯ək; EMC: jik
The name 烏弋is obviously a shortened form of the 烏弋山離 Wuyishanli which was “evidently a
transliteration of Alexandria” = Arachosia/Kandahar of the Hanshu and the Hou Hanshu. See the
discussion in: CICA, p. 112, n. 250.
b. Alexandria Eschate (Khojent) was “the farthest”, and the most northerly, of all the Alexandrias
established by Alexander the Great, and is almost due north of ‘Alexandria Arachaton’ – Kandahar, the
capital of Arachosia. It would seem this city was called “Northern Wuyi” to distinguish it from the other,
more southerly, Wuyi.
c. Its position, as given in the Weilue, is on the “New Route of the North” after, and to the north of, Kangju
(which at this time consisted of the Chu, Talas, and middle Syr-darya river basins).
From Northern Wuyi the route went northwest to Tashkent, and thence around the northern coastlines of the Aral
and Caspian Seas, to reach Roman territory via the territory of the Alans. At this period, according to Roman
sources, the Alans were living in the Terek basin and on the plains to the west of the Caspian, and to the north of
the Black Sea, where they had contact with Roman territory. Crimea, at this time, “was still a Greco-Roman realm
in vassalage to the Caesars”. Grousset (1970), p. 73.
“The legend of a trans-Caspian sea trade has been demolished by Professor Tarn, and only a more northern
route is left, that led from the steppes north of the Caspian to the plains of Mongolia, ‘quite independent of
the routes through Chinese Turkestan’. It finally reached Pliny’s Seres, who were not the peaceful Chinese
traders of the Yellow River, but tall nomads of the steppes with ‘flaxen hair and blue eyes who speak in
harsh tones and use no language’, famous for their pure steel which the Parthians bought. Horace imagined
them:
times
quid Seres et regnata Cyro
Bactra parent Tanaisque discors, i
(Horace: Odes; III.29.25-27)
i ‘Bactrian and Serian haunt your dreams,
And Tanais, toss’d by inward feud.’ (Conington’s translation.)
They were the metal workers of the Altai whom the Parthian envoy referred to when he threatened to load
Crassus with their chains.
These were the people Strabo thought of when he reported goods brought from India by the Oxus;
and their traffic along it at the end of the first century A.D. was observed by the Chinese.” Stark (1968), pp.
194-195.
“Alexandria Escharte, or Alexandria on the Tanais (Leninabad, formerly Khojend). A town in Soviet
Central Asia, in the borderland of Sogdiana (now Tajikistan), on the river Jaxartes (Syr Darya) – named the
Tanais after the Don by Alexander the Great – at the point where it turns sharply to the north, and a number
of important roads meet. Founded by Alexander c 327 to settle Macedonian and Greek soldiers and
inhabitants of the region and control the pass over the Tian Shan range to Kashgar, it was known as
Eschate, ‘the farthest,’ because it was the most remote (and also the northernmost) of Alexander’s
foundations. It was later refounded by the Seleucid monarch Antiochus I.” Grant (1986), pp. 25-26.

“As to Alexandria Eschate, of which we know from the ancient authors that Alexander built the walls in a
score of days, there is presently nothing that has been found which can be definitely attributed to the Greek
period and testifies that these foundations of the conqueror are indeed under present Khojent.” Translated
from: Leriche (1993), p. 82.
“In the western part of Ferghana, on the bank of the Syr Darya, the city of Khujand was going through a
period of change. From the second to the fifth century, it had remained within the same territorial limits as
during ancient times, its central nucleus occupying an area of approximately 20 ha [49 acres]. . . .
During the medieval period, the territory of Khujand had its own ruler with the title of malik (king).
The territory was not large: apart from the city of Khujand itself, it included Kand and the smaller town of
Samghar. Kand, which is mentioned in the early eighth-century Sogdian documents from Mount Mug,
subsequently came to be known as Kand-i Bodom (town of almonds) because of the large quantity of
almonds it exported to various countries. According to al-Muqaddasi, a river or canal ran through the
bazaars of Kand. Samghar was in the centre of a small agricultural oasis on the right bank of the Syr Darya
and consisted of a citadel-castle, a town and outlying buildings. The territory of Khujand also included
several small settlements in the cultivated areas along the Syr Darya and in the delta part of the
Khujabakyrgan. Khujand was situated on the main trans-Asian trade route, Kand on its Ferghana branch
and Samghar on its Chach branch. This fact, together with access to mineral and agricultural resources,
promoted the growth of these cities’ trade and economies and also their rise to political prominence.”
Marshak and Negamatov (1966), pp. 274, 275.
Section 25 – The Kingdoms of Liu (Turkestan? Kzyl-Orda?), Yan (north of Yancai), and Yancai (= the Alans
between the Black and Caspian Seas).
25.1. The kingdom of 柳 Liu – literally, ‘Willow’ – was probably situated somewhere between Kangju and Yancai,
possibly in the delta and marshlands of the Syr Darya (Gk. and L. Jaxartes; Arab. Shash or Si/fun), where it entered
the Aral Sea.
The name of the kingdom, ‘Willow,’ was possibly deliberately evocative of the typical vegetation of this
well-watered region in ancient times. It may also have been used descriptively to differentiate it from Yancai or
‘Vast Steppes.’
25.2. The kingdom of Yan 巖 [Yen] – literally, ‘cliff,’ ‘crag,’ ‘precipice,’ ‘rock.’ To the north of Yancai and
probably centred in the southern Urals.
Yan, may well have been a descriptive name helping to define not only the territory, but the people in it –
much like the names ‘highlands’ and ‘Highlanders’ are used in Scotland. Alternatively, as can be seen in the quote
from Shiratori below, it could possibly have been a phonetic attempt to represent the Kama river region.
The kingdom of Yan was, we are told, to the north of Yancai – the ‘vast steppe,’ and, therefore, presumably
referred to the southern Urals which are distinguished by their deep river valleys and isolated steep-sided buttes.
The region was, until recent times, famous for its furs, producing sables, fox, beaver and other valuable pelts.
“Now the Hou-han-shu assigns the country of Yen to the north of the country of the Yen-ts’ai, and we may
safely place the country of Liu in the same quarter. This view of the geographical position of the two
countries, combined with the fact that one was noted for the production of sables and the other for the
luxurious growth of chên 楨 and sung 松 (pine) go to show that both countries lay in the Ural regions, and
not on the northern borders of the Caspian, where such natural products would have been out of the
question. We remember that the Wêi-liao describes the country of Yen-ts’ai as abounding in fine sables,
and this perhaps means that those things were imported by the Yen-ts’ai from their neighbours in the
countries of Yen and Liu.
It was the basin of the Kama, as it flows from the northeastern direction into the Volga, more
particularly the district about the present Perm, that occupied the most important position in the whole of
the Ural regions in connection with the commercial intercourse between east and west of Asia in those
ancient days. So there is enough reason to place in this particular quarter that country which is mentioned
as Yen 巖 in the Wêi-lian [should read: Wêi-liao] and as Yen 嚴 in the Hou-han-shu. Both characters with
their archaic sounds ngiam and ngiäm respectively, were suitable for reproducing the term Kama, which
was probably applied to the inhabitants of the river Kama. As for the name of the other country, mentioned
as Liao 聊 in the one history and as Liu 柳 in the other, we know that the early pronunciation of the
character 聊 was most likely liau and that of the character 柳 lau. This reminds us of Rau, the name by

which PTOLEMAEOS’S geography represents the Volga, and also of Rau and Raw, as the present Mordwins
call that river ; and thus we are led to infer that the name Liao 聊 (or Liu 柳) signified the tribe which, as
inhabiting the borders of the Volga, owed its name to the ancient appellation of that river. And on the
strength of these observations, we may go further to identify the country of Yen with that of the Budini,
which lay on the commercial route noticed by HERODOTUS, And to recognize the country of Liu in the
neighbourhood of the junction of the Kama and the Volga, which district was later occupied by the Bulgars.
The reason why the Chinese historians of the Han and Wêi period know of those remote countries at
all must be simply that these were significantly positioned on the highway of commerce between east and
west in those early times. Just as, in the days of HERODOTUS, the Greek merchants having their
headquarters on the northern shore of the Black Sea went up the Don and the Volga, and then up through
the valley of the Kama, and further across the Ural range to its eastern side, in order to obtain Siberian furs
; so might the Chinese, or at least the K’ang-chü, traders in the Han times, trace the Syr down to the
northwest, and from the northern side of the Aral travel through the neighbourhood of the present
Orenburg, come out first at the Kama, and then turn west so as to reach the Volga. What is noteworthy in
this connection is the following passage of the Wei-liao ; “The country of short people 短人 lies northwest
of that of the K’ang-chü. Men and women there are all three feet high, and the population is very numerous.
It is very far away from the country of the Yen-ts’ai and others. The aged among the K’ang-chü say that
they have heard that there are always some traders who go over to that country ; which is perhaps more
than 10,000 li away.” There is of course no identifying of that dwarfish race, but as the chief class of goods
sought after by the K’ang-chü merchants in this case must have been furs, it is quite possible that they
ventured even farther north than the country of Yen, into the basin of the Obi, and thus had a chance to
hear, say, of the Samoyedes, who had their abode lower down the river.” Shiratori (1956c), pp. 133-134.
25.3. The kingdom of Yancai 奄蔡 [Yen-ts’ai] = ‘Vast Steppes,’ or ‘Extensive Grasslands’. See also note, 25.5.
The Shiji and the Hanshu both placed the Yancai almost 2,000 li (832 km) to the northwest of Kangju, near a
great marsh. It seems that the Tashkent oasis was the centre of Kangju, and 832 km to the northwest of Tashkent
brings one to the region of the Syr Darya delta lands, just before the river emptied into the Aral Sea.
Zadnesprovskiy (1994), p. 463, also places the Yancai in the region of the Aral Sea.
“The economic and cultural pattern of the semi-sedentary Saka-Massagetae pastoralists and farmers in the
lower Syr Darya plain is illustrated by a series of sites: . . . and finally, the monuments of agricultural oases
at Dzheti-Asar along the tributaries of the Zhani Darya and Kuvan Darya, which lasted from the first
century B.C. to the Early Middle Ages. All these suggest a distinctive, complex culture with an advanced
pastoral economy alongside agriculture. There were large cities, smaller settlements, a system of
fortress-type strongholds with thick walls and towers and enormous burial grounds.” Negmatov (1994), pp.
449-450.
Yancai 奄蔡 translates literally as ‘Vast Steppes’ or ‘Extensive Grasslands,’ and I feel confident that the name
must have been intended as descriptive. Nonetheless, see Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 220, 232, for its linguistic
features and its possible relationship to the Greek name *Αορσοι [*Aorsoi]. Other scholars have sought to connect
it with the Abzoae:
“Chavannes (1905), p. 558, note 5, approves of the identification of Yen-ts’ai with the ‘Αορσοι
mentioned by Strabo, as proposed by Hirth (1885), p. 139, note 1 ; he believes this identification to be
strengthened by the later name Alan, which explains Ptolemy’s “Alanorsi”. Marquart (1905), pp. 240-241,
did not accept this identification, but Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 99 and 220, does, referring for additional
support to HSPC 70.6b where the name Ho-su 闔蘇, reconstructed in ‘Old Chinese’ as ĥa̱p-sa̱ĥ, can be
compared with Abzoae found in Pliny VI, 38 (see also Pulleyblank (1968), p. 252). Also Humbach (1969),
pp. 39-40, accepts the identification, though with some reserve.” CICA , p. 129, n. 316.
It is clear from the texts that, between the period covered by the Hou Hanshu to the time covered in the Weilue,
Yancai had freed itself from Kangju, centred in Tashkent, and allied itself to, or joined with, the Alan tribes who
stretched west past the Caspian, meeting up with the Roman-controlled cities on the Sea of Azov and the Black
Sea.
According to Josephus VII, 7, 4. (1960 trans.), in 73 CE, the Alani, had been “dwelling about the Tanais [the
River Don] and the Lake Maeotis [Sea of Azov].” In this year, with the help of the king of Hyrcania, they invaded
Media and put the king Pacorus [presumably Pacorus II, who didn’t begin to rule Parthia as a whole until 78 CE] to
flight. He adds that they almost captured Tiridates the king of Armenia, before retreating to their own country.

“. . . Pliny put on record the fact that the Sarmatians west of the Volga held communication with a people,
named the Abzoae, east of that river. Now, even a cursory examination of Ptolemy’s description makes it
evident that, though he gives many names between the Kama and the Jaxartes, he neither points out nor
suggests any connection between the peoples on the opposite banks of the lower Ra. The inference to be
drawn from the different statements of the two authors is that a change had taken place in the affiliations of
the peoples north of the Caspian between the times represented by their accounts, and happily the
circumstances attending this change are recorded by Chinese historians.
Shortly before 100 B.C. it became known to the Han government that northwest of the K’ang-chü, at
a distance of 2000 li (about 700 miles)[actually, about 832 km or about 517 miles – thus placing it in the
lower reaches of the Syr-darya near the northeastern end of the Aral Sea], lay the country of the Yen-ts’ai.
Ssŭ-ma Ch’ien, in his monumental Shih Chi, goes on to say that “it is a land of nomads, and its manners
and customs are in the main the same as those of the K’ang-chü; it has fully 100,000 bowmen; the country
lies near a great marsh which has no limit; for it is the Northern Sea”. Ssŭ-ma Ch’ien also gives particulars
concerning the political and trade relations of China with Ta-yüan (Ferghana) and the Wu-sun (on the river
Ili), and states further that intercourse was maintained with An-hsi (Parthia), Yen-ts’ai, and other distant
countries.
The Ch’ien Han Shu, the history of the Former or Early Han dynasty, for which Pan Ku and other
relatives of Pan Ch’ao were responsible, gives much the same information. It includes, however, an account
of the activities of Chih-chih, in which it is said that while he was in the service of the K’ang-chü (43-36
B.C.) he sent ambassadors to Ho-su and Ta-yüan to demand the payment of an annual tribute. The
significance of this statement lies in the fact that “Ho-su” was another name for “Yen-ts’ai.” Ta-yüan was
situated on the route from Su-lê (Kashgar) which crossed the Pamirs and reached the Yen-ts’ai by way of
the K’ang-chü.
In the Hou Han Shu, the history of the Later Han dynasty, which was written by Fan Yeh, new
information is provided concerning the peoples in the West. Thus, it is recorded that the kingdom of the
Yen lay north of the Yen-ts’ai, that it was dependent upon the K’ang-chü and paid tribute in furs. The
account then continues: “The kingdom of the Yen-ts’ai has changed its name into A-lan-liau; its capital is
the city of Ti; it is dependent upon the K’ang-chü (or, they dwell on the land and in cities and depend upon
the K’ang-chü).”
The account of the Yen-ts’ai given by Fan Yeh relates specifically to the period A.D. 25-55. The
information which comes next in time is contained in the Wei lüeh, and has reference to the years between
A.D. 225 and 239. Though the date falls outside the period here under consideration, the description given
by Yü Huan in this work contributes so much to an understanding of the situation in the steppes that it
cannot be overlooked.
“The [new northern] route,” he says, “turns to the northwest and we have then the kingdoms of the
Wu-sun and the K’ang chü, which are the original kingdoms with no addition or diminution. Northern Wu-i
is a separate kingdom north of the K’ang-chu. There is also the kingdom of Liu, there is also the kingdom
of Yen, there is also the kingdom of Yen-ts’ai, called (by some authorities) A-lan; they all have the same
customs as the K’ang-chu. To the west they border on Ta Ch’in, to the southeast on the K’ang-chü. In these
kingdoms there are many famous sables. The kingdoms raise and pasture cattle, following the river courses
and grasslands. They are overlooking the great marsh, therefore at times they were under the control of the
K’ang-chü, but now they do not depend upon them. (Or, The kingdoms raise and pasture cattle, following
the river courses and the grasslands overlooking the great marsh. In former times they were under the
control of the K’ang-chü, . . .).”
The facts which have been presented make it evident that both European and Chinese authorities
provide information concerning inhabitants of the country north of the Caspian Sea. In an inquiry which is
concerned with the connections of peoples it becomes of importance, then, to consider whether it can be
shown that the western and eastern sources refer, in any instance, to the same people. The evidence on both
sides is simple and direct. On the one hand, Pliny states that certain peoples in Asiatic Sarmatia held
communication “across the straits” (the Volga mouth) with the Abzoae, a people made up of many different
tribes. On the other hand, Ssŭ-ma Ch’ien, Pan Ku, Fan Yeh, and Yü Huan all place north of the Caspian the
Yen-ts’ai or Ho-su, an organization with 100,000 fighting men. To establish the identity of the peoples
mentioned, it is necessary only to observe that, in the time of the Early Han, Ho-su was pronounced Hap-sŏ
or Hap-suo, for this, in accordance with Chinese usage, is a precise rendering of the word “Abzoae.”
Without question the Yen-ts’ai or Ho-su were the Abzoae, who were in communication across the Volga
with the Thali and the Siraci, and through them with the Greek cities of the Taman peninsula.” Teggart
(1939), pp. 197, 199-201.

The Yancai 奄蔡 [Yen-ts’ai] were also known as the Hesu 闔蘇 [Ho-su] – see Teggart (1939), p. 199 and the quote
from Hirth, “Hunnenforschungen,” Keleti szemle, 2 (1901), 85, which Teggart gives on p. 152, n. 5.
This name, Hesu, as Teggart points out, makes an almost perfect transcription for the Abzoae mentioned in
Pliny VI, 38. See Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 220 and 232, and CICA p. 129, n. 316.
“Pliny, then, records the fact that connections were maintained between the peoples west and east of
the Volga-mouth, but his information is not of later date than A.D. 49. On the other hand, Ptolemy, whose
information relating to the region north of the Caspian is definitely earlier than the invasion of Armenia by
the Alani in or about A.D. 73, makes no reference to any connection between the peoples on the two sides
of the lower Volga; the routes he describes in the Volga-Ural region run from north to south and southeast.
Consequently it is to be inferred that between 49 and 73 some important change had taken place in the
relations of the peoples east of the Volga. The nature of this change is made clear in the passages quoted
above from the Chinese historians. Up to the middle of the first century, trade was carried on between the
kingdoms in the Tarim basin and the Yen-ts’ai, north of the Caspian. But about the middle of the
century–certainly before A.D. 55–this east-west connection was broken, and at one and the same time the
Yen-ts’ai became dependent upon the Kang-chü and changed their name “against that of” the Alani. In
other words, in or about A.D. 50-55, the Abzoae–Yen-ts’ai abandoned their old relations with the
Sarmatians across the Volga and became a part of the confederacy of the Alani. In the new alignment they
were linked southeastward with the K’ang-chü, and through them with the Kushan empire south of the
Oxus. It is of immediate interest, therefore, that a coin of the first Kushan sovereign, Kujula Kadphises,
should have been found on the Kama in modern times. Ammianus Marcellinus (xxxi. 2. 16) evidently had a
basis for his statement that the Alani stretched out as far as the river Ganges. Nor, in the attempt to realize
the actuality of the change, should the detail, recorded by Yü Huan, be overlooked that in the early part of
the third century old men of the K’ang-chü still told of their journeys–10,000 li in extent–beyond the
kingdom of the Yen-ts’ai to the kingdom of the Dwarfs, in other words, to the country of the Lapps.” In the
period to which the author of the Wei Lüeh here refers, the Kama-Kushan alignment had ceased to exist; “in
former times,” he says, “the Yen-ts’ai were under the control of the K’ang-chü; now they are no longer
dependent upon them.” So, too, in speaking of the Yen-ts’ai, he remarks not that they are named A-lan, but
that some authorities spoke of them as A-lan. It is plain, therefore, that the adhesion of the
Abzoae-Yen-ts’ai to the confederacy of the Alani implied no loss of identity and was no more permanent
than their trade connection with the K’ang-chü and Northwest India. Indeed, after the revolutions which
affected the entire continent of Asia at the end of the second and the beginning of the third century, the
Abzoae ceased to be Alani, and in the Peutinger Table (of the fourth century) the names Abzoae, written
Arzoae, and Alani appear independently in the Don-Caucasus region. It may be added that the name of the
Yen-ts’ai or ’Am-ts’ai has not even now lost its place north of the Caspian, for the river Emba was known
to Anthony Jenkinson (1557) as the Yem, and down to the middle of the nineteenth century appeared on
maps as the Yem, Hyan, Djem, Iemm, or Iemba.
The different accounts of Pliny and Ptolemy are thus intelligible when viewed in the light of the
detailed historical information contained in the Chinese sources.” Teggart (1939), pp. 203-205.
The Hou Hanshu gives a rather different account and adds another kingdom to the north of Yancai:
“The kingdom of Yan is to the north of Yancai and is a dependency of Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu,
Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins). It produces small animal pelts, which it uses to pay its tribute to that
country (Kangju).
The kingdom of Yancai (‘Vast Steppe’) has changed its name to the kingdom of Alanliao. Its capital
is the town of Di. It is a dependency of Kangju (Tashkent plus the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins).
The climate is mild. Wax trees, pines, and ‘white grass’ (aconite) are plentiful. Their way of life and dress
are the same as those of Kangju.” TWR, Sections 18 and 19.
This account in the Hou Hanshu presumably originated from the report of General Ban Yong to the Emperor circa
125 CE. It is of particular interest because it is not only the first report that Yancai had changed its name to
Alanliao – although (at least nominally) still dependent on Kangju. This strongly hints of some recent alliance or
amalgamation with the Alans or ‘Alani,’ as the Romans called them. There is no reference, as in the earlier
histories, to the distance from Kangju. They now have as their capital, or occupy (ju – 居), a town called Di 地. It
seems probable that, by this time, they had moved or extended their power further west, to near the mouth of the
Volga.
As the Weilue reports that the kingdoms of Yancai was no longer dependent on Kangju, they probably freed

themselves of their subservience to them sometime between the report of Ban Yong to the Emperor circa 125 CE –
on which most of the Chapter on the Western Regions of the Hou Hanshu was based – and the time the
information for the Weilue was collected, probably in the latter part of the 2 nd century CE. However, it is
impossible to be more precise than this.
Also, the phrase that Teggart uses stating that they changed their name “against that of” the Alani” appears
to be a literal translation of Chavannes’ “. . . a changé contre celui de A-lan-leao. . . .” See Chavannes (1907), p.
195. It does not read well in English and could lead to confusion. The Chinese texts simply says: 奄蔡 國改名阿
蘭聊 – Yancai guo gaiming Alanliao; which translates as: “The Yancai changed their name to Alanliao.”
“Defence (against the southward-pressing Sarmatians or Alani as they now came to be called) was at any
rate not the only motive of the Roman interest, if indeed it was a motive at all. Until the following century
[2 nd century CE] off and on, the tribes of the northern Black Sea coasts were friendly to the Greek protected
cities, that gave them supply centres and trustworthy agents ‘because of their need for traffic with the
Greeks.’ The ‘Chief Interpreter’ of the yellow-haired Alani was an important official in the Bosporus.
Though a strong ‘iranisation’ was proceeding, altering arms and dress and language, it was an uneasy but
not a menacing relation – its impact more against Parthia than Rome. Vespasian refused to cooperate when
the Parthian king asked for help; and the southern Alani were soon to show themselves ready to join the
other Black Sea peoples in homage to Trajan when he reached Armenia. . . .
There is thus a whole background of interpretations for the undoubted Roman interest in the north:
defensive against the Alani; precautionary for the Trebizond supply route (which was aggressive in its very
nature); or a mere evasion of the Parthian customs; or a subsidiary fringe to frontier affairs farther north,
where Dacia and the main road of the Empire were soon to blaze into war.” Stark (1968), p. 201.
“The third major nomadic state, that of the Yen-ts’ai, was situated in north-western Central Asia in the
steppe around the Aral Sea and the northern shores of the Caspian, where it was in contact with the world
of the Sarmatians. The nomadic population of this region belonged to the Sarmatian group of tribes which
replaced the Scythians around the turn of the third century B.C. During the second century B.C., a new
major grouping of Sarmatian tribes, of which the chief were the Siraci and Aorsi, appeared on the steppes
between the Caspian and the Tanais (the River Don), as Strabo describes. Abeacus, King of the Siraci,
could mobilize 20,000 horsemen (at the time when Pharnaces was lord of the Bosporus), while Spadinus,
King of the Aorsi, commanded as many as 200,000 and the Upper Aorsi had even more. That explains their
camel caravan trade in Indian and Babylonian goods which they procured by barter from the Armenians
and the Medes (Strabo XI.5.8).
It is evident from this text that the Aorsi and their kinsmen, the Upper Aorsi, were tribes of Sarmatian
origin and were masters of the lands lying along the coast of the Caspian Sea. The precise eastern
boundaries of the Aorsi are unknown, but their influence probably extended to the Aral Sea. They were a
great military power and for almost three centuries, until the arrival of the Alans, they played a major role
in events of the northern Pontic region. King Eunonus of this tribe was an ally of Mithradates VII (A.D.
40-44) in his struggle against Rome, and offered him asylum after his defeat.
Strabo refers to the established international trade links of the Aorsi with the states of the Caucasus.
They also controlled trade routes leading from the Bosporus and other Black Sea states to Transoxiana and
China. According to Chinese sources, one of the branches of the Silk Route – the Northern Route – passed
through East Turkestan, Ta-yüan and K’ang-chü, ending in the country of the Yen-ts’ai. Chinese artefacts
from archaeological excavations provide concrete evidence of the use of this route during the first few
centuries A.D.
Scholars generally identify the Aorsi mentioned by the classical writers with the Yen-ts’ai state of
the Chinese sources.
The Shih-chi states that Yen-ts’ai lies almost 2,000 li north-west of K’ang-chü, and it is a nomadic
country whose customs are like those of K’ang-chü. Its army numbers over 100,000. It lies on a large lake
that does not have high banks – the Northern Sea.
This independent nomadic state played a role of some significance in the history of Transoxiana and
the neighbouring localities along the international trade route. It is not, therefore, surprising that the Han
Empire should have sent embassies there and fostered trade relations. Eventually, in the first century B.C.,
Yen-ts’ai lost its independence and became a dependency of K’ang-chü. According to the Hou Han-shu:
‘The domain of Yen-ts’ai was renamed A-lan-ya, over which K’ang-chü held sway.’ Another country to
lose its independence was Yen, which paid tribute in furs. Many scholars seek to identify A-lan-ya (or
A-lan-liao) with the Aorsi and Alans of the ancient sources. It should be noted that the appearance of the

name A-lan-ya in the Hou Han-shu coincides with the emergence of the Alan tribes on the political stage.”
Zadneprovskiy, (1994), pp. 465-467.
“The nomad realm of Yen-tsai (“nearly 2,000 li [832 km] from K’ang-kiu, to the north-west”) lay “beside a
great lake the shores of which are not high”, and can be situated either on the lower reaches of the Jaxartes
(i.e. beside the Aral Sea)[which is just about the right distance from K’ang-chü] or else beside the Caspian
Sea, this being less likely.” Frye (1983), p. 243.
25.4. The Alan 阿蘭 [A-lan]. Alanliao 阿蘭聊 [A-lan-liao] = the Alans.
It was recognised very early on that the Yancai 奄蔡 and the Alans of the Chinese accounts must refer to the
Aorsi and the Alani of the Classical authors. Not only are the names very similar, and they occupied the same
region between the Caspian and Black seas, but the timing of the appearance of the name of the Alan/Alani people
corresponds in both Chinese and Western accounts. See, for example, Chavannes (1905), p. 558, n. 5.
“According to the Chinese chronicles, by the second century it had been renamed Alania and was
dependent on K’ang-chü. Alania was situated between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea.
A military and political alliance between the Sarmatian and Alan tribes living between the lower
reaches of the Volga and Aral Sea was formed under the name of Yen-ts’ai–Alania. It consisted mainly of
semi-nomadic herdsmen speaking Iranian languages. According to Chinese sources, their customs and
costume were similar to those of the inhabitants of K’ang-chü and their forces were 100,000 strong. The
climate of their country was temperate, and there were many pine trees and large areas of broom and
feather-grass. According to sixth-century sources, the Alanian region of Yen-ts’ai was renamed Su-te or
Su-i and the Hsiung-nu from Central Asia took possession of it (apparently in the second century).”
Kyzlanov (1996), pp. 315-316.
This correspondence has been discussed at length by many authors and may be taken as certain. Those who would
like to read further on the subject should check the discussions in: Pulleyblank (1963), p. 220; CICA (1979), p.
129, n. 318; Zadneprovskiy (1994), pp. 467-468; and Leslie and Gardiner (1996), pp. 258-259.
There is extensive and convincing numismatic and archaeological evidence for the early use of a trade route
linking the northern Black Sea with Central Asia, China and India dating back to at least the 2nd century BCE, and
probably earlier. See, for example, the excellent summary of the evidence in Mielczarek (1997).
It is of interest to quote Strabo’s account of the Aorsi because it contains the earliest historical reference we
have to the use of the route around the north of the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Azov by camel caravans from the
East:
”The next peoples to which one comes between Lake Maeotis [the Sea of Azov] and the Caspian Sea are
nomads, the Nabianai and the Panxini, and then next the tribes of the Siraces and the Aorsi. The Aorsi and
the Siraces are thought to be fugitives from the upper tribes of those names and the Aorsi are more to the
north than the Siraces. Now Abeacus, king of the Siraces, sent forth twenty thousand horsemen at the time
when Phrarnaces [II – Anatolian king of Pontus and son of Mithradates VI Eupator] held the Bosporus
[between 63 and 47 BCE]; and Spadines, king of the Aorsi, two hundred thousand; but the upper Aorsi sent
a still larger number, for they held dominion over more land, and, one may almost say, ruled over most of
the Caspian coast; and consequently they could import on camels the Indian and Babylonian merchandise,
receiving it in their turn from the Armenians and the Medes, and also, owing to their wealth, could wear
golden ornaments. Now the Aorsi live along the Tanaïs [the Don], but the Siraces live along the Achardeüs
[the Kuban] which flows from the Caucasus and empties into Lake Maeotis.” Strabo (c. 23 CE), XI. v. 8.
Chavannes (1907), p. 195, n. 2, believes the text of the Hou Hanshu is mistaken. The Weilue only includes the first
two characters of 阿蘭聊, a and lan, in the name of this kingdom. He suggests that the last character here, 聊, liao,
should be read as the similar-looking 柳 liu [‘willow’] which is listed as a separate kingdom in the Weilue.
“. . . HHSCC Mem. 78.16b, remarks that the country was a dependency of K’ang-chü, that the dress and the
customs of the people, who lived in towns, were identical with those of K’ang-chü, that the climate was
mild, and that there were many fir-trees. The memoir adds, that Yen-ts’ai later adopted the name of
A-lan-liao. . . . ” CICA, p. 129, n. 316.
It is clear from the text that Yancai had recently allied itself to, or joined with, the Alan tribes who stretched west
past the Caspian, and were in regular contact with Roman-controlled cities via the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

“Now there was the nation of the Alani, which we have formerly mentioned somewhere as being Scythians,
and dwelling about the Tanais [River = the Don] and the Lake Maeotis [the Sea of Azov]. This nation about
this time [73 CE] laid a design of falling upon Media and the parts beyond it, in order to plunder them ; with
which intention they treated with the king of Hyrcania ; for he was master of that passage which king
Alexander [the Great] shut up with iron gates. The king gave them leave to come through them : so they
came in great multitudes, and fell upon the Medes unexpectedly, and plundered the country which they
found full of people, and replenished with abundance of cattle, while nobody durst make any resistance
against them ; for Pacorus, the king of the country, had fled away for fear, into places where they could not
easily come at him, and had yielded up everything he had to them, and had only saved his wife and his
concubines from them, and that with difficulty also, after they had been made captives, by giving them an
hundred talents for their ransom. [The Alans then also defeated Armenia]. So the Alani, being still more
provided by this fight, laid waste the country, and drove a great multitude of the men, and a great quantity
of other prey they had gotten out of both kingdoms along with them, and then returned back to their own
country.” Josephus (75-79 CE), p. 264: VII. 7, 4.
“At the beginning of the first century A.D. the Alans secured a dominant position among the Sarmatians
living between the Caspian Sea and the River Don. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, they were
descended from the Massagetae. The people of the Alani in the first to third centuries A.D. represented a
powerful force with which the Roman Empire was obliged to reckon. They frequently threatened Rome’s
more remote possessions along the Danube and in Asia Minor, and were successful in penetrating the
Caucasus. They also waged successful war against Parthia. Historical and archaeological evidence enables
us to link Yen-ts’ai (the Aorsi), A-lan-ya (the Alans) and K’ang-chü with the Iranian tribes with whom, as
the Chinese chronicles state, they had ties. They had similar dress and identical customs. This cultural
affinity can also be traced in burial sites that have been excavated along the lower Volga, in the southern
Urals, in the Tashkent oasis and along the middle Syr Darya.” Zadneprovskiy (1994), p. 467.
“The Parthians were active again in 75 and 76, but as usual our information is fairly vague. It seems
that Vologaeses requested help against the Alans, who are certainly known to have invaded Media and
Armenia in 71, and Vespasian replied that he did not wish to become involved in other people’s affairs,
notwithstanding Domitian’s insistence that the command in question should be entrusted to him. When this
request was refused Vologaeses is supposed to have started hostilities against the Romans. There seems to
have been some kind of intervention by the Roman army, for an inscription tells us that in 75 legionaries
were engaged at Harmozica (Tiflis), on the invasion route of the Alans, in building a wall for Mithridates,
king of the Iberians. . . . ” Garzetti (1976), pp. 256-257.
“In A.D.49 the Romans went into battle alongside the Aorsi against the Siraces, who had formed an
alliance with Mithradites. The Siraces were routed and lost control of the greater part of their lands. Soon
after this event, in the 50–60s A.D., the Alans appeared in the foothills of the Caucasus. Prior to this, in the
beginning of the 1 st century A.D., the Alans had occupied lands in the northeast Azov Sea area, along the
Don. In the 2 nd century A.D. they were already supreme in the steppes of the north Caucasus as well as in
the north Black Sea area, having created a powerful confederation of tribes in the territory they had
conquered. A graphic description of this confederation can be found in Ammianus Marcellinus.”
Melyukova (1990), p. 113.
“North of them [the Siraces] lived a larger tribe, the Aorsi, who had also taken part in the campaign of AD
49, but on the Roman side. Soon afterwards, however, they disappeared from the records. The reason is
given by a Chinese source: ‘the kingdom of the Yen-ts’ai’, it writes, ‘has changed its name to A-lan’. That
is to say, in European terms, that the tribe of the Aorsi had been taken over by the tribe of the Alans; that
some anonymous precursor of Attila and Genghis Khan had shaken the kaleidoscope of nomad politics into
a new pattern. Like the Siraces and Aorsi, the Alans were to make repeated crossings of the Caucasus,
harassing Persian and Roman Empires alike. The writer Arrian, best known for his life of Alexander the
Great, had to contend with them in Cappadocia during Hadrian’s reign; he defeated them, and wrote a book
explaining how he did it. But for some time longer the Alans remained the dominant power in south Russia,
the ‘master-tribe’, like the Royal Scythians before them, to which lesser tribes had to pay homage.
Success in the steppe-lands is fleeting. All the Sarmatian peoples – Iazyges and Roxolani, Siraces
and Aorsi, Alans and many smaller ones – were to vanish almost without trace from the world, and the
name ‘Samartia’ to become as obsolete as the name ‘Scythia’. All this was to happen, too, in a remarkably

short time.
The first blow to Samartian power came in about AD 200. The Goths, a Germanic people, migrated
from their earlier home on the lower Vistula and came down to the Black Sea with devastating results.
Olbia was sacked, the Scythian and Bosporan kingdoms overrun, the Alans dispersed. some of them stayed
on as subjects of the new Gothic kingdom; others moved south-eastward, into the Caucasus; others again
moved westward, in which direction the Goths very soon followed them.” Sitwell (1984), p. 56.
“Antoninus’s eastern policy continued that of his predecessors. Under him too the Roman name was
respected and feared, and Antoninus personally enjoyed great prestige. The distant Bactrians and
Hyrcanians, and even the Indians, sought relations with Rome, evidently carried along by the vigorous
commercial currents that had existed for some time and had also been encouraged by Antoninus. Our
scanty information also indicates extensive and integrated action from the beginning of the reign (the
Scythia coin dates from 139) in relation to the big semicircle of tribes to the north of the Black Sea,
between the mouths of the Danube and the Caucusus, while on the Sarmatian and Scythian steppes there
were already signs of the movements which some years later were to have repercussions on the Danubian
frontier. Episodes in this activity were the defence of Olbia against the Taurosciti, the mediation between
two claimants to the kingdom of Bosporus, the assignation of a king to the Lazi of Colchis and the conflicts
with the Alans, now on the Dnieper after being evicted from the Caucasus.” Garzetti (1976), p. 465.
25.5. See note 28.2.
25.6. This probably refers to the plains near the mouth of the Syr Darya (Jaxartes), and to the northeast of the Aral
Sea. As has been amply demonstrated in recent years the Central Asian region was apparently wetter during the
Han period. The marshes north of the Aral may well have joined up those to the northeast of the Caspian.
We know the marsh lands were far more extensive than in recent times. Additionally, over the latter half of
the 20 th century, the area has been disastrously affected by the misguided irrigation schemes of the Soviet period.
The Jaxartes (Syr Darya) delta has practically dried up completely causing rapid and massive shrinkage of the Aral
Sea.
25.7. This represents a clear change of status since the account in the Hou Hanshu which may have been taken
from the report of General Pan Yong to the Emperor circa 125 CE, on which the Chapter on the Western Regions
was based. The Weilue account probably represents the situation later in the 2 nd century, sometime before
communications to the West were cut in the 180’s due to the unrest in China.
Section 26 – The Kingdom of Hude 呼得 [Hu-te].
26.1.
呼 hu – K. 55h *χo / χuo; EMC: xɔ; GR [x]o / xuo,-
得 de – K. 905d * tək / tək; EMC: tək; GR tək / tək
It is likely, from the directions given in the text, that Hude was centred somewhere near modern Shu or Brlik,
northwest of modern Bishkek (or Frunze), where they would have controlled not only the route north to Lake
Balkash, but also a northwesterly route which ran along the Chu Valley, joining the main northern route around the
northern shores of the Aral and Caspian to the Black Sea (probably somewhere near modern Kyzylorda).
The first character, 呼 hu, was sometimes used to transcribe foreign ku or khu sounds (see GR No. 4813 –
vol. III, pp. 102-103). I have been unable to find any other reference to this state and can only assume that it was
eventually absorbed by one of their more powerful neighbours.
Section 27 – The Kingdom of Jiankun 堅昆 [Chien-k’un] = the Kirghiz.
27.1.
堅 jian – K. 368c *kien / kien; EMC kεn
昆 kun – K. 417a *kwən / kuwən; EMC kwən

This is probably the first mention in Chinese literature of this Turkic tribe. It refers to the Kirghiz, who were still
called by the same name: Jiankun 堅昆 [Chien-k’un] during the Tang dynasty.
“As to Jiankun, I find there, just as Mr. Marquart does, the same name as the Kirghiz, but transcribed as a
singular Qyrqun rather than the plural Qyrquδ (*Qyrquz or Kärgüz, from whence 結骨 Jiegu, *Kiäδ-kuəδ,
of the Tang and the Kirγut of the Yuanchaobishi) 1
1 Cf. T’oung Pao, 1916, p. 370. As Qirγuz is the true Turkic form of the name from the Orkhon inscriptions, one can
presume that we have here, with Jiankun (*Qyrqun), a Mongol form. This would be an interesting fact as this name,
Jiankun, is known from the beginning of our era. . . .”
Translated from Pelliot (1920), p. 137 and n. 1.
“Elsewhere I have argued that the ancestors of the Turkish-speaking peoples in the Han period are to
be identified with certain peoples in southern Siberia that were conquered by Mo-tun 冒顿, the founder of
the Hsiung-nu empire, in the course of his expansion to the north and west. 2 These people were the
Ko-k’un 鬲昆, or Chien-k’un 堅昆, whose name can be identified as an early form of Kirghiz, 3 the
Ting-ling 丁靈, and Hsin-li 薪犂, whose name is probably the same as the Sïr in the Orkon inscriptions and
Hsüeh 薛 (EMC siat) of T’ang sources.
2 Edwin Pulleyblank, “The Chinese and their Neighbours in Prehistoric and Early Historic Times,” in David N.
Keightley, ed., The Origins of Chinese Civilization (Berkeley: U. Of California P., 1983), pp. 411-66.
3 Edwin Pulleyblank, “The Name of the Khirgiz,” forthcoming in CAJ.”
Pulleyblank (1990), p. 21 and nn. 2-3.
Their language belongs to the northern or Kipchak group of the Turkic languages, which fits well with the
descriptions of their origins:
“The Xiajiasi [Hsia-chia-szu],” says the Tang shu (chap. CCXVII, b, p. 7 b) “are the ancient kingdom of
the Jiankun, whose territory was to the west of Yiwu (Hami), to the north of Yanqi 焉耆 (Karashahr), beside
the White Mountains (the Bogdo Ula and the mountains to the south of Barkol).”
This evidence does not agree with that of the Weilue which places the Jiankun to the northwest of
Kangju (Sogdiana). According to the Tang shu, the Kirghiz were chased from their original abode by the
Xiongnu Chanyu Chichi (second half of the first century BCE), and took refuge 7,000 li [2,911 km] to the
west of the court of the Chanyu and 5,000 li [2,079 km] to the north of Jushi (Turfan and Gutchen). They
were then 3,000 li [1,247 km] to the northwest of the Uighurs. They dwelt to the south in the Tanman 貪漫
mountains, which appear to be the Dangnu mountains, to the south of the streams forming the upper course
of the Yenisey (however, see HIRTH, Nachworte zur Tasch. des Tonjukuk, pp. 41-42, who identifies the
Tanman with the Sayan mountains).
As a matter of fact, it seems that it is really in the region between the Sayan mountains to the north,
and the Dangnu mountains to the south, where the homeland of the Kirghiz is found. But it is possible, at
the same time, that this nation had had a period of great expansion and that it had extended its influence at
certain moments almost as far as Hami and Karashahr to the south, and as far as the Aral Sea to the west.
This would justify the statements of the Weilue and the Tangshu on the original abode of the Jiankun.”
Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 559, n. 2.
“The Kirghiz traditionally derive their name from kyrk (‘forty’) and kyz (‘daughters’), whom they
claim as their ancestors. In the T’ang dynasty they were in the Abakan steppe in the upper Yenisei. After
defeating the Uighur in Mongolia, they returned to the Yenisei and remained until forced south to the T’ien
Shan complex in the seventeenth century. Some authors believe that the Khakas were the original Yenisei
Kirghiz who remained behind. This would explain the apparent Uralic-Kirghiz mixtures, both cultural and
biological, which characterize the Khakas and Shor populations of the northern Altai. The Kighiz-related
Teleut and Tengit are located to the north and south respectively of the Tuvinian or Tuvan Altaians (Soyot
or Soyon) in the meadowlands of the upper Yenisei tributaries between the Tannu Ola and Sayan ranges.”
Bowles (1977), p. 274.

Section 28 – The Kingdom of Dingling 丁令 [Ting-ling].
28.1. The Kingdom of 丁令 Dingling (around Lake Baikal and on the Irtish River).
丁 ding – K. 833a *tieng / tieng; EMC: tεjŋ; GR tieŋ / tieŋ , tĕŋ / t̂ĕŋ
令 ling – K. 823a *li̯ěng / li̯äng; EMC: liajŋ; GR li̭ěƞ (li̭ěn) / li̭äƞ,- (li̭äƞ)
“On the Dingling people, who lived to the north of the Xiongnu, in the general region of Lake Baikal,
there is little recorded. Most of the material has been collected by Wang Jih-Wei “A Brief History of the
Ting-ling People”. Pulleyblank, “The Chinese and their Neighbours”, 445, identifies them as a
proto-Turkish people.” de Crespigny (1984), p. 510, n. 25.
“Though an identifiable form of the Turkish name underlying Ting-ling has not survived, it is they whose
history between Han and T’ang is most fully documented. Ting-ling elements entered China in Han times
as part of the Southern Hsiung-nu, presumably as subject tribes that had been incorporated into the
Hsiung-nu armies, and they played a role in the barbarian dynasties of the fourth and fifth centuries.
Meanwhile on the steppe itself, the Ting-ling reemerged toward the end of the fourth century as enemies of
the nascent T’o-pa power. A little later they were at war with the Juan-juan. The name Ting-ling continued
to be used occasionally but other forms soon became more common. One is the Chinese Kao-ch’e 高車,
“High Carts,” which is explained as referring to their wagons with very large wheels. The others, Ti-li 犾歷
(EMC dεjk-lεjk), T’e-le 特勒 (EMC dək lək), Ch’ih-le 勅勒 (EMC tr h ik lək), Chih-le 直勒 (EMC drik-lək),
and T’ieh-le 鐵勒 (EMC t h εl-lək), 4 which are obviously transcriptions of foreign names, are evidently new
transcriptions of the name that underlay Ting-ling. James Hamilton proposes to interpret this as *Tägräg, a
word defined in Kashgari’s dictionary as “circle, hoop.” 5 The Chinese term “High Carts” was therefore
probably not merely descriptive of their habits but related to the meaning of the Turkish name.
4 It should be remembered that the last of these Chinese transcriptions, T’ieh-le, has nothing to do with Tölis of the
Orkon inscriptions, with which it is still sometimes identified, following Hirth and Chavannes. Tölis and Tarduš are not
names of tribes but designations for the two main east-west divisions of the Turkish empire. See Peter Boodberg,
“Three Notes on the T’u-chüeh Turks,” in Semetic and Oriental Studies: A Volume presented to William Popper
(Berkeley: U. of California P., 1951), pp. 1– 11.
5 James R. Hamilton, “Toquz-oγuz et On-uγyur,” JA 250.1 (1962), pp. 23-63.”
Pulleyblank (1990), pp. 21-22 and nn. 4-5.
“A more unusual use of –ŋ appears in the name Ting-ling丁零 M. teŋ-leŋ < *teŋ-leŋ. In spite of
Sinor’s objections (1946-47) this is certainly an earlier transcription of the name 狄歷 M. dek-lek, 勅勒 M.
ṭhi̯ək-lək, 特勒 M. dək-lək, 鐵勒 M. thet--lək. The earlier form with –ŋ is even used in South China in the
fifth century A.D. contemporaneously with forms –k in the north. (See Maenchen-Helfen 1939.) Since this
is the group from which the Uighurs emerged, it is highly likely that they spoke Turkish. The underlying
form of the name was probably something like *Tïγrïγ (see Clauson 1960, p. 113, based on remarks of
mine). Chinese –ŋ and –k would then be alternative renderings of foreign *-γ. The adoption of the later
transcriptions was no doubt encouraged by the fact that the final –k was tending in North China to weaken
to a fricative [-γ].” Pulleyblank (1963), II, pp. 230-231.
“The founder of the Hsiung-nu empire, Mao-tun, is said to have conquered five peoples to the north
including the Ko-kun (Kirghiz, see p. 123) and Ting-ling (the later T’ieh-lo, from whom the Uighurs
emerged).” Pulleyblank (1963), II, p. 226.
“Kao-chü is the name given in the northern histories to the Turkish Tölis tribes [but see note 4 of quote
from Pulleyblank (1990) above], whom the histories of the southern dynasties call Ting-ling. See O.
Maenchen, “The Ting-ling,” HJAS, IV (1939), 83; and Menges, p. 1, n. 2.” Miller, R. A. (1959), p. 20, n.
14.

“During the reign of the Han emperor Huang-ti (146-168), an energetic leader named T’an-shih-huai
appeared among the Hsien-pi. He subjected the elders to his authority, introduced laws, gathered large
forces and defeated the Northern Hsiung-nu around 155.
All the elders of the eastern and western nomadic communities submitted to him. As a result of this
he looted the lands along the line of fortifications, repulsed the Ting-ling in the north, made the Fo-yü
kingdom retreat in the east, attacked the Wu-sun in the west, and took possession of all the former
Hsiung-nu territories, which extended for more than 14,000 li [5,821 km] to the east and the west, were
intersected by mountains and rivers, and had large numbers of fresh and salt-water lakes.
Thus the territories of the Hsien-pi extended as far as those settled by the Wu-sun in the Ili basin in
the west, while in the north they adjoined those of the Ting-ling alliance of tribes which occupied the Altai
mountains, the basins of the upper and middle Yenisey and the areas adjoining and to the west of Lake
Baikal.” Kyzlasov (1996), p. 319.
28.2. Famous sable pelts. Sable, according to the 17 th Century Tiangong Kaiu [T’ien-kung K’ai-wu], was the
warmest of all furs and, “any sable hair that gets into one’s eyes is easily removed. For these reasons it is the most
expensive.” Sung (1637), p. 64. The region has long been famous for its abundance of sable:
“The taiga also provided wealth, for it was home to the sable. . . . And just as the Renaissance prince or
merchant expressed this new vigour by adorning his walls with the paintings of Bortticelli, his altarpieces
with the work of Dürer, his table with the gold of the Incas, he wore the finest and costliest fur he could
find.
It is the fate of Martes zibellina, a twenty-inch carnivorous weasel that we know as the sable, to be
the natural bearer of this fur. In its full winter prime, the sable’s pelt, usually jet black, sometimes dark
brown or flecked with white, is the softest, warmest, most durable fine fur in the world. As Kiev, Vladimir
and Novgorod followed each other in dominating the lands called Rus during the twelfth, thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries, furs had been their prime export. In Kievan Rus, the marten pelt had been the standard
medium of exchange.” Bull (1999), p. 163.
“He was teaching his fifteen-year-old son the craft of the taiga man: how to build a trap that would
lift the sable from the ground so that its thrashing and the carnivores of the forest would not destroy the
pelt; that the legs of deer and horses provide the best skins for skis; how to blaze trail marks high enough
that the winter snows would not cover them.” Bull (1999), p. 149.
“The objects of trade most frequently mentioned as brought in [to China] by the Hsiung-nu were horses,
cattle, sheep, and furs. . . . On the other hand, the Hu-chieh and Chien-k’un could supply furs in great
abundance as well as horses, and it is of particular interest to note that the distant Ting-ling and Yen-ts’ai
are credited with “renowned” and highly esteemed sables. Furs, indeed, were in demand by the Chinese,
not merely for their own use, but because they constituted an important commodity in world trade, and an
insight into the ways of commerce during the first century is provided by the information that dyed furs
from China were shipped from Barbaricon, on the Indus, to Rome.” Teggart (1939), pp. 215-216.
“As trade with Central Asia increased, the demand for special goods from the west developed among the
ruling élite and the urban population. No doubt most of these goods such as coral, pearls, precious stones,
exotic animals and fragrances, whether indigenous Central Asian products or imported from West or South
Asia, ended up as tribute to the court during the Han; but various furs and woollen textiles reached the
markets of both high social levels and the common people.
As early as the Former Han merchants in the capital, Ch’ang-an, sold all kinds of furs from Central
Asia in their stores (HS: XCI, 3687; An Tso-chang 1979: 124). Merchants in the Later Han were anxious to
acquire goods from Central Asia, so that when Pan Ch’ao attacked Yen Ch’i [Karashahr] merchants
comprised substantial parts of his force (HHS: XLVII, 1581). Pan Ch’ao’s elder brother, the historian Pan
Ku, asked Ch’ao to buy him some wool blankets and rugs. He also mentioned that Tou Hsien, an influential
minister in the court, had purchased wool blankets, horses and styrax from the Western Region. They all
paid with bolts of white silk (Ch’üan Hou Han Wen: 25/4a). That the border markets continued to function
even during the war suggests that there was a regular trade with Central Asians along the border (SC: CX,
2905). Even soldiers guarding the watch towers along the frontier engaged in trade (Yü Ying-shih 1967:
95). But these marginal commercial activities were inadequate to meet the needs of interior cities. The
desire for western products provided an important impetus for the Later Han’s military involvement in
Central Asia.” Liu (1988), pp. 16-17.

“The “Monograph on Economy” in the Shih chi records that each of the big cities of China annually
consumed “one thousand pieces of fox and sable skins and one thousand tan [approximately 30,000 kg] of
lamb skins.” A notation in the Hanshu suggests that, ‘because the fox and sable furs were expensive, the
number was given, and, because the lamb skins were cheap, they were measured by their weight.” Fox and
sable furs were exported to China by nomadic hunters and trappers working in the Great Hsingan
Mountains and the wooded areas north of the Gobi.” Jagchid and Symons (1989), p. 166.
“You must know that in the north there is a king called Kaunchi. He is a Tartar and all his people are
Tartars. They observe the Tartar law, which is very brutish. But they observe it after the old fashion of
Chinghiz Khan and the other genuine Tartars. So I will tell you something about it. . . .
Kaunchi is subject to no one. It is a fact that he is of the stock of Chinghiz Khan – the imperial
lineage – and a near kinsman of the Great Khan. He has neither city nor town in his dominion; but his
people spend their lives among the vast plains and high mountains. They live on the flesh and milk of their
herds, without any grain. . . . In his country there are big bears, pure white and more than twenty palms in
length, big black foxes, wild asses, plenty of sables – the same that produce the costly furs of which I have
told you, which are worth more than 1,000 bezants for one man’s fur – vair in abundance and great
multitudes of Pharaoh’s rats, on which they live all the summer, since they are creatures of some size. . . .
A long way to the north of this kingdom, still farther to the north, is a province which is called the
Land of Darkness, because perpetual darkness reigns there, unlit by sun or moon or star – such darkness as
is in our countries in the early evening. . . .
These people have great quantities of costly furs – sable, whose immense value I have already noted,
ermine, ercolin, vair, and black fox, and many others. They are all trappers, who acquire such numbers of
these furs that it is truly marvellous. And all these they sell to neighbouring tribes within the bounds of
daylight; for they take them into the lands of daylight and sell them there. And the traders who buy them
make a huge profit. And I assure you that these dwellers in the Darkness are tall and well-formed in all
their limbs, but very pale and colourless.
This province adjoins one end of Great Russia. . . . ” Marco Polo in Latham (1982), pp. 289-290, 292.
“We have already noticed the continuance in T’ang times of the ancient custom of attaching the tails of
martens and the like to the costumes, especially the hats, of warriors. Some high officials of T’ang also
wore these badges of valorous distinction. But it was the daring youths who went out to the Tartar frontier,
or returned to their native soil for hawking and hunting whose special mark these were:
Interlinking gold mail armor
Ear-covering marten-rat garb
[Ts’ui Hao, eighth century]
. . . . Whether martens, sables, or ermines, small furs were imported in quantity for the T’ang military
establishment. Even the Chinese frontier provinces sent them regularly to the imperial saddlery to be made
into paraphernalia for the cavalry. The soft warm skins were sent by the Ulaghun, a people dwelling west of
the Mo-ho, east of the Turks, and north of the Khitans, in the seventh century, and particularly from the
Tungusic Mo-ho tribes, on the Sungari and the Amur, in the eighth century, sometimes in quantities of a
thousand.” Schafer (1963), pp. 105-106.
“It is not always easy to tell [in the Chinese accounts] whether the animal meant is a marten, a kolinsky, a
sable, or an ermine. All are known by the same collective name.” Schafer (1963), p. 305, n. 21.
Chapter 39 of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions that Chinese pelts (literally, ‘Seric skins’) were
available for sale to western merchants at the port of Barbaricum near the mouth of the Indus River. These skins
were presumably imported overland from Central Asia, large parts of which were then under Chinese control
(hence the term ‘Seric’ or ‘Chinese’). Schoff (1912), pp. 37-38, 171-172; Casson (1989), p. 75.
28.3. White 昆子 kunzi and blue kunzi = the Arctic fox – Alopex lagopus.
昆 K. 417a *kwən / kuən; EMC: kwən
子 K. 964a: *tsi̯əg / tsi; EMC tsɨ’/tsi’

“The same character [子] is found in 昆子 kuən-tsi̯ə ̷ mentioned in the Wei-lüeh as the name of a
fur-bearing animal in the territory of the Ting-ling (Chavannes 1905, p. 559, Hirth 1901, p. 82). In spite of
Sinor’s objections (1948, p. 9) this must surely be for *qïrsaq, i.e. Turkish qarsaq “arctic fox.” Hirth, who
could find nothing to stand for the final –q of Turkish, related it to Mongol and Tungusic forms but this is
unnecessary, since the Chinese word had a final glottal stop which could stand for –q. Sinor’s argument
that Chinese –n in *kuən could not represent –r because the same character is used elsewhere with a value
kun is of course of no weight (see p. 228 below).” Pulleyblank (1963) Part II, p. 226.
“Arctic fox, also called WHITE FOX or POLAR FOX (Alopex lagopus), northern fox of the family
Canidae; found throughout the arctic, usually on tundra or mountains near the sea. . . . Coloration depends
on whether the animal is of the “white” or the “blue” colour phase. Individuals of the white phase are
grayish brown in summer and white in winter, while those of the blue phase (blue foxes of the fur trade) are
grayish in summer and gray blue in winter.” NEB Vol. I, p. 493.
According to the Tiangung Kaiwu [T’ien-kung K’ai-wu]:
“Fox furs are also produced in [north China as in] Hopei, Shantung, Southern Manchuria, and Honan. A
gown lined with pure white fox fetches almost as high a price as sable. . . . Fox furs are second to sables as
protection against the cold. The underfur of Manchurian foxes is dark bluish in color, while that of foxes in
China Proper is white. By blowing on the pelt and separating the overhair, the buyer [ascertains the origin
of the fur and] grades it on the basis of the color of the underfur.” Sung (1637), p. 64
A Tibetan text of the 8 th century refers to “blue” pelts of some animal, probably foxes, being harvested and traded
by the Kirghiz [who, in the Weilue, are said to live just to the west of the Dingling]:
“Meanwhile, further north, on the shore of an endless lake [probably Lake Baikal], the homes and bodies of
the people resemble the ‘A-źa [the Tuyuhun or T’u-yü-hun who lived near Kokonor. They were the
descendants of the Zilu or Tzu-lu of the Weilue]. For clothes they wear furs. In winter on the great plateau,
the ground cracks. The people cannot come and go. The people being numerous, are prosperous.
Meanwhile, to the lower north [meaning ‘further north’ or, perhaps, northeast] is the Khe-rged
[Kirghiz]. They cover their tents with birchbark. They offer the pelts of blue rats [actually, the Tibetan
word byi-ba can stand for ‘rat’, ‘marmot’, or other, similar, small animals] to the Hor [Uighurs].”
Translated from Bacot (1956), pp. 145-146.
The arctic fox is commonly a blue grey in summer and white fox furs are often dyed to resemble it. The furs may
have been naturally bluish in tint (for example, the “Arctic Blue Fox”), or the pelts may have been dyed – Pliny
23-79 CE [circa 77 CE] says:
“In the case of animal hides and coats, the most expensive are the skins dyed by the Chinese [‘Seres’ –
probably does not refer to the Chinese, but to some Central Asian tribes] and the Arabian she-goat’s beard
that we call ladanum.” Pliny the Elder, NH, bk. XXXVII, chap. 204. Also quoted in: Schoff (1912), p. 171,
as: “… the most valuable objects furnished by the coverings of animals are the skins which the Seres dye.”
28.4. Chanyu 單于 [Ch’an-yü] – often, but less correctly, rendered Shanyu [Shan-yü]. Chanyu was the title of the
leaders of the Xiongnu. It was also assumed by Xian, a king of Yarkand (see TWR note 20.8).
According to the GR No. 10333, the title Chanyu is a Chinese transcription of Khan – but how they arrived
at this conclusion is unclear. In any case, it was certainly the equivalent of the modern terms ‘Khan,’ ‘Shah,’ or
‘King.’
The Guangyun, a dictionary compiled in 601 CE by Lu Fayan, and completed during the Song dynasty, gives
three readings for the first character of this title: dan, chan, and shan. The form chan is specifically mentioned as
being used in the Xiongnu title Chanyu. The reading shan is used as a place or family name; the reading dan means
‘single’ or ‘alone.’ See, for example: Pan (1992), p. 42, n. 2; Pulleyblank (1991), p. 48; Bailey (1985), p. 32.
“It would not be surprising to find that the title of the supreme ruler of the Hsiung-nu reappeared in
later nomad empires. Indeed it would be more surprising if it did not. Sir Gerard Clauson has recently
suggested that it is to be recognized in yabgu which we find among the T’u-chüeh in the T’ang period. This
is impossible to accept on several grounds. Shan-yü < M. M. ji̯en-ĥi̯ou < *dān-ĥwāĥ is phonetically quite
unsatisfactory as an equivalent for yabgu even if we reconstruct as an early Turkish word with an initial δ.

28.5.
Chinese would have used –m or –p to represent the labial consonant, never –n. Moreover a good Han
dynasty transcription of yabgu exists in hsi-hou, found among the Wu-sun, Yüeh-chih and K’ang-chü, but
not the Hsiung-nu, and probably of Tocharian origin (see p. 95). Later the title occurs among the
descendants of the Yüeh-chih in Bactria and it was probably borrowed by the Turks from there. A fuller
discussion must be left for another occasion.
Nevertheless shan-yü did not vanish and we can, I think, see in it the ancestral form of another title
that reappears among the Turks and Mongols and was also known farther west, namely tarqan, tarxan, etc.
This is one of the titles which have “Mongol” plurals in –t (tarqat) and which, according to Pelliot (1915),
must have been borrowed by the T’u-chüeh from their Juan-juan predecessors. He pointed out also that the
spelling with –x- in Kashgari was a characteristic of words of foreign origin (1944, p. 176, n. 2). Whether
or not Pelliot was right about the immediate source of the word in Turkish, the ultimate source was no
doubt the Hsiung-nu. Phonetically the correspondence is good. The use of Chinese –n for foreign –r is
regular in the Han period. The Chinese initial *d- would not yet have been palatalized in the second century
B.C. when the transcription first appears. The use of Chinese ĥw- for a foreign back velar or uvular γ or G
has been discussed above. The Hsiung-nu word lacks the final –n which we find in the Turkish but we shall
find other examples of this in qaγan, qatïn and tegin.” Pulleyblank (1963), pp. 256-257. See also note 20.1.
“These distances of 7,000 li and 5,000 li are the ones we have already found in the Tangshu [cf.
Chavannes’ note in 27.1]. But the Tangshu and, no doubt, Yu Huan himself, have borrowed this
information from the Hanshu in which we read (chap. XCIV, b. p.2b): “The Qiangun (Kirghiz) are 7,000 li
to the west of the Chanyu, and 5,000 li to the north of Jushi (Jimasa).” Translated from Chavannes (1905),
p. 560, n. 2.
“Evidence corroborative of Ptolemy’s account of the peoples in western Siberia is also found in the Chinese
sources. When Chih-chih moved to the “right” or western land of the Hsiung-nu in 49 B.C., he first
encountered and defeated I-li-mu Khan, a Hsiung-nu leader who similarly had moved westward in 56. He
then sought an alliance with the Wu-sun, but his overtures were rejected, and in the conflict which ensued
Chih-chih routed the Wu-sun troops. Nevertheless he did not follow up this success, but retired northward
and attacked the Hu-chieh (Uigurs) [but see my notes in 26.1]; after this people had submitted, he marched
west and overthrew the Chien-k’un (Kirghiz); finally he again turned northward and reduced the Ting-ling.
These peoples he united under his personal leadership. The information is also provided that the Chien-k’un
[Kirghiz] were situated at a distance of 7000 li (more than 2000 miles) from the ordo or headquarters of the
Hsiung-nu shan-yü in Mongolia – presumably on the river Orkon. From the indications in the sources, it
has been inferred that the Hu-chieh (Uigurs) stretched westward from Kobdo to the Tarbagatai Mountains
and as far as Semipalatinsk; that the Chien-k’un occupied the steppe region as the Kirghiz do to the present
day; and that the Ting-ling were situated to the north and along the river Irtish.” Teggart (1939), p. 210
28.6. The six kingdoms of Jushi.
“The six kingdoms of Jushi must doubtless be, for Yu Huan, the six kingdoms which he has enumerated
above [see notes 23.1–23.8.] as dependent on the Further tribe of Jushi.
For the author of the Hou Hanshu (chap. CXVIII, p. 8.b)[see: TWR,Section 27, para. 2], the six
kingdoms of Jushi are: The Nearer Jushi (Yarkhoto near Turfan), the Further Jushi (Jimasa near Gucheng),
the Eastern Qiemi, the Beilu, the Pulei (between Urumchi and Manass), and Yizhi (near Lake Barkol).”
Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 560, n. 3.
28.7. Except in the note from Chavannes (1905), p. 561, n. 1, I have been unable to find any references to the
following kingdoms listed in the text: Hunyu 渾窳; Qushi 屈射; Gekun 隔昆 and Xinli 新犂.
“1) Yu Huan is only reproducing here a text of Sima Qian (chap. CX, p. 5a) where it is said that, previous to
200 BCE, the Xiongnu subdued various peoples who lived to the north of their territories, namely, the
Hunyu, the Qushi, the Dingling, the Gekun, and the Xinli 後北服渾庾屈射丁靈鬲昆薪犂之國. In the
Qian Hanshu (chap. XCIV, p. 4a), the same phrase becomes: 後北服渾窳屈射丁零隔昆龍新犂之國.”
[Note – the third last character here should have radical 140 above it – the proper character is not available in my fonts]
28.8. I agree with Chavannes that there was only one people called the Dingling 丁令 [Ting-ling] and that the
Weilue is either referring to a group of Dingling who had travelled from one region to another, whose territory at

times was quite extensive or, perhaps, was made up of two or more clans occupying adjoining territories.
“The name of this nation is written 丁靈 in Sima Qian (chap. CX, p. 5a), 丁零 in the Hanshu (chap. XCIV,
a, p. 5a), and 釘靈 in the Shanhaijing (chap. XVIII, p. 8a of the lithographic edition of 1891). It will seen,
further on, however, that Yu Huan claims to distinguish the Dingling who dwell to the north of Kangju
from the Dingling who live to the north of the Xiongnu, but this distinction appears to be very artificial.”
Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 560, n. 1.
28.9. The kingdom of 馬脛 Maxing [Ma-hsing], literally: ‘Horses Hocks’. This reference reminds one of the Greek
stories of the Centaurs (Greek: Kentauros). The Centaurs supposedly lived in the mountains of Thessaly and
Arcadia and were men only to the waist with a horse’s hindlegs. The Indian Vedic Gandharvas are also considered
to be half-man half-horse.
“Cf. Shanhaijing [Shan hai ching], chap. XVIII, p. 8a of the lithographic edition of 1891: “There is the
kingdom of the Dingling. These people have hair below the knees and horses’ hooves. They excel at
running.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 561, p. 2.
Section 29 – The Kingdom of 短人 Duanren, literally “short men”.
29.1. Duanren 短人 [Tuan-jen] = literally, “short men.” This is not a usual Chinese term for “pygmy” or “dwarf”
and, therefore, I believe, it should be translated literally.
The statement that: “The men and women are all three chi tall [0.693 metres or 2.27 feet],” is obviously a
simple exaggeration. Teggart (in his note below) is probably on to the original source of these stories – the shorter
than average tribes of the north such as the Lapps and various Siberian tribes such as the Tungus and Yakuts.
The average height of the Lapps is according to NEB Vol. 1, p. 1128, 5ft 3ins (1.60 metres) for males and 4ft
10ins (1.47 metres) for adult females which, while short, is much taller than reported in the account given here.
“Confucius in 494 B.C. had already said that the measure of three feet was the minimum human height. It is
again at three feet that, in the year 642 A.D., T’ai, king of the Wei, estimated the height of the pygmies in
the curious text of the Kuo ti chih which speaks of battles of the various pygmies against the cranes.
Although Yü Huan does not mention the cranes in speaking of the kingdom of the Dwarfs and, although the
description that he gives of the men with horses’ hooves does not absolutely agree with the classical notion
of the centaurs, it seems difficult to me to not see in his account a reflection of the western legends relating
to the centaurs and the pygmies.” Translated from Chavannes (1905), p. 562, n. 1.
“Nor,... should the detail, recorded by Yü Huan, be overlooked that in the early part of the third century old
men of the K’ang-chü still told of their journeys – 10,000 li – in extent – beyond the kingdom of the
Yen-ts’ai to the kingdom of the Dwarfs, in other words, to the country of the Lapps.” Teggart (1939), p.
204.
“In the same year [724] a pygmy was sent from Samarkand, a fruitful land, rich in all wares and produce. A
race of pygmies called the “short men,” who lived far to the northwest of that place, had been heard of in
China since very early times. Their land was said to be rich in pearls and phosphorescent gems. Another
tradition said that they lived peaceful lives north of the Turks in Siberia, where their only enemies were
great birds which ate them when they could, though the pygmies fought fiercely with bows and arrows.
These are, of course, the pygmies of the classical Greeks, but in this Far Eastern version of their story they
are placed in eastern Europe or in Siberia, not in the depths of Africa.” Schafer (1963), p. 48.
Section 30 – Yu Huan’s Comments
30.1. This passage seems to be a retelling of a story told by Zhuang Zi [Chuang Tzu]:
“Jo [the spirit lord of the Northern Sea] said: “A frog in a well cannot be talked with about the sea; he is
confined to the limits of his hole. An insect of the summer cannot be talked with about ice; it knows
nothing beyond its own season. A scholar of limited views cannot be talked with about the Tao; he is bound
by the teaching he has received.” Waltham (1971), Book XVII, pp. 190-191.

“I have not found the expression 營廷之魚 [yingtingchiyu] in any dictionary. Perhaps the words 營廷
[yingting] are the equivalent of the words 瀯汀 [yingting] which designate a small watercourse.” Translated
and adapted Chavannes (1905), p. 562, n. 2.
I have taken Chavannes’ interpretation here principally because it seems to make the most sense. Translating the
actual phrase literally gives a meaning of something like: “around (or encircling) the court the fish. . . .” So, it may
be a literary allusion with the implication of someone stuck in the court having no knowledge of the wide world
outside.
30.2. fuyu 浖游 – GR No. 3615, indicates a mayfly: “a slender fragile-winged short-lived imago insect of the order
Plectoptera that often emerges in multitudes in spring.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1976).
Chavannes (1905), p. 52, n. 4, says they “only live three days; therefore they cannot know the four seasons
that make up a complete year.”
30.3. Zou Yan [Tsou Yen] (ca. 305-240 BCE) is today mainly remembered for his elaborations on the interactions
of yin and yang “and that the vicissitudes of human history are determined by the successive domination of the
so-called Five Phases (wuxing: sometimes misleadingly translated as the ‘Five Elements’): wood, fire, metal,
water, and earth, generated by the inner dynamism of yin and yang.” See: Kramers (1983) in CHC, p. 750.
“The first to unite the yin-yang and Five Elements into a single system was apparently Tsou Yen (ca.
305–ca. 240), traditionally regarded as the “father” of Chinese naturalistic thinking. Living as he did during
the Warring States period, he gave the elements political significance by correlating each of them with a
particular dynasty or reign in an endlessly recurring cycle. In this way he and his followers induced several
of the Warring States rulers to institute state cults of the Five Elements in the hope of gaining the support of
that particular element destined by its position in the cycle to replace the ebbing element of the Chou
dynasty. Before Tsou Yen and perhaps for some time after him as well, the Five Elements seem to have
been almost exclusively the concern of court astronomers, physicians, music masters, diviners, and the like,
and it was to this class of men that Tsou Yen himself possibly belonged. By contrast, the elements are
barely mentioned in sociophilosophical writngs before the second half of the third century B.C.” Bodde
(1991), pp. 101-102.
30.4. The Dayitaixuan 大易太玄 [Ta-i-t’ai-hsüan].
“大易太玄. Yu Huan had in mind here the work on the Yijing [I-ching] which was published under the title
of [Taixuanqing] 太玄經 [T’ai-hsüan ching], by the scholar Yang Xiong 揚雄 (53 BCE – 18 CE).”
Translated from: Chavannes (1905), 563, n. 1.
“Still another sociocosmological system, also of Han date, was the one created by Yang Hsiung (57 B.C. –
A.D.18) in his T’ai hsüan ching (Canon of Supreme Mystery). Basic to it was a sequence of eighty-one
tetragrams (graphs of four lines each), each embodying multiple symbolic meanings. Yang expounded
these with a complexity and sophistication that gained his work the admiration of the few but prevented it
from ever equalling the Yi ching in popular esteem.” Bodde (1991), pp. 194-195.
Yang Xiong’s familiar name was Zi Yun [Tzu Yün] and he came from Chengdu. Yang Xiong also published the
Fayan [Fa-yen], Fengyan [Fang-yen], and Xunzuan [Hsün-tsuan].
“The Confucianists not only studied the Book of Changes, they sometimes imitated it. Such, for
example, is the Book of the Great Mystery (T’ai-hsüan ching) of Yang Hsiung – a very difficult text which
has not been unriddled up to the present. In it there are the same symbolic linear figures apropos of which
texts are pronounced; only these figures are composed of four lines, of which there are three types: solid,
broken, and twice broken. Thus there are eight-one symbols in the Book of the Great Mystery [instead of
the 64 of the Yijing].” Shchutskii (1979), p. 215.
“The third major classical Confucian, Hsüan Tzu, exalted Confucius and vigorously defended what
he called the ‘orthodox Tao” (cheng tao; see below), but he also criticized Mencius severely, while making
no claim himself to be the Tao’s transmitter. His modesty was followed by Tung Chung-shu, despite the
latter’s importance as the major formulator of Han Confucianism. Only Yang Hsiung (53 B.C. – A.D. 18)
boldly ventured to compare himself to Mencius as a staunch upholder of the Tao (Fung 1953:150). This
claim was subsequently ignored or denied, while Confucianism, after the second century A.D., went into a

kind of philosophical hibernation until the time of Han Yü [768–824].” Bodde (1991), p. 177.
30.5. The phrase 牛蹄之涔 – “the water left in the hoof print of an ox” – was probably borrowed quite early from
Sanskrit or a related Indian language as the following note explains:
“HNZ 13 (c0148) nyou ji jr tsen “the water in the depression made by an ox hoof [which is not enough for
a large fish to live in].” Cf Sktgospada, Pali gopada, gopadaka, also “the water in the print of a bovine
hoof.” Very widespread as a figure in Indian literature, including Buddhist literature, a perhaps early case
being the Anguttara-Nikaya, which according to our author was “composed in the 03c when the Third
Conference on the Buddhist Canon was held” [ref: Rhys Davids, Pali-English Dictionary, p. 254]. The
Third Conference is usually placed in the time of Asoka [indeed 03c], though its existence has also been
denied altogether; Pande, Studies in the Origins of Buddhism is inclined to credit the event and its date, but
suggests that it may not have been very closely associated with Asoka himself. Pande’s long discussion of
the relative dating of the Nikayas must await a later occasion. I note in passing that one supposedly late trait
within them is the “numerical category” style of enumeration, which appears in Chinese texts as a device or
vice of style in the late 04c [by my datings], and was used by Tswei Shu as one hallmark of his late stratum
of the Analects, LY 16-20, all of which I date to the first half of the 03c.” Email from Professor E. Bruce
Brooks of the University of Massachusetts, 22 September 2000.
30.6. Peng Zu 彭祖 [P’eng Tzu] was a mythological person, said to have been the grandson of Emperor Xuanzu
[Hsüan-tsu], and to have lived for over 700 years through the Xia [Hsia] and Yin dynasties. DEALT. GR 8732, p.
956 says: “(Myth.) P’eng tsu: legendary minister of emperor 堯 Yao, he lived more than eight hundred years due to
his alimentary and bodily hygiene. He was called upon to bring wind and rain.”
30.7. This reference to the eight 荒 huang or “frontier regions” seems to refer to the geographical concepts of
Taoist scholars influenced by Zou Yan [Tsou Yen] – see note 30.3.
“According to Tsou Yen’s theory, there are nine large continents (ta chiu-chou) in the world, and each is
further divided into nine regions. The nine continents are separated from one another by vast oceans, and
the nine regions of each continent are also separated from one another by a circling sea. China, known as
the Spiritual Continent of the Red Region (ch’ih-hsien shen-chou), constitutes but one of the nine regions
of a large continent. In other words, China occupies only one of the eighty-one divisions of the entire
world. Moreover, in Tsou Yen’s system, it is not even clear whether China is located in the central regions
of its own continent.” Yü (1986), pp. 377-378.
“The Huai-nan-tzu [completed 139 BCE in the short-lived kingdom of Ssu-shui in central China]
particularly shows the influence of Tsou Yen. It asserts that beyond China there are eight extensions
(pa-yen), and beyond these eight extensions there are the eight extremities (pa-chi). According to this view,
therefore, China forms only a small part of the entire world.” Yü (1986), pp. 378-379.
“The different chapters invoke the myths of China in connection with subjects such as the geography and
shape of the universe, the abode of the holy beings (shen), and shamanism. The Huai-nan-tzu is concerned
with discriminating between the different zones of heaven and earth and their relationship, and much of its
explanation is couched in terms of myth. The book discusses in the same way the question of how the stars,
the winds, or the islands of the ocean fit into a major system, and how the characteristic features of those
elements came to be formed. Parts of the book may almost be taken as an active guide for the benefit of
mystics and pilgrims setting out on their way to the more arcane parts of the universe.” Loewe (1986c), p.
659.
“All this numerology in 9, like that of the Five Elements, probably derives more from Tsou Yen than
from any other single person. Such a conjunction of the two numerologies in one man is significant in view
of the generic relationship we have noted between spatial centrality in 5 and the same in 9. The importance
9 had in Tsou’s thinking is evident from the outline of his geographical ideas preserved in the Shih chi
(74/Ia-b; tr. Fung 1952: 160–161). There it is said that China, according to Tsou Yen, was merely one
among nine different continents, each surrounded by water; that these comprised one Great Continent
(presumably also surrounded by water, although the account does not say this); and, finally, that there were
nine such Great Continents, surrounded on their outer edges by a vast ocean separating the terrestrial earth
from heaven. Thus China was but one part of the world out of eighty-one (a powerful intensification, 9 X 9,
of the potency of 9).” Bodde (1991), p. 118.