Sunday, October 25, 2009

LECTURE 3 / 22 OCTOBER 2009

Beauty of Loulan and the Tarim Basin During Han China
I. Geography of the Western Regions
• Hexi Corridor
• Junggar Basin (between Altay Mountain and Tian Shan)
• Tarim Basin (between Tian Shan and Kunlun Mountain; Taklamakan Desert and the oases)
• Ili River (emptying into Lake Balkash)
• Fergana Valley (north of the Pamir Plateau)
• Transaxiana (east of the Aral Sea; between Syr Darya and Amu Darya)
II. After Zhang Qian’s Missions
• Han China seized the initiative and forced Xiong-nu to split into two groups.
• One group moved south and integrated in the Han population.
• The main body of Xiong-nu fled westward, displacing peoples on their way, driving some of them further west, ultimately causing Germanic tribes to invade Roman territories in Western Europe.
III. Early Settlers in Tarim Basin
Tocharians
• Tocharians (a term given by European scholars) moved into Junggar Basin before 2000 BCE; Indo-Europeans who spoke a western dialect, akin to the languages spoken by Celts, Hittites and Greeks.
• By contrast, Persians and Aryans who invaded India around 1500 BCE spoke an eastern Indo-European dialect (even though they were located to the west of the Tocharians), .
• Credited with bringing wheat to East Asia.
B. Scythians (Sakas)
• Scythians spoke an Iranian language, were an early group of Indo-Europeans who wandered on the Eurosian steppes. .
• Some migrated south and became settled farmers; the majority practiced pastoralism.
• They were known as Scythians, Sakas and Saizhong, by ancient Greeks, Persians and Chinese.
• First to domesticate the horse and to fight on the horseback.

REMARK: Tocharians and Scythians were the early settlers in Junggar and Tarim basins.

The Yue-Chi’s
• Yue-Chi’s were a Tocharian group which populated the Hexi Corridor, Qaidam basin and Junggar basin.
• They interacted with the Qiang group, speakers of a Sino-Tibetan language and related to Tibetans.
• Yue-Chi’s were driven out of Hexi Corridor by Xiong-nu and moved successively to the Ili River area, the Fergana Valley, Transaxiana, Bactria and Gandhara.
• A sub-group of Yue-Chi had populated the eastern part of the Tarim basin when Xiong-nu became powerful in the Western Regions.
IV. Hexi Corridor and the Oases States in Today’s Xinjiang During West Han
A. Administrative measures by Han dynasty
• Along the 1200 km Hexi Corridor, Han set up four counties with four garrison towns which were also centers of trade and cultural exchange.
• This administrative structure has remained for more than 2000 years.
• Han dynasty also extended its power in the Junggar and Tarim basins, stationed soldiers in key locations and constructed walls and beacon towers throughout the region.
• Han took Loulan in the east and Fergana in the west by force and established suzerainty throughout the Western Region, requiring each state to send a prince to Chang’an as a guarantee of its allegiance to Han.
• Since Xiong-nu was no longer a major player in the region, and since trade flourished between Han and these states, most of the oases states were under Han domination.
• Rebellion sometimes broke out, usually when there was internal turmoil in China proper.
V. Ban Chao and His Exploits
• Ban Chao (32-102 CE), from a prominent family, chose to be a soldier rather than a court official; he was sent to the Western Regions in 73 CE as the leader of a 36-man elite force.
• This elite force took daring and decisive actions in subduing adversaries and showed diplomatic skills in dealing with the various states on the oases in the Tarim Basin.
• Ban Chao subsequently worked to fend off occasional incursions of Xiong-nu and Yue-chi into these states, enforcing Han’s control over the Western Region and ensuring passage of the trade routes.
• In 97 EC, he sent an associate, Gan Ying, to visit the Roman Empire, but Gan Ying only reached the Persian Gulf. His report was interesting and useful.
• After serving in the Western Regions for nearly 30 years, Ban Chao pleaded with the emperor to allow him to return. But his plea was ignored.
• After his sister risked her own life to plea on his behalf, he was finally allowed to return home and died shortly after.
• Later his son Ban Yong was appointed to the same post and made further gains for Han Dynasty.
• It was about this period that Buddhism came to central China from the Tarim Basin.
VI. Loulan Kingdom
• Loulan was the eastern-most oasis state among dozens of small states ringing the Tarim Basin. Travelers from China proper must rest in Loulan before going forward.
• Its strategic location made it a center of commerce and a meeting point of different cultures.
• Due to shifting and drying of the river near it, Loulan became submerged under the sand around 1200 CE.
• However, many earlier Chinese poems made references to Loulan in romantic terms.
• The British archeologist Stein made two expeditions in early 20th century into the Lop Nor area and discovered the Loulan site, taking away many documents written in different languages, including Tocharian, Chinese and Khotan.
• Because of its geo-political importance, also due to the reputed beauty of Loulan girls, many rulers of the Tarim states took Loulan women as wives.
• Chinese archeologists found toward the end of 20th century many more artifacts at the Loulan site which demonstrate the multi-cultural character of Loulan as well as its close relationship with China proper.
VII. Shule Kingdom
• On a large oasis at the western edge of the Tarim Basin, with Fergana Valley lying just to the northwest of the Pamirs .
• Important to Han’s position in the Western Region, hence there were Han soldiers and civilians in Shule to ensure its allegiance.
• Sometimes under Xiong-nu threat but never conquered by them.
• Later known as Kashgar, always under the cultural influences of Persia, India and China
VIII. Yutian (Khotan) Kingdom
• At the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, just north of Kunlun Mountain
• Rich in high-quality jade and an important supplier to China for over 4000 years
• Residents were descendents of Scythians, with some Qiang elements
• Close-ties with Han and a major conduit by which Buddhism entered China
IX. Niya Kingdom
• Recorded in Chinese history books in detail, but no trace of it in recent centuries
• Stein made efforts to unearth it without success
• In 1994, a combined Chinese-Japanese team discovered its precise site and made extensive investigations
• Many treasures were found, among which is an embroidered elbow pad with Chinese characters and animals or legendary animals of Persia and Africa