国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

The very next day we gave our return-dinner. It was in all respects like the foregoing, except that yesterday's hosts were now the guests while the guests of the previous day were now the hosts. The meal also differed in another detail in that the thirty-eight year old Mongol prince, SENGTSEN GEGEN' of the Qarashahr Torgut tribe, was now among the guests. (As a matter of fact it was the nephew of this dignitary that was the prince of the Qara-shahr Torguts, but the Gegen was representing the real prince, a youth of fifteen called BICHIGEN KHAN, pending the latter's majority.) SENGTSEN GEGEN was the commander of the troops that were despatched to the eastern frontier of Sinkiang to protect the province against the army of invasion that the rumour alleged our expedition to be. He gave us to understand that he dreamed of owning a rifle with telescope-sights, and when on the following day he came on a visit to us, driving in a Russian droshky and escorted by his Torgut body-guard on yellow horses, he was presented with Major HEYDER'S rifle — we having first been granted gracious permission to unpack the latter from the sealed rifle-chest. In return he gave Professor Sm and myself a bear-skin apiece.

During the third dinner in YOLBARS KHAN'S house the officers' corps in Hami acted the part of hosts, and the same persons were present as on the second day.

All kinds of provisions were sent to our quarters, such as rice and mutton, as well as quantities of the big, delicious Hami melons, which are probably the finest in the world.

THE TOWN

Hami2 has its China-town and its Turki-town, its Mohammedan bazaars and Chinese booths, its mosques and its temples. A frontier garrison is stationed there, and it is the head-quarters of several generals. The Hami district was at that time counted as a war-zone, and during the civil war between the different generals in China proper those responsible for Sinkiang's safety considered that the province might be made the object of an invasion from the east.

»Hami is famous for its melons, Turfan for its grapes, Kulja for its horses and

1 In previous publications he has been called SINCHIN (SINTJIN, SENG-CHEN) GEGEN. This is his title as a lamaistic incarnation. According to the dedication written with his own hand on the photograph which serves as frontispiece to HASLUND'S »Zajagan», and which Dr K. GRONBECH has kindly transcribed, the proper rendering is SENGTSEN GEGEN. On this photograph his personal name is also given: TOBDAN TSERENTSÖMGIL. By his subordinates he was often referred to as TOIN LAMA, i. e. The Princely Lama. Apart from his exalted religious position he had been made a general by Governor-General YANG — a rather anomalous combination. He is well summed up in a passage in GEORGE N. RoERICH'S »Trails to Inmost Asia », p. 105, referring to a visit to his residence in 1926. F. B.

2 As is well-known, the Turki name for Hami is Qomul. In some older works one finds the form Khamil, and I have met the opinion that this is the Mongols' name for the town — a statement that I have not been able to confirm. A Turki resident of Qomul is a Qomulluq.

Especially the Russians refer to the Turki town populations as Sarts. The Chinese name for all Turkis in Sinkiang is ch'an-t'ou = Turban Head. F. B.

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