IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Report of a Mission to Yarkund in 1873 : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
( 478 )
The sizes of Khoten carpets range from the small saddle carpet, on which one man works at •a time, to carpets upon which ten men are employed at once : these are about three and a half yards wide.
The work is carried on in all cases under the superintendence of a master who is termed Aksal:al (white-beard), there being some 200 recognized masters in Khoten itself. The patterns do not exist on paper, but are passed on from master to pupil by word of mouth.
Workers employed in the manufacture of Government carpets receive a daily wage of 20 phool = 211. English money, while in private houses food is supplied gratis and a payment of one-half of the above is made.
Recognizing the possibility of reviving the old trade in articles of cut Jade, which under the Chinese rule was a source of wealth to the people of Khoten, the Amir has endeavoured to obtain an opening for the trade in Jade by way of Almati (Vernoe), where Chinese merchants are now appearing in search of such articles from Kashghar and Khokand as have at all times been prized in China.
M. Remusat in speaking of the appreciation in which Jade is held amongst the Chinese and others, says :—" Les peuples de L'Asie orientale attachent le plus grand prix à une espéce de pierre nommeé en Chinois iu or iu-chi. Beaucoup de voyageurs et de Missionaries ont parler de l'estitne que les Chinois ont pour cette substance minérale, et des usages variés auxquels ils l'emploient.'
The fact that the Jade thus spoken of is known to exist nowhere save in the valleys running down from the Kuen-Luen, where the supply appears to be inexhaustible, has no doubt caused its value in the market to rise out of proportion to other minerals of a similar character; and if skilful workmen could be brought from China to replace those who fell victims during the Mahomedan re-occupation, the Jade of Khoten might still be regarded as a source of wealth to the kingdom of Kashghar. The demand for highly finished cups and ornaments in this mineral is sure to be kept up, but the endeavour to sell uncut Jade at Almati (Vernoe) for transport to China and to Russia has proved a failure. Just as the mineral has acquired a special value from being found in only one locality, the art which rendered it acceptable in the market belonged solely to the Chinese Jade-cutters of Khoten.
Interesting information regarding the Jade mines in the Karakash valley will be found amongst the Geological notes of the late Dr. F. Stoliczka.
The iron ore met with by the members of the Mission can only be considered as of very inferior quality : it is chiefly obtained in the Kizzil Tagh to the north-west of Yarkand ; it meets certain local requirements, and is used in the manufacture of agricultural implements and horse shoes.
Copper, alum, and salamoniac are, however, unquestionably sources of wealth, and exist in sufficient quantity in the southern slopes of Tian Shan, to allow of their being largely exported towards Khokand.
There is no Government monopoly in the mining of copper ore in the districts of Aksu, Bai, and Kuchar, whence it is chiefly procured. There are regular miners who can be hired by any one choosing to try for copper, the agreement with them being that they receive one-half of whatever is extracted.
The copper mine between Yagh Aryk and Bai, which may be taken as a fair specimen, is in a low range of hills ; the ore is encountered at a depth of from 30 to 36 feet : it is usually calculated that the ore yields from one-ninth to one-eighth of pure copper. A pound of copper sells in Bai for a sum equal to about 4 pence of English money.
Although the mining is freely open to all, the smelting furnace on the spot is under Government supervision ; the contractor engaged in mining paying the wages of the smelters and one-seventh of the pure copper obtained in return for the use of the furnace.
Salamoniac is obtained in large quantities from the neighbourhood of a volcano, about 'one day's journey to the north of Kuchar : it sells on the spot for about 11 pence the pound.
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