National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Sec. ii]   SHAN-SHAN BETWEEN TANG AND HAN TIMES   325

to think that much, if not most, of that information, as far as it concerns the Tarim Basin, goes back to earlier periods, when Chinese knowledge of that region was much more intimate. In discussing above the history of Chu-mo or Charchan, Li Tao-yüan's notice of the river of A-nou-ta or Chü-mo has already been quoted from M. Chavannes' translation.10 The information about Shan-shan or Lou-lan is given to supplement that notice.I'

After the river of Chü-mo (or Charchan-darya) and the ` River of the South ' (i. e. the Khotan River merged in the Tarim) have effected their junction, they are said to flow eastwards under the name of the Chu-pin ' j   ill River. ` The Chu-pin River further east passes north of the kingdom
of Shan-shan {I . The capital [of this kingdom] is the town of I-hsiin f# 0. This was at one

time the territory of Lou-tan   .' It is important to note the bearing of the topographical
indications here given. They prove that at the period from which Li Tao-ytian's information dated, and apparently earlier also, the main territory of Shan-shan, along with its capital I-hsiin, must have been situated to the south of the course of the Tarim as it flowed eastwards after its junction with the Charchan River. Reference to the map shows that this description tallies accurately with the position of Charkhlik and Miran in relation to the present terminal course of the Tarim after it has received the waters of the Charchan River. The passage further proves that in Li Tao-yüan's time, and probably long before, the position indicated for the territory of Shan-shah was held to have been also that of the Lou-lan kingdom, which figures so prominently in the account of the ` Western Regions ' found in the Former Han Annals.

Li Tao-yuan next proceeds to notice an important event in the history of Lou-tan belonging to the year 77 B.C. His record is undoubtedly derived from Chapter xcvi of the Former Han Annals, where, as we shall see, the event is told with additional details. But Li Tao-yüan's abstract states the essential facts so clearly that it will be convenient to reproduce here M. Chavannes' version of it. ` The king of Lou-lan having failed in respect towards the Han, Huo Kuang charged the Superintendent of Ping-lo, Fu Chieh-tzû, to kill him and to nominate a successor in his place. The Han subsequently put on the throne Wei-t'u-ch`i, son of the preceding king, whom they held as a hostage, and changed the name of the kingdom into that of Shan-shah. At the time when all the officials came to the Hêng gate to wish him a ceremonious farewell, the king on his own

account addressed this request to the Son of Heaven : " I have lived long among the Han and fear that the son of the former king may do me harm. In my kingdom there is the town of I-hsiin, which is a fertile and rich locality. I wish you to send a general to establish there a military colony and to accumulate grain so that I may find support from his prestige and authority." Thereupon colonists were settled there to maintain the peace.'

Li Tao-ytian's relation of these events has an interest of its own ; for it shows that the ' town of I-hsiin', where this Chinese military post was established soon after 77 B.C., was not considered

   10 See above, p. 297 ; Chavannes, T`oung pao, 1905,    have seen, really is represented by Vâsh-shahri, The fact is

pp. 566 sq.   that Li Tao-yiian's comments—' un document géographique

   " M. Chavannes, when discussing the question as to the   de la plus haute importance ; mais ... souvent fort obscur',

   position of Lou-Ian in his note on a passage of the Wei lio   as M. Chavannes rightly puts it—can be utilized to full ad-

   (T.oung-pao, 1905, p. 537, Ilote z), has endeavoured to utilize   vantage only by analysing them with closest attention to actual

   the important information furnished by Li Tao-yuan as to the   geographical features.

   position of the towns I-hsiin and Yi1-ni, without, however,   Dr. Herrmann has discussed the question of Lou-lan and

   arriving at any topographically clear conclusions. He has   Shan-shan at some length, Seidenstrassen, pp. or sqq., and

   rightly seen that I-hsiin corresponds to Hsüan-tsang's Na-/u   has done useful work there by disposing of an erroneous

   po (i.e. Charkhlik), but on the other hand has been led into   theory which would carry Lou-lan far away northward to the

   doubts and difficulties by the assumption that I-hsiin was   vicinity of Hâmi. But he places Yii-ni at Charkhlik, without

   identical also with the ' New Town' which the Tang Annals   taking sufficient notice of Li Tao-yuan's topographical indi-

   mention 200 Ii west of the ' Stone Town', and which, as we   cations.

Li Tao-yuan places Shanshan S. of Tarim.

Extract on Lou-lan from Han Annals.

Chinese post established at I-hsiin.