Innermost Asia : vol.2 / 192 ページ（カラー画像）

0192	Innermost Asia : vol.2
極奥アジア : vol.2

of its 'rights-recovery' policy with convenient grounds for renewing the attempt. This time
obstruction would be made easy enough, so far as the antiquities were concerned, by the production
of republican edicts (existing, it is true, solely on paper) prohibiting their export ; or reference
might be made to far more ancient ordinances, which were at one time really enforced, against the
desecration of graves. Chinese officials, no doubt, both from Turfān and Urumchi, had during
recent years done their best to promote it, by encouraging indiscriminate local spoliation for the
sake of securing curios for themselves ; but this fact would be conveniently ignored.
Dispatch
of collec-
tion to
Kāshgar. It was of course possible that an attempt might equally be made to interfere with my convoy
of antiques on its long transit to Kāshgar, a journey for laden camels of at least six weeks. But
I assumed, rightly, as it turned out, that regard for appearances and the fear of possible diplomatic
consequences in case of any loss would make such interference less probable if I was myself far
away. The responsibility for the safety of the suspected cases would then fall on local officials,
who would be by no means eager to accept it, since no personal profit was to be gained from the
detention of the cases. So I did my best to hasten the dispatch of the caravan. By February 5th
the last big batch of cases containing frescoes had been duly brought in from Bezeklik by Naik
Shamsuddin, who, working at his troublesome task with untiring energy, had valiantly contributed
to their successful removal. A day later I saw with no small relief the long string of forty-five
laden camels starting for their distant destination under the care of Ibrāhīm Bēg, the veteran
factotum who had accompanied me on three journeys. Setting about his task with his usual steady
Start of
Afrāz-gul
for Lop
Desert. self-reliance, he was once more to carry it through successfully. On the same day Afrāz-gul
set out across the Kuruk-tāgh for his difficult work in the Lop desert. I had given him the seven
strongest of our camels, plucky Hassan Ākhūn to manage them, and as guide as far as Āltmish-
bulak, Abdulmalik, a worthy brother of Abdurrahīm, the hunter of wild camels. His instruc-
tions were, if all went well and if he could keep closely to the programme that I had laid down
for him on the basis of our preceding surveys in that desolate region, to rejoin me about March 11th
at the ruins of Ying-p'an at the head of the Kuruk-daryā.
Move to
Yār-khoto. Eager as I was myself to exchange the quasi-suburban conditions of the Turfān oases for the
greater freedom of new ground in the desert, I nevertheless put off my own start to the south for
the sake of a renewed examination of the ruined site of Yār-khoto, the early capital of the Turfān
basin and the Chiao-ho 交河 of the Chinese Annals. The rapid visits I had paid to it during my
short stay at the Yangi-shahr of Turfān in November, 1907, had shown me that a closer survey of
its remains was desirable, even though the physical conditions of the site, already recorded in the
account of those visits,² and the prolonged exploitation to which the ruins had been exposed, left
no doubt that useful archæological work there must be limited. On February 9th I arrived at
Yār-khoto with the above object and in order to test what chances of fruitful excavation a few of
the ruined shrines might still offer. But my stay at the site was made even shorter than I had
intended by that interference from Urumchi of which I had already seen symptoms while still
at Kara-khōja.
Protest
raised
against
excavations. On February 11th I received a verbal message from the Hsien-kuan of Turfān requesting
me to stop the excavation work started on the day after my arrival. An official letter from him
which reached me next day revealed the fact that his request had been rendered necessary by
stringent orders from Urumchi. In these the Tu-t'u or Provincial Governor raised his protest
against the excavations, on the ground, as I expected, that they involved a spoliation of China's
ancient inheritance ; the Governor desired to be duly informed of the nature and extent of the
collection formed by me. The kindly Tungan Amban, who, as a good Muhammadan, did not

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