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

R.K. kingdoms, the States of Jounglou, Iumi, and Soule, which constituted Káshghar,
belonged to Khutan.
In the ninth year of Wooti, of the Liang dynasty, 509 A.D., Envoys went with
tribute to the Chinese capital, and in the annals of this reign, Khutan was then thus
described :—" The people are Budhists, and their women are in society as amongst
other nations. They (the women) braid the hair into long plaits, and wear pelisses
and loose trowsers. The people are very ceremonious and polite, and curtsy on meet-
ing by bending one knee to the ground. They write with pencils of wood, and carry
P. stone seals, and on receiving a letter raise it to the head before opening it." This
description, it may be here noted, applies equally to the people of Khutan at the pre-
sent day, excepting only that they are no longer Budhists, and with the addition that,
when they have read their letters they invariably carry them in the folds of their
turbans, or in their Tatar caps. Less than a century earlier than the above period,
however, they received a very different character, and one, so far as morality is
concerned, by no means inapplicable at the present day, from the officers of an
expeditionary force that entered the country in pursuit of a fugitive rebel.
R.K. In the sixth year of Tae Wooti, of the north Wei dynasty, 445 A.D., an expe-
dition was sent to punish the Tartars of Tangut. Their Prince, Mouliyan, fled to
Khutan, and, coming into collision with its King, killed him. He was pursued, over-
taken, and defeated at Yen-phing-pelan, whence he fled for refuge to the west of
Khutan. The force it seems stayed here some time, and on their return the officers
gave the following description of the country :—" The district of Khutan is very
fertile in all sorts of grains, and abounds in mulberry and fruit trees. It possesses
good horses, camels, and mules. According to the law of the country, murderers are
punished by death, and other offenders according to the gravity of their crimes.
For the rest the manners of the people—as the productions of the country—are
analogous to those of the Koueitseu (the Kuisse or Uighúr). They are devoted
Budhists, and have a great number of temples and religious towers for the service of
which they support large establishments of priests. These people, however, know
neither justice nor civility, and amongst them are many thieves, and adulterers, and
other villainous reprobates."
In 518 A.D., amongst the tribute offerings sent from Khutan were vases de verre,
and in the tribute of 541 A.D. was an image of Budha, carved in jade in some
foreign country. In 632 A.D., the sixth year of the reign of Tae Tsung, Khutan
sent as tribute a splendid jade zone, which the Emperor acknowledged with a special
letter of thanks. The State at this period appears to have considerably extended its
borders, for it is described as including the regions known under the Han dynasty as
Jounglou, Kanmi (Khámil), Kiule (Kúrla), and Pichán. Its rivers were noted for
their jade, which was discovered by its shining in the water at night. It was fished
out by diving, after the subsidence of the floods produced by the melting of the snows
on the mountains.
The description of the country in the annals of this reign goes on to
say that the people were Budhists, ceremonious and polite, and distinguished as
clever artificers. They were fond of music and dancing, and the enjoyments of life
generally. In the deserts to the west was found a species of rat, the size of a hedge-
hog, which travelled in troops and yielded a gold coloured fur. This little animal, I
may here note, has probably long since been exterminated by the fur hunters, for it is
not now known in the country. The only animal approaching its description found
there at the present day is the jerboa. There was neither silk here formerly nor
the mulberry tree. Both were introduced by an Eastern Princess, who secreted
their seeds in her bonnet when she went as bride to the King, who had long vainly
sought to get possession of them by other means. The letters, literature, and laws
of Khutan are derived from the Hindus, and their influence has been to civilize the
people. The ancient name of Khutan is Kiuss-tan-na from the Sanskrit Kustana,
which signifies " Pap of the world," in connection with the Hindu legend regarding