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

hammedans. We do not know the exact date of this settlement. Judging from the
rather well-preserved tomb structures of mud it existed a few centuries ago. Hedin
supposes 150—200 years. The age of this settlement has no direct bearing on
Quruq-darya and the hydrography of Tarim. As pointed out by Huntington it has
drawn the water supply necessary for the cultivation of its fields from the brook
Buyantu-bulaq. The irrigation was effected by means of a canal and a reservoir,
the remains of which are still to be seen. Nowadays the water of Buyantu-bulaq
reaches Ying-p'an only after heavy rainfall in Quruq-tagh, as we had an op-
portunity of witnessing in April 1928. But with the aid of a well constructed canal it
might reach as far as this more or less permanently. The quality of the water is, how-
ever, not the very best for the purpose. Immediately outside the mouth of Buyantu-
bulaq there are traces of ancient fields and canals on the left-hand side of the river
bed. Abdurahim of Shindi informed me that these fields were cultivated some
sixty years ago, but had to be abandoned after the lapse of a few years because of
the salinity of the water in the brook. The fields once watered by the same stream
further down, at Ying-p'an, must have suffered much more from this unsuitable
quality of the water.

When a postal service was inaugurated between Urumchi and the lower Tarim
region (i. e. the present-day district of Lop) a rest house was built at Ying-p'an
near the spring-fed pools in the ancient river bed. All that remains of this brick
house is the crumbled walls. Contemporaneous ruins of post stations are to be
found at the wells of Toghraq- and Azghan-bulaq along the road to Turfan.

DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF OBJECTS FROM YING-P'AN

Find made by Abdurahim of Shindi on
the burial site at Ying-p'an.

K. 13436. Chinese bronze mirror. The central
vaulted knob is surrounded by a
quatrefoil. Outside this runs a raised plain band.
Between this and the thickened border lies the
main decoration, bordered on each side by a
striated band and consisting of four animal repre-
sentations (dragon and tiger) with raised con-
tours. Between each animal there is a small boss
similar to the central one. The outer border has a
"double wave" band with a small dot in each in-
terspace. Brown-red patina with green spots. Diam.
125 mm. Th. of rim 5 mm. Pl. 15: 4.

Near to the E of the ruined circum-
vallation.

K. 13437: 1-2. Two potsherds probably from the
same large vessel. Decorated with
straight or curved bands incised with a three-
toothed instrument. Hard-burnt, light-red ware.

K. 13437: 3. Fragm. of the narrow neck (or
spout?) of a vessel of the same
earthenware as the preceding one.

K. 13437: 4. Bronze ring, D-shaped, probably
from a buckle. 21×16 mm. Pl. 15: 2.

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