Ancient Khotan : vol.1 / Page 130 (Color Image)

0130	Ancient Khotan : vol.1

Taking into account that the territory of Wu-sha, according to Hsüan-tsang's definite statement,
was at his time in dependence on the rulers of Chieh-p'an-t'o or Sarikol, it is easy to understand
why the city corresponding to the present Yarkand, whether its capital or only one of its chief
centres, was passed over in silence by both Hsüan-tsang and the T'ang Annalists. The importance
of Yarkand or its earlier representative must at that period have been still further impaired by
the existence, immediately to the south, of the separate kingdom variously designated in our
Chinese sources as Chu-chü-po, Chu-chü-p'an, or Chê-chü-chia, which intervened between Wu-sha
and Khotan, and, as will be seen below, must be identified with the present district of Karghalik.

The So-ch'ê During the supremacy of the Han Dynasty the latter territory was split up among a number
of Han of small chiefships, and possibly we may connect with this political condition the fact that the
Annals. Annals of that early period show us a relatively important kingdom, the Chinese designation
of which, 莎車, is variously transcribed as So-ch'ê, Sha-keu, So-khiu, So-kü, So-kiu, &c, in a position
that probably corresponds to the present Yarkand as assumed by Chinese geographers ¹¹. The
account of the Ch'ien Han shu, as extracted by Wylie, places the kingdom of So-ch'ê, with
its capital of the same name, at a distance of 560 li from Su-lê or Kāshgar, the direction
being variously stated as south or east instead of the true one which lies between these two ¹².
A still clearer topographical indication is contained in the notice that the territory of 子合
Tzü-ho (Tseu-ho or Tse-ho in M. Chavannes' transcription), which can safely be identified with
Karghalik and the valleys above it, adjoined So-ch'ê from the south ¹³. The population of
So-ch'ê is estimated at 16,373, nearly double that of Su-lê, with 3,049 trained troops, which
indicates a principality of some consequence. A mention of some dynastic changes during the
reign of the Emperor Hsüan Ti (73–49 B. C.) seems to imply special relations of its rulers
with the powerful Wu-sun nation, while from the list of Chinese official posts there located
it may be concluded that, in the administrative system intended to maintain the protectorate
of the Hans in the country, some importance was attached to So-ch'ê. At the commencement
of the Later Han period So-ch'ê is said to have exercised supremacy over Khotan ¹⁴.

Commercial My stay at Yarkand did not bring to my notice ancient sites in its vicinity nor any
importance antiquarian objects of pre-Muhammadan origin. On the other hand, it helped me to realize the
of Yarkand, exceptional advantages which the town enjoys as a commercial centre. Yarkand undoubtedly
owes its old-established prosperity and its flourishing trade to its position at the point where
the great routes from Khotan, Ladāk, and the Oxus are joined by those leading to Kāshgar
and the north-eastern part of the Tārim Basin. The abundance of local produce favours the
growth of a large town population, and this, with its quasi-cosmopolitan colonies drawn from
all parts of the Oxus Valley, from Ladāk, Baltistān, Afghānistān, and the border regions of
China, reflects the true causes of Yarkand's importance. 'Hiarchan, the capital of the kingdom
of Cascar', thus Benedict Goëz tells us, 'is a mart of much note, both for the great concourse
of merchants, and for the variety of wares. At this capital the caravan of Cabul merchants
reaches its terminus; and a new one is formed for the journey to Cathay ¹⁵.' Though the

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

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