Karasahr, or Yanqi (also Karashahr, meaning 'black city' in Uyghur languages. Turkish Karasehir. Sanskrit Agnideśa; Chinese 焉耆 pinyin Yānqí; Wade-Giles Yen-ch’i; ), is an area that lies in present day Xinjiang, China. The Buddhist Sanskrit name was 'Agni' or 'Fire.' The present name of the main town is Yanqi.
Tarim Basin in the 3rd century
[edit] Geography
The modern town of Yanqi (latitude 42° 01'N; longitude 86°33'E) is situated about 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of the shallow Lake Bosten. The lake is about 81 kilometres (50 mi) east to west and 48 kilometres (30 mi) north to south with a surface area of about 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi), making it one of the largest lakes in Xinjiang. It has been noted since Han times for its abundance of fish. The lake is fed by the Kaidu River and the Konqi River[1] flows out of it past Korla and across the Taklamakan Desert to Lop Nur. There are numerous other small lakes in the region.
[edit] History
This 17th century map shows Cialis (Karashahr) as of one the cities in the chain stretching from
Hiarcan to
Sucieu The Kingdom of Yanqi was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Route that ran along the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. During the Han dynasty it was an important kingdom.[2]
Karashahr become known to Europeans (as Cialis - an Italianized transcription of the Turkic Chalish)[3] in the early 17th century, when the Portuguese Jesuit Lay Brother Bento de Góis visited it on his way from India to China (via Kabul and Kashgar). De Góis and his traveling companions (an Armenian merchant named Isaac, and a Greek one, named Demetrios) spent several months in the "Kingdom of Cialis", while crossing it with a caravan of Kashgarian merchants (ostensibly, tribute bearers) on their way to the Ming China. The travelers stayed in Cialis City for three months in 1605, and then continued, via Turpan and Hami (all parts of the "Kingdom of Cialis", according to de Góis), to the Ming Empire border at Jiayuguan.[4][5][6]
An early 20th century traveler described the situation of Karashahr as follows:
- "The whole of this district round Kara-shahr and Korla is, from a geographical and political point of view, both interesting and important ; for whilst all other parts of Chinese Turkestan can only be reached either by climbing high and difficult passes—the lowest of which has the same elevation as Mont Blanc—or traversing extensive and dangerous waterless deserts of sand-hills, here we find the one and only convenient approach to the land through the valleys of several rivers in the neighbourhood of Ili, where plentiful water abounds in the mountain streams on all sides, and where a rich vegetation makes life possible for wandering tribes. Such Kalmuck tribes still come from the north-west to Tal. They are Torgut nomads who pitch their yurts round about Kara-shahr and live a hard life with their herds. . . .
- Just as these Mongols wander about here at the present day, so the nomadic tribes of an earlier period must have used this district as their entrance and exit gate. The Tochari (Yue-chi) [Pinyin: Yuezhi], on their way from China, undoubtedly at that time passed through this gate to get into the Ili valley. . . ." [7]
[edit] Neighbours
The ancient state bordered Kucha and thence Aksu to the west, and Turpan to the east. To the south, via Korla, and across the desert, was Khotan.
Francis Younghusband, briefly visited Karasahr in 1887 on his overland journey from Beijing to India. He described it as being "like all the towns hereabouts, is surrounded by a mud wall, and the gateways are surmounted by the usual pagoda-like towers. There is a musketry wall round outside the main wall, but it is now almost in ruins. Inside the wall are some yamens, but only a few houses. Outside, to the south, are a few shops and inns."[8]
- ^ See Note in Korla for naming ambiguity
- ^ Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu." 2nd Draft Edition, Section 22. [1]
- ^ The period's books (e.g. Ricci's De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas), or later works drawing on those (e.g., the Dictionary of Ming biography) usually go for "Cialis", but some maps use a more anglicized form, "Chialis".
- ^ "Bento de Goes", in: Goodrich, Luther Carrington; Fang, Zhaoying (1976). Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644. Volume 1. Columbia University Press. pp. 472-473. ISBN 0231038011. http://books.google.com/books?id=067On0JgItAC.
- ^ Dughlt, Mirza Muhammad Haidar (2008). A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia: The Tarikh-I-Rashidi. Cosimo, Inc.. ISBN 1605201502. http://books.google.com/books?id=1pkeWqq7pdgC.
- ^ Trigault, Nicolas S. J. "China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Mathew Ricci: 1583-1610". English translation by Louis J. Gallagher, S.J. (New York: Random House, Inc. 1953). This is an English translation of the Latin work, De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas based on Matteo Ricci's journals completed by Nicolas Trigault. Book Five, Chapter 12, "Cathay and China Proved to Be Identical", pp. 510-513. There is also full Latin text available on Google Books.
- ^ Buried Treasures of Chinese Turkestan: An Account of the Activities and Adventures of the Second and Third German Turfan Expeditions. Albert von Le Coq. Translated by Anna Barwell. London George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1928. Reprint: Oxford University Press, 1985. Pages 145-146.
- ^ Younghusband, Francis E. (1896). The Heart of a Continent, pp. 143-144. John Murray, London. Facsimile reprint: (2005) Elbiron Classics. ISBN 1-4212-6551-6 (pbk); ISBN 1-4212-6550-8 (hardcover).
[edit] References
- Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation. [2]
- Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC – AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty. E. J. Brill, Leiden.
- Puri, B. N. Buddhism in Central Asia, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, Delhi, 1987. (2000 reprint).
- Stein, Aurel M. 1912. Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China, 2 vols. Reprint: Delhi. Low Price Publications. 1990.
- Stein, Aurel M. 1921. Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China, 5 vols. London & Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980.[3]
- Stein Aurel M. 1928. Innermost Asia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran, 5 vols. Clarendon Press. Reprint: New Delhi. Cosmo Publications. 1981.
- Yu, Taishan. 2004. A History of the Relationships between the Western and Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Western Regions. Sino-Platonic Papers No. 131 March, 2004. Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania.
[edit] External links
- Silk Road Seattle (The Silk Road Seattle website contains many useful resources including a number of full-text historical works, maps, photos, etc.)
Coordinates: 42°01′N 86°33′E / 42.017°N 86.55°E / 42.017; 86.55
