East Turkistan to the twelfth century : a brief political survey

104 Pages·1964·4.175 MB·English

by  William Samolin

EAST TURKISTAN
TO THE
TWELFTH CENTURY
WILLIAM SAMOLIN
MOUTON & CO

EAST TURKISTAN TO
THE TWELFTH CENTURY
CENTRAL ASIATIC
STUDIES
A MONOGRAPH SERIES DEVOTED TO THE CULTURE,
HISTORY, AND LANGUAGES OF CENTRAL ASIA
AND ITS PEOPLES
Edited by
KARL JAHN and JOHN R. KRUEGER
University of Leiden Indiana University
1964
MOUTON & CO
London • THE HAGUE • paris
EAST TURKISTAN
TO
THE TWELFTH CENTURY
A BRIEF POLITICAL SURVEY
by
WILLIAM SAMOLIN
Columbia University
1964
MOUTON & CO
London • THE HAGUE • paris
© Copyright 1964 Mouton & Co., Publishers, The Hague, The Netherlands.
No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form,
by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means,
without written permission from the publishers.
This publication was made possible by a subvention on the part of the Sackler Fund
for the promotion of Central Asiatic Studies, Columbia University.
J i 0 fi T 3 C
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PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS BY MOUTON & CO., PRINTERS, THE HAGUE
PREFACE
The purpose of this brief survey is to make available in convenient form
an outline of the political history of a region which for two millennia has
been a bone of contention between China and its northern neighbors.
The chronological limits of the survey include the period during which the
basic cultures of the two parts of the region acquired their characteristic
forms. Although the region became the core of an independent political
entity at the very end of the period under consideration, its role in the
political and cultural life of Asia during that period was far from negli¬
gible.
It is believed that a sketch of this sort, close to the sources, with a
minimum of generalization, could be of some use to the non-specialist.
Fundamental historical questions are not avoided, but the nature of the
material rarely permits categorical statements.
A few comments on method and mechanics are in order. As to the for¬
mer, the limitations imposed upon the treatment are manifold. The chro¬
nological terminus is set by the advent of the Qara Qytay. This is done
for two reasons. First, the process of Turkization of the basic Indo-Euro¬
pean stock is completed by the end of this period. This is an historical
phenomenon of intrinsic interest. The process of Islamization, on the
other hand, is not completed until well after Mongol times. Second, there
is an excellent survey of the Qara Qytay available in Appendix V of
Wittfogel and Feng, Liao. After the Qara Qytay the political history of
East Turkistan becomes part of the history of the Mongol Empire and its
successor states. This thus serves to fill a gap in the material readily
accessible to the non-specialist.
The narrative is based primarily on the Lieh-chuan sections of the
Chinese Dynastic histories, supplemented by relevant material from the
annals (the Pen-chi) of these histories. Archaeological material is utilized
where it serves to cast light on political developments which otherwise
were left in the dark by the histories.
No attempt has been made to collate all the relevant texts. Little
change in the overall picture would result from such an undertaking,
6 PREFACE
desirable though it be. Although all references to the dynastic histories,
except the Shih-chi, are to the Po-na edition, in almost all cases the texts
employed have been compared with at least one other edition. Variations
are indicated in the notes. Moreover, as those familiar with the histories
are aware, there are occasional discrepancies between the notices in the
Pen-chi and the Lieh-chuan within the same edition of a given history.
Rarely do these discrepancies have any significant bearing on the overall
content of the narrative.
As for mechanics, the following procedure obtains. Chinese trans¬
literations are in the modified Wade-Giles system used in the Fenn
dictionary. As a rule Chinese titles are either translated literally along
with the transliteration, or left in transliteration. The Chinese characters
are listed by chapter in a separate section at the end of the book. Though
many of the titles are common and well known, the ranks rarely have the
same significance their modern equivalents would suggest. This is often
evident from the context. References are usually given in short title or
abbreviation. At the risk of occasional redundance, the reader is spared
the chore of turning back through pages of ibid., op. cit., etc. to obtain
the actual reference. Less frequently cited works are given with the
author’s name and almost complete title. All references are listed with
the necessary bibliographical information in the consolidated reference
list. The literature on the various aspects of the subject is so vast that a
specialist in each would find little if anything not already known to him
in such a list. Some standard works are conspicuously absent. No judg¬
ment of their quality is implied. Their absence is merely due to the fact
that no reference is made to them in the notes. It is hoped that the index
as well as the map will be of some use to the reader.
The preparation of this work was made possible by a grant provided
by the Social Science Research Council for the period 1959-1960. The
author also wishes to express his gratitude to Professor L. Carrington
Goodrich and Professor Karl H. Menges, who graciously offered to read
the MS and who made many corrections and useful suggestions.
New Shrewsbury, 1962
CONTENTS
Preface . 5
I. Geographic Survey.9
A. Jungaria.9
B. Kasgaria - the Tarim Basin.10
II. The Period of the Former Han Dynasty.19
III. The Power Struggle in the Tarim Basin - reappearance of the
Huns.28
IV. The Period of the Later Han Dynasty.34
V. From the end of the Han to the T’u-chueh (Turks) . . 47
VI. The Period of the T’ang and Tibetan Domination ... 59
VII. The Uyyurs and the Qarakhanids to the Qara Qytay . . 72
A. On the identity of the Uyyurs.72
B. Uyyur culture prior to the migration .... 74
C. The Uyyurs and the Qytay.75
D. The origin of the Qarakhanids.76
E. The Islamization of the Qarakhanids .... 78
F. The conquest of Khotan, the Qarakhanid territories in
East Turkistan.80
G. The territorial and religious situation at the end of the
eleventh century.82
List of Chinese Characters, by chapter.86
Abbreviations in References.91
Alphabetical List of References.92
Index.96
Map of Jungaria and Kasgaria
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