Karasahr
Encyclopedia
Yanqi or Karasahr (also Karashahr, meaning 'black city' in Uyghur languages), is an ancient town on the Silk Road
and capital of Yanqi Hui Autonomous County in the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
of Xinjiang
, in northwestern China
. According to the 2000 Chinese census it had a population of 29,000, growing to 31,773 persons in 2006; 16,032 persons of which are Han
, 7781 people Hui
, 7154 people Uygur
, 628 Mongol, and 178 other ethnicities and an agricultural population of 1078 people.
The town is well connected, being located on the Kaidu River
(known in ancient times as the Liusha), the China National Highway 314
and the Southern Xinjiang Railway
, and is an important material distribution center and regional business hub. The town incorporates 10 communities.
The town has a notable Islamic population and contains the Yanqi Mosque.
The Buddhist Sanskrit
name was 'Agni' or 'Fire.' "“Yanqi, it seemed, was the local derivation of yanghi, the Turkish word for fire. The city had possibly once been called Yanghi-shaher or Fire City. Xuanzang
, a stickler for precision and partial to India, had used the Sanskrit
word for fire, agni, and transliterated this into Chinese, yielding 'O-ki-ni."
. The lake is about 81 kilometres (50.3 mi) east to west and 48 kilometres (29.8 mi) north to south with a surface area of about 1000 square kilometres (386.1 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 flows out of it past Korla
and across the Taklamakan Desert to Lop Nur
. There are numerous other small lakes in the region.
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 a relatively large and important kingdom. It was said to have had: "15,000 households, 52,000 individuals, and more than 20,000 men able to bear arms. It has high mountains on all four sides. There are hazardous passes on the route to Qiuci Kucha
that are easy to defend.
The water of a lake winds between the four mountains, and surrounds the town for more than 30 li [12.5 km]."
Karashahr become known to Europeans (as Cialis - an Italianized transcription of the Turkic
Chalish) 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 Kashgar
ian 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.
An early 20th century traveler described the situation of Karashahr as follows:
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 yamen
s, but only a few houses. Outside, to the south, are a few shops and inns."
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
and capital of Yanqi Hui Autonomous County in the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture , short for Bayingol is an autonomous prefecture of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest autonomous prefecture of China with an area of 462,700 km²...
of Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
, in northwestern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. According to the 2000 Chinese census it had a population of 29,000, growing to 31,773 persons in 2006; 16,032 persons of which are Han
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
, 7781 people Hui
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
, 7154 people Uygur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
, 628 Mongol, and 178 other ethnicities and an agricultural population of 1078 people.
The town is well connected, being located on the Kaidu River
Kaidu River
The Kaidu River , also known under its ancient name Liusha River or Chaidu-gol is a river in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China and an important source of water for the region....
(known in ancient times as the Liusha), the China National Highway 314
China National Highway 314
China National Highway 314 runs southwest from Urumqi, Xinjiang towards Khunjerab Pass, which is the on the northern border of Pakistan and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. It is 1948 kilometres in length....
and the Southern Xinjiang Railway
Southern Xinjiang Railway
The Southern Xinjiang Railway or Nanjiang Railway is a railway between Turpan and Kashgar in Xinjiang, China. The railway is 1,446 km in length and runs along the southern slope of the Tian Shan mountain range, connecting all major cities and towns of the northern Tarim Basin, including Turpan,...
, and is an important material distribution center and regional business hub. The town incorporates 10 communities.
The town has a notable Islamic population and contains the Yanqi Mosque.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
name was 'Agni' or 'Fire.' "“Yanqi, it seemed, was the local derivation of yanghi, the Turkish word for fire. The city had possibly once been called Yanghi-shaher or Fire City. Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
, a stickler for precision and partial to India, had used the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
word for fire, agni, and transliterated this into Chinese, yielding 'O-ki-ni."
Geography
The modern town of Yanqi is situated about 24 kilometres (14.9 mi) west of the shallow Lake BostenLake Bosten
Bosten Lake is a freshwater lake located northeast of Korla, Xinjiang, China in the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture. Covering an area of about , it is the largest lake in Xinjiang and one of the largest inland freshwater lakes in China...
. The lake is about 81 kilometres (50.3 mi) east to west and 48 kilometres (29.8 mi) north to south with a surface area of about 1000 square kilometres (386.1 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
Kaidu River
The Kaidu River , also known under its ancient name Liusha River or Chaidu-gol is a river in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China and an important source of water for the region....
and the Konqi River flows out of it past Korla
Korla
-Economy:Korla has long been the biggest centre in the region after Karashahr itself, having abundant water and extensive farmlands, as well as controlling the main routes to the south and west of Karashahr. Due to the discovery of oil in the Taklamakan Desert, Korla is now both more populous and...
and across the Taklamakan Desert to Lop Nur
Lop Nur
Lop Lake or Lop Nur is a group of small, now seasonal salt lake sand marshes between the Taklamakan and Kuruktag deserts in the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China.The lake system into which the Tarim...
. There are numerous other small lakes in the region.
History
The Kingdom of Yanqi was an ancient BuddhistBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Route that ran along the northern edge of the Taklamakan
Taklamakan
The Taklamakan Desert , also known as Taklimakan and Teklimakan, is a desert in Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China...
Desert in the Tarim Basin
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
. During the Han dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
it was a relatively large and important kingdom. It was said to have had: "15,000 households, 52,000 individuals, and more than 20,000 men able to bear arms. It has high mountains on all four sides. There are hazardous passes on the route to Qiuci Kucha
Kucha
Kuchaor Kuche Uyghur , Chinese Simplified: 库车; Traditional: 庫車; pinyin Kùchē; also romanized as Qiuzi, Qiuci, Chiu-tzu, Kiu-che, Kuei-tzu from the traditional Chinese forms 屈支 屈茨; 龜玆; 龟兹, 丘玆, also Po ; Sanskrit: Kueina, Standard Tibetan: Kutsahiyui was an ancient Buddhist kingdom...
that are easy to defend.
The water of a lake winds between the four mountains, and surrounds the town for more than 30 li [12.5 km]."
Karashahr become known to Europeans (as Cialis - an Italianized transcription of the Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
Chalish) 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
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
and Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
). 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 Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
ian merchants (ostensibly, tribute bearers) on their way to the Ming China
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
. 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
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
border at Jiayuguan.
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 IliIli-Acronyms:* ILI: I Laugh Inside* Integrating Lifestyle Innovations, a home automation company specialising in the design and supply of systems in New Zealand to the world.* Irish Life International, part of Irish Life and Permanent...
, 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 yurtYurtA yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
s round about Kara-shahr and live a hard life with their herds. . . . - Just as these MongolsMongolsMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
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 TochariTochariansThe Tocharians were the Tocharian-speaking inhabitants of the Tarim Basin, making them the easternmost speakers of Indo-European languages in antiquity. They were known as, or at least closely related to, the Yuezhi of Chinese sources...
(Yue-chi) [Pinyin: YuezhiYuezhiThe Yuezhi, or Rouzhi , also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi , were an ancient Central Asian people....
], on their way from China, undoubtedly at that time passed through this gate to get into the Ili valley. . . ."
Neighbours
The ancient state bordered KuchaKucha
Kuchaor Kuche Uyghur , Chinese Simplified: 库车; Traditional: 庫車; pinyin Kùchē; also romanized as Qiuzi, Qiuci, Chiu-tzu, Kiu-che, Kuei-tzu from the traditional Chinese forms 屈支 屈茨; 龜玆; 龟兹, 丘玆, also Po ; Sanskrit: Kueina, Standard Tibetan: Kutsahiyui was an ancient Buddhist kingdom...
and thence Aksu to the west, and Turpan to the east. To the south, via Korla
Korla
-Economy:Korla has long been the biggest centre in the region after Karashahr itself, having abundant water and extensive farmlands, as well as controlling the main routes to the south and west of Karashahr. Due to the discovery of oil in the Taklamakan Desert, Korla is now both more populous and...
, and across the desert, was Khotan
Khotan
Hotan , or Hetian , also spelled Khotan, is the seat of the Hotan Prefecture in Xinjiang, China. It was previously known in Chinese as 于窴/於窴 and to 19th-century European explorers as Ilchi....
.
Francis Younghusband
Francis Younghusband
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, KCSI, KCIE was a British Army officer, explorer, and spiritual writer...
, briefly visited Karasahr in 1887 on his overland journey from Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. 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 yamen
Yamen
A yamen is any local bureaucrat's, or mandarin's, office and residence of the Chinese Empire. The term has been widely used in China for centuries, but appeared in English during the Qing Dynasty....
s, but only a few houses. Outside, to the south, are a few shops and inns."
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.)
- Baidu Baike Encyclopedia