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Chapter 7 Entry into Xinjiang for Buddhism and Islam Khotan - famous for its Sunday market - Islamic
conquest of the Buddhist kingdom in 1006 o Islam is principal religion in region o Give up speaking Khotanese o Speak Uighur - Almost all material about pre-Islamic Khotan come from outside city o Confluence of two major rivers o Well watered o Irrigation and occasional floods damp environment Paper cannot survive o Surrounding areas have documents Shanpula, Niya, Rawak, Endere, Melikawat, Yotkan, Dandan Uiliq, Domoko, Dunhuang o Largest settlement in southwestern Xinjiang o Ideal portal for religions entering Western Regions from neighboring lands o First Buddhists came from India around 200 CE 800 years became most important religion in central China major center for the study and translation of Buddhist texts - Kingdoms founding o Stories about a son banished from the Mau-ryan Kingdom in India; became shepherd; childless stopped at temple to Buddhist guardian of the north o Shanpula site Surrounding area east of Khotan Cemetery Contains materials dating from 3rd century BCE to 4th century Skulls, wooden tools, bright red scraps of wool Ancient graves next to modern Muslim burial ground No on excavated until early 1980s 69 human graves 2 pits for horses o elaborate burials mass graves: 200 people one pit women wearing voluminous woolen skirts evidence of exchanges with peoples living to the west leg of mans trousers cut from piece of tapestry centaur possible from Rome more probable from Parthia in northern Iran four mirrors of Chinese manufacture and date to when Chinese first stationed garrisons in Khotan at end of 1st century
19,300 people in 3300 households probably gifts from Chinese envoys to local rulers 300 mass burials die out indicator of cultural change single individuals buried in rectangular pits o resemble those at Niya and Yinpan o related population moved to Kohtan by 3rd and 4th centures CE and displaces earlier residents
Welcome refugees from Khotan although calvalry attacks and raids by Khotanese o Sino-Kharoshthi coins with Chinese characters on one face and Kharoshthi script on other contact with neighbors Create hybrid coinage Difficult to date coins absolutely ~3rd century CE o weakening of Kushan Empire indian migrants who crossed Pamirs introduce Buddhist teachings to Khotan written Sanskrit sutra first written mention of Buddhism in Khotan Rawak o Most imposing Buddhist ruin o 39s miles north of Khotan in desert east of Yurunkash River o blistering hot desert and fine sand o small plants, lizards and rabbits, hawks, larks o central monument site surrounded by sections of wall o central stupa, monument designed to hold relics of Buddha 22.5 feet tall shape of cross stairs on each side huge rectangular interior wall southwestern corner of exterior wall statues on both sides of walkway: buddhas, smaller figures have to make stylistic comparison to other Buddhist statuary o larger and more magnificent than other stupas along the southern route wealthy oasis o Faxian Chinese monk pass through Khotan on way to India in 401 Support for Buddhist among the population Eash person built small stupa in front of their doors 14 large monasteries and many smaller ones four-wheeled cart in lavish Buddhist procession new monastery built to west of oasis
o Niya
support from king khotanese Buddhists could devote themselves full-time to study and performance of rituals center of Buddhist learning famous for jade (nephrite) o Yurungkash white jade o Karakash black jade Yotkan stein purchased surface finds; found nothing and did not excavate o Fallen walls and buildings spread over large area o Stein found small caly figurines of monkeys Melikawat o Multiple sand dunes sit on barren moonscape Endere o Oasis 220 miles east of Khotan o Wooden slip written in Kharoshthi script o 3rd or 4th centuries CE camel for sale year to date contract suggests that it was drawn up in Khotan and carried to Endere all names take Iranian forms first documents in Khotanese language surface in antiquities market in 1895 o claimed from Kucha o sent to be translated o Khotanese is Iranian language, contemporary with Middle Persian and Sogdian with extensive vocabulary borrowed from Sanskrit Prods Skjaervo, Aga Khan Professor of Iranian at Harvard 3 phases in history of languge o Old Khotanese (5 to 6 Century) Exclusively tranlations of Buddhist texts of unknown provenance Book of Zambasta Not translation of Buddhist text from Sankrit Most important work of literature in Khontanses Anthology of Buddhist writings Bodhi, knowledge and understanding of Buddhist teachings that comes with enlightenment is key teaching of text as is emptiness Paraphrases certain Buddhist narratives, many associate dwith Mahayan teachings before each chapter o Heretic magician Bhadra o Buddas bio and enlightenment Several different museums have papers from the book o Middle Khotnese (7 to 8) Texts at Dandan Uiliq o Late Khotanese (9 to 10) Cave 17 at Dunhuang
Place as central node for monk traveling among all the countries of the region, because it anthologizes and paraphrases texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, and Uighur Became one of Four Garrisons where the Tang stationed troops in far west (Kucha, Kashgar, Yanqi) Kucha and Khotan conquered by Tibetans and ruled by them from 670 to 692 when Chinese regain control; retained until 755 Height of contact with Silk Road occurred during 7th and 8th centuried when Tang military presence strongest Largest cache of Khotanses-langauge documents comes from site of Dandan Uiliq
Silk Road religions and rulers changes in everyday life, language, artifacts Shanpula Rawak Dan Uiliq Origins of Khotan
first documents in Khotanese language surface in antiquities market in 1895 o Merchants claimed they were from Kucha o sent to Augustus Frederick Rudolf Hoernle to be translated o Khotanese is Iranian language, contemporary with Middle Persian and Sogdian with extensive vocabulary borrowed from Sanskrit Prods Skjaervo, Aga Khan Professor of Iranian at Harvard 3 phases in history of languge o Old Khotanese (5 to 6th Century) Exclusively translations of Buddhist texts of unknown provenance Book of Zambasta is an anthology of Buddhist writings Not translation of Buddhist text from Sanskrit Most important work of literature in Khontanese Paraphrases certain Buddhist narratives, many associated with Mahayana teachings before each chapter Several different museums have papers from the book Place as central node for monk traveling among all the countries of the region, because it anthologizes and paraphrases texts from Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, and Uighur o Middle Khotnese, from 7 to 8th century, include texts at Dandan Uiliq o Late Khotanese, from 9 to 10th century, include texts from Cave 17 at Dunhuang Became one of Four Garrisons where the Tang stationed troops in far west (Kucha, Kashgar, Yanqi) Kucha and Khotan conquered by Tibetans and ruled by them from 670 to 692 when Chinese regain control; retained until 755 Height of contact with Silk Road occurred during 7th and 8th centuries when Tang military presence strongest

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Chapter 7 Entry into Xinjiang for Buddhism and Islam Khotan - famous for its Sunday market - Islamic

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