Loulan Kingdom

Coordinates: 40°31′39.48″N 89°50′26.32″E / 40.5276333°N 89.8406444°E / 40.5276333; 89.8406444
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Loulan
Kroraïna
A carved wooden beam from Loulan in the British Museum, 3rd–4th century. The patterns show influences from ancient western civilizations.
Loulan Kingdom is located in Xinjiang
Loulan Kingdom
Shown within Xinjiang
Loulan Kingdom is located in China
Loulan Kingdom
Loulan Kingdom (China)
Alternative nameKrorän
LocationXinjiang, China
Coordinates40°31′39.48″N 89°50′26.32″E / 40.5276333°N 89.8406444°E / 40.5276333; 89.8406444
TypeSettlement
Site notes
ConditionIn ruins
Loulan Kingdom
Chinese name
Hanyu Pinyin
Lóulán
Uyghur nameUyghurكروران

Loulan (Chinese: 樓蘭; pinyin: Lóulán < Eastern Han Chinese lo-lɑn < Old Chinese rô-rân[1]), also known as Kroraïna (Krorayina) in native Gandhari documents or Krorän in later Uyghur (Uyghur: كروران), was an ancient kingdom based around an important oasis city along the Silk Road already known in the 2nd century BCE on the northeastern edge of the Lop Desert.[2][3][4][5] The term Loulan is the Chinese transcription of the native name Kroraïna and is used to refer to the city near Lop Nur as well as the kingdom.

The kingdom was renamed Shanshan (鄯善) after its king was assassinated by an envoy of the Han dynasty in 77 BCE;[6] however, the town at the northwestern corner of the brackish desert lake Lop Nur retained the name of Loulan. The kingdom included at various times settlements such as Niya, Charklik, Miran and Qiemo. It was intermittently under Chinese control from the early Han dynasty onward until its abandonment centuries later. The ruins of Loulan are near the now-desiccated Lop Nur in the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang and they are now completely surrounded by desert.[7]

History

The Tarim Basin in the 3rd century, showing two sites of the town of Loulan, the Shanshan kingdom, and the related states

Pre-Han Kingdom

By the 2nd century BC, Loulan had grown to dominate the region around the

Siddhartha Gautama (evidencing the spread of Buddhism
along the trade route). From here, Loulan was on the main route from

A number of mummies, now known as the Tarim mummies, have been found in Loulan and in its surrounding areas. One female mummy has been dated to c. 1800 BCE (3,800-year-old), indicating very early settlement of the region.[9] The disinterred corpses were not Chinese or Indian but had fair hair and light skin, some over six feet in length; this has led to suggestions that those from the Shanshan kingdoms were descendants of migrants from the Eurasian Steppe. Genetic analysis of the mummies, however, suggests that the Early–Middle Bronze Age population may have arisen from an ancient genetically isolated local population but were possibly influenced by the pastoralist and agriculturalist practices of their neighbours.[10] The mummies were wrapped in cotton and silk, the former from the west and latter from the east, further providing evidence as to Loulan's commercial importance.

Early Han dynasty

Sichuan brocade fragment uncovered in Loulan Kingdom[11]

The interactions between Loulan and the Han court (206 BCE – 220 CE) were described in some detail in the Book of Han (completed in 111 CE).[12]

The first contemporaneous mention of Loulan, in Chinese records, are from 126 BCE. A letter from the Chanyu of the Xiongnu to the Chinese emperor, in which the Chanyu boasted of conquering Loulan, as well as the Yuezhi, Wusun, Hujie (呼揭) and another "26 states nearby". In the same year, the Chinese envoy Zhang Qian described Loulan as a fortified city near the great salt lake or marsh known as Lop Nur.[13]

Krořän/Loulan and several other Indo-European oases kingdoms as Western Region Protectorate of the Han.

During the late 2nd century BCE,

Gushi (or Jushi). Consequently, in 108 BCE,[14] Loulan was attacked by a Han force led by Zhao Ponu (趙破奴) and its king captured, after which Loulan agreed to pay a tribute to Han China.[15]
The Xiongnu, on hearing of these events, also attacked Loulan. The king of Loulan therefore elected to send one of his sons as a hostage to the Xiongnu and another to the Han court. Due to Loulan's association with the Xiongnu, the Book of Han records:

The Emperor commanded [Jen] Wen to lead the troops by a suitable route, to arrest the king of Lou-lan and to bring him to the palace at the capital city. [Jen Wen] interrogated by presenting him with a bill of indictment, which he answered by claiming that [Lou-lan] was a small state lying between large states, and that unless it subjected itself to both parties, there would be no means of keeping itself in safety; he therefore wished to remove his kingdom and take up residence within the Han territory.

The Han emperor was satisfied with the statement and released the king, but retained his son as hostage. When this particular king of Loulan died, in 92 BCE, his court requested that the Han court release the king's son and heir be returned to Loulan. In the meantime, however, this prince from Loulan had been castrated for infringing Han law, without the knowledge of Loulan. The Han court replied that its Emperor had grown too fond of the prince to release him, and that another son should be enthroned in Loulan. The son of the new king was also sent to the Han court as a hostage, yet another was sent to the Xiongnu. After the death of this king of Loulan, the Xiongnu returned the hostage sent previously by Loulan – a prince named Chang Gui or An Gui (嘗歸 or 安歸), who became king of Loulan. When the Han court heard of this, it demanded that the new king present himself to the Han court. Chang Gui refused, on his wife's advice – because the Han court had previously failed to return hostages.

Oxhide boots from Loulan. Former Han dynasty 220 BCE-8 CE.

In 77 BCE, after several Han envoys had been intercepted and killed in or near Loulan, a Chinese delegation was sent with orders to assassinate the king of Loulan, including an envoy named

exonym Shanshan.[18]

Because of its strategic position on what became the main route from China to the West, during the Han dynasty, control of it was regularly contested between the Chinese and the Xiongnu until well into the 2nd century CE.[19]

Shanshan

Loulan tomb mural, 220–420 CE. Loulan Museum
Fragment of carpet discovered by Aurel Stein in a refuse pit at Loulan. 3rd–4th century.

After the Han dynasty had gained control of Loulan, the renamed kingdom of Shanshan became a Chinese puppet state.[20] The newly installed king, fearing retribution from the sons of the assassinated king, requested that a contingent of Han forces be established in Yixun (伊循, variously identified as Charklik or Miran). Chinese army officers were sent to colonize the area, and an office of commandant was established at Yixun.[21] A number of settlements in the Tarim Basin such as Qiemo and Niya were described in the Book of Han as independent states, but these later became part of Shanshan. While the name of the kingdom was changed to Shanshan by the Chinese, the Loulan region continued to be known as Kroran by the locals.

The region remained under Chinese control intermittently, and when China was weak in the Western Regions, Loulan was essentially independent. In 25 CE it was recorded that Loulan was in league with the Xiongnu. In 73 CE, the Han army officer Ban Chao went with a small group of followers to Shanshan, which was also receiving a delegation from the Xiongnu at the same time. Ban Chao killed the Xiongnu envoys and presented their heads to the King, after which King Guang of Shanshan submitted to Han authority.[22] This would ensure the first step of the 'Silk Road' from central China to Shanshan would be under stable Chinese control. Around 119, Ban Yong recommended that a Chinese colony of 500 men be established in Loulan.[23] A later military colony was established at Loulan by General Suo Man. It was recorded that in 222 CE, Shanshan sent tribute to China, and that in 283, the son of the king was sent as a hostage to the Chinese court during the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin.[24] Loulan was also recorded as a dependent kingdom of Shanshan in the 3rd century Book of Wei.[25]

The town of Loulan was abandoned in 330 CE, likely due to lack of water when the Tarim River, which supported the settlement, changed course; the military garrison was moved 50 kilometres (31 mi) south to Haitou (海頭). The fort of Yingpan to the northwest remained under Chinese control until the Tang dynasty.[26] According to the Book of Wei, King Bilong of Shanshan fled to Qiemo together with half of his countrymen after an attack by Juqu Anzhou in 442 CE so Shanshan came to be ruled by Qiemo.[27] In 445 Shanshan submitted to the Northern Wei. At the end of the 6th century, the Sui dynasty reestablished the city state of Shanshan.[20]

After the 5th century, however, the land was frequently invaded by nomadic states such as

Hami.[20]

The Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang passed through this region in 644 on his return from India to China, visited a town called Nafubo (納縛波, thought to be Charklik) of Loulan, and wrote of Qiemo, "A fortress exists, but not a trace of man".[28]

Descriptions in historical accounts

Felt and feather hat from Loulan. Early Han dynasty 202 BCE–8 CE

According to the Book of Han, Han envoys described the troops of Loulan as weak and easy to attack.[29] Shanshan was said to have 1,570 households and 14,000 individuals, with 2,912 persons able to bear arms.[30] It further described the region thus:

The land is sandy and salt, and there are few cultivated fields. The state hopes to obtain [the produce of] cultivated fields and look to neighbouring states for field-crops. It produces jade and there is an abundance of rushes, tamarisk, the balsam poplar, and white grass. In company with their flocks and herds the inhabitants go in search of water and pasture, and there are asses, horses and large number of camels. [The inhabitants] are capable of making military weapons in the same way as the Ch'o of the Ch'iang tribes.[31]

According to the Commentary on the Water Classic, General Suo Mai (索勱, also Suo Man) of Dunhuang introduced irrigation techniques to the region by damming the Zhubin (possibly the Kaidu River) to irrigate the fields and produced bumper harvests for the next three years.[32]

The Buddhist pilgrim

śramans, all practise the rules of India, only that the latter do so more exactly, and the former more loosely.

— A Record of the Buddhist Countries, translation by James Legge[33]

The famous historical short story by acclaimed Japanese author Yasushi Inoue entitled "Lou-lan" recounts the continual flux of control in the area and how the inhabitants dealt with Chinese & nomadic invaders throughout its relatively short history.[34]

Ethnolinguistic identity

Hellenistic influences, from the mural paintings signed Tita in the Loulan site of Miran (Xinjiang)
, 3rd century CE

The earliest known residents in Loulan are thought to have been a subgroup of the

Qäwrighul (Gumugou), around 70 km west-north-west of Loulan. The mummies have been dated to as early as 1800 BCE.[9][35] Genetic and proteomic analyses of the mummies, however, suggests that the local population were genetically isolated but were influenced by practices of neighbouring populations.[10]

The official language found in 3rd century CE documents in this region is

Gandharan migrants from the Kushan Empire.[37] These Gandharan migrants are also believed to have introduced Buddhism to Loulan.[37] Although Gandhari was used as the administrative language, some words generally thought to be of Tocharian origin are found in the documents, suggesting that the locals spoke a language that belongs to the Tocharian group of languages.[36][38] This original language of Loulan is referred to as Krorainic or "Tocharian C", due to its relatedness to the two other Tocharian languages.[39] It has been partially reconstructed from around 100 loanwords and over a thousand proper names used in these Prakrit documents that cannot be ascribed to Indic.[38] In 2018, documents from Loulan written in Tocharian C were published, indicating a relationship to Tocharian A and B, but transcription of the texts in this study has been rejected by other scholars.[40][41]

The native name of Loulan was "Kroraina" or "Krorän",

Turfan in the Tarim Basin.[46][47] Documents found in Loulan showed that Sogdians were present in the area in 313 CE, as well as Han Chinese and Tibetan tribesmen, indicating an ethnically diverse population in Loulan.[36]

Archaeology

Male face with a caduceus 200–400 AD. The staff suggests the Greek deity Hermes.[48]

Sven Hedin

The ruined city of Loulan was discovered by

Tarim river resulted in Lop Nur drying up may be the reason why Loulan had perished.[20]

Aurel Stein

Kharosthi document found in Loulan by Aurel Stein

Aurel Stein made further excavations in 1906 and 1914 around the old lake of Lop Nur and identified many sites in the area. He designated these sites with the letter L (for Loulan), followed by a letter of the alphabet (A to T) allocated in the chronological order the sites were visited.[50] Stein recovered many artifacts, including various documents, a wool-pile carpet fragment, some yellow silk, and Gandharan architectural wood carvings.

L.A. – A walled settlement lying to the north of the lake. The thick wall is made of packed earth and straw and was over 1,000 feet (300 m) on each side and 20 feet (6.1 m) thick at the base. It contains a large stupa and some administrative buildings and was occupied for a long time. It is usually thought to be the city of Loulan.
L.B. – A site with stupas at 13 km to the northwest of the L.A.
L.E. – A fortified town lying 30 km to the northeast of L.A. It is the only known city in the region with a northern gate. Since a northern gate was mentioned in the Han Chinese text about the assassination of the king of Loulan, it has therefore been suggested to be the capital of Loulan in the 1st century BCE, before the Han Chinese gained control the region. Others, however, argue that the northern gate does not refer to Loulan but Chang'an. The site was occupied until the late 3rd century CE.
L.F. – 10 km to the northwest of L.A., containing building foundations and a cemetery. Archaeologists discovered the body of a young man in a wooden coffin, wearing a felt hat and leather boots and lying under a woolen blanket. A bunch of ephedra twigs was placed beside him in a similar fashion to many much older burials found in the region.
L.K. – A walled city to the west of the lake with only a gateway in the city wall. It has been identified as Haitou by some archaeologists.[51]
L.L. – A fortress lying 5 km northwest of L.K., similar in construction but smaller.

Chinese archaeological expedition, 1979–1980

Loulan Museum, Charklik

In 1979 and 1980, three archaeological expeditions sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Xinjiang Branch performed excavations in Loulan.

bow with arrows and a straw basket.[citation needed
]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Schuessler, Axel. (2009) Minimal Old Chinese and Later Han Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 152, 246
  2. ^ Watson 1993, p. 233.
  3. ^ Victor Mair (May 14, 2019). "Language Log » Prakritic "Kroraina" and Old Sinitic reconstructions of "Loulan"". languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Catalog – CKD 696". gandhari.org. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  5. ^ Stefan Baums and Andrew Glass. A Dictionary of Gāndhārī – Krorayina. Gandhari.org. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  6. ^ Hulsewé 1979, p. 89.
  7. ^ Mallory & Mair 2000, pp. 81–87.
  8. ^ Hill 2009, p. 88.
  9. ^ a b Mallory & Mair 2000, pp. 181–188.
  10. ^
    PMID 34707286
    . Zhang2021.
  11. ^ "锦漆铜铁茶——丝绸之路上的天府制造" [Brocade, lacquer, bronze, iron, and tea: Artifacts made in Sichuan unearthed along the Silk Road]. cdmuseum.com (in Simplified Chinese). March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  12. ^ Hanshu Chapter 96a, translation from Hulsewé 1979.
  13. ^ Watson 1993, p. 140.
  14. .
  15. ^ Hulsewé 1979, pp. 86–87.
  16. ^ Hulsewé 1979, pp. 87–88.
  17. ^ Hulsewé 1979, p. 90.
  18. ^ Hulsewé 1979, pp. 90–91.
  19. ^ Hill 2009, pp. 3, 7, 9, 11, 35, 37, 85–101.
  20. ^ a b c d e Makiko Onishi & Asanobu Kitamoto. "Hedin, the Man Who Solved the Mystery of the Wandering Lake: Lop Nor and Lou-lan". Digital Silk Road.
  21. ^ Hulsewé 1979, pp. 91–92.
  22. .
  23. ^ Mallory & Mair 2000, p. 86.
  24. .
  25. ^ Annotated translation of the Weilüe by John E. Hill
  26. ^ Baumer, Christoph. (2000), pp. 125–126, 135–136. Southern Silk Road: In the Footsteps of Sir Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin. Bangkok, White Orchid Books.
  27. ^ Weishu Original text: 真君三年,鄯善王比龍避沮渠安周之難,率國人之半奔且末,後役屬鄯善。 Translation: In the third year of Zhenjun, the Loulan king Bilong, so as to avoid troubles from Juqu Anzhou, led half his countrymen and fled to Qiemo, which later controlled Shanshan.
  28. ^ Da Tang Xiyu Ji Original text: 从此东行六百余里至折摩驮那故国。即涅末地也。城郭岿然人烟断绝。复此东北行千余里至纳缚波故国。即楼兰地也。
  29. ^ Hulsewé 1979, p. 86.
  30. ^ Hulsewé 1979, p. 83.
  31. ^ Hulsewé 1979, p. 85.
  32. ^ Shui Jing Zhu
  33. ^ James Legge (1886). Fa-Hien's Record Of Buddistic Kingdoms. Oxford University Press Warehouse. pp. 12–15.
  34. .
  35. .
  36. ^ .
  37. ^ .
  38. ^ a b J. P. Mallory (November 2015). "The Problem of Tocharian Origins: An Archaeological Perspective" (PDF). Sino-Platonic Papers (259): 6.
  39. ^ Mallory, J.P. "Bronze Age languages of the Tarim Basin" (PDF). Expedition. 52 (3): 44–53.
  40. ^ "Language Log » Tocharian C: its discovery and implications". Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  41. ^ Adams, Douglas Q. "'Tocharian C' Again: The Plot Thickens and the Mystery Deepens". Language Log. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  42. ^ Kazuo Enoki (1998), "Yü-ni-ch’êng and the Site of Lou-Lan," and "The Location of the Capital of Lou-Lan and the Date of the Kharoshthi Inscriptions," in Rokuro Kono (ed), Studia Asiatica: The Collected Papers in Western Languages of the Late Dr. Kazuo Enoki, Tokyo: Kyu-Shoin, pp 200, 211–57.
  43. ^ Mallory & Mair 2000, p. 81.
  44. ^ Christopoulos, Lucas (August 2012), "Hellenes and Romans in Ancient China (240 BC – 1398 AD)," in Victor H. Mair (ed), Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 230, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, University of Pennsylvania Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, pp 20–21 footnote #38, ISSN 2157-9687.
  45. ^ Howard, Michael C. (2012), Transnationalism in Ancient and Medieval Societies, the Role of Cross Border Trade and Travel, McFarland & Company, p. 134.
  46. .
  47. ^ Galambos, Imre (2015), "She Association Circulars from Dunhuang", in Antje Richter, A History of Chinese Letters and Epistolary Culture, Leiden & Boston: Brill, pp 870–72.
  48. JSTOR 24049192
    .
  49. ^ Hedin, Sven (1898). Through Asia. London: Methuen & Co.
  50. ^ Christoph Baumer. "Explorer Club Flag 60 report" (PDF). The Explorers Club. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2014.
  51. ^ "Unclosed the Mystery of the Ancient City LK". travel-silkroad.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  52. ^ Ma Dazheng. An Overview of 20th Century Xinjiang Explorations Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Web site, 2003 May 22
  53. ^ "Loulan vanished in sand". Washington Times. 2005-01-13.
  54. .

Sources

Further reading

External links

  • Downloadable article: "Evidence that a West-East admixed population lived in the Tarim Basin as early as the early Bronze Age" Li et al. BMC Biology 2010, 8:15. [1]
  • Loulan, vanished in sand
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