Chapter 4 THROUGH THE TS'UNG OR ONION MOUNTAINS TO K'EEH-CH'A;-PROBABLY SKARDO, OR SOME CITY MORE TO THE EAST IN LADAK

When the processions of images in the fourth month were over, Sang-shao, by himself alone, followed a Tartar who was an earnest follower of the Law,(1) and proceeded towards Kophene.(2) Fa-Hsien and the others went forward to the kingdom of Tsze-hoh, which it took them twenty-five days to reach.(3) Its king was a strenuous follower of our Law,(4) and had (around him) more than a thousand monks, mostly students of the mahayana.

Here (the travellers) abode fifteen days, and then went south for four days, when they found themselves among the Ts'ung-ling mountains, and reached the country of Yu-hwuy,(5) where they halted and kept their retreat.(6) When this was over, they went on among the hills(7) for twenty-five days, and got to K'eeh-ch'a,(8) there rejoining Hwuy-king(9) and his two companions.

NOTES

(1) This Tartar is called a {.} {.}, "a man of the Tao," or faith of

Buddha. It occurs several times in the sequel, and denotes the man who

is not a Buddhist outwardly only, but inwardly as well, whose faith

is always making itself manifest in his ways. The name may be used of

followers of other systems of faith besides Buddhism.

(2) See the account of the kingdom of Kophene, in the 96th Book of the

first Han Records, p. 78, where its capital is said to be 12,200 le

from Ch'ang-gan. It was the whole or part of the present Cabulistan.

The name of Cophene is connected with the river Kophes, supposed to be

the same as the present Cabul river, which falls into the Indus, from

the west, at Attock, after passing Peshawar. The city of Cabul, the

capital of Afghanistan, may be the Kophene of the text; but we do not

know that Sang-shao and his guide got so far west. The text only says

that they set out from Khoten "towards it."

(3) Tsze-hoh has not been identified. Beal thinks it was Yarkand,

which, however, was north-west from Khoten. Watters ("China Review,"

p. 135) rather approves the suggestion of "Tashkurgan in Sirikul" for

it. As it took Fa-Hsien twenty-five days to reach it, it must have been

at least 150 miles from Khoten.

(4) The king is described here by a Buddhistic phrase, denoting

the possession of viryabala, "the power of energy; persevering

exertion-one of the five moral powers" (E. H., p. 170).

(5) Nor has Yu-hwuy been clearly identified. Evidently it was directly

south from Tsze-hoh, and among the "Onion" mountains. Watters hazards

the conjecture that it was the Aktasch of our present maps.

(6) This was the retreat already twice mentioned as kept by the

pilgrims in the summer, the different phraseology, "quiet rest,"

without any mention of the season, indicating their approach to India,

E. H., p. 168. Two, if not three, years had elapsed since they left

Ch'ang-gan. Are we now with them in 402?

(7) This is the Corean reading {.}, much preferable to the {.} of the

Chinese editions.

(8) Watters approves of Klaproth's determination of K'eeh-ch'a to be

Iskardu or Skardo. There are difficulties in connexion with the view,

but it has the advantage, to my mind very great, of bringing the

pilgrims across the Indus. The passage might be accomplished with ease

at this point of the river's course, and therefore is not particularly

mentioned.

(9) Who had preceded them from Khoten.