58 Verification of the Itinerary of Hwan Thsang [July, 



Thence to the E. at 600 li (100 miles) to 



No. 141 — Che-ma-tan-na, or land of Ni-mo. (Perhaps Chan- 

 than, the district inhabited by the Chatce Scythce of Ptolemy. 



Verification of Hwan Thsang 9 s view of Buddhism. 



It may perhaps be urged against Hwan Thsang that, as a zealous 

 follower of Buddha, he has exhibited altogether a much too favorable 

 view of the state of the Buddhist religion in India at the period of his 

 visit. But fortunately, we possess the independent testimonies of two 

 different authors, the one a Brahman, and the other a Musalman, whose 

 statements fully corroborate the views of the Chinese pilgrim, and vouch 

 for the entire truthfulness of his narrative. The Brahman is Kalhana 



Taylor's identification of Asam with the Serica of the ancients. This is a point that in 

 my opinion is wholly without proof, or even probability. It is indeed true that Asam 

 and Serica both produced silk : and equally true is it that there was a river in Macedon 

 and another in Monmouth, and that there were salmons in both, but this proves nothing : 

 for Asam was certainly apart of " India extra Gangem,"as was also Great Tibet, includ- 

 ing the whole of the country on the Sanpu river. Thus Elddna is Gdlddn, Sagoda is 

 Shigatze, Adisagu is U-Tsang or Lhassa, and the Daona Fluvins is the Dihong River. 

 The Dabasos are the people of Ddbus, or Central Tibet, that is of Lhassa, and the Damasi 

 Montes, are the hills of Ddbus. A glance at the map will show the correctness of these 

 identifications ; but we have also the fact that the kings of Great Tibet from B. C. 250 

 were Indians of the family of Lichchavi of Vaisali. This alone was sufficient to warrant 

 Ptolemy in including Tibet within " India extra Gangem." I cannot enter into any 

 details here ; but I may mention that the routes from India to Tibet appear to have 

 remained unchanged since Ptolemy's time : for Tosule Metropolis, is most probably 

 fassisudon, the capital of Botan ; and Tugma Metropolis must be the capital of Asam ; 

 whilst Mareura emporium is Amarapura the capital of Ava. The Seres were certainly 

 the Ouigours whose name is preserved in the Oichardes Fluvius and Oicharda, in the 

 ltaguri, Thagurus Mons, and Thogara, all of which are only various spellings of Ouiguri 

 or Ouigours. They were called Kiao-chang or " Waggoners" by the Chinese, which 

 term we also find preserved in the Essedones of Ptolemy and Ammianus, in the Heniochi 

 of Pliny, and in the Harmatotrophi of Pomponius Mela: all of which are only literal 

 translations of the Chinese name. The Seres must not therefore be confounded with 

 the Sinos, for the latter were the people of China Proper, the former of Chinese Tartary. 

 A few minor identifications may also be mentioned, such as : the Psitaras fluvius of 

 Pliny is the Su-Tarini, or river of Yarkand : the Sizyges are the people of Sui-Ching :— 

 the Damnce, are the people of Manas, the Asmircei are the people of Urumtsi or Bish» 

 balig ;— and the Throani or Tharrani are the people of Turfdn, 



