CHAPTER LXII. 
HISTORY OF KHOTAN 
K HOT AN, close to which these antiquities were 
discovered, is, as I have already said, a very 
ancient tow'ii. The Sanscrit name for it is Ivustana ; 
the word is not identical, as many believe, with the 
Mongol khoten = "^ town.” In the second century b.c. 
the Chinese called it Yii-thien. In his Histoire rfh la 
Ville de Kliotan, Abel Remusat published translations 
of several important passages relating to the place from 
the Chinese chronicle Tdi-thsnig-i-twig-tshi. From these 
passages we learn that the Emperor Wu-ti of the Han 
dynasty, who reigned from 140 to 87 b.c,, was the first 
Chinese monarch who sent emissaries to Khotan. Under 
the Emperor Ming-ti, in the year 73 a.d., the town was 
conquered by the Chinese ; and since then, except for 
longer or shorter periods, it has been more or less closely 
dependent upon the Chinese empire, perhaps at no time 
more closely than at the present day. 
The chronicle already quoted contains, under the 
dynasties Tsin, Liang, Wei, Chow, Suy, and Thang, 
i.e. for about two centuries onward from the year 397, 
several Interesting notices of Khotan and Its inhabitants. 
“It is a rich, populous, and flourishing kingdom.” 
“They are greatly devoted to the religion of Buddha.” 
“The women .share in the feasts and gatherings at which 
strangers are present. They wear their hair in plaits, 
and ride camels and horses in the same fashion as men.” 
“All the inhabitants of that region have deep-sunk eyes 
and big noses.” “ By character the people are gentle 
and considerate of others ; but they are also crafty, 
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