HISTORY OF KHOTAN 
777 
flattering, and merry, as well as ceremonious in their 
manners. When they meet they greet one another by 
touching the ground with one knee. They use seals 
of jade (nephrite) ; and when any of them receives a 
letter, he touches his brow with it before opening it. 
They divert themselves, dance, and sing; but are also 
well skilled in the laws and in justice, and in the 
observances of their creed.” “They burn their dead, 
and afterwards gather the bones together, bury them, and 
above the grave build a ‘chapel’ to Feo-tho {t.e. Buddha).” 
Very probably these “chapels” contained bronze images 
of Buddha like those shown on pp. 773 and 775. 
What is of special interest to us is the undoubted fact, 
that their industrial arts had reached a high degree of 
development. One of the numerous embassies which 
were sent from Khotan to the Emperor of China carried 
with it, amongst other gifts, a number of glass vases. In 
several parts of East Turkestan, and not at Khotan only, 
I discovered numerous fragments of glass, which plainly 
belonged to small plates, mugs, cups, and ornaments of 
lotus flowers. But at the present time the art of making 
glass is entirely unknown in East Turkestan. The 
chronicler further tells us, that the Khotanese were 
skilful fabricators of copper tankards, and of textiles. 
Moreover they all used seals ; of such I found about a 
score at Khotan. 
According to the Chinese chronicle already quoted, 
about the year 400 a.d. Shi Ea Hian went to Khotan in 
order “to seek after the prescriptions of the law,” and 
described a religious festival, which he calls, “the carrying 
round of the gods.” “On the first day of the fourth 
month,” thus runs the Chinese traveller’s account, “ the 
town was put through a great cleansing. The streets, 
market, and driving - ways were sprinkled with water. 
The gate of the town was hung with carpets and per- 
fumed draperies, and a great number of ornaments. The 
king and queen, and the ladies of the court, came and 
took their seats under the awning (or baldachin) outside 
the rate. Kiu Ma Ti, the chief lama of the temple, 
o 
II.-8 
