1899.] 
Section J .—Coins and Seals. 
11 
approximate to tlie current standard.” The variations of the actual 
from the normal weight appear to have been particularly great under 
the Han dynasty, for the intermediate usurper Siu Wang Mang (6-25 
A.D.) “ begau by annulling the decrees enacted by the Han dynasty, 
as he wanted to return to the money of the Tcliou dynasty, where 
‘ the mother and the child * (i.e., divisionary piece) weighed in pro¬ 
portion to each other, similarly to those issued by king Wang in 
523 B.C.” 6 In order to see how far the Indo-Chinese coins conform to 
the normal weight, we must test them by their average weight. Judged 
by this test they, curiously enough, very nearly agree with what should 
be their normal weight. For the average weight of the nine large 
coins is 213*44 grains (normal 227*48), 6 and of the 63 small coins, 47*857 
(normal 48*72). The agreement in the case of the large coins would 
probably be still greater, if we had a larger number of them to make 
up the average. 
The date of these Indo-Chinese coins can be approximately deter¬ 
mined by the following considerations. The fact of their superscriptions 
being in Indian and Chinese characters and language shows that both 
those languages must have occupied a recognised position in Khotan at 
the time when the coins passed current. In the case of the bilingual 
Indo-Greek coins, Indian was the language of the population of the 
country, while Greek was the language of the administration or the 
ruling power. Khotan, so far as known to us, never had a Chinese 
population ; but it fell under the power of China at a very early dale. 
In the sixth year of the Emperor Ming-ti of the Later Han dynasty, 
in 73 A.D., Kuang-te, the king of Khotan, submitted to the Chinese 
General Pantchao. Thenceforward the kingdom of Khotan became a 
regular dependency of China, which formed that kingdom, together with 
Kashghar and other Central Asian principalities, into an administrative 
unit under the name of the “ Western Countries ” and under a Chinese 
Governor-General, 7 and placed Chinese Governors in Khotan and the 
other chief towns. Shortly afterwards, King Kanishka of India (about 
78-106 A.D.) is said to have held hostages from the Chinese “ tributary 
Princes to the west of the Yellow River,” that is, from the princes 
6 See p. 365 of the Brit. Mus. Catalogue. 
6 The weight of the Brit. Mus. specimen, figured on p. 394 of the Catalogue, 
would seem to be 220 grains ; for on p. xliii of the Introduction it is said “ the 
Bactro-Chinese coin of 2 Hang 4 fchu = 220 grs.” There is here some confusion. 
The weight inscribed on the coin is 1 Hang 4 tchu of the Han standard, which is 
equal to 2 Hang and 8 tchu of the old standard ; and both alike are equal to 227*48 
grains (normal). 
7 See Abel Remusat’s Histoire de la Ville de Khotan, p. 3 and passim. 
