Front matter
Reading edition
Strike me dead, the track has vanished. Well, what now? We’ve lost the way, Demons have bewitched our horses, Led us in the wilds astray. Pushkin.
A YA-YIEH OR YAMEN RUNNER.
Frontispiece.
THROUGH DESERTS AND OASES OF CENTRAL ASIA
BY
Miss ELLA SYKES
F.R.G.S.
AUTHOR OF “THROUGH PERSIA ON A SIDE-SADDLE” AND “A HOME HELP IN CANADA”
AND
Brigadier-General Sir PERCY SYKES
K.C.I.E., C.B., C.M.G.
GOLD MEDALLIST OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY AUTHOR OF “A HISTORY OF PERSIA” AND “THE GLORY OF THE SHIA WORLD”
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON
1920
MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited
LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA · MADRAS MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO DALLAS · SAN FRANCISCO
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.
TORONTO
COPYRIGHT
PREFACE
Few works dealing with Chinese Turkestan and the Pamirs have been published of late years, although the Heart of Asia, where the empires of Great Britain, Russia and China meet, can never fail to excite our interest. Furthermore, the great trade route which ran from China to the Roman Empire lay across Chinese Turkestan, from which remote land silk was introduced into Europe.
The present book has been written in two parts. The chapters composing Part I., which describe the nine months’ journey in deserts and oases, in mountains and plains, have been written by my sister, while I am responsible for those dealing with the geography, history, customs and other subjects.
We are indebted to Mr. Bohlin of the Swedish Mission in Chinese Turkestan, and to Khan Sahib, Iftikhar Ahmad of the British Consulate-General, Kashgar, for much assistance; and also to Dr. F. W. Thomas, of the India Office, who has read through the historical sketch.
A good deal of new material will be found in the various chapters, and as far as possible the subjects so ably and exhaustively dealt with by Sir Aurel Stein have been avoided.
To my sister belongs the honour of being the first Englishwoman to cross the dangerous passes leading to and from the Pamirs and, with the exception of Mrs. Littledale, to visit Khotan.
We greatly enjoyed the nine months we spent in Chinese Turkestan and on the “Roof of the World,” and if we succeed in arousing the interest of our readers in this old-world backwater of Asia, and at the same time convey something of its distinctive charm, our ambitions will be fulfilled.
P. M. SYKES.
CONTENTS
PART I
CHAPTER I
PAGE
Across the Russian Empire in War Time 3
CHAPTER II
Beyond the Tian Shan to Kashgar 18
CHAPTER III
Life at Kashgar 39
CHAPTER IV
Round about Kashgar 66
CHAPTER V
Olla Podrida 86
CHAPTER VI
On the Way to the Russian Pamirs 103
CHAPTER VII
The Roof of the World 129
CHAPTER VIII
The Aryans of Sarikol 148
CHAPTER IX
The Ancient City of Yarkand 175
CHAPTER X
Through the Desert to Khotan 191
CHAPTER XI
Khotan the Kingdom of Jade 209
PART II
CHAPTER XII
The Geography, Government and Commerce of Chinese Turkestan 235
CHAPTER XIII
An Historical Sketch of Chinese Turkestan: The Early Period 248
CHAPTER XIV
An Historical Sketch of Chinese Turkestan: The Mediaeval and Later Periods 263
CHAPTER XV
An Historical Sketch of Chinese Turkestan: The Modern Period 275
CHAPTER XVI
A Kashgar Farmer 300
CHAPTER XVII
Manners and Customs in Chinese Turkestan 308
CHAPTER XVIII
Stalking the Great Sheep of Marco Polo 324
INDEX 333
ILLUSTRATIONS
Note.—The illustrations, with one exception, are from reproductions of photographs taken by the authors.
FACE PAGE
A Ya-Yieh or Yamen Runner Frontispiece
Cart used in the Osh District 26
Daoud and Sattur 41
Watering Horses in the Tuman Su 56
Kashgar Women and Children 58
Water-Carriers at Kashgar 60
Shoeing in the Kashgar Bazar 62
A Kashgar Grandmother 64
Priest at the Temple of Pan Chao 67
Kashgar City (showing the city wall and Tuman Su) 68
Women at the Shrine of Hazrat Apak 69
Chinese Soldiers at the Kashgar Yamen 74
Jafar Bai displaying the Visiting Card 77
Study of Kashgar Women 82
Ruins of the Buddhist Tim, Kashgar 85
The Shrine of Bibi Anna 93
Fording the Gez River 109
Kirghiz Women in Gala Dress 118
Loading up the Yaks 124
Bringing in an Ovis Poli (Nadir with rifle) 146
(a) The Game of Baigu—the Mêlée 150
(b) The Game of Baigu—the Pick-up 150
(c) The Game of Baigu—the Victor 150
Nasir Ali Khan, a Muki of Sarikol 156
Sarikoli Dancers 158
Muztagh Ata—The Snout of a Glacier 162
A Kirghiz and his Daughter 164
Kashgar Musicians 170
Our Arabas on the Yarkand Road 176
A Hunting Eagle 182
Ferry on the Yarkand River 192
The Pigeon Shrine 206
Beggars at the Gate 212
A Dulani Shaykh 222
Dulani Musicians 224
A Dulani Woman and her Son 226
The Tian Shan or Celestial Mountains 236
The Tungani Commander of the Troops at Khotan 242
Tamerlane 268
A Load of Clover from Isa Haji’s Farm 302
The Sons of Isa Haji ploughing 304
A Magician and his Disciple 314
A Kashgar School 316
A Woman throwing Mud to effect a Cure 320
Ovis Poli—the 51-inch head 328
Hunting-Dogs with Kirghiz owner 330
MAPS
Supplementary Sketch Map showing Country to the East of Route Map 275
Map to illustrate Authors’ Routes (In pocket at end of volume)
ERRATUM
Page 134, line 22, for “there was no sign of a division” read “it was broken up into islands.”
PART I