"It Was From This Period, When Tibetan Influence From The South Seems To Have Made Itself Strongly Felt Throughout Kansu, That Most Of The Buddhist Shrines And Memorial Stupas Dated, Which Filled A Great Portion Of The Ruined Town And Were Conspicuous Also Outside It.

In one of the latter Colonel Kozloff had made his notable find of Buddhist texts and paintings. But a systematic search of this and other ruins soon showed that the archaeological riches of the site were by no means exhausted.

By a careful clearing of the debris which covered the bases of Stupas and the interior of temple cellas we brought to light abundant remains of Buddhist manuscripts and block prints, both in Tibetan and the as yet very imperfectly known old Tangut language, as well as plenty of interesting relievos in stucco or terra-cotta and frescoes. The very extensive refuse heaps of the town yielded up a large number of miscellaneous records on paper in the Chinese, Tangut, and Uigur scripts, together with many remains of fine glazed pottery, and of household utensils. Finds of Hsi-hsia coins, ornaments in stone and metal, etc., were also abundant, particularly on wind-eroded ground.

"There was much to support the belief that the final abandonment of the settlement was brought about by difficulties of irrigation." (A Third Journey of Exploration in Central Asia, 1913-16, Geog. Jour., Aug.-Sept., 1916, pp. 38-39.)

M. Ivanov (Isviestia Petrograd Academy, 1909) thinks that the ruined city of Kara Khoto, a part at the Mongol period of the Yi-tsi-nai circuit, could be its capital, and was at the time of the Si Hia and the beginning of the Mongols, the town of Hei shui.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 1219 of 1350
Words from 334732 to 335019 of 370046