The Site of Qocho City Introduction

(1) Contribution to the Silk Roads' OUV

Qocho City was the largest central town in Turpan Basin in the southern foot of the Tian-shan Mountains, dating back from the 1st century BC to the 14th century AD. During the period from the 1st century BC to the 8th century AD, it witnessed historical evolution as Qocho Garrison, Qocho Commandery and the capital of the Kingdom of Qocho successively. During the Tang Dynasty, Xizhou Prefecture was set in Qocho City, making it an important political, economic, cultural, religious and military center and transportation hub in the southern foot of the Tian-shan Mountains. From the 9th through the 13th century AD, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Qocho Uyghur. Qocho City witnessed the important role of facilitating and safeguarding the pioneering and prosperity of the Silk Roads played by the dynastic empires in Central China such as the Han and the Tang, through establishing prefecture or countylevel administrative units. It is attests the civilizations of the Kingdom of Qocho and the Kingdom of Qocho Uyghur in the Western Regions in ancient times and the exchanges and spread of urban culture, architectural skills, various religions and multi-ethnic cultures in Turpan Basin.

(2) General Information

Qocho City, also known as Iduq-qut (meaning “City of King” in Uyghur), is located in Gucheng village of Erpu Town, 30 km east of the city of Turpan. Geographically the ancient city was located on Mutougou River oasis on the alluvial plain north of Turpan Basin, south of east Tian-shan, bordering the south foot of Flaming Mountains. It was 325km west of Hami city (Yi Prefecture in the Tang Dynasty), 260km northeast of Yanqi (Karasahr town in the Tang Dynasty) and 140km south of Jimusar (Ting Prefecture in the Tang Dynasty), an important resting place on the Tian-shan southern route. Qocho City was the seat of Wuji Colonel(Qocho Garrison) in the Han and Jin dynasties (1st century BC - 4th century AD), capital of Qocho Commandery or Qocho Kingdom in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (4th century – 7th century), capital of Xizhou Prefecture and Qocho County in the Tang Dynasty (7th century – 8th century), and capital of Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho (Kara-Khoja) in the Song and Yuan (9th century – 13^th century) dynasties. Qocho City had stood for more than 1400 years when it was abandoned in the 14th century. So far, the earliest remains found in the site dated back to 3rd to 4th century. The majority of remains mainly dated back to Kingdom of Qocho (7th century-13th century). 58 The site of Qocho City takes up a total area of about 198 hectares in the form of an irregular square, with three circles of cities, viz., the outer city, inner city and Khan Fort. The city walls were built with rammed earth. Remains found include city gate remains, Mamian remains (prominent abutment of the wall for defense, like a horse-face), and moat remains out of the city. A Large number of religious building sites and house sites were found in the city, such as the Southwest Grand Buddhist Temple, the Southeast Minor Temple, α Temple, and Southeast house sites, etc. Cultural relics unearthed in the city mainly include: religious relics (Buddhism, Manichaeism and Nestorian Christianity), such as murals, statue remnants, paintings on silk or linen banners, sacrificial objects and more; documents or carvings in Chinese, Sanskrit, Persian, Sogdian, Uyghur, and other languages; building components; silk and metal jewelry, and other household debris. In addition, there are other important sites lying near Qocho City, which also proved the significance of the ancient Qocho City. The two most important remains are: Astana Tombs dating back from the Western Jin to the Tang dynasties (3rd century – 8th century), lying 2.5km northwest of Qocho City and Bezklik Cave-Temple Complex, the Royal Buddhist temple of Uyghur Qocho kingdom (Kara-Khoja), located in Mutougou Ravine in the canyon of Flaming Mountains, north of Qocho City. These sites are the important complementary evidence to testify to the value characteristics of Qocho City.

(3)Attributes

As the capital of the Qocho Kingdom from the 5th to the 7th century and the Xizhou Prefecture of the Tang Dynasty from the 7th to the 8th century, as well as the capital of the Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho from the 9th to the 13^th century, the Site of Qocho City witnessed the Qocho Kingdom, the Qocho Uyghur Kingdom, etc., their nations and civilizations in the Western Regions, with remains of the city and surrounding temples, caves and tombs. It also witnessed important safeguards that dynasties of Central Plain China carried out to guarantee the sound access to the Western Regions and the Silk Roads through establishing commanderies and prefectures. Remains in the site of Qocho City and tombs and Buddhist cave temples outside, dating back from the 5th to the 13th century, reflect unique characteristics of urban planning, architectural skills, religious belief, funeral customs and production and living styles of the ancient Qocho Kingdom and the Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho. Par ticularly, the Qocho Uyghur Buddhism art, in the integration progress of the Uyghur and Han people, representative of Qocho Uyghur culture, shows mix of Central China Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Buddhism in Yanqi (Karasahr) and Kucha. The unique Buddhism art was immensely popular in history59. The relevant remains also demonstrate the openness of Uyghur people and how this mentality contributed to the cultural interchange along the Silk Roads. According to descriptions in historical records and unearthed documents such as the Records of the Grand Historian, the History of the Former Han Dynasty, the Old History of the Tang Dynasty and the New History of the Tang Dynasty, Central China empires established Qocho Garrison, Qocho Commander y, Xizhou Prefecture and Qocho County in this region, providing important security and management guarantees for exchanges along the Silk Roads and facilitating the prosperity of the Silk Roads. The Site of Qocho City witnessed impor tant effor ts of Central China’s dynasties in managing the Western Regions and guaranteeing the free and sound access to the Silk Roads.

The relationship between the Qocho Kingdom and the Central China can be traced from the triple-circle layout of the city, building techniques using rammed earth, Mamian setting and the Buddhist murals. The Southwest Grand Buddhist Temple, Southeast Minor Temple, α Temple, and murals of Nestorianism proved the spread of and interchange among Manichaeism, Nestorianism and Buddhism. Literatures unearthed from the city site and surrounding areas have proven cultural exchanges among different ethnic groups such as Han and Uyghur people in ancient times. The relics unear thed from Qocho city and the city layout proved the in-depth interchange of culture and architectural technology of West Region with Central China. The triple-circle layout, rammed ear th walls, the building of Mamian, the names of Lifang and city gates as recorded in documents unear thed all resembled those of Central China cities. Qocho city was an important site managed by Chinese empires to maintain its connection with Middle Asia60.

Buddhist murals of the Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho in the site of Qocho City and Buddhist mural remains in adjacent caves dating back from the 9th to the 13th centur y demonstrate connection with those from Central China and Hexi Area in terms of subjects of depiction and painting techniques. This connection is owed to Qocho’s close link with Central China and Uyghur people’s high degree of Chinesization, demonstrating the route of spread of Buddhism from the Western Regions to Central China. Buddhist sutras in Chinese, Sanskrit, Tangut, Sodgian and Uyghur languages, unear thed from the city site, are the evidence to prove the cultural exchanges between East and West, indicating that Qocho was a midway stop for the spread of Buddhism from West to East originally and from East to West later.

Buddhist and Manichean remains in the Southwest Grand Buddha Temple, the Southeast Minor Temple and the Temple in the site of Qocho City, dating back to the period between the Tang Dynasty to the Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho, reflect the spread of Buddhism and Manicheism in the southern route of Tian-shan in Turpan Basin from the 7th to the 13th century, as well as the evolution of religious belief in ancient Qocho, from Buddhism to Manicheism and then back to Buddhism, along with ethnic integration between Uyghur and Han people.

The Nestorian Christianity murals found by Albert von Le Coq (German) at the beginning of the 20th century in a monastery east of the ancient city of Qocho 61indicate the spread of Nestorian Christianity in the area of Qocho during the Tang Dynasty.

Multiple-language documents unearthed in the ancient city of Qocho and the adjacent Astana tombs and other caves, including Chinese, Sanskrit, Tocharian, Persian, Sogdian, Uyghur, Tibetan and together with historical records such as the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) and the History of the Former Han Dynasty, are all evidence of exchanges and fusions among cultures of Han, Jushi, Sogdian, Tibetan and Uyghur people at the southern foot of Tian-shan and in Turpan Basin from the 1st century BC to the 14th century AD , and in par ticular, the integration of Uyghur people with Han people after the former’s immigration to Turpan Basin from Mobei (northern deserts of Inner Mongolia). Built on Mutougou Ravine oasis on the alluvial plain at the southern foot of the Flaming Mountains, the city carried unique landscape features of desert oasis set against the Flaming Mountains, demonstrating the human wisdom in using natural conditions during long-distance travel.