Class 6 Session A   Khotan     April 18

Core Readings:

Ruins of Desert Cathay –Vol I, Chapter XIV, My Return to Khotan, pp. 163 to 178  August 1906 https://archive.org/details/ruinsofdesertcat01stei/page/162

Stein passed through Khotan in August, 1906, and again several weeks later after exploring the Kunlun Mountains at length.  (He had done archeological work in Khotan in 1900 also.) He visited Khotan once again on the way to India after crossing the Taklamakan.

Stein Photos- Ancient Khotan (from the Xenophon website).    Click on blue dots for photos.    http://www.xenophon-mil.org/china/centralasia/ancientkhotanphoto.htm

Video:

YouTube: The Silk Road I - 7 of 12 - Khotan Oasis of Silk and Jade. 48 minutes https://youtu.be/I6Bz_RF2UOc

While much of this video shows life in Khotan in the 1980’s, it also portrays locals on camel prospecting for jade in the Kunlun Mountains in a way that harks back to the earliest days of trade between Khotan and China, prior to even the Han dynasty. Other footage follows current             archeological exploration in the desert around Khotan, also on camel as in the days of Stein.

Recommended but not Required:

Xuanzang in Khotan (from The Life of Xuanzang)  4 pages

Kingdom of Khotan - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Khotan