Loulan

Loulan or Kroran (zh-tp|t=樓蘭|p=Lóulán, Uyghur Language: "Kroran"}) is an ancient oasis town founded in the second century on the north-eastern edge of the Lop Desert. Loulan, also known as "Krorayina", was an ancient kingdom along China's Silk Road in Xinjiang. In 77 BCE, it became known to the Chinese as Shanshan, though the town at the northwestern corner of Lop Nur retained the name of Loulan. The ruins of the town of Loulan are on what were the western banks of Lop Nur, in the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, now completely submerged in the desert [Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. (2000). "The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West". Thames & Hudson. London. ISBN 0-500-05101-1]

History

A 3,800-year-old female mummy (circa 1600 BCE), the first of a series of mummies now known as the Tarim mummies, was discovered in Loulan in 1980 CE, indicating very early settlement of the region.

The first historical mention of Loulan was in a letter from the Chanyu of the Xiongnu to the Chinese Emperor in 126 BCE in which he boasted of conquering the Yuezhi, the Wusun, Loulan, and Hujie, "as well as the twenty-six states nearby." In 126 BCE, the Chinese envoy, Zhang Qian described Loulan as a fortified city near Lop Nur. [Watson, Burton, trans. (1993). "Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty II - Revised Edition". Columbia University Press, New York. ISBN 0-231-08166-9 and ISBN 0-231-08167-7 (pbk)]

Because of its strategic position on what became the main route from China to the West, during the Former Han and Later Han, control of it was regularly contested between the Chinese and the Xiongnu. The "Hanshu" informs that: "it lay close to Han and confronted the White Dragon Mounds. The locality was short of water and pasture, and was regularly responsible for sending out guides, conveying water, bearing provisions and escorting or meeting Han envoys. In addition, the state was frequently robbed, reprimanded or harmed by officials or conscripts and found it inexpedient to keep contact with the Han. Later, the state again conducted espionage for the Hsiung-nu, often intercepting and killing Han envoys." [*Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. "China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC – AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty". E. J. Brill, Leiden. ISBN 90-04-05884-2, p. 89.] The Xiongnu repeatedly contested the Han Chinese for control of the region until well into the 2nd century CE, [ [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html Annotated translation from the "Hou Hanshu" by John E. Hill] ] and is recorded as a dependent kingdom of Shanshan in the 3rd century "Weilüe". [ [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html Annotated translation of the "Weilüe" by John E. Hill] ]

A military colony of 1,000 men was established at Loulan in 260 CE by the Chinese General So Man. The site was abandoned in 330 CE due to lack of water when the Tarim River, which supported the settlement, changed course and the military garrison was moved 50 km south to Haitou. The fort of Yingpan to the northwest remained under Chinese control until the Tang Dynasty. [Baumer, Christoph. (2000). "Southern Silk Road: In the Footsteps of Sir Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin". Bangkok, White Orchid Books, 2000.]

Archaeology

ven Hedin

Loulan was rediscovered by Sven Hedin in 1899, who excavated some houses and found a wooden Kharosthi tablet and many Chinese manuscripts from the later Han dynasty (third century A.D.).

Aurel Stein

Aurel Stein made further excavations in 1906 and 1914, investigating the town's packed-earth and straw wall. It was over convert|1000|ft|m on each side, and convert|20|ft|m thick at the base. Stein also recovered a wool-pile carpet fragment, some yellow silk, and Gandharan architectural wood-carvings.

Modern expeditions

Reported in the [http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20050113-104224-1613r.htm Washington Times, 2005,] are discoveries made in 1979 and 1980 by a Chinese architectural team in the area. They discovered a man-made canal, convert|15|ft|m deep and convert|55|ft|m wide, running through Loulan from northwest to southeast; a convert|32|ft|m|sing=on high earthen dome-shaped Buddhist stupa; and a convert|41|ft|m long by convert|28|ft|m wide home apparently for a Chinese official, housing 3 rooms and supported by wooden pillars. They also collected 797 objects from the area, including vessels of wood, bronze objects, jewelry and coins, and Mesolithic stone tools (" [http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20050113-104224-1613r.htm Washington Times, 2005] "). [Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. (2000). "The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West". Thames & Hudson. London. ISBN 0-500-05101-1]

Other reported (2003) finds in the area include additional mummies and burial grounds, ephedra sticks, a string bracelet that holds a hollowed jade stone, a leather pouch, a woolen loincloth, a wooden mask painted red and with large nose and teeth, boat-shaped coffins, a bow with arrows and a straw basket (" [http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20050113-104224-1613r.htm Washington Times, 2005] ").

ee also

*Shanshan

References

External links

* [http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20050113-104224-1613r.htm Washington Times, 2005: Loulan vanished in sand]
* [http://www.cnhomestay.com/city/cityguides/korla.htm#loulan Korla Travel Guide]