east turkestan 313Asia, and the Sung was blocked from that region by the Hsia State.
The oasis states of East Turkestan, now ruled by Uighurs, were there-
fore once more independent. But the goods they traded were actively
sought by the Sung. For instance, an edict of Nov.4, 1087, “ordered”
Khotan annually to “offer tribute” (Hsü Tzu-chih t’ung-chien ch’ang-pien
p.3840), i.e. requested trade missions.
During the times when East Turkestan was a Chinese protectorate,
the Chinese rarely mixed into the internal affairs of the states. They
maintained the peace, and the states governed themselves under their
own rulers. China recognized some and perhaps all of them. One
Chinese princess was married to the king of Turfan in 612. The T’ang
is recorded to have condoled on the death of the king of Turfan in
619, but no official mourning was held and no posthumous titles were
conferred. During T’ang, as they had done in Han times, rulers in
East Turkestan sent hostages to the Chinese court. Of all the cases
examined in this work, this is the only one where the rendering of
hostages cannot be in doubt. The only cases recorded concern the
king of Khotan in 635 and 639 (Chiu T’ang shu 3:6b; Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao
337:41a).), but there must have been others. This does not mean that
the Indo-European oasis states of T’ang times welcomed the presence
and cultural influence of the Chinese. It has been seen that a Khotan
prince, residing in Ch’ang-an, refused in 785 to let his son become
king of Khotan because he was too sinified.
According to Sui shu 83:8a, Turfan offered annual gifts from 609.
Only one further mission is recorded for Sui. According to Chiu T’ang
shu 198:9a, Karashahr offered goods from 649 without interruption.
Five missions are recorded until 737. According to Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao
336:40b, Karashahr frequently offered gifts from 742 to 753. Two
missions are recorded. According to Chiu T’ang shu 198:9b and Ts’e-fu
yüan-kuei p.5024, Kucha offered gifts from 630 without interruption.
Three missions are recorded until 642. According to Sung shih 490:
22b and Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 336:40a, Kucha sent five missions from
1023 to 1037. Six are actually recorded. According to Chiu T’ang shu
198:10b, Kashgar sent missions from 635 without interruption. Four
missions are recorded until 639. According to T’ung-tien 193:21a, Chu-
chü-po continuously sent envoys from early T’ang. Two missions are
recorded until 636. According to Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 337:42a, missions
from Khotan arrived from the late 1060’s to1085 every year or every
second year, sometimes twice a year. Seven missions are recorded for
that period, but never two in one year. In about 1086, the Sung court