340 west turkestan
belt, a golden chain, a crystal cup, and 490 pieces of glass (T’ung-tien
193:22a;Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 339:55b).
Shih-ni
Shih-ni was probably situated somewhere in West Turkestan.
In 646, envoys from Shih-ni were received at the T’ang court (Wen-
hsien t’ung-k’ao 337:45b).
In 724, envoys from the king of Shih-ni presented horses and gold
essence. That year, Emperor Hsüan-tsung appointed the king as
General-in-chief of the Guards of the Golden Mace (Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei
p.5028;Wen-hsien t’ung-k’ao 337:45b).
In the 3rd month (Apr./May) of 725, envoys from Shih-ni presented
horses (Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei p.5028).
In the 10th month (Nov./Dec.) of 727, envoys from Shih-ni arrived
at the T’ang court to congratulate on the New Year’s Day of Feb.15,
728 (Ts’e-fu yüan-kuei p.5028).
In 747, the king of Shih-ni took part in Kao Hsien-chih’s famous
attack on Gilgit and fell in battle. Hsüan-tsung appointed his son
and successor as Military Governor of an imaginary Area Command
and as General-in-chief of the Martial Guards of the Left (Wen-hsien
t’ung-k’ao 337:45b).
In contrast to East Turkestan, West Turkestan was never a true
Chinese protectorate. The troops of the An-hsi protectorate in Kucha
maintained a tenuous Chinese presence in West Turkestan, which
waxed and wained in the course of time. It ended with Kao Hsien-
chih’s victory over the Tibetans in Kashmir in 747 and his defeat
by the Arabs at the Talas River near Tashkent in 751. All attempts
by the Chinese in 658, 661, and 747 to establish area commands in
Ferghana, Tashkent, Samarkand, Ho, Kish, Tokharia, Ya-ta, Shih-ni,
Kapiáa, and Persia were symbolic and futile. Since in each case, the
king of the state was made Military Governor, the kings gained titles
and the Chinese nothing. This is even more true about Emperor Kao-
tsung’s pathetic and unenforcable orders in 659 and 661 to establish
commanderies and prefectures in Kashgar, Tashkent, Kabådh§n,
Kish, M§imargh, Bukhara, Tokharia, Ya-ta, Yi-ta, Kapiáa, and Per-
sia according to the Chinese model.
Emperor T’ai-tsung had rejected an alliance with Samarkand in 631,
preferring to concentrate his energy on East Turkestan. This enabled
the Western Turks to increase their influence in West Turkestan, so