History of the Western Regions - Kunlun Fog and Yutian

Author: Wang Rong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: "A thousand tunes are played in Yu-tan." Ancient Yu-tan is now known as Hetian, which is a region in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and a famous land of singing and dancing. The people here are skilled in singing and dancing, as they "learn to dance when they learn to walk and learn to sing when they learn to talk." It is also a renowned land of fruits, with apples, grapes, watermelons, sweet melons, pomegranates, walnuts, cherries, jujubes, and apricots, which are abundant year-round and fresh all seasons. There are many centenarians here, and their secret to longevity is eating sweet and fresh fruits, known as "half a year of mulberry fruits and half a year of grain." Yu-tan has been a land of jade since ancient times, renowned as the "home of the famous Yao jade." China has few places that produce jade, but "all precious jade comes from Yu-tan." Yu-tan was also a famous "silk center" on the ancient Silk Road, adding glory to the silk trade. Its silk weaving industry has been prosperous for generations and remains vibrant to this day. Today, the local specialty products, Wen Delisi silk and gold brocade, produced in the Hetian region, are still celebrated across Xinjiang and favored by people both domestically and internationally. It is truly a magical place. During the writing of this book, in addition to referencing and quoting historical documents, classic works, and Stein's works such as Archaeological Records of Western Regions and Records of the Ruins of Hetian Buried in Sand, materials from works like Buddhist Yu-tan and History of the Uyghur People were also consulted and quoted. Due to the limitations of this book's format, it was not possible to note every citation, so special mention is made here, along with sincere gratitude to the compilers of the aforementioned works and materials. This book is neither purely academic nor purely literary; it falls somewhere in between, combining academic rigor with literary charm, historical facts with vivid descriptions, making it an accessible read on history and culture.