Indian Antiquary Vol 50

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 25

JAN., 1921]
THE DESERT CROSSING OF HSUAN-TSANG
21
The first five marches from An-hsi lead across a succession of narrow hill ranges, all striking approximately east to west and rising but little above the wide plateau-like valleys between them. Water is found in springs at the first three stages (Pei-tan-tzu, Hung-liuyüan, Ta-ch'uan), and subsoil drainage is reached by wells, not more than 6 to 8 feet deep at Ma-lien-ching-tzu and Hsing-hsing-hsia. It is probably not without reason that the boundary between the provinces of Kan-su and Hsin-chiang or Chinese Turkestan is fixed now close to Hsing-hsing-hsia; for beyond, the character of the ground changes and dis. tinctly for the worse. Much of bare rocky ledges and of detritus is passed on the next two marches to Sha-ch'üan-tzu and K'u-shui, there being a steady descent of some 2,000 feet from the average level of the preceding stages. Vegetation even of the humblest sort becomes increasingly rare and the water decidedly brackish, as the name of K'u-shui "Bitter Water," rightly indicates.
But it is the next march to the station of Yen-tun which is most dreaded of all by Chinese wayfarers. For a distance of some 35 miles it leads down over absolutely bare gravel slopes into a great depression or trough lying at its bottom some 1,500 feet below the level of K'u-shui. Totally devoid of water or shelter of any sort, this long march is attended with risks both on account of the great summer heat here experienced and the icy north-east gales to which it is exposed in the winter and spring. Carcases of transport animals mark the route all the way from K'u-shui; nor are losses in human lives unknown here. From Yen-tun another march, over similar gravel wastes but much shorter, brings the traveller to the springs of Chang-liu shui (Chang-liu-shin in the 1: 3,000,000 map is a misreading), at the southern edge of a wide belt of loess ground receiving subsoil water from the snows of the Karlik-tagh and covered with abundant scrub and reed-beds. At Chang-liu-shui the first tiny patch of Hami cultivation is met, and after two more marches the town of Hami or Kumul is reached in the central oasis,
With these topographical features of the route the essential points in the story of Hsuan tsang's desert journey can be proved to be in close accord. This agreement is all the more remarkable in view of the avowedly imperfect text of Hui-li's Life and the impossibility of checking its statements from Hsüan-tsang's own travel records. A variety of details and personal touches strongly support the impression that Hui-li gathered his graphic account of the desert adventures from the Master's own lips and has reproduced it with faithfulness. We know too much of Hsüan-tsang's pious ardour and naive credulity to mistrust the few references to supernatural incidents; they obviously reflect genuine subjective illusions such as conditions of intense strain and real peril were most likely to produce in a mind so devout and fervid...
From Hui-li's narrative of the journey we gather the following main facts (cf. Julien, Vie de H.,' pp. 23 sqq.; Beal, Life of H.,' pp. 18 sqq.). Forsaken a short distance beyond the Su-lo Ho, by the " young barbarian" who was to have acted as his guide, the pilgrim moved ahead alone, guiding himself by the bones of dead animals and the droppings of horses along the track. Visions of armed hosts moving in the distance caused him alarm. But seeing them disappear on closer approach, he recognized that they were vain images created by the demons. Obviously mirages are meant such as I frequently observed on my first few marches beyond An-hsi. After covering 80 li Hsüan-tsang arrived at the first signal-tower. In order to pass it unobserved he hid himself until nightfall. When he tried then to replenish his water-bottle from the water near the tower he was shot at with arrows by the men on guard. On declaring himself a monk come from the capital they took him before the commandant of the post.