从汉文古籍看古代西域（新疆）的人种问题

新疆（狭义的西域）自古就是一个多民族杂居的地区，又处于东西交通的枢纽地位，在种族人类学方面也是东西方人种交汇融合的大熔炉。汉文古籍记载了古代西域为数众多的种名和国名，但对其人种特征则往往语焉不详。尽管如此，还是留下了一些可供参考的宝贵资料。过去国内外学者曾依据这些资料，结合考古学和语言学方面的新发现，对新疆古代的人种做过种种推测，提出了一些不同的看法。近年来，我国学者韩康信先生等对丝绸之路新疆段发现的古代人骨进行了系统的测量和研究（材料分别出自9个墓地），得出了十分重要的结论。同时，在新疆各处的墓葬遗址已挖掘出许多保存完好的古代人类遗体，年代最早的距今达4000年（约公元前2000年），引起世界各国考古学界和人类学界的普遍关注。在这种情况下，对文献资料深入细致地进行分析，可能有助于从考古学、人类学以至遗传学、分子生物学方面对古代新疆人种问题的探索。现在我们把见于汉文史籍的有关西域古代人种的资料辑录如下，并加上按语，略予笺释，以表示我们自己的一些粗浅的认识。这些资料一般不包括帕米尔以西地区，但有时也不可避免地超出今日新疆的范围。由于先秦文献的记载具有不确定性的特点，其中不少还带有浓厚的传说色彩，需要做进一步的考释和鉴别，所以我们的辑录始于汉代，止于清代。错误和遗漏之处，敬请读者指教。

《史记·大宛列传》：“自大宛以西至安息，国虽颇异言，然大同俗，相知言，其人皆深眼、多须髯。善市贾，争分铢。”

《汉书·西域传上》：“自宛以西至安息国，虽颇异言，然大同，自相晓知也，其人皆深目，多须髯。善贾市，争分铢。”

按，这两条记述的是古代中亚的人种和语言状况。由于新疆的地理位置与中亚邻近（亦可视为中亚的一部分），相互交往十分频繁，此处所记情况无疑对研究新疆古代人种也很重要。

汉繁钦《三胡赋》：“莎车之胡，黄目深睛，员耳狭颐。”

按，此条很重要，说明古代塔里木盆地在纪元后第一个千年期间居住着一般说属于深目高鼻类型的民族集团。两《汉书》莎车国，今为新疆莎车县治。

《史记·大宛列传》“大月氏”张守节正义引三国万震《南州志》：“［大月氏］在天竺北可七千里，地高燥而远。国王称‘天子’，国中骑乘常数十万匹，城郭宫殿与大秦国同。人民赤白色，便习弓马。”

按，本条说明月氏人可能属高加索人种（Caucasoid）。近年来多数学者都主张月氏是吐火罗人的一支，如张广达先生曾谓：“吐火罗人当是大月氏，贵霜王朝当主要是由西迁后的大月氏人所建立。”（《汉学研究通讯》10卷2期，1991年6月，103页）我们同意这种看法。请参阅陈健文：《月氏种属问题再研究》，《学术集林》卷8，上海远东出版社1996年版，331—358页。

《易林·遯之剥》：“蜗螺生子，深目黑丑，虽饰相就，众人莫取。”

《易林·噬嗑之萃》：“乌孙氏女，深目黑丑，嗜欲不同，过时无偶。”

《汉书·西域传下》：“乌孙国，大昆弥治赤谷城。”颜师古注：“乌孙于西域诸戎其形最异。今之胡人青眼、赤须，状类弥猴者，本其种也。”

按，依颜师古之说，乌孙当亦属高加索人种。值得注意的是《易林》（胡适认为此书是新莽光武之际的崔篆所撰）记载乌孙人深目黑色，汉简中也有很多关于古代生活在西北地区的吏卒、人民常为“黑色”的记载。已故人类学家和历史学家杨希枚认为两者所载的史料显然可以相互参证，主张这可能是古代生活在西北的特殊种族。他说：“汉简及易林所载见的黑色、深目且嗜欲异于一般汉族的人或即来自异域的部分特殊种族的侨民：尤可能是来自西域的侨民。”我们认为这种说法如果可信，应指欧洲人种中的“南方人种”，即印度—地中海类型，其特点是肤色黝黑，发色深，发形为波形，胡须多或中等。这种人种在今日的南欧、北非、阿拉伯半岛、伊拉克、南伊朗、北印度都有分布。请参阅张春树：《居延汉简中所见的汉代人的身型与肤色》，《庆祝李济先生七十岁论文集》第2册，1967年，1033—1045页；杨希枚：《论汉简及其他汉文献所载的黑色人问题》，《“中央研究院”历史语言研究所集刊》第39本，《庆祝李方桂先生六十五岁论文集》上册，1969年，309—324页；陈健文：《月氏的名称、族属以及汉代西陲的黑色人问题》，《国际简牍学会会刊》第1号，1993年，111—143页。

但是，根据苏联和俄罗斯人类学家的研究，乌孙是在中亚及邻近地区原始欧洲人种（Proto-European）基础上形成的，这样的原始欧洲人种类型在罗布泊地区也有发现（韩康信：《新疆孔雀河古墓沟墓地人骨研究》，《考古学报》1986年第3期，361—384页）。乌孙在西迁以前应是以欧洲人种为基础的种族，西迁后的乌孙的体质类型是与此相同或相近的。

古代希腊作家笔下的伊塞顿人（Issedones）可能与乌孙人有关。众所周知，古希腊文献中的斯基泰人就族属关系而言，与古波斯碑铭中的塞迦和中国文献中的塞人相同，他们的体质形态相近，语言属印度—伊朗语族的东伊朗语支。这一点已成为学术界的共识。有学者认为伊塞顿—乌孙人也可归入广义的斯基泰—塞人行列。参阅黄时鉴：《希罗多德笔下的欧亚草原居民与草原之路的开辟》，南京大学元史研究室编：《内陆亚洲历史文化研究—韩儒林先生纪念文集》，南京大学出版社1996年版，444—456页。

南朝宋刘义庆《世说新语·排调》：“康僧渊目深而鼻高，王丞相每调之。僧渊曰：‘鼻者，面之山；目者，面之渊。山不高则不灵，渊不深则不清。’”

按，康僧渊，晋代高僧。家世西域人。生于长安。成帝时与康法畅、支敏度等僧人共渡江。后在豫章山建立寺庙，讲说佛经。慧皎《高僧传》卷4有传。此条可证“目深高鼻”是西域人的典型体质特征。

《周书·异域传下·于阗国》：“自高昌以西，诸国人等多深目高鼻，唯此一国，貌不甚胡，颇类华夏。”（参阅《北史·西域传》、《通典·边防八》）

《梁书·诸夷传·高昌国》：“国人言语与中国略同……面貌类高骊，辫发垂之于背，著长身小袖袍、缦裆袴。女子头发辫而不垂，著锦缬缨珞环钏。”

《隋书·西域传·疏勒》：“其王字阿弥厥，手足皆六指。产子非六指者，即不育。”

《新唐书·西域传上·疏勒》：“疏勒一曰佉沙……生子亦夹头取褊，其人文身碧瞳。王姓裴氏，自号‘阿摩支’……突厥以女妻之。”

《通典·边防七·车师附高昌》：“其人面貌类高丽，辫发施之于背，女子头发辫而垂。”

《通典·边防九·竭槃陁》：“衣服、人貌、语音与于阗相似，其间多有异者。书与婆罗门同。国中咸事佛。人山居，劲健。杂人多而胡少。”

《文献通考·四裔十六·朱俱波》：“其人言语与于阗相似，其间小异。人貌多同华夏，亦类疏勒。”

《文献通考·四裔十六·渴槃陀》：“衣服人貌、语音与于阗相似，其间多有异者。书与婆罗门同。”

唐玄奘、辩机《大唐西域记·朅盤陀国》：“以其先祖之世，母则汉土之人，父乃日天之种，故其自称汉日天种。然其王族，貌同中国，首饰方冠，身衣胡服。”

又《乌国》：“容貌丑弊，衣服皮褐。”

又《佉沙国》：“其俗生子，押头匾，容貌粗鄙，文身绿睛。”

明罗曰褧《咸宾录》卷3：“[高昌国]其人貌类高丽，目深鼻高。辫发后垂，衣尚锦绣。俗妇人戴油帽（名苏幕遮，唐以为曲名）。”

又卷4：“览邦，汉疏勒国也……生子亦束头取褊。其人文身碧瞳。”

明李日华《六研斋笔记》卷2：“梵僧锁喃嚷结者，深眼微须，能为汉音，与坐良久，因诘其西来缘起。嚷结袖出一编相示，盖其践历纵由也。今录于此以备遐方参览焉。[西域东天竺国有国名主活]……又东三千里过屈支国，王号木文麴多，宫殿整齐，人民男妇赤色，敬重三宝，多幻术。”

按，以上诸条，反映了古代塔里木盆地民族在人种学上的特点。其中最明显的是“深目高鼻”，说明以欧罗巴人种为主。同时，也有包括汉人在内的蒙古利亚人种存在。此外，还有欧罗巴人种与蒙古利亚人种的混合类型。

耿世民先生曾正确地指出：在塔里木盆地两千多年有文字记载的历史上，以突厥维吾尔族入居该盆地为界限，可分为突厥化以前（约自公元前2世纪到公元8—11世纪）和突厥化以后（公元8—11世纪以后）两大时期。大致说来，突厥化以前的塔里木盆地南缘的于阗—巴楚（很可能包括疏勒在内），说的是一种中古东伊朗语，即于阗塞语，它与现在帕米尔地区塔吉克族所说的瓦罕语可能有比较接近的渊源关系；塔里木盆地北缘的龟兹、焉耆和吐鲁番地区则使用“吐火罗语”（分甲、乙两种方言）或称龟兹—焉耆语。此外，犍陀罗语流行于楼兰—鄯善王国，这种语言属印度—雅利安语支，但通过对以佉卢文书写的文书的语言学分析，当地语词约百、专名近千难以解释，所以此文书语言中有吐火罗语成分，也有非印欧语成分。78

已故苏联人类学家阿列克谢夫（V. P. Alekseev）认为，从远古直到中世纪早期，在新疆一直是欧罗巴人种占优势，其后，蒙古利亚人种在东北从蒙古，东南从甘肃进入新疆；即便蒙古利亚人种来到新疆后，在欧蒙混合的特征中，仍是欧罗巴型占优势。韩康信先生则认为，至少在公元前的几个世纪以前，西方人种从不同方向向新疆地区的推进比东部蒙古人种由东向西的活动更为活跃，其数量和规模也更大一些；而蒙古利亚人种成分规模更大的向西发展，可能较晚，大概不早于秦汉时代。希望通过对新疆出土古尸和人骨的DNA分析，使这一问题得到澄清，并为其最终解决创造条件。

《晋书·石季龙载记下》：“闵（冉闵）躬率赵人诛诸胡羯，无贵贱男女少长皆斩之，死者二十余万，尸诸城外，悉为野犬豺狼所食。屯据四方者，所在承闵书诛之，于时高鼻多须至有滥死者半。”

《南史·邓琬传附刘胡传》：“刘胡，南阳涅阳人也，本以面坳黑似胡，故名坳胡，及长单名胡焉。”

《周书·突厥传》：“俟斤（木杆可汗）一名燕都，状貌多奇异，面广尺余，其色甚赤，眼若琉璃。”（参阅《册府元龟·外臣部·状貌》）

《旧唐书·突厥传上》：“思摩者，颉利族人也，始毕、处罗以其貌似胡人，不类突厥，疑非阿史那族类，故历处罗、颉利世，常为夹毕特勒，终不得典兵为设。”

《太平广记》卷480引唐段成式《酉阳杂俎》：“［突厥］其人发黄目绿，赤髭髯。其髭髯俱黑者，汉将李陵及兵众之后也。”

唐段成式《酉阳杂俎·境异》：“坚昆部落非狼种，其先所生之窟在曲漫山北。自谓上代有神与牛交于此窟。其人发黄目绿，赤髭髯。其髭髯俱黑者，汉将李陵及其兵众之胤也。”

《新唐书·回鹘传下》：“黠戛斯，古坚昆国也。地当伊吾之西，焉耆北，白山之旁……人皆长大，赤发（按：《通典》卷200“结骨”作“赤色”）、皙面、绿瞳，以黑发为不祥。黑瞳者，必曰陵（李陵）苗裔也。”

按，以上数条反映的是与古代新疆地区有关的几个游牧部族如匈奴、突厥、坚昆（黠戛斯）的人种特征。这方面的文献记载比较贫乏。79从考古发现的人骨材料来看，匈奴人具有某种人种混杂的性质，即蒙古人种成分和欧洲人种成分的混合。苏联学者认为，匈奴的蒙古人种因素可能起源于南西伯利亚和中央亚洲地区，其欧洲人种因素则可追溯到乌孙时期甚至更早的塞人时期的影响。至于匈奴的语言系属，则有突厥、蒙古和古西伯利亚语（Palaeo-Siberian Langages）诸说。参阅E. G. Pulleyblank, “The Consonantal System of Old Chinese”, Asia Major, IX,1962, p.248。突厥和突厥语诸族的种族特征也应该是欧洲人种与蒙古利亚人种混合的一种特殊类型。参阅周连宽：《丁零的人种和语言及其与漠北诸族的关系》，载林幹编：《突厥与回纥历史论文选集》（1919—1981）（上册），中华书局1987年版，55—85页。

新疆地区还有许多古老民族，如呼揭、柔然、鲜卑、嚈哒、突骑施、葛逻禄、契丹，等等，他们的种族特征和语言系属都有待深入研究。但他们的语言可以初步断定多属突厥语族和蒙古语族，至于嚈哒，可能是伊朗语民族，但还有争议，有人认为与月氏有某种渊源关系，还有人认为很可能也说阿尔泰系语言。请参阅K. Enoki (榎一雄), On the nationality of the Ephthalites, Memoirs of The Research Department of The Toyo Bunko, 18, 1959；余太山：《嚈哒史研究》，齐鲁书社1986年版，8—43页。塞人和粟特人为伊朗语民族，早为学术界所公认，已毋庸赘述。

清纪昀《阅微草堂笔记·姑妄听之（一）》：“乌鲁木齐遣犯刚朝荣言：有二人诣西藏贸易，各乘一骡，山行失路，不辨东西。忽十余人自悬崖跃下，疑为夹坝。（西番以劫盗为夹坝，犹额鲁特之玛哈沁也。）渐近，则长皆七八尺，身毵毵有毛，或黄或绿，面目似人非人，语啁哳不可辩。知为妖魅，度必死，皆战栗伏地。十余人乃相向而笑，无搏噬之状，惟挟人于胁下，而驱其骡行。至一山坳，置人于地，二骡一推堕坎中，一抽刃屠割，吹火燔熟，环坐吞啖。亦提二人就坐，各置肉于前。察其似无恶意，方饥困，亦姑食之。既饱之后，十余人皆扪腹仰啸，声类马嘶。中二人仍各挟一人，飞越峻岭三四重，捷如猿鸟，送至官路旁，各予以一石，瞥然竟去。石巨如瓜，皆绿松也。携归货之，得价倍于所丧。事在乙酉、丙戌间。朝荣曾见其一人，言之甚悉。此未知为山精，为木魅，观其行事，似非妖物。殆幽岩穹谷之中，自有此一种野人，从古未与世通耳。”

按，此条所记是1765—1766年间之事。美国学者梅维恒（Victor H. Mair）认为这里的“野人”是古代印欧人的后裔。见其所编The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature, New York: Columbia University Press, 1994, p.821。

徐珂《清稗类钞·种族·回族》：“其人（按，指维吾尔族）头形端而广，面带长卵形，间亦有蒙古眼者，须多，颧骨隆起，唇厚，鼻直而略高。”

按，维吾尔族人肤色较白，鼻梁较高，眼眶较深，发色和眼色较浅，具有一些白种人的特征，但从遗传特征分析，仍属蒙古人种，只是其中融合了一小部分白种人的血缘。维吾尔族的祖先可能是生活在贝加尔湖一带及巴尔喀什湖至额尔齐斯河之间的突厥语游牧部族，在其发展过程中，融合了新疆南部、北部的各个民族，吸收了蒙古、汉、藏等民族的成分，逐步形成今天的维吾尔族。

最后，为了便于进一步的阅读和检索，将主要的中外文参考文献开列于下：

1. 杜若甫、叶傅昇：《中国的民族》，科学出版社1994年版。

2. 韩康信：《丝绸之路古代居民种族人类学研究》，新疆人民出版社1994年版。

3. 联合国教科文组织、中国社会科学院考古研究所编：《十世纪前的丝绸之路和东西方文化交流》，新世界出版社1996年版。

4. 林幹编：《匈奴史论文选集（1919—1979）》，中华书局1983年版。

5. 林幹编：《突厥与回纥历史论文选集（1919—1981）》，中华书局1987年版。

6. 林梅村：《西域文明—考古、民族、语言和宗教新论》，东方出版社1995年版。

7. 王炳华：《丝绸之路考古研究》，新疆人民出版社1993年版。

8. 王明哲、王炳华：《乌孙研究》，新疆人民出版社1983年版。

9. 吴其昱：《西域古语文献研究导论》（上篇），《台湾政治大学国际中国边疆学术会议论文集》，1985年，873—913页。

10. 余太山主编：《西域通史》，中州古籍出版社1996年版。

11. 余太山主编：《西域文化史》，中国友谊出版公司1996年版。

12. 余太山、陈高华、谢方主编：《新疆各族历史文化辞典》，中华书局1997年版。

13. 张广达：《评价〈古代和中世纪早期的东突厥斯坦〉》，载王元化主编：《学术集林》卷11，远东出版社1997年版。

14. 张广达、荣新江：《于阗史丛考》，上海书店1993年版。

15. Cina e Iran da Alessandro Magno alla dinastia Tang, a cura di Alfredo Cadonna e Lionello Lanciotti, Firenze, 1996.

16. B. A. Litvinsky ed., Vostochniy Turkestan v drevnosti i rannem srednevekov’e, Etnos, Yazyki, Religii, Moscow, 1992.

17. Victor H. Mair ed., The Mummified Remains Found in the Tarim Basin, Collection of papers in The Journal of Inder-European Studies, 23, 3-4 (Fall/Winter), 1995.

18. A. Róna-Tas, An Introduction to Turkology, Szeged, 1991.

Looking at the Racial Question of the Ancient Western Regions (Xinjiang) from Chinese Ancient Documents

Translated by Victor H. Mair

Xinjiang (the Western Regions in a narrow sense) is a region where many different races have lived together since ancient times. Furthermore, it is located at the pivot of transportation between East and West and is thus a melting pot of the Eastern and Western races in the sense of ethnological anthropology. Ancient Chinese documents record the names of numerous peoples and countries. However, they are invariably unclear about the special features of the different peoples. Nevertheless, they do preserve some precious materials which we can consult. In the past, Chinese and foreign scholars have made various inferences based on these materials combined with new discoveries in archeology and linguistics. In this manner, they have raised several different viewpoints. In recent years, Chinese physical anthropologists such as Han Kangxin have carried out systematic measurement and research on the ancient human skeletons discovered in the Xinjiang section of the Silk Road (the materials come from nine separate sites) and have obtained very important results. At the same time, many well-preserved ancient human remains have been exhumed from graves located in different ancient sites in Xinjiang. The oldest one dates to nearly four thousand yesrs before the present (HP) (2000BC) and it has attracted universal attention from archeological and anthropological circles of various countries around the world. In this situation, it may be helpful in the investigation of the ancient Xinjiang racial question from the archeological, anthropological, and even from the genetic and molecular biological point of view if we carry out a detailed analysis of the materials preserved in ancient Chinese documents. Here we have collected in the following pages the materials related to the races of the ancient Western Regions in the Chinese documentary and historical records. We have added our own annotations and simple explanations to present our basic understanding of these records and their implications for the study of the racial question of the Western Regions in ancient times. These materials, in general, do not include the region west of the Pamirs. However, sometimes it is inevitable that they go beyond the territory of modern Xinjiang. Because many pre-Qin documents are not entirely reliable, the materials attributed to that period often being colored by myth and legend, they repuire further examination and verification. Therefore, our collection starts with the Han Dynasty and stops at the Qing Dynasty. We earnestly hope that readers will correct our mistakes and point out what we may have overlooked.

“The Account of Ferghana” in Records of the Scribe (Shiji, “Dayuan Liezhuan”):

From Ferghana west to Persia (Anxi), although the forms of speech of the various countries are rather different, their customs are generally the same and they can understand each other. These people all have deep-set eyes and a lot of facial hair. they are very good at doing business and will wrangle for pennies.

“The Account of the Western Regions,” part one, in the History of the Han Dynasty (Han Shu, “Xiyu Zhuan” shang):

From Ferghana west to the kingdom of Persia, although the languages are rather different, the customs are generally similar, so they can understand each other. These people have deep-set eyes and a lot of facial hair. They are good at doing business and will wrangle for pennies.

Note: these two records record the racial and linguistic conditions of the people in ancient Central Asia. Geographically, Xinjiang is adjacent to Central Asia (or it can also be viewed as a part of Central Asia), so contacts with countries just to the west were frequent. What has been recorded here is undoubtedly very important for the study of the ancient races of Xinjiang.

“Rhapsody on the Three Barbarians (San Hu Fu)” by Fan Qin of the Han pereod:

The barbarians of Yäkän (Shache/Suoju) have deep-set, bright amber eyes, roundish ears, and narrow faces.

Note: this entry is important. It indicates that during the first millennium AD, the Tarim Basin was inhabited by an ethnic group generally said to possess deep-set eyes and pronounced nasal height. The country of Shache or Suoju in The History of the Western Han and The History of the Eastern Han Dynasty (Liang Han Shu) is the modern county of Yäkän in Xinjiang.

“The Account of Ferghana” in Records of the Scribe (Shiji, “Dayuan Liezhuan”): A note on the name “Greater Yuezhi” by Zhang Shoujie quotes Records of the Southern States (Nanzhou Zhi) by Wan Zhen of the Three Kingdoms period:

[Greater Yuezhi] is located about 7, 000 li (2, 500 miles) north of India. The place is high, arid, and distant. The king is cailed “Son of Heaven”. The number of horses in the kingdom for riding and pulling chariots usually amounts to several hundred thousand. The city walls and palaces are the same as those of Rome. Its people have pink (reddish-white) skin and are used to shooting arrows and riding horses.

Note: this entry indicates that the Yuezhi people were possibly Caucasoid. In recent years, most scholars advocate that the Yuezhi were a branch of Tokhara (Tuhuoluo). For example, professor Zhang Guangda has said, “The Tokharians most likely were people of the Greater Yuezhi. The Kushan Empire must have mainly been established by the people of the Greater Yuezhi after they had moved westward.” (Newsletter of Sinological Studies [Hanxue Yanjiu Tongxun], 10.2 [June, 1991], 103). We agree with this interpretation. See Chen Jianwen, “New Research on the Question of the Racial Affiliation of the Yuezhi” (“Yuezhi Zhongshu Wenti Zai Yanjiu”) in The Grove of Academia (Xueshu Jilin), Vol. 8 (Shanghai: Far Eastern Publishing House, 1996), pp.331-358.

“The Splitting Apart of Retreat” in Grove of Change (Yilin, “Tun zhi Bo”):

A Woluo (“Snail”— derogatory name for a people) gave birth to a son. The son had deep-set eyes, dark skin, and was ugly. He was like his mother. Although he tried to get close to others, nobody would accept him.

“The Duration of Waiting” in Grove of Change (Yilin, “Xu zhi Heng”):

A Bianmo (“Bat”— derogatory name for a people) gave birth to a son. The son had deep-set eyes, dark skin, and was ugly. Although he dressed up and tried to get close to others, nobody would accept him.

“The Gathering Together of Biting Through” in Grove of Change (Yilin, “Shihe zhi Cui”):

There was a Wusun (“Hack Monkey”— derogatory name for a people) woman. She had deepset eyes, dark skin, and was ugly. Her desires were different from those of others. She passed over her maturity without being able to find a mate.

(Translator’s note: The Grove of Change is a commentary on the Book of Changes. The oddly named section titles are based on the names of the hexagrams being discussed. As for Woluo, Bianmo, and Wusun, these are undoubtedly transcriptions of the names of non-Sinitic peoples, but written with characters having derogatory meanings so as to belittle them in the eyes of the Chinese. Of the three, only the Wusun are widely known from other sources.)

“Account of the Western Regions,” part two, in The History of the Han Dynasty (Han Shu, “Xiyu Zhuan”, xia):

In the country of the Wusun, the Great Kunmi rules the City of Red Valley.

Yan Shigu notes:

The appearance of the Wusun is the strangest among all the barbarians in the Western Regions. Those barbarians of today who have blue-green eyes and red beards, and whose appearance is like that of a rhesus monkey are the progeny of the Wusun.

(Translator’s note: Kunmi is the transcration of the title of the ruler of the Wusun.)

Note: according to Yan Shigu, the Wusun must have been Caucasoids. What merits our attention is that The Grove of Change (Hu Shi thought that this book was written by Cui Zhuan between the New Dynasty interregnum of Wang Mang and Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty) records that Wusun people have deep-set eyes and dark skin. In the unearthed Han Dynasty bamboo slips, there are also many records made by clerks living in the northwestern regions, which state that the local people often “have dark skin”. The late anthropologist and historian Yang Ximei thought that the historical materials written in both books corroborated each other. He proposed that the individuals mentioned belonged to special ancient races who lived in the northwest. In his words, “The people who had dark skin, deep-set eyes, and desires that were different from the Han people who were recorded on Han bamboo slips and in The Grove of Change perhaps were immigrants of rather special races who had come from foreign lands; it is quite possible that they were immigrants who had come from the Western Regions.”

We think that, if this viewpoint is reliable, these people must have belonged to the “southern races” among the Europoids, that is the Indo-Mediterranean type. Their features are swarthy skin, dark and wavy hair, and a large or medium amount of facial hair. This race is distributed in modern southern Europe, North Africa, the Arabic Peninsula, Iraq, southern Iran, and north India. See “The Appearance and Skin Color of the Han Dynasty People as seen in the Han Bamboo Sips from Juyan (Juyan Hanjian zhong suo Jian de Handai Ren de Shenxing yu Fuse)” by Zhang Chunshu, in Qingzhu Li ji Xiansheng Qishi Sui Lunwenji (Collected Articles in Celebration of Professor Li Ji’s Seventieth Birthday), 1967, Vol.2, pp.1033-1045; “On the Black People Recorded in the Han Bamboo Slips and Other Han Documents (Lun Hanjian ji Qita Han Wenxian suo Zai de Heise Ren Wenti)” by Yang Ximei, Qing zhu Li Fanggui Xiansheng Liushiwu Sui Lunwenji (Collected Articles in Celebration of Professor Li Fanggui’s Sixty-fifth Birthday), Zhongyang Yanjiuyuan Lishi Yuyan Yanjiusuo Jikan (Collected Publications of the Institute of History and Philology of Academia Sinica) 39, Vol.1, 1969, pp.309-324; “The Name and Ethnic Affiliation of the Yuezhi, together with the Question of the Black People on the Western Frontier during the Han Dynasty (Yuezhide Ming cheng, Zhu shu, yiji Han Dai Xichui de Heise Ren Wenti)” by Chen Jianwen, in Guoji jiandu xuehui Huikan (Publications of the International Society for the Study of Ancient Manuscripts) Vol.1, 1993, pp.111-143.

However, according to the research of anthropologists from the former Soviet Union and from Russia, the Wusun people were formed from a base of Proto-Europeans in Central Asia and its neighboring regions. Such Proto-European types have also been discovered in the Lopnur region (cf. “Research on the Human Skeletons from the Qäwrighul Site on the Kongque River of Xinjiang [Xinjiang Kongque He Gumugou Mudi Rengu Yanjiu]” by Han Kangxin, Kaogu Xuebao [Acta Archaeological], 3, 1986, 361-384). Before they moved westword, the Wusun people were an ethnic group formed on a Europoid racial base; after moving westward, the Wusun people’s morphological type was the same as, or similor to, this European type.

(Translator’s note: several additioned observations concerning the “black people” mentioned in the Han period sources discussed above may be made here. 1. We do not know where the Woluo and Bianmo came from [the insect radicals of the characters used to write their names were frequently employed in derogatory Sinitic transcriptions of the names of southern peoples] or even whether they were real people at all or simply made up [by analogy with the Wusun who were a real people frequently named in historical sources]by the author of the Grove of Change; 2. The physical descriptions of the Woluo and Bianmo in the Grove of Change are so similar that they are probably meant to refer to the same anthropological type and, indeed, were undoubtedly modeled on the identical literary source as that for the Wusun in the same book; 3. We cannot be certain whether the auther of the Grove of Change is referring to these darkrskinned individuals in the context of Han surroundings or in their own homelands [viz., for the Wusun that would be Eastern Central Asia or western Gansu]; 4. In the absence of any positive reason to place the three dark-skinned individuals in Han surroundings, we should assume that the author of the Grove of Change is describing them in the context of their own homelands; 5. In all three cases described in the Grove of Change, the indivduals are clearly rejected by everyone else in their community and are treated as oddities, i. e., they are exceptional in their appearance; 6. The Chinese still today refer to individuals whose complexion is not fair [especially women] as “black” [hei], even among themselves, hence hei by no means signifies truly black skin but only “dark” complexion; 7. The “deep-set eyes” of the three individuals clearly indicate that they are meant to be taken as Europoid; 8. The Woluo and Bianmo children seem to have had dark skin from birth and in the first instance, to have inherited it through the mother, but it is possible that the Wusun woman had dark skin because of exposure to intense sunlight [the Chinese still today frequently complain about getting suntanned [shaiheile]; 9. The description of the unusually dark and ugly Wusun woman in the Grove of Change is greatly at variance with the relatively lightly pigmented appearance of Wusuns noted in other Han sources; 10. On the basis of historical desсriptions, archeological evidence, and research by physical anthropologists, the Wusun were almost certainty Europoids and hence could not have had extremely dark Negroid skin. For all of these reasons, plus problems relating to its authorship, textual transmission, and frequently fantastic contents, we should not put much faith in the veracity of anything in the Grove of Change. As for the “dark-skinned people” [heiren] mentioned in the Han bamboo strips from the northwestern regions, they may have been individuals who spent a lot of time outside in the bright sunlight of those areas. In conclusion, the sum total of the evidence available from the Han sources adduced is insufficient to prove that the Wusun or any other inhabitants of Eastern Central Asia had black skin as a typical ethnic or racial feature.)

The Issedones described by ancient Greek writers were probably related to the Wusun people. It is known that, in regard to the ethnic affiliation of the Scythians in ancient Greek documents, they were the same as the Saka people in ancient Persian insсriptions and the Sai (Sak) people in Chinese documents. Their morphological types are close and their languages belong to the Eastern Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian family. This is already the accepted point of view in academic circles. Some scholas think that the Issedone-Wusun people can be categorized as Scythian-Saka people in a broad sense. See “Eurasian Inhabitants of the Grassland in the Works of Herodotus and the Opening of the Steppe Roads (Xiluoduode Bi xia de Ou-Ya Caoyuan Jumin yu Caoyuan zhi Lu de Kaipi)” by Huang Shijian, Neilu Yazhou Lishi Wenhua Yanjiu — Han Rulin Xiansheng Jinian Wenji (Collected Articles for the Commemoration of Professor Han Rulin, Research on Inner Asian History and Cultures), compiled by the Yuan History Studies Section of Nanjing University (Nanjing University Press, 1996), pp.444-456.

“Taunting and Teasing” in New Tales of the World (Shishuo Xinyu, “Paitiao” by Liu Yiqing of the Southern Song Dynasty):

Kang Sengyuan from Samarkand had deep-set eyes and a high nose. Premier Wang often teased him. Sengyuan said, “One’s nose is the mountain of one’s eyes and one’s eyes are the chasms of one’s face. The mountain will not be numinous if it is not high, the chasm will not be clear if it is not deep.”

Note: Kang Sengyuan was an eminent monk of the Jin Dynasty. His family was from the Western Regions, but he was born in Chang’an. He crossed the Yangtze River together with Kang Fachang, Zhi Mindu, and other monks during the reign of Emperor Cheng. Later, he constructed a temple at Yuzhang Mountain and lectured on Buddhist sutras there. His biography is in Vol.4 of Biographies of Eminent Monks (Gaoseng Zhuan) by Huijiao. This entry proves that “deep-set eyes and a high nose” were the typical morphological features of people from the Western Regions.

“The Country of Khotan” in “Accounts of Foreign Lands” (Zhou Shu, “Yiyu Zhuan, Yutian Guo”), Vol.2 in History of the Northern Zhou:

From Idiqut (Gaochang) westward, the people of the various countries mostly have deep-set eyes and high noses. Only the people of this country of Idiqut have appearances which are very much like the barbarians, but are closer to that of the people from China.

Cf. “Account of the Western Regions,” History of the Northern Dynasties (“Xiyu Zhuan”, Bei Shi) and “Frontier Defenses (Bianfang)”, section 8 in General Canons (Tongdian).

“The Country of Idiqut” in “Account of the Various Barbarians,” The History of Liang (Liang Shu “Zhu Yi Zhuan”, “Gaochang Guo”):

The language of the people is slightly similar to that of the Chinese…Their appearance resembles that of the Koreans. They braid their hair and let the braids hang down their backs. They wear long gowns with small sleeves and trousers without a crotch sewn into them. Women braid their hair but don’t let the braids hang down. They wear brocades, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.

“Yengishähär,” in “Accounts of the Western Regions,” History of the Sui Dynasty (Sui Shu “Yiyu Zhuan, Shule”):

Its king is called Amirk (?). He has six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.If one of his children does not have six fingers and six toes, he will not raise it.

“Yengishähär,” in “Accounts of the Western Regions,” Vol.1, New History of the Tang Dynasty (Xin Tang Shu “Yiyu Zhuan, Shule”):

Yengishähär is also called Kesh (or Kashgar)… When they have children, they compress their heads to make them narrow. They tattoo their bodies and have blue eyes. The king’s surname is Pei, he has given himself a second name called “Amozhi” … [The long of] the Turks has married his daughter to Amozhi.

“Idiqut”, appended to “Jushi,” “Frontier Defenses,” section7, General Canons (Tongdian, “Bianfang,” 7), “Cheshi fu Gaochang”:

The people’s appearance resembles that of the Koreans. They let their braided hair hang down their backs. The women braid their hair and let it hang down.

“Jiepantuo” in “Frontier Defenses,” section 9, General Canons (Tongdian, “Bianfang,” 9):

Their clothing, appearance, and pronunciation are mostly like those of the Khotanese, although there are still quite a few differences. Their writing is the same as the Brahman (Brahmi). All the people in the country believe in Buddhism. The people live in the mountains and are very strong and robust. There are many miscellaneous people living there but only a few hu (Sogdians).

“Karghalik,” in “Four Offspring,” 16, General Examination of Documents (Wenxian Tongkao, “Si Yi”, 16 “Zhujubo”):

The people’s language is close to that of the Khotanese with only a slight difference. Their appearance is mostly the same as that of the Chinese and is also like the people from Yengishähär.

“Kavanta,” in “Four Offspring,” 16, General Examination of Documents (Wenxian Tongkao, “Si Yi,” 16, “Kepantuo”):

The people’s appearance and language are similar to that of the Khotanese although there are still quite a few differences. Their writing is the same as the Brahman (Brahmi).

Xuanzang and Bianji of the Tang Dyasty, “The Country of Kavanta,” Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasy (Da Tang Xiyu Ji, “Jiepantuo Guo”):

With regard to ancestors, their mothers were from Chinese territory and their fathers were descendants of Surya (Aryan god of the sun). Therefore, they call themselves the Sino-Surya species. However, the king’s clan looks Chinese. They decorate their heads with square caps and wear barbarian style clothing.

Ibid., “The Country of Yengihissar (Wusha Guo)”:

Their appearance is ugly and vulgar. They wear leather and coarse clothing.

Ibid., “The Country of Kesh or Kashgar (Qusha Guo)”:

their custorm is to press their sons’ heads to make them flat. Their appearance is ugly and vulgar. They tattoo their bodies and have green eyes.

Records on All the Guest Countries (Xian Bin Lu), Vol.3 by Luo Yuejiong of the Ming Dynasty:

(In ldiqut [Gaochang]), the people’s appearance is like that of Koreans. Their eyes are deep-set and their noses are high. They hang their braided hair on their backs and wear embroidered clothing. It is the custom for their women to wear oiled hats (named Sumuzhe or Sumozhe; this was used as the name of a fune in the Tang Dynasty).

Ibid., Vol. 4:

Lampaka is the Country of Yengishähär (Shule) of the Han Dynasty …When they have children they too press their heads to make them flat. The people tattoo their bodies and have green pupils.

Notes from the Studio of Six Researches (Liu Yan Zhai Biji), Vol.2 by Li Rihua of the Ming Dynasty:

The Buddhist monk Suonan Rangjie has deep-set eyes and a thin beard. He can pronounce Chinese words. I have sat with him for a long time, so I asked him why he came from the west. Rangjie took out a volume from his sleeve to show me. It was his resume and life history. Now I record it here, so that people from distant places can take reference of it. [In the Western Regions, there is a state of eastern india named Zhuhuo]…There thousand miles more to the east, one passes through the country of Kucha. The king’s name is Muwenjuduo. His palace is very neat. The people, both men and women, are of red color. They worship the Three Gems (of Buddhism) and have a lot of magical skills.

Note: the above entries reflect the ethnological characteristics of the people of the ancient Tarim Basin. Among these, the most conspicuous ones are “deep-set eyes and high noses”. This indicates that the European type was the main ethnological base. At the same time, there were also Mongoloids, including Chinese. In addition, there were also mixed types combining Europoid and Mongoloid racial features.

Geng Shimin has correctly pointed out that the more than two thousand years of written history of the Tarim Basin may be divided by the immigration of the Tukic Uyghur people into the region. It can be divided into a pre-Turkicized period (from about the second century BC to the eighth-eleventh centuries AD) and a post-Turkicized period (after the eighth-eleventh centuries AD). In general terms, people along the southern rim of the pre-Turkiсized Tarim Basin from Khotan to Maralbeshi (very possibly including Yengishähär [Shule]) spoke a kind of Middle Eastern Iranian language which was Khotanese (or Khotan Saka). It was possibly comparatively close to the Wakhan language spoken by the Tajik ethnological group of the modern Pamir region. The people along the northern rim of the pre-Turkicized Tarim Basin from Kucha to Qarashähär and turpan spoke the Tokharian language (which was divided into A and В dialects) called Kuchean and Qarashähärean. Besides, Gandharan prevailed in the area of Krorän (Loulan) and the Kingdom of the Shanshan (Pichan). Gandharan belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European, but linguistic analysis of the Gandhari Prakrit documents written in the Kharoṣṭhī script reveals that there are about one hundred local terms and nearly one thousand proper names that are diffcult to explain as Gandharan. Therefore, this written language is considered to have both Tokharian elements and non-Indo-European elements. 80

The late Russian anthropologist, V. P. Alekseev, thought that Europoid peoples prevailed in Xinjiang all the time from high antiquity to the early Middle Ages. Later, Mongoloid people entered Xinjiang from Mongolia in the northeast and Gansu in the southeast. Nevertheless, even after Mongolian peoples had entered Xinjiang, in the mixing of Europoid and Mongoloid characteristics, Europoid features still prevailed. Professor Han Kangxin thinks that, starting from at least several centures before the beginning of our era, the advance of the Western races from different directions toward the Xinjiang region was much more active than that of the Mongoloid races from the east toward the west, The number and scale of the movement of Europoid peoples into the Xinjiang region were much greater too. The advance of Mongoloid elements westward on a greater scale perhaps occurred at a later date, probably not earlier than the Qin and Han dynasties period. We hope that this question can be clarified through DNA analysis of the ancient human bodies and skeletons unearthed in Xinjiang and that the analysis can also create the conditions for the final solution of the question.

“Recoras of Shi Jilong,” part 2, The History of the Jin Dynasty (Jin shu, “Shi Jilong Zaiji,” xia):

Min (Ran Min) personally led the people of Zhao to butcher the various barbarians. They slaughtered all of them, without discrimination of social status, gender, or age. The dead were more than two hundred thousand in number. He put their bodies outside the city where they were eaten by wild dogs, jackals, and wolves. Those who occupied the garrisons all around received letters from Min telling them to kill the barbarians who dwelled there. At that time, more than half the people with high noses and thick beards were massacred.

(Translator’s note: the figure two hundred thousand sounds like a real number, not just a vague number signifying that many barbarians were murdered. The actual mumber massacred must have been much greater than two hundred thousand, for that is only the number killed by Ran Min and his troops inside the city of Ye. Since his genocidal directives also were extended in all four directions, the total number of Europoids killed at this time [mid- fourth century] may have approached half a million. Considering that the total population of China at this period was less than fifty million, this is a huge proportion. The word for “barbarians” used here, namely hujie, plus the physical description, makes clear that the massacred peoples were Europoid. Even more remarkable is the fact that the Jie formed a leading group in the confederation of Xiongnu, China’s enemy on the north from the third century BC and the main reason for the construction of the Great Wall, whose partially Mongoloidized descendants returned in later сenturies to invade Europe.)

“Biography of Liu Hu,” attached to the “Biography of Deng Wan,” The History of the Southern Dynasties (Nan Shi, “Deng Wan Zhuan” fu “Liu Hu Zhuan”):

Liu Hu was from Nieyang of Nanyang. Originally, he was named “Black Barbarian” because his face was shiningly dark like that of a barbarian. After he had grown up, he just used the single name Hu.

“Account of the Turks,” The History of (Northern) Zhou (Zhou Shu, “Tujue Zhuan”):

Sijin (Muhan Kaghan), also named Yandou, had an extraordinarily strange apperance. His face was more than a foot wide and its color was very red. His eyes were like beryl.

Also see “Shapes and Appearances,” Section on Foreign Subjects, Treasury of Precedential books (Cefu Yuangui, Waichen Bu, “Zhuangmao”).

“Accounts of the Turks,” Vol.1, The Old History of the Tang Dynasty (Jiu Tang Shu, “Tujue Zhuan,” shang):

Simo was a member of the Jieli tribe Shibi (Easterm Turk Kaghan) and Chuluo (Western Turk Kaghan) suspected that he was not a member of the Ashina clan (of Turks) because his appearance was like a barbarian’s (hu), not like a Turk’s. Therefore, during the time of Chuluo and the Jieli he was often a middle level official, but never received a military commission.

Broad Records from the Reign of Peace, Vol.480 (Taiping Guangji, juan 480), quoting from Youyang Miscellaneous Records (Youyang Zazu) by Duan Chengshi of the Tang Dynasty:

The (Turkic) people have blond hair and green eyes. Those who have red beards and dark complexions (?) are the descendants of the Han general Li Ling and his soldiers.

“Foreign Lands,” Youyang Miscellaneous Records (Youyang Zazu, “Jingyi”) by Duan Chengshi of the Tang Dynasty:

The Jiankun tribe was not fathered by the wolf species. (Translator’s note: Many Turkic groups believed that they were descended from or closely associated with wolves. Such lycanthropic notions are also present in Indo-European mythotogy [cf. Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome].)The cave where their ancestors were born is in the north of the Quman Mountain. They themselves say that an ancestral spiriit made love with a cow in this cave. These people have blond hair, green eyes, and red beards. Among them, the ones who have dark beards are descendants of the Han general Li Ling and his soldiers.

“Account of the Uyghurs,” Vol.2, The New History of the Tang Dynasty (Xin Tang Shu, “Huihe Zhuan”, xia):

Kirghiz is the ancient country of Jiankun. It is located to the west of Yiwu (Araturuk, near Qumul [Hami]), the north of Qarashähär (Yanqi), and beside White Mountain … The people are all very tall and big, and have red hair. (Their) faces are pale, they have green irises, and they consider black hair as something unlucky. They insist on calling those who have irises “Li Ling’s progeny”.

Note: the above several entries reflect the racial characteristics of nomadic tribes such as the Xiongnu (Huns), Turks, and Jiankun (Kirghiz) who are related with the ancient region of Xinjiang. Written documents concerning these aspects are comparatively poor.81 Viewed from the human skeletal materilals that have been archeologically discovered, the Xiongnu possessed a certain nature of racial mixing; they were a mixture of Mongoloid and Europoid racial elements. Scholars of the former Soviet Union hold that the Mongoloid racial factors of the Xiongnu may have originated from South Siberia and Central Asia, While their European racial factors can be traced to the influence of the Wusun period or even to the earlier Saka period. Regarding the linguistic affiliation of the Xiongnu, there are various thearies, such as that it was Turkic, Mongolian, or Paleo-Siberian. See “The Consonantal System of Old Chinese” by E. G. Pulleyblank, Asia Major, 9 (1962), 284. The racial characteristics of the Turkish people and the various Turkic language groups must also be a special type resulting from the combination of Europoid and Mongoloid elements. See “The Race of the Dingling, Their Language, and Their Relationship with the Various Races North of the Desert” by Zhou Liankuan, published in Selected Articles on the History of the Turks and the Uyhgurs (1919-1981), Vol.1, compiled by Lin Gan (“Dingling de Renzhong he Yuyan ji qi yu Mo Bei zhu Zu de Guanxi,” Tujue yu Huihe Lishi Lunwen Xuanji) (Beijing: Zhonghua Book Store, 1987), pp.55-85.

There are still many ancient ethnological groups in the Xinjiang region such as the Hujie, Rouran, Xianbei (Särbi), Yada (Hephthalites), Tuqishi, Geluolu, Qidan (Khitans), etc. Their racial features and linguistic affiliation are subjects for future study. However, their languages can preliminarily be determined as mostly belonging to Turkic and Mongolian. As for the Yada (Hephthalites), they may have been Iranian speakers. Nonetheless, it is still a controversial question, since some scholars think that their language may have a certain relationship with Yuezhi language. Some scholars also think that it is possible that the Yada people spoke an Altaic language. See “On the Nationality of the Ephthalites,” Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko, by K. Enoki (1959), p.18; On the History of the Hephthalites (Yada Shi Yanjiu) by Yu Taishan (Jinan: Qi-Lu Press, 1986), pp.8-43. The fact that the Saka and the Sogdians were Iranian-speking ethnic groups has long been accepted by academic circles, so there is no need to elaborate it here.

Listen if You Will, chapter 1, Notes from the Thatched Hut for Observing Subtleties (Yuewei Caotang Biji, Guwang Ting Zhi, 1, by Ji Yun of the Qing Dynasty):

The following was told to me by a criminal named Kang Chaorong who had been banished to Ürümchi:

There were two men on a business trip to Tibet. Each of them was mounted on a mule. As they were passing through the mountains, they lost their way and could not tell east from west. Suddenly, more than ten people jumped down from on overhanging cliff. The merchants suspected that they were bandits. As they came closer, the merchants saw that they were all seven to eight feel tall. Their bodies were covered with fine hair of a yellowish green color and their faces seemed human but not yet fully so. Their speech was so croaky that it was impossible to understand. Believing the approaching figures to be demons, the merchants thought that they would surely die, so they fell to the ground trembling. But the ten-odd people looked at each other and laughed, giving no indication that they would seize the merchants and devour them.

Instead, they clasped the merchants under their arms and went off driving the mules before them. When they reached a hollow in the mountains, they put the two merchants on the ground. Then they pushed one of the mules into a pit and butchered the other with a sharp knife. They built a fire and, having roasted the mule meat over it, sat down in a circle and began to gorge themselves. They picked up the two merchants and gave them places as well, putting meat before each of them. Perceiving that the men had no evil intentions and beset by hunger and exhaustion, the merchants decided they might as well just go ahead and eat it. After they had eaten their fill, the ten-odd men patted their stomachs, raised their heads, and wheezed, making a sound like the whinny of a horse.

Two of the men then each clasped one of the merchants under their arms as before and sped off over three or four ridges as swiftly as a gibbon or a bird. After sending the merchants to the side of a main road, they gave each of them a stone and disappeared in a flash. The stone were as large as melons and were both furquoise. The merchants carried the stones back and sold them tor a price worth double their losses.

This incident occurred sometime between 1765 and 1766. Chaorong had told him about it in great detail.

One does not know whether these creatures were mountain specters or tree spirits. Judging from their actions, however, they were not demons. Perhaps they are simply a kind of feral human being that has always lived in isolated mountain valleys and has been cut off from communication with the rest of the world.

Note: this entry records an event that happened during the year 1765-1766.The American scholar Victor H. Mair thinks that “the wild humans” here were the descendants of Indo-Europeans. See The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature edited by him (New York: Columbia University Press, 1944), 821.

“The Moslems,” Races, Miscellaneous Collected Anecdotes of the Qing Dynasty (Qing Bailei Chao, Zhongzu, “Huizu”):

The head shape of the people (note: referring to the Uyhghurs) is pointed and broad. Their faces are long and oval. Occasionally, some of them have Mongoloid eyes. They have full beards, prominent cheekbones, thick lips, and straight, rather long noses.

Note: ethnic Uyghurs have some Caucasoid features, such as comparatively white skin, fairly long noses, rather deep eye sockets, comparatively light eye and hair color. According to their genetic characteristics, however, they belong to the Mongoloid race, except that they have a small proportion of Caucasoid consanguinity mixed together with them. The ancestors of the ethnic Uyghurs might have been the Turkish nomadic tribes who lived in the area of Lake Baikal and between Lake Balkash and the Kara Irtish River. In the process of their development, they mixed together with each of the ethnic groups in the northern and southern parts of Xinjiang, absorbing Mongolian, Chinese, Tibetan, and other elements, step by step forming the ethnic Uyghurs today.

Finally, for further reading and research, we list the main sources in Chinese and foreign languages as follows:

1. Du Ruofu and Ye Fusheng, Ethnic Groups in China (Zhongguo de Minzu). Beijing: Science Press (Kexue Chubanshe), 1994.

2. Han Kangxin, On the Racial Anthropology of the Ancient Inhabitants of the Silk Road (Sichou zhi Lu Gudai Jumin Zhongzu Renleixue Yanjiu), Ürümchi: Xinjiang People’s Press (Xinjiang Renmin Chubanshe), 1994.

3. The Silk Road of Ten Centuries Ago and the Cultural Exchange Between the East and West (Shi-Shiji Qian de Sichou zhi Lu he Dong-Xi Fang Wenhua Jiaoliu), compiled by UNESCO and Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Science (Zhongguo Shehui Kexue Yuan Kaogu Yanjiusuo), Beijing: New World Press (Xin shijie Chubanshe), 1996.

4. Collection of Selected Papers on the History of the Huns, 1919-1979 (Xiongnu Shi Lunwen Xuanji, 1919-1979), compiled by Lin Gan, Beijing: Chinese Book Store (Zhonghua Shuju), 1983.

5. Collection of Selected Papers on the Histories of the Turks and the Uyghurs, 1919-1981 (Tujue yu Huihe Lishi Lunwen Xuanji, 1919-1981), compiled by Lin Gan. Beijing: Chinese Book Store (Zhonghua Shuju), 1987.

6. Lin Meicun, Civilization of the Western Regions-New Theories on Archeology, Ethnology, Language, and Religion (Xiyu Wenming-Kaogu, Minzu, Yuyan he Zongjiao Xin Lun), Beijing: East Press (Dongfang Chubanshe), 1995.

7. Wang Binghua, Studies on the Archeology of the Silk Road (Sichou zhi Lu Kaogu Yanjiu), Ürümchi: Xinjiang People’s Press (Xinjiang Renmin Chubanshe), 1993.

8. Wang Mingzhe and Wang Binghua, Studies on the Wusun (Wusun Yanjiu), Ürümchi: Xinjiang People’s Press (Xinjiang Renmin Chubanshe), 1983.

9. Wu Qiyu, “Introduction to the Research on Documents in Ancient Languages of the Western Regions, first part (Xiyu Guyu Wenxian Yanjiu Daolun, Shangpian)”, in Collection of Papers from the International Conference on Chinese Frontier Studies Held at the “National” University of Politics (Guoli Zhengzhi Daxue Guoji Zhongguo Bianjiang Xueshu Huiyi Lunwenji) (1985), pp.873-913.

10. General History of the Western Regions (Xiyu Tongshi), compiled by Yu Taishan, Zhengzhou: The Zhongzhou Ancient Books Press (Zhongzhou Guji Chubanshe), 1996.

11. Cultural History of the Western Regions (Xiyu Wenhuashi), edited by Yu Taishan, Beijing: China Friendship Press (Zhongguo Youyi Chubanshe), 1996.

12. Dictionary of the Histories and Cultures of the Various Groups in Xinjiang (Xinjiang Ge Zu Lishi Wenhua Cidian), edited by Yu Taishan, Chen Gaohua, and Xie Fang, Beijing: China Book Store (Zhonghua Shuju), 1997.

13. Zhang Guangda, “A Critical Introduction to Turkestan during the Ancient Period and the Earlier Middle Ages (Pingjie Gudai he Zhong-shiji Zaoqi de Tujuesitan)”, in Grove of Academe, 11 (Xueshu Jilin, juan 11), compiled by Wang Yuanhua, Shanghai: Far East Press (Yuandong Chubanshe), 1997.

14. Zhang Guangda and Rong Xinjiang, Collected Studies on the History of Khotan (Yutian Shi Congkao), Shanghai: Shanghai Book Store (Shanghai Shudian), 1993.

15. Cina e Iran da Alessandro Magno alla Dinastia Tang, edited by Alfredo Cadonna and Lionello Lanciotti, Firenze: Olschki 1996.

16. Vostochniy Turkestan v drevnosti i rannem redokoe: Etnos, yazyki, religii, edited by R. A. Litvinsky, Moscow: Vostochnaya Literatura, 1992.

17. The Mummified Remains Found in the Tarim Basin. Collection of Papers edited by Victor H. Mair, in The Journal of Indo-European Studies, 23, 3-4 (Fall/Winter 1995), 279-444.

18. A. Rona-Tas, An Introduction to Turkology, Szeged: 1991.

（原载王炳华主编：《新疆古尸—古代新疆居民及其文化》，

新疆人民出版社2002年版）

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