A carved wooden beam from Loulan, 3-4th century CE. The patterns show influences from ancient western civilizations.

Loulan (Traditional Chinese: 樓蘭; pinyin: Lóulán) is an ancient town founded in the second century BC on the north-eastern edge of the Taklamakan desert. Loulan, also known as Kroran or Krorayina, was an ancient kingdom along China's Silk Road in Xinjiang. In 77 BCE it became known to the Chinese as Shanshan, though the town at the northwestern corner of Lop Nur retained the name of Loulan. The ruins of town of Loulan are on what were the western banks of Lop Nur, in the Ruoqiang county of the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, now completely submerged in the desert (approximate coordinates 40°55′N 89°9′E.)^[1] Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Traditional Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 正體字/繁體字, Simplified Chinese: 正体字/繁体字) refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... It has been suggested that Pinyin method be merged into this article or section. ... (3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events BC 168 Battle of Pydna -- Macedonian phalanx defeated by Romans BC 148 Rome conquers Macedonia BC 146 Rome destroys Carthage in the Third Punic War BC 146 Rome conquers... Dust storm in Taklamakan from space, June 25, 2005 The Taklamakan (also Taklimakan) is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Silk Road Silk Route redirects here. ... For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC - 70s BC - 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC Years: 82 BC 81 BC 80 BC 79 BC 78 BC - 77 BC - 76 BC 75 BC 74... Shanshan (鄯善; pinyin: Shànshàn ) is the Chinese name for Loulan, a kingdom that existed roughly from 200BC-1000AD at the north-east of the Taklamakan desert. ... Lop Nur (ear-shaped) from space, September 1992 Lop Nur (Lake Lop; alternately Lop Nor, Lo-pu po or Taitema Lake) is a group of small, now seasonal salt lakes and marshes between the Taklamakan and Kuruktag deserts in the southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China... Bayingholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture (Chinese:巴音郭楞蒙古自治州, Pinyin: BāyÄ«nguōlèng MÄ›nggÇ” Zìzhìzhōu, Mongolian in Cyrillic script: Баянголын Монгол өөртөө засах тойрог, Uyghur: بايىنغولىن موڭغۇل ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى) is an autonomous prefecture of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

A 3,800-year-old female mummy (circa 1600 BCE) was discovered in Loulan in 1980, indicating very early settlement of the region. A Tarim Basin mummy photographed by Aurel Stein circa 1910. ... (Redirected from 1600 BCE) Centuries: 18th century BC - 17th century BC - 16th century BC Decades: 1650s BC 1640s BC 1630s BC 1620s BC 1610s BC - 1600s BC - 1590s BC 1580s BC 1570s BC 1560s BC 1550s BC Events and trends Egypt: End of Fourteenth Dynasty The creation of one of... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

The first historical mention of Loulan was in a letter from the Chanyu of the Xiongnu to the Chinese Emperor in 126 BCE in which he boasted of conquering the Yuezhi, the Wusun , Loulan, and Hujie, "as well as the twenty-six states nearby." In 126 BCE, the Chinese envoy, Zhang Qian described Loulan as a fortified city near Lop Nur.^[2] Chanyu (Traditional: 單于; Simplified: 单于; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: chan-yü; sometimes written Shanyu) was the title used by the rulers of the Xiongnu during the Han Dynasty 206 BC - 220. ... A Xiongnu belt buckle. ... (Redirected from 126 BCE) Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC - 120s BC - 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC Years: 131 BC 130 BC 129 BC 128 BC 127 BC - 126 BC... Languages Unknown, altough the epigraphy ranges from Greek language to Bactrian. ... Wusun (烏孫) --- information about this historic people can be found in Chinese historical annals. ... (Redirected from 126 BCE) Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC - 120s BC - 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC Years: 131 BC 130 BC 129 BC 128 BC 127 BC - 126 BC... Zhang Qian leaving emperor Han Wudi, for his expedition to Central Asia from 138 to 126 BCE, Mogao Caves mural, 618-712 CE. Zhang Qian (Chinese:張騫; died 113 BCE) was a Chinese explorer and imperial envoy in the 2nd century BCE, during the time of the Han Dynasty. ... Lop Nur (ear-shaped) from space, September 1992 Lop Nur (Lake Lop; alternately Lop Nor, Lo-pu po or Taitema Lake) is a group of small, now seasonal salt lakes and marshes between the Taklamakan and Kuruktag deserts in the southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China...

Because of its strategic position on what became the main route from China to the West, during the Former Han and Later Han, control of it was regularly contested between the Chinese and the Xiongnu. The Hanshu informs us that: "it lay close to Han and confronted the White Dragon Mounds. The locality was short of water and pasture, and was regularly responsible for sending out guides, conveying water, bearing provisions and escorting or meeting Han envoys. In addition the state was frequently robbed, reprimanded or harmed by officials or conscripts and found it inexpedient to keep contact with the Han. Later the state again conducted espionage for the Hsiung-nu, often intercepting and killing Han envoys."^[3] The Xiongnu repeatedly contested the Han Chinese for control of the region until well into the 2nd century CE,^[4] and is recorded as a dependent kingdom of Shanshan in the 3rd century Weilue.^[5] Han commanderies and kingdoms AD 2. ... The Han Dynasty (Traditional Chinese characters: 漢朝, Simplified Chinese characters: 汉朝, pinyin Hàncháo 202 BC - AD 220) followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. ...

A military colony of 1,000 men was established at Loulan in 260 CE by the Chinese General So Man. The site was abandoned in 330 CE due to lack of water when the Tarim River, which supported the settlement, changed course and the military garrison was moved 50 km south to Haitou. The fort of Yingpan to the northwest remained under Chinese control until the Tang Dynasty.^[6] Events Valerian I captured by the Persian king Shapur I; Gallienus becomes sole Roman emperor. ... Events May 11 - Constantine I refounds Byzantium, renames it New Rome, and moves the capital of the Roman Empire there from Rome. ... The Tarim River (Mandarin Dayan) is the principal river of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Tang Dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (18 June 618 – 4 June 907), lasting about three centuries, preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Song Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. ...

Archaeology

Sven Hedin

Loulan was rediscovered by Sven Hedin in 1899, who excavated some houses and found a wooden Kharosthi tablet and many Chinese manuscripts from the later Han dynasty (third century A.D.). Sven Hedin. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Kharoṣṭhī script, also known as the Gāndhārī script, is an ancient alphabetic script used by the Gandhara culture of historic northwest India to write the Gandhari and Sanskrit languages (the Gandhara kingdom was located along the present-day border... Later Han redirects here. ...

Aurel Stein

Aurel Stein made further excavations in 1906 and 1914, investigating the town's packed-earth and straw wall. It was over 1000 feet on each side, and 20 feet thick at the base. Stein also recovered a wool-pile carpet fragment, some yellow silk, and Gandharan architectural wood-carvings. Sir M(arc) Aurel Stein (1862 - 1943), born in Budapest, was a Hungarian Jewish archaeologist who became a British citizen. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. ... Gandhāra (Sanskrit: गन्धार, Persian; Gandara, Waihind) (Urdu: گندھارا) is the name of an ancient Indian Mahajanapada, currently in northern Pakistan (the North-West Frontier Province and parts of northern Punjab and Kashmir) and eastern Afghanistan. ...

Modern expeditions

Reported in the Washington Times, 2005, are discoveries made in 1979 and 1980 by a Chinese architectural team in the area. They discovered a man-made canal, 15 feet deep and 55 feet wide, running through Loulan from northwest to southeast; a 32 foot high earthen dome-shaped Buddhist stupa; and a 41 feet long by 28 feet wide home apparently for a Chinese official, housing 3 rooms and supported by wooden pillars. They also collected 797 objects from the area, including vessels of wood, bronze objects, jewelry and coins, and Mesolithic stone tools (Washington Times, 2005).^[7] For the song by The Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... The Canal du Midi, Toulouse, France Canals are man-made channels for water. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Stupa at Samye Ling Monastery, Scotland A stupa (from the Sanskrit) is a type of Buddhist structure found across the Indian subcontinent, Asia and increasingly in the Western World. ... Deconstructing a Roman pillar. ... Vessel can refer to any of the following: Objects Vessel (French vaissel, from a rare Latin vascellum, diminuitive of vas, vase, or urn), a word of somewhat wide application for many objects, the meaning common to them being capacity to hold or contain something. ... Assorted ancient Bronze castings found as part of a cache, probably intended for recycling. ... Jewelry (the American spelling; spelled jewellery in Commonwealth English) consists of ornamental devices worn by persons, typically made with gems and precious metals. ... A coin is usually a piece of hard material, generally metal, usually in the shape of a disc, and most often issued by a government, to be used as a form of money in transactions. ... The Mesolithic (Greek mesos=middle and lithos=stone or the Middle Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age. ... Ancient stone tools A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made of stone. ...

Other reported (2003) finds in the area include additional mummies and burial grounds, ephedra sticks, a string bracelet that holds a hollowed jade stone, a leather pouch, a woolen loincloth, a wooden mask painted red and with large nose and teeth, boat-shaped coffins, a bow with arrows and a straw basket (Washington Times, 2005). A mummy is a corpse whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or airlessness. ... For the musician, see Burial (musician). ... Ephedra in medicine. ... A bracelet is an article of jewelry which is worn around the wrist. ... A selection of antique, hand-crafted Chinese jadeite jade buttons Unworked Jade An ornamental stone, jade is applied to two different rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals. ... Modern leather-working tools Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. ... Categories: Move to Wiktionary | Stub ... Long and short hair wool at the South Central Family Farm Research Center in Boonesville, Arizona Wool is the fiber derived from the fur of animals of the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals such as goats, alpacas, llamas and rabbits may also... A loincloth is one-piece garment, sometimes kept in place by a belt, that is used: in Pharaonic Egypt, any man was worthily dressed in a loincloth (and headdress), even a gods image for worship; here Amun-Ra in societies where no other clothing is needed or wanted as... Fang mask used for the ngil ceremony, an inquisitorial search for sorcerers. ... A boat is a craft or vessel designed to float on, and provide transport over, water. ... A coffin (in North American English, also known as a casket) is a funerary box used in the display and containment of deceased remains -- either for burial or after cremation. ... A bow is an ancient weapon that shoots arrows powered by the elasticity of the bow. ... Japanese arrow (ya) and head // Weapon An arrow is a pointed projectile that is shot with a bow. ... Four styles of household basket. ...

References

1. ^ Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. (2000). The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. Thames & Hudson. London. ISBN 0-500-05101-1
2. ^ Watson, Burton, trans. (1993). Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty II - Revised Edition. Columbia University Press, New York. ISBN 0-231-08166-9 and ISBN 0-231-08167-7 (pbk)
3. ^ *Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC – AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty. E. J. Brill, Leiden. ISBN 90-04-05884-2, p. 89.
4. ^ Annotated translation from the Hou Hanshu by John E. Hill
5. ^ Annotated translation of the Weilue by John E. Hill
6. ^ Baumer, Christoph. (2000). Southern Silk Road: In the Footsteps of Sir Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin. Bangkok, White Orchid Books, 2000.
7. ^ Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. (2000). The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. Thames & Hudson. London. ISBN 0-500-05101-1

External links

• Washington Times, 2005: Loulan vanished in sand
• Korla Travel Guide

See also

• Shanshan