Volume 5 Number 1 Summer 2007

“The Bridge between Eastern and Western Cultures”

From the Editor’s Desktop

In This Issue
Richthofen’s ‘Silk Roads’ ..............1 Richthofen’s “Silk Roads”: Toward
Special feature on food:
Georgia: A Culinary Crossroads...11
the Archaeology of a Concept
Food, Medicine & the Silk Road . 22
Seeking Mongolian Barbecue .... 36 In the year now drawing to a close a scholarly discipline (Oster-
we are marking the 130 t h hammel 1987, p. 150). Trained
Xiongnu Royal Grave at Tsaraam 44
anniversary of Ferdinand Freiherr especially in geomorphology, he
Tsaraam Chinese Inscription ...... 56 von Richthofen’s publication of the studied areas of East and
Ancient Anatolian Tracks ........... 59 term “die Seidenstrasse,” the Silk Southeast Asia, and then between
Mongolia exhibition book ........... 66 Road. Almost any discussion of the 1862 and 1868 worked in the
Dunhuang Centenary ................ 68 Silk Road today will begin with the American West. Today a 3944 m
Upcoming programs .................. 73 obligatory reminder that the noted peak in Colorado bears his name.
German geographer had coined Between 1868 and 1872, he spent
the term, even if few seem to much of his time traveling in
Next Issue know where he published it and China; his initial observations from
what he really meant. For some those travels already appeared in
Hermann Parzinger on Eurasian time now I have wondered exactly an English edition in Shanghai in
archaeology what the good Baron said, which, 1872. While the political dis-
Reports on the 2007 Silkroad as it turns out was something both turbances in Xinjiang prevented
Foundation-Mongolian National narrower and broader than what his visiting that region, the range
Museum excavations and survey those who invoke him have tended of mountains bordering the Gansu
in Khovd aimag by Bryan Miller, to suggest. Corridor on the south (Qilianshan)
Jessieca Leo, Veronica Joseph for a long time bore his name. His
and James Williams Rather than use my space initial academic position was as a
primarily for editorial comment on geologist, but in 1886 he became
Odbaatar on a Uighur cemetery the contents of this issue of our
near Kharbalgas chair of the Geography De-
journal, I decided to undertake a
Lin Ying on the Boma cup kind of archaeological investi-
and more… gation, digging a test pit to
discover what is in the layer
containing Richthofen’s original
About formulation. Readers should be
warned that, like Heinrich
The Silk Road is a semi-annual publi- Schliemann at Troy, I am going to
cation of the Silkroad Foundation. The
ignore most of the intervening
Silk Road can also be viewed on-line
at <http://www.silkroadfoundation. layers, which also merit close
org/toc/newsletter.html>. Please feel attention, and try to focus on the
free to contact us with any questions one that contains the gold.
or contributions. Guidelines for con- However, unlike Schliemann, I
tributors may be found in Vol. 2, No. should ha ve little danger of
1 (June 2004) on the website. digging right through it and
destroying other interesting
The Silkroad Foundation
evidence. Delimiting the rest of
P.O. Box 2275
Saratoga, CA. 95070 the stratigraphy, both above and
below, is a project for future
Editor: Daniel C. Waugh research.
[email protected]
Ferdinand von Richthofen
© 2007 Silkroad Foundation (1833-1905) [Fig. 1] was a scholar
© 2007 by authors of individual ar- of impressive breadth and depth, Fig. 1. Ferdinand Freiherr von
ticles and holders of copyright, as who is honored as one of the Richthofen (image source:
specified, to individual images. founders of modern geography as Wikipedia Commons).
partment at the University of contributing to the buildup of soil travels. In the conclusion to Vol. I
Berlin. Among the best known (if in the eastern plains of China. His he is quite explicit about what he
not most academically dedicated) understanding of wind erosion was considers the correct approach to
of his students there was the a key to the development of Sven the study of geography. One must
young Swede, Sven Hedin, whose Hedin’s ideas regarding the start with studying geology and
adventures and discoveries in changing location of Lake Lop Nor. the physical landscape, but then
Inner Asia would eventually Richthofen’s ideas about the a geographer should move on to
overshadow those of his mentor. impact of climate change on a second stage of analysis,
human settlement are directly focusing on human interaction
Richthofen is best known for his relevant to any history of what we with a changing environment
studies of China, notably the five as a matter of course today label (Richthofen 1877-1912, Vol. I, pp.
volumes published between 1877 “The Silk Roads.” 726ff). Not surprisingly then, we
and 1912 which he never lived to discover that a significant part of
complete, separate atlas volumes, As Richthofen himself makes his introduction to China is really
and his two-volume travel diary. clear (Op. cit., pp. 1, 722ff ), a history of human activity across
At first acquaintance, his 1877 among the most important Eurasia, a history of travel,
introduction to his China is a influences on his thinking about exploration, and the exchange of
surprise, since it opens with a Asian geography was the account cultural information. In short,
chapter on Central Asia, by which of Alexander von Humboldt’s even though he barely employs
he meant approximately what we travels in 1829, L’Asie Centrale. the term, it is a history of the Silk
now call Xinjiang — that is, the The young Richthofen had Roads. His letters to Hedin in
area bounded by the Altai attended lectures by Gustav Rose, 1890, 1892 and 1893, repeat his
Mountains in the north, Tibet in the a mineralogist who had par- earlier advice. He chides Hedin
south, the watersheds of the ticipated in Humboldt’s expedition for wanting to go off to explore
major Chinese rivers in the east (Zögner 1998). Richthofen also without acquiring first sufficient
and the Pamir Mountains in the had the highest praise for the academic training in geology, at
West (Richthofen 1877-1912, Vol. massive compilation by Carl Ritter, the same time that he writes of
I, p. 7). In other words, this “East Asien (on Ritter’s influence, see the significance of the Tarim Basin
Turkestan” was central, whereas Osterhammel 1987, pp. 162-166). and Aral Sea region for human
that which lay west of the Pamirs, He seems initially to have history (Hedin 1933, pp. 74-75,
and even the loess plains to the subscribed to Ritter’s idea that 83, 95-96).
east, the heart of agricultural Inner Asia was the original home
China, were to him periphery (on of humans, even if later he We can see where some of the
Richthofen’s contributions to abandoned that speculation themes in China lead by looking
Central Asian geography, see (Hedin 1933, p. 83). 1 The new ahead to the course of lectures
Chichagov 1983). Most of the archaeological discoveries in that Richthofen offered twice in the
maps in the book are centered on region about which he learned in 1890s on patterns of human
the Tarim Basin and extend from the last years of his life, even if settlement (Siedlung) and
the Caspian to Chang’an. Indeed they were not shedding light on communication (Verkehr) in their
the Inner Asian emphasis of much earliest man, could have relationship to physical geography
of the book provides the context reinforced his original ideas about (Richthofen 1908). He drew on
for his development of the concept the centrality of Central Asia. examples of human activity from
of the Silk Roads. We can also see Arguably his indebtedness to early to modern times and ranging
in Richthofen’s emphasis the Humboldt and Ritter might be around the globe. While his views
embryo of what in Halford worth closer examination if we in these lectures regarding levels
Mackinder’s formulation several wish to probe the origins of the of culture of various peoples might
decades later became the Silk Road concept. raise some eyebrows today (see
geopolitical Eurasian “Heartland.” Osterhammel 1987), we can
The second surprise for me appreciate his emphasis on the
As Ute Wardenga has indicated, about Vol. I of Richthofen’s China importance of human interaction
Richthofen was important in is his interest in human geography across space and time. Human
developing as a field of study the (for a different view, Osterhammel settlement (broadly conceived) is
regional geography of Asia 1987, pp. 180-181; on his geology not static. Geographical conditions
(Wardenga 2005). In an era today see Jäkel 2005). I expected his change, and political and cultural
when desiccation of the steppe focus to be physical geography, factors come into play. To a
lands seems to be proceeding which he treats only in the first considerable degree, human
apace, we can especially half of this volume although in development from more
appreciate his ideas about the greater detail in Vols. II and III, “primitive” to higher cultural
importance of wind-blown where he weaves into his analysis stages is a response to the
sediment from Central Asia the observations made during his challenges of the surrounding

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environment but is also influenced director (1902-5) of the Institut archaeological, and he was further
by exchange between areas of für Meereskunde (Institute for the limited by having to rely on
human settlement. Thus Richt- Study of the Seas) in Berlin. translations of the Chinese texts.3
hofen is taking a “geosystems” Richthofen noted that following
approach to writing human The specific context for the establishment of a Han
economic geography, in which Richthofen’s use of the term presence in Inner Asia in the
exchange creates conditions for “Seidenstrasse” in his China, Vol. second century BCE, references
the development of more complex I, is his examination of the history by the western sources to the
societies. The emergence of nodal of geographic knowledge in the Serer increased in frequency. After
points for exchange is a direct West with regard to China and a period of decline toward the end
consequence of their occupying conversely, in China with regard of the former Han, under the latter
key positions on the routes of to the West. He devotes particular Han the trade revived to flourish
communication. Communication attention to the earliest acquisition for about a century down to ca.
invariably involves the intersection of this geographic knowledge in 150 CE. As we now know,
of routes, the points of inter- the relatively narrow period subsequent publications of
section often joining land routes encompassing the Han Dynasty additional primary source texts
with water routes. As Jürgen and Imperial Rome. In this large and especially the new ar-
Osterhammel has suggested, in section of his book, Richthofen chaeological discoveries would
certain ways Richthofen’s ideas analyzes the evidence in Greek soon substantially revise many
about socio-economic develop- and Roman sources which first details of Richthofen’s analysis
ment anticipated “modernization speak of the Serer, those (see especially Herrmann 1910,
theory” as it would emerge in the connected with the trade in silk, 1938). The revision of the
writings of Max Weber (Oster- or Serica, the land of silk. He “standard” history of the Silk
hammel 1987, p. 189). examines as well the evidence in Roads continues today.
the Chinese annals concerning the
Of particular interest here is the first missions to the Western Of particular importance in
fact that for Richthofen in the Regions and the consequent Han Richthofen’s narrative are the
longer historical view communi- campaigns leading to expansion geography and world map of
cations by water seem, if into Central Asia. Much of this is Marinus of Tyre, known to us only
anything, to have been more the now familiar story of the indirectly through Ptolemy
important than communications beginnings of the “Silk Road.” In (Richthofen 1877-1912, Vol. I, pp.
by land. He admits though that we citing some of the pioneering 477ff). Marinus’ information about
lack sources to say anything analyses of exchange with China the overland route from the
concrete about those routes in (notably by Joseph de Guignes Mediterranean to the borders of
East Asia before the time of and Jean Baptiste Bourguignon the land of silk derived from an
Ptolemy, whose evidence is d’Anville in the 18 th century), account by the agents of a
difficult to interpret and seems in Richthofen acknowledges that Phoenician merchant Maës
fact to reach only as far as the Gulf much of what he has to say about Titianus. While Richthofen
of Tonkin. The initiative in using the trade routes is not new admitted the difficulty of matching
the sea routes seems to have (Richthofen 1877-1912, Vol. I, pp. Marinus’ and Ptolemy’s place
come from the West, not from 460-462, 476). He also drew names with ones known from the
China, although in the fourth and heavily upon the publication a Chinese sources, he nonetheless
fifth centuries, Chinese ships decade prior to his own book of identified “Issedon Serica” with
made their way into the Indian Cathay and the Way Thither by Khotan [Fig. 2] and “Sera
Ocean. The sea trade blossomed Henry Yule,
in the Islamic period and in Mongol whose engraved
times, but seems to have been portrait oc-
controlled largely by the cupied a place of
westerners. It is perhaps in- honor in Richt-
dicative of Richthofen’s priorities hofen’s Berlin
that, when he delivered lectures apartment
to the German Geological Society (Hedin 1933, p.
anticipating some of the themes 33), and the
of the first volume of his China, translations of
the lecture on communication by early Chinese
sea (Richthofen 1876) preceded sources by Emil
the one on communication over Bretschneider.
the Silk Roads (Richthofen 1877).2 Richthofen’s
The father of the “Silk Road” sources were Fig. 2. Richthofen’s Issedon Serica (detail of map,
concept was also the founding textual, not China, Vol. I, facing p. 500).

3
 “Strassen” (roads or breadth of Eurasia from China to
routes), “Haupt- the Mediterranean. Clearly the
strassen” (main idea of trade in stages fits within
routes) or “Handels- his scheme.
strassen” (trade
routes), even as he At first blush, we might be
stresses that it was puzzled by Richthofen’s assertion
the trade in silk that, for several centuries after the
which fueled the Han withdrew from Central Asia in
development of the the second century CE, overland
Inner Asian con- exchanges of any consequence
tacts. 4 When he ceased. His own evidence seems
later discusses the to contradict this, where he takes
overland trade up (granted, in a rather
routes in the Islamic compressed way) developments
period and Pego- such as the spread of Buddhism
lotti’s 14 th-century into China, the rise of the Türk
description of the Empire, and evidence in the Sui
route to China, annals and in accounts such as
Richthofen mapped those of Faxian and Xuanzang. In
them respectively as fact, when he talks of cessation of
the “Hauptverkehr- exchanges he seems specifically
strasse” and to be referring to the trade, if
“Haupt-Handels- diminished, now being in the
Fig. 3. Richthofen’s caption to his map showing strasse,” the latter hands of merchants other than the
Marinus’ “Silk Road.” running from north Chinese (Richthofen 1877-1912,
of the Caspian, Vol. I, p. 523). The other
Metropolis” with Chang’an, and south of the Aral Sea and then important factor in his view was
concluded that the route north of the Tien Shan to Barkol, that the transmission of the secret
described was that passing south Hami, and the Gansu Corridor of silk to Byzantium in the 6 th
of the Taklamakan desert. Where (Richthofen 1877-1912, Vol. I, century and consequent rise of a
Richthofen differed from some facing p. 566 and p. 672). silk industry there diminished
earlier commentators was in his significantly in the West demand
questioning whether the route This is not to say that in focusing for Chinese silk.
through the Pamirs went via on the routes beginning in the Han
Samarkand and the Ferghana period Richthofen is oblivious to He thus justifies his assertion
Valley. On the basis of the latest interactions across Eurasia earlier, that when the Tang Dynasty re-
Russian geographical explora- but he portrays the earlier trade conquered Central Asia, the very
tions, he felt there was reason to contacts as episodic exchange nature of the silk trade had
think that the early silk merchants from hand to hand, not as changed. By this time, silk was
had traveled in a more direct line something organized and not just a form of luxury textile, it
from Bactria to the east through involving long distance travel and was also a form of currency, in
the Pamir-Alai. large quantities of goods (Ibid., p. central China and in the Chinese
458). Only with the extensive northwest. The changes in turn
While this discussion introduces results of modern archaeology affected Chinese interest in
the term “Seidenstrasse” in the across Inner Asia are we now fully geographical knowledge. While
singular specifically with reference appreciating how widespread were new information about the West
to Marinus’ route [Fig. 3], it also those earlier contacts which was being acquired under the
uses the term in the plural for moved in a great many directions Tang, there was no longer an effort
routes both east and west of the (for a good overview, see to integrate it with the old into a
Pamirs (Parzinger 2005 notes that Parzinger 2005). For Richthofen larger picture of world geography.
Richthofen used the plural). He it is important that, during what Even though there was a
takes pains to emphasize that “it he considers was the relatively concerted government effort to
would be a mistake to consider brief flourishing of the Eurasian gather information, especially
that it [Marinus’ route] was the trade under the Han, Chinese about Inner Asia, Chinese horizons
only one at any given moment or merchants (presumably he means shrank to that which immediately
even the most important one.” In ethnic Chinese) were traveling all adjoined their borders, and with
general, rather than “Seiden- the way into Central Asia. the Tang withdrawal from Central
strassen,” Richthofen prefers the However, he does not claim that Asia after the middle of the eighth
terms “Verkehr” (communication), merchants traveled the whole century, those horizons them-

4
selves diminished (Ibid., pp. 547, traditional kinds of compilation, unlimited range of economic and
578).5 The rise of Islam capped despite the evidence for the cultural exchanges across Eurasia.
this fundamental shift away from significant presence of Chinese in While the title of his lecture to the
the kind of interaction across western parts of the Mongol Geological Society included the
Eurasia that had taken place Empire where they must have had term “Silk Roads,” the substance
centuries earlier. In short, as he ample opportunity to learn about of the lecture reiterated the
concluded in his presentation to the wider world (p. 587). arguments of the book.7 By the
the Geological Society in Berlin, time he read his general lectures
“The concept of the trans- Finally, regarding Richthofen’s on settlement and communication
continental Silk Roads had lost its treatment of the East-West a number of years later, he did not
meaning” (Richthofen 1877, p. exchange of geographical even use the term “Seiden-
122). knowledge, I might note the strasse.” Indeed, trade in silk
oddity of his sweeping comments occupied less than a page in that
At very least we might point out about Ming isolation (p. 619). He narrative, where, in his discussion
that Richthofen’s analysis for the himself understands that such was of ancient human “Handels-
Tang era ignores the over- not the case in the early 15 th verkehr,” gold, precious stones
whelming evidence of pervasive century, when there were and spices merited more
foreign influences and contacts in embassies exchanged with the attention. Nor did Richthofen use
that period. He is simply wrong Timurids. Even though he is the term “Seidenstrasse” in his
about an absence of evidence for acquainted with Clavijo, he correspondence with Hedin, the
cultural interaction between Persia ignores what the Spaniard tells us last letters of which date from the
and China in the pre-Mongol about the Chinese in Samarkand. time when Hedin’s discoveries and
period (p. 556). Yet at the same And there is only a passing those of Aurel Stein and the
time, he makes it clear that the mention in Richthofen’s account German archaeologists under the
sea trade flourished, and evidence concerning one of the great sands of the Tarim Basin were
in the Chinese annals indicates Chinese fleets in the Indian Ocean becoming known. So Richthofen
Chinese vessels made it all the during the first third of the 15th both denied that the concept of
way to Siraf in the Persian Gulf. century. transcontinental “Silk Roads” had
Idrisi (12th century) even has them any broader application at the
visiting Aden (p. 568). For the Richthofen’s use of the term
“Silk Roads” is really quite limited. same time that he never
most part though, this trade was subscribed to a narrow concept of
in the hands of Arabs and Persians He applies it, sparingly, only to the
Han period, in discussing the an ancient East-West super-
(p. 578). highway where the central part of
relationship between political
It may be easier to agree with expansion and trade on the one the route was of little consequence
Richthofen that during the post- hand and geographical knowledge except as a transmission belt
Han period, the West in effect on the other. The term refers in between the civilizations of East
forgot what it had known about the first instance to a very specific and West. His narrow interest
China.6 Indeed the establishment east-west overland route defined pertained to analysis of specific
of a Nestorian presence in China by a single source, even though written sources, whereas his
under the Tang seems to have left he recognizes that at that time concept of human geography was
no trace in Western geographical there were other routes in various in fact much broader than those
knowledge (p. 555). While Islamic directions (pp. 459-462) and at who invoke his “Silk Road” seem
geographical works would least to some extent appreciates to have understood.
eventually include much new that silk was not the only product
information about Central and carried along them. If the Silk Once he had enunciated the idea
East Asia, little of this became Road of Marinus was a of “Silk Roads” though, did it catch
known in medieval Europe. Hauptstrasse, it is only because on? This is a subject for a separate
that is the route which his lone study, but let us look quickly at
Even though the conditions for informant used. some evidence. Reviewers of his
travel and cultural exchange China seem to have been little
changed dramatically under the This limited use of the concept interested in the phrase, focusing
Mongol Empire the impact of this served Richthofen’s immediate their attention instead on whether
on geographical knowledge was purpose of explaining the or not he was correct in his
far more pronounced in the West transmission of geographical discussion of dating and precision
than in China. Richthofen knowledge and the evidence of a of the information contained in the
expresses disappointment in not few ancient sources. In fact he ancient texts (e.g., Gutschmid
finding a conceptual change in the never uses the term in discussing 1880). There is no indication that
Chinese understanding of the the later part of that history, nor Hedin in his early books paid any
world. Instead, he finds geo- did he intend that the concept be attention to the concept. In fact
graphical inquiry limited to extended to other periods and an when he went off to Central Asia,

5
he evinced little understanding of the early sources, reconstructing Silk Roads sparked an interest in
the cultural history and human (somewhat controversially, I the broad reading public. If not
geography which was so important believe) the ancient Chinese maps Herrmann then, what about Hedin
to Richthofen. This, despite the and including in his still useful or Stein? Any analysis of their
fact that Hedin had been Historical and Commercial Atlas of impact will need to take into
introduced to China, Vol. I, before China several maps on which the account what seems to have been
he went to study in Berlin in 1889, quite numerous branches of the an insatiable appetite of large
and despite Richthofen’s urgings “Silk Roads” are illustrated audiences in the late nineteenth
that he pay attention to Inner (Herrmann 1935).9 and early twentieth centuries for
Asian human history. As we shall lectures and books on exploration,
see, Hedin eventually invoked his Herrmann’s work culminated in adventure travel, and archaeo-
mentor ’s phrase, albeit inci- a second “silk road” volume logical discovery. We may well ask
dentally to other priorities. (Herrmann 1938) which left only whether the explorers and
shreds of the original detail of academics invented the “Silk
The scholar who seems first to Richthofen’s scheme intact and Road” as a popular phenomenon
have done something with presented at least the illusion that or whether, instead, the impetus
“Seidenstrasse” was August one might really be able to was public demand. Stein’s
Herrmann, a proper analysis of quantify distances in the ancient explorations were often reported
whose work cannot be my task texts. In particular, following on in the London Times (Wang 2002);
here. Herrmann’s 1910 book was the first reviews of Richthofen, Hedin’s collection of newspaper
the first to use “Seidenstrasse” in Herrmann emphasized how his clippings concerning his exploits
its title. Its use of the term, as in predecessor had misconstrued the extends over several meters of
Herrmann’s subsequent writings, reference points used by Ptolemy archival shelving.10 In the days
seems to have been consistent and failed to understand that before television, the lecture tour
with Richthofen’s limited original Ptolemy had arbitarily halved the was a significant form of public
intent. That is, the task Herrmann distances on the eastern part of entertainment. Hedin had the
set himself was to review the his map. Marinus, his source, had ability to mesmerize audiences
earliest evidence concerning East- committed the opposite mistake with tales about his foolish
West geographical knowledge, the of overextending them. Herrmann escapade of trying to cross the
emphasis being on the relatively thus set about to reconstruct more Taklamakan in 1896. Stein, I think
short period embracing the Han accurately Marinus’ lost map. much more reluctantly, also
Dynasty. Herrmann had in hand a Probably the most significant lectured.
good many texts which had not conclusion he reached was that
been available to his predecessor, Marinus’ route was not the
incorporated new information from southern one around the From his earliest days as an
exploration and archaeology, and Taklamakan but rather the two explorer, Hedin was successful in
seems, by and large, to have had intersecting northern ones. finding good publishers for his
a much deeper knowledge of According to Herrmann, Issedon narratives. Richthofen expressed
Greek and Roman geography than Serica referred not to Khotan, but amazement at how quickly the
did Richthofen. to the region farther east, Shan- young Swede could write up his
Shan/Kroraina (i.e. including travels and have them in print
Only in passing (Herrmann Charchlik and Lou-Lan), even (e.g., Hedin 1933, p. 82);
1910, p. 10) did Herrmann though, somewhat illogically it producing the books became kind
comment on Richthofen’s seems, Sera Metropolis was not of a Hedin family business
formulation “Seidenstrasse,” Chang’an, as Richthofen had it, enterprise. Both Hedin and Stein
suggesting (not entirely but Wu-Wei, farther to the west. produced rather bulky “popular
accurately) that Richthofen had By 1938 Herrmann was using the narratives” of their explorations as
confined it to describing the term Seidenstrassen (plural) quite well as dense scholarly compendia
Chinese route into Central Asia, freely in his text. Probably the with technical details. Modern
even though it might also be only reason he did not do so in readers often find themselves put
extended to describe as well the the title of the monograph — off by even the “popular
route westwards to Syria. where he used “Land der Seide” narratives.” I happen to like Stein
Herrmann justified his “correction” to refer to the ancients’ China — for his detail about excavating
with reference to work published was the fact that his colleague ancient garbage dumps and dislike
by Friedrich Hirth in 1889 Sven Hedin (who wrote a brief Hedin for his tiresome reminders
regarding the eastern trade. preface to Hermann 1938) had of temperatures, stream flow,
Following the appearance of his published two years earlier his altitude and bad weather. I have
monograph, Herrmann published own book entitled The Silk Road. heard exactly the opposite opinion
in 1915 an essay on “The Silk from others. Hedin was a
Roads from China to the Roman It is a bit difficult to imagine that publishing sensation in Germany
Empire.”8 He continued to work on Herrmann’s dense analyses of the after he was taken on by the firm

6
of Brockhaus in Leipzig, which Otherwise, but for a few compassed much of what we find
issued long, intermediate length photographs and sketches of parts in the more expansive definitions
and short versions of the same of the Great Wall and watchtowers of “Silk Roads” today. He wrote
books and reprinted them in large and a paragraph or two on the well and his magisterial pages
numbers (Hedin 1933, p. 43; Sino-Swedish discoveries, there is breathe a willingness to tackle
Waugh 2001). There was some nothing. The book is really about large ideas. True, his lectures on
competition between Stein and Hedin’s extended motor journey settlement and communication
Hedin in terms of publication.11 from 1933-35 in the last stages of are textbookish, an accurate
the multi-year expedition he had reflection of their genre. To a
Of course much of the Hedin organized. The book is typical degree though that impression
material had little to do with the Hedin, largely a travel tale derives from the fact that what we
ancient silk roads, but by the involving occasional exciting find in them is ideas that we now
1920s there were compactly adventures during the period of take for granted, even if when first
written popularizations (not the civil unrest in Xinjiang. The mirage enunciated they may have stuck
earlier so-called “popular nar- of the title notwithstanding, it is his listeners as new. In contrast,
ratives”) which would have led hard to imagine that with this his China is anything but
readers to the subject, if not focus the book could have served simplistic. For its time, despite its
necessarily to the specific term as the catalyst for the more biases, internal contradictions and
“Silk Road.” Among them was modern overblown enthusiasms the limitations of its source base,
Hedin’s autobiography, with its for the Silk Road. The modern it tells the story of the Silk Roads
colorful verbal excess about his developments include such amazingly well. Possibly re-
discovery of Dandan Oilik, where excesses as the NTK-CCTV multi- reading Richthofen would
he “won, in the heart of the desert, million yen 30-part television encourage us to excavate in the
a new field for archaeology” and spectacular of the 1980s, full of lower layers of the cultural
stood “like the prince in the blowing dust, the quickly deposit, which conceal the works
enchanted wood, having wakened stultifying music of Kitaro, and of his eminent predecessors who,
to new life the city which has often inane commentary, even if like Richthofen, are nowadays little
slumbered for a thousand years” some of the footage is quite read. We just might discover that
(Hedin 1925/1996, p. 188). Von inspiring. “Silk Road Studies” now their vision too in many ways
Le Coq produced a decent may mean modern geopolitical anticipated that of our reputedly
overview of the German Turfan and security studies of oil more enlightened and better
expeditions, mixing ethnographic pipelines, Central Asian trans- informed times.
and archaeological material (Le portation and ethnic unrest.13
Coq 1928), and Stein’s Lowell Of course another response to
Institute (Boston) lectures So in its inception Seidenstrasse Richthofen might be to follow the
appeared as In Ancient Central was a convenient shorthand, advice of Warwick Ball and dismiss
Asian Tracks (Stein 1933). All of auxiliary to a specific treatment of the concept of the Silk Road as a
these books have been reprinted ancient written sources. Does this meaningless neologism which
and are still available. then mean that we should ignore bears little relationship to the
the good Baron who invented the realities on the ground in early
By the 1930s, Richthofen’s term? On the contrary, I would Eurasia (Ball 1998). Certainly the
original formulation was barely argue that we can benefit from main point in his ex cathedra
more than a footnote. Hedin, in reading him, not for the details pronouncements about the
fact, may have been the first to which in so many cases are now modern popularization of the
invoke his “Silk Road” for its obsolete or to club him for his concept has its merits, even if he
romantic aura as a means of “orientalist” and “imperialist” has not read his Richthofen, gets
marketing a book which had little views, but for his breadth and some of his facts wrong, and
to do with what his mentor had depth of understanding of the misunderstands important
said. The book in question, The interaction between man and the aspects of how Eurasian exchange
Silk Road (first published in environment and for his ap- operated in earlier times. I would
Swedish as Sidenvägen in 1936) preciation of the significant role of readily admit the concept of the
was soon translated into English communication in human ex- Silk Roads is lacking in analytical
and German, and the German change across the centuries and value, especially if it includes
edition within a few short years in various parts of the globe. He under its umbrella almost any and
had been reprinted at least ten certainly is one of those who all forms of human exchange
times. For the first three-fourths shared with other pioneering across all of Eurasia and over two
of the book Hedin barely mentions scholars in the nineteenth century or more millennia. Yet to interpret
the Silk Road. Then he pastes in a an understanding of the centrality it this broadly seems consistent
perfunctory 10-page overview of of Central Asia. Even though he with Richthofen’s vision of what
its history, mentioning both never extended his neologism to human geography was all about,
Richthofen and Herrmann. 1 2 later periods, his vision en- even if to do so ignores the limited

7
use he made of the specific References Herrmann 1935
phrase. Albert Herrmann. Historical and
Ball 1998 Commercial Atlas of China.
Thus, I am quite comfortable
Harvard-Yenching Institute.
with presenting as part of “The Silk Warwick Ball. “Following the
Monograph series, Vol. 1
Road,” on the pages which follow mythical road.” Geographical
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
here, articles on topics as Magazine 70/3 (1998): 18-23.
University Press, 1935). The maps
disparate as the transmission of
Chichagov 1983 (not text) may be found on-line
food and medicines, Chinese
at <http://map.huhai.net/>,
mirrors and lacquered chariots in V. P. Chichagov. “Ferdinand von
accessed November 9, 2007.
the royal Xiongnu burials of Richthofen und die Geographie
Buriatia, and the historic trade Zentralasiens.” Petermanns Herrmann 1938
routes in Eastern Anatolia. All this Geographische Mitteilungen 127
informs us of the larger patterns (1983): 221-230. Albert Herrmann. Das Land der
of communications amongst Seide und Tibet im Lichte der
communities across Eurasia. Much Gutschmid 1880 Antike. Quellen und Forschungen
of the interesting evidence cannot Alfred von Gutschmid. Review of: zur Geschichte der Geographie
be traced to a single source or Richthofen, China, Bd. 1. In: und Völkerkunde. Bd. 1. Leipzig:
individual or a particular date. As Zeitschrift der Deutschen K. F. Koehler, 1938.
Richthofen understood, the routes Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 34
Jäkel 2005
were indeed many, ideas may (1880): 188-213.
have been more important than Dieter Jäkel. “Ferdinand von
material goods, and as with any Hedin 1925/1996 Richthofen’s contributions to
history, there was change over My Life as an Explorer. Tr. Alfhild Chinese geology and geo-
time. Huebsch (New York, etc.: sciences.” Disiji yanjiu/Quaternary
Kodansha, 1996; first published Sciences 25/4 (2005): 409-431.
Daniel C. Waugh 1925, a translation from the
Swedish Mitt liv som upp- Le Coq 1928/1926
Professor Emeritus
University of Washington (Seattle) täcktsresande). Albert von Le Coq. Buried
[email protected] Treasures of Chinese Turkestan:
Hedin 1933 An Account of the Activities and
Acknowledgements Meister und Schüler. Ferdinand Adventures of the Second and
Freiherr von Richthofen an Sven Third German Turfan Expeditions.
I am grateful to Dr. Susan Hedin. Introd. and annot. by Sven Tr. Anna Barwell. London: Allen &
Whitfield, Director of the Hedin. Berlin: Reimer, 1933. Unwin, 1928 (German ed., 1926:
International Dunhuang Project, Auf Hellas Spuren in Ostturkistan).
for her suggestions, including Hedin 1936
some key bibliographical Sven Hedin. Sidenvägen. En Osterhammel 1987
references. Her expertise bilfärd genom Centralasien. Jürgen Osterhammel. “For-
concerning the evolution of the Stockholm: Bonniers, 1936 schungsreise und Kolonial-
concept of the Silk Road is far (English translation: The Silk programm. Ferdinand von
superior to mine. Prof. Dr. Road. New York: E. P. Dutton, Richthofen und die Erschließung
Hermann Kreutzmann of the Freie 1938; German translation: Die Chinas im 19. Jahrhundert.” In:
Universität Berlin, Dr. Helen Wang, Seidenstrasse. 10. Aufl. Leipzig: Archiv für Kulturgeschichte 69
Curator of East Asian Money in the Brockhaus, 1942; Japanese (1987): 150-195.
Department of Coins and Medals, translation: Chûô Ajia: Tanken
British Museum, and Dr. Philippe kikô zenshû. Tokyo, 1966). Parzinger 2005
Forêt of the Swiss Federal Institute Hermann Parzinger. “Ferdinand
of Technology (Zürich) have also Herrmann 1910 von Richthofen’s ‘Silk Roads’
provided me with valuable Albert Herrmann. Die alten Concept Reconsidered: About
suggestions. I am indebted to Seidenstrassen zwischen China Transfers,Transports and Trans-
Prof. Dr. Dr. Hermann Parzinger, und Syrien. Beiträge zur alten continental Interaction.” Un-
the President of the Deutsches Geographie Asiens. I. Abteilung. published paper presented at
Archäologisches Insitut, for Einleitung. Die chinesischen “Man and Environment in Central
sharing with me his unpublished Quellen. Zentralasien nach Sse- Asia. International Symposium in
paper, a version of which we shall ma Ts’ien und den Annalen der Honour of Ferdinand von
publish in a future number of this Han-Dynastie. Quellen und Richthofen, October 6-8, 2005.”
journal. Of course none of these Forschungen zur alten Geschichte
individuals bears any responsibility und Geographie. Heft 21. Berlin: Richthofen 1876
for errors of commission or Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, Ferdinand von Richthofen. “Über
omission in my article. 1910. den Seeverkehr nach und von

8
China im Altertum und Mittelalter.” jubilaeen/2005/richthofen.html>, locations more closely connected
Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft accessed November 6, 2007. with inland China.
für Erdkunde zu Berlin 1876: 86-
Waugh 2001 3. “Da er niemals über Elemen-
97.
Daniel C. Waugh, “A Sven Hedin tarkenntnisse der chinesischen
Richthofen 1877 Bibliography.” On-line at <http:// Sprache hinauskam, fehlten ihm
www.silkroadfoundation.org/ die Voraussetzungen für
Ferdinand von Richthofen. “Über
b i b l i o g ra p hy / h e d i n b 3 . h t m l > , sinologische Quellenstudien”
die zentralasiatischen Seiden-
accessed November 9, 2007. (Osterhammel 1987, p. 151).
strassen bis zum 2. Jh. n. Chr.”
Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft 4. A subsection of his discussion
Zögner 1998
für Erdkunde zu Berlin 1877: 96- beginning on p. 442 concerns the
122. Lothar Zögner. “Ferdinand von
Seidenhandel (silk trade),
Richthofen — Neue Sicht auf ein
anticipated in his earlier statement
Richthofen 1877-1912 altes Land,” In catalogue:
(p. 403): “Die Seide ist das
Ferdinand von Richthofen. China. Tsingtau. Ausstellung im
treibende Moment, welches durch
Ergebnisse eigener Reisen und Deutschen Historischen Museum
ein Jahrhundert den Verkehr
darauf gegründeter Studien. 5 vom 27. März bis 19. Juli 1998
aufrecht erhält.” “Mit der Seide
vols. Berlin: Reimer, 1877-1912; <http://www.dhm.de/
wanderte das Wort, mit dem die
here Vol. 1. ausstellungen/tsingtau/katalog/
Chinesen sie bezeichneten” (p.
auf1_4.htm>, accessed Novem-
443; also p. 474). His first use of
Richthofen 1908 ber 6, 2007.
the term “Silk Roads” is this:
Vorlesungen über Allgemeine “Ergänzende Nachrichten über
Notes
Siedlungs- und Verkehrsgeo- den westlichen Theil einer der
graphie. Ed. Otto Schlüter. Berlin: früheren Seidenstrassen erhalten
1. As Prof. Ulla Ehrensvärd pointed
Reimer, 1908. wir wiederum durch Marinus, die
out in her presentation at the
hier ganze seinem Berichterstatter
Stein 1933/1974 recent symposium “Sven Hedin
dem Agenten des Macedoniers
and Eurasia: Adventure,
Aurel Stein. On Ancient Central- Maës folgt ” (p. 496). After
Knowledge, and Geopolitics” (held
Asian Tracks: Brief Narrative of specifying Marinus’ route, he
in Stockholm, November 10,
Three Expeditions in Innermost makes it clear it was not the only
2007), Ritter’s cartographic
Asia and Northwestern China. one (“Die andere Strassen, welche
techniques were very influential in
London: Macmillan, 1933; reprints das Tarym-Becken in ver-
Berlin, were emulated by
1964, 1974 etc. schiedenen Richtungen durch-
Richthofen and, through him,
schnitten, kammen hier nicht in
Wang 2002 Hedin.
Betracht” [p. 497]; “Der Weg des
Helen Wang, ed. and introd. Sir 2. He delivered his lecture on the Agenten von Maës war einer der
Aurel Stein in The Times: a sea routes on May 6, 1876, half a damaligen Handellstrassen…Aber
collection of over 100 references year before he dated the preface es wäre ein Irrthum, sie für die
to Sir Aurel Stein and his to his China volume and sent it to einzige in jener Zeit, oder auch nur
extraordinary expeditions to the printer. A note indicates that für die wichtigste zu halten” [p.
Chinese Central Asia, India, Iran, the lecture is an excerpt from the 500]). He readily admits that new
Iraq and Jordan in The Times book, where the corresponding geographical discoveries may
newspaper 1901-1943. London: material begins on p. 503. make it possible to specify more
Eastern Art Pub., 2002. Richthofen begins his talk with a precisely the ancient routes: “Eine
brief consideration of the “Periplus sichere Aufklärung über den
Wang 2007 of the Erythraean Sea,” which of bisher betrachteten interessanten
Helen Wang. “Sir Aurel Stein, the course is well known for being the Theil des alten Seidenstrasse von
next generation.” In: Elizabeth first work to describe the impact Maës darf erwartet werden, wenn
Errington and Vesta Sarkhosh of the monsoon winds and Fedschenko einen Nachfolger
Curtis, eds. From Persepolis to the provides a detailed itinerary of the finden, und das ganze
Punjab: Exploring the Past in Iran, route from the Red Sea to the west Strassensystem jener Gegend
Afghanistan and Pakistan. coast of India, culminating in a eingehender untersucht worden
London: British Museum Press, mention China as a source of the sollte” (p. 500). His index contains
2007: 227-234. silk which comes overland to only a single (and erroneous) page
Bactria and to the Ganges. Most reference to “Seidenstrasse” and
Wardenga 2005 of the lecture is on the location of a crossreference to “Sererstrasse.”
Uta Wardenga. “Ferdinand von Ptolemy’s Kattigara, which The running head on p. 499 reads
Richthofen. Zum 100.Todestag am Richthofen argues must refer to a “Seidenstrasse des Marinus” even
6. Oktober 2005.” <http:// city in the Gulf of Tonkin. Earlier though there is nothing about it
www.uni-leipzig.de/campus2009/ scholars had posited other on the given page. The map facing

9
p. 500 delineates in red “die of the Western Lands. He 11. As Helen Wang indicates, in
Seidenstrasse des Marinus.” summarizes the argument in his order to fund their expeditions,
book concerning Han expansion they had to prove they were
5. As Helen Wang has reminded
and the evidence in the Chinese worthy of support, and get
me, Richthofen could have fleshed
annals that the southern route financial backing. The press picked
out his account with reference to
around the Tarim Basin antedated up on this. See for example, the
the An Lushan rebellion, which
in importance the northern one. illustration to Wang 2007, p. 230,
nearly toppled the Tang, and the
In support of the book’s in which the Illustrated London
Tibetan occupation of Central Asia.
arguments that the Western News of 30 January 1909 shows
6. “…So verlor sich doch im merchants might have taken more portraits of 15 “men who fill in the
Westen allmälig die Kunde von der direct route from Balkh through gaps, the great explorers of the
Existenz eines Volkes der Serer; the Pamirs, he cites in his paper moment,” with Stein at No.1 and
denn die Chinesen waren aus den new reports on explorations which Hedin at No.15.
Bazars verschwunden, der he had received while his book was
Seidenhandel zu Lande nahm 12. Even though he mentions
already in press.
wahrscheinlich bedeutend ab, und Richthofen in only one sentence,
gelangte in die Hände von Völkern, 8. “Die Seidenstrassen von China Hedin correctly pointed out that
die man unter ihren eigenen nach dem Römischen Reich,” in his mentor had used “Silk Road”
Namen kannte. Man fragte nicht Mitteilungen der Geographischen specifically in mapping the route
nach ihrem weiteren Ursprung und Gesellschaft in Wien 1915: 472ff. transmitted by Marinus of Tyre: “I
brauchte daher keine Serer (cited Herrmann 1938, p. 3 n. 2). texten till sitt berömda verk China,
mehr…” (p. 523). Note, of course, I, talar han om ‘Die Seidenstrasse’
9. See especially: http:// och på en karta om ‘die
that this is not an indication that
map.huhai.net/24.jpg and http:/ Seidenstrasse des Marinus’”
there was no silk trade what-
/map.huhai.net/37.jpg, the first (Hedin 1936, p. 310).
soever, but simply that it was no
showing the Han routes in Central
longer being carried by Chinese 13. I have in mind here the Silk
Asia; the second the situation in
merchants. Road Studies Program, based in
Central Asia ca. 660.
7. The 1877 presentation begins Uppsala, Sweden, a joint
with allusions to how recent 10. I owe the information about undertaking with the Johns
geographical discoveries were now the clippings on Hedin to Axel Hopkins University Central Asia-
making it possible and desirable Odelberg, who discussed his Caucasus Institute. See the
to re-examine the ancient texts in forthcoming biography of Hedin at website at <http://www.
order to identify places they the symposium mentioned above silkroadstudies.org/new/>,
mentioned. After a compact in n. 1. accessed November 9, 2007.
overview of the physical
geography of Inner Asia, he moves
quickly through nomadic
confrontations with sedentary
societies and then takes up trade,
in which the key product was silk.
He reviews briefly the earliest
mentions of silk, starting in
Chinese sources, and then focuses
on what he sees as the dramatic
consequences of Han expansion
into Inner Asia. While there is
evidence of silk getting to the West
Photo copyright © 1969 Daniel C. Waugh

and to India prior to the Han (via

Khotan), the advent of direct Han
trade across the Tarim Basin
beginning in 114 CE with the first
attested caravan, was a
quantitative leap. Direct trade
across Inner Asia was possible
historically only when a single
political power controlled much of
the route — obviously under the
Mongols, and to a lesser degree
during the period of Tang control
Fig. 1. A street in old Tbilisi.

10
Georgia: A Culinary Crossroads From the Black Sea, ships could
sail up the Phasis River (today’s
Rioni). Goods were then portaged
Darra Goldstein over the Likhi Range to the Kura
Williams College River Valley and on to Persia. By
Williamstown, Massachusetts (USA) the early Middle Ages Tiflis had
become a major stopover on the
medieval trade routes, a midpoint
A Brief History Thanks to its agricultural riches between Moslem East and
and long tradition of hospitality, Christian West [Fig. 2].
For centuries, the tiny nation of Georgia was an object of desire
Georgia has stood at the for many outsiders, not all of Tbilisi itself was founded in the
confluence of East and West. whom were good guests. fifth century when, according to
Geographically part of Asia, yet a legend, King Vakhtang Gorgaslani,
Christian nation, Georgia has The Georgians date the on a hunt near the Kura River,
historically looked more often to beginnings of their culture to the killed a pheasant, which he
the West — so much so, that the sixth century BCE. The ancient retrieved fully cooked from the hot
capital city of Tiflis (Tbilisi) was Greeks established colonies along springs where it had fallen.
once known as the Paris of the the Black Sea coast in a region Toasting his good fortune,
Caucasus. Lying athwart the major they called Colchis. In 66 BCE, Gorgaslani vowed to create a city
trade routes between East and when the Roman general Pompey on this auspicious site. He called
West, Tiflis maintained a grand invaded and brought the area it “Tbilis-kalaki” or “Warm City”
caravanserai where merchants under Roman rule, Greek control (hence the name “Tbilisi”; outside
could stable their animals, store came to an end, but the outposts
their wares, and themselves find in Colchis remained important Fig. 2. Map of Georgia. Copyright © by
shelter [Fig. 1, facing page]. links in the trade route to Persia. Paul J. Pugliese. Used by permission.

11
of Georgia, the city was known as century, the country was country, with its economy
Tiflis into the twentieth century). effectively split in two, with dependent upon the Soviet
Following a mid-seventh-century western Georgia falling under the system. Georgia’s citrus fruits,
invasion, Tiflis fell under Arab Turkish sphere of influence, and fresh vegetables, herbs, tea, and
control, and even though Georgia eastern Georgia politically part of wines found a ready market in
had accepted Christianity in the northwest Iran. Repeated attacks Russia and the other Soviet
fourth century, it remained a from the Persians, the Turks, and republics, and the Georgian
Moslem city-state. Only in the Moslem tribesmen in Dagestan to economy flourished. When the
ninth century, when the Bagrationi the north finally caused the Soviet system fell apart, the
dynasty came into power, did Georgians to turn to Russia for country suddenly experienced
Georgia begin to exert itself as a help. In 1783, King Irakli II, the severe economic distress,
strong Christian nation. Even so, beleaguered successor to the exacerbated by political conflicts
between the eighth and eleventh ancient Bagrationi dynasty, signed in the breakaway regions of
centuries Tiflis was controlled the Treaty of Georgievsk, which Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both
successively by Arabs, Khazars, acknowledged Russia’s sove- of which the Russians supported.
and Seljuks. reignty, and in 1801 Russia These conflicts led to civil unrest
incorporated Georgia into its in the early 1990s. By 1998, things
The early tenth century saw the
empire. The Russian presence in had quieted down, but in 2005,
rise of an independent feudal
Georgia lasted until 1918 when, just as the Georgian economy was
monarchy, and during the reign of
following the October Revolution, beginning to recover, Russia
David the Builder (1089-1125)
Georgia declared its inde- embargoed all Georgian agri-
Tiflis was finally freed from foreign
pendence. Although the two cultural products, including the
control. Under the rule of the great
countries had signed a non- Borzhomi mineral water that
queen Tamara (1184-1212),
interference treaty, in 1921 provided an important source of
Georgia experienced a renais-
Bolshevik troops invaded, and export revenue. In 2006 Russia
sance, a good two hundred years
once again Georgia was in- extended the embargo to
before Italy. During this time, the
corporated into its more powerful Georgian wines, claiming that they
Gelati Academy in the western
neighbor to the north, this time had been adulterated. This move
province of Imereti housed an
the Soviet Union. was, in fact, political, in retaliation
important school of philosophy
for Georgia’s desire to ally itself
and offered advanced teachings in
Until the dissolution of the Soviet with the West by seeking
astronomy, medicine, and music.
Union in 1991, Georgia existed as membership in NATO and the
In eastern Georgia, near Telavi,
a constituent republic of that European Union. The Russians
the arts and sciences were
assiduously pursued in the famous
academy at Ikalto, which included
the world’s first school devoted to
the serious study of wine.

As an important stopover on the

trade routes, Tiflis both benefited
and suffered from repeated waves
of migration and invasion. The
country’s brilliant renaissance
came to an end when the Mongols
invaded in the second quarter of
the thirteenth century. The Mongol
occupation lasted until the early
fourteenth century, after which
Georgia was ruled by Iranians and
then Turks, who gained
ascendance after the fall of
Constantinople in 1453. The
Georgians found themselves
trapped amidst the shifting politics
and allegiances of its neighbors;
only Armenia to the south, a
second island of Christianity in the After Kuznetsov 1983
Islamic world, presented no Fig. 3. Niko Pirosmani, Jackasses’ Bridge, a painting which depicts the
threat. By the late sixteenth Georgian love of dining al fresco, whether under a pergola or on a boat.

12
were further displeased the tart taste they prefer the
by the Baku-Tbilisi- Georgians more often stew

Photo copyright © 1993 Daniel C. Waugh

Ceyhan oil project and meat with sour plums or
the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum pomegranates than with
natural gas pipeline, both sweeter fruits like quince or
of which bypass Russian prunes. The prized Georgian
territory. Nevertheless, khinkali—the overstuffed
Russia’s attempts to boiled dumplings of the
control Georgia must be mountainous zones — reveal
seen in historical the culinary influence of
perspective, as the Central Asian Turks. Along
Russians are only the the Black Sea coast in
latest in a series of western Georgia, the stuffed
outsiders to covet this vegetable tolmas resemble
Fig. 4. The Caucasus Range, bordering Georgia
rich land. on the north, seen from Mt. Elbrus. Turkey’s various dolmas. But
the Georgians never
The Flavors of Georgia developed a taste for the
Remarkably, through all the The second myth tells that while elaborate oriental sweets from
invasions, sieges, and subju- God was creating the world, He Turkish, Persian, or Armenian
gations, Georgia has maintained wisely took a break for supper. But kitchens; instead, they limit
a strong national identity, a He happened to trip over the high dessert mainly to fresh fruits and
societal pride greater than peaks of the Caucasus range [Fig. nut preparations.
patriotism, akin to a religious 4], spilling a little of everything
Not yet fully documented is the
belief in the sacredness of the from His plate onto the land below.
kinship of Georgian food with that
earth and its ability to sustain. This And so it was that Georgia came
to be blessed with such riches, of northern India. The cor-
devout relationship to their
respondences in culinary ter-
surroundings existed long before table scraps from Heaven. In fact,
minology between contemporary
the Georgians accepted Christ- the agricultural bounty of this
small country is exceptional, and Georgian and Hindi are especially
ianity. Two creation myths often
notable in a language like
retold at the feast table capture even today 50 percent of the
Georgian, which is not even Indo-
the mix of reverence and population is engaged in some sort
of farming. It is not surprising that European but South Caucasian, an
irreverence that characterizes the
entirely separate linguistic group.
Georgian attitude toward life [Fig. the early Greeks called the
The Georgian word for bread, like
3, facing page]. As one myth goes, Georgians georgos, “those who
the Hindi, is puri; and the
the first Georgians were seated work the land,” whence our English
under a pergola at a table laden term derives.
with wine and food. So engrossed
were they in feasting on grilled The presence of so many outside
lamb with plum sauce and garlicky rulers and visitors inevitably
roasted eggplant that they missed introduced foreign ways into
God’s deadline for choosing a Georgia, including certain in-
country, so the world was divided fluences on the cuisine. Georgian
up without them. His task food is reminiscent of both
complete, God set off for home, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern
only to find the Georgians still tastes, the result of a rich interplay
merrily toasting and singing. God of culinary ideas carried along the
stopped to reproach them for their trade routes by merchants and
negligence, but the tamada, the travelers alike. Yet the Georgians
toastmaster, remained uncon- did not adopt all the culinary
cerned. They had spent their time practices that came their way, and
well, he explained, thanking God today Georgian cuisine remains
After Chiaureli 1984

in lavish toasts for having created distinct, particularly in its

such a magnificent world. Pleased extensive use of walnuts [Fig. 5].
that the Georgians had not Some borrowed practices are
forgotten Him, God rewarded easily recognizable, of course. The
them with the very last spot on pilafs of southeastern Georgia
earth, the one He had been saving echo those of neighboring Iran, Fig. 5. A woman making churchkhela
for Himself. And so it was that the and the meats simmered with fruit by stringing walnuts and dipping them
Georgians came to live in are similar to variations of Persian repeatedly into concentrated fresh
paradise. khoresh (stew), though to yield grape juice to form a confection.

13
Georgians use a clay oven, the predominate over pine nuts and Kartli, the eastern province in
toné, for baking bread and almonds. So well loved are which the capital city of Tbilisi is
roasting, much as Indians of the walnuts that many standard located, is known for its orchard
Punjab use the tandoor. The dishes prepared without nuts, fruits, especially apples and
Georgian tapha, a special pan for such as the spicy beef soup peaches, the best of which come
making the succulent Chicken kharcho or the chicken stew from the environs of Gori, where
Tabaka that is so emblematic of chakhokhbili, often include Stalin was born. The local markets
Georgian cuisine, is related to the walnuts in their western Georgian abound with seasonal golden lady
cast-iron skillet or tava of northern renditions. Freshly pressed walnut apples, pink gooseberries, red and
India. And curry blends find their oil provides a necessary sup- black currants, many varieties of
counterpart in khmeli-suneli, plement of fat (including a healthy plums — sweet and sour; purple,
Georgia’s aromatic seasoning dose of Omega-3s), as do the rich yellow, green, and red — apricots,
mixture, though a typical blend of suluguni and imeruli cow’s milk pears, berries, sweet cherries, and
khmeli-suneli is based more on cheeses used in place of butter sour shindi or cornelian cherries,
herbs than on spices. It includes with cornbread. the juice of which Georgian
ground coriander, basil, dill, warriors once drank before battle
summer savory, parsley, mint, Regional Variations to fortify their blood. Mounds of
fenugreek, bay leaf, and marigold, dried fruits and locally grown
which turns foods a deep yellow, walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts
as does curry’s turmeric. Stretching as it does from the are available year round.
Black Sea nearly all the way to the
But differences often reveal Caspian, the Republic of Georgia Georgian dishes evolved
more than similarities. What most is remarkably diverse, with naturally from the produce
distinguishes Georgian cuisine numerous climatic zones, from the available, and traditional methods
from that of its neighbors is the mountainous to the subtropical. of preparation have hardly
use of walnuts, not merely as The Likhi Range running north to changed over the years; high tech
garnish, but as an integral south effectively divides the does not yet have a solid place in
component in a wide variety of country in half. Western Georgia, the Georgian kitchen. To an
dishes. To offset what might bordering on the Black Sea, extraordinary degree, Georgians
otherwise be a cloying richness endures high precipitation and still integrate the outdoors into
from the nuts, many recipes call steamy temperatures. Here tea their lives when they cook and eat.
for a souring agent. Yogurt and citrus fruits thrive. Eastward Whether gathered on a city
(matsoni), pungent cheese, and the climate grows progressively balcony for a formal meal or by
immature wine (machari) often drier, until sere Central Asian the roadside for an impromptu
serve as counterpoints to ground winds buffet the plateaus to the picnic, Georgians consider al
walnuts; vinegar or fruit juices and east of the Likhi chain. This hot, fresco dining the best way to eat,
fruit leathers similarly lend dry atmosphere produces the lush a chance to appreciate nature
balance. The ground and dried stone fruits and grapes of the while consuming its gifts. Although
petals of marigold, known as Kartli and Kakheti provinces. The the ancients considered grilling
Imeretian saffron, lend an earthy boundary between East and West the most primitive of cooking
depth to Georgian dishes and set is also visible in the relative degree methods, and boiling the most
them apart from those of other of spiciness to the food. Eastern refined, grilling remains a
culinary cultures. For instance, Georgians prefer a cool, fresh preferred way to cook meats in
cinnamon and vinegar regularly taste, thanks in part to their hot, Georgia — a legacy, perhaps, of
flavor meat in the Georgian diet, arid summers, while western the Promethean legend
just as they do in Middle Eastern Georgians add generous amounts (Prometheus is said to have given
cuisines, but marigold rather than of fresh and dried hot pepper to fire to mankind when he was
true saffron adds the distinctive their food. A second difference lies chained to a rock on Mount Elbrus
touch. in the western Georgian in the Caucasus). A second
preference for corn over wheat. standard method of preparing
Other differences are visible in Here mchadi or corncakes are food is by slow cooking, and
the staple foods. Where Persian prepared instead of puri. As is Georgian cuisine has an extensive
cooks turn to rice and Armenians evident from their reliance on such repertoire of soups and stews. The
use bulgur, Georgians rely on ingredients as corn, peppers, and heat remaining in the toné after
wheat and corn. And instead of the beans, western Georgian cooks bread baking is used for dishes like
legumes typically found in the put New World crops to good use. purnis mtsvadi, lamb braised
Middle East and the Mediterranean Another New World transplant, the slowly in a clay pot.
— lentils, chickpeas, and favas — tomato, is highly appreciated by
Georgians favor kidney beans, like eastern and western Georgians Perhaps the single most
corn a New World crop. Walnuts alike. important implement in the

14
Georgian kitchen is a mortar and railroad

After Khromchenko 1987

pestle for grinding nuts and worker who
spices. Although many affluent p a i n t e d
families now have food signboards
processors, the best Georgian in exchange
cooks swear by labor-intensive for food and
hand grinding, since it yields the drink, was
finest texture. In western Georgia, known as
chkmeruli (fried chicken) and the “Geor-
corncakes are baked in special red gian Rous-
clay dishes called ketsi, which seau” for his
range in diameter from six to fanciful
twelve inches. The use of ketsi is animals and
another way in which the naïve de-
Georgians continue to practice pictions of
time-honored cooking methods. everyday
This technique can be traced back moments in
to the ancient Egyptians, who city and
stacked earthenware pots filled country life. Fig. 7. Elena Akhvlediani, Tbilisi Dukhan, 1970s.
with food atop one another to seal Pirosmani’s scenes of feasting and tables both cultivated and wild.
in moisture — creating an oven, carousals capture both the Over one hundred varieties of such
in effect — before baking the food exuberance and solemnity of wild greens as sarsaparilla,
over an open fire. these occasions. Other artists of nettles, mallow, ramp, and
the early twentieth-century purslane are still gathered in
The pull of tradition is visible not Georgian avant-garde, such as season and prepared in a
only in the culinary arts but also Lado Gudiashvili, display a less surprising number of ways —
in paintings by some of Georgia’s sunny sensibility. His paintings of cooked, marinated, dried for
most celebrated artists. Niko men awaiting a bowl of tripe soup seasoning, or steeped in water for
Pirosmanashvili (Pirosmani), a (khashi) or eyeing some freshly a nutritious drink. But above all,
caught fish (tso- the Georgians enjoy their greens
tskhali) offer a fresh, and no Georgian table is
After Gudiashvili 1984

glimpse into a dark, complete without a large platter

mysterious world of leafy cilantro, dill, tarragon,
[Fig. 6]. During the parsley, basil, summer savory, and
Soviet era, artists peppery tsitsmati or falseflax
like Elena Akhvle- (Camelina sativa, similar to
diani painted nos- arugula). Often there is also
talgic portraits of a dzhondzholi (Colchis bladdernut,
leisurely way of life Staphylea colchica), an edible
that was fast dis- ornamental plant with long stems
appearing [Fig. 7]. of tightly furled, beadlike tendrils
redolent of garlic. The greens,
The Georgian Table which are rich in nutrients, provide
Throughout most of a refreshing counterpoint to the
Georgia’s history, heavier foods in the meal.
meat was a luxury,
and so the Geor- These foods are washed down
gians took great with wine and local mineral waters
advantage of the like Borzhomi and Nabeghlavi,
indigenous fruits, which have long been touted for
vegetables, and their health benefits. To diners
herbs. The bulk of used to the mild taste of Perrier
the Georgian culin- or Pellegrino, these waters seem
ary repertoire is heavy and salty (so much so, that
made up of pre- Borzhomi is now bottling a
parations for vege- “Borzhomi Light”), but Georgians
and Russians have traditionally put
Fig. 6. Lado Gudiashvili, them to therapeutic use in
Tsotskhali (Fresh Fish), addition to serving them at table.
1924. Certain foods are also considered

15
 a glass of wine. Georgians do not
Fig. 8. Lado Gudiashvili,
Khashi, 1919. sip, and drinking out of order or
at random is not allowed. A
merikipe is appointed to make
The rules for
sure that diners’ glasses are filled
commensal cele-
at all times [Fig. 9].
bration are strict.
Most important, a The rules of the Georgian table
tamada or toast- call for uplifting toasts, so that
master is chosen to each occasion, even a sad one,
orchestrate all but becomes an affirmation of life.
the most informal Traditionally, toasting begins with
meals. (This practice glasses raised heavenward in
may have evolved acknowledgment of God’s
from the ancient presence. Then the host family is
Greek custom of toasted, particularly the lady of
choosing a sympos- the house responsible for the
iarch to guide the meal. The tamada’s ability to pace
progression of the the evening is crucial. Each time
feast.) The role of a toast is pronounced, whether by
After Gudiashvili 1984
the tamada is taken the tamada or someone else, wine
very seriously, and is drunk as a mark of honor. But if
he is accorded great inebriation seems likely, the
respect, for it re- tamada must slow down the
quires skill to keep succession of toasts. The
all the guests en- traditional meal is punctuated by
tertained, ensure breaks for entertainment, often a
that the meal is capella singing, a holdover from
especially nutritious. Khashi, a proceeding apace, and see to it medieval patterns of feasting
much-loved tripe soup (and that no one drinks or eats to when entremets were actual
favored hangover remedy), is excess, as drunken guests bring diversions.
frequently prescribed for digestive shame on the host. The best
problems [Fig. 8]. Nadugi, the tamadas are renowned for their Given such ritualized drinking,
delicious whey derived from cow’s wit and eloquence, including an the apparent chaos of the food
milk and often served mixed with ability to improvise. The tamada service may seem surprising.
fresh herbs, is virtually fat-free guides the company through a Courses are not always presented
and is considered a sclerosis series of toasts, which can be brief in the fixed order of the service à
preventative. or complex. Each calls for downing la russe that western Europeans,

Food is only one component of

the Georgian feast, however. A
formal Georgian meal, or supra,
is a ritual affair that calls for the
skillful exercise of moderation in
the face of excess — no small feat,
considering the meal’s courtesies
and extravagances. The shared
table is meant, above all, to
promote a feeling of kinship and
national unity. Centuries of
gathering around the table to
affirm longstanding traditions
have helped the Georgians
After Kuznetsov 1983

preserve their culture even under

foreign subjugation. The supra
represents the collective public
face the Georgians proudly
present to the world even as it
reflects the honor of an individual
household. Fig. 9. Niko Pirosmani, Carousal. The loaves on the table are shoti,
baked in the toné. A traditional wineskin is visible in the foreground.

16
and later Americans, adopted in yield distinctive wines of a lovely,
the nineteenth century, and which deep amber hue and a raisiny
still prevails in Europe and America taste with a hint of Madeira.
today. By contrast, the Georgian
style of service is intended to Traditionally, wine was made in
dazzle the eye and pique the large, red clay amphorae known
palate through contrasting colors, as kvevri [Figs. 10, 11]. Nearly
textures, and flavors. When diners every Georgian country household

After Kakabadze 1984

sit down to eat, the table is already has a marani, a place where the
laid with a wide variety of dishes. temperature remains cool and
As the meal progresses, the steady. Here the kvevris are
hostess does not remove serving buried up to their necks in the
plates that still contain food but earth. If the house lacks an
rather continues to pile new dishes earthen cellar, the kvevri are
on the table, balancing some on Fig. 10. A newly fired kvevri in the kiln.
buried directly in the ground
the edges of others, so that by the outdoors. To make wine by the
end of the evening the table is Georgia in the fourth century. Kakhetian method, the freshly
laden with a pyramid of plates, Bearing a cross plaited of dried crushed juice, along with the
ensuring plenty at every stage. vines and tied with her own hair, skins, stems, and seeds, is poured
Saint Nino seemed to represent into the buried amphorae and
Georgian Wine divine approval for the wine- stirred four or six times a day for
If food is the heart of the Georgian making that had been practiced three to five months. The resulting
feast, then its spirit resides in for centuries. The new wine is called
machari. When the

After Chiarulei 1984

wine. For a Georgian, wine evokes vine and the cross
both culture and community. became inextricably wine has achieved
Based on evidence of grape pips entwined, each an the desired degree of
unearthed from archeological object of devotion. fermentation, it is
sites, viticulture is an ancient art drawn off from the
in Georgia, practiced as early as The center of wine lees. If produced
the fourth millennium BCE. growing in Georgia is commercially, the
Scientists believe that the species Kakheti, in the wine is transferred to
Vitis vinifera, the original wine eastern half of the oak barrels to age for
grape, is native to the Caucasus country. The region at least a year, but
region, and many linguists is known for its homemade wine is
consider the Georgian word for traditional method of usually ladled by
wine, ghvino, the prototype for winemaking, which means of a special
such Indo-European variations as differs considerably long-handled gourd
vino, vin, wine, Wein. The grape from standard Euro- from the first kvevri
vine symbolizes life and faith, a pean practices (be- into smaller ones for
belief that Saint Nino of cause it is so labor Fig. 12. A wine vessel from aging. These kvevris
Cappadocia adapted to Christian intensive, it is dying Bombori. Bronze, 2nd c. BCE. are topped with a
doctrine when she introduced it to out as a commercial process). wooden lid, then sealed with mud.
After the grapes are crushed, the Dirt is mounded all around the lid
Fig. 11. Niko Pirosmani, Two juice is fermented together with to keep air out, lest it spoil the
Georgians with a kvevri. the skins, stems, and seeds to wine. Whenever wine is taken off
from a kvevri in any quantity, the
remainder is transferred to
After Kuznetsov 1983

progressively smaller vessels.

Some Georgian families still use

special vessels to bring wine to
table, such as the chapi, a two-
handled jug with a squat neck and
bulbous body tapering to a narrow
base. From this transitional vessel
the wine is poured into a variety
of other containers intended either
for pouring or drinking [Fig. 12].
Quite common are a single-
handled pitcher and the more

17
elaborate “mother jug” (deda- disappeared or been restyled for exploring ways in which food can
khelada) composed of a central the notoriously sweet Russian be used to promote tolerance and
pitcher with several smaller palate. diversity, and under her editorship
pitchers affixed to the sides, like the volume Culinary Cultures of
a mother with numerous breasts. That a small country with a Europe: Identity, Diversity and
shattered infrastructure should Dialogue was published in 2005 to
The most widespread red wine place its hopes on fairly traditional, commemorate the 50th anni-
grape of Georgia is Saperavi, organic agriculture in the twenty- versary of the signing of the
which, depending on its treat- first century is noteworthy, and in European Cultural Convention.
ment, can yield wines ranging the wake of the Russian Goldstein has also consulted for
from the dry to the semi-sweet. embargoes, the US government the Russian Tea Room and Firebird
For white wines, the indigenous has stepped in to help. In restaurants in New York and is
Rkatsiteli grape makes nicely particular, the AgVANTAGE currently Food Editor of Russian
acidic wines with a fresh, green program, funded by USAID, is Life magazine. She serves on the
taste. Both varietals predominate helping producers find new Board of Directors of the
in Kakheti’s Alazani River Valley, markets in Europe and the United International Association of
which lies between the high peaks States to make up for the loss of Culinary Professionals and is
of the Greater Caucasus to the exports to Russia. The govern- General Editor of California Studies
northeast and the foothills of the ment consultants are focusing in Food and Culture (University of
Tsiv-Gombori Range to the primarily on Georgian wines, for California Press), a book series
southeast. They are made into which they believe significant that seeks to broaden the
wines bearing such controlled demand can be created abroad. audience for serious scholarship in
appellations as Mukuzani, Hazelnuts are also being promoted food studies and to celebrate food
Kindzmarauli, and Tsinandali. for export, as the best Georgian as a means of understanding the
Today, artisanal producers like varieties are deeper in flavor than world. She may be contacted at
Mildiani make some extraordinary those grown in the Italian <[email protected]>.
wines that blend ancient traditions Piedmont. The challenge will be for
with modern technology. the Georgians to find ways to
compete successfully in the global A Glossary of Georgian Foods
Georgian Food Today marketplace while still keeping
Throughout the Soviet era, the their rich traditions intact. Adzhapsandali: a vegetable
population of Georgia remained medley, like a spicy ratatouille.
stable at around 5 million people. Adzhapsandali contains eggplant,
About the Author potato, onion, tomoatoes, green
Even Georgians who traveled
abroad for work or study generally pepper, cloves, and copious
Darra Goldstein is Francis
chose to return to their homeland, amounts of fresh herbs.
Christopher Oakley Third Century
so strong was the pull of tradition. Professor of Russian at Williams Adzhika: the favorite Georgian
All of this has changed over the College and Founding Editor of condiment made from fresh hot
past fifteen years, as Georgia Gastronomica: The Journal of Food chile peppers, ranging in
experienced civil unrest and and Culture. A Ph.D. from Stanford consistency from a thick paste to
economic pressure. As a result, University, she has published a liquid relish like salsa. It is a
the current population of Georgia numerous books and articles on classic accompaniment to grilled
is now closer to only 4 million. One Russian literature, culture, art, meats.
outcome of this unprecedented and cuisine, and has organized
diaspora is that many émigrés Buglama: a Kahketian specialty
several exhibitions, including
have opened restaurants in cities made from beef, veal, or fish
Graphic Design in the Mechanical
throughout Europe, the United layered with tomatoes, onions,
Age and Feeding Desire: Design
States, and the Middle East, and and fresh herbs, then steamed
and the Tools of the Table, 1500-
Georgian cuisine is slowly and served with rice.
2005, at the Cooper-Hewitt,
becoming more well known. National Design Museum. She is Chacha: a very strong grappa-like
Within Georgia itself, a new also the author of four cookbooks: liquor made from grape pomace.
generation is working to overcome A Taste of Russia (nominated for
the problems that still plague the Chakapuli: a liquidy, slow-cooked
a Tastemaker Award), The
country after so many years of stew usually made with lamb or
Georgian Feast (winner of the
dependence on Russia. Following kid. The meat is stewed with dry
1994 IACP Julia Child Award for
decades of Soviet-style industrial white wine, tkemali sauce, and
Cookbook of the Year), The Winter
farming, activists are working to bunches of tarragon, parsley,
Vegetarian, and Baking Boot
establish sustainable agricultural mint, dill, and cilantro.
Camp at the CIA. She has
practices and are reviving the consulted for the Council of Europe Chakhokhbili: chicken simmered
legendary wines that had either as part of an international group with vegetables and herbs until

18
tender, with no extra liquid added. morning, preferably between six walnuts are added. Mkhali is made
Georgian girls were once deemed and eight a.m. following a night from any number of different
marriageable according to their of heavy drinking. vegetables; spinach and beets are
ability to cut up chicken for this the most popular.
Khinkali: Large dumplings made
dish. The most traditional recipes
with a variety of fillings. In the Mtsvadi: skewers of plain, freshly
call for seventeen precise pieces.
mountainous regions the choice is slaughtered lamb, beef, or pork,
Chanakhi: an aromatic stew of usually ground lamb, but else- what we know as shish kebab. If
meat and vegetables braised where the filling is more often a the meat is not tender, it can be
slowly in a clay pot to deepen and mixture of beef and pork. The marinated overnight before
meld the flavors. dumplings may also be stuffed grilling, in which case it is known
with cheese or greens. Khinkali as basturma.
Churchkhela: a long string of are served hot, with no garnish
nuts that have been repeatedly other than coarsely ground black Pelamushi: a dessert made by
dipped in concentrated fresh pepper. The doughy topknot is mixing concentrated grape juice
grape juice to form a confection. never consumed but used as a with cornmeal. The thickened
Churchkhela is made with walnuts handle for holding the hot cornmeal is cut into brilliant purple
or hazelnuts, either from whole dumplings. diamonds.
nuts or halves.
Khmeli-suneli: an herb and spice Satsivi: the renowned Georgian
Kartuli puri: An elongated oval mixture typically containing nut sauce, served with poultry,
loaf of bread baked in the toné. ground dried coriander seed, fish, or vegetables. Ground
Kartuli puri is thicker in the center ground celery seed, dried basil, dill walnuts are mixed with garlic,
than at the edges, so that lovers parsley, fenugreek summer cinnamon, cloves, coriander seed,
of both crust and chewy interior savory, bay leaf, and mint. Ground marigold, pepper, cayenne, and
can enjoy their favorite textures. dried marigold petals are often vinegar, and stock. After the sauce
Khachapuri: a cheese bread added as well. has cooked, the prepared poultry,
found throughout Georgia in many fish, or meat is immersed in it,
Lobio: The Georgian word for then allowed to cool to room
guises — round, rectangular, and beans, either fresh or dried. Lobio
boat-shaped. The dough can be temperature, which thickens the
also refers to an aromatic salad, sauce and gives the dish its name
yeasty with a thick crust, many- usually made from dried kidney
layered and flaky, or tender and (the root -tsiv means “cold”).
beans, that is prepared in dozens
cakelike. The bread is usually filled of ways: moistened with herb Suluguni: the most widely used
with a fresh, slightly sour cheese vinaigrette, seasoned simply with Georgian cheese, made from
like imeruli (Imeretian) or butter and eggs, or mixed with cow’s milk. Suluguni is usually sold
suluguni, but salted cheeses like lettuce and celery. The classic in large rounds up to a foot in
bryndza may also be used, as long recipe calls for mixing the beans diameter, but for special occasions
as they are soaked first. The with tkemali, the tangy plum it is prepared in flat, individual
cheese is grated and mixed with sauce. disks that can be thinly rolled.
eggs to bind, with butter added if
it is not creamy enough. The filling Masharabi: a sour pomegranate Tabaka: partially boned young
is then either completely enclosed syrup for flavoring stews. Fresh chicken that is flattened, then fried
in dough or baked in an open- pomegranate juice is cooked with under a heavy weight. The name
faced pie. Khachapuri is some- cinnamon, cloves, and a little comes from the traditional heavy
times topped with a barely baked sugar until thick. skillet or tapha that is used.
egg. Aficionados seek out the Matsoni: Yogurt. Georgian yogurt Tabaka is usually served with
boat-shaped adzharuli khachapuri is some of the best in the world, tkemali sauce.
or Adzharian cheese bread from whether made from cow’s milk or Tkemali (Prunus divaricata): a
Batumi on the Black Sea coast. the even richer water buffalo milk. sour plum that grows throughout
Kharcho: a thick soup made from Matsoni is never gelatinous and is Georgia. The word also refers to
beef, lamb, chicken, or sometimes pleasantly tart. the sauce made from this plum,
vegetable stock. All versions Mchadi: Western Georgian which is used as a seasoning in
contain a special mixture of the corncakes, traditionally baked in soups, stews, and vegetable
spice blend khmeli-suneli, a liberal a ketsi or clay pot over an open dishes and also as a condiment for
dose of herbs, and a souring agent fire. Because mchadi are bland grilled meats. Tkemali sauce is
such as fruit leather, tkemali and dry, they are perfect for piquant yet slightly sweet. It is
sauce, or vinegar. sopping up sauce from flavorsome served fresh or preserved for
stews. winter keeping.
Khashi: Georgia’s best-loved
soup, made from tripe. It is Mkhali (or pkhali): a vegetable Tklapi: dried fruit leather, made
traditionally eaten early in the puree to which herbs and ground by boiling tkemali or sour plums,

19
then pureeing them and spreading Georgian.” Annual of the Society Volkova and Dzhhavakhishvili
the puree into a sheet to dry. for the Study of Caucasia 1(1989): 1982
Tklapi is an excellent souring 22-40. N. G. Volkova and G.N.
agent for soups and stews — less Dzhhavakhishvili. Bytovaia
astringent than vinegar, more Kakabadze 1984
kul’tura Gruzii XIX-XX vekov:
flavorful than tomatoes. Fruit Alde Kakabadze. Sovremennaia traditsii i innovatsii (The culture of
leather is also made from sweeter gruzinskaia keramika (Contem- everyday life of Georgia in the 19th
fruits like apricots and peaches, porary Georgian ceramics). and 20th centuries: traditions and
in which case it is intended for Moscow: Sovetskii khudozhnik, innovations). Moscow: Nauka,
eating out of hand rather than 1984. 1982.
cooking.
Khromchenko 1987
References S. M. Khromchenko. E. Akhvle- Recipes
Allen 1971 diani: Izbrannye proizvedeniia.
Moscow: Sovetskii khudozhnik, Khachapuri
W.E.D. Allen. A History of the 1987. 2 cups unbleached white flour
Georgian People, 2nd ed. New York: 1/2 teaspoon salt
Barnes and Noble, 1971. Kikvidze 1988 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold
Burney and Lang 1972 Kikvidze, Ia.A. Zemledelie i butter, cut in pieces
Charles Burney and David Marshall zemledel’cheskii kul’t v drevnei 2 eggs
Lang. The Peoples of the Hills: Gruzii: po arkheologicheskim 1/4 cup plain yogurt
Ancient Ararat and Caucasus. New materialam (Agriculture and the 1 1/4 pounds mixed Muenster and
York: Praeger, 1972. agricultural cult in ancient Georgia Havarti cheeses
according to archaeological 1 egg yolk, beaten
Dzhikia 1978 materials). Tbilisi: Metsniereba, Put the flour and salt in a medium
N. P. Dzhikia. Kul’tura pitaniia 1988. bowl and cut in the butter until the
gruzinskikh gortsev (The food mixture resembles coarse
culture of Georgian hill peoples). Kuznetsov 1987 cornmeal. Beat 1 egg and stir in
Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1978. Erast Kuznetsov. Niko Pirosmani. the yogurt, then add to the flour
Chardin 1689 Leningrad: Aurora Art Publishers, mixture. Form into a ball and chill
1983. for 1 hour.
Chardin, Sir John. The Travels of
Sir John Chardin into Persia and Mars and Altman 1987 Grate the cheeses coarsely, beat
the East-Indies, Through the Black the other egg, and stir it into the
Gerald Mars and Yochanan
Sea and the Country of Colchis. cheese. Set aside.
Altman, “Alternative mechanism of
London, 1689. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease
distribution in a Soviet economy.”
Chelebi 1834 In: Constructive Drinking: a large baking sheet. On a floured
Perspectives on Drink from board roll the dough to a rectangle
Chelebi, Evliya. Narrative of
Anthropology, ed. Mary Douglas. about 12 x 17 inches. Trim the
Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa
Cambridge: Cambridge University edges. Spread the cheese mixture
in the Seventeenth Century. Trans.
Press, 1987: 270-279. on half the dough and then fold
The Ritter Joseph von Hammer.
the other half over to enclose it,
London, 1834.
Pokhlebkin 1978 sealing and crimping the edges.
Chiaureli 1984 Pokhlebkin, V.V. Nationional’nye Transfer the bread to the baking
V. Chiaureli. Gruzinskoe vino kukhni nashikh narodov (National sheet and brush with beaten egg
(Georgian wine). Tbilisi: Merani, cuisines of our peoples). Moscow: yolk. Bake for 50 minutes, or until
1984. Pishchevaia promyshlennost’, browned. The bread is best served
Dumas 1859 1978. slightly warm, cut into small
squares.
Dumas, Alexandre. Le Caucase; Sulakvelidze 1959
depuis Prométhée jusqu’à Serves 12 to 15.
Tamara Sulakvelidze. Gruzinskie
Chamyll. Paris, 1859.
bliuda (Georgian dishes). Tbilisi:
Gudiashvili 1984 Gruzinskoe ministerstvo torgovli, Beet Puree (Charkhlis mkhali)
Lado Gudiashvili. Edited by Moisei 1959. 1 pound beets
Kagan. Leningrad: Aurora Art 1/2 cup shelled walnuts
Suny 1988 3 garlic cloves, peeled
Publishers, 1984.
Ronald Grigor Suny. The Making 1/2 teaspoon salt
Holisky 1989 of Modern Georgia. Bloomington, 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Dee Ann Holisky. “The Rules of the IN: Indiana University Press, 1/2 cup chopped parsley
Supra or How to Drink in 1988. Freshly ground black pepper

20
1/4 teaspoon dried summer Tkemali 1/2 cup shelled walnuts
savory 1 1/2 pounds plums (not too sweet 4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander or ripe) 1 1/2 cups finely chopped cilantro
seed 1/4 cup water 1 1/2 cups finely chopped mixed
1 or 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar 3/4 teaspoon whole coriander parsley, dill, basil, tarragon
(to taste) seed 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
Bake the unpeeled beets at 375ºF. 1 teaspoon fennel seed (including green part)
for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until tender. 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon
(If you are short of time, the beets roughly chopped juice
may be boiled, but their flavor will 1 teaspoon cayenne 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
not be as good.) While the beets 1/2 teaspoon salt Freshly ground black pepper
are roasting, in a food processor 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh Dash cayenne
grind together the walnuts, garlic, mint 1 cup walnut oil
and salt. Add the cilantro and 1/3 cup finely minced cilantro Soak the apricot leather in the
parsley and continue grinding to Cut the plums in half and remove boiling water until soft; stir until a
make a fine paste. Transfer to a the pits. Place in a saucepan with puree is formed.
bowl. the water and bring to a boil. Grind the walnuts and the garlic
When the beets are soft, peel Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, together in a food processor, being
them and finely grate them in the or until soft. careful not to grind them to a
food processor. In a medium bowl In a mortar with a pestle, pound sticky paste. Next, add the apricot
mix together the grated beets and together the coriander seed, puree, the herbs, scallions, lemon
the ground walnut mixture, then fennel seed, garlic, cayenne, and juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne,
stir in the remaining ingredients. salt to make a fine paste. and blend together. In a slow,
Keep tasting, as the amount of steady stream, while the motor is
When the plums are soft, put them
vinegar needed will depend on the running, add the walnut oil to form
through a food mill and return to
sweetness of the beets. The a thick sauce.
a clean pan. Bring to a boil and
mkhali should be slightly tart. Allow to rest at room temperature
cook over medium heat, stirring,
Chill in the refrigerator for at least for 3 minutes. Stir in the ground for a couple of hours before
2 hours, but bring to room spices and continue cooking until serving. This sauce will keep,
temperature before serving, the mixture thickens slightly, tightly covered and refrigerated,
mounded on a plate and cross- another 5 minutes or so. Stir in for several days. Bring to room
hatched on top with a knife. the minced mint and cilantro and temperature before using.
Serves 6. remove from the heat. Pour into a Makes 2 cups.
jar while still hot. Either cool to
Basturma room temperature and keep in the Article and recipes adapted from
2 cups pomegranate juice refrigerator, or seal the jar for Darra Goldstein, The Georgian
1/4 cup olive oil longer storage. Feast: The Vibrant Culture and
1 teaspoon salt Makes 1 pint. Savory Food of the Republic of
Freshly ground black pepper Georgia (Berkeley: University of
1 bay leaf, crushed Cilantro Sauce (Kindzis California Press, 1999). Used by
2 garlic cloves, peeled and satsebela) permission.
crushed 2 ounces apricot fruit leather
2 pounds boneless shoulder or leg 1/4 cup boiling water
of lamb, cut into 2-inch cubes
Photo © 1969 Daniel C. Waugh

One 1-pound eggplant, salted,

drained, and parboiled (op-
tional)
Mix together the pomegranate
juice, olive oil, salt, pepper to
taste, bay leaf, and garlic.
Marinate the lamb overnight in this
mixture. The following day, place
the meat on skewers, alternating
with eggplant cubes, if desired.
Grill over hot coals for about 10 Ananuri, on the
minutes. Serve with tkemali or Georgian Military
cilantro sauce. Highway north of
Serves 4 to 6. Tbilisi

21
Food, Medicine and the Silk Road: The Mongol-
era Exchanges
Paul D. Buell
Center for East Asian Studies, Western Washington University
Bellingham (USA)

The Mongols are known for their system. For a brief moment China, may believe John Carswell,
restructuring much of Eurasia in the Middle East, and the West became popular precisely because
their particular political mode, were united medically. They even porcelain dishes were ideal for
even when elements of it were used some of the same recipes, consuming the new soupy dishes
borrowed and reinterpreted. They including a few attributed to the introduced by the Mongols. The
also had an immense cultural great Greek masters — usually fact that blue was the Mongol
impact as well. This ranged from mentioned by name, even in imperial color was merely icing on
art styles to the complex hat and distant China. Physicians in almost the cake.
associated hair styles known as the entire Mongol world order got
boqta, which even reached used to speaking about the body Most popular among China’s
European high society. The in more or less the same terms early food borrowings from the
Mongols carried art styles rather and even using generally the same West were various bread foods
than originated them, but they set interventions, including surgical. and dumplings, including the
the style for much of Eurasia. They relatives of the ubiquitous
added many loan words in an Food jiaozi raviolis of today, but
incredible variety of languages. also apparently including the buns
Some of these latter were spoken Food exchanges among the now known as mantou (Buell
far beyond any area of direct cultures of Eurasia were nothing 1999, pp. 216-217), both already
Mongol influence, showing the new at the time of Mongol popular under the Tang (618-906).
power of the forces at work. One conquests. China had long These borrowings greatly ex-
popular loan word was the borrowed foods, spices and even panded in scope under the Mon-
Mongolian sauqat, “bribe,” recipes from the West and Central gols as witnessed by the amazing
originally a “share of booty.” Even Asia, and some foods and variety of new bread foods found
the Portuguese, never touched elements of food culture, such as in Mongol-era collections of
directly by Mongol conquest or Chinese tea-drinking, had even recipes. Among them are the
envoys, knew the word (Doerfer moved to the Middle East and relevant sections of the early Ming
1963-1975, Bd. I, pp. 345-347). beyond. (It took a long time to encyclopedia Jujia biyong shilei
catch on, but was not common in (JJBYSL), “Things
Another Mongol gift was an China at that time either.) What that Must be Used When Living at
active exchange of foods and was new with the Mongols was the Home,” which, despite its date,
recipes, continuing and inten- unprecedented scale of the carries on older, Mongol-era
sifying earlier exchanges. In exchanges involved. Mongol court traditions. Interestingly, this text
addition, for the first time in cuisine became the preferred even goes so far as to call some
history, there was the emergence cuisine of much of the Old World. of its fried dumplings by their
of a unified Eurasian medical It was greatly influential even Iranian name sambusak, or
tradition, the “Islamic” medicine where it was not preferred. Some samosa, clearly pointing up their
preferred in the Mongolian Empire of the foods involved, I would ultimate origin in the Middle East
and within its successor states. argue, even persist until the (Osamu and Seiichi 1973, 14:
This was based on the same present day in their popularity. 34a).
medical traditions taught in One, baklava, is very much a world
Salerno and in other early food these days (Buell 1999, p. Also a major part of Chinese
European medical schools. In 216). The Mongols also popu- food and foodstuff imports from
China it even briefly eclipsed larized a new type of pottery, blue the West was a great flow of spices
Chinese medicine as the preferred and white porcelain, which, if we and medicinals, both, in Chinese

22
terms, foods, at least when the plant foods and, when times were plant foods, although the old
medicinals were for internal use. good and they could spare the gathered foods remained popular,
Those from the Iranian side have manpower and their enemies were and, most important, a widening
been detailed by Berthold Laufer weak, they could raid and impose range of spices, some brought
(1919) and by Edward Schafer tribute relationships, often from great distances, even as far
(1963). Some cultivated plants, extracting food. Thus they came afield as Africa (grain-of-paradise,
e.g., sorghum, were also by cultivated grain, although the for one example, Amomum
introduced from as far as Africa Mongols did raise a little millet on villosum or A. xanthioides, called
via the Arabic and Iranian West. their own. But grain was never for in a number of Mongol era
Sorghum acquired particular important on the steppe.2 recipes). Just what resulted can
importance with the coming of be seen in the recipes for court
By contrast the herds provided banquet soups that form one of
distillation since sorghum is not
most of the food of the Mongols, the largest single complex of
only a useful plant in semi-desert recipes in the imperial dietary
supplemented by rare game and
areas, where it produces a good manual of Mongol China, the Yin-
even rarer gathered foods. But,
crop under difficult conditions, but shan zhengyao , “Proper
contrary to the popular impression and Essential Things for the
can be fermented and distilled to
about the Mongols, their herds Emperor ’s Food and Drink”
produce a much favored vodka,
were rarely consumed as meat. (YSZY), presented to the court and
gaoliang .1 The truly important
Mongol herds were more published in 1330. Altogether
exchanges took place after the
important as sources of dairy there are 27 recipes for variants
Han Dynasty, and especially of the traditional Mongol soup, all
products, the true staples of daily
during the period of disunity, with additives that mark these
life, and when meat was eaten it
China’s middle ages, and under shülen as much more than a
was rarely consumed in a whole simple Mongolian meat broth,
the Tang, the most geographically
form. Rather the preference was although each is based on a
expansive of all Chinese dynasties.
for a boiled product, a rich or not mutton broth flavored with large,
Yet wheat, goats and sheep had
so rich soup (shülen) believed to smoky cardamoms. These are the
come to China during very early kind used today in Punjabi cooking
concentrate the essence of the
times indeed, and Chinese millet (the Chinese, who got them from
slaughtered animal (Buell et al.
had moved west to the Tripolye Southeast Asia, know them as
2000; Buell 2006). It was this
Culture of Ukraine at an early date caoguo ). To this is added
practice above all, i.e., the one or more thickenings, most
as well (Buell et al. 2000;
Mongolian preference for broth, commonly chickpeas, an impor-
Anderson 1988). Other traits
and for soup, that proved to be tation from Iraqi cuisine, in 15 of
probably moved with it.
their most influential contribution the 27 recipes, with the chickpeas
The Mongol period began in to the world cuisine of their era. first cooked and then skinned, in
a manner characteristic of
China in the early 13 th century
Mesopotamian cooking. Also used
when the north was conquered. Soups as thickenings are barley and
The conquest of all of China fenugreek seeds (another Near
followed in 1279. Mongol tastes Although the unvarnished steppe Eastern contribution). There is one
determined a sophisticated court broth or soup was not very mention of oleaster fruits, at one
food culture stretching across sophisticated, made with some time a Mongolian gathered food.
Eurasia. There was an entirely meat, bones, and whatever else Rice occurs in six recipes, three
was to hand, this quickly changed of which combine it with chickpeas
different base for food among the
as the Mongols became masters (Buell et al. 2000, pp.105-107).
Mongols, compared to China, Iran, The following soup is typical. It is
of the old world. For one thing, no
or the Arabic world (Buell 2006). named after a major spice, mastic,
longer being dependent just upon
here given in a Turkic form:
The Mongols rose to power what herds produced, the elite at
herding sheep and goats, along least could eat more meat. This Mastajhi [Mastic] Soup
with some cattle, as well as meant richer soups, and not just It supplements and increases,
horses, yaks, yak hybrids and lamb, mutton and goat, although warms the center, and accords
camels, and moving from pasture these meats remained the qi .
to pasture to sustain their grazing. preferred repasts. They also had [Ingredients:]
Besides their herding, they had access to a wider range of Mutton (leg; bone and cut up),
time to hunt, gather a few wild additives, including cultivated caoguo cardamoms (five),

23
 cinnamon (2 qian), chickpeas court ritual book. Typically, it calls Let us not allow [your]
[“Muslim beans”] (one-half for starting with mutton and then morning drink
sheng; pulverize and remove thickening with chickpeas, and [umdan] to be too little,
the skins). let us not allow [your]
also rice. Added at the end are
Boil ingredients together to evening drink
spices and other flavorings, to be neglected,
make a soup. Strain broth.
namely salt, pepper, ginger, garlic,
[Cut up meat and put aside.] they became stewards
Add 2 ho of cooked chickpeas, butter, onion, cinnamon, carda- [bawurcin]. When Degei
1 sheng of aromatic non- mom and cloves, all but the butter spoke, saying:
glutinous rice, 1 qian of well known from recipes for the Making a wether of two
mastajhi. Evenly adjust Chinese equivalents (Buell et al. years into shülen,
flavors with a little salt. Add 2000, pp. 106-107). let me not allow it to be too
[the] cut-up meat and little in the morning.
[garnish with] coriander In addition to the banquet soup Let me not be late with it at
leaves. [Buell et al. 2000, pp. proper, the shülen, the Mongols of night.
275-276]
the imperial age also consumed Having [your] spotted sheep
Or, here is another court soup, many other forms of soups, or herded,
with bear meat replacing the usual foods starting as soups. Most used let me fill a cart [with them].
noodles and other grain foods, a Having [your] yellow sheep
mutton:
herded,
topic we will visit below.
Bear Soup let me fill up a pen [with
them].
It treats migratory arthralgia
Drinks I have been gluttonous and
insensitivity and [evil] foot qi
bad.
[usually beriberi].
Having [your] sheep herded,
[Ingredients:] In addition to their soups, the let me eat their rectums,
Bear meat (two legs; cook. Mongols also had other ways of Degei caused the sheep to be
When done cut into chunks), consuming their preferred liquid herded.
caoguo cardamoms (three) diet. Although the distinction is not [Secret History of the Mongols,
[Boil] ingredients [together always well drawn in comparison cited in Buell et al. 2000, pp. 43-
into a soup]. Use three qian to the shülen, the most common 44]
of black pepper, one qian of
form was the umdan, “drink.” This Such simple drinks of the Khan
kasni [asafetida], two qian of
turmeric, two qian of grain-of- could be anything from a light did not stay simple long. The
paradise, one qian of za’faran. broth to dried cheese added to sources of the period do make
Adjust flavors of everything water, or even a simple liquor, frequent reference to unso-
together with onions, salt, and above all fermented mare’s milk. phisticated light broths, dried
sauce.3 It is generally called airag in cheese in water (grut),4 a Mongol
Although the above examples Mongolian, but better known by favorite, and also to traditional
are from Mongol China, we know its Turkic designation, kumiss. The beverages such as kumiss, from
that variations of these soups Secret History makes it clear that mare’s milk and occasionally from
were eaten throughout the umdan, “drink,” and shülen, camel’s milk. Also increasingly
Mongolian world, with many local “soup,” were the primary forms of noticed are many other kinds of
variants. This is witnessed by the food offered Chingis Khan by the drinks, some of them quite exotic.
widespread borrowing of the members of his bodyguard: The YSZY, for example, has quite
Mongolian word for them, shülen, When [Temüjin] had become a number of non-traditional
into a variety of languages. In the Cinggis-qahan, Ögölei-cerbi, umdan, including several of the
Iranian west, shülen means an the younger brother of Arabo-Persian sharab tradition,
official banquet. It also was the Bo’orcu, put on a quiver [i.e., one drink even called by that
honorific word for soup, what was became a member of the name (Buell et al. 2000, p. 389).
ideally offered to an important qan’s bodyguard]. Qaci’un- There are herb and conventional
toqura’un put on a quiver. Jetei
personage (Doerfer 1963-1975, teas, including what are
and Doqolqu-cerbi, the two
Bd. I, pp. 368-370). One actual brothers, put on a quiver. apparently early variants of the
recipe for one of these court soups When Önggür, Söyiketü-cerbi later concentrated Mongolian tea,
from the Mongol west, called a and Qada’andaldurqan, the made in one case with butter
shülen, survives in a Mughal-era three of them, spoke, saying: (Buell et al. 2000, p. 393). There

24
are also a great many liquors. White flour (six jin. Make into a primitive baklava; a Qoresh-e,
These are primarily wines but also tutumash), mutton (leg. Roast a Persian classic stew; [Ar.]
distilled liquors, then finding their the meat. [Make into] quruq Julapia, Persian fritters; a Persian
qima [and stuff tutum ash]).
way into the steppe along with Qarisa, another meat paste using
Use a Good Meat Soup for
simple distillation apparatus. wheat and sheep’s tail fat and
ingredients. Add the noodles
Interestingly, a great many of the head oil; and “West of the River
and roast [cook dry]. Adjust
known names for the liquors of the flavors evenly with onions. Lungs,” sheep lungs Uighur-style
period are Turkic, pointing up Add garlic, cream [or yogurt], (Buell 1999).
probable origins.5 finely ground basil.9
Porcelain: The Carswell
Quruq qima is a roasted and finely Hypothesis
Once the predominantly liquid
minced meat, another Turkic
diet of the Mongols was es- Nonetheless, despite these more
contribution. The garlic, basil and
tablished as court food, their solid foods, the emphasis
cream or yogurt, by the way, are
subjects took it up as well, for remained on liquid. Consequently
superb additions. Note the role
prestige reasons. Another reason with the advent of the new
that broth plays in preparation of
was that the food was getting Mongolian court cuisine in Eurasia
the noodle.
better and better itself as court came a change in eating habits as
cooks and dietary physicians More or less the same recipe well. This found expression in the
found ways to improve it, with the occurs in the nearly contemporary plates, pots, jugs and other dishes
exchanges taking place by no Kitab al-tibakha, written in Syria which graced the tables and rugs
means involving just liquid foods. but reflecting Mongol-era cuisine, of the period. These are well
Court cooks eagerly took up the using an Arabized form of the illustrated in the Central Asian and
best that the Old World had to name: Iranian miniatures of the period,
offer with the tastes of their which are, in fact, our most
Tutmaj: Roll out dough and
masters in mind. This above all importance source (Komaroff and
cut it [into noodles] and cook
included another side of the Carboni 2002).
it in water until done. Put
Mongol cuisine of the era, ash,
yoghurt, mint, garlic, clarified John Carswell, distinguished
another Mongolian borrowing from
butter and fried meat with it British Arabist and art historian,
Turkic (Doerfer 1963-1965, Bd. II,
[Perry 2001]. has proposed that one of the main
pp. 59-62), meaning grain-foods,
It is referred to frequently reasons for the rise in popularity
or, more narrowly, noodles, but
elsewhere as well, even if no of blue and white and other forms
also food in general, i.e., not
recipe is given, indicating that this of Chinese porcelain during the
shülen or umdan, per se.6
was a popular food indeed.10 late 13th and early 14th centuries
Above all the foods in this in all areas of the then Mongol
Many other, still more as- world was the associated spread
category were noodles and
similated borrowings eaten in of Mongol court cuisine.11 Since
noodle-like foods, none of them as
Mongol China are listed in the this cuisine emphasized liquid
far as we know of Mongolian origin
JJBYSL. It includes 12 Muslim foods, such as the great banquet
but borrowed from others and
recipes: a [Tu.] Chäkärli Piräk, soups, also kumiss, the Mongol
popularized by the Mongols.
“sweet borek”; “Rolled Thin drink of choice, bowls, cups,
Perhaps the most famous
Pancakes”; filled dumplings; a servers and pots had to be
example, and still eaten today,7
[Tu.] Kogurma, a meat paste convenient for liquids. They had
was the large stuffed noddle
starting with a sheep’s head; a to be leakproof, washable and
known as tutumash, a Turkic term
“Sour Soup,” black plums boiled sanitary, and not easily con-
describing a noodle (ash) that was
in vinegar with sugar added, also taminated by absorbed liquids
pulled and kneaded (tutum).8 The
nuts, cream (or yogurt) and broth; from main dishes or drinks.
YSZY has the following recipe:
another East Asian variant of Porcelain, besides being beautiful,
Tutumash (This is a kind of Tutumash; [Tu.] Baldy, a honey easily met the needs of a liquid
kneaded noodle.) dish thickened with a paste fried diet. It was, as a result, ideally
They supplement the center, in sesame oil and basted with suited as a serving and consuming
and increase qi. butter; a [Ar.] Halwa, a traditional medium for the Mongol courts and
[Ingredients:] Arabic sweet paste; [Tu.] Güllach, elsewhere.

25
 The Mongols loved all kinds of of the Mongol era, a fact appeared among them no later
liquid refreshments, including strengthening Carswell’s as- than 1300 and probably some
their native fermented milks but sociation of pottery with Mongol decades before. Among other
also the sharab, sweet drinks, court cuisine. His explanation of things, fragments of Blue and
from West Asia. The old dishes and events is increasingly plausible. It White are associated with the wall
old pottery, mostly porous and makes sense in terms of other around what later became the
crude and thus too absorptive and known cultural exchanges then Forbidden City and which dates to
likely to retain unpleasant flavors, taking place, including painting.13 the early Mongol period in China
became obsolete virtually (Ibid.). There is a great deal of
Although the term is often
overnight once the new foods other evidence as well which
applied to late Chinese pottery in
caught on. Chinese porcelain was remains to be evaluated. Marco
general, from Tang times on,
beautiful. It was also abundant Polo, by the way, gave the world
porcelain is, strictly speaking, a
after the conquest of the Chinese the word porcelain. It is not
rather more specialized product.
south (definitively by 1279) by the entirely clear what he understood
It is produced by using special clay
Mongol successor Khanate of by the term, since he uses it to
combinations (principally but not
China. It thus seems to have describe cowry shells as well as
exclusively kaolin) (Carswell 2000,
quickly replaced most other forms pottery (Carswell 2000, p. 18).
pp. 20ff) and fired at an extremely
of pottery as prestige dishes. In In any case, porcelain,
high temperature. The final
this case the culinary process particularly Blue and White
product is finely glazed, strong but
paralleled an equivalent one in the Porcelain, became increasingly
light, and relatively dense and
textiles: the highest quality popular [Fig. 1, next page].
nonporous. Porcelain dishes and
Chinese silk became the cloth of Demand for it grew in the West.
pots are noted not only for their
choice for Mongol costume. This Efforts were made to adapt it to
consistent fabric throughout their
had formerly been largely made Western, and for that matter,
structure, but also for their
of animal furs. Silk and other Mongol tastes. Decorations
stunning appearance. Although
woven textiles had been rare became west Asian, in a kind of
the Song Chinese preferred a less
commodities. early Chinoiserie, for example,
gaudy decoration, namely greens
and shades of blue, or even a plain and many of the shapes of pots
The primary objection to suited west Asian (and Mongol)
white, the Mongols of north China
Carswell’s thesis has been the rather than Chinese needs [Fig. 2,
preferred pots with a painting of
conventional wisdom that Blue next page], often closely imitating
cobalt blue underglaze, resulting
and White Porcelain was a the older pottery, or even leather
in a more stunning appearance.
comparatively late development and wood pots, which it was
The Mongols also had their potters
and that large scale exports of gradually replacing. Some even
introduce new shapes to accord
porcelain from China, by sea, only had inscriptions in Persian. Local
with their particular needs,
came at the very end of the copies began to emerge, many of
associated by Carswell with their
Mongol period. In fact, this them highly interesting artistic
cuisine (Carswell 2000, p. 31).
traditional wisdom can now be creations themselves, and free
regarded with a great deal of One reason for a Mongol interest combinations of East and West as
skepticism. Evidence reveals in pots with a cobalt blue western potters strove to figure
earlier Blue and White Porcelain underglaze is most likely to have out just what their Chinese
in West Asia, even in Europe, and been nationalism. That is to say, brethren had done to achieve their
a substantial overland trade that what could be more appropriate effects (Carswell 2000, pp. 35ff
preceded ocean carriage by than “blue” pottery as symbolic of and passim). The real heyday of
many decades. Much of this has the court culture of the people Blue and White Pottery, under the
been uncovered by Carswell later known as the “blue” Mongols, Ming and Qing, does not concern
himself. He has identified, due to their association with “Blue us here. The pattern had already
apparently, the earliest European Heaven,” their protector and been set for a world art craze and,
porcelain, in what is now Bulgaria dynastic support. In any case, as Carswell suggests, this
dating to the early 14th century.12 pottery directly ancestral to the probably accompanied the
Thus Blue and White was later Blue and White that became emergence of the first world
becoming available at the height a world craze seems to have cuisine, that of the Mongol courts.

26
 because much of the medicine of 2004). In any case, if such ideas
the time was based in dietary appear so well represented in
medicine. China, they must have been found
in the Mongolian west as well,
For example, in China at least,
meaning that we should begin to
along with Mongol court cuisine
sift Iranian and other Islamic
came distinct Mongol ideas about
sources of the period to see what
food and health, in particular the
changes in medical and dietary
medicinal values of foods and
ideas were introduced in the
types of foods. One of the
Mongol period.
innovations of the YSZY, for
example, and it became a major Also a part of a possible Mongol
pattern for later dietaries, is that contribution to medical ideas in

Photo © 2007 Daniel C. Waugh

text’s interest in an amazing China, were Altaic ideas regarding
variety of animal foods. The the importance of boiled food.
Chinese had always eaten wild According to Roux (1984, pp.
animals and parts of domestic 160ff), the essence of an animal
animals associated with qi, to gain is resident in the bone and
an advantage from consuming the marrow, and thus boiling
powerful and uncanny. Animal concentrates this essence. This
products have also been important was why the Mongols preferred
Fig. 1. Two Yuan period blue and white boiled foods. There were also
in Western pharmacology.
porcelain vases in the collection of the
British Museum. Nonetheless, neither Chinese nor practical considerations, e.g., the
Western tradition quite prepares need for moisture in a dry
Medicine us for the profusion of wild animal environment, the need to share
products, for example, consumed meat to the maximum. If this is
Food was one part of the cultural
at the Mongol court according to the case, then the banquet soups
exchanges of the Mongol era,
the YSZY. These wild animal of the Mongol courts in Eurasia
moving primarily along with Silk
products became part of the communicated Mongolian ideas
Road, but also, to a more limited
Chinese tradition thanks partly to about the universe as well as
degree, by sea. Likewise ex-
the popularity of that text. Also feeding the court multitude. They
tremely important was the
conspicuous in the Chinese text is represent one more area of
associated exchange of medical
the presence of so many cultural interaction during the
ideas and systems, associated
Mongolian gathered foods for use Mongol age.
in recipes. While some were But in addition to ideas
perhaps consumed simply out of apparently their own, the Mongols
tradition and nostalgia, many also also actively encouraged the
have known medical values. The exchange of other medical ideas
recipes of the YSZY are nearly all east to west and west to east. In
assigned specific medicinal part this occurred because such
properties, and these must derive medical ideas were part of
from the foods used. In fact, Mongolian court cultures wherever
modern Mongols, as a number Mongols ruled. For Iran, the most
Photo © 2007 Daniel C. Waugh

have informed the author (e.g., celebrated exchange was the

Bold, personal communication, importation, primarily through the
spring 2005), assign specific agency of Rashid al-Din (1247-
medicinal properties to different 1313), of Chinese medical ideas,
animal meats and parts of animals e.g., pulse lore in the form of a
and modern Mongols know a great Chinese text translated into
variety of medicinal herbs, many Persian (Rall 1960; Abdulhak
of them simultaneously gathered 1940). Also involved in the flow
Fig. 2. Blue and white porcelain ewer, plant foods of the very kind called were other importations, ones that
Yuan era (ca. 1335). Musée Guimet for in YSZY recipes (Boldsaikhan we know little or nothing about.
MA 5657.

27
Rashid knows a great deal about devoted to various kinds of associated with wind attack,
China and Chinese culture. For injuries, from arrow and sword strokes and similar conditions:
China, a huge importation was wounds to blows (such as
Eurasian cosmopolitan medicine, fracturing the skull), with a listing Another Recipe
known as “Muslim” medicine in of advanced surgical inter- It can treat wild thoughts,
China. This is something of a ventions. Lost now are the confused perception and the
misnomer since the medicine following juan: symptoms of [Ar.] malin-
involved was as Greek as it was 19. coughs; khuliya [melancholia]
“Muslim” or Arabic. Syrian 20. chest symptoms; ([subtext] This is symptoms of
Christians and others, not just 21. stomach problems; a lack of peace in the heart and
Muslims, were actively involved in 22. dysentary and related wild talk due to being attacked
transmitting it to China. The YSZY, problems; by a wind):
already mentioned above, is 23. vomiting, constipation,
Kabuli myrobalans [Terminalia
replete with the ideas of this etc.;
chebula]
medicine, in addition to including 24. heat and chill;
([subtext] [Persian in the
many West Asian foods for its 25. qi (in this case meaning
Arabic Script] Halilaj-e
dietary medicine. And even bigger breath and connected Kabuli)
witness of what was taking place matters); [Ar.] Balilaj [belleric
is comprised of the surviving 26. fatness and leanness of myrobalan]
fragments, nearly 500 manuscript the body, and pain, lice, ([subtext] [Arabic Script:]
pages, about 15 percent of the and hand and foot, etc.; Balilaj)
original, of what is now known as 27. jaundice, worms, etc.; “Ox orange seeds’ [uniden-
the Huihui yaofang xxx , 28. beriberi, etc.,hemor- tified]
“Muslim Medicinal Recipes” rhoids; ([subtext] Each one liang)
(HHYF), once a massive ency- 29. the first part of various [Ar.] Afsintin [wormwood,
clopedia of cosmopolitan Eurasian symptoms; Artemesia absinthium]
medicine to serve the needs of 31. a large section on women’s ([subtext] This is artemesia)
Mongol China’s official medical medicine; [Pr.] Sana-ye Makki [Cassia
establishment. 32-33. ulcers and swelling; angustifolia, Meccan senna]
As it survives today, the HHYF 35. vermin and animal ([subtext] [Persian] Sana-ye
consists of three content chapters wounds; Makki)
(juan 12, 30 and 34) and the table 36. listing of materia medica. [Pr.] Shahtiraj [Fumitory,
of contents for the second half of Fumaria officinalis]
Three main types of material are
the complete encyclopedia. This ([subtext] Shahtiraj)
found in the content chapters.
covers juan 19-36, providing [Ar.] Afithimun [dodder,
First of all, there are hundreds of
some indication (along with juan Cuscuta epthymum]
simples, herbal formulae of
12) of the contents of more than ([subtext] Afithimun. One
various origins, some of them
half of the original encyclopedia, liang)
Greek, some Arabic, some of
a total of 19 juan. Of the three [Ar.] Basfayij [=Basfayij,
uncertain origin but still largely
surviving content chapters, juan Polypodium vulgare]
Persian in nomenclature. Also a
12 focuses on various kinds of ([subtext] Basfayij)
major part of the text are
paralysis, “wind” attack (including [Ar.] Turbid [Ipomoea
theoretical discussions, some
strokes, etc.), and related turpethum]
quoting the great names in Greek
conditions, in terms of the ([subtext] This is hare’s ear
and Arabic medicine. Finally, there
traditions of the medicines [Bupleurum falcatum and B.
are listings of detailed procedures,
involved. Juan 30, is devoted to spp])
how to set a bone, treat a wound,
“various symptoms.” We know [Ar.] Ustukhudus [lavender,
to fix a fractured skull, the latter
that it is is one of two juan, along Lavandula stoechas]
among the most advanced of their
with juan 29, once devoted to such ([subtext] Ustukhudus. Each
kind from anywhere in Eurasia.
general conditions and to the body five qian)
and its structures in general. Juan The following is a typical simple, Chinese spikenard
34, one of the most interesting, is in this case treating symptoms [Nardostachys chinensis]

28
 [Pr.] Mastaj [mastic] Middle Eastern but not Chinese seven apertures are all
([subtext] This is the rue of medicine. Note that although diminished, there is excess
the Western Regions) many of the names of the moisture within the muscles
Nutmeg medicinal are common Arabic, the [jin ].15 It is the nature of
([subtext] Each two qian) descriptive terminology tends to muscles that they come forth
[Ar.] Lisan [ath]-thaur be Persian, something typical of according to the intention, and
[borage, including Borago the HHYF as a whole. Like Marco must [then] become chill and
officinalis] Polo, the editors of the HHYF were slack. Because of this, heavy
([subtext] This is dock perfectly comfortable with Persian, inebriation, overconsumption
[Rumex sp] root) as well many others associated of chill liquids, and food that is
[Ar.] Afranj-mushk [sweet with the Mongol court in China not dissipated, will avail of the
basil, Ocimum basilicum ot where Persian was one of several proximity and give rise to
Calamintha officinalis] official languages used. turbid illnesses. If the root is
([subtext] Afranj-mushk) obstructed, the strength of the
Also not very Chinese is the
“Golden Essence Stone” [lapis qi16 does not pass through and
following discussion, the first in
lazuli] cannot reach the body. If [the
juan 12, from which the recipe
([subtext] Or [Ar.] hajar. condition] arises due to
above comes as well. Following
[This is] a stone flown by extreme anger, then in most
water of the Armani land) the discussion of general paralysis
cases there is moisture in the
[Pr.] Badranj-buya [balm, conditions is another simple, a
muscles. Moreover, it attaches
Melissa officinalis] [Ar.] Karafs shorter one:
to the anger fire and destroys
[seeds of celery, parsley, etc.] Category: Left Paralysis, Right the ability to move. Or illness
seeds Numbness, Wry Obliqueness of symptoms of paralysis and
([subtext] [Persian] tokm-e Mouth and Eye numbness are frequently in the
karafs) Treating left paralysis, right muscles of the head and
“Rumi’ Fennel [anise] numbness: hands. These are the imple-
([subtext] Each two qian) With this disease movement or ments of movement and of the
Pound the medicinals into a the stopping of movement spiritual facilities. The top of
fine powder. Having soaked does not accord with the the muscles is the top of the
with [Pr.] badam [almond] oil intention. That is, movement or brain. This is the seat of the
([subtext] [Persian] raughan-e the stopping of movement are brain. If the hand approaches
badam [“oil of almond”]), take mutually entangled and are and attaches itself to moisture,
processed pure honey or dried constricted. When movement the muscles of the brain also
grapes. Remove the kernels and the stopping of movement approach a condition whereby
and pound until soft. Combine exhibit a movement and a they are soft. Because of this,
together and use.14 stopping of movement that are these illnesses are mostly in
mutually entangled, this the lower half of head and
Here a plethora of plants known becomes transformed into this hand. The muscles of a turbid
to Greek and Muslim medicine are disease. Because of this, there body are stiff because they are
combined to provide a medicinal is a diminution of strength; situated at a distance from the
for responding to the described movement and the stopping of head. The body is also stiff and
condition, providing one of several movement are also dimin- sinking because it sustains the
related compounds used to treat ished. If on account of the body attached to turbidity.
similar conditions. Few of the disease strength is diminished, Because of this, the body does
medicinals in any case were widely the disease should inevitably not produce the paralysis and
used in the Chinese medicine of be chronic. If a person indulges numbness illness. If the
the time. Most, like the disease frequently in sex, or overexerts disease attains the root, there
categories themselves, are or suffers a fright, or climbs to is then nothing beneficial or
imported. Even the method of a high place, or is over- harmful in treating symptoms
compounding is not Chinese and whelmed by joy, the heart main of paralysis and numbness
calls for almond oil and dried artery [jing ] strongly starts diseases. If the root of the
grapes, both products typical of and the body struggles. If the disease is dampness or there

29
 is wounding eating to repletion Eastern and include substances wounds are somewhat better.
because of loss or starvation, that must have been quite rare in They need not be treated by a
then treatment requires the China, i.e., narwhal horn pill, and doctor. If the original nature of
spitting up of phlegm. If there even were uncommon in the the wounded man is uneven,
is heavy inebriation due to Middle East. and there is swelling at the
liquor, the inebriation is wound place, together with
generally cut off after easing Other sets of directions like this throbbing pain, or perhaps
nature twice. may include actual surgical there is a small wound entering
As ingredients use rose oil, or intervention. For example, in the into the flesh, there also is this
[Pr.] murd [myrtle] oil sections found in juan 34 on treatment to get rid the
( [subtext:] [Pr.] murd ). Along broken bones there are careful swelling and throbbing pain.
with this combine vinegar and instructions regarding removal of One only needs to dissipate the
attach to the head. For food, bone fragments embedded in the swelling and that is all. In the
use foods that aid the blood. tissues surrounding the brain. Also case of [Ar.] khazq, one must
Use dolichos beans, [Pr.] found in juan 34 are instructions threat the swelling and
kurunb [cabbage] ( [subtext:] detailing cauterization techniques, throbbing pain, and afterwards
[Pr.] kurunb), and roasted rabbit including some using special metal treat the wound so that it is in
brain. If the one consuming has instruments. This is a typical of the balance and restored. In
left-over medicinals, he can Western medicine of the time and general, in terms of the
take [Ar.] ustukhudus not of Chinese. Also a more or less treatment methods of this
[lavender] ([subtext:] [Ar.] Western technique was thera- chapter, one only needs
ustukhudus). Use honey water, peutic bleeding. Likewise more remove the various things
combine and consume. Or take Western than Chinese are the wounding. The methods for
a [Pr.] quqiya [narwhal] pill HHYF’s many dietary pre- removing these things: either
([subtext] [Pr.] habb-e quqiya [“pill scriptions. While dietary medicine it is a matter of pushing out,
of quqiya”]) for 18 days. Or if is certainly Chinese too, the foods or of removing using some
the disease is chronic one, can called in the HHYF are not, implement, or using a medicine
also take this: [Pr.] myan-e including chickpeas under their to suck it out. The method for
khiza [“middle of (beaver’s) Persian name. pushing out: people can all
testicle,” castoreum] ([subtext:] understand. It need not be
The following, reproduced here
[Pr.] miyan-e khiza). Combine discussed. When one uses an
in full, is typical of the highly
with honey and take. It will implement, one must first
interesting and detailed material
treat if there is a wasting [lau examine the nature of the
on various injuries found in juan
x = ] disease due to dryness wounded place, whether it is
34:
[Kong 1996, p. 25]. concave or a cavity, and
[This section] discusses all whether one can remove things
The main condition described, small wound injuries named directly or from the side. If it
“left paralysis, right numbness,” [Arabic] wakhz [puncture is a side removal, it must be
etc., apparently includes par- wounds] [and] [Ar.] khazq that the wound mouth is
asthesia, various paralysis, loss of [tear wounds] along with the narrow and the arrow head is
muscle tone and muscle atropy, various [other] things including deep into the flesh, or the
speech impairment, and com- puncturing arrow heads that arrow head has a corner. If one
promised pulmonary, cardiac and are to be taken out of the takes it out straight, one must
other functions.17 The description wound-injured place. fear that the [arrow head]
is extremely specific compared to All [Ar.] wakhz are wounds corner will resulting in a
the categories of the Chinese from puncturing [arrow] heads hindering, and cause extreme
medicine of the period and uses or needle heads. Also, if it does pain to the patient. Also, when
none of the generalizing terms, not deeply penetrate into the one removes from the side,
i.e., the five elements, qi in the flesh, even if the wound is one can observe whether or not
Chinese sense, etc. The in- large, it is a matter of this. [Ar.] it is without obstacle or
gredients called for in the simple khazq are spear or arrow head, hindrance, and cannot harm
are, again, typically Middle etc., wounds. Also, [Ar.] wakhz the blood pulse, and also the

30
blood vessel and main arteries. taking [Ar.] ushaq [gum on. This is also possible. If
One can say in general: one ammoniac, of Dorema there is something lodged in
only needs that the arrow ammoniacum] ([subtext] ushaq) the bone it can also suck it out.
heads, etc., are not broken off and transforming it and Now this is because by its
and remain behind in the flesh. opening it and placing it in the original nature it can remove
Moreover, when they are wound injured place. If there teeth. Also grind finely
removed, one must have are things inside, it can suck swimming crab. This is also
ascertained if previously the them out. If one combines it possible. One recipe uses creek
wounding material has been with honey, it will be powerful. crab fish [lobster-fish, shrimp?]
agitated. Only then does one Also take [Ar.] Zarawand bladder. All have removing
remove it. Also, the implement [Aristolochia ] ( [subtext] strength that achieves the
to remove are iron forceps. On Zarawand ), the round kind, miraculous. Also all sticky milks
top of the forceps one adds an grind finely and combine with [anafih] of moving animals also
iron ring that rigidly enfolds it. honey. Create an application can help. There is a thing called
When it is like this one can take medicine and use. Also take [Ar.] wazaghah [pl., geckos]
[the arrow head] out. There will bamboo root and pound until ([subtext] This is the gecko). It is
be times when the arrow head soft, or use alone or combine also able to help. One recipe
will have poison and the flesh with honey, and create an takes [Ar.] wazaghah heads,
of the wound will be decayed. application medicine and use. puts them into an ointment
One must use [something] to One recipe uses small bamboo recipe, and pastes it on. It can
remove the [decayed] flesh root leaves, one liang [?]. remove barbs along with arrow
and clean its appearance. If Pound finely and stick onto [the heads. If one takes [Ar.]
one observes that the color of wound place]. If the wound wazaghah, [Ar.] zarawand
the flesh has changed, and it place has an arrow head, the [Aristolochia], the long kind
moves like dead flesh, then bamboo will pierce so that it ([subtext] [Pr.] zarawand-e tawil
scatter and disperse what has comes out itself. Also [take] the [“long Aristolochia”] ), bamboo
become bad. In general, if the leaf of the black opium tree [?], root, [Ar.] narjis [narcissus]
arrow head is deeply situated fig tree leaf, and mix with ([subtext] This is chuancao x
in the bone and flesh, and one barley flour and henbane. If [?]), and onions and combines
cannot take it out, take the one adds it to alum and them into a sticking medicine
implement and position around combines it, it is very much and uses, then it can take the
the bone so that one can take possible. In the case of all of things left behind and bring
it out easily. If the arrow head the following: Sichuan Kueihua them out. One recipe uses [Pr.]
wounds in a critical part of the [Osmanthus fragrans], [Ar.] sam-abras [gecko] ([subtext]
body like the brain, heart, Zarawand [Aristolochia], [Ar.] This is the gecko). Take the meat
lungs, liver, the stomach artery, narjis [narcissus] ([subtext] This and pound until tender and put
the bladder, and a bad sign is is the chuandi flower [? on the sword punctured place.
manifest and the signs lead Character?] ) and onions, either It can suck it out. One recipe
one to believe that it will not use alone or combine and use. uses [Ar.] wushshaq
get better, then it probably They can suck out the things [‘ashaqah? gum ammoniac;
cannot be healed. If bad signs that are lodged. Also [take] a ivy?] ( [subtext] ashuku [?] ).
are not perceived, and they frog18 and remove the skin and Make a powder and paste onto
lead one to believe that one create a pasting medicine. It the wound. The thing [in it] will
can heal in the future, one can can also suck out things. One come out of itself. [Ar.]
discuss the danger of these recipe uses a fresh frog [found] wushshaq combined with
symptoms with one’s col- on land where the five cereals honey is powerful. Or use
leagues, and afterwards treat. are [413]. Remove the skin and round [Ar.] zarawand
Now, although these symp- create a pasting medicine. It [Aristolochia] ( [subtext] [Pr.]
toms are dangerous, one can can also remove barbs and zarawand-e gerd [“round
also treat and there is the arrow heads. One recipe uses Aristolochia”]) and pound with
possibility of healing. Also use dried frog to make a powder. bamboo root and use honey to
medicines, etc. This means Combine with honey and stick combine and paste on. Also use

31
 long [Ar.] zarawand ([subtext] capital” (Yuanshi 1976, juan 88, founded his practice or what, if
[Pr.] zarawand-e tawil), onion 2221). The founder of this office, any, books he brought back with
water, Chinese sacred lily which seems to have been more him from Iran in 1286. His role in
[Narcissus tazetta] leaf, fig important than the above brief founding and managing the
leaf, barley sugar, and pound notice indicates, was Jesü (Aixie Guanghui si was such that the
together and paste on. It has x ) or, as he is known in Iranian HHYF, which in its present form is
the power to grab iron. Also, sources, Isa, the “Translator” a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) copy,
in the case of barb needle (1227-1308), a Nestorian but is based upon a now lost
wounds, where it takes on Christian whose family originally original Yuan Dynasty (1260-
swelling and is dissipated, it had come Syria. Jesü began his 1368) version, must go back at
cannot be treated, or if it is service to the Mongols under Khan least in part to materials
large, the medical treatment of Güyük (r. 1246-1248) and later assembled and held by Jesü and
it is in the previous category of associated himself with then his family, which were perhaps
wounds from knives and prince Qubilai (r. 1260-1294), added to by others as time went
arrows. It has been discussed forming part of the prince’s “brain on.
in the section on wound trauma trust” of associates who were to
where ulcers have been formed stand him in good stead when the And what of these materials, as
[Kong 1996, pp. 411-413]. prince had to fight to become ruler witnessed by the HHYF? Clearly a
Such lore was obviously of utility in Mongol China as the old major source for the surviving
for the warlike Mongols. The same Mongolian Empire broke down. As chapters was the Qanun fi al-tibbi,
sections also provides many first far as can be determined the “Canon for Medicine,” of Ibn Sîna
aid applications, many including Guanghui si grew out of Jesü’s (980-1037), a standard Arabic-
substances in use today to kill private practice of “Muslim” language medical encyclopedia in
germs and promote healing. medicine, or more properly of the the Islamic world, but some of the
Whether any of the specific Eurasian cosmopolitan medicine material from this source seems
medicinal mentioned above work, that had started primarily with the filtered at best, perhaps through
awaits further research. Note that Greeks but belonged by his time another, more popular collection
gecko parts and meat are called equally to Greeks, Latins, Syrians, that may now be lost. Other
for under both their Arabic and Arabs, Persians and others, even, sources include the Arabic and
Persian names, indicating a as we will see below, Tibetans, possibly Syrian translation
compilation from different who had their own school of this literature for works by Galen and
sources. medicine. In any case, after the other Greek doctors. Other, more
Guanghui si was founded, it, and immediate sources, in view of the
Origins an observatory for Muslim Iranian connection of Mongol
Whence such medicine? We do astronomy were put under Jesü, China, were probably works such
know that many of the official and members of his family as the Nuzhat al-Qulub, “Hearts’
medical institutions of the Mongols continued in control after his Delight,” a scientific and medical
in China focused on Muslim death. Interestingly, Jesü did not encyclopedia written by the son of
medicine. This included an office, just stay in China, once he had Rashid al-Din, Ghiyath al-Din
ranked first under the Xuanhui become associated with the house Muhammad, but also possibly the
yuan , “Bureau for Imperial of Qubilai, but in 1283 went on an now lost Lata’if al-Rashidiyya,
Household Provisions,” and then embassy for his ruler to Mongol “Pleasures of Rashid al-Din,” by
under the Yuan Office of the Chief Iran, then Qubilai’s principal ally Rashid’s associate, the doctor Ibn
Physician (Taiyi yuan xxx ), in his wars in Central Asia. Unlike Ilyas, and the latter’s other works,
called the Guanghui si , his companion, the minister Bolad, including his treatise on food
“Administration of Broad who remained in Iran, Jesü (Elgood 1979, pp. 302-323).
Compassion,” charged with returned again in 1286 and
“preparing and presenting Muslim remained in office in China for More than one cosmopolitian
(huihui ) drugs and pre- more than twenty more years, system is involved in the text. I
parations to the emperor in order until his death aged 82.19 have suggested in a forthcoming
to treat members of the We do not know what books Jesü paper that Tibetans, drawing upon
bodyguard and poor people in the had with him when he first their own Greek traditions of

32
medicine (those of the Bi-ci school local systems still existed, refinements that the whole world
and its texts, in particular), may including Chinese medicine, which had to offer. Lastly a medical
have been another source of remained alive and well under the unification paralleling those in food
medical information, theory and Mongols even if not so favored. In and eating utensils should hardly
even recipes in the HHYF. The this respect, medicine and food be unexpected. This was all a
text ’s humoral system, for developed into world systems in matter of what the Mongol age
example, is apparently based on much the same way, surrounded had to offer and what it did for the
three humors, those of India and by a great deal of local color. peoples and cultures of the Old
Tibet, and not the four of the World as the Mongols laid down
Islamic world. Tibetan influence is Conclusion the foundations of our modern
even clearer in the YSZY, which age.
In conclusion, we are only
has a great deal of Islamic
beginning to understand the full About the author
cosmopolitan medicine in it and a
range of cultural exchanges
clear trail back to Tibetans Paul D. Buell holds a PhD in
characterizing the Mongol age.
involved in imperial dietary history and an MA in Chinese from
Some of them are obvious. Some,
medicine (Buell forthcoming 1). the University of Washington and
such as the possible exportation
of Mongolian ideas about medicine is a specialist in the history of the
Nonetheless, what is important and diet, are not so obvious. In Mongolian Empire with special
about the HHYF is that it any case, it is now clear that the reference to the cultural history of
represents a type of medicine Mongols exported their cuisine and the Mongolian period and the
found from one end of the Silk ideas about it and participated in interchanges between east and
Road to the other and beyond. Not a remarkable, if temporary, west. He is the lead author of A
only was much the same medicine codification of medical ideas with Soup for the Qan: Chinese Dietary
practiced throughout Central Asia a little help from doctors of various Medicine of the Mongol Era as
and in the Middle East, but persuasions practicing the Muslim, Seen in Hu Sihui’s Yinshan
“Muslim” medicine, including texts better cosmopolitan medicine of Zhengyao, “Proper and Essential
translated from the Greek, before the day. On another level, John Things for the Emperor’s Food and
the actual Greek texts reached the Carswell is probably entirely Drink,” and is currently completing
West, was also the basis of the correct in assuming that a wetter a full translation of the Huihui
European medicine of the time as cuisine required new dishes and Yaofang, “Muslim Medicinal
taught in the early medical schools that Chinese porcelain was ideally Recipes,” supported by a National
such as those of Salerno or suited to this mission. What is Endowment for the Humanities
Taranto. Texts used there, in fact, interesting is that Blue and White individual scholarship.
included standardized collections Porcelain, the food that it
of quotations of theory, References
contained, and the cosmopolitan
procedures, and recipes, more or medicine of the time — never Abdulhak 1940
less identical in format and entirely Muslim, but a mixture of Adman Abdulhak. “Sur le
approach to the HHYF. 20 As a traditions — once again suggest Tansukname-i-Ilhani dar Ulum-u-
consequence, for once in history, the ability of the Mongols to Funun-i Khatai.” Isis 32 (1940):
China and much of the rest of the combine the best that East and 44-47.
Old World were at the same place West had to offer in tune with their
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this basis and China did not is that Chinese porcelain, glazed in Turkish Food for the American
irrelevant (the question of Islamic the Mongol color, with west Asian Kitchen. New York: Harper Collins,
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schools of Yuan and Ming is a disseminated throughout the Anderson 1988
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Eugene N. Anderson, The Food of
moment the Mongols had created, way surprise us. Neither should
China, New Haven: Yale University
at the court level at least, a single the universality of the foods that
Press, 1988.
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beyond the court a great many and other foods, but with the Baader 1982

33
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Inkunabel in der Überliefering der notes, with Eugene N. Anderson, Culture in Western Asia, 1256-
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34
Roden 1970 14th century, with the sheng and the 10. On Rumi and tutumash see Algar
he slightly less than today. 1991, pp. 6-7, 174.
Claudia Roden. A Book of Middle
4. William of Rubruck speaks of the 11. Carswell 2000, pp. 23-24, and
Eastern Food. Harmondsworth: personal communications to the author.
processing of cow’s milk and the
Penguin, 1970. making and consumption of grut in the
12. John Carswell, personal com-
following terms:
Roux 1984 munication to the author, summer
They first extract the butter from
2005.
Jean-Paul Roux. La religion des cow’s milk and boil it until it is
Turcs et des Mongols. Paris: Payot, perfectly de-cocted and 13. The whole question of the
subsequently they store it in rams’ movement of Chinese ideas of painting
1984. paunches which they keep for that west during the Mongol era is now an
purpose. And they do not put salt area of renewed interest. See Komaroff
Schafer 1963
into the butter which nevertheless and Carboni 2002, particularly the
Edward Schafer. The Golden does not putrefy on account of the articles by James Watt, pp. 63-73, and
Peaches of Samarkand. Berkeley: great degree to which it has been Komaroff, pp. 168-195.
decocted. And they keep it for the
Uni-versity of California Press, winter. The buttermilk which 14. Kong 1996, p. 104. This and other
1963. remains after the butter [has been translations below from the HHYF will
removed] they allow to sour, as be contained and further annotated in
Weng 1938 sharp as it can be. And they boil Buell forthcoming 2. All rights are
that and it is coagulated by the reserved.
Tu-chien Weng. “Ai-hsieh: A Study
boiling. And that coagulated 15. This term is difficult to translate in
of His Life.” Unpublished Ph.D.
buttermilk they dry in the sun, and the HHYF since it can be used there to
dissertation, Harvard University, it is thereby made hard, just like designate muscles and tendons, minor
1938. the slag of iron and they store the blood vessels, nerve tissue, and even
dried buttermilk in sacks for the the spinal cord.
Wyngaert 1929 winter. During the winter when they
lack for milk, they place this bitter 16. In the HHYF, qi most commonly
Anastasius van den Wyngaert. means simply “breath.” Here the
coagulated milk, which they call
Sinica Franciscana, vol. I: Itinera grut, in a hide bag and pour on top meaning is unclear but the context
et Relationes Fratrum Minorum hot water and they shake the bag would be perfectly comprehensible in
strongly until the coagulated milk terms of Chinese medicine, thus the
saec. XIII et XIV. Quaracchi-
is dissolved in water which is made translation. An alternative translation
Firenze: College of Saint totally acid by this. And this water would be “vital force.” As a humor, qi
Bonaventura, 1929. they drink in place of milk. They is the air or wind of Indian medicine.
take the greatest care lest they See also below.
Yuanshi 1976 drink pure water [Wyngaert 1929,
17. I am grateful to colleague Chris
Yuanshi . 15 vols. Beijing: p. 179].
Muench for discussing this section of
Zhonghua shuju, 1976. See the discussion in Buell et al. 2000, the HHYF with me.
p. 36.
18. The second character is not the
Notes 5. On the general topic of Turkic usual one and may be a phonetic
influence on Mongolian foodways see spelling.
1. On the history of Chinese food in Buell 1999.
19. On Jesü see Weng 1938. I am
general see the relevant chapters of 6. In Iran today an ash can be a stew, grateful to Igor de Rachewiltz for
Chang 1977 and Anderson 1988. See pointing up a further evolution. discussing his own forthcoming work
also under individual foods and spices on Isa with me and for supplying me
Buell et al. 2000. 7. For modern variants see with a copy of Weng’s dissertation. See
Haroutunian 1982, p. 80, and Roden now also Kim 2006.
2. On the traditional Mongolian way of 1970, p. 135.
life as it relates to food see also Buell
20. On early medical texts used in the
et al. 2000. 8. On the word and some of its
schools see, as an introduction,
occurrences in Persian texts see
3. Adapted from Buell et al. 2000, pp. Kristeller 1982, and also Baader 1982.
Doerfer 1965-1975, Bd. II, pp. 457-
294. Today a qian is about .011 oz and On the rise of standardized texts as a
59.
a sheng is 31.5 in3 while a he is one publishing phenomenon see also Buell
tenth of a sheng. The values of the 9. Adapted from Buell et al. 2000, pp. 2001.
qian, sheng and he were similar in the 298-99. A jin is today about 500 g.

35
 For Mongolia, first some
In Search of Mongolian Barbecue terminology. Perhaps the most
concise definition I got for
Debra McCown Mongolian barbecue came from a
Abingdon, Virginia (USA) translator Solongo: “In traditional
barbecue, they use hot stones,
and that’s how they cook it.The
Asking about barbecue in Mongolia learned from his grandfather and
trick of it is everything has to be
can get you some strange looks. now cooks for tourists outside
closed. The container is closed
Barbecue is not interesting, they Ulaanbaatar. A translator and I
tightly, and no air is coming out.”
say. They’ll tell you food is not traveled with him to his family
In fact, to most Mongols, barbecue
interesting. And among foods, home, where I essentially threw
means either horhog or boodog.
dairy products are certainly more two big barbecue parties for his
The first of these is what Solongo
interesting than barbecue, a relatives and neighbors. Before I
is describing: placing meat and
subject that is “not taken go into what I learned about the
hot rocks inside a sealed metal
seriously,” as one Mongolian labor-intensive process of making
container. In boodog the cooking
professor told me. The ethno- real Mongolian barbecue, I should
is done made by placing hot
logists with whom I spoke at the provide some background on
stones inside the sealed skin of the
National University of Mongolia barbecue and its history in
animal. Horhog and boodog are
indicated that no one has ever Mongolia.
cooked both from the inside by the
done a study on barbecue or even
What is Barbecue? hot rocks and pressurized steam
on meat. At most the subject
and from the outside by the heat
receives passing mention. In Food is so taken for granted that of a fire.
Mongolia, when people have a it rarely appears in histories; yet,
party, they cook an animal. In a What we are not talking about
there may be nothing more
country that lives primarily from here is shorlog, an imported kind
illustrative of the universality of
its animals, this is a given, an of shishkebab involving cooking
the human experience. The
obvious thing, like the color of the marinated chunks of meat, fat and
concept of cooking an animal and
sky or the change of seasons. sometimes vegetables on skewers
celebrating in a large group has
Why, they wonder aloud, would on a grill.
probably been around as long as
anyone try to study such a thing? men have been hunting. It is A Few Words on Meat in
But such pessimism about mentioned in stories of Chingis Mongolian Culture
barbecue is not enough to stop a Khan and of events in the Middle
East more than a millennium I was told many times that in order
North Carolina Tar Heel from
before that, in the Bible. to be considered “real food” in
studying a subject so near and
Mongolia, a meal must contain
dear to her heart. Others have Not only in legend, but also in meat, even though historically
been inspired by their love of modern-day culture, the concept other food products from the
pulled pork to drive hours upon of barbecue spans the world. traditional herding culture have
hours to experience the regional Natives in the Caribbean built also been significant. The
variations of American barbecue frameworks of sticks on which to numerous petroglyphs in the
— but I am the first, far as I know, slow-cook meat over a fire; the Mongolian Altai attest to the
to go all the way to Mongolia in word barbecue arrived in Europe importance of hunting by those
search of barbecue. I said I’d go via Spain from their term for such who inhabited the area thousands
to the end of the earth for a good structures. While barbecue in the of years ago. An encyclopedic
barbecue sandwich — and I wasn’t United States usually involves a description of the Mongolian Way
joking. large metal grill, the North of Life summarizes how with most
As it turns out, true Mongolian Carolina variant, “pig-picking,” of the meat from hunted animals,
barbecue is nothing like the stuff originated from the practice of people would make horhog or
marketed as “Mongolian bar- turning a pig on a spit over a fire boodog or fry it on a stick in the
becue” in the United States. In and picking the meat off the fire. The meat from hunted
fact, the two traditional Mongolian outside as it cooked. Hawaiians animals could also be boiled. Meat
methods of making barbecue are bury a pig underground with piles was seasoned with wild onions and
virtually unknown in the West. of hot stones; Mongolians put hot grasses and sometimes milk
stones inside the animal or inside products in soups. It was common
Ultimately, my search took me a container. True Mongolian to eat the head, legs and insides
to Bayanhotag sum, Hentii aimag, barbecue is simply that country’s first before the meat because they
where I learned firsthand how to variation of the global concept that go down easily. Each organ meat
make horhog and boodog from might best be summed up as was traditionally divided evenly
Purevtogtokh (Purev), a man who “cook a critter, have a party.” among everyone in the ger

36
(Mongolian Way 1987). Early to the summer’s meatless diet, cauldrons if they were covered
historical sources, such as the helps to quench this meat hunger. with a metal lid and it was
Secret History of the Mongols, weighted down with stones.
while not providing details about My host Purev explained that
how meat was prepared, since 1921, with urbanization, to In the absence of such lids
emphasize the importance of the degree that Mongols have among archaeological finds, as
serving meat in traditional become more settled and don’t Professor Byambadorj of the
hospitality (Secret History 1998) have so many milk products in the National University of Mongolia
summertime, they eat more meat explained to me, horhog likely
Yet, as the Franciscan William of than they did before. He said it is evolved from the ancient boodog
Rubruck astutely observed in the no longer true that meat is only cooking technique. Boodog is
13th century while discussing the eaten for special events in the difficult, he said, because it
Mongols’ tastes in meat, “In summer, though horhog or boodog requires the animal to have a good
summer, so long as lasts their is still a treat. skin for making it. Also, hunters
kumis, that is to say mare’s milk, began making horhog, he said,
they care not for any other food” A Concise History of Barbecue because they needed to use the
[Fig. 1] (Rubruck 2004). Indeed, in Mongolia animal skin instead of burning it,
The preparation of horhog and and so they needed something
boodog reflects the conditions of other than the skin to cook the
nomadic life where there might be meat in. They began using a part
minimal cooking equipment. As of the stomach of a sheep or goat,
Professor Lkhagvaa of the taking it with them, making
horhog in it, and then keeping the
Photo © 2005 Daniel C. Waugh

Mongolian University of Science

and Technology told me, the use skin to use for something else. As
of hot stones is a very old practice. Purev told me, the use of modern
“The easiest way of making food metal containers for making
is…making fire, heating two horhog began probably in the
stones…barbecue is maybe from 1920s.
this, putting it on the meat and Surely one of the earliest explicit
between it.” references to what we might
There is no archaeological assume was the preparation of
Fig. 1. Milking a mare, Tamir River boodog is in the late 14th century
region, Arkhangai aimag. evidence regarding when boodog
first was made, although it is safe Yüan shih, the official history of
there is an amazing range of milk to assume that its preparation the Yüan (Mongol) Dynasty in
products, not just kumis, which from hunted animals dates from China. The story relates how the
form the core of the summer diet. ancient times, soon after humans young Temüjin, the future Chingis
As a recent text explains, discovered fire. The idea of Khan, was fleeing for his life with
making boodog with livestock (as a few companions, among them
The main reason for the heavy his brother Khasar (Qajar):
is common now) is relatively new
focus on dairy products in
but may date as far back as the Fig. 2. Burial goods in a Xiongnu grave,
summer is the need to
time when people began herding including bronze cauldron containing
consume milk and its
animals. Excavations of Xiongnu animal bones. Tamiryn Ulaan Khoshuu,
derivatives before they get Arkhangai aimag, Feature 97.
graves in Mon-
spoiled very fast in the
golia from two
summer heat. Plus summer is
millennia ago
not the time to slaughter
have yielded
animals and therefore the
bronze caul-
meat supplies drastically
drons containing
reduce in those months.
bones of animals
Herders also refrain from
presumably
slaughtering their animals in
from the ritual
Photo © 2005 Daniel C. Waugh

hot weather lest the meat

preparation of
become spoiled in a very
food to accom-
short time (Baabar and
pany the de-
Enkhbat 2002: 34).
ceased [Fig. 2].
The Mongolian language actually It is possible
has specific words describing the that horhog
hunger for meat during the could have been
summer. Barbecue, an exception prepared in such

37
 When they reached the Pan- because they are not as busy with Barbecue and Health
chu-ni (Baljuni) River their the herds. The summer is also
provisions were entirely when people have enough milk to There is a significant connection
exhausted and, since the distill vodka from it, and when city between barbecue and healing.
place was desolate and people have their month-long When the barbecue is done,
remote, there was no way to vacations. The preparation of before eating it you must first toss
obtain food. It happened that barbecue is always done in the one of the hot, greasy stones back
a single wild horse came countryside. and forth between your hands, a
northward. The prince Ha- practice that is supposed to be
cha-erh (Qajar) shot it and Barbecue in Mongolia is used good for your health [Fig. 3].
killed it. Thereupon, they mainly for celebrations. Horhog
removed the hide to make a and boodog, while they have long
cauldron. They produced fire existed alongside other cooking
from a stone. They drew the methods, have always been the
water of the River. They boiled food of special occasions, such as
and ate it. [Tr. by Cleaves Naadam (the big sports festival in
1955, p. 397; cf. Weatherford July) or the arrival of honored
2004, p. 57, where he in- guests. Purev told me people
terpolates details not in the make barbecue during the felt-
original.] making time in early summer and
also when a family’s grown
Purev related a modern children come home from the city
equivalent of this old story of to visit. Today it remains the food
destitute flight from pursuers. of celebrations largely because it
Before the 1921 revolution, he is enough to feed a large group.
said, there were men who stole People enjoy it since it isn’ t

Photo © 2007 Daniel C. Waugh

livestock from the wealthy and everyday food, especially in the
distributed it to the poor people summer when little meat is eaten.
some distance to the east. To As much as anything, the focus is
escape the animals’ owners, they not on the food itself but on the
had to ride thousands of occasion for which it is served.
kilometers, and they had no time
to sit and eat while on the run. Generally, making barbecue in
So, as they were riding, they Mongolia is thought of as
would catch marmots, large something done by men. However,
rodents that inhabit the steppe of gender roles may in fact vary. Fig. 3. Handling the hot stones
Mongolia. They would stop to take Carengerel, mother of the family at a Mongolian barbecue.
out the bones and heat up some I stayed with in Bayanhongor
rocks in a fire, then stuff the rocks Aimag, said her husband can do Purev told me playing with hot
inside, tie it shut, hang it from barbecue but doesn’t, though he stones makes you less tired, and
their saddle and continue to ride. does hunt marmots. No one in the in the spring everyone is tired.
After galloping for an hour or so area is well-known for barbecue, You’re supposed to touch them
they would stop to remove the hair she said, but everyone can do it, with your fingertips, too. I was
and put the marmot on a fire to horhog with mutton or goat. In her skeptical at first, but holding hot
cook the skin. They would drink area, she said, people don’t make stones actually gets kind of
the broth, eat the meat, drink boodog with goats, only marmots. addictive.
some cold water from a stream,
and keep riding. The description I received from According Martha Avery, “These
Catherine Heffernan, an American stones are very therapeutic, so
Barbecue in Mongolia: When, Peace Corps volunteer, on how you can use them. Hold them in
Where, Why and by Whom? horhog is made in Selenge aimag your hands, or sit on them, or put
and Tov aimag seemed to assign them under your feet. For
Everyone I asked told me importance to gender division of example, if you have stomach
barbecue in Mongolia is generally labor in making the barbecue. problems, put them on top of your
a summer thing. It’s common When the layering of meat and hot stomach for a while. The stones
knowledge in Mongolia that the rocks was done in the can, she will be black and oily. Don’t wash
animals aren’t fat enough in the said, the wife put in the meat and them off!” (Avery 1996).
winter or spring. People also have salt, while the husband put in the
more free time for special meals hot rocks. The husband, she Ankhtaya, master teacher at the
and gatherings in the summertime observed, kept the fire going. traditional medicine school at

38
Mambadatsun Monastery in Purev said of horhog, “but it takes normally do not have seals, it may
Ulaanbaatar, told me a little bit a long time and hard work.” also be necessary create one (in
about how the hot stones used in our case it involved placing under
making barbecue are also used in The process of making horhog, the lid a layer of plastic bags and
traditional healing. The tradition is begins with selecting the proper newspaper). The idea is that the
not connected to Buddhism, she stones. About 100-200 km before container should be as airtight as
says, and she has no idea when it we reached our destination in possible but also safe from
began, though her guess is that southern Hentii aimag where I exploding. The key to the rapid
people have been doing this as was to learn how to make cooking of horhog is the pressure
long as they’ve been making traditional Mongolian barbecue, from the steam inside the
boodog. These practices are being we stopped to collect stones for containeer. Readers should note
used just as much now as in the making horhog and boodog. The that pressure cooking can be
recent past, she said, though it is proper kind of stones, Purev dangerous. Making horhog in an
possible these treatments were explained, are not available in the improvised pot at home is not
used more in the 17th and 18 th area where we were going. You recommended; even when using
centuries than they are now. have to get river stones, he said, a proper pressure cooker with a
because they will not break easily. safety valve, when opening the
For sleeping problems, They must be round and smooth,
Ankhtaya says, you can put hot cover one must be very careful to
with no cracks. We collected the release the pressure gradually
stones on your head, hold them stones by a small, slow-running
in your hands, or place them on first.
stream that used to be a big river.
the back of your neck. Putting a We selected from the collection
hot stone on the back of your neck the next morning but did not have Although any kind of meat may
will also help to relieve nervous to clean them, since heating them be used, horhog is generally made
problems. Placing a hot stone on in the fire killed any germs. with mutton. The sheep is
the side of your head, directly in Occasionally stones will explode slaughtered immediately before
front of your ear, can help improve when heated. Before placing them the horhog is assembled. Mongols
a problem with your hearing. in the horhog, they must be red- do not use the word “kill” with
Placing a hot stone on your back, hot. animals. The word is always
in the area of your kidney, can help translated as “to cut.” They
with a kidney problem. She said The other essential non-food slaughter sheep by cutting a slit
these ailments are caused by requirement is the container itself. in the lower part of the belly and
coldness, which is why hot stones We used a 40-liter (roughly 10 then reaching a hand inside up
are helpful. Holding hot stones can gallon) metal container of the sort past the elbow to squeeze the
also help prevent these conditions. used for storing water or dairy aorta [Fig. 4]. When a skilled
Ankhtaya also had some health products—a small milk can, if you person does this, the sheep dies
advice on eating barbecue. People wish. Some of these have a clamp in a matter of seconds, and no
with liver problems, such as with which to fasten down the lid blood is spilled on the ground.
Hepatitis B, should not eat boodog securely, although in Mongolia During the entire process, Purev
because it contains a lot of fat, people have even been known to said, it is necessary to pray,
which is not good for people with improvise by holding the lid down because that way it is not seen to
liver problems, she said. with an iron anvil. Using wooden be against the tenets of Buddhism
wedges to tighten the clamp may which prohibit killing living beings.
The Process of Making Horhog be necessary. Since such cans If a goat is being slaughtered, they
hit it on the head with a
Making horhog can be hammer and then cut its
described very simply, throat to drain the blood.
although the actual The meat is cut into chunks,
preparation process is leaving the bones in; the
rather involved. You entrails are processed
slaughter an animal, chop separately (see below).
Photo © 2005 Daniel C. Waugh

it up, and put the meat,

still on the bones, into a The recipe
metal container with Add to the can the
potatoes, onions, spices, following:
and hot rocks, then put it
Water, maybe half a gallon;
on the fire, cooking the
meat from both inside and 1/3 of the meat and
outside, with both heat vegetables: carrots and
and pressure. “It tastes potatoes, peeled and
nice and it looks nice,” Fig. 4. Cutting a sheep, Tamir River partially pre-cooked.
region, Arkhangai aimag.

39
 If necessary, add more water the sheep was being cut up for tially, it is the whole sheep. When
to cover completely. horhog, everyone in the extended they made it in Hentii, the head,
Add half of the spices (onions, family helped in processing the hooves and tail were taken
garlic, salt, pepper, pepper- entrails. These insides are made outside, the hair cut short and
corns and laurel leaves, or, if into several dishes: then burned off with a blowtorch
you have them, traditional [Fig. 7], and then all of it was
1) Blood sausage, for which the
seasonings of wild onions and washed very well and boiled. An
blood is mixed with flour, salt,
grasses). older person cuts and distributes
water, onions and garlic, put into
the meat, and it is distributed in a
Add a layer of hot rocks, the large intestines and boiled.
very specific way. A young woman,
blowing off the ash on them 2) Liver wrapped in the fat lining I was given a small part of the
first. from around the organs and mouth that is customarily given to
Add another third of the meat cooked directly in the flames. The young girls because it is supposed
and vegetables, the other half dung fire is supposed to give it a to help them sew better.
of the spices and, as needed, good taste. The liver thus cooked
water to cover. may be served as an appetizer To this point what I am
during the preparation for cooking describing is “traditional,” but as
Then add another layer of hot we know, tradition is not
rocks. horhog.
unchanging. Since my barbecue
Add the final third of the meat 3) Soup made from the organ teacher Purev has spent the last
and vegetables and cover with meats, seasoned with onions, several years working at tourist
hot rocks. The can should then pepper and salt. It is cooked on camps, when he prepares horhog
be approximately two-thirds top of a stove, inside the stomach and boodog in the countryside he
full. where hot rocks have placed, a is making traditional Mongolian
Close the can securely and smaller version of the process food but also adapting the menu
place it in the stoked fire or on used for making horhog. It is to urban tastes and ingredients.
top of a stove on high heat. called “origin myth soup” and is
not ever served to tourists; it is Thus, while the horhog began to
Cook for approximately an hour cook, we went to work making
and a half. A smaller container just a local dish. The boiled
entrails, like the liver, may be salad: chopping cabbage and
of the dish takes less time. carrots. The salads were of the
served as an appetizer.
No part of the animal is allowed sort served at tourist camps.
to go to waste [Figs. 5, 6]. When 4) Ikh Mongol, or “the great Cabbage and vinegar, salt,
Mongolian meal,” is sugar, oil;
called this because it Carrot, mayonnaise and garlic;
includes the head,
Cooked potato and carrot,
the tail, the four
corn, peas, salt and mayon-
hooves and a
naise.
sausage made from
the insides – essen- When the horhog was done, the
container was re-
moved from the
stove and set on the
floor of the ger to cool
for a bit. Then every-
one was called in, the
container was open-
ed, and the hot rocks
were passed around
(“juggled” might be a
more appropriate
term until they cool a
Photos © 2005 Daniel C. Waugh

bit). Then everyone

drinks the broth,

Fig. 5. Butchering the

sheep. Fig. 6. Scraping
off the stomach lining.
Fig. 7. Using a blow-
torch to burn off the
hair around the tail.

40
 make boodog, you must remove stomach breaks, it ruins
the animal’s bones and internal everything. In Hentii, it took two
organs through the neck. Then men to wrestle the stomach and
you put pieces of meat on bones intestines out. It’s also important
inside the skin, along with spices to avoid cutting anything that will
and hot rocks. You remove the hair cause the whole carcass to fall
with fire from the outside, and this down. “It’s like surgery, only
fire also adds heat to the cooking without looking,” Purev explained.
process from the outside, meaning Finally, when all the bones have
that, as with horhog, boodog

Photo © 2007 Daniel C. Waugh

been removed, the de-boned goat
cooks from both inside and skin is turned inside-out to
outside. separate the remaining meat. The
de-boned skin for boodog is called
Boodog is made with either tulam. If a little bit of hair gets
marmot or goat because these stuck inside, the hot stones will
two animals have a skin that can burn it up and it will not be in the
tolerate having hot rocks inside boodog. This time though,
without breaking. It is theoretically because it was still May and the
Fig. 8. Dishing out horhog. possible to make camel boodog, hair was very long, there was way
which is very rich, thick and fatty. but in reality it is impossible too much hair, and they used a
Finally the meat is divided [Figs. because a camel, which is large, blowtorch to remove the hair from
8, 9]. Traditionally, the meat is would take a whole truckload of the inside the skin. Watching two
divided evenly among everyone in hot stones. Sometimes barbecue grown men, armed with a
the ger. The choicest piece is the people in Mongolia tell jokes in blowtorch, wrestle with an inside-
shoulder blade, called the out goat is an odd
dal, which is offered to the sight for a visitor.
honored oldest member
of the group, who then Once the goat was
divides it among everyone finally turned back
present. One sheep right-side-out, they
typically feeds around 30 stuffed it with the
people. following:
Spices (onions,
Photo © 2007 Daniel C. Waugh

It is important after garlic, laurel leaf,

eating the meat from salt, pepper, pep-
horhog not to drink cold percorns);
water because it can
hot rocks;
cause the fat to congeal
in your stomach and get meat, bone-in;
stuck there, making you hot rocks;
sick. Hot tea is an more meat and
acceptable drink with spices, and one
barbecue. Milk vodka Fig. 9. Horhog served al fresco Khoit Tsenkher kidney;
(airag) is the traditional Valley, Khovd aimag.
hot rocks.
drink, although commercial which “camel boodog” is the
bottled vodka is quite common punchline.
They made a point of placing the
nowadays, drunk neat, of course.
hot rocks in certain places inside
The Process of Making Boodog The process of removing all the the skin. Then they tied it up as
bones and organs through the tightly as possible, even though
As with horhog, the preparation goat’s neck takes a long time and steam continued to escape.
process for boodog is a lot tougher requires a good knowledge of Traditionally the skin is tied shut
than it sounds, and it takes a long anatomy. The carcass is with hair from a horse’s tail.
time.The word boodog comes suspended during the process; Nowadays, wire or plastic string
from the verb bookh, which means bones must be removed one at a may be used – whatever is
“to tie.” As with horhog, pressure- time, each one requiring some available. Once the boodog bag is
cooking is essential to the process, effort. It is absolutely essential to tied shut, they burned off the
though with boodog the cooking remove everything without remaining hair with a blowtorch.
is done inside the animal’s skin breaking the stomach or making Traditionally, the skin with hot
instead of in a metal container. To any holes in the skin. If the rocks inside is placed on an

41
elongated fire that encompasses intact, the hunter must shoot the it in Ulaanbaatar. But it was
the whole. Purev said that a big marmot in the head and be careful nowhere to be found, even though
grill can be used for cooking not to put any holes in the skin. I had been told that there are
boodog, like the one used for Hunting marmots relies on the restaurants in Ulaanbaatar which
cooking pigs in the United States. rodents’ innate curiosity. “Twirling serve horhog made on a small
As I observed it in Hentii aimag, a tuft of yak-tail will arouse the scale. The only advertised
however, the cooking was done marmot’s curiosity. When it rises commercially available barbecue
with a blowtorch. The meat is up to get a better look, the hunter in Ulaanbaatar was the new
cooked both by the hot stones has a chance for a good shot” franchise of the Michigan-based
inside and the fire from outside. (Goldstein and Beall 1994, p. 65). BD’s Mongolian Barbecue. As a
If the cooking skin has really been Marmots are also trapped for their billboard announced, its general
tightly sealed, it may be necessary skins, which have been exported concept is “Create Your Own Stir
to open it occasionally during in such large numbers in recent Fry.”
cooking to release some of the years that the government
pressure and prevent its ex- enacted a ban on all marmot
ploding. Purev said that many a hunting. Billy Downs, president of BD’s,
burn has been caused by told me about the franchise. The
exploding boodog after someone Bat, who works for a company project began when a restaurant
accidentally burned a hole through catering to foreign hunters, owner in Ulaanbaatar who served
the skin. explained that, despite the a similar style of “Mongolian
hunting ban, which includes the barbecue” contacted him to ask
The boodog takes about an hour penalty that the marmot and the for help with the cooking process.
to cook (much less time than it hunter ’s gun will likely be “They didn’t feel like they were
took to de-bone the goat!); it is confiscated and the hunter fined, doing it the right way, so they
done when soft all over. The skin people still hunt enough marmots contacted us for help,” Downs
should be an even, golden-yellow to sell marmot boodog along the said. “We decided to open a whole
color. When everyone has roadside in the country. The taste restaurant.”
gathered, someone
cuts open the boodog The restaurant is set
and distributes the up like a salad bar of
rocks and meat. uncooked things:
meats, vegetables and
As is the case with sauces. Diners fill a bowl
mutton horhog, it is with their choice of
important not to drink ingredients, and cooks
cold water after eating prepare the food on a
goat boodog, because hot griddle with two long
Photo © 2007 Daniel C. Waugh

it can cause the fat to metal cooking tools they

congeal in your sto- call “swords” [Fig. 10].
mach. It is, however, Whether the food served
a good idea to drink at BD’s is authentically
cold water after eating Mongolian is a good
marmot or horse meat question; both Mongols
(the fat is different and and Americans in
will not congeal). Mongolia said they don’t
Marmot Boodog Fig. 10. Cooking on the griddle at BD’s in Ulaanbaatar. think so. Mongols said
the slivers of meat
Traditionally, boodog is made with for marmot boodog trumps designed to cook quickly are part
marmot. Because marmot meat enthusiasm for enforcing the of their food culture, but not the
has a lot of calories, it is believed hunting ban. As one Mongol rest. Americans suggested that
to have good and healthy meat asserts, “Mongolians are crazy the BD’s concept may have first
(Gongorjav 1999). Marmot about Marmot!” This, despite the been packaged as “Mongolian” in
reportedly tastes a lot like danger that live marmots are China or Taiwan and then exported
horsemeat. A strange thing about known to be carriers of the plague. to the U.S.
marmot, Purev said, is that three
people can eat a marmot and be Barbecue for Sale?
full, and so can ten. In any event, it is certainly not
Before I went to Hentii to learn the traditonal “Mongolian
Because making boodog how to make Mongolian barbecue, barbecue” I have described above,
requires that the animal’s skin stay I did a pretty extensive search for even if some aspects of the

42
preparation resemble what one been very successful is tourist About the author
can find in everyday practice. camps. Employees at Chinggisiin
Debra McCown is a newspaper
In the countryside, Mongols Khuree, a tourist camp roughly 20
reporter and writer who spent five
generally cook in a big metal bowl km from Ulaanbaatar, for
months in Mongolia in 2005. She
(we might call it a wok), either example, say that on a typical
now makes her home in Abingdon,
balanced between three rocks or weekend they feed 70 to 100
Virginia, where she continues her
set into a round hole over a fire. guests per day and business is
search for excellent barbecue. She
In the process of making soup and increasing. On one hectic day
may be contacted at
other dishes, they first brown all 1,000 guests came.
<[email protected]>.
the little pieces of chopped up Considering I traveled several
meat, then may add a small References
thousand miles searching for
amount of vegetables, carrots, Mongolian barbecue, it’s a bit Avery 1996
potatoes and/or cabbage, then stir strange to expect that it will follow Martha Avery. Women of Mongolia.
the mixture around and let it cook me home. I look forward to the Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press,
a little bit before adding water. day when “real” Mongolian 1996.
As Paul Buell’s article in this barbecue is served at restaurants Baabar and Enkhbat 2002
journal demonstrates, Mongolian not only in Ulaanbaatar but also Baabar and E. Enkhbat. Mongols.
cooking in earlier times incor- in the United States. Folks may Ulaanbaatar: Monsudar, 2002.
porated a great deal from other have to drive a distance to visit Cleaves 1955
food traditions and in turn helped one of the restaurants – the Francis Woodman Cleaves, “The
to transmit recipes across Eurasia. nearest one to me is about 300 Historicity of the Baljuna Covenant,”
BD’s cooking style is a blend of miles away – but it’s a whole lot Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 18/
elements from several cultures, closer than Mongolia. 3-4. (1955): 357-421.
with sauces and ingredients from Goldstein and Beall 1994
all over the world. It is not Melvyn C. Goldstein and Cynthia M.
impossible that one of its sources Acknowledgements Beall. The Changing World of
is Mongolian tradition. “Mongolian Mongolian Nomads, Berkeley: Univ. of
barbecue” in BD’s style is certainly I am grateful to the following California Press, 1994.
a growing phenomenon. “It’s individuals whom I interviewed Gongorjav 1999
clever,” said Layton Croft, an during my research in 2005: G. Gongorjav. Mongolian Traditional
American working on Mongolia Ankhtaya, master teacher of Food, Vol. 2. Ulaanbaatar: C. Caaral,
with a non-profit organization. Mambadatsun Traditional Medicine 1999.
“There’s a market for this around School; Bat, employee of a
Mongolian Way 1987
the world, and it’s not a Mongolian hunting tourism company ;
Mongolian Way of Life, Vol. 1.
thing, but if someone’s going to Byambabdorj, Professor of
Ulaanbaatar: Mongolian Institute of
come here as a tourist, they’re Ethnography at the National
History, 1987.
going to say, hey, I had Mongolian University of Mongolia;
Carengerel, Bayanhongor aimag; Oyunbayar 1999
barbecue in Mongolia…it’s clever
Layton Croft, Asia Foundation; N. Oyunbayar. “Meat, Milk and
because it’s entrepreneurial.” Mongolia: Misunderstood and Often
Dolgorsuren, Professor of
Yet in Ulaanbaatar, clearly it is Maligned, the Mongolian Diet Does
Ethnography, National University
also entrepreneurial to offer Make Sense,” Ger 2 (May 1999).
of Mongolia; Billy Downs,
traditional horhog, which Downs President of BD’s Mongolian Rubruck 2004
added to the restaurant’s menu Barbecue; Egii, student at “William of Rubruck’s Account of the
recently along with some new Ulaanbaatar University; G. Mongols.” In Silk Road Seattle <http:/
variations. “Whenever you tell a Lkhagvaa, Professor of Nutrition /depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/
Mongol ‘chicken horhog,’ they start and Food Preparation Technology, rubruck.html>, accessed October 23,
laughing,” Downs said. But, he Mongolian University of Science 2007.
said, “It’s amazing flavor.” While and Technology; Catherine Secret History 1998
the “create your own stir-fry” Heffernan, Peace Corps volunteer The Secret History of the Mongols. The
remains the food of choice among in Mongolia; S. Bayaraa, Origin of Chingis Khan. An Adaptation
foreigners who come to the Ulaanbaatar; Solongo, Ulaan- of the Yüan Ch’ao Pi Shih, Based
restaurant, Mongols do order baatar; Soylhoo, Dadal, Hentii Primarily on the English Translation by
horhog, and there are plans to add aimag. Above all I am indebted to Francis Woodman Cleaves by Paul
the traditional Mongolian foods to Purevtogtokh, Bayanhotag, Hentii Kahn. Expanded ed. Boston: Cheng &
the menu of BD’s restaurants in aimag, for the lessons he provided Tsui, 1998 (first published 1984).
the United States. in preparation of the real Weatherford 2004
Meanwhile, in Mongolia, the one Mongolian barbecue and to his Jack Weatherford. Genghis Khan and
commercial enterprise in which family for extending the hospitality the Making of the Modern World. New
both horhog and boodog have for which Mongols are famous. York: Crown Publishers, 2004.

43
Investigation of a Xiongnu Royal Complex in the
Tsaraam Valley
Part 2: The Inventory of Barrow No. 7
and the Chronology of the Site
Sergei S. Miniaev
Institute of the History of Material Culture (Russian Academy of Sciences), St. Petersburg
Lidiia M. Sakharovskaia
V. A. Obruchev Regional Museum, Kiakhta

During the 1997-2005 field of the report, we expand on our although they suffice to
seasons the Trans-Baikal earlier description of some of the reconstruct its size and
Archaeological Expedition of the finds in the central barrow and decoration. The diameter is 13
Institute of the History of Material conclude with a discussion of the cm; around its edge is a rim 2.1
Culture, Russian Academy of chronology of the complex. cm wide and .3 cm thick. The
Sciences, St. Petersburg, characteristic elements of the
investigated a Xiongnu Royal Objects Found Inside the decoration make it possible to
burial complex in the Tsaraam Burial Pit: The Chinese Mirror identify a wide range of analogies
Valley, situated 1.5 km to the and reconstruct the entire
south of Naushki village (Buriat Fragments of a Chinese bronze decorative scheme.
Republic, Russian Federation) mirror [Figs. 3, 4, next page] were
[Figs. 1, 2]. We published a found under the logs at the second Apart from the smooth rim, on
level of the longitudinal partition the reverse surface of a mirror of
in the center of the burial pit, 218 that type are several concentric
cm below the surface. The ten ornamental bands. Directly
fragments of the mirror were in adjoining the rim is a narrow (3
the following positions: six lay one mm) band with a comb-tooth
above the other and the remaining pattern, inside of which is the main
four alongside of them. Taken ornamental band with images
together they do not form a which were separated from the
complete mirror — its center is center of the mirror also by a
only partially preserved — narrow band with a comb-tooth
Photos © 2007 S. S. Miniaev and L. M. Sakharovskaia

Fig. 1.View of the excavation of

Barrow No. 7 from the north.

preliminary report about the

excavation in The Silk Road
(Miniaev and Sakharovskaia
2006a), where the reader may
find site diagrams and information
about the construction of the
tomb. Its complex structure
included a number of vertical
partitions and horizontal ceilings Fig. 1. View of the burial pit of Barrow No. 7 showing intraburial
or covers. In this, the second part construction.

44
Figs. 3, 4. The Han mirror
and four S-shaped
found in Barrow No. 7. figures” (or dragons).
The given group is
pattern. A smooth dated normally be-
protruding band 3 mm tween the 1st century
wide separated the BCE and 1 st century
outer bands from the CE.
center, where there was
a pierced knob for An important charac-
hanging the mirror. teristic of the mirrors
Narrow protruding lines from Xiongnu sites is
divided into four sectors their fragmentary
the area around the state. Unlike those in
knob and inner smooth Han burials (and in a
band. In each sector in rare instance such as
turn were three round the Xiongnu burial at
knobs or nipples, the the Tamir site ex-
central one of which cavated in 2005), the
was connected with the mirrors in most
protruding smooth Xiongnu burials are
band by three short found either in
lines. separate fragments or
in several pieces of a
The main ornamental mirror that had been
band situated between intentionally broken.
the two narrow bands Evidence of the in-
with the comb-tooth tentional breaking of
pattern was divided into mirrors is seen, for
four sectors by means example, in the mirror
of small rounded pro- discovered in a
jecting knobs. The area residence in the
between the knobs was fortress of Bayan-

Photograph and drawing © 2007 S. S. Miniaev and L. M. Sakharovskaia

covered by virtually Under, where it was
identical compositions, unearthed along with
the center of which was the iron knife which
a large scroll in the broke it (Huns 2005,
shape of a comma. It is p. 46, fig. 63).
possible that initially
this was the depiction of It is very likely that
the body of an animal the Tsaraam mirror,
which with time had initially intact, likewise
been transformed into a had been intentionally
geometric composition. broken. Traces of
Above and below this scale clearly visible on
scroll were figures of its surface indicate
birds, or, more rarely, that the mirror had
other animals. been broken by means
of heating it to a high
Mirrors of this type temperature and then
are not uncommon. abruptly cooling it,
They are known in possibly in cold water.
museum collections; After that, some of the
some examples of such fragments were re-
mirrors have been found in Chou 2000, p. 39, fig. 20, Cheng moved and the rest placed under
archaeological excavations both of and Han 2002, fig. 25:1,2 and fig. the beams of the longitudinal
the Han Dynasty itself and in 26:1,2; Wenwu 1977, fig. 27:2.) partition. Removed as a result of
Xiongnu excavations of that same According to the standard this process were the central knob
period on the territory of Mongolia classification (Zhongguo tongjing of the mirror, the three nipples
and Russia. (See, e.g., Tal’ko- 1997, p. 247) they belong to the dividing the main ornamental zone
Gryntsevich 1999, p. 50, fig. 3ñ; group of mirrors “with four nipples into parts, and two segments with

45
ornament in the form of a central collective which the deceased had the harness and frame, while the
“comma” and adjoining birds. The left behind. southern one crossed the
depiction of a bird above the presumed location of the seat, in
“comma” in the third section also Objects Found Inside the the process demolishing a
has been damaged. In essence Burial Pit: The Chinese Chariot considerable part of the canopy.
then, the only remaining complete Altogether, the parts of the chariot
segment is the fourth one. We A Chinese chariot was found in the were very poorly preserved: the
note in particular that although the center of the barrow at a depth of wooden parts and organic material
third and fourth segments had 10.5 – 11 m (Miniaev and Sakha- of the canopy had decayed almost
been broken into several parts rovskaia 2007). To its north, at the completely, the bronze and iron
during the ritual, these parts were wall of the pit about a meter from fastenings of the harness had
not removed but placed in the the incline of the fifth step at a been severely oxidized and lost
grave pit along with other depth of 10 m were the skull, two their original structure. Here is a
fragments. At the same time, a neck vertebrae and the description of the preserved parts
small fragment of the mirror with metapodials of a horse. The of the chariot [Fig. 6, next page].
the dividing knob between the arrangement of the chariot’s parts
third and fourth segments was suggests that its body had been The remains of the canopy were
removed along with two other placed beneath the third cover in the center of the pit 4 m from
fragments with nipples. The when the pit was being filled, while its northern edge above the stones
fragment with a nipple which was the canopy and wheels were found of the third cover. The canopy
placed in the grave pit had first above the stones of the third cover consisted of a wooden frame, over
been subjected to strong in the center of the barrow and which some organic material had
secondary heating, the result of thus must have been located been stretched. The base of the
which was that the knob had above the level of that ceiling [Fig. frame was composed of thin
melted. The melting of the nipple 5]. Probably the
was a result specifically of that chariot had been
second heating of a separate set onto the
Drawing © 2007 S. S. Miniaev and L. M. Sakharovskaia

fragment, since otherwise the stones of the

adjoining more delicate parts of fourth cover
the mirror also would have melted. where it was
buried by the
Thus one can hypothesize that filling of the pit as
during the burial ceremony a well as by gravel,
special ritual was performed over pebbles, char-
the mirror, a ritual which possibly coal and slabs of
was the norm for the burial the third ceiling
practices of the Xiongnu more (the canopy and
generally. The ritual involved the wheels of the
subjecting the mirror to chariot having
mechanical or heat treatment and remained above
breaking it into several fragments. the latter). When
One or several of such fragments the fill of the pit
accompanied the dead, while sank, the parts of
other parts of the mirror were the chariot were
removed and possibly preserved displaced: in the
by the family or relatives of the process, the
deceased in order subsequently to movement of
accompany other burials and stone slabs,
serve as a kind of sign of gravel, and peb-
recognition upon meeting in the bles — acting like
other world. The burial of some millstones —
parts of the mirror in the grave inflicted serious
pit and the removal of others (of damage. Some
analogous design) suggests that time later, the
such mirrors and the ritual actions chariot was yet
performed over them served as a further disturbed
kind of connecting link between by robber pas-
the world of the living and the sages: the north-
world of the dead, symbolizing in ern passage Fig. 5. The remains of the chariot in situ at the level of
both worlds the unity of the damaged part of the fourth cover. A and B are the looters’ passages.

46
 Fig. 6. The remains of the canopy and
body of the chariot. Figures in

Drawing © 2007 S. S. Miniaev and L. M. Sakharovskaia

parentheses are depth measurements.
1. Bones of a horse (skull and
metapodials). 2. Front yoke-pole. 3.
Yoke-heads. 4. Bronze ferrule for front
yoke-pole. 5. Bronze arc-shaped
harness “rings.” 6. Remains of thin
round wooden poles. 7. Rectangular
iron buckles. 8. Iron plates. 9. Iron
rings. 10. Bronze ferrules for rear yoke-
pole. 11. Iron rings. 12. Rear yoke-
pole. 13. Remains of the lattice-work
body of the chariot. 14. Shafts. 15.
Elbow-rests for the seat. 16. Eastern
wheel. 17. Western wheel. 18. Iron
clamps. 19, 20. Small iron bushings.
21. Iron plate. 22. Bones of a lamb.
23. Canopy.

western edge had been

completely destroyed during the
collapse of the third cover. The
preserved length of the pole was
2.5 m; its diameter was 18–20
cm. A bronze ferrule 10 cm long
and 7 cm in diameter was
attached to the eastern tip of the
pole. The ferrule had completely
oxidized and been crushed by the
pressure of the fill. Probably a
similar ferrule had been attached
to the western, destroyed end of
the pole. Five pairs of square
mortises measuring 3 × 1.5 cm
for attaching parts of the harness
were discernible. They began 12
cm from the eastern tip of the
yoke-pole and ran along its entire
length at intervals of 40–45 cm
(the mortises in each pair were
spaced 4 cm apart). Near the
mortises were fragments of
bronze — probably traces of arc-
shaped harness “rings” or guides
which had been set into the
mortises.
Remains of yoke-heads were
wooden strips about 4 cm wide set nails. The inside of the canopy was uncovered at the western and
crosswise, to which were attached coated with red lacquer, which eastern sides of the yoke-pole, as
a number of thick arched twigs. preserved traces of geometric well as in its center. These
The base included as well thinner ornament rendered in white, consisted of boards 4 cm thick, 8
twigs 1–1.5 cm in diameter, brown and dark-red paints [Fig. 7, cm wide, and with the preserved
arrayed radially from the center of next page]. A robber trench had length of 25–30 cm. The position
the frame. The organic cover of destroyed the southern part of the of the western yoke-head in situ
the frame was duofold, its upper canopy. suggests that the heads were
layer consisting of a dark organic attached to the yoke-pole by
material (leather or felt), below The front yoke-pole of the means of special incisions. The
which there was a thin layer of chariot was found on the layer of lower parts of the yoke-heads
cloth. This canopy covering was pebbles and charcoal under the were not preserved. In the upper
fixed to the strips and twigs of the stones of the third cover of the pit, part of the western and central
frame with thin, iron L-shaped 2.5 m north of the canopy. Its yoke-heads there was a cylindrical

47
 The remains of wood on the outer side, whereas
the wooden in the center of the large and small

Photo © 2007 S. S. Miniaev and L. M. Sakharovskaia

wheels were lo- hubs no traces of wood have been
cated 1 m south detected. The iron nails with which
of the shafts, on the hubs were fixed to the wooden
the stones of the cores of the wheels were
third ceiling. The preserved on the outer side of the
lower part of the larger hubs.
western wheel
was in the layer The rear yoke-pole. This is an
of pebbles and arbitrary designation for this part
gravel underlying of the chariot, since its real
that ceiling. The purpose still is not clear. A number
wheels were of facts suggest, however, that it
spaced 2 m from is not the axle of the chariot, viz.:
one another, – the difference between the
each consisting diameter of the pole and the inner
of a felloe, diameter of the large iron hubs
spokes and, pos- into which the axle must have
sibly, a central been inserted;
disc into which – the separate position of the
the ends of the bronze axle-caps (as described
Fig. 7. The lacquered inside of the canopy of the chariot. spokes had been below), which were usually put
inserted and in onto the ends of the axle and
projection on which a bronze the center of which the iron hub whose diameter differs from that
ferrule had been placed. On the of the axle had been placed. The of the rear pole (which further-
eastern head, this projection had wheels were considerably more had its own bronze caps).
been broken off in antiquity but damaged by the pressure of the
its traces were discernible in the filling of the pit and ceilings. The In its shape and dimensions (7
upper part of the head. The entire wheels were 120 cm in diameter cm in diameter and about 3 m
surface of the yoke-pole and yoke- and had 22 spokes whose long) the “rear yo ke-pole”
heads was coated with black thickness was 3–4 cm. Remains resembled the front pole. The
lacquer, over which a geometrical of a number of iron shackles were largest part of the pole had been
pattern was drawn in white and traceable around the felloe of the cut off by the northern robber
red paint. Stylistically, fragments western wheel. Tiny fragments of trench; only its eastern and
of this pattern are similar to that red and white paint were western ends were preserved.
on the inside of the canopy of the preserved on the felloe and Bronze caps 5.5 cm in diameter
chariot. spokes. The felloe and the and 7 cm long were placed on the
adjoining parts of the spokes were tips of the pole. On the surface of
The two wooden shafts of the painted red to a length of 10–12 the caps was a small cylindrical
chariot were beneath the front cm, whereas the rest of the spokes flange. Two arc-shaped iron
yoke-pole lying parallel to each was painted white. Practically fastenings were driven into the
other in the N-S direction and 60 nothing of the central parts of the yoke-pole 3-4 cm from these caps.
cm apart. They were very poorly wheels survives; nevertheless Possibly some elements of the
preserved: their southern parts traces of red paint detected there harness (straps or ropes) once
had been cut off by the robber suggest that the central disc of the passed through these fastenings.
trench; the preserved length was wheel into which the spokes had The surface of the rear yoke-pole
95–100 cm. Traces of lacquer and been inserted was painted red. showed traces of lacquer and a
a pattern rendered in red and pattern rendered in white paint.
white paints were visible on the Small iron hubs with two
surface of the shafts. Near the projections were uncovered Wooden elbow-rests of the seat.
eastern shaft at a distance of 10 directly outside of the wheels in After the wheels had been
cm from it was a line of iron oval the pebble layer which underlay removed, directly below them
plates with holes on the shorter the third ceiling. There were traces were found remains of some
sides. Probably these had once of wood on the outer side of the pinewood blocks which possibly
been sewn onto the leather straps hubs. Large iron hubs with three were once the elbow-rests of the
of the harness or the reins. Below projections on the outside of each seat. These consisted of boards
this line of plates, 30 cm to the were found under the wheels in 3–4 cm thick, decayed and
east, was an iron ring 6.5 cm in the pebble layer of the third compressed by the powerful
diameter. ceiling. These also bore traces of pressure of the filling of the pit.

48
The elbow-rests presumably pair of axle-caps (beneath the “chariot with a seat” (Taskin 1968-
measured 25 × 50 cm. A painted trellised body) suggest that the 1973, Vol. 2, p. 35). Subsequently,
geometrical design could be made chariot had been placed in the as mentioned in the Hanshu, on
out on their lacquered surface. tomb in a disassembled and more than one occasion the
possibly incomplete state. It is shanyü was given presents similar
The body of the chariot. After also noteworthy that the presence to those he received the first time
the wheels had been cleared and of three yoke-heads implies the (Ibid., pp. 36, 37, 51). During the
removed, remains of a trellised use of three horses in the team. epoch of Wang Mang (9–23 CE),
frame of the chariot and bronze However, as mentioned above, who intended to divide the
axle-terminals were uncovered in only the skull, two cervical Xiongnu into separate nomadic
the space between the wheels and vertebra and metapodials of a bands and to set his own chief at
the remains of the chariot shafts. single horse were discovered. This the head of each, one of the
The remains of the frame horse was evidently laid into the Xiongnu deserters, the right liyü-
consisted of several wooden laths, tomb according to the principle “a wang Xian was awarded the title
2-3 cm. thick, from which the part instead of the whole.” of Xiao-shanyü and, among other
trellised part of the body had been presents, given a “chariot with a
constructed. The laths were The construction of this chariot seat and a chariot with a drum”
attached to each other with iron and its decorations have very close (Ibid., p. 57). In 50 CE the shanyü
nails where they crossed. The parallels among Chinese chariots of the southern Xiongnu, Bee
northern and southern parts of the of the Han period. The most (grandson of Huhanye ruling
trellised frame of the chariot, as comprehensive recent study of under the same name as his
well as, perhaps, the entire seat these chariots distinguishes a grandfather) was granted “a
had been destroyed by the robber number features very similar to carriage with a seat and an
trenches. North of the trellised those of the chariot from Tsaraam umbrella of feathers and a team
frame, under its wooden laths, (Wang 1997). Like the Han of four richly harnessed horses”
were two cylindrical bronze axle- examples, the Tsaraam chariot (Ibid., p. 72). In 143 CE the
caps at whose bases were circular has a canopy consisting of a southern shanyü Hulanzhuo in the
flanges [Fig. 8]. The axle-caps wooden framework covered by throne hall of the imperial palace
were 10 cm long and 12 cm in some organic material, four was granted along with other gifts
diameter in their base and 5 cm wooden posts supporting the “a chariot with a black top
in diameter on the top. In the canopy, a trellised seat and harnessed to a team of four
lower part of the caps there were wooden “elbow-rests.” The body horses, a chariot with a drum, a
rectangular holes measuring 3 × of the chariot and the painting of chariot with a seat”; the shanyü’s
1.5 cm for insertion of the pins. the wheels are remarkably closely wives were granted “two carriages
In their upper part they had L- paralleled in a recently restored decorated with gold and brocade
shaped projections probably to fix chariot from the burial of the and draught horses” (Ibid., p. 94).
the straps of the harness. The iron famous Han general Huoqübing
pins, found lying between the who fought against the Xiongnu
It is thus quite possible that the
caps, were 10 cm long with a (Cooke 2000). The use of two
chariot found in Tsaraam was also
rectangular section and a ring or yoke-shafts on the Tsaraam
a gift from the Han court to one of
eye on one end. chariot suggests it was originally
the representatives of the Xiongnu
intended for a team of three
elite. However, judging by the
The absence of the wheel axle horses, whereas the single central
evidence from the Hanshu we
and the unusual position of the shaft typical of the Han chariots
might connect the chariot with a
implies an even
different event. In Wang Mang’s
number of
reign, the above-mentioned Xiao-
horses on the
shanyü’s son, Deng, who was then
team.
at the imperial court as a hostage,
W r i t t e n was executed because of his
sources often father’s desertion to the northern
attest that char- Xiongnu and his brother’s frequent
iots were among raids on the borderlands. At the
the gifts offered demand of the Xiongnu the
by the Han court corpses of Deng and some other
to the first-rank noblemen executed together with
Xiongnu nobility. him were returned to their
Thus in 51 BCE homeland for burial. The bodies
shanyü Huhanye they were “laid into chariots” for
Photo © 2007 S. S. Miniaev and L. M. Sakharovskaia received along transport (Ibid, p. 62). We may
Fig. 8. Bronze axle caps and iron pins. with other gifts a not rule out that later these

49
chariots were buried in the tombs
together with other funerary
offerings.

Drawing © 2007 S. S. Miniaev and L. M. Sakharovskaia

It should be emphasized that
in any case the records of chariots
either as gifts or in connection with
funerary ceremonies concern only
the first-rank Xiongnu nobility, i.e.
shanyüs, their wives, or sons. This
fact is a further confirmation of the
probability that Barrow No. 7 at
Tsaraam is a burial of a repre-
sentative of the Xiongnu elite,
possibly a shanyü. Parts of
chariots were found also in the
Xiongnu royal tombs at Noin-Ula,
but unfortunately the archaeo-
logical record from that site is
insufficiently precise to permit
reconstructing their details.
Objects Found in the Burial
Chamber
The bulk of the burial goods were
located in the corridors between
the walls of the chamber, the
frame, and the coffin. Several sets
of harness (iron bits, cheek-
pieces, harness buckles) and two
burial dolls were found in the
western external corridor. Iron
hooks, found in the walls of the
external chamber suggest that
originally the bridle arrays had
hung on such hooks and ended up
on the floor of the chamber only
after its deformation.
The doll found in the center of
the western corridor (the northern
of the two, to which we have given
the provisional designation “Doll
No.1”) was formed in the following
fashion [Fig. 9]. The head of the
doll was made of a human skull,
which, judging by the baby teeth,
was that of a 2-4-year-old child.
On the skull of the doll were six
braids of black stiff hair, which
probably had been attached to the
skull using some kind of glue.
Along with the braids on the skull
were two round beads made of
gold foil and inlaid with turquoise.
Two more braids were in front and
in back of the skull and two braids
in the waist region along with iron
plaques. Wooden sticks covered
with red lacquer formed the
extremities of the doll. Fig. 9. Drawing of Doll No. 1 in situ in the western corridor.

50
 2,” was formed in an analogous
fashion [Fig. 13, next page]. It
lay one meter to the south of Doll
No.1. The core of Doll No. 2 was
also a human skull which had

Photo © 2007 S. S. Miniaev and L. M. Sakharovskaia

completely disintegrated. Only
small baby teeth were preserved,
on the basis of which it was
determined that the skull might
have belonged to a child only a
few months old. In the vicinity of
the skull was a short braid of stiff
black hair. The modeling of the
upper extremities could not be
determined. The lower extremities
were made of thin iron plates,
placed in a wooden sheath and
covered with red lacquer.

In the vicinity of the neck of Doll

Fig. 10. Remains of birchbark and lacquered boxes found with Doll No. 1. No. 2 was a necklace of glass,
turquoise, flourite and large
The burial inventory of Doll No.1 Under the birchbark containers crystal beads. In the vicinity of
consisted of two separate iron belt was a birch bark circle, on which the waist of the doll were two
plaques measuring 15 x 6 cm (the was found a fragment of a Chinese corroded iron plates measuring 20
leather strap of the belt was bronze mirror. On one of the x 11 cm lying on the leather strap
preserved along with the plaques) birchbark containers were unique of a belt, which was preserved only
and [Fig. 10] a wooden lacquered drawings [Fig. 11], showing the in fragments and in places had
box placed behind the been covered with red
head of the doll next to lacquer. A loop of
which were four beads, consisting of
birchbark containers now almost com-
(possibly they were pletely scattered glass
originally inside the beads, had been
box). The box was suspended from the
covered in red lacquer belt. There were as
and along the edges well some heart-
decorated with a red shaped flourite and
lacquer design along a amber beads.
band of yellow lacquer. Fig. 11. Carved image on birchbark of trellised tents in
Under the box was a hair nomad camp. Photo © 2007 Miniaev & Sakharovskaia Below the waist of
pin of some kind of organic Xiongnu camp with carts and yurts Doll No. 2 under the bottom beam
material (possibly tortoise shell). placed on carriers and [Fig. 12] of the outer chamber were
the profile of a person in a helmet remains of a crushed wooden
— possibly a copy of a depiction lacquered vessel with geometric
on some coin. ornament. Inside the vessel were
fragments of a bronze mirror, a
In front and behind the skull of piece of mica, two wooden combs
Photo © 2007 Miniaev & Sakharovskaia

the doll were several iron buckles, and a collection of iron needles in
a bit, cheek pieces and fragments a wooden holster. On the exterior
of iron objects. Probably they of the vessel was a inscription in
were not connected to the ideograms, which Prof. Michèle
inventory of the doll but originally Pirazzoli-t’Serstevens analyzes in
had hung on the wall of the a separate article below.
chamber and ended up on the
floor after its deformation.
The finds in the eastern external
The other doll found in the corridor were practically the same
western corridor, given the as those in the western one. Here
Fig. 12. Carving on birchbark disk, provisional designation “Doll No. there were also sets of bridles
possibly depicting a coin.

51
Drawings © 2007 S. S. Miniaev and L. M. Sakharovskaia

Fig. 14 (above). Drawing of Doll No. 3 in situ in

eastern corridor. 1. Iron buckles. 2. Iron plate
covered with red lacquer. 3. Fragments of red
lacquer. 4. Wooden object covered with red lac-
quer. 5. Braids. 6. Fragment of clothes (?) (woolen
cloth and organic material — either fur or felt).
7. Pendants made from wall of a lacquered
wooden cup. 8, 10. Turquoise beads. 9. Glass
bead. 11. Amber bead. 12. Fragments of a bronze
Chinese mirror. 13. Birchbark case for mirror. 14.
Birchbark containers. 15. Fragments of a lac-
quered wooden cup. 16. Fragment of felt. 17.
Hair. 18. Wooden comb. 19. Silk.

Fig. 13 (left). Drawing of Doll No. 2 in situ in the

western corridor. 1. Iron objects. 2. Fragment of felt
(?). 3. Fragment of a braid. 4. A group of beads (a
necklace?) (C—carnelian; T—turquoise; Cr—crystal;
F— flourite; the rest—glass). 5. Leather covered with
red lacquer. 6. Leather. 7 Iron plates. 8. Wooden lac-
quered plate. 9. Iron plates, covered with red lac-
quer. 10. Fragments of a lacquered wooden container
with an inscription. 11. String of beads (C—carne-
lian, F—flourite, A—amber, the rest—glass). 12. Hu-
man teeth.

52
Drawing © 2007 S.S. Miniaev & L. M. Sakharovskaia At the waist of
the doll were also
two wide cor-
roded iron buck-
les measuring 19
x 12 cm. Behind
the head of the
doll were re-

Photo © 2007 S.S. Miniaev & L.M. Sakharovskaia

mains of a
wooden object
(possibly a box),
on which was a
Fig. 15. Drawing of a bronze plaque depicting a running small birchbark
mountain goat.
container and a
(consisting of iron bits, large fragment of a Chinese
cheekpieces and buckles) and mirror.
burial dolls. The burial doll which The fourth doll apparently had
lay in the center of the eastern been removed by the robbers;
corridor to the south of the pieces only its feet remained.
of harness and which was given
the provisional designation “Doll But for two bronze coffin
No. 3” was formed in the same handles, found near its south-
way as the dolls in the western western and southeastern Fig. 17. White jade plaques.
corridor [Fig. 14, previous page]. corners, there were practically no
The skull of the doll had practically artifacts in the western internal southern internal corridor were a
completely disintegrated. In the corridor: flat iron ring and two iron
vicinity of the skull lay several The finds in the eastern internal fasteners.
braids of stiff black hair, on the corridor were confined to its
The northern section of the
ends of which were little turquoise, southern part, since robbers had
coffin had been destroyed by
glass and amber beads. Lac- destroyed the northern part.
robbers, but jade plaques of armor
quered wooden sticks formed the These finds included sets of
and a jade diadem were found
extremities. Near the neck on harnesses — iron bits, cheek-
there (Fig. 17). In the preserved
both right and left in the vicinity plates, bronze harness-plates,
bronze plaques with
depictions of a running goat
[Fig. 15]; silver chest
medallions for horses
(phalars) with images of
mountain goats [Fig. 16] —
Photo © 2007 S.S. Miniaev & L.M. Sakharovskaia

arrowheads, a lacquered
wooden staff, a lacquered
wooden cup and a lacquered
wooden quiver with iron
arrowheads.
Photo © 2007 S.S. Miniaev & L.M. Sakharovskaia

To a substantial degree,
the entrance of a looter had
destroyed the northern
external corridor, but
fragments of ceramics and
lacquered wooden objects
were found there. Nothing
was found in the southern
Fig. 16. Silver horse harness chest medal-
external corridor, but in that
lion (phalar) depicting a mountain goat.
corridor, attached to the
of the skull were remains of two interior wall of the external
round pendants of wood covered chamber, were remains of a
with lacquer which possibly had woolen carpet which had been
been formed from the walls of destroyed by the shifting of the Fig. 18. Gold image of a satyr
wooden lacquered cups. beams of the chamber. In the from a buckle.

53
 dated from the same period —
from the end of the 1st century
BCE to the beginning of the 1st

Photo © 2007 S.S. Miniaev & L.M. Sakharovskaia

century CE (cf. Louis 2007).

As Guolong Lai recently

cautioned in this journal, dating
on the basis of Chinese mirrors
can be problematic, given the fact
that too many examples in
museum collections lack details
about their provenance (Lai
2006). With that caution in mind,
we nonetheless feel that on the
basis of modern classification
(Zhongguo tongjing 1997) all four
mirrors whose fragments were
Fig. 19. Fragment of a ritual sword and inlaid gold objects in situ.
found in the central barrow in the
burial pit and amid grave goods
southern section of the coffin were burial complex, put in place during of the dolls can be dated between
the remains of a covering of some one funerary ceremony, in one day the end of the Western Han and
organic material (felt or com- or a maximum of several days. early Eastern Han periods, that is
pressed fur), two iron buckles The basis for determining the not earlier than the 1st century
covered in gold foil and depicting chronology of the complex is the BCE.
a satyr [Fig. 18, previous page], inscription on the lacquered box Eight 14C dates were obtained in
and two gold fastenings. Next to found near Doll No. 2, fragments laboratory of the Institute of the
the remains of a ritual sword were of four Chinese mirrors, and 14C History of Material Culture [see
three gold objects decorated with dates. table, next page]. While the dates
turquoise inlay [Fig. 19]. Two of fall within a broad range,
them may be finials; the third, Prof. Michèle Pirazzoli- calibration of values by the
with the image of a mountain goat t’Serstevens has concluded in her program OxCal suggests (with a
is a small flask [Fig. 20]. article published separately here probability 95.4 %) that the
The Date of the Complex that the inscription dates no burials were made in approxi-
earlier than 36-27 BCE and might mately the period period 30 - 120
We consider the central barrow date between 8 BCE and 4 CE CE.
and sacrificial burials as a unique (that is, immediately before the
Wang Mang period). In sum then, we know that the
Drawing © 2007 S.S. Miniaev & L. M. Sakharovskaia
However, she cau- complex is no earlier than about
tions that these the last third of the first century
dates are at best a BCE and very likely is to be dated
terminus ante in the first century CE.
quem, since the box
Conclusion
with the inscription
might have been The application of modern
placed in the grave archaeological techniques to the
long after it had excavation of Complex No. 7 in the
been manufactured. Tsaraam Valley has yielded
We can add that entirely new information about
fragments of a Xiongnu mortuary practice, the
lacquered cup with construction of such barrows, and
the same design as Xiongnu social structure. New
in Noin-Ula were examples of Xiongnu art and
found in the material culture were discovered.
northern corridor in Yet much needs to be done to
the central Barrow complete the study. Conservation
No. 7 and in the of the finds is the first priority.
Sacrificial Burial No. Study of the material must include
16. It is very prob- DNA and morphological analysis
Fig. 20. Drawing of the gold flask shown in Fig. able that the of the skeletal remains and faunal
19, showing the image of a mountain goat. fragments can be and botanical samples and

54
component analysis of ceramic presented here combines several Mirrors). Xi’an: Shaanxi renming
and metal objects and organic of these sources, with some of the chubanshe, 2002.
materials such as the birchbark material being made available in
containers, lacquerware, and English for the first time. Cooke 2000.
textiles. The result should provide Bill Cooke. Imperial China: The Art
impressive new archaeological About the authors of the Horse in Chinese History.
evidence concerning the Louisville, Ky.: Harmony House,
Long-time collaborators and co- 2000.
organization, chronology, and
authors Sergei Miniaev and
regional interaction of the Xiongnu
Lidiia Sakharovskaia are among Huns 2005
nomadic polity. This research will
the leading experts on the Les Huns. Bruxelles: Europalia
complement on-going projects in
archaeology of the Xiongnu. International, 2005.
Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Inner
Miniaev is the founding editor of a
Mongolia and Xinjiang and will Lai 2006
a Russian monograph series on
contribute to the developing
Xiongnu archaeology, Arkheolo- Guolong Lai. “The Date of the TLV
theories on complex organization
gicheskie pamiatniki Siunnu. He Mirrors from the Xiongnu Tombs.”
among nomadic groups.
will be spending part of 2008 at The Silk Road 4/1 (2006): 36-44.
Acknowledgements the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton. Additional material Louis 2007
The authors are especially grateful on their excavations may be found François Louis. “Han Lacquerware
to Dr. Maria Kolosova of the State at <http://xiongnu.atspace.com/ and the Wine Cups of Noin Ula.”
Hermitage Museum for her >. Contact e-mail: <ssmin@ The Silk Road 4/2 (2007): 48-53.
classification of the wood samples yandex.ru>.
Miniaev 1998
and to Prof. Michèle Pirazzoli-
t’Serstevens of The Sorbonne for References Sergei S. Miniaev. Dyrestuiskii
her important observations mogil’nik (Derestui cemetery).
regarding the Chinese inscription. Chou 2000 Arkheologicheskie pamiatniki
Chou Ju-hsi. Circles of Reflection: siunnu, vyp. 3. Saint-Petersburg,
Editor’s note: Material in this The Carter Collection of Chinese Evropeiskii dom, 1998.
article has appeared in various Bronze Mirrors. Cleveland: The
forms both in Russian and in Miniaev and Sakharovskaia 2002
Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000.
English on Dr. Miniaev’s website Sergei S. Miniaev and Lidiia M.
and in Russian in leading Cheng and Han 2002. Sakharovskaia. “Soprovoditel’nye
archaeological journals (see Cheng Linquan and Han Guohe. zakhoroneniia ‘tsarskogo’
citations below). The version Chang’an Han jing (Chang’an Han kompleksa No. 7 v mogol’nike

55
Tsaram.” Arkheologicheskie vesti vesti (St. Petersburg) 13 (2007): the Xiongnu elite and Han court.
(St. Petersburg) 9 (2002): 86- 130-140. A lacquered box with a Chinese
118. In English as: “Sacrifice Tal’ko-Gryntsevich 1999. inscription from Barrow No. 7
burials of the royal complex no. 7 deserves special attention. This
at the Tsaraam cemetery” Iulian D. Tal’ko-Gryntsevich. box was found in the western
<http://xiongnu.atspace.com/ Materialy k paleoetnologii Zabai- outside corridor as a part of the
Sacrif.htm, 2006>, accessed kal’ia. (Materials on the grave inventory of burial Doll no.2,
October 23, 2007. Paleoethnography of the Trans- one of four found in the tomb. The
Baikal.) Arkheologicheskie doll was composed of the skull of
Miniaev and Sakharovskaia 2006a pamiatniki siunnu, vyp. 4. St. a baby (some months old) and
Petersburg: Fond Aziatika, 1999). small lacquered wooden sticks
Sergei S. Miniaev and Lidiia M.
Sakharovskaia. “Investigation of a Taskin 1968-1973. which formed the extremities. Its
Xiongnu Royal Complex in the V. S. Taskin, tr. and ed. Materialy grave inventory consisted of a belt
Tsaraam Valley.” The Silk Road 4/ po istorii siunnu. (Po kitaiskim with iron plaques, a string of beads
1 (2006): 47-51. istochnikam), 2 vols. Moscow: on the belt, a necklace and
Nauka, 1968-1973. Chinese lacquered box. This box
Miniaev and Sakharovskaia 2006b was found at a depth of 17 m,
Wang 1997. where it had been destroyed by
Sergei S. Miniaev and Lidiia M.
Wang Zhenduo. Dong Han che zhi the pressure of soil, stones and
Sakharovskaia. “Khan’skoe zer-
fu yuan yan jiu (Reconstruction the settling of logs of the burial
kalo iz mogil’nika Tsaram” (A Han
and study of the Eastern Han chamber. Therefore it is impossible
Mirror from the Tsaraam Ceme-
vehicle). Ed. and supplemented by to reconstruct correctly the shape
tery). Zapiski Instituta istorii
Li Qiang. Beijing: Kexue and the size of the box. The
material’noi kul’tury (St. Peters-
chubanshe, 1997. outside surface of the box was
burg) 1 (2006): 77-82.
Zhongguo tongjing 1997. covered with brown lacquer and
Miniaev and Sakharovskaia 2007 ornamented by incised lines and
Zhongguo tongjing tu dian red painted lines. The quatrefoil
Sergei S. Miniaev and Lidiia M. (Encyclopaedia of Chinese motif on the center of the cover is
Sakharovskaia. “Khan’skaia Mirrors). Comp. by Kong very similar to the motif on other
kolesnitsa iz mogil’nika Tsaram” (A Xiangxing and Liu Yiman. Beijing: Chinese boxes. Inside the box
Han Chariot from the Tsaraam Wenwu chubanshe, 1992 were found two wooden combs, a
Cemetery). Arkheologicheskie (reprinted 1997). fragment of a Chinese mirror, a
fragment of mica, a small birch-
bark container, a set of iron
needles and a wooden needle-box.
A Chinese Inscription from a Xiongnu Elite The Chinese inscription was
Barrow in the Tsaraam Cemetery incised on the outside surface of
the box between ornamental
Michèle Pirazzoli-t’Serstevens incised parallel lines. The
characters concentrate in groups
Ecole pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris
separated by a small ornamental
zone, but they undoubtedly form
one inscription. This inscription is
The pastoral herding tribes of the Federation), near Naushky village incomplete — the first part of the
Xiongnu, otherwise known as the in the Tsaraam Valley. Sergei inscription was destroyed, some
Asiatic Huns, dominated in the Miniaev and Lidiia Sakharovskaia other characters are missing as
eastern part of Central Asia during have written on the excavation well. The preserved part of the
the 2nd century BCE — 2nd century there of Barrow No. 7 for this inscription includes the four
CE. Systematic studies of Xiongnu journal, the second part of their characters depicted in Fig. 1 on
archaeological sites have been report to be found immediately the next page.
carried out already for more than above.
a century, with significant results The first readable character
for the characterization of There are a number of Chinese (after the destroyed part of the
settlement complexes and items among the finds. Objects box) is ( nian — “year”). Before
cemeteries. One of the most such as the chariot, mirrors, the character one can see a
important excavations in recent lacquered cups, staff etc. are very horizontal line which in fact is a
years was devoted to an elite important both for chronology of part of the character of the year
Xiongnu burial complex in the the Xiongnu archeological sites of the regnal title. As the regnal
Trans-Baikal area (Russia and to illustrate contacts between titles of the Western Han were

56
 “second” or “third” or “fifth.” This After the name of the master
formula [regnal title] [year] is artisan Shang who made the box
typical at the beginning of ( ), the inscription lists the
inscriptions of this kind. people (functions and names)
who managed (zhu ) and
The name of the master artisan inspected (xing ) the workshop.
who directed the work in the Each name is preceded by the
imperial workshop and the names character “chen” (your servant).
of the officials who managed and
inspected the workshop then [ (?)] [ (?)] — “[the
follow. The name of each official workshop overseer ] your
is preceded by the character x servant Kang,”
(chen — “your servant”) which x — “the lacquer bureau
was used in an inscription only head your servant An.” (The
when the piece was fit for use by names Kang and An were read
the emperor. From this fact I infer by Prof. Gao Chongwen.)
that the inscription started with Missing characters here could be
the characters (chengyu — reconstructed as (sefu —
“for use by the emperor”) which “the workshop overseer”). If so,
had been written before the regnal this part of the inscription could
title and year and were destroyed be read as:
with them. x —“the workshop
The two following characters overseer your servant Kang.”
(after “nian”) are (kao gong Inspected by:
— “imperial workshop”), followed x [...] — “the Assist-
by a sign which indicates that ant Director of the Right your
the preceding character (here servant […],”
“gong”) is duplicated. Thus this
x [...] — “the Director your
part of the inscription can be read
servant […] and”
as “kaogong gong.” The second
“gong” character means here x — “the Com-
“master artisan.” The kaogong mandery Clerk for Workshop
( ) workshop, where the box Inspection your servant Zun”
was made was an imperial (? – I am not certain about the
workshop at the Han capital reading of the name).
Chang’an. The two imperial
Photo © 2007 S.S. Miniaev & L.M. Sakharovskaia

Thus the Tsaraam inscription can

workshops in Chang’an, the
be reconstructed:
Gonggong ( ) and the Kao-
gong, whose production was in [ ] […] [...] [...] x
quantity and quality a little inferior x [...]
to the production of the official Shu
[...] [...] .
and Guanghan workshops of
Sichuan, made many pieces to be It translates:
given as diplomatic presents
(Barbieri-Low 2001; Hong 2005). [Fit for use by the emperor]
The style of the inscription and of made in the [?] year of the [?
the décor of the Tsaraam box era] by the master artisan of
corresponds to the style of the the Kaogong imperial workshop
Chang’an Imperial workshops as Shang. Managed by the
Fig. 1. The beginning of the preserved well. Unfortunately only fifteen workshop overseer, your
part of the Chinese inscription on the pieces with inscriptions coming servant Kang; the lacquer
lacquereed box from Tsaraam Barrow from the Gonggong or the bureau head, your servant An.
No. 7. Kaogong (not including the Inspected by the Assistant
Tsaraam piece) have been Director of the Right, your
changed every five years or so, published so far (Hong 2005, pp. servant [?]; the Director, your
and as the lacquer box does not 407-408). Their inscription style is servant [?]; and the
seem to date from the Eastern different from the official Shu Commandery Clerk for
Han (when regnal titles lasted for workshop inscriptions found at Workshop Inspection, your
longer periods), this year could be Noin-Ula. servant Zun.

57
 The inscription suggests the corridor of the burial chamber of civilisations, 1987), and Giuseppe
following considerations regarding the central Barrow No. 7 and in Castiglione 1688-1766: Peintre et
its date. The formulae of the the sacrificial burial No. 16. The architecte à la cour de Chine
inscription indicate that the piece painted décor on these lacquered (Paris: Thalia, 2007). She has
is probably not earlier than 36-27 pieces is similar to that on written on the Chinese
BCE. It is in this period, 36-27 lacquered objects manufactured in lacquerware found at Begram in
BCE, that we first find the the official workshops of Sichuan Afghanistan and on Han food
distinction between “made” (zao), province during the period vessels; she is participating in a
“managed” (zhu) and “inspected” between 8 BCE and 4 CE. This forthcoming book directed by John
(xing), as it is written in the style was copied by the imperial Lagerwey on Chinese Religion
inscription. The piece was certainly workshops at the Han capital before the Tang, and in Michael
not made during the reign of Wang Chang’an and was maintained Loewe and Michael Nylan (eds),
Mang (9-23 CE), because during there maybe a little longer. Thus, The Chinese First Empires: A Re-
this period the character (zhu I believe that the period between appraisal (Cambridge, Cambridge
— “managed by”) was replaced by 8 BCE and 4 CE could be a possible University Press). She may be
x (zhang). The character “zhu” date for the lacquer box from contacted at <micheleps@
was used again under the later Tsaraam. Of course the date is noos.fr>.
Han. The style of the painted only a terminus post quem for the
décor — in particular the rather complex No. 7, since prestigious References
thin painted outlines and the lacquer pieces could have been
rather spaced out composition — preserved for some time as family Barbieri-Low 2001
could indicate a date prior to Wang valuables before being used as Anthony J. Barbieri-Low. “The
Mang and the Later Han, when the grave goods. Organization of Imperial Work-
lines become thicker and the shops during the Han Dynasty.”
composition more crowded. The About the author Unpublished PhD dissertation,
incised décor on the Tsaraam box, Princeton University, 2001.
made of rhombs and small incised A distinguished and widely ranging
vertical lines, is very similar to the scholar of early Chinese culture, Hong 2005
décor on a lacquered box dated 4 Prof. Pirazzoli-t’Serstevens is Hong Shi .“Zhanguo Qin Han
CE. Yet a similar motif can also be Directeur d’études, École pratique shiqi qiqi de shengchan yu guanli
seen on a lacquered box dated 43 des Hautes Études at the x .” Kao-
BCE (Umehara 1943, Pl. XXVIII, Sorbonne. Her books include The gu xuebao 2005/4: 381-410.
no. 26, and Pl. III, no. 6). Han Dynasty (New York: Rizzoli,
1982), Le Yuanmingyuan. Jeux Umehara 1943
Some fragments of other d’eau et palais européens du Umehara Sueji . Shina
lacquered pieces were found in the XVIIIe siècle à la cour de Chine Kandai kinenmei shikki zusetsu
Tsaraam complex, in the northern (Paris: Editions recherche sur les x Kyôtô,1943.
Photo © 2007 S.S. Miniaev & L.M. Sakharovskaia

The Tsaraam Valley

58
 of northeastern tracks to Erzurum,
On Ancient Tracks in Eastern the Caucasus and Iran.

Anatolia The diagonal was the spine of

Frank Harold the system, its most ancient
University of Washington, Seattle (USA) element and the only one that
continued to function through the
Photographs by Ruth Harold
turbulent centuries of the Arab
and Turkish conquests. Portions of
Glance at a map, and you are apt in Ottoman times, thanks in the the diagonal paralleled the Royal
to see the Anatolian peninsula as first place to the scholarly labors Road of Achaemenid times, which
a bridge that links Asia with of Franz Taeschner eighty years linked Susa in the foothills of the
Europe; and it has served that ago (Taeschner 1924-1926), and Zagros Mountains with Sardis near
purpose many times, most notably there is every reason to believe the Aegean shore. Roman,
in giving passage to the Turks. that those routes recapitulate in Byzantine and later Arab armies
Look more closely, and you will outline (albeit not in detail) trails marched that way. For the
notice that Anatolia is corrugated in use for centuries before. The Ottomans, the diagonal served as
with mountains, the eastern map of the trade routes in the 17th the military road that connected
portion in particular, and makes for century [Fig. 1] has been Istanbul with the important
rough traveling. Eastern Anatolia simplified so as to highlight the seaports of Tarsus, Adana and
has always been remote country, chief overland tracks and their Payas. When Sultan Selim (“The
the frontier between empires and connections with the high roads Grim”) set out in 1514 CE to annex
home to fractious and inde- of Iran and the Arab lands. eastern Anatolia, his army
pendent-minded peoples; and so Several branches, deviations and followed that well-trodden track all
it remains today. connectors have been omitted for the way to Eregli before turning
clarity. To make sense of the northeast for Sivas, Erzurum and
Such were the hazards of travel Anatolian road-net, think of three the Iranian frontier (Taeschner
out there that long-distance major cords: the diagonal route, 1924). In early Ottoman times
traders preferred the sea-lanes linking Istanbul to Tarsus (Adana), merchant caravans, too, relied on
across the eastern Mediterranean Antakya, Damascus and ultimately the military road, but with the
whenever possible. In Roman and to Mecca in faraway Arabia; a return of centralized government
early Byzantine times, for central route passing through trade reverted to the more direct
instance, a bolt of silk might make Sivas, Malatya and Diyarbakir en central route to the east. Yet the
its way overland from one oasis route to Mosul and then to Basra diagonal lost none of its
to the next all the way from China, on the Persian Gulf; and a skein significance, for it carried the Hajj,
but would probably travel the final
leg of its journey by sea. It would Map © 2007 Frank & Ruth Harold
first be carried on camelback
across the Syrian Desert to
Antioch (today Antakya, in
Turkey’s Hatay); or perhaps skirt
the desert to the north via Nisibis
(Nusaybin) and Edessa (now
Sanliurfa, or plain Urfa); and then
it would be loaded aboard a ship
bound for Rome or Constan-
tinople. For much of that period,
eastern Anatolia was a zone of
conflict between Romans and
Parthians, Byzantines and
Sassanians, with Kurds and
Armenians thrown in. All the
same, established trade routes did
traverse those highlands, and
when the sea-lanes turned unsafe
or the tolls too high the caravan
tracks came into their own.

We are quite well informed

about the Anatolian trade routes Fig 1. Towns and trade routes of Anatolia in the 17th century.

59
the annual pilgrim caravan from state in earlier centuries, when its Anatolia until they were mas-
Istanbul to Mecca. trade routes formed part of that sacred and expelled at the
larger net that we designate as the beginning of the 20th century.
The central route, well
Silk Road. The Anatolian silk trade
established in Byzantine times, led The ancient Christian kingdom
goes well back into classical times.
through settled country with of Armenia, intermittently in-
For example, despite the frequent
ancient and populous cities such dependent, lay astride the trade
wars that pitted the Byzantine
as Amasiya (classical Amaseia) routes of eastern Anatolia, from
Empire against Sassanian Iran,
and Sivas (Sebaste). Turning more the Pontic Alps in the north to Lake
the Emperor Justinian I was
to the south, it passed through Van in the south. Armenia reached
pleased to negotiate a treaty that
Malatya (Melitene), Diyarbakir its zenith of power and prosperity
designated fixed ports of entry
(Amida) and Mardin, towns that in the 10th and 11th centuries, as
where silk could be purchased
later came to mark and defend the the ruins of its capital city Ani (a
from Persian merchants: Nisibis
frontier of Byzantium. The route few miles from Kars) still attest.
(Nusaybin) on the Syrian plain,
crossed onto the Syrian plain at The safest route between Erzurum
Raqqa on the Euphrates River and
Nusaybin (Nisibis), and then and Iran passed through Ani, and
Artaxa on the Aras, near modern
followed the river Dicle (Tigris) the city continued to flourish even
Yerevan (Boulnois 2004).
south to Baghdad and the Gulf. after its capture, first by the
Byzantines and then by the Seljuk
The northeastern route The Byzantine port city of
Turks (1064 CE). The 13th century,
branched off at Sivas and marched Trebizond (modern Trabzon) holds
however, brought misfortune: the
eastward to the frontier strong- a prominent place in the annals of
Mongol conquest, a devastating
hold of Erzurum (Theodosiopolis; Anatolian trade. We learn of a
earthquake and eventually the
the contemporary name comes Sogdian embassy in 509 CE, which
realignment of the trade routes
from the Arabic for “Land of the traveled there overland from
southward. Ani was not destroyed
Romans”). But east of Erzurum Central Asia via the Volga River
in war, but rather abandoned by
the country grows wilder, and the and clear around the Caucasus
its inhabitants in the 14th century.
information sparser. Taeschner is Mountains, with the object of by-
They left behind the imposing and
of no help here, for his inquiries passing the rapacious Persians by
evocative shells of churches,
stopped at Erzurum. Fig.1, drawn establishing direct commercial
palatial houses and vast defensive
from several sources (Le Strange links with Constantinople. The
walls.
1905; Brice 1981; TAVO 1994), Emperor responded with a mission
shows two main routes. One ran of his own, but little came of it at The Mongols get a bad press and
through Ani (near today’s Kars), the time (Boulnois 2004). A deservedly so, for wherever the
down the valley of the Aras River, century later, the situation hordes galloped they left little but
past Yerevan to Tabriz in Iran; the changed dramatically. The Muslim smoking ruins in their wake.
other corresponds to what is today armies burst out of Arabia, Baghdad was sacked and burnt in
the main road, from Erzurum via overwhelmed Sassanian Iran, 1258 CE, and the Abbasid
Dogubeyazit to Tabriz. Some maps drove the Byzantines out of the Caliphate collapsed in chaos. Yet
show a third route, from Erzurum lowlands (contemporary Syria and subsequent Mongol Khans ruled
southeast to Lake Van and on to Iraq), and disrupted the familiar an empire that stretched from
Tabriz, but this has been omitted sea-lanes. The caravans were China to Syria, peaceful and
as the mountain crossing appears forced northward, reaching orderly and hospitable to
to have been a minor track. Note Trebizond from Central Asia either commerce. Eastern Anatolia was
also the spur that leads from by way of northern Iran or else open to traffic as never before.
Erzurum northwest to the port of around both the Caspian Sea and Marco Polo is only the best known
Trabzon (ancient Trebizond) on the the Caucasus. Trebizond in the 8th of the travelers who passed this
Black Sea. In practice, trade through 10th centuries was a major way, riding from Sivas to Tabriz
routes from Iran and Central Asia transit port, where silk, paper, and clear across Iran to Hormuz
were likely to terminate at perfumes and spices from eastern on the Gulf in 1271 CE, on his way
Trabzon, from where goods were lands were exchanged for western to the court of the Great Khan. It
shipped to the capital by sea. linens, woolens, medicinal sub- is not altogether clear just where
stances and especially gold and the high road then ran, for Marco
By the 17th century CE the glory silver coins. Incidentally, those Polo’s account is quite vague.
days of the caravan trade were were not camel caravans: mules However, Marco’s failure to
long past, and the protracted and donkeys were preferred for mention either Ani or Lake Van,
warfare between the Ottoman the stony tracks of Anatolia. The coupled with his specific
Sultans and the Safavid Shahs of carrying trade was chiefly in the description of Mount Ararat,
Iran had left eastern Anatolia hands of the Armenians, who suggest that he may have passed
impoverished and depopulated. played a large role in the not far from today’s Dogubeyazit.
The country was in much better commercial and cultural life of Trebizond continued to flourish as

60
the chief port for trade between its prime attractions, yet facilities offshoot of Shiism, with their own
Constantinople and Khanbalik for visitors are entirely adequate unique beliefs and places of
(contemporary Beijing). It even and for the time being the country worship). Of ancient Antioch little
enjoyed a spell of autumnal glory is quiet. The map [Fig. 2] shows remains above ground, apart from
in the 13 th and 14 th centuries, our itinerary for a three-week the superb mosaics displayed in
when it was the capital of a journey in the spring of 2006. We the local museum; they come
diminutive independent empire arranged it as a private trip from Daphne, once a wealthy
that left us the Byzantine monu- through Geographic Expeditions suburb in the foothills of the
ments that visitors come to (geoEx.com), with our own vehicle Ammanus Mountains. An hour’s
admire. Annexed to the Ottoman (quite indispensable). Our guide, drive away are the ruins of
Empire in 1461 and renamed, driver, and mentor was Serdar Seleucia ad Piera, Antioch’s port
Trabzon remained a significant Akerdem, an archaeologist and in classical times until silting
port and provincial capital, where native of the region, intimately rendered it unusable.
crown princes were sent to learn familiar with its places and peoples
the art of governing. But with the (not to mention the local deli-
decline of the caravan trade it lost cacies); we could not have wished Gaziantep is a prosperous and
its pre-eminence as the seaport for better company. forward-looking city of about a
of Inner Asia. million, which boasts a medieval
* * * Adana is a large commercial city citadel and an archaeological
Travelers to Eastern Turkey leave of little antiquarian interest. But museum dedicated to the mar-
behind the celebrated Greek and Antakya is the ancient Antioch, velous Roman mosaics recovered
Roman ruins, the mosques and one of the four great cities of the from the ruins of Zeugma on the
palaces of the Ottoman Sultans, classical world (with Rome, Euphrates River. A major crossing
and also the swarms of tourists. Constantinople and Alexandria), and the staging post for military
Instead, they can savor an older and a terminus of those branches expeditions eastward, Zeugma
Turkey: slower, traditional in dress of the Silk Road that traversed or was destroyed by the Sassanians
and manners, intensely Muslim, skirted the Syrian Desert [Fig. 1]. in 252 CE; the site is now largely
conservative and ethnically Antakya today is a lively and drowned by the lake rising behind
diverse. On these marches of the livable city with a Mediterranean the Birecik Dam. Gaziantep is also
Ottoman Empire, the minorities ambience, ethnically as much Arab the starting point for an excursion
come to the fore: Syrian as Turkish. Christians, Muslims to the castle of Rumkale, whose
Christians, Alevis, Armenians, and Alevis mingle in the streets ruins brood over those same
Kurds, Georgians. The remote- in apparent amity (Alevis are a waters. Rumkale is quite
ness of eastern Anatolia is one of somewhat secretive sect, an accessible but not mentioned in
any of the guidebooks that we
Map © 2007 Frank & Ruth Harold
have consulted, and well worth a
detour for that reason alone.
About 30 km northeast of
Gaziantep is the small town of
Halfeti, half-drowned by the
waters, where one hires a boat for
the short journey upstream. The
castle consists of a large fortified
enclosure atop a narrow rocky
ridge, bounded by cliffs and
reinforced with walls; at its base,
a great fosse cut into the rock
makes Rumkale an island in the
sky. Fortunately, a placard in
English supplies the basic facts:
built by the Byzantines, occupied
by Arabs and then Crusaders, sold
to the Armenian Kingdom of Little
Cilicia which made it a bishopric
as well as a citadel, later held by
the Mamelukes and at last taken
by the Ottomans. The ruins of a
church and of several monasteries
date to the Armenian phase (12th
Fig 2. Itinerary of a journey in eastern Anatolia, spring 2006. – 13th centuries CE).

61
 Still on the western hold in the endless wars
side of the Euphrates is against the Sassanians of
the astonishing funerary Iran; the modern name
extravaganza of Nemrut comes from the Arabic
Dagh. In the first century (“Home of the Bakr ”
B.C.E. this region made tribe). Subsequently, the
up the independent fortress was held by

Photo © 2006 Ruth Harold

kingdom of Commagene, Seljuks, Turkomans and
which grew rich on its Ottomans. All of them
fertile soil and on the contributed to the massive
proceeds of trade along black walls that still ring
the route that skirted the most of the old city.
Syrian desert [Fig. 1]. Within are narrow,
King Antiochus I (64 – crowded streets, a bazaar,
38 BCE) had himself Fig. 4. A coppersmith in the bazaar, Urfa. mosques, churches and
buried beneath a gigantic Hans built of bands of
tumulus atop Mount Nemrut at Romans and Byzantines held it black and white stone (you can
7100 feet; terraces flanking the and the Crusaders made it the stay in one, converted into a
tumulus bore statues of the king County of Edessa; much of the hotel). Diyarbakir has long since
and his relations, including Zeus citadel is thought to date to their burst the confines of its ancient
and Herakles, whose heads now reign. Urfa was destroyed by the walls; now a city of more than two
stand on the ground. The kingdom Mongols in 1260 CE, and never million, swollen with refugees
did not long outlast the king: really recovered;
Commagene was annexed by it was absorbed
Rome, and the sanctuary on the into the Ottoman
mountaintop lay utterly forgotten Empire in the 17th
until rediscovered by a German century. Urfa’s
surveyor in 1881. bazaar is a
wonder, a maze
Once across the Euphrates River of alleys, court-
we are fairly into eastern Anatolia, yards and old
and there is no better place to Hans, where
savor Turkey in the Middle East craftsmen still
than the ancient city of Sanliurfa ply their trades
Photo © 2006 Ruth Harold

(usually called by its old name, [Fig. 4], and a

Urfa). Memories are long in a visitor catches
place that can trace its history glimpses of an
back for 3500 years, and tradition earlier day when
has it that that Urfa was the c a r a v a n s
birthplace of Abraham; pilgrims traveled from
come here in droves to pray at here to Aleppo
Abraham’s cave, and to feed the and Baghdad. Fig. 5. A view of Mardin.
carp in the sacred pool [Fig. 3].
Alexander conquered Urfa, Heading east we enter basaltic displaced by the civil war of the
lands, harsh and ‘nineties, Turkey’s ethnic tensions
poor. This is are palpable here even to the most
largely Kurdish innocent of travelers.
country, and
Diyarbakir is their Mardin has charm to enhance its
capital. Here is interest, and will be a highlight on
another city of any tour of eastern Turkey. The
a l m o s t town extends in tiers along the
Photo © 2006 Ruth Harold

u n i m a g i n a b l e slope of a steep hill; stairs and

antiquity, whose narrow alleys, buttressed with
foundations go arches, connect one level to the
back nearly 4000 next [Fig. 5]. The summit is
years. In Roman crowned by a large fortress,
and Byzantine unfortunately a military zone and
times it was closed to visitors, which held off
Fig. 3. Pilgrims at the sacred pool, Urfa. Amida, a strong- the fearsome Mongols in the 13th

62
 not be out of place in nearby Iran Van is an ancient place, but the
[Fig. 6]; it will be drowned if the old town was completely de-
planned dam is built. stroyed in the fighting of 1915.
What survives is the Castle of Van
Continuing eastward we leave on its whaleback of a rock,
the last echoes of the Medi- crowned with ruins that reach
terranean world, cross the high from the Urartian period to the
Taurus Range and climb onto the Ottoman. In the surroundings are
Anatolian plateau. Lake Van, a number of Urartian sites, and my
surrounded by snowy peaks, is personal Ultima Thule: the Kurdish
wild and lonesome. Historically, all

Photo © 2006 Ruth Harold

castle of Hoshap on the high
this country was occupied by mountain road into Iran [Fig. 8].
Armenians who were violently Truck drivers love Hoshap; gas is
driven out between 1915 and uncommonly cheap there, just
1918; most of the inhabitants don’t expect a receipt.
today are Kurds. The numerous
Armenian churches in the hills are From Van northward the road
falling to pieces, but one exception
traverses bleak but magnificent
Fig. 6. The 15th-century tomb-
is the splendid Akhtamar church volcanic country to the frontier
tower (türbe) at Hasankeyf. on an island in the lake, built intown of Dogubeyazit (“affec-
the 10th century CE and decorated tionately dubbed ‘doggie biscuit’
century (it fell to Tamerlane a with stone reliefs [Fig. 7]. At the
by tourists over the years”; Rough
century later). Mardin overlooks time of our visit the interior wasGuide), just a short hop from the
the Syrian plain; it was always a closed for restoration. The road Iranian border. Agri Dagh, Mount
citadel rather than a trading mart, from Diyarbakir through Bitlis to Ararat (17,000 ft) looms over the
and served as the capital of the Van was an important trade town, and may (or may not)
local Artukid dynasty from condescend to peek out
the 12 th century to the of the clouds. Of anti-
14 th . Syrian Orthodox quarian interest is the
Christianity has long had fantastic palace of Ishak
a strong presence in the Pasha, built in the 18th
city; the community has century by a local
shrunk in recent years but grandee on a plateau
several churches survive, overlooking Dogubeyazit;
and the Christian imprint it blends all the regional
on Mardin’s architecture is styles into a most
quite visible. charming potpourri [Fig.
9, next page]. Dogu-
Mardin is the gateway to beyazit straddles the
the Tur Abdin, the main road into Iran, once
“Mountain of the Servants” again named Ipek Yolu;
(of God), historically a this route seems only to
Christian district but now have become prominent
predominantly Kurdish. after the Mongol con-
Several of the grand Fig. 7. The 10th-century Akhtamar church on Lake quest, replacing the older
monasteries remain Van (watercolor by Ruth Harold). route via Ani.
active, notably Mor
Gabriel, parts of which date back route in Ottoman
to Byzantine times. The bleak, times; a fine 15th
stony plateau, dotted with flocks c e n t u r y
of sheep, leads eventually to caravanserai
Hasankeyf, built on a rocky spur testifies to that.
Photo © 2006 Ruth Harold

overlooking the Dicle (Tigris) River. And just in case

A Roman and then Byzantine you had forgot-
frontier post, it contains remains ten, the name of
from the Seljuk, Artukid and the road entering
Kurdish occupations. Down by the Van will jolt your
river stands the tomb-tower memory: Ipek
(türbe) of a 15th century prince, Yolu, the Silk
covered in colored tiles, that would Road. Fig. 8. The Kurdish castle of Hoshap.

63
 of the transience of all human
achievement.

North and west stretch the

Pontic mountains, and yet another
culture. The “Georgian Valleys”
hold numerous churches dating
from around 1000 CE, when this
country was the home of the

Photo © 2006 Ruth Harold

Georgian state before the capital
was moved to Tbilisi. It is sad to
see these splendid buildings falling
into ruin, with almost nothing
being done to arrest the decay.
The country is mountainous and
beautiful, laced with large rivers,
and turns progressively greener as
Fig. 9. The 18th-century palace of Ishak Pasha overlooking Dogubeyazit.
we proceed north. By the time we
A few more hours’ drive, north Road between Erzurum, Yerevan reach the Black Sea, the
across glorious rolling plateau with and Tabriz. Today the frowning landscape feels almost like home
views into the green valley of the walls (restored), and the exquisite (except for the tea plantations):
Aras, brings one to the small city ruins of the cathedral and of a narrow, densely populated
of Kars. Though notorious for its several churches, accentuate the coastal strip, painfully green and
chilly and damp climate, Kars is lonesome landscape and the relentlessly damp.
an attractive and relatively liberal sweeping views. Though Ani The Towers of Trebizond have
town. Held in turn by Armenians, ceased to be a capital in the 11th haunted my imagination ever
century it con- since I read Rose Macaulay’s novel
Fig. 10. The fortress of Ani. tinued to pros- by that title thirty years ago; and
per, and the even though Trabzon is a modern
finest of its commercial city, I was not
s u r v i v i n g disappointed. There has been a
churches [Fig. settlement on the Trapezus, the
Photo © 2006 Ruth Harold

11] was built as narrow tableland between two

late as the 13 th steep ravines, at least from the
century. Few time of the Greeks. Trebizond was
places speak so a flourishing port in Byzantine
eloquently as Ani times, and after the sack of
Fig. 11. The 13th-century Church of St. Gregory at Ani.
commissioned by a merchant, Tigran Honents.

Seljuks, Georgians and even

Russians, it still keeps its large
grey castle. But the reason for
coming out here is to visit the
melancholy ruins of Ani, capital of
the Armenian state from 961 to
1045 CE (until recently, this was
a somewhat hazardous excursion,
requiring military permission, but
is presently quite routine). The
city was built on a triangular
plateau bounded by deep and
rugged ravines, and defended at
Photo © 2006 Ruth Harold

the base by a massive wall

reinforced with bastions [Fig. 10].
With a population of over 100,000,
Ani in its heyday was said to rival
Baghdad and Constantinople. It
was certainly a flourishing city that
did well on the trade along the Silk

64
 Müller GMBH, 1924-1926). For the
region east of Erzurum, limited
information can be found in Guy
Le Strange, The Lands of the
Eastern Caliphate (1905, reprinted
by Al-Biruni, Lahore, Pakistan),
and in Donald Pitcher, An Historical
Geography of the Ottoman Empire
from the Earliest Times to the End
of the Sixteenth Century (Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1972). See also Luce
Boulnois, Silk Road: Monks,
Warriors and Merchants on the

Photo © 2006 Ruth Harold

Silk Road (Odyssey Books, n.d.,
ca. 2004). Jason Goodwin’s Lords
of the Horizons (New York: Henry
Holt, 1998) offers a very readable
appreciation of the Ottoman
Empire. For Armenia see David
Marshall Lang, Armenia – Cradle
Fig. 12. The Monastery of Sumela. of Civilization (London: George
Allen and Unwin, 1970); and A.E.
Constantinople it became the University of California at
Redgate, The Armenians (Oxford:
capital of a successful commercial Berkeley. Now retired from forty
Blackwell, 1998). For historical
state on the Black sea (1205 – years of research and teaching, he
maps see: An Historical Atlas of
1461 CE). Its emperors left us a is Professor Emeritus of bio-
Islam, W.E. Brice, ed. (Leiden: E.J.
clutch of monuments: the chemistry at Colorado State
Brill, 1981); and the Tübinger
dignified cathedral church of University, and Affiliate Professor
Atlas des Vorderen Orients
Haghia Sophia, several smaller of microbiology at the University
[TAVO]. H. Kopp and W. Röllig,
churches now serving as of Washington. Ruth is a micro-
eds. (Tübingen: Dr Ludwig
mosques, the magnificent mon- biologist, now retired, and an
Reichert Verlag, 1994). For travel,
astery of Sumela plastered onto a aspiring watercolor painter. The
we recommend the Rough Guide
cliff in the mountains [Fig. 12], Harold family lived in Iran in 1969/
to Turkey, by R. Ayliffe, M. Dubin,
and yes, a few fragments of walls 70, while Frank served as Fulbright
J. Gawthorp and T. Richardson, 5th
and battlements that recall a more lecturer at the University of
ed. (2003), which we found to be
martial past. Modern Trabzon Tehran. This experience kindled
an inexhaustible mine of in-
belongs to our time — workaday a passion for adventure travel,
formation on all matters Turkish.
and up to date and frantic with which has since taken them to
traffic. But if you give rein to your Afghanistan and back to Iran,
imagination you may still hear the across the Middle East, into the
clip-clop of hooves in the shopping Himalayas and Tibet, up and down
streets, and catch a glint of the Indian subcontinent and along
sunlight on what remains of the the Silk road between China and
fabled towers of Trebizond. Turkey. They can be reached at
<[email protected]>.
About the authors
Sources
Frank and Ruth Harold are
scientists by profession and The basic reference to the
travelers by avocation. Frank was historical geography of Anatolia is
born in Germany, grew up in the Franz Taeschner, Das Anatolische
Middle East and studied at City Wegenetz nach Osmanischen
College, New York, and the Quellen, 2 vols. (Leipzig: Mayer &

65
 original 13th/14th-century building.
Dschingis Khan und seine Erben: Das Hans-Georg Hüttel (pp.140-146)
Weltreich der Mongolen. München: Kunst- suggests an interpretation of the
“grand hall” as a 13 th- or 14 th-
und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik century buddhist shrine. He
Deutschland; Hirmer Verlag, 2005. 432 pp. compares it (and seems to be
inclined to identify it) with the
Reviewed by “pavilion of the ascent of the Yuan”
Florian Schwarz described in a Chinese-Mongolian
inscription of 1346. Within the
University of Washington, Seattle (USA)
“palace area” as well, three kilns
for the production of construction
The popular clichés of Mongol goal of the project as follows: to materials were excavated and
history evoked in the title of this gain a better understanding of dated to the late 13th/early 14th
beautifully produced exhibition urban planning and development centuries (Christina Franken,
catalog did not fail to attract at Karakorum and of the site’s pp.147-149).
several hundred thousands of “changing role as the political and
paying visitors to the exhibition administrative center of the The MDKE also excavated a
shown in Bonn, Munich, and empire and the central Khanate, segment of the main North-South
Vienna in 2005 and 2006. Steppe as a manufacturing city and long- street and the adjacent residential
archaeology, the imperial Mon- distance trade hub, and as a and commercial area near the
gols, and the legacy of Chingis religious center and locus of center of the city [Fig. 1] (Ulam-
Khan are all covered in this book national cult ” (p.139). The bayar Erdenebat and Ernst Pohl,
on Chingis Khan and his Legacy: seemingly contradictory terms pp.168-175). The rich evidence
the Mongol World Empire. What used in this context, “late-nomad allows the identification of the
makes this project stand out from and medieval urban history of 13th- and 14th-century residents of
the crowd is that its main focus is Central Asia,” indicate the new this part of the city as Chinese
a city, Karakorum (Kharkhorin) in impulse this research gives to artisans, including a coppersmith
Mongolia. An exhibition on the Central Eurasian studies. It is not and a goldsmith. The archeologists
largest nomad empire in history hard to predict that the Karakorum identified four to five strata over
centered around a city? Specialists campaign will contribute in an a period of around 200 years.
might find this less surprising than important way to the changing
the general public. But until very Particularly intriguing is a
perceptions of the history of the
recently historians had to look at paleoenvironmental study of
nomad-sedentary continuum in
the residence of the Great Khan sediments from Lake Ögij (40 km
Central Eurasia.
mostly through the eyes of north of Karakorum) which seems
Within the built-up area of to indicate that the Mongol
medieval visitors and chroniclers.
Karakorum the campaign focuses foundation of Karakorum fell into
Precious little was known about
on two spots: the so-called palace a period of stronger forestation in
the historical development of and
area and the city center. The the Orkhon valley (Michael
daily life in medieval Karakorum.
complete excavation of the “grand Walther, pp.128-132). The study
This is changing thanks to the
hall” interpreted in 1949 by Sergei of ecological changes in the
efforts of a joint Mongol-German
Kiselev as part of Ögedei’s palace “steppe belt” is only beginning,
archaeological campaign, the
confirms Kise-
“Mongolisch-Deutsche
lev’s general re-
Karakorum-Expedition (MDKE)”.
construction of
The MDKE, a collaboration
the plan. But it
between the German Archae-
also shows that
ological Institute (Deutsches
Photo © 2005 Charlotte K. Green

the building can-

Archäologisches Institut DAI), the
not have been
University of Bonn, and the
the palace hall.
Academy of Sciences of Mongolia,
The countless
began work at Karakorum in July
Buddhist finds
1999. The exhibition and catalog
from the hall do
present the first results of this
not represent
project to the general public. It
later strata
was designed and first shown in
(“monastery
Bonn, the center of Mongol studies
phase”), as Fig. 1. The excavation of the Mongol-German archaeologi-
in Germany.
assumed by cal expedition in the center of Karakorum. The flat stones
The German archeologist Hans- Kiselev, but be- in the center at the first step below the surface apparently
Georg Hüttel formulates the main long to the are the 13th-century paving of the main street.

66
and the historical implications is devoted to burials in crevices fold). Other objects that deserve
remain to be seen. and caves (Ulambayar Erdenebat to be singled out are the finds from
and Ernst Pohl, pp.81-89). The the cave burials (particularly the
Illustrations to this part of the Mongols of Chingis Khan seem to men’s and women’s headgear on
catalog include newly discovered come to life again in the almost pp.86 and 89, so familiar from
fragments of the 1346 inscription perfectly preserved weapons, medieval paintings), and the early
and Buddhist finds from the grand gear, clothes and jewelry from one 20 th -century manuscript maps
hall. Small finds from the city dig 10 th -century and two 13 th /14 th from the collection of Walther
give a vivid impression of daily life century burials. Heissig on pp. 390-395 (now in the
and work. A small ivory wand from Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin –
the “palace area,” probably of Part 3 is the least even section Preussischer Kulturbesitz).
European origin and tentatively of the book. It includes some
described as a stylus, underscores excellent overviews of the Mongol Altogether this exhibition
the cosmopolitan character of successor states, for example catalog presents a well-rounded
Karakorum’s medieval population. Birgitt Hoffmann’s elegantly survey of Mongol history and
Very aptly the section on the written historical sketch of the culture, while at the same time
archaeology of the Mongol capital Mongols in Iran. Several brief pointing to new directions in
city Karakorum (part 4 of the chapters provide insight in topics Mongol studies. Not atypical for a
catalog) stands at the center of such as Mongol monetary history German exhibition catalog, the
the volume. It is framed by six (Stefan Heidemann) and Qubilai texts are quite scholarly. The
chapters offering different Khan’s failed attempt to conquer appeal to a non-specialist
perspectives on the “Mongol Japan (Josef Kreiner). Some readership lies mostly in its
experience” as a context for the contributions, however, are not illustrations. Complaints? A map
Karakorum chapter. An intro- completely up-to-date. The one- of the Republic of Mongolia
ductory section contains two page (!) historical sketch of the showing the archeological sites
essays by a Mongol and a German Ulus Jöchi/Golden Horde serves up mentioned in the catalog would
historian who look back on Chingis the cliché of the “Tatar yoke” have been welcome. Wishes? The
Khan and his legacy (Dschingis without any reference to more publication of an English
Khan und seine Erben). The differentiated interpretations of translation.
second part (Vorläufer) traces the Moscovite-Mongol interactions.
history of Asian “steppe empires” The following chapter by Mark About the author
from the Xiongnu to the Mongols. Kramarovski makes up for some
Part 3 (Chinggis Khan und das of these shortcomings with an Florian Schwarz is an Assistant
Mongolische Großreich) looks at intelligent discussion of 13th- and Professor, Department of History,
political, military and cultural 14 th -century golden belt orna- University of Washington.
aspects of the early Mongol ments and drinking vessels from engaged in teaching and research
Empire. Part 5 (Das Weltreich der the region of the Golden Horde, on the medieval and early modern
Mongolen) covers the history of showing the diversity of their history of the Middle East and
the Mongol Empire and its artistic traditions. His attempt to Central Asia. Publications include
successor empires after Chingis determine the stratigraphy of Unser Weg schliesst tausend
Khan in the 13th and 14th centuries. styles and techniques and connect Wege ein: Derwische und
them historically with the Gesellschaft im islamischen
The next section (Der mongolische
formation of the Golden Horde is Mittelasien im 16. Jahrhundert
Buddhismus) discusses the history
very persuasive (though perhaps (Berlin, 2000), and two volumes
of Buddhism among the Mongols,
more geared toward a specialist of Sylloge Numorum Arabicorum
followed by a relatively brief
audience). The chapter on the Tuebingen (Berlin & Tuebingen,
concluding section on the post-
Ulus Chaghatai would certainly 1995, 2002). He may be contacted
Chingisid history of Mongolia and
have gained from using Michal at <[email protected].
its relations with China and later
Biran’s groundbreaking studies. edu>.
Russia (Die Mongolei vom 15. bis
zum 20. Jahrhundert).
Hirmer publishers once again
The introductory section shows lives up to its reputation as a
the range of new archeological leading publisher of art books; the
projects in Mongolia. Jean-Paul reproductions are splendid (with
Deroches presents the French- the exception of p. 392 in my
Mongol excavations at the Xiongnu copy). One of my favorites is a
necropolis of Golmod since 2000, 15th-century sinocentric world map
Dovdoi Bayar the Turkish-Mongol based on two 14th-century maps
excavations at the memorial for now in Japan (pp. 336-337,
Bilgä Tegin. A fascinating chapter unfortunately printed across the

67
Conference report seem to have been limited. Of
particular interest to me was the
Marking the Centenary of Dunhuang paper by Wang Jiqing of Lanzhou
University which explained the
Daniel Waugh context of what was going on at
Seattle, Washington (USA) Dunhuang before and during
Stein’s first visit there and offered
The title of this conference report Rudolf Hoernle, a prominent evidence about the ways in which
may seem mystifying, since, as we British orientalist, was important Stein allegedly took advantage of
all know Dunhuang and the Mogao in the early development of the local officials being distracted
Caves there are much more than Central Asian collections in Britain by local discontent about tax
a century old. What the British and encouraged Stein to increases and outbreaks of
Library, British Museum and British undertake his first major Central cholera. It is good now to have
Academy had in mind in hosting Asian expedition. As is well known, this careful examination of the
two important conferences last Hoernle, an important expert in local history at the time. We seem
spring in London was the Indic languages, had the to have moved away from strident
centenary of Aurel Stein’s first misfortune to be taken in by the denunciation of the “foreign
acquaintance with the riches of forgeries of ancient documents by devils” having plundered cultural
Mogao Cave 17 in May of 1907, Islam Akhun, whom Stein treasures, but I sensed a kind of
which opened this trove of texts exposed. In 1879 in conjunction defensive sub-text in the
and visual material to the world with his studies of Inner Asia, the suggestion that the local officials
of international scholarship. The Hungarian geologist Lajos Loczy were hoodwinked and that
two conferences were “A Hundred had been in Dunhuang, which he somehow they might have
Years of Dunhuang, 1907-2007” advised the Hungarian-born Stein intervened to keep the treasures
(May 17-19) and “The Con- to visit. We might note here the of Cave 17 from leaving. A short
servation of Dunhuang and Central extensive Stein collections in the version of his paper is in IDP News
Asian Collections, the 7th Inter- Library of the Hungarian Academy 30.
national Dunhuang Project of Sciences, where significant John Falconer’s overview of the
Conservation Conference” (May progress has been made in photographic records of the Stein
21-23). All the presentations of cataloguing and digitization expeditions was of considerable
the first were open to any prior (Falconer et al. 2002, 2007). interest. For the most part the
registrant. The first day of the Stein’s first discoveries in their collection is in the British Library
second was public presentations, turn provided the stimulus for and the Library of the Hungarian
followed on the subsequent days Count Otani to undertake his Academy of Sciences. A good
by workshops only for con- Central Asian expeditions, setting many of the photos from his
servators. a not necessarily felicitous various expeditions are already
precedent for private collection in available on the IDP website. As
My report will highlight some of Japan of Central Asian material. was true of most of what he did,
the presentations and valuable Even though a certain amount of Stein prepared carefully for his
information presented but cannot correspondence passed between photography and kept meticulous
attempt to discuss every paper or Otani and Stein, their interactions records. He had learned his
name every participant. The photography
material here is organized from his close
thematically, mixing to some friend Fred An-
extent the presentations from drews in India in
both conferences. For further the 1890s and
information at any time con- even consulted
cerning Dunhuang collections and with the eminent
Photo © 2007 Daniel C. Waugh

projects, readers should visit the Italian photo-

International Dunhuang Project grapher Vittorio
(IDP) website <http://idp.bl.uk>, Sella. Stein al-
where a forthcoming issue of the ways tried to use
IDP News will also include a report the most ad-
on the conservation conference. vanced equip-
The two opening sessions of “A ment, including a
Hundred Years” provided insights special theodolite
into how Stein interacted with and Fig. 1. Dr. Helen Wang of the British Museum, one of the camera for land-
received support from a number conference co-organizers, presenting on Stein and his team scape photo-
of key individuals [Fig. 1]. One, and on the history of the Dunhuang collections in London. graphy, and he

68
recorded exposures, time of day project, described by Seishi
and other details. In some notable Karashima, has appeared; the
cases such as the murals at Miran, report on it was illustrated by
which he could not remove dramatic images of how the
because of their delicate state but manuscripts had been deter-
which later crumbled as they were iorating and how some of the
being removed by others, Stein’s fragments may now be pieced
photos, made in very difficult together.
conditions, are our only record of
part of what was there. An I had not previously been aware
interesting footnote on the that hundreds of Dunhuang
Dunhuang photographs is the fact textiles are housed in the Victoria

Photo © 2007 Daniel C. Waugh

that the much-published image of and Albert Museum in London.
manuscripts stacked outside of They have now all been properly
Cave 17, with Cave 16 in the conserved and images of them
background, is in fact a composite made available on the IDP
of two photographs (see the photo website. Furthermore, the con-
in Whitfield 2005, p. 3). The Stein ference coincided with the
photos include extensive “ethno- publication by Zhao Feng and his
graphic” images, in addition to the British colleagues of Textiles from
landscapes and archaeological Dunhuang in UK Collections, the
Fig. 2. Detail of attendant to the
ones. Taken together, the Stein, first in a series of volumes of
bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, 10th c.
Oldenburg (Russian) and Nouette Dunhuang textiles in major banner from Dunhuang. BM, OA
(French) collections form perhaps international collections (Zhao 1919.1-1.046.
the largest and most important 2007). As Helen Persson, the
collections of early archaeological curator of the collection at the V digitally on the IDP website. A
photography anywhere and & A summarized, “the Dunhuang bonus was the British Museum’s
thoroughly document Central Asia finds demonstrate a colourful small special exhibit, “Gods,
in the first decade of the 20 th range of beautiful, yet subtle Guardians and Immortals,” which
century. damasks, vibrant polychrome included a number of the
pattern woven silks and em- Dunhuang paintings [Fig. 2]. The
A number of the presentations broidered gauzes, clamp-resist important collection of the
provided overviews of the major dyed and painted silks.” Granted, Dunhuang banners housed in the
Dunhuang and related collections many are fragments, but these Musée Guimet in Paris has also
around the world — in London, and also most of the large banners been digitized and will be reunited
Paris, St. Petersburg, Japan, New found by Stein in Cave 17 may digitally with the British collections
Delhi, but other locations as well now all be viewed in fine detail on the IDP website [Fig.3].
— and updated information on the
progress that has been made in
cataloguing and conserving them.
There is a wide range of cata-
loguing, publication and digi-
talization projects of ambitious
scope.

For me, there were many

highlights. Of course the progress
in the work of IDP, reported by
Susan Whitfield in our journal in
2005, has been immense; it
seems as though every time one
Photo © 2007 Daniel C. Waugh

re-visits the IDP website new

digital collections and new
catalogues have become
available. Recently one of the
impressive achievements was the
cataloguing of the Dunhuang
Tibetan manuscripts in the British
Library. The first volume of the
British Library Sanskrit fragments
Fig. 3. Donor images on a large Dunhuang silk banner depicting the
bodhisattva Kshitigharbha. Dated 981 CE. Musée Guimet, MG 17662.

69
 As Nathalie Monnet of the the material acquired by Stein on other locations in Central Asia.
Bibliothèque nationale reported, his third Central Asian expedition. There is too little here even to be
the cataloguing and digitization of Work on cataloguing and con- certain about the texts’ language,
the Dunhuang materials collected servation has proceeded at best although it seems to be a very
by Paul Pelliot’s expedition and fitfully. To illustrate how important archaic Sogdian. possibly dating
held by the BN in Paris is now well it is to complete this work, Chhaya a century earlier than the “Ancient
advanced. While the Chinese Bhattacharya-Haesner provided Letters.”
manuscripts of the collection were an example of a banner where the
published in Shanghai between pieces are now divided between As Rong Xinjiang of Beijing
1995 and 2004, the Tibetan, Delhi and the Hermitage in St. University outlined in his excellent
Khotanese and others are still in Petersburg. There are other survey, great deal of new material
process, with nearly 1000 of the instances where pieces of the from the Turfan area has emerged
Tibetan ones not previously same textiles are divided between in recent years. Some of the most
catalogued. Some 50,000 digital Delhi and London. important finds filled gaps in the
images of Dunhuang material previously scanty written record
Apart from the several for the region’s history in the late
have been made; an online
prominent collections of Dun- fourth and fifth centuries, in-
catalogue should soon be
huang material, it was of particular cluding interesting information on
available. Since in some cases
interest to learn of yet another the relations between the small
separate parts of a single
group of Kharosthi manuscripts to Gaochang kingdom and the Jou-
manuscript are in Paris and
have come out of the Gandharan Jan. Epitaphs of the Kang family
London, bringing them together in
region (here, specifically, north- of the late sixth and early seventh
digital form on the IDP website will
west Pakistan, near the border centuries tell of the sinicization of
be a major step forward.
with Afghanistan) in recent years. the Sogdian population. There is
In addition to discussing a specific new material on details of the
Some of the other collections of
early Buddhist text project, Ingo region’s administration under the
Dunhuang material are so far less
Strauch provided more general Tang, and, as Rong emphasizes,
readily available or incompletely
information on the Bajaur fascinating evidence about the
catalogued. Irina Popova of the
Collection of birchbark manu- frequency of envoys from
Institute of Oriental Studies
scripts from the first and second Ferghana to the region in the
described the substantial
centuries CE, housed at the period of the famous battle of
collection brought to St.
University of Peshawar and now Talas, in which the Arabs defeated
Petersburg by the Oldenburg
being studied by a joint German- Tang armies in 751.
Central Asian expedition in 1914
Pakistani project. Among the
(Popova 2006). Included are Study and publication of older
treasures in these fragile scrolls
sculpture, painting fragments, and Turfan collections has proceeded
are the earliest Mahayana and
thousands of manuscript frag- apace in recent decades, among
Vinaya texts.
ments. In addition, there is a them the publication of the Otani
large number of photographs and Texts in Sogdian, the Iranian collection and a four-volume
a substantial archive of expedition language of the Central Asian edition of Turfan documents,
diaries, site plans, etc. Some of merchants who were so important which appeared in Beijing in 1992-
the very impressive sculpture and for centuries across much of Asia, 1996 and is included on the Yale
painting is on display in the provide critical evidence for the Turfan database (and available on
Hermitage Museum where, as I history of the Silk Road. As IDP). One of the major new digital
discovered in recent years, access Nicholas Sims-Williams pointed initiatives is that of the German
may be limited to alternate days, out, most of the extant Sogdian Turfanforschung. A good overview
due to constraints on staffing for texts are from the last quarter of of its very extensive cataloguing,
the galleries. In Japan, as Akao so of the first millennium. The so- publication and digitization
Eikei of the Kyoto National called “Ancient Letters” discovered projects may be found in the
Museum reported, there are by Stein in a watchtower near pamphlet Turfan Studies which
important Dunhuang and Turfan Dunhuang are amongst the was distributed at the conference
materials in private collections, earliest Sogdian texts of any and may be downloaded from the
many of which have not been substance, dating from the early Internet (Berlin 2007).
properly inventoried, in part for 4 th century. Sims-Williams re-
fear that some of the objects may ported on interesting new material Among the presentations about
turn out to be forgeries. Among from Kazakhstan which had not conservation challenges and
the most significant collections of been deciphered by its discoverer successes, I found of particular
Dunhuang and other Central Asian (Podushkin 2000). The short texts interest Vera Fominikh’s de-
materials are those in New Delhi are inscribed on plaques, probably scription of the process by which
at the National Museum (more from a wall or gateway, and the huge sculpture of the
than 11,000 objects), including all mention Samarkand, Bukhara and Parinirvana Buddha found at

70
 issues, in some book. The Diamond Sutra from
cases focusing Dunhuang, dating from 868 CE,
narrowly on a few has long been considered the
examples, in world’s oldest dated printed book,
other cases pro- although it is now known that
viding an over- some printed fragments held in St.
view of what is Petersburg are older. The
being learned Diamond Sutra scroll may be
both from the viewed in an innovative digital
D u n h u a n g presentation of the British Library
material and <http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/
other Silk Road ttp/ttpbooks.html>. There is a
collections. broad range of book forms and
substances in the Dunhuang
An example of collections, providing evidence for
the latter was a re-examination of book history
Fig. 4. The Ajina-Tepa Parinirvana Buddhia during Ts u g u h i t o and subjects such as the
excavation (after slide from presentation by Vera
Ta k e u c h i ’ s relationship between manuscripts
Fominikh).
v a l u a b l e and the printed book. It is likely
Ajina-Tepa in Tajikistan was overview of of the impact of that book formats in China were
restored (Fominikh 2003) [Fig. 4]. Dunhuang on Tibetan studies. The influenced by those common in
Since few people seem to make it manuscripts have provided new the Western Regions, where, for
to Dushanbe, the statue is still evidence for the linguistic study of example, some Manichaean and
little known. I was fascinated as Old Tibetan and a great deal of Nestorian texts were bound in
well by Sanchita Balachandran’s new material on the early history codices rather than preserved in
presentation of the history and of Buddhism in Tibet and on pre- scrolls.
technical issues involved in the Buddhist religion there. Since
It is impossible in this short
infamous foray of Langdon many texts were produced by
space to do justice to the value of
Warner to Dunhuang, where he non-Tibetans, we seem to have
these conferences last May, where
removed some sections of the evidence of the use of Tibetan as
there was much for the specialist
beautiful Tang-era murals using a a kind of lingua franca in Gansu in
as well as a great deal of
technique involving covering them the 10th century and much farther
intellectual stimulation for those
with glue, and took the material afield. A great deal now is being
with a general interest in the
back to Harvard where some of it learned about administration in
cultural history of Eurasia and
and one of the lovely bodhisattva the Tibetan Empire, and the
undertakings in modern times to
statues from Cave 328 may be extent to which Tibetan culture
study it. Apart from the work on
seen today in the Sackler continued to dominate areas of
texts, there are stunning advances
Museum. Balachandran’s paper Inner Asia well after the collapse
being made in the study of paper
addressed some of the ethical of the empire.
and other fibers, inks, book-
issues involved and showed that
Another of the important groups bindings, and much more. While
this was no casual effort.
of texts is the Khotanese one, in many ways Silk Road studies
However, Warner in fact did not
which was surveyed by Harvard’s have always been a collaborative
follow the advice he had been
Oktor Skjaervo. The texts include project (Stein, for example,
given on what substances to use.
Buddhist sutras, princely poetry, enlisted a lot of help of experts to
The plans, fortunately never
medical texts and bilingual analyze materials he found), the
realized, included removal of much
glossaries and itineraries. One extent of collaborative projects
more of the Mogao painting than
document records the visit of a today is truly impressive. We can
he managed to accomplish. The
Khotanese prince to the important be grateful for the conference and
techniques for removal of his glues
complex of shrines at Mt. Wutai. workshop organizers — Frances
from the paintings, in order to
Another provides evidence about Wood, Helen Wang, Joanne Blore,
mount and display them, were
the sending of Khotanese jade as Barbara Borghese and many
imperfect, failing to transfer
tribute to China. There are a few others — for enabling this
important amounts of pigment.
commercial documents, including celebration of Dunhuang a century
Assuming proper conservation, one from Dunhuang which after Stein was there.
cataloguing, digitization and contains a good many Turkic
access to the material, what may words. About the author
we learn from it about the history Finally I would note here the Daniel Waugh taught about the
and culture of early Eurasia? presentation by Jean-Pierre Drège Silk Road for many years before
Various papers addressed these on new studies of the Chinese retiring from the University of

71
Washington in 2006. He feels (Tadzhikistan)” (Restoration and In Japanese: <http://idp.afc.
fortunate to have spent a month Reconstruction of the monumental ryukoku.ac.jp/>.
at the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang clay statue of the Buddha in In German: <http://idp.bbaw.
in 1998 on the program co- Nirvana from Adzhina-tepa de/>.
sponsored by the Silkroad [ Ta j i k i s t a n ] ) . R o s s i i s k a i a In Russian: <http://idp.
Foundation, whose journal he arkheologiia 2003, No. 1: 134- orientalstudies.ru/>.
edits. 144.
Podushkin 2000 The Bajaur Collection
References
Aleksandr Nikolaevich Podushkin. <http://www.geschkult.fu-
Balanchandran 2007 Arysskaia kul’tura Iuzhnogo berlin.de/e/indologie/bajaur/>.
Sanchita Balachandran. Object Kazakhstana IV v. do n.e.- VI v. Bibliography of Dunhuang
Lessons: The Politics of Pre- n.e. (The Arys Culture of Southern Studies, 1908-1997
servation and Museum Building in Kazakhstan 4th century BCE – 6th <http://ccs.ncl.edu.tw/ccs/EN/
Western China in the Early century CE). Turkestan: Izda- ExpertDB3.asp> Search boxes will
Twentieth Century.” International tel’skii tsentr MKTU im. identify authors or keywords in the
Journal of Cultural Property 14 X.A.Yassavi, 2000. database in Roman script even
(2007):1-32.
Popova 2006 though the website is in Chinese.
Berlin 2007
Irina Fedorovna Popova. “Kitai- Center for the Study of Ancient
Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of skaia kollektsiia Sankt-Peter- Chinese Documents Abroad
Sciences and Humanities. Turfan burgskogo filiala Instituta
Studies. Berlin, 2007. Available <http://www.shnuywhw.com/>
vostokovedeniia Rossiiskoi Website in Chinese, but includes
on-line <http://www.bbaw.de/ akademii nauk” (The Chinese
b b a w / F o r s c h u n g / 165 enlargeable images of
Collection of the St. Petersburg paintings and sculptures from the
Forschungsprojekte/ Branch of the Insititute of Oriental
turfanforschung/bilder/ Mogao Caves where the cave
Studies of the Russian Academy numbers are in Arabic numerals.
Turfan_deutsch_07-Druck.pdf>. of Sciences). In: Sankt-Peterburg
An html version of pamphlet is To date five volumes of a 27-
— Kitai: tri veka kontaktov (St. volume critical edition of the UK
reproduced at the Academy’s Petersburg — China: Three
Turfanforschung website: <http:/ collections of Dunhuang docu-
Centuries of Contacts). Sankt- ments are available via the
/www.bbaw.de/bbaw/Forschung/ Peterburg: Evropeiskii dom, 2006:
Forschungsprojekte/ website.
68-84. Note that this collection
turfanforschung/de/ of articles includes a number of The Silk Road Project:
Turfanforschung/view>. other valuable surveys of Central Reuniting Turfan’s Scattered
Falconer et al. 2002 Asian collections in St. Petersburg. Treasures
John Falconer, Agnes Karteszi, <http://research.yale.edu:8084/
Whitfield 2005
Agnes Kelecsenyi, Lilla Russell- turfan/> Includes a Chinese-
Susan Whitfield. “The Inter- English database for the most
Smith (ed. by Eva Apor and Helen national Dunhuang Project:
Wang). Catalogue of the Col- important published materials
Chinese Central Asia Online.” The from Turfan.
lections of Sir Aurel Stein in the Silk Road 3/2 (2005): 3-7.
Library of the Hungarian Academy
of Sciences. Budapest: LHAS and Zhao 2007
British Museum, 2002. Zhao Feng et al., eds. Textiles
from Dunhuang in UK Collections.
Falconer et al. 2007
Shanghai: Donghua University
John Falconer, Agnes Karteszi, Press, 2007 (also available in
Agnes Kelecsenyi, Lilla Russell- Chinese).
Smith (ed. by Eva Apor and Helen
Wang). Supplement to the
Catalogue of the Collections of Sir Selected Websites and Digital
Aurel Stein in the Library of the Projects
Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Budapest: LHAS, 2007. The International Dunhuang
Fominikh 2003 Project
Vera A. Fominikh. “Restavra- In English, with links to the
tsionnaia rekonstruktsiia monu- mirror sites:<http://idp.bl.uk/>.
mental’noi glinianoi statui Buddy In Chinese: <http://idp.nlc.
v Nirvane iz Adzhina-tepa gov.cn/>.

72
 Summer Programs Co-Sponsored by the Silkroad Foundation
Dunhuang Art and Society: On-site Seminar (June 29-July 12, 2008)
With the strong support of the Dunhuang Research Academy, China, the Silkroad Foundation and Yale University are
organizing its fourth seminar on Dunhuang art and society, to be held at the Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, Gansu Province,
China, from June 29-July 12, 2008. A trip to visit Buddhist art sites in east Xinjiang, including Balikun, Hami, Turfan,
Jimsar, and Urmuqi, will follow (July 13-20). The invited speakers include Roderick Whitfield, Mimi Yiengpruksawan, Neil
Schmid and Ning Qiang from the US side and Peng Jingzhang, Wang Huimin, Liu Yongzheng, Zhang Xiantang and Wang
Binghua from the China side. Seminar participants will examine the paintings and sculptures in the Mogao and Yulin
caves with the experts listed above and interact with local scholars formally and informally. In addition to visits to the
Buddhist caves, this interdisciplinary seminar will provide onsite lectures/discussions examining a wide range of issues
relating to Chinese art, religion, politics, and society. The official language of the seminar is English.

For additional details, including a list of the lectures by Profs. Whitfield, Ning, Yiengpruksawan and Schmid, visit
<http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/dunhuang/dhseminar08.html>. Lecture information by Chinese scholars at the
Dunhuang Research Academy will be available later.

Seminar Fee: The comprehensive seminar fee is $1,060 for double which covers cave visit fees at Mogao and Yulin,
accommodations at the Mogao Guest House and weekend excursions in the Dunhuang region. The July 13-20 trip to
other Buddhist sites is not included in this fee.

Registration: The online registration <http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/dunhuang/dhsform00.html> should be

submitted to the Silkroad Foundation by December 12, 2007. The full nonrefundable payment is due by February 15,
2008 once you are accepted to the program. A maximum of thirty participants will be accepted. For more information,
please contact the program director, Prof. Ning Qiang <[email protected]>or the Silkroad Foundation at
<[email protected]>.

Mongol-American Khovd Archaeology Project

Xiongnu Cemeteries of the Altai Mountains
(June 19 – July 31, 2008)
For the summer of 2008, the Silkroad Foundation, in conjunction with the National Museum of Mongolian History and the
University of Pennsylvania, will be sponsoring excavations and surveys in the Altai Mountain region of Khovd aimag,
Mongolia.

The Mongol-American Khovd Archaeology Project aims to advance material investigations of the peoples and cultures
of the Altai Mountains, a crucial region between the nomads of the Mongolian steppes and the Silk Roads area within
present-day northwest China. Chinese historical documents attest to the emergence of a strong nomadic confederacy
called the Xiongnu in the late first millennium BCE which held sway over the steppe and mountain regions north of the
Chinese realm for several centuries and well into the Common Era. Our understanding of this nomad polity and its
constituents has, within the past few decades, been transformed by archaeological discoveries not only of royal tombs
but of standard- burial graveyards, regional analyses and settlement studies. A wealth of new material is being unearthed,
and new methods are being applied to its analysis. Excavations in 2008 will take place at three separate Xiongnu
cemeteries — Baishin uzuur in the low valleys, Dood Takhilt adjacent to the elite cemetery of Takhilt, and Shombuuzin
belchir in the high mountain pass — to analyze the relationship between those interred in different geographic locales of
the Altai region of Khovd and the degree of variation between sites attributed to the Xiongnu in the western periphery
and those elsewhere in Mongolia. The project offers a variety of excavation activities with focuses on the analysis of
human remains and processes of in-field conservation. In addition, several lectures will be provided on-site, and a cross-
country trips between Ulaanbaatar and Khovd will allow participants to see a large collection of sites within varied
geographic zones and relating to different periods of Mongolian history and culture.

This program provides an exciting opportunity for participants with a wide range of interests. Participants need no
special training, but should be prepared for physical activity and wilderness camping (no electricity and living on the
steppes in Mongolian tents) for extended periods of time. Participants will be given training on archaeological survey and
excavation, including proper methods of unearthing, documenting and mapping the materials. If you have excavation
experience, we welcome your assistance, and if you have not, we look forward to the learning process! The most
important things you need for this project are: 1) patience and a good sense of humor; 2) the ability to adapt to radically
different cultures and climates and environments (without electricity and all the trappings that go with it); and 3) a
sense of adventure, for we will be traveling to and seeing some fantastic places!

More details on Takhilt Xiongnu Cemetery: <http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/excavation/takhiltcemetary.html>.

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Language: The official language of the expedition is English. Lectures by local Mongolian scholars will be translated.

Site Descriptions
Tsenkher Cave
Tsenkher cave lies a few kilometers further up the Khoit Tsenkher river valley from the site of Takhilt cemetery. Here can
be found some of the earliest cave paintings in Mongolia and in the world. Animals are painted on the walls of the cave
in an array of red, black and white.
Uyench Pass
The Uyench river valley at the southern end of this mountain pass through the Altai has numerous sections of rock wall
carved with animals, chariots and hunting scenes from the Bronze Age through Turk period. Some of the most famous
rock-cut art in Mongolia, for example the often depicted Xiongnu chariot with escorts, can be found on the walls of this
canyon.
Baishin uzuur, Darvi sum, Khovd aimag
Several Xiongnu cemeteries have been found in Darvi sum amongst the foothills. Excavations in 2008 will focus on two
sites in the vicinity of a hill named Baishin uzuur. One site is a small cluster of eight features where we will excavate
several graves. The more significant site consists of over thirty Xiongnu period graves on the eastern slope of a small hill,
two small Bronze Age burials on the western side, and a dense collection of Turkic inscriptions on the boulders on top of
the hill. We will excavate several graves at this site, including the two Bronze Age burials, several small Xiongnu graves,
and a large circular Xiongnu grave with adjacent burials and a line of stones to the north. This manner of stone line was
excavated for the first time in 2007 at Takhiltin-khotgor, and we found ritual deposits of burnt animal bone. It is our goal
to further investigate this phenomenon of ritual stone lines outside the context of the more elite tomb complexes like
those at Takhiltin-khotgor.
Dood Takhilt, Manhan sum, Khovd aimag
The elite Xiongnu cemetery of Takhitin-khotgor sits in a flat area between two river valleys: the Khoit (North) Tsenkher
River and the Dund (Middle) Tsenkher River. In summer 2007, while excavating at this elite cemetery, surveys of the
Khovd Archaeology Project discovered two small groups of Xiongnu period graves nearby the elite grounds and next to
the Khoit Tsenkher River. In 2008, we will excavate two graves here; one with apparent accompanying interments and
another with a stone line to the north.
Shombuuzin belchir, Monkhkhairkhan sum, Khovd aimag
Numerous Xiongnu cemeteries and Bronze Age monuments were documented in the Altai mountain pass area of
Monkhkhairkhan sum during surveys in 2006, and one of the larger sites is located in a mountain niche called Shombuuzin
belchir. We will excavate a long cluster of burials here, including a large circular grave with a stone line to the north.
Program Fee: A tax deductible donation of $1500. This donation does not include airfare, visas nor incidentals in Ulaan
Bataar and Khovd.

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Preparations: Participants should be prepared for physical activity and wilderness camping for extended periods of
time. We are going out on the Mongolian steppe and will be anywhere from 50 km to 150 km from any sizable towns. We
will live in gers (Mongolian traditional tent houses), without electricity and plumbing. Access to water, for bathing and
drinking, will be a river nearby the campsite, so participants will need to bring water filters (or share with other
participants). The diet will be heavy on sheep and dairy products. Vegetarians will have a difficult time with such a diet,
and thus will need to come prepared with some of their own additional food options.
Application/Deadline: The online application <http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/excavation/2008/excform008.html>
should be submitted to the Silkroad Foundation by January 1, 2008. We will notify those accepted by January 15, 2008;
so please be available for contact during this time. Please send email to <[email protected]> for any
questions.

The Silkroad Foundation also a proud supporter of

Silk Road House: A Cultural and Educational Center

Silk Road House is a non-profit organization created to promote and support an impressive array of diverse ethnic
cultural traditions. The main goals of the Silk Road House are:
to create a center for the collection of pertinent cultural and historical information
to provide a place where creative activities can bring to life the traditions of the Silk Road here in United States to
celebrate the Silk Road’s tradition of hospitality
Silk Road House symbolizes the connections, communications and bonds between peoples and cultures united by the
Silk Road concept, and at the same time, a real network of the modern day contacts between those peoples and
cultures. The Silk Road House is a welcoming cultural center where everyone who might be interested could find a wide
range of accurate information concerning the history, culture, and everyday life of Silk Road countries.
For extensive listings of the many events, including programs in December 2007, visit the website at: <http://
www.silkroadhouse.org/>.
Among the events scheduled for early in 2008 is a Central Asian film series (made possible through a generous gift
of the Open Society Institute [Budapest, Hungary]). The compiler of DVD-collection is Gulnara Abikeyeva, Director of
the Center of Central Asian Cinematography. All movies have English subtitles and will be introduced and commented
on by Alma Kunanbaeva:
– Saturday January 12, from 5 to 7 PM. “The Land of the Fathers” (Kazakhstan).
– Saturday, January 26, from 5 to 7 PM. “White Mountains” (Kyrgyzstan).
– Saturday, February 9, from 5 to 7 PM. “You’re Not an Orphan” (Uzbekistan).
– Saturday, February 23, from 5 to 7 PM. “Hassan-Arbakesh” (Tajikistan).
Also, on Sunday, February 24, 1 to 3 PM (Lecture begins at 1:30 PM) an illustrated presentation, “New perspectives on
early Inner Asian nomads,” by Dr. Daniel Waugh, University of Washington, Seattle. The talk will include new material on
the Pazyryk burials in the Altai and results of the Xiongnu archaeological excavations co-sponsored by the Silkroad
Foundation in 2005 and 2007 in Mongolia.

Humanities West presents:

Empire on Horseback: Genghis Khan
and the Mongols
February 22 and 23, 2008
at the Herbst Theatre, San Francisco
The program includes:

Friday, February 22
8:00 PM. “The ‘Owl of Misfortune’ or the ‘Phoenix of Prosperity’? Reassessing Genghis Khan and the Mongol
Empire.” Daniel Waugh (Emeritus Professor, University of Washington) attempts to separate myth from reality
and provide a balanced picture of the Mongols’ impact on their contemporary world.
9:00 PM. “From Steppe to Stage: An Exploration of 800 Years of Mongolian Music.” Peter K. Marsh (Assistant
Professor of Music, CSU East Bay), explores the history of Mongolian music from Imperial times to the present,
paying particular attention to how traditional music, including the two-stringed fiddle and khöömii or ‘throat
singing’ traditions, intersect the human, natural, and spiritual worlds. He’ll end by looking at how Mongolian
music has fared in the era of globalization.

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Saturday, February 23
10:00 AM. “On Culture and Commerce.” This illustrated lecture by Morris Rossabi (Professor of History, Columbia
University) reveals that the Mongols promoted commerce and fostered some of the arts in the vast empire they
subjugated.
11:00 AM “The Women in Genghis Khan’s Life.” James D. Ryan (Emeritus Professor, CUNY) focuses on several of
the remarkable women, including Genghis’ mother, his chief wife and mother of the four sons who figured in
succession to his empire, and several of his daughters-in-law. Their histories reveal that Mongol women enjoyed
higher position and greater recognition than those in China, the Arab world, or Europe.
1:30 PM. A Performance of Mongolian Music, coordinated by Peter K. Marsh and Orna Uranchimeg-Tsultem.
2:00 PM. “The Mongol Influence on Islamic, Especially Persian Art.” With rich illustrations, Stefano Carboni
(Curator, Islamic Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York) explores the impact of China’s Yüan dynasty on
the art and culture of Iran’s Ilkhanid dynasty. In a period of great cultural achievement and profound changes,
local artists and artisans were introduced to previously unknown artistic traditions from East Asia, and attempted
to respond to the tastes of their new royal patrons, the Mongol rulers.
3:00 PM. Panel discussion and Q & A, moderated by Fred Astren.
This event is by paid admission ticket, which may be obtained from City Box Office <cityboxoffice.com>. For further
information, visit the Humanities West website at: <www.humanitieswest.org>, write <[email protected]> or
phone 1-415-391-9700. Humanities West has prepared various educational resources to accompany the program. Among
the program’s sponsors is the Silkroad Foundation.

FOR TENT AND TRADE: MASTERPIECES OF TURKMEN WEAVING

AT THE DE YOUNG MUSEUM
December 15, 2007, through April 27, 2008

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco present a selection of premier examples from their world-class holdings of
Turkmen rugs and textiles in For Tent and Trade: Masterpieces of Turkmen Weaving at the de Young Museum December
15, 2007, through April 27, 2008. During the past twenty-five years, FAMSF has developed the finest public collection
of Turkmen carpets and other pile textiles outside Russia. This exhibition includes approximately 40 of the finest rugs,
bags, and tent and animal trappings from these extensive holdings.
This exhibition provides an overview of Turkmen pile weaving and addresses some of the unanswered questions
surrounding Turkmen carpets in addition to new findings that are changing our understanding of this complex weaving
tradition.
The textiles included in For Tent and Trade come from the plains, oases, and low hills of Turkmenistan, northwest Iran,
Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Many are woven from the superb wool of Saryja sheep, which are bred solely in this
region. This exhibition provides the opportunity to contrast objects traditionally woven for a woman’s dowry or domestic
use with those made for the market or a prosperous city dweller.
Diane Mott, Curator of the Caroline and H. McCoy Jones Department of Textile Arts, is the curator of this exhibition.
The exhibition will be accompanied by various educational programs and public lectures, with two of the latter scheduled
for December 6 and January 12. Visit the museum website for details <http://www.deyoungmuseum.org> or call 1-
415-750-3600.
The de Young Museum is located in Golden Gate Park, at 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118.

Camel trapping for

bridal procession
(khalyk). Central
Asia, Turkmen,
Yomut? tribe. Wool
or goat hair; knot-
ted pile (sym-
metrical knot). Gift
of George and
Marie Hecksher
2000.186.12.

Photo © 2007 The de

Young Museum. Used
with permission.

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