The Jushi (), or Gushi (), were a people who established a kingdom during the 1st millennium BC in the
Turpan basin
The Turpan Depression or Turfan Depression, is a fault-bounded trough located around and south of the city-oasis of Turpan, in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in far Western China, about southeast of the regional capital Ürümqi. It includes ...
(modern
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
, China). The kingdom included the area of Ayding Lake, in the eastern
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
range. During the late 2nd and early 1st century BC, the area was increasingly dominated by the
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
and the northern neighbours of the Jushi, the
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...
, and became one of the many minor states of the
Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Yumen Pass, most often Central Asia or sometimes more sp ...
of
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
China. The Jushi capital (Jiaohe, later known as Yarkhoto, and Yarghul) was destroyed in a Mongol attack in the 13th century.
They may have been one of the Tocharian peoples and spoken one of the associated
languages
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
Victor H. Mair
Victor Henry Mair (; born March 25, 1943) is an American sinologist. He is a professor of Chinese at the University of Pennsylvania. Among other accomplishments, Mair has edited the standard ''Columbia History of Chinese Literature'' and the ''Col ...
, the earliest accounts of the Jushi report them to have "lived in tents, followed the grasses and waters, and had considerable knowledge of agriculture. They owned cattle, horses, camels, sheep and goats. They were proficient with bows and arrows".
Jushi and the kingdom of
Krorän
Loulan, also called Krorän or Kroraina ( zh, s=, t=, p=Lóulán <
Zhang Qian
Zhang Qian (; died c. 114) was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diplomats to bring back valuable inf ...
(d. 113 BC), in part because both were under the control of the Xiongnu.
In or about 60 BC, the Han—ruled at the time by Emperor Xuan—defeated Xiongnu forces at the
Battle of Jushi
The Battle of Jushi () was a battle between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu for control of the people of the Jushi culture in the Turpan Basin in 67 BC. The battle was a success for the Han, who were led by Zheng Ji. The king of Jushi Wugui ...
, during the
Han–Xiongnu War
The Han–Xiongnu War,. also known as the Sino–Xiongnu War, was a series of military battles fought between the Han Empire and the nomadic Xiongnu confederation from 133 BC to 89 AD.
Starting from Emperor Wu's reign (r. 141–87 BC), the Han ...
. Afterwards the main part of the Jushi lands was divided into two states: a southern area controlled by the Han, who referred to it as “Nearer Jushi” (or "Anterior Jushi"), and a northern area known to the Han as “Further Jushi" (or "Posterior Jushi") that was dominated by the Xiongnu. Nearer Jushi was administered by the Han from a capital at Jiaohe (16 kilometres west of the site of modern
Turpan
Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015).
Geonyms
The original name of the cit ...
). The capital of Further Jushi appears to have been called Yuli or Yulai, and was located about 10 km north of Jimasa, 200 km north of Jiaohe.Fan Ye , ''Chronicle on the 'Western Regions' from the Hou Hanshu.'' (transl. John E. Hill) 2011] "Based on a report by General Ban Yong to Emperor An (107–125 CE) near the end of his reign, with a few later additions." (20 December 2015) The Jushi never regained their independence.
Archaeology
A 2,700-year-old grave discovered in 2008 at the Yanghai Tombs, an ancient cemetery (54,000 m2 in area), has been attributed to the Jushi or a precursor culture. The remains belonged probably to a
shaman
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...
. Near the shaman's head and foot were a large leather basket and wooden bowl filled with 789 grams of dried
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
, superbly preserved by climatic and burial conditions. An international team demonstrated that this material contained
tetrahydrocannabinol
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Although the chemical formula for THC (C21H30O2) describes multiple isomers, the term ''THC' ...
, the psychoactive component of cannabis. The cannabis was clearly "cultivated for psychoactive purposes," rather than as fibre for clothing or as food. It may have been employed as a medicinal agent, or an aid to divination. This is the oldest known use of cannabis as a pharmacological agent. The extremely dry conditions and alkaline soil acted as preservatives, allowing a team of scientists to carefully analyze the stash, which still looked green though it had lost its distinctive odour.
See also
*
Tarim mummies
The Tarim mummies are a series of mummies discovered in the Tarim Basin in present-day Xinjiang, China, which date from 1800 BC to the first centuries BC, with a new group of individuals recently dated to between c. 2100 and 1700 BC.School o ...
References
Citations
Sources
* Hill, John E. (2009) ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE''. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. .
* Hulsewé, A. F. P. (1979). ''China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC – AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty''. E. J. Brill, Leiden. .