Minfeng
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Minfeng or New Niya (泥雅) ( ) is a town on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, in the Minfeng County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It is 120 km east of Keriya, and about 330 km west of Qiemo or Cherchen.
Minfeng is a small town of about 10,000 people with a small market, shops, many restaurants, and a hotel.
Ancient Niya was known as Jingjue 精絶 during the Han Dynasties (206 BCE - 222 CE) and was said to have had "480 households, 3360 individuals with 500 persons able to bear arms" in the Former Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 23 CE), according to the Hanshu Chapter 96A. [1] It is situated about 115 km north of the modern town of Minfeng. Numerous Buddhist scriptures, sculptures, mummies and other precious archeological finds have been made in the region. The remains of more than seventy buildings have been discovered scattered over an area of some 45 sq. km. It was located on the southern branch of the Silk Road.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC – AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty. E. J. Brill, Leiden. ISBN 90-04-05884-2; p. 93
- ^ Baumer, Christoph. Southern Silk Road: In the Footsteps of Sir Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin. Christoph Baumer. 2000. Bangkok. White Orchid Books, p. 100.
- Bonavia, Judy 2004. The Silk Road From Xi’an to Kashgar. Revised by Christoph Baumer. 2004. Odyssey Publications. ISBN 962-217-741-7
- Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu." 2nd Draft Edition. [1]
- Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. 2000. The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. Thames & Hudson. London. 2000.
- Stein, M. Aurel 1907. Ancient Khotan: Detailed report of archaeological explorations in Chinese Turkestan, 2 vols. Oxford. Clarendon Press.
- Stein, M. Aurel 1912. Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China, 2 vols. Reprint: Delhi. Low Price Publications. 1990.
- Stein, M. Aurel 1921. Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China, 5 vols. London. Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980.
- Yu, Taishan. 2004. A History of the Relationships between the Western and Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Western Regions. Sino-Platonic Papers No. 131 March, 2004. Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania.
