Hotan

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Basic data
Greater Region: Northwest China
Autonomous area : Xinjiang
Status: Administrative district
Residents : 2,530,500 (end of 2018)
Area : 248,946 km²
Location of Hotan Prefecture within Xinjiang (China) .png
Uighur name
Arabic-Persian (Kona Yeziⱪ) : خوتەن
Latin (Yengi Yeziⱪ) : Hotǝn
official notation ( PRCh ): Hotan
Pronunciation in IPA : [ xɔtɛn ]
other spellings: Khotan
Chinese name
Abbreviation : 和田 地区
Transcription in Pinyin : Hétián Dìqū
Wade-Giles transcription : Ho-t'ien

Hotan , or Khotan, is a Chinese administrative district in the south of the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang in the northwest of the People's Republic of China with a total area of ​​248,946 km² and 2.53 million inhabitants (end of 2018).

Its capital is the city of the same name, Hotan , which was the capital of the Kingdom of Hotan from the first to the 10th century AD . The Silk Road , which led from China to Europe, passed through Hotan .

population

97 percent of the population of Hotan are Uyghurs.

history

Melikawat ruins in Hotan.
Mosque in Hotan.

The early history of Khotan is dark; later, Buddhist legends are of no historical significance. The kingdom of Khotan first appears in Chinese sources around the birth of Christ. It is reported that under Wudi a Khotanese embassy visited the Chinese court. At this time, Khotan already had dominance over parts of the western Tarim Basin, King Guangde (廣 德, Guǎngdé) even conquered Yarkant in AD 61 . Due to the troubled political situation, Guangde 73 accepted Chinese military protection, and in return Khotan paid tribute to China for centuries.

In the 3rd century, according to the Weilüe report, Khotan still ruled several kingdoms in the southwestern Tarim Basin, around 400 the Chinese pilgrim Faxian described Khotan as a rich country with countless Buddhist monasteries, similar descriptions were given on Songyun in 519 and Xuanzang (644). In the Tang Dynasty , China's interest in the Tarim Basin increased again, which is why a Chinese garrison was stationed in Khotan in 648 as part of the " Four Garrisons of Anxi ". In 670 Khotan fell briefly under Tibetan rule, which was then replaced by China around 700, before it was re-conquered by the Tibetans around 790. In the following years Khotan was hit by the general decline of the Tarim Basin.

In the middle of the 9th century, Uyghurs who migrated west after the fall of their kaganat came and established a kingdom in Kocho that encompassed the eastern Tarim Basin, including Khotan. The state religion was Manichaeism brought with them by the Uyghurs, and the Turkicization of the area continued. In the 11th century the advancing Karakhanids conquered the city, from 1130 the Kara-Kitai took over the rule. After that, Khotan belonged to the Chagatai Khanate , Moghulistan and the Djungarian Khanate . After the defeat of the Djungars against the Qing , Khotan came to China.

1862–73 the region was involved in the Dungan uprisings. 1934–37, "Tunganistan" with the capital Khotan was proclaimed an independent region in southern Xinjiang .

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Excavations

Ancient Khotan has left a multitude of archaeological traces. At the beginning of the 20th century, Aurel Stein and a little later a Japanese expedition carried out the first excavations here. Some of the Tarim mummies were found here. Several archaeological complexes exist in Khotan. The largest is the old capital Yotkan 8 km west of the heugtigen Khotan; There are several other complexes in the area, including Farhad-Beg Yailaki with a stupa and a temple and the complex of Dandan Uiliq , where several residential buildings, cult facilities and important Buddhist texts written in Saki and Sanskrit as well as Chinese documents from the period from 781 -789 were found.

Administrative structure

Administratively, the administrative district is made up of a city and seven districts. These are (inhabitants and area data from 2006):

  • City of Hotan (Hotǝn xəⱨiri / 和田 市Hétián Shì ), 466 km², 270,000 inhabitants;
  • District of Hotan (Hotən naⱨiyisi / 和田 县Hétián Xiàn ), 41,403 km², 280,000 inhabitants;
  • Karakax district (Ⱪaraⱪax / 墨玉县Mòyù Xiàn ), 25,789 km², 440,000 inhabitants;
  • Guma district (皮 山 县Píshān Xiàn ), 39,742 km², 230,000 inhabitants;
  • Lop district (洛浦县Luòpǔ Xiàn ), 14,314 km², 240,000 inhabitants;
  • Qira district (策勒县Cèlè Xiàn ), 31,688 km², 140,000 inhabitants;
  • Keriya district (Keriyə / 于田 县Yútián Xiàn ), 39,095 km², 220,000 inhabitants;
  • Niya district (Niyə / 民丰县Mínfēng Xiàn ), 56,760 km², 30,000 inhabitants.

Climate table

Hotan
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
1
 
1
-10
 
 
2
 
5
-5
 
 
1
 
15th
3
 
 
3
 
23
10
 
 
7th
 
28
14th
 
 
7th
 
31
18th
 
 
5
 
33
19th
 
 
3
 
31
18th
 
 
2
 
27
13
 
 
1
 
20th
6th
 
 
0
 
11
-1
 
 
1
 
2
-8th
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Hotan
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 0.8 5.4 15.2 23.3 27.5 31.0 32.6 31.4 26.9 20.2 10.6 2.3 O 19th
Min. Temperature (° C) -9.6 -4.9 2.9 10.0 14.3 17.5 19.1 18.2 13.3 5.9 -1.4 -7.8 O 6.5
Precipitation ( mm ) 1 2 1 3 7th 7th 5 3 2 1 0 1 Σ 33
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 5.6 5.4 6.2 6.5 7.5 8.4 7.8 7.4 8.0 8.4 7.3 5.9 O 7th
Humidity ( % ) 53 49 35 29 35 37 40 44 43 40 45 54 O 42
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
0.8
-9.6
5.4
-4.9
15.2
2.9
23.3
10.0
27.5
14.3
31.0
17.5
32.6
19.1
31.4
18.2
26.9
13.3
20.2
5.9
10.6
-1.4
2.3
-7.8
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		1
2
1
3
7th
7th
5
3
2
1
0
1
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: wetterkontor.de

literature

  • Article Khotan. In: Robert Busswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr. (Eds.): Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 2013, p. 433, ISBN 9780691157863 .
  • Jürgen Paul : Central Asia. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2012 ( New Fischer World History , Volume 10).
  • Sir Aurel Stein : Sand-buried Ruins of Khotan. Personal Narrative of a Journey of Archaeological & Geographical Explorations in Chinese Turkestan. 1903.
  • Sir Aurel Stein: Ancient Khotan. Detailed Report of Archaeological Explorations in Chinese Turkestan. 2 volumes. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1907. online
  • Sir Aurel Stein: Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China , 5 volumes. Clarendon Press, London & Oxford 1921. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980. online
  • Marianne Yaldız : Archeology and Art History of Sino-Central Asia (Xinjiang). Handbook of Oriental Studies , Department 7, Volume 3, Section 2. Brill, Leiden 1987 ISBN 90-04-07877-0

Web links

Commons : 和田 - خوتەن  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Until 1965 Hétián和 闐; in ancient times Yútián于闐
  2. ↑ a b 2018 年 和田 地区 国民经济 和 社会 发展 统计 公报 خوتەن ھۆكۈمەت تورى / 和田 政府 网, April 3, 2019 (Official website of Hotan; archived version)
  3. ↑ J. Paul: Zentralasien, p. 137

Coordinates: 37 ° 7 '  N , 79 ° 55'  E