Miran (simplified Chinese: 米兰; traditional Chinese: 米蘭) is an ancient oasis town located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang, Northwest China. Located where the Lop Nur desert meets the Altun Shan mountains, Miran was once a stop on the famous trade route known as the Silk Road. Two thousand years ago a river flowed down from the mountain and Miran had a sophisticated irrigation system.[1] Now[when?] the area is a sparsely inhabited, dusty region with poor roads and minimal transportation.[citation needed] Archaeological excavations since the early 20th century have uncovered an extensive Buddhist monastic site that existed between the 2nd to 5th centuries AD, as well as the Miran fort, a Tibetan settlement during the 8th and 9th centuries AD.
In ancient times, Miran was a busy trading center on the southern part of the Silk Road, after the route split into two (the northern route and the southern route), as caravans of merchants sought to escape travel across the harsh wasteland of the desert (called by the Chinese "The Sea of Death") and the Tarim Basin. They went by going around its north or south rim. It was also a thriving center of Buddhism with many monasteries and stupas.[1] Buddhist devotees would have walked around the covered circular stupas, whose central pillar contained relics of the Buddha.[4]
Miran was one of the smaller towns in Kroraina (also known as Loulan), which was brought under the control of the Chinese Han Dynasty in the third century.[1] After the fourth century the trading center declined. In the mid eighth century, Miran became a fort town because of its location at the mouth of a pass on one of the routes into Tibet. This is where the Tibetan forces crossed when the Chinese army withdrew to deal with rebels in central China. The Tibetans remained there, using the old irrigation system, until the Tibetan Empire lost its territories in Central Asia around the middle of the ninth century.[5]
Archaeology
View of excavated Buddha head in Miran, December 1906.
The ruins at Miran consist of a large rectangular fort, a monastery ('the Vihara' in Stein's accounts), several stupas and many sun-dried brick constructions, located relatively close to the ancient caravan track to Dunhuang, running west to east. The many artifacts found in Miran demonstrate the extensive and sophisticated trade connections these ancient towns had with places as far away as the Mediterranean Sea. Archaeological evidence from Miran shows the influence of Buddhism on artistic work as early as the first century BC.[6][page needed] Early Buddhist sculptures and murals excavated from the site demonstrate a Serindian style similar to the traditions of western Central Asia and the Gandhara art of the northwest Indian subcontinent;[7] other artistic aspects of the paintings found there suggest that Miran had a direct connection with Rome and its provinces.[8][obsolete source]
This Romanesque style is thought to be the work of a Buddhist painter known as "Titus" (𐨟𐨁𐨟, Tita), who signed his painting at Miran with his name in Indian Kharoshti characters, and who was perhaps a Roman artist who traveled east along the Silk Roads in search of employment.[9][10][11] Several artefacts have been found at the Miran site, including bows and arrows.[12]
Expeditions and visitors to the site
1876: The first person to mention the ancient site was Nikolay Przhevalsky. After his second expedition to the region, he wrote about a very large ruined city near the Lopnor lake, which, judging from its geographical position on his map, must have been Miran.[13]
1905: Ellsworth Huntington, an American geologist, the first to examine Miran, identified the fort, the monastery, and two stupas during a short visit, and recognized the Buddhist character of the site.[5]
1906-1907: Aurel Stein visited and excavated Miran fort and surrounding sites during his second expedition to Central Asia, carrying out a thorough excavation of the fort, uncovering 44 rooms (site numbers M.I.i - M.I.xliv). He excavated other sites in the area, mainly to the north and west of the fort (site numbers M.II - M.X), including several temples containing well-preserved Buddhist fresco and stucco images.[14]
1902 and 1910: Count Ōtani Kōzui sent missions from Kyoto to some Taklamakan sites, among them Miran, to bring back Buddhist texts, wall paintings and sculptures.[15]
1914: Aurel Stein returned to Miran on his third expedition, excavating other sites in the area (site numbers M.XI - M.XV), which were ruins of stupas and towers. The objects found in these included more stucco images and wooden carved objects.[16]
1957-8: Professor Huang Wenbi lead a team from the Institute of Archaeology, CASS, spending six days at Miran, and a report was published in 1983 describing the fort and two stupa/temple sites, and a number of finds.
1959: A team from Xinjiang Museum spent ten days in Miran examining the fort, temple site and dwelling areas. A report of their considerable findings was published in 1960.
1965: Rao Reifu, an engineer, investigated the remains of a substantial irrigation system in the Miran area and published his findings in 1982.
1973: Another team from the Xinjiang Museum visited the site an investigated the fort, temples and irrigation system. The excavations and the artefacts found in these sites were discussed in an expedition report by Mu Shunying in 1983.
1978-80: The most extensive investigation of the site so far was carried out by Huang Xiaojing and Zhang Ping of the Xinjiang Museum. Their 1985 report discusses the fort, 8 stupas, 3 temple sites, 2 beacons, dwellings, tombs, a kiln area and a smelting site.
1988: The archaeological team of XJASS visited the site and published a report, containing little new information.
1989: Professor Wang Binghua visited several of the temple sites.
1989: Christa Paula visited Miran, and published a description with photographs.[17]
1996: Peter Yung visited Miran recording his experiences in words and photographs.[18]
^Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovich (1879). From Kulja, across the Tian Shan to Lob-Nor. London: Sampson Low.
^Stein, Mark Aurel (1921). Serindia. Oxford: Clarendon.
^Sugiyama, Jiro (1971). Central Asian Objects brought back by the Otani Mission. Tokyo National Museum.
^Stein, Marc Aurel (1928). Innermost Asia. Clarendon Press.
^Paul, Christa (1994). The Road to Miran: Travels in the Forbidden Zone of Xinjiang. London: HarperCollins.
^Yung, Peter (1997). Bazaars of Chinese Turkestan: Life and Trade Along the Old Silk Road. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
References
Foltz, Richard C. (1999). Religions of the Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Exchange from Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century. Basingstoke, Hampshire & London: Macmillan. ISBN978-0-333-77527-1.
Giles, Lionel (1932). "A Chinese Geographical Text of the Ninth Century". Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London. 6 (4): 825–846. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00123067. ISSN 1356-1898. JSTOR 606896. S2CID 129458952.
Hall, Andrew; Farrell, Jack (2008). "Bows and Arrows from Miran, China". Journal of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries. 51: 89–98. ISSN 0560-6152. from the original on 2021-07-11.
Neelis, Jason (n.d.). Waugh, Daniel (ed.). "Silk Road Trade Routes". Art of the Silk Road. Silk Road Seattle. from the original on 2021-09-07.
van Oort, H. A. (1986). The Iconography of Chinese Buddhism in Traditional China. Vol. II. Leiden: E. J. Brill. ISBN9789004078239. OCLC 216716227.
Rhie, Marilyn Martin (1999). Early Buddhist Art of China and Central Asia. Vol. 1. Leiden & Boston: Brill. doi:10.1163/9789047430759. ISBN9789004112018. OCLC 40193480.
Santoro, Arcangela (2006). "Miran: The Viśvāntara jātaka on Visual Narration Along the Silk Road". Rivista degli studi orientali. 79 (1/4): 31–45. ISSN 0392-4866. JSTOR 43927043.
Thomas, F. W., ed. (1951). Tibetan Literary Texts and Documents Concerning Chinese Turkestan. Vol. II. London: Royal Asiatic Society. OCLC 13155471.
Whitfield, Susan, ed. (2004). "Miran: War and Faith". The Silk Road: Trade, Travel, War and Faith. With Ursula Sims-Williams. Chicago, IL: Serindia. pp. 187–226. ISBN9781932476132.
External links
Along the ancient silk routes: Central Asian art from the West Berlin State Museums, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material from Miran
Some Aspects Of Jataka Paintings in Indian and Chinese (Central Asian) Art
Mīrān Fort - Placename Information on the Digital Silk Road website
January 13, 2023
miran, xinjiang, miran, simplified, chinese, 米兰, traditional, chinese, 米蘭, ancient, oasis, town, located, southern, taklamakan, desert, xinjiang, northwest, china, located, where, desert, meets, altun, shan, mountains, miran, once, stop, famous, trade, route, . Miran simplified Chinese 米兰 traditional Chinese 米蘭 is an ancient oasis town located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang Northwest China Located where the Lop Nur desert meets the Altun Shan mountains Miran was once a stop on the famous trade route known as the Silk Road Two thousand years ago a river flowed down from the mountain and Miran had a sophisticated irrigation system 1 Now when the area is a sparsely inhabited dusty region with poor roads and minimal transportation citation needed Archaeological excavations since the early 20th century have uncovered an extensive Buddhist monastic site that existed between the 2nd to 5th centuries AD as well as the Miran fort a Tibetan settlement during the 8th and 9th centuries AD MiranStupa at MiranLocation of Miran in ChinaShow map of BayingolinMiran Xinjiang Xinjiang Show map of XinjiangMiran Xinjiang China Show map of ChinaLocation ChinaRegionXinjiangCoordinates39 14 03 N 88 56 22 E 39 23417 N 88 93944 E 39 23417 88 93944 Coordinates 39 14 03 N 88 56 22 E 39 23417 N 88 93944 E 39 23417 88 93944 Contents 1 Names 2 History 3 Archaeology 4 Expeditions and visitors to the site 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 References 8 External linksNames EditLionel Giles has recorded the following names for Miran with his Wade Giles forms of the Chinese names converted to pinyin Yuni old capital of Loulan Former Han Old Eastern Town Little Shanshan Later Han Qitun Cheng Tun Cheng Tang Miran modern name 2 During the period of Tibetan occupation mid 8th to mid 9th centuries the area was known as Nop Chungu nob chu ngu 3 page range too broad History Edit Fragment of a wall painting from a stupa in Miran depicting the Buddha leftmost followed by six disciples Fragment of a painting depicting two women The inscription of the painter Titus 𐨟 𐨟 Tita top right on the Miran V frescoe top of the hind leg of the elephant Fresco fragment from stupa shrine M III Miran Garland bearers on a frescoe at Miran Miran Stupa shrine MIII fragment In ancient times Miran was a busy trading center on the southern part of the Silk Road after the route split into two the northern route and the southern route as caravans of merchants sought to escape travel across the harsh wasteland of the desert called by the Chinese The Sea of Death and the Tarim Basin They went by going around its north or south rim It was also a thriving center of Buddhism with many monasteries and stupas 1 Buddhist devotees would have walked around the covered circular stupas whose central pillar contained relics of the Buddha 4 Miran was one of the smaller towns in Kroraina also known as Loulan which was brought under the control of the Chinese Han Dynasty in the third century 1 After the fourth century the trading center declined In the mid eighth century Miran became a fort town because of its location at the mouth of a pass on one of the routes into Tibet This is where the Tibetan forces crossed when the Chinese army withdrew to deal with rebels in central China The Tibetans remained there using the old irrigation system until the Tibetan Empire lost its territories in Central Asia around the middle of the ninth century 5 Archaeology Edit View of excavated Buddha head in Miran December 1906 The ruins at Miran consist of a large rectangular fort a monastery the Vihara in Stein s accounts several stupas and many sun dried brick constructions located relatively close to the ancient caravan track to Dunhuang running west to east The many artifacts found in Miran demonstrate the extensive and sophisticated trade connections these ancient towns had with places as far away as the Mediterranean Sea Archaeological evidence from Miran shows the influence of Buddhism on artistic work as early as the first century BC 6 page needed Early Buddhist sculptures and murals excavated from the site demonstrate a Serindian style similar to the traditions of western Central Asia and the Gandhara art of the northwest Indian subcontinent 7 other artistic aspects of the paintings found there suggest that Miran had a direct connection with Rome and its provinces 8 obsolete source This Romanesque style is thought to be the work of a Buddhist painter known as Titus 𐨟 𐨟 Tita who signed his painting at Miran with his name in Indian Kharoshti characters and who was perhaps a Roman artist who traveled east along the Silk Roads in search of employment 9 10 11 Several artefacts have been found at the Miran site including bows and arrows 12 Expeditions and visitors to the site Edit1876 The first person to mention the ancient site was Nikolay Przhevalsky After his second expedition to the region he wrote about a very large ruined city near the Lopnor lake which judging from its geographical position on his map must have been Miran 13 1905 Ellsworth Huntington an American geologist the first to examine Miran identified the fort the monastery and two stupas during a short visit and recognized the Buddhist character of the site 5 1906 1907 Aurel Stein visited and excavated Miran fort and surrounding sites during his second expedition to Central Asia carrying out a thorough excavation of the fort uncovering 44 rooms site numbers M I i M I xliv He excavated other sites in the area mainly to the north and west of the fort site numbers M II M X including several temples containing well preserved Buddhist fresco and stucco images 14 1902 and 1910 Count Ōtani Kōzui sent missions from Kyoto to some Taklamakan sites among them Miran to bring back Buddhist texts wall paintings and sculptures 15 1914 Aurel Stein returned to Miran on his third expedition excavating other sites in the area site numbers M XI M XV which were ruins of stupas and towers The objects found in these included more stucco images and wooden carved objects 16 1957 8 Professor Huang Wenbi lead a team from the Institute of Archaeology CASS spending six days at Miran and a report was published in 1983 describing the fort and two stupa temple sites and a number of finds 1959 A team from Xinjiang Museum spent ten days in Miran examining the fort temple site and dwelling areas A report of their considerable findings was published in 1960 1965 Rao Reifu an engineer investigated the remains of a substantial irrigation system in the Miran area and published his findings in 1982 1973 Another team from the Xinjiang Museum visited the site an investigated the fort temples and irrigation system The excavations and the artefacts found in these sites were discussed in an expedition report by Mu Shunying in 1983 1978 80 The most extensive investigation of the site so far was carried out by Huang Xiaojing and Zhang Ping of the Xinjiang Museum Their 1985 report discusses the fort 8 stupas 3 temple sites 2 beacons dwellings tombs a kiln area and a smelting site 1988 The archaeological team of XJASS visited the site and published a report containing little new information 1989 Professor Wang Binghua visited several of the temple sites 1989 Christa Paula visited Miran and published a description with photographs 17 1996 Peter Yung visited Miran recording his experiences in words and photographs 18 See also EditShanshan Lop Nur Xiaohe Tomb complex Niya Loulan Kingdom CharklikFootnotes Edit a b c Whitfield 2004 p 188 Giles 1932 p 845 Thomas 1951 pp 119 166 Hansen 2012 pp 53 54 a b Whitfield 2004 p 189 van Oort 1986 Neelis n d citing Rhie 1999 pp 385 amp 429 Ten Centuries of Art on the Silk Road Retrieved 2007 08 25 Grousset 1970 p 49 Foltz 1999 p 48 Santoro 2006 p 31 Hall amp Farrell 2008 Przhevalsky Nikolai Mikhailovich 1879 From Kulja across the Tian Shan to Lob Nor London Sampson Low Stein Mark Aurel 1921 Serindia Oxford Clarendon Sugiyama Jiro 1971 Central Asian Objects brought back by the Otani Mission Tokyo National Museum Stein Marc Aurel 1928 Innermost Asia Clarendon Press Paul Christa 1994 The Road to Miran Travels in the Forbidden Zone of Xinjiang London HarperCollins Yung Peter 1997 Bazaars of Chinese Turkestan Life and Trade Along the Old Silk Road Hong Kong Oxford University Press References EditFoltz Richard C 1999 Religions of the Silk Road Overland Trade and Cultural Exchange from Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century Basingstoke Hampshire amp London Macmillan ISBN 978 0 333 77527 1 Giles Lionel 1932 A Chinese Geographical Text of the Ninth Century Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies University of London 6 4 825 846 doi 10 1017 S0041977X00123067 ISSN 1356 1898 JSTOR 606896 S2CID 129458952 Grousset Rene 1970 The Empire of the Steppes A History of Central Asia Translated by Walford Naomi New Brunswick NJ amp London Rutgers University Press ISBN 9780813513041 Originally published as L empire des steppes Attila Gengis Khan Tamerlan in French Paris Payot 1939 OCLC 496037284 Hall Andrew Farrell Jack 2008 Bows and Arrows from Miran China Journal of the Society of Archer Antiquaries 51 89 98 ISSN 0560 6152 Archived from the original on 2021 07 11 Hansen Valerie 2012 The Silk Road A New History Oxford amp New York Oxford University Press ISBN 9780195159318 OCLC 1035751829 Neelis Jason n d Waugh Daniel ed Silk Road Trade Routes Art of the Silk Road Silk Road Seattle Archived from the original on 2021 09 07 van Oort H A 1986 The Iconography of Chinese Buddhism in Traditional China Vol II Leiden E J Brill ISBN 9789004078239 OCLC 216716227 Rhie Marilyn Martin 1999 Early Buddhist Art of China and Central Asia Vol 1 Leiden amp Boston Brill doi 10 1163 9789047430759 ISBN 9789004112018 OCLC 40193480 Santoro Arcangela 2006 Miran The Visvantara jataka on Visual Narration Along the Silk Road Rivista degli studi orientali 79 1 4 31 45 ISSN 0392 4866 JSTOR 43927043 Thomas F W ed 1951 Tibetan Literary Texts and Documents Concerning Chinese Turkestan Vol II London Royal Asiatic Society OCLC 13155471 Whitfield Susan ed 2004 Miran War and Faith The Silk Road Trade Travel War and Faith With Ursula Sims Williams Chicago IL Serindia pp 187 226 ISBN 9781932476132 External links EditAlong the ancient silk routes Central Asian art from the West Berlin State Museums an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art fully available online as PDF which contains material from Miran Some Aspects Of Jataka Paintings in Indian and Chinese Central Asian Art Miran Fort Placename Information on the Digital Silk Road website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Miran Xinjiang amp oldid 1126830100, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
