Western Regions

The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; Chinese: 西域) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD[1] that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in present-day southern Xinjiang (also known as Altishahr) and Central Asia (specifically the easternmost portion around the Ferghana Valley) , though it was sometimes used more generally to refer to other regions to the west of China as well, such as Parthia (which technically belonged to West Asia) and Tianzhu (as in the novel Journey to the West, which refers to the Indian subcontinent in South Asia).

The Western Regions in the first century BC.

Part of a series on the
History of Xinjiang
Ancient period Tocharians Yuezhi Xiongnu Western Regions (Han Protectorate; Chief Officials) Kingdom of Khotan Former Liang Former Qin Later Liang Western Liang Gaochang Rouran First Turkic Khaganate Western Turkic Khaganate Eastern Turkic Khaganate Second Turkic Khaganate
Medieval and early modern period Tang Protectorates (West; Beiting) Tibetan Empire Uyghur Khaganate Kara-Khanid Khanate Kingdom of Qocho Qara Khitai Mongol Empire (Yuan; Chagatai Khanate) Moghulistan (Turpan; Yarkent) Ming ruled Kara Del Dzungar Khanate Kumul Khanate Yettishar Qing rule (Dzungar genocide Dungan Revolt Qing reconquest)
Modern period Xinjiang Province, Republic of China (Xinjiang clique 1st East Turkestan Republic 2nd East Turkestan Republic) Xinjiang Province, People's Republic of China Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Production and Construction Corps Xinjiang conflict Xinjiang internment camps / Uyghur genocide)

In 138 BC, the Emperor Wu of Western Han dynasty sent a diplomatic envoy represented by Zhang Qian, to Xiyu in an effort to find allies to mitigate the threat posed by the Xiongnu. Although Zhang was unsuccessful, his travels into the western states served as a precursor for the long history between China and Central Asia.[2] The earliest solid Chinese political control of the region began in 60 BC, when Emperor Xuan the established a military administrative office responsible for what would be present day Xinjiang and parts of Central Asia,[2] later known as the Protectorate of the Western Regions.

Because of its strategic location astride the Silk Road, the Western Regions have been historically significant to China since at least the 3rd century BC. It was the site of the War of the Heavenly Horses between Han China and the Greco-Bactrian Dayuan, and a heavily contested region during the Han–Xiongnu War until 89 AD. In the 7th century, the Tang dynasty's campaign against the Western Regions led to the re-acquired full control of the region, until the Chinese lost the region to the Abbasid Caliphate after the Battle of Talas in 751 AD and the subsequent chaotic An Lushan Rebellion in 755 AD.

Emperor Taizong's campaign against the Western Regions (640–648)

The region became significant in later centuries as a cultural conduit between East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Muslim world and Europe, such as during the period of the Mongol Empire. One of the most significant exports of the Western Regions was Buddhist texts, particularly the Mahayana sutras, which were carried by traders and pilgrim monks to China. The Tang dynasty monk Xuanzang crossed the region on his way to study in India, resulting in the influential Great Tang Records on the Western Regions upon his return to the Tang capital of Chang'an.

Before the onset of Turkic migrations, the peoples of the region spoke two main groups of Indo-European languages. The peoples of oasis city-states of Hotan and Kashgar spoke Saka, one of the Eastern Iranian languages, whereas the people of Kucha, Turpan and Loulan Kingdom spoke the Tocharian languages.[3][4]

Xiyu tudi renwu lüe (Brief Records of the Lands and Peoples in the Western Regions), a chapter in the Gazetteer of Shaanxi compiled by Chinese scholar Ma Li in 1542, documents a route leading from the Jiayu Pass, China's northwestern outpost, to the Ottoman capital Istanbul and geography and economy of the places along the route.[5]

The control exercised over the Western Regions by Chinese dynasties varied over time.[2] In the 19th century, the Russian Empire annexed Central Asia which became known as Russian Turkestan,[2] whereas the Inner Asian region of Xinjiang under the rule of the Qing dynasty of China also became known as Chinese Turkestan. By the early twentieth century, the Russia Empire (and then its successor state the Soviet Union) controlled most of the regions to the west of Xinjiang.[2]