Western Regions

show This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Chinese. (September 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,127 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary Content in this edit is translated from the existing Chinese Wikipedia article at [[:zh:]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated page}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

show This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (September 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 2,618 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated page}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

The Western Regions in the first century BC.

Part of a series on the
History of Xinjiang
show 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
show Medieval and early modern period Tang Protectorates (West; Beiting) Tibetan Empire Uyghur Khaganate Kara-Khanid Khanate Kingdom of Qocho Western Liao Mongol Empire (Yuan; Chagatai Khanate) Moghulistan Ming ruled Kara Del Yarkent Khanate Dzungar Khanate Kumul Khanate Yettishar Qing rule
show 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 re-education camps Uyghur genocide)
v

The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yu; Chinese: 西域) was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD^[1] that referred to the regions west of Yumen Pass, most often Central Asia or sometimes more specifically the easternmost portion of it (e.g. Altishahr or the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang), though it was sometimes used more generally to refer to other regions to the west of China as well, such as the Indian subcontinent (as in the novel Journey to the West).

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 Han–Xiongnu War until 89 AD. In the 7th century, the Tang campaign against the Western Regions led to Chinese control of the region until the An Lushan Rebellion.

Tang campaign against the oasis states (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 Khotan and Kashgar spoke Saka, one of the Eastern Iranian languages, whereas the people of Kucha, Turfan and Loulan spoke the Tocharian languages.^[2][3]

See also[]

• Battle of Talas
• Hexi Corridor
• History of the Han dynasty
• Kingdom of Khotan
• Kingdom of Shule
• Sogdia
• Turkestan
• Protectorate of the Western Regions
• Protectorate General to Pacify the West
• Ethnic groups in Chinese history

References[]

Citations[]

Sources[]

Further reading[]

• Yap, Joseph P, (2019). The Western Regions, Xiongnu and Han, from the Shiji, Hanshu and Hou Hanshu. ISBN 978-1792829154.