Karakhoja, this neutral town, is near Turfan, to the south-east of
Urumtsi, which thus would lie without the Kaan's boundary; Kamul and the
country north-east of it would lie within it. This country, to the north
and north-east of Kamul, has remained till quite recently unexplored by
any modern traveller, unless we put faith in Mr. Atkinson's somewhat hazy
narrative. But it is here that I would seek for Chingintalas.
Several possible explanations of this name have suggested themselves or
been suggested to me. I will mention two.
1. Klaproth states that the Mongols applied to Tibet the name of
Baron-tala, signifying the "Right Side," i.e. the south-west or south
quarter, whilst Mongolia was called Dzoehn (or Dzegun) Tala, i.e. the
"Left," or north-east side. It is possible that Chigin-talas might
represent Dzegun Tala in some like application. The etymology of
Dzungaria, a name which in modern times covers the territory of which we
are speaking, is similar.
2. Professor Vambery thinks that it is probably Chingin Tala, "The Vast
Plain." But nothing can be absolutely satisfactory in such a case except
historical evidence of the application of the name.
I have left the identity of this name undecided, though pointing to the
general position of the region so-called by Marco, as indicated by the
vicinity of the Tangnu-Ola Mountains (p. 215). A passage in the Journey of
the Taouist Doctor, Changchun, as translated by Dr. Bretschneider
(Chinese Recorder and Miss. Journ., Shanghai, Sept.-Oct., 1874, p. 258),
suggests to me the strong probability that it may be the Kem-kem-jut of
Rashiduddin, called by the Chinese teacher Kien-kien-chau.
Rashiduddin couples the territory of the Kirghiz with Kemkemjut, but
defines the country embracing both with some exactness: "On one side
(south-east?), it bordered on the Mongol country; on a second
(north-east?), it was bounded by the Selenga; on a third (north), by the
'great river called Angara, which flows on the confines of Ibir-Sibir'
(i.e. of Siberia); on a fourth side by the territory of the Naimans. This
great country contained many towns and villages, as well as many nomad
inhabitants." Dr. Bretschneider's Chinese Traveller speaks of it as a
country where good iron was found, where (grey) squirrels abounded, and
wheat was cultivated. Other notices quoted by him show that it lay to the
south-east of the Kirghiz country, and had its name from the Kien or
Ken R. (i.e. the Upper Yenisei).
The name (Kienkien), the general direction, the existence of good iron
("steel and ondanique"), the many towns and villages in a position where
we should little look for such an indication, all point to the identity of
this region with the Chingintalas of our text. The only alteration called
for in the Itinerary Map (No. IV.) would be to spell the name Hinkin, or
Ghinghin (as it is in the Geographic Text), and to shift it a very
little further to the north.
(See Chingin in Kovalevski's Mongol Dict., No. 2134; and for
Baron-tala, etc., see Della Penna, Breve Notizia del Regno del Thibet,
with Klaproth's notes, p. 6; D'Avezac, p. 568; Relation prefixed to
D'Anville's Atlas, p. 11; Alphabetum Tibetanum, 454; and Kircher, China
Illustrata, p. 65.)
Since the first edition was published, Mr. Ney Elias has traversed the
region in question from east to west; and I learn from him that at Kobdo
he found the most usual name for that town among Mongols, Kalmaks, and
Russians to be SANKIN-hoto. He had not then thought of connecting this
name with Chinghin-talas, and has therefore no information as to its
origin or the extent of its application. But he remarks that Polo's
bearing of between north and north-west, if understood to be from Kamul,
would point exactly to Kobdo. He also calls attention to the Lake
Sankin-dalai, to the north-east of Uliasut'ai, of which Atkinson gives a
sketch. The recurrence of this name over so wide a tract may have
something to do with the Chinghin-talas of Polo. But we must still wait
for further light.[1]
["Supposing that M. Polo mentions this place on his way from Sha-chow to
Su-chow, it is natural to think that it is Chi-kin-talas, i.e. 'Chi-kin
plain' or valley; Chi-kin was the name of a lake, called so even now, and
of a defile, which received its name from the lake. The latter is on the
way from Kia-yue kwan to Ansi chow." (Palladius, l.c. p. 7.) "Chikin,
or more correctly Chigin, is a Mongol word meaning 'ear.'" (Ibid.)
Palladius (p. 8) adds: "The Chinese accounts of Chi-kin are not in
contradiction to the statements given by M. Polo regarding the same
subject; but when the distances are taken into consideration, a serious
difficulty arises; Chi-kin is two hundred and fifty or sixty li distant
from Su-chow, whilst, according to M. Polo's statement, ten days are
necessary to cross this distance. One of the three following explanations
of this discrepancy must be admitted: either Chingintalas is not Chi-kin,
or the traveller's memory failed, or, lastly, an error crept into the
number of days' journey. The two last suppositions I consider the most
probable; the more so that similar difficulties occur several times in
Marco Polo's narrative." (L.c. p. 8.) - H. C.]
NOTE 2. - [Ondanique. - We have already referred to this word, Kerman,
p. 90. Cobinan, p. 124.
