A STUDY OF THE SAKĀ HISTORY——塞种史研究精装STUDIES ON THE HISTORY OF THE WESTERN REGIONS (FROM THE SEVENTH CENTURY BCE TO THE SIXTH CENTURY CE)

塞种史研究的经典之作


丛书简介：
本丛书的研究范畴是公元前六世纪至公元六世纪的中亚史。
这一时段的中亚史有各种原始资料，其中汉语资料无疑是最关键的。可以说，没有汉语资料，这一时段的中亚史无法构建。西方（包括印度、俄罗斯）学者研究这一时段的中亚史已有一个半世纪，成绩可圈可点。其主要缺点是没有充分利用汉语史料。弥补这一缺憾的是日本学者，从白鸟库吉算起，至少已有四代学者投身这一时段的中亚史研究，其主要特色正是利用汉语史料。可惜的是，日本学者很少英译自己的论著，西方学者又多不习日语，因而日本学者的有关成果罕见引用。余氏的研究不仅填补了中国中亚史研究的空白，而且比日本学者更充分地利用了汉文史料，且不说余氏以汉语为母语，对汉语史料的理解应胜过日本学者。
该文集的出版则有助于西方学者理解和运用汉语史料，使国内中亚史的研究深入世界，继而使得世界史意义上的古代中亚史研究更上层楼。
十本英文著作大部分已在国外发表。著者的译文均经Prof. Victor H. Mair（梅维恒）和Dr. Bruce Doar（陶步思）修改、编辑。两位都是优秀的学者——母语是英语、精通汉语、有丰富的编辑经验、熟悉古代中亚历史，最主要的是极端负责的工作精神。十本英语论著发表时间跨度较大（1990—2017），又经过不同的英语编辑，原译文差异不小，这一次由著者本人历时2年，做了统一译文的工作。

 

余太山先生，是著名的中亚古史研究奠基性学者。毕业于中国社会科学院研究生院历史系，后于历史所任职，1993年起为研究员，曾任中外关系史研究室主任。专治古代中亚史、中外关系史。现为中国社会科学院荣誉学部委员。

A STUDY OF THE SAKĀ HISTORY是同作者《塞种史研究》一书的英文版。《塞种史研究》曾于1992年由中国社会科学出版社出版；商务印书馆2012年再版。该部在国外的具体发表信息如下：“A Study of Sakā History”, Sino-Platonic Papers Number 80, July, 1998, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 2 + 2 + 225 pp。
塞种是亚洲上古史最重要的游牧部落之一，主要活跃于公元前6世纪至公元前2世纪。本书作为我国第一部关于塞种史的专著，主要贡献在于首先清楚地勾勒出了塞种历史的基本轮廓，对塞种各组成部分的名称、起源、种族、语言及迁徙过程等提出了一个自成系统的假说。

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION: “SAKĀ”, THE NAME ...... 1
INTRODUCTION ...... 9
CHAPTER 1 The Sai Tribes ...... 12
CHAPTER 2 The Daxia ...... 33
CHAPTER 3 The Da Yuezhi ...... 68
CHAPTER 4 The State of Dayuan ...... 95
CHAPTER 5 The Kangju ...... 131
CHAPTER 6 The Yancai ...... 161
CHAPTER 7 The Wusun ...... 175
CHAPTER 8 The State of Jibin ...... 194
CHAPTER 9 The State of Wuyishanli ...... 221
APPENDIX 235
CHAPTER 1 The Sai Tribes as Seen in the “Xiyu zhuan” of Hanshu (ch. 96) and Some Issues about the State of Jushi ...... 237
CHAPTER 2 On the Location of the Capital of The State of Shanshan ...... 260
CHAPTER 3 A Hypothesis on the Origin of The State of Yu ...... 279
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 293
INDEX ...... 318
POSTSCRIPT ...... 327

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION —— “Sakā”, the Name A According to the History of Herodotus, Cyrus II [558-529 BCE] of the Achaemenid Empire planned to command in person the campaign against the Sacae who lay in his path. (I, 153) There is, in fact, no record of Cyrus’campaign against the Sacae in the whole book, but it does record the campaign against the Massagetae after his conquest of the Babylonians. (I, 201-204) Since in Herodotus’ History the Massagetae were not included among the block of nations targeted by Cyrus II, and the “Massagetae” could also be interpreted as being the “great Saca horde”, the “Sacae” against whom Cyrus II planned to campaign should have been the Massagetae. According to Herodotus’ record, the Massagetae lived to the east of the Sea of Caspia, “a plain that stretches endlessly to the eye”. (I, 204) The Sea of Caspia is the present-day Caspian Sea, and so the land of the Massagetae should have been located on the great plain to the north of the Caspian and Aral Seas, i.e., the northern bank of the Syr Darya. The Massagetae occupation of the northern bank of the Syr Darya was the result of the migration of nomadic tribes across the whole Eurasian Steppe before the end of the 7th century BCE. Herodotus recorded this migration based on various sources. In one section, he states that the Scythians were driven out by the Massagetae and “crossed the river Araxes into Cimmerian country”.(IV, 11) In another section, he writes that the Scythians were pursued by the Issedones, and so pressed the Cimmerians. (IV, 13) In fact, it is possible that the Issedones defeated the Massagetae, the latter defeated the Scythians, and the Scythians were forced into Cimmerian country. The pressure on the Scythians came indirectly from the Massagetae, and directly from the Issedones. Finally, the Scythians traveled to the shore of the Black Sea, and the Massagetae then lived to the north of the Syr Darya. The latter should have lived in the valleys of the Rivers Ili and Chu before they moved to the northern bank of the Syr Darya. According to Herodotus, the Massagetae lived “toward the east and the rising of the sun, beyond the River Araxes and opposite the Issedones”. (I, 201) Since the land of the Massagetae was located to the north of the Syr Darya, the land of the Issedones, whose land was opposite that of the Massagetae, should have been located in the valleys of the Rivers Ili and Chu. After the Massagetae had been driven from the valleys of the Rivers Ili and Chu by the Issedones, they moved to the northern bank of the Syr Darya. In sum, the name “Sacae” was first used by the Persians to designate the Massagetae who roamed around as nomads in the valleys of the Rivers Ili and Chu and later on the northern bank of the Syr Darya.