Did blond Buddhist Europeans live in Ancient China?
Who were the Tocharians?
When did they arrive in China?
The Tocharians were a Caucasoid people who arrived in the Tarim Basin in Western China in approximately 2000 BC. They migrated from the Russian steppe, through Central Asia before settling in present-day Xinjiang, China. The Tocharians spoke an Indo-European language, which Holm suggests is most similar to Bronze Age Anatolian languages.
What did they look like?
Based on the mummies found which date from 1800 BC and ancient Chinese sources Tocharians were originally a European people who typically had high noses, red and blond hair, full beards and deep-set blue or green eyes.
The Tocharians wore wool and fur jackets, woolen caps and ankle-high moccasins made of leather, covered with fur.
How did they live?
Tocharians were originally a semi-nomadic pastoralist people who transitioned to an agrarian lifestyle. The climate of the Tarim Basin is very harsh however in spring the melting snows of the surrounding mountains result in the creation of oases with mild microclimates, allowing agriculture to flourish. After settling in the Tarim Basin the Tocharians took advantage of this climate and established a number of oasis city-states which were supported by agriculture. The largest states were Kucha with a population of 81,000 and Agni with 32,000. Kucha was a station along the Silk Road on the northern edge of the Taklamakan desert. The strategic trading location of Kucha allowed the Tocharians to successfully trade in jade and metals. According to Chinese sources Tocharian cities peaked in political power in 300 AD.
It is likely that horse domestication which was first thought to have happened on the Russian steppe, the use of chariots and bronze-making and craftsmanship was transmitted to the Chinese from the Tocharians. This is evidenced by Mallory and Mair noting that in China “Prior to c. 2000 BC, metal artifacts were exceedingly few, simple and, puzzlingly, already made of alloyed copper”.
What was their Religion?
The Tocharians were devout Buddhists. The majority of Tocharian inscriptions are from Buddhist monastical texts suggesting strong adherence to the religion. The Tocharians’ conversion to Buddhism appears to be the result of Indian missionaries. Due to the Tocharians living in close proximity to the Silk Road they had significant interaction with Indian missionaries. The result of this interaction was Sanskrit influences on the Tocharian language and the people adopting Buddhism.
What happened to the Tocharians?
In the early 7th century Emperor Tang Taizong following his defeat of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate led a campaign against the Tocharians and their oasis-city states in the Tarim Basin. In 630 AD Turfan was annexed. This Chinese aggression led to two Tarim Basin states, Agni and Kucha no longer sending tribute to China, instead forming an alliance with the Western Turkic Khaganate. The Chinese proved too powerful for the Tocharians, capturing Agni in 644 AD and Kucha in 648 AD. The campaign was successfully led by ethnic Turk general Ashina She’er. The Tocharians did successfully rebel against Chinese rule in Kucha, killing the Chinese installed leader, Guo Xiaoke however the city was quickly retaken by Ashina She’er, who ordered the execution of 11,000 Tocharians as punishment. The power of the Tocharian cities was permanently weakened following the Chinese campaign.
China lost control of the Tarim Basin in the early 9th Century after the Uyghur Khaganate took control following their retreat from their capital in Mongolia which was invaded by the Kyrgyz Khaganate. Through intermarriage the Tocharians and Uighurs fused leading to the Uighurs adopting an agrarian lifestyle and the Tocharians adopting the Uyghur language. Prior to the Islamic Turkic Kara-Khanid invasion in the 10th and 11th century the Tocharians and Uighurs were still Buddhist however following a long process of islamisation at the hands of Turkic invaders Buddhism was finally lost around the 15th century after the defeat of the Uighurs by the Chagatai Khanate. The modern Uighur people are now Muslims and are a mixture of Mongoloid and Caucasoid.
