Bronze and Iron Age For a long time, Kucha was the most populous oasis in the Tarim Basin. As a Central Asian metropolis, it was part of the
Silk Road economy, and was in contact with the rest of Central Asia, including
Sogdia and
Bactria, and thus also with the cultures of South Asia, Iran, and the coastal areas of China. At the northern route of the Silk Road, above the
Taklamakan Desert, many travelers passed through this oasis. This travel pattern led to exchanges in art, culture, and religion. As an oasis town northward of the
Taklamakan Desert, Kucha attracted travelers passing by along their journey on the
Silk Road, serving as a rest stop for travelers and visitors and as a religious stronghold and political center. The Silk Road, despite its name, provided routes across Eurasia for the flow of cultures, religions, ideas, and goods and services, and Kucha played a role in this exchange. Kucha and the archaeological discoveries in the surrounding region provide insight into the city's significance during the time of the Silk Road.
Kucha during the Eastern Han Dynasty '' (Cave 118),
Kizil Caves. During the
Later Han (25–220 CE), Kucha and the rest of the
Tarim Basin became a focus of rivalry between the
Xiongnu to the north and the
Han Chinese to the east. In 74 CE, Chinese troops started to take control of the Tarim Basin with the conquest of
Turfan. In the first century CE, Kucha resisted the Chinese and allied itself with the Xiongnu and the
Yuezhi against the Chinese general
Ban Chao. Even the
Kushan Empire of
Kujula Kadphises sent an army to the Tarim Basin to support Kucha, but retreated after minor encounters. In 124, Kucha formally submitted to the Chinese court, and by 127 China had conquered the whole of the Tarim Basin. Kucha became a part of the Western protectorate of the Chinese
Han dynasty, with China's control of the Silk Road facilitating the exchange of art and the propagation of
Buddhism from Central Asia. The Roman
Maes Titianus visited the area in the 2nd century CE, as did numerous great Buddhist missionaries such as the
Parthian An Shigao, the Yuezhis
Lokaksema and
Zhi Qian, or the Indian Zhú Shuòfú (). Around 150 CE, Chinese power in the western territories receded, and the Tarim Basin and its city-states regained independence.
4th- and 5th-century Silk Road near Kucha, built circa 400 CE. Kucha became very powerful and rich in the last quarter of the 4th century CE, about to take over most of the trade along the Silk Road at the expense of the Southern Silk Road, which lay along the southern edge of the
Tarim Basin. Culture flourished, and Indian
Sanskrit scriptures were being translated by the Kuchean monk and translator
Kumarajiva (344–413 CE), himself the son of a man from
Kashmir and a Kuchean mother. A specific style of music developed within the region and "Kuchean" music gained popularity as it spread along the trade lines of the
Silk Road. Lively scenes of Kuchean music and dancing can be found in the
Kizil Caves and are described in the writings of
Xuanzang. "[T]he fair ladies and benefactresses of
Kizil and
Kumtura in their tight-waisted bodices and voluminous skirts recall—notwithstanding the Buddhic theme—that at all the halting places along the
Silk Road, in all the rich caravan towns of the Tarim, Kucha was renowned as a city of pleasures, and that as far as
China men talked of its musicians, its dancing girls, and its courtesans." Kuchean music was very popular in
Tang China, particularly the lute, which became known in Chinese as the
pipa. For example, within the collection of the
Guimet Museum, two Tang female musician figures represent the two prevailing traditions: one plays a Kuchean
pipa and the other plays a Chinese
jiegu (an Indian-style drum). The music of Kucha, along with other early medieval music, was transmitted from China to
Japan during the same period and is preserved there, somewhat transformed, as
gagaku or Japanese court music. coins founded in Kucha
7th to 13th centuries Following its conquest by the
Tang dynasty in the early 7th century, during
Emperor Taizong's campaign against the Western Regions, the city of Kucha was regarded by Han Chinese as one of the
Four Garrisons of Anxi: the "Pacified West", or even its capital. During a few decades of domination by the
Tibetan Empire, in the late 7th century, Kucha was usually at least semi-independent. In the 8th and 9th centuries, Uyghurs increasingly migrated into the area. After the destruction of the
Uyghur Khaganate by Kyrgyz forces in 840, Kucha became an important center of the Uyghur kingdom of
Qocho. The extensive ruins of the ancient capital and the
Subashi Temple (Chinese
Qiuci), which was abandoned in the 13th century, lie north of modern Kucha.
Modern Kucha .
万国来朝图 Francis Younghusband, who passed through the oasis in 1887 on his journey from
Beijing to
India, described the district as "probably" having some 60,000 inhabitants. The modern Chinese town was about with a high wall, with no bastions or protection to the gateways, but a ditch about deep around it. It was filled with houses and "a few bad shops". The "Turk houses" ran right up to the edge of the ditch and there were remains of an old city to the south-east of the Chinese one, but most of the shops and houses were outside of it. About north of the Chinese city were barracks for 500 soldiers out of a garrison he estimated to total about 1500 men, who were armed with old
Enfield rifles "with the Tower mark." Kucha is now part of
Kuqa, Xinjiang. It is divided into the new city, which includes the People's Square and transportation center, and the old city, where the Friday market and vestiges of the past city wall and cemetery are located. Along with agriculture, the city also manufactures
cement, carpets, and other household necessities in its local factories.
Modern Scholarship on Kucha Modern efforts to investigate the Kucha region's history have contributed to knowledge of China's rich cultural history. The Chinese government has taken steps towards studying the history of ancient cities such as Kucha to understand what role the city played during different areas, such as the time the Silk Road was active. Since it is understood that Kucha was an active oasis town along the Silk Road and that the town had political and cultural influence, the town is a place of frequent scholarship. Kucha was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2014, and with this declaration came increased protection of the area as well as funding towards historical investigations. The cave complexes in Kucha are a tourist destination, and thus interest in Buddhist influence and history of the region are subjects in modern scholarship. The Kucha Research Academy was founded in 1985 and has led efforts to research, preserve, and educate on the Kucha region. Kucha is subject of investigations by various countries such as China, Japan, and Germany, among others who have led modern investigations into the region. Historical artifacts from the Kucha region are located at Kucha itself, but other objects, such as cave paintings, have since been removed and are located at museums in other countries. Artifacts, whether located in Kucha or elsewhere, have educated visitors on Kucha's place in China's history. ==Archaeological investigations of the region==