roops of Kaidu. Five of these are cantoned on the verge of the
Desert; a sixth in Tangut, near Chagan-Nor (White Lake); a seventh in the
vicinity of Karakhoja, a city of the Uighurs, which lies between the two
States, and maintains neutrality."

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 Ch