lso did not
hesitate to say when they thought things unsatisfactory and their
praise shows that Buddhism was flourishing.

In the fifth and sixth centuries Khotan passed through troublous times
and was attacked by the Tanguts, Juan-Juan and White Huns.
Throughout this stormy period missions were sent at intervals to China
to beg for help. The pilgrim Sung Yun[513] traversed the oasis in 519.
His account of the numerous banners bearing Chinese inscriptions hung
up in the temple of Han-mo proves that though the political influence
of China was weak, she was still in touch with the Tarim basin.

When the T'ang effectively asserted their suzerainty in Central Asia,
Khotan was included in the Four Garrisons. The T'ang Annals while
repeating much which is found in earlier accounts, add some points of
interest, for they say that the Khotanese revere the God of Heaven
(Hsien shen) and also the Law of Buddha.[514] This undoubtedly means
that there were Zoroastrians as well as Buddhists, which is not
mentioned in earlier periods. The annals also mention that the king's
house was decorated with pictures and that his family name was Wei
Ch'ih. This may possibly be a Chinese rendering of Vijaya, the
Sanskrit name or title which according to Tibetan sources was borne by
all the sovereigns of Khotan.

Hsuan Chuang broke his return journey at Khotan in 644. He mentions the
fondness of the people for music and says that their language differed
from that of other countries. The Mahayana was the prevalent sect but
the pilgrim stopped in a monastery of the Sarvastivadins.[515] He
describes several sites in the neighbourhood, particularly the Go'sringa
or Cow-horn mountain,[516] supposed to have been visited by the Buddha.
Though he does not mention Zoroastrians, he notices that the people of
P'i-mo near Khotan were not Buddhists.

About 674 the king of Khotan did personal homage at the Chinese Court.
The Emperor constituted his territory into a government called
P'i-sha after the deity P'i-sha-men or Vai'sravana and made him
responsible for its administration. Another king did homage between
742 and 755 and received an imperial princess as his consort. Chinese
political influence was effective until the last decade of the eighth
century but after 790 the conquests of the Tibetans put an end to it
and there is no mention of Khotan in the Chinese Annals for about
150 years. Numerous Tibetan manuscripts and inscriptions found at
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