Research of The Military Viceroy's of the Western Region (Xiyu duhufu) at Han Dynasty.

Between 2000 and 2002, the Silk Road research Institute of Waseda University conducted a research on the history of the Silk Road. The main focus of the research was on the Military Viceroy's Office in the Western Region (Xiyu duhufu 西域都護府) of the Western Han Empire. The Military Viceroy's Office is a management base in the Western Han Empire and its approximate location can be assumed through the record of"History".The expansion of Han Empire to the west is one of the important factors considering the formation of the Silk Road. The Military Viceroy's Office in the Western Region is attested to the city-state of Wulei(烏壘城), which its location is unknown. If we can identify its location, it will contribute to the understanding of the administration system of the Western Han Empire in the Western Region. With such research aim in mind, we conducted a survey in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region jointly with the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.The survey was carri … More ed out in three seasons : September 2000, May 2001, and May 2002. We assumed that Wulei must be located either in the Luntai(輪台) prefecture or the chaidir(策大爾) village. In both locations we found structural remains and artifact scatters. Since we could not excavate both locations, we were not able to obtain the defiant evidence of Wulei. However, from the result of the survey, we have collected valuable information on the possible settlement plan of the Military Viceroy's Office in the region.In addition, we conducted the survey in the Tianshan northern (天山北路) and southern (天山南路) routes of the Silk Road. We also observed artifacts stored in the local museums along the above routes. Through this, we collected data on the ancient cities in the Xinjiang region.In 2001 we held an international workshop on the Silk Road at Waseda University. In 2002 we presented our results at the 8th Symposium of the Japan Society for Chinese Archaeology. In both meetings we were able to exchange opinions and information with other scholars.Currently we are processing the data obtained from the three survey seasons and hope to publish the final report soon. We are also constructing a database of our survey to contribute to the future study of the Xinjiang region. Less

Between 2000 and 2002, the Silk Road research Institute of Waseda University conducted a research on the history of the Silk Road. The main focus of the research was on the Military Viceroy's Office in the Western Region (Xiyu duhufu 西域都護府) of the Western Han Empire. The Military Viceroy's Office is a management base in the Western Han Empire and its approximate location can be assumed through the record of"History".The expansion of Han Empire to the west is one of the important factors considering the formation of the Silk Road. The Military Viceroy's Office in the Western Region is attested to the city-state of Wulei(烏壘城), which its location is unknown. If we can identify its location, it will contribute to the understanding of the administration system of the Western Han Empire in the Western Region. With such research aim in mind, we conducted a survey in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region jointly with the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.The survey was carri … More ed out in three seasons : September 2000, May 2001, and May 2002. We assumed that Wulei must be located either in the Luntai(輪台) prefecture or the chaidir(策大爾) village. In both locations we found structural remains and artifact scatters. Since we could not excavate both locations, we were not able to obtain the defiant evidence of Wulei. However, from the result of the survey, we have collected valuable information on the possible settlement plan of the Military Viceroy's Office in the region.In addition, we conducted the survey in the Tianshan northern (天山北路) and southern (天山南路) routes of the Silk Road. We also observed artifacts stored in the local museums along the above routes. Through this, we collected data on the ancient cities in the Xinjiang region.In 2001 we held an international workshop on the Silk Road at Waseda University. In 2002 we presented our results at the 8th Symposium of the Japan Society for Chinese Archaeology. In both meetings we were able to exchange opinions and information with other scholars.Currently we are processing the data obtained from the three survey seasons and hope to publish the final report soon. We are also constructing a database of our survey to contribute to the future study of the Xinjiang region. Less