On Ancient Central Asian Tracks

by Aurel Stein

This book was written at a time when little of nothing was known of Central Asia. Tibet was still a forbidden land and the conditions in other parts so harsh as to discourage all but the hardiest of travellers and explorers. The author Aurel Stein originated in Hungary and completed his studies in Oxford U. from where he took up the post of principal in Lahore's Oriental College. He later joined the Archaeological Survey of India which allowed him to travel distant lands in some of the most obscure and inaccessible parts of North India and beyond.

His descriptions of his travels lead us across almost the same terrain as was followed by Marco Polo on his adventures to China and the Great Kublai Khan. This was the ancient Silk Road, which once joined the civilizations of antiquity and was a main artery of commerce for the ancient world. This most revealing book allows us to see through the eyes of the Author the great expanses of dried up prehistoric oceans now converted into deserts which travellers faced on their long journeys across central Asia.

Genres: History, Travel, Academic, Nonfiction

253 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Sir Marc Aurel Stein (usually known as Aurel Stein) KCIE, FBA (Hungarian: Stein Márk Aurél) (26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at various Indian universities.

Stein was born in Budapest into a Jewish family. His parents had him and his brother, Ernst Eduard, baptised as Lutherans, while his parents and sisters remained Jews (a common way at the time to increase the chance of one's sons being successful). He later became a British citizen and made his famous expeditions with British sponsorship.

Reviews

[Riq Hoelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subtitled "The archaeological discovery of the "silk route" linking the Roman Empire with Cathay", it is edited and introduced by Jeannette Mirsky. Stein, born in Budapest in 1862, was one of the first and greatest Foreign Devils on the Silk Road (to appropriate the title of Peter Hopkirk's later history of the era). Archaeologist, linguist, surveyor, geographer, student of religion, Stein made several extremely important finds, including the cache of documents in Cave 17 at Tun Huang, the world's oldest known printed document, the ruins at Niya, the Jade Gate and several others, not least, the language of the mysterious Tokharians which are still such a hot topic of controversy even a century later. Usually archaeologists take forever to publish their work, but here Stein was a great exception in quickly publishing a great number of books. This tome, originally published in 1933, was one of the later ones (Stein died in 1943). In it he details the highlights of all of his expeditions and his theories and conclusions. This makes the book a find for the reader who has enjoyed the Hopkirk book, but is perhaps put off by Stein's lengthier works. The reader is excited by the desert adventures and thrills to the drama of the archaeological finds, even if sometimes a bit horrified by the propensity to cut out paintings and haul them back to the British Museum or India, for which Stein has been strongly criticized. Eventually Stein's expeditions were stopped by Chinese authorities who had been tipped to this by an American archaeologist. But Stein was no pure treasure hunter and his tremendous scientific contributions are a great legacy for all interested in this field. A map covers all the regions of Stein's endeavors including the Hindu Kush, Pamirs, both routes through the Taklamakan Desert, ancient Lou-lan, the Lop Nor Sea, the furthest west portion of the Great Wall, Tun Huang, north of Tien Shan, Turfan, Kucha, Kashgar, the upper Oxus and Samarkand. 8 pages of monochrome plates show Tun Huang paintings, the expeditions in the desert, Niya's ruins, paintings at Miran and a clay figure from the Astana tombs.

[Banbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this account is of amazing journeys, it seems reserved almost to the point of superficiality. Aurel Stein emphasizes his reliance on, and his emotional connection to, those explorers who preceded him by hundreds of years, as well as the cosmopolitan nature of the art he finds (Asian facial features, Hellenistic robes depicted in the same works), but he gives short shrift to the the actual experiences he and his entourage had on their journeys. It is fascinating that, hundreds of years later, he can discern the physical landmarks as described by previous explorers such as Marco Polo so many years before, but it would have been more satisfying if he had made the connections by more extensive quotes from his predecessors' works. Although some of the extreme physical demands of the journeys are mentioned, they are really not described in any detail. The author praises many of those who journeyed with him, but he does not give us any in depth description of their personalities, or of his relationships with them. The (too few) photographs in the book give a hint of the vastness of the landscape. I am so impressed by the treks themselves, that it seems somehow a bit unfair to quibble that the narrative is disjointed because it does not have coherent organizing principle (it is not chronological, nor, as far as I can tell, thematic). However, the biggest fault of the book was not Aurel Stein's, but the editor/publisher who decided to omit some of the illustrations, and failed to include maps detailed and large enough to show the paths of Aurel Stein's expeditions.

[Aashish · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a prosaic travelogue by a British thrill-seeker about the topic of his research and interest - the 'Orient'. Aurel Stein was a prolific archaeologist however you'd be better off enjoying his research in British Museum than read this account.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

What really stuck with me from this book is, first, Stein’s evocative landscape descriptions, and second, the ease with which he and his assistants were able to literally pull out of the sand ancient artifacts. It’s worth a read if you are interested in either of these.

[Pulkit · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Sicofonia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful read this was.

In this book, renowned archaeologist Aurel Stein makes a summary of the three expeditions he led across the old Chinese Turkestan, nowadays known as Xinjiang.

Following the footsteps of other notable travellers (the text has many references to Xuanzang and Marco Polo), Stein tracked the former Silk Road highways, making lengthy stops whenever an archeological site was worth it.
Some of the sites he excavated and are described in his story are Niya, Dandan Oilik, Khadalik, Endere, Miran, Yingpan, the fabled city of Loulan and Mongol city Khara Khoto. The primary contribution of his findings was a collection of documents (or scraps) that were written in, up-until-then, lost languages (like Tocharian).

There was nothing romantic in his journeys of discovery, as Stein himself is quick to remind us. The majority of findings were excavated from refuse pits; of which Stein does wonderfully well to describe the stink that came out of them, even after centuries of being buried under the desert sand.

Included in this book is his infamous account on how he managed to "negotiate" and retrieve a cache of books and documents from the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang; the most famous of them being the Diamond Sutra. Stein has been condemned elsewhere for basically plundering what Chinese consider their own heritage. Here you can read his own account as to why he thought he was doing science a service by removing as much as he could.

All in all this is a great work, it has a bit of everything: adventure, history, geography, archaeology, humor and intrigue. The only downside for me was that it is not written chronologically, the different sites were grouped together and then Stein does a recollection of his findings and travels in a particular area over the years. But that's just my personal judgement, and it doesn't take away from the fact this book is a truly classic. Thoroughly recommended.

[TheAgeofKite · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a mix, the first chapters are fantastic and the account of adventure and archeology in the barren wastes of the Tarim Basin really highlight both the importance of this weakest link in the ancient trade routes and the formidable geographical challenges of those traveling the route and living in the region. I thoroughly enjoyed these first chapters of his discoveries in Dandan Oilik, Niya, Loulan, the Dunhuang caves and the Chinese Limes. Soo rich in history and importance was this area and yet soo desolate, bleak and foreboding. However once he travels through Turfan and westward the narrative takes a less interesting turn and becomes a passing commentary of the geography with minor details of history and culture, fortunately that is a small section of the book and the very last.

[Garnette · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to read it until I began doing so. Pedantic, thorough to the point of infinistestimal. Vast subject which instrests me, the Silk Road, unembelished by fantastic, but shortly, I just couldn't take another word. Perhaps early 20th century readers, his audience, treasured heavy wordiness. I returned it after 25 pages, couldn't wait for the discovery of the Chinese warriors.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting accounts of archaeological excavations and discoveries on the silk road by Dr. Aurel Stein in the 1920s and 1930s .. the most famous being the "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas" near Dunhuang.