|
Mawlānā Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh (fl. 1419-22) was an envoy of the Timurid ruler of Persia and Transoxania, Mirza Shahrukh (r. 1404–1447), to the court of the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424) of the Ming Dynasty of China, known for an important account he wrote of his embassy. His name has also been transcribed in English works as Ḡīāṯ-al-Dīn Naqqaš, Ghiyasu'd-Din Naqqash,〔"Naqqah" in Timothy Brook's books is apparently a typo for Naqqash〕 Ghiyāthu'd-Dīn Naqqāsh,〔 or Ghiyathuddin Naqqash. Ghiyasu'd-Din Naqqash was the official diarist of the large embassy sent by Mirza Shahrukh, whose capital was in Herat, to the court of China's Yongle Emperor in 1419.〔 According to Vasily Bartold, he was a painter, as the moniker "Naqqash" indicated. Nothing is known of Ghiyasu'd-Din Naqqash beyond what he tells in his diary. Rosemarie Quiring-Zoche suggested in 1980 that he may have been the same person as Mawlānā Ghiyāthu'd-Dīn Simnānī known from other sources, but later authors have viewed this suggestion as not proven by any evidence.〔 ==Shahrukh's embassy's travel to China== The embassy, which included envoys from Shahrukh himself (Shādī Khwāja and Kökchä) and from his son Bāysonḡor (Sultān Ahmad and Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh), left Shahrukh's capital Herat on November 24, 1419 (6 of Zu'lqáda 822 AH). From Herat the envoys went via Balkh to Samarqand. They expected to meet there with another group of envoys, sent by Shahrukh's viceroy of Transoxania, Ulugh Beg. However, it turned out that Ulugh Beg's delegation had left already, and Shahrukh's party had to proceed separately. They left Samarqand for China on February 25, 1420, along with Chinese envoys returning home.〔 The envoys traveled along a northern branch of the Silk Road, via Tashkent and Sayram. Naqqash's account notes the existence of large "infidel" communities in both Turpan and Kumul (Hami), both those that "worshipped the cross" and those adoring Shakyamuni.〔. The ca. 1497 Türkic translation specifically mentions "the cross", while the earlier Persian versions (at Hafiz-i Abru and Razzaq) only mention "idols".〕 The embassy entered China at the western end of the Great Wall at Jiayuguan on August 29, 1420.〔 To comply with China's immigration regulations, a count of the travelers was taken at Suzhou, the first city after Jiayuguan (some 45 km after crossing the great wall). As it was commonly the case with Central Asian embassies to China, a large number of merchants had joined the emirs' envoys, the overall size of the traveling party reaching about 500 men. From Suzhou, the embassy was transported on to Beijing by the Chinese courier service (''yichuan''), over the 99 courier stations along the 2900-km route. The embassy travelled via Ganzhou, Lanzhou (where they were impressed by the pontoon bridge over which they crossed the Yellow River), Xi'an (although the (part of ) the diary does not cover this city), another Yellow River crossing at Tongguan (November 18), the capital of North Zhili Zhengding (December 3), and reached Beijing on December 14.〔 The Persians spent 5 months at the court of the Yongle Emperor. According to Naqqash, their main handler at the Yongle Emperor court was one Mawlānā Hājjī Yūsuf Qāzī, who occupied an important office in the emperor's government, and knew Arabic, Mongolian, Persian, and Chinese languages.〔(ed. Thackston 2001 ), p. 61.〕 Naqqash's account contains a detailed description of the court ceremonies (in particular, the early-morning audiences), the banquets combined with musical and artistic performances (he was especially impressed by Chinese acrobats), and the administration of justice (he got to witness death by a thousand cuts). On May 18, 1421, the envoys left Beijing for their trip home. With several months' delays in Ganzhou and Xiaozhou due to Mongol incursions, they only were able to leave China, via the same Jiayuguan checkpoint, on January 13, 1422. The names of all members of the party were checked by the border authorities against the register which recorded their original entry into the country, and once everything matched, they were allowed to leave.〔 The Herat envoys returned to their hometown on August 29, 1422 (11 of Ramazan 825 AH). Ghiyasu'd-Din Naqqash kept a diary of his travels throughout China, where he wrote about China's wealthy economy and huge urban markets, its efficient courier system as compared to that in Persia, the hospitality of his hosts at the courier stations in providing comfortable lodging and food, and the fine luxurious goods and craftsmanship of the Chinese.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ghiyāth al-dīn Naqqāsh」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|