| About 2,000 miles to the west of China Sogdiana lied in Central Asia that occupied the lands between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. According to the Sogdian Ancient Letters, the communication between China and Sogdiana still dates back to the fourth century even the two regions are far from each other. Thereafter, more and more Sogdians traveled thousands of miles to get to China whose footprint can be found in many areas include Khotan, Loulan, Shule, Qiuci, Karasahr, Puchanghai, Xizhou, Tingzhou, Yizhou, Dunhuang, Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Chang’an, Luoyang and so on. From the Tarim Basin which situated in the west part of China to the southern area, especially during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui and Tang, the existence of the Sogdians shouldn’t be ignored.Before the Tang Dynasty, there were Sogdian immigrants came to China along the TalasRiver and ChuRiver. After some generations stayed in China, those Sogdians hadn’t only taken Chinese-style names but also became the subjects of Chinese dynasties. As a result, a sizable Sogdians were liable to the taxes and labor services as the subjects like the other residents of China. The Sogdians come to China wouldn’t start in the Tang period but there was a blooming in this period.Besides the part of Sogdians that has mentioned, another kind of Sogdians who didn’t get the subject title of the Tang Dynasty should be classified as foreigners. The right and the duty of these two kinds of Sogdians weren’t quite the same.Under the law system in Tang Dynasty, especially under the Tang Code, most Sogdians who were the new entrants to the Tang Dynastywould live as foreigners. Obviously both these two kinds of the Sogdians should comply with the law of the Tang Dynasty. Sometimes the different treatment they got was palpable. For those Sogdians who subjected to the leaders in Sogdiana, at least they didn’t need to bear the labor services to the Tang Dynasty. And in contrast, they could buy the lands but they had no right to get the lands allocated by the government.From Sogdiana to China there used to be a lot of colonies founded by the Sogdians scattered over a wide area. The sogdians lived in these settlements had their own organization to settle the affairs in the colony. We can find an official position named Sabao in the General History of Institutions that can be related with the Sogidan colonies directly. This Sabao was translated from the word S’rtp’w which comes from Sogdian. S’rtp’w was the chief of the colony and it was brought into the Chinese political structure in the Sui period at the latest.During the Tang Dynasty, some references include the Tang epitaphs and the books and records about the Sabao can be found. Even the position carried on the preceding dynasties, the difference of the Sabao in the Tang Dynasty still existed. Compared to the Sui Dynasty, the Sabao had been given a promotion and as the chief of the special bureau called Sabao Fu, the duties of the Sabao had been extended, too. There were at least four specific positions established as assistants who helped with the Sabao:Xian Zheng and Fu Zhu, who were in charge of the religious affairs, Fu and Shi, who were responsible for the civil affairs.As the director of the entire bureau, the Sabao should be conscientious in the performance of both religious and civil affairs. In most cases, Chinesegovernment would appoint a Sogdian as the Sabao to settle the affairs in the colony. For the appointment, the Sabao and the colony were both affected by the government. During a long period, the Sogdians gradually integrated into the local community. In Tang period, a lot of autonomous colonies had disappeared. With the Sogidans left their colonies, they weren’t administrated by the Sabao and ultimately the position lost its own reason of extistence.The Sogdians those who appeared in the territories of the Tang, they had to observe the laws from this country which were inconsistent with their own custom.We could find some materials in the documents from Turfan. To the Sogdians whether they were foreigners, if they have the need to go somewhere in this country they had to apply the authorizations (the documents named Guo Suo) in order to get through the strategic pass favoringly. To the new entrants when they got to the frontier of the Tang Dynasty, they could get the authorization from the office they first met under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty. The Sogdians should apply the documents themselves and they should register their name,age and the other personal situations rigorously for acquired the authorizations.In Turfarn, the documents has pointed out that the Sogians who arrived China became functionaries, bronze-smiths, blacksmiths, farmers, farriers, etcAnd in most occupations, merchants still was the commonest carrier of the Sogdians. According to the records of the Turfarn documents, as merchants the kinds of merchandises of Sogdians had sold included slavery, horse, cattle and so on.The Sogdian traders used to present a characteristic role between the west and China. During the Tang period, the authorities created an atmosphere of positive for the Sogdian traders. The relevant documents has informed us the Sogidans whatever their specific indentity was, if only they could comply with the laws, they would acquire the similar or even more favourable treatment to the local citizens from the authorities.The Sogdians who came to the Tang Dynasty would have the proection of the rights when they started activities which is allowed in the Tang Dynasty.If the Sogdians has the conflict with the citizens of the Tang Dynasty, the judicial process will be like the conflicts occur in the citizens. If only the Sogidans observe the law, they will have the right to start business like the citizens of the Tang government. |
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