15 - Ki-pin and Kashmir

Summary

The identification of Ki-pin, a country mentioned in the Chinese records of the Han period, has been a matter of controversy for many years. Prof. Sylvain Lévi was the first to suggest the identification of Ki-pin with Kashmir and to point out that there was no confusion in the Chinese records about the identity till 581 A.D. But since the T'ang period when a new transcription of the name of Kashmir as Kia-she-mi-lo came in use, the Chinese authors lost sight of the old identity and began to consider Ki-pin as another name of Kapiśa. Prof. Chavannes with the help of other Chinese records endorsed the view of Prof. Lévi. Since then the identification was accepted as conclusive but scholars not acquainted with the Chinese records reopened the discussion and summarily rejected the identification. Some of them have identified it with Kapiśa and others more vaguely with Kapiśa-Kāśmīra without any qualification. As the identification of Ki-pin is closely connected with the problem of the first Śaka invasion of India, the identification has been mainly actuated by their views on the Śaka invasion. The first country in India to be occupied by the Śaka invaders was Ki-pin and as most of the scholars believe that the Śakas came by the North-Western route through Afghanistan they are constrained to identify Ki-pin of the earlier period with Kapiśa or Kafiristan against the positive evidence of early records against it.