Chinese Chronology and Cycles

...was the ancient Chinese empire. However, one might doubt whether this identification is supported by facts or other historical records. Even if we take the strongest view—that "Yama" refers to China—it does not necessarily follow that the country known by that name was then the seat of a great empire like Egypt, which is claimed to have existed at the same time.

The geography described in the Vendidad original: "Vendidad"; a collection of religious texts from the Avesta, the primary scripture of Zoroastrianism, which mentions the fourteen Aryan settlements, certainly does not include China among the Aryan civilizations, though it does mention the Haptu Hindu original: "Haptu Hindu"; Avestan for "Seven Rivers," referring to the Punjab region of Northwest India and Pakistan, or India.

Communication between Bactria An ancient region in Central Asia, located in parts of modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan and China must have been much easier then than it is today. There appears to have been a continuous chain of cities stretching from Kashgar to Lobnor A former salt lake in China, now largely dried up, once a key stop on the Silk Road and toward China on the southern edge of the Gobi Desert, from Khotan to Lobnor. Similarly, on the northern and eastern sides between Hami and Gansu original: "Kansuh", there were also cities and large populations.

Sir Douglas Forsyth, in his 1877 article for the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society regarding the buried cities in the Great Gobi Desert, mentions the ruins of several ancient cities. The most significant of these is Kok-noor (the "Blue Lake," also known as Tsing Hai original: "Tsing Hai"; modern Qinghai Lake). He notes that the actual buried cities are located many days' travel east of Khotan.

In his work An Account of an Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet original: "Turner in his Embassy to Thibet" (specifically referencing the French translation, Volume II, page 50), Samuel Turner states that a knowledge of Egypt existed in ancient Tibet. Since it is probable that this knowledge was mutual, it serves as even stronger evidence against the existence of a great Chinese empire in ancient times, given that Tibet is so close to China.