HAN SHU , cap. 96: The Memoir on the Western Regions
(HULSEWE, A.F.P. (1979).China in Central Asia. Leiden. Brill, pp: 104- 112)

The state of Zhibin [Catxemira]

The seat of the king's government is distant by 12.200 li from Chang'an. It is not subject to the protector general. There are many households, individuals and persons able to bear arms, and it is a large state. To the north-east it is a distance of 6.840 li to the seat of the protector general. (...)

When, formerly, the Xiongnu conquered the Yuezhi, the latter moved west and established themselves as master of Daxia [Bactriana].

The land of Zhibin is flat and the climate is temperate. There is alfalfa with a variety of vegetation and rare trees, sandalwood, oaks, catalpa, bamboo and the lac tree. The inhabitants grow the five field crops, grapes and various sorts of fruit, and they manure their orchards and arable land. The land is low and damp, producing rice, and fresh vegetables are eaten in winter. The inhabitants are skilful at decorative work, engraving and the art of inlay, at building residences, at weaving woollens and at patterned embroidery. They are fond of wine and food. There is gold, silver, copper and tin with which they make utensils, and they have markets with stalls. They use gold and silver to make coins, with the image of a mounted rider on the obverse and a human face on the reverse. They produce humped cattle,water-buffalo, elephant, large dogs, monkeys, peacocks, pearls of different kinds, coral , amber and beryl. The other stock animals are the same as those of the various other states.

(...)The reason why Zhibin has not requited imperial grace and favour and does not fear punishment is that it knows itself to be cut off from Han by a long distance beyond the range of Han troops. If there is something which it requires, its language is servile; if there is nothing which it desires, its behaviour is arrogant; and in the end the state will not be fit for acceptance as our subject.

(...) Now they regret their earlier misdemeanours and come with a show of submission, but there are no members of the royal family or noblemen among those who bring the gifts; the latter are all merchants and men of low origins. They wish to exchange their goods and conduct trade, under the pretext of presenting gifts.

Thus we have been put to the trouble of providing envoys to escort back the men of Zhibin due to our wish to provide them with defensive protection against the danger of robbery. But to do that we have to pass through some four or five states which are not subject to Han. A patrol of some hundred officers and men may divide the night into five watches and, striking their cooking pots to mark the hours so keep guard, but there are still occasions when they will be subject to attack and robbery. For asses, stock animals and transported provisions, they depend on supplies from the various states to maintain themselves. But some of the states may be poor or small and unable to provide supplies, and some may be refractory and unwilling to do so. So our envoys clasp the emblems of mighty Han and starve to death in the hills and valleys. They may beg, but there is nothing for them to get, and after ten or twenty days man and beast lie abandoned in the wastes never to return. In addition, they have to pass over the ranges . These cause a man to suffer fever; he has no colour, his head aches and he vomits; asses and stock animals all suffer in this way. Furthermore there is a path that is a foot and six or seven inches wide, but leads forward for a length of thirty li, overlooking a precipice whose depth is unfathomed. Travellers passing on horse or foot hold on to one another and pull each other along with ropes; and only after a journey of more than two thousand li do they reach the Suspended Crossing. When animals fall, before they have dropped half-way down the chasm they are shattered in pieces, and when men fall, the situation is such that they are unable to rescue one another. The danger of these precipices beggars description.

When the Holy Kings divided the world into nine provinces and made the regulations for the five zones, their efforts were directed to making the inner regions prosperous without seeking anything beyond. But now the envoys who are sent out on missions carry the commands of the Most Honourable to escort merchants of the barbarians. Large numbers of officers and soldiers are made to toil, being sent out on journeys over dangerous and arduous roads; and the resources on which we rely are dissipated and exhausted for a cause which brings no advantage. This is no long-term plan.