Gushi culture

Gushi (Chinese: 姑師文化; pinyin: Gūshī wénhuà) or Jushi (Chinese: 車師文化; pinyin: Jūshī wénhuà), was an ancient culture around the Turpan basin, in what is today the Xinjiang region of China.

Historical accounts

The area around Ayding Lake in the Turpan region was said to be the territory of the Gushi people. According to historical accounts, these people "lived in tents, followed the grasses and waters, and had considerable knowledge of agriculture. They owned cattle, horses, camels, sheep and goats. They were proficient with bows and arrows". The Gushi and the kingdom of Kroran were linked in the account of Zhang Qian, presumably because they were under the control of the Xiongnu. In the years around 60 BC, Gushi fell to the Chinese after the Battle of Jushi and was subsequently known as Jushi.

Jushi then further differentiated into two kingdoms, the "Nearer Jushi" (whose capital was Turfan) and the "Further Jushi" (in the Jimsar area).

Archaeology and research

The Yanghai Tombs, a vast ancient cemetery (54 000 m²) attributed to this culture, have revealed the 2,700-year-old grave of a shaman. Near the head and foot of the shaman lay a large leather basket and wooden bowl filled with 789g of cannabis, superbly preserved by climatic and burial conditions. An international team demonstrated that this material contained tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of cannabis. The cannabis was presumably employed by this culture as a medicinal or psychoactive agent, or an aid to divination. This is the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent.