Dunhong
The Dunhong Mountain, according to Classic of Mountains and Seas, is a mountain of the Tian Shan range.
This mountain has been proposed to be the homeland of the Yuezhi. According to archaeologist Lin Meicun, this is the Dunhuang mentioned in the Shiji by Sima Qian, which states that:
Lin Meicun argued that the present Dunhuang, a Gansu oasis town, was founded around 111 BC, that is, later than the report of Zhang Qian on the Yuezhi. Therefore, the Dunhuan referred to in the Shiji cannot be the city currently bearing that name, and is most likely an oasis near Turpan.
Place names such Dunhong and Qilian may have had Indo-European etymologies, from at two possible sources. For example:
- Lin Meicun suggested that Dunhuan is the Chinese spelling of Tushara, and;
- Victor Mair noted the word kaelum in the Tocharian languages of the Tarim Basin, meaning "sky" or "heaven" which may have been the basis of qilian.