不能对古代新疆地区棉花种植估计过高

学术界认为，新疆是我国植棉最早的一个地区，且比较普遍；棉花是经中亚传入我国新疆地区，再经河西走廊传入中原。本文指出：新疆的棉花应来源于印度。在新疆，只有吐鲁番（西州）有较多的棉花种植，而且再没有向东传播。除西州外，整个新疆地区的棉花种植是极其有限的，棉布的使用也很少，当时主要还是以丝、麻织品为主。

It Should not Overvalue the Cotton Planting in the Region of Ancient Xinjiang

The academia thinks that cotton was earliest and popularly grown in Xinjiang region, and was introduced into Xinjiang region via Central Asia and finally into central China via Hexi corridor. This paper points out that the cotton grown in Xinjiang was from India. In Xinjiang, only in Turpan (Xizhou) was cotton grown more popularly, but cotton was not introduced eastward any more. Besides Xizhou, cotton-planting was extremely limited in Xinjiang. The cotton cloth was seldom used, while the silk and hemp products were popular.