There are also many funerary tombs around the Qianling tombs of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Wu Zetian, including the tomb of Li Xian, the second son of the two, Prince Zhanghuai. Although this tomb has been stolen and excavated, more than 50 groups of murals in the tomb are generally well preserved, including a group of more classic "Guest Envoy Maps".
"Guest Envoy Diagram", also known as "Protocol Diagram", is divided into two pictures, divided into two walls of the tomb road, each with 6 characters, around the identity of these 12 people, experts and scholars have carried out a lot of research work.
("Guest Envoy Map" East and West Wall Full Map)
【Li Xianqi and his tomb】
Li Xian was the second son of Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, and after their eldest son Li Hong was suspected of dying at the hands of Wu Zetian, Li Xian was made crown prince in the second year of Emperor Gaozong's reign (675). At that time, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian had a lot of off-stage games around the issue of state leadership, and When Li Xian became crown prince, he entered this political whirlpool and was quickly eliminated.
Prince Li Xian, who served for 5 years, was framed by Wu Zetian for rebellion, deposed as a Shuren, exiled to Bazhou (bazhou, in modern Bazhong County, Sichuan), and killed by Wu Zetian's general Qiu Shenxun (丘神勣) the following year after Li Zhi's death (684).
Li Xian's two half-brothers, Li Xian of Tang Zhongzong and Li Dan of Tang Ruizong, had mixed feelings for their brothers, on the one hand, the desolation of the rabbit dead fox, on the other hand, the happiness of becoming emperor, and of course, some brotherhood. Therefore, after Wu Zetian abdicated, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang and Li Dan of Tang Ruizong became emperor for the second time, and they were very nostalgic for their brother who died in vain more than 20 years ago, Li Xian moved Li Xian to Qianling in the second year of Shenlong (706), and Li Dan posthumously awarded him the title of Prince of Zhanghuai, which is the main reason why Li Xian's tomb of Prince Zhanghuai is not only grand in scale, but also has very exquisite funerary objects and murals.
These murals are estimated to have been the work of famous craftsmen at that time, both artistic achievements and historical value are very high, "Guest Envoy Map" vividly depicts a scene of the Tang Dynasty's interaction with the envoys of the surrounding countries at that time:
At a tang dynasty court meeting or ceremony, the emissaries from the gentiles were led by the officials of the Hongxu Temple, or were waiting to enter the main hall, or were waiting for the ceremony to begin, and the officials of the Hongxu Temple were relaxed but did not lose their etiquette, after all, it was a routine task for them to lead the foreign envoys. The foreign envoys were slightly more formal and formal, and many of them may have come to Chang'an, the world's largest city at that time, for the first time.
There are different opinions among the time experts on the performance of the "Guest Envoy Map", one is that Li Xian was made crown prince and supervised the country, and he could independently receive foreign envoys, which was Li Xian's most beautiful time; another theory is to record the scene when Li Xian was buried or posthumously crowned Prince Zhanghuai 20 years after his death; the third theory is that the scene is fictional, just a microcosm of the Tang Dynasty's coming to the dynasty at that time.
【Mural on the east wall of "Guest Envoy Map"】
The murals on the east wall were widely circulated, and even went to middle school textbooks.
From left to right, the three Tang Dynasty Hongxu Temple officials who walked in front were wearing formal imperial clothes, with robes with large sleeves and high crowns. The first two people were facing the third person sideways, with a dignified and natural expression, and their temperament seemed to be discussing something in a low voice.
The fourth and fifth were obviously foreign emissaries, one step behind the Tang officials, but they all leaned forward slightly, as if listening to the content of the Tang officials' speeches, presumably the things discussed by the Tang officials had something to do with them.
The fourth person's most notable feature is baldness, which experts generally agree
Messenger of the Kingdom of Whispering.
Also known as Great Qin or Haixi, the State of Fuling is the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire). However, this person's appearance is obscene, lacks a dignified atmosphere, and is more similar to the animated character Ge Gewu, which is inconsistent with the historical image of the Eastern Roman Empire. Of course, it is also possible that this was the case in the Western Medieval Period, and it became human-like after the Renaissance. There was a big food gap between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Tang Dynasty, and Li Shimin zhenguan came to Chang'an for the first time in seventeen years, and the two sides began to have contact. But because of the long distance, it can only be once in twenty or thirty years. The Eastern Roman Empire was also a great power, and it was more normal to rank at the forefront of the emissaries.
There is a suspicious point here, the Eastern Roman Empire traveled to and from Chang'an less often, whether it was during the period of Li Xian as the prince or the burial period of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, no emissaries came to Chang'an, so either these two pictures are fictitious, or this emissary is not an emissary of the Eastern Roman Empire.
In fact, there were many forces with balding customs at that time, and the nearest one was the party item, but the party item in the Tang Dynasty period was only a branch of the Northwest Qiang people, very weak and small, and should not be qualified to stand at the forefront of all the emissaries;
The same is Western
Persian State
There are also"
Husband hair
"Tradition, when the Persian Sassanid Dynasty was destroyed by the Great Eclipse, the last king went into exile in Chang'an, from Li Shimin to Li Zhi has been supporting the Persian Sassanid Dynasty's restoration movement, and Persia is also the best leading party for the Tang Dynasty to move west. So the relationship between the two sides is very close, and it is logical to be at the top of the list of all. But I personally have not studied the costumes of Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire, and I am not sure about the results, but I just think that the statement that this person was an emissary of the Eastern Roman Empire is somewhat illogical.
The fifth person is characterized by a feathered crown on his head, which experts generally believe is on the Korean Peninsula
Silla
emissary. Silla was a traditional vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, and the distance was the closest, and there was little difference between coming to Chang'an and returning to his own home, so although his demeanor was respectful, he was not nervous.
Some experts have also suggested that this feather crown is found in Goguryeo and Silla, and the fifth person looks more like a Goguryeo emissary in terms of clothing. When Prince Li Xian was in charge of the country, Goguryeo had already been destroyed 6 years ago, and the last Goguryeo king was placed under house arrest in Chang'an, and this kind of large-scale ceremony had the opportunity to go out, so there was also a certain possibility. At that time, Silla was at war with the Tang Dynasty, and around 674, when the war was at its most intense, Silla envoys were not eligible to pay homage to the emperor and the crown prince, and putting the king of Goguryeo in the front was somewhat of a political consideration.
But if it is the scene when Li Xian's tomb was relocated during the Tang Dynasty, this person is sure to be a Silla emissary, when the descendants of the King of Goguryeo had been killed by the Ku officials during the Wu Zetian period, and it was impossible to come out of the ground to participate in the ceremony.
The sixth person is separated from the first five by a certain distance, and he has an attitude of not caring about himself, or his status is far apart due to the weakness of the national strength, or he is very calm in his close relationship with the Tang Dynasty. According to the leather hat worn by the emissary, experts speculate that it is the emissaries from the northeastern region of Muwei or Jingxiao, which began to have contact with the Central Plains as early as the Yao Shun period, and can be regarded as a frequent exchange. However, the two sides were separated by the Bohai and Khitan and Xi tribes, there was no direct connection, and the Tang Dynasty's control over the northeast region since Wu Zetian was also weakening, and the emissary's appearance of not asking for anything could be understood.
【Mural on the west wall of "Guest Envoy Map"】
The west wall murals are little known, but there are also stories to tell.
From right to left, the first three remain Tang dynasty officials. However, it can be seen from the costumes that there is no formal solemnity of the East Wall murals, and the obvious status is low, which should be an ordinary official in the Hongxu Temple.
(Mural on the west wall of "Guest Envoy")
The biggest feature of the fourth person is that it is draped behind the head, and the opinion of the experts is
Gaochang Messenger
。 However, Gaochang was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty as early as the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, and the last king was sent to Chang'an under house arrest, similar to the treatment of the King of Goguryeo, and could only go out to breathe during the New Year's Festival. According to the Old Book of Tang, the queen of Gaochang did not wait until the time of Wu Zetian's mandate."
The blockade was extinguished
Before that, Gao Changguo had theoretically existed.
Some experts think it is
Post-Turkic emissaries
Because the destruction of Gao Changguo was equivalent to the unification war of the Tang Dynasty, not a foreign war, Gao Chang was not qualified to stand in the ranks of foreign envoys. Moreover, Gaochang has always admired the culture of the Central Plains, and the Sinicization is very thorough, and the traditional hairstyles and costumes of the ethnic group have been abandoned.
This theory also supports the fact that the time of the mural was the moment when the tomb of Li Xian was relocated during the tang dynasty, when Li Xian was crown prince, the eastern and western Turks had already been destroyed, and Wu Zetian was restored to the throne when he was emperor, that is, the post-Turks. Although the two sides of the Later Turkic and Tang Dynasties fought fiercely, the exchange of emissaries has not been broken. The three emissaries of the West Wall were hostile or relatively unfriendly forces, and it was understandable that lower-ranking officials were to lead and rank behind.
The biggest feature of the fifth person is that the face is painted red, and this is
Tibetan
Distinctive characteristics of people. Tubo was still a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty in the early days of Emperor Gaozong's reign, and then fought with the Tang for Tuguhun and the four towns of Anxi, and fought a battle with the Tang Dynasty in the Battle of Dafeichuan 5 years before Li Xian was made crown prince, and the Tang general Xue Rengui was defeated, and the Tang Dynasty was actively preparing for revenge, and it was unlikely that the Tubo emissaries would visit. Therefore, the appearance of the Tubo emissaries supports the time of the mural should be the scene of li xian's tomb relocation during the Tang Zhongzong period.
The sixth person was controversial, who was relatively separated from the others, and his expression was not as slightly respectful as the others, but instead felt a little nervous. Judging from the clothing and physical appearance, deep eyes and high nose, beard, large lapels, it is determined that it is a Hu person from Western Central Asia or even more west, the experts concluded that
Big cannibalism
。
At that time, Daisuke was also a world power, and there were attempts to move east. From the first emissary to the Tang Dynasty in the second year of Emperor Gaozong's reign (651 AD), the two sides began to have direct contact. After that, the two sides fought very fiercely in Central Asia, Li Zhi's Central Asian Sixteen Prefecture Governor's Palace was captured by Dashi, and Dashi and Tubo joined forces with the Tang Dynasty and Wuzhou to compete with the Tang Dynasty and Wuzhou for the four towns in The Western Regions, although both sides were very restrained and did not directly fight, but the relationship was definitely not harmonious, coupled with the distance, so the contact was not frequent. From the first great eclipse, there were only two emissaries in sixty years, namely during the Chang'an period of Wu Zetian and the second year of Emperor Jingyun of Tang Rui (711 AD).
This is similar to the situation of the fourth person in the East Wall, if the mural is realistic, whether it is when Prince Li Xian was in prison or when he was relocated, there was no emissary of the Great Food in Chang'an. Moreover, Persia and Big Food are sworn enemies and are not very convenient to arrange together.
In addition, with the status of the big food country, it is difficult to imagine that the big food messengers are at the end of a line, so some experts have proposed that this person should be Central Asia
ZhaoWu jiu surname
Of the Sogdians. Small states such as Shi Guo and Kang Guo, surnamed Zhaowu Jiu, have been oscillating between the Tang Dynasty and the Great Food, and exchanges with Chang'an are relatively frequent. Sandwiched between two world powers, the emissaries were of low status and ranked last.
(Tang Dynasty Huren figurines)
In short, I personally tend to prefer that the time of the mural is a realistic record of Li Xian's burial moment, and the foreign envoys are Persia (uncertain), Silla, Jingxiao, Post-Turkic (disputed), Tubo, and Zhaowu (disputed), the first three are friendly neighbors, and the latter three are hostile forces, which is why the language textbooks only introduce the east wall murals and do not mention the other half of the west wall murals.
Interpret history in a mathematical and engineering way of thinking, in a vain attempt to use the past as a metaphor for the present. Polytechnic men read history, welcome to pay attention to and discuss.