People who study ancient Chinese history probably know that there is a so-called 500 "strange circle" there, which was first proposed by Mencius: "In five hundred years, there will be kings and kings, and there will be famous people in the middle." This means that every five hundred years a holy king must rise up, and during this period there will be outstanding talents. Later historians measured the somewhat long history of ancient China according to the scale of this sentence, and found that although this ruler was not necessarily accurate, the general scope was correct. Some people find it to be more than 500 years, some people find it to be more than 600 years old, some people find it to be more than 700 years, and then this statement has become a very, very interesting topic, even as a prophecy, and no one in the whole history of ancient times has been able to escape.
We found that in ancient times, about 500 years ago, there would always be a big climate change in the north, the wind and rain were smooth, the climate was mild was the rise of the steppe peoples, thunder and snow disasters, cold climate was the decline of the steppe peoples and even the demise of their regimes, from the Xiongnu to the Mongols, the Manchu Qing Dynasty. In addition to the Central Plains Dynasty with the rise and fall of the steppe peoples out of some effective emperors, there is also a very interesting phenomenon, that is, in the Emperors of the Central Plains, the more they go west, the more they will do, and some can even be called the Emperor of the Ages. Now, we will list it one by one and welcome everyone to discuss it together.
Who are they?
1. Qin Shi Huang. After taking office for the first time, Qin Shi Huang in the Xianyang Imperial Palace ran to Ningxia, Gansu Province, and Sima Qian recorded this tour in the "Records of History": "In the twenty-seventh year (220 BC), the First Emperor toured the west and north of Longxi, out of Jitou Mountain, and returned to China. "Huizhong is the historical Huizhong Road, which is the main transportation route connecting the Guanzhong Plain and the Loess Plateau. The southern end started from the north of present-day Longxian County, Shaanxi Province, along the North River through Wenshui Town, Huozhaozhai Town, and the eastern part of Xinjichuan Town into The Guancun Village of Shenyuhe Township in Gansu Province, and then east through Donghua Town to Reach forty Lipu in Pingliang, passing through Zhenyuan, Xincheng, Pengyang County, Baiyang Town, and Gucheng Town in Ningxia, and passing through Xiaoguan to Guyuan Yuanzhou District.
The purpose of Qin Shi Huang's tour here was only 8 words: patrolling the border, fumin, Xuanwei, and offering sacrifices to the heavens. He not only made this road a passage to the border pass, but also built a palace on this road, the Huizhong Palace, which is located in the northwest of present-day Longxian County, Shaanxi Province, which is a necessary place for Qin Shi Huang to return to the east. Although the palace was burned down by the Xiongnu in the fourteenth year of Emperor Wen of Han (166 BC), the route back to the Middle Road was fixed, and even built into a war-ready highway by the later Emperor Wu of han.
2. Emperor Wu of Han. In the fourth year of Jianyuan (137 BC), when Emperor Wudi of Han first went to Yong to perform suburban sacrifices, he reached Longxi in the west and returned to The Empty Tong Mountain south of Guyuan in the north, which was the first northern tour of Emperor Wudi of Han to make strategic preparations for the fight against the Xiongnu. In 121 BC, the Great Victory of Hexi, Emperor Wu of Han set up four counties in Hexi. Since then, the Han Dynasty has opened the road to the western region. During this period and after that, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty inspected the frontier and came to the area of Inner Mongolia in present-day Ningxia, Gansu, nearly 10 times, and his historical merits are self-evident because of the Silk Road.
3. Emperor Of Sui. In early 609, the Sui Emperor made a decision that shocked both the government and the public, and he announced to the Wen and Wu officials that he would tour the Hexi Corridor in the west and invite the leaders of the western states to hold a grand gathering there. In order to eliminate Tuguhun's threat to the Hexi Corridor, the Sui Emperor also had to march in person, which can be said to be a feat, and even Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty only looked west on the bank of the Yellow River at that time.
The Book of Sui records, "The month of March has been b. The car went out on a tour, and in April it hunted in Longxi, Cidi Dao (present-day Lintao, Gansu), and out of Linjinguan (present-day Yongjing, Gansu) to Xiping. "This tour not only made the Sui Emperor the first emperor to set foot in the Hexi Corridor, but also invited the heads of various countries to hold a meeting on Chinese territory, which was also the first time since ancient times. Very fierce.
4. Tang Taizong. In August 629, the autumn outside sai was high and refreshing, and the water and grass were abundant. Tang Taizong and his party left Chang'an and headed north along the Jing River. What did Tang Taizong do when he went out? Come the khan on the day. On September 15, Emperor Taizong of Tang arrived at Lingzhou (lingzhou, in present-day Lingwu, Ningxia). When the leaders of the Tiele tribes distributed in northern Ningxia, Qinghai, and Inner Mongolia learned that the Tang King was going to Lingzhou in person to meet and surrender, they personally led a team to Lingzhou or sent envoys to lingzhou. According to reports, the emissaries of the Tiele tribes who arrived in Lingzhou earlier all went out of the city to meet Tang Taizong, and some of them also danced a cheerful national dance, and when they really saw Tang Taizong, they all knelt down and prayed to the mountain to "Long live" and "Heavenly Khan".
This is a very important historical event, which not only forms the basis of the multi-ethnic integration of China, but also makes the world still accompanied by a term about Chinese - Tang People. According to the "Tang Huijiao", "The bone ligan is located in the north of the Hanhai Sea." The two of them live together. Four thousand five hundred victorious soldiers. Mouth more than 10,000 people. Grass lily. The land is famous for horses. Its country is bordered by the Sea of Ice to the north. The days are long and the sunsets are short. Days out. It was getting dark. Cook a lamb blade until it is cooked. And the East has dawned. Cover recently out of the place also. Zhenguan twenty-one years of the first month attached. "Meaning, there is a country in the north called Bone Ligan, with a population of more than 10,000. The country is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north. The sun was setting, the afterglow was still there, a lamb shoulder was cooked, and the sun came out again. Zhenguan is attached within twenty-one years.
The addition of the bone ligan means that the territory of the Tang Dynasty once reached the Arctic Circle, where the Tang Dynasty set up a state called Xuanque Prefecture, which was the northernmost state of the Tang Dynasty. The polar day phenomenon can be seen in Xuanque Prefecture. This is reflected in the Book of Tang and the Zizhi Tongjian.
5. Ming Chengzu. Historically, ancient Chinese border troubles have always been in the north, and there is a risk of causing border generals to support themselves and the political situation to be turbulent. Ming Cheng's ancestors fixed the capital in Beijing, and "the son of heaven guarding the border" thus became his most distinctive characteristic. Before becoming emperor, he became an excellent military commander in many confrontations with the Mongols, and after becoming emperor, in order to further stabilize northern Xinjiang, he often led his divisions to expeditions to Mongolia. Yongle died in the twenty-second year (1424) at Yumuchuan (present-day Wuzhu Muqin, Inner Mongolia) on the way back to the Northern Expedition, but the capital was Beijing and Tianzi guarded the border, which became the basis for the great unified empire thereafter.
6. The Kangxi Emperor. The Kangxi Three Expeditions to Kaldan refers to the historical event of the Qing army's three conquests of Kaldan, the leader of the Dzungar clan of Western Mongolia. According to the Qing Shilu, in February of the thirty-sixth year of Kangxi (1697), Kangxi personally led a large group of men and horses out of Deshengmen and entered present-day Ningxia along Changping, XuanhuaFu, Datong, Huairen, Yulin, and Huamachi. His command center was in Ningxia, and he was going to fight in Ningxia, because Ningxia was closer to Saksat Kurik, where Kaldan was located, and troops from Ningxia could quickly suppress Kaldan.
In the 18 days of Kangxi's stay in Ningxia, the grain mobilized was 11,700 stones of military grain transported along the Yellow River by waterway alone, 15,000 horses and mules and more than 1,600 camels were mobilized from the Shaanxi and Gansu regions around Ningxia and transported to the northern front, and most of these strategic materials were also transported from Hengcheng to the front line, providing sufficient materials for quelling the Gardan rebellion.
In this battle, the Qing Dynasty not only successfully blocked the eastward advance of the Dzungars, but also incorporated the Khalkha Mongols into the territory, laying the foundation for the pacification of the Dzungars during the Qianlong period. It can be said that this just war against national separatism has been very effective in safeguarding the reunification of the motherland.
Why west?
In ancient Chinese history, there are not many emperors, and there are only a few of them. Why would the emperors who had done so go west? This is clearly a very complicated issue, but Ming Chengzu's "Son of Heaven Guarding the Border" will certainly be able to explain the reason.
Sima Qian said: "Those who do things will be in the southeast, and those who reap merit will always be in the northwest." Therefore, Yu Xing was in The Western Qiang, Tang was born in Bo, the King of Zhou was also in Feng and Pickaxe, the Emperor of Qin used Yongzhou Xing, and Han Xing was from Shu Han. China's history has also been repeatedly confirming this sentence.
We also find an interesting phenomenon or method, that is, the ancient emperors compared themselves to the sun, which rises from the east and sets from the west. In the course of these emperors' journey to the west, we can clearly see their worries about the "sunset", for example, after Qin Shi Huang did not stand, Emperor Wu of Han killed his mother, and Tang Taizong, Ming Chengzu, and Kangxi Emperor were also anxious about this matter in their later years.
Perhaps, to answer why the ancient emperors made more and more achievements in the west, in addition to geographical factors, it is enough to use a sentence often said by ordinary people - to know how the sun rises, but also to understand how the sun sets. Only by facing up to the troubles can we create a prosperous world. Sunrise and sunset only take 24 hours, and the "sunrise" and "sunset" in ancient Chinese history are clearly a bit long - 500 years! (Text/Lu Sheng)