Friends who travel to Xinjiang will definitely go to Ili to see. It is a beautiful place with many historical legends. So, where did Ili's name come from? Qianlong wanted to brag!
Ili
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is located in the Ili River Valley in the north of the Tianshan Mountains in the western part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, bordering Kazakhstan, with a total population of 4.6171 million. It is the main breeding and production base of Xinjiang fine wool sheep, Ili horse, Xinjiang brown cattle and Chinese merino sheep, and the tourism resources are very rich.
In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the rise of the Xiongnu forced the Great Moon clan to move west to the Ili River Valley, and the Sai king to move south. Around the fourth year of the Later Yuan Dynasty (160 BC), Wusun moved west to the Ili River Valley and other places to establish the State of Wusun. Around the first year of the Yuan Dynasty (110 BC), the Han Dynasty allied itself with Wusun. In 60 BC, the Han Dynasty established the Western Regions Protectorate in Xinjiang to administer Wusun and other states, and Ili and other places were officially incorporated into the Territory of China.
During the Yuan Dynasty, the Ili River Valley and other places were the fiefdoms of Chagatai, the second son of Genghis Khan, with Alimari as the capital. The area around Tacheng and Altai is the territory of Sanziwo Kuotai. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Chagatai Khanate was divided, and the Wala rose to control Altai, Tacheng and other places, and Ili became the pasture of Kazakh and other tribes. At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Erut in Western Mongolia rose again to establish the local government of Dzungar, and the political center moved from Tacheng to the Ili River Valley.
Ili River
During the Qing Dynasty, the Dzungar Khanate ruled Ili and other places.
Dzungar was one of the four parts of the Wallachians, and its peak was during the Ghordan period. During the Geldan period, the Wala departments under the leadership of Dzungar basically completed the unification of the Mongolian steppe and had the strength to compete with the Qing Dynasty, so they took the initiative to attack the Qing Dynasty in order to gain recognition from the Qing Dynasty and compete with the Qing Dynasty.
The first few battles should be considered a draw. However, the Qing Dynasty fought wars with Chinese mainland as its hinterland, and the war resources were very deep, and it was possible to afford to lose, and it did not matter if it lost once or twice. And Gordan can't afford to lose, and once he loses a battle, there will be internal problems. In this way, the Mongol tribes that were wrapped up in Geldan turned around and turned to the side of the Qing Dynasty. Behind Gordan, there was also an internal split, and Gordan's nephew Tsere Alabutan openly opposed Gordan, and the legitimacy of the Alabutan was more sufficient in blood than Gordan, so the tribes within Dzungar soon fell to the Alabutan. Since then, the brief unification of the Mongol steppe dominated by Zungar has collapsed, and Zungar has returned to Xinjiang and Central Asia.
With the departure of Geldan, the Qing rulers completely leveled the Dzungar Khanate.
In order to commemorate this great achievement, Qianlong gave New Names to Xinjiang and Yili!
Qianlong
Xinjiang, known as the Western Regions in ancient times. Qianlong believed that this place was "forced by other ethnic groups, and the homeland was newly returned", so it was named Xinjiang. At the same time, Qianlong also wanted to brag and gave Yili a name.
According to the records, the ancient Ili was named because it was located next to the Ili River. However, in ancient China, it was not called Ili, but Ili, Yili, etc., which is a Uyghur word, which means that the river sparkles under the sun.
When Qianlong conquered here, he believed that the Pacification of Dzungar Gong covered thousands of autumns, and the Western Province would never be at peace, which was equivalent to leveling the courtyard plough for planting land and sweeping the alleys into ruins, that is, the idiom "ploughing the garden sweeps". Therefore, Qianlong named this place Ili!
Originally, Qianlong wanted to brag, but it gave the city a more heavy feeling. Therefore, the name Ili has been used until now. [References: Chronicle of Ili City, History of China's Frontiers] (Author: Daily Chinese Characters)?