In the hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, there are many ancient small kingdoms, in the Western Han Dynasty, in addition to the Jingjie country, there are 35 small countries of all sizes, and the Jingzhi country is considered to be one of the more famous and well-organized countries among these countries. According to archaeologists, around the 4th century AD, the Jingzhi Kingdom suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. Since then, this once lively country has been submerged in the vast sea of sand for more than two thousand years. So, why did the Elite Nation suddenly disappear?
How big is the Elite Nation? In the "Book of Han and The Biography of the Western Regions", it is recorded that the Jingzhi kingdom "had 480 households, 3,360 mouths, and 500 victorious soldiers." There is one lieutenant, one left and right general, and one translator.
Jingzhi country has a special geographical location on the Silk Road and is a very important country.
Historical documents are very few records of it, and perhaps for historians like Ban Gu, a small country like the JingzhiGuo is too small to worry about. Therefore, if we only look for answers from the historical data, the political system, economic form, and customs and customs of the country are basically blank.
In 1889, the Royal Russian Geographical Society prevented Erzhervsky from exploring the northern part of Kunlun Ashan, and the following year they came to Nya, but not to the site of Nya.
In 1901, the British scholar Stein, with the support of the British and Indian governments, finally entered the Nya ruins, and this expedition was the first person to enter the Nya site. He took 12 boxes of artifacts and transported them to London, which became a catastrophe for the ruins of Nya.
In 1931, Stein explored the Nya site for the fourth time, and this time, they ignored the instructions of the supervisors to "do not move the soil", and secretly excavated 26 Han Wen Mu Jian, one of which was written in a lily: "Han Jing Absolute King Chengshu Cong..." This is the decisive evidence of the Jing Ji Guo on the Nya site.
From 1988 to 1997, Chinese and Japanese scholars worked together to excavate a large number of archaeological materials at the Nya site, and the mystery of the exquisite country was slowly unveiled.
In the current Nya ruins, we can see the remains of the guest house, the barn lamp house and other remains that can still be distinguished. What is it that made this once-rich little country disappear?
Archaeology has so far had two speculations, one is the theory of environmental degradation and the other is the theory of war.
(Cotton fabric unearthed in Nya)
Environmental degradation theory
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the waters of the Niya River were still able to flow into the ancient country, which was a fertile oasis where people could live well. But with the passage of time, the course of the Niya River gradually contracted, and finally it was directly cut off. Some archaeologists believe that because of the loss of the water source on which to survive, the Jingji country had to move away from its homeland and find a new oasis to live.
Interestingly, there are also folk legends of the migration of the jingzhi countries due to environmental degradation. It is said that at that time, there were many extraordinary wind disasters in the jingzhi country, and the sand accumulated three or four meters overnight, and the first expedition team to come to the ruins of the ancient city also saw the remains of the ancients wearing pants and holding the stupa and dying. How credible is this legend?
Archaeologists have found that there is no trace of a large-scale diversion of the Nya River around the Nya site, and if the people of the elite country are looking for a new oasis because the Nya River is depleted, they must have followed the path of the Nya River all the way upstream, and there is no trace of human settlement in the upper reaches of the Nya River.
In his article, Stein describes the first time he saw the ruins of Nya: there are beautifully carved wooden chairs in the house, and the grain in the storage room is still orange-yellow.
And today we can see on the site of Nya that there are many large tree remains near the houses in the jingzhi country, and fruit forests can be found around, and even traces of ponds can be found. In other words, before the Jingzhi Country was abandoned, there was actually water here.
In addition, according to the texts excavated from the Niya site, it can be understood that the people of the Elite Kingdom at that time had great respect for water sources. People from the elite countries draw water from the Niya River, but both for irrigation and daily water need to be distributed through official consent. Every day, the water officer who manages the water will regularly release water to the village, and this water cannot be released casually without official permission.
The theory of war
The Timid Lu Wen excavated in the Jingzhi Kingdom records the difficulties faced by the Jingzhi State at that time, the JingzhiGuo had long been attacked by a powerful tribe in the southwest, and as this tribe gradually grew, the threat to the JingjieGuo was also increasing. Originating in the Gandhara kingdom, Tiluwen later spread to the lands of Central Asia, where it was a very important trade and Buddhist script on the Silk Roads.
Archaeologists have found that there are many corpses around the houses in the jingguo, and there are various items scattered everywhere, while many residents still have food in their homes, and some government documents are still sealed in clay pots, which do not look like the scene when they migrated because of natural disasters.
Therefore, archaeologists believe that perhaps one day, the Jingzhi country was suddenly attacked by this tribe, and the residents of the Jingjie country did not even have time to escape, and many people died at the hands of the enemy.
And this history is also in line with the background of the eastern Han Dynasty's late Eastern Han Dynasty countries encroaching on each other and being in chaos, so it is also very likely that the Jingzhi country will be destroyed due to war.
In the Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Xuanzang once recorded the scene of the city of Nilang (Ya). It is said that the whole city of Nya is in the middle of the Everglades, where it is wet and hot, it is difficult to trek, the grass and trees are particularly lush, and there is only one way to enter the city, so those who pass by must pass through the city of Nya. After walking out of Nya City, there is an endless desert, this desert environment is harsh, the hot wind is raging, it is difficult for people to go out, so the merchants who travel to and from the road will pick up the corpses on the side of the road and place them along the road as road signs.
(Fragments of ancient chairs and other woodwork unearthed by Stein at the Nya River site)
Many archaeologists, the city of Nilang in the "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" is the Jingjie Country, or the city that was re-established to escape the remnants of the Jingjie Country to escape the chaos of war. But whether it is inhabited by the remnants of the Elite Kingdom or not, the environment of Nya City is gradually deteriorating, and it will soon be encroached upon by the desert. According to the written records of the Jingjieguo, although there were only 500 people in the Jingzhiguo at that time, because the officials were corrupt and the people did not have a good life, a tax collector embezzled the taxes for 4 years, and the king came forward to accuse them before he reluctantly handed them in.
Therefore, it is likely that the jingzhi country was invaded by the enemy under internal and external troubles, and after the migration of later generations, it gradually dispersed due to environmental degradation, and finally merged with other ethnic groups and tribes in this way.