Pomegranate Cloud/Xinjiang Daily reporter Yin Lu
Among China's "Top 100 Archaeological Discoveries in a Hundred Years", the Minfengniya Site in Xinjiang, the Ruoqiang Xiaohe Cemetery, and the Turpan Astana Ancient Tomb Group were selected. These selected archaeological discoveries in Xinjiang vividly illustrate that Xinjiang has been an inseparable part of China's territory since ancient times, and since ancient times, it has been a place where many ethnic groups, multi-cultural exchanges and multi-religion coexist, and also shows the brilliance and diversity of Chinese culture.
Among the Niya sites, there is a national first-class cultural relic that is known as one of the greatest discoveries of Chinese archaeology in the 20th century - "Five Stars Out of the East and Benefiting China" Han Dynasty Jin Arm Guard.
"Five-star out of the East lee China" brocade arm guard. Provided by the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Rescue excavations on sites that have been stolen by crazy thieves
Around the 2nd century BC, the Niya River, which originated in the Kunlun Mountains, created an oasis of prosperity on its way to the Taklamakan Desert, nourishing a city that had an important place on the southern route of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty.
About 2,000 years later, the Sino-Japanese Nyaya archaeological cooperation expedition team finally clarified the oasis city Guo, which appeared in the history books but disappeared in the war and sand burial, at the Site of Niya in Minfeng County, Hotan Region, Xinjiang.
Joint expedition excavations, which began in 1988, were carried out on a site that had been excavated like crazy in the early 20th century. Beginning with the Englishman Malco Oraire Stein Indnya in 1901, groups of marauders from abroad stole countless texts, weapons, musical instruments, fabrics, ornaments, and left behind a large number of destroyed ruins.
The road to the ruins of Nyaya is bumpy. Archaeologists recalled that the desert car can not walk, can only rely on camels, sometimes 30 kilometers to walk 3 days, the wind at any time to change the appearance of the desert, marking the direction is very difficult. But the rescue excavation of the Nya site is imminent, the team members have to compete with the harsh natural environment for time, they rely on their firm faith and the accumulation of investigation data of the older generation of archaeologists, and finally entered Nya.
The task of the joint expedition is not only archaeological excavations, but also the rescue and protection of the many cultural relics here. In addition to the tombs, the team members also carefully recorded and preserved the remains of houses, Buddhist temples, workshops, pottery kilns, orchards, water canals, ancient bridges, smelting and other relics in the site.
During a total of 9 excavations from 1988 to 1997, the team cleared out a large number of building components, Chinese and Luwen jianmu documents and Buddhist murals, coins, pottery, wood, textiles, ornaments, as well as wheat, millet, meat, melon and other food remains.
Carved doorposts in the ruins. Provided by the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
The golden arm reflects the identification of Chinese culture by all parts of the Western Regions
The appearance of the "Five Stars Out of the East and China" Brocade Arm guard occurred in the rescue excavation of the No. 8 wooden coffin of the 95MNI. cemetery at the Niya site.
The cemetery appears to have not been stolen before, but erosion by the wind and sand has exposed part of its coffin. When the archaeologists opened a half-decayed wooden coffin, a colorful brocade came into view, which was the "five stars out of the East and China" brocade armband.
After inspection, the archaeologists preliminarily determined that the wooden coffin was a couple buried together, because the burial goods were rich, and they were wearing brocade clothing written with auspicious words such as "longevity and longevity", "Happiness and longevity", so it is believed that the owner of the tomb is likely to be the leader of the elite nobility.
There are also pottery, wood, mirror bags, bows and arrows, arrow barrels and dried food in the burial items, which are well preserved because the site is in a very dry environment.
The brocade arm is worn on the right arm of the man in the wooden coffin, 18.5 cm long, 12.5 cm wide, 21 cm long, the brocade weaving is made of white, blue, black, red and yellow five-color silk, its five-fold plain weave method represents the highest level of Han Dynasty brocade, the density of warp threads reaches 220 rods / cm, and the density of weft threads reaches 24 / cm.
In the skeleton of the clouds and qi on the brocade, the team members can recognize the words "five stars out of the East and Benefit China" woven in the Han Dynasty Lishu, which is the astrology of traditional Chinese astronomical astrology, and is a term summarized by the ancients after observing the changes in the movement of the five planets of gold, wood, water, fire and earth, reflecting the five elements of yin and yang in the Han Dynasty.
In ancient times, astronomical stargazing was controlled by a special agency of the central government to ensure the sanctity and legitimacy, and the central government had an absolute right to speak on the five-star astrology, so this tapestry arm should be woven by a special institution, and then given to the head of the elite nobles, proving the jurisdiction of the central government of the Han Dynasty over the local area.
The brocade pattern has phoenix, bird, unicorn, white tiger and other auspicious birds and beasts, as well as cloud patterns, circular patterns symbolizing the sun, and the brocade arm guards have become funerary items, which clearly reflects the admiration and recognition of Chinese culture in various parts of the western region.
The master of the Jin arm guard may have participated in the Han conquest of the Southern Qiang
Unearthed with this brocade arm guard is also a piece of brocade fragments woven with the words "Qiu Nan Qiang", which is consistent with the material used in the golden arm guard, and the researchers analyzed according to historical facts, if the two pieces of fabric are put together, it is "five stars out of the East to benefit China to seek the Southern Qiang".
In many historical books such as the Book of Han and the Biography of Zhao Chongguo, the war between the central government of the Han Dynasty and the Qiang has been recorded. Archaeologists speculate according to historical data and geographical location that Jingjie is also a place disturbed by the Southern Qiang, and the male of Tomb No. 8, as the leader of the Jingjie nobles, is likely to have participated in the Han conquest of the Southern Qiang and fulfilled his responsibilities for the country.
Because of its important value, according to the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics", the "Five-Star Out of the East and Benefiting China" Jinbao Arm collected in the Xinjiang Museum entered the "Catalogue of the First Batch of Cultural Relics Prohibited from Going Abroad (Border) Exhibition" in 2002, and was specially protected as a national first-class cultural relics.
The Niya site is a treasure trove of Han Dynasty brocade remains, in addition to this brocade arm, the prince Heqiu Yisun Zijin, Yuan heyuan Nian Jin, Jinchi Fengjin, etc. excavated here are all high-level representatives of the brocade craftsmanship from the Han to Wei and Jin dynasties.
The artifacts unearthed at the Nyaya site show the local social situation from the 2nd century BC to the beginning of the 5th century AD, with relatively mature industries such as planting, animal husbandry, brewing, weaving and smelting.
As the largest cluster of settlement sites in existence at the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, the Niya site empirically proves the historical truth of successive central regimes governing the Western Regions, and shows that Xinjiang has been a region where diverse cultures and religions coexist since ancient times. In view of its archaeological excavation results, the archaeological research of Niya and the archaeology of the Silk Road, Han and Jin dynasties with a history of nearly 100 years has moved to a new stage, and has effectively promoted the in-depth and expansion of research in the fields of China's governance of the frontier, the history of Xinjiang region, and the history of cultural exchanges on the ancient Silk Road.
Exterior view of the ruins. Provided by the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology