As we all know, during the Qin and Han dynasties, there were many small countries in the western region, but they gradually disappeared later, leaving deep doubts for experts and scholars. In the "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", there is a city of Yulaoluojia, the legend was engulfed by a gust of wind and sand, at first experts did not believe it, until the discovery of the ancient city of Yuansha... What's going on here? Below, let Xiaobian reveal the secret to you from scratch.
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We have all seen the novel "Journey to the West", the prototype of the Tang monk in the book is the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang, who is also one of the famous translators of scriptures in the mainland. In the third year of Zhenguan (629 AD), Xuanzang set off from Chang'an and traveled westward, passing through the western kingdoms, reaching Central Asia, and then traveling south into the Indian kingdom of Magadha, where he studied and preached at Nalanda Monastery, and finally returned to Chang'an in the nineteenth year of Zhenguan (645 AD). Xuanzang's journey westwards lasted 17 years, and later he dictated all his observations on this journey into text, that is, the Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty.
In the "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", many countries along the way, as well as their culture and customs, are also important materials for experts to study the history of the Western Regions, central Asia and India. It is worth mentioning that the Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty also recorded a terrible event, in the territory of the ancient Khotanese state (present-day Hotan, Xinjiang), named Yulao Luojia. One year, a monk suddenly appeared, and he preached the scriptures in the city, but the people here did not think so, because they had no faith at all, so someone reported that the king said that he was demagogic, so the king tied up the monk, smeared mud on his face, and finally was driven out by the people of the city.
However, during this period, there was a man who also had great respect for the monks, and when the monks were driven away, he sent some dry food. So the monks told the man to leave Uraraksha quickly, because in seven days there would be calamity. Later, this man told the people of the city about the disaster, but no one believed him, so he left the city of Luolaoga alone, and sure enough, on the seventh day, the wind and sand suddenly fell, and completely buried the city of Luolaoga...
The story of the city of Uraura was widely known and regarded as an insignificant myth, but it was not until the 1990s that this concept was gradually changed. In 1993, local residents of Hotan, Xinjiang, crossed the Taklamakan Desert from Yutian County, and on the way found half-buried remains of buildings buried by yellow sand in the ancient city of Yumlakkumu, they reported the discovery to the provincial cultural relics department. In the years that followed, local archaeologists also found the remains, and after excavation and cleaning, a large number of tomb pottery was unearthed, and it was determined that this was an ancient city dating back about 2,000 years, and it was also named "Yuansha Ancient City" because of its overall round appearance.
In 1999, the excavation results of the ancient city of Yuansha were reported in the news, which attracted the attention of many experts and scholars for a while, and at the same time, the story of the city of Yulao luojia was turned over. Some experts said that according to the cultural relics excavated from the ancient city of Yuansha, such as clothing, utensils and castle tower relics, it is speculated that it may be the city of Yulaoluojia that was swallowed up by the wind and sand in the "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", because the things recorded in the book can also be confirmed in the ancient city of Yuansha, such as the city of Yuansha has not experienced war, the people of The city of Yuansha have no faith, and the species unearthed in the ancient city of Yuansha do not have anything related to faith. The most important thing is that the ancient city of Yuansha is about the same size as the city of Yuelaogar described in the book, and reeds have also been found, which are also plants in the city of Yuelaoga.
It is worth mentioning that since the ancient city of Yuansha found reeds, it means that at that time, it was not a desert, but a wetland with rivers, rich water and grass suitable for survival, and when describing the city of Luolaojia in the "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty", it also said that the environment here was pleasant. All in all, academic experts basically believe that the city of Laoluojia is not a legend, but a real existence, and as for the wind and sand disaster suffered by Laoluojia City, it may be that the deterioration of the environment has led to the sandstorm. In fact, sandstorms as a kind of weather can also be predicted, so there is nothing magical, but at that time people had limited scientific understanding, they thought that sandstorms were heaven's punishment for their non-belief in Buddhism, but in fact, they cut indiscriminate hair, destroyed the environment, and excessively obtained the evil consequences planted.
There is no doubt that the ancient city of Yuansha was indeed destroyed by the deterioration of the environment, and as for the city of Yuelaoga, even if it is not the ancient city of Yuansha, its destruction is closely related to the environment. In any case, we must conserve resources and protect the environment, do not let the tragedy of the city of Laolao be staged again, and let our children and grandchildren enjoy the green mountains and green waters, blue sky and white clouds.
Resources:
"Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" by Xuanzang, edited by Debater, translated by Rui Chuanming, Publisher: Zhonghua Bookstore
Wenlan Hairun Studio Editor-in-Chief Wen Xiucai, this article is written by: Special History Writer: Liu Lijiang's