▲Russian Siberian azimuth map and landform
In August 2017, I participated in a study tour to Southern Siberia, Russia, organized by Professor Li Xiao of the National College of Chinese Min University. For me, the biggest attraction of this expedition is that I can visit the so-called "northernmost Han-style palace". For this special Chinese-style palace, I have long been fascinated.
One
The location and shape of the palace
The excavation and research of the site of the "Northernmost Han Palace" is of great significance in the field of northern Asian archaeology, and is of unique value for us to understand the historical evolution of Sino-Hungarian relations between the two Han Dynasties. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, this Han-style palace, excavated by soviet archaeologists in the early years, has become little known.
Because so few people have paid attention to this important palace site for many years, we searched from the Internet and got an introductory article, "The Northernmost Han Dynasty Cultural Site - The Ruins of the Abakan Palace in South Siberia" (the author signed Zhang Chun), saying that the location of the site is "the base site of the Han-style palace in south Siberia." It is located 8 km south of Abakan, the capital of present-day Khakas Autonomous Oblast of the Soviet Union.".
In terms of the explanatory text of the location of this site alone, it seems to be accurate to the point of counting in "kilometers", but using Abakan as a geographical coordinate to make such a directional narrative may feel "convincing" for those who have never been to the site; And for those who have had the opportunity to be on the scene, it can only be a bitter laugh - the geographical location between the two is really far apart!
The "northernmost Han-style palace", which suddenly appeared like a "Flying Peak", was located on the Minusinskaya Plain in the south Siberian region of present-day Russia. The artifacts excavated from the archaeological site are now preserved in the Museum of Local History of minushinsk of the Khakas Autonomous Republic. In many parts of Russia there are "local history museums", whose specifications are roughly equivalent to the provincial museums of China. The exhibition content of the Museum of Local History is usually composed of several parts such as nature, history, military, and ethnicity.
The ruins of this Han-style palace were discovered by accident in 1940 and soon under the auspices of Soviet archaeologist Professor C.B. Djiselev and others, archaeological excavations were carried out. The most important host of this archaeological excavation, Professor Ghishelev, after many years, in his book, introduced this important archaeological discovery from the early years: in the summer of 1940, a road was built near the collective farm of the "force" eight kilometers south of Abakan, the capital of The Khakas Autonomous Oblast, and the edge of a hill was excavated, resulting in the discovery of many tiles of various sizes and shapes that were clearly of Chinese origin.
▲ One of the anti-Chinese character wadang excavated from the palace site
Of particular note is the circular tiles of the barrel tiles (the seams between the tiles covering the bottom floor tiles from top to bottom along the roof) ... All wadangs have the same Chinese characters, which are embossed from two similar molds when the mud is not dry. These rubbings, facsimiles and photographs of the wadang were submitted to Alekseyev for study.
He concluded that the text was an inscription of the Han Dynasty as "Long live the Son of Heaven and The Son of Heaven". According to Alexeyev, the grammatical features of this sentence are also typical of the Han Dynasty ... In 1941, 1945 and 1946, a team from the Institute of The History of Material Culture of the USSR Academy of Sciences, in conjunction with the History Museum of the Khakas Institute (The Hakas Museum and the Minushinsk Museum), conducted a comprehensive study of the excavations of the hill and the site of a grass-walled house underneath the hill.
Upon careful investigation, sixteen rooms were found, some of which were square in shape and had an area of 12×12 meters, the rest of which were adjacent to them from the east and west... Based on the excavation of tiles around these central rooms, it should be assumed that the roofs, like most Chinese buildings, are sloped on all sides. The central part of the house is surrounded by thinner and possibly lower facades.
There are also inscriptions on the underside of these walls, from which it can be speculated that the roof of the outer room is a tile roof of a single-sided slope. Its upper edge is connected to the four walls of the central room. It can be seen that the house can be restored to a typical Chinese architecture: a plan square with a roof covered with a four-sided sloped eaves tile roof.
▲ "Northernmost Han Palace" restoration model diagram
For the shape of this Han-style palace excavated by Soviet archaeologists, Chinese scholars have the most concise description of Professor Zhou Liankuan of Sun Yat-sen University: "Regarding the construction of the palace, according to Gieshelev, tiles have been found on all sides of the central hall, which shows that the roof of the hall is four-sloped.
We can imagine that this hall is the tallest and largest part of all the buildings, surrounded by shorter houses, and although the southeast corner is hidden by the road base, it is inferred from the layout of the northeast corner that there are four houses, and there are nineteen houses around the main hall in total, and there are twenty rooms in the main hall itself.
The houses are connected to each other, the main entrance of the main hall is south, and the south side of the house is connected, except for the main hall, this house is the largest, and its east and west widths are equal to the main hall, which seems to be the front hall where foreign guests enter. The walls are made of clay and are two meters thick, and the underground heating channels are zigzagging and looping, reaching more than half of the houses except for the main hall. ”
▲The second anti-Chinese character Wadang excavated from the palace site
The roof is covered with slab tiles and barrel tiles, the eaves have circular tiles, there are anti-printing "Tianzi Thousand Autumns Long Live Changle Weiyang" and other auspicious words, as well as Cultural relics such as copper mirrors with distinctive Han cultural characteristics and bunk heads have been unearthed. Its age should be after BC.
The presence of this Han-style palace in such a distant Xiongnu-controlled far north does provide historians with amazing material for studying Han-Hungarian relations in that particular period.
Judging from Professor Zhou Liankuan's writing, it seems that he did not visit the location of this palace to do field research, and in connection with the extremely unsatisfactory environment that Mr. Zhou encountered in that era, it seems that he did not have the possibility of going abroad to investigate. Mr. Zhou Liankuan made a description of the shape of this palace that is more in line with the characteristics of Chinese architecture based on the use of the words published by Soviet archaeologists, and one has to admire the depth of his academic skills.
Professor Li Xiao, the leader of our group, put forward a request to the local receptionist to investigate the excavation site of the palace on the spot. The receptionist once expressed a certain degree of embarrassment, and later, at our insistence, the receiving party accompanied us to the site of origin. According to the on-site notification of the receiving party: After the excavation of the Han-style palace, the Soviet government rushed to repair a road in order to strengthen the transportation capacity. This road completely covers the ruins of the palace (this statement differs from the above quotation from Dishelev's "partial coverage of the southeast corner"). I took a photo at this special location.
Although the on-site investigation of the palace ruins did not lead to a more direct discovery, it was still an unforgettable experience.
Chinese scholars have clearly studied this "northernmost Han-style palace" very inadequately. Mr. Guo Moruo once visited the museum to inspect the cultural relics in his collection, and it is not known whether he went to the location of the palace ruins; Mr. Zhou Liankuan, who has done systematic research on the era and owner of the palace, is well known, but considering that he wrote his masterpiece in the 1950s and when he was depressed, the possibility of his visit to the site in South Siberia is slim to none.
Our hasty and hasty on-the-spot survey this time is inevitably a pity. The feeling of being there, and the intensity of the desire to explore the truth of history that arises from it, is hardly comparable to those who sit in a bookstore. The inspiration of our group's site survey is that Chinese academic circles should pay more attention to and promote the study of North Asian history.
▲ The head of the shop excavated from the ruins of the palace
Two
Three speculations of the "master" of the palace
Who is the owner of this palace? Nature has become a problem of discussion in the academic community. Professor Dishelev, a Soviet scholar and excavator of the palace site, once speculated that Li Ling, a famous general during the Han Wudi period, was built to appease Li Ling's homesickness after the defeat of the Xiongnu.
Mr. Guo Moruo has participated in the discussion. He said in the "Chronicle of the Soviet Union": "In my opinion, I am afraid that it is not Li Ling's residence. The only people on display in the museum are wadang and copper beast rings, which should have been transmitted from China, and it is impossible to make them themselves in the territory of the Northern Xiongnu... It may be that when the princess of the Han family got married, the royal family, in order to comfort her homesickness, specially built this house, thinking that it was a companion. Mr. Guo Moruo's inference shakes the previous theory of "Li Ling Palace" put forward by Soviet experts, which has its value; however, his inference that the construction of this palace was done by people sent by the Han family court and a "companion" building built for the princess of "Harmony and Kinship", but it is difficult to be convincing.
Later, Mr. Zhou Liankuan made a completely new discussion on this issue, and he repudiated the first two inferences of the palace owner: "In summary, it is enough to prove that the ruins of the Abagan Palace are by no means the former residence of Li Ling. "From this, it can be seen that it is difficult to imagine that the Xiongnu would build a palace more than five thousand miles away from the Dragon Garden to marry a Han princess of the Fu clan."
Mr. Zhou Liankuan speculated that the true owner of this palace should have the following five conditions: (1) His person may have been born during the usurpation of the throne by Wang Mang, which is consistent with the Wadang script. (2) His people are accustomed to Chinese customs and culture, otherwise they will not abandon their life in the curtain, but are willing to live in such a Chinese-style palace. (3) His person must have a special and close relationship with Han, otherwise Han Ting would not have helped him build this palace. (4) At that time, it is necessary to be a vassal of han qujie, otherwise, it will not be allowed to have an auspicious language praising the son of Han Tianzi in gongwa. (5) Its court of administration shall be at Ding Zero, or not far from Ding Zero. Mr. Zhou further deduced that "according to the five conditions given above, and based on the relevant historical data, I think that the most suitable for the owner of this palace is the eldest daughter of Zhaojun, Xu buju Ciyun, also known as Yimoju Ciyun. Mr. Zhou's reasoning is quite reasonable.
If no new archaeological results appear, his inference can be denied, and Mr. Zhou's views can be regarded as conclusive. That is to say, on the basis of the available information, we should believe that the owner of this palace is most likely Wang Zhaojun's eldest daughter Yi MoJu Ciyun and her husband Xu Budang. Most likely, they won the support of Wang Mang's new regime, and with the support of the Xiongnu at the time, Shan Yu, they were able to build this Han-style palace so far north.
We look back at the unpredictable historical situation in the short period from Wang Mang's auxiliary government to the beginning of the abolition of the Han Dynasty, which seems to have provided a rare opportunity for Wang Mang to handle well the relationship between the Central Plains regime and the Xiongnu. After Wang Mang's new chamber was established as a Han Dynasty, there was a turnaround in the state of open hostility between the Central Plains and the Xiongnu— The Xiongnu leader Wuzhu Liudan, who had been enemies of the Central Plains for many years, died in the fifth year of Wang Mang's founding (13 AD). At that time, the Xiongnu minister Hou Xubudang was a representative figure advocating reconciliation with the Central Plains, and his wife was Yi Moju Ciyun, the daughter of Wang Zhaojun.
Wang Zhaojun of the late Western Han Dynasty was once an iconic figure of the Han-Hungarian marriage, and her daughter Yimo Juciyun not only inherited the cultural symbols of her mother, but also had considerable real power in the upper echelons of the Xiongnu together with her husband Jun. Both of them consciously claimed to be the heirs to Wang Zhaojun's cause, and Yi Moju Ciyun often said that he should restore "peace" with Zhongyuan.
At that time, there was a Xiongnu nobleman Xian who was more friendly to the Central Plains, who had previously accepted the title of "Filial Piety Dan Yu" awarded by Wang Mang, plus Yi Mo Ju Ciyun had always been with Xian Houshan, and noticed that Xian was worshipped by Mang before and after, so the couple manipulated the political situation and supported Xian as Shan Yu, with the title of "WuLei Ruo Shan Yu".
This newly established XinDan Yu had no intention of making enemies with the Central Plains, and coupled with the proposal of two noble figures, Yi Moju Ciyun and Xu Budang, to restore "peace" with the Central Plains Dynasty, the relationship between the Xinmang regime and the Xiongnu tended to ease.
In the first year of Wang Mang's reign (14 AD), Yi Moju Ciyun and Xu Budang sent people to Xihe Humeng County's "Zhi Yu Sai" to inform the guards that they wanted to see and kiss the marquis. He was the son of Wang Zhaojun's elder brother. The lieutenant of the central region heard about the situation to the imperial court. Wang Mang was overjoyed, and sent wang she and the qidu wei to send two brothers to the Xiongnu, and the role of the "peace and affinity" symbol of the Wang Zhengjun family was recognized and used by both sides in this round of "new-Hungarian" diplomatic mediation.
Under the background that Wang Zhaojun's daughters and sons-in-law had higher power in the Xiongnu, they had a complex of pro-central plains and the ability to promote the xiongnu's close relationship with the central plains, but the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity provided by history was destroyed by Wang Mang's absurd behavior.
▲September 25, 2020,
"The Northernmost Han-style Palace - The Ruins of the Yunxing Palace of Wang Zhaojun's eldest daughter Xu Buju"
Officially unveiled in Zhaojun Village Scenic Area
During the reign of Ulay Ruodan, the relationship between the Xiongnu and the Xinmang regime was relatively relaxed, and military conflicts, although occasional, were on a small scale. Both sides were consciously avoiding a major war, and the attacks launched by the Xiongnu side were described by them as "unofficial" out of control; Wang Mang's side was also happy to use this as an explanation for the Xiongnu Kouluo to meet their political needs.
In the fifth year of Wang Mang's tianfeng (18 AD), Ule Ruodan died of illness, and his brother Zuoxian Wang Luan Tiyi succeeded him, which was Hu Du and the corpse Dao Gao Ruo Shan Yu. He reigned much longer than his brother (18–46 AD). He was self-conscious and dared to kill. For Wang Mang's new regime, the new successor Shan Yu was a strong opponent far more difficult to control than his predecessor, Ulea Ruoshan Yu. Wang Mang's countermeasures have again arisen with the problem of using strategies and clumsy tactics.
After Xindan Yu succeeded him, he expressed goodwill to Wang Mang's new room, and once sent envoys to dedicate himself. Wang Mang hoped to use the influence of Wang Zhaojun's daughter Yi Moju Ciyun and his son-in-law Xu Budang in the Xiongnu to contain this Hudu and corpse Dao Gao Ruo Shan Yu. Wang Mang sent his protégé Wang She to Saixia, tricked Yimoju Ciyun and Xu Budang and their sons into Saixia, coerced their family to Chang'an, and forcibly worshiped Xu Budang as "Xu Bu Shan Yu" and wanted to send troops north to help "Xu Bu Dan Yu" compete for the position of Da Dan Yu.
Regarding this difficult practice of ascending to the elegant hall, Yan You, who was very politically and militaryly far-sighted among Wang Mang's ministers, offered advice, but Wang Mang did not accept it and dismissed Yan You from the post of Grand Sima of Yan You. When the Xiongnu Hudu and dao Dao Gao heard the news, they were furious and sent troops south to invade. Along the border, the flames have been raging for years. The relationship between Wang Mang's new chamber and the Xiongnu once again entered a stage of serious conflict.
By the second year of Emperor Di (21 AD), When Xu Budang, who was controlled in Chang'an and unable to make a difference, was depressed, Wang Mang married his daughter to his son Hou An Gongqi, and he still wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to send troops to assist The Xiongnu Shan Yu. Of course, it can only be a fantasy. Originally, Wang Zhaojun's daughter and son-in-law, who were within the Xiongnu, could have contributed to the promotion of relations between the Xiongnu and the Central Plains, but Wang Mang's self-cleverness and reckless behavior "zeroed out" the role of this special family. It's a shame!
The Han culture with the palace architecture as the carrier miraculously appeared in the far north of the Xiongnu hinterland, in the far north of the Han people' originally unknown extreme north, in addition to letting posterity lament the way of cultural and cultural exchanges, can be so colorful, its vitality can be so strong, of course, we should also think: if there is no central plains and Xiongnu relations and good (at least temporarily eased) background, simply relying on the strong expansion of one side, is unimaginable.
From this point of view, such a large-scale "Han-style palace" can appear in the far north, and the "centering" of Yimo Juziyun and Xu Budang's husband and wife cannot be buried. Due to Wang Mang's mishandling, Yi Moju Ciyun and Xu Budang lost their influence in the upper echelons of the Xiongnu, and this Han-style palace in the north could only fall into loneliness and desolation. Thinking of the past, I don't know how to put it into writing and ink!
▲Mr. Sun Jiazhou is the location of the archaeological site of the "Northernmost Han Palace"
Author: Sun Jiazhou, a native of Laizhou, Shandong, is a professor at the School of History, Chinese Min University, and a doctoral supervisor. Vice President of the Chinese Society for the Study of Qin and Han History.
Wen |Sun Jiazhou
The original title | "The Northernmost Han-style Palace" and its historical interpretation
Originally published in Wenshi Tiandi, No. 4, 2018
The title of this article is added by the editor
Figure | Sun Jiazhou network
The copyright of graphics and texts belongs to the original author or institution
Edited | Shanxi Evening News All-Media Editor Nanlijiang
Audit | Fang Tianji
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