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When you think of the ancient Silk Roads, what do you think of?
Maybe it's the story of Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions, maybe it's the jingo iron horse and the vast desert in documentaries and film and television dramas, or maybe it's the commercial trade picture mentioned in the history class...
Now, thousands of years later, those scenes have been buried in history, and they may be seen again in museums, but they are still too far away from us.
▲ Silk Road (Image Source Network)
Fortunately, art always has all kinds of ways to bring us closer and closer to that distant time and space.
Ancient literature said this—
"The western pole of KunTong is beyond Kunlun, and the camel horse has always embraced the gate of the country." Du Fu wrote about the grand situation of Hu merchants coming and going in the western region after the Silk Road was opened;
In Li Bai's "Orchid Looks Like a Flower, When Laughing in the Spring Breeze", we can also feel the style of the Orchid Liquor Store.
In modern society, the artistic methods of recreating the Western Regions are not only words, but also film and television, music, and even games that focus on the cultural romance of that land in their worldview settings.
Today, the team of King of Glory is also accomplishing such a thing, creating a universe with a rich and three-dimensional world view, and transmitting the charm of the Silk Road to us through the portrayal of countless details and a complete and comprehensive storyline.
▲ The auction house in the story of the Glory of Kings Season
After communicating with their team, I found that no matter what kind of art form it is, the reason why it can impress us is actually the "person" behind the rhyme.
It is the strong vitality displayed by each individual in the rich trade and entertainment life that converges, reflecting the prosperity of the Silk Road.
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Back to Du Fu's sentence, "The western pole of Kun Tong passes through Kunlun, and the camel horse has always embraced the gate of the country."
After the opening of the Silk Road, there was an endless stream of merchants, and there were often people along the way.
Among the huge groups of Hu merchants, the Sogdian merchants in the western region must be the most special.
The ancestors of the Sogdians originally lived in what is now Zhangye, and slowly migrated westward because of the war with the Xiongnu.
Later, the Silk Road was opened, and their location was just on the Silk Road trunk road, from Central Asia to Datang, large and small trade had to pass through their hub, and the local business atmosphere was very strong, which also formed a unique commercial culture of the Sogdians.
▲ Tang Sogdian merchant figurines (source network)
The four words "business and trade" are like engraved in the DNA of the Sogdians, and the matter of "doing business" starts from the doll.
Soon after the child here was born, the adult would put a piece of sugar in his mouth and glue on the palm of his hand, which means "the mouth should be sweet, the hand should be sticky", which is the basic quality of a qualified businessman -
Can talk, but also know how to manage money.
Sogdian children began to study at the age of five, if they did not read well, it did not matter, then send them to learn business knowledge, and at the age of twenty they could take the caravan to the north and south. (Can't help but be a little envious)
"The child is born with stone honey, puts glue in the palm of his hand, wants to be long and willing to speak, and holds it like a sticky cloud." Learn to read by the way. Good businessman Jia, good profit, husband twenty years old, go to the country, the benefit is everywhere. - New Book of Tang
However, trading along the Silk Roads was not an easy task.
Drought, sand and dust, extreme weather, the vast sand sea may also encounter robbers, but this difficult environment has also cultivated the brave, bold and informal character of Silk Road merchants.
The harsh natural environment did not hinder their enthusiasm for life betting.
If we could travel back a thousand years to follow the caravan, we would find that the merchants were very good at having fun in their sufferings.
They drink and chat from time to time on the way, and during the break, they will go to hunt a few animals to come back to eat, and they can't treat their stomachs badly.
▲(Left) Rest map of the stone caravan of the weiping screen (source network)
(Right) Tang Hu people lead camel figurines (source network)
In the Tang Dynasty, there were also some Silk Road merchants who chose to open shops in Chang'an, the starting point of the Silk Road.
At that time, the West Market of Datang was like a miniature version of the Silk Road, and the exotic style was very strong, with more than 200 western shops, jewelry stores, grocery stores, restaurants, and taverns.
▲ Schematic map of Tang Chang'an City (source network)
Among them, the tavern is the most popular, in fact, at that time, wine has been transmitted through the Silk Road, and there are many varieties of wine.
And at that time, there was also a popular "orchid liquor store", you can drink while watching the beautiful orchid dancing, this feeling is like we go to the Western restaurant to listen to people play the piano now, no wonder Li Bai every time he goes to poetry.
"Where can be other, Chang'an Qingqi Gate." Hu Ji beckons the hand, and YanKe is drunk with gold bottles. ”
"Orchid looks like a flower, and when she laughs at the spring breeze."
Those spinning and jumping maihimes are just some nobodies, and in the vast history, we can't hear their voices.
But fortunately, there are ancient Dunhuang murals that record their footprints in the world.
Watch these women dancing together, standing on a round carpet, spinning and jumping to the rhythm, their clothes fluttering, their hands spread out, as if they were calling for friends.
▲ Mogao Cave 220 Chu Tang Hu Xuan Dance (Source Network)
Coupled with the bright colors, I felt as if I had heard the live dance music. The cheerful and noisy group dance moment is no less than a modern party.
And these two people swimming in the river, they stretched out their limbs freely, as if they were one with the water, and there were wild ducks passing by, not disturbing each other, and they all shared the aura of the land with their most comfortable posture.
▲Mogao Caves Cave 420 Sui Swimming Map (Source Network)
On these murals, distant people are suddenly as familiar as our friends.
There were scholars who specially collected the names of people who appeared in Dunhuang's documents, murals and other historical materials from the end of the 8th century to the beginning of the 11th century, a total of more than 30,000, and this is only one or two hundred years of Dunhuang, if you extend the time and expand the space, this number does not know how much.
Whether it is a Hu merchant and the caravan he is in, or a tavern where Maihime and her are located, when we follow them through this long Silk Road, you will find that they have turned into pieces of history and spliced together into a prosperous era.
And the glory of the king also has an equally prosperous city: jade city.
The city is as its name suggests, and the jade city is full of jade.
The two rivers that surround the city, one produce mutton fat jade and the other produce starry sky jade, which will reflect a sparkling jade color in the moonlight at night.
▲ Scenes from the story of the Season of Kings
The time of the Yucheng people can often be divided into three time periods:
It is 3-5 o'clock in the evening, 13-15 o'clock in the afternoon, and 19-21 o'clock in the evening.
Their day is also like the historical Westerners, almost filled with trade, work and entertainment.
Yucheng jade resources are very rich, and the lives of ordinary people depend on it. When it was still dark, they would go to the market and exchange the jade they had picked for daily necessities and money.
▲ Street market view of Yucheng
Before the afternoon was the time to move bricks, hundreds of Yucheng people with humane assistants YuZai, back and forth in the jade mine, picking out one load after another of jade.
▲ Jade Boy
Jade is not only material wealth, every Yucheng people know very well that the existence of jade has shaped their own lives and will also nurture future generations. So they are always grateful for this natural gift and remain religious.
▲ The people of Yucheng are working
For example, Kaiyu was regarded as a serious matter, and they set up a special ceremony.
Generally at the edge of the pool, the jade smith can only use ultra-fine jade silk with the pressure of the water flow to cut a hard jade, and the moment the jade is opened, the jade chips and water droplets splash, and the emerald green light directly flashes into your eyes.
▲ The jade opening ceremony of the Yucheng people
How is this done?
We have all heard a saying: "It is the stone of the mountain, and it can attack jade." ”
▲ "Jade Drawing" (partial) Qing Li Chengyuan
In ancient times, this "stone of its mountain" actually refers to a substance with a higher hardness than jade, called jade sand.
Sprinkle jade sand on the jade, and add a simple tool to cut the jade. Even in modern times, you will still think that the ancients were too clever.
Work throughout the day from start to finish in order to have a moment of relaxation and entertainment every day.
At that time, the nightlife of the Yucheng people began.
The wine glasses and utensils on the table are more delicate under the illumination of candlelight, depicting gold craftsmanship and inlaid with gemstones, and every place can see the meticulousness and exquisiteness of the craftsmen.
▲ Night feast scene in Jade City
Roasted whole lamb, home-brewed wine, people at the night feast feasted, raised a glass of wine, and looked up to see the flying illusion that appeared when the band performed - "Neon clothes dragging wide belts, fluttering ascension to heaven", that is the charm of Dunhuang Fei tian trick LeTu, is the romance of that era.
The classic rebound pipa action must be many people's first understanding of the flying sky, which is also a representative symbol of the fusion of local and exotic cultures under the sheng Tang Dynasty weather.
▲ (left) Cave 112 of the Middle Tang-Mogao Caves: Rebound pipa music and dance murals
(Right) The flying illusion in the glory of the king
The first feeling of Jade City is "prosperous", just because it is a city of jade?
Behind this prosperity are the Yucheng people who are actively living every moment, and it is they who have created and recorded this vivid memory.
Perhaps on the former Silk Road, there was also a bustling city like Jade City, and people passed by it, admired it, and remembered it.
Although that big era is far away from us, in the story of the season of the glory of the king, I clearly feel the charm of the Silk Road.
Yucheng people come and go in the market, big bags and small bags; sometimes struggle in the place of labor, sometimes stop and nag with the left and right; raise a glass in the leisure time of the night, spin and jump...
They are not in a distant and mysterious country, but live with the same sincerity and enthusiasm as we do.
From the next planning of the King's team, I saw that they would also launch an isolated place, the "Valley of Singing Sand".
The heroism of the vast desert is actually the hope and courage of a small person.
In that distant, mysterious world, people live with fireworks, and the faint fireworks represent the prospect of the outside world, and the step will be a child named Sang Qi.
▲ Glory of Kings new season character poster
This season's Jade City, the cloud indifference behind the Jade City, including the previous Chang'an, and next season's Mingsha Valley, you will find that what the king has done has long gone beyond the scope of our traditional "game".
They have built a world in which there are not only grass and tree creatures, but also plump characters, and the king is trying to tell a grand story, and is also moving towards an IP universe that belongs to them.
When someone is attracted to the story, they are more willing to understand the beautiful history and culture behind the story.
This may be what Glory of the King really wants to do—
Become a key to open the door to history, and we may start to look forward to the world after the door because the key is too delicate.