Say one of the donkey koza
Donkey, when did it appear on the land of China?
I previously read an article in the magazine "Knowledge of Literature and History" saying that donkeys are native to Africa, and the author has not come up with any basis. The author probably says this in relation to the Bible. The Bible has a lot to say about donkeys. We all know that in the Book of Genesis it is recorded that Abram received many cattle, sheep, camels, and, of course, male donkeys, female donkeys, and slaves when he arrived in Egypt; The angel of the Lord told Hagar, Sarai's handmaiden, that Hagar would have a son with Abram, and that his son would be like a wild ass. The Book of Genesis also records that Jacob was good at herding cattle, so that he had many flocks, servants, camels, and donkeys, so much so that he gave twenty female donkeys and ten donkey foals to his brother Esau. There are many texts about donkeys in the Book of Genesis, and there are accounts of the sons of Israel using male donkeys and female donkeys to carry good food, grain, vegetables, and so on.
Egypt belongs to Africa, perhaps for this reason, this article in the magazine "Knowledge of Literature and History" has the inference that donkeys originated in Africa, and it is believed that donkeys only appeared in China during the Han Dynasty. Some people disagree with this statement and have refuted it with evidence.
Whether the donkey is of Chinese origin or imported is a matter for scholars to consider, and now it seems that it does not matter, because Chinese favorite story is Chinese about donkeys.
According to the "Zizhi Tongjian", in the autumn of 104 BC, the envoy of the Western Regions returned to the imperial court and prayed to Emperor Wudi of Han: "There is a good horse, in the city of the second master, he refuses to fight with the Han envoy." "The Biography of Zhang Qian in the Book of Han also has relevant records.
The good horse referred to here is the sweat and blood horse, also known as the heavenly horse. Sweat and blood horses are very precious and are a specialty of Dawan Country. The Great Wan Kingdom had agreed with the Great Han Celestial Dynasty that it could only contribute two horses a year. Emperor Wudi of Han later felt that two horses were too few, so he sent messengers with money and goods in exchange, but not only did they not exchange them, but the people sent were actually killed by the Dawan Kingdom. Emperor Wudi of Han was furious, and worshipped Li Guangli as a general of the second division and attacked Dawan. Because Dawan's Second Division City had sweat and blood, he made Li Guangli a general of the Second Division. It can be seen from this how strong Emperor Wudi of Han is possessive of sweat and blood horses.
A small Dawan kingdom, unexpected by Emperor Wudi of Han and his courtiers, was not easy to fight, and the officers and soldiers of the Celestial Empire suffered great losses. Someone suggested that the fighting be stopped halfway, and Emperor Wudi of Han was furious and investigated the courtiers who advocated an armistice. Emperor Wudi of Han made up his mind that he must conquer the kingdom of Dawan, and he wanted to do whatever he wanted. In order to win the war, Emperor Wudi of Han went on to do this: "Pardon prisoners, send evil youths and side horses, 60,000 people who come out of Dunhuang in the past year, and those who are selfish and disagree, 100,000 cattle, 30,000 horses, tens of thousands of donkeys and camels, grain and crossbows." ”
In order to win the BMW, donkeys were selected to participate in military activities, and "donkeys, camels are numbered in tens of thousands", which shows that the number of donkeys at that time was already common. The war with the participation of donkeys finally broke through Dawan, not only got the sweat and blood BMW they wanted, but also shocked the surrounding countries of Dawan, so that they had to send contributions, including the precious good horses.
Regardless of whether Emperor Wudi of Han launched such a large-scale war in order to obtain a BMW, we are surprised that the donkey, this unremarkable animal with a heavy bearing, can actually give its inherent strength to the victory of the war.
Li Guangli, a general of the Second Division, went out several times to fight against the Xiongnu and other enemies, but he was not a Chang Sheng general. After a conquest of the Xiongnu, he was finally defeated and surrendered to the Xiongnu. Li Guangli's troops were defeated and surrendered, and the donkey followed him to become a trophy of the Xiongnu.
Emperor Wudi of Han ascended the throne in 141 BC and died in 87 BC, reigning for more than 50 years and suffering frequent wars. In his later years, he had a new understanding of war, and he once wanted to stop a war, so he issued an edict, which had the following language: "Jiuquan donkeys and camels bear food, go out to meet the army."
In the military activities launched by Emperor Wudi of Han, donkeys participated in expeditions, participated in the transportation of supplies, and participated in the return of class teachers to the dynasty, indicating that donkeys are no longer dispensable in the military, transportation, and transportation fields, and they must have their unique role, and their role cannot be replaced by horses and cattle.
Some people have written that donkeys were scarce during the Han Dynasty, and from this point of view, this statement is not valid.
There is a clear record in the "Legend of the Xiongnu" in the Book of Han, saying that the Xiongnu were rich in horses, cattle, and sheep, followed by camels, donkeys, mules, and so on. The "Legend of the Western Regions" of the Book of Han also clearly records that the people of the Shanshan Kingdom and Wuqiang migrated their livestock with water and grass, and wherever the water and grass were abundant, there were a large number of donkeys, horses, and camels. In order to achieve military victory, it was necessary to mobilize all forces to participate in the war, so the BMW produced by the Xiongnu and the countries of the Western Regions, as well as other livestock including donkeys, became important war resources. These abundant resources made the Han dynasty salivate, making them often the trophies of the Han army and coming to the Central Plains.
In 74 BC, Emperor Xuan of Han ascended the throne, and soon sent a large army out of Xihe, Zhangye, out of the clouds, out of Jiuquan, out of Wuyuan, and the five routes of the army began to advance together, showing the incomparable power of the Celestial Empire. Hanshu. According to the Legend of the Xiongnu, the captain Chang Hui and Wusun joined forces and marched to Liting in Yougu, capturing more than 39,000 people and obtaining more than 700,000 horses, cattle, sheep, donkeys, mules, and camels. Chang Hui made great merit and was given the title of Marquis of Changluo. The five-way army besieged and suppressed the Xiongnu, and the Xiongnu were severely damaged, and the history states: "The Xiongnu people died and wounded, and the livestock products moved away and died innumerably, so the Xiongnu decayed." Here, in addition to becoming the trophies of others, donkeys will of course have their undead in the midst of "innumerable deaths of animal animals."
In the Han Dynasty, donkeys were not only widely used in military warfare, but also played an important role in foreign exchanges. During the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, in order to please the Han Celestial Dynasty and seek profits, the State of Yubin sent envoys to communicate with the Han Dynasty. When Emperor Hancheng arrived, the king of the Popin Kingdom sent envoys to repair it, and many merchants and magnates from the Popbing Kingdom came to do business in the Celestial Empire. Emperor Chengdi of Han wanted to send people to declare his national prestige and show friendship, but Du Qin wrote a letter of advice, repeatedly emphasizing that the road was long and the road was rugged and dangerous, even if "donkeys and animals bear food", the envoys and retinues sent to it would eventually starve in the valley, beggars begging for nothing, and it was difficult to survive; Moreover, the country of Popin is capricious, and the purpose of their envoy this time is to ask for rewards and make profits, so it is better not to associate with them. The imperial court felt that this was the case, so it adopted Du Qin's opinion.
Although he did not reconcile with the envoys of the Yubin state, it can be seen from this text in the Western Regions of the Book of Han that the difficulty of the mountain road between the Han and the Popin is difficult to go to the green sky, and on that rugged and steep mountain road full of difficulties and dangers, only a donkey that bears the burden can be worthy of this heavy task; Therefore, the special image of the donkey reads with a special taste.
The article in the magazine "Knowledge of Literature and History" believes that during the Han Dynasty, donkeys only appeared in China, and judging from the examples cited above, it is untenable, if this theory is true, how can donkeys make immortal merits in Emperor Wudi of Han?