In July 2017, the blazing sun was scorching the earth with impunity.
At a cliff in the Hangai Mountains in Mongolia's Gobi province, a group of Chinese are busy despite the scorching sun.
They kept climbing up and down the cliff stones, studying them repeatedly, carefully rubbing them, and at the same time writing some strange strokes on the ground.
Suddenly, the group of people couldn't hold back their excitement, cheered excitedly, and even burst into tears of excitement one by one.
What is it about them that makes them so excited?
Could it be that some rare treasure has been discovered?
That's right, it's this precious stone carving that the Chinese have been searching for for more than 1,000 years.
What kind of treasure was found?
Back in 1990, two herders from Mongolia's Central Gobi Province went out to graze their cattle as usual.
However, the sky was unpredictable, and the originally clear sky was covered with dark clouds in the blink of an eye, followed by a downpour.
They hurriedly ran to a cliff located in the south of Hangai Mountain to hide from the rain.
When the rain stopped, the sun shone through the clouds on the cliff wall, and they inadvertently looked up and were surprised to find that something seemed to be carved on the cliff.
It's a pity that the distance is too high to see really.
The two herders were so surprised that they returned home and reported the situation to the Mongolian government.
Soon, Mongolian archaeologists arrived at the site and examined the stone carvings.
Because of the age, wind and sun, local experts and scholars can only vaguely identify it as Chinese characters after several explorations, but they have not been able to successfully interpret it.
How could Chinese characters appear in this remote place?
Because it was not a special archaeological find, the matter was put on hold for the time being.
It wasn't until 2014 that a Mongolian archaeologist reported the situation to Professor Qimud Dorji of Inner Mongolia University in China.
After visiting the site, Professor Qimuddorji vaguely recognized that it was indeed an ancient Chinese Han Lishu, but due to the location in a foreign country, he could not study the specific text content of the stone inscriptions in more depth.
He instructed Mongolian archaeologists to ensure that it is properly protected for subsequent research work.
After he returned, this matter has been weighing heavily on his heart.
It was not until 2017 that a joint expedition team of Chinese and Mongolian experts came to this cliff again to conduct a more comprehensive and in-depth investigation and study of the stone carvings.
The cliff carving is 130 centimeters wide and 94 centimeters high, and rises more than 4 meters above the ground.
After some meticulous rubbing and restoration work, the expedition team successfully interpreted more than 220 of the more than 260 Chinese characters in the cliff carvings.
After repeated arguments and confirmations, it is surprising that this cliff stone carving is actually the "Feng Yanran Mountain Inscription" created by Ban Gu in the first year of Yongyuan in the Eastern Han Dynasty of China.
You must know that although the discovery of the stone carving of "Feng Yanran Mountain Inscription" has been recorded many times in history,
However, due to the fact that there was no concept of latitude and longitude in ancient times, the original Yanran Mountain was also a large mountain range.
Therefore, no one knows where the specific location of the stone carvings of "Yanran Mountain Inscription" is.
Only its text has been recorded in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty and has been handed down.
After a thousand years, this magnificent masterpiece is finally presented in front of our eyes.
What exactly does "Yanran Mountain Ming" record?
This has to start with the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The Dou clan is in power, and he will be retribution
In the second year of Zhanghe of the Eastern Han Dynasty (88 AD), Emperor Liu Zhengxu of the Han Dynasty died, and Liu Zhao, the 10-year-old Emperor of Hanhe, ascended to the throne.
Because the Han and Emperor were still young, the Empress Dowager Dou came to the court as regent.
After Empress Dowager Dou took charge of the government, she vigorously supported and appointed her relatives to important official positions.
Her elder brother Dou Xian was promoted to the rank of servant, and her younger brother Dou Du was appointed as the general of the Tiger Ben Zhonglang.
The other sons and nephews all hold important positions.
The Dou clan stepped into the core of power in the Eastern Han Dynasty in an instant, and then controlled the center of the country.
As early as when Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty was alive, Dou Xian relied on the power of his sister to be the empress, acting recklessly and domineeringly.
From the prince to the common people, there is not a single one who is not afraid of him.
According to historical records, Dou Xian fell in love with the manor of Princess Qinshui, the sister of Emperor Han Zhang, and forcibly bought it at a low price.
This manor was originally given by the first emperor, but the princess did not dare to deal with it for fear of his retribution.
It wasn't until later that Emperor Zhang of Han learned of this and scolded him severely, and Empress Dou even took off her queen's dress to intercede for her.
For the sake of the empress's affection, Emperor Zhang of Han did not dispose of Dou Xian in accordance with the law, but only ordered him to return the manor to the princess, but did not arrange important positions for him for a long time after that.
Dou Xian has only relented a lot since then.
Now that the Empress Dowager Dou is in the regent of the dynasty, Dou Xian, as a representative of the forces of his relatives, has the power to lean towards the government and the opposition, and he is even more fearless.
The emperor was young, and the Han family at this time was not so much the surname Liu, but the surname Dou.
Protocol officer Han Wei had impeached and tried the case of Dou Xian's father Dou Xun in his early years.
Out of revenge, Dou Xian actually killed Han Xuan's son and sacrificed his father with his head.
When Liu Chang, the son of King Qi Yan, came to Beijing to mourn Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Dou summoned him many times and gave him a position.
Dou Xian was afraid that Liu Chang and Empress Dowager Dou had an improper relationship between men and women, which would threaten his status.
sent someone to kill Liu Chang in the palace and blamed Liu Chang's younger brother.
The various acts of killing the royal family sparked discussions among the ministers, and under the trial of the three guilds, the truth was revealed.
When Empress Dowager Dou learned about it, she was furious and decided to punish Dou Xian.
Dou Xian knew that he had caused a big disaster this time, so he thought about it and wrote to the Empress Dowager Dou asking to lead an army to attack the Xiongnu to atone for his crimes.
At that time, the Xiongnu clan showed a trend of differentiation between the north and the south, and the southern Xiongnu chose to belong and accepted the canonization given by the emperor of the Han Dynasty.
The Northern Xiongnu had been invading the Han border.
At this time, the Southern Xiongnu asked the Han Dynasty to assist him in attacking the Northern Xiongnu.
Although there was a war and uncertainty in the imperial court at that time.
However, the Empress Dowager Dou overrode public opinion and sent Dou Xian as the general of the Eastern Cavalry, and made meritorious contributions to the Northern Xiongnu.
Dai sin went out on an expedition and defeated the Huns
In 89 AD, Dou Xian led a mighty army to conquer the Xiongnu and officially embarked on the expedition against the Xiongnu.
Unexpectedly, his outstanding military talent was vividly demonstrated in the Northern Expedition against the Huns.
Dou Xian and Geng Bing respectively commanded 4,000 cavalry, and at the same time went out with more than 10,000 cavalry of the Southern Xiongnu.
They fought fiercely with the Xiongnu in Jiluo Mountain, and finally defeated the Xiongnu.
More than 13,000 people were killed, and countless livestock were captured.
Dou Xian did not stop there, but pursued the victory, all the way deep into the hinterland of the Xiongnu, until he reached the private canal Bibi Sea (in the area of present-day Ubusu Lake in Mongolia).
这场战役，东汉大获全胜，共斩杀匈奴大军一万多人，投降的匈奴人数多达二十余万人。
This Northern Expedition is comparable to Huo Quai's illness in 121 BC, Wei Qing's great defeat of the Xiongnu in Mobei, and the triumphant return of the wolf Juxu Mountain.
Dou Xian and Geng Bing climbed Yanran Mountain to remember this great victory.
Ban Gu, who was ordered to serve as the middle protector of the army, wrote the article "Feng Yanran Mountain Inscription", and carved stones here to remember his merits.
Praise the Han army for 3,000 miles out of Seda, rushing to attack the Northern Xiongnu, defeating the enemy, and killing the enemy's generals.
燕然山的这一战役在历史上声名远扬，是东汉对匈奴作战以来前所未有的大胜。
After this battle, the Northern Xiongnu withdrew from the Mobei Plateau and fled to the west, becoming the "whip of God" feared by Europeans.
It can be said that Dou Xian's combat operations against the Northern Xiongnu were of great significance to the history of the continent and indirectly promoted the course of European history.
However, after Dou Xian successfully pacified the Xiongnu, he became more and more arrogant and arrogant.
This eventually sparked strong dissatisfaction among the Han and Emperor He.
In the end, Dou Xian ended up with a tragic ending of being forced to commit suicide in desperation.
This is also why although he has made great military achievements, he is generally regarded in history as the culprit of the dictatorship of the Eastern Han Dynasty's foreign relatives and has been criticized.
Due to his poor reputation, he failed to leave a name in history like Huo Quzhi and Wei Qing.
The merits are considerable, sad and lamentable!
Reference: Global Network A cliff stone carving in Mongolia is confirmed as "Feng Yanran Mountain Inscription"
Baidu Encyclopedia: Feng Yanran Shanming