In the Qin Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, a huge project through Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and other places came into being. This is the famous Qin Zhidao. Although it is far away, its mystery has not yet been fully solved. What kind of "black technology" is hidden in this seemingly ordinary road, and how does it still maintain its mysterious appearance today, 2,000 years later? Let's find out.
1. The origin of Qin Zhidao
The red, orange and yellow sunset is sprinkled all over the land of Guanzhong. Spring goes to autumn, and the loess flies. In this ancient and rich land, a young king stood, gazing at the rolling yellow sand and mountains on the border of the Northlands. He is the first emperor who shocked the world.
At that time, the Huns were nomadic in Mobei, sometimes brave and good at fighting, and went south to plunder the Central Plains. Since the unification of the Six Kingdoms, the Qin Dynasty has been repeatedly attacked and harassed by them, but it has always been able to defeat them. But the wise Qin Shi Huang knew that this was only a stopgap measure. In order to completely get rid of the threat from the north, it is necessary to solve this thorny problem at its roots.
In that year, the First Emperor convened his ministers in the army to discuss the strategy of defending the Xiongnu. At that time, Meng Tian, a famous military strategist and born in a famous aristocratic family, played: "Your Majesty is wise, my Qin has strong national strength, if you can build a direct military artery, you can quickly dispatch the army, make a defense or take the initiative to attack." This main road starts from Shaanzhou in Guanzhong, and leads to the heart of the Huns, and once it is completed, it will become the 'sharp arrow' of our army!"
The First Emperor pondered for a moment and nodded his head. Then he issued an edict and ordered Meng Tian and the young and promising son Fusu to supervise this important task. In that year, Meng Tian commanded 600,000 men and began this huge project. And this is the origin of the unparalleled Qin Zhidao.
2. The Mystery of Construction
The construction project of Qin Straight Road is huge, from design to construction, all of which embody the crystallization of the wisdom of craftsmen.
First of all, the starting point of the Qin Straight Road is located in Xianyang, present-day Shaanxi, with a total length of more than 700 li, reaching the land of the Nine Plains of Inner Mongolia. Everywhere you go, mountains, rivers, hills, deserts, and Gobi are all-encompassing. In the steep places of the mountain, workers often need to dig tunnels; When a river is blocked, a strong bridge must be erected; Even in some flat areas, a straight trench had to be dug by hand to fill in the soil and tamp it.
What's even more remarkable is that the pavement of Qinzhidao adopts a unique "anti-weed" process. At that time, workers first set up cauldrons on both sides of the road, mixing local saline-alkali soil with ordinary loess and stir-frying to form a special rammed earth. When it is almost optimal, it uses heavy objects to fall freely in the air, and rams the road again and again to make it extremely hard.
Although this kind of "special rammed earth" seems ordinary, it contains the unique wisdom of the ancients. At that time, they found that ordinary loess was too soft to prevent weeds from growing; Although pure saline-alkali soil can stop weeds, it is too hard to be conducive to road construction. Only by properly mixing the two can we develop a "weed-proof" pavement that is both hard and can resist grass.
In particular, it is worth mentioning that some of the rocky and bare mountains through which the straight road passes, and the workers have worked hard. Since the roadbed could not be paved with rammed earth, they carved a wide roadbed directly into the rock, and erected signposts on both sides to facilitate the passage of military horses. The remains of these axes and chisels are still clearly visible today, and they vividly reproduce the majestic engineering scene of 2,000 years ago.
3. Thousands of years of miraculous preservation
Since the day of construction, Qin Zhidao has gone through vicissitudes of life and stood tall for thousands of years. It is truly breathtaking that this once glorious and magnificent military artery has been able to maintain its original appearance over a long period of time.
In that year, after the Qin Straight Road was completed and opened to traffic, the 600,000 troops under the command of Meng Qi marched mightily, rumbling in military uniforms and neighing horns. Subsequently, there were thousands of years of continuous carriages and horses. But who would have expected that it was these continuous "destructions" that made the surface of Qin Straight Road more and more solid?
It turns out that when heavy vehicles and horses toss and turn, stepping on the road again and again, the special rammed earth will be further compacted under the severe compression. Coupled with the wind and sun of the long years, it has become more and more hard. When the grass seeds fall on the road, the root system cannot penetrate the hard steel roadbed, and it is naturally difficult to take root and sprout on it.
What's even more amazing is that most of the Qinzhi Road is located on the dry Loess Plateau, which lacks moisture for many years, but has become an important reason for preservation. At first glance, the land is boring, but it is the lack of water and the lack of rain throughout the year that can effectively prevent the growth of weeds.
In later generations, with the change of the strategic pattern, Chidao gradually became abandoned. The track is inaccessible, and only the wind and sand are raging. Nature slowly covered the road with a layer of loess, as if it had been tightly covered with a thin quilt. This layer of soil has since isolated the outside world from the invasion of the road, and in vain Qin Zhidao has quietly slept under the boundless loess.
In this way, for 2,000 years, this "anti-grass trap" has always been unexpected. And when it was excavated again, it was even more amazing to future generations: a road that is more than 2,000 years old has been guarded so intact for generations, which is really a miracle!
Fourth, new discoveries in modern science and technology
Time makes people grow old, and everything is endless. When the Qin Straight Road was gradually forgotten by the world, the continuous progress of modern science and technology brought new vitality to this ancient road.
It was not until the 70s of the 20th century that Qin Zhidao was rediscovered by archaeologists. At that time, experts used aerial remote sensing technology to identify a vague path looming between the desert Gobi. After many investigations and researches, it was determined that it was a rare Qinzhidao monument in the world.
Subsequently, the archaeological team began a carpet exploration that lasted for several years. They use state-of-the-art infrared detection technology to detect and analyze the composition of the pavement. It was found that the rammed earth did contain a large amount of salts such as nitrate and carbonate, which was highly consistent with the "saline-alkali soil" recorded in the historical records.
Not only that, scientists also used 3D laser scanning modeling to digitally reproduce the topography of the ancient road. From the model, it can be clearly seen that two thousand years ago, the Qin Straight Road was straight and rugged, majestic and magnificent, and the exquisite craftsmanship was impressive.
Especially in some mountain passes, you can see the remains of the axe chisel in the past, which have been weathered but are vaguely arguable. There are also some remnants of road monuments and stone pillars along the way, indicating the direction of traffic and horses. According to the physical relics and exploration data, scientists have successfully restored a large number of ancient appearances of Qin Zhidao.
With the help of modern technology, the golden years of 2,000 years ago seem to be reappearing right now. This "ancient road", which has been neglected for a long time, is slowly showing its unknown bright side. This is undoubtedly the greatest interpretation of the wisdom of the ancients, and it also further confirms the long history of Chinese civilization.
5. Inheritance, innovation and sustainable development
Although Qin Zhidao has witnessed the rise and fall of two thousand years, the crystallization of his wisdom has not ended there. Since the beginning of the new century, the descendants of the Qin people are working hard to inherit and innovate this valuable cultural heritage.
In order to better protect the Qinzhidao site, the local government has listed its core area as a national key cultural relics protection unit. At the same time, they hired a professional archaeological team to carry out a more systematic and in-depth exploration of the road and the surrounding area. At present, a large number of precious cultural relics have been excavated, which provides new evidence for the study of Qin culture.
At the same time, local villages are also actively exploring the cultural value of Qinzhidao. Residents along the route have made a series of handicrafts and souvenirs using their unique skills to show visitors the unique style of the ancient road. It is not difficult to find that the pendants, ornaments and other exquisite products have outlined classic elements such as axe and chisel relics, street signs and stone pillars, and the meaning is extremely profound.
What's more worth mentioning is that in some cultural and creative parks, people have even carried forward the weed-control technology of Qin Zhidao again. In the center of the park stands an exquisite "mini Qin Straight Road", as if through time and space, lifelike. I saw that the craftsmen mixed the saline-alkali mud according to the ancient method, paved the pavement, and then rammed the solid face of the road. Gradually, people can already see that this road of reinvention is gradually revealing the familiar charm of "weed-proofing".
All these show the awe and inheritance of the cultural heritage of the ancestors of the descendants of the Qin people. While cherishing the wisdom of the ancients, they also constantly rejuvenated it with new vitality and vitality. It is this kind of development concept full of vitality that can make the brilliant civilization last forever and endlessly!