In 1909, Japan explorer Tachibana Ruichao discovered the "Li Bai Document" that had been sleeping for more than 1,500 years in the gap of the adobe wall in the "Three Rooms" site of the ancient city of Loulan. This Qianliang document, which contains rich historical materials, became one of the major archaeological discoveries of the early 20th century.
The Li Bai Book is considered to be the earliest surviving paper letter in China. It not only provides extremely valuable first-hand details for the study of the politics, military and culture of the Western Regions in the pre-Liang period, but also has become an important witness in the history of the development of Chinese calligraphy with its unique style of calligraphy.
What is the story behind this document? What was the state of interaction between the various ethnic groups in the Western Regions during this period? How did the calligraphy of the document break the concept of traditional Chinese calligraphy? These questions are worthy of our in-depth exploration.
▲The ancient city of Loulan in the uninhabited area of Lop Nur, Xinjiang (Image source: Visual China)
▲ In the ancient city of Loulan, the ruins of the three rooms of the "Li Bai Document" (in the picture) and the ruins of the pagoda in the distance were found. (Image source: Xinhuanet)
1700 years ago disobedience
In the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty, the outbreak of the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" led to serious economic and social damage and the decline of dynastic power. In 316, the Western Jin Dynasty fell. The following year, the imperial family Sima Rui established the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and set up the capital in Jiankang (present-day Nanjing). In order to escape the war, many northern warriors crossed south one after another.
At this time, Li Bai, the chief of the Western Regions of the Western Jin Dynasty, who was stationed in Loulan in the Western Regions, joined the Qianliang regime and continued to serve as the chief of the Western Regions.
▲Qianliang during the Sixteen Kingdoms period (Image source: Tan Qixiang's "Historical Atlas of China")
During this period, wars were still raging in various places, and some forces took the opportunity to divide their territory. Zhao Zhen, the captain of Wuji stationed in Gaochang, appointed himself as the Taishou of Gaochang County, intending to cut off the Xiong. After learning of this situation, Li Bai immediately reported to Zhang Jun, the king of Qianliang, and asked for troops to be sent to quell the rebellion. In order to avoid being attacked on his back, he also needs to enlist the support of Yanqi, an important town in the Western Regions.
These two drafts of the letter were written by Li Bai to the Yanqi king Longxi around 328. These two documents are now in the library of Ryukoku University in Kyoto, numbered 538A and 538B. The following is the contents of Letter No. 538B:
"On May 7, Hou Li Berton, the chief historian of the Western Regions of Haitou (Guannei), was the first to make his head. Don't □□ Heng don't go to the heart, today the Taiwan envoy came to the west, the second day of the month to this (Haitou), unknown Wang news, want to be safe in the country, the king envoy replied to Luo, from the north and Yan Counselor to go, think it is to also. Today, I sent Fu Da to inform each other of the news, but I didn't know what to do. Lieberton was the first to snort. ”
▲A photocopy of the "Li Bai Document" numbered 538B, 23 cm long and 27 cm wide, is now in the library of Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. (Photo source: Ruoqiang County People's Government website)
In the letter, Li Bai expressed his greetings and concern for the safety of the country to the king of Yanqi. He returned to Loulan on 2 May, speculating that Counselor Yan, an official of Liangzhou, and the envoy of the king of Yanqi, who had previously made a detour to Yanqi in the north, should have arrived. Therefore, Li Bai specially wrote this letter, sent a messenger to comfort him, and delivered the news. Forced by the situation, Li Bai was anxious to understand the dynamics of the Northern Captives and Yanqi before attacking Zhao Zhen, in order to obtain the necessary support.
According to scholars' analysis, because the document involved highly classified military affairs, although its main purpose was to ask Yanqi Wang Longxi not to collude with Zhao Zhen and support the counterinsurgency, the letter did not directly mention Zhao Zhen's name. From the smearing marks on the letter, it can be seen that Li Bai repeatedly deliberated the wording and revised the draft several times. The two extant drafts of the letter may have been drafts prepared by Li Bai before he formally wrote the letter. The discovery of the document not only proves that at least 328 years ago, the ancient city of Loulan was still stationed with heavy troops, but also that Li Bai was a man of insight loyal to the great cause of national unification.
The history of ethnic integration behind the document
The discovery of the Li Bai Document was a major breakthrough in the archaeology of the Western Regions in the early 20th century, and it is of great significance to the study of the political, military, cultural and ethnic relations of the ancient Western Regions. This document is not only an empirical evidence of the Han regime (Qianliang) passing through the Western Regions, but also a vivid portrayal of the exchanges and blending of ethnic groups between the Central Plains and the Western Regions during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Qianliang, as a regime established by the Han people in Liangzhou during the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was gradually developed by Zhang Liang in the first year of Yongning (301) after being appointed by the Western Jin Dynasty as the Liangzhou Assassin Shi. When the Central Plains experienced the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" and the division of the heroes, Zhang Liang and his descendants worked hard in Liangzhou to implement a series of effective policies, promote the development of agricultural production and education, strengthen military equipment, and ensure social stability. This "happy land" in this troubled era attracted a large number of scholars and people from the Central Plains to take refuge, so that Hexi preserved and inherited a line of Wei and Jin culture.
▲ Mural bricks in the Wei and Jin dynasties, from top to bottom are cultivation drawings, banquet drawings and barbecue and boiled meat drawings. (Image source: Gansu Provincial Museum official website)
With the prosperity of the economy and culture of Qianliang, the countries of the Western Regions began to pay tribute to Qianliang, such as the golden bottle offered by Xihu recorded in the "Qianliang Lu" cited in the "Taiping Yulan", showing the close connection between the Western Regions and Qianliang at that time. ("When Zhang rail, Xihu to the golden beard bottle, all of them are made of whisks, strange, and people are high, two. ”）
After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, Zhang Liang's son Zhang Yu proclaimed himself King of Liang in 317, and in the period of Zhang Jun, the former Liang was at its peak, and the governance of the Western Regions also reached a new height.
"Book of Jin" contains: "At the beginning, Zhao Zhen, the captain of Wuji, was not attached to the Jun, and the Jun captured it, and its land was Gaochang County. After Zhang Jun sent troops to defeat Zhao Zhen, he established Gaochang County in Gaochang (present-day Turpan Prefecture, Xinjiang), where Wuji Captain was stationed, in 327. This is the first time that the county system of the Central Plains has been implemented in the Western Regions, and it is of far-reaching significance. The discovery of the "Li Bai Document" is the empirical evidence of the former Liang Pingding Gaochang and the strategy of the Western Regions, and also confirms the implementation of the county system in the Western Regions.
▲The ancient city of Gaochang in Turpan, Xinjiang, has gone through the Gaochangbi of the Western Han Dynasty, Gaochang County, Gaochang Kingdom, Xizhou of the Tang Dynasty and Gaochang Uighurs, with a time span of about 1400 years. (Image source: Visual China)
After Qianliang, Houliang, Xiliang, Beiliang and other regimes also successively set up counties in Gaochang. Especially after the demise of Xiliang and Beiliang, many people in Hexi took Gaochang as a place of refuge. The Zhang, Song, Suo, Xiahou and other Han clans in Dunhuang migrated here, making Gaochang gradually develop into a multi-ethnic staggered settlement. With the increasing population, agricultural production, economy and culture in Gaochang area are becoming increasingly prosperous, and the phenomenon of inter-ethnic marriage has increased significantly.
Cultural exchanges between Gaochang and the Central Plains became increasingly frequent, and they were deeply influenced by the Confucian culture of the Central Plains. "Northern History" volume 97 "Gaochang Biography" contains: "(Gaochang) writing is also the same as Huaxia, and Hu Shu is also used. There are "Mao's Poems", "Analects" and "Filial Piety", and they are taught by scholars. ”
The artistic value of the clerical style
The original manuscript was written on linen paper, and two extant documents are 23 centimeters long and 27 centimeters and 39 centimeters wide. The calligraphy style of this document is unique, and the strokes not only have the brushwork of Lishu, but also reveal the popular style of calligraphy in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Such a unique style of calligraphy provides valuable material for the study of the development history of Chinese calligraphy, especially Xingshu, and has high academic reference value.
The glyphs in the documents are of different sizes, lengths, and obviously have the legacy of official scripts, such as "five", "heart", "strict" and other words. The fourth line "Unknown...", the line is smooth, and it has revealed the popular cursive calligraphy style in the north during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The style of writing is unique and natural, integrating the dignified style of official writing, the smoothness of writing and the free and easy cursive writing, and the overall style is close to Wang Xizhi's early book "Aunt's Post", which is between the style of the book.
▲ The comparison between "Li Bai's Papers" (left) and Wang Xizhi's "Aunt's Post" (right). In Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, "Aunt's Post" belongs to the "transitional" calligraphy style, which is of great value for the study of the development and evolution of calligraphy in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. (Source of the picture on the right: Calligraphy Space Network)
The Li Bai Script unearthed in Loulan confirms the multiple origins of Chinese calligraphy with its classic paradigm of "Tixue", challenges the theory of "South Tixue and Northern Stele" in the historiography of traditional Chinese calligraphy, and proves that Northwest China is one of the important birthplaces of Chinese calligraphy.
Li Bai lived in the Eastern Jin Dynasty during the Xianhe and Yonghe periods, and was roughly the same time as Wang Xizhi, the "sage of books". The Li Bai Essay is similar in age to the Preface to the Lanting Collection created by Wang Xizhi in the ninth year of Yonghe (353), which provides extremely important information for the study of the evolution of Chinese calligraphy. The excavation of the Li Bai Document is of great value for a correct understanding of the development of Chinese calligraphy art.
In addition, the Li Bai Document is the earliest paper letter found in mainland China, which provides key material evidence for the study of the change of writing medium. At the same time, it is also the only document relics and celebrity codex of important people in Qianliang that can be confirmed by historical books, which has precious historical and documentary value.
As an important historical document spanning thousands of years, the Li Bai Document not only witnesses the changes of an era, but also carries rich cultural connotations. It provides future generations with valuable materials for the study of the political, military, cultural and calligraphy art of the ancient Western Regions, allowing us to get a glimpse of the social style and humanistic spirit of that era. At the same time, it has also witnessed the history of exchanges and integration of various ethnic groups in the Western Regions, and profoundly embodies the inclusiveness and unity of Chinese civilization.
About author:Yang Chao is a librarian at the National Museum of China