Yanmen Pass is an extremely important Xiongguan fortress in China's ancient history, with an important strategic position, known as "the three sides of the rush to match the ground, the nine sai respect the first pass". In the Eight Parts of the Heavenly Dragon, Xiao Feng prevented the Khitan Liao Emperor Yelü Hongji from invading the Great Song Dynasty, and the place where he committed suicide was at Yanmen Pass.
Yanmen Pass is located on the Beiju (Gou) Zhu Mountain in Dai County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province, about 20 kilometers from the county seat of Dai County. Jujutsu Mountain belongs to the Hengshan Mountains, also known as The Mountains of Yanling and Yanmen. The Hengshan Mountains stretch across the northern part of Shanxi, separating the Datong Basin from the Xinding Basin, and in the mountains near Yanmen Pass, there is a north-south passage connecting inside and outside, and Yanmen Pass guards the most dangerous point of the passage.
Why is it called Yanmen Gate? The term "Yanmen" originated from Yanmen Mountain. The original Yanmen Mountain was not Yanmen Mountain (Jurchen Mountain) in present-day Dai County, Shanxi, but was located north of Yanggao County in Datong City, where geese flew south in winter and back in spring, and the mountain was named after the geese. The Classic of Mountains and Seas records: "Yanmen Mountain, geese out of it." In Takayanagi Kita. Takayanagi in Daibei. "Takayanagi is now Yanggao County, Datong City, which was a substitute land during the Warring States period.
In the northeast of present-day Yanggao County, there is a mountain called Yunmen Mountain with an altitude of 2116 meters, and in its western section, there are two peaks sandwiched between one yu, and the mountain is steep. According to the description of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Yunmen Mountain is very similar to the original Yanmen Mountain described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. After King Wuling of Zhao defeated Lin Hu and the Xiongnu, he set up Yunzhong County, Jiuyuan County, and Yanmen County, of which the name Yanmen County was derived from Yanmen Mountain. After Qin destroyed the Zhao state, Qin Shi Huang set up Dai Commandery here, and the seat of government was in Gaoliu.
After the unification of the Six Kingdoms by the Qin Dynasty, Yanmen Commandery (雁門郡) was established at Shanwu (present-day southern Youyu County, Shanxi), and its jurisdiction was equivalent to the northern part of present-day Ningwu in the old prefecture of Shanxi, the southern part of Shuoping, and the northern part of eastern Datong. In later dynasties, the county administration of Yanmen County changed a lot, and the county administration of the Later Han Dynasty was moved to Yinguan (northwest of present-day Dai County, Shanxi), the county rule of the Three Kingdoms Of Wei was moved to Guangwu (present-day county west fifteen miles), and later Wei was moved to Gushangguan City (present-day Dai County).
The area around Yanmen Pass was the forefront of the struggle between the ancient Central Plains and nomadic forces, the location is very important, as the most important pass in Yanmen County, it is perfectly normal to name it Yanmen Pass, and even The Jurchen Mountain has been renamed Yanmen Mountain. When Emperor Xiaowen of northern Wei moved the capital to Luoyang, crown prince Yuangong stayed behind in the old capital Pingcheng (Datong, Shanxi), blocked the traffic between the north and south of the mountain because of his opposition to Emperor Xiaowen's sinicization policy, and sent troops to guard the town and resist the court, which was the earliest appearance of Yanmen Pass in the history books.
The most powerful enemy of the ancient Central Plains Dynasty was the nomadic forces in the north, and the location of the Yanmen Pass was dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it was necessary to guard the throat of the Central Plains to the north of Saibei and the place where soldiers and families had to fight. Looking at the Wild Goose Gate in the distance, the mountain is unattainable. Birds fly low, people in the white clouds. The ancients said that Yanmen Pass "strengthens the guard of the same domain outside, the lock key of Taiyuan is fixed internally, the root reaches the three passes, and the throat is all Jin", if the Yanmen Gate is lost, then Xin Ding and Taiyuan have no danger to defend, and the three Jins are not guaranteed, and they can go south to advance into the Central Plains. It can be seen that the Wild Goose Gate Is both dangerous and important.
In history, there have been thousands of battles at Yanmen Pass, and the frequency is very rare, which shows the importance of its location. During the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, the famous General Li Mu of the State of Zhao "lived in The Yanmen Dynasty" to fight against the Xiongnu; in the early Western Han Dynasty, Han Wangxin rebelled and colluded with the Xiongnu to take Taiyuan, and Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, personally marched and pursued him to the outside of Yanmen Pass, trapped in Baideng Mountain, the famous Siege of Baideng. The Western Han General Li Guang also served as the Taishou of Yanmen County, and Wei Qing and Huo went ill to attack the Xiongnu and also regarded Yanmen County as a bridgehead for the northward advance.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, due to the loss of Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, the Yanmen line was the border, and the Song and Liao sides did not fight less in the area around Yanmen Pass, and the story of the Yang family guarding the three passes was well known. In 980, Yang Ye broke the Liao army outside Yanmen Pass and killed the Liao army. During the Northern Expedition of the Northern Song Dynasty, Yang Yebing, the deputy general of the Western Route Army, went out of Yanmen Pass, but unfortunately suffered from the defeat of the Eastern Route Army and died in battle at Chenjiagukou near Yanmen Pass.
Yanmen Pass has two passes, four passes and eighteen passes, and the site of the pass has been constantly changing in history. Before the Ming Dynasty, the Old Yanmen Gate was closed at Xixing Pass. During the Ming Dynasty, the northern frontier was often disturbed by Tatar raids, so nine important towns were set up, of which Datong Town and Shanxi Town were in northern Jin, shouldering the heavy responsibility of defending the Central Plains. The Ming Dynasty built a new Yanmen Pass at dongxing pass, with the north entrance being Guangwukou and the south mouth being the south entrance. In addition, the Great Wall was built to connect the passes and passes, and together they formed a strong defense line against the nomadic forces moving south.