An important checkpoint on the ancient Silk Road
Yang Biao
Hanging springs
Hanging Spring Site
Letters excavated from the site of the Hanging Spring
The Yangshuo Second Year Chuanche Public Opinion Book excavated from the Hanging Spring Site
Start with a drop of water, start with Dunhuang behind a drop of water.
The site of the Hanging Spring is located in the Gobi Desert 1.5 kilometers south of the Tianshuijing Road Ban of Dunhuang Antun Highway, south of the Three Dangers Mountain Yumai Flame Mountain, north of Xishawo, 56 kilometers to Guazhou in the east, and 64 kilometers to Dunhuang in the west.
The "Chronicle of Foreign Objects of Western Liang" says: "Li Guangli, the general of the Han Dynasty Division, returned to this mountain, the soldiers were thirsty, Guang Nai tuoshan, swore to the heavens, stabbed the mountain with a sword, and the flying spring gushed out, and the three armies of The Three Armies were enough, and the few people were not surplus, and the cliffs were out of the cliffs, so it was called the hanging spring." ”
The name "Hanging Spring" vividly reflects its water out of the rock and the runoff is weak.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made Li Guangli a "General of the Second Division" and led an army to attack the city of the Second Division of the Great WanGuo to take sweat and blood horses. Unable to attack for a long time, Emperor Wu of Han was furious and sent more elite troops to besiege Dawan City for more than 40 days, and the nobles of Dawan finally beheaded the king and surrendered, sacrificing more than 3,000 sweat and blood horses.
After Li Guangli won the victory, when the banshi returned to Beijing, when they traveled through Dunhuang to this mountain, the people and horses were tired and had no water to drink. On the cliff facing you, at some point, someone wrote three big words: "Dripping Stone". Li Guangli raised his sword and fought hard against the "dripping stone", and then the second sword and the third sword, only to see the mountain crack open, a stream of spring water gushing out from the stone crack, and the three soldiers and horses competed to drink bitterly. Because the water flows down from a high place and hangs into the pool, it is called a hanging spring.
In order to commemorate the general of the Second Division who "thorns the stone into the spring", the spring is called "Second Division Spring", and a temple was built next to the spring, known as the "Second Division Temple", and a post station was set up here for the passing troops, merchants and pedestrians to rest. With the decline of the Silk Road, the Temple of the Second Master and the post station collapsed into ruins, but the clear springs were still there, never exhausted, and the legends and stories have been circulating in the folk.
Hanging spring placed in the Western Han Dynasty name "Dunhuang County Gonggu Hanging Spring Place", "place" is the station, the name is still in use in the Tang Dynasty, after the Song Dynasty gradually abandoned, no one knows its name. Later, it was called "hanging water" and "second master spring" by the locals. Legend has it that this spring has a spirit, "When there are few people, there is less water, and when there are more people, there is more water." ”
The Book of Han and Geography records that "Dunhuang County, households ten thousand twelve hundred ... County 6: Dunhuang, Dian'an, Xiaogu, Yuanquan, Guangzhi, Longle. ”
According to Han Jian records, Hanging Springs was a postal post office under the jurisdiction of Xiaogu County. At that time, there were nine stables in Dunhuang County, and the Hanging Spring Was one of them. The site of The Hanging Spring was first discovered in 1987 and officially excavated in 1990, the site of the Hanging Spring is rich in connotation, the lower level is a Han Dynasty building, and the northwest corner of the site is superimposed with the ruins of the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
The ruins of the Hanging Spring are a small square castle, the gate faces the east, surrounded by a tall courtyard wall, the side length is 50 meters, and the southwest corner is set up with a protruding dock, the dock wall is made of adobe barriers, and there are adobe wall bungalows and office buildings and stables of different periods.
As a comprehensive organization on the main road of the Hexi Corridor, it integrates the delivery of mail, the transmission of orders, and the reception of guests. In previous archaeological discoveries, no similar site has ever appeared.
In ancient times, "postal" institutions specialized in the transmission of official documents, and the horses and carts that delivered documents were called "stagecoaches". In ancient times, various periods had different names for postal stations, such as "postal" during the qin shi huang, "yi" in the Han Dynasty, and "express delivery shop" in the Song Dynasty. It is now customary to refer to the ancient Chinese postal service as a postal post.
The Book of the Later Han Dynasty records that the costume of the Han Dynasty envoys was "red drapery", that is, wearing a red scarf on the head, wearing a big red sleeved tunic, carrying a red and white letter bag, running on the road. The Han Dynasty transmitted urgent mail, 400 miles a day, the Song Dynasty Emperor's golden sign urgent mail, 500 miles a day, and the Qing Dynasty emergency document delivery time increased to 800 miles a day and night. The Hanging Spring Place lasted for nearly 400 years from the Western Han Dynasty, the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the British-Hungarian Stein excavated a large number of Han Jian from the ancient Great Wall Beacon site in the Yumenguan area, and then Dunhuang, Wuwei and other northwestern places successively unearthed a large number of Jian Mu. A large number of Han Jian excavated from the Hangquan site provide a wealth of first-hand written materials for the study and understanding of the Postal System of the Han Dynasty. At the same time, there was also a clear understanding of the functions, institutional settings, management systems and personnel composition of postal and station facilities in the two Han Dynasties.
The Hanging Spring HanJian includes postal collections, postal letters, letters, etc., among which there are many documents named "Hanging Springs", a considerable part of which are called "Hanging Springs placed in pavilions", and there are records of hanging springs and horses and various use of carriages, horses, and reception of various figures in the past.
There are a large number of relevant records of emissaries from countries in the Western Regions passing through The Hanging Springs in hanjian, involving Loulan, Zhimu, Xiaowan, Jingjie, Mi, Qule, Khotan, Puli, Pishan, Dawan, Shache, Shule, Wusun, Gumo, Wensu, Guizi, Luntou, Wulei, Quli, Weishu, Yanqi, Huhu, Shanguo, Cheshi and other countries, and their exchanges with the Han Dynasty government have different degrees of reflection in the Hanging Springs Hanjian.
Han Jian records that on one occasion, he received the king of Khotan, and his followers reached as many as 1600 people, and more than 300 people were used with bad cups alone. There is also a Han Jian that records that the specifications for receiving the princess of Wusunguo were also quite high, with carpets and other valuables.
Han Jian also recorded that a county order sent people to escort prisoners to Dunhuang, which was a carriage and a horse, and should live in a station such as Hanging Spring, please receive them in accordance with the law. Han Jian also indicated that the time of departure was April, and he went west.
Hanging springs are placed as a post station to receive official activity personnel, the level of officials is different, the standard of eating is different, the high level eats well, there is meat and wine and rice; generally low-level personnel can only eat, there is a little meat, but can not drink. Those who go out privately will not be accepted. Many of the excavated Han Jian also specifically recorded the investigation of a case of illegal reception according to the "documents" of the superiors.
The largest number of Han Jian in the Hanging Springs was a variety of official documents, which were extremely important for the study of the social environment and institutional laws and regulations of Dunhuang at that time. In the excavated Hanging Spring Han Jian, there are also records of local townships, pavilions, li and other grass-roots institutions, which provide valuable materials for studying the construction of counties and counties at that time, especially the grass-roots management system of the Hexi Corridor society.
The Hanging Springs witnessed the prosperity and decline of the Han and Tang Silk Roads. At that time, all the mail from Chang'an to the Western Regions and the merchants who went to the Western Regions passed through here.
The Juyan Hanjian unearthed in Ejina also has a "Yizhi Daoli Book", which records the yidi from Xi'an to Zhangye. The analysis of the two Han Jian together is more helpful in clarifying the basic route of the Silk Road from Xi'an to Dunhuang in the Han Dynasty.
In addition to the 23,000 Han Jian written in writing, Hanging Quan also excavated a large number of unwritten Han Jian, which inferred that there should have been workshops specializing in the production of blank Jane at that time, which is similar to today's paper mills. The Han Jian excavated at the Hanging Spring Is made from locally grown trees such as poplar and red willow.
During the Western Han Dynasty, horses were an important means of transportation and official property, and the equipment and management system were very strict. By its very nature, the Hanging Springs site is a postal agency, and horses are indispensable to deliver official documents, letterheads, or the lodgings of past officials.
The tomb of Wei Jin in Jiayuguan has unearthed a portrait brick of the "Yi Envoy Map" that is now used as the symbol of China's postal service: a messenger riding on a galloping horse holds up a wooden Jane Letter.
More than 2,000 pieces of horse bones excavated from the Hanging Spring site. According to the Han Jian records unearthed at the same time as the bones of these horses, the official horses at that time were divided into different grades for the use of people of different identities. Among them, the best breed is called "Pegasus". The Hanging Fountain Han Jian also recorded the management and use system of "Tianma".
The types and quantities of artifacts excavated in the Hanging Spring Site are also very large, and there are production tools and living tools and supplies, such as iron, pottery, wood, lacquerware, stoneware, boneware, silk fabrics, leather shoes, brushes, ink, paper, etc. At the same time, private seals and sealing mud for letters were also unearthed, and a large amount of hemp paper was found.
The site of The Hanging Spring preserves and records a certain process of the development of ancient Chinese civilization. Therefore, it is of great historical and humanities value.
Because the Hanging Spring is located in an important position on the Silk Road, it is undoubtedly a station that represents the pride and glory of ancient civilization.
Jade Gate Closed
Yumenguan Ruins (The pictures in this article are all data maps)
Yumen Pass was first placed when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened the Western Regions and set up the "Four Counties of Hexi", and the Great Wall between Jiuquan and Dunhuang was built, and yumen Pass was established accordingly. Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, and after the opening of the Silk Road, cultural and trade exchanges between the East and the West became increasingly prosperous. The "Book of Han and Geographical Records" records that Yumen Pass and another important pass, Pass Yang Pass, are located in Longle County, Dunhuang County, both of which are the seats of the capital Wei, which is an important place for soldiers, and at that time, the traffic between the Central Plains and the Western Regions was indispensable.
The origin of the name Yumen pass is generally believed to be due to the import of jade from the Western Regions to take the name here. According to legend, after the smooth passage of the Silk Road, caravans from various countries in the western regions passed through this pass in an endless stream, and the Hetian jade in Khotan was also continuously transported to the interior through this place, in exchange for silk and various items from the Central Plains. Curiously, every time the camel caravan carrying jade entered and closed the door, one camel after another began to spit white foam and looked faint. An old camel passenger said that because of the long years of transporting jade, but never sacrificed to the god of Guan, if you do not sacrifice again, I am afraid that there will be an accident. The old camel guest also said that only the fine jade was needed, and a circle was inlaid on the gate of this city, and the closing door had the brilliance of jade, and the guan god would naturally be happy. Sure enough, according to the old camel guest, after the sacrifice of the Guan God, there has been no trouble since then, and the city of Guancheng has been called Yumen Pass.
Legend has it that a gust of wind and sand blew away. Wind and sand, naturally, are part of the Jade Gate Pass.
Yumen Pass site Xiaofangpancheng, for the Western Han Yumen Duwei, Eastern Han Yumen Barrier Wei Zhizhi, located about 90 kilometers northwest of Dunhuang City, is one of the important passes in China connected to the Silk Road, the current Guancheng Zhouyuan is still there, square, rammed earth construction, the wall is a yellow gum rammed earth version, the west and north sides of each open a gate, the existing Guancheng city wall is 26.4 meters long from north to south, 24 meters wide from east to west, 9.7 meters high. To the south is the saline swamp, to the north is Hala Lake, further north is the Great Wall, and to the north of the Great Wall is the Shule River Old Road. Writing about the Shule River, I remembered that one year I went to Dunhuang, Yangguan, Yumenguan and other places, and accompanied the Shule River all the way.
Then look into the distance. Every 5 or 10 miles, the East-West Great Wall has a square beacon tower, and around the beacon, there are obvious remains of houses. In the south of the East-West Great Wall, there is another North-South Great Wall, bypassing the west side of Yumen Pass and going south to Yangguan, which was also the traffic gateway to the western region at that time, and the Yumen Pass was the north road, and the Yang Pass was the south road.
The ruins of Yumenguan also include Dafangpancheng, also known as Hecang City, located about 10 kilometers northeast of XiaofangpanCheng and 1.2 kilometers north of the Shule River, dafangpancheng is 134.8 meters long from east to west, 18 meters wide from north to south, and has two walls inside and outside. Inside and outside the warehouse and near it have unearthed Han and Jian and Sui and Tang dynasty cultural relics.
Located 11.5 kilometers west of XiaofangpanCheng, Maquan Bay Beacon is examined as the official office of the Western Han Yumen. The beacon is rectangular, with three layers of soil sandwiched with a layer of reeds, the southeast corner is built with climbing steps, the fort was built on the east side of the beacon tunnel in the early days, the fort gate is opened in the west, and there are 3 corridors and suites in the fort, and the rooms have stoves. There is a livestock pen in the south of the fort. More than 1,000 Han Jian were unearthed from the Maquan Bay Beacon, which recorded the entry and exit of Yumen Pass, Yumen Pass and its jurisdiction, as well as the activities of Tun Bing and Tun Tian. Other relics include grain, hemp paper, brushes, stone stones, silk fragments, wool fragments, silk wool, linen, hemp shoes, bamboo weaving, lacquerware, wood, bone, iron, bronze, five-baht coins, etc.
In addition to the Great Wall of Han at the northern end of Dunhuang, in addition to the Great Wall of Han from Alkali Dunzi to Ma Mitu, there are also the Great Wall of Han from Yumen Pass to Yangguan, Yangguan to Danghekou, Ma Mitu to Bending Pier, and the Great Wall around danggu tunnel west of Yumen Pass is the best-preserved section of the Great Wall of the Han Dynasty in China.
The structure of the Dunhuang Han Great Wall is adapted to local conditions and local materials. Dunhuang North Lake, West Lake area, grow a large area of red willow, reeds, robin hemp, poplar trees and other plants, Dunhuang Han Great Wall is made of these plant branches as the foundation, paved with soil, gravel and then sandwiched with reeds layer by layer rammed. It is built in sections and connected to the wall. Inside the Great Wall, the low-lying area is covered with fine sand, called "Tiantian", which is used to observe footprints as a defensive measure.
The Great Wall recorded in the history books, "a large pier in ten miles, a small pier in five miles", refers to the beacon. Each beacon is guarded by pawns, and in the event of hostility, smoke is simmered during the day, fire is raised at night, alarms are lit, messages are transmitted, and the fireworks can be seen from 30 miles away. There are more than 80 beacons in Dunhuang, most of which are built in higher places, generally more than 7 meters high.
The main function of the beacon is to raise fires and alarms, transmit messages, and prevent harassment and invasion by enemy soldiers, and also replenish supplies for emissaries and caravans traveling on the Silk Road. The way to call the police is to "burn the lettuce and burn the salary." "The area around Yumenguan is full of reeds, and the reeds are bundled into bundles called "lettuce", and the reeds piled into squares or circles are called "accumulated wages". The length of the "amaranth" varies from 2.4 meters long to 60 centimeters. An 8-centimeter-long "fire-setting lettuce" was also found. I once saw "accumulated salary" in a beacon tunnel, which had been petrified because of the condensation of days and days.
The earth swelled up mountains and the Great Wall. Each lonely beacon is like a group of ancient soldiers who have swarmed into a square.
The Great Wall of the Han Dynasty began with Lingju (present-day Yongdeng, Gansu) and passed through the Hexi Corridor of Zhangye, Ejina, Jinta, Jiayuguan, Yumen, Guazhou and other places to build the Great Wall at Mamitu on the West Lake of Dunhuang. It also repaired the "pavilion" (beacon) and the "barrier" (the larger castle and beacon tower) to the ancient kingdom of Loulan in Shiozawa (present-day Lop Nur).
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the site of Yumen Pass was moved from northwest dunhuang to Guazhou, east of Dunhuang. The "Biography of the Three Tibetan Masters of the Great Ci'en Temple" written by Xuanzang's disciples records that Xuanzang traveled west to take the scriptures and arrived at Jinchang City in Guazhou, which is now Suoyang City in Guazhou, and learned that from then on, there was a gourd river more than 50 miles north, "the lower wide is narrow, the waves are very urgent, and the depths are not crossed." On the jade gate pass, the road must be passed, that is, the throat of the western realm. "Guided by a Hu person, he arrived at the river in the middle of the night and saw the Jade Gate Pass in the distance." It is a bridge made of chopped wood, filled with sand, and driven by horses. "The Hulu River is the Shule River that flows through Yumen City, Guazhou and other places today.
Li Jifu's "Atlas of Yuanhe Counties and Counties" is a general geographical chronicle of China's Tang Dynasty, which has a relatively systematic description of the geographical evolution of ancient political districts. It is recorded that the Tang Dynasty Jade Gate passed near the Twin Pagoda Forts in Guazhou. Here is in the transportation hub position, east through Jiuquan, west to Dunhuang, south of Guazhou Suoyang City, northwest and Yizhou Hami adjacent, its opening makes Guazhou and Yizhou directly connected, no need to go around Dunhuang, shorten the journey. There are still 11 ancient beacons on the surrounding peaks, intersections, and estuaries, including Alfalfa Beacons and Chaos Mountain Zi Qifeng.
"Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty": "There are five beacons outside the Jade Gate Pass, and one of them is also alfalfa." Cen San, a famous Poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote "Inscription Alfalfa Beacon Sending Family" under this alfalfa beacon: "Alfalfa Beacon side every spring, tears on the gourd river." The boudoir is just empty memories, and there is no sad killing in the battlefield. ”
The opening of the Silk Road and the prosperity and exchange of culture and trade between the East and the West had a profound impact on the spiritual and cultural life of the Chinese.
The Jade Gate Pass, a distant historical backdrop that is vague but will never disappear, is like a monument with the blood and body temperature of that era - towering.