On the Silk Road, there was once a Buddhist country, Gaochang, which was a crucial point on the Northern Silk Road and one of the political, economic and cultural centers of the ancient Western Regions. From the middle of the 5th century to the middle of the 7th century, this ancient country experienced the rule of four families, namely Kan Gaochang, Zhang Gaochang, Ma Gaochang, and Koji Gaochang.
Gaochang Ancient City
Until the fourteenth year of Zhenguan (640 AD), it was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty and set up Gaochang County, which was under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Capital Protectorate, and later invaded by the Uighurs. Today, from some excavated cultural relics and existing historical records, we trace the origin of the Koji clan that finally ruled Gaochang.
In August 1973, a Tang Dynasty sarcophagus tomb was discovered next to Zhujiawan Village, four kilometers west of the county seat of Yuzhong County, Gansu Province. The sarcophagus is well preserved and is surrounded by reliefs carved from three of the four great divine beasts. The front is the Suzaku, the head of the finch is to the left, the left wing is forward, the right wing is close to the body; the right is the dragon, one foot forward flutters, the three-legged step on the clouds, the dragon's mouth sprays water, the dorsal fin is like a tooth, the image is vivid; the left is a giant tiger, the ears are attached to the back, the four legs are running, straight and powerful, and the back is an almost circular animal head, with a huge mouth and teeth, protruding eyes and large ears, and it is not like the image of Xuanwu.
When it was found, this ancient tomb has been patronized by tomb robbers, and the bones of the tomb owner have been thrown aside, in addition to the discovery of horse bones, saddle ornaments, dragon pattern gold medals, etc., the most important thing is to find the epitaph broken into several pieces, which is to reveal the identity of the owner of the tomb.
The "Preface to the Tomb of Lady Murong of Gujiaohe County" was written in a dignified and dignified canonical Tang dynasty script, writing: "Lady Zhenyan (on the stele is a double side meaning, it is a variant of 儀), the character Fuxian, Changli people also." "It is explained that the owner of the tomb was Murong Yan, who was named Lady of Jiaohe County.
Looking at the content of his epitaph, you will find that the owner of the tomb has an inevitable connection with the Tuguhun Kingdom of the Tang Dynasty and the Gaochang of the Koji clan. "His first □ Khan Qinghai State □□□ Chao" may be "Khan Murong Xuanchao of qinghai state", according to the "Tuguhun Biography" in the "New Book of Tang Dynasty And Western Regions", this Murong Xuanchao was the grandson of Murong Nuoyao, the king of Qinghai, who was sealed by the Tang Dynasty, and Wu Zetian regarded Xuanchao as the khan of Wudi in the first year, and the tomb owner Murong Xuanchao should be Murong Xuanchao's daughter.
The owner's mother's family is considered prominent, but who is her husband's family? And with this background? According to the title of "Lady of Jiaohe County" and the place where she was buried in The Process County after her death, her husband's family should be Koji Chongyu, a descendant of Gao Chang of the Koji clan in the Western Regions.
Jiaohe Old City
The Zizhi Tongjian records that "in September, Bingchen ordered the general Koji Chongyu (麴崇裕) to be the general of the Chinese army for 100,000 soldiers", which describes that in August of the fourth year of Wu Zetian's reign (688), Emperor Wu Zetian's yue wang zhen divided Cai Prefecture to plot a rebellion, and the general Koji Chongyu led a large army to quell the rebellion. Later, due to the merits of countering the rebellion, the Old Book of Tang Gaochang Biography records: "Granted the great general Zuo Wuwei and the king of Jiaohe County", and Jiaohe was the hometown of the former Gaochang kingdom.
Koji Chongyu's original hometown was Yuzhong in Jincheng County, and the aforementioned Murong Xuanchao was also crowned king of Qinghai during the Wu Zetian period, and these two families were descendants of the royal family, and it was natural to combine with each other.
The Yuzhong Koji clan has a constant connection with Gao Changguo, and in the historical records, we can dig deep into the development of the Koji clan around Yuzhong during the Han Dynasty, Jin Dynasty, and Sixteen Kingdoms periods.
After Jushi. Han had Koji Tan (岑仲勉注 should be "Ju Tan"), born 閟, took refuge in Huangzhong, and changed his surname to Koji because he lived in Xiping. The eleventh Sun Jia, of the Shi Depressed Qu clan, was later returned by the natives and established as the King of Gaochang... —— "Yuan He Surname Compilation"
In fact, in many historical books of the Han Dynasty, we can see the existence of some Koji characters, such as: "Customs and Customs" in the "Surname Interpretation", "Han has Koji Yan, and later Han has Koji Shengqing"; in the "Later Han Book and FangShu Biography", there is "There is Koji Shengqing in Henan, who is good at impeaching danshu and is tired of killing ghosts and gods"; "Han, Kojibin, according to the "Genealogy of Ten Thousand Surnames" In the "Genealogy of Ten Thousand Surnames", "Han, Koji Bin" is a "Han". It can be seen that in the Han Dynasty, people with the surname Koji have been active on the historical stage, although they are not yet a famous and prestigious family.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and when the Three Kingdoms were chasing deer, the powerful people in various places competed to develop their own families and seek their own status, of course, the Koji clans in Jincheng and Xiping were no exception.
Bian Zhang and Han Sui were chaotic Liangzhou, and Jin Chengli sheng attacked and killed Liu Jun, the head of Zu Li. Embroidered as a county official, idle to kill the victory, the county is righteous. - "Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Wei Shu, Zhang Xiu Biography"
Here appeared a man named Koji Katsu, a member of the Koji clan of Jincheng. In the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Wei Shu, and Emperor Wu of Wu, it is recorded that "the generals Xiping and Jincheng, Koji Yan and Jiang Shi, beheaded Han Suishou. "The koji in the text demonstrates the Nishihira koji clan. However, Koji Sheng was killed by Zhang Xiu, who was still a county official at the time, but Koji Yan had the ability to participate in the killing of Han Sui, which shows that the strength of the two is still very different, which also shows that the Koji clan of Jincheng at that time was inferior to the Koji clan of Xiping.
The story of "Battle City"
According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Wei Shu Su Ze Biography, "Taizu Beng, Xi Pingli rebelled, called the Lieutenant of the Qiang Dynasty, and then strangled the soldiers to beg him." "During the Three Kingdoms period, people with a little strength in various places were divided one after another, and Xiping Koji and Hexi Haoqiang coexisted, sometimes obeying Cao Wei, sometimes rebelling against Cao Wei, and constantly enriching and strengthening their own strength in the war. Compared with the Jincheng Koji clan, the Xiping Koji clan was more active in this chaotic world, and there were koji and Koji Ying who had successively divided up, all of which were strong in order to strengthen their own families.
After the establishment of the Jin Dynasty. The Xiping Koji clan did not miss any opportunity, active on the stage of history, and the most prominent was still unable to change the rebellious Koji Road, and continued to oppose the Jin Dynasty. The Jincheng Koji clan was in obscurity, waiting for the opportunity, and sure enough, the Jin Dynasty was attacked by local forces, and the Jincheng Koji clan attacked.
Koji Yoon, Jincheng ren also. With the You clan as the Hao clan, Xizhou said: "Koji and You, cattle and sheep are not counted." Open the Zhumen Gate in the south and look at the Qinglou in the north. ”...... YunShi was the protector of An Yi and the Taishou of Shiping, and his heart was harmful to Dinggong, and he was powerful, because Ding Silly Jingzhao was too defensive of Liang Zong, but he and his brother Feng Yi Taishouwei attacked Ding and left. - "JinShu Koji Yun Biography"
Later, Koji Yun was given the titles of Shangshu Zuo Shu Shu, Leader, Zhi Jie, Xi Rong Lieutenant, and Lu Shang Shu Shi. He often participated in battles, made many military achievements, and became the governor of the capital and the general of the Hussars. While in Pingyang, Koji Yoon expressed his loyalty to the Jin Dynasty, committed suicide in anger, and gained the admiration of his enemy Liu Cong, posthumously honoring him as the Che Riding General, The Marquis of Qijie, which can be described as the Glory of Emperor Guangzong.
It can be seen that the Koji clan of Jincheng has also risen, and has also become a Hao clan, in addition to Koji Yun, there are also Koji Chang as the Northern Taishou, Koji Jian as a general, Koji Te as yongzhou assassin history, etc., has developed into a veritable famous family, the county is looking forward to Jincheng. Later, in the regime of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Jincheng Koji clan was still active, and the positions were not low.
King Kochang Koji Wentai
Although the Xiping Koji clan is rarely recorded in the Sixteen Kingdoms period, according to the study of the "Genealogy of a Certain Clan Remnant" unearthed from Turpan, it can be determined that this is the family tree of the Xiping Koji clan, in the pre-Liangzhang period, the Xiping Koji clan was exiled to Xihai County due to rebellion, until the Later Liang Lü Guang period, they returned to Xiping, and after development, formed the same large clan group as Tongjun Wei and Guo. Koji Xin was appointed by Hou Liang as the Protector of Suirong and the Taishou of Jiuquan, and was also appointed by Xi Liang as the Protector of The Horse, the Taishou of Bactria and the Marquis of Guannei. His son was also appointed as the Taishou of Xi Commandery (西郡太守) in Xiliang.
During the period from the Western Han Dynasty to the end of the Jin Dynasty, the Koji clan started from military merit and had formed its own two major counties in Jincheng and Xiping, and joined the ranks of the great clan.
The Koji clan of Gaochang was related to the Ju clan of Jincheng and Xiping, but when did they enter Gaochang? In the spring of the sixth year of Yuan Jia (429 AD), "The King of Hexi, Mengxun Bashiping, was kept by The Emperor Taishou", and in Nanliang there was "The Beauty of Cultural Relics" Koji Ming. Later, in the Northern Liang regime established by Mengxun of The Frustrated Canal, there were also characters such as the Yanglie general Shuihe Taishou Koji Ningsun and the Xijun Taishou Koji.
In the nineteenth year of Yuan Jia (442 AD), Frustrated Qu Mengxun's son Fengqu Wuqi and his younger brother Frustrated Qu An Zhou crossed the Yellow Sands in the west, occupied Shanshan and Gaochang, established the Northern Liang regime of Gaochang, and declared himself a vassal to the Song Dynasty in the south, and was given the title of King of Hexi. Later, Rouran attacked Gaochang Northern Liang, and established Kan Bozhou as the king of Gaochang, for the Kan clan Gaochang. And the Jincheng Koji clan should have followed the Frustrated Qu Wuxia brothers to Gaochang.
To arrive in a place is to start from scratch, and it is the same for a family. In the "Yuan he surname compilation", it is said that "Jia Shi Frustrated Qu Clan" refers to Koji Jia's officialdom in the Northern Liang regime of Gaochang, and by the time he passed through Gaochang of the Kan clan and Gaochang of the Zhang clan to Maru Gaochang, Koji Jia had already "become a confucian right long history" and became a top administrator. The Koji clan has also gained a firm foothold in Gaochang and joined the upper class of Gaochang, laying a solid foundation for future kings.
Because the ruler of Maru Gaochang was also an inland native, in 497, he sent Wang Tixuan to pay tribute to the Northern Wei Dynasty and ask Gaochang to move the country to the interior. And this idea may have been ma ru's head patted, naturally it was opposed by many Gaochang people, especially the locals were more reluctant to move east, and finally the chinese killed Ma Ru and "established Koji Jia as king". Since then, the Koji clan has become the supreme ruler of the high-level, beginning a history of one hundred and thirty-nine years, and becoming the peak of the development of the Koji clan in Jincheng.
The Koji Gaochang regime has experienced the Ninth Dynasty and Ten Kings, and the Turpan documents and many epitaphs unearthed in gaochang and Jiaohe ancient cities show the world the glory of the Koji clan in Jincheng. In addition to the Jincheng Koji clan, the Xiping Koji clan was also found in the Gaochang Kingdom, and according to the "Epitaph and Preface of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty" unearthed in Luoyang, the Xiping Koji clan in Gaochang was not valued, but lived in Jiaohe County, and the official position was only within Jiaohe County. Later, during the Tang Dynasty, gaochang's Xiping koji clan returned to the dynasty, was placed in Luo axis, and received heavy use, very happy.
Tang destroyed Gaochang and set up Xizhou
And people inevitably take the wrong path, a state regime is no exception, to the Koji Wentai period, although it took a variety of measures to develop the strength of Gao Changguo, but he took the wrong side. He fought against the Tang Dynasty at every turn, and even participated in the Western Turks' war to conquer Yanqi, which completely angered the Tang. In the fourteenth year of Zhenguan (640), the Tang Tai Sect sent Hou Junji to lead an army to attack Gaochang, and before the Tang army arrived, Koji Wentai died of illness, and his son Koji Zhisheng succeeded to the throne, and finally surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Taizong of Tang moved them to Chang'an, Luoyang, and other places in the interior, serving all aspects of the Tang Dynasty, and historical celebrities such as Koji Zhizhan and Koji Suffol also emerged.
In the melting pot of Datang's tolerance, the people of all ethnic groups in Gaochang City have integrated into the prosperous era and become an indispensable and wonderful part of Chinese history.