East-West Question | Li Wenying: The historical relics in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains reflect the diversity and unity of Chinese civilization

　　China News Service, Urumqi, March 29th: The historical relics in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains reflect the diversity and unity of Chinese civilization

　　Author Li Wenying, Director of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology

　　Xinjiang has a vast territory and is surrounded by high mountains to the south, north and west. Its relations with the outside world have always had a natural tendency to lean eastward. Archaeological discoveries show that since the pre-Qin period, Xinjiang has maintained close contact with the vast areas in northwest and north China. During the Han Dynasty, Xinjiang became an important gateway for the opening and spread of Chinese civilization to the west, and played an important role in the formation and development of the pluralistic and unified Chinese civilization and the historical construction of the Chinese national community.

Xinjiang’s position and role in the formation and development of early Chinese civilization

　　Microlithic tools unearthed from continuous strata dating from 8,900 to 13,000 years ago were discovered at the Tongtian Cave site in Jimuna, revealing that the production technology of microlithic tools found in Xinjiang was directly influenced by North China; barley unearthed about four to five thousand years ago , wheat and millet crops, proving that wheat crops originating from the Mesopotamia and Mesopotamia and millet crops originating from North China spread eastward or westward through the Altai foothills and other areas, contributing to the development of civilization in vast areas of China and the Eurasian grasslands. New dynamics added.

Microlithic tools discovered at the Tongtian Cave site in Jimuna, Xinjiang, and unearthed from continuous strata dating from 8,900 to 13,000 years ago, reveal that the production technology of the microlithic tools found in Xinjiang was directly influenced by North China. Photo by Liu Xin

　　From 5,000 years ago to the Xia and Shang dynasties, Xinjiang was in the Chalcolithic Age and the Bronze Age. The excavation of Bronze Age relics such as Hami Tianshan North Road Cemetery and Turpan Yanghai Cemetery and the continuous exploration of related archaeological cultures have shown that the prehistoric people who lived in the Yellow River Basin brought the painted pottery culture and related millet crop cultivation technology westward to the Tianshan Mountains. , and gradually deeply integrate the prehistoric culture of the Tianshan area.

　　Xinjiang during the Zhou Dynasty was in the early Iron Age. During this period, the cultural relationship between Xinjiang and the Central Plains became closer, and records about the Western Regions began to appear frequently in literature. The painted pottery culture has achieved unprecedented development in Xinjiang, and the painted pottery culture in the northern and southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains is very developed. The painted pottery culture in the Yellow River Basin spread from the west to the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. It has experienced thousands of years of cultural accumulation and laid the foundation for the opening of the Silk Road.

A three-color pottery flat pot on display at the Xinjiang Cultural Relics Exhibition. Photo by Xu Jianmei

　　Multidisciplinary research on animals, plants, and environmental archaeology shows that during this period, northern and southern Xinjiang differentiated in different directions from the Bronze Age, which was dominated by animal husbandry and concurrently engaged in agriculture, due to their different resource endowments. The main economy of the grasslands in northern Xinjiang has transformed into a nomadic economy, while the southern Xinjiang has become an oasis economy mixed with agriculture and animal husbandry.

　　What followed was a prehistoric urbanization process, mainly carried out around the Tarim Basin, forming the oasis "city kingdoms". The excavation of the ancient city of Kuiyu Kexiehaier in Luntai County has made it clear that the site gradually evolved from an early settlement from the 8th century BC to the 6th century BC into an early city from the 6th century BC to the 5th century BC.

　　In the northern Xinjiang region, the grassland "Xingguo" appeared. The Balikun East Heigou ruins group continued the previous local settlement construction tradition. It is still a stone-structured high platform building and house site, which may be the location of the royal court of the nomadic group. These findings provide a new perspective and research model for understanding the evolution of the early Iron Age social structure in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang and the historical process of gradually integrating into a unified multi-ethnic country.

　　In addition, silk, a representative product of the traditional textile culture of the Central Plains, began to be introduced to the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. In addition to a large number of gold objects found in the Aragou Cemetery in Urumqi, silk embroidery with phoenix patterns and lacquer plates were also unearthed. Quman Cemetery in Kashgar and Silk remnants were also found in the Karasu Cemetery in the Altay region. The exquisite woolen embroidery unearthed from the Qiemo Zhagunluk Cemetery shows that the rust locking technique originated from the Central Plains has been mastered by the residents on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin.

　　At the same time, Xinjiang’s connections with northwest and northern China and the early nomadic culture of the Eurasian grasslands have been further strengthened. Similar shapes of horse gear and animal pattern ornaments are commonly found in the northern Xinjiang grasslands and Tianshan Valley, and even as far away as the Tarim Basin oasis. .

Looking at the development and growth of the Chinese nation from the perspective of archeology in historical periods

　　After Zhang Qian "emptied out" the Western Region, the Overland Silk Road was opened, and Xinjiang entered a historical period. With the establishment of the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC as a symbol, Xinjiang was officially included in the Chinese territory. Since then, successive central governments have exercised jurisdiction over the Western Regions, which not only promoted the development of the ethnic cultures in Xinjiang, but also promoted the pluralistic and integrated Chinese civilization. develop.

　　Archeology and research on the military and political construction systems of past dynasties, centered on ancient city sites, have been the focus of archeology in Xinjiang’s historical period in recent years. The Western Han Dynasty established the Western Region Protectorate in Wulei City (now in Luntai County, Xinjiang), which was the first of its kind for the central dynasty to govern the Western Region. In recent years, the exploration of the ruins of the Protectorate of the Western Regions has been gradually in-depth. The ancient city site of Luntai Zhuolkut was built and used from the Warring States Period to the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The large-scale houses and red lacquered wooden pillars in the city are specific reflections of the high-level city site, confirming that the city site was the northern part of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty. A core city.

The Gaotai city site of the ancient city of Zhuolkut in Luntai (before excavation). Photo courtesy of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology

　　With the Western Region Protectorate as the core, a military and administrative system including towns, farmland, transportation support, and military defense facilities was gradually established. The remains of the Han Dynasty in Jiaohe Ancient City and Gaochang Ancient City have enriched the understanding of Wuji Xiaowei and Gaochangbi; the regulation of Gaochang Ancient City basically imitates Han Chang'an City, Han Wei Luoyang City, and Eastern Jin Guzang City, and the city gates are named after those of the Central Plains The capital is also based on the five elements and celestial phenomena, and has a profound Chinese cultural heritage. The Shichengzi site in Qitai County during the Han Dynasty is a typical border city in the Han Dynasty. A large number of Han-style tiles and tiles were unearthed, and kiln sites were found, which reflects that the construction technology and system of the Central Plains have been promoted in the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains.

The high platform building in the middle hall of the north group of the Nestorian temple in the ancient city of Qitai Tang Dynasty. Photo courtesy of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology

　　In the Tang Dynasty, the central government's decrees spread to the Western Regions, and the military and political establishment system became more complete. A series of important findings demonstrate the improvement of effective governance by the central government, the sublimation of cultural identity, and social and economic progress.

　　Jimusar Beiting Ancient City was the political, military and cultural center at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains from the Tang to the Yuan Dynasties. According to research, the ancient city of Kucha in Kucha may have been the location of the royal city of Kucha during the Han and Tang Dynasties. During the Tang Dynasty, the Anxi Protectorate was established here.

　　Archaeological excavation research revealed that the layout of the inner and outer city of Beiting Ancient City was influenced by the Chang'an City of the Tang Dynasty. The overall framework was basically built during the more than 150 years when the central government of the Tang Dynasty ruled the Western Regions through institutions represented by Tingzhou and Beiting Protectorate. During the Gaochang Uighur and Yuan Dynasties, only partial repairs and changes were made; the lotus pattern square bricks unearthed from the ancient cities of Qiuci and Beiting are similar to the adobe bricks unearthed from the Linde Hall of the Daming Palace in the Tang Dynasty, indicating that they had a high value in military and political construction. status.

Lotus pattern floor tiles found at the north gate of the inner city of Beiting. Photo courtesy of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology

　　In terms of archeology during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the excavation of the ancient city of Boledalet confirmed the basic shape of the ancient city, which mainly went through the Western Liao and Yuan dynasties, and was the site of the "Bolo City" recorded in the literature. The Alimari site in Huocheng was the royal city of Chagatai Khan in the Yuan Dynasty. Although it has been razed to the ground, precious cultural relics such as Yuan blue and white flowers and Chagatai gold coins are still found. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, General Yili was established to govern the vast area in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. Huocheng County in the Yili Valley still has the old and new cities of Huiyuan and the old site of General Yili's Mansion.

　　From the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the construction of beacons, forts, postcards, and Karens in Xinjiang strictly followed the border defense system and ensured the smooth flow of the Silk Road and the transmission of government orders. It was an important symbol of the country's exercise of sovereignty. The excavation of the Keyak Kuduk beacon site revealed that it was a military facility under Yanqi Town in the Tang Dynasty. The more than a thousand simple paper documents unearthed there are of great value for understanding the military defense and transportation support system of the Tang Dynasty.

Different types of archaeological remains demonstrate multicultural exchanges and integration

　　The Moer Temple ruins in Kashgar City are the westernmost, largest and oldest above-ground Buddhist temple ruins that have been systematically excavated so far. Its early Buddhist architecture showed Indian and Central Asian styles, developed localized characteristics during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and completed the transformation to the Central Plains style in the Tang Dynasty.

　　The Tangchaodun ancient city ruins in Qitai County, located at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, conformed to the regulations of a county-level city in the Tang Dynasty. It was the seat of Pulei County in the Tang Dynasty. Excavations at the site revealed the remains of courtyards, Buddhist temples, bathhouses and Nestorian temples from the Tang to Yuan Dynasties. A large number of relics including murals and various text relics were unearthed, reflecting the prosperous social economy and diverse cultural landscape of the ancient city.

　　Tombs are a relatively large number of archaeological remains in Xinjiang. In a sense, tombs are a projection of the real world and an extension of culture and value identity. The excavation of tombs in the historical period of Xinjiang mainly focuses on tombs from the Han and Tang Dynasties. Except for a small number of Wusun tombs from the Han Dynasty in the grasslands of northern Xinjiang, most of the tombs from the historical period that have been excavated have obvious Central Plains cultural characteristics or "Silk Road characteristics", especially those in the Tarim Basin and Turpan Basin.

　　The more famous cemeteries in the Tarim Basin include Loulan Ancient Tomb, Niya Han-Jin Cemetery, Yingpan Cemetery, Kuqa Youyi Road Cemetery, etc.; the more famous cemeteries in the Turpan Basin include Astana Cemetery.

　　These cemeteries are generally distributed around the ancient city. They widely use boat-shaped coffins and other burial tools with distinctive local characteristics. They also commonly use Central Plains-style box-shaped coffins and Han-style cave tombs, brick chamber tombs and slope tombs. A large number of various types have been unearthed. Simple paper documents, woodware, textiles, etc. in various languages.

　　High-end silk given by the Central Plains dynasty, represented by the "Five Stars Out of the East Benefiting China" brocade, was unearthed from the tombs of two generations of King Jingjue at the Niya site. The funeral method of group burials in Astana ancient tombs is in line with Hexi and even the Central Plains. The tomb owners include Cheshi, Xiongnu, Zhaowu and other people, and their tombs also adopt the same method. Fragments of manuscripts such as "Shangshu", "Book of Rites" and "Book of Filial Piety" unearthed from tombs prove that Chinese learning had become a daily part of social life at that time.

The tapestry of "Five stars coming out of the East will benefit China". Photo by Liu Xin

　　Sasanian-style glassware, Sasanian-Sogdian-style gold and silverware, and Western currencies such as Roman gold coins and Persian silver coins circulating on the Silk Road were also unearthed from tombs in different areas during this period. These findings show vivid scenes of creative development and foreign exchange and reference among people in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in the context of a unified country.

　　The above-mentioned discoveries depict the rich and colorful face of Xinjiang's history and culture, and have converged and integrated into an important part of Chinese civilization. (over)

Interviewee profile:

　　Li Wenying, director and research librarian of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology. He has successively participated in or presided over the archaeological surveys, excavations and research of Kizil Grottoes, Jiaohe Ancient City, Yuli Yingpan Cemetery, Ruoqiang Xiaohe Cemetery, Loulan Ruins and other relics. Presided over the compilation and compilation of the results of the third national cultural relics census in Xinjiang. He has co-authored 7 monographs including "General History of Chinese Silk" and "Introduction to Art Archeology of the Silk Road", and published more than 70 papers and archaeological reports.