China News Service, Urumqi, January 21st: How did the Cheshi Ancient Road become an important route of the Silk Road?
——Exclusive interview with Dang Zhihao, deputy director of the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology and research librarian
Author La Xiaofei
Among the mountains of Xinjiang, there are many passable mountain roads connecting northern and southern Xinjiang. They are intertwined and form a dense Silk Road network, where goods, culture, and history from the East and West meet.
The ancient roads not only carry human exploration, but also witness the changes of the Silk Road and the rise and fall of civilizations.
As an important section of the ancient Silk Road in Xinjiang and an important transportation route in the early Western Regions, it has a history of more than 2,000 years and is still exuding vitality. What is the position of the "Cheshi Ancient Road" in the ancient Silk Road network?
What are the functions?
What role has it played since ancient times?
What kind of exchanges and collisions between different civilizations are reflected in the cultural relics along the way?
How can the Xinjiang ancient roads on the ancient Silk Road, represented by the Cheshi Ancient Road, witness the historical process of the diversity and integration of Chinese civilization?
China News Service's "East-West Question" recently conducted an exclusive interview with Dang Zhihao, deputy director of the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and a cultural and museum research librarian, to discuss the above topics.
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
Reporter from China News Service: When was the Cheshi Ancient Road opened? What kind of ancient road is it?
Dang Zhihao:
As a natural road connecting the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, the Cheshi Ancient Road existed as early as hundreds of millions of years ago during the orogeny.
However, it should be used as a passage after human activities. In the long historical practice, humans have already identified easy-to-pass passes and valleys in the mountains. The passage is meaningful because of human activities.
In October 2016, the county seat was overlooked from the top of the Yelanggu Valley on the Cheshi Ancient Road in Jimusar County, Xinjiang.
Photo by Wang Xiaojun
Judging from the existing archaeological discoveries, at least in the Bronze Age, the Turpan area had extensive contact with the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains and surrounding areas. By the early Iron Age, the Subeixi (Yanghai) culture had become a factor that influenced the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains. One of the important cultural factors, this kind of contact and exchange are all carried out through the channels between the Tianshan Mountains. In other words, the existence of the channels between the Tianshan Mountains provides the possibility to understand early human migration, material exchange, and cultural exchanges.
The reason why this passage is called "Cheshi Ancient Road" may be related to Cheshi's previous and later countries.
During the Western Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty had "five battles with Chaushi" with the Xiongnu. In the second year of Dijie of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty (68 BC), Zheng Ji defeated Chaushi and divided them into the front and rear kings of Chaushi and the six kingdoms in the north of the mountain.
Cheshi lived across the mountains from the front and back countries. With the exchange of people and migration in winter and summer, this ancient road for people may have gradually formed. It was called "other tunnels" in the "Xizhou Illustrated Book" of the Tang Dynasty. It was mainly The route from Dalongkou, Quanzijie Town, present-day Jimusar County, to the south, over the Tianshan Mountains and to Jiaohe Ancient City in Turpan City, is 200 kilometers long.
Pottery kiln ruins on the Cheshi Ancient Road.
Photo courtesy of Wang Long, Institute of Archeology, Turpan Academy of Sciences
Reporter from China News Service: What is the position of the Cheshi Ancient Road in the ancient Silk Road network? What are the functions?
Dang Zhihao:
As we all know, what is now known as the Silk Road is the general name for the east-west road that connected Europe and North Africa from East Asia through Central and West Asia in ancient times.
Because it connected the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, the area involved by the Silk Road was extremely vast and complex. Countless people in history were related to this road, and it profoundly affected human history.
The Silk Road has attracted more and more people's attention, mainly for three reasons: First, the Silk Road was the main artery for the flow of people in Asia, Africa and Europe, and was the focus of the development of world history.
Before the advent of the Age of Discovery, Eurasia had always been the core of the development of world civilization. The mixing of people and the change of regimes were the norm on this continent, and it became the center that promoted the development of world civilization history; secondly, the Silk Road was a communication and exchange of materials and technology The Silk Road itself was an important commercial road. The exchanges of commerce and trade drove the dissemination and exchange of material materials and technology throughout the Eurasian and African continents; third, the Silk Road was an important bridge for communication and development of civilizations.
The Silk Road connects the birthplaces of the world's four major ancient civilizations and is an important channel for exchanges between Eastern and Western civilizations. Religion, art and other spiritual civilization contents flow on this artery along with people's interactions and material exchanges. It can be called "human civilization". of the canal".
Today, with the continuous expansion and sublimation of the concept of the Silk Road, the Silk Road is no longer the three northern, central and southern routes in the traditional sense, but a complex road network for the exchange of Eastern and Western civilizations.
As a smaller branch of the road network, the Cheshi Ancient Road is also rich in the cultural connotation of the entire Silk Road. It is an important channel for people from the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains to communicate, material exchange, and cultural exchanges.
In August 2018, a camel team was photographed in Qiongkulchak Township, Bachu County, Xinjiang.
Photo by Zhang Yuliang
Reporter from China News Service: What role has the Cheshi Ancient Road played from ancient times to the present? What kind of exchanges and collisions between different civilizations are reflected in the cultural relics along the way?
Dang Zhihao:
With the continuous progress of human civilization and the continuous development of regional culture, the Cheshi Ancient Road has played different roles in different historical periods.
In the prehistoric period of Xinjiang (before the 2nd century BC), passages like the Cheshi Ancient Road provided the material basis for human survival and the formation of settlements. Now, on many platforms in the ditch, you can still see early Stone ruins.
A large stone building on the Cheshi Ancient Road.
Photo courtesy of Wang Long, Institute of Archeology, Turpan Academy of Sciences
After the Han Dynasty, the Cheshi Ancient Road not only facilitated the migration of people and material exchanges between regions, but more importantly, it became an important military route for the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu to compete for Cheshi.
Some experts believe that Geng Gong, a famous general of the Eastern Han Dynasty, took this route when he retreated from Shule City.
After the Tang Dynasty, under the protection of the powerful central dynasty, the passage was recorded in history books and became a shortcut for official and private people to connect the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains.
Some studies believe that Wang Yande also took this route when he was on his way to Gaochang as an envoy to Beiting.
After the Qing Dynasty, military platforms, post stations, and road facilities became more complete under the unified management of the central dynasty. The Cheshi Ancient Road may no longer be used frequently, but it can still be seen from some documentary records that as a "shortcut" connecting the north and the south, it is still There are private merchants coming and going.
Today, the Cheshi Ancient Trail is not only an adventure paradise for hiking enthusiasts, but also provides the possibility to study specific routes of human activities because of its stability that transcends time and space.
A square stone enclosure within the Cheshi Ancient Road.
Photo courtesy of Wang Long, Institute of Archeology, Turpan Academy of Sciences
Reporter from China News Service: How can the Tianshan Corridor road network on the ancient Silk Road, represented by the Cheshi Ancient Road, witness the historical process of the diversity and integration of Chinese civilization?
Dang Zhihao:
As a glorious "canal of human civilization", the Silk Road existed long before Zhang Qian "emptied out" the Western Regions. It is now often heard as the "Jade Road", "Prairie Road" and "Bronze Road". "Road" and other "Pre-Silk Road", these roads show that exchanges have never stopped since the birth of mankind, and the footsteps of human civilization extend and develop along these roads.
But what is now called the Silk Road is often marked by Zhang Qian's mission, and Zhang Qian is famous in history.
There is certainly Zhang Qian’s personal spirit of perseverance, risk-taking, and pioneering spirit as well as the national integrity of fulfilling his mission.
But more importantly, Zhang Qian represents the Han Dynasty. Since he "emptied out" the Western Regions, the Silk Road has transformed from a spontaneous, simple, folk exchange process in the early days to a manifestation of the national will. The four counties in Hexi , the Protectorate of the Western Regions and the installation of beacons and pavilions along the Silk Road ensured the smooth flow of transportation routes, and also accelerated and expanded the trade between the East and the West and the exchange of civilizations.
Since then, it was under the effective jurisdiction and governance of successive central governments that the smoothness and prosperity of the Silk Road were ensured.
In April 2022, a major historical-themed dance drama "Zhang Qian" based on Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty was staged in Urumqi.
Photo by Liu Xin
The Qin Dynasty built the Chi Road, the Han Dynasty opened the Silk Road, the Tang Dynasty opened the postal transport, the Yuan Dynasty built Zhanchi, and the Qing Dynasty built the Great Road. These great projects that lasted for thousands of years are all manifestations of the will of the powerful central government and an important part of Chinese civilization. As silk Xinjiang is a must-pass place on the road, and the remaining ancient roads represented by the Cheshi Ancient Road are effective witnesses of the historical process of the diversity and integration of Chinese civilization.
(over)
Interviewee profile:
Dang Zhihao, deputy director and researcher of Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology
Dang Zhihao graduated from the Department of Archeology, School of History and Culture, Sichuan University, with a master's degree.
In September 2010, he joined the Xinjiang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology and is now the deputy director and researcher.
He has been on the front line of field archaeological work in Xinjiang for a long time, and has successively presided over the excavation projects of the Ruoqiang Milan ruins, the Boledalet ancient city ruins, the Luntai Kuiyu Kexie Haier ancient city ruins and other archaeological projects, and participated in the Hejing Xiaoshankou Cemetery, Hami Aixia Excavations of the tombs of the Sixteen Kingdoms of Wei and Jin in Ernan Cemetery and Kuqa.
Hosted, participated in, compiled and published reports such as "2010 Excavation Briefing of Kuqa Wei, Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms Tombs", "2010 Excavation Report of Xigou Cemetery and Site in Fukang", "Examination of the Small Five Baht Unearthed from the Tomb of Tang Qifulinghe and his Couple", etc. with papers.