Overlooking the ancient city of Loulan, there is a beacon tower in the northeast corner of the city. Although it has been repaired in different periods, it can still be seen that it is the earliest architectural style in Han Dynasty. Southwest of beacon tower is the site of "Three Rooms". This 100 square meter house is built on a very high platform, and the middle of the three rooms is wider than the east and west rooms. At the beginning of this century, Sven Hedin excavated a large number of documents in a room in the east. Judging from the large wooden frame left by the west wing of the three rooms, it was once the land for reclamation in the city. Continue to the west, it is a big house. In the yard, there are three rooms in the north and three rooms in the south. In the ancient city, the building of this quadrangle is also relatively ostentatious. In contrast, most of the houses in the south of the mansion are short, scattered and shabby. According to the unearthed documents, it is speculated that the frame structure houses adjacent to the three houses are the official relics of Loulan City.
The ancient city of Loulan was once a paradise for people to live and multiply. Beside her is a vast Lop Nur, and in front of her is a clear river. People row boats on the blue waves, hunt in the dense Populus euphratica forest, and people bathe in the gifts of nature. According to Zhu, after the Eastern Han Dynasty, Loulan was seriously short of water because of the diversion of the water injection river in the middle reaches of Tarim River. Soller of Dunhuang led 654.38+10,000 soldiers to Loulan, and also called 3,000 soldiers from Shanshan, Yanqi and Qiuci to inject water into Loulan day and night to alleviate the water shortage of Loulan. However, after that, despite Loulan people's best efforts and attempts to dredge the river, the ancient city of Loulan was eventually abandoned because of lack of water.
The mystery of loulan's disappearance
Statement 1: Loulan disappeared in the war. After the fifth century, the kingdom of Loulan began to weaken, and the northern powers invaded, and Loulan City was destroyed and then abandoned.
Statement 2: Loulan was defeated by drought and water shortage, and the ecology deteriorated. After the upstream river was cut off, people had to leave Loulan. Loulan promulgated the world's earliest environmental protection law discovered so far.
Statement 3: The disappearance of Loulan is related to the north-south migration of Lop Nur. Sven Hedin thinks that the period of north-south migration of Lop Nur is about 1500 years. More than 3,000 years ago, there lived a European ethnic tribe in Loulan area. Loulan once again entered a prosperous era more than 1500 years ago, which was directly related to the wandering of Lop Nur.
Statement 4: The disappearance of Loulan is related to the opening of the North Road of the Silk Road. After the opening of the Silk Road North Road through Hami (Yiwu) and Turpan, the Silk Road Desert Road through Loulan was abandoned, and Loulan lost its former glory.
Statement 5: Loulan was destroyed by the plague. A plague from other places claimed the lives of nine of the ten residents in Loulan City. Those who survived by luck fled Loulan and fled other places.
Statement 6: Loulan was defeated by biological invasion. An insect introduced from the two river basins has no natural enemies in Loulan, lives in the soil, can live in the albic soil in Loulan area, and enters the houses in droves. People can't destroy them and have to give up the city. 1900 In March, the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin traveled eastward along the Tarim River and reached the lower reaches of the Peacock River in search of the elusive Lop Nur. On March 27th, the expedition arrived at a mound. At this time, something bad happened. Sven Hedin found that the water they brought was leaking a lot. In the arid desert, no water equals death. They went to find water, and an incredible scene happened. An ancient city appeared in front of them: there were walls, streets, houses and even beacon towers.
Sven Hedin excavated a large number of cultural relics here, including coins, silk, grains, pottery, 36 pieces of Chinese character paper, 120 pieces of bamboo slips and several writing brushes. ...
After Sven Hedin returned to China, he handed the cultural relics to Himmler for identification. It has been identified that the owner of this ancient city is Loulan, a famous ancient country that shocked the whole world. Subsequently, expeditions from many countries followed ... With the long-term unremitting efforts of historians and cultural relics experts, the mysterious veil of Loulan ancient country was unveiled.
From 65438 to 0979, Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology organized the Loulan Archaeological Team and began to investigate the Loulan Ancient Road. In the lower reaches of Peacock River leading to Loulan Road, the archaeological team found a large number of ancient tombs. Several of the tombs have strange and spectacular shapes: the tombs are surrounded by seven layers of thin and thick logs, and rows of trees spread radially in all directions outside the circle. The whole shape is like a big sun, which makes people have all kinds of mysterious associations. What does it mean? It's still an unsolved mystery.
Loulan Ancient Country in History
According to Biography of Dawan in Historical Records and Biography of the Western Regions in Hanshu, as early as the 2nd century AD, Loulan was a famous "walled country" in the western regions. Dunhuang in the east, Yanqi and Yuli in the northwest, Ruoqiang and Qiemo in the southwest. The north-south road of the ancient Silk Road diverged from Loulan.
Office of Chief Historian of Western Regions in Wei, Jin and Liang Qian Period of China. Located in the northwest of Lop Nur, Xinjiang. It is named after the Chinese documents unearthed in the site, and is called "Kulolaina" as opposed to "Loulan" and "Lu Luwen". At the beginning of the 20th century, British Stein and others came here many times to steal and dig. After 1950s, China scholars made investigations and excavations.
Loulan is one of the 36 countries in the Western Regions, bordering Dunhuang and closely related to the Han Dynasty around A.D. The records of Loulan in ancient times are based on the Records of Hanshu Biography of the Western Regions, Faxian and Xuanzang. "Records of the Western Regions" records: "Shanshan Kingdom, whose real name is Loulan, Wang Zhi Qianni City, goes to Yangguan for 1,600 miles and Chang 'an for 6,100 miles. 1570 households, 4.4 1 10,000 people. Fa Xian said: "This land is rugged and barren. The layman's clothes are the same as those of Han, but the carpet is different in brown. Its king obeys the law. There are more than 4,000 monks who know Hinayana Buddhism. " At the end of the trip, Genjyo Sanzo made a simple explanation: "Since then, he has traveled more than 1,000 miles to the northeast, and came to the old country, that is, the land of Loulan. "
Loulan State in Han Dynasty sometimes became the eyes and ears of Xiongnu, and sometimes belonged to Han, playing with the policy of two-faced, and skillfully maintaining its political life between Han and Xiongnu. Because Loulan is located in the transportation hub between Han and the western countries, Han can't cross this area to fight Xiongnu, and Xiongnu can't threaten the Han Dynasty under the guise of Loulan's strength. Both Han and Xiongnu vigorously pursued the policy of softening Loulan.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Bo Wanghou Zhang Qian to Da Yueshi, but failed to conclude an offensive and defensive alliance. Later, he sent troops to crusade against the distant kingdom of Dawan and sent envoys to western countries many times. When these messengers passed through Loulan, Loulan was overwhelmed and even killed the messengers. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty finally sent troops to crusade against Loulan. As a result, as evidence of surrender, Prince Loulan was sent to the Han Dynasty as a hostage. Loulan also sent a prince to Xiongnu, saying that he was strictly neutral between Xiongnu and Han. Since then, when the Han Expeditionary Force attacked a vassal state of Xiongnu, King Loulan married Xiongnu and set an ambush in China, which angered the Han court. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once again sent troops to crusade against Loulan, forcing the capital to stand in a mud city. King Loulan was frightened and immediately opened the city gate to apologize. Emperor Wu asked him to monitor the movement of Xiongnu. In 92 BC, King Loulan died, and the prince who was taken hostage in the Han Dynasty returned to the throne. The prince was very sad and didn't want to return to China easily. His younger brother succeeded to the throne. The new king died not long ago, and the Huns took this opportunity to inherit the throne with the former eldest son who was taken hostage in their own country. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was shocked when he heard the news. He quickly sent messengers to persuade the newly established king to come to the Han court to hold him hostage, but he failed. In the next two or three years, there was no major incident between Han and Xiongnu, which was apparently stable. Loulan border is close to Yumen Pass, and China's envoys often travel to western countries through this closed door, passing through the desert named Bailongdui in Loulan. There is often wind in the desert. The wind throws quicksand into the air like a dragon, which makes pedestrians lose their way. The Han Dynasty constantly ordered Loulan Kingdom to provide guides and drinking water. As China's envoy insulted the guide many times, Loulan refused to obey their orders, and their relationship deteriorated. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty finally sent an assassin to assassinate the new king. In order to marry the prince who was kidnapped in the Han Dynasty, a Maggie was sent back to Loulan to inherit the throne. But the king was afraid of being assassinated. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to Tunloulan in the name of protecting the king, thus gaining the initiative to crusade against Xiongnu and other western countries. The above is the relationship between Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Loulan. Since then, the influence of the Han Dynasty has weakened, and Loulan betrayed again.
Loulan ancient site
Loulan ancient city 1
(1) guanya
"Three rooms" are three rooms side by side. One of the two adobe buildings in Loulan City, the tallest building in the city was probably the official residence at that time. Since Sven Hedin discovered the ancient city of Loulan and excavated a large number of precious documents under the corner of three rooms, Zuicho Tachibana from Japan and Steinying from Britain have been excavating here and taking cultural relics abroad. These cultural relics were later collected by museums and studied by experts, and the upsurge of "Loulan research" rose internationally. "
(2) domicile
It is made of red willows and reeds. Today, the roof and walls do not exist, but the layout at that time can be seen from the remaining wall roots.
(3) stupa
This stupa is about 10 meter high and is the tallest building in Loulan City.
2. Haitou Ancient City
During the period of 1988, the cultural relics team of Lop Nur organized by the cultural relics department of the autonomous region, with the cooperation and assistance of the troops, discovered two ancient cities, such as Haitou (Stan number lk), in the southwest of Loulan ancient city, drew the first topographic map of these two ancient cities in China, and collected a number of precious cultural relics specimens, which further filled the archaeological gap in Lop Nur area.
3. Ruins of Milan
This is a vast area, and the ruins mainly include Milan Castle, two Buddhist temples and cemeteries. Along the city wall, at the bottom of the Buddhist temple, big pits dug by things can be seen everywhere. Milan belongs to the ancient Loulan country, where China settled in the Han Dynasty. A controversial point of view is that this is the new capital of Loulan country after it moved its capital. There have been "wonderful murals with Indian cultural characteristics"-winged angels, Tibetan wooden slips in the 8 th-9 th century AD; This is an important historical site to reveal the mysterious rise and fall of Loulan ancient country, an important area where Buddhism spread eastward from Xinjiang to the mainland, and a rare proof that historical records record the exchanges between Tubo and the western regions.
4. Washixia Ancient City
5. Xiaohe Cemetery
1934 In May, an expedition camped by the Loulankum River. They are looking for an ancient tomb with 1000 coffins in the Qom Valley.
In two months, rob "camel hunter" Aldek and others searched again and again in vain. Even Aldek himself speculated that the ancient tomb was submerged by newly formed rivers and lakes in more than ten years or was reburied by a strong black storm. At the end of the month, the expedition advanced to the oasis belt closer to the southwest of Rob wasteland.
Soon, they found a river flowing southeast. It is 20m wide and about120km long. The current is sluggish, and a series of small lakes and swamps are surrounded by reeds and red willows. It is a new river after the restoration of Qom River, with a history of less than 10 years. Before they entered the desert along this river, they temporarily named it "Little River". There is a round mountain 4-5 kilometers east of "Xiaohe". From a distance, there is a dense dead tree at the top of the mountain, which is 4-5 meters high. Strangely, the distance between dead trees is very close, one plant is connected with another, supporting each other.
On the mountain, there are mummies, skeletons, dismembered bodies, huge boards that can trip at any time and thick wool fabrics. In a boat-shaped wooden coffin, there is a well-preserved female corpse. When the coffin is opened, the tight shroud will be weathered into powder at the touch. Uncover the rag covering her face, a beautiful girl, her eyes closed, her mouth slightly tilted, as if she had just fallen asleep by magic, and a mysterious smile appeared on her face. This is the legendary "Princess Loulan" or "Queen Rob". She has been sleeping in the desert for more than 2000 years. She has long hair and shawls, and is petite, only 5.2 feet tall.
At the top of 10× 16 square meters, there are huge painted wooden columns, exquisite wooden fences, life-size wood carvings and eye-catching halls (ground buildings of cemeteries). Experts believe that it was not built for ordinary Loulan people, but an important mausoleum.
1998, a group of archaeologists reached the Rob Desert with difficulty. They happened to see some traces of abandoned city walls, exposed to the yellow sky without cover. Under the guidance of a 100-year-old Luobu people, it is confirmed that this is a Luobu village that has been in ruins.
This river may be the ancient site of Loulan-the public cemetery of the residents of the ancient city. After nearly a hundred years of busy explorers and archaeologists, many large tombs and funerary objects have been discovered in the Rob Desert. Then, in the Loulan desert, which has been silent for thousands of years, will there be rare masterpieces or undiscovered miracles like the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum?
6. "Sun Tomb"
Located on the north bank of the ancient Peacock River. It was discovered by archaeologists Hou Can and Wang Binghua in the winter of 1979. There are dozens of ancient tombs, each of which is the tomb of the dead, with a circular stake in the middle and seven circles around the stake more than one foot high, forming several rays in the form of solar rays. According to the determination of carbon 14, the Sun Tomb has a history of 3800 years. Which nation and tribe is it? Why are you buried here? Where do these people live? Whether to use the sun as a totem to build this tomb or other meaning ... Twenty years later, it is still a mystery. What about the fracture of Lop Nur civilization and Loulan civilization in recent 2000 years? Maybe when the mystery of the Sun Tomb is solved, there will be a conclusion.
The "Loulan Beauty" of Indo-European race was unearthed here 3800 years ago. Nearly 65,438+00 ancient human sites have been discovered, and some human relics, such as stone balls, hand-made Gaza pottery fragments, bronze fragments, triangular wing bronze cymbals, animal bones, beads, etc., are exposed on the surface of yellow land that is not completely covered by sand dunes. There are also some stone knives, Shi Mao, stone arrows, tiny stone leaves and stone cores. From 5000 to 6000 years ago. This clearly shows that Loulan, which is still barren, did grow green grass from the late Neolithic Age, the Bronze Age to the early Han Dynasty, and the forest coverage rate reached 40%.
Where did Loulan people come from?
Who once thrived in the mysterious land of Loulan? Whose wisdom created the splendid oasis civilization? The research on this issue has always been fascinating and confusing.
Lin Haicun, a professor of archaeology in Peking University, said: "Loulan people use Quluwen in Central Asia as the official language, while Loulan's mother tongue is Indo-European, which is called' Northeast Language' in academic circles." "The conclusion of anthropological research on Loulan and the result of linguistic research on Loulan remind us once again that in ancient times, there was an Indo-European tribe living in Loulan, far away from Europe." So this book thinks that Loulan people are "ancient Indo-European tribes wandering in the East".
However, there is no consensus on the question of "where Loulan people come from". . There is a view that Loulan people belong to Aryans. Yang Lian, an archaeologist at Loulan, China Academy of Social Sciences, told reporters that he had been to Loulan in 1980s and met a man in his thirties, who was tall and about 2 meters tall. He specially took a picture for him, and the boy standing with him didn't see his chest.
According to a recent study by an anthropologist in China from the perspective of genetics and artifacts, Loulan people are closer to ancient Afghans, which is another brand-new argument.
This well-preserved female corpse, with light hair, developed eyebrow arch and straight nose bone, obviously has the characteristics of Caucasian race. This is completely consistent with anthropologists' anthropological measurement of human bones unearthed in cemeteries. By the time of Loulan State in Han Dynasty, the ethnic composition of Loulan residents had a new development. They were born with Caucasians, including Mongolians. The ancient inhabitants of ancient Eurasia took this not-lush land as their foothold, hoping to build a beautiful home here!
Exploration history of Loulan ancient country
190 1 year, with the help of local guides, the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin discovered the "Ancient City of Loulan" in the north of Lop Nur, claiming that it was "the reappearance of Pompeii in the desert" and caused a sensation in the world. Chinese and foreign scholars believe that the ancient city of Loulan is the most important historical relic discovered by the prosperous ancient Loulan country on the Silk Road. It plays a vital role in studying the ancient history of Xinjiang and even Central Asia, the historical changes of the Silk Road, and the exchange and integration of Chinese and Western cultures.
A large number of archaeologists, geographers and geologists followed. They are:
Huntington Expedition1905;
1906 British Stan expedition;
1908- 1909 Japan's mitsuo otani expedition;
1910-1911Japan's second expedition.
The cultural relics excavated by these expeditions in Loulan ancient city and Lop Nur area have shocked the world with their great value, and the number is countless. In addition, there are stone axes, wood products, pottery, bronzes, glass products, ancient coins and so on. In the Neolithic Age, there were many kinds of cultural relics. Among them, Jin Dynasty Warring States policy and Han Jin manuscripts are the most precious. This kind of handwritten paper is only one or two hundred years later than the paper invented by Cai Lun 105, and six or seven hundred years earlier than the oldest China paper in Europe. The unearthed Han brocade is colorful and exquisite. Some embroidered "Han embroidery (10,000) has infinite descendants (that is, full house descendants)". Some embroidered "longevity", "happiness" or "longevity". The production date is1-2nd century. Another major excavation was the discovery of the letter from Li Bo, the long history of the Western Regions in the Western Jin Dynasty, to King Yan Qi, the so-called "Li Bo Document", and the "Haitou" ancient city discovered according to Li Bo's document. This led Loulan to take away a large number of ancient cultural relics in the later period of research, and wrote and published a series of monographs on Loulan in Lop Nur, praising Loulan as a treasure buried in the desert and a historical heritage.
Scientists from China visited Loulan on 1927. Huang Wenbi, a famous archaeologist and Chen Zongqi, a geographer who came to Loulan with the Sino-Swiss (Canon) Northwest Scientific Delegation, visited the northern shore of Lop Nur many times and excavated the site. More than 70 dated wooden slips of the Western Han Dynasty were unearthed, and the beacon tower site of the Han Dynasty was excavated. A considerable number of bronzes, ironware, lacquerware, woodwork, bones, stones, pottery and silk and linen fragments have also been unearthed. Huang Wenbi published a monograph "Archaeology of Lop Nur" on his archaeological work in Lop Nur area, and the ancient civilization in Loulan area turned a new page in the hands of China scholars. Huang Wenbi was the only archaeologist in China who had been to Lop Nur before liberation.
The Loulan adventure craze in New China once again caused a sensation in the world. The most positive response is Japan. The book Loulan Kingdom written by the famous Japanese historian Mr. Zehejun has been published in two editions. In Japanese elementary school books, there is an introduction about the ancient city of Loulan, which is a household name in Japan.
In the late 1970s, Japan's nhk TV and CCTV jointly produced the TV series Silk Road. At that time, the Institute of Archaeology of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences was invited to assist in filming TV series. They organized teams, overcame many difficulties, and went deep into Lop Nur area for three times, and once again obtained China's wooden slips and documents (including a small amount of fallow) and a large number of precious cultural relics such as ancient money, woolen goods, silk goods, leather products and lacquerware in Wei and Jin Dynasties. The Surveying and Mapping Brigade of the Military Region cooperated with the investigation team to go deep into Loulan to survey and map the topographic map of Loulan ancient city. After accurate measurement, it is determined that Guloulan City is located at 89 degrees 55 minutes 12 seconds east longitude and 40 degrees 30 minutes 57 seconds north latitude. The ancient city covers an area of 6.5438+0.2 million square meters, slightly square, with a side length of about 330 meters. The walls made of mud, reeds and branches are still discernible. A northwest-southeast ancient river runs through the city. The remaining main houses in the city are still well preserved, except for the missing roof, other parts such as doors and windows can be clearly distinguished. In the ancient city, wooden beams, purlins and rafters used for building houses can be seen everywhere. Some of these building materials in Hu Yangmu are carved with patterns, which show a considerable level of craftsmanship and are particularly eye-catching, providing valuable information for the study of ancient architecture. In addition, there are ancient beacon towers, granaries and other architectural relics. As for pottery pieces, felt pieces, ancient copper coins, silk fragments and other cultural relics, only a little excavation on the surface and underground can make "antiques" see the light of day again.
The Japanese called 1988 "the Year of Loulan", and carried out commemorative activities centered on Loulan exploration, such as organizing a 100-member investigation group, holding a large-scale exhibition of Dangheding and Loulan Kingdom, holding a report meeting, and taking photos of Loulan. It can be seen that Loulan's research has already gone global.