Turning to the history of China, since Qin and Han Dynasties, Hexi Corridor has been one after another, which has become the road of communication between the Central Plains dynasty and western civilizations in previous dynasties, and even the western world, and also the wrestling ground between the Central Plains dynasty and the neighboring minority regimes. Reviewing this historical evolution is helpful for us to understand the ethnic integration in Hexi region.
First, the superior geographical factors of Hexi Corridor
Hexi Corridor is located in today's Gansu area, and its name comes from: "Longxi, Gansu, Liang Su and other places, because it is located in the west of the Yellow River, it has been called Hexi since ancient times." [1] It is located between the Mongolian Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and also between Heli Mountain and Nanshan Mountain in Qilian [2], forming a plain area, which is suitable for farming and transportation, and is a natural corridor. Because this area connects the Central Plains and the Western Regions, it tends to walk. Ningxia in the north, Qinghai in the south, Shaanxi in the southeast and Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia in the northwest. Longhai-Lanxin Line, the longest east-west railway trunk line in China, passes through here, and there are important cities such as Wuwei, Zhangye and Jiuquan along the railway. At present, it is still an important channel connecting Asia and Europe and communicating with the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The Hexi Corridor is a dangerous terrain, which has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. If the neighboring minority regimes seize this place, North and South Lian Heng can invade the Central Plains. If the Central Plains regime abides by it, it can cut off the north-south ties of the western minorities and send troops to control them in different ways.
The specific advantages of Hexi Corridor are as follows: (1) Hexi Corridor borders Heli Mountain and Longshou Mountain in the north and Qilian Mountain in the south, with two veins in the middle. It has a long and narrow flat area that looks like a corridor. The corridor is over 1000 km long and only1000 km wide. Since Zhang Qian devoted his life to opening this corridor in the Western Han Dynasty, it has been desolate and bright for two thousand years, and the famous ancient Silk Road passed through it. Hexi Corridor, located in Qilian Mountain, is affected by the cold climate on the plateau. Qilian Mountain is located in the alpine zone above 4200 meters above sea level, with snow all year round. When the spring blossoms, the stream formed by melting water of snow and ice in Qilian Mountain is the basis for people's survival in Hexi Corridor and the basic guarantee for economic and cultural prosperity here. Oases are scattered all over the arid land in the northwest of China, which is the only place for business travel by postal route in ancient and modern times. As the pass of Qilian Mountain in Hexi Corridor, Jiayuguan means "beautiful valley", which is the starting point of the western end of the Great Wall in Wan Li and an important pass on the ancient Silk Road. It is located between Qilian Mountain and Montenegro, at the narrowest place in the west of Hexi Corridor. It has always been a battleground for military strategists and is known as the "first pass in the world." (2) Climatic types of irrigated agriculture and ecological agriculture in Hexi Corridor. Because the Hexi Corridor is high in the north and south, low in the middle and long and narrow in the east and west, and the Qilian Mountain in the south is an important water source of the Hexi Corridor, its melting water of ice and snow and rivers play a great role in the formation of oasis, population distribution and the rise and development of towns in the Hexi Corridor. Central corridor plain irrigation agriculture has a long history and is the essence of northwest oasis irrigation area. The agricultural production technology and economic development level of Hexi Corridor are in the forefront of Gansu Province, and irrigation has a long history. Spring wheat, millet, corn, sorghum, potato and flax are the main crops in the oasis. However, it is also facing the severe ecological environment situation and the arduous task of social and economic sustainable development. The oasis in Hexi Corridor only accounts for 17.4% of the total area, and the rest are deserts, Gobi and oases that are difficult to use. The number of windy days in Hexi Corridor is about 60-70 days per year, and the average wind speed can reach 4 kilometers per hour. It is not only a big channel for sandstorms in China to move eastward and southward, but also one of the main sandstorm source areas in northern China. The existing ethnic groups are Han, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Kazakh, Yugur and other ethnic groups.
Second, the historical evolution of the ancient Hexi Corridor
From the Qin Dynasty to the early Han Dynasty, Hexi Corridor was Wusun, Yueshi and Xiongnu successively. [BC 174- 16 1] The Xiongnu King and the Xiongnu Evil King drove away the Wusun and Yue clans who lived here and occupied the Hexi Corridor. In the Western Han Dynasty, from the second year of founding ceremony, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty [BC 12 1], the county was established and placed under the Liangzhou secretariat. Later extended to the Western Jin Dynasty, it was under the jurisdiction of Liangzhou secretariat. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it successively belonged to the territory of Liang Qian, Qianqin, Hou Liang, Xiliang and Beiliang. The Northern Wei Dynasty unified the North and retained Liangzhou. Later, the Northern Wei Dynasty split and its land was divided into several state capitals. In the Tang Dynasty, after the first year of Dali [766], the Hexi Corridor was successively occupied by Tubo. In the fifth year of Dazhong [85 1], Zhang Yichao recovered Hexi and returned to the Tang Dynasty. During the Five Dynasties, Uighurs occupied many areas. After the establishment of Xixia, Hexi Corridor became the jurisdiction of Xixia. Jiading returned to Mongolia after seventeen years [1224]. In the Yuan Dynasty, Mongolia abandoned Fanhe County in Xixia, and in the 18th year of Yuan Dynasty [1293], Gansu Province was established as Zhongshu Province [in Zhangye]. In the fifth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty [1372], Hexi Corridor was assigned to Shaanxi. In twenty-seven years [1394], he served as the governor of Shaanxi. The early Qing dynasty followed the Ming system. In the seventh year of Yongzheng [1729], he served as the minister of Zhili Gansu Province [in Lanzhou].
China has a long history of communication with foreign civilizations, which is fully proved by ancient cultural relics excavated in various places. In the second century BC, Zhang Qian "hollowed out" the western regions, and the Silk Road officially became a "national road" to communicate with China and foreign countries. There are many messengers and businessmen, which makes the "secret realm" of the western regions not secret. Oasis Silk Road starts from Chang 'an (Xi 'an), passes through Weihe River, enters Longlong, passes through Hexi Corridor, reaches Dunhuang, and is divided into south, middle and north roads by Yangguan, Yumenguan and Hami. Because the largest amount of goods exported through this road is the Central Plains Silk, it was later named "Silk Road" by German geographer Richthofen, which originally meant the traffic artery from China to Central Asia (between Amu Darya and Syr Darya) and between China and India in the Han Dynasty. Because the Silk Road can vividly and highly summarize the essence of Chinese and Western traffic, Chinese and foreign historians have since inherited it and become the floorboard of China's traffic to Asia, Africa and Europe. So when it comes to the Silk Road, there are four viewpoints, namely, the northern grassland Silk Road across Eurasia; Oasis Silk Road across the desert of Central Asia; Maritime Silk Road across Southeast Asia, India, Persian Gulf and Red Sea; Through Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet and Guangxi to India and Southeast Asia. Generally speaking, the Silk Road is the Oasis Road, and the emphasis here is also the Oasis Silk Road.
The opening of the Silk Road has created conditions for the convergence and exchange of Chinese and foreign cultures and arts in the Asian center. At that time, camel horses and carriages were the main means of transportation, and it took more than three years to make a round trip. China's silk, jade, gunpowder, papermaking and papermaking were introduced to Asia, Africa and Europe, and Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism, Buddhism and Islam were introduced to the Central Plains. The Silk Road in the civilized world has become a veritable bond. After Xuanzang went to India to learn from the Buddhist scriptures, he wrote The Tale of the Western Regions of Datang, which described the geographical scenery, ethnic customs and historical legends along the way. Today, on the ancient Silk Road, there are still many relics reflecting the cultural, economic and political exchanges and integration at that time. The investigations and excavations that have been unearthed since modern times have constantly confirmed the original prosperity.
Three. Major historical events in Hexi Corridor
(A) Hexi Corridor during the formation of events
1. Xinjian county. In the second year of Yuanshou [12 1], in order to cut off the threat and get in touch with the western regions, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent a general of generals in ancient times, Huo Qubing, to lead the army, and conquered Hunhun King and Xiutu King who occupied Hexi twice in spring and summer. Huo Qubing led the troops into the hinterland, swept five Xiongnu countries, and won a great victory, forcing the evil king of Xiongnu to kill King Xiutu and return to the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Huo Qubing was drinking and having fun at the edge of Jinquan, drinking royal wine with soldiers, hence the name Jiuquan. The Han Dynasty chose this name to set up Jiuquan County and Wuwei County in Hexi. 2. According to the two levels, there are four counties. In order to consolidate Hexi and manage the western regions, Zhangye and Dunhuang counties were separated from Wuwei and Jiuquan counties in 1 1 BC. Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang are located in Hexi. At the same time, Yangguan and Yumenguan were built as the gateway to the western regions. It has created more favorable conditions for governing the western region and opening up the traffic between China and the West, which has had a far-reaching impact in the history of our country. 3. Build the Great Wall and set up pavilions. On the basis of defeating the Huns, the Western Han Dynasty extended the Great Wall built by Qin Shihuang to Jiuquan, and then from Jiuquan to Longle County of Dunhuang County, extending Qin Changcheng to the west by more than 1000 kilometers. There are pavilions and towers, that is, beacon towers, every fifty miles along the Great Wall. The big one is called a barrier, and the small one is called a pavilion. Garrison defense, shouldering the dual tasks of wasteland production and fighting to protect the border. 4. Be honest with the people. The immigration policy of Han Dynasty played an important role in the development of Hexi. According to Han Shu and Historical Records, after the establishment of Zhangye County and Jiuquan County in the Western Han Dynasty, Tianguan was set up, and 600,000 people moved from the mainland to guard the fields here. A large number of immigrants to Jiuquan and Dunhuang not only increased the population and labor force, but also brought advanced production technology and culture to the Central Plains and made great contributions to the development of Jiuquan. 5. Zhang Qian made two missions to the Western Regions, which opened up the Silk Road. The Western Han Dynasty established four counties in Hexi, which strengthened the control of Hexi area, and also paid attention to the social and economic development and the prosperity of the Silk Road. 138 years ago, Liang Wudi sent Zhang Qian across the Hexi Corridor occupied by the Huns to the western regions, contacted Yueshi people and attacked the Huns. Money 126 failed. 1 19 years ago, the emperor sent Zhang Qian to the western regions, accompanied by more than 300 people, carrying 10,000 heads of cattle and sheep, gold, silk and property of 100 million yuan, starting from Chang 'an, passing through Jiuquan in Hexi, crossing Xinjiang to Wusun, and sending envoys as far away as Hamadan in India and Iran. In two years [before 1 15], Qian returned to Chang 'an and the Silk Road was opened. After the emperor moved to Iraq, Alexandria, Egypt and other countries. Since then, exchanges between China and the West have never been more frequent. The Silk Road, which runs across Asia and connects Africa and Europe, is 7,000 kilometers long and connects China, Indian, Babylonian, Egyptian, ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Jiuquan and Dunhuang are its only places to pass. The envoys to the western regions "face each other across the road, ranging from a few hundred people to hundreds of people, from a dozen to five or six batches a year." China's four great inventions were introduced to the west through this road, and the specialties of the Western Regions and Central and Western Asia were also introduced to the Central Plains along the Silk Road.
(2) Consolidate historical events in the development period.
1. Dou Gu defeated the Northern Xiongnu and Ban Chao ruled the Western Regions. At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in the first year of Jianyuan [AD 25], the northern Xiongnu was powerful and conquered most of the western regions once ruled by the Western Han Dynasty, and the Silk Road was cut off. In AD 29, Dou Rong, a warlord who occupied Hexi, led the five counties in Hexi to submit to the Eastern Han Dynasty. In 73 AD, Liu Xiu, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, sent Dou Gu and 12,000 soldiers and Hu Qiang cavalry to defeat the Huyan King of the Northern Xiongnu from Jiuquan in Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang, thus opening the door to the Western Regions. The famous Ban Chao made great contributions in this battle, so Dou Gu sent him to the Western Regions. After efforts, Ban Chao re-established relations with countries in the western regions, and finally resumed the traffic between the mainland and the western regions that had been interrupted for more than 60 years. In 9 1 year, it was appointed as the capital of the western regions. Ban Chao lived in the Western Regions for more than 30 years, but because of his advanced age, he wrote to the Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, saying, "I dare not look at Jiuquan County, but hope to live in Yumenguan" and asked to leave the Western Regions. In A.D. 102, Ban Chao was finally ordered to return to Luoyang, an old man over the age of ancient times. Wang Xiliang moved to Jiuquan. During the 300-year civil strife in the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Jiuquan experienced the rule of nine separatist regimes, namely, the Western Jin Dynasty, the former Qin Dynasty, the Western Liang Dynasty, the Northern Liang Dynasty, the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty. The longest ruling period was 96 years in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the shortest was 10 years in the former Qin Dynasty. Among them, Li Yan, the country of Xiliang, established Dunhuang in the fourth year of Longan [400], and moved the capital to Jiuquan in the first year of Yixi [405]. In this turbulent era of more than 300 years, it is also a period of great integration of people and clusters, and Hexi Corridor has become an international city with the integration of Chinese and Western trade and culture. Celebrities come forth in large numbers, and talents come forth in large numbers. Suo Jing, Zhu Fahu, Song Yun, Song Xian, Li Guo, Liu Fang, Yizhen, Qi Jia, etc. They are all famous local scholars in China. For example, people from Jiuquan went to Dunhuang Research Institute to study classics, and then opened the door in Jiuquan to teach students, with more than 2,000 disciples. 3. Emperor Yang Di went to the Western Ocean. In 58 1 year, the sui dynasty was established and died in 589, ending the 280-year-long division between north and south and unifying the whole country. In the first year of Daye [605], Suzhou was stopped, and Fulu County entered Zhangye County. In 609 AD, Yang Dixi visited Zhangye, and envoys from 27 local governments in the Western Regions came to meet him. They all wear gold and jade, brocade, burn incense and play music, sing and dance, and make noise. Yang Di also let the ladies of Zhangye and Wuwei dress up and put on dozens of miles to show the strength of China. This is an unprecedented event in the history of Jiuquan Dunhuang, and it also reflects the prosperity of Jiuquan and Dunhuang at that time. Tang Priest went to Suzhou to learn from the scriptures. In the autumn of 629, the third year of Zhenguan in Tang Dynasty, Xuanzang set out from Chang 'an, passed through Lanzhou, Liangzhou and Suzhou, and made a short stay, that is, camped in Guazhou, accepted Hu as a disciple, and granted the "Five Commandments". With the help of Guazhou official Li Chang and an old man, he embarked on a long journey to the west. Later, with the help of Wang Xiang, the captain guarding the beacon tower, Wang Bolong was able to reach Yiwu through Dunhuang. 4. Zhang Yi was overweight and returned to the Tang Dynasty. In the first year of Guangde [763], Suzhou fell into Tubo. In March 848 AD, Zhang Yichao, a native of Shazhou, led an uprising to pursue the Tubo garrison, and successively conquered Guazhou, Yizhou and Xizhou Zhengtufan, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Lanzhou, Shanshan [East Qinghai], Hezhou [Linxia], Zhou Min [Min County] and Kuozhou [Qinghai Hualong]. After the success of the Shazhou Uprising, Zhang Yichao sent envoys to Chang 'an to return to righteousness. In August [85 1], Zhang Yichao officially worshipped the sandbar defense ambassador, and in November, he was promoted to the sandbar our ambassador. Hexi tends to be stable and rich again.
(C) Hexi Corridor in the period of reunification
1. Genghis Khan won Jiuquan. 1206, Genghis Khan unified the tribes in Mobei and established a powerful tribal alliance and brave Mongolian cavalry. 1225, Mongolian soldiers returned from the Western Expedition. Because 12 1 1 surrendered Xixia broke the contract and did not follow the Western Expedition, the Western Expedition was resumed. 1March 226, there was a drought in Hexi States, and the people had no food. In April, Mongolian soldiers attacked Xixia. Genghis Khan led his troops to Guaer sandbar first. Defeated by the fake ambush of the garrison in Shazhou, he turned to Suzhou. Suzhou is the important town of Xixia, and it is heavily guarded. Temujin besieged the city for several days, and he was very anxious. Just guarding the city are thousands of brothers from Mongolia, who set up Shaxian County, and their relatives are exempted from 106 households and returned to the fields. His son Asha was named the hereditary Confucian Huachi in Suzhou. The rest of the city people were all slaughtered. The following year, the sandbar was broken, followed by Gansu and Liangzhou, Xixia, Suzhou, Gua and Sha, all of which were owned by Mongolian soldiers on 1227. Although the agricultural and mulberry fields burned, seized and destroyed by the war were restored in the twenty-seventh year of the Yuan Dynasty, there were still only 10,000 people in Jiangsu and Saudi Arabia, and only 8,700 people in Suzhou. Suzhou is the residence of Dalu Flower Pond, while Xiahe Qinhuang City, Manjusri Mountain, Jinta Wang Zi Village, Yumen Jinchi, Bloomberg and Shazhou are the residences of the kings of the Yuan Dynasty. Shengfeng built Jiayuguan. In the fifth year of Hongwu [1372], Ming Taizu sent a general, Sheng Feng, to defeat the Yuan Army and pacify the whole Hexi region. Shengfeng, located at the most edge of Suzhou, built Jiayuguan City to control the gateway of the western regions, and abandoned the melon country and the sand country outside the customs. 3. Peicheng expands Suzhou City. In the 28th year of Hongwu [1395], Su Mingpei City expanded Suzhou City. In the second year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty [1466], the governor promised to build Dongguan again. There are 80 steps 4 miles outside the East City, and 8.3 miles around the new old city. 4. Midian rebellion. In the fourth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty [1647], the territory of the Qing Dynasty was initially determined, and some Ming generals secretly raised the anti-Qing banner and waited for an opportunity. And Mi Ciyin, Guodong Ding first took Lanzhou as a stronghold and ran to Ganzhou after the city was broken. Ganzhou is broken and rice is dead. Ding arrived in Suzhou, took Tulongtai as the king, gathered reinforcements from Suzhou Muslims and Hami Uighurs, and occupied the city. Inside and outside Jiayuguan, Uighurs and other ethnic groups have responded. In May, the Qing army pursued Suzhou under the guidance of Yu Xianlong, the general manager of the Qing army. In December, Zhang Yong and Ma Ning defeated Suzhou. Kill Guodong Ding. Anxi, Dunhuang was saved from the disaster of war, and the secret chaos was the beginning of peace.
(D) Modern Hexi Corridor Incident
1. Left governs Hexi. Guangxu three years (1877) in February, left moved to Suzhou. In July of the following year, Zuo donated money to repair Jiuquan Academy built by scholars' institute in neighboring counties. During the period of 1880, the left governor undertook to repair houses, roads, bridges, temples and schools in various counties, build canals and dams, and plant trees extensively. The following year, Jiuquan Academy was changed to an academy, and an examination was held to take scholars on the spot. The county community vaccination sub-bureau vaccinates children. The signing of the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty stipulates that Russians can trade in Xinjiang and Lanzhou to Jiayuguan. At the initial stage of trade, it was temporarily exempted from tax, and Russian goods were imported and released after ticket inspection. 1890 10 The telegraph line from An to Suzhou was completed, with a total length of more than 2,900 li. Two hundred and two thousand pieces of silver. 1904 Reconstruction of Suzhou Drum Tower. 2. Wenjiaquan Uprising. On the eve of the Revolution of 1911, the dark corruption of the Qing government and the foreign policy of humiliating the country aroused more and more resistance from the people. Farmers in Hexi area are suffering from exorbitant taxes and levies, and revolutionary sentiment is on the verge. 19 1 1 year1October 10 After the Wuchang Uprising, various provinces responded in succession. In winter, in the name of practicing medicine, revolutionary Zydron actively organized contact revolutionary actions in Jiuquan and Jinta, and organized them four times in Jiuquan. A team of 500 people, based in Huaimao Wen Jia Circle, trained troops and made gunpowder and weapons. It was scheduled to attack Jiuquan City on the 30th of the twelfth lunar month in response to the Xinhai Revolution [19 17 February]. As a result, it was suppressed by the Qing army and 100 people were killed. Zydron died heroically near Fangjiatun village. 3. The Red Army fought bloody battles out of Qilian. Twenty-six years of the Republic of China [1937] in February, marked troops marched into Qilian Mountain, and the Kuomintang sent three militia groups in Jiuquan County to cooperate with the Ministry of Health's Ma Department to stop the Red Army from advancing westward in Hongyazi, Gao Tai and Qilian Mountain, and also made the Jiuquan business group follow Ma Jun to Anxi and Shibaocheng to pursue the Red Army. The left detachment of the marked army walked out of Qilian Mountain to rest the mushroom platform. After the failure of attacking Anxi City, he broke through in Wangjiazhuang, fought hard in Hongliuyuan and entered Xinjiang. 4. Peaceful liberation of Hexi. 1After the liberation of Lanzhou on August 25th, 949, the Second Corps of the First Field Army pursued the enemy in the Hexi Corridor along the Gan Xin Highway, successively liberated the cities along the route and established arms control committees at all levels.
To study the history of Hexi Corridor again, we should not only realize the importance of its geographical location, but also see that Hexi Corridor is a multi-ethnic mixed area in China in history, which is also the historical reason for the local multi-ethnic mixed area. To study history, we should not only look back on the past, but also learn from it. Good ethnic relations are not only conducive to the prosperity of the Hexi Corridor, but also to the stability of the western border of China.