What is the origin of Yelang in Guizhou?

On the vast and desolate Guizhou Plateau, human beings lived and multiplied 240,000 years ago, which is one of the cradles of ancient humans. Yelang Kingdom appeared from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, which is the representative of southwest national culture. According to the historical records, "the prince of southwest Yi is the longest, and the yelang is the biggest."

Successive archaeological discoveries gradually unveiled the mystery of Yelang. Many ancient relics confirmed that Yelang area was indeed a "farming gathering place" two thousand years ago. Hezhang Coke Tomb brings us into a mysterious ghost world, where there are many unknowns and countless "mysteries of Yelang" are hidden. Many unusual bronzes have been found here, showing the characteristics of "heterogeneous culture" different from the Central Plains. The bronze drum culture, which originated very early, shows the historical context of the evolution from bronze pots to bronze drums. Where did these strange bronzes come from? The Tonggushan cultural site in Pu 'an gives a clear answer: they originated from the creation of Yelang people.

A large number of pottery found in Yelang's hometown conveyed a lot of historical information. As a symbol of settled life, the appearance of pottery shows that people have settled down on the basis of paddy field agriculture. The pottery spinning wheel tells us that the primitive era of "naked" has become a thing of the past; There are many carved symbols on pottery, similar to "Wen Tao" in the Central Plains, which is regarded as the embryonic form of writing.

Yelang's discovery is very dramatic, which comes from "stewed beef with vegetables". In order to "push the boat with the current" and attack South Vietnam, there was "Tang Mengtong Yelang". With the footsteps of the Han army, in the wave of developing "southwest barbarians", the "South Barbarian Road" was opened up, and a post station was set up to connect with Suijiang River. Finally, Yelang was brought into the territory of Han Dynasty, which broke the closed state of Yelang's arrogance. As a result, a large number of Han tombs appeared on the Guizhou Plateau, and the civilizations of the Central Plains and Yishu were introduced into Guizhou.

Yelang-the representative of southwest national culture

China culture is a combination of "diversity" and "integration". When the Han culture rose in the Central Plains, various national cultures appeared in the border areas. In ancient literature, Yunnan, Guizhou and western Sichuan were referred to as "Western Yi", while Yunnan and Guizhou were referred to as "Southern Yi". Yelang is the most prominent among dozens of tribes, and it is the representative of southwest national culture.

Historical Records says: "Pingnan is the county." According to this, historians have made a basic judgment: the scope of the county in Han Dynasty is generally Yelang's hometown, that is, south of Bashu, east of Yunnan, north of South Vietnam and west of Wuling County.

Tracing the origin of prehistoric culture in Guizhou

As early as 240,000 years ago, ancient humans flourished in this land of Guizhou. Tongzi people belonging to late Homo erectus, Shuicheng people and Neanderthals belonging to early Homo sapiens, Xingyi people belonging to late Homo sapiens, cave-piercing people and Taohuadong people were found here. If these findings are also related to the "Lufeng ancient ape" and "Yuanmou man" in Yunnan, we will see a development picture from ape to man, which has no connection. Therefore, most scientists believe that Yunnan Plateau is one of the cradles of human beings.

Archaeology has confirmed Sima Qian's saying that "city to the tiller"

Sima Qian divided the social economy of "southwest yi" into three types, namely, "bringing the city with agriculture", "migrating with livestock" and "moving without soil". Yelang had a high level of development at that time and belonged to the category of "gathering cities with agriculture". They began to cultivate rice fields and settled down in the village.

From the Warring States Period to the Western Han Dynasty, there were a large number of graves in the Zhongshui area of Hezhang Leke and Weining, indicating that people had begun to settle down at that time. The discovery of pottery and copper hoes strongly proved that it was already a "farming city gathering" at that time. Although the funerary objects unearthed from Han tombs were funerary objects of Han immigrants, they also reflected the agricultural situation in Yelang area of Han Dynasty.

Mysterious ancient tomb

The ancient tomb is the resting place of the soul, hiding many historical secrets. Leke Township in Hezhang County looks relatively remote now, but it once flourished in ancient times. It used to be the place where the Han army was stationed, leaving many Han tombs where foreign Han immigrants were buried. The overall characteristics of these Han tombs are closed, and archaeologists call them first-class tombs. On the south bank of Leke, there is also a kind of earthen pit tomb without soil sealing, with a total of 168, which is called Class B tomb or "Nanyi tomb". There are many similar pit tombs in the water town of Weining. Some people say it's the tomb of Yelangbian Town. Hezhang Leke Class B Tomb is one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in China in 200 1 year, dating back to the Warring States Period. These ancient tombs have brought us into a mysterious ghost world.

The excavated Class B tombs have no earth seal and no pyramid-way, but only some small rectangular vertical-hole tombs, including upturned limb burial, row burial and mass burial. Among them, more than 20 graves are different. There is no coffin or bamboo mat in the grave. The heads of the deceased were placed in copper kettles or iron kettles, and a few of them were covered with copper kettles and iron kettles. Archaeologically, it is called "head burial". This kind of burial method is extremely rare, so far, it has not been recorded in other places at home and abroad. It is said that a kind of "bronze drum burial" was found in Putuo, Xilin, Guangxi. All the bones were put in an inverted bronze drum, and the other was covered with a bronze drum. Experts believe that these are two completely different burial methods. "Buried with hood" is unique to Guizhou, and it is probably the tomb of "Gu Yelang people".

Unusual bronzes

Among the bronze weapons unearthed from Hezhang Leke Class B Tomb and Weining Zhongshui Tukeng Tomb, there are several rare things on display, which are unheard of by ordinary people and experts in cultural relics appraisal are also amazed. For example, iron sword with straight handle, copper sword with snake head, gluttonous copper brother, heart-shaped copper cymbal and so on. These weapons have never been seen in the Central Plains, Bashu and other regions. They must be "things beyond the sky"! Similar artifacts have also been found in Xuanwei, Qujing and other places in Yunnan, and the cultural consistency just shows the primitive nature of Yelang people.

The message conveyed by pottery

Pottery is a great invention in the Neolithic Age and an important symbol of people's settled life, because it is impossible to use fragile pottery in wandering life. From the Neolithic Age to the Western Han Dynasty, many pottery wares were unearthed in Guizhou. The appearance of pottery pots, pots, pots, steamers and bowls reflects that pottery has been widely used in daily life. The pottery kiln at Tonggushan site shows that it was ready to be fired at that time. The pottery wells and cymbals unearthed from Han tombs are a portrayal of people's settled life at that time.

The Wave of Developing "Southwest Yi" in Han Dynasty

Yelang area, which is surrounded by mountains and waters, had no access to Bashu at first, and the so-called "Wuchi Road" in the Qin Dynasty was just a "passing".

In order to unite Yelang to attack South Vietnam, Tang Meng called for "sending Bashu soldiers to rule the road and point the river from the road (now Yibin, Sichuan)". Its project is huge and arduous, so it took tens of thousands of people to manage it painstakingly for more than ten years. After all kinds of hardships, it opened up the road to Yelang country, which was called "Nanyi Road" in history. According to scholars' research, "Nanyi Road" starts from Songyu Road and reaches Songyu River through the northwest of Guizhou. Archaeological data have gradually confirmed that the records in Historical Records are well documented.