The brand of China, once the third largest city, was Wuwei in Hexi Corridor.

Wuwei, when the East Asian monsoon is warm and wet, takes the breath of the Pacific Ocean across half of China. When the poplars flying all over the east bank of the Yellow River are wrapped around the warmth and throbbing of summer, Wushaoling is still very lonely. As if when Xia Feng came to the foot of Wushaoling, he suddenly felt the vastness of the westward journey, and it disappeared silently. After all, after crossing Wushaoling, we entered the non-monsoon zone from the monsoon zone in China and the arid zone from the semi-arid zone. Wushaoling (photography? Lonely city) ▼ On the other side of Wushaoling is the Hexi Corridor that puzzled Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. Tarquin emerged from here, easily approaching Chang 'an, which made emperors feel depressed. Wuwei in those days, as the nearest Xiongnu stronghold to Wushaoling, must be quite proud. The geographical location of Wuwei (mapping? Attend to the city) ▼ BC 126, Zhang Qian, who has not been heard from for thirteen years, suddenly appeared in Chang 'an. When he took out a long sheepskin map from his sleeve, when the towering snow peaks of Qilian Mountain and the vast grassland of Shuifeimazhuang spread endlessly on the desk of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty ... Liu Che of Han Dynasty swept away his robe and was furious, pointing to the map and vomited three words: Call me! This determination made a teenager, Huo Qubing. Only three years later, 17-year-old Huo Qubing followed Wei Qing on the road to the south of the desert. /kloc-at the age of 0/9, Huo Qubing, as the first general in history, crossed Wushaoling and went straight to Yanqi Mountain, making the Huns sing a sad song that was sung through the ages: Qilian Mountain lost me and six animals were unhappy; Losing my mountain makes my married wife colorless. Yanzhishan (photography? Gucheng) ▼2 1 year-old, Huo Qubing led the light cavalry into Mobei, sweeping the Xiongnu ministries, "drinking horses in the vast sea, sealing wolves in Xu". From then on, "Xiongnu fled far away, and there was no Wang Ting in the south of the desert". Young heroes, when they were young, were full of blood and whipped their horses for their country. The phrase "Why should the Huns stay at home before they are extinct" even surprised the world. This is a city that shows the glory of a great country, and it is also the horn of the Han Dynasty to embrace the western regions. Martial arts and military strength scared in all directions. This is Wuwei. 0 1 In the pre-Qin period, Shangshu Gong Yu was divided into Kyushu, one of which was called Yongzhou. In BC 106, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty divided the territory of Dahan into thirteen states, each with a secretariat, which was merged into thirteen secretariat departments. He renamed Yongzhou Liangzhou. According to the Records of Liangzhou County, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty changed Yongzhou to Liangzhou, and the land was cold because of its gold. That is to say, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought Liangzhou was in the west of China. Judging from the five elements, the west belongs to gold, and the weapons are only cold, which also reveals the meaning of Liangzhou's cold climate. Liangzhou in this period is like "province" today. Its jurisdiction covers not only the whole territory of Gansu, but also parts of Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and Xinjiang. Liangzhou Prefecture has long been located in ancient Tibet, which is today's Wuwei. Department of History of the Thirteen Western Han Dynasties (Cartography? Lonely city) ▼ West of Chang 'an, many towns, large and small, may not be as prosperous as Wuwei. Wuwei, as the gateway to defend Chang 'an and control the western regions, has long been the political, military and cultural center of northwest China. Wuwei, as the port of Hexi Corridor in and out of the Central Plains, has always been an important town for commercial exchanges between China and the West before the advent of the Ocean Age. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wuwei had become a "special economic zone" for foreign trade, and people who came here to do business could make a fortune in a few months. Because supply and demand are booming, even at night, there are still transactions in the market. That is to say, as early as 2000 years ago, there was a night market in Wuwei. ""Ancient Tibet means rich city, strong currency and Hu, and the city and the sky are four in one. Everyone who lives in the county town will be unprofitable for several months, which will also lead to rich products. There are 100,000 households in Liangzhou in the history of the later Han Dynasty, and the Hu people can play the pipa. It was the third largest city in China after Chang 'an and Luoyang. At that time, people yearned for Wuwei, just like today's pursuit of Beishangguang. Liangzhou Ci, which was popular all over the country in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, sang people's hopes and imagination for this frontier city. Wine luminous glass, want to drink pipa, hurry up immediately. Don't laugh when you are drunk on the battlefield. How many people fought in ancient times? -Liangzhou Ci William Wang (Tang Dynasty) The word "Liangzhou" was deeply imprinted in Wuwei. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, there were five "cool countries" in Hexi region. Because every king who founded the country attaches great importance to the word "cool" and does not distinguish it, this history is very complicated. To put it simply, the five cool countries are: front cool, back cool, south cool, north cool and west cool. Their capitals are distributed in different cities in Liangzhou. The former is cool, the latter is cool in Wuwei, the latter is cool first in Zhangye and then moved to Wuwei, the latter is cool in Ledu, Qinghai and the latter is cool in Jiuquan. In 160, there were 26 cool kings, of which 18 had its capital in Wuwei, so there was a history of Liangzhou, and half of them were in Wuwei. On the south gate of Wuwei, the Liangzhou monument is still hanging high. It can be said that after reading these two words, I also understand inaction. Wuwei Nanmen Building (Photography? Gucheng) ▼ 02 Whether it is the "martial arts" that shocked all directions, or the "Liangzhou Malaysia" that runs rampant all over the world, Wuwei is full of domineering, but the cultural atmosphere here has a completely different side. We often say that the humanistic temperament of a place is closely related to education. Beijingers have a cordial atmosphere when listening to Beijing Opera, while Sichuanese have a melodious elegance when listening to Sichuan Opera. Jiangsu people listen to Kunqu opera with talent, Henan opera with simplicity, Shandong Bangzi with loyalty, and the northeast two people turn to a festive atmosphere ... Wuwei is very different, and people here listen to "filial piety". It is said that "filial piety" appeared in the Qin Shihuang period. In order to alleviate the hard work after work, people use Sanxian to match the stories of heroes, sages, loyal ministers, dutiful sons and daughters in historical classics, and even tell them with songs, which implements the concept of being virtuous in life and filial at home. "Xianxiao" is found all over Liangzhou, but it is especially concentrated in Wuwei. After all, people are big cities. So this is very powerful. When all parts of China are enjoying leisure and entertainment, Wuwei has not forgotten to teach seriously ... But we didn't hear "filial piety" in the street, but we met many old people playing the erhu, playing the sanxian and banging the bangzi. Ancient tunes are obviously out of tune with the music we like today, but we are still willing to accept it. Old people playing by the roadside (photography? Gu Cheng) ▼ 03 At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were wars everywhere, and natural disasters were serious. Countless people died of famine and war. In a midnight full of fear, a silent figure appeared on a high rammed earth pile due north of Wuwei. Under the mound is a secret grave. But this man knows that in order to survive, he must make a choice. The owner of the tomb is a general who died in battle. The war was fierce, and the soldiers only brought back his leg bone from the battlefield. At this time, his wife was still alive, so people buried the general's bones with his wife's decorations. The reason why this Han tomb is different is that it is a memorial hall and a memory. The horses and chariots of Leitai Han Tomb are enlarged copies (photography? Lonely city) ▼ This person in the dark may be a descendant of a craftsman. His ancestors participated in the construction of this tomb, so he can accurately make a cave from the front of the main tomb. Under the thick rammed soil layer is a dome tomb of masonry structure, which has no bonding and support. The pressure on the dome by rammed earth remains stable, and it will collapse if you are not careful. With a flickering torch, he sneaked into the tomb from the dug hole, took away the gold and silver that were easy to realize, and then carefully sealed the hole. Maybe this is god's intention. When he came out of the grave, in a panic, a pair of earrings slipped from his pocket and landed gently on the ground, ringing a subtle bell. The gold earrings unearthed from Leitai Han Tomb are hidden in Gansu Provincial Museum (photography? Lonely city) ▼ In the silent and dark tomb, gold earrings can't reveal a trace of brilliance. In the next 1700 years, only the rows of copper galloping horses in the back room stared at them quietly, as if telling the waiting and companionship that never left. The chariots and horses unearthed from Leitai Han Tomb are hidden in Gansu Provincial Museum, and the replica (photography? Lonely city) ▼ On the tomb where no one is hiding, Ling Juntai was built by the former cool people, and Leitai was built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty to worship Raytheon. It was not until 1969 that the local people finally found the clue when they dug holes to accumulate grain. A huge bronze horse array suddenly appeared in front of the world, and one of them was the "flying swallow on horseback" that amazed the whole world. The bird under the horseshoe, the handsome figure of the horse and the ingenious balance of the whole sculpture are amazing in both technology and conception. A fine horse screams, and a tiger gives birth to the wind. This little bronze galloping horse is not a wonderful presentation of great country feelings and cultural self-confidence. Mata Yan Fei is in the Gansu Provincial Museum (Photography? Gu Cheng) ▼ Around the 3rd century AD, the "Eight Kings" of the Western Jin Dynasty seized power, followed by "Five Wild Flowers", which devastated the life in the Central Plains. But in Liangzhou, people are not only safe, even like many other areas in Du Nan, they continue the dignity of Chinese civilization. 30 1 year, a secretariat came to Liangzhou. His last words warned future generations, which can also be said to be a portrayal of his life: Hong devoted himself to rules, being good for the people, thinking about serving the country and making up with his family. After Zhang Gui took office in Liangzhou, the first thing he did was to destroy the rebels, the second thing was to appease the people, and the third thing was to run a school with Chinese culture and etiquette. The world is in chaos, and the tracks are not chaotic. He is the only one who has slowly expanded a city in the poor northern land. Nature is his favorite and most prosperous Wuwei. A ballad that has been passed down to this day sings such a contrast: Qinchuan has no wrist in blood, and only Liangzhou leans on the column. Under the rule of Zhang Gui, Wuwei enjoyed social stability and prosperous commerce, and many Central Plains people who took refuge came here one after another. For a time, this land, which was originally inhabited by nomadic peoples such as the ancient Qiang, Wusun, Xirong and Xiongnu, was also leisurely walking with the well-dressed gentry in the Central Plains. In the singing of Sanxian and Huqin, the endless sound of reading began to come from all directions. Descendants come down in one continuous line, and clothes do not fall. In the era of bloodshed, Liangzhou sheltered the context of the gentry in Qin, Han, Wei and Jin dynasties, and the Confucian way of being a gentleman also took root and flourished in Liangzhou. Wuwei Confucian Temple is holding a memorial service to Confucius (photography? Gu Cheng) ▼ 05 In 382 AD, Lv Guang, a former Qin general, led an army to the Western Regions. When he won, he didn't forget to bring Kumarajiva, the most famous genius of Qiuci. This is a radiant monk. It is said that he can talk for six months, read at the age of three, read widely at the age of five, and study with his mother at the age of seven. At a young age, he was familiar with ancient and modern times and Buddhism, and became famous in the western regions. Because history chose Wuwei, when Lv Guang went to Liangzhou, he suddenly heard that his emperor had been killed, so he simply stopped in Liangzhou and established the Hou Liang regime in Wuwei. At the same time, Lv Guang also built a temple for Kumarajiva to live and spread Buddhism. During his seventeen years in Wuwei, Kumarajiva not only learned Chinese, but also translated nearly 100 Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures, thus starting a Buddhist exchange festival. Roshi Pagoda still shines with the light from Kumarajiva's heart. Make a wish before death: if there is nothing against the original intention in translating the classics, you will burn yourself after death and your tongue will not rot. "My salary is broken and my tongue is not bad," said the monk in the temple. This pagoda, which has a history of 1600 years, also hides the tongue relic of Master Kumarajiva. Kumarajiva Tower (Photography? Gu Cheng) ▼ Soon, Hou Liang disappeared and Beiliang regime entered Wuwei. During this period, monks gathered in Liangzhou began to dig Buddhist caves on the ladder mountain 50 kilometers south of Wuwei. Tiantaishan Grottoes, the ancestor of China Grottoes, gradually surfaced. Tiantai Mountain Grottoes (Photography? Gucheng) ▼ In 439 AD, the Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed the northern cool, and some of the monks in Liangzhou moved to Pingcheng (now Datong, Shanxi), and the other part went west to Dunhuang, and the grotto art in Liangzhou also spread from east to west. The shadow of Tiantai Mountain Grottoes can be easily found in Yungang Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes excavated in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Even the Dunhuang Grottoes dug earlier had the help of Liangzhou monks in its heyday. Photography: Earth Traveler @ Gucheng When we were in Gansu Museum, we saw many huge Buddha statues in one room. At that time, we thought these were all new, so we walked away. Later, we learned that these Buddha statues all came from Tiantai Mountain. What a pity. 1958, Huangyanghe Reservoir will be built soon. It is estimated that after impoundment, most of the Tiantai Mountain Grottoes will be submerged in water, and a work to relocate and rescue the grottoes' cultural relics will be carried out simultaneously. Today, the Giant Buddha Grottoes in Tiantai Mountain are protected by thick cofferdams. We walked on the cofferdam, with a vast water surface on one side and a 30-meter-high grottoes on the other. If there is no cofferdam, the lake is likely to flood the chest of the giant Buddha. In fact, people initially overestimated the water level of Huangyanghe Reservoir, and there is no threat to the small caves on the hillside when the water level is the highest after storage. However, many caves were already "empty" when they were rescued. Only the giant Buddha sat firmly and stretched out his palm to face us, as if to say: I'm not leaving. Photography: Earth Traveler @ Gucheng 06 We chatted with a teacher in Wuwei. She said, "It's a pity that we have such good things in Wuwei, but our popularity has never gone up." "Many people know that Zhangye has Danxia, Jiuquan has satellites, and Dunhuang has Mogao Grottoes, but when it comes to Wuwei, I can't remember a familiar object. Mata Yanfei, listed as a tourist symbol of China, was unearthed in Wuwei, but it has been transferred to Gansu Museum for better protection and proper storage. Wuwei lacks an eye-catching magnet, and its rich historical background and cultural background are also hidden by time, waiting to be discovered and recognized. Now people often call Wuwei Liangzhou, which was named by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to the whole Hexi Corridor, because the names of Wuwei County and Liangzhou always changed here during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. A thousand years later, Wuwei is still Wuwei, and Wuwei is not just Wuwei. This city bears the brand of the Han Dynasty and also bears witness to the unity and unity of China. 1247, Pandita, a religious leader of Sakya Sect, and Kuo Duan, a Mongolian general, held a famous "Liangzhou Talks" at Baita Temple in Wuwei. On this day, * * * was officially incorporated into the territory of China, giving the rooster a more majestic and tall posture. Baita Temple became the historical witness of this important event. Border towns are only drunk, what else can they do? Going out from Wuwei will lead to the vastness and bright moon in the border, and coming in from Wuwei is the call of a country. In the most affectionate answer, Wuwei is the preface to the prosperous times of the great country that the son of heaven in the Han family yearns for. PS: We have been hiking in Hexi Corridor for more than ten days, with a journey of more than 4,000 kilometers. This is a double feast of human history and natural landscape. In order to make it clear what the Hexi Corridor is and live up to the beautiful weather in the northwest, we intend to write it in five episodes. Wuwei is the first episode, followed by a summary of Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang and Hexi Corridor. At the same time, we also tailored an activity for Hexi Corridor. The first phase is planned to start in early July. If you are interested in Qilian Mountain, Hexi Corridor and Silk Road, pay attention to our later articles and activities to ensure that you return home with a full load! Pay attention to earth travelers, don't miss good articles! Original works, please contact us if you need to reprint them. It is forbidden for all platform accounts to reprint and extract without authorization, and search for "Global Traveler"? For more good articles, click "Learn more" below.