The eastern starting point of the ancient Silk Road was ( ).

Both Luoyang and Chang'an.

The starting point of the Silk Road of the Western Han Dynasty was Chang'an.

The starting point of the Silk Road of the Eastern Han Dynasty was Luoyang.

Recently, on the basis of respecting history and fully demonstrating, the national authority officially clarified that the two eastern and western capitals (Luoyang and Chang'an) of the Han Dynasty were the starting points of the Silk Road.

Luoyang: The well-deserved starting point of the Silk Road

Source: Time: 2006-09-01 09:03:39

In August this year, UNESCO The State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage convened an international consultation meeting on the application of the Silk Road as a World Heritage in Turpan, Xinjiang. The meeting confirmed that Luoyang: the well-deserved starting point of the Silk Road

Recently, the national authoritative agency respects history and fully demonstrates On this basis, it was officially clarified that the two eastern and western capitals (Luoyang and Chang'an) in the Han Dynasty were the starting point of the Silk Road. This was a great event that delighted the people of the city. In the past few days, the general public has paid widespread attention, and some non-governmental organizations have also spontaneously organized cultural gathering activities such as "Ten Thousand Signatures" and "Revisiting the Silk Road" to cheer for the Luoyang section of the Silk Road's transnational application for world cultural heritage and "love the ancient capital". The enthusiasm of "love Luoyang, love hometown" is rising again.

So, what is the connotation of the Silk Road? What is the relationship between the Silk Road and Luoyang?

Luoyang has been identified as one of the eastern starting points of the Silk Road

According to Guo Yinqiang, director of the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau, there has always been a view in the academic community that the starting point of the Silk Road is Xi'an, not Luoyang. Although many experts at home and abroad have argued with a large number of historical facts, there has been no conclusion.

From August 2 to 7 this year, UNESCO and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage held an international consultation on the Silk Road World Heritage application in Turpan, Xinjiang, to bring this high-profile Silk Road project that has been brewing for many years The cross-border application for World Heritage has been officially put on the agenda. This meeting focused on solving four issues:

——Determine the definition and nature of the Silk Road, that is, the Silk Road is a road of business travel and cultural exchange across the Eurasian continent, with a long history history and rich cultural connotations.

——The start and end times and main routes of the Silk Road (Chinese section). The Chinese section of the Silk Road started from the east and west capitals (Luoyang and Chang'an) of the Han Dynasty and ended at the end of the Qing Dynasty; from the east and west capitals of the Han Dynasty Starting from Beijing (Luoyang, Chang'an), going west through the Hexi Corridor and Dunhuang, it is divided into three roads: south, north and middle in Xinjiang, and finally leads to Central Asia from Alimari (now Ili) and Kashgar (now Kashgar) in Xinjiang .

——The criteria for applying for world heritage have been determined, and we will strive to submit the first batch of official documents for the Silk Road’s transnational application for world heritage within 3 to 5 years.

——The cooperation intentions reached at this meeting will form a practical action plan at the Samar Conference to be held in October this year.

This meeting clearly stated that Luoyang is one of the eastern starting points of the Silk Road. As an important part of the Silk Road, Luoyang has been officially included in the transnational heritage application project.

There are 6 cultural relics in Luoyang included in the list of bundled projects

On August 8, the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau held an emergency meeting and determined the basic conditions for the Henan Silk Road to apply for the World Heritage. Framework: With Luoyang as the core, connected to Gongyi and Dengfeng in the east, and Sanmenxia in the west, within this scope, various types of cultural relics that meet the conditions for World Heritage application are selected as objects of application.

On August 19, the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau held another meeting to further clarify the first batch of Silk Road World Heritage Lists preliminarily determined with the Luoyang area as the core. Our city’s ancient cities of the Han and Wei dynasties, Luoyang City of the Sui and Tang Dynasties Six cultural relics including the Baima Temple, Mangshan Mausoleum Group, Gongling Mausoleum of Tang Dynasty and Longmen Grottoes are on the list. In addition, Gongyi Grottoes, Shaolin Temple, and the Ancient Roads of the Two Capitals (Luoyang and Chang'an) are also on the list.

The Silk Road’s transnational application for World Heritage is a huge systematic project. Relevant city leaders attach great importance to this. Sun Shanwu, member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, clearly pointed out that it is necessary to fully understand the far-reaching significance of Luoyang’s status as the starting point of the Silk Road in the East and strengthen the organization and leadership of the work of applying for World Heritage; Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Mayor Lian Weiliang and other leaders specifically gave instructions: This work must be done well.

According to Guo Yinqiang, at present, the application work for the Luoyang section of the Silk Road, which is mainly undertaken by the city's cultural relics department, especially the preliminary preparations, is in full swing, and all application materials are basically ready.

What is the rich connotation of the Silk Road?

According to Guo Yinqiang, in 1877, the German geographer Richthofen first proposed the term Silk Road. Based on what he knew, he only saw that the Silk Road was a transportation channel that ran through China and the West at that time. In actual terms, the Silk Road has three major trunk lines: the Desert Silk Road, the Grassland Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road. The Desert Silk Road starts from the East and West Beijing and goes west to Central Asia and West Asia and directly to Europe. It is also the route determined by this transnational heritage application. The Maritime Silk Road starts from Luoyang, along the southeast coast, through the Strait of Malacca, and across the Pacific to the west. The Grassland Silk Road starts from Luoyang, goes north through Monan and Mobei, passes through Kazakhstan, and reaches Europe via the Aral Sea, Caspian Sea, and Black Sea.

Of the above three lines, the middle Desert Silk Road is the most famous and important. Since its opening, it has been an all-round and multi-purpose carrier. It is a link connecting the ancient East and the nations along the route, and is a link of commerce and trade. The road and the spread of species are a road for cultural, artistic and technological exchanges, a road for enhancing understanding and friendship, a road for envoys for political exchanges among countries along the route, a pilgrimage road for the spread of various religions, and a road for national migration and integration. The road is the road of long-term competition and war. It covers the four major civilization circles of China, India, Persia-Arabia and Greece-Roman.

Historically Luoyang’s contribution to the Silk Road

Luoyang is one of the eastern starting points of the Silk Road and has greatly promoted the formation and development of the Silk Road.

Researcher Xu Jinxing, former director of the Cultural Relics Management Institute of the Ancient City of Han and Wei, said that in 138 BC, the Western Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions, and the Silk Road across the east and west was opened. However, during the Wang Mang period, the relationship between the Western Regions and the Central Plains was interrupted. By the time of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the rule of the Western Regions was again brought up. In 73 AD, Ban Chao was sent from Luoyang as an envoy to the Western Regions, restoring the Silk Road that had been interrupted for half a century. Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty sent Cai and Qin Jing as envoys to India to introduce Buddhism, and they traveled westward along the Silk Road; the eminent monk Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty also traveled along the Silk Road when he went to India to learn Buddhist scriptures. According to documentary records, there were four students from the Western Regions in the Imperial Academy of the Western Jin Dynasty. In Luoyang City, there were quite a few businessmen from the Western Regions and even the Qin Dynasty (Roman Empire).

Dr. Chen Liangwei, director of the Luoyang Work Station of the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, focuses on the research of Luoyang City in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. He said that in recent years, a large number of relics and relics related to the Silk Road have been unearthed in Luoyang, including figurines that indirectly reflect the business travel activities of barbarians on the Silk Road, ancient coins from some Central Asian countries, and tombs of people from the Western Regions who settled in Luoyang. wait. All these fully demonstrate that Luoyang is one of the eastern starting points of the Silk Road.

Dr. Chen Liangwei said that during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Silk Road was at its most prosperous due to factors such as greater surpluses in material production, mature consumer markets and consumer groups, and the completion of the integration of transportation resources along the Silk Road. Luoyang City in the Sui and Tang Dynasties was the largest capital city in the world at that time, and its culture and commerce were world-famous. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the national supplies were first concentrated in Luoyang through the Sui-Tang Grand Canal, and then transferred to Chang'an City and all over the country. Some commodities, such as silk, silk, silk, porcelain, etc., were then transported to all parts of the world from the east and west capitals through the Silk Road; the Western Regions and West Asia Even European spices, pearls, corals and other commodities were imported to Chang'an and Luoyang through the Silk Road, and then sold throughout the country.

(Shi Wenyu)