When it comes to Gansu, what do you think of? I think most people will think of Dunhuang. After all, the buildings, murals and sculptures of Mogao Grottoes form the unique three-dimensional art in the grottoes, which makes people yearn for it.
Some people may also think of the deserts and Gobi Deserts in the northwest. It is really Wang Wei writes the ancient border too majestic and magnificent. "The desert is lonely smoke straight, and the long river is round" vividly depicts the majestic and vast desert, making people open their minds.
If someone has ambitions but is depressed, then he may think of Wang Zhihuan 's " Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not cross the Yumen Pass" , and he will be in a majestic and desolate scene.
Yes, Yumen Pass, as an important frontier in ancient times, not only played an important role in military defense, but also economically, it is an important channel to Western Regions . It has traveled and merchants gathered, which is very prosperous, promoting the prosperity of the frontier and even the entire Central Plains.
At the same time, it is located in the frontier and is also very easy to witness war, betrayal, and intervene in peacetime prosperity and wartime defeat. times passed, and it witnessed the changes in the Central Plains territory, but now it is only a mound of soil left.
Wudi Jianguan
Yumen Pass was first built in Western Han period. According to historical records, Emperor Wu of Han attacked Hun and repelled them step by step. In order to consolidate the results of repelling the Huns, and after Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, Han Dynasty wanted to strengthen its ties with the Western Regions, he set up four counties and two passes in Hexi Corridor .
Among them, the two levels refer to Yumen Pass and Yang Pass . There are many descriptions of these two levels in the poems of Tang and Song dynasties. As for the origin of the name Yumen Pass, it is said that because the beautiful jade in the Western Regions entered the Central Plains through this place, the name of the word Yu is taken as its name.
As a result, frequent economic and cultural exchanges began in the Central Plains and the Western Regions, and the grapes, pomegranates and other things and religious culture in the Western Regions were also introduced to the Central Plains, and the silk, jade, etc. in the Central Plains were also spread to the Western Regions, and Silk Road was born.
In the ancient Central Plains, the development of the northwest was started, and the construction of Great Wall and other defense measures were carried out. In addition, most of the vicinity of Yumen Pass were swamps, which formed a pass that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
At the same time, the people of the Central Plains also moved here to farm, and a defensive barrier that "no ten thousand men can open" and a key business path of "merchant exchanges" were formed. This barrier that promoted the economic prosperity of the Han Dynasty and the strong national strength gradually closed under the influence of Wang Mang's reform of in the late Han Dynasty.
Sui and Tang moved to the pass.
After the above mentioned influenced by the restructuring, the Yumen Pass site moved from northwest of Dunhuang to east of Dunhuang. According to historical records, it was moved to Guazhou.
Yumen Pass Recovery Picture
At this point, its status has become less important than that of the Han Dynasty, and it has even gradually become desolate. Although there was no longer the prosperity of the Han Dynasty, fortunately the favor of literati and poets, Yumen Pass was still full of vitality after being moved and shined in poetry.
In the early Tang Dynasty, the country is strong and the people are rich, and wars are frequent in the second half. However, whether it is the prosperous Tang Dynasty or the late Tang Dynasty, a group of literati emerged. With their talents and knowledge, Yumen Pass, which has a unique geographical location and profound economic and military role, became a symbol of the frontier.
Tang Dynasty The social atmosphere of advocating force inspired the people of the Tang Dynasty. Whether they were scholars or the people, they actively joined the army, strived to achieve military achievements, and actively walked towards the border, determined to protect the Central Plains, and expand the territory.
And everyone who has been to Yumen Pass was fascinated by it. With a big stroke, it became an important image in frontier poems.
Cen Shen , Li Bai , Wang Zhihuan, Wang Changling and other literati all described Yumen Pass, or described the harsh environment and desolate scenery outside the frontier, or expressed the burden of making achievements and defending the country and the unfulfilled sentimentality of the ambitions, as well as the hardships of war and the homesickness of the border guards.
Even some people who have not reached Yumen Pass will write down the ambition of "You are born into Yumen Pass" or "Why do you need to be born into Yumen Pass ".
Just like that, after experiencing prosperity and decline in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Yumen Pass was always passed down in poetry with images. After , , Lu You, , and Wang Ye of the Ming Dynasty, also wrote it into their poems to make it circulated.
In addition to appealing to the two well-known sites of the public, the most mentioned in history books are th Yumen Pass in the early Song Dynasty.
to the beginning of the Song Dynasty of the Five Dynasties, it had moved to about two hundred kilometers east of Tang Yumenguan. At this time, it is also called "Shuiguan Gorge" and "Heishan Gorge".
If Yumen Pass during the Tang Dynasty had some Han Pass legacy due to the social environment and cultural achievements of frontier poetry, it can be said that it was gradually declining, then when it was , the Song Dynasty , it would be truly prosperous.
During the Song Dynasty, sea routes were gradually opened, and commercial development gradually turned to the southeastern region of the Central Plains. After experiencing prosperity and prosperity, the Silk Road began to decline, and the economic value of Yumen Pass on this road was naturally gradually lost.
However, in terms of defense, it still has irreplaceable value. It was called "Shuimen Pass" at that time, and it was adjacent to Jiayu Pass and had a dangerous terrain. Since the Song Dynasty, a large number of soldiers have been stationed there, which played an important role in fighting foreign invaders behind.
Until Northern Song , Xixia occupied the Hexi Corridor, and Yumen Pass really disappeared. Since then, it has really only lived in the writings of literati and existed in historical books.
After several ups and downs, the precipitation of several ups and downs
Looking at the Yumen Pass ruins years, after the long historical twists and turns, time came to the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. British sinologists visited Yumen Pass many times. Then, with the development of Chinese archaeology, Yumen Pass once again returned to people's vision.
The current Yumen Pass is not a gateway for caravans in the Han Dynasty, nor is it a battlefield where people shout and horses neigh. There is only a loess tower in all directions that are no longer than 10 meters in length, width and height, but it is the medium for us to clear the curtain of time, travel through the long river of time, climb high and look at it, and talk to history.
Climbing this square small city, looking around, it is the narrow Gobi Desert. Maybe Wang Zhihuan once stood there, looking at the Central Plains and wrote "Liangzhou Ci";
From the footsteps, it is a swamp, maybe Li Bai is going down there and looking at the moon and writing "Guanshan Moon"; and the tall willows in the distance seem to respond to Wang Zhihuan.
There are also green springs around, swaying reeds... Yumen Pass has witnessed the dispute between the Central Plains and the Huns, participated in the exchanges between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, and heard the poet's singing.
And these are all in its broken walls and ruins. It is such a small city wall. Every wall is a history book, every scratch is a story, a time, a story left by history on it - that is the ancient call from history.
This time, it is finally no longer an image in poetry, but a key object of cultural relics protection, a representative ruin included in the "World Cultural Heritage List", and a tourist attraction that is longing for.
