Loulan exploration in the ancient country of Loulan

Two achievements made He Ding famous in the world: first, he discovered the ancient city of Loulan, and second, he filled a big gap in Tibet on the map. Of course, from the European point of view, Harding brought them into the western knowledge system for the first time through accurate description. He Ding became a world-class idol, which inspired a group of people including Stein who discovered Dunhuang documents to follow in his footsteps.

Sven Hedin, a Swede, was born in 1865, when19th century was swallowed up by great geographical discoveries. In the field of western geography, it may be said that the whole intellectual community has declared war on the blank spots on the map. This kind of atmosphere makes Swing have a persistent fascination with the unknown world. 1886 spring (19 when he just graduated from middle school), he embarked on the road to leave his hometown. After that, he went to Persia and the Middle East to study in Asia for the first time, and was deeply attracted by the vast hinterland of Asia, and his career direction was determined.

Sven Hedin in his youth.

1In the autumn of 886, Dangheding entered the university to study. 1At the end of 888, Heding first entered China. When he arrived at a border stronghold with the China garrison in western Xinjiang, the garrison commander Keane visited him that night and gave him a gift. This detail shows that at that time, China people did not have the border awareness in the modern sense, at least they did not think that Heding crossed the border illegally. 1890 In April, Swing Harding once again set foot on a trip to the Middle East. As an interpreter of the diplomatic mission of the Kingdom of Sweden, he successfully completed his mission and started his second adventure in Asia with the support of the king. 1890 12 He entered Xinjiang, China, from Russia and arrived in Kashgar, a famous city in Central Asia. However, this is his second visit to China. 189 1 year 65438+1early October, returned to Sweden. 18931June 16, Dangheding went to Asia again, entered the Pamirs in February 1894 and arrived in Kashgar in May 1894. February 1895, February 17, Sven Hedin went to Taklimakan Desert. Due to inexperience and bad conditions, he was rescued by a camel team that happened to pass by ... and then it was the above thing.

The main motivation of He Ding's exploration is that many places there have never been to by westerners, and he wants to be the first westerner. Since then, the long adventure life has even made him too busy to get married. He said: I married China. And this name is closely related to Loulan and Dunhuang in ancient China.

190 1 year, with the help of local guides, the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin discovered the "Ancient City of Loulan" in the north of Lop Nur, claiming that it was "the reappearance of Pompeii in the desert" and caused a sensation in the world. Chinese and foreign scholars believe that the ancient city of Loulan is the most important historical relic discovered by the prosperous ancient Loulan country on the Silk Road. It plays a vital role in studying the ancient history of Xinjiang and even Central Asia, the historical changes of the Silk Road, and the exchange and integration of Chinese and Western cultures. A large number of archaeologists, geographers and geologists followed. They are:

Huntington Expedition1905;

1906 British Stan expedition;

1908- 1909 Japan's mitsuo otani expedition;

1910-1911Japan's second expedition.

The cultural relics excavated by these expeditions in Loulan ancient city and Lop Nur area have shocked the world with their great value, and the number is countless. In addition, there are stone axes, wood products, pottery, bronzes, glass products, ancient coins and so on. In the Neolithic Age, there were many kinds of cultural relics. Among them, Jin Dynasty Warring States policy and Han Jin manuscripts are the most precious. This kind of handwritten paper is only one or two hundred years later than the paper invented by Cai Lun 105, and six or seven hundred years earlier than the oldest China paper in Europe. The unearthed Han brocade is colorful and exquisite. Some embroidered "Han embroidery (10,000) has infinite descendants (that is, full house descendants)". Some embroidered "longevity", "happiness" or "longevity". The production date is1-2nd century. Another major excavation was the discovery of the letter from Li Bo, the long history of the Western Regions in the Western Jin Dynasty, to King Yan Qi, the so-called "Li Bo Document", and the "Haitou" ancient city discovered according to Li Bo's document. This led Loulan to take away a large number of ancient cultural relics in the later period of research, and wrote and published a series of monographs on Loulan in Lop Nur, praising Loulan as a treasure buried in the desert and a historical heritage.

Scientists from China visited Loulan on 1927. Huang Wenbi, a famous archaeologist and Chen Zongqi, a geographer who came to Loulan with the Sino-Swiss (Canon) Northwest Scientific Delegation, visited the northern shore of Lop Nur many times and excavated the site. More than 70 dated wooden slips of the Western Han Dynasty were unearthed, and the beacon tower site of the Han Dynasty was excavated. A considerable number of bronzes, ironware, lacquerware, woodwork, bones, stones, pottery and silk and linen fragments have also been unearthed. Huang Wenbi published a monograph "Archaeology of Lop Nur" on his archaeological work in Lop Nur area, and the ancient civilization in Loulan area turned a new page in the hands of China scholars. Huang Wenbi was the only archaeologist in China who had been to Lop Nur before liberation.

The Loulan adventure craze in New China once again caused a sensation in the world. The most positive response is Japan. The book Loulan Kingdom written by the famous Japanese historian Mr. Zehejun has been published in two editions. In Japanese elementary school books, there is an introduction about the ancient city of Loulan, which is a household name in Japan.

In the late 1970s, Japan's nhk TV and CCTV jointly produced the TV series Silk Road. At that time, the Institute of Archaeology of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences was invited to assist in filming TV series. They organized teams, overcame many difficulties, and went deep into Lop Nur area for three times, and once again obtained China's wooden slips and documents (including a small amount of fallow) and a large number of precious cultural relics such as ancient money, woolen goods, silk goods, leather products and lacquerware in Wei and Jin Dynasties. The Surveying and Mapping Brigade of the Military Region cooperated with the investigation team to go deep into Loulan to survey and map the topographic map of Loulan ancient city. After accurate measurement, it is determined that Guloulan City is located at 89 degrees 55 minutes 12 seconds east longitude and 40 degrees 30 minutes 57 seconds north latitude. The ancient city covers an area of 6.5438+0.2 million square meters, slightly square, with a side length of about 330 meters. The walls made of mud, reeds and branches are still discernible. A northwest-southeast ancient river runs through the city. The remaining main houses in the city are still well preserved, except for the missing roof, other parts such as doors and windows can be clearly distinguished. In the ancient city, wooden beams, purlins and rafters used for building houses can be seen everywhere. Some of these building materials in Hu Yangmu are carved with patterns, which show a considerable level of craftsmanship and are particularly eye-catching, providing valuable information for the study of ancient architecture. In addition, there are ancient beacon towers, granaries and other architectural relics. As for pottery pieces, felt pieces, ancient copper coins, silk fragments and other cultural relics, only a little excavation on the surface and underground can make "antiques" see the light of day again.

The Japanese called 1988 "the Year of Loulan", and carried out commemorative activities centered on Loulan exploration, such as organizing a 100-member investigation group, holding a large-scale exhibition of Dangheding and Loulan Kingdom, holding a report meeting, and taking photos of Loulan. It can be seen that Loulan's research has already gone global.