How did Loulan, a mysterious ancient country, flourish? How did you die? Where are Loulan people from?

Loulan Ancient Country is located in the north of Ruoqiang County, Bayinguoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, in the northwest corner of Lop Nur, 7 kilometers south of Peacock River. The Silk Road is divided into north and south roads. Loulan is the main thoroughfare of the South Road of the Silk Road, and the starting point of the Silk Road is Chang 'an, the capital of the Han Dynasty.

From Chang 'an to the west, through the entire Hexi Corridor, after leaving Yumenguan in Dunhuang, you will enter Loulan, which is the only place where the South Road of the Silk Road passes. Starting from Loulan, along the Tarim River to the west, it is shache, and then crossing the Green Ridge to the west, you can reach Dayue's family and rest in peace (now Iran).

When Loulan Kingdom was established is not recorded in the history books. The Central Plains dynasty first learned about Loulan Kingdom, or in the letter from Hun Modu Khan to Emperor China, which came from Historical Records of Xiongnu. Mo Du Khan said this in his letter:

God bless, good officers and soldiers, Ma Zhuang, the Vietnamese will be destroyed by barbarians and will be killed. Ding Loulan, Wusun, Hu Jie and twenty-six neighboring countries all thought the Huns. Thanks to God's blessing, the officers and soldiers were excellent, and the horses were strong and powerful, so the Yue people were pacified and destroyed, all the enemies who refused to resist were killed, and the people were subdued. They pacified Loulan, Wusun, Hu Jie and 26 neighboring countries, all of which became subjects of Huns.

This year is 176 BC. During the reign of Emperor Wendi of the Western Han Dynasty, the Han people first heard the name Loulan, and Loulan had been conquered by Xiongnu at that time, so the establishment of Loulan Kingdom must have been earlier than 176 BC.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty went to war with Xiongnu. Liang Wudi learned from the Huns' captives that Yuejia, the enemy of Xiongnu, was in the Western Regions, so he sent a mission headed by Zhang Qian to contact Yuejia to attack Xiongnu. However, Zhang Qian was captured by the Huns after his mission. Ten years later, Zhang Qian found an opportunity to escape and came to Yue's home from the northern line of the Silk Road. A few years later, Zhang Qian returned to the Han Dynasty, took the southern route of the Silk Road, passed Loulan, and from there.

In the early years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the westernmost part of the Han Dynasty ruled only Longxi and Liangzhou. In BC 12 1 year, the Han Dynasty launched the Hexi War against the Huns. After two battles in Hexi, Huo Qubing opened the whole Hexi Corridor, which made the control area at the westernmost end of the Han Dynasty reach Yumen Pass and opened the door to the western regions. Contacts between the Central Plains and the Western Regions began to be frequent.

In BC 104, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Wan Li, not far from Li Guangli, to levy Dawan (now Uzbekistan), successfully conquered Dawan, and got a good horse from Dawan to return to the Han Dynasty, which made the Han Dynasty a great success in the Western Regions. From then on, the Han Dynasty began to manage the Western Regions until the reign of Xuan Di, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who set up a capital protection office in the Western Regions.

According to the biography of the Western Regions in Han Dynasty, the capital of Loulan is in Laini City (now Ruoqiang County, Xinjiang), with 1.570 households, a total population of 1.4 1.000 people and 29 1.2 troops, which is not as big as a county in Han Dynasty.

However, this did not affect the prosperity of Loulan ancient country at that time. As a strategic location of the South Road of the Silk Road, businessmen and envoys from the East and the West constantly meet here. Judging from the Chinese bamboo slips and Baluwen bamboo slips unearthed in Loulan (written by Indian Peacock Dynasty in Ashoka period), Loulan was influenced by both eastern and western cultures.

Loulan has developed rapidly. From the later archaeological sites, the ancient city of Loulan covers an area of1.2000 square meters. In its heyday, Loulan also controlled the neighboring countries such as Ruoqiang, Jingjue, Qiemo and Xiaowan, and became one of the seven great powers in the Western Region. With an army of less than 3,000 people, Loulan has become one of the seven great powers in the Western Region. Although it is small, it is strong.

So what makes Loulan ancient country strong?

Simply put, there is only one reason: the unique geographical location, on the one hand, the unique natural environment, on the other hand, the unique strategic position.

Loulan Ancient Country is located in the eastern edge of Taklimakan Desert and the northwest corner of Lop Nur. It was once the second largest saltwater lake in China. Tarim River, Peacock River, Qierqin River and Shule River are tributaries of Lop Nur, and numerous rivers make Loulan an oasis in the desert.

Water is the source of life. After Loulan has water, there are trees and green plants. In its heyday, there were many trees near Loulan. With water, the residents of Loulan can cultivate crops and raise cattle and sheep. According to Hanshu, Loulan is rich in jade, with many reeds, weeping willows, Hu Yangshu and white grass. Donkeys and horses are produced, and there are many camels.

The unique natural environment enables Loulan's economy to develop, so it can carry more people. The strategic position on the south road of the Silk Road allows more people to pass through Loulan, which brings commercial prosperity. People from different cultures, languages and faces exchange goods here, replenish resources and enrich Loulan. This is the reason why Loulan is powerful.

Any regime has its strengths and weaknesses. Loulan flourished in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, shortly after the opening of the Silk Road. Since the late Western Han Dynasty, Loulan began to weaken. It was not until 448 AD, that is, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties in the Central Plains, that Loulan was destroyed by the Xianbei regime in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Later, the Northern Wei Dynasty used the county system to manage Loulan.

From 65438 BC +076 to 448 AD, Loulan existed for 624 years, even longer. From 448 to now, Loulan has perished 1573, so what is the reason for Loulan's weakness and extinction?

1, the political helplessness of small countries.

Loulan, as an important small country in the western regions, was sandwiched between Xiongnu and Han Dynasty, and implemented the strategy of not offending both sides. The Han dynasty asked Loulan to surrender, and the Huns also asked Loulan to surrender. Loulan had no choice but to send one son to the Han Dynasty as a proton and the other son to the Xiongnu as a proton, so as to make ends meet and neither side would offend.

But in fact, both sides are guilty because they can't do it at all. The Han Dynasty asked Loulan to send troops to attack the Huns. What did Loulan do? If you can't, you just won't send troops, which will offend the Han Dynasty, and so will the Xiongnu side. According to historical records, the Han Dynasty captured King Loulan many times. Once, Wang Hui captured King Loulan with 700 people, and another time, Ren Wen captured King Loulan from Yumenguan.

But this does not make Loulan always pro-Korean. Under the pressure of Xiongnu, Loulan once killed the messenger of the Han Dynasty, so the Han Dynasty sent Fu Jiezi to Loulan to criticize. Fu Jiezi tricked King Loulan into drinking in the name of giving away property, and then sent two people to slay King Loulan on the spot, saying a paragraph to the officials and soldiers of Loulan country:

King Loulan was guilty in the Han Dynasty, and the emperor of the Han Dynasty sent me to kill him. He should be replaced by a prince held hostage by the Han Dynasty. Han army just arrived. Don't make a move. If you move, you will destroy your country. Then the people of Loulan did not dare to move, so Fu Jiezi returned to the Han Dynasty with the head of King Loulan and changed Loulan to Shanshan. Since then, Loulan has been called Shanshan in China history books. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty lost control of the western regions. Until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ban Chao went to the Western Regions and killed the Xiongnu emissary in Loulan. Loulan surrendered to the Han Dynasty again, and Ban Chao reopened the Western Regions.

As long as Loulan betrayed the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty would find fault, and so would the Huns. Loulan was sandwiched between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu, which was the worry of a small country, and eventually led to its domestic split into two factions, one was the pro-Han faction and the other was the Xiongnu faction. Loulan is already very weak, but it is still divided into two forces, which are weaker and eventually lead to extinction.

2. Strength makes it.

As mentioned earlier, the total population of Loulan is only14,000, and the total strength is less than 3,000. Although it is known as one of the seven great powers in the western regions, it is not comparable to the Central Plains Dynasty. As long as the first world war fails, it will destroy the country. The control of the Western Regions by the Han Dynasty can also determine the political ecology and stability of the Western Regions. After the decline of the Han dynasty, the western regions were also fighting in their own way, and Loulan was constantly consumed in the constant war.

After the demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Pi once set up a captain of Wuji in the Western Regions, and Loulan surrendered. After the demise of Cao Wei, Loulan surrendered to the Western Jin Dynasty. During the Five Chaos in the Central Plains, the western regions went their own way. Later, Loulan also surrendered to the former Qin and Beiliang. After the Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed Beiliang, Loulan died casually, and Loulan finally died in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

3, caused by the natural environment.

1972, Zhu Kezhen, a famous meteorologist, published a paper "Preliminary Study on Climate Change in China in the Last Five Thousand Years", which divided the five thousand-year history of China into four warm periods and four cold periods, of which the second cold period lasted for about 600 years in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties until the end of the 6th century.

What happened in the second cold period? According to historical records, the Huaihe River was frozen, and Cao Pi conquered Sun Quan in 225 10. As a result, because the Huaihe River was frozen, it was impossible to wage war. There are similar records, for example, the Bohai Sea was frozen in 334, and it was three years in a row.

The unusually cold caused the whole Huaxia region to be colder, which greatly changed the weather and affected Loulan. Loulan is an oasis on the edge of the desert, and it can thrive on water. Cold weather will affect the water consumption in Lop Nur, especially the large temperature difference there, which will also lead to the reduction of water consumption. If there is little water, it will affect normal life.

Lop Nur has dried up to now. Although Loulan didn't do it when it existed, it was enough to affect Loulan's survival. In addition, according to some historical records, the main rivers of Lop Nur, Peacock River and Tarim River, are diverted and farther away from Loulan. Without water, Loulan people can only migrate. In addition, being on the edge of the desert, we should always guard against the attack of Taklimakan desert storm, which will also affect Loulan's national luck.

When the Loulan site was discovered, it was already a piece of yellow sand and ruins, which confirmed the damage caused by the harsh natural environment. When the natural environment where Loulan is located is getting worse and worse, the local people will continue to flee there and live in a more suitable place, and Loulan will be abandoned by the times and become a ruin.

So where are Loulan people from?

1934, Sven Hedin discovered a small river cemetery175km west of the site of Loulan ancient city, which contained more than 1000 coffins and a mummy named "Little River Princess".

1980, China archaeologist Mu Shunying unearthed a female mummy in Lop Nur, Xinjiang. Research shows that this body has a history of 3800 years. This body discovered is called "Loulan Beauty".

Both Princess Xiaohe and Loulan Beauty have obvious Europa style, that is, they are white. After DNA testing of other mummies in the same cemetery, it is found that these mummies have both European and Asian DNA, which means that Loulan people represented by Princess Xiaohe and Loulan Beauty should be mixed-race.

According to textual research, Loulan people's Asian genes probably came from Asians living in northern China to Lake Belga, almost from Siberia, while Loulan people's European genes basically came from the eastward movement of Europeans in Central Asia and West Asia.