Tang Dynasty-Tubo Ancient Road: Princess Wencheng's road to Tibet is vague.

"The winding path returns to the twin cities, and the sunset birds fly back. The clouds are heavy and the cliffs are green, and the wind wrinkles the green bay. Stepping on the Dan ladder is as steep as a rock, and cutting the stone lock is the key. Since then, tea and horses have come and gone, and the earth is as high as a river. " This is the scene of the ancient Tang-Fan road written by Qian Maocai, a poet in Ledu, Qinghai Province, during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.

The ancient Tang-Fan Road was an official road between the Tang Dynasty and the Tubo Kingdom more than 0/0,000 years ago, with a total length of more than 3,000 kilometers. It is the main road for economic and cultural exchanges between China and Tibet, and Princess Wencheng passed through this road when she entered Tibet. It not only organically links the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Han nationality areas politically, economically and culturally, but also serves as a bridge between China and Indian, Nepalese and other countries. However, in the long history, the original appearance of the ancient Tang-Fan road has long been blurred. Many mysteries left by it have not been fully explained so far.

Does Sun Moon Mountain really originate from Princess Wencheng?

Sun Moon Mountain, about 70 kilometers away from Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, looks like two hills at first glance on the vast grassland, but the elevation here has actually reached 35 10 meters. Sun Moon Mountain is the dividing line between agricultural and pastoral areas in Qinghai. Looking east, it is an agricultural area, and looking west, it is an endless grassland near Qinghai Lake. This is the main road leading to the depths of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, because it is said that Princess Wencheng passed through here, and the bronze mirror turned into the sun and the moon, becoming a famous tourist attraction. The weather on the plateau is changeable. When the reporter and his party arrived here in July in midsummer, the morning in Wan Li was still sunny, but the temperature soon dropped to the point where it was not too hot to wear a coat for a while in Yun Qi.

Many scholars believe that this is where the ancient Tang-Fan Road rushed to Chiling as recorded in ancient books. This statement can be seen everywhere in all kinds of travel books that can be seen everywhere in the local area. Members of the delegation "accidentally" found the head of Tang Fan boundary tablet in the stone carving in the backyard of Huangyuan Museum in Qinghai Province. According to the staff of Qinghai Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, it was unearthed at the Sun Moon Mountain Pass in the 1980s. According to historical records, the boundary between Tang and Tubo is Chiling. Does this prove that Chiling is Sun Moon Mountain? The delegation did not give a clear answer, but thought that further archaeological proof was needed.

There is a view that Moon Mountain is today's Tang Chiling. For example, Li Zongjun, an associate professor at the School of History and Culture of Shaanxi Normal University, believes that Tang Chiling should be located on the north bank of Taohe River, more than ten kilometers west of Zhuoni Yangba today. He pointed out that, first of all, the statement that Tang Chiling is the Moon Mountain today originated from the statement of Japanese scholar Sato Chang who inherited the statement of French scholar Shi Taian, and the statement of Shi appeared in 1952. However, according to the research of Wu Jun, a Tibetan scholar, in Tibetan history, there was a place called Meiru, where the image of the sun and the moon was carved on the rocks, symbolizing that "the sun and the moon are the only nephews in the sky", but "Meiru is not the Sun and the Moon Mountain in Qinghai today, there is no doubt about it". The name "Today's Moon Mountain" is said to have originated from the story of Princess Wencheng's entry into Tibet, which was widely circulated in the 8th century17-/kloc-0. It's just a beautiful and moving poem. "Therefore, the name of Sun Moon Mountain in Qinghai today is related to the boundary between Tang and Fan, which is doubtful.

Secondly, the clear record of Chiling in history books can be found in Song Yunji of the Northern Wei Dynasty. However, combined with Song Yun's records and today's field trip, we will find that if today's Chiling is the Moon Mountain, there are many contradictions between the itinerary and the time. But if the location of Chiling is arranged in today's Taohe River area, it can be better explained.

Where is the Stone Treasure City in wyndell dichinson?

Determining the location of Chiling is also to locate the famous Shibao City. According to historical records, Chiling is 20 miles west of Shibao City. In the early Tang Dynasty, the Battle of Shibaocheng was one of the most bitter confrontations between Tang and Tubo. According to the Book of Old Tang Dynasty, in the 17th year of Kaiyuan, Wang Yi, the general of Shuofang, captured Shibaocheng, but in the 29th year of Kaiyuan, it was captured by Tubo. Tang Xuanzong was furious. In order to recapture Shibaocheng, Xuanzong and his generals spent a lot of planning and painstaking efforts, and did not hesitate to pay a heavier price. In the fourth year of Tianbao, Huangfu Weiming, the envoy of Longyou, attacked Shibaocheng, and was immediately demoted and executed by Xuanzong. At the urging of Xuanzong, Wang Zhongsi said: "The stone castle is dangerous and solid, and the Tubo country will defend it. Soldiers today can't kill tens of thousands of people. I'm afraid what I get is not as good as what I lose. Why don't you get my troops and horses ready and take them when there is trouble? Xuanzong was very dissatisfied with his answer, but Wang Zhongsi thought: "Fighting for a city with tens of thousands of people will not be enough to make enemies, nor will it endanger the country ... How can loyal heirs exchange tens of thousands of lives for an official?" "Visible Shi Baocheng in his eyes is difficult to capture. Determined to master Shibaocheng, Xuanzong changed the generals again, making the king the prefect of Hanyang and making Ge Shuhan my ambassador in Longyou. Finally, in the eight years of Tianbao, Shibao City was conquered.

But this battle Tang Jun paid a very painful price. Historically, in order to capture Shibao City, Ge Shuhan first invested 63,000 troops, all of whom were soldiers of the border guards, and forced his two generals who were in charge of siege to make a written pledge to conquer it within three days. As a result, as Wang Zhongsi said, Tang Jun has "lost tens of thousands of foot soldiers". In contrast, the price paid by Tubo was very limited, but it was "defended by hundreds of people", which was just "accumulating more grain and building blocks" before the war. In the end, only 400 people, including Sinoro, were captured by Tang Jun. The great poet Li Bai later ridiculed Ge's sentence "Kill the West Stone Castle for the purple robe", which was not arbitrary.

Li Zongjun believes that it can be inferred from the great difficulties encountered in Tang Jun's attack that the geographical advantage of Shibaocheng is enormous. Today, the dangerous terrain of the eight cities of Jonny Sheep coincides with it. Comparatively speaking, the ancient ruins near Sun Moon Mountain in Qinghai Province "are located on a mound, and the surrounding terrain is open. From the recent Huangshui River calculation, the relative height of the mound is only 20 meters ",and it seems that it is not too much to talk about" danger ".

In addition, if we assume that Shibao City is now Yangba City, we can better explain its strategic significance. Zhou Tao, where this "Stone Treasure City" is located, is a traffic hub, and the west is the Jiuqu area of the Yellow River in the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Zong Rui, Tubo acquired Jiuqu land belonging to the Tang Dynasty through ingenious diplomatic means. Since then, the whole southern Longyou area has been completely exposed to the threat of Tubo. This major strategic mistake of the Tang Dynasty was not made up until Shibaocheng was recovered and firmly occupied. However, there are also many objections to Li Zongjun's statement. It seems that there are still many mysteries about the ancient Tang-Fan road, and more historical materials and physical evidence are needed.

Who is the main and who is the auxiliary in the complex road network?

During May and June of 20 14, the "20 14 Tang-Fan Ancient Road Archaeological Team" composed of five archaeologists from Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and Sichuan provinces14 investigated 44 sites along the route. It is generally believed that the ancient Tang-Fan Road is divided into two sections: the eastern section and the western section. Zhang Jianlin, head of the delegation and vice president of Shaanxi Archaeological Research Institute, pointed out in an interview with the media: "The western section is from Yanzhou to Tubo Zhang Ya (* * *), which is the main part of the ancient Tang-Fan road. It is divided into two branches, north and south. The north line is the postal route recorded in the literature, from Yushu via Nie Rong and Naqu to * * *; The southern line starts from Yushu, passes through shiqu county and dege county in Sichuan, enters * * * Jiangda County, passes through Chaya, Mangkang, Linzhi and Ministry of Industry Jiangda, and enters * * *. It is a new branch line of the ancient Tang-Fan road gradually confirmed by archaeological discoveries in recent years. Zhang Jianlin said, how long has it been since Princess Wencheng left Xi 'an? Did she enter * * * from the northern line or the southern line? Due to the lack of accurate historical records, further archaeological proof is needed.

The reporter learned that the eastern section can also be divided into two routes: north and south. South Road, that is, starting from Chang 'an, along the north bank of Weihe River to Mayi Post (now Xingping County, Xianyang City), passing through Joo Won  and ancient capital Fengxiang (now Baoji City, Shaanxi Province), entering Longshan at the junction of Shaanxi and Gansu, leaving the Great Earthquake Pass, passing through Tianshui, Gangu, Longxi and Weiyuan to Lintao, where it is divided into two branches, one is Lintao North to Lanzhou, and the other is now Minhe. One route is going west to Lintao, passing Linxia, Yongjing, Minhe and Ledu to Xining.

In this complex road network structure, which is the main road and which is the auxiliary road, or there is no distinction between the main road and the auxiliary road, which is only a temporary choice for travelers, and there is no definite answer. According to historical records, we can know that Emperor Xuanzong traveled westward, and Princess Jincheng went to Mayigang when she entered Tibet, which shows that she took the south road. Therefore, it can also be inferred that Princess Wencheng took this road when she entered Tibet. In the five years of the Great Cause, Yang Di Emperor Li Guang led a large-scale team from South Road to Xiping (Xining) to attack Tuguhun, and his driver also chose South Road. In addition, Xuanzang, a famous monk, and some border officials also traveled from South Road to Lanzhou (Xuanzang traveled from Chang 'an to Lanzhou to Wuwei to the Western Regions), Xining or Tibet. It can be seen that South Road seems to occupy a more important position in the traffic between Chang 'an and Xining.

From the actual geographical situation, this can also be explained: Lanzhou's route is shorter, but Linxia County is flatter and smoother, and its advantages are more obvious for large people.