Jiyuan Ancient Land: Human Ecology in the Heihe River Basin

Author: Se Yin / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: Throughout history, numerous battles of varying scales have taken place on the ancient ruins of Jiyuan. In the summer of the second year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (121 BC), the Han army launched a second attack against the Xiongnu in Hexi. General Huo Qubing led over 10,000 cavalry from Beidi County (located in present-day Qingyang County and Huan County in Gansu Province) and traveled thousands of miles to Jiyuan, where they engaged in an unspecified-scale confrontation with the Xiongnu Jiyuan tribe, before turning toward Xiaoyuezhi and attacking the Xiongnu forces in the Qilian Mountains. They captured the Chief of Jutu, the Chief of Shanhuang, the Prime Minister, Generals, and Commanders, and surrendered over 10,000 Xiongnu soldiers, achieving a complete victory. In the second year of Tianhan (99 BC), in September, General Li Ling led 5,000 infantrymen from Jiyuan to cross the border and followed the old route of the Xiongnu Longcheng. After traveling 30 days north to Junjishan, he was surrounded by 30,000 Xiongnu cavalry led by the Xiongnu Khan. Li Ling led his troops in a fight while retreating, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. Due to being outnumbered and the failure of General Lu Bobode to provide reinforcements as ordered, Li Ling's troops were defeated in the narrow valley of Hanshan (now the China-Mongolia border). Li Ling was forced to surrender. In the third year of Yongyuan (91 AD), General Geng Ai re-emerged in Hexi, leading 800 elite cavalry to Jiyuan. After crossing the border, he directly marched to the court of the northern Xiongnu and killed over 5,000 Xiongnu queens, named kings, and others in Jinwei Mountain. Only a few riders escaped with the Khan. Geng Ai's victory marked the first time since the Han Dynasty that a smaller force had defeated a larger one in a northward campaign against the Xiongnu. In the tenth year of Taiyuan (386 AD), King Anxi Lü Guang sent troops to attack Xihai County. The county magistrate Wang Zhen led the Jiyuan army, known as "the most renowned in the world," to resist, but ultimately failed. To prevent such uprisings from recurring, Lü Guang relocated the people of Xihai County to other prefectures. In the spring of the third year of Taichang (418 AD), Emperor Tuoba Sidi of the Northern Wei ordered Xue Fan, the commander of the northern Goguryeo cavalry, to lead the Goguryeo and Dingling tribes northward. They defeated the Rouran at Weishui (now the Ejin River) and captured over 2,000 people. After Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ascended the throne, he dispatched generals to launch northern campaigns against the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. The Uyghurs, long at odds with the Turks, aided the Tang army. In the first year of Zhenguan (627 AD), Uyghur chief Pusa marched along the Jiyuan route to Mazongshan, where he decisively defeated the Turkic chief Yugu She and forced him to retreat to Tianshan. Under the fierce attacks of the Tang army, the Turks were compelled to surrender and submit, bringing peace to the Jiyuan region. In the second year of Chigong (686 AD), Empress Wu Zetian dispatched General Liu Jingtong to mobilize cavalry from Hexi to cross the Jiyuan border and attack the Tiele tribes of Tonglu and Pugu, achieving a complete victory. In the fourth year of Yingtian (1209 AD), Genghis Khan launched a war against the Western Xia. In March of that year, he advanced into Hexi from Jiyuan along the Ejin River, capturing the Western Xia city of Khara-Khoto. In the second year of Genghis Khan (1226 AD), Mongol forces again marched south from the northern route into Jiyuan, breaking through the Heifeng Weifu Fortress, which guarded Jiyuan. The powerful Western Xia forces stationed in Jiyuan were annihilated, signaling the impending collapse of the Western Xia. The following year, in June, the Western Xia surrendered to Genghis Khan. In the fifth year of Hongwu (1372 AD), Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang dispatched General Feng Sheng, with Vice-Commanders Chen De and Fu Youde, to launch three campaigns westward into Lanzhou, capturing Hexi and advancing north along the Ejin River to attack the Ming rebel Wang Baogong. They passed through Yijinai. The governor of Yijinai's regional office, Duerzhiban, fled, while another commander, Yan Temür, surrendered. Hexi to Yijinai was pacified. After capturing Yijinai, the Ming Dynasty soon abandoned it, discarding all the farming and other enterprises established since the Han and Yuan dynasties. The area was designated as the borderland of Zhangye and Jiuquan, and the residents were relocated inland. Soon after, the Mongol leader of the northern Tatars occupied the Yijinai region. Local records indicate that there are over 100 ancient ruins and sites in the Ejin Banner. These ruins and sites stretch from Shuangchengzi, adjacent to Jinta County in Gansu Province, in the south to the China-Mongolia border in the north, forming a fan shape along the Ejin River. Among the important ancient ruins are the Han Great Wall, the Segan Pass, the Jiaqu Fortress, the Sajing Fortress, and other fortress walls, as well as the ancient city ruins of Jiyuan, Heicheng, and Yabuli. The Jiyuan Han Great Wall, also known as the Jiyuan Fortress Wall, consists of two main sections of fortress walls in the Ejin Banner. The northern section stretches over 80 kilometers, starting from the Jiaqu Fortress (Pocheng) and extending along the western bank of the Ejin River through a dense network of rivers, passing by Bayan Tola and reaching the western shore of the ancient Jiyuan Lake. Remnants of the wall are still visible near Pocheng at a height of 1.5 to 2 meters, while elsewhere they stand only 0.40 to 0.58 meters high. The walls were constructed using a method of digging soil from both sides and layering it, with a trench remaining 0.40 to 0.75 meters deep near the foundation as late as 1990, likely dug during the construction of the wall. Near the wall are remnants of "Heitian" (fields for growing wheat) as recorded in historical documents. The southern section of the wall starts from the Sajing office of the Jiyuan Prefecture (now Baorichuan Jicun) in the southwest and extends southward through Qagan Tola and Huren Jicun. This section is divided into northern and southern parts, with the northern part already buried in sand, leaving only a discernible outline. The southern wall follows the beacon towers southward, with clear remains. The walls are double-layered, with a 6.5-meter gap between them, where "Heitian" were set up. In some sections, the walls were built with stone blocks, with the highest remaining parts standing at 2.0 to 2.3 meters, covering a length of over 20 kilometers. It connects to the Jinquan Fortress Wall of the Han Dynasty at Buhentola and links to the Dunhuang Han Great Wall near Tiancang Township in Jinta County, forming a strict defensive system in the northern Jiyuan region. Throughout the Han Dynasty, Jiyuan was the main route for the Xiongnu to enter and exit Hexi. To protect Hexi Corridor and campaign in the Western Regions, the Han Dynasty began large-scale development and construction of Jiyuan after General Huo Qubing's victory in Jiyuan in the second year of Yuanshou (121 BC). In the third year of Taichu (102 BC), "an additional 180,000 fortress soldiers were dispatched, and the Jiyuan and Xiutu fortresses were established in the north of Jiuquan and Zhangye to guard the region." That same year, the Jiyuan City was built. Lu Bobode, the former General of the Flying Wave, was appointed as the Strongbow Commander and stationed in Jiyuan. During this period, the fortress walls, watchtowers, and beacon towers in Jiyuan were constructed on a larger scale, playing a crucial role in preventing the southward expansion of the Xiongnu and protecting the Central Plains Dynasty. According to historical records, especially in conjunction with the unearthed Jiyuan Han bamboo slips, the fortress gates under the jurisdiction of the Jiyuan Prefect were divided into four: the Tienbei Fortress, the Jiyuan Fortress (Zhalu Barrier), the Jiaqu Fortress, and the Sajing Fortress. The Tienbei Fortress is located at the northernmost end of the Jiyuan defense zone, the Jiaqu Fortress is on the western bank of the Ejin River, and the Sajing Fortress is stationed in Baorichuan Jicun, southeast of Heicheng. The Tienbei Fortress, known in Mongolian as "Changji Amma," is located in the lower reaches of the Ejin River, west of the ancient Jiyuan Lake (Jingsitu Lake) in the south. Built on a three-meter-high wind-eroded platform, it overlooks Jiyuan Lake (Supu Nuoer) to the north and the Badain Jaran Desert to the east. The barrier is oriented north-south and roughly square, with a side length of 33 meters. The gate is located slightly east of the south wall, 2 meters wide. The eastern and northern walls retain relatively intact foundations, standing 5 meters high, built with adobe bricks, with six layers of bricks interspersed with one layer of reeds. The west wall has foundations of houses. The wall is 3.5 meters wide, with the inscription "500 sheep head stones" on it. The interior of the barrier is now bowl-shaped, while the surrounding ground is scattered with many Han Dynasty pottery fragments. The Tienbei Fortress site includes five beacon towers and one barrier, forming an arc-shaped defense. The distance between the beacon towers is considerable, with the northwest tower 27 kilometers away from the northeast tower. According to unearthed Han bamboo slips, at least 10 beacon towers belonged to the Tienbei. Remnants of fortress walls are visible between some beacon towers but are not very clear. The Jiaqu Fortress, known in Mongolian as "Huinong Hote" or "Mudor Bogdjin," is located 24 kilometers south of Dalai Houbu Town. The Jiaqu Fortress consists of two parts: a barrier and a watchtower. It is the headquarters of the Jiaqu, the western defense line of the Jiyuan Prefecture. Three hundred meters to the west of here, along a north-south line, there are remnants of beacon towers and double-layered fortress walls. From the confluence of Dunda River and Aobao River to Budunboghe to the south (where the ancient Ejin River flowed northeast to Jiyuan Lake), there is a relatively orderly and dense line of 26 beacon towers and one barrier. Except for some beacon towers, half of this section once had fortress walls built. The remaining fortress wall foundations are made of gravel, with some sections preserved well. The trench is 5.0 to 5.5 meters wide on both sides of the wall. The Sajing Fortress, known in Mongolian as "Baorichuan Jicun," is located 49 kilometers southeast of Jirigalongtu Sumu's Narenbulaq Gacha. It is the defensive stronghold of the eastern Sajing Fortress in the Jiyuan defense line of the Han Dynasty. The Sajing Fortress is built on a small, isolated flat-topped hill, 20 meters high. The fortress is composed of layers of rammed earth and reeds. The beacon tower on the hilltop is 4 meters high, with a 5×5-meter base, built with adobe bricks interspersed with layers of reeds. There are remnants of a few houses to the east of the tower. A square watchtower (30×30 meters) is located 6 meters lower on the southwest slope of the hill, built with adobe bricks. From Buhentola on the eastern bank of the Ejin River to Baorichuan Jicun at the southern end of the ancient Jiyuan Lake, there is a 60-kilometer-long fortress wall starting from the riverbank and sloping northeast toward sand dunes. There are 32 beacon towers, with a distance of 2,000 meters between them. In terms of current condition, it can be divided into two sections. The eastern section runs from Baorichuan Jicun to Mudishan, about 40 kilometers long, forming a slightly curved defensive line. There is still a discernible remnant of the fortress wall here. The western section runs from Mudishan to Buhentola, about 20 kilometers long, with the fortress wall in relatively good condition. There are currently 13 ancient city sites discovered in the Ejin Banner, distributed along the middle and lower reaches of the Ejin River, from Supu Nuoer Sumu in the north to Bayanbaogedu Sumu (Ejin Qagan Pasture) in the south. The Jiyuan City (Zhalu Barrier), known in Mongolian as "Bandingboghe," is located 6 kilometers southeast of Haoning Hubei in Bayan Tola Farm. It is located on the dry riverbed of the Ejin River to the east, with city barriers and beacon towers on both its northern and southern flanks. Red willows and endless sand dunes surround the city. Some wall foundations have been buried by sand. The city is 130 meters long from north to south and 127 meters wide from east to west. The walls are rammed earth, with a layer thickness of 0.12 meters and a width of 3.3 meters, standing 5 meters high at their highest point. There are many pottery fragments on the ground, including fishing sinkers and fragments of ironware. Historical records indicate that the Zhalu Barrier was built in the third year of Taichu (102 BC). After the Han Dynasty established the Jiyuan Prefecture and Jiyuan County, it added the Zhalu Barrier to strengthen defenses in the Jiyuan region. The Book of Han records that in 102 BC, after the Xiongnu killed the Jiuquan Prefect, Emperor Wu appointed Lu Bobode as the Strongbow Commander to garrison Jiyuan and fortify the Han Great Wall and the Zhalu Barrier. The Book of Han Geographic Treatise