新疆密码（英文版） Mysteries of Xinjiangpdf/txt下载_在线阅读全文

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迹罕至的荒山高崖上如何会有名前岩画？数千年前的陶罐碎片隐藏着什么故事？古代干尸又是怎样变身为楼兰美女的呢？丝路双城的残垣断壁扮演着怎样的角色？和田玉为何如此珍贵？格兰姆真是天神传授的地毯吗？草原上沉默的石人缘何能历千年而不倒？世上惟一的野马还能在它们祖先的土地上驰骋吗？葡萄树王隐藏在哪里？中国的西部边陲怎么会有一座八卦城呢？君王的爱妃为何会有一身异香？她又魂归何处呢……让我们打开《新疆密码》，寻找答案。

Why did the prehistoric rock carvings appear on the desolate cliffs? What stories lie buried among the fragments of pottery jars from thousands of years ago? How did an ancient woman dead for centuries come to be known as the Belle of Loulan? What role have the twin cities on the Silk Road played in history? Why is Hotan jade so precious? Is the Gelanmu carpet really a gift from Heaven? How have the silent stone statues on the grassland survived the ravages of time? Will the world's only species of wild horse ever gallop freely again across the land where its ancestors once roamed? Why does China's western frontier have a city laid out according to the eight trigrams? How did the Fragrant Concubine get her name, and where is she buried? Whether you have been to Xinjiang or not, this book will, by take you there, give you the chance to sample the full features of Xinjiang.

目　　录

ContentsLet the Belle of Loulan Guide the WayLegends at the Foot of the Mountain of FlamesThe Ancient City of Earth BuildingsIn Search of the Stone Statues’ AncestorsStories Behind the Rock ArtMysteries of the Ancient TemplesThe Secrets of the Pottery JarFlower Rains on the Silk RoadA Carpet from HeavenBeautiful Jade from the Kunlun MountainsBagua, the Eight-Trigram CityThe King of GrapesThe Mystery of the Fragrant Concubine’s TombThe Evolution of the Przewalski’s Horse

前　　言

PrefaceViewed from above, the boundary between Xinjiang and Gansu is barely discernible. People travelling overland, either by train or by car, in a north by northwest direction will, when they reach longitude 97°E, start to notice subtle changes, as the terrain gradually changes and assumes the features that are normally associated with Xinjiang.Xinjiang is both China’s western border region and the geographical centre of Asia. Baojia Caozi village in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has been called “The Heart of Asia” ever since its location, at 43° 40’ 52” N and 87° 19’ 52” E, was confirmed internationally in 1992 as the geographical centre of Asia.The smell of the ocean is one of the few features absent from Xinjiang, since it is an inland region far from the sea. Yet Xinjiang has a multitude of features that are unique and one of a kind: Naan bread, camels, Ili horses, cheese, fruit and the Twelve Muqam… The legend of Queen Marichi and Yaochi (Jade) Pool, cultural relics, foreign adventurers, the Silk Road, and so on. It is impossible to list them all. Such are the depth, scope and complexity of Xinjiang’s appeal that it cannot be recorded in a single, or even two, cultural or historical volumes. And Xinjiang is somewhere that must be explored, because it occupies 1/6 of China’s territory; it has long been a melting pot of Eastern and Western civilizations; it has so many ethnic features; it is such a magnet to adventurers and outsiders; and it is the only place in the world where so many ancient civilizations have collided and interacted and still have a global influence today.Those who have never been to or lived in Xinjiang, tend to be surprised by the vastness of the desert that accounts for much of the region’s land area. But there is much more to this region than its land. Xinjiang is a cultural treasure-house, where unique natural landscapes, a rich variety of ancient sites and colourful ethnic features are perfectly integrated. Xinjiang, with the ancient Silk Road passing through it, was influenced by the world’s greatest civilizations and cultures; ancient India, ancient Greece, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and so on, not to mention the Chinese civilization that formed its backbone. All three routes of the ancient Silk Road, southern, northern and middle, crossed Xinjiang. These routes are littered with earthen buildings, ancient cemeteries, well-preserved “mummies”, ancient temples, grottoes and rock carvings, and stone statues, as well as priceless historical documents and inscriptions, pottery, bronze-ware and wooden vessels, currency, artifacts, and so on. These relics are not only a product of the coming together of cultures, but also elements that gave rise to Xinjiang’s own culture. Xinjiang’s location and history made it a window through which varied cultures were absorbed in ancient times. This window allows us avantage point from which to view the events of the past and many great figures in history, such as Zhang Qian, Ban Chao, Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Jize and Sven Hedin… In more recent history, there are General Wang Zhen and his soldiers of the Xinjiang farming corps. We also remember how Xinjiang has inspired greatness in such men as Zhang Qian and Xuan Zang, and greed in the minds of the foreign adventurers of contemporary and modern times.Xinjiang is a symbol of the Chinese nation’s heroism, and a place that will always excite us. Words are inadequate to describe the full features of Xinjiang. It’s a place that intoxicates and inspires us, but sometimes it also saddens us. When we study a map of Xinjiang we see names like Aksu, Ili, Altay, Turpan, Hami, Hotan and Kashgar, which pull at our heartstrings. We still remember how, decades ago when the economy was weak and transport conditions were poor, we learned about Xinjiang from people as far away as China’s southeast coast who had a connection there. Often, a letter from a relative or friend who had gone to distant Xinjiang to assist in the construction work, would make us sob with excitement. It’s hard for people today, with access to the Internet, to understand how important were the letters to and from Xinjiang and other areas of the country’s hinterland. At that time, a letter was worth far more than the few cents spent on the stamp.For us, Xinjiang is both distant and close at hand; both familiar and strange. The feeling is even stronger when we’re actually in Xinjiang. In the summer of 2005, we visited Xinjiang again and met experts like Mu Shunying and Wang Binghua, who have been living and working there for 45 years. We marvelled at these famous residents as they told us about Xinjiang’s cultural relics. The previous summer, when we had stood by Lake Sayram near Xinjiang’s northwestern border and in the Valley of Fruit, complimenting Xinjiang and Ili, a second-generation corps soldier had murmured: “The old people say the real Ili stretched far to the west…” His remark filled us with sadness as we gazed into the infinite west…The mountains were silent and so were we. We remember the date clearly: August 19, 2004, and the sun was about to set.The vast region of Xinjiang was so remote and forbidding to ancient people. Now it takes just four hours to fly from Beijing to Urumqi. Thanks to modern means of transport, the journey to Xinjiang is no longer the romantic but exhausting experience it once was. Regrettably, though, if we want to journey into its past, our sources of information extend to little more than the manuscripts left by our forefathers.Xinjiang was known as Xiyu, or the Western Regions, in ancient times, and lay on China’s western frontier. According to historical records, the name Xiyu first appeared in the Han Dynasty, after Zhang Qian went on his pioneering journey to the west. In fact, even before Zhang Qian’s journey, paths had already been opened up between the Central Plains and Central Asia. Geographers believe that the Western Regions as a concept referred to the vast area west of the Yumen Pass and the Yangguan Pass. In its broadest sense, the Western Regions referred to Central Asia; while in its narrowest sense, it meant Xinjiang. Like the Central Plains region, which is commonly regarded as the place where the Chinese nation originated, Xinjiang also bears traces of our forefathers’ presence. In this book, you will learn that human activities in Xinjiang can be traced back to the Old Stone Age; that in 60 BC, the Western Han Dynasty established the office of the “Protectorate of the Western Regions” (the location is now in Wulei, a town in Luntai County in Bayin'gholin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang) to govern the vast regions east and south of Balkhash Lake, which included what we know today as Xinjiang; that in the early Qing Dynasty, the place was administered by an official known as the Ili General; and that in 1884, the Qing Government formally established a province in the Western Regions, naming it Xinjiang (meaning ‘old territory returned to the motherland’).Use of the word “great” is so common these days that it has lost virtually all meaning. However, when we look back and recall the names of the brave men who once journeyed to the West, men like Zhang Qian, Ban Chao and Xuan Zang, “great” is the only word to describe them. While inheriting the legacy of history we must also accept its burden. It is in this that Xinjiang acquires a feature that marks it out from every other province in China. Out of Xingxing Gorge and from every pass in Xinjiang, that feature touches every Chinese heart – such is the greatness of Xinjiang!So, let us begin our journey north by northwest. Let us turn the echoes of history into written words. Whether you have been to Xinjiang or not, we hope this book will, by taking you there, give you the chance to sample the full features of Xinjiang.Hu Jia & Zhong Xizheng

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Mysteries of the Ancient TemplesIn ancient times, Xinjiang bore on its shoulders the weight of many civilizations, from both East and West. Here various ancient civilizations collided, intersected and merged, scattering numerous cultural fragments for later generations to discover and investigate. During the 3rd and 4th centuries, Buddhism started to spread eastwards. It had a major influence on the Kingdom of Qiuci (Kucha), the area that corresponds roughly to today’s Kuqa County, and bequeathed large numbers of Buddhist temples and grottoes to later generations. For centuries Kizil, known as the Town of the Buddhas, has been an international centre of Buddhism.The Lure of the CavesIn ancient times, Xinjiang bore on its shoulders the weight of many civilizations, from both East and West. Here various ancient civilizations collided, intersected and merged, scattering numerous cultural fragments for later generations to discover and investigate.The ancient Chinese called Xinjiang the “cradle of all mountains”. They believed that all the mountains in the world originated there. Their reasoning was based on the recognition that China’s topography was essentially terraced, descending gradually from west to east. Moreover, Xinjiang in ancient times was the only place in the world that was simultaneously influenced by the world’s four great civilizations: Indian, Greek, Islamic and Chinese. A large part of the people and events of history are naturally erased by time. However, the footsteps of human civilization are not so easily obliterated. It’s often said that politics is decided by geography. The birth and demise of a civilization are to a greater or lesser extent determined by geographical factors. So, there is no denying that, during a time when China was at its weakest, it was Westerners who named the Silk Road and pioneered the study of it.It was the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen who coined the term “Silk Road” in 1877, in his book China. Interestingly, prior to that terms such as “Jade Road” and “Buddhism Road” had been in wide use in Xinjiang. So, first let’s examine the “Buddhism Road”. Buddhism in Xinjiang both collided and co-existed with other religions. So, what mysteries and interesting stories did this process produce?So, let’s look back and salute someone who made history. In 1946, Han Leran, an ethnic Korean painter and archaeologist from Jilin Province in China’s northeast, travelled to Xinjiang. He headed to Baicheng County, by the Muzat River at the northern rim of the Taklamakan Desert. His final destination was Kizil Township, some 60 kilometres to the southeast, where he planned to make copies of the murals in the famous Kizil Caves.The Kizil Thousand-Buddha Caves are located on the cliffs at Mingwudage near the town of Kizil, at the southern foot of Ha’erke Mountain. In the Uygur language, “kizil” means “red”, which is the colour of the mountains. Han Leran spent only a fortnight at the caves, but it was long enough to inspire him. In April of the following year, he returned to Kizil, together with four young painters: Zhao Baoqi, Chen Tian, Fan Guowei and Sun Bicheng. The five of them stayed there, exploring each of the 75 caves, and copying the murals contained in them.Due to its pivotal geographical position, Xinjiang was in ancient times influenced by the world’s major religions. In the course of its dissemination to China’s Central Plains region, Buddhism made a long “stopover” in Xinjiang. A legacy of this stay is the region’s many Buddhist temples. Unlike the temples of the Central Plains with their flying eaves and imposing architecture, the Buddhist temples in ancient Xinjiang were mostly hollowedout caves and grottoes among the mountains. The essential features of these temples were the Buddhist murals painted on the walls and ceilings of the caves. However, due to the spread of Islam to the East in the 13th century and the damage caused by foreign explorers later, some of the exquisite murals have been lost.

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