Bonan ancient road

The ancient Southwest Silk Road, abbreviated as the Southwest Silk Road, was a commercial road from Sichuan to India through Yunnan and Myanmar. Bonan ancient road is an ancient road on the Southwest Silk Road. It crosses Lancang River westward and enters Yongchang ancient road in Baoshan area. Standing by the Lancang River, you can see the opposite cliffs of Bonan mountain and Luomin mountain. The LanJin ancient ferry is the only way to Yongchang Road. Near the ferry, there is a Jihong bridge, the oldest iron cable bridge that has been found in China. In ancient times, it was very busy here. There was an endless stream of businessmen and horses crossing the bridge. Now there are still deep horseshoe marks on the post road, which seems to tell the prosperity of the past. Located in Yongping County, Bonan ancient road stretches for more than 100 kilometers, with numerous temples and historical sites, mainly including Qudong mosque, Huaqiao ancient post, Bonan stele, Fengming bridge, Yongguo Temple site, Wansong nunnery, Yuhuangge, cliff carvings along Lancang River, etc.

Bonan ancient road

Among the three silk roads in China (the Silk Road in the northwest, the maritime Silk Road in the South and the Silk Road in the southwest), the Silk Road in the southwest developed the earliest and opened in the fourth century BC. This silk road was called "Shu Shendu road" in the Han Dynasty. Shu is Sichuan, and Shendu is the ancient name of India. It refers to the commercial road from Sichuan to Yunnan, Myanmar and India. Bonan ancient road is the most important section. It opened in the sixth year of Yuanfeng (105 BC) of the Han Dynasty, and was called "Yunnan Myanmar Yongchang Road" in the Han and Jin Dynasties. From Dali to the west, it enters Yongping County through shunluo bridge, huanglianpu, jiaogoushan, beidoupu, wansongan, tianjinpu, shansongshao, meihuapu and Baofeng temple, and then enters Baoshan through Qudong taoyuanpu, shizipo, xiaohuaqiao, Dahuaqiao, bonanshan, Shanyang street, Fengming bridge and Jiangding temple. Yongping was called Bonan in ancient times (named after Bonan mountain), so this section of the silk road is called "Bonan ancient road". With the development of time, the ancient roads from Nanhua to Southeast Asian countries and regions, such as Xiangyun, Dali, Yongping, Baoshan, Dehong, Myanmar and Afghanistan, are commonly referred to as "Bonan ancient road".

brief introduction

Starting from Sichuan, the southwest silk road takes the five equators in the southeast and Lingguan road in the southwest, and finally joins Dali. From Dali to the west, through Yangbi County, it enters Bonan mountain area. Bonan is a county name that has been used since the first century A.D., and its governing place is Yongping County today. This mountain road was excavated around 105 BC by Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty (it was called Bonan mountain road at that time). After crossing Lancang River westward, the ancient road enters Baoshan area. Baoshan was the seat of Yongchang County and Yongchang Prefecture in ancient times, and it was also the main area where the Silk Road of this generation passed through. Therefore, "Yongchang Road" was taken as the name of this section of ancient road.

The road over the main peak of Bonan mountain is only a hundred miles. However, due to the precipitous situation of Bonan mountain, the shadow of forest, the haze, and the rolling Lancang River at the West foot of the mountain as a natural barrier, the military commanding point "dingdangguan" has been formed on the top of the mountain, which has become a military outpost in the history of our country. Therefore, Bonan mountain has become the most important threshold of the whole ancient road, and the ancient road running through the mountain has become the most fierce one on the whole "shushendu road" Dangerous, also the most famous section, is known as "Bonan ancient road".

Standing by the Lancang River, you can see the confrontation between Bonan mountain and Luomin mountain. Next to it is LanJin ancient ferry, which is the only way to Yongchang Road. There are two piers near the ferry. There is a Jihong bridge, the oldest iron cable bridge that has been found in China. It is said that every morning when the gate of the bridge pavilion was not opened, the business travelers and people waiting to cross the bridge formed a five or six mile long line. Today, there are deep horseshoe nests on the post road, which is enough to prove the frequent traffic of horses on the post road at that time.

history

The opening up of the "Southern Silk Road"

The opening of Bonan ancient road was an unexpected result of Zhang Qian's mission to the western regions. When he went through all kinds of hardships, he found that in the western regions, "the Qiang people are dangerous, the Qiang people are evil, and the Xiongnu get it in the north" ("biography of Dawan in historical records"), and "the way to pass through Shu is close, and it is beneficial and harmless" ("biography of Southwest Yi in historical records"). Therefore, the opening of the ancient road from the beginning is not the same as the general commercial road construction, with a strong political color and far-reaching military purpose.

In 138 BC, Zhang Qian was sent to the western regions by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to contact the countries of the western regions to attack Xiongnu and open the way to the western regions. Zhang Qian "saw Shu buqiong bamboo stick" in the great Xia Dynasty (according to the biography of Dawan in historical records). He inferred that there was a road leading to the western regions in the southwest, and reported it to Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty after his return. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty then sent people to the southwest to search for the "Shu (Sichuan) body poison (India) road". However, the envoys were not found because they were hindered by the tribes such as Kunming in the Tang Dynasty. In 109 BC, Emperor Xiaowu opened this passage by searching again. In AD 69 (the 12th year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty), the Han Dynasty established Ailao and Bonan counties one after another. At this point, an international passageway, which started in Sichuan and divided into "Zhuti road" and "Lingguang road", entered Yunnan, merged into "Bonan ancient road" after Chuxiong confluence, crossed Lancang River, and then went out of Myanmar, India and other countries through "Yongchang Road" and "Tengchong road". Zhang Qian's mission to the western regions was finally completed. This road is the "Southern Silk Road" 200 years earlier than the northwest silk road.

In 1937, due to the needs of the Anti Japanese war in western Yunnan, the Yongping section of Yunnan Burma highway around Bonan mountain was completed and opened to traffic. A large number of strategic materials and information were no longer transported by the horse Gang along Bonan ancient road. The international transportation line was transferred from the ancient Silk road to the Yunnan Burma highway, but the ancient road was still an important folk transportation route. After the founding of the people's Republic of China, the Yongping section of Yunnan Myanmar highway was reconstructed by stages from 1959 to 1980. The trend of the reconstructed highway is the same as that of Bonan ancient road, and most of them coincide with each other. The mileage has been shortened and the driving conditions have been significantly improved. In 2002, the Dabao expressway through Bonan mountain was completed and opened to traffic, making Bonan ancient road completely silent.

Archaeology

Bonan mountain monument

Bonan mountain stele, standing beside the main hall of Yongguo temple in Bonan mountain, Yongping County, is an important material object for studying the history and culture of Bonan ancient road in Yongping, and also has extremely far-reaching significance for studying the history and culture of Yongping.

Due to the vicissitudes of history and the erosion of wind and rain, Yongguo temple has been abandoned. The Bonan mountain stele, which was originally standing beside the temple, has been handed over to the local literary administrator for safekeeping.

Bonan mountain stele was built in the first year of the Republic of China. It is made of bluestone, 132 cm high, 70 cm wide and 10 cm thick. Its forehead is semicircular, 58 cm high and 100 cm wide. It has no ornamentation. The inscription starts from the forehead and consists of 10 lines, each line of 3 to 22 characters. It is straight regular script. It was written by Zhao fan of Jianchuan and Ouyang Jue.

Fengming Bridge

Fengming bridge is an important bridge on Bonan ancient road, across the backflow River in the east of Mashaba, Shanyang town. Fengming bridge, built in the 50th year of emperor Zhaowang of Qin Dynasty, is one of the oldest bridges on Bonan ancient road. According to Xu Xiake's travels by Xu Xiake, a famous geographer in the Ming Dynasty, it goes down to the river in the north, and there is a bridge across the river. From the East, it is the Shanmu River Post Avenue. Its bridge is covered with pavilions, which is called "Fengming bridge". It is the earliest exact record of this bridge. Fengming bridge in the Ming Dynasty for the wind and rain bridge, built above the bridge pavilion to avoid the wind and rain. In the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, the bridge was rebuilt. Bridge where three holes, stone arch, unequal span. The bridge is 20 meters long, 4 meters wide and 3 meters high, which corresponds to the water flow surface in architecture. It is beautiful and solid. With the erosion of years, the bridge railings and pavilions have been destroyed, but the arch and bridge deck are well preserved. After more than 2000 years of people stepping on horses, the stone slabs on the bridge deck have been polished very smooth, and the impression of the horse's hooves is more than 10 cm deep. Although Fengming bridge has experienced the vicissitudes of more than 20 centuries, it is still firmly across the torrent river.

significance

The historical significance of the opening of Bonan ancient road far exceeded the expectation of the Han Dynasty. Its opening realized the original intention of the Han Dynasty, connected with the western regions and eliminated the Xiongnu threat. In addition, eight counties of Yeyu, Buwei, Bisu, Yunnan, Yitang, Ailao, Bonan and Xilong were set up, Yongchang County was established, centralization was strengthened, and southwest frontier was developed. At the same time, it has become one of the earliest economic and trade channels between China and foreign countries. Through this road, the domestic goods such as Shu cloth, Qiong bamboo stick, silk, tea, tobacco, salt, Chinese herbal medicine, etc. were transported to South Asia, West Asia and even European countries, and foreign cotton yarn, small department stores, kerosene, gemstones, etc. were transported back to China for trading, so that the economy along the way developed. Indian Buddhism spread along the silk road. The band and acrobatics of Shan (Burmese) people were introduced to Luoyang court in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was also the result of cultural exchanges with South Asian countries through Yongchang Road on the Southwest Silk Road.

In modern times, Bonan ancient road, Yunnan Burma highway, national highway 320, Dabao Expressway and Darui railway are all overlapped in Bonan mountain section. The only difference is that they have crossed the unchanging barrier of Bonan mountain in three forms: crossing, detouring and penetrating. This is not a coincidence, but a full proof of the importance and strategic significance of Bonan mountain in Chinese transportation history, It also proves the forefathers' foresight in opening up and building Bonan ancient road.

Address: Dali Yongping County, Dali City, Yunnan Province

Longitude: 99.349258

Latitude: 25.283817

Tel: 0871-4608322

Traffic information: you can take a shuttle bus to Yongping in Baoshan City

Chinese PinYin : Bo Nan Gu Dao