Xu Sanwan city and tombs

Xu Sanwan city and tombs

Located in xusanwan village, Xinba Township, Gaotai County, Gansu Province, the city and tombs of xusanwan in Zhangye are national key cultural relics protection units. They are from Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) to Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).

Historical origin

Xusanwan is a square city with a length of 66 meters in the East and West, 84 meters in the north and south, and an urn in the south. There is a building site in the city. There are three tombs around the city. There are more than 3000 tombs with gravel sealing soil. The dense sealing soil is connected with each other. More than 1000 tombs are distributed in Wudaoliang, 3km west of the city. There are more than 200 round earth sealed tombs 1.5 kilometers north of the city. Inside and outside the city, there are scattered gray and red pottery pieces. A large number of ancient coins such as "wuzhu", "Huoquan", "Kaiyuan Tongbao" and copper arrows and copper hooks have been unearthed.

Xusanwan city and its tombs are important historical sites in Hexi area during the period of the Han, Jin and sixteen states, which are of great value to the study of local history, economy and the regime of the Sixteen States.

Layout structure

Xusanwan city and tombs are located 1.5km southwest of xusanwan village, Xinba Township, Gaotai County, Zhangye City.

The plane of the ancient city is rectangular, 84 meters long from north to South and 66 meters wide from east to west. The wall is made of loess slab with a residual height of 8m and a rammed layer thickness of 0.12-0.15m. The wall of the urn is 25 meters long. The south wall of the gate is about 7 meters wide. A square urn is built outside. To the east of the gate, corner piers are built in four corners. There are horse faces in the north and south. There is a walled site 50 meters outside the city, and a beacon tower 50 meters away from the northeast corner of the city, with a square plane (10 × 10 meters) and a height of 8 meters. A large number of coins of Han and Tang Dynasties, such as "wuzhu", "Daquan 50", "Huoquan" and "Kaiyuan Tongbao", as well as bronze arrows, bronze seals (such as "Bu Qu Du Yin") and silver clasps and other cultural relics were unearthed in the city. Gray and red pottery pieces were scattered in the city.

Taking the city site as the center, the tombs are divided into three parts (south, North and Wudaoliang). Covering an area of more than 10 square kilometers, there are more than 4000 sealed earth tombs, which are densely distributed. Most of the tombs are dome shaped, with a height of 2-3.5 meters. There are also Mound Tombs, more than 30 meters long at the bottom, 4-5 meters high, with obvious passage, mostly brick chamber tombs. Unearthed from the tombs are painted portrait bricks, model printed bricks, wooden slips of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, wooden figurines of the pre Qin period, painted wood paintings, terracotta figures leading horses, as well as various kinds of pottery, wooden ware and a small amount of silk and bronze ware.

Cultural relics protection

Xu Sanwan city and its tombs, a key cultural relic site under state protection

In 2002, the Provincial Bureau of cultural relics allocated 158000 yuan to clean up the two Mural Tombs in kushuikou, xusanwan, and to move and repair them.

Xusanwan tombs are located in the transitional zone between Gobi gravel plain and fine soil plain in the middle and lower reaches of alluvial inclined plain in front of Qilian Mountains. Many Gouhe River, which is dominated by tail water in the lower reaches of Bailang River, began to cut down the plain. Due to the construction of Lanzhou Xinjiang Railway, the flood in the upper reaches is concentrated and discharged. The flood flows directly through the tombs and flows northward into Huanghe Bay. The two roads on the East and northwest sides of xusanwan tombs are about 10-20 meters wide and deep The sand road of 1-4 meters seriously washes the tombs in the tombs. Every year, several tombs are destroyed, especially the river channel after the confluence of the middle of the tombs has been cut to both sides year by year, which poses a great threat to the tombs.

archaeological investigation

The dry, windy, desert and arid climate has caused increasingly serious damage to the ruins of the ancient city. It is urgent to carry out the construction of windbreak forest belt and environmental improvement to reduce the wind sand erosion. In order to further reduce man-made damage, it is necessary to build barriers, walls and landmark buildings in the protection area. In recent years, no archaeological investigation has been carried out, and the research on the cultural connotation of the site is lack of research data. There are few materials to study the regional characteristics, historical evolution and cultural connotation of xusanwan ancient tombs.

protective measures

Xu Sanwan city and its tombs are planned to take the following protection measures during the 11th Five Year Plan Period: a 4 km long flood control dam will be built, with a total project volume of 139000 cubic meters, including 128000 cubic meters of earth and sand works, 11000 cubic meters of block stone lining and sand cushion, and 43400 labor days. The project budget is compiled according to the first-class water conservancy project standard. The budget results show that the flood control project needs a total of 2.555 million yuan, including 250 million yuan for the main project

RMB 50000 yuan for other temporary works. Gaotai County plans to raise 655000 yuan by itself and strive for 1.9 million yuan upward. The green area is 15000 square meters and the investment is 1.32 million yuan. 15 kilometers of roads will be built with an investment of 3 million yuan. The investment in the construction of guardrails and walls is 500000 yuan. A total of 7.375 million yuan is required for the above four items. It is planned to carry out archaeological excavation during the 11th Five Year Plan period to facilitate the protection and research of the ancient tomb group. It will cost 500000 yuan.

Experience

Zhangye, known as Ganzhou in ancient times, is an important part of the ancient Silk Road and one of the four counties in Hexi. Marco Polo stayed here for as long as one year when he visited China. As one of the famous historical and cultural cities in China, Zhangye is rich in historical relics, such as the Heishui state site of Yueshi, the beacon of the Great Wall, the wooden pagoda of Sui Dynasty, the wusongyuan site of Tang Dynasty, the great Buddhist temple of Xixia, the bell tower of Ming Dynasty, and the horseshoe grottoes of linsongshan.

In addition to these heavy historical relics, Zhangye also has many scenic spots, such as the Royal Racecourse Shandan army racecourse, which integrates sightseeing, entertainment and grassland life. The scenery is beautiful and the wild is natural. The unique ethnic customs of Sunan Yugur Autonomous County add a lot to the rich "jinzhangye".

Shadow puppet is a unique folk art in China, which has been popular from the Western Han Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty. It is said that shadow play originated in the Han Dynasty. When Emperor Hanwu died, his favorite concubine, Mrs. Li, thought she was ill. There was a man named Shaoweng in the palace. He cut plain paper into Li's figure and projected the tent in front of the lamp. Emperor Wu seemed to see Li's figure, and his illness gradually improved. This is the rudiment of shadow play. Later, it gradually developed into painting and carving, and then changed from paper to leather, coupled with music and singing, and gradually became a shadow play. Due to the limitation of materials, it is very difficult to preserve, so there are not many ancient shadows handed down to the present age.

Folktales

The shadow puppets made in Xiaoman area of Shangzhai, Zhangye, are made of cow hide or donkey skin and carved into various vivid and vivid dramatic characters, which win people's love. The shadow puppets in Zhangye at that time had the characteristics of simple modeling and exaggerated patterns. In addition to performing in drama, it is also an interesting decoration and art appreciation. On New Year's festivals and festive days, shadow puppet troupes are invited to sing. 3、 In the mid-1940s, there were more than 70 original plays and more than 100 eclectic plays in Zhangye shadow play, many of which were created exclusively by individuals, and the content was gradually improved.

Stilts is one of the Han folk dance forms, popular in many areas of China, performers dressed up as a variety of characters, holding props, feet on stilts (more than one meter high, 30 or 40 cm low) according to certain rules, certain routines, or line or walk, or perform or sing, giving people a dynamic artistic enjoyment. Stilts have a long history, which was recorded in Lie Zi Shuo Fu written by lie yukou many years ago in the Warring States period. With the passage of time, not only its performing arts have been greatly improved, but also its artistic structure has been perfected, becoming a popular activity in temple festivals.

Stilts are not limited to form and have many kinds. They often appear after Yangko, dry boat and zhuma'er performances. They are also equipped with some clowns, who are ugly and strange. They perform funny and humorous performances. They show the character and create a festive atmosphere by making fun and playing.

Stilts have appeared in the Yangko performances of villages, stockaded villages and castles in Zhangye since the year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1862-1874 AD). Although the clowns in stilts are a subsidiary part of the Yangko collective dance team, they show interesting folklore and reflect the social reality and people's ideological interest in a certain historical period. For example, the common clowns manpo Manhan, Zhanggong carrying zhangpo and the big head monk Xi nicui show the people's praise for those who benefit the public, drive away disease and evil, and praise those who are reasonable and kind to others. Most of these clowns' performances are not restricted by the rhythm of Yangko, they are free to intersperse in the front and back of the Yangko queue, improvise, flirt and amuse, and introduce laughter, which makes the Yangko performance atmosphere more intense.

Address: xusanwan village, Xinba Township, Gaotai County, Zhangye City

Longitude: 99.418807983398

Latitude: 39.178440093994

Chinese PinYin : Xu San Wan Cheng Ji Mu Qun