Mazatag Castle

Mazatag Castle

Mazatag ancient castle is located on the red mountain mouth of mazatag in the west of the lower reaches of Hotan River. Mazatag is also called Hongbai mountain.

Geography

geographical position

During the Han and Tang Dynasties, it was the transportation hub between North and south, East and West. The mountain stretches from the west of Taklimakan desert to the Hotan River. It stands upright. There are Baishanzui in the north and Hongshanzui in the south. The natural landscape is vast and unique. The castle, 180 km south of Hotan City, is located in Moyu county. It is preliminarily identified as a Tang Dynasty site.

Castle structure

The total area of the ancient castle is 1100 square meters, and the wall is 1.5 meters thick. All the buildings are made of brown red clay with Populus euphratica branches. The lower part of the castle is connected to the underground warehouse by a tunnel. The plane of the castle is composed of two rectangles, and its construction can be divided into three parts: the first and the second are on the ridge, connecting the East and the West. The third part is closely related to the first and second parts. The first is divided into North and south two rooms, strong building, is the most important part of the castle. The second is in the east of the first. It's like a barracks. It's not as well preserved as the first. The third is connected with the first and the second. It is 6-7 meters low. On the north slope, there is a gate in the East, which is the passageway of the castle. Outside the door is a place where livestock are tied up, with garbage and feces piled up. There is a beacon tower 50 meters west of the castle, 7.5 meters high. On the terrace 20 meters northeast of the castle, there is a Buddhist temple site, which is about for the temporary residence of monks at that time.

Historical evolution

historical event

45 meters to the east of the castle, there is a Mazar on the hillside of the river bank. It is said that during the religious war in the early 11th century, a Hetian Buddhist named Ma Jianghan secretly transmitted information for the Islamic Army, and was later detected and executed by the Buddhists. After the Islamic army occupied Hotan, they set up this tomb for him. There is a cave on the fault rock in the south of the fort. Professor Huang Wenbi wrote in the archaeological records of Tarim Basin: "under the steep slope near the river, in the stone gap, there is a hole covered by floating sand, which is suspected to be the ancient residential site. He ordered the mullahs to dig it, and produced a piece of Qian Yuan money. The wooden slips were written with ancient Chinese characters and obtained pink pottery pieces, all of which were objects of the Tang Dynasty. There are many Sanskrit and Chinese characters on the top of the stone chamber. At present, the handwriting on the top of the cave is peeling off. Stein dug up a large number of cultural relics here twice in 1908 and 1913. There are tortoise shaped red pottery dishes, sitting Buddha relief molds, wood products, wool products, metal products, leather products, and more precious are all kinds of ancient books, including many ancient Tibetan wooden slips. The paper documents include Chinese, Khotan, Arabic and ancient Uighur documents.

The age is exquisite

There is no way to judge the age of ruins. The dates recorded in Chinese books are mostly events from 658 to 787.

Address: on the west side of the lower reaches of Hetian River in Moyu County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Longitude: 80.438468933105

Latitude: 38.540092468262

Chinese PinYin : Ma Zha Ta Ge Gu Cheng Bao