Dunhuang City, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province

Dunhuang Dunhuang, a county-level city in Gansu Province, is managed by Jiuquan City. It is located at the westernmost end of Hexi Corridor, at the intersection of Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang. It is between east longitude 92 ° 13 ′ - 95 ° 30 ′, and north latitude 39 ° 40 ′ - 41 ° 40 ′, with a total area of 31200 square kilometers.

Dunhuang is the node city of the silk road. It is famous for its "Dunhuang Grottoes" and "Dunhuang frescoes". It is the site of the world heritage Mogao Grottoes and Yumenguan and Yangguan on the border of the great wall of the Han Dynasty. In 2012, it was selected into the "top 200 charming cities with Chinese characteristics in 2012". It is a national historical and cultural city and the cultural capital of East Asia.

In 2019, there will be nine towns under the jurisdiction of Dunhuang city and one base. The total resident population will reach 191800, and the GDP will reach 8.178 billion yuan, of which the added value of primary industry is 994 million yuan, the added value of secondary industry is 1.872 billion yuan, and the added value of tertiary industry is 5.312 billion yuan. The tertiary industrial structure is 12.16: 22.89: 64.95. The per capita GDP is 42716 yuan.

Historical evolution

The origin of place names

The word "Dunhuang" was first seen in Zhang Qian's report to Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty in historical records, Dawan biography, saying that "Shi Yue's family lived between Dunhuang and Qilian.". In 111 BC, Dunhuang Prefecture was officially established in the Han Dynasty. Ancient people generally used Chinese literal meaning to explain the place names of Dunhuang, such as "Dun, Daye" in the Hanshu annotated by Ying Shao in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Huang, Sheng also In the Tang Dynasty, Li Jifu's "Yuanhe County atlas" further shows that "Dun, Daye. It is famous for its wide spread in the western regions. "

But most modern scholars believe that the etymology of Dunhuang is not Chinese. It is generally believed that "dunhong" recorded in the book of mountains and seas is the earliest name of Dunhuang, while "dunhong" or Dunhuang is the Chinese transliteration of the local minority language, and there are different opinions about which nationality it is. Japanese scholar Fujita tokhara said that Dunhuang was probably a transliteration of tokhara, which was the Yueshi people who lived between Dunhuang and Qilian at that time; Chinese scholar Cen Zhongmian believed that the etymology of Dunhuang was "taohuashi"; Wang Zongwei thought that "dunhong" or Dunhuang was a transliteration of "tuhuoluo", and inferred that Dunhuang was the hometown of tuhuoluo people; Li Dexian believed that Dunhuang was the origin of tuhuoluo people It is believed that Dunhuang is the antithetical sound of the ancient Qiang language "duohang" (meaning the place where the Sutra is chanted or the place where the Sutra is chanted). In a word, there should be no doubt that the etymology of "Dunhuang" is the Chinese translation of the local minority languages before the Han Dynasty.

History of construction

Before Sui Dynasty

Dunhuang has a long history and splendid culture. As early as the end of the primitive society, the Sanmiao people who were moved to Hexi after the defeat of the Central Plains tribal war lived here. They began to master the primitive agricultural production technology mainly by hunting.

In the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, Dunhuang belonged to the area of ancient Guazhou. There were descendants of Sanmiao, who were nomadic and settled here at that time. Many rock paintings left by nomads were found in Dunhuang.

During the Warring States period and the Qin Dynasty, there lived Dayue, Wusun and Saizhong people in Dunhuang. Later, Dayue became powerful and merged the original Qiang Rong. At the end of the Warring States period, the Dayue people drove away Wusun people and Saizhong people and monopolized Dunhuang until the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty.

In the early Western Han Dynasty, the Huns invaded Hexi and defeated Yueshi twice, forcing Yueshi people to migrate to the west of the two rivers (Xier River and Amu Darya River). The whole Hexi Corridor is the territory of Xiongnu, known as "more than 300000 string controllers". After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty succeeded to the throne, in the second year of Jianyuan (138 BC), he sent Zhang Qian to the western regions for the first time to contact Yueshi and Wusun to attack Xiongnu. In 115 BC, Zhang Qian made his second mission to the western regions, opening the Silk Road to the western regions.

The Silk Road of Han Dynasty started from Chang'an, passed through Hexi corridor to Dunhuang, followed by Yumen pass and Yangguan pass, along the northern foot of Kunlun Mountain and the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, and was divided into two roads: North and south. The southern route starts from Dunhuang, passes through Loulan, passes Congling to Sabbath, and reaches Daqin (ancient Rome) in the West; the northern route starts from Dunhuang, passes Gaochang, Qiuci, and passes Congling to Dawan. During the Han and Tang Dynasties, a new road was opened up along the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, from Dunhuang, through Hami and Balikun lakes, over the Ili River, to Fulin state (Eastern Roman Empire). During the Han and Song Dynasties, the silk road was an important road to the west, and Dunhuang became a bright pearl on the silk road.

Along the Silk Road, China's silk and advanced technology continue to spread westward to Central Asia, West Asia and even Europe, and products from the western regions also spread to the Central Plains. On the Silk Road, envoys, generals, merchants and monks from all over the world came in an endless stream. Dunhuang became the "key to the throat". According to the hub of the Silk Road, Dunhuang became the center and transit station of Sino Western trade. Hu merchants from the western regions and Han merchants from the Central Plains gathered here to trade silk and porcelain from the Central Plains, treasures from the western regions, camel horses from the north and local grain. At the same time, the culture of Central Plains, Buddhism, West Asia and Central Asia spread to Dunhuang. Different cultures of China and the West converged, collided and blended here, making Dunhuang a "metropolis" where Huarong and Rong met. These prosperous scenes are vividly recorded in the murals on the top of cave 296 of Mogao Grottoes.

In the second year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty set up Jiuquan county and Wuwei County in Hexi. In the sixth year of the Han Dynasty (111 BC), Jiuquan and Wuwei were divided into Dunhuang and Zhangye. From lingju (now Yongdeng) through Dunhuang to Yanze (now Lop Nur), the great wall and beacon were built, and Yangguan and Yumen pass were set up to ensure the smooth flow of the silk road. Dunhuang has become the key to the communication between China and the West. At that time, Dunhuang had a vast territory and governed six counties. It reaches longleyangguan in the west, Yuanquan in the East (to the west of today's Yumen City), Yiwu in the North (today's Hami City), and Xiqiang in the South (today's Qaidam in Qinghai Province). It is known as "the capital of Huarong".

In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the feudal regimes of Qianliang, Houliang, Nanliang, Xiliang and Beiliang were successively established in Hexi region. Before Liang Zhangjun period, Dunhuang was changed to Shazhou. In 400 A.D., Li Li became king according to Dunhuang and established the Xiliang kingdom. Dunhuang became the capital of the state for the first time in history, and later died in Beiliang. Liangzhou has become the cultural center of northern China, and Dunhuang is also the cultural center of Liangzhou.

During the period of the Sixteen States, the central plains were dominated by the Central Plains, and Hexi became a relatively stable area. The scholars and common people of Central Plains fled to Hexi for refuge, bringing advanced culture and production technology. Buddhism introduced from Han and Wei dynasties flourished unprecedentedly in Dunhuang. Dunhuang is not only the gateway of Buddhism spreading to the East, but also the center of Buddhism in Hexi area. There are Zhu fahu, a master of sutra translation who lived in Dunhuang, Song Yun, a Dunhuang native who went to India to study Buddhism. Buddhist masters such as Faxian and kumarashi left their footprints in Dunhuang no matter they went east or west. In 366, monk lezun opened the first Grottoes for Buddha in the Daquan River Valley at the foot of Sanwei mountain.

The Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed Beiliang, unified the north and occupied Hexi. During this period, Dunhuang was relatively stable, people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and Buddhism became popular. People of the Northern Wei Dynasty excavated 13 caves in the Mogao Grottoes.

Sui, Tang, song and Yuan Dynasties

With the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Mingsha county was changed to Dunhuang county since the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Later, a large number of nobles from the Southern Dynasty and their tribes moved to Dunhuang. The integration of northern and Southern Han culture in Dunhuang makes the local culture of Dunhuang more distinctive. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty believed in Buddhism and issued several orders for the construction of relic pagodas. The imperial edict went as far as Dunhuang. Under the advocation of the supreme ruler, in the 37 years of the Sui Dynasty, 77 caves were opened in Mogao Grottoes, with large scale, exquisite murals and painted sculptures, and two distinct artistic styles of the north and the south.

In the late period of emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, the East Turk rose to a strong level of "Rong Di was very strong, but not in ancient times". In July of 617, the 13th year of Daye, Sima ligui of Yingyang Prefecture in Wuwei County fought against the Sui Dynasty, occupied Hexi including Dunhuang, built Daliang Kingdom, established guzang as its capital, built Anle as its capital, and attached it to East Turk.

In 619, Li Gui was destroyed by Li Yuan. The Tang Dynasty expanded and occupied Hexi including Dunhuang. Dunhuang in the Tang Dynasty was as prosperous as the whole country in economy, culture and Buddhism. There are more than 1000 caves in the Mogao Grottoes, of which 232 have been preserved so far. In 645, Tang Xuanzang went to India to learn Buddhist scriptures and returned to Chang'an through Dunhuang. There are a lot of mural art of Tubo Period in the middle Tang Dynasty caves of Mogao Grottoes. There are a lot of Tibetan scriptures in the cave.

The "an Shi rebellion" made the Tang Dynasty turn from prosperity to decline, and the Tubo took advantage of the emptiness to occupy Hexi.

In 849, Tang Dynasty occupied Qin, yuan, Anle, Wei, Fu, he, Wei and other prefectures. In 851, Han nationality Zhang Yanchao occupied Hexi and Longyou, occupied Dunhuang, and belonged to Tang Dynasty. Zhang Yanchao was appointed as the governor of Hexi and Hehuang prefectures, and built Guiyi army to govern Shazhou. Later, Zhang entered the dynasty, and his nephew Zhang Huaishen tried his best to manage Dunhuang and Hexi after Zhang.

In the first year of Dashun (890), Zhang Yanchao's son-in-law and Shazhou governor Suo Xun launched a coup and became a governor. Later, Zhang Yanchao's fourteenth daughter (Li Mingzhen's wife) was very dissatisfied with Suo Xun's killing of Zhang Huaishen's brother. She led the officers and soldiers to kill Suo Xun, "relying on Taibao's spirit, Gu en's suppression and death, honoring his son, and then leaving his grandchildren together." Li's family supported Zhang Chengfeng, the grandson of Zhang Yanchao, as the governor of Guiyi army. Zhang discussed the work of Chao, so it was revived.

In August of the third year of Guanghua (900), Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Dynasty issued an imperial edict, which said: "before the system, GUI Yijun's deputy envoy, Quan Zhibing and Ma liuhou, Yinqing Guanglu's doctor, Jianxiao's son's wine offering, supervisory censor, Shangzhu's state Zhang Chengfeng served as Jianxiao's Zuoshan cavalry, as well as Shazhou's censor and Yushi's doctor

Chinese PinYin : Gan Su Sheng Jiu Quan Shi Dun Huang Shi