It is generally believed that Xinjiang is the earliest place to grow grapes and brew wine in China. As for when Xinjiang began to grow grapes and brew wine, historical records are unknown. However, there is no doubt that two or three thousand years ago, ancient Central Asian countries and China Xinjiang region planted grapes and brewed wine. In the ancient historical records of China, this area belongs to the "Western Regions". Historically, "Western Regions" refers to long, narrow and wide areas. In a narrow sense, it refers to the vast area east of Congling, that is, the vast area north and south of Tianshan Mountain in Xinjiang, north of Kunlun Mountain, west of Dunhuang and east of Pamir. Broadly speaking, it refers to the area that can be reached from the west of Yumenguan Pass through the narrow western region, including central and western Asia, Indian Peninsula, eastern Europe and northern Africa, but its core part is Central Asia including China and Xinjiang. The western regions discussed in this topic are generalized (including present-day Xinjiang), that is, according to the actual jurisdiction of the dynasties in China history, they are beyond the narrow sense of present-day Xinjiang. Grapes and wine are abundant in the western regions, which is proved by archaeology and documented.
In today's Turkmenistan, grape seed cores were found in the residential area of Jiajabo, Namaz, belonging to the 4th-3rd century BC. Located near Ashgabat, in the ruins of a palace in the 2nd century BC, the ancient city of Nisa (the capital of Pattaya (about 250 BC-226 AD)), some ivory horn cups carved with vines and the shrine of Sheila at the mouth of Pattaya were also excavated. This kind of quilt is also called "Rhy- ton". A grape specimen about 2,500 years ago was unearthed from Yanghai Cemetery in Shanshan County, Turpan, Xinjiang, China. According to the research of experts from Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology, it belongs to a round purple grape plant. In fact, it is a vine, with a total length of 1. 15 m, a length of 1 1 cm and a flat width of 2.3 cm. In recent years, grape seeds from the Warring States Period (475 BC-22 BC1year) have also been found in the archaeological excavations of Subaihai tombs in Xinjiang. Some experts believe that this may also be a signal that grapes come from the west. It can be seen that before the 5th century BC, Xinjiang in the western regions had planted grapes and made wine at the same time. Because in the western regions, the cultivation of grapes and the spread of wine-making technology go hand in hand. Some experts speculate that the raw grapes used to make wine at that time were probably European grape populations. As mentioned above, according to the existing archaeological and documentary data, Europe is not the earliest region for grape cultivation and brewing. Therefore, the raw grapes in Xinjiang, China, which were originally used for wine-making in Central Asia and western China, are not European grape populations, but the European grape populations are the result of later dissemination. However, before the 5th century BC, the raw grapes used for wine-making in Central Asia in the Western Regions and Xinjiang in China were probably European grape populations, which may be correct. For example, around 600 BC, the Greeks engaged in colonial movements on the Black Sea coast, the Italian peninsula and Spain, and at the same time spread grape cultivation techniques to these areas. (3) That is to say, around 600 BC at the latest, European grapes were introduced into Asia Minor from the "post-origin centers" of grapes and wines in Europe and Greece. During the reign of Cambyses, the Persian Empire (529-522 BC), Persia became a slave empire spanning Asia and Africa, and its territory already included Asia Minor, the two river basins, Palestine, Egypt, the Iranian Plateau and the vast area between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers in Central Asia. That is to say, during the eastward invasion of the Persian Empire, grape seeds in Europe may have spread eastward through Asia Minor, the South Caucasus, the Iranian Plateau and the Amu Darya and Syrdarya rivers in Central Asia. Therefore, the so-called "from 329 to 323 BC, Alexander's Crusade brought Greek civilization into Central Asia, and since then, grape cultivation, wine brewing and Dionysus worship began to spread among the Sogdians" is not credible, which is only a reflection of the spread of European grape culture to the East. Of course, there are also the specific transmission routes and time of Asian grape population and European grape population, as well as the transmission of European grape population replacing Asian grape population and so on. It is discussed in detail in another manuscript, History of World Grape Culture, and will not be repeated here.
China's historical records also record that grapes were planted in this area two thousand years ago. According to Records of the Historian, grapes were planted and wine was made in Dawan, Kangju, Da Yue, Daxia, Wusun, Yishou and Yutian in the Han Dynasty. Historical Records 123 Biography of Dawan said: "Dawan was in the southwest of Xiongnu, west of Han Dynasty, and went to Wan Li in Han Dynasty. Its vulgar aborigines, plowing rice and wheat, have Putao wine ","its north is suitable, its west is Dayue family, its southwest is summer, its northeast is Wusun, and its east is Yutan ","Putao takes about 10,000 (large) as wine, and the wine is more than 10,000 stones. Those who stay for decades are unbeaten. Customs are addicted to alcohol, and horses are addicted to alfalfa. " According to Su Beihai's textual research, the Wusun nationality's active areas in the early Western Han Dynasty included Hami, Barkun, Qitai and Yili River basins in Xinjiang today. Khotan is now Hotan, Xinjiang, and the tree collapse is now Yutian, Xinjiang. This historical data shows that before the 2nd century A.D., ancient Central Asian countries such as Dawan, Daxia, Da Yue and Xinjiang all had rich experiences in grape cultivation and wine making. For example, grapes were planted in the valley of the kingdom of Bactria established in the late 3rd century BC. (p27 1) The kingdom of Bactria is called the Great Summer in the history books of China. According to archaeological findings, there are already grape murals on the site of Xianyang Palace in Qin Dynasty, and some scholars believe that grapes have been planted in the Central Plains of Qin Dynasty at the latest. That is to say, before the third century BC, grapes had been planted in mainland China. Although the existence of grape murals does not prove that grapes must be planted in the mainland, as mentioned above, grapes were planted and wine was brewed in Xinjiang in the western regions before the 5th century BC, so this possibility cannot be ruled out. However, it is not wrong to say that grapes and wine were planted in Xinjiang in the Spring and Autumn Period before the 5th century BC.
Obviously, in Xinjiang and other places, the time for grape planting and wine brewing should be pushed forward. In ancient Xinjiang and Central Asia, grape cultivation was closely related to the vintage of wine. Central Asia is one of the earliest distribution areas of grapes, but the existing literature and archaeological data can't prove exactly whether grapes were planted and brewed 5,000 years ago. The history of Hom Cultural Site in Bourzat can be traced back to the beginning of the third millennium BC to the middle of the second millennium BC. It is located in Kashmir in the north of the South Asian subcontinent, adjacent to Central Asia and Xinjiang, China. In some places, the remains of wheat, barley, rice, lentils, peas and grape seeds were found. It is speculated that this culture may be related to Iranian Hisar III culture or pre-Harappa culture and Harappa culture. [24] If this source is reliable and the unearthed grape seeds belong to cultivated grapes, it is possible to grow grapes and brew wine in Central Asia five thousand years ago.
Moreover, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and other countries in Central Asia are close to the South Caucasus and Iran, the origins of grapes and wines, all in the Caspian Sea region. It is possible that they began to grow grapes and make wine five thousand years ago. The Anu culture represented by the Anu site near Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, can be traced back to around 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The Anu culture spread to the Wazmo River, Fergan River and southern Tajikistan, and had some connections with Yilan, the two river basins, Harappa in northwestern India and Xinjiang in China. Primula spinosa is mainly located in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya Delta, bordering Sogdian, present-day northern Turkmenistan and southwestern Kazakhstan. The lower reaches of the Amu Darya Delta and Fergan River are mainly located in today's Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and Sogdian is now the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan. Yilan is located in the southwest of Iran Plateau, which is closely related to the two river basins. As we know, Harappa culture is an urban culture in ancient India and Pakistan. It is named after the ruins of the ancient city of Harappa in West Punjab, northwest India. Most of them are distributed in the Indus Valley, which is commonly known as the Indus Valley culture. It flourished around 2000 ~ 1500 BC and around the 20th century BC. According to historical records, in the mid-20th century BC, Aryans belonging to Indo-European language family did invade the Indus Valley from the northwest. Aryans were formed by the integration of Andlau Novo cultural tribe and local residents after they entered the Iranian plateau. A branch of the Novo cultural tribe in Andlau, which moved south to Central Asia or southern Central Asia, merged with local residents to form the ancestors of the East Iranian tribes, such as Bactria and the Sogdians. Some nomadic tribes such as Wusun, Yueshi and Jiankun in northwest China speak Indo-European East Iranian and are closely related to tribes in Central Asia. In the 10 century BC, there were extensive conflicts and migrations among tribes in Central Asia.
The eastward spread of Anu culture, the eastward invasion of Aryans and the large-scale migration of tribes in Central Asia created conditions and provided possibilities for the eastward spread of grapes and wine. According to research, the Silk Road running through Xinjiang has a very long history. According to archaeological data, it should be at least around 2000 BC. Therefore, it can be said that grapes and wine may have been introduced into Kashmir through Central Asia in the Iranian Plateau around 2000 BC, or they may have been introduced into Xinjiang, China from the "origin center" through the Iranian Plateau → Central Asia before 2000 ~ 1000 BC. "After forming a cultural atmosphere with grapes as the main body around the Mediterranean, it spread eastward along the Iranian Plateau-Central Asia River Basin and the northern bank of the Black Sea-the lower reaches of the Volga River-Central Asia River Basin, and finally reached China". This view is not accurate enough. It should be said that the route of grapes and wine introduced into Xinjiang, China, is roughly from its origin center through the Iranian plateau-the two river basins in Central Asia (Amu Darya and Syr Darya). By 600 BC, European grapes had spread from the "post-origin center" of grapes and wine to China via Asia Minor → South Caucasus → Iranian Plateau → Central Asia.
During the pre-Qin period, grapes and wine spread from west to east through northern Xinjiang. Because before the 3rd century BC, the traffic line across Eurasia passed through the northern part of Central Asia, and the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang was not on the main traffic line, and the East and the West knew little about it. Therefore, in the pre-Qin period, the Ili Valley, Qitai, Rem, Hami and Barkun areas in northern Xinjiang, especially in northern Xinjiang, had planted grapes and brewed wine as early as the 5th century BC. Because according to the vines unearthed from Yanghai Cemetery in Shanshan County, Xinjiang, grapes and wine had been planted in Shanshan area of Dongjiang District before the 5th century BC. During this period, whether the small oasis countries in Tarim Basin planted grapes or brewed wine was uncertain due to the lack of historical data, but it was reasonable to speculate that it was still possible.
The producing areas of grape cultivation and wine-making in the western regions were further expanded in the Qin and Han dynasties and began to be introduced into the mainland. As mentioned earlier, before the 2nd century BC, China's ancient Central Asian countries such as Dawan, Daxia, Kangju, Da Yue and Xinjiang planted grapes to make wine, while southern Xinjiang, such as Yishou and Yutian, also planted grapes to make wine. In the 2nd century BC, with the migration of Serbs, many small countries appeared in Central Asia and Xinjiang. During the period from BC 177 to BC 176, when Da Yue moved west from his hometown Hetao to the Yili River and the Chu River, some local Serbs retreated to the north bank of the Syr Darya River, which was later a comfortable place. By about 140 BC, some of these Serbs had entered the area south of the Amu Darya, wiped out the kingdom of Bactria of the Greeks and established the kingdom of Daxia, while others had entered the Fergana Valley and established the kingdom of Dawan. At the same time, some Serbs went south and scattered all over the Pamirs. Later, some of them entered the Gandhara region to establish a country of chefs (now Kashmir), and some of them entered the Tarim Basin eastward to establish several small cities. In about 130 BC, Dayue family was defeated by Wusun and moved south to the Amu Darya River basin, and annexed the local Daxia country. Therefore, the grape cultivation and wine-making in Dawan and its left and right sides recorded in historical books seem to be closely related to the migration of Cypriots. In other words, in the 2nd century BC, the migration route of Serbs may be the re-spreading route of grapes and wine in the western regions, Central Asia and Xinjiang during this period. As mentioned above, in fact, some areas where Serbs migrated can be traced back to around 2000 BC, or the Greek Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC-65438 BC+035 BC) which was later called Xia. In addition to food crops, agricultural products are also famous for producing grapes, and the grape planting industry in Marguillard is mentioned in Greek historical materials [26]. It can be said that the Serbs inherited the grape planting and brewing industry in the original area when they moved in. Of course, the relationship between Serbs and grape cultivation and wine-making in Central Asia and Xinjiang, China will be further discussed in another manuscript, History of World Grape Culture.
During this period, grapes were still planted and wine was brewed in Kangju area. Kangju lives along the Aral Sea and the lower reaches of the Syr Darya River. Accordingly, the archaeological excavations of ancient city sites in this area (BC 1 century ~ 6th century AD) include grains, stones, grapes, etc. The Book of the Later Han Dynasty (volume 88) and Biography of the Western Regions also said: "Li belongs to the Happy House and is famous for his horses, cattle and sheep. Its soil and water are beautiful, so Pu Tao wine is particularly famous. " 1975, a set of wine-making utensils from the Western Han Dynasty (about 2,000 years ago) around A.D. was also unearthed in an ancient tomb at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain in Xinjiang, including spherical bronze pots, flat ceramic fermentation tanks and wooden tools for squeezing grapes. (4) The discovery of grape pendant earrings in Tex Ranch in Urumqi and Wulabo Reservoir in the Western Han Dynasty indirectly explained the grape cultivation and wine brewing in Wusun and other countries in northern Xinjiang at that time.
It is also known from the above that, according to the literature records, grape cultivation and wine brewing in southern Xinjiang today are no later than BC 130. In today's Dongjiang region, where the driver Guo Qian and others are located, there were grapes and wine in the Qin and Han Dynasties. 1985 65438+In February, in a Han tomb in Halahezhuo, north of Huoyanshan commune in Turpan, many ancient vines were unearthed at the bottom of the coffin of the deceased. [28] By the Eastern Han Dynasty, grape cultivation in Dongjiang area of Xinjiang had been clearly recorded. "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty" Volume 88 "Biography of the Western Regions" said: "Yiwu is suitable for five grains, Sang Ma and Pu Tao." Yiwu is now Hami. It can be seen that the cultivation of grapes and the brewing of wine in Qin and Han dynasties have spread to Turpan and southern Xinjiang in the eastern Xinjiang. During this period, grape cultivation and wine-making were very common in the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain, including southern Xinjiang. According to volume 96 of Hanshu Biography of the Western Regions, Yue State, Jianbin and their countries Nandu and Wuyishan left the country to grow grapes. Grape cultivation and wine brewing in Dayue have been described above. Chef guest country "Han Shu Xi Yu Chuan" Chef guest country article cloud, "Wang Zhixun Xiancheng, go to Chang 'an 22,200 miles. It doesn't belong to everyone. There are many soldiers in hukou, and there are also big countries. ..... The kitchen is flat and gentle, with alfalfa, exotic flowers, sandalwood, lotus, catalpa, bamboo and lacquer. Grow grain, cultivate fruit and treat the garden with manure. "It is difficult to travel to the country, and it is difficult for the western regions to travel to the country." Wang Zhi went to Chang 'an 150 miles. There are 5,000 households, 31,000 people and 8,000 soldiers. It is 2850 miles from the place where the tiger is alone in the northeast, 340 miles from the place where there is no thunder in the west, 330 miles from the chef Bin in the southwest, connected to Waqiang in the south, Xiuxun in the north and Dayue in the west. Grow grains and fruits. "Wuyishan exit," Hanshu Biography of the Western Regions "Wuyishan exit," Wang Zhi to Chang 'an 22,200 miles. It doesn't belong to everyone. The hukou wins the soldiers, and the big country also. ..... Wuyi land is hot and rough, and its vegetation, animal husbandry production, grains, fruits and vegetables, diet, palaces, city pillars, money, weapons and gold beads are all the same as those of chefs. "It can be seen that Wuyishan also grows grapes and makes wine when it leaves the country.
During the Western Han Dynasty, grapes were also planted and wine was brewed in Shule and Qiemo in southern Xinjiang. The 96-volume biography of the Western Regions in Hanshu said: Shule country "has city pillars, and the west is the road of Da Yue, Dawan and Kangju". It can be seen that Shule is located in the main traffic road and is surrounded by grape growing areas (such as Dawan and Yutian). Therefore, according to its suitable gas sequence and geographical location, it should be a grape producer. "On the Western Regions" in volume 96 of Hanshu said: "The last country, the king ruled the last city, and went to Chang 'an for 6,820 miles. ..... connected to Yuli in the north and Xiaowanke in the south, with grape fruit. "Grapes also grow in a perfect country. According to Stein's archaeological discovery, the Minfengnia site (the site of the ancient Jingjue Kingdom) is an orchard from/kloc-0 to the 3rd century, and rows of dead peach, apricot, grape and other fruit trees are still preserved. [29] 1995 10, a joint tomb in Tomb No.3 of No.1 Cemetery of Niya Site, containing grapes, pears, millet cakes, leg of lamb, etc. It was also found in pottery and wood at the hostess's feet. [30] Qiuci also grows grapes and makes wine.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the oasis grape cultivation in Tarim Basin and its adjacent areas continued to develop. Wang Yi's Lychee Fu briefly said, "It's a great emperor, in the middle of the state. Dongyegong Tam Shugua, Nanpu Huangganzhihua Orange, Bashan West Green Grape, Beiyan recommended Shuobin Juli, and Weitu sent Xishan Apricot. " This Kunshan is the Kunlun Mountain in the Western Regions. In the Han Dynasty, the southern part of the western border had reached the northern and southern foothills of the Karakorum Mountains. This shows that the grapes planted in the oasis of Tarim basin in the western region south of Tianshan Mountain and its adjacent areas were already famous tributes in the Han Dynasty.
It can be seen that during the Qin and Han Dynasties, grape cultivation and wine-making in Xinjiang may have been introduced into Turpan in the eastern Xinjiang through northern Xinjiang, or into a small country in the oasis of Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang through Pamir. At this point, it is very common to grow grapes and brew wine in Xinjiang.
To sum up, according to the relevant literature and archaeological data, the earliest time for human beings to grow grapes and brew wine is relatively credible, about 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. The origin of grapes and wine should be said to be in the east, and it should be said to be "polycentric", including the eastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor, South Caucasus and other regions, mainly covering Syria, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Iran and other countries; The "post-producing centers" of grapes and wine are generally in Europe and North America, which mainly includes the United States, Mexico and other countries. Grapes and wine originated in Iran, the "origin center" of grapes and wine, and may be introduced into Kashmir through the Iranian plateau-Central Asia around 2000 BC. Before 2000- 1000 BC, it may have been introduced into northern China and parts of eastern Xinjiang through the Iranian Plateau-Central Asia basin (Amu Darya River and Syr Darya River). By 600 BC at the latest, European grapes had spread from Europe and Greece, the "post-origin center" of grapes and wine, to China and Xinjiang via Asia Minor → South Caucasus → Iranian Plateau → Central Asia. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, grape cultivation and wine brewing may have been introduced into Turpan in the eastern Xinjiang through northern Xinjiang, or into a small country in the oasis of Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang from Central Asia through Pamir. At this point, it is very common to grow grapes and brew wine in Xinjiang.