Poems praising the ancient city of Loulan

Loulan is an important town in China's ancient Shanshan country, an important hub of the Silk Road and an important center of Sino-Western trade. During the war years, it was also a battleground between the Central Plains and Xiongnu and Tubo. In its prosperous years, Loulan City is also a spring willow, with magnificent pagodas and Buddhist temples and uniform streets. The largest number of people reached about 20 thousand, and merchants from all over the world gathered here, and the market was very lively. After the Tang Dynasty, this famous western trading center and cultural center quietly disappeared from the history of China. So where did the ancient city of Loulan go? This has also become a puzzle that historians are very interested in. We know Loulan in the Central Plains since the Western Han Dynasty. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, in order to break the Xiongnu blockade on the surrounding areas, Zhang Qian, who was famous for his ambition, was sent to the western regions to contact with other countries. Zhang Qian traveled thousands of miles and experienced many obstacles, opening up the Silk Road. Zhang Qian has been to Loulan, an important town in the western regions, and Central Plains people didn't know there was such a place until Zhang Qian came back. Sima Qian recorded in Historical Records: "Loulan and Gushi have battlements, which are adjacent to salt." What it means here is that Loulan ancient town, guarded by battlements, is very close to Lop Nur. This is the 1 written record of Loulan in the history of China. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns were powerful, and Loulan was controlled by the Huns, which was an important stronghold for the Huns to station troops and store food. After Wei Qing and Huo Qubing defeated the Huns, that is, around 77 BC, the army of the Han Dynasty took control of Loulan. Since then, Loulan has been an important town on the Silk Road. In peacetime, there were camel teams and business trips. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains became independent and scuffles continued. At this time, Loulan was abandoned by the Central Plains, and the Central Plains dynasty had no time to take care of him. The connection between the Central Plains and Loulan was cut off, and people gradually forgot the existence of the ancient city of Loulan. When the Tang Dynasty came, the Tang Dynasty and Tubo met in Loulan many times. Wang Changling once wrote in his military career: "There are long dark snow-capped mountains in Qinghai, and the lonely city overlooks Yumenguan. Yellow sand wears golden armor in hundreds of battles, but the loulan is not returned. It can be seen that Loulan is still the strategic goal of the Tang Dynasty, and Loulan is also the northwest border of the Tang Dynasty. Since the Tang Dynasty, Loulan has no record in history. At the beginning of the 20th century, Swedish explorers asked Sven Hedin to lead an expedition to explore the desert in western China. They found several broken houses in the desert, some ancient coins and worn woodcuts in the ruins, and then they met a strong wind, which blew away a layer of sand and exposed the roof of an ancient castle. Later, they excavated this mysterious ancient city, dug up lifelike Buddha statues, found ancient coins and pottery, and found more than 30 pieces of written paper and 100 bamboo slips, as well as many silk fragments. In addition, there are many exquisite glassware made in the west and lion-shaped glassware from Persia. Later, after detailed study by experts, it was concluded that this ancient city was the famous ancient Loulan City. The lost Loulan City was found, but why did it disappear? It turns out that in the desert area of northwest China, water lakes often change. Every spring, the ice and snow melt, and a large amount of river water carries sediment to Lop Nur, gradually forming a delta at the estuary, blocking the road to Lop Nur. The river had nowhere to go, so it found another way and formed a new lake in the low-lying area. The old lake is constantly evaporating, and the lake gradually dries up and becomes a desert. It was the Lake of Lop Nur that gave birth to Loulan's civilization. Due to the movement of the lake, the water source in Loulan City is exhausted, the trees are dead, the bustling towns with rippling lakes, flocks of wild birds and dense reeds are facing death threats, and residents have to move to places with new water sources. The ancient city of Loulan was finally buried in the process of strong winds and sand dunes moving, and became a city sleeping underground. Although experts infer that its decline is partly due to natural reasons, we know little about when it declined and what relationship it has with frequent wars, destruction of irrigation systems and unreasonable farming methods of local residents. I hope that with the archaeological excavation, the cultural relics buried under the sand can tell us the past of this town.