Major progress has been made in the archaeological investigation of the Xiangquan River Basin in Ali, Tibet, and the mystery of the ancient Zhangzhong civilization is expected to be revealed soon.
With the support of the special fund for border archeology of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the "Xiangquan River Basin Archaeological Survey Team" was jointly formed by the Institute of Chinese Tibetology of Sichuan University, the Department of Archeology of Sichuan University and the Cultural Relics Bureau of the Tibet Autonomous Region. From June to August, we went to the Xiangquan River Basin to conduct a survey of cultural relics and historic sites along the Chinese territory, and made significant progress based on previous work.
The Xiangquan River Basin is the most important birthplace of ancient civilization in western Tibet. It is the capital of the historically famous Zhangzhong Kingdom (called "Yangtong", "Nv Kingdom", etc. in Chinese history books) and the Guge Kingdom. A splendid culture has been created centered on this river basin. Because this basin is closely adjacent to South Asia and Central Asia, it has also become a crossroads for exchanges between Chinese and foreign civilizations and has always been highly valued by domestic and foreign academic circles.
Among the rich and splendid Tibetan cultural heritage, the glorious and prosperous ancient Zhangzhung civilization developed based on the spread of "Yongzhong Bon Religion". Due to the long history of the Bon Religion civilization and its vast spread area, It has an extremely far-reaching and important influence on the formation and development of Tibetan culture. However, due to various reasons, many people in the world do not know about the "ancient Zhangzhung Civilization" at all, and even many Tibetans themselves do not understand it. They only believe that Indian culture has a huge influence on the formation of Tibetan culture, and that "all cultures from India" are of great value, and mistakenly believe that Tibetan native religion and things other than Indian civilization have little contribution to the formation of Tibetan culture. value.
Even many Tibetans themselves mistakenly believe that before Indian Buddhism was introduced to Tibet, Tibet did not have its own language and writing, and its culture was very ignorant and backward. This absurd statement has been promoted by some orthodox fanatics for centuries. It is precisely because of the long-term continuation of this situation that it has led to the loss of Tibet’s true history and local culture. It has also limited scholars’ understanding of the ancient Zhangzhung civilization and I am interested in teaching research, but this situation has changed.
According to the exploration of archaeologists, the history of the origin of Tibetans on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is very long and ancient, dating back 13,000 to 17,000 years.
Then everyone will invariably think about this question: "Where is the origin of the ancient Tibetan culture?"
The answer is: in the ancient Tibetan culture This religion!
Many customs and lifestyles of our modern Tibetan compatriots are also inherited from the ancient Zhangzhong era. For example, the Tibetan compatriots' weddings and funerals, astronomy and calculus, medical literature, singing, dancing and painting, choosing a house and auspicious days when traveling, driving away disasters and evil spirits, divination and divination, etc., still follow the traditions of this religion to a certain extent. . Tibetan compatriots also have many unique ways of praying: such as turning around the sacred mountain, worshiping the sacred lake, scattering wind horse flags, hanging colorful prayer flags, carving scriptures on stones, and placing mani piles (the tradition of this religion is engraved with the eight-character mantra of light: "Om"). "Mazhimou Yesalinde" stone pile), doing divination, offering torma plates, butter flowers and even using prayer wheels, etc., are all the remaining customs of this religion. Luan Jianzhang, deputy director of the Research Office of the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, once wrote an article evaluating the historical significance of Zhangzhung civilization and Bonjiang religion:
“It is no exaggeration to say that to understand Tibetan civilization, we must first understand Zhangzhung civilization; When studying Tibetan Buddhism, you must first study the original religion. Otherwise, the deeper you delve into, the farther away you may be from the truth."
In the 7th century AD, Songtsen Gampo annexed and unified the various tribes in Tibet and established the powerful Tubo Dynasty. , the official history of Tibet began to be written. In recent years, archaeological discoveries have proven that:
The ancient Zhangzhung civilization is the true root of Tibetan civilization.
According to records in Chinese and Tibetan classics, the ancient Zhangzhong Kingdom (actually a tribal alliance), known as Qiang Tong and Yangtong in history, reached its peak before the 7th century. The article "A Survey of Tibetan Population History" records that according to the proportion of the army, the population of Shangshung should be no less than 10 million. Later, Tubo gradually rose up on the Tibetan Plateau, and by the 8th century AD, it completely conquered the ancient kingdom of Shang Shung. Since then, Zhangzhong culture gradually disappeared.
The documents of Tibet’s ancient local religion Bonjiao are called “Zhangzhong Code” by experts. "Mingjian of the Genealogy of the King of Tubo" records: "From Nie Chi Zanpu to Chijie Tozan, all twenty-six generations used this religion to protect the state affairs." At that time, the ancient Xiangxiong characters were mainly used in the classics of this religion. write. According to records in classics such as "Records of the King of Tibet" and "Duodui", Buddha Xinrabmiwo of the Shangzung people made many changes to the original Bon Buddhism in the past and founded the Yongzhong Bon Sect, which is known as the oldest ancient Shang Shung Buddhism in Tibet. Buddha Xingrao Miwo first created the Zhangzhong script and taught the "Five Ming Studies": Gong Qiao Ming (craftsmanship), Sound Theory (linguistics), medicine, external Ming Xue (astronomy) and Inner Ming Xue (astronomy). Buddhism). The ancient Zhangzhong civilization developed based on the spread of "Yongzhong Benjiao". When it comes to the mysterious ancient country of Shang Shung, many people may not understand it and may even feel strange about it. The wind and sand on the ancient Silk Road traveled through thousands of years, sealing this history before the 7th century AD on the snow-covered plateau. However, as the common foundation of Tibetan culture and Yunnan Naxi culture, the ancient Zhangzhong civilization, which integrates the essence of the three major civilizations of the Central Plains, West Asia and South Asia, is still shining brightly today. As an early culture before Indian Buddhism was introduced into Tibet, traces of ancient Zhangzhong culture run through all aspects of Tibet.
"From production to life, from folk customs to beliefs, there is a shadow of Zhangzhong culture everywhere. For example, religious activities such as worshiping mountain gods and turning mountains are all derived from Zhangzhong culture.
For ancient Zhangzhug culture To make it "alive", there is no way to bypass the "Shang Shung Tripitaka", an encyclopedia that reflects Zhang Shung's civilization in a panoramic manner. However, for a long time, the lack of a Chinese translation has led to the lack of a Chinese translation of the Zhang Shung culture. The research on Xiong culture is basically at a standstill. In contrast, foreign research and attention on Xiong culture have been ahead of the curve, urging us to dig out and sort out this treasure.
In July 2013, With the support of the Chinese Social and Cultural Development Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a Chinese translation project of the "Xiangshung Tripitaka" planned to be completed in 10 years was launched. According to reports, the content of the "Xiangshung Tripitaka" was originally huge and took thousands of years to complete. With the passage of time, some of its contents have been lost. There are 178 existing volumes, including 74 "Lv", 70 "Jing", 26 "Su" and 8 "Ku". Bai Gengsheng, secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Writers Association, believes that. The Chinese translation project of the "Shang Shung Tripitaka" will not only decipher the ancient Shang Shung civilization on the snowy plateau, but also reveal the history of the mutual influence and integration of civilizations and cultures between ancient China, ancient India, ancient Persia, and even ancient Greece. Since the 1920s and 1930s, foreign scholars represented by Italian Tibetologist G. Duzzi began to conduct archaeological surveys in this area. However, after the early 1950s, the archaeological work in this area basically remained at a low level. It was not until the late 1970s and early 1980s that Chinese scholars re-entered this area to carry out archaeological work, and successively obtained the archeology of the ancient city of Guge, the archeology of Tuolin Temple, and the archeology of Piyang Dongga Grotto Temple during the Buddhist period. A series of eye-catching new archaeological results
This investigation started from Menshi Township, Gar County, the birthplace of Xiangquan River, and reached Xiangba Township, Zada ??County in the west, mainly in Xiangquan River. The upstream zone spreads from east to west. The new investigation found 17 pre-Buddhist relics such as stone tool sites, large stone ruins, ancient cemeteries, and rock paintings, as well as Buddhist relics such as grotto murals and temple ruins. 11 cultural relics sites previously discovered were reviewed. A large amount of important physical data has been obtained, which is of great significance for a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the archaeological culture in various historical development stages of this basin. Among them, the discovery of various archaeological remains from the pre-Buddhist period in this area is of great significance. It has taken an extremely important step to unveil the mystery of the ancient Zhangzhung civilization, which has never been documented.
The so-called "pre-Buddhist period" mainly refers to the Guge Kingdom, which was based on Buddhism. This long historical period before its founding was about 10 centuries ago. Among the archaeological remains from the pre-Buddhist period discovered during this survey, the most important one is the discovery of the "Qionglong Silver City" ruins located in Menshi Township, Gar County. According to legend, it was the capital of the Zhangzhong Kingdom in history. The site is located on the north bank of the Xiangquan River on the eastern edge of the Zada ??Basin. Three small rivers named Quna River, Quga River, and Langqin River meet on the south side of the site, so the site is The place name is also "Qusongduo". After careful survey and mapping by the survey team, it was initially determined that the ruins are distributed on a long mountain top running slightly from northeast to south-west. According to the terrain height and the distribution of the ruins, they can be divided into A, B, C and D. There are four communities with a total site area of ??about 130,000 square meters.
Area A is located in the southern part of the mountain with the lowest terrain. It is about 300 meters long from east to west and 200 meters wide from north to south. It covers an area of ??about 60,000 square meters. The ground is relatively flat and the architectural remains are the most concentrated. Numbered ground-level buildings* **There are more than 90 units, all of which are ground-level buildings built with conglomerate rock blocks or gravel. It has been observed that the buildings in Area A can be roughly divided into defensive buildings (defense walls and fortresses, etc.), family residential buildings, public buildings, religious sacrificial buildings, and living ancillary facilities according to their uses. Defensive buildings are distributed on the east, west and south edges of the top of the mountain in Area A. They are high and secure, and are composed of multiple defense walls and connected square fortresses and secret passages. Family residential buildings are mainly distributed on the east and west sides of Area A. At both ends, they are usually square, round, multi-room or single-room, and some are equipped with round or nearly round livestock pen facilities. Relics that may have the nature of public buildings are distributed in the middle of Area A. They have larger bays and some have multiple steps built with conglomerate rocks according to the terrain. There are two main types of living ancillary facilities in Area A. One is the livestock pens attached to the family residence, and the other is the circular water pits distributed in the residential complex. It is speculated that they may be used as water storage pits to store water for residents' livestock; Area A has a relatively gentle terrain, the highest building density, diverse building forms and uses, relatively high preserved walls, and many relics collected on the ground. It is speculated that it is the main living area of ??the site.
Area B is located at the northwest edge of the central part of the site, with a length of about 350 meters from east to west, a width of 15-50 meters from north to south, and an area of ??nearly 15,000 square meters. Area B is located at the highest western edge of the mountaintop. There are a total of 13 numbered building ruins, among which are mainly defensive fortifications such as protective walls and fortresses built on the cliff edge of the mountaintop. Another area was found in the northern part of Area B. Architectural remains and an tunnel entrance (exit) that may be related to religious ceremonial activities. The remains of the protective wall in Area B are distributed on the edge of the cliff from west to east, with a total length of nearly 300 meters.
According to observations, the original protective wall has always been built along the cliff. It is divided into two parts: the main wall built on the top of the mountain and the protective wall built under the outer cliff slope. The main wall and the protective wall are both made of artificial conglomerate rock. It is built with blocks and a small amount of gravel and stone slabs (strips), but there is only one main wall, 0.6-0.8 wide, and the existing height is only 0.1-0.3 meters; the retaining wall is built on the outside of the cliff slope. Depending on the gentleness of the slope, the position and form of the retaining wall (multiple or single wall) are also different. In a few wall sections, fragments of wooden piles inserted into the wall were also found, which may be flagpoles or the like on the original wall. Remains. A group of buildings at the northeastern end of Area B was built on the highest point of the mountain. An early cultural layer (ash soil) was found under this group of buildings. It is speculated that its relative age is later than the early stage of the site, and its use may also be related to religious sacrificial activities.
Area C is located at the southeastern edge of the central part of the site, with a length of nearly 300 meters from east to west, a width of about 30 meters from north to south, and an area of ??nearly 10,000 square meters. Area C is located at the highest point in the northeast of the mountain top. There are a total of 20 numbered architectural ruins (groups). Most of them are protective walls, fortresses and other defensive fortifications built on the northeast edge of the mountain top. In the west of Area C ( A group of public buildings that may have religious and ceremonial functions were discovered near today's Xiaolakang. The defensive buildings in Area C are distributed first from east to west, then from south to north, forming an "L" shaped building complex with a total length of about 200 meters. Multiple protective wall remains were also found outside the cliff.
Zone D is located at the northernmost end of the site, on the top of another hill with a slightly lower elevation, and has relatively fewer ruins. There are only 8 numbered building ruins, all of which are defensive fortification buildings. , among which 04KLDS8 is a multi-room fortress with a defensive wall. There is a circular waterhole nearby, which may be used as a defensive camp for longer-term residence. There are also a few remains of defense walls and secret passages that may lead to the top of the mountain at the foot of the cliff. Especially under the cliff at the northern end of Area B, there are several protective walls built with conglomerate rock blocks along the hillside. The rock blocks for the walls are neatly trimmed. It can be seen that the planning and construction of the military defense facilities and castles at the Qionglong City ruins were obviously carefully laid out in advance. arrange.
The cultural relics collected on the ground of the Qionglong Yincheng site mainly include: several fragments of reddish-brown pottery with sand; various shapes of grindstones, stone mortars, stone flakes and other stone tools; fragments of iron armor; fragments of copper-mouthed utensils. pieces; beads and other decorations; aggregates and bone artifacts, etc.
Another large-scale site that exists only with the Qionglong Yincheng site is the Zebeng site. This site is located on the first-level platform on the west bank of the Quna Valley at the foot of the Qionglong Yincheng site, and is adjacent to Quna to the east. The Na River is connected to the secondary platform of Qu Na River to the west. The south and north sides of the site are the narrow entrances of the river valley. The site was built on the wide valley platform of the river valley. According to preliminary investigations, the site is composed of different relics such as residential settlements, stone ruins, and tomb groups. It covers an area of ??about 1,300 meters long from north to south and 500 meters wide from north to south, with a total distribution area of ??nearly 600,000 square meters. The residential remains are the main part of the Zebeng ruins and are generally arranged in a north-south line. The residential buildings were clearly planned carefully in advance and arranged in groups to form a well-proportioned cluster of houses. Among them, groups 6, 12, 13, 14, and 35 in the center of the site are the largest in scale. The shapes of the houses are mainly square and rectangular. All types of houses have obvious traces of stone foundations on the ground surface, and they are all built with gravel. From the analysis of the natural environment where the site is located, it is inferred that these building materials were taken from nearby Qu The natural gravel accumulation layer on the river valley. Around the main building group, there are also some relatively small-scale architectural remains scattered. In addition to square shapes, there are also round and irregular shapes. It is speculated that the latter may be traces of tents.
In the eastern part of the site near the second-level platform, earthen pits of varying sizes were found, with shapes including round, oval, irregular, etc. They are distributed around the building site and have a certain scale. It is speculated that these features may be relics such as puddles used by people to store water at that time.
The tombs at this site are mainly distributed in the south, north and southwest of the residential site. Judging from the scale of the tombs, there are both large-scale stone tombs and smaller stone tombs.
Among them, the stone tomb numbered M2 is the most massive. The tomb is entirely built with natural gravels, and the gravels may be bonded with soil. It can be roughly divided into stone foundations. and two parts of the tomb mound. The stone foundation is rectangular in shape, 62 meters long and 17.3 meters wide, and tapers upward layer by layer, like a trapezoid. The tomb mound was built on top of the stone foundation. Due to the severe damage caused by robbery in the early years, the tomb mound has basically disappeared and formed a huge robbery pit downwards. The current height of the tomb is about 3-6 meters. On the west (back) side of the tomb, there were found the remains of a doorway made of stone. In addition, there were three circular or nearly circular stone platforms built with gravel. It is speculated that the latter may have been used as altars or altars. A type of building. The small stone tombs in the site are mainly concentrated in the southern part of the site. They are distributed in groups, mostly arranged in the southeast-northwest direction. Most of the tombs are 1.3×1.5 meters in length and have gravel frames. They remain in The stone frame on the surface is basically flush with the ground. In addition, many stone platforms (stone altars) were found in the site, such as the stone platform numbered 66, which is rectangular in shape and has a protruding circular platform at one end of the stone platform. Its use may be related to some special sacrificial ritual activities.
The eastern end of the Zebeng ruins is close to the bank of the Quna River. There is a stone ruins. The basic shape of the ruins is a stone frame with a slightly trapezoidal plane. There are long strips of stone on the west and south borders of the stone frame. Most of them have been broken, but there are still two standing stones with a length of more than 1 meter. Some fragments of pottery fragments were collected from the surface of the site.
Among the unearthed relics, one of the Qionglong Yincheng ruins numbered 04KLAS66 may belong to the sacrificial ruins. A double-sided bronze statue of the god was unearthed. It has a strange shape, with a naked upper body, two protruding breasts, and a kneeling posture. One hand is on the knee, and the other hand is holding an object upward (it cannot be identified in detail because it is too damaged). There are faces on both sides of the head, with rough features and a ferocious face. It has the distinctive characteristics of the pre-Buddhist statues in western Tibet and is obviously different from Buddhism. It is preliminarily speculated that it may be related to the gods of Tibetan primitive religion, the Bon religion, and is influenced to a certain extent by the style of the idols of the Indian Shiva system.
Around the Qionglong Yincheng ruins, two large cemeteries named Latuo and Qusongguo were also discovered, each containing hundreds of tombs. Most of them were made of stone mounds. Several of the tombs excavated were made of stone sarcophagi.
The investigation and discovery of the large-scale site group centered on Qionglong Yincheng in the upper reaches of the Xiangquan River is of great significance in promoting archaeological research on the "Zhangzhong Era" in western Tibet. According to descriptions in Chinese and Tibetan historical records, the Shangshung Kingdom has a long history of founding. It uses Bonism as its state religion, has its own unique writing system, and has built different capitals and castles. Until the 7th century, when Zampo Songtsen Gampo of the Tubo Dynasty sent troops to destroy the ancient Shangshung Kingdom, Shangshung had always been a powerful tribal alliance dominating the western and northern plateaus of Tibet. However, there has been no corresponding archaeological materials and documents to corroborate each other for a long time. The "Qionglong Silver City" ruins discovered during this investigation are still worshiped by local monks as the birthplace of the princes of the Shang Shung Kingdom. The ancient place name Qionglong Silver City (Qionglong Gukal) has also been Seen in Tibetan history books. Judging from the spatial and temporal characteristics of the site, the possibility that it belongs to the Shangshung Kingdom era cannot be underestimated.
In addition, this new survey in the Xiangquan River Basin also discovered and focused on re-examining a number of cave temples and temple remains from the Buddhist period. Among them, the murals in the Sandan Grotto Temple are not only in good condition, but also The Pargarbu Grotto murals discovered in the past have the same Indian Polo art style elements, filling a missing link in the transformation of Buddhist cave murals in western Tibet from the Kashmiri art style to the Polo art style. Several newly discovered Buddhist cave murals in the Guge Xiangba area are preliminarily estimated to be from the 11th to 15th centuries. They are also of great academic value for understanding the development and evolution of Buddhist art in the Guge Kingdom at different stages.