絲路咽喉——河西走廊

邵如林

河西走廊，地處甘肅西部黃河以西。南與 青藏高原北緣的祁連山脈接壤，東臨黃土高原，西與塔里木盆地交界，北與內(nèi)蒙古高原南緣隆起的北山山地相連，是一條長(zhǎng)1000多公里、寬數(shù)公里至百余公里的狹長(zhǎng)地帶，因形似走廊而得名。

特殊的地理位置賦予河西走廊重要的歷史職能。河西走廊雖然處于峰巒疊嶂的祁連山和主要為戈壁、沙漠的內(nèi)蒙古高原的夾峙之下，但走廊之上，卻是綠洲相連，地下水源充沛，資源豐富，物產(chǎn)富饒，自古以來(lái)即為中原通西域的首選之路。自3000多年前起，河西走廊就成為中國(guó)內(nèi)地通往西域地區(qū)的必經(jīng)通道，神秘的“玉石之路”和周穆王西巡，溝通了中原與西域地區(qū)的聯(lián)系。自公元前121年開(kāi)始，成為聞名于世的絲綢之路的主干路段。由于歷史的原因，這里成為華夏文明與兩河文明、印度文明、地中海文明的交匯區(qū)。正是在東西方文明的交流融會(huì)過(guò)程中，河西走廊得以長(zhǎng)期吸納這條道路上薈萃的各種文明，促進(jìn)了自身經(jīng)濟(jì)、文化的繁榮和發(fā)展，并形成了獨(dú)特的河西文化。

聯(lián)系東西方的商業(yè)通道

河西地區(qū)商業(yè)經(jīng)濟(jì)的濫觴，最早可上溯至距今5000年左右的新石器時(shí)代晚期。其時(shí)，這里的經(jīng)濟(jì)形式，已由原來(lái)延續(xù)已久的畋獵經(jīng)濟(jì)，走向以農(nóng)業(yè)為主，兼及畜牧、制陶、冶銅、防織、釀酒等手工業(yè)和少量的商品交換。其后，游牧民族的發(fā)展壯大，使這里的經(jīng)濟(jì)形式一度以畜牧為主。直到漢設(shè)河西四郡之后，大量中原人口的遷入，先進(jìn)耕作技術(shù)的使用和推廣，水利的興修，方使河西地區(qū)以農(nóng)業(yè)為主，兼及畜牧業(yè)和手工業(yè)的形式得以很快發(fā)展。后來(lái)，隨著中央政權(quán)控制范圍的擴(kuò)大、絲綢之路的開(kāi)通和東西方經(jīng)濟(jì)交往的頻繁，商業(yè)經(jīng)濟(jì)也日益成為河西地區(qū)的主要經(jīng)濟(jì)形式之一。河西走廊在以其十分重要的軍事、政治、交通等作用名揚(yáng)天下的同時(shí)，也以其發(fā)達(dá)的農(nóng)業(yè)、畜牧業(yè)、商業(yè)和手工業(yè)而著稱(chēng)于世。

河西地區(qū)最早的商品交換，出現(xiàn)在距今約5000年前的新石器時(shí)代晚期，而真正意義上的商業(yè)活動(dòng)，則是隨著絲綢之路的開(kāi)通興盛起來(lái)的。張騫“鑿空”之舉，溝通了東西方的陸路交通聯(lián)系。漢武帝對(duì)匈奴的成功用兵，使河西乃至整個(gè)西域地區(qū)處于一個(gè)較為安定的政治環(huán)境之中。軍事斗爭(zhēng)的勝利，又使這一地區(qū)交通沿線(xiàn)的軍事要塞轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橥蛪ㄖ行暮蛠?lái)往人員的接待站。漢王朝與西域等國(guó)的頻繁交往，使東西方使者一度“相望于道”。西方各國(guó)來(lái)使，“大者數(shù)百，少者百余人”。漢王朝派往西方各國(guó)的使者，一年之中也“多者十余，少者五六輩（批）”。于是，當(dāng)年各國(guó)互訪的使節(jié)，往往兼有使者和商人的雙重身份，商人也應(yīng)募出使或隨使節(jié)團(tuán)同行。使節(jié)往來(lái)，也伴隨著商隊(duì)活動(dòng)，因此，商業(yè)貿(mào)易開(kāi)始興盛。由漢都長(zhǎng)安經(jīng)河西走廊直趨西域等地的這條軍事之路，在保留其軍事作用的同時(shí)，也具備了商業(yè)作用，在人類(lèi)發(fā)展史上具有重大影響的著名的絲綢之路，就此誕生了。沿著絲綢之路，在中外商業(yè)貿(mào)易中起到了促進(jìn)作用的一座座商鎮(zhèn)也開(kāi)始興起，而這些商鎮(zhèn)中的佼佼者，即為河西四郡。

河西四郡，以其獨(dú)特的地理位置和重要的軍事、政治作用，在絲綢之路興盛之后，理所當(dāng)然地成為中外陸路貿(mào)易由中原進(jìn)入西域地區(qū)的重要中轉(zhuǎn)站和貿(mào)易中心之一，并且經(jīng)久不衰。中原絲綢、瓷器、漆器、鐵器、竹器及其他商品和漢民族高度發(fā)達(dá)的造紙、印刷、火藥等文化，經(jīng)過(guò)河西走廊輸往西域、西亞及中東、西歐。西方商客也經(jīng)過(guò)河西走廊，將珠玉、珍玩、葡萄、核桃、良馬等運(yùn)抵長(zhǎng)安、洛陽(yáng)。絲路暢通時(shí)，這里是西來(lái)東往的總樞紐。一旦絲路阻塞或中原戰(zhàn)亂，河西四郡又是中外貿(mào)易的集散地和終點(diǎn)站，尤其是敦煌、武威，在漢、唐日益繁榮的國(guó)際貿(mào)易中，逐漸發(fā)展為重要的商業(yè)都會(huì)。甚至在20世紀(jì)出土的居延漢簡(jiǎn)中，也發(fā)現(xiàn)有大批記載來(lái)往貨物和物價(jià)的木簡(jiǎn)，可見(jiàn)就連地處河西北部的邊塞居延，當(dāng)時(shí)也都成為重要的貿(mào)易場(chǎng)所或通道。

“胡商販客，日款塞下”，“商侶往來(lái)，無(wú)有停絕”，“通貨羌胡，市日四合”，河西地區(qū)市容繁華、人口眾多、商胡云集、胡漢雜處的景況，不僅反映在歷史典籍和出土簡(jiǎn)、書(shū)中，而且反映在歷代文人的詩(shī)詞書(shū)畫(huà)中?！堕_(kāi)元遺事》中描述武威元宵燈會(huì)：“燈燭綿亙十?dāng)?shù)里，車(chē)馬駢闐，士女紛雜。”王棨《玄宗幸西涼府觀燈賦》中描寫(xiě)武威上元燈會(huì)說(shuō)：“千條銀燭，十里香塵。紅樓邐迤以如晝，清夜熒煌而似春?？?shí)武威，事同仙境?！币灾烈眠h(yuǎn)居京城的帝王也情不自禁夢(mèng)游涼州。這種繁華，也只有在城市發(fā)展為大商埠時(shí)才可能出現(xiàn)。而張籍《涼州詞》中所說(shuō)：“邊城暮雨雁飛低，蘆筍初生漸欲齊。無(wú)數(shù)鈴聲遙過(guò)磧，應(yīng)馱白練到安西?！眲t是對(duì)大批胡、漢客商不顧日暮天雨、途經(jīng)河西走廊販運(yùn)絲綢西行的生動(dòng)寫(xiě)照。更有甚者，公元609年，隋煬帝在征伐青海吐谷渾后，又從扁都口穿越祁連山，到達(dá)河西走廊張掖附近的焉支山，會(huì)見(jiàn)西域高昌、龜茲、于闐等二十七國(guó)使臣和商人，促進(jìn)了中外交往與貿(mào)易，成為中國(guó)和世界史上最早的“國(guó)際商品交易會(huì)”，在歷史上留下了佳話(huà)。即使在北宋絲路阻塞時(shí)，河西走廊在西夏管轄下，也呈現(xiàn)出“車(chē)轍馬跡，輻輳交會(huì)，日有千數(shù)”的景象。外國(guó)商人來(lái)到河西，不少長(zhǎng)年居住在這里。武威、敦煌等地均設(shè)有外國(guó)商人居住的集居地。他們“不盈數(shù)月，輒至豐積”。757年，居住在武威的九姓胡商作亂，聚眾6萬(wàn)，一度占領(lǐng)武威七城之中的五城，可見(jiàn)胡商之多、勢(shì)力之大、貿(mào)易之盛。

河西地區(qū)的貿(mào)易之風(fēng)，自漢一直延續(xù)至清末民初。新中國(guó)成立之初，河西四郡及沿途各城鎮(zhèn)中，雖百業(yè)凋敝，獨(dú)街道兩旁商號(hào)林立，店鋪相連，仍可窺其當(dāng)年絲路貿(mào)易之盛況。而在絲路貿(mào)易中曾擔(dān)當(dāng)了重要角色的駱駝隊(duì)，時(shí)至今日，其身影仍然閃現(xiàn)在河西、新疆和內(nèi)蒙古的一些交通不便之處，從事運(yùn)輸和貿(mào)易，人們?nèi)阅茉谄渌?jīng)之處體味到漢唐時(shí)期那種“無(wú)數(shù)鈴聲遙過(guò)磧”的意境。

璀璨的文化藝術(shù)

公元前111年，隨著西漢大軍的揮戈西進(jìn)，中原文化進(jìn)入了河西走廊，與當(dāng)?shù)赜文廖幕蝗?。隨著絲綢之路的開(kāi)通和中西交往的日益頻繁，兩河文化、印度文化、希臘文化等外域文化也隨之進(jìn)入河西走廊，與中原文化交匯。于是，距今2100多年前，在河西走廊就開(kāi)始了東方與西方文化的交流、融會(huì)。多種文化交融，誕生了具有鮮明地方特色的河西文化。河西走廊在成為東西交通樞紐的同時(shí)，也承擔(dān)起了向東傳輸西方文化和向西傳輸東方文化的重任。特別是五涼時(shí)期（301～439），由于歷代統(tǒng)治者的苦心經(jīng)營(yíng)，每每在中原地區(qū)政權(quán)更迭或內(nèi)亂紛爭(zhēng)時(shí)，河西地區(qū)往往能保持相對(duì)的獨(dú)立和社會(huì)的安定，吸引了大批戰(zhàn)亂之地的流民，尤其是大量飲譽(yù)海內(nèi)的家族和名士前來(lái)避難和定居。他們的到來(lái)，帶來(lái)了中原發(fā)達(dá)的儒家文化，促進(jìn)了河西文化的興盛和發(fā)展，使河西地區(qū)一度成為北中國(guó)的文化中心，并享有“多士之邦”的美譽(yù)。著名歷史學(xué)家陳寅恪先生就此指出：“永嘉之亂，中州之人士避地河西，張氏禮而用之。子孫相承，衣冠不墜，故涼號(hào)為多士?！薄捌湮幕侠m(xù)漢、魏、西晉之學(xué)風(fēng)，下開(kāi)（北）魏、（北）齊、隋、唐之制度，承前啟后，繼絕扶衰，五百年間延綿一脈?！?在這樣的背景下，正是中原學(xué)者及名流連同他們擁有的文化成果匯聚河西，與河西著姓士人和學(xué)術(shù)名流結(jié)合，方才造就了河西地區(qū)學(xué)術(shù)文化的昌盛發(fā)達(dá)，其成就在當(dāng)時(shí)的北中國(guó)是首屈一指的。endprint

在五涼政權(quán)的治理下，河西地區(qū)的儒學(xué)、宗教、文學(xué)、史學(xué)、科技、雕塑、繪畫(huà)以及音樂(lè)、舞蹈等都得到很大的發(fā)展。許多學(xué)術(shù)著作得以印行，佛教經(jīng)典得到翻譯，寺廟石窟爭(zhēng)相建立。尤其是在401年建立的北涼政權(quán)時(shí)期，在國(guó)主沮渠蒙遜的大力提倡下，北涼境內(nèi)譯經(jīng)事佛，爭(zhēng)相開(kāi)窟建寺。河西走廊自東向西，依次開(kāi)鑿有炳靈寺、天梯山、金塔寺、馬蹄寺、文殊山、昌馬石窟以及榆林窟和莫高窟等，使河西地區(qū)石窟林立，居全國(guó)之冠。據(jù)此，有專(zhuān)家將這種現(xiàn)象稱(chēng)之為“涼州模式”。北涼之后，在北魏當(dāng)政者的倡導(dǎo)下，“涼州模式”的石窟寺建造形式傳至山西大同云岡石窟，后又隨著鮮卑人的內(nèi)遷而傳至洛陽(yáng)龍門(mén)石窟。佛教高僧鳩摩羅什及法顯、玄奘等，都在河西地區(qū)留下了他們的事跡。

1977年以來(lái)，在高臺(tái)、酒泉、嘉峪關(guān)、敦煌等地相繼發(fā)現(xiàn)數(shù)十座屬于十六國(guó)時(shí)期（301～460）的壁畫(huà)墓和墓葬壁畫(huà)磚，用筆簡(jiǎn)練，樸實(shí)古拙，色調(diào)明快，內(nèi)容豐富，為我們了解魏晉時(shí)期河西地區(qū)的政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)、軍事、文化和社會(huì)生活，提供了極其豐富的形象資料，被譽(yù)為“大戈壁里的地下藝術(shù)宮”，填補(bǔ)了中國(guó)魏晉繪畫(huà)的空白。

1969年，在武威雷臺(tái)東漢墓出土的銅車(chē)馬儀仗俑，由99件文物組成，陣容龐大，氣勢(shì)宏偉。尤其是其中一件通高34.5厘米、長(zhǎng)45厘米，形制獨(dú)特，被稱(chēng)為“銅奔馬”的馬踏飛鳥(niǎo)銅雕，三足騰空，右后足巧妙地輕踏在一只正展翅疾飛的鳥(niǎo)背上，飛鳥(niǎo)伸展的雙翼平鋪于地，恰好穩(wěn)穩(wěn)地支撐住了凌空飛馳的馬身。不知名的古代藝術(shù)大師，在這里為我們凝固了一個(gè)人眼幾乎無(wú)法覺(jué)察到的奇妙瞬間。這個(gè)瞬間有動(dòng)有靜，動(dòng)靜結(jié)合。特別是奔馬與飛鳥(niǎo)在這一瞬間的“互動(dòng)”被表現(xiàn)得惟妙惟肖、淋漓盡致。整件雕塑雄健活潑，栩栩如生，形神兼?zhèn)?，氣韻生?dòng)，曾被當(dāng)時(shí)看到它的郭沫若命名為“馬踏飛燕”。銅奔馬一出土即轟動(dòng)世界，成為國(guó)寶級(jí)文物。1983年，國(guó)家旅游局把銅奔馬確定為中國(guó)的旅游標(biāo)志。銅奔馬那一往無(wú)前的氣勢(shì)，昭示著中國(guó)的旅游事業(yè)如奔馬般騰飛。

敦煌莫高窟更以其在500多座洞窟中保存有十六國(guó)、北魏、西魏、北周、隋、唐、吐蕃、五代、宋、回鶻、西夏、元、清、民國(guó)等10多個(gè)朝代的泥質(zhì)彩塑3300余身，壁畫(huà)4 .5萬(wàn)多平方米，唐、宋、清和民國(guó)時(shí)期的木結(jié)構(gòu)建筑30余座以及發(fā)現(xiàn)于1900年的藏經(jīng)洞各類(lèi)寫(xiě)本、帛畫(huà)等文物5萬(wàn)余件，成為世界上規(guī)模最大、洞窟最多、保存最完好、藝術(shù)價(jià)值最高的佛教藝術(shù)石窟群，是中國(guó)現(xiàn)存規(guī)模最大、保存最完好、內(nèi)容最豐富的古典文化藝術(shù)寶庫(kù)，被譽(yù)為20世紀(jì)最有價(jià)值的文化發(fā)現(xiàn)和“東方盧浮宮”。1987年，被聯(lián)合國(guó)教科文組織列入世界文化遺產(chǎn)保護(hù)項(xiàng)目。

20世紀(jì)以來(lái)，在河西各地出土了6萬(wàn)余枚漢簡(jiǎn)，是難得一見(jiàn)的古代原始檔案資料，對(duì)于研究漢至魏晉時(shí)代的軍事、政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)、文化、宗教及社會(huì)生活狀況等，都有著補(bǔ)史、證史和史書(shū)不可替代的作用，為研究我國(guó)書(shū)籍的淵源和檔案歷史提供了豐富的資料。河西簡(jiǎn)牘出土以來(lái)，立即在國(guó)際上引起了巨大的反響，受到各國(guó)專(zhuān)家、學(xué)者的重視，在國(guó)際上興起敦煌熱的同時(shí)，一個(gè)世界性的漢簡(jiǎn)熱也涉及到各國(guó)學(xué)術(shù)界。簡(jiǎn)牘學(xué)，這個(gè)20世紀(jì)崛起的國(guó)際顯學(xué)，以其無(wú)可爭(zhēng)辯的巨大的學(xué)術(shù)價(jià)值豐富了人類(lèi)文化寶庫(kù)。此外，遍布河西地區(qū)的西夏時(shí)期歷史遺跡和大量出土文物，使河西地區(qū)又成為西夏文化遺存的富集區(qū)。

河西走廊在其歷史文化發(fā)展過(guò)程中，經(jīng)歷過(guò)雄渾博大的漢代、群雄爭(zhēng)霸的五涼時(shí)期、繁盛燦爛的唐代和風(fēng)云變幻的宋代。正是由于這四個(gè)千載難逢的發(fā)展機(jī)遇，河西文化才形成了自己獨(dú)特的社會(huì)文化生活風(fēng)貌，使自己在中國(guó)古代文化發(fā)展史上占有了一席之地。這四個(gè)輝煌時(shí)期是河西歷史文化發(fā)展的黃金時(shí)代，并由此誕生了河西歷史文化發(fā)展的四個(gè)高峰——簡(jiǎn)牘文化、五涼文化、敦煌文化和西夏文化。在世所公認(rèn)的19世紀(jì)末至20世紀(jì)中國(guó)考古學(xué)的四大發(fā)現(xiàn)——甲骨文、居延漢簡(jiǎn)、敦煌藏經(jīng)洞遺書(shū)和北京故宮明清檔案中，河西地區(qū)竟獨(dú)占簡(jiǎn)牘（居延漢簡(jiǎn)）和敦煌遺書(shū)兩項(xiàng)，如果再加上獨(dú)占鰲頭的西夏文化，那更是錦上添花。這都是可與古埃及石刻文字、古巴比倫泥版文字的發(fā)現(xiàn)相媲美的世界重大考古發(fā)現(xiàn)。在一個(gè)地區(qū)內(nèi)，能同時(shí)擁有這么多獨(dú)步天下的文化奇觀，這在國(guó)內(nèi)外文化發(fā)展史上，不能不說(shuō)是難得的奇跡！

Hexi Corridor is located in the west of the Yellow River and also in the west part of Gansu Province. The Corridor borders in the south the Qiliang Mountains， in the east the Loess Plateau， in the west the Tarim Basin， and in the north， the swollen mountains of the south edge of Mongolian Plateau. This area is as long as more than 1000km and as wide as a few kilometers to a few hundred kilometers. It is called Hexi Corridor because it is like a corridor and it is located in the west of the Yellow River.

The special location of Hexi Corridor got it important historical functions. Although it is sided by countless mounts and boundless gobi and deserts， in the corridor itself， oases are connected and groundwater is plentiful plus rich resources and products. Since ancient times， it was the preferred road from Central China to the west areas. The mysterious Jade Road and King Zhoumus visit in the west about 3000 years ago made contact between Central China and the west areas. Since 121B.C， Hexi Corridor had become the main part of the Silk Road. Because of historical reasons， the Corridor was the intersection area of Chinese culture， Mesopotamia culture， Indian culture， and Mediterranean culture. It was in the course of the communication and mergence of Eastern and Western cultures when Hexi Corridor absorbed various cultures aggregated here and its economy and culture were promoted and unique Hexi Corridor culture was formed.endprint

A Commercial Passage Linking the West and the East

The commercial economy in Hexi Corridor began as early as the later period of Neolithic， about 5000 years ago. At that time， the economic form had changed from long-continued hunting economy to agriculture dominated economy， with husbandry and handcrafts such as pottery， copper melting， spinning， and vintage as supplement， as well as small amount of commodities exchanging. Later the development of nomads made at one time husbandry the main economic form here. After the establishment of four counties here in West Han Dynasty， large numbers of people migrated from Central China， together with them the advanced farming techniques. New techniques and better water conservancy helped the agriculture dominated economy developed fast in Hexi area. Later， with the enlargement of the range controlled by central government， the opening of the Silk Road， and frequent economic exchanges between the West and the East， commerce increased and became one of the main economic forms in Hexi Corridor. Hexi Corridor was known to the world as an important place in military， politics， and transportation， and at the same time it was also famous in the world for its developed agriculture， husbandry， commerce， and handicrafts.

The earliest exchange of commodities in Hexi Corridor appeared about 4000 years ago， in late Neolithic time， and business activity in the true sense flourished with the open of the Silk Road. Zhang Qians chiseling connected the West and the East with land transportation. The military victory of Han Dynasty over Huns made Hexi Corridor， and even the whole Western area， rather stable in politics. Military victory also made the fortresses along the road become settlement centers and inns for people coming eastward or westward. The frequent communication between the court of Han Dynasty and the Western kingdoms had the envoys from different countries seeing each other on their way. The diplomatic corps from the west were made of more than one hundred people or several hundred people. Every years Han Dynasty sent several or more than ten groups of envoys to the West. At that time the envoys were often businessmen， and businessmen were recruited as envoys or accompanied the envoys to different countries. Diplomatic activities were often accompanied by business activities and in this way business began to flourish. The military road from Changan to the Western area through Hexi Corridor was also a road of business and the famous Silk Road that greatly influenced human development came into being. Along the Silk Road， business towns that promoted international commerce appeared one by one and the most important of which were the four counties in Hexi Corridor.endprint

The four counties， with their special geographical position and important function in military and political activities， became， after the Silk Roads prosperity， business centers and stations of goods from Central China to the West and this situation lasted for a long time. Silk， porcelain， lacquer ware， ironware， bamboo ware， and other goods and the highly developed techniques in papermaking， printing， and powder-manufacturing were transported to Central and Western Asia， the Middle East， and West Europe through Hexi Corridor and the West businessmen transported jade， curios， grapes， walnuts， and good horses to Chnagan and Luoyang through Hexi Corridor. When the Silk Road was open， the four counties were the hubs for people going east or west. When the Silk Road was blocked or Central China was in wars， the four counties were the terminals and collecting and distributing centers， especially Dunhuang and Wuwei， in the course of increasingly flourished international business， they gradually developed into important metropolis. Records of goods and prices were found on many of the wood slips of Han Dynasty unearthed in Juyan area， and it means that even Juyan， a fortress in the north of Hexi Corridor， was an important place or passage of business.

In Hexi Corridor， there were beautiful cities with large population. Han people and people from Western areas lived together and the cities were full of foreign businessmen. There are a lot of descriptions of this kind in historical books and unearthed bamboo or wood slips， and more description can be found in poets and paintings by scholars of various dynasties. In 609， Emperor Suiyang crossed Qiliang Mountains， after the conquest of Tuyuhong in Qinghai， from Biandan Opening and arrived at Mount Yanzhi to meet envoys and businessmen from 27 countries as Gaochang， Qiuci， and Yutian. That was the earliest international fair and communication and business between China and other countries were promoted. Even when the Silk Road was blocked and Hexi Corridor was controlled by West Xia Dynasty in Song Dynasty， business activities were still going on well with quite large scale. Many Western businessmen came to Hexi and settled here. There were special area for Western businessmen to live in Wuwei and Dunhuang. The businessmen could get rich within a few months. In 757， the Western businessmen of the Nine Family revolted. Sixty thousands men were gathered and five of the seven towns of Wuwei were occupied by the rebels. The number of the rebels it self is a proof of the prosperity of business there.endprint

The Business ethos in Hexi Corridor continued from Han Dynasty to the end of Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. At the first years of the Peoples Republic， although all business languished in the four counties and in the towns along the Silk Road， shops still lined the streets， telling people the past prosperity of the Silk Road. And the camels teams that had played important roles in the past can still be seen in places inaccessible for buses and trucks in Xinjiang， Inner Mongolia， and Hexi Corridor， and people can still form pictures in their mind that “countless camel bells dangling beyond the sand hills”.

Splendid Culture and Art

In 111B.C， together with the army of the West Han Dynasty， Central Chinas culture entered Hexi Corridor and merged with nomads culture there. With the opening of the Silk Road and the increasingly frequent communication between China and the West， Mesopotamia culture， Indian culture， Greek culture， and other cultures entered Hexi Corridor and merged with Central China culture. About 2100 years ago， Eastern culture and Western culture began to merge in Hexi Corridor， and as a result， Hexi culture was born with its distinctive regional characteristics. When Hexi Corridor became the hub of the transportation between the East and the West， it assumed the responsibility to transmit Eastern culture to the West and the Western culture to the East. During the Five Liang kingdoms time （301-439）， because of the rulerspainstakingly management， Hexi Corridor could keep relative peace and independence every time regime changed or wars broke out in Central China， and large amount of people， especially the nation-famous families and scholars were attracted westward. They brought developed Confucius culture from Central China and promoted the development and thriving of Hexi culture and Hexi Corridor was once the cultural center in North China and was praised as “state of scholars”. The famous historian Chen Yinque said that “Because of the turmoil in Yongjia， scholars in Central China took refuge in Hexi Corridor and the ruler of Hexi treated them politely and appointed them officials. Their positions were inherited by their sons and grandsons and so Liang Kingdom was called state of scholars.” “The culture there inherited the style of Han， Wei， and the West Jin Dynasties and opened the systems for North Wei， North Qi， Sui， and Tang Dynasties. （Hexi culture） inherited the past and paved the way for the future； continued the lost studies and upheld the declined tradition， and kept the life of Chinese civilization for five hundred years.” It was the aggregation of Central Chinas scholars with their academic achievements in Hexi Corridor and the combination of Central Chinas culture with Hixi culture that brought about the prosperity of culture and academy in Hexi Corridor.endprint

Under the control of Five Liang regime， Confucius， religion， literature， history， technology， sculpture， painting， music， and dance in Hexi Corridor developed greatly. Many academic works were printed； Many Buddhist scriptures were translated； and many temples and grottoes were built one after another. Especially after the establishment of North Liang regime in 401， with the strong advocating of the King， Buddhism developed quickly. Along the Corridor from east to west， temples and grottoes were built everywhere， such as Bingling Temple， Tianti Grottoes， Jinta Temple， Mati Temple， Wenshushan Temple， Changma Temple， Yulin Grottoes， and Mogao Grottoes. Some expert described this phenomenon as “Liangzhou mode”. Under the regime of North Wei， Liangzhou mode was introduced to Shanxi and Yungang Grottoes were built； and with the migration of Xianbei people， Longmen Grottoes were built in Luoyang. The eminent monks such as Kumarajiva， Fa Xian， and Xuan Zang left their prints in Hexi Corridor.

Since 1977， tens of tombs built from 301 to 460 with frescoes and brick murals were discovered one after another in Gaotai County， Jiuquan County， Jiayuguan City， and Dunhuang County. The murals were made with concise lines and bright color， showing a simple style. The mural described the real life in that time and they are helpful for us to learn the politics， economy， military， culture， and social life at that time and they were praised as “underground art palace in gobi”. The murals also fill in the blanks of paintings in Wei and Jin Dynasties.

In 1969， ceremonial figurines of copper in East Han Dynasty were unearthed from a tomb in Leitai， Wuwei. The “guard of honor” consists of 99 pieces， huge and imposing. One of them is a galloping horse sculpture now known as “Galloping Copper Horse”. It is 34.5cm high and 45cm long. Three hoofs are off in the sky and the right hind hoof trod gently on the back of a darting bird. The stretched wings of the bird tile on the floor， holding the horse body firmly. An unknown artist in ancient time solidified here a wonderful moment that human eyes can not notice. This moment is a static and dynamic binding， a combination of spirit with form. The interaction of the galloping copper horse and the darting bird is depicted vividly. It was named as “horse treading on swallow” by Guo Meiruo. As soon as the sculpture was reported， the whole world was interested and it was identified national heritage. In 1983， “Galloping Copper Horse” was determined as Chinese tourism logo. The indomitable momentum of the galloping horse declares that Chinese truism will develop like flying horse.endprint

Mogao Grottoes are composed of more than 500 grottoes in which are more than 3300 clay sculptures， more than 45 thousand square meters of frescoes， and more than ten wooden buildings respectively painted and built in the past one thousand years and more. In 1900， more than 50 thousand of manuscripts and silk paintings were found in the library cave. Among all the Buddhist grottoes in the world， Mogo Grottoes are now the biggest， the best preserved， and of the highest value of art. Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes are classical art treasures and praised as “Louvre in the East”. In 1987， it was included in the list of world cultural heritage by the United Nations.

Since the 20th century， more than 60 thousand of wood and bamboo slips of Han Dynasty have been discovered in Hexi Corridor. They are valuable original files of the ancient time. These slips are irreplaceable in supplementing and confirming the history books about the military， politics， economy， culture， and the living conditions of ancient time and they provide plentiful materials for the study of the origin of books and files of our country. Since the discovery of the slips， “slip hot”has risen among historians of the world. Study of slips has become a significant learning because of its great academic value. There are large numbers of historic remains and unearthed relics of West Xia Dynasty scattered all over Hexi Corridor.

The culture of Hexi Corridor experienced the powerful Han Dynasty， the Five Liang times when many warlords competed for dominance， the glorious Tang Dynasty， and the changing Song Dynasty. It is because the four valuable opportunities that Hexi Corridor formed its unique social and cultural features and got its position in the history of cultural development in ancient China. The four periods are the golden time for the development of culture in Hexi Corridor and formed the developing summits： slip culture， Five Liang culture， Dunhuang culture， and West Xia culture. The four great archeological discoveries in China in the last two centuries that are recognized worldwide are oraclebones， Juyan bamboo slips， books in the library cave in Dunhuang， and the file of Ming and Qing Dynasties in the Forbidden City. Of the four great discoveries two are in Hexi Corridor and it is also the champion of West Xia culture. These discoveries are comparable to the words inscribed in stone of ancient Egypt and the word on clay of ancient Babylon. It is a miracle in the history of culture in the whole world that so many cultural achievements of world class were made in the same area！

（Translated by Zhao Dengming）endprint