统万城维基百科，自由的百科全书

中华人民共和国全国重点文物保护单位

统万城遗址

所在 陕西省 靖边县

分类 古遗址

时代 十六国

编号 4-43

登录 1996 年

统万城，今俗称白城子，位于中国 陕西 省靖边县红墩界乡北端和内蒙古 乌审旗 南纳林河乡的交界处，毛乌素沙漠的边缘无定河北岸流沙之中。

为五胡十六国时期铁弗首领赫连勃勃于 413 年 驱使 10 万民众用 6 年时间改筑汉代 奢延 城而成。匈奴没有文字和建筑城池的习惯，此处是匈奴在世界上唯一的遗迹。

目录

 [隐藏]

1   建造

2   衰亡

3   现状

4   注釋

[编辑]建造赫连勃勃当年自言“方统一天下，君临万邦，故以统万为名”，分别以“招魏门”、“朝宋门”、“服凉门”、“平朔门”命名东南西北四门。这里在 419 年 到 428 年 间是夏国的都城。城南刻石立碑，颂扬赫连勃勃功德。大夏秘书监胡义周撰《统万城铭》的碑文：“延王尔之奇工，命班输之妙匠，撰文梓于邓林，采绣石于恒岳，九域贡以金银，八方献其环宝。”。《北史》載：“城高十仞，基厚三十步，上廣十步，宮城五仞，其堅可以礪刀斧。臺榭高大，飛閣相連，皆雕鏤圖畫，被以綺繡，飾以丹青，窮極文采。”赫连勃勃本人“常居城上，置弓箭于侧……”。

当年筑城是“蒸土以築都城”。“蒸土”的解释有多种：

1. 所有的土都先蒸熟以杀死草仔、虫卵，至今墙上不长草；再用米汤石灰搅拌，一层一层夯实。

2. “以水沤制”，即把筑城的土闷入水，然后在阳光之下曝晒，半干之时进行夯筑，这样土质不会松软或成为粉状，在夯打过程中“水闷之土”即可成为黏结在一起的块状。

3. 用烧热的水来和土，然后再加上夯筑的力量，夯筑的土黏结后更结实。4. 土中加生石灰和水成熟石灰并放出水蒸汽被称为“蒸土”。

筑城监工严苛，验收时，铁锥能刺进城墙一寸者，即杀这段城墙的工人，并把尸体填进城墙。[1]。

[编辑]衰亡夏国存在了 28 年。北魏 始光 四年（426 年 ），太武帝拓跋燾攻克大夏統萬城，在崔浩和宗愛的陪同下，參觀窮極文采、雕樑畫棟的壯大臺榭，嘆道：“蕞爾小國，窮侈如此，怎能不亡！”

北宋初，党项人李继迁（赵保吉）依统万城拒宋，宋太宗 淳化 五年（994 年 ）得其地。为了防止党项人“据城自雄”，下旨将居民全部迁走，将城毁坏，移民于银州、绥州间，从此这里被人遗忘。

清代 道光 二十一年（1841 年 ），陕西怀远 知县 何丙勋前往县内白城子调查，判断白城子即夏州城故址。

[编辑]现状1956 年 9月，陕北文物调查征集组在统万城遗址开展调查工作，1982 年 10月成立统万城文物管理所。目前角楼遗址还有 22 米高。1996 年 被中国国务院公布为全国重点文物保护单位。

目前，靖边县专门成立了“靖边县统万城申报世界文化遗产领导小组”，希望将统万城申请为世界文化遗产[2]。

[编辑]注釋

1. ̂  《魏書》卷 95《鐵弗劉虎》記：“蒸土以築都城，鐵錐刺入一寸，即殺作人而並築之。”

2. ̂  “ 大夏”国都遗址统万城走近世界遗产

显示▼查 • 論 • 編

陕西省境内的全国重点文物保护单位

2 个分类 : 陕西全国重点文物保护单位 | 中國古地名

Tongwancheng

 [szerkesztés]

A Wikipédiából, a szabad enciklopédiából

é. sz. 37°   59′   59″, k. h. 108°   50′   50″

Tungvancseng (jelentése: 'ahol minden nemzet egybeforr' vagy 'Fehérvár') máig fennmaradthiungnu (ázsiai hun)

romváros, amely Kína Senhszi (Shaanxi) tartományában található. A várost Helian Bobo hiungnu császár

építette Hszia nevű államának fővárosaként. A város építésén százezren dolgoztak, a munkálatok 419-ben

fejeződtek be. Tungvancseng épületei romos állapotukban napjainkig fennmaradtak, mivel majdnem ezer évig

homok borította a várost. A romok rekonstrukciója néhány éve kezdődött.

A romváros leírása [szerkesztés]

      Ez a szakasz egyelőre erősen hiányos. Segíts te is a kibővítésében!

A város három részből állt:

palotanegyed, ahol a császári palota található.

belső negyed, ahol a kormányzati hivatalok vannak, valamint a hivatalnokok és a császári család tagjai és

rokonaiknak lakhelyei.

külváros, ahol a köznép lakott.

Források [szerkesztés]

Világörökség lesz a hunok fővárosa?

Ez a történelmi tárgyú lap egyelőre csonk (erősen hiányos). Segíts te is, hogy igazi szócikk lehessen belőle!

Kategóriák: Ázsia történelme | Ókor | Kína történelme

Mit gondolsz erről az oldalról?

Arra kérünk, szánj egy percet a cikk értékelésére! A visszajelzések segítenek az oldal fejlesztésében.

Megbízhatóság:         Teljesség:         Tárgyilagosság

:         Stílus:         

Világörökség lesz a hunok fővárosa? – Kínában a magyarokat tartják az utódoknak

A kínai Sanhszi (Shaanxi) tartomány arra készül, hogy a világörökség részévé nyilváníttatja az ősi hun fővárost, Tongwanchenget. Ez a település a világon az egyetlen olyan romterület, amelyet a hunok hagytak maguk után.

A hunok Észak-Kínát, Közép-Ázsiát és Európa nagy részét is meghódították egykor. A nomád törzs eredete ismeretlen, a kínai források például a mai Kína területéről eredeztetik őket. A kínaiak szerint a hunok leszármazottai a mai magyarok, ám ezt korántsem tekinthetjük bizonyosnak – sőt: itthon a magyar népcsoportot finn-ugor nyelve miatt e népek közé soroljuk. 

Hunok, avarok, magyarok…

Vannak elméletek ugyan a hivatalosan el nem fogadott török származásunkról is (a hunokat is általában török nyelvűnek tartják), ám a Hungária elnevezés akkor sem a hun, hanem az onogur népnévből eredeztethető a szakértők szerint. Az onogur szó egy összetétel: az „on” tizet jelent a különböző török nyelveken, az „ogur” pedig csuvas-török, bolgár-török eredetű szó, amely törzset is jelenthet. (Az ogurok egyébként népként is feltűntek Ázsiában, méghozzá a nyugati hunok szállásterülete környékén.) 

E Közép-Ázsiában lévő területekről eredeztethetők az avarok is, akik magukat uar-hunnak nevezték, ami akár a „hun” népnévvel is kapcsolatban állhat. Az avarok emlékét őrzik a mai Magyarország Várkonyra végződő településnevek. A Várkony a varhun, uar-hun népnévből származó név. A nyugati hunok megkülönböztetendők az ázsiai hunoktól, a hsziungnuktól, akik a kínai forrásokban szerepelnek mintegy ezer éven át. Hogy a különbség mekkora volt a nyugati és keleti (illetve a kínai források szerint az északi és déli) hunok között, azt igen nehéz megítélni. 

Pár éve fedezték fel a hunok fővárosát

A hunok, magyarok eredetét aligha lehet könnyen eldönteni, éppen ezért térjünk inkább vissza Kínába! A napokban a Xinhua hírügynökségnek nyilatkozó, a Sanhszi tartomány kulturális örökségeiért felelős hivatalnok, Zhang Tinghao igazgató ugyanis bejelentette: az ázsiai hunok (más néven: hsziungnuk) máig fennmaradt egyetlen fővárosát, Tongwanchenget szeretnék a világörökség részévé nyilváníttatni. 

Tongwanchenget, a romvárost néhány éve fedezték fel, és akkor ez nagy szenzációt keltett a régészek körében. Előzőleg közel ezer évig borította be a települést a sivatag homokja. A romváros számos értékes lelettel és tudományos felfedezéssel szolgálhat a hunok eredetét, kultúráját illetően. 

A hunok miatt építették a Nagy Falat

A törzs egyébként körülbelül ezer évvel ezelőtt tűnt el. Az 1600 éves romterület Jingbian megyében található, a Kína északkeleti részében lévő Sanhszi tartományon belül. A hely mindössze 500 kilométerre van Xi'antól, amely egykor a Chang'an nevet viselte, és hat feudális kínai dinasztia idején volt főváros. A kínaiak annyira tartottak a hunoktól, a hsziungnuktól, hogy miattuk építették fel a Nagy Falat is. 

A hunok az időszámításunk előtti harmadik században bukkantak fel, s hamarosan az egyik legnépesebb etnikai csoporttá váltak a mai Kína területén (ám ez a vidék akkor még nem volt a kínai, illetve han népesség uralma alatt). A második század végére a hunok létesítették az első rabszolgatartó rezsimet a mai Kína területén. A hsziungnuk feltételezések szerint török nyelvűek voltak egyébként.

A hunok később számos kínai területet vetettek uralmuk alá, ám az időszámításunk előtti első században vereséget szenvedtek a nyugati-han dinasztia fejétől, Hanwu császártól Kínában. Ezután a hunok kettészakadtak, majd a harcok folyamán a kínaiakkal (ezúttal a keleti hanokkal) szövetkező déliek legyőzték az északi hunokat, időszámításunk szerint 89 és 91 között. 

Az északi hunok nyugatra vonulnak

Az északi hunok ekkor nyugatabbra vonultak, először az Ili folyó völgyébe, Közép-Ázsiába, majd a Dontól keletre és a Volga vidékére költöztek. A hunok ezután az európai történelmet alakították át. 

Időszámításunk szerint 374-ben az eredetileg északinak nevezett hunok tovább vonultak nyugatra, s ezzel megindították az első nagy népvándorlási hullámot, amely Európára zúdult. Többek között az ő hatásukra, nyomásukra támadtak a gótok a Római Birodalomra. Az ötödik században végül átkeltek a Dunán és a Rajnán, s Attila vezetésével birodalmat alapítottak. (Attila sírját régóta keresik a régészek, általában a Tiszát feltételezik végső nyughelyeként.)

Százezren dolgoztak Tongwancheng építésén

A hunok Ázsiában maradt részei viszont Tongwancheng városában alakítottak ki fővárost időszámításunk szerint 419-ben. Országukat Daxia (Dahsziának) nevezték és ez az állam szintén az ötödik század táján létezett. A mai Kína területén, a nem kínai népek közül a hunok építették ki a legfejlettebb várost. A világon egyébként Tongwangcheng az egyetlen főváros, amely a hunokhoz fűződik, és még ma is megtalálható – legalábbis romokban. A település – amelynek a neve körülbelül azt jelenti, hogy „egyesüljön minden nemzet” – építésén állítólag százezer ember dolgozott. 

Tongwancheng felépítése azoknak az embereknek az eltökéltségét bizonyítja, akik mindenáron fenn akartak maradni a sivatagban – magyarázta Hou Yongjian, a Shaanxi Normal University professzora. A város egyedi jellege elvitathatatlan a professzor szerint. A települést egyébként hosszas kutatás, többek között repülőgépes felmérés és távolsági érzékelők segítségével fedezték fel. 

Három részből áll a város

Tongwancheng városa három részből áll. A palotanegyed mellett egy belső és egy külső negyedből. A palotanegyedben található a császári palota. A belső negyedben a kormányzati hivatalok helyezkednek el, továbbá a hivatalnokok és a királyi család tagjainak, rokonainak a lakhelyei. A köznép a „külvárosban” lakott. 

A város négy sarkán őrtornyok vigyáztak a biztonságra. A falak 16-30 méter vastagok voltak. A falak anyaga különleges: homok, föld és rizsföldeken átfolyatott víz segítségével jött létre. A víz szerepe volt ebben a legfontosabb, mert a „ragadós”, „rizses” folyadék összetapasztotta a homokot és a földet, így szinte kőszerű építőanyaghoz jutottak a hunok. 

A város elrendezése különleges: az északnyugati rész magasabban fekszik, a délkeleti viszont alacsonyabban. Tongwanchenget többek között azért is szeretnék most a világörökség részévé nyilvánítani a kínaiak, mert a néhány éve felfedezett települést erősen fenyegeti az elsivatagosodás. 

A szisztematikus helyreállítás egyébként már megkezdődött Tongwanchengben. Sikerült például rekonstruálni a „Yong'an Emelvényt”, ahol Helianbobo, Daxia császára szemlélte a parádézó hun csapatokat. 

A magyarok a leszármazottak?

„Mint nemzetiség a hunok eltűntek. De sok hun túlélte az évezredek viharait. Számos tudós úgy tekinti, hogy a mai magyarok a hunok leszármazottai” – nyilatkozta a Xinhua hírügynökségnek Wang Shiping, a Sanhszi Történeti Múzeum szakértője. A Xinhua szerint ezt a véleményt számos magyar kutató is osztja (neveket a kínai hírügynökség nem említett). 

A kínai tudósok hangsúlyozzák, hogy a hunok kultúrája számos országban hagyott nyomot maga után. Mongóliában, Oroszországban és Észak-Kína, vagyis Belső-Mongólia területén egy hangszer a hujia (hudzsia) őrzi a hunok emlékét, de Északnyugat-Kínában, az ujgurok is játszanak ilyen zenei instrumentumon.

Szegő Iván Miklós

2004. április 8.

Tongwancheng - the Only Hun City Ever Discovered

China's nationwide drive to green the barren western region has resulted in an unexpected substantial

reward: the discovery of a unique ancient city covered by desert sands for more than 1,000 years.

It is the only ruined city of the Xiongnu (Huns) ever found, said Dai Yingxin, a well-known Chinese

archaeologist. The Xiongnu was a northern nomadic ethnic group that was influential in northern China

for 10 centuries in ancient times.

The uncovered city occupies one square km in Jingbian County in northwest China's Shaanxi Province,

adjacent to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

It was built by more than 100,000 Xiongnu people in the year 419. Named "Tongwancheng", which

means "unify all countries", the city is composed of three parts, the palace walls, the inner city and the

outer city. Watchtowers stand at the four corners of the complex.

The 16-30 meter thick city walls are made with sand and white-powdered earth mixed with glutinous rice

water. This mixture made the earthen walls as hard as the stone walls.

From a distance, the white city looks like a giant ship. The southwestern turret, the highest of the four, is

31 meters high and looks like a ship's mast. The ruined city is now fenced with brush-wood, trees and

grass.

"It is the most substantial, magnificent and well-preserved city to be built by any ethnic group in the

history of China," said Zhu Shiguang, president of the China Ancient City Society.

The Turkish-speaking Xiongnu tribesmen founded their first steppe empire in the 3rd century B.C. By the

time the Qin Dynasty conquered the other six states and began its reign over a unified China in 221

B.C., the nomadic ethnic Xiongnu had grown into a powerful invading force in the north and started

expanding both east and west.

The Xiongnu threat was a constant problem for the Han rulers. Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of the

Qin Dynasty, sent a 300,000-strong army headed by General Meng Tian to drive the Xiongnu northward

for 350 km and built the Great Wall to guard against its invasion.

Tongwancheng used to be a prosperous city on the upper reaches of the Wuding River, a major tributary

of the Yellow River. It remained the political, economic and military center of the southern part of the

Ordos Plateau for over five centuries. As a result of the drying up of the river, it then gradually became

buried by moving sand and totally disappeared into the desert for more than 1,000 years, said Xing

Fulai, a research fellow at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

The discovery of the city gives vital information to the study of Xiongnu tribesmen, who have remained a

mystery to Chinese and foreign archaeologists because of a lack of adequate material and evidence on

this ethnic tribe. Because of their cultural significance, the ruins of this ancient city will be considered for

the world heritage status by UNESCO.

 

Old Xiongnu Tongwancheng City found

Xiongnu [Hsiung nu]China's nationwide drive to green the barren western region has resulted in an unexpected substantial reward: the discovery of a unique ancient city covered by desert sands for more than 1,000 years.

It is the only ruined city of the Xiongnu (Huns)  ever found, said Dai Yingxin, a well-known Chinese archaeologist. The Xiongnu was a northern nomadic ethnic group that was influential in northern China for 10 centuries in ancient times.

The uncovered city occupies one square km in Jingbian   County in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, adjacent to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. [See map]

 

 

It was built by more than 100,000 Xiongnu people in the year 419. Named "Tongwancheng", which means unify all countries, the city is composed of three parts, the palace walls, the inner city and the outer city. Watchtowers stand at the four corners of the complex.The 16-30 meter thick city walls are made with sand and white-powdered earth mixed with glutinous rice

water. This mixture made the earthen walls as hard as the stone walls.From a distance, the white city looks like a giant ship. The southwestern turret, the highest of the four, is 31 meters high and looks like a ship's mast. The ruined city is now fenced with brush-wood, trees and grass."It is the most substantial, magnificent and well-preserved city to be built by any ethnic group in the history of China," said Zhu Shiguang, president of the China Ancient City Society.The Turkish-speaking Xiongnu tribesmen founded their first steppe empire in the 3rd century B.C. By the time the Qin Dynasty conquered the other six states and began its reign over a unified China in 221 B.C., the nomadic ethnic Xiongnu had grown into a powerful invading force in the north and started expanding both east and west.The Xiongnu threat was a constant problem for the Han rulers. Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, sent a 300,000-strong army headed by General Meng Tian to drive the Xiongnu northward for 350 km and built the Great Wall to guard against its invasion.Tongwancheng used to be a prosperous city on the upper reaches of the Wuding River, a major tributary of the Yellow River. It remained the political, economic and military center of the southern part of the Ordos Plateau for over five centuries. As a result of the drying up of the river, it then gradually became buried by moving sand and totally disappeared into the desert for more than 1,000 years, said Xing Fulai, a research fellow at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology.The discovery of the city gives vital information to the study of Xiongnu tribesmen, who have remained a mystery to Chinese and foreign archaeologists because of a lack of adequate material and evidence on this ethnic tribe, Xing said.He said because of their cultural significance, the ruins of this ancient city will be considered for the world heritage status by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

 Tongwan City 统万城 

According to Sima Qian, the Xiongnu were the descendants of the Xia Dynasty's last ruler. These nomadic people lived in steppe area, especially in the Ordos and Northern China. Many people speculate these nomads are better known as the Huns. Nevertheless, it is proven that the Turkic people and the Xiongnu are linked genetically. 

The relations between the Han and Xiongnu were difficult. As the Xiongnu were gaining territory and growing more powerful, the Han wanted to get rid of them. But is was the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang, who drove them some 350 km north and had a wall built as defense against them.

Tongwancheng, the capital of Daxia, was built in 419 BC by the Xiongnu right on the border with Inner Mongolia north of Jingbian. From a distance it looks like a ship, that's why it's so special. The city is divided into 3 parts: the walled palace with a watch tower at each corner, the inner city and the outer city. Its white color comes from a mixture with sand, white powdered earth and glutinous rice water. 

For centuries the Wuding River dried up and the city disappeared in the desert for more than 1,000 years. Because Tongwancheng is the only ruined city of the Xiongnu excavated, it is of great cultural and historical importance. The ruins will become a part of world heritage by UNESCO.

The site itself is amazing, but known by few people. Even most of the Chinese people have never heard of it, only those who live close to this place have. Tongwancheng is also merily mentioned in travel guides. So if you go there for a visit, most likely you are the only one there. Nevertheless, the ticket office offers you a DVD or VCD about Tongwancheng, which you can buy for a respectable price.You can have your picture taken sitting on a camel or buy some old-looking pots or knives. Whether they are real relics, that I don't know, but they can be a nice souvenir. I strongly suggest you take more than one hour to look around. Try to find a watch tower or some walls in the far distance or just enjoy the dessert's beauty. You can easily climb the 'ship' and once you've reached the top, the panoramic view of the Maowusu desert is quite impressive.

(D.De Hon)

Hungarian Researcher on the Trail of the Hun Tribes Special

The Huns are widely thought of as savage barbarians who appeared briefly in history, wreaked death and destruction, then disappeared again. Recent archaeological and historical

discoveries are raising questions about this view.Of the European countries, Hungary has the most legends about the Huns and in these legends they are the heroes, not the villains. Hungarian academic and researcher, Dr. Borbála Obrusánszky, has followed their trail all the way to China and Mongolia, where she did postgraduate work. She was also part of a Hungarian team that visited China and was interviewed by the National Geographic’s Hungarian edition. In an interview with Digital Journal, she explained that while the Huns, as a people, no longer exist, much of their culture remains:When I was studying in Mongolia, I discovered very many similarities between traditional Hungarian and Mongolian folk cultures. I started to seek the roots of this and based on the guidance of my teachers, I found (the answers) in the Huns.Responding to a question about the Hun’s reported barbarism and savagery, Obrusánszky said:Only the Western Roman chroniclers thought that. The other sources, for example the Chinese, always painted a realistic picture of the Huns. They were not wild or barbarians, but only had different customs, which the town-dwellers did not know. But those who spent a long time among the Huns soon sang their praises, because they considered them a very hospitable people.Chinese Sources Detailed Hun CultureOn the origins of the Huns, Obrusánszky said:The most detailed information comes from the Eastern Huns, since the Chinese wrote down practically all the most significant facts about them. In many of their chronicles, they tell of the Huns’ lifestyle, laws, in fact, they even compare them with their own. Not only that, but even Hun words can be found in them. The Chinese researchers have already analyzed them. From these we learn that their (main) centre was in the great bend of the Yellow River, which they call Ordos today, which was also an important metallurgical centre. The Hun state was linked by contemporary sources to the Xia (Dynasty 2,200-1,700 B.C.) and they believe that Huns still lived in the sea of Chinese and Turkic peoples until the 7th Century A.D., when they were gradually absorbed into the different steppe tribes. The Attila of the Eastern Huns was Maotun …He was the one who increased the size of the Hun Empire and made the Chinese his tributaries for a long time.English-language sources refer to the Asiatic Huns by a Chinese term, ”Xiongnu.” Digital Journal asked whether the Xiongnu were in fact related to Attila’s Huns:Naturally. This is no longer an issue in scholarship. At international conferences, the division of the Huns is not a question (anymore.) There are still some researchers, who do not want to acknowledge the facts. The Chinese chronicles follow Attila’s ancestors all the way to Central Asia, where Armenian, Iranian and Indian sources report on the new enemy. Not only that, but coin finds date which state(s) they founded. According to the new opinion(s), however, the Huns survived on the Eurasian Steppe until the 6th Century A.D. What is more, certain researchers consider it possible that they stayed in contact with each other, or knew about each other.' Barbarians' Built CitiesObrusánszky added something that seemed the most surprising thing about these ”barbarians.” They built cities and she had visited the ruins of one of them:The Huns also had settlements where they only stayed temporarily, but they had permanent trade centres and manufacturing towns, since they needed places where they could construct items both for weapons and military use as well as for their everyday lives. In Mongolia they link 10 towns to them, and in Russian territories they have also excavated many towns. What’s more in China there is the luxurious town of the Southern Xiongnu Huns. (This is) Tongwancheng, which can still be seen today. Not long ago, they found an unusual community not far from Shanghai, where Hun deserters settled after being separated during a military campaign, and the houses there have preserved these masterpieces of the Huns’ decorative art.

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Dr Borbála ObrusánszkyThe Ruins of the South Hun City of Tongwancheng

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Obrusánszky turned next to the subject of Attila, King of the Huns:Attila is the greatest figure in European history, many still tremble at his name. He created a great federal state from the foothills of the Caucasus to the Rhine. He was victorious in practically all his campaigns, he went wherever he wanted to, because his military knowledge and his army stood above that of the Romans. Despite this, at the Pope’s request, he spared Rome. By contrast, the Vandals sacked it. Attila was the ancestor of both the Hungarian and Bulgarian dynasties, and among us he was counted as a Hungarian king in the Middle Ages. (The Hungarian) leader, Árpád, considered him his ancestor and conquered the land (of Hungary) by this right.Dr. Obrusánszky explained that these recent discoveries and ongoing studies in China, Mongolia and Hungary, as well as other countries, are likely to change perceptions of the Huns and their historical achievements.

Transoxiana 14Agosto 2009

Index 14 ISSN 1666-7050

Tongwancheng, the city of Southern HunsBorbala Obrusanszky

Historian, Oriental StudiesResearch Group on Hungarian Ancestral History

Abstract

Tongwancheng is a significant building heritage of the Southern Huns. It is the only one city in Inner Asia, that built by Huns. However another monument as Hai

Ba Ta or a great pagoda in Yinchuan city is also connected to the Huns. Helian Bobo, founder of Da Xia Kingdom, constructed a new capital in the heart of Ordos region from 413. Because of its strategic position, the city became commercial and military centre in the Inner Asian area: that was a great stop along the Silk Road. The city was inhabited until the Ming dynasty.

Keywords: White City, Tongwancheng, Huns, Inner Asia, building sacrifice

In 2004 National Geographic Online Hungary has published an article on the capital of the Southern Huns, Tongwancheng. Previously, we did nott any detailed information about this city, as it was hardly mentioned in international historical literature. Only few monographs recorded the name of the city. In the past few decades only a handful sinologists – Eberhard, Pulleyblank and Boodberg- have dealt with the History of Southern Huns, all without data concerning this significant city, despite of mentioning it in Chinese Chronicles as Jin shu, Wei shu, etc.1

Various names have been given to the city through different historical periods, it has been known as Tongwancheng, and later as Xia Zhou. Some scholars didn’t accept that the Huns had survived and lived what is present-day Northern and Central China for centuries, but the Chinese and some Orientalists proved this with archaeological findings and historical sources. According to Professor Hou Yongjian, Xi’an Normal University, the Huns lived in these regions until the 7th or 8th centuries. Chinese archaeological excavations in outer or northern China unearthed large tombs that contained significant quantities of objects (saddles, horse furniture, potteries, etc.) associated with the Southern Huns. The territory of these people stretched over much of the land surrounding the Yellow-river, and Eastern-Gansu and Qinghai.2

Southern Huns

When the Southern Huns became the vassals of Han-dynasty, they established many cities and capitals in what is now present-day Northern-China. After their separation at the end of the 1st century AD, and Hun nobles established independent states with own centre or “ordu"3. Only in the end of 3rd century did they become united again, under the rule of Liu Yuan. From this time onward, in the areas around the Yellow-river, only a few Hun dynasties such as the Han, Zhao, Da Xia and Northern-Liang are recorded, known to us today by their Chinese appellations. Previously, scientists thought they were Chinese dynasties, but later research into historical sources revealed that they were indeed Huns.

Among these various dynasties the Da Xia, which ruled from 407 to 431., is especially significant. This empire spread out over a vast territory around the Yellow-river, and its capital was for some time Gao Ping, which is known today as Guyuan city in the province of Ningxia. Helian Bobo, the founder of this last great Hun dynasty lived on the right bank of Yellow river, where he built a 9 storey pagoda.4 It can be seen in present day Yinchuan, and this is the oldest Buddhist pagoda in China, can still be see seen in present-day Yinchuan. Indeed Helian Bobo planned and constructed many significant building sites, Tongwan city in the heart of the Ordos region, represent his most striking contribution. According to Chinese scholars’ studies the highest rate of population was from 82.000 up to 107.000.5

The great Hun city, Tongwancheng was recorded in, Chapter 130 of the Chinese chronicle, Jin shu, and it was inhabited until the Ming-dynasty. After 1423 the city disappeared from written sources until Chinese and foreign travellers re-discovered it during the 19th century. At first Chinese scholars working with their own sources, believed that the city was the capital of Tanguts, but later they realised that it was established by the Southern Hun Da Xia dynasty.6 The real scientific research began only in the 1990s, the site was surveyed twice and scholars from Shaanxi province undertook a great project that sought to investigate the history and culture of the Southern Huns, with extensive archaeological research.

The professionals found some ruins of towers outside the city walls, it is believed that the function of these structures was to help protect the king when he was outside the wall. They localised sites of tombs of near these ruined towers, but these remain unexcavated. The most important findings were of the seals of Southern Hun kings and /or officials, that were unearthed near Tongwancheng, in Yulin, and other locations in the Ordos regions and Shaanxi province. One was discovered in Loyang, which was at one time the part of the Southern Hun Empire.7 These items are significant because they show that while the Southern Huns used Chinese signs, the language of seals was Hun. Uchiraltu, Inner Mongolian expert read the inscriptions and reconstructed some Hun administrative titles, that were recorded in the Chinese chronicles as well.

In researching Tongwancheng, the biggest problem that presents itself is that the Chinese archaeologists have so far only done surveys and no excavations have been carried out.

They believe that one part under the eastern city wall or fortress had previously been erected , but was later ruined entirely.8 So, it might be true that previously wall or fortress was erected, but it was ruined entirely. Other scholars propose

that the surroundings were inhabited by Huns, but there was no city there before the 5th century. That proposal proved the Chinese chronicles, which have detailed building procedure from there. According to the Jin shu, Helian (Liu) Bobo (407-425), a direct descendant of great Mao tun and Liu Yuan shanyu, and the founder of the Hun Da Xia dynasty, planned and built an enormous capital between 413-419.9

Archaeologists collected some objects from locals, but they couldn’t determinate the exact date of their production. The most interesting object discovered was a bowl with seeds. A sculpture of a horse was also found inside the city, presently this object can be seen in the Xi’an Steles of Forest Museum. Supplementing these objects, many varieties of coins were discovered in the city, illustrating the importance of the city throughout the Middle Ages. We got to know from Zhou that the well-known Nestorian crosses of Ordos were found by locals in the first half of the 20th century.10

Our own discoveries of huge broken ceramics, decorations from the interiors of buildings indicate that the city was occupied and laid to waste in some historical periods. We know of two major sieges: in 786 by Tibetan troops, and in 1206 Jurchen troops invaded the city.

There is another problem that presents itself to interested archaeologists: according to Jin shu, when the construction of the capital was complete, Helian Bobo erected a stele upon which he listed his deeds. Researchers were hoping to find this object in the southern part of the city, where the chronicle situates item but at the time of the survey they did not find it. All that they found was a robbed tomb from Tang-period with another stele connected to it. So the matter of Helian Bobo’s stele remains unsolved to this very day. 11

Description of the city

According to cartographical data, Tongwan city is situated in Shaanxi province, Jinbian country at the central point of Ordos plateau. It had been a strategic and commercial centre for centuries. Historical sources speak of two rivers – Hong Liu and Wu-ding -that flew through this area, nowadays however only the latter remained. In the ancient times it could be a fertile land as Helian Bobo said:"The hill is beautiful, in front of it the plain is wide, and around this there is a lake of pure water. I wandered so many places, but I haven’t seen a country, whose beauty can compare with that of this place".12 Inside the city there had been a big lake, but at some point it had dried up. The city was immense, with outer walls that were 6 km long, 16-30 meters wide, and with watchtowers constructed on each of the four corners.

Sand, soil and water were mixed, yielding a strong building material, which is known as “white earth"Probably, inside the city wood was another important building material. We can observe traces of beams on the sides of the palace and some watchtowers. The investigations of the Chinese archaeologists revealed that the city had been divided into two main partan outer segment and an inner one. Additionally the inner city was further subdivided into western and eastern sections. The western segment contains remnants of a palace, the houses of officers and other leaders, and various governmental offices. South of the palace two ruined towers can be found, one of which was a drum tower, and other a bell tower. Together these towers performed a very important function: providing information to the habitants.

The Chang’an Tower stood in the centre of the western section, guarding the road to Chang’an, the ancient Chinese capital, that was once part of the Da Xia Kingdom. The eastern part was the industrial and commercial centre and some houses remain in good condition. In some ways, these houses differed from the houses of nobles. While a noble house have had two or more rooms, and the “garden" in front of it, the house of an ordinary family would have had only two rooms and usually no “garden".

Considering the more ten-thousand inhabitants of the city there are only few houses remained. so, it is likely that “temporary" houses such as tents (yurts) or wooden houses existed inside and outside the city. However, the arrangement of the houses were much the same: like the yurts of the nomadic people who moved mainly through Mongolia and Tibet, as Hou stated,13 and the typologies that developed in early cities in Mongolia, the central point of these houses was the fireplaces. The smoke was lead through an aperture in the ceiling, providing a secure and liveable home for the inhabitants.

Hun cities in Inner Asia

It is very important to emphasize that Tongwancheng was not only Hun city in Inner Asia. Tongwancheng was a city that was built late in the history of the Southern Huns and has remained in relatively good condition, but there are also traces of other cities. Mongolian archaeologists contend that among Inner Asian nomadic people thgere were certain tendencies towards urban living, and that their way of life was not as simple as has often been reported.

According to new archaeological surveys, other cities have been connected to the Hun period (2nd BC – 1st AD), and in Mongolia, traces of encampments dating back to the Bronze and Iron Age were discovered. Working throughout in Mongolia, archaeologists excavated four major cities (Terelj, Gua Dob,

Bayanbulag and Boroo) supplementing the 10 Hun cities that were identified by H. Perlee in the 1950s.14 Next to Lake Baikal, we know of two significant commercial and industrial cities (Ivolga and Derestui). Chinese scientists have identified the site of at least 500 city ruins in Inner Mongolia dating from different periods, but we must wait for the excavation of these sites before we can know whether Hun cities will be among them.

Chinese scholars state that the ancient centre of Huns was in the Yin-shan and Ordos plateau. As we know, the Ordos region was once an important industrial centre, that’s why pastoral tribes settled down there. According to Chinese sources, the name of the first Hun capital was Longcheng. Sources suggest that it was the central residence of the Huns around 60 BC, when two brothers- Huhanye and Chichi –were fighting for the title of shanyu.15 Chinese records later refer to the city of Guanglu, formerly a Chinese fortress, as being Huhanye’s capital.16

It is true that Chinese chronicles are filled with references to many Hun cities and capitals from the period of Southern Hun rule, but most of these cities were of Chinese origin. Unfortunately, from European literature we only get one sentence of description pertaining to the Southern Huns and their mode of living: “They wander following grass and water, they had no fixed cities". The other Chinese sources point to a major differences between the walled cities of the Chinese and Hun cities that were not surrounded by walls. However this statement, which has been attributed to Shi Ji, refers to the way of life of the Gobi people, who needed to relocate often due to the scarcity of pastureland. It is known that Mongolian nomads changed their encampment up to 4 times a year, they did not do their wanderings without good reason. Keeping this in mind, we can better understand the varied modes of settlement of the Huns.

As I mentioned above, the Chinese chronicles recorded many Hun cities. Some of these cities were able to move from one place to another, as we can see in the history of Urga, the precursor to modern-day Ulaanbaatar. It was first identified in 1654, but only settled down in 1778. Early Hun capitals such as Longcheng were also mobile, capable of being moved from place to place as Batsaihan maintains. However the location of the first Hun capital remains still elusive.

Meaning of White cities

According to Chinese scholars, Tongwancheng was known by its Hun name of Bai Cheng or White City. This name is not unique in the vast geography of the Eurasian Steppe, indeed we can find many capitals that are known as “White city" strewn across Eurasia.

The origin of the name may be connected with the Huns, who are known to have used this expression. As we can see from the Inner Asian steppe tradition, white is considered a blessed colour, this may indicate that these cities were built not only for civil or military purposes, but that they may have also been regarded as sacred centres. Tongwancheng was functioned this way under the Xixia reign (11-13th century).

A Russian travelogue, Potanin, who visited the area in the 1870s, also contains reference to a White City. He travelled through the Ordos region and he writes that near Yulin there was a large city known as “Chagan Balgasun", the Mongolian term for “Wite City"17This was an important documentation of the late history of Tongwan city. Nowadays, the name of the village next to the ruined city is “Bai Cheng zi", where the Bai cheng means White city and the “zi" “little" in Northern Chinese dialects. 18 As we know, white was a blessed colour, and some scholar think the name of the city connected to this function. The Huns and their descendants used white horses for sacrifices to Heaven19, or wore white clothing for certain ceremonies. Other scholars’ think that colours in the city names refer to the compasses, because according to Inner Asian tradition white is equivalent to west.20

The name of White city often occurs in Inner Asia and Eastern Europe, where the Huns brought their special Inner-Asian cultural heritage, the western border of the Hun civilisation was the Carpathian–basin, where Attila, the great Hun king established his capital. According to German sources this capital was known as as Ezilburg (which can be roughly translated as “Attila’s city") while in Hungarian historian chronicles it is known as the White City.

The Gesta Hungarorum, an old Hungarian record, notes some interesting data concerning this White City. Arpad, the ruling Hungarian prince of the time, who was himself a descendant of Attila wanted to find the old capital and make it his own seat of power. When Hungarians entered the Carpathian basin, they looked for King Attila’s capital in the mountains around the Danube.21 When they ultimately found it, they organized a grand feast on the site.22 According to historical records, Attila’s capital was used by the medieval Hungarian kingdom as their capital for centuries.23 The medieval Kingdom of Hungary had four ancient cities of significance, and all of them were in some way "White Cities":24Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia)25on the east, Nándorfehérvár (Alba Bulgariae) in the south26, and Dnyeszerfehérvár (White City on the Dniester) on the northern-east part of the kingdom27, and lastly Tengerfehérvár (White city on the sea).28

In addition, the ancient Hun traditions were preserved in the name of Sarkel, the Khazarian fortress, which has the meaning: “White village". Later dynasties used this name as well. For instance, we can find some ruined cities in Northern-China, that preserve this name. Moreover, the old Jurchen capital was Bai-cheng, then Khubilai khan had four major capitals, one of them was known as Chagan khota, or the White city. 29 Later, in the 17th century the famous prince, Tsogtu Tayishi built a city in what would become present-day Mongolia, and named it Chagan Baisin30, or White House.

The building sacrifice

In the 130th coil of Jin shu there is a story documentation how the wall in the city was made more resilient:"When Helian Bobo designed Tongwan city, he appointed Chi-gan Ali as the overseer of the construction. Ali was a very skilful architect, but he was also very cruel. The walls of the city had were designed to withstand great forces. If a hole could be bored through the wall, the builder of the wall would be killed and his body buried inside the wall."31

Similarly, the Shi Ji chronicle notes Meng Jiang nü’s story regarding what happened during the construction of the Great Wall at the time of Qin Shi Huang Di.32 Comparable stories are known among Mongolians, both in the Ordos region as well as in Outer-Mongolia and Tibet, and it was spread over via Caucasus until the Carpathian basin, even we can find examples in the folklore of Southern Europe.

Human sacrifices is very important part of the Eastern Hungarian folklore tradition, one that has inspired in Hungary much scholarship and yielded many publications in the past hundred years. The most interesting Hungarian ballad is “Komuves Kelemenne", which plays in the castle of Deva as well as other locations. 33 The ballad contains reference to the custom of installing human remains into walls in order to stranghen the architecture of the castle. The Hungarian version contains the following line: “They caught her and put into the fire. Her fragile ashes were mixed into the lime. That was how the high castle of Deva was completed."34

Hungarian ethnographer, Lajos Vargyas compared this ballad with many similar works from Southern European groups (Bulgarians, Rumens, Greeks and Macedonians)35 and concluded that they all derive ultimately from the Hungarian version. Vargyas is of the opinion that the Hungarians brought this practise from the Caucasus, where they had previously lived. Additionally, he argues that the motif is of Inner-Asian origin, however the examples that he musters are Georgian and Armenian with no sources deriving from further East.36

According to the new data that has been unearthen regarding the building processes of Tongwan city and the Great Wall, we can say now that Vargyas was right, because this motif is widespread over Inner Asia, among the Huns and their descendants: Turkic, Hungarian, Mongolian and Tibetan people.

The motif which was spread through Eurasian steppe –with other documentation- shows the similar cultural heritage of the Huns throughout Eurasian grassland.

Pictures:

1. Hai Bao Ta- The oldest pagoda in China. It was built by Helian Bobo, the great Hun Emperor.

2. The Ruin of the palace in Tongwancheng

3. Houses of nobles and officers in the inner city

4. Towers in the outer part of Tongwancheng

5. The outer defence system in the cty

6. Horse sculpture was found in the Hun city

7. Ordinary houses in the city.

8. Inner part of the ordinary house. The central site was the fireplace.

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Notes

1 Hou-Cao, 2008. 163.

2 Ma, 2005. 343.

3 The Chinese chronicles recorded an expression "yu tu" for the centre of the Hun king, and according to Uchiraltu, Inner-Mongolian linguist, that reconstruction is "ordu" or palace. Uchiraltu, 1996. 4. 103.

4 The name of the pagoda today is Hai Ba ta, which refers to Helian Bobo. This site is situated on the northern part of the city.

5 Hou-Cao, 2008. 164.

6 Kang, 2004. 16.

7 Ma, 2005. 348.

8 Deng, 2004. 10. Hereby the author refers to the Shui Jing commentary.

9 Jin shu recorded the building process.

10 Zhou, 2004. 51-54.

11 Wang, 2004. 111-112.

12 Jin shu 116.

13 Hou, 2008. 164.

14 Perlee, 1961.

15 Han shu. History of Huns. L. Uchiraltu, 1996. 4. 113-114.

16 Csornai, 2007. 307. Hans hu 8.

17 Potanin, 1875. 107.

18 Andor Zombori’s information from Chinese scholars.

19 The Heaven-cult is name as Tengri-cult for Inner Asian people. Also, the Hungarians and Mongolian had white horse sacrifice in the past.

20 Purev, 2002. 46.

21 That mountain is Pilis, which is near the Hungary’s present-day capital, Budapest.

22 Gesta Hungarorum, 46. In: Gyõrffy, 1986. 171.

23 Kézai, 27. In: Gyõrffy, 1986. 189.

24 According to the Czuczor-Fogarasi linguistic dictionary, the Hungarian word “fejér" shows, that is a sacral name, connecting with the Heaven. (fe- up in Hungarian). But they say, that the Hungarian fejér, or white can be compared with the Chinese bei, or white.

25 Nowadays is in Transylvania, Romania.

26 Nowadays is in Serbia, near Belgrad. The Belgrad also means White city.

27 Nowadays is in Ukraine.

28 Nowadays is in Croatia. The first Hungarian-Croatian king, Kalman was enthroned in 1096.

29 Chagan Khota was the Khublai khan’s capital. The meaning of the word: White city, where the khota can be Hun name for city. We can find kota, káta in Central-Asian and Hungarian place names.

30 That was the centre for Tsogtu tayishi in nowadays Mongolia. (Built in the 17th century.)

31 Jin shu, 130.

32 Polonyi, 1986. 200.

33 It is a name of the builder’s wife.

34 Ortutay-Kriza, 1976. 11.

35 Vargyas, 1959. 5-73.

36 Vargyas, 1959. 5-73.