From today's perspective, the prosperity of the ancient Shanshan Kingdom was due to the mutual interaction of many reasons. Among them, the most prominent factors are the geographical environment, business environment, and geopolitical environment.
Let’s talk about the geographical environment first.
In the early Han Dynasty, the desert of the Western Regions was not as barren and dry as it is today. Along the edge of the desert, the Tarim River from the Tianshan Mountains and the Karakoram Mountains ran along the north bank.
This river is like the umbilical cord of the desert basin, drawing the northern outline of the desert along the northern edge of the desert. During this period, it involves countless rivers flowing through Aksu, Shaya, Kuqa, Luntai, Korla, and Yuli, and finally flows into Taitma Lake. .
If the desert in the Western Regions is compared to an oval egg, then the Tamuli River is equivalent to the placenta of the egg, and from the river channel it is implicated in the Hotan River, the Kongque River, the Chelchen River, the Kaidu River, the Yarkand River, and the Aksu River. and many tributary rivers and lakes.
These tributaries are like the capillaries in an egg, pouring the abundant water from the North Coast Mountains into the desert, forming countless oases near the rivers. If viewed from a high altitude, the oases near these rivers are connected into lines, creating a lifeline of lush life in the barren desert. , they exist close to the river, bringing infinite vitality to all things.
It can be said that without the Tarim River, there would not be all the creatures in the desert of the Western Regions!
Not only the living creatures, but also most of the small countries in the desert of the Western Region gathered near this oasis lifeline and formed towns and towns. Countless small countries dotted around the river began to be born along the river.
In this way, the ancient Shanshan Kingdom appeared in the delta area where the Tarim River and the Kongque River met!
In this delta, the Tarim River and the Kongque River converged and impacted, forming a large oasis relying on the river channel. The water was so abundant that a lake was formed directly near the delta. The largest lake was later known as Lop Nur.
A large number of rivers bring a humid climate to the oasis. At the same time, the gentle terrain allows the land to be continuously irrigated by river water. Countless biological deposits in the river make the oasis land extremely fertile.
According to Steinhein's inspection report, carbonized wood roots one meter in diameter were dug out near the ancient Loulan site. It can be seen that the oasis climate at that time was humid and the vegetation was dense. Otherwise, there would be no conditions for the trees to grow so tall.
According to the report, the forest near the ancient Loulan City at that time was dense, with many desert oasis plants such as poplar, willow, sea buckthorn, white poplar, and many aquatic plants such as reeds and cattails. It had a humid climate, fertile land, and topography. Moderate the three most favorable environments.
Under such a favorable environment, many tribes began to gather in the delta, and eventually formed the ancient city-state of Loulan. They continued to expand their territory along rivers and trade routes, and became the Shanshan Dynasty.
The Shanshan Dynasty was born based on the desert oases, and it will inevitably fail because of the disappearance of the oases.
In the late period of the ancient Shanshan Dynasty, Shanshan relied on trade to develop and its population increased rapidly. This caused the people at that time to ask for more resources from the oasis to maintain their survival. The carrying capacity of the environment was limited. As the oasis grew As the population increases, the carrying capacity of the oasis has reached its upper limit.
In the process of people and oases competing for the environment, vegetation will inevitably be abandoned to increase the area of human settlement. In this case, large areas of vegetation begin to disappear, and forests are cut down. The situation continues to worsen, eventually leading to ecological imbalance. Precipitation near the oasis is getting less and less.
The desert relies entirely on vegetation to fix the sand, and also relies on precipitation to feed the vegetation. When the precipitation decreases, the remaining vegetation in the oasis continues to disappear, which in turn exacerbates the deterioration of the oasis environment. Eventually, under the domino effect, the desert oasis It was eaten away bit by bit by the desert and disappeared.
By the end of the ancient Shanshan Kingdom, the large oases had once again returned to desertification. Winds and sand swept across the country, rivers were cut off, the oasis declined, and the climate changed dramatically. Under the background of oasis desertification, the people of the ancient Shanshan Kingdom were ultimately unable to withstand the invasion of the desert climate and abandoned most of the city-states. go.
These city-states disappeared into the desert and were engulfed by wind and sand erosion.
After talking about the geographical environment, let’s talk about the business environment.
Long before the Han Dynasty, people as powerful as Qin Shihuang only unified the north and the south and did not explore westward. To the Han people, the world west of the Hexi Corridor was only inhabited by barbarians. The environment was extremely harsh and not worth conquering.
During the Han Dynasty, the territory of the Han Dynasty was limited to the counties of Han Dynasty. As for the world outside the Hexi Corridor, they were completely ignorant of it. Facing this vast Western Region, although the Han Dynasty people had never set foot in this region, they had no idea about it. There is strong interest in the area.
In the early days of the Han Dynasty, they were still in their infancy. For them, the Huns in the north were unprecedentedly powerful. In order to recuperate and recuperate, Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, sent his princess to marry the Huns, thus avoiding being attacked by the Huns.
This suffocated anger prevented Liu Bang from feeling relieved throughout his life. The fear of the Huns always shrouded the foreheads of the emperors of the Han Empire and became a lingering shadow for them.
Thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi. After experiencing the three dynasties of Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Wen, and Emperor Jing, the Han Dynasty finally ushered in the era of Emperor Wu. At this time, the Han Dynasty's treasury was full, the people were wealthy, the soldiers and horses were strong, and the reputation was flourishing. This was considered the beginning of the Han Dynasty. With the capital to compete with the Huns.
Many wars with the Xiongnu finally allowed the Han Dynasty to regain the dignity lost by Emperor Gaozu. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing even drove the Xiongnu away thousands of miles away, making them afraid to approach the Hexi Corridor and making it difficult for them to rule the roost.
The Han Dynasty opened up the Hexi Corridor and used many small countries in Hexi to involve the east-west trade. The Celestial Silk Road became smooth from then on. Hu people from west to east used this trade route to continuously pour into Chang'an with goods.
As the country at the end of the Hexi Corridor, the ancient Shanshan State took the lead in becoming the richest country on the Silk Road by virtue of its unique geographical advantages.
Rumor has it that ancient Loulan City was the most prosperous town on the Han trade route. Han merchants traveling westward stopped here to rest, and Hu merchants traveling eastward also circulated goods here. A large amount of money, goods, and commodities were traded in Loulan City, making Loulan City became a gathering place for Han and barbarians and other countries. There were no less than 100,000 wealthy merchants born from trade.
As for culture and art, of course it is also eclectic, bringing together the best of the East and the West to produce rich and splendid Silk Road art. Whether it is in terms of commerce and trade, or in terms of culture and art, the ancient Loulan City is indeed a veritable Silk Road town!
Against this background, the business atmosphere in the ancient Shanshan Kingdom was extremely strong. Everything from silk, porcelain, gold and spices to slaves and servants could be sold at clearly marked prices as long as someone paid for them, creating an atmosphere of chasing money. , the five towns of Loulan, Milan, Qiemo, Ruoqiang, and Niya were all developed into Silk Road trading towns. Backed by the big tree of trade in the Han Dynasty, they made a lot of money and were fat.
The fire cooks the oil, but also the flowers and the brocade. The ancient Shanshan Kingdom arose from commerce, and it will inevitably perish due to commerce.
As mentioned before, the prosperity of the Silk Road trade was entirely due to the Han Empire sweeping through the Western Regions with strong force, which led to the smooth flow of the Silk Road. When the Han Empire weakened, force could no longer protect the Western Regions, and the Silk Road trade also No more.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, the territory was divided into three parts of the world. Cao Wei was still able to hold on to the Hexi Corridor. When the Jin Dynasty was established, the Wuhu chaos moved southward. The Hexi Corridor was also divided into other countries and was no longer subordinate to the imperial government. The trade route between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions was cut off.
As for the subsequent Northern and Southern Dynasties, the barbarians occupied half of the country, and the Han people were beaten to the point where they threw away their armor and crossed the river to save their lives. The Chinese countries were in chaos. The Han people could not even protect themselves. How could they have the energy to open up Hexi.
After the trade was cut off, the hub status of the ancient Shanshan Kingdom was of course useless. Without the substantive commercial trade between the East and the West, the commercial town existed in name only.
If chickens no longer exist, where will there be eggs? When the business environment here changes, the first to smell the decline are these profit-seeking businessmen. They gather because of the profits, and they will inevitably disperse when the profits are gone. .
There are no merchants in the ancient Shanshan Kingdom, and the business atmosphere is no longer there. At the same time, they also have to face the economic recession caused by the cessation of trade and the environmental degradation caused by environmental damage. The two interact with each other, making the ancient Shanshan city-states deeply trapped in the quagmire of decline. Extricate yourself.
Centipede insects are dead but not stiff. Although the ancient Shanshan Kingdom has declined, it is still a once powerful desert dynasty. It has been in power for four to five hundred years since the Han Dynasty. The decline does exist, but it may not collapse quickly.
Their weakness was not a sudden death from poisoning, but a slow death that lasted for hundreds of years due to the interruption of trade and the degradation of the oasis.
The end of this death was Zhenguan in the early Tang Dynasty. To be precise, what sounded the death knell for the ancient Shanshan Kingdom was another drastic change in the geographical environment!
The general trend of the world must be divided for a long time and must be reunited for a long time. The broken mountains and rivers experienced chaotic divisions in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the land was finally unified by the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin, Taizong of Li Tang Dynasty, became the first person to rebuild China.
From the late Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, changes in the geographical situation caused the ancient Shanshan Kingdom to continue to weaken. Even the trade exchanges of the Sui Dynasty could not offset the weakening process. For the ancient Shanshan Kingdom, the unified territory of Li and Tang was the most important for the reopening of trade. Advantageous, they are also more eager than anyone else to reopen trade routes and continue to maintain commercial prosperity.
However, Li Tang’s appeal was completely different from theirs!
The ancient Shanshan Kingdom wanted to take over the status of a trade hub as a Silk Road merchant country and make profits from it, but Li Tang had a greater appetite. They hoped to annex all the small countries at the end of the Hexi Corridor and let these small countries directly become the territory of Li Tang. Finally, they were placed under the jurisdiction of all the governors of the Western Regions, and from then on they were no longer separated from each other.
The dust of the times has once again fallen upon the ancient Shanshan Kingdom!
Around the 23rd year of Zhenguan, the Tang Dynasty solved Tuyuhun, Tujue, and Xue Yantuo, the Hexi Corridor became unblocked again, and the destruction of the Western Regions was put on the agenda.
Even though Li Shimin was old, his ambitions remained unchanged. He named Ashina Sheer the marching commander and ordered him to form a Kunqiu Road March and enter the Western Regions along the Hexi Corridor.
In this year, Kunqiu Dao marched and defeated the kingdoms of Qiuci, Khotan, Loulan, and Gaochang near the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions. All the small kingdoms in the Western Regions were wiped out by the cavalry. Those who disobeyed were massacred and the country was destroyed. Those who obeyed were included in the administration of the Anxi Protectorate. Of course, the Shanshan Kingdom He was also destroyed by the Tang Dynasty army and disappeared into the long river of history!
Song Siyuan explained here, basically giving an overview of the history of the ancient Shanshan Kingdom: "The prosperity of the ancient Shanshan Kingdom was due to the fertile oasis, prosperous commerce, and the support of a giant country. Its demise was also due to the disappearance of the oasis, the cessation of commerce, and geographical isolation. Upheaval.”
“Looking at the whole process of the rise and fall of this desert dynasty, there is indeed a sense of fate that the reason why history rises will also lead to its demise.”
