History of Zhaotong

1. Zhaotong has a long history and culture

Zhaotong, a simple and magical land, has a long history and culture. In 1982, a human tooth fossil was unearthed from a cave in the northern suburbs of Zhaotong City. It was identified as an "early Homo sapiens fossil" and dated to about 100,000 years ago. It was called "Zhaotong Man" and filled the gap between the ape man stage and late Homo sapiens in Yunnan Province. The gap between human stages shows that Zhaotong City is one of the important areas for the origin and development of human beings. For about 6,000 years from about 10,000 years ago to 4,000 years ago, the ancestors living here had widely used ground stone tools, and understood techniques such as pottery, textiles, agriculture, and herding, and began to Live in the town and live a settled life. From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the early Spring and Autumn Period, the Du Yu tribe entered Shu and "taught the people to farm", bringing with them advanced farming civilization and winning the support of the Shu people. They became the king of Shu and were named "Wangdi". In 250 BC, King Xiaowen of Qin used Li Bing, the prefect of Shu County, to dig a burning road. After Qin Shihuang unified the country in 221 BC, in order to further explore Yunnan, he sent Chang Chi to extend the Burning Road dug by Li Bing to Jianning (now Qujing), which was known as the "Five-foot Road" in history. The Central Plains culture spread to the south. Today, Zhaotong is located at the hub of the "Wuchi Road". It was the first area in Yunnan to receive the influence of the Central Plains culture.

In 135 BC (the sixth year of the founding of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty changed the closed policy of "closing Shu" in the early Han Dynasty, reopened the "Nanyi Road", and established counties in the southwestern Yi area , to expand economic and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains and remote areas in southwest China. The Western Han Dynasty established Zhuti County (prefecture) in today's Zhaotong City, and Zhaotong was brought under the management of the central government for the first time. Commodities were transported and sold freely, the influence of Han culture became common, and Zhaotong's social economy and culture entered a period of rapid development.

From the sixth year of Jianyuan of the Western Han Dynasty to the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, today's Zhaotong was named "Zhu Ti", which was either the county government, the county government, or the southern part of Qianwei and the capital of Qianwei vassal state. More than 800 years. During the Han and Jin dynasties, the developed agricultural economy, the splendid bronze culture, especially the invention of white copper, the nationally famous Zhu Ti silver, and the rise and spread of Confucianism showed that the socio-economic culture in the Zhu Ti area was highly prosperous. Full evidence can be obtained from the excavations of the mural tomb of Huo Chengsi in Jin Dynasty. In particular, the Xiaoju Stele of Han and Meng Dynasties has the reputation of "a rare treasure in the world" and "the first stone in the sea". Famous scholars such as Liang Qichao, Luo Zhenyu, Yuan Jiagu, Huang Ying, Zhao Fan, Fang Shumei, Xie Yinjian and other scholars have conducted research on this stele. After research, it was found that this stele is the only Han stele discovered in Yunnan so far. Its pictures, stones and inscriptions provide important physical evidence for studying the history of ancient Yunnan culture and its relationship with the culture of the Central Plains. The realistic portraits of "Yi-Han Tribes" in Huo Chengsi's murals are the only existing murals from the Jin Dynasty and are of extremely important value to the study of ancient ethnic history and ethnic relations in Yunnan during the Han and Jin Dynasties. Zhu Ti culture was influenced by many cultural factors such as Dian, Yelang, Bashu, Jingchu, etc., but its main cultural characteristics still belong to the mature Han cultural system. In other words, Zhu Ti culture is a composite and regional culture that is dominated by Han culture and also includes a variety of surrounding cultural factors.

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, two local governments, Nanzhao and Dali, successively dominated Yunnan. Zhaotong was alienated from the culture of the Central Plains and failed to fully accept the influence of Nanzhao and Dali culture. It is worth mentioning that Yuan Zi’s inscription on the cliff at Douchuan Pass in the Tang Dynasty is an important empirical cultural relic in the history of the relationship between the central government of the Tang Dynasty and the local government of Nanzhao as a feudal unified country. It is also an important historical relic of the transportation between the Central Plains, Bashu and Yunnan during the Zhenyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. true record. The academic community believes that Yuan Zi's inscription on Moya has six major historical values: "maintaining the unity of the country, defining the boundaries of the territory, observing the harmony of the ethnic groups, making up for the shortcomings of the Tang book, correcting the errors in the book, and leaving the traces of Yuan's book." It has been announced as a national key cultural relic protection unit. The stele is located in today's Doucha Town, Yanjin County. The carved stone is about 60 cm high and 25 cm wide. The full text is eight lines, running straight down and to the left, totaling 122 characters. The explanation is: "On the 20th day of the ninth month of the 10th year of Zhenyuan of the Tang Dynasty." On the same day, the Yunnan Xuanwei envoy Jiu Wenzhen, the judge Liu Youyan, the young envoy Tutu Chengcui, held the festival book to Nanzhao to envoy the censor Zhongcheng Yuan Zi, the deputy envoy Chengdu Shaoyin Pang Qi, the judge to supervise the censor Cui Zuoshi, and they all received the favor. He was ordered to go to Yunnan to register Yimouxun as Nanzhao. At that time, Jiedushi sent Shangshu's right servant to shoot Chengdu Yin and the censor's official Wei Gao, and sent inspectors to monitor the censor Ma Yi, command the troops and horses, open roads and set up post offices. Therefore, it was published in Shiji. Yuan Zi wrote: "Song Dynasty Feng Wumeng." Yuanzhi Wumeng Road. In the Ming Dynasty, Wumeng Mansion was established. In the ninth year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign in the Qing Dynasty, after the completion of the land reform, Wumeng was renamed Zhaotong.

It can be traced back to nearly 500 years when the establishment of central power was interrupted by the Jisi rule in the Tang and Song dynasties. It was commonly known as "Wumeng" (Ameng) for more than a thousand years before and after the present Zhao Dynasty. The formation and gradual completion of the chieftain system, as well as the existence and development of indigenous culture, immigrant culture, and national culture formed by military use, farming, and ethnic migration are also worthy of attention and are also extremely valuable assets in Zhaotong's historical and cultural resources.

In the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty (1727), the land reform was implemented and "the imperial edict was issued to change Wumeng Prefecture to Zhaotong Prefecture". Through the Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing dynasties, a series of policies were implemented to stabilize society, develop production, and prosper culture. Zhaotong's social economy and culture have entered a period of rapid development. Agricultural development represented by the construction of water conservancy projects and the introduction and planting of high-yielding crops; the resurgence of Zhu Ti's silver and copper; the construction of water and land transportation and the prosperity of commercial trade due to large-scale copper transportation; the increasing recovery of Confucianism; the entry of non-native religious culture Wait, the history and culture of Zhaotong seems to have entered another reincarnation of the prosperous Zhuti culture. Unfortunately, the turmoil that came in a hurry during the Xiantong years of the late Qing Dynasty once again ruined the great future of Zhaotong's socio-economic and cultural development.

During the Republic of China, Zhaotong became the economic and cultural center of the border areas of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces, and was sometimes known as "Little Kunming". Zhaotong emerged Liu Pingkai and Li Guozhu, leaders of the early Yunnan local organizations of the Communist Party of China, and Luo Binghui, one of the thirty-three strategists of the Chinese People's Liberation Army confirmed by the Central Military Commission of China; Zhaotong is also the place where the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army passed through during the Long March, and the Party Central Committee The famous "Tashi Conference" was held here.

2. Zhaotong has diverse historical and cultural relics

Zhaotong is very rich in cultural relics. There are more than 20 Neolithic sites in the city. The famous ones include Ludian Yeshishan Site, Machang Site and The Qiaojia Xiaodongmen Neolithic site dates back to around 4,000 years ago. According to the sixth issue of the "Scientific Research Brief" compiled by the Scientific Research Office of the University of Science and Technology of China in 1983 and related papers, testing of some bronzes unearthed from the tomb of Fuhao, wife of King Wuding of the Yin Dynasty in Anyang showed that the copper of the bronzes cast by the Yin Dynasty 3,000 years ago was The mine comes from the Yongshan and Qiaojia areas in today's Yunnan. From the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, many artifacts unearthed from tombs, some have elements of Yunnan culture, some contain elements of Bashu culture, and some are similar to Qiongdu culture. What is significant is that many of the pottery unearthed from Panying, Shuijingwan and Baishadi in Zhaotong City have "engraved symbols" or an ancient minority language. The famous "Meng Xiaoju Stele" was unearthed related to "Liangdui"; there are nearly a thousand cliff tombs distributed in nine counties (districts), which is the most in Yunnan. On the northern slope of Zhaotong City and north of Zhenxiong County, there are some ruins of the Wumeng and Mang tribes of the Yi people since the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are many hanging coffin tombs left in Yanjin Douchuan, Weixin Coffin Rock and Yongshan Bridge Bay. Stone slab tombs are distributed in Qiaojia, Suijiang, Yanjin, Daguan, Zhenxiong, Yiliang, and Weixin, dating from the Neolithic Age to the Ming Dynasty.

3. Zhaotong’s history and culture have been significantly developed

Following the archaeological excavations in Zhaotong City that focused on Han bricks and stone chamber tombs in the early 1950s, since the 1970s, Zhaotong City has excavated The Chahe Cliff Tombs in Daguan County, the Xiangbiling Cliff Tombs in Zhaoyang District, the Machang Neolithic Age Site in Ludian County, the Warring States and Western Han Dynasty pit tombs and the Xiaowanzi Cliff Tombs in Sayuyingpan Village, Zhaoyang District, Shui The Louba and Jiandaowan cliff tombs in Fuxian County, the Warring States and Western Han Dynasty earthen pit tombs in Zhangtanba, the Xiaodongmen Neolithic sarcophagus tombs in Qiaojia County, the Yeshi Neolithic ruins in Ludian County, and the tile and stone tombs in Weixin County. Hanging coffin burial in the old cave. These archaeological excavations unearthed many precious cultural relics, which are of great significance to the study of the history of Yunnan and Zhaotong, and even to Chinese archeology.

4. Zhaotong has many historical cultural relics

The city’s existing key cultural relics protection units at the national level are: Yuan Zi’s inscriptions on the cliff; provincial key cultural relics protection units: Yeshishan Site, Meng Xiaoju Monument, The former residence of Luo Binghui, the former site of the Tashi Conference, the former site of the Central Red Army Headquarters in Shuitianzhai, the slogans of the Iron Furnace Red Army, the Tuogu Mosque in Ludian, the Guandou Mountain Stone Sculpture Group, and the mural tomb of Huo Chengsi, etc.

5. Zhaotong has a rich collection of cultural relics

There are 17,497 cultural relics in the collections of the Municipal Cultural Relics Management Office and cultural management offices, museums, memorial halls and cultural centers in 11 counties (districts). Among them, 6 are national first-class cultural relics. For example: "Meng Qin" triple couplet bronze seal, "First Year of Jianchu" double fish bronze wash, wizard pottery figurine, etc.; 10 national second-level cultural relics, such as: bronze figurine riding a deer, copper pot with lid and handle, and man carrying feathers There are 278 national third-level cultural relics and 517 general cultural relics, including the Bronze Suzaku in the Aquarius and the Little Ghost Bronze Statue of Tianwang Town. Zhaotong is already an area rich in cultural relic collections in Yunnan Province.

6. Zhaotong’s splendid humanities and history

From ancient times to the present, Zhaotong’s humanities and history have gathered many talents. Du Yu spread the legend of farming civilization, the Meng stele is known as "the best stone in the sea", the Guandou Mountain stone carvings "unparalleled in the world", Liu Pingkai, Luo Binghui, Long Yun, Lu Han and the famous Chinese classics master Jiang Liangfu, who are famous in modern history. Scholars Xiao Ruilin, Deng Ziqin, Zhang Xilu, Xie Yinjian, hero of the era Xu Honggang and a large number of talents have made Zhaotong's landscape extraordinary and its humanity more glorious.

The existence of many historical and cultural resources has accumulated very rich resources and potential for the development of Zhaotong's cultural industry. It is also the foundation for the development and prosperity of Zhaotong culture. These rich historical and cultural accumulations have also provided Zhaotong with People are rich in cultural nourishment, and the phenomenon of Zhaotong writers group is now formed in Zhaotong. This is not accidental, but is inseparable from the nourishment of the historical and cultural atmosphere of this land.