Story 42: Legend of Zhaojun’s Departure from the Fortress

Legend of Zhaojun’s Departure from the Fortress

Author: Anonymous

Zhaojun’s Tomb is located on the bank of the Dahei River 9 kilometers south of the old city of Hohhot City. Due to the “cool autumn in September every year, the grass outside the Great Wall withers” and the grass and trees on the ground wither. Only the towering Zhaojun’s Tomb has green grass. People call Zhaojun’s Tomb ” “Green Tomb”. “Green Tomb of Dai” is known as one of the eight scenic spots in Hohhot.

Throughout the ages, it has attracted many Chinese and foreign tourists who come here for sightseeing and pay homage to Wang Zhaojun, the concubine of the Han Ming Dynasty who has made great contributions to national unity.

Wang Zhaojun, whose name is Qiang and whose courtesy name is Zhaojun. During the Western Jin Dynasty, in order to avoid Sima Zhao’s taboo, he was renamed “Mingjun”. He was born in Xingshan County, Nanjun (now Zigui County, Hubei Province) in the late Western Han Dynasty. Because of her intelligence and beauty, she entered the palace as a “waiting imperial edict” during the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han Dynasty.

In the late Western Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu put an end to the long-term war and restored the “harmony” relationship. In the first year of Emperor Jingning of the Han Yuan Dynasty (33 BC), the Western Han Dynasty agreed to the request of the Xiongnu Huhanxie Chanyu and agreed to Wang Zhaojun’s trip to the fortress to make peace. Since then, there has been a situation of reconciliation between Han and Hungary and harmonious coexistence of the nationalities, which has been praised by people of all ages.

Wang Zhaojun voluntarily left the frontier and married a foreigner, which showed the extraordinary courage and courage of a weak woman regardless of the desolation of the frontier and the cold wind and felt tent in the north. Regarding Zhaojun’s departure from the fortress, there is a vivid record in “Book of the Later Han·Biography of the Southern Xiongnu”. Wang Zhaojun “asked Ye Ting to order him to go.”

Hu Hanxie was about to leave the assembly, and the emperor summoned five women to express his wishes. Zhaojun was rich and beautifully decorated. In the bright Han Palace, Gu Ying wanders, moving left and right.” Huhanxie Shanyu was very happy to get such a beautiful wife. “I write to you to protect the fortress from Shanggu west to Dunhuang, and spread it to the world. Please stop guarding the border and guard the officials and soldiers, so as to give peace to the emperor and the people.”

Zhaojun’s visit to the fortress to make peace was a major political event for both Han and Hungary at that time. In order to commemorate this marriage, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty changed the name to “Jingning”, which means peace and tranquility. Hu Hanxie Chanyu named Zhaojun Ninghulan, the friendly queen of Hu and Han.

The Xiongnu Hu Hanxie Chanyu returned to the Han Dynasty and Zhaojun left the fortress, which also reflected the common wishes and requirements of the working people of all ethnic groups at that time. The tiles “Chanyu Heqin”,

“Long Live Qianqiu”, “Changle Weiyang”, “Chanyu Tianxiang” and the four-character bricks “Chanyu Heqin” were unearthed from tombs in the late Western Han Dynasty in Hancheng near Hohhot and Baotou. , as well as the 12-character bricks of “Chanyu Heqin”, “Long Live Qianqiu” and “Anle Weiyang” illustrate the enthusiastic praise of the people of all ethnic groups along the Great Wall for Heqin and Zhaojun’s departure from the Great Wall.

Zhaojun went out to make peace and sowed the seeds of peace and good neighborliness between Han and Hungary. This seed took root, sprouted, blossomed, and bore fruit, and had a profound impact on the future unity and friendship between the Han people and the fraternal ethnic groups in the north.

Unfortunately, Wang Zhaojun and Hu Hanxie Shanyu passed away only two years after their marriage. She and Hu Hanxie Shanyu gave birth to a son named Yitu Zhiqishi. After the death of Hu Hanxie Chanyu, Zhaojun remarried Huhanxie Chanyu’s eldest son, Fuzhulei Chanyu Diao Tao Mogao, according to the Xiongnu custom of “after the death of the father, the wife’s mother”.

Zhaojun and Diao Tao Mogao had two daughters. The eldest daughter was named Xubu Juci, which was Princess Xubu, and the younger daughter was named Dangyu Juci, which was Princess Dangyu.

Zhaojun was about 20 years old when he married Huhanxie Chanyu, and he is estimated to have died during the Xinmang period (9-23 BC). According to the “Wang Zhaojun Bianwen” of the Tang Dynasty discovered in Dunhuang, after Zhaojun passed away, the burial ceremony was carried out according to Xiongnu customs, which was very grand. “The coffin is vaulted, not to mention the square and round.”

“Five hundred jars of wine are brewed, a hundred thousand sheep are slaughtered, the calves are reared and galloped, the river is full of food, and the human society is like a sea. A hundred miles are spread out with Gu and blankets, and you walk steadily. Five hundred miles are spread out with gold and silver bottles, and there is nowhere to go.” When the Shanyu personally surrendered, all the tribes came to pay tribute to the country, and Zhaojun (jun) was buried.”

Emperor Xiaoai of the Han Dynasty (6-1 BC) also sent Yang Shaozheng to express his condolences to Shanyu. The grand funeral ceremony reflected the Xiongnu’s memory of Zhaojun and their affirmative attitude towards the marriage between Han and Huns.

Sixty years after Zhaojun came out of the Great Wall, it was 60 years of harmonious coexistence between Han and Hungarians, and 60 years of peaceful development in the entire Monan, including the Hohhot area. There was a prosperous scene of “the people of cattle and horses flourishing in the wild”. The Han and Hungarian people of all ethnic groups, who had enjoyed 60 years of peaceful life after suffering from war, deeply loved Wang Zhaojun.

According to folklore, Zhaojun was originally a fairy in the sky who married Huhanxie Chanyu. When she left the fortress, she and Hu Hanxie Shanyu walked to the edge of the Black River. They saw the roaring wind, flying sand and rocks, and the people and horses could not move forward. Zhaojun played the pipa she brought with her. Suddenly the strong wind stopped howling, the sky was full of colorful clouds, the auspicious clouds were lingering, the ice and snow on the ground melted, and everything revived. After a while, the ground was covered with fresh green grass and gorgeous wildflowers. The Yinshan Mountains in the distance turned green, and the black water nearby became clear. Countless larks, cuckoos, and magpies also flew in, circling and singing above her (them) heads.

The Chanyu and the Xiongnu people were so happy that they settled down by the Black Water. Later, Wang Zhaojun and Shanyu traveled throughout the foothills of Yinshan Mountain and the north and south of the desert. Wherever Zhaojun went, there was abundant water and grass, and both humans and animals were prosperous. In places where water is lacking, Zhaojun would draw a stroke with his pipa, and a jade-belt-like river and patches of green grass would appear on the ground. Zhaojun also took out grain seeds from a beautiful kit and scattered them on the ground, so grains grew.

When Zhaojun passed away, farmers and herdsmen from near and far came to pay their respects to him. They packed soil with their lapels and built Zhaojun’s tomb one by one. It is said that Zhaojun’s tomb changes three times a day, “the morning is like a front, the afternoon is like a bell, and the day is like a pine tree”. That is to say, Zhaojun’s tomb looks like a mountain peak in the morning, a tripod bell at noon, and a chicken fir (Agaricaceae Conical Fungi) at dusk.

Wang Zhaojun is a symbol of national unity and friendship, and her achievements have been respected by future generations. Archaeologists infer from the cultural relics obtained from Zhaojun’s tomb that during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, there were buildings such as Xiangtang in front of the tomb. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, when Zhang Penghie and Qian Liangduo passed through Hohhot, they saw piles of glazed tile fragments in the south of Qingzhong, a black stone tiger, a stone horse, a white stone lion, a stone house, and a small stone house.

There are also banners and flags written in Mongolian, as well as a small square pavilion built by local people on the top of the green tomb. The square pavilion contains Buddhist statues, silk cloth, beans and wheat. There is an ancient willow tree next to the green tomb, covering the ground with thick shade and green color.

Those stone tigers, stone lions, stone horses, stone houses and small square pavilions embody the deep attachment and grief of the people of all ethnic groups in Hohhot at that time for Wang Zhaojun, faithfully accompanying this Han girl who married far away.

The literati of the past dynasties have commented on Zhaojun’s many outings, and the most appropriate one is Zhang Zhongsu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty: “Xian’e is getting married now, and the proud son knows it all. The swords and halberds are returned to the fields, and the cattle and sheep are around many Sails.”

In addition to Qingzhong, there are more than a dozen Zhaojun tombs at the southern foot of Daqing Mountain. Historian Jian Bozan said it well: “It is not important where Wang Zhaojun is buried. What is important is why there are so many Zhaojun tombs. Obviously, the appearance of these Zhaojun tombs reflects the people of all ethnic groups in Inner Mongolia. They have a good impression of Wang Zhaojun, and they all hope that Wang Zhaojun will be buried in his hometown.

After liberation, the Municipal People’s Government carried out many repairs to Zhaojun’s tomb. In 1964, the People’s Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region listed Zhaojun Tomb as a key cultural relic protection unit in the autonomous region. Today’s Zhaojun Tomb has become a large-scale cemetery. It is 300 meters long from north to south, 162 meters wide from east to west, and 33 meters high.

It covers an area of about 73 acres. When you walk to the tomb, the first thing you see is a large bronze statue of Huhanxie Chanyu and Wang Zhaojun’s family walking side by side with a height of 3.95 meters and a weight of 5 tons. Going further north, a tall stone tablet stands in the morning sun. On the stone tablet is engraved in both Mongolian and Chinese characters the poem “Visiting Zhaojun’s Tomb” by the late Vice President Dong Biwu: “Zhaojun has a long history, and Hu Hanhe knows it personally.”

Guests express their feelings and thoughts, and it is always in vain to dance and write.” On both sides of the back of the stone tablet, there are seven stone tablets from different generations clearly visible. There are two connected platforms in front of the tomb. Climbing up the stairs to the top of the tomb, there is a hexagonal orchid pavilion.

In the courtyard in front of the tomb, the historical relics exhibition hall is divided into east and west. In the exhibition hall, there is a white marble statue of Zhaojun, with beautiful eyebrows and beautiful hair, bright eyes and white teeth, holding a pipa in his arms, smiling slightly, and lifelike.

Wang Zhaojun, the messenger of national unity and friendship, has been living in the hearts of the people since ancient times and is revered and praised by people of all ethnic groups.

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