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Hexi Corridor

Coordinates: 38°42′N 100°47′E / 38.700°N 100.783°E / 38.700; 100.783
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Hexi Corridor
Gansu Corridor
Hexi Corridor at the Qilian Mountains
Zhangye National Geopark in the Hexi Corridor
Hexi Corridor is located in China
Hexi Corridor
Hexi Corridor
Location of the Hexi Corridor in China
Length1,000–1,200 km (620–750 mi)
Width40–100 km (25–62 mi)
Geography
Population centersDunhuang, Yumen City, Jiayuguan City, Jiuquan, Zhangye, Jinchang, Wuwei, and Lanzhou
Borders onGobi Desert (north)
Wushao Mountains (east)
Qilian Mountains (south)
Dunhuang (west)
Coordinates38°42′N 100°47′E / 38.700°N 100.783°E / 38.700; 100.783 

The Hexi Corridor (/həˈʃiː/ hə-SHEE),[a] also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relatively arable plain west of the Yellow River's Ordos Loop (hence the name Hexi, meaning 'west of the river'), flanked between the much more elevated and inhospitable terrains of the Mongolian and Tibetan Plateaus.

As part of the Northern Silk Road, running northwest from the western section of the Ordos Loop between Yinchuan and Lanzhou, the Hexi Corridor was the most important trade route in Northwest China. It linked China proper to the historic Western Regions for traders and military incursions into Central Asia. It is a string of oases along the northern edges of the Qilian Mountains and Altyn-Tagh, with the high and desolate Tibetan Plateau further to the south. To the north are the Longshou, Heli and Mazong Mountains separating it from the arid Badain Jaran Desert, Gobi Desert and the cold steppes of the Mongolian Plateau. At the western end, the route splits into three, going either north of the Tianshan Mountains or south on either side of the Tarim Basin. At the eastern end, the mountains around Lanzhou grants access to the Longxi Basin, which leads east through Mount Long along the Wei River valley into the populous Guanzhong Plain, and then into the Central Plain.

Geography

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Location

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The Hexi Corridor is located in western Gansu province, bordered to the south by the Qilian Mountains and to the north by the Gobi Desert. It extends for approximately 1,000–1,200 kilometres (620–750 mi) from Wushao Mountain in the south to Dunhuang in the north,[1][2] and covers around 276,000 square kilometres (107,000 sq mi).[3]

There are several major cities along the Hexi Corridor. From west to east, the major cities are: Dunhuang, Yumen, Jiayuguan, Jiuquan, Zhangye, Jinchang, Wuwei, and finally Lanzhou in the southeast.[4][5] Just south of the provincial boundary of Gansu lies Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, which served as the chief commercial hub of the Hexi Corridor along the Northern Silk Road.[6]

History

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Prehistory

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The Hexi Corridor was first settled around 4800 BP by millet farmers from the Yangshao Culture in the western Loess Plateau,[7][8][9] who enabled the transfer of millet to Central Asia, and consequently to the rest of Eurasia and Africa.[10] Several Neolithic cultures developed in the Hexi corridor at this time, such as the Majiayao, Banshan, and Machang.[11]

The oldest bronze object to be discovered in China, dating to 5000-4500 BP, was found at a Majiayao site in the Hexi Corridor,[12] and the Bronze Age began in the Hexi Corridor around 4200 BP with the arrival of bronze-smelting technology.[13] Domesticated livestock were also introduced to the area around this time,[14] so these cultures typically farmed millet and wheat, while keeping livestock such as sheep, pigs, cattle and horses.[15][16] Bronze age societies in the Hexi Corridor at this time include the Qijia, Xichengyi, Siba, Shajing, and Shanma cultures.[17]

Wheat and barley from the Fertile Crescent arrived in the Hexi Corridor via Central Asia around 4000 BP,[18][19][20] and later spread into China proper.[21] By around 3700-3500 BP, most likely due to the weakening and retreat of the East Asian monsoon in the area,[22][23] the more drought-resistant wheat and barley had replaced millet as the main staple crop in the Hexi Corridor.[19][24] Cultures at this time (such as the Shajing culture) saw a decrease in their number of settlements,[25][26] and became dominated by nomadic production rather than agriculture.[27][28]

Qin dynasty

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Before the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), there were three main nomadic tribes in the Hexi Corridor: the Yuezhi, the Wusun and Qiang.[29] All three tribes were possibly connected with the Shajing, and the Wusun were possibly associated with the Shanma culture.[30][31] Near the end of the Qin Dynasty, the Yuezhi overcame the two other tribes and occupied the area. Later, the newly risen Xiongnu armies under Modu Chanyu vanquished and expelled the Yuezhi, and established a dominant confederacy empire during the Chu-Han contention and the early Han dynasty.[29]

Han dynasty

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A map of the Western Han dynasty in 2 AD[32]
  Principalities and centrally-administered commanderies
  Protectorate of the Western Regions (Tarim Basin)

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, Modu's son Laoshang Chanyu defeated Yuezhi again in 162 BCE, forcing the westward exodus of majority of the Yuezhi survivors (later known as the Greater Yuezhi) into Central Asia, while the small portion of Yuezhi population that didn't migrate (known as the Lesser Yuezhi) was forced to mixed among the Qiang people and become the subjects of Xiongnu's Worthy Prince of the Right. At this point, the Hexi Corridor was under complete Xiongnu control, mainly occupied by the two tribes of Hunye and Xiutu.

In 138 BCE, Emperor Wu sent Zhang Qian as the ambassador to the Western Regions in an attempt to make contact with Greater Yuezhi. Zhang Qian's envoy was intercepted by Xiongnu while travelling through the Hexi Corridor, and he was held a captive for ten years, until he finally escaped and continued his mission further west. He eventually arrived at Yuezhi territory, but was unable to convince the Yuezhi leaders to ally against Xiongnu. On his return journey he was once again captured by Xiongnu while traversing the Hexi Corridor, but again managed to escape two years later. He finally returned to Chang'an in 125 BCE, bringing back invaluable detailed information about the various Central Asian kingdoms such as Dayuan, Daxia and Kangju, as well as other farther countries such as Anxi, Tiaozhi, Shendu and Wusun.

During the Han–Xiongnu War, Han general Huo Qubing expelled the Xiongnu from the Hexi Corridor and even drove them from Lop Nur when King Hunye surrendered to Huo Qubing in 121 BCE. The Han Empire acquired a new territory with trade access to the Western Regions, and also cutting the Xiongnu off from their Qiang allies. Again in 111 BCE, Han forces repelled a joint Xiongnu-Qiang invasion, and to consolidate the control of the region, four new commanderies were established in the Hexi Corridor, namely (from east to west) Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang, collectively known as the Four Commanderies of Hexi (Chinese: 河西四郡).

From roughly 115–60 BCE, Han forces fought the Xiongnu over control of the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin. Han was eventually victorious and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BCE, which dealt with the region's defense and foreign affairs.

During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang, Han lost control over the Tarim Basin, which was reconquered by the Xiongnu in 63 CE and used as a base to invade the Hexi Corridor. Dou Gu defeated the Xiongnu again at the Battle of Yiwulu in 73 CE, evicting them from Turpan and chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami.

After the new Protector General of the Western Regions Chen Mu was killed in 75 CE by allies of the Xiongnu in Karasahr and Kucha, the garrison at Hami was withdrawn. At the Battle of the Altai Mountains in 89 CE, Dou Xian defeated the Northern Chanyu, who retreated into the Altai Mountains. The Han forces, allied with the subjugated Southern Xiongnu, again defeated the Northern Chanyu twice in 90 CE and 91 CE, forcing him to flee west into Wusun and Kangju territories.

Tang dynasty

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Main article: Tang dynasty
Mural commemorating victory of General Zhang Yichao over the Tibetan Empire in 848. Mogao cave 156, late Chinese Tang dynasty
Map of the Tang dynasty showing the Hexi Corridor connecting China proper to the Tarim Basin

The Tang dynasty fought the Tibetan Empire for control of areas in Inner and Central Asia. There was a long string of conflicts with Tibet over territories in the Tarim Basin between 670 and 692.

In 763 the Tibetans even captured the Tang capital of Chang'an for fifteen days during the An Lushan Rebellion. It was during this rebellion that the Tang withdrew its western garrisons stationed in what is now Gansu and Qinghai, which the Tibetans then occupied along with the area that is modern Xinjiang. Hostilities between the Tang and Tibet continued until they signed a formal peace treaty in 821. The terms of this treaty, including fixed borders between the two countries, are recorded in a bilingual inscription on a stone pillar outside the Jokhang in Lhasa.

Western Xia dynasty

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Main article: Western Xia

The Western Xia dynasty was established in the 11th century by the Tangut people. Western Xia controlled from 1038 CE up to 1227 CE the areas in what are now the northwestern Chinese provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi, and Ningxia.

Yuan dynasty

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Main article: Yuan dynasty
Further information: Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty

Genghis Khan began the conquest of the Jin dynasty around 1207 and Ögedei Khan continued it after his death in 1227. The Jurchen-led Jin dynasty fell in 1234 CE with help from the Han-ruled Southern Song dynasty.

Ögedei also conquered the Western Xia dynasty in 1227, pacifying the Hexi Corridor region, which was later absorbed into the Yuan dynasty.

Geography and climate

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The Hexi Corridor is a long, narrow passage stretching for some 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from the steep Wushaolin hillside near the modern city of Lanzhou to the Jade Gate[33] at the border of Gansu and Xinjiang. There are many fertile oases along the path, watered by rivers flowing from the Qilian Mountains, such as the Shiyang, Jinchuan, Ejin (Heihe), and Shule Rivers.

A strikingly inhospitable environment surrounds this chain of oases: the snow-capped Qilian Mountains (the so-called "southern mountains" or "Nanshan") to the south; the Beishan ("northern mountains") mountainous area, the Alashan Plateau, and the vast expanse of the Gobi desert to the north.

Geologically, the Hexi Corridor belongs to a Cenozoic foreland basin system on the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau.[34]

The ruins of a Han dynasty watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang.

The ancient trackway formerly passed through Haidong, Xining and the environs of Juyan Lake, serving an effective area of about 215,000 km2 (83,000 sq mi). It was an area where mountain and desert limited caravan traffic to a narrow trackway, where relatively small fortifications could control passing traffic.[35]

There are several major cities along the Hexi Corridor. In western Gansu Province is Dunhuang (Shazhou), then Yumen, then Jiayuguan, then Jiuquan (Suzhou), then Zhangye (Ganzhou) in the center, then Jinchang, then Wuwei (Liangzhou) and finally Lanzhou in the southeast. In the past, Dunhuang was part of the area known as the Western Regions. South of Gansu Province, in the middle just over the provincial boundary, lies the city of Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province. Xining used to be the chief commercial hub of the Hexi Corridor.

The Jiayuguan fort guards the western entrance to China. It is located in Jiayuguan pass at the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor, some 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) southwest of the city of Jiayuguan. The Jiayuguan fort is the first fortification of Great Wall of China in the west.

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Chinese: 河西走廊; pinyin: Héxī Zǒuláng; Wade–Giles: Ho2-hsi1 Tsou3-lang2; Dungan: Хәщи зулон; Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ; Mandarin pronunciation: [xɤ̌ɕí tsòʊlɑ̌ŋ]

Citations

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  1. ^ Zhihong Wang, Dust in the Wind: Retracing Dharma Master Xuanzang's Western Pilgrimage, 經典雜誌編著, 2006 ISBN 9868141982
  2. ^ "Three Famous Corridors". Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  3. ^ Xie et al. 2018, p. 3 (in pdf); "It is a long and narrow passage, covering a width of 40–100 km and stretching for 1120 km from the east to the west, with an area of 27.6 × 10^4 km2. The Hexi Corridor had a population of 4.92 million spread over 19 counties in 2014".
  4. ^ "Silk Road History of Hexi Corridor-China Silk Road Travel". www.china-silkroad-travel.com. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  5. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  6. ^ "Xining - Xining Travel Guide, Map, History, Attractions, Transportation". www.silkroadtourcn.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-13.
  7. ^ Dong, Liang & Zhang 2024, p. 4 (in pdf); "Millet farmers settled in the northeast Tibetan Plateau and the Hexi Corridor during 5500–4300 BP, with broomcorn and foxtail millet being the primary crops in these two regions, respectively".
  8. ^ Dong et al. 2017, p. 627 (in pdf); "The data indicate that millet farmers had settled in the Hexi Corridor by 4800 BP, with the production of painted pottery that originated from north China".
  9. ^ Li et al. 2023, p. 4 (in pdf); "With the rapid development and expansion of the Majiayao culture in the upper Yellow River and Huangshui Region, humans expand significantly westwards. And then, the Majiayao culture reaches an eastern section of the Hexi Corridor".
  10. ^ Stevens et al. 2016, p. 1544-1545.
  11. ^ Dong et al. 2017, p. 622 (in pdf); "The Neolithic of the Hexi Corridor consists of three types of the Majiayao culture: the Majiayao (5000–4600 BP), Banshan (4600–4300 BP), and Machang (4300–4000 BP)".
  12. ^ Chen et al. 2020, p. 954; "It is within this region that archaeologists discovered the oldest bronze object so far in China (c.5000–4500 bp at the Majiayao site)".
  13. ^ Zhou et al. 2012, p. 42; "After 4200 cal BP, the Qijia and Siba Cultures, which had copper smelting technology, prevailed in this region".
  14. ^ Ren et al. 2022, p. 6 (in pdf); "The dispersal of domestic cattle and caprines along the Chinese Oasis route, including through the Hexi Corridor, probably occurred later than that of the more northern grassland route. Specifically, domestic cattle and sheep/goats may not have been introduced to the Hexi Corridor until ∼4000 BP".
  15. ^ Yang et al. 2020, p. 615; "During~2800–2000 BC, people in the Hexi Corridor adopted asedentary lifestyle, cultivating millet and raising pigs, sheep/goats, cattle, and dogs. Moreover, they began to cultivate wheat and barley beginning ~2000 BC. By ~2000–1000 BC, the strategy had shifted to semi-sedentary agro-pastoral production, based on the utilization of sheep/goats,pigs, cattle, dogs, and horses. During ~1000–200 BC, wheat and naked barley replaced millet as the major crops".
  16. ^ Zhou et al. 2012, p. 46-47; "The prosperity of Bronze Age agricultural societies in the Hexi Corridor persisted from ca. 4200 to 3500 cal BP, and was characterised by agro-pastoralist societies that kept livestock including pig, sheep, cattle and horse, while also producing bronze objects of alloyed copper, arsenic and tin".
  17. ^ Dong et al. 2017, p. 622 (in pdf); "The Bronze Age cultures of this region include Qijia (4000–3600 BP), Xichengyi (4000–3700 BP), Siba (3700–3400 BP), Shajing (2800–2400 BP), and Shanma (3000–2400 BP)".
  18. ^ Dong et al. 2017, p. 623 (in pdf); "Charred seeds of wheat, barley, foxtail, and broomcorn millet are all identified from Huoshiliang and other Bronze sites in the central Hexi Corridor. This implies that wheat had been introduced to the Hexi Corridor region by at least the early fourth millennium BP".
  19. ^ a b Li et al. 2023, p. 1 (in pdf); "Archaeobotanical and stable isotope evidence suggests that wheat and barley were introduced into the Hexi Corridor and northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in 4000 BP, rapidly replacing millets as primary staple crops after 3700 BP".
  20. ^ Stevens et al. 2016, p. 1542-1544.
  21. ^ Li et al. 2007.
  22. ^ Zhou et al. 2012, p. 42; "But the increasing climate aridity between ca. 4000 and 3500 cal BP, which was induced by a weakening of the Asian monsoon, is the underlying cause for the shrinking of arable land and vegetation degradation in Hexi Corridor, and this is the likely cause for the decrease of the agricultural activities and collapse of the Bronze Age societies in Hexi Corridor".
  23. ^ Dong, Liang & Zhang 2024, p. 5 (in pdf); "For example, the Hexi Corridor and the northeast Tibetan Plateau reached the lowest precipitation around 3500 BP, while the mid-lower reaches of the Wei River and the western Loess Plateau have the lowest precipitation influenced by the lowest summer monsoon intensity around 3000 BP".
  24. ^ Dong, Liang & Zhang 2024, p. 7 (in pdf); "However, wheat and barley were adopted as important staple in the Hexi Corridor and the northeast Tibetan Plateau during 4000–3600 BP, respectively. This may be due to their adaptability to different altitude environments of these two regions, especially, barley is tolerant to low cumulative temperatures and precipitation, making it well-suited for successful growth in colder climates".
  25. ^ Zhou et al. 2012, p. 42; "The subsequent Shajing cultures show evidence of cultural retrogression and site numbers are low until the rise of nomadic tribes after 3000 cal BP".
  26. ^ Yang et al. 2020, p. 616; "The agricultural culture was entirely replaced by a pastoral culture, and the numbers of archaeological sites of the subsequent Shajing and Shanma Cultures are significantly smaller than that of the Siba Culture. During the subsequent millennium, Human settlement in the Hexi Corridor remained low, especially during 1350–950 BC—a period from which only two sites from the Dongjiatai Culture were found—and there were no cultural sites dating 100 years before and after the Dongjiatai Culture".
  27. ^ Li et al. 2023, p. 5 (in pdf); "The Shajing culture (2700–2100 BP) is the last prehistoric civilization in the eastern part of the Hexi Corridor. During that period, the Zhuye Lake has been shrinking due to drought caused by the further weakening of the East Asian monsoon, and the area is dominated by shallow water or high groundwater environment, with grassland widely distributed. Based on the original local culture, Shajing culture is dominated by nomadic production or mixed agriculture and animal husbandry production, and agriculture no longer dominates. With increasing drought levels, agricultural culture gradually declines and collapses, nomadic culture flourishes in the Hexi Corridor basin and animal husbandry prevailed".
  28. ^ Li et al. 2023, p. Abstract; "In contrast, the Shajing Culture flourished along the lower Shiyang River with the retreat of the Zhuye Lake, the Xiongnu Empire established the city of Xiutu along the Hongshui River, which experienced downcutting linked to the arid environment, and a nomadic culture emerged against the backdrop of drought in the Shiyang River Basin".
  29. ^ a b "Dunhuang History". Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2006.
  30. ^ Liu, Jinbao (25 March 2022). The General Theory of Dunhuang Studies. Springer Nature. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-981-16-9073-0.
  31. ^ Komissarov, S.A (2017). "Shajing Culture (Gansu, China): Main Sites and Problems of Chronology". Paeas.ru. The Shajing culture of the Early Iron Age. The sites of this culture have been discovered in the central part of Gansu Province (China). Seven big burial grounds and almost the same amount of fortified settlements (with walls made of compacted loess) have been excavated. Painted pottery, associated with the local tradition of Neolithic-Early Bronze Age, has been found at the early sites, but the Scythian-like artifacts constitute the core of this culture. This makes it possible to clarify the chronological limits of the culture as 900-400 BC, but probably with the later specific dates. Different suggestions have been made concerning the ethnic origins of the "Shajing people," who may have some connections with the Tocharian-speaking Yuezhi, the proto-Tibetean Qiang and Rong, or even with the Iranian Wusuns. The Shajing culture might have emerged from the interaction of all these (or close) ethnic and cultural components.
  32. ^ Barnes (2007), p. 63.
  33. ^ Zhihong Wang, Dust in the Wind: Retracing Dharma Master Xuanzang's Western Pilgrimage, 經典雜誌編著, 2006 ISBN 9868141982
  34. ^ Youli Li; Jingchun Yang; Lihua Tan; Fengjun Duan (July 1999). "Impact of tectonics on alluvial landforms in the Hexi Corridor, Northwest China". Geomorphology. 28 (3–4): 299–308. Bibcode:1999Geomo..28..299L. doi:10.1016/S0169-555X(98)00114-7.
  35. ^ "The Silk Roads and Eurasian Geography". Retrieved 2007-08-06.

Sources

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  • Barnes, Ian (2007). Mapping History: World History. London: Cartographica. ISBN 978-1-84573-323-0.
  • Yap, Joseph P. (2009), Wars With The Xiongnu: A Translation From Zizhi tongjian. AuthorHouse, ISBN 978-1-4490-0605-1.
  • Yap, Joseph P. (2019), The Western Regions Xiongnu and Han: From the Shiji, Hanshu and Hou Hanshu. ISBN 978-1-79282-915-4
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