Located 30 kilometers west of Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region , the Western Xia Tombs include nine mausoleums housing the imperial family and tombs of dukes and ministers. Covering an area of 40 square kilometers, these buildings are located on the eastern slope of the Helan mountain range and just to the south of the Gunzhong Pass.
These edifices are a magnificently crumbling sight by day or night. The tombs were originally created by the founder of the Western Xia Kingdom AD , Li Yuanhao, who built over 70 tombs, one for himself, a number for his relatives and more to be left empty, presumably against theft.
Each main tomb has four corner towers, and an array of watchtowers, pavilions housing stone tablets, a sacrificial hall and a coffin platform, although most of these buildings are well beyond recognizable. Archaeologists believe that octagonal glazed-tile pagodas once stood by each tomb.
In the war against the ancient Mongolian army from to , Western Xia Kingdom failed and the imperial tombs were damaged. Today's visitors to the sites can only find piles of relics. Excavation has been completed on one main tomb and on four of the annexes. The main tomb is believed to be that of Li Yuanhao, and all the tombs have a stairway or sloping path down to their coffin pits.
In the wake of the poor maintenance and heavy erosion, most of the buildings are now fairly dilapidated, made from crumbling brown earth and scattered across the plain. Fortunately, building materials, broken stone tablets, towers, glazed tiles, walls and steles with inscriptions of Western Xia or Han characters still remain, and provide visitors with interesting information on the Western Xia.
Lots of treasures, arts and sculptures were unearthed from Li Yuanhao's mausoleum and are on display in the Western Xia Museum, which is located near the entrance of Li's tomb. Other cultural artifacts and relics related with ancient Western Xia were also collected from across China and exhibited here. Hundreds of records in their language have been found, but scholars still haven't deciphered the language well.
Much of the discovered documents are Buddhist texts. One of their ancestral rulers was named Tuoba Xianbei. He ruled the Tuyuhu Empire from to Tuoba led troops to suppress a rebellion on behalf of the Tang Dynasty at the end of the Tang Dynasty. In this way, they established their own small empire in The newborn empire faced aggressive bigger empires to the east and south. In ensuing war with the Northern Song Dynasty, the battles ended in stalemate.
The Song could not conquer them or capture their territory, and the Tanguts' aggressive attacks against the Song ended in failure. A major battle in this war was lost by a leading scientist and scientific writer of the Song named Shen Kuo — who wrote a scientific book called The Dream Pool Essays. He led an army against the Western Xia, but they lost, and Song Empire lost a lot of land that was earlier taken from the Tanguts.
They defeated the Liao Empire, but then the Jurchens attacked the Song Empire and captured Kaifeng , which was the Song capital city in The Western Xia rulers submitted to the Jurchens and became their vassals, and the Tanguts took over much new land as the Song Dynasty retreated across the Yangtze River. Many natural disasters occurred then, and the Western Xia ruler who was named Renzong worked to rebuild the empire. Het rijk kon zich twee eeuwen staande houden door de Song en haar vijanden eerst de Liao, na de Jin tegen elkaar uit te spelen.
Het rijk was boeddhistisch. Uiteindelijk werd het rijk in door Dzjengis Khan vernietigd. Restanten van de Xia bleven in de volgende eeuwen bestaan, maar zijn wegens gebrek aan bronnen moeilijk te traceren. De naam van dynastie leeft voort in Ningxia, een van de autonome regio's in de Chinese Volksrepubliek.
Under invaderades riket av Djingis khan och Xixia tvingades betala tribut till honom. Its capital was Xingqing modern Yinchuan , until its destruction by the Mongols in Most of its written records and architecture were destroyed, so the founders and history of the empire remained obscure until 20th-century research in China and the West.
They made significant achievements in literature, art, music, and architecture, which was characterized as "shining and sparkling". Their extensive stance among the other empires of the Liao, Song, and Jin was attributable to their effective military organizations that integrated cavalry, chariots, archery, shields, artillery cannons carried on the back of camels , and amphibious troops for combat on land and water.
Zhao Deming once requested grains in the number of millions under the pretext of a famine. The emperor circulated the memorial to the officials. We humbly entreat Your Majesty to issue an edict to scold him. And yet, since grains stored in border cities as provisions for the army are the source on which too many imperial guards depend, they cannot be easily appropriated for other purposes.
Therefore, the Emperor has demanded that the three main Bureaus hoard grain, in the number of a million, in the imperial capital Bianjing, and that Deming dispatch his own men to come in order to fetch them. Over time, Deming moved his base from Lingzhou near the Song border farther north.
In fact, Li Jiqian himself arranged an army to take over Liangzhou, an effort that was quickly lost. By this time, however, the Tangut kingdom had eclipsed the Uyghurs with respect to both their military and economy. In the Sixth Year of Tiansheng , Deming placed his son, Yuanhao, at the head of an army sent to once more test the strength of Ganzhou modern-day Zhangye, Gansu. In horror and haste, the Uyghur Khan fled the city at night, handing Yuanhao an achievement which earned him the official title of the Crown Prince.
Dispatched there in September of the First Year of Mingdao , Yuanhao first lulled the Uyghurs to rest by the delusive appearance of engaging the Song army in Huanqing but then attacked Liangzhou in a sudden strike. In this way, Dangxiang power under the leadership of Li Deming claimed the entire Hexi corridor, effectively replacing the Tibetan and Uyghur supremacies in the region. The dramatic expansion of Tangut territory not only laid the blueprint for the foundation of Western Xia but also invigorated its economy in the long run by claiming the rich and moist Hexi lands suitable for both pasturing and harvesting.
Overall, during this period, both Fan and Han populations dwelled and flourished on Tangut lands with general stability, where they produced and traded in large quantities, building an economic and military backbone for the future empire. As king, Li Deming showed moderate ambitions. Historical archives have passed down an interesting conversation between Deming and his heir, Yuanhao:.
In vain, we exhaust ourselves. Our tribes have for thirty years received fine silk clothes thanks to the benevolence of the divine Song emperor, a grace we shall not betray. The destiny for such heroes is kingly hegemony, so what use is there for fine silk? This conversation vividly contrasts the distinct characters and ambitions of Deming and Yuanhao, as well as the different emphases in their economic policies: whereas the father aimed to invigorate trade and receive benefits from Song, the son preferred to revitalise the traditional economy based on raising livestock.
With a far-reaching vision and an unrelenting spirit of innovation, the new King enacted a series of political, military, and cultural policies in preparation for the establishment of a new regime. Reference Works. Primary source collections. Open Access Content. Contact us. Sales contacts. Publishing contacts. Social Media Overview. Terms and Conditions. Privacy Statement. Login to my Brill account Create Brill Account. Author: Jinbo Shi.
Download PDF. Figure 7 Tangut mural of ploughing oxen, in Yulin cave, No. Wang Dan, then premier of Song, offered his counsel: Zhao Deming once requested grains in the number of millions under the pretext of a famine. Historical archives have passed down an interesting conversation between Deming and his heir, Yuanhao: [Yuanhao] many times remonstrated Deming against submission to the Central Empire. Asian Studies. Economic History. Languages and Linguistics.
Table of Contents. Sign in to annotate. Delete Cancel Save. Cancel Save. View Expanded. View Table. View Full Size. Corporate Social Responsibility. Mission Statement. Corporate Governance. Stay Updated. Rights and Permissions.
0コメント