Yelang, an ancient and mysterious name. In the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, this ancient country, one of the largest "southwest barbarians" in literature, was active on the east side of the Yunnan Guizhou Plateau. It disappeared quietly in the dust of history, leaving behind a few words of records and endless reverie for future generations.

In the middle of the Warring States Period, Yelang rose.

According to archaeological discoveries and literature records, Yelang has a wide area and a strong military force. It is known in history as "Yelang is the largest" and "more than 100000 troops". Today, most areas in western Guizhou and eastern Yunnan belong to Yelang.

"Double burial"

Among them, the peculiar burial custom "head covering burial" found in Hezhang Cola and Fuchu in Guizhou is the most mysterious and special burial system of Yelang, which is the only one found in China.

The head covering burial is a kind of burial in which a metal container, like a hat, is put on the head of the deceased, and some feet are also covered with a piece. When the bronze cauldron with the pigtail, cord and ear of a standing tiger unearthed from the Hezhang Coke M274 site was unearthed, it was placed on the head of the tomb owner. A pair of round carved standing tigers were symmetrically decorated on the shoulder and abdomen, a collar was decorated on the neck of the tiger, a shell pattern was decorated on the collar, and a group of cloud patterns were decorated on the back of the tiger head, and the tiger body was decorated with stripes, showing the inviolable authority and mystery of the tomb owner. In addition, the copper cauldron with braided cord pattern ears was put on the feet of the tomb owner when it was unearthed. The discovery of head covering burial provides important material materials for exploring Yelang Ancient Country.

The bronze cauldron with tiger braids and rope lines unearthed from the site of Hezhang Cola M274

In the former place of Yelang, Guizhou, archaeologists have carried out a lot of archaeological excavation work on the "Yelang Ancient Country", and dozens of cultural sites of Yelang period have been found in Bijie, Liupanshui, southwest Guizhou and other areas in western Guizhou. Through the multiple excavation of a large number of sites represented by Hezhang Cola, Weining Zhongshui and Pu'an Tonggu Mountain, and the excavation of a number of bronze cultural relics with distinctive regional cultural characteristics, the emergence, development, shaping of Yelang civilization and its entry into Chinese history have been gradually established, opening a brilliant page for the exploration of Yelang culture.

In February this year, the newly revised and upgraded basic exhibition of Guizhou Provincial Museum, "Cultural Mountains and Rivers in Time - Colorful Guizhou History and Culture Exhibition", was officially opened to the public. In this exhibition, the national first-class cultural relics, the bronze chariots and horses of the Eastern Han Dynasty unearthed from Tomb 8, Wantun, Xingyi, in the collection of Guizhou Provincial Museum, and the bronze chariots and horses of the Eastern Han Dynasty unearthed from Tomb 6, Jiaole, Xingren, in the collection of Qianxinan Prefecture Museum, were exhibited together for the first time.

The bronze chariots and horses of the Eastern Han Dynasty unearthed from Tomb 8 in Wantun, Xingyi, and the bronze chariots and horses of the Eastern Han Dynasty unearthed from Tomb 6 in Jiaole, Xingren, were exhibited together for the first time

This is a historic "meeting" spanning two thousand years. Guizhou, located in the east of Yunnan Guizhou Plateau, between Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guangxi and Hunan, has been a multi-ethnic community since ancient times, an important node for ethnic migration and trade exchanges. During the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, the ancient Yelang culture on the Guizhou Plateau had begun to flourish. The ruts of copper chariots and horses closely linked Yelang with the Chinese civilization.

The two bronze chariots and horses are cast in bronze. There are 11 parts of the bronze chariots and horses, which are assembled after casting in sections. Copper carts and carriages with sheds unearthed from Tomb 8 in Wantun, Xingyi, are curled into U-shaped tiles, as thin as paper, and carved with mat patterns and cloud patterns. Zhang Herong, a research librarian and deputy director of the Guizhou Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, has been pursuing the Yelang civilization for more than 30 years. In his opinion, one of the charms of copper chariots and horses with exquisite shapes and complex processes is that they reflect the technical level and artistic aesthetics of the ancient "Made in China". More importantly, they highlight the exchange and integration of Yelang culture and Chinese civilization.

Bronze chariots and horses of the Eastern Han Dynasty unearthed from Tomb 8, Wantun, Xingyi, one of the "Treasures of Zhenguan" in Guizhou Provincial Museum

The mountains don't speak, the history remains sound. As the wheels of time roll forward, from the Wei and Jin dynasties to the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties, Guizhou has close economic and cultural exchanges with the outside world. Guizhou's culture has absorbed the strengths of the Central Plains culture and the surrounding regional culture. Through integration, the Ming and Qing dynasties reached prosperity. As time goes by, in this colorful land, the historical scene of multi-cultural exchanges and exchanges has become a bright landscape in the garden of Chinese culture.

As a military strategic place where Wei Suo garrisons are widely distributed, Guizhou is one of the birthplaces of ancient human beings. It has unique and valuable historical cultures such as garrison culture, Yelang culture, chieftain culture, beach culture, etc; As the birthplace of Wang Yangming's enlightenment and Yangming's mind learning, Wang Yangming, a great Confucian of the Ming Dynasty, practiced "Longchang's enlightenment" in Guizhou, from which Yangming's mind learning became prosperous and influenced the world; As a vital turning point in the Chinese revolution, Guizhou is the area where the Red Army's Long March has the longest duration and the widest range of activities, with rich red cultural resources; As a place where many ethnic groups live together in harmony, all ethnic groups in Guizhou have been handed down from generation to generation, creating a thousand cultural islands with wisdom and hardship.

In order to speed up the construction of a colorful Guizhou province with strong culture, since last year, Guizhou has launched a major cultural project of colorful Guizhou, vigorously implementing the key construction of red culture, the transformation and application of Yangming culture, the inheritance and promotion of national culture, Tunpu culture and other historical and cultural research, and constantly promoting cultural inheritance, innovation and development, so that colorful culture can reach a new level.

Guizhou Daily Tianyan News × New Gansu

Tianyan News Reporter of Guizhou Daily

Zhou Xuan, Wang Guofeng

Edited by Xu Weiwei

Second instance Li Jie

Third instance Tian Minjia