Niya Site
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The site of Niya got its name because it lies in the lower reaches of the Niya River. The site is buried deeply in the great Takelamagan desert and the continuous and rolling sand dunes on the old watercourse of the Niya River. It extends for 25 kilometers from the south to the north, and is 5 to 7 kilometers wide from the east to the west. It was first discovered in 1901. According to the textual research, Niya is the Jingjue kingdom in Han and Jin periods, which is a famous town on the south path of the Silk Road, and is one of the city-state countries of the west.
Jingjue kingdom lies in the hinterland of the great Takelamagan desert, it is a small country in Ruoshui area. According to the record in "Han History. Biography of the West", it has only 480 households with 3,360 people, and 500 soldiers. During the East Han period, it is annexed by Shanshan kingdom. However, all the people on the south path of Silk Road would pass by this town. Those merchants on the road shuttles across the bridges of the Niya river bring to those remote countries and isolated people plenty of treasures, such as the glass utensils from West Asia, artwork of Greek characteristics, Indian cotton fabric works, and other contemporary treasures from the Yellow River drainage, including the brocades, lacquer works, copper mirrors, and papers. The blue-grounding battik cotton tags and cotton clothes which were unearthed in the joint tomb of a husband and wife during the Han and Jin period is the earliest cotton fabric work we have discovered by now, especially the brocade with the characters "wuxingchudongfanglizhongguo" embroidered on it can be called a super art work, and a lost treasure of the Silk Road. The flying dragons in various shapes which still remain on the girders, the Buddhism paintings and the graves is the best evidence of the cultural collision and combination of the four ancient countries' of civilization as well as the evidence of the original creation of people in the West.
Falu manuscript is the most important discovery in the exploration of Niya. 800 hundred pieces of wood chips unearthed out of this site, including announcements, letters and some instructions, covered almost every aspect of Jingjue people's life. Reading this manuscript, it seems that the old times of the ancient kingdom are brought right before the eyes.
During the period of east Han and west Han, the ancient civilization reached its peak. But the lack of water and the rampancy of sand and wind have always been the threat facing the Niya people. Learning from those sturdy branches of the withered poplar, Jingjue people have planted vast area of trees in order to protect the oasis. It is even stipulated in the law: cutting living trees is strictly prohibited, whoever violate this would be penalized for one horse; even if you cut the branches, you will be penalized for one cow. This rule is seen as the earliest "Forest Law" of the world. The water and seeds are all controlled by the king himself to keep survive.
In spite of the cautiousness and efforts of the Niya people in such rigorous environment, Niya died out after the period of Three Kingdoms and west and east Jin. The dying of Niya is an enigma, there are no traces of the river's change of course or the chaos of war around the site of the ancient city, either there is any traces of human being in the houses and courtyard. Large stacks of wood and bamboo chips were just packed up before they were removed; and even those loyal dogs were left tied on the pillars out of the doorway. Niya people vanished in such a hurry, leaving behind only a site buried in the sand, and an unsolved enigma in the vast desert.
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longcaihong asked at 2008-8-17 10:44:00
What’s the best season to go there? (202 views, 1 answers.)Answer this question
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It is so mysterious. When I have been there, seeing the ancient ruins and weathered castles, I always wondered why people at that ancient time left that city. Is there any wars? natural disaster? Or plague? It seems that all answers are wrong. But because of this unanswered questions make this place full of charm and mystery.