历史·寻踪
History and Exploration
摄影：达楞
内蒙古博物院
Inner Mongolia Museum
文：莫久愚
中国民族地区最早建立的博物馆，藏品达12万余件（套）。拥有从2.5亿年前到100万年前的古生物化石标本，几乎没有缺环。馆藏查干诺尔龙是亚洲最大的白垩纪恐龙，中国古代北方游牧民族文物收藏是该馆特色，蒙古族文物的藏品质量、数量位居中国同类博物馆之首。认识内蒙古，可以从这里开始。
This is the earliest museum established in Chinese minority areas, with a collection of more than 120,000 pieces. It has fossil specimens from 250 million to 1 million years old, almost without a missing link. It also has a specimen of the Nurosaurus (N. qaganesis), the largest cretaceous dinosaur in Asia. Its real speciality is that of cultural collections of the nomadic herders of ancient northern China. Its specimens of Mongolian cultural artefacts are the most in number and best in quality in China. If you want to understand Inner Mongolia, this is a good place to start.
摄影：孔群
中华文明起源的地方
The birthplace of Chinese civilization
文：莫久愚
敖汉旗曾是远古先民活动最密集的地方。这个小县城里已发现古代遗址4000余处，敖汉旗博物馆拥有文物6000余件，揭取的辽墓壁画达80余幅，馆藏文物的级别和数量在中国的县级博物馆中位居第一。这里已经成为国内专家们寻找中华文明起源的重点区域。
Aohan Banner was in ancient times the home to the largest concentration of activities among the people. This small county-level city has yielded more than 4,000 archaeological sites, and the Aohan Banner Museum has more than 6,000 articles, more than 80 Liao tomb murals, and in regard to the quality and quantity, its collection ranks first among county-level museums in China. This place has already become a major point of interest for experts in China looking into the origins of Chinese civilization.
河套人
Hetao Man
文：莫久愚
萨拉乌苏河两岸的砂崖，忠实记录着50万年来鄂尔多斯高原的气候变迁和地质变化。1922年，法国神父桑志华、比利时学者德日进在这里发现了一枚晚期智人的铲形门齿化石，距今7万年左右，那正是亚洲现代人种形成的关键时期。铲形门齿是中国人独有的特征。这枚门齿的主人后来被我国考古学家裴文中命名为“河套人”。
The sand cliffs of the Sara Usu River faithfully preserve information about the climate and geological shifts on the Ordos highlands over the past 500,000 years. In 1922, French priest Émile Licent and Belgian scholar Teilhard de Chardin found a fossilized shovel-shaped incisor from a late Homo sapiens, from approximately 70,000 years ago, which was a critical time for the development of the modern Asian human species. The shovel-shaped incisor is a physiological trait unique to the Chinese people. Later, Chinese archaeologist Pei Wenzhong named the owner of this tooth “Hetao Man”.
“中华第一龙”
“China’s First Dragon”
文：张阿泉
1971年，翁牛特旗牧民张凤祥在山上拾到一个“废铁钩”，给孩子当玩具，不想磨光后竟是一条碧玉龙。这块碧玉龙被旗文化馆花30元收购，存放在一个不起眼的地方。1984年碧玉龙被选中进京参展，经沈从文、苏秉琦先生鉴定为 “史前中华龙”，后被誉为“中华第一龙”。如今它展出的保金就高达10亿元人民币。
In 1971 in the Ongniud Banner, a herder named Zhang Fengxiang picked up a “broken iron hook” in the mountain and took it home to give to his kid as a toy. After he polished it, he discovered it was a jade dragon. The banner cultural relics authority bought it off him for 30 yuan, and stored it away nowhere special in particular. In 1984 it was selected to be exhibited in Beijing. Shen Congwen and Su Bingqi determined it was a prehistoric Chinese dragon, and it became famous as being “China’s First Dragon”. Now when it is exhibited, it’s insured for as high as 1 billion yuan.
摄影：孔群
“华夏第一村”
“The First Village in China”
文：莫久愚
敖汉旗大窝铺村的一处坡地上，矗立着“华夏第一村”牌楼，只是“村民”早已远去。“村”内分布着兴隆洼文化、红山文化及以后的房屋遗址。距今8200年至3600年间，这里均有先民居住。在此发现过世界上最古老的玉器，出土的骨笛被认定为世界第一件乐器，“蚌饰裙”则是中国现存最早的服饰。
On a slope in Dawopu Village in Aohan Banner there is an archway that says “The First Village in China” upon it, even though the “village residents” had gone long ago. Within the village there are remains of the Xinglongwa, Hongshan and later cultures. From 8,200 to 3,600 years ago, people lived here continuously. Here, the oldest Chinese jadewares have been discovered, as well as a bone flute that is recognised as the world’s oldest instrument, and a clamshell-made skirt which is China’s oldest article of clothing in existence.
摄影：于海永
最早的牙科手术
Earliest dental surgery
文：张阿泉
2003年，赤峰市兴隆洼文化兴隆沟遗址发掘工作结束后，科研人员在M24墓主人头骨右侧两颗颌牙上发现有钻孔，系糙质人工钻磨，旨在减轻蛀牙疼痛。这表明在距今8000年前就已有牙医，这也是中国史前人类最早的一例牙科手术。
In 2003, at the Xinlonggou site in Chifeng City, which is an example of Xinlongwa culture, when excavations had finished, researchers noticed holes drilled into two teeth on the right side of the head of the owner of the M24 grave site. Roughly executed by a primitive drill, they would have been used to relieve the pain from a toothache. This shows that dentistry was being practiced 8,000 years ago, and is the earliest evidence of dental work by prehistoric Chinese.
世界最早的人工栽培谷物
The world’s first artificially cultivated grain
文：张阿泉
剑桥大学植物考古学家马丁·琼斯说：“敖汉旗兴隆沟遗址谷子的出土，证明了谷子最早产于西辽河上游地区，同美洲的玉米、马铃薯一样，人工栽培的谷子对世界文化的发展有着同样杰出的贡献。同时，欧洲的谷子很可能就是由西辽河上游逐步西移而广为耕作的。”
Martin Jones, a researcher specialized in archaeobotany at Cambridge University says: “In the remains of the Xinglonggou site in Aohan Banner millet seeds were unearthed, which proves that the earliest millet was artificially cultivated near the upper reaches of the Xiliao River, which made a huge contribution to the culture and development of the world, just like maize and potatoes from America. At the same time, the millet cultivated in Europe are possibly the result of the gradual migration of tillage from this area westward.
匈奴金冠
Gold crown of the Hun
文：苏怀亮
1972年，76岁的鄂尔多斯老人王美子在杭锦旗阿鲁柴登沙窝子里挖土龙骨换零花钱时，挖出不少三棱形铜箭头和一根头上有金片的铁棍，接着又发现了更多的金银物件。王老汉认为这是庙宇上的东西，不可自留，就把这些器物交公。这一交，内蒙古博物院多了一件镇馆之宝——匈奴王金冠。
In 1972, when 76-year-old Wang Meizi was looking in the sands of Hanggin Banner for fossil fragments to sell for spending money, he found some triangular pyramid shaped copper arrowheads and an iron rod with gold plates on one end. He then found more gold and silver artefacts. Believing that these were from a temple, this old man knew it was ominous to keep them, and thus handed them over to the government. In doing so, he gave the Inner Mongolia Museum a most precious artefact—a gold crown of the Hun.
摄影：孔群
秦汉故迹
Traces of Qin and Han Dynasties
文：莫久愚
内蒙古可能是保有秦汉地面遗迹最多的省区。除了秦汉长城外，还有大批的汉城遗址。古诗文中的居延塞、鸡鹿塞、高阙塞、光禄塞等名称，在这里绝不只是象征边地的意象符号，而是真真切切的现实存在。在内蒙古西部沙漠至阴山、黄河间，可以寻找“秦时明月汉时关”的意趣。
Inner Mongolia may top other provinces and regions in China in possessing the most remains of Qin and Han Dynasties. In addition to the Qin and Han segments of the Great Wall, there are also a large number of ruins of Han cities. The Juyan, Jilu, Gaoque, Guanglu and other frontier fortresses, famous from ancient poems are not just symbolic here, but actually exist. From the deserts in the west to areas between Yinshan Mountains and the Yellow River, one can find many historical sites from these two dynasties.
摄影：莫久愚
两千年前的“高速公路”
2,000-year-old expressway
文：莫久愚
在鄂尔多斯漫赖草原上，可以看到很多被称作“古路豁子”的遗迹，那是2000多年前秦始皇修建的从咸阳至阴山脚下的“秦直道”孑遗，是连接关中和草原地带的快速通道。秦始皇死后，运载他遗体的车队经此路返回关中；司马迁曾陪侍汉武帝沿此道回到长安；远嫁匈奴的王昭君也是从这里出塞的。
On the Manlai Grassland of Ordos, “the remains of the old road” called by locals can be seen everywhere. This refers to the traces of the “Qin Express” built by the First Emperor of Qin Dynasty between Xianyang and the foot of Yinshan Mountains, a quick route connecting the central Shaanxi Plain with the grasslands. After the First Emperor died, his body was transported by cart along this road. Sima Qian accompanied and served the Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty upon this route to Xi’an, and when Wang Zhaojun married a Hun monarch, she travelled upon this route too.
居延古塞
Juyan Fortress
文：莫久愚
额济纳河携带着历史的记忆，奔向沙漠中古老的居延海。沿河床散布着一百多座倾圮的古代烽燧，在夕阳的斜晖里，烽燧西侧残高只有十几厘米的古塞墙遗存若隐若现，这就是汉代的居延塞。这里出土的几万枚汉简是中国二十世纪四大考古发现之一，催生了我国学术界一个专门的学问——简牍学。
The Ejin River carries history upon it as it runs towards the Juyan Sea, a lake in the desert. Along the river bank there are more than a hundred ruined signal towers, and as the sun sets, the ruined wall of the fort, only over ten centimetres high, seems like it may be there and may not. This is the Han Dynasty Juyan Fortress. Tens of thousands of Han Dynasty inscribed bamboo slips have been unearthed here, one of China’s four biggest archaeological finds of the 20th century, which sparked the development of a new academic field dedicated to the study of inscribed bamboo and wooden slips.
摄影：刘兆和
县级士官的待遇
A county-level warden’s salary
文：莫久愚
居延遗址中有一座边长23米的正方形鄣城，外接一个边长约46米的屯兵院落。这里曾出土12000多枚汉简，被誉为汉简宝库。这里的最高长官甲渠塞侯是中下级军官，相当于县级待遇，月俸1200钱。据汉简中记录的当时物价折算，他的月工资可以买100公斤的肉或680公斤未去壳的小米。
At the remains of the Juyan Fortress there is a square fortification, 23 metres each the side. Outside of it, there is an approximately 46-metre long compound in which troops were stationed. Here, more than 12,000 precious Han Dynasty inscribed bamboo slips were unearthed, an amazing find. Here the highest-ranking official was a lower-level military officer, who was paid a county-level salary: 1,200 coins a month. According to the information contained in the bamboo slips, this was calculated to be enough to buy 100 kilograms of meat or 680 kilograms of unshelled millet each month.
黄河沿岸的昭君墓
Wang Zhaojun’s Graves upon the Yellow River
文：莫久愚
内蒙古有多座昭君墓。历史学家翦伯赞说：“王昭君究竟埋葬在哪里，这件事并不重要，重要的是为什么会出现这样多的昭君墓。”这些“墓”都分布在黄河沿岸，都是农田与牧场交汇重叠的地方，也就是农夫和牧人接触最频繁、最密切的地方，王昭君是他们的共同话题，她象征着和平、和解、和睦……
There are many “Wang Zhaojun’s Graves” in Inner Mongolia. Historian Jian Bozan says: “It’s not really important where the actual grave of Wang Zhaojun is. What’s important is why there are so many of these gravesites.” These graves are all distributed upon the banks of the Yellow River, all at places where agricultural and pasturing areas intersect. These are the places where herders and farmers come into contact the most, and for them Wang Zhaojun is a common topic. To them, she symbolizes peace, reconciliation, and harmony...
“中国历史的后院”
The “backyard” of Chinese history
文：莫久愚
大兴安岭浓密的森林隐藏着诸多的历史秘密。史学家翦伯赞曾把这片广袤的山林誉为中国历史“幽静的后院”。建立过北魏、辽、元王朝的鲜卑人、契丹人、蒙古人，他们的祖先都曾在大兴安岭的密林和山地草原中生活过。他们一拨拨地走出山林，也一次次改变了中国历史的走向。
In the dense forests of the Greater Hinggan Range there are many hidden historical secrets. Historian Jian Bozan once called this area the “quiet backyard” of Chinese history. The founders of the Northern Wei, Liao, and Yuan Dynasties—the Xianbei, Khitan, and Mongolian people all have ancestors who lived in the dense forests or on the mountain grasslands of the Greater Hinggan Range. As they walked out of the mountains, they changed Chinese history each time.
北魏王朝的历史摇篮——嘎仙洞
Gaxian Cave—the cradle of the Northern Wei Dynasty
文：莫久愚
鄂伦春旗境内大兴安岭一个少见的天然洞穴，1800年前生活在这里的拓跋人开始了漫长的南下历程。他们越过阴山进入呼和浩特平原，卷入了“十六国”动荡的历史旋涡，但他们没有让自己成为又一个行色匆匆的历史过客，而是变作中国北方大地的主人。接着又是南下、南下，直至融入中原大地。
Gaxian Cave is a rare natural cave, situated in the Greater Hinggan Range within the borders of Oroqen Banner, that was inhabited 1,800 years ago by Xianbei people who would go on to travel south and found the Northern Wei Dynasty. When they crossed the Yinshan Mountains and entered the plains of Hohhot, they became embroiled in the conflicts of the “Sixteen Kingdoms”, but they didn’t let themselves become those who simply passed through the history, instead they became the rulers of Northern China. They then went further and further south, and gradually integrated into the community of the Central Plains of China.
草原“第一都”
The “first capital” on the grasslands
文：莫久愚
尽管学者们对于“都城”的概念有着规范的定义，但呼和浩特和林格尔县人却执着地认为，本县的土城子遗址是历史上第一座草原都城。因为1600多年前，拓跋鲜卑人就是从这里开始统一中国的北部，北魏王朝最早的立足点也是在这里。当地建有一座遗址博物馆——盛乐博物馆，述说着这段历史。
Although scholars may have a specific definition for what constitutes as “capital city”, the people of Horinger County in Hohhot strongly believe that the remains of Tuchengzi in the county is the first capital on the grasslands in history. 1,600 years ago, when the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei people began to unify the northern part of China, the earliest capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty was established here. There’s a museum for the ruins here, Shengle Museum, which tells their history.
敕勒川，阴山下
Chile Plain, at the foot of Yinshan Mountains
文：莫久愚
北魏时代，阴山以南黄河内外的广袤土地从秦汉时期的农田又变成了牧场。北魏拓跋人把大批的敕勒部落迁到阴山南面放牧生活，《敕勒歌》所描述的正是那时的场景。今天的呼包二市交界处，有一个名曰“哈素海”的天然湖泊，地势平阔，泛舟湖上，北望阴山，南眺黄河，仍有几分“天苍苍，野茫茫”的感觉。
During the Northern Wei Dynasty, the vast and wide lands south of Yinshan Mountains and along the banks of Yellow River transitioned from farmland in Qin and Han Dynasties to pastures. The Tuoba people, rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty, sent large numbers of people of Chile tribe to the south of Yinshan Mountains to live as herders. The Chile Song describes the scene at the time. In present day between Hohhot and Baotou, there is a natural lake called the “Hasu Sea”, surrounded by flat land. When one goes boating upon it, one can see Yinshan Mountains to the north, and the Yellow River to the south. It’s a sight of open skies and vast landscapes, just like what is described in the old song.
摄影：高雪峰
“帝王之乡”
“Home of emperors”
文：莫久愚
武川县得名于北魏时的武川军镇，出身于此的将领及其后代曾长期主导隋唐时期的政治格局。北周的开国皇帝宇文泰出生于武川，隋、唐两代开国皇帝和皇后的祖辈都出自武川。清代赵翼曾感慨：“区区一偏僻弹丸之地，出三代帝王……岂非王气所聚？”所以当地人自称武川是“帝王之乡”，并为此自豪。
The name of Wuchuan County comes from the Wuchuan Fortress of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The generals born here and their descendants would later go on to direct the politics of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The founding emperor of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Tai, was born in Wuchuan, and the ancestors of the emperors and empresses who founded the Sui and Tang Dynasties were born here too. Zhao Yi of the Qing Dynasty remarked: “Mustn’t there be something special about this tiny out of the way area, to yield up emperors of three dynasties?” Thus, the locals call Wuchuan “home of emperors”, and are proud of its history.
额济纳黑城遗址
The remains of Khara-Khoto in Ejin
文：莫久愚
西夏人建立了这座军城，蒙古人把它变成了丝绸之路上的闹市，却没有发现隐藏在该城地下的秘密。二十世纪初，俄国军官科兹洛夫的几次盗掘使大量的西夏手稿、书籍、卷轴、佛像面世，轰动国际学术界。100多年来，这个黄沙中的城市的影像，经常出现在国内外的探险杂志和地理刊物上。
Built as a fortified city by the Xixia Dynasty, the Mongolians transformed it into a busy market town on the Silk Road, but didn’t know of the secrets beneath it. At the start of the 20th century, Russian explorer Kozloff robbed the ancient site a few times, unearthing large amounts of manuscripts, books, scrolls, and Buddhist statues of Xixia Dynasty, rocking the international archaeological community. For more than a hundred years, images of the city in the yellow sand has frequently appeared in exploration and geographic magazines both in China and abroad.
摄影：刘兆和
辽大明塔
Daming Tower of Liao Dyansty
文：莫久愚
这座位于赤峰市辽中京遗址的八角密檐式实心砖塔，高80．22米，周长112米，是中国现存辽塔中保存最好、体积最大的。大约建于1098年。它与北京广安门外的天宁寺塔极为相似，除基座明显高大外，其他部位比例结构大致一样。天宁寺塔建于辽晚期，是北京现存建筑年代最早、体量较大的古建筑之一，但比起大明塔来，无论是体量还是年龄都是“小字辈”。
Daming Tower, situated in the remains of the Middle Capital of the Liao Dynasty, in present Chifeng City, is solid octagonal tower built of bricks, with 80.22 metres tall and 112 metres around. It’s the best-preserved and largest tower from the Liao Dynasty in China, built around the year 1098. It’s similar to the tower at Tianning Temple west of Guang’anmen in Beijing, and quite smiliar in construction, except that it’s clearly larger at the base. The tower at Tianning Temple was built in the late Liao Dynasty, and is the earliest and one of the largest old buildings in Beijing, but compared with the Daming Tower, in terms of either age or size, it is still a “junior”.
白塔
White Tower
文：莫久愚
白塔，其实只是俗称，塔身的匾额写着“万部华严经塔”。仿佛是天外来物，孤零零地坐落在呼和浩特市区边上。原先它并不孤独，身边是辽代的丰州城。塔内可见元明时代人们随手题写刻画的文字，据说在砖缝里发现过元代香客留下的一张小面额元代纸币，是现在世界上存世最早的纸币实物。
“White Tower” is actually a folk name. Upon the tower there is a plaque that reads “Tower of the Myriad Huayan Buddhist Sutras”. It looks like it’s from another place, standing lonely there at the edge of Hohhot. It originally wasn’t lonely at all, being surrounded by the Liao Dynasty city of Fengzhou. Within the tower one can see carvings from people of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. It’s said that within the cracks between the bricks a Yuan Dynasty pilgrim left a small-denomination note of paper money, which is the world’s oldest extant paper currency preserved now.
摄影：孔群
摄影：王正
庆州白塔
White Tower of Qingzhou
文：莫久愚
巴林右旗辽庆州城遗址绿草地上的白塔，建于辽兴宗重熙年间，是辽塔中的精品，洁白纤丽、高贵清秀。辽兴宗的生母章宣皇太后与她宠爱的小儿子一度挑战辽兴宗的皇权地位。母子和好后，辽兴宗在母亲当初被幽禁的地方敕令“特建”了这座佛塔，作为一种特殊的纪念，代母亲远远守望着先皇帝的陵寝。
Upon the green grass of the Qingzhou Ruins of Liao Dynasty within Bairin Right Banner stands the White Tower, built in the Chongxi period of the Liao Dynasty. It’s an excellent example of Liao towers, pure white, tall, noble and elegant. When the Emperor Xingzong was on the throne, his mother with her beloved younger son fought with him over the control of the kingdom. After they reconciled, he issued an imperial ordinance to have the tower built upon the site at which she was held under house arrest formerly as a special memorial, to look over the resting place of the deceased emperor for her.
蒙古高原上一个永恒的名字
An eternal name on Mongolian Plateau
文：莫久愚
东亚大陆的北方草原上，匈奴、鲜卑、柔然、突厥、契丹等众多的民族如走马灯般轮番登场，各领风骚。当800多年前成吉思汗在斡难河畔竖起他那“九斿白纛（dào）”后，历史变成了另外一个模样。草原上不同地方、不同语言、不同身份的部族、部落的人们，从此有了一个共同的名字——蒙古人，高原上不再有民族变迁和更迭。
On the northern grasslands of East Asian continent, people have appeared and disappeared, such as the people of Huns, Xianbei, Roen, ancient Turks, and Khitans, all leaving behind glorious deeds. When Genghis Khan raised his Sacred Banners on the banks of the Onon River eight hundred years ago, the history of the region changed. People at different places on the grasslands, with different languages, in different groups of different ethnicities now had a common name for themselves—Mongolians. No longer would the ethnic groups come and go.
摄影：张贵斌
呼伦贝尔草原上的“海”——呼伦湖
A “sea” on the Hulun Buir Grassland—Hulun Lake
文：莫久愚
当地人也称它为达赉湖，意为海一样的湖泊。弱步湖畔，微风鼓浪，湖水如潮，一遍遍地冲刷着沙滩；涛声阵阵，浪花堆雪，给人似在海边的错觉。湖水曾映照过许多英雄民族的身影。走出嘎仙洞的拓跋鲜卑人在这里由猎手变成了牧人，十三世纪的蒙古人曾在湖水西边的草原上汇聚起激荡欧亚大陆的历史狂涛。
The locals also call it Dalai Lake, which means “lake like a sea”. As you walk along its banks with soft steps, gentle breeze stirs up small waves as if a tide is coming in. They break against the sand on the banks, and kick up spray that falls like small piles of snow, making one feel as if one is at the shore of the sea. The water of the lake has reflected over the years many brave peoples. The Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei people that came out of the Gaxian Cave transitioned from hunting to herding here, and in the thirteenth century the peoples of Mongolia converged on the grasslands west of the lake to make big waves in both European and Asian history.
摄影：乌热尔图
绥远将军衙署
The General’s Office in Suiyuan
文：莫久愚
呼市新华大街立交桥北一个古色古香的院落，在闹市的街面上无言地伫立。这是中国保存最好的清代将军衙署，前为公廨，后为内宅。自清乾隆二年至1918年，一直是内蒙古西部的政治中心，先后有74位将军在此。成建制的满洲八旗将士带着家眷驻在周围，形成了绥远新城，呼市的满族多是他们的后裔。
There’s an ancient compound north of the Xinhua Avenue interchange in Hohhot which has stood there silently for a long time. This is the best-preserved Qing Dynasty general’s office, and the front part of the compound served as a government office and the back as a living place. From the time of the second year of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty to 1918 it was an administrative centre for western Inner Mongolia. 74 generals in total served there. Manchu generals and officers under the establishment of Eight Banners would bring their wives and children to live nearby, and a new city named Suiyuan was thus formed. Most of the Manchus in Hohhot are their descendants.
应昌路故城
Old city of Yingchang Prefecture
文：莫久愚
达里湖西南一座保存极好的古城，曾是产生过18位皇后、16位驸马的蒙古弘吉剌部的王城。元王朝在这里走过了最后一程，先后逃离大都、上都的元顺帝在这里驾崩后，元朝就终结了。城内荒草中正殿、后宫、街道遗址依稀可见，还有儒学、孔庙遗址和碑刻。中原传统文化也曾浸润过这座草原小城。
There is a very-well preserved ancient city to the south-west of Dalai Nur lake which produced 18 empresses, and 16 sons-in-law of emperors, the kings’ city of Khoningrad. It’s the site where the Yuan Dynasty ended: After his escape from the Great Capital (modern-day Beijing) and Xanadu, the Emperor Shundi came and died here, then the Yuan Dynasty came to an end. Amidst the wild grasses one can faintly see the remains of the main palace hall, back palaces, and streets, as well as remains of the Confucian school, temple, and some tablet inscriptions. This is a place that was once soaked in the culture of the Central Plains of China.
美岱召
Meidai Monastery
文：莫久愚
位于呼、包之间的美岱召是目前保留最完好的城庙合一的建筑。寺中的壁画描绘了一件大事：1583年西藏僧界派出的麦达力活佛主持蒙古地区宗教事务，从此，藏传佛教开始在蒙古草原铺展开来，叩敲着一个英雄民族柔软的内心。
Located between Hohhot and Baotou is the Meidai Monastery, a very-well preserved small city and monastery. A mural inside the monastery describes an important event: In 1583, the Tibetan buddhist circle sent a living Buddha to Inner Mongolia to spread the religion. From that time onwards, Tibetan Buddhism spread widely across Mongolia, into the soft hearts of the heroic people of the region.
摄影：高雪峰
古代牧人的画廊
An art gallery of ancient herders
文：莫久愚
巴丹吉林沙漠南缘曼德拉山一片十几平方公里的山坳，有6000余幅岩画。几千年间，不同的古代民族都对这里的黑色玄武岩石产生了强烈的创作欲望，或写实或抽象，或细腻或粗犷，都表现出很高的艺术技法，几乎囊括了世界上岩画的所有表现形式。似乎有一种神秘的力量驱使着他们在这里留下自己的印痕。
At the south reaches of the Badain Jaran Desert there is a level ground of over ten square kilometres in the Mandela Mountains, that has more than 6,000 rock paintings. Thousands of years ago, various ancient tribes enjoyed carving their works into the black basalt faces; realistic or abstract, fine or rough, they all show a high degree of artistic ability, and showcase almost every kind of rock painting style in the world. It’s as if some kind of mysterious energy drove them to leave their paintings here.
草原上的召庙
Temples on the grasslands
文：莫久愚
“召庙”是一个蒙、汉语同义复合词，“召”就是蒙古语“庙”的意思。大概是清朝的皇帝们觉得笃信佛教的蒙古人不会再成为令人生畏的力量，所以召庙的兴建受到清廷的特别鼓励，蒙古草原上召庙林立，到处飘荡着礼佛的香雾和喇嘛的诵经声。时至今日，召庙仍然是内蒙古存留最多的古建筑。
These temples are known as “zhaomiao”, with “zhao” being the Mongolian and “miao” being the Chinese word for a temple. The Manchu emperors of the Qing Dyansty believed that keeping the people of Mongolia hooked on Buddhism would prevent them from rising up and becoming mighty again, so they specially encouraged the construction of temples across Mongolia. With a large number of temples sprung up, the fragrant smoke of incense and chanting of monks covered the Mongolian grasslands. In modern times, they’re the most prevalent old buildings in Inner Mongolia.
摄影：高雪峰
玄石坡
Xuanshipo
文：莫久愚
苏尼特左旗草原有两块灰黑色巨石，上面分别刻有“玄石坡”“立马峰”六个大字。那是明成祖朱棣率大军北征途中留下的。当时他策马登顶，见山桃花盛开，情绪很好，遂题写了石壁。石壁顶端有人工凿刻的马蹄印痕，应是永乐帝登临的纪念。这大概也是汉族帝王在北方草原深处留下的唯一历史印迹。
On the grasslands in the Sonid Left Banner there are two giant black stones, and upon each one there are three characters inscribed: Xuanshipo (dark rock slope) and Limafeng (horse-summited peak) respectively. These were left by the Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. When he passed by with his army, he spurred his horse to climb upon the peak, and when he saw the peach blossoms beneath his eyes, his mood was excellent, and he wrote those six characters on the stones. Upon the top of the rocks there were also engraved with a chisel some hoof prints to commemorate the Emperor Yongle’s summiting the peak. These are probably the only traces of a Han Chinese emperor in the depths of the northern grasslands.
历史名城多伦
Duolun, a famous historical city
文：莫久愚
浑善达克沙地南缘多伦湖畔美丽的小城，曾经拥有18万人口，是今天的两倍，号称“漠南商埠”，上海、天津都有以“多伦”命名的街道。城内汇宗寺前广场上的“会盟碑”记载着清代历史上的一件大事——1691年，康熙皇帝召集漠南蒙古49旗和漠北蒙古三大部在此会盟，确立了清王朝在整个蒙古高原的统治。
At the south of the Onqin Daga Sand Land, on the banks of Duolun Lake, Duolun is a beautiful little city, which once had a population of 180,000, double that of its current population. It was called “Monan Shangbu”, meaning “commercial port south of the Gobi Desert”. Shanghai and Tianjin each has a street named “Duolun Street”. In the plaza in front of the Huizong Temple there is a “Meeting Tablet” which commemorates an important event in the Qing Dynasty. In 1691, the Emperor Kangxi convened a meeting for the 49 banners south of the Gobi Desert and the three major leagues north of the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia, which established Qing Dynasty’s rule over the entire Mongolian Plateau.
召庙与商业
Temples and business
文：邓九刚
据1900年统计，整个蒙古高原有1260座召庙。茶叶之路开通之后，宗教的网络与商业的网络迅速地重叠，商人巧妙地利用召庙的权威和影响在草原上开展业务。召庙的影响达到哪里，商业的触角就伸到那里。
According to 1900 statistics, on Mongolian Plateau there were 1,260 temples. After the Tea Road was opened, the religious network and business network quickly overlapped; merchants cleverly used the temples’ power and influence to develop business on the grasslands. Wherever the influence of the temples extended, the reach of the merchants extended.
乌兰布统草原
Ulanbutong Grassland
文：姜苇
这片草原的核心又叫“将军泡子”，几百年前康熙皇帝与噶尔丹部曾在这里有过一场恶战。听名字我似乎闻到了兵刃相接时摩擦出的金属味道，看到马蹄踏碎草原的残破景象……然而我看到的却是红山倒映，绿草萋萋，秀美旖旎，温柔宁静。莫非是岁月冲淡了往昔，沉淀了人本性中的柔情？
The centre of this grassland is also called “General’s Pond”, a site where a few centuries ago the Emperor Kangxi had a fierce battle with Galdan Boshugtu Khan. When I heard the name I felt like I would smell the metallic scent of blades clashing with each other, and see ground, trampled by the hooves of horses... But seeing it in person, it’s full of luxuriant green grass, and red mountains are reflected in the water, and scenery that’s charming, gentle, and calm. Could it be that the passing of time softened the years passed, and instilled a gentle nature in us?
摄影：陈嘉磊
内蒙古“王府”多
Numerous prince houses in Inner Mongolia
文：莫久愚
清朝皇帝认为，云合则能成雨，蒙古部落合则能成兵，为使分散的蒙古部落不能集中到一起，清朝在漠南蒙古设立了互不统属的6盟49旗。旗与旗之间以山河或敖包分界。旗的首领札萨克，俗称“王爷”。这些大大小小的“王爷”陆续兴建了自己的府邸。所以内蒙古留存的古建筑中，王府的数量仅次于召庙。
The Qing emperors believed that when clouds would join, they could form rain, and when scattered Mongolian tribes would join, they could form armies. In order to keep the Mongolian tribes separate, the Qing rulers established in the region south of the Gobi Desert 6 leagues and 49 banners. They were divided by mountains, rivers, or obos. They were originally ruled by “princes”. All these princes built their own official residences. Thus of the ancient constructions in Inner Mongolia, these “prince houses” are second only to temples.
世界文化遗产——元上都
Xanadu—a world cultural heritage
文：莫久愚
忽必烈始建的元代都城，如同一个王朝的巨大躯体僵卧在草原上，残垣颓壁诉说着昔日芳华。元代每到夏秋时节，来自西亚、欧洲的蒙古宗王、使节、商人络绎不绝，发达的驿站交通把这里与欧亚大陆连接在一起。当时文明世界的每一个角落，都能感受到这个国际大都会传递出的信息。
The capital city of Yuan Dynasty was founded by Kublai Khan. If a dynasty could lie rigid on the grasslands, then we could say the ruins of crumbling walls recount this grassland capital’s flourishing years. During the Yuan Dynasty, every year from summer to autumn, imperial princes, ambassadors and merchants would come from Europe and Western Asia, continuously and in large numbers. The well-developed post station system linked different areas in Eurasia, with the major cultures of the world at the time all receiving information from this world metropolis.
摄影：莫久愚
喀喇沁王府
Harqin Prince House
文：姜苇
这是内蒙古现存等级最高、规模最大的清代王府。喀喇沁末代亲王贡桑诺尔布曾在王府院内开办学堂、报馆、邮政所、电报局甚至工厂，王府书房是当时蒙古族文人的图书馆。近代蒙古族文豪尹湛纳希在这里用蒙文译出了《红楼梦》《中庸》等经典。
This is the highest-level and largest Qing-Dynasty prince house in Inner Mongolia. The Harqin Prince Günsennorob once opened here a school, a newspaper office, a post office, a telegraph office, and even a factory. The study here was a library for the Mongolian literati. The eminent Mongolian writer Injannaxi made his classic translations of Dream of the Red Chamber and The Doctrine of Mean here, among other works.
公主府
Princess House
文：莫久愚
远嫁漠北蒙古王公的康熙皇帝四女儿恪靖公主，不耐漠北的苦寒，迷恋大青山下的风光，于是便有了这座“西出京城第一府”。这是我国目前保存最完整的清代公主府建筑群，现已辟为呼和浩特市博物馆，也是呼市居民早春时节踏春、观赏桃花的好去处。
When Princess Kejing, the fourth daughter of the Emperor Kangxi married a local prince in the north of the Gobi Desert, she couldn’t stand the intense cold there, and fell in love with the scenery south of Mount Daqing. Thus, the princess house for her was built here, the “First House” to the west of the capital. It’s now the best-preserved princess house complex of the Qing Dynasty in China, and the land was allocated to the Hohhot Museum, and now is a place for sightseeing which many locals come to observe the peach flowers in early spring.
摄影：燕亮
诺门罕战场
Nomohan battleground
文：莫久愚
1939年夏秋之间，在新巴尔虎左旗哈拉哈河畔的诺门罕草原上进行过一次大规模的战争，是世界反法西斯战争的经典战例。战后，牧民们不愿惊动逝者的亡灵，从不捡拾扰动草原上的遗物，战场遗迹被完整地保留下来，坦克残骸、炮弹、枪械、油桶、钢盔、水壶……直到纪念馆落成。
In the summer and autumn of 1939, a large scale battle took place on the Nomohan Grassland near the the banks of the Halhiyn River, New Barag Left Banner. It’s a classic example of the world’s anti-Fascist wars. After the battle, the herders, unwilling to disturbed the souls of the deceased, left the battleground untouched, taking nothing away. The battleground is preserved completely intact, with the wreckage of tanks, artillery shells, firearms, fuel cans, helmets and water bottles still lying there today, where a memorial museum is set up.
摄影：乌热尔图
乌兰浩特成吉思汗庙
Genghis Khan Temple in Ulanhot
文：莫久愚
二十世纪四十年代，传闻日本关东军要在罕山建造供奉日照大神的神庙，蒙古族民众集资抢先在此建造了成吉思汗庙，祭奠自己心中的神。这是蒙古族自己设计建造的近代建筑，大殿和偏殿是典型藏式风格，蓝琉璃瓦圆形穹顶和长方形匾额，让人想到北京天坛。错落有致的九个攒尖穹顶，又使人联想到草原上游牧聚落的毡帐。
In the 1940s, when it was heard that the Japanese Kwantung Army was preparing to build a temple to Amaterasu on Mount Hanshan, the Mongolian residents hurriedly put together money to build a temple to Genghis Khan so they could worship their own god. This is a structure built and designed by the Mongolians themselves: the main hall and side halls are built in a typical Tibetan style, with round domes covered in blue glass tiles, and square tablets for inscriptions, which makes one think of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. There are nine sharply-pointed smaller domes, well-arranged, which make one think of the yurts of the nomadic herders.
达斡尔，一个古老而又年轻的民族
Daur, an old and new ethnic group
文：莫久愚
很多学者认为他们是辽代契丹人的后裔，更古老的历史似乎可以追溯至鲜卑、室韦。他们务农，还会经常捕鱼，定期进山狩猎、伐木放排，是嫩江上游土地最早的开拓者。几个世纪中，他们一直自称“达斡尔”，清代几百年间的内外战争中，都有他们勇敢的身影。二十世纪五十年代的民族识别，正式确认了他们独立的民族身份。
Many scholars believe that the Daur are the descendants of the Khitan people of the Liao Dynasty, and before that, their lineage can be traced back to Xianbei and Shiwei. They farm, and frequently fish, and take regular trips into the mountains to hunt. They participate in lumberjacking, and are the earliest cultivators of the upper reaches of the Nenjiang River. They have called themselves Daur for centries, and participated in internal and external wars during several hundred years in the Qing Dynasty, reflecting their bravery. They were recognised officially as an ethnic group in the 1950s, confirming their independent identity.
摄影：苏伟伟
勇敢的鄂伦春
The brave Oroqen
文：莫久愚
鄂伦春是兴安岭山地中一个古老的民族，曾被人视作森林民族生活的“活化石”。鄂伦春人是天生的猎手，严酷的自然环境锻造了他们勇敢坚毅的民族性格。1951年，鄂伦春成立了中国第一个民族自治旗，一步跨入了现代社会。上世纪五十年代一首风靡大江南北的《鄂伦春小唱》，让中国人都认识了这个不足3000人的民族。
The Oroqen are an old ethnic group in Hinggan Range that have been called “living fossils” of those ancient people living in the forest. They’re natural hunters, and the harsh environment has instilled brave and resolute character in them. In 1951, Oroqen became the first autonomous ethnic banner in China, and they stepped into the modern world from primitive society. An Oroqen Diddy was popularly sung nationwide in the 1950s, which introduced this ethnic group of only 3,000 people to other Chinese .
摄影：顾德清
额尔古纳的俄罗斯族
Russians of Ergun
文：莫久愚
蒙古族祖先曾居住的额尔古纳河畔，如今分布着许多俄罗斯风情的村镇，中国唯一的俄罗斯民族乡恩和就在这里。100多年前，闯关东淘金、采伐、修筑铁路的中国劳工曾过河与俄罗斯人交往、生活，也有许多白俄贵族逃亡到河这边，两个民族青年男女之间演绎了一段段爱情，繁衍出一个乐观豪爽、能歌善舞的族群。
Ancestors of Mongolians once lived on the banks of the Ergun River, where there are now a number of Russian-style villages and towns. China’s only Russian nationality township, Enhe, is located here. More than a hundred years ago, many Chinese workers migrated into North-eastern China to pan for gold, harvest lumber, and build railways. They met and interacted with Russians, lived together with them, and when a number of white Russian nobilities came across the river to flee, the young men and women of the two cultures met, and romances occurred. This gave birth to a group of optimistic and straightforward people who excel at singing and know how to dance.
摄影：麻然信
三支鄂温克人
Three branches of Ewenki
文：莫久愚
敖鲁古雅鄂温克人饲养驯鹿广为人知，他们十八世纪初从贝加尔湖的苔原地区驱赶着驯鹿一路游猎，来到大兴安岭北端的密林中安身。更早的时候，嫩江流域的鄂温克人越过兴安岭进入呼伦贝尔草原，由猎人变成牧人。一百年前通古斯鄂温克人自额尔古纳河西岸迁居号称“草原第一曲水”的莫日格勒河上游草原。
The Olguyaa Ewenkis are known for raising reindeer. They came from the tundra area around Baykal Lake in the early 18th century, hunting as they drove their reindeer along. They settled when they arrived at the dense forests in the north of the Greater Hinggan Range. Earlier, the Ewenki of the Nenjiang River region crossed the Hinggan Range into Hulun Buir Grassland and turned from hunting to herding. A hundred years earlier, the Turgus Ewenkis came from the west bank of the Ergun River to live upon the grassland near the upper reaches of the Morigele River, which is called “the first curved river on the grasslands”.
摄影：张林刚
布里亚特蒙古人
Buryat Mongolians
文：莫久愚
他们是一个古老的蒙古部族，主要居住在贝加尔湖沿岸，其中部分人二十世纪初进入呼伦贝尔锡尼河畔。他们聪颖、手巧、爱整洁，乐于接受新事物，牧业机械化水平曾长期领先于全国的牧区。他们的服饰轻盈合身，剪裁得体。束宽腰带，穿翘头毡靴。夏秋时节，男子戴尖顶呢帽、女子头系绸巾，冬季则都戴尖顶红缨帽。
The Buryat people are an old Mongolian group who live mostly on the lands bordering Baykal Lake. A portion of their population came to the banks of the Seney River in Hulun Buir in the early twentieth century. They are intelligent, handy, clean, and happy to accept new things. They used to be in the leading position in mechanization among the pastoral areas of China. Their clothing is light, well-cut and form-fitting. They wear wide belts, and felt boots with points that curve up. In the summer and autumn, men wear pointed felt hats, and women tie silk scarves around their heads. In the winter men and women all wear pointed caps with red tassels on the top.
摄影：乌热尔图
科右前旗的满族
Manchu people in the Horqin Right Front Banner
文：莫久愚
乌兰毛都草原是一片山地疏林草原，一个个泉眼溢出一条条蜿蜒曲折的小溪，绿地如毡，号称“五花草塘”。草原西南有全国唯一的以牧业为主的满族乡，他们的祖先是随公主下嫁草原的京城正白旗人。1949年以前，这里的旗人子弟一直保留着尚武、骑射的传统，因此连土匪都不敢来这里劫掠。
Ulanmaodu Grassland has a sparse forest with small springs giving rise to small creeks all over. It’s blanketed in thick grass, and is an interesting and varied meadow with different flowers. In the south-west of the area, there is the only Manchu township in China that participates in animal husbandry. The inhabitants are the descendants of those who followed a princess from the capital who married a husband beneath her on the grassland, people of Plain White Banner division. Before 1949, the people here maintained their military customs and traditions of archery and horseback riding, so raiders did not dare to attack their settlement.
乌兰浩特
Ulanhot
文：莫久愚
1947年4月底，兴安岭山地一个叫“王爷庙”的小镇上，一所旧军校的礼堂中，来自内蒙古各阶层、各团体的代表在这里聚会，选举出内蒙古自治政府，率先走上了民族区域自治之路。也使辽阔的内蒙古草原与“巩固的东北根据地”连在一起，有力地支援了人民解放战争。小镇就此改名“乌兰浩特”（红色的城）。
At the end of April in 1947, in the hall of an old military school of a small town called “Wangye Temple” in the Hinggan Range, representatives of groups from all levels of Inner Mongolia came together to elect the government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Thus Inner Mongolia took the lead in selecting the route of regional autonomy of ethnic minorities. This linked together the vast area of Inner Mongolia’s grasslands with the revolutionary base areas of North-easten China, and confirmed their strong support of the War of Liberation. As a result, the name of the town was changed to “Ulanhot” (red city).
摄影：高丽