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Hun city found in China

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  Quote Alparslan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Hun city found in China
    Posted: 11-Mar-2005 at 03:58

http://www.chinapage.com/archeology/xiongnu.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/766922/posts

"It is the most substantial, magnificent and well-preserved city to be built by any ethnic group in the history of China," said Zhu Shiguang, president of the China Ancient City Society. "

XI'AN: Chinese archaeologists recently discovered a unique, ancient city which has lain covered by desert sands for more than 1,000 years.

It is the first ruined city of the Xiongnu (Huns) ever found, said Dai Yingxin, a well-known Chinese archaeologist. The Xiongnu was a nomadic ethnic group, who for 10 centuries were tremendously influential in northern China.

The unearthed city occupies 1 square kilometre in Jingbian County, in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, adjacent to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the north of the country.

It is believed that the city was built by more than 100,000 Xiongnu people in AD 419. Named "Tongwancheng," which means "to unify all countries," the city is composed of three parts: the palace walls, the inner city and the outer city. Watchtowers stand at the four corners of the complex.

The 16 to 30 metre thick city walls are made with sand and white-powdered earth, mixed with glutinous rice water. This intriguing concoction made the earthen walls as hard as those made from stone.

From a distance, the white city looks like a giant ship. The southwestern turret, the highest of the four, is 31 metres high and resembles a ship's mast. The ruined city is now fenced with brush-wood, trees and grass.

"It is the most substantial, magnificent and well-preserved city to be built by any ethnic group in the history of China," said Zhu Shiguang, president of the China Ancient City Society.

Tongwancheng used to be a prosperous city on the upper reach of the Wuding River, a major tributary of the Yellow River. It remained the political, economic and military centre of the southern Ordos Plateau for over five centuries. It was as the river continued to dry up, that the ancient city was buried by moving sands, said Xing Fulai, a research fellow at the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology.

Its discovery provides vital information for the study of the Xiongnu tribesmen, who have, to date, remained a mystery to both Chinese and foreign archaeologists because of a lack of adequate historical material and evidence relating to their culture.

Xing said the city ruins will be considered for world heritage status by UNESCO.

 

Is there anyone who can send a picture of this city?

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  Quote coolstorm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Mar-2005 at 16:17

you happened to have ommited this from your article:

The Xiongnu threat was a constant problem for the Han rulers. Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, sent a 300,000-strong army headed by General Meng Tian to drive the Xiongnu northward for 350 km and built the Great Wall to guard against its invasion.

xiongnu was considered as a nomadic group in ancient china. what he meant the most most substantial, magnificent and well-preserved city built was referring to the minority groups.

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  Quote ihsan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Mar-2005 at 16:41
Appearently there were many Xiongnu settlements in Northern China, especially at Shaannxi/Shanxi IIRC.
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  Quote Turk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Mar-2005 at 23:25
Originally posted by coolstorm

you happened to have ommited this from your article:

The Xiongnu threat was a constant problem for the Han rulers. Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, sent a 300,000-strong army headed by General Meng Tian to drive the Xiongnu northward for 350 km and built the Great Wall to guard against its invasion.

xiongnu was considered as a nomadic group in ancient china. what he meant the most most substantial, magnificent and well-preserved city built was referring to the minority groups.



I love the fact that Chinese built a huge wall just to keep Turkic people out. Now Turkic people are struggling to keep the Han out.
 

Edited by Turk
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  Quote Feramez Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12-Mar-2005 at 10:25
Hahahahaha, that's exactly what I thought when I went there.
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  Quote coolstorm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12-Mar-2005 at 19:01

I love the fact that Chinese built a huge wall just to keep Turkic people out.

the wall was not just built for the turkic people but for all other nomadic groups in general.

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  Quote ihsan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18-Mar-2005 at 08:51
The wall wasn't built only for the nomads either. Before Qin Shihuangdi unified all the existing fortifications and walls, the smaller walls were used by Chinese Warring States to keep out both the nomads and also each other (Yan, Qin, Han, etc).
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  Quote Khalha_Mongol Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11-Sep-2005 at 14:04

is it claimed by China?

 

IT IS MONGOLIAN NOMADIC GROUP, and where the city found is in Inner Mongolia you say? that means Inner Mongolia, its part of mongolia ruled by China.

810th of birthday, 800th of Mongol Empire
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  Quote Nagyfejedelem Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19-Sep-2005 at 16:44

Hun city found in China:

It means that however the Huns were nomads, they weren't barbars.Wink  I hope that the capital of Attila or his grave will found.

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  Quote great_hunnic_empire Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19-Sep-2005 at 20:04

Hi Nagyfejedelem

Let Attila's assleep in peace and not be disturbed by anyone forever

The land that my horse has rode on, there shall not be a grass againAtilla the Hun
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  Quote Akskl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22-Oct-2005 at 21:25
The Xiongnu (Huns) were Turkic (or proto-Turkic, if you want) speaking people - ancestors or relatives of modern Turkic peoples.
Read Thomas J.Barfileld "The Perilous Frontier - Nomadic Empires and China, 221BC to AD 1757", and Rene Grousset "Empire of the Steppes"

http://www.chinapage.com/archeology/xiongnu.html
The Turkish-speaking Xiongnu tribesmen founded their first steppe empire in the 3rd century B.C. By the time the Qin Dynasty conquered the other six states and began its reign over a unified China in 221 B.C., the nomadic ethnic Xiongnu had grown into a powerful invading force in the north and started expanding both east and west.


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  Quote Janissary Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22-Oct-2005 at 22:22
That make sense, During early 5th century, eastern Huns were almost under chinese invansion or influense, and man Turkish guys, after learning warfare strategy and becaming more smarter could then easily defeat any chinese army in early Gokturk empire, but not late times, becouse Tan Army was very big and stronger
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