Inscription of Yanran

Coordinates: 45°10′40.3″N 104°33′14.7″E / 45.177861°N 104.554083°E / 45.177861; 104.554083
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
General view of Baruun ilgen hills in south of Inel (Yanran) mountains
The cliff with ancient inscription of Yanran
Ancient inscription in a cliff on the hills
Inscription of Baruun ilgen hills in south of Inil (Delgerkhangai) mountains

45°10′40.3″N 104°33′14.7″E / 45.177861°N 104.554083°E / 45.177861; 104.554083 The Inscription on the Ceremonial Mounding of Mount Yanran (

Dundgovi Province, Mongolia.[1][2]

History

In the first year of the Yongyuan era (89 AD), the imperial brother-in-law, General of Chariots and Cavalry Dou Xian, led the joint army of the Han and its allies (

Northern Xiongnu at the Altai Mountains
. The battle was a decisive victory for the Han dynasty.

After the battle, Dou Xian held a memorial ceremony for the Tian at Mount Yanran. He ordered inscriptions to be carved on the cliff face to commemorate the victory. The text was composed by the historian Ban Gu, a member of his staff. The full text was recorded in the Bibliography of Dou Rong (great-grandfather of Dou Xian), chapter 23 of Book of the Later Han. The inscription starts with a relatively long account of the battle, and concludes with five lines of Chu Ci style poetry.[3]

Cultural significance

Cliff inscriptions on Baruun ilgen (West visible) hills in south of Inel (Delgerkhangai) mountains were commonly used to record military success in ancient China. The inscription of Yanran is one of the best known. The expression "to carve a stone on Yanran" (Chinese: 勒石燕然) was regarded as one of the highest achievements for military generals.

Rediscovery

Chinese characters, of which 220 are legible. The text is identical to the recorded text in the Book of the Later Han.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Laurie Chen (21 August 2017). "Archaeologists discover story of China's ancient military might carved in cliff face". South China Morning Post.
  2. ^ a b Yu Shujuan (14 August 2017). 中蒙考察队中方专家齐木德道尔吉：发现《封燕然山铭》. Thepaper.cn (in Chinese).
  3. ISBN 978-0-521-85558-7
    .
  4. ISSN 1810-5025
    .
  5. ^ "蒙古杭爱山发现班固为大破匈奴所书摩崖《燕然山铭》". Phoenix News (in Chinese). 14 August 2017.
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