Why did poets in the late Tang and Song dynasties love to write about Yumen Pass and Yangguan?

Wang Wei, a native of Puzhou (now Yongji, Shanxi) in the Tang Dynasty, left his hometown and came to Chang'an, the capital of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. He served as Shangshu Youcheng. In his later years, he wrote a poem "Farewell to Yuan Er, the Missionary to Anxi", which goes like this: "The morning rain in Weicheng has moistened the dust, and the green willows in the guest house are new. I urge you to drink another cup of wine, for there will be no friends west of Yangguan."

Weicheng, located in Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province today, is located in the middle of Guanzhong Plain and on the north bank of Weihe River. The clear division between Jinghe and Weishui is the triangle where Jinghe and Weishui meet. Historically, it was part of Xianyang, the capital of Qin Dynasty. It was separated during the Han Dynasty and Weicheng County was established during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. However, by the Tang Dynasty, Weicheng County had already ceased to exist and was incorporated into Xianyang County at that time. It's just that the ancients liked to use some ancient place names when writing poems.

Where is Yangguan? Nowadays, there is Jiayuguan in Gansu, which is known as the most majestic pass in the world, but there is no Yangguan. This is strange. The ancients said that there would be no friends after leaving Yangguan. Where is it now?

Now, when going from Gansu to Xinjiang, the highway no longer passes through Yumenguan and Yangguan. Going west from Jiayuguan, you can go directly to Hami. The names of countries in ancient books, such as Loulan, Yanqi, Qiuci, Gaochang, and Wusun, no longer exist. The Western Regions countries no longer exist. Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Rouran are just historical terms. The ancient passes connecting these ancient countries are naturally silent in the depths of history.

Can we still find any remaining traces of Yumen Pass and Yangguan?

Yumen Pass does exist, but it is no longer as magnificent as it once was. When you get there, you can only see a mound of earth. The staff will tell you that it is the remains of the pass. In addition, there is a military granary site, which is near the ancient Shule River, hence the name Hecang City, but now people generally call it Dafangpan City, and the strong and rough rural atmosphere hits you in the face. But when you walk there, if there is no wind, under the blue sky, looking at the clear lake in the middle of the desert Gobi, you can really feel the vitality and silence, history and dust contained therein.

If the wind blows, you can experience the description of the Quicksand River in Journey to the West: "Eight hundred Quicksand worlds, three thousand weak waters deep. Goose feathers cannot float, and reed flowers sink to the bottom." In fact, it is a complete misunderstanding. Quicksand is not a river. Goose feathers cannot float because they are blown by the wind, and reed flowers sink to the bottom because they are rolled by the sand. The Eight Hundred Quicksand World is real, as described in the Biography of Master Tripitaka of Da Ci'en Temple: "It is more than eight hundred miles long, and was called the Sand River in ancient times. There are no flying birds above, no running beasts below, and no water plants. At night, demons light fires, shining like stars; during the day, the bad winds gather the sand, and it scatters like rain."

In Tang and Song poetry, almost all celebrities wrote about Yangguan. Su Dongpo wrote, "Don't forget the girl of Huaixi, who sang the heart-breaking song of Yangguan again." Li Qingzhao wrote, "My silk clothes are soaked with tears and powder, and I sing Yangguan four times a thousand times." Liu Yong wrote, "One song of Yangguan, the heart-breaking song is over, and I lean on the oars alone." Xin Qiji wrote, "My tears haven't dried up after singing Yangguan, and I have to eat more for the rest of my career." Lu You wrote, "I am used to sleeping in the ancient post station, and I always sleep well, and I don't look sad when I listen to Yangguan so much."

The golden age of Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass was the era when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty swept away the Xiongnu and seized the four counties in Hexi. The Han Dynasty established two passes at the northwest border, Yumen Pass in the north and Yangguan Pass in the south (in ancient times, the south of the mountain was Yang, and Yangguan Pass was south of Yumen Pass). At that time, there was abundant water here. The water sources we know today are Wuwachi and Xitugou. There is also the Huoshaogou culture, which shows the development of the oasis civilization here.

The Han Dynasty set up military commanders at Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass. From then until the Tang Dynasty, these were the passes that had to be passed on the Silk Road. Even the Tang monk Xuanzang took the Yangguan Pass when he returned from India. Many merchants, monks, envoys, and tourists have passed through the pass; many soldiers have sacrificed their lives and shed their blood here.

The decline of Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass occurred in the Tang Dynasty and was caused by nature.

Take the Xitugou for example. On ordinary days, the upper reaches are dry, and only the lower reaches become a stream due to the confluence of spring water. This is normal. However, once a mountain torrent breaks out, the flood water will burst down, and the banks on both sides will collapse, resulting in the widening of the riverbed. The silt will flow downstream and settle in the lower reaches. Then, it will be blown and transported by the northwest wind, and the final result is the formation of sand ridges.

This is how Yumen Pass and Yangguan were gradually destroyed by water and buried by sand.

Another reason behind this is the change of rulers. Neither the Western Xia nor the later Mongols repaired Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass, and watched the pass cities disappear in the wind and sand.

Why did Tang and Song Dynasty scholars love Yangguan so much? It's simple. Scholars love things that have become history and disappeared. During the Northern and Southern Song Dynasty, the territory did not extend westward beyond the Yellow River. Even Dunhuang was annexed by Western Xia. Where were Yumen and Yangguan? So when Su Shi and Lu You chanted Yangguan, on the surface they were expressing their feelings and describing the scenery, but in fact they were filled with infinite melancholy: That was the territory of our Han and Tang dynasties!

As Gao Pian, a famous general in the late Tang Dynasty, said in his poem “Two Poems for the Singers”: “The wind and sand rise from the table and reach the end of the Yangguan River.”

Nowadays, if tourists who come to Yangguan can ride a horse around Yangguan, under the comfort of the sunset reflected through the dust, look up at the endless sand in the west, and suddenly, that is the end of the sky. Of the former Yangguan, only the remains of the beacon tower on Dundun Mountain are left, still standing there.

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