Chapter 35 Chapter 34 Gods from the Central Plains

Chu Feng called the professor again that night. "What, you said you found a Babylonian hanging garden city?" Professor Ling was very excited on the other end of the phone. "Yes, from what we have seen so far, it is very similar to the hanging garden described in ancient books, but this aerial effect may be caused by this earthquake." Then, Chu Feng described the local geographical conditions over again.He also emphasized that he and others did not find a way to go there for field investigation. After hearing his statement, Professor Ling was silent for a moment: "What you say now is empty, and you have to wait for the field investigation before you can draw a conclusion! What else did you find?"

When this question was mentioned, Chu Feng rubbed his nose and gave a wry smile. He introduced the statues and murals found in that tower to the professor in detail. "What? How can you be so reckless?!" The professor's voice more than doubled when he heard that he had once again made his own initiative and took the initiative to trigger a possible mechanism. "It's very dangerous! You're making fun of your own and other people's lives! It's so irresponsible of you to do this!" He rarely yelled at Chu Feng loudly. Chu Feng nodded. It should be, and when the professor's anger was almost vented, he justified himself: "Then I also thought that since this ornament was removed on purpose, he would not set it up after the latecomer put it back to its original place. What kind of offensive mechanism is set up. That's why..."

"So why! I will never make such a decision again in the future. What if? If there is an emergency, the consequences will be disastrous!" In this desert, especially in the Lop Nur area, there are still many unsolved mysteries. If you're not careful, you'll be lost forever. You can't do without beating and beating Chu Feng! "Yes, teacher, I was wrong, and I must be more careful next time!" Chu Feng had no temper for this teacher at all, and could only bow his head and admit his mistake. Professor Ling's anger calmed down a bit, and he thought of a question: "And then? No response?"

This is the most embarrassing part of Chu Feng. He confidently thought that he had found the mechanism. As a result, the jade carving was placed in the groove, and it did fit perfectly, but the whole tower was quiet. Everyone waited for a long time, and nothing happened. didn't happen. When the phone call was made, everyone gathered together, because everyone had many mysteries in their hearts, and they hoped to get answers from the professor.At this time Ling Ning was opposite Chu Feng, seeing Chu Feng's rare old blushing expression, he wanted to laugh. "Well, the statue with wings is dressed like a Han prince, and is a bit thin. Is such a person a god? Hmm—" Professor Ling thought for a while, but asked Chu Feng a question instead of answering immediately: "You Do you know 'Golden Hill'?"

"'Golden Hill'?" Chu Feng suddenly understood, "Teacher, you mean? This statue is like King Dayue in the 'Golden Hill', a king originally related to the Central Plains? " "Not only that, if it's just a king, how can you create such a tall statue for him? Oh, by the way, you said that statue is made of clay, right? What style?" Professor Ling asked. "The clay statue is made of clay mixed with grass. Like what Stein found in the ancient city of Milan, protein was found in the pigment used in the mural, that is to say, the pigment was mixed with eggs. Also, the painting of this mural The wind will not be later than the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it should be earlier than that." Chu Feng told the professor the results of everyone's investigation today.

"Then, Chu Feng, have you ever thought about whether this statue is Shaohao?" Professor Ling finally expressed his guess about the identity of the statue. "Shaohao!" "Shaohao!!!" This conjecture caused a lot of exclamations.Everyone felt incredible.Chu Feng couldn't understand it. "Teacher, what basis do you have? I know that according to legend, Shaohao established the kingdom of birds, and his tribe also established the worship of birds, but this cannot be said. The worship of birds can be equated with the existence of birdmen, right? " Chu Feng was a little dissatisfied with the professor's arbitrariness, "I think another theory is easier to accept. The appearance of this 'winged angel' is probably related to Zoroastrianism, so this statue may be someone from Zoroastrianism. God was Sinicized in the process of spreading to the East!"

Zoroastrianism, also known as Zoroastrianism, is one of the oldest religions in the world. Its founder, Zoroaster, ruled the Middle East before the birth of Christianity.After it was introduced to China, it became the Mingjiao where Zhang Wuji was the leader in Jin Yong's novels.In addition to worshiping fire, this religion seems to like wings very much. The characteristic of its religious statues is that it likes to make people and animals with wings.In Zoroastrianism, the followers of good gods are angels, the followers of evil gods are devils, and the theories of doomsday judgment were all absorbed and borrowed by later Christianity.

"So, you conclude that this tower is related to Zoroastrianism?!" Professor Ling didn't rush to refute him, "Then, when you find further evidence about Zoroastrianism, let's discuss it!" Chu Feng also admitted that everything he said at this time was just speculation, and it would be better to wait until tomorrow when there were further clues. As soon as they picked up the line, Sangbu accidentally received a call from Feng Xiang.Feng Xiang was an old man, seeing that Company Commander Mao was seriously injured, he didn't go to the Shanshan County Hospital at all, and sent him directly to the big hospital in Urumqi.The hospital immediately carried out emergency rescue, but Company Commander Mao's injury was too serious. Not to mention the fracture of his right leg, the liver, spleen and other organs were ruptured to varying degrees. Fortunately, the bleeding was not serious, otherwise he would not have been admitted to the hospital.After 12 hours of rescue at the hospital, although his life was temporarily saved, he has not yet passed the critical period. Feng Xiang relayed what the doctor said was "not optimistic."

At present, the leader of the army where Company Commander Mao belongs has sent someone to take over the work of taking care of the wounded, so Feng Xiang asked Sangbu to come back immediately! After hearing this, Sangbu was silent for a while: "No, you stay there for a few more days, and if his condition improves, you will return to the team immediately. If...then you will do your best to help everyone there!" Feng Xiang agreed.Everyone in the expedition team returned to the underground hall, thinking of Company Commander Mao, whose life and death were uncertain, their hearts were heavy, and no one was in the mood to go to sleep.

It was William Lin who was the first to break the dullness: "Uh, brother Chu, everyone can't sleep anyway, can you explain to me, what is 'Golden Hill'?" Chu Feng explained on the ground at the moment: "'Golden Hill' is a tomb complex located in Shibalgan, 340 kilometers northwest of Kabul, Afghanistan today. There are a man and 5 women buried there. King Yuezhi. Because there are more than 20,000 pieces of gold ornaments in his unearthed cultural relics, he is called the "Golden Hill". On one of the unearthed round gold ornaments, there is the image of the king during his lifetime. He is dressed exactly like a Chinese scholar-bureaucrat. He is dressed in Hanfu and sits on a two-wheeled umbrella cart. This kind of umbrella cart is quite similar to the chariot of the stone reliefs in the Han Dynasty, but the cart is not pulled by a horse, but by a lion-shaped animal. And There is also a record that "the head of the head carved on the jade pectoral worn by the owner of the tomb also wears the same helmet as the king in China." The professor is reminding me that since the king of the Great Yuezhi in the country of walking can appear as a Chinese official , then the god dressed up by the Han prince is not the king of a certain country related to the Han people."

"However, Shaohao, how is this possible?" Chu Feng shook his head when he thought of the professor's speculation. "That's not necessarily true!" Ling Ning was a little unconvinced. She had admired her uncle since she was a child. Seeing that Chu Feng belittled her opinion so much, she really wanted to fight. It has been said that any worship has its source of idols. If Loulan's worship of Yuren does not come from birds, especially big birds, what is it? "It is said in ancient Chinese mythology that Shaohao, whose surname is Ji and whose first name is prey, is a bird of prey. It is said that he uses a hundred birds to rule his country. Zhuanxu, the grandson of the Yellow Emperor, once visited his country. Later, Shaohao His country was submerged by the sea and became a "big gully" beyond the East China Sea. Later, in mythology, he became the golden emperor in charge of the west, and together with the god Rao Shou, he became the god in charge of the western minorities. Here, the Isn't Shaohao's statue normal?" After all, Ling Ning doesn't know enough historical facts, so she can only use myths and legends to explain things. Although what she said is recorded in the book, Chu Feng has never valued these unacknowledged myths and records. He patiently explained to Ling Ning: "A long time ago, a group of Greek immigrants came to Central Asia. Some historical materials say that they came to Central Asia 3,800 years ago, and later lived in the Pamirs, Hindu Kush Mountains and the Karakorum Mountains and established a country, the West called Greece - Bactria country, Chinese translated as 'Big Xia' country. "The civilization of the Great Xia Kingdom has a history of at least 4,000 years according to today's archaeological evidence. Influenced by these Greek immigrants, in the 1st century AD, when the Indus River reached the hinterland of Central Asia, a Greek-style description of the spirit of Buddhism and Buddhism emerged. Classics, all of which are art genres of stone sculptures, that is, the so-called "Gandhara" art. Many historical sites in Xinjiang have found the remains of Gandhara art. It is said that the image of the "winged angel" in Loulan area is inspired by Gandhara art. This is the source of the influence. In ancient Greek mythology, there are many gods with wings. For example, the one named Cupid is a bare-bottomed child with wings. "The Great Xia Kingdom is one of the birthplaces of Zoroastrianism. Later, the Da Yuezhi people captured the Great Xia Kingdom. It is normal to preserve the artistic traditions of the aborigines. Among the works of art unearthed in the 'Golden Hill', there are many Greek God statues and even animals were added with wings. Later, part of the Da Yuezhi people moved back to the Loulan area. The Loulan people were influenced by them to use the Luwen. The Loulan people’s gods added wings under their influence. Is this possibility greater than the worship of 'Shaohao' by Loulan people?" These words are a bit more esoteric, and many people didn’t understand them. Ling Ning listened thoughtfully, Sang Bu nodded repeatedly, Wang Cong was better, half-understood, Lin Weilian, Da Qi and a few people on the side The other fighters all looked like they hadn't recovered. In order to make it easier for people to understand, Chu Feng has tried to speak in a simple and easy-to-understand manner, otherwise Lin William's level would be like a duck to listen to thunder.But all his words are supported by conclusive historical evidence, which is more solid than those unreliable myths and legends, so he is justified in bringing up his theory. While Chu Feng was still enjoying the slight sense of superiority as a human teacher, William on the side asked again: "Brother Chu, you said that the Winged Worship of the Loulan people originated from Zoroastrianism or Greek mythology, and that Zoroastrianism or Where did the worship of wings in Greek mythology come from?" Chu Feng, who was a little proud just now, couldn't help but choked up when he heard this, but he had never considered this issue before.It is really not easy to answer this question. There are several versions of the winged worship in Greek mythology, and no one can explain why this kind of worship appears in Zoroastrianism. Ling Ning, who was just led away by Chu Feng's thoughts, his eyes lit up. Why can't the winged worship in Greek mythology and Zoroastrianism come from the bird worship of the Shaohao tribe?What the Shaohao clan worshiped was no ordinary bird. What he worshiped was a giant bird, which later developed into a phoenix.Finally, in Chinese mythology, although the phoenix retained the shape of a bird, it was humanized and deified. So is it possible that Westerners or Central Asians also humanized its appearance? Ling Ning's confidence in her uncle and grandpa is not ordinary strong. She felt that she had grasped the key points, and was about to argue with Chu Feng, when she suddenly remembered what Chu Feng said to her, "Bold assumptions, careful verification". She immediately changed her mind after studying the words that she should pay attention to her attitude. She wanted to find real evidence before speaking! While Chu Feng was still grieving over William's question, Sangbu on the side also joined the discussion: "This tower does not have any Zoroastrian characteristics." "That's right! Brother Chu, didn't you say that from the content of the murals, it can be judged that the builder of this tower is a Theravada Buddhist? I don't know the teachings of this Zoroastrianism, but generally speaking, there is no difference between religions." Is it so inclusive?" William also felt something was wrong. Chu Feng also made sense when he heard it, yes, what's going on.In the Western Regions in ancient times, there were many religious forms coexisting, but this does not mean that there will be Zoroastrian-like wings on the statues of Theravada Buddhism?If only the "winged angel" appeared on the mural, it would still be possible, but it doesn't make sense to appear on the only statue enshrined in the entire tower! Well, if it was just the influence of Greek immigrants, Chu Feng felt that something was wrong, but after thinking about it, the activity area of ​​these ancient Greek immigrants had already reached the Tarim Basin, which has been proved by archaeological excavations of.Moreover, there are also obvious "Gandhara" artistic styles in other Theravada Buddhist monastery sites discovered in the Loulan area.Perhaps, this statue is just a work of art in the style of "Gandhara"! That night, with endless doubts, everyone hurriedly fell asleep.