Inter-Ethnic Interaction On Xiaohe Ancient Road Across Nanling Corridor

The Xiaohe Ancient Road in the Nanling Corridor is located between Dupangling and Mengzhuling in the ‘Five Ridges’.It starts from the Xiguan Bridge Wharf in Yongzhou Daoxian County,Hunan Province in the north and reaches Hejie Town,Hezhou,Guangxi Province in the south,with a straight distance about 170 kilometers.Because the ancient road connects Xiaoshui in Hunan and Hejiang in Guangxi,it is called ‘Xiaohe Ancient Road’.From a larger geographical scope,Xiaoshui is a tributary of the upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River in the Yangtze River system;the Hejiang River is a tributary of the upper reaches of the Xijiang River in the Zhujiang River system.The Xiaohe Ancient Road connects the Yangtze River system and the Zhujiang River system from north to south,and has become one of the important channels from the Central Plains to Lingnan in ancient times.Based on this special geographical connection,the academic community lists the Xiaohe Ancient Road on the border of Hunan and Guangxi and the Meiguan Ancient Road at the junction of Jiangxi and Guangdong as the ‘Sea-Land Silk Road Docking Channel’.The ancient road is located in the border of Hunan,Guangxi and Guangdong provinces.It has an important geographical location,a long history and a long duration.It is clearly recorded in historical records and is supported by the map unearthed from the Han tomb of Mawangdui.It is an ancient road with great political,military,economic,cultural and historical value.In 2013,Yongzhou section of Xianggui(Xiaohe)ancient road was successfully selected into the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units.The Xiaohe Ancient Road has been a typical area of ethnic interaction since ancient times.First of all,whether from the perspective of time or space,population migration is the most obvious and far-reaching historical phenomenon in the communication and exchanges of various ethnic groups in ancient China.‘Qinzheng Lingnan’ once sent hundreds of thousands of people from five different channels across the Nanling Mountains to the Lingnan area,and the Xiaohe Ancient Road was one of them.‘Hanping Nanyue’ further promotes population integration and regional development in the region.For more than two thousand years,through the large-scale population migration activities such as political migration in Qin and Han Dynasties,spontaneous migration in Song and Yuan Dynasties,military migration in Ming and Qing Dynasties and modern economic migration,the multi-ethnic symbiosis pattern in Xiaohe Ancient Road area has gradually formed.The ethnic groups in the ancient road area have long been based on the interaction of blood,geography and industry,vividly showing the picture of inter-ethnic interaction based on region and individual participation.From language,beliefs to dietary customs,the inter-ethnic interaction in the region also presents diverse group characteristics.The unique geographical environment,orderly ethnic distribution and historical accumulation of thousands of years in the area of Xiaohe Ancient Road have created the distinctive characteristics of ‘regional integrity’ and ‘cultural commonality’ in this area.Secondly,from the perspective of history,the policy system is also an aspect that cannot be ignored in observing the history of communication and exchanges between the Chinese nation.Thirdly,the concept of ‘great unification’ consolidates the cultural foundation of ethnic communication and exchanges.Whether it is the change of territorial evolution,the implementation of the Guard-place system,or the Free-education system adopted,it is a favorable means for the country to manage the border areas.From the awakening of the modern minority sages,we can see the social cognitive psychology of the people in the Xiaohe Ancient Road area.The Confucian thought of " Xiu-Qi-Zhi-Ping " still has a profound influence in the hinterland of the Nanling Corridor.From the mutual reference and integration of the Yao and Zhuang’s ‘Song-hall’ customs in the Mt.Dayao area,geographical factors are more important to the formation of the cultural circle;for the‘regional community’,social identity is the most advanced form of existence,and ‘Four Minyao in Jiangyong County’ is a typical case of this region.Finally,the unique region with certain geographical characteristics is an important field for the exchange and integration of various ethnic groups,which opens a spatial window for the study of the“communication and exchanges of ethnic groups’ history”.The natural orientation of mountains and rivers,the natural aggregation of plain basins,and the natural ethnic geography have created the aggregation and orientation of the regional geographical space of the Xiaohe Ancient Road in the Nanling Corridor.The Central Plains culture and Lingnan culture are gathered here,and the Han,Yao,Zhuang and other ethnic groups are recuperating here.After more than two thousand years of historical precipitation,the Xiaohe Ancient Road area has become a veritable ‘cultural wetland’.The common political value orientation,similar economic development mode and the same cultural heritage provide sufficient institutional guarantee and spiritual cornerstone for promoting the common unity and progress,common prosperity and development of all ethnic groups in the Xiaohe Ancient Road area.Based on the analysis of the basis,form and motivation of the inter-ethnic interaction in the Xiaohe Ancient Road area,this paper concludes that the ethnic corridor is a hotbed for the formation of ‘cultural wetland’ and the best interpretation of the pluralistic integration pattern of the Chinese nation.Although the southern region of Hunan is geographically on the edge of administration,it has shown a strong centripetal force in national emotions.This cohesion is the appeal of Chinese civilization,the cohesion of Chinese geography,and the influence of Chinese excellent traditional culture.The Xiaohe Ancient Road,which was formed in the Qin Dynasty more than two thousand years ago,is an important witness to the gradual formation of the pattern of pluralistic integration of the Chinese nation in the Nanling Corridor,and also an important carrier of ethnic interaction.’Where is the people,there is the state’.All kinds of people in the land of China have infiltrated thousands of years of Chinese civilization,jointly explored the vast territory of the motherland,jointly wrote a long history of China,jointly created a splendid Chinese culture,and jointly cultivated the great national spirit.They have continuously strengthened the community concept of solidarity,live together,honor and disgrace together,life and death together,destiny together,and promoted the Chinese nation from history to the future,tradition to modernity,and pluralism to cohesion.They will always stand in the forest of the world ’s nations,provide Chinese solutions,Chinese wisdom,and Chinese strength contribute for building a community with a shared future for mankind.