On the Site of Luntai in the Tang Dynasty under the Perspective of Transportation of the Tianshan Corridor
There has been much debate in academic circles regarding the exact location of Luntai City in the Tang Dynasty at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains.The main passages near Luntai included the"SuiYe Road"along the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains,the"White Water Gorge Road"crossing the Tianshan Mountains,and the"Internal Tianshan Corridor"entering from today's Urumqi River into the Tianshan Mountains.From the perspectives of trade,transportation,and taxation,Luntai should control the"SuiYe Road",the"White Water Gorge Road,"and the"Internal Tianshan Corridor"entering and exiting the Tianshan Mountains.From a military transportation standpoint,Luntai,to the east,formed an Eastern Tianshan joint defense system with Tingzhou and Xizhou,and to the west,it formed a Central Tianshan military defense system with Yanqi and Kucha,serving as the cooperative defense center of the Eastern and Central Tianshan regions.Luntai should be located in a region that integrates trade,taxation,and military defense advantages,and the ancient city of Wulabo in the southern part of modern-day Urumqi should be the ruins of Luntai City in the Tang Dynasty.