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More than 2,000 years ago, princess Liu Xijun set out from the southern city of Yangzhou braving vast stretches of hazardous terrain to reach Wusun, an area inhabited by semi-nomadic Indo-Europeans in what is today northern Xinjiang.
She carried with her a marriage edict that sought to solidify an alliance between these steppe peoples and the Han kingdom. This proposal was certainly flattering to the territory of Wusun given that Liu was the granddaughter of the esteemed Emperor Wu of Han (156 BC – 87 BC) whose 54 year reign would stand as the longest for the next 1,800 years.
Liu's experiences in this distant and unfamiliar land were immortalized in her poem Beichouge, literally meaning Sad Song, in which she poignantly reflected her sorrow at having left her homeland.
This ancient story of epic proportions captured the imagination of China Central Television (CCTV) and inspired an episode of the documentary series Silk Road Dream.
The director Dong Zhi, recently led his crew to Yangzhou in order to explore the ways in which Xijun's story continues to echo into the present day.
The CCTV team spent three days in Yangzhou filming relics connected with the princess and capturing many traditional local customs. Many of these were on display at a memorial hall commemorating the legendary princess in Ili, northwest Xinjiang.
The memorial hall commemorating the legendary princess Liu Xijun in Ili, northwest Xinjiang. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
In a symbolic gesture Yangzhou scholars enacted a soil swap with Ili to enact a sense of homecoming and this process was included in the documentary.
As Dong notes, the trip also allowed the crew to shoot some stunning scenery.
"The resplendent landscape of Yangzhou lies in stark contrast to [Wusun's] desert sands. The hardship the princess underwent can be visualized though the lens."
