Chapter 30 Section 10 Yecheng Ruins

The ruins of Yecheng, located in Linzhang County, Hebei Province, where the Zhang River runs through it today, can be divided into Yebei City and Yenan City.Cao Wei, Later Zhao, Ran Wei, and Qian Yan established their capitals in Yebei City, and Eastern Wei and Northern Qi established their capitals in Yenan City.The two cities were abandoned in the second year of Daxiang in the Northern Zhou Dynasty (580 A.D.), and it took more than 370 years to establish the capital. Yecheng is of great significance in the history of urban development in China.Chinese and foreign scholars are very concerned. The first survey was carried out in 1935, and the exploration and excavation began in 1983.Have a basic understanding of the shape, plane layout, city walls, gates, moats, streets, and building foundations of Yebei City and Yenan City.The layout of Yebei City marks a new stage in the history of urban development in China.The symmetrical layout of Yenan City had a certain influence on the planning of Chang'an City in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Yebei City, after exploration, the city site is 2400 meters from east to west and 1700 meters from north to south.The actual range is smaller than that recorded in "Shui Jing Zhu·Zuo Zhang Shui", "the city is seven miles from east to west, and five miles from north to south".The south city wall is on the north bank of today's Zhanghe River, with a wall base width of 16.35 meters.Now it acts as a river embankment.The protruding part of the east wall is 1300 meters long and 15-18 meters wide.And found a door site, which should be the site of Jianchun Gate.A gate site was found on the north city wall with a 20-meter-wide doorway, which should be the gate site of Guangde Gate.The three gates on the south wall are Fengyang Gate, Zhongyang Gate and Guangyang Gate from west to east.

The plane layout features of Yebei City are: (1) The establishment of the central axis of the capital.The Zhongyang Gate in the middle of the city site and the north-south main road inside the gate connect with the palace area, forming the central axis of Yebei City. (2) The only east-west avenue from Jinmingmen to Jianchunmen in Yebei City divides the city site into south and north districts, with the north district being larger than the south district.Miyagi and government offices are concentrated in the northern district.The southern area is mainly a residential area. (3) For the first time in Yebei City, ordinary residential buildings were included in the urban planning in the form of Lifang, forming a neat chessboard-style street.

There are six streets in Yebei City.The East-West Avenue from Jinmingmen to Jianchunmen is known to be 2,100 meters long and 13 meters wide.There are five north-south avenues.Among them, Zhongyangmen Avenue in the middle of the city site is 730 meters long and 17 meters wide. It is the widest central axis main avenue in the north-south direction of Yebei City. In the city site, the only remains on the ground are the ruins of Tongjuetai and Jinhutai.Only the southeast corner of Tongjuetai remains, 50 meters from north to south, 43 meters from east to west, and 4-6 meters high.The existing Jinhu Terrace is 120 meters from north to south, 71 meters from east to west, and 12 meters high.The site of Bingjing platform has been drilled, but there are no traces.According to records, there are pavilions and roads connecting the three towers.There are pavilions on the stage, and there are secret passages under the stage, connecting with the barracks in the west of the city.Cao Cao once led his son and other literati to write poems on the stage.Cao Zijian's "Ode to the Stage": "The high hall is so steep...the Lianfei Pavilion is like the west city." It can be seen that the grandeur of the three buildings.

Yenan City, after exploration, the city site is 2,800 meters from east to west, and 3,460 meters from north to south.The width of the wall is generally 8-10 meters. There are "horse face" facilities outside the city wall, and there are moats surrounding the city.There are 14 gates in total, four on the east and west walls, and three on the north and south walls.Zhumingmen Avenue in the city is nearly 40 meters wide and leads to the palace city, which is the central axis of Yenan City. In the center of the northern part of the city site, there is a palace city.Miyagi is 620 meters from east to west and 970 meters from north to south.The roads in Yenan City are straight and form a network.The distribution of residents in Lifang is regular.The corners of the city wall are rounded, which confirms the documentary record of the "turtle-shaped" city wall.