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The year 2000 was to see the discovery in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province of
a township site of the Longshan Culture (c.2310-1810 BC). With its double
encircling walls this find is further confirmation that the history of city building
in antiquity can be traced back in China to the late Neolithic Age. The
Longshan Culture is characterized by its burnished black pottery, examples of
which were first unearthed in Longshan, Shandong Province in 1928. The
Lianyungang site offers an insight into ancient building techniques through its
finds of rammed earth foundations.
During the Shang Dynasty (c.1600-1100 BC) that was to follow the Xia, more
and more cities appeared as has been shown by modern excavations of the
grand capital cities of these far off times.
First came the discoveries of Yinxu (capital of the late Shang Dynasty near
Xiaotun village, Anyang city, Henan Province) and Shang City (capital of the
early Shang Dynasty located in the downtown of Zhengzhou, Henan
Province).
Then in 1983 archaeologists found the site of another city from the time of the
Shang in Yanshi city, Henan Province. Foundations of massive palaces with
an area of two million square meters were to be uncovered here. Based on
the archaeological finds, researchers have suggested that the Yanshi city site
might well be none other than the city of Xibo, famous in history as the 16th
century BC capital of Tang, the founder of the Shang Dynasty.
Yet another Shang Dynasty capital came to light in 1999 in Anyang city,
Henan Province with the excavation of 25 rammed earth palace foundations.
Together they occupy an area of 16,000 square meters. The most notable of
these came complete with a well-preserved plinth, gateway and steps and is
the biggest of the period ever to be found.
The discovery of the Jinsha site in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province in 2001,
indicates that Jinsha may have been the political and cultural center of the
Shu State some 3,000 years ago. This regional kingdom was established on
the ruins of the Sanxingdui civilization, which preceded it on southwest
Chinas Chengdu Plain. The site has yielded up over 2,000 cultural relics. The
extensive Jinsha excavations cover an area of 3 square kilometers. They are
proving to have much to contribute to research into the ancient Ba-Shu
culture and are shedding new light on the decline and fall of the mysterious
Sanxingdui civilization.
A capital city should be square on plan. Three gates on each side of the
perimeter lead into the nine main streets that crisscross the city and define its
grid-pattern. And for its layout the city should have the Royal Court situated in
the south, the Marketplace in the north, the Imperial Ancestral Temple in the
east and the Altar to the Gods of Land and Grain in the west. This
description is taken from the Book of Diverse Crafts, a classic work on the
science and technology of ancient China. It was compiled towards the end of
the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). The archaeological record
shows that the model was to become the town-planning standard for the
capital cities of the subsequent dynasties.
History records a flowering of thriving capital cities back in the Eastern Zhou.
The dynasty is divided into the aforementioned Spring and Autumn Period
and the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The kingdoms of the Eastern
Zhou were destined to witness the chaos of many years of warfare.
Extensive excavations at these sites have shown that without exception, all
walled cities of the period comprise an outer city around an inner palace
compound. Typically the palace would be built to a commanding height so
that it might better impose its control over the capital.
The local topography has played a key role in the Longwan layout. Instead of
being built along a formal north-south axis, the palaces, winding walkways
and courtyards stand here and there and vary in height. The atypical town
plan no doubt also owes something to the influence of the unique culture of
the Chu State, which held sway over the middle reaches of the Yangtze River
during the Warring States Period.