Oriental "Pompeii".
In 2002, experts and scholars from the relevant state departments (cultural relics, archaeology) conducted a preliminary investigation of the ruins of the ancient city of Jinyang, and carried out some archaeological excavations, but due to some objective reasons, in-depth excavation was not carried out, and the preliminary investigation results showed that this is the "Pompeii site" in the East, and its scale is comparable to the world-famous Italian Pompeii site, which shows that its historical value is extraordinary!
Song Taizong burned the ancient city of Jinyang in order to vent his anger! Once the northern capital of the Heavenly King, now only the ruins remain. The ancient city of Jinyang once covers an area of about 20 square kilometers, standing majestically in the land of the three Jin Dynasty in 1476, there are few ancient cities that have survived for so long in the world, including Tianlong Mountain, Longshan, Taishan and Mengshan in the northwest of the ancient city of Jinyang. In particular, it is worth our attention that the ancient city of Jinyang is divided into the west city, the east city and the middle city, forming a kind of "three cities and even the wall", the grand scene is quite spectacular, it can be exaggerated to say that there is such a large area of castle in North China.
The ancient city of Jinyang, founded in the late Spring and Autumn Period (497 BC), is an important political, economic, cultural center and military center in northern China. After the Qin and Han dynasties, the Three Kingdoms, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui and Tang dynasties, and the Five Dynasties, it was destroyed in the fourth year of the Taiping Rejuvenation of the Song Dynasty (979). Its ruins are in the area of Guchengying Village and Nanchengjiao Village in Jinyuan District.
In the late Spring and Autumn Period, Dong Anyu and Yin Duo, the retainers of Zhao Jianzi of Jinqing, built Jinyang and began to take shape. In 453 BC, Zhao Xiangzi stuck to Jinyang City, destroyed the Zhi clan, and laid the situation of "three families divided into Jin". In the early days of the Zhao Kingdom, Jinyang was the capital.
The Spring and Autumn Bronze Dading of Zhao Jianzi's tomb is a precious cultural relic, and it is also a historical proof, which further shows that there is no doubt about the existence of the ancient city of Jinyang.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, Jinyang City was a military and strategic town for defending against the Xiongnu and controlling the northwest. During the Yongjia period of the Western Jin Dynasty, Liu Kun, the assassin of Bingzhou, defended against the invasion of the Xiongnu and expanded the city wall. Gao Huan of the Eastern Wei Dynasty built the "Great Prime Minister's Mansion" in Jinyang and placed the Jinyang Palace, which was called the "Overlord Mansion" at the time.
The Northern Qi Dynasty took Jinyang as the "other capital" and carried out large-scale construction in and around the city. In the Sui period, Jinyang built a new city, a cangcheng and a palace in Jinyang. In the Tang Dynasty, Jinyang, as the birthplace of Li Yuan's father and son Xingtang and the gathering place of the world's elite soldiers, was highly valued, and the city construction reached its peak. There are the west city, the middle city and the east city, of which the west city contains Luocheng, Fucheng, Daming Palace City, Xincheng (Jinyang Guancheng), Cangcheng, etc., 12 miles from east to west, more than 8 miles from north to south. Jinyang City is as famous as Xijing (Chang'an) and Tokyo (Luoyang), and was once called the "Northern Capital" and developed into one of the three capitals of the Tang Dynasty.
The Later Tang Dynasty, the Later Jin Dynasty, and the Later Han Dynasty successively relied on Jinyang and went south to Dingding Central Plains.
In the second year of Song Kaibao (969), Zhao Kuangyin led his troops to Jinyang City, and used Jinsha Fenshui to build an embankment to irrigate the city, but failed. In the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo (979), after Zhao Guangyi, Taizong of the Song Dynasty, pacified the Northern Han Dynasty, in order to prevent later generations from fighting against the imperial court according to the Jiancheng of Jinyang, he set fire to the city, and in the following year, he led Fen water and Jin water to flood the ruins of Jinyang City. Since then, the ruins of the city have been reduced to a wasteland for hundreds of years. In the fourth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1371), a new city was built in Yangnanguan, Kuching, which is now Jinyuan Town.
Ruins of the ancient city of Jinyang.
The total area of the ruins of the ancient city of Jinyang is more than 200 square kilometers, which is divided into three parts: the ruins of the urban area, the ruins of the temple view area and the ruins of the tomb area. The ruins of the urban area, according to the surface remnants and archaeological surveys, include the middle section of the west city wall, the moat of the west city wall, the southwest corner, the northwest city corner and the rammed earth remains of many sections of the city wall in the urban area. The ruins of the temple view area, including the Bingzhou Temple, Da'an Temple, Amitayus Temple, Xingguo Chongfu Temple, etc., outside the city, there are Jin Temple, Tianlong Temple, Tianlongshan Grottoes, Xishan Giant Buddha, Kaihua Temple, Tongzi Temple, etc. The ruins of the burial area, mainly in the eastern foothills of Xishan, are densely distributed. Important discoveries include the tomb of Zhao Qing of the Jin Kingdom in Jinsheng Village and the attached burial carriage and horse pit, the tomb and murals of Lou Rui in the Northern Qi Dynasty of Wangguo Village, and the white marble relief stone coffin of the Sui Dynasty Yuhong Tomb in Wangguo Village.
Ruins of the ancient city of Jinyang.
The ruins of the ancient city of Jinyang have immeasurable cultural and historical significance. In addition to the ruins of the ancient city, there are other cultural sites scattered in the surrounding area:
The ruins of the temple. It is located in the ancient city camp village of Jinyuan Town. According to the 30th year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1551) "Taiyuan County Chronicles", there are three cities in Jinyang City: one is Daming City, and the Daming Palace is built in the north; the second is that Emperor Jing of the Eastern Wei Dynasty placed Jinyang Palace, and the Sui Dynasty was renamed "New City"; The third is the cangcheng, built in the sixteenth year of Emperor Kaihuang of Sui (596). The existing Jinyang official site is two in the north and south, about 50 meters apart, and 1 above the ground5-3 meters, built on the house. The area of the south platform is about 800 square meters, and the area of the north platform is about 123 square meters. 300 meters away from the southwest direction of Nantai, there are still the ruins of Daming City. The site is 24 meters long, 2 meters wide and 5 meters high.
The ruins of the city of disciples.
It is located in the ancient city of Qiliang, 1 km southwest of Yijing Village, Jinsheng Township. In the thirtieth year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1551), the "Taiyuan County Chronicles" contains, in the late Spring and Autumn Period, Zhao Xiangzi built to detain prisoners, also known as "Triangle City" and "Huti City". The center of the city site is the area of the present-day Beiyan brick factory. Nowadays, there are still about 6,000 square meters of mounds, and there are several sections of relics of 4-6 meters high, commonly known as "Chengdong Qiliang" and "Chengnan Qiliang".
Taiyuan ancient county town (newly built).
In order to develop the cultural value of the ancient city of Jinyang, Taiyuan takes the ancient city of Jinyang as a template to restore the ancient Taiyuan county town of the Ming and Qing dynasties and reproduce the majesty of the "Phoenix City". The pattern of the cross streets in the ancient county town of Taiyuan is clear, and the texture of the streets and alleys is perfect, following the ancient architectural pattern of the ancient city of Jinyang. The streets here are paved with stone and lined with antique buildings, like a phoenix with a head in the north and a tail in the south, and it has been known as the "Phoenix City" since ancient times. At the intersection of the cross streets, there is an ancient drum tower, which is one of the landmark buildings of the ancient county town of Taiyuan and the defense facilities of the ancient city.
The whole picture of the ancient county town of Taiyuan.
The Confucian Temple is one of the most famous scenic spots in the ancient county town of Taiyuan, built in the period of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, after thousands of years of vicissitudes, it still retains its original style. There are many ancient buildings here, such as Lingxing Gate, Dacheng Hall, Zhuangyuan Bridge, etc., each of which carries a heavy history and culture. In particular, the Dacheng Hall, as the core building of the Confucian Temple, embodies the unique style and superb skills of ancient Chinese architecture, and is one of the important representatives of ancient Chinese architectural art.
The city wall was built during the Ming Dynasty, the city wall is high, strong and durable, and is the fortification of the ancient Taiyuan City. Today, although the city wall has undergone vicissitudes, it still retains its original appearance after restoration, and is the best place for visitors to experience the history of ancient wars.