Four Dynasties Imperial Capital (IV) Luoyang City of Northern Wei (Part 1)

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Luoyang City of Northern Wei

After nearly 200 years of turmoil, in the seventeenth year of the Northern Wei Dynasty (493), Emperor Xiaowen moved his capital from Pingcheng (present-day Datong, Shanxi) to Luoyang. In October of that year, Sikong Muliang, Shangshu Li Chong, and the general master Dong Jue began to build the Luoyang Palace, and from then on, Luoyang, which had once been decayed and destroyed, prospered again.

Emperor Xiaowen of northern Wei

Emperor Xiaowen's relocation of the capital (fine art)

The Northern Wei Luoyang City, much larger than the Han and Jin Luoyang City, also had major changes in shape, mainly in the second year of Emperor Xuanwu Jingming (501), Zhufang 323, which clearly formed the "Outer Guo City", while the original Han and Jin City Circle became an inner city. Waiguocheng is 20 miles from east to west, 15 miles from north to south, if you add Siyiguan and Siyili in the south of Luohe, the north and south are also 20 miles, and the plane is slightly inverted "convex" shape.

During this period, in addition to the palace area, the royal forbidden garden, the official office, the temple, the arsenal, the Taicang and the important Buddhist temples and official residences in the inner city, most of the official residences, monasteries, residences, handicraft workshops and markets were placed in guocheng outside the inner city. Among them, there are three markets in the middle of Xiguocheng, the south of Dongguocheng and the south of Luoshui, namely Large City, Small City and Sitong City. The emergence of Guocheng outside the Northern Wei Dynasty was one of the most important changes in the evolution of the shape of Luoyang City in the Han Dynasty, which appeared in three urban circles composed of Guocheng, Inner City and Miyagi Castle.

Schematic diagram of the layout of Luoyang City in Northern Wei

There were also some new changes to the gates of the inner city of Luoyang in Northern Wei. A gate in the middle of the West City Wall, the Xiyang Gate (Han Yue YongMen), because the old gate is skewed, it is moved north to the east to the Dongyang Gate. In addition, because Emperor Xiaowen was temporarily stationed in Luoyang when he first arrived in Luoyang, and often went to Wang Nan Temple in the west of the city to worship the Buddhist scriptures with the monks, a new "Chengming Gate" was opened on the east-west avenue in front of Jin YongCheng at the northern end of the western wall of the inner city, taking the meaning of Cao Zhi's poem "Gurudwara Chengming Lu". Therefore, there are 13 gates in Luoyang City of Northern Wei, and their names have changed slightly. The three gates to the east, from north to south, are: Jianchun Gate, Dongyang Gate, Qingyang Gate; the south four gates, from east to west: Kaiyang Gate, Pyeongchang Gate, Xuanyang Gate, Jinyang Gate; the west four gates, from south to north: Ximing Gate, Xiyang Gate, Zhangquan Gate, Chengming Gate; the north two gates, from west to east: Daxia Gate, Guangmo Gate. The "Luoyang Jialan Chronicle" says: Northern Wei "Luoyang city gate towers are two-fold, go to the ground a hundred feet, only the Great Xia Gate Yongdong Ganyun", "try to build three floors, go to the ground twenty zhang". There are three gates at the city gate. According to archaeological surveys, the ruins of the city gate and the main avenue in the city have been discovered. Among them, the main north-south avenue leading to Xuanyang Gate in front of the palace gate- Tongtuo Street, is more than 40 meters wide.

Northern Wei Luoyangjia Blueprint

The Inner City Office is scattered all over the place, mainly concentrated on both sides of Tongtuo Street, the north and south streets of the former Gate of Miyagi to the north and south of Xuanyang City Gate. From north to south, on the west side there are Right Wei Fu, Tai Wei Fu, Jiang Zuo Cao, Jiu Ji Fu, and Tai She, and on the east side there are Zuo Wei Fu, Situ Fu, Guozi Xue, Zongzheng Temple, Taimiao Temple, and Hujun Fu. In the north of the Imperial Road within the Xiyang Gate, there are Taibu Temple, Chenghuang Bureau, and Arsenal Office. In the north of the Imperial Road inside the Dongyang Gate, there are taicang bureaus and guide officials. In the south of the Imperial Road inside the Jianchun Gate, there are the Jurchen Dun Bureau, the Diannong Bureau, and the Zhitian Bureau; in the north of the Imperial Road, there is Zhai Quan, and the north of the spring is Henan Yin, and the Luoyang County Administration is in Suimin Li outside the Jianchun Gate. The largest Buddhist temple in Luoyang, Northern Wei, is located on the west side of Taiwei Province, adjacent to Yushitai to the north and Zhaoxuan Cao to the south, according to archaeological surveys, the temple as a whole is rectangular from north to south, 301 meters long and 212 meters wide.

Map of Later Wei Capital (Ruan Yuan)

The Northern Wei palace was headed by Jiang Shaoyou, Wang Yu, and Dong Er, and in order to show that the Northern Wei Dynasty was inheriting the orthodox dynasty, the palace was mostly rebuilt according to the old Wei and Jin dynasties, and its palace city and main gates were based on the old Wei and Jin systems. The south gate of Miyagi Castle is called the Gate of Que Que, and the giant gate outside the door is double-standing. The front canal is full of water, and the palace walls are "all short rafters" and "covered with tiles". The title of the door truss is all Zhongshu Sheren (the official in charge of drafting edicts) Shen Hanxin to write books, and when Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Ke was in charge, he also ordered Jiang Shi to use the Great Seal Book.

According to archaeological exploration, the Northern Wei Palace City is 1400 meters north and south, more than 660 meters east and west, and is rectangular from north to south. The east and west walls of Miyagi are opposite to each other, from south to north are East Gate and West Gate, Yunlong Gate and Shenhu Gate, Banzai Gate and Qianqiu Gate, there are roads between the two doors, forming three horizontal streets, of which the horizontal street between the Banzai Gate and the Thousand Autumn Gate is connected with the Inner City's Zhangjie Gate and Jianchun Gate Street, this street is also known as Yong Lane, which divides the whole palace into two parts, and the north is also known as the North Palace, which is the Sleeping Hall District and the Palace Garden District, also known as the West Garden. In the south, the emperor handled government affairs and daily life, and the main hall of the palace was the Taiji Hall. The Book of Wei states that "Shaoyou also set an example for Taiji (Hall), and participated in the construction of It with Dong Er, Wang Yu, etc.", and it can be seen that the main designer of the Taiji Hall was Jiang Shaoyou. As early as before the capital Luoyang, when the Taihua Hall of pingcheng Palace was rebuilt into a Taiji Hall, Emperor Xiaowen ordered him to measure the old base site of the Taiji Hall of Luoyang in Wei and Jin, and later Jiang Shaoyou went to Jiankang in the Southern Dynasty to inspect the Taiji Hall, so he was very familiar with the Wei and Jin palace system and its evolution. In the second year of Emperor Jingming of Xuanwu (502), the Taiji Hall of Luoyang in Northern Wei was completed. It has been nearly ten years since Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to this time. By this time, both Jiang Shaoyou and Emperor Xiaowen had died.

Built on a tall pedestal, the Taiji Hall is 12 rooms wide and is the largest building in the palace. Like The Wei and Jin Dynasties, the east and west sides of the Taiji Hall are the East Hall and the West Hall. The east hall is the place where the emperor handles daily affairs, and the west hall is the daily living place. Because the Taiji Hall of the Southern Dynasty Jiankang Palace is seven rooms wide in the east and west halls, and the Northern Wei Luoyang Taiji Hall is built to imitate the Wei Jin Taiji Hall and the Southern Dynasty Taiji Hall, the East and West Halls are also seven rooms. Behind the Taiji Hall, there are four halls, namely Shiqian, Xianyang, Xuanguang, and Jiafu. After the Xianyang Hall, the north of qianqiumen Yong Lane is the North Palace, which is the concubine residential area. When Yuan Qi and Liu Teng launched a palace coup, they had closed YongXiang and imprisoned Empress Dowager Hu in the Xuanguang Hall of the main hall of the North Palace. There are also partial halls in the palace, such as seals, badges, Hui zhangs, and Minghua, among which the Mingguang Hall is the place where Emperor Xiaozhuang's hand blade is against the minister Erzhu Rong.

Northern Wei Luoyang Palace City Taiji Hall imaginary restoration map

Jincun, Pingle Town, Mengjin County, formerly known as Jin Yong Town during the Ming Dynasty, is located at the northern end of the ancient city of Han Wei and Jin. The south highland of the village, locally known as the Golden Ruan Hall or the Chaowang Hall, and its south is called the Noon gate platform. According to the test excavations carried out by archaeologists, it was confirmed that this was the site of the Taiji Hall of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and from 2010 to 2016, excavations were carried out on the eastern half of the site and the site of the East Hall on the east side, and major archaeological discoveries were obtained. To the south is the ruins of the main gate of Miyagi Castle, which was excavated at the end of 2011 and detailed archaeological data were obtained.

Luoyang, Northern Wei is a famous international city. At that time, the Northern Wei Dynasty built the Siyi Pavilion between Luoshui and Yishui in the south of the city to receive and arrange for ethnic minorities and foreigners from the four directions of the east, west, south, and north to return. Those who surrender to the country of the Wu people in the south are in JinlingGuan; those who return from the north are in YanranGuan; those who return from the East are in Fusangguan; those who come from the West are attached to The Pavilion. Three years after his annexation, he settled in Siyili. According to the Luoyang Jialan Chronicle, "From the west of the Onion Ridge (i.e., the Pamir Plateau), as for the Great Qin (i.e., the Roman Empire), a hundred kingdoms and a thousand cities, all of them are not happy, merchants and merchants, and they are running down every day." "At that time, the people of the exotic land, "enjoyed the Chinese local style, so the house people, innumerable, are the people of the annexation, there are more than one family." The doors and alleys are repaired, the columns are filled in, the green locust shade is strange, and the green trees are hanging down."

Northern Wei Luoyang City Miyagi Imaginary Map

Luoyang, the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, has a total of 109,000 households and a population of more than 600,000 in the range of 20 miles from east to west and 20 miles from north to south. Outside the palace, temple society, and fucao, each lifang "square three hundred steps", open four doors, set up one person, four officials, eight disciples. The construction of a chessboard-like Lifang in the city, which is managed according to the layout of the Lifang system, is a new change in the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and was later imitated by the Sui and Tang Dynasties Chang'an City and Luoyang City, which is a very important new content in the history of urban architecture. While detailing the situation of the Luoyang Buddhist Temple in Kyoto, the "Luoyang Jialan Ji" also makes a detailed description of the residence of the prince's eunuch and the place where it is located, which can be understood from the side of the layout arrangement and social and economic prosperity of the capital Luoyang at that time. The following is the introduction of the key ones, which can be seen as the general situation of the establishment of the Northern Wei capital city.

Inside the Dongyang Gate in the east of the city there is Yishouli, and inside there is the Residence of Duan Hui of Baoxin County. There is Zhaoyi Temple in the north of The Temple, there is a pool in the temple, it is said that it is the Western Jin Dynasty Jufu Shi Chongjia Pond, and there is a building in the south of the pond, that is, the place where Shi Chong's pet trick Green Pearl fell from the building. Inside the Qingyang Gate there are Yonghe Li, which contains six houses, including Taifu Changsun Zhi, Shangshu Right Servant Guo Zuo, Shangshu Xingluan, Tingwei Qingyuan Hongchao, Wei Weiqing Xu Botao, liangzhou Assassin Shi Chengxing, and other six houses, all of which are High Gate Hua Houses, and the Zhaiguan is open, which is called "Guili" at the time. It is said that this is also the former residence of Dong Zhuo, the taishi of the late Han Dynasty, who dug the ground to obtain the golden jade treasure to play with, and The Mingyun "Dong Taishi's thing". One mile north of the Royal Road outside the Dongyang Gate, there are Dong'an-ri, which contains four houses, such as Sima Xiang , The Commander of Jeju Thorn History , Li Zhennu of youzhou Thorn History , and Gongsun Jun of Yuzhou Thorn History. One mile to the north of the Imperial Road, there is Hui Wen Li, which contains four houses, such as Taibao Cui Guang, Taifu Li Yanyu, Jizhou Assassin Li Shao, and Secretary Supervisor Zheng Daozhao. There is Zhaodri in the south of the Imperial Road outside the Dongyang Gate, and there are five houses in the interior, such as Shangshu Servant You Zhao, Yushi Wei Li Biao, Seven Soldiers Shangshu Cui Xiu, Youzhou Assassin Shi Changjing, and Si Nong Zhang Lun, among which Zhang Lun's house is the most luxurious. Outside the Jianchun Gate there is Jianyang Li, which contains a three-zhang-high earthen platform, which is rumored to be the Western Jin Dynasty Flag Pavilion. There are two floors on the stage, with hanging drums and drumming for strikes. There is also ChongyiLi, there is a stone bridge in the east of the bridge known as "Seven Mile Bridge", and there is a city gate in the east of the bridge called "Three Doors", when people send them to welcome home, mostly here, the so-called "send three doors outside the door", that is. There are ten temples such as Ying Luo in Jianyang, and there are more than 2,000 households such as Shishu. In the east of Jianyang, there is Suimin Li, which has Luoyang County, and chongyi Li in the east. Outside the Qingyang Gate, there is Xiao Jingli, which is the guangping Wumu Wang Yuanhuai house, Tang Yu Hongmei, Lin Mu Xiaosen, platform fu dao, unique in the world. In the second year of Xiping (517), Yuan Died in Hisashi, and the house was called Pingping Temple.

In the north of the imperial road within the Xiyang Gate in the west of the city, there is a yannian year, and the inside is the residence of Sikong Liu Teng. "The houses are luxurious, the beams are over-regulated, and within a mile, the corridors are overflowing... Bo Open Hongli, the kings are beyond reach. "Inside the Xiyang Gate, yongkang li, there is the residence of the leading general Yuan Qi. Five miles out of the Xiyang Gate, there is Shouqiuli. It is bordered by Luoshui to the south, Mt. Yaoshan to the north, two miles from east to west, and fifteen miles from north to south. Most of the royal family members live here, and the folk call it "Prince Fang", of which Wang Yuanchen of Hejian is the most wealthy. Outside the Ximing Gate there is the residence of The Prince of Taifu Qinghe, and there is a building in the northwest of the house, which is higher than the Ling Yuntai in the palace. Downstairs, the hall is lined with tushan fishing platform, crowned in the world.

One mile outside the Xuanyang Gate in the south of the city, and in the east of the imperial road, there is the residence of the three dukes Shi Gaoxian. Three miles outside the Kaiyang Gate, there is the Eastern Han Dynasty Guozi Academy in the east of the Royal Road, emperor Xiaowen is named Persuasion School, the east is Yanxian Li, and there is Shangshu Ling Wang Su House. There are three miles outside the Jinyang Gate in Zhongganli, and the south is the residence of King Yuanyong of Gaoyang. According to the literature, Yuan Yong was a former chancellor, and his residence can be compared with the imperial palace.

In the north of the city, there is Yongping Li, there is WenYi Li in the east, the original name is Shangli, after the Western Zhou Dynasty destroyed Yin, the Yin nobles moved to the north of Chengzhou City, that is, here. Most of the people in Li were craftsmen who burned pottery, and the dignitaries and nobles were ashamed to be with them, and they moved away, so there was a folk song at that time: "In the shangli in the northeast of Los Angeles, the stubborn people of Yin have stopped." Today the people make urns, and all men abandon the shame of their dwellers. "Only the champion general Guo Wen wandered far away, and the garden was extremely gorgeous.

In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Luoyang, the layout was roughly that there were inner castles outside the palace, most of the temples were located in the inner city, and the mansions of the dignitaries were mostly located in the inner city. Waiguo City is a vast area and is a place for ordinary people to live.

Source: Han Wei Luoyang