Beijing, December 14 (Reporter Song Xue) On December 14, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage held a work meeting on the important progress of the "Archaeology China" major project in Beijing, which focused on important archaeological discoveries and research progress in the Han and Tang Dynasties, and reported three important archaeological achievements, such as the Jiangcun Tomb in Xi'an, Shaanxi, the Zhengpingfang Site in Luoyang, Henan, and the Tuguhun Tomb Group in Wuwei, Gansu. Among them, the Zhengpingfang ruins located in Luolong District, Luoyang City, Henan Province, are one of the important Lifang ruins in the Guochenglifang District of Luoyang City in the Tang Dynasty, and are the location of the Tang Dynasty Confucius Temple, Guozijian, and Taiping Princess Residence (later changed to Anguo Female Taoist Temple).
With the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, from 2020 to 2021, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Luoyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology jointly carried out archaeological excavations at the Zhengpingfang site.
Location distribution map of Zhengpingfang courtyard (courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, issued by the Central Broadcasting Network)
The ruins of Zhengpingfang are a vivid example of the mill system in the capital of the Tang Dynasty. The pattern of the T-shaped street connecting the north and south square gates, as well as the symmetrical and multi-progressive courtyard layout of the central axis, embodies the traditional urban planning ideas of ancient China and is an important example of the history of the development of ancient Chinese architecture. The architectural base site of the western half of the square is grand in scale, similar to the architectural specifications and layout of the Palace in Luoyang City in the Tang Dynasty, and the excavated building components are the same as those seen in the palace; the phenomenon of the opening of the door of the eastern half of the square also shows its special status, which is close to the functional attributes of the Taiping Princess Residence, the Guozijian and the Confucius Temple recorded in the literature. It is speculated that the western half of the fang mansion may be the residence of the Taiping Princess, the east road of the southeast district may be the Confucius Temple, and the middle road may be the Guozijian.
Zhengpingfang No. 1 Courtyard (Taiping Princess Residence) Relics Map (Courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, issued by the Central Broadcasting Network)
The site of Zhengpingfang is nearly square in plan, 533.6 meters long from north to south, 464.6 meters wide from east to west, only the foundation of the square wall remains, and a square gate is found in the middle of the south and north square walls. A "D" shaped street was found in the square, and the longitudinal street ran through the north and south to connect the square gate, dividing the Zhengping Square into two parts, the east and west, and the horizontal street was located in the middle of the east half of the square. The western half of the square is a large mansion, about 225 meters wide from east to west, and the length of the north and south is equal to that of Zhengpingfang. In the middle, there is a corridor that divides the mansion into two parts, the north and south, the southern half is initially speculated to be a garden area, and the northern part is a courtyard area. The courtyard is symmetrically arranged in the central axis, with three roads in the east and west, and a total of five entrances in the middle road. From the central axis to the south to the north, there are five large rammed earth platforms, which are surrounded by walls (or corridors), and the building structure is strict and orderly. The eastern half of the square is divided into north and south parts by the horizontal street. Among them, the south square wall of the southeast district is also opened in the middle, and the three-way courtyard side by side with east and west is found inside the door, and there are north-south passages between the courtyards, and there are pavilions (or over-the-floor) buildings at the north end of the passage. The east road and middle road of the courtyard are three entrances, and the west road has not yet been excavated. A large number of architectural components such as lotus pattern tiles, cylinder tiles, plate tiles, and ridge decorations have been excavated from the Zhengpingfang site, as well as daily necessities such as cups, plates, and bowls with blue glaze, white glaze, and black glaze.
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage said that this excavation will provide important information for the study of the history of the political system and social life in the Tang Dynasty.