The remains of the horse market on the Great Wall in Datong Town in the Ming Dynasty

The remains of the horse market on the Great Wall in Datong Town in the Ming Dynasty

"Cultural Relics World", 2003.01 Shi Yueju

In order to further improve the contents of the ruins of the Great Wall in the Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics and Shanxi, we conducted an updated survey of this from June 2001 to August 2002. During the investigation, it was found that the ruins of the Horse Market under the jurisdiction of Datong Town, one of the nine sides of the Ming Dynasty, were relatively rich and concentrated, which attracted our attention. These materials can vividly reflect the situation of border markets in the Ming Dynasty, make up for the lack of historical records, and have their unique value for the study of national economy and cultural exchanges in the Ming Dynasty. Combined with the historical records, we have made a preliminary discussion of the ruins of Datong Town Horse Market obtained in the survey.

1. The creation and construction age of Datong Town Horse City

There is a record of Ma Shi under "Ma Zheng" in the Ming Shi Bing Zhi IV, Yun: "Ma Shi, Shi Yong Le Jian, Liaodong set up three cities, two in Kaiyuan, one in Quang Ninh, each going to the city forty miles." In Chenghua, inspector Chen Yu resumed the recital and did not abolish it until the beginning of the Wanli Calendar. In Jiajing, Kaima City in Datong, Shaanxi Province, Xuanfu successively. In the fifth year of Longqing, I replied to the table as a tribute, and the governor Wang Chonggu had more than 7,000 horses, and the price was 96,000. Its price: Liaodong to rice, cloth, silk, Xuan, Large, Shanxi to silver. Whoever has a tribute horse outside the city shall give it in banknotes. According to this, Datong Town founded the horse market during the Jiajing period.

In the Ming Dynasty Wang Shiqi's "Three Clouds Preparation examination", volume 1 "An Zhi Kao", there is a very accurate record, Yun: "(Jiajing) Thirty years in March, Zhao Kai Ma City. And recorded the location of the first trade, "Chukaima City yuzhenqiang fort". However, the opening of the horse market was short, only maintained for one year, according to the book, Jiajing thirty-one years (1552) that is, the war reopened, Datong town horse market trade is out of the way. The town reopened the city 20 years later, in the fifth year of Longqing (1571) as recorded in the Ming Shi Bing Zhi.

Based on the clues provided by the historical records, we investigated the location where the horse market was set up in the Ming Dynasty, and found that near most of the castles with horse markets, close to the Great Wall, there are ruins such as rammed earth walls and enemy platforms, which should be the horse markets that were built in that year.

However, during the Jiajing period, the time for datong town to open a horse market was very short, and there is no record of the construction of the horse market, so the remains of the horse market that are now investigated should be the remains of longqing for five years. Regarding this point, it can also be confirmed by the record in the second volume of the "Three Clouds Preparatory Examination" "Fenggong Examination". The book recounts that in September of the fourth year of Longqing, the grandson of Li Da invited Han Naji to surrender, the imperial court argued about the process of appeasement and suppression, and finally agreed on peace, and sealed Li Da as the King of Shunyi, and the following year ordered that "Gao Jie be set up in the border city, and no order was ordered to enter the city." With horses, miscellaneous animals, and furs, I use silver, cloth, and color to reel all kinds of goods. Official city bi, listen to the private city. In September, the newspaper was completed. "The ruins we investigated should be the so-called "GaoJie".

The architectural form of Gaojie Street is not recorded, but as the name suggests, it was a very simple and sloppy place, only a fixed location for the two sides of the border trade. However, the survey shows that the ruins of Mashi are very similar to the military forts in the great wall defense system, and the records of Mashi in the literature are quite far from the actual existence. Therefore, the ruins of Mashi are of irreplaceable value in understanding the border trade along the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty.

2. Relics of the Horse Market

According to the records of the "Sanyun Trick Examination", the horse markets in Datong Town include Xinpingbao Horse Market, Shoukou Fort Horse Market, Zhenqiang Fort Horse Market, Zhongma Fort Horse Market, Zhongma Fort Horse Market, Ningyu Fort Horse Market, Killing Hu Fort Horse Market, Yunshi Fort Horse Market, and YingenBao Horse Market, a total of 8 places. The investigation saw that most of the remaining relics remained, and only the relics of the horse market in the three places of Mabao, Kill Hu Fort and Ying'en Fort did not exist.

Below, according to the direction of the Great Wall in Datong Town, from east to west, the remains of the horse market are described separately.

1. The ruins of Xinpingbao Mashi (Figure 1), 30 meters north of XimaShi Village, Xinping Town, Tianzhen County, Datong City. XimaShi Village, which is named Xizi, is different from the Mashi Village of Huai'an County, Hebei Province, which is adjacent to the northeast county of Tianzhen, and is a village gradually formed by the establishment of Mashi in the Ming Dynasty. What is particularly interesting is that the section adjacent to the Great Wall in Xima City is north-south, the village is close to the Great Wall, the Long City Wall body is dug through a hole, through the hole through the Great Wall for the ancient city village of Xinghe County, Inner Mongolia, the village is also close to the Great Wall, although the two villages belong to two provinces, in fact, only a wall across the Great Wall, closer than the distance between each and the villages in the county, the traffic is closer. This pattern is also about the regular side generals and garrisons after the establishment of the horse market, 7 members of the Chinese army and a thousand guns, 1642 flag troops, and 596 horses and mules (heads). The location of the horse market here is related to the strong strength of the garrison at the fort, which is due to the vigilance of the Ming officials.

2. Shoukou Fort Ma City Ruins (Figures 2 and 3), about 300 meters north of Shoukou Fort Village, Longquan Town, Yanggao County, Datong City. The horse market is connected to the wall of the Great Wall, on the south side of the Great Wall, close to the Valley Mouth Passage. The only remains remain are a rammed earthen wall and an enemy platform connected to it. The earthen wall, which is vertically connected to the Great Wall and extends southward, is 50 meters long, 5 is base width, 1 top width, and has a storage height of 7 meters. The southern end of the earthen wall is connected to an enemy platform, and the base of the enemy platform is 9 long from east to west, 15 wide from north to south, and 10 meters high.

The city belongs to Shoukou Fort, which is located in shoukou fort village of Longquan Town, Yanggao County. According to the "Three Clouds Preparatory Examination" Volume III: "Shoukou Fort, Jiajing Twenty-five Years, Longqing Six Years Brick Pack". The site is nearly square in plan, 210 meters long from east to west and 200 meters wide from north to south. The existing western wall is about 180 meters long, the east and west ends of the north wall are each stored in a section of about 50 meters long, the south wall only exists, about 12 meters long, and the east wall does not exist. The base width of the wall is 3, the width of the top is 0.5 to 2, and the residual height is 1 to 3 meters. The walls are rammed and the bricks do not exist. There was originally an east gate, but it no longer exists. Inside the fort are modern houses.

The third volume of the "Three Clouds Trick Examination" "Shoukou Fort" article says: "The fort is the sun and the shoulders, and the ditches such as the inner jianshan are extremely rushed." Outside the border, Weining Haizi and other places, the chief capital Ducha and other tribes stationed in the pastoral. He also took Lin Taiji to the grass along the Yellow River and took advantage of it in The city of Benkougong. In longqing, the prisoners have been invaded since then, and the whole town is in a hurry. It has set up its own city mouth, and there are Jingyu and Zhenmen Second Fort as wings, and the two tucks under the label are bullet pressure, and the momentum is dependent on each other, which is enough to protect the clouds. ”

There were fewer garrisons at Shoukou Fort, with only 466 flag troops and 45 horses, and the officials were garrisoned and 1 member each. Therefore, the fort site here is only 300 meters away from Mashi, which is about related to the weak strength of the troops. There is Zhenmen Fort in the east and Jingyu Fort in the west, which are relatively close and can be supported, which is the reason why Ming officials set up Mashi here. In addition, 8 kilometers south of the fort, that is, the Ming Dynasty Yanghe City (present-day Yanggao County), there are more than 9,100 garrisons in the city, which is a greater support force. In addition, the setting of the horse market should also be considered near the pastoral land of the Mongol tribes, and trade should consider the interests of both sides after all, not simply by the Ming Dynasty from the defense side.

3. The ruins of Zhenqiangbao MaShi (Figure 4), 100 meters north of Qiangbao Village, Baoziwan Township, Xinrong District, Datong City. The ruins are connected to the great side of the Great Wall, on the north side of the Great Wall. Rectangular in plan, 200 meters long from east to west and 115 meters wide from north to south. The eastern wall is 95 meters, the rest are basically intact, and the south wall is the wall of the Long Wall. The base of the wall is now 2.5 meters wide, the top width is 1, and the storage height is 2 to 7 meters. The walls are rammed and the bricks do not exist. The South Gate is located on the east side of the South Wall, 70 meters from the East Wall. Brick coupon top, arch height 1.2 meters (bottom loess block), doorway width 3, depth of 4 meters. Some bricks and cornerstones remain. There are two north-south earthen walls near the south wall of the fort, the east wall is 30 meters long, the west wall is 50 meters long, and the spacing is 30 meters. On the east wall there are 5 remains of the walls of the premises. The fort is arable land. The site is known to local villagers as "Lookout Castle". According to the "Map of the Division of the North East Road" contained in volume 3 of the "Sanyun Chu Li Kao", there is a horse market on the north side of the Great Wall north of Zhenqiang Fort, and the location of this fort is exactly the same as that of the horse market.

The city belongs to the town of Qiangbao, and the site of the fort is in the village of Qiangbao in Baoziwan Township. The three volumes of the "Three Clouds Preparation examination" are contained: "Zhenqiang Fort, Jiajing twenty-four years of setting, Wanli two years of brick package." "The site of the fort is flat and square, with a side length of 250 meters. The south wall is 150 meters, and the rest is basically intact. The wall base is 6 wide, the top width is 0.5, and the storage height is 8 to 11 meters. The walls are rammed and the bricks do not exist. There was originally one south gate, but it no longer exists. There are 4 corner platforms, the northeast corner platform, the base protruding wall is 8 meters, and the width is 13 meters. There are 3 horse faces, the west wall horse face, the base protruding wall is 10 meters, and the width is 10 meters. Inside the fort are modern houses.

The third volume of the "Three Clouds Preparation Examination" "Zhenqiang Fort" article says: "The place where the ben fort is stuffed with the first rush, and the town is in the big market. Neibei Dong'ergou and Noguchi are all rushing everywhere. Outside the Liuhe River, Shanhaizi and other places, the chieftains golden list, Shiwei Jing, If NotLang and other tribes live and graze. ...... This section and extinguished, but every time there is a mutual market, the king of the East and West leads tens of thousands of beehives under the city. Although the dao will be informed of the coming of the prison, and rely on victory as the last momentum, so as not to be afraid, but the incident changes breathing, the defensive strategy must not be careless. The cloud here refers to "attachment to victory", that is, to rely on the fort of victory. Desheng Fort is located 1 km west-south of Zhenqiang Fort, and the distance is so close that, as the "Three Clouds Trick Examination" says, "The Arrow is within reach", and the Second Fort should also be the military stronghold of Gongwei Ma City.

The site of Deshengbao Fort is in the village of Deshengbao in Baoziwan Township. Volume III of the "Three Clouds Preparatory Examination": "Victory Fort, Jiajing Twenty-seven Years, Wanli Second Year Brick Package." "The site is rectangular in plan, 400 meters long from east to west and 500 meters wide from north to south. The walls are basically preserved intact. The base width of the wall is 5, the width of the top is 1 to 3, and the height of the wall is 3 to 7 meters. The walls are rammed and the bricks do not exist. The South Gate is located in the middle of the South Wall. Brick coupon roof, the inner side of the arch is 5.7 meters high, the outer side is 4.5 meters high, the inner side of the doorway is 4.3 wide, the outer side is 3.7 wide, and the depth is 14 meters. Bricks and cornerstones still exist, there are brick carved hanging door covers on the door openings, and the word "guarantee" is written on the front of the door, and the word "Wanli Bing Noon Autumn Ji Dan Li" is signed. There are two stone tablets on the inner wall of the door opening, one wordless on the west side, and one inscription on the east side for the 35th year of the Wanli Dynasty. There is 1 southeast corner platform, with a protruding wall of 8.8 and a width of 8.25 meters at the base. There are 15 horse faces, the north end of the western wall is horse face, and the base protruding wall is 8.5 and 10 meters wide. There are the remains of the urn outside the south gate, which is 28 meters long from east to west, 20 meters wide from north to south, 5 meters wide from the base of the wall, and 1.5 to 7 meters high. The urn gate is on the east wall, now an opening, 6 meters wide. The fort is home to modern dwellings and arable land.

Here, Mashi is the largest market in Datong Town, and the troops of the Second Fort are correspondingly strong. Zhenqiang Fort garrison 1 member, more than 1050 officers and troops, 168 horses and mules (head > 1 general stationed in Victory Fort, 2960 officers and troops, 1191 horses and mules (head). The Zhenqiang Fort is only 100 meters away from Mashi, which is already known for the tight defense. However, after our investigation, in addition to the above two forts in the records, there is also a fort that is not recorded, judging from the architectural form, and the Zhenqiang and Desheng Second Forts are castles of the same period, and the local villagers call them "Mashi Fort". This fort is 300 meters west of Zhenqiangbao Village, and it forms a glyph-shaped defense system with Zhenqiang and Desheng Erbao.

The site of Mashibao Fort is 150 meters south of the Great Wall. Flat rectangular, 200 meters long from east to west and 160 meters wide from north to south. The walls are basically preserved intact. The base width of the wall is 5, the width of the top is 0.5 to 1, and the height is 6 meters. Rammed walls. The east gate is 1, located in the middle of the east wall, now an opening, 5 meters wide and 9 meters deep. There are 4 corner platforms. Southwest corner platform, the base protruding wall 7.3 meters, width 6, height 6 meters. Horse noodles 3 seats. The south wall is horse-faced, and the base protrudes from the wall by 7 meters, with a width of 5 meters and a height of 6 meters. Outside the east gate there are the remains of the urn city, which is 30 meters long from east to west and 30 meters wide from north to south. The wall shape is the same as the fortress wall. The urn gate is on the south wall, now an opening, 7 meters wide. There is also a circumference of the outer wall of the urn, which is 30 meters long from east to west and 40 meters wide from north to south. The base of the wall is now 1.5 meters wide and 1 to 1.5 meters high. The fort is arable land.

Zhenqiangbaoma City is the most typical. This horse market is also called "Deshengbao City Mouth" in the second volume of the "Three Clouds Preparatory Examination" "Fenggong Kao", which is obviously defended by Zhenqiang Fort and Desheng Fort, and the horse market surrounded by the three castle glyphs of Zhenqiang Fort, the undocumented "Mashi Baobao" and the Desheng Fort can especially reflect the nature of the Horse Market in the Ming Dynasty, and the ambivalence of the Ming Court in setting up the Horse Market, on the one hand, it is necessary to set up a market for political and trade needs, and on the other hand, it is like facing a great enemy, the guard is tight, and it is afraid of accidents.

4. The ruins of Ninglubao Mashi (Figures 5 and 6) are located 2 kilometers northeast of Ninglubao Village in Sanzhong Township, Zuoyun County, Datong City, on the north side of the Long City Wall near Ninglubao Village. The plan is rectangular, 50 meters long from east to west and 30 meters wide from north to south. The base of the wall is 2 meters wide, the residual height is 1 to 2 meters, and there are collapse points.

4 meters south of the ruins of the horse market, next to a tall enemy platform, built on the wall of the Long City, built on the wall. Flat square, base side length 14, top side length 12 meters, height 16 meters. The base is stone masonry, and the upper part is covered with bricks. There is a brick ticket door in the middle of the south wall, a hanging flower door cover, a width of 1.2, an arch height of 5 meters, and the word "Zhenning" is written on the front of the door. There is a treadway inside the door that leads to the top of the platform. The enemy platform has a rammed square wall on the south side of the Long City Wall, with a side length of 45, a base width of 2, and a residual height of 5 to 6 meters. There is a brick ticket gate in the middle of the south wall, the arch height is 3 meters, the inner side of the doorway is 3 meters wide, the outer side is 2.5 meters wide, and the depth is 3 meters. This enemy platform should be a vigilance facility of Mashi, echoing with Ningyu Fort and forming the defensive system of Mashi. Although this platform is separated by 4 meters from the horse market wall, it is also possible to think that it is part of the horse market because the two are so close.

The site of Ningyu Fort is in the village of Ninglu fort in Santun Township, Zuoyun County, 2 kilometers north of Mashi. According to volume III of the "Three Clouds Preparatory Examination": "Ningyu Fort, Jiajing Twenty-two Years of Earthen Construction, Wanli First Year Brick Pack". The fort site is square in plan and has a side length of 300 meters. The east and north walls are basically complete, the west wall is 250 meters, and the south wall is 270 meters. The base of the wall is 7 to 9 meters wide, the top width is 1.5 to 3, and the height is 9 to 10 meters. The walls are rammed and the bricks do not exist. There was originally one south gate, but it no longer exists. Horse noodles 7 seats. The north wall is horse-faced, and the base protrudes from the wall by 7 meters and is 15 meters wide. Inside the fort are modern houses.

The article "Ningyu Fort" in the third volume of the "Three Clouds Chip Examination" says: "In the area of Tucheng outside the border of Ben Fort, the Yu Chieftain Dalan has herded the Lasu tribe, and if he invades, he will enter from the south of Ben Fort." Jiajingzhong, from this, swept straight to Huai, Ying, Shan, Ma and other places. After the money was plugged, there was a city wall, and yiren went to trade every month. All precautions, depending on the castle, is difficult to cloud. ”

The garrison of Ningyu Fort was 607 men, with 197 horses, and the strength was relatively weak. There is a Santun Fort within 10 kilometers nearby, and within 20 kilometers there is Weiyu Fort, Kill Hu Fort, and Zuo Acropolis, which still feel very difficult to defend, and the horse market regulations here are special, and the trading place is isolated from the defense facilities, which may be related to this.

5. The ruins of Yunshibao Mashi (Figure 7), located about 500 meters west of Yunshibao Village, Dingjiayao Township, Youyu County, Shuozhou City, and 50 meters southeast of the Great Wall. Flat square with a side length of 200 meters. There are 80 stores on the east wall, 70 on the west wall, 100 on the south wall, and 50 meters on the north wall. The base width of the wall is 3, the width of the top is 0.5 to 1.5, and the residual height is 0.5 to 2 meters. The walls are rammed and the bricks do not exist. The remains of the gate are not seen. The site is now a wasteland.

The ruins here can be seen in the "Three Clouds Trick Examination" volume 3 "Weiyuan Road Ginseng General Genus Map", named "Little Fort". The drawing has a market, opposite the small fort across the Great Wall. Since there are no relics of the market, Gu uses this fort as the ruins of the horse market. Compared with the Horse Market of Ningyu Fort, it can be seen that xiaobao is not a place for trading, but a defense facility.

Yunshi Fort has a new and old second fort, the site of the new fort is located in Dingjiayao Township Yunshibao Village, 500 meters east of the Great Wall. According to the "Three Clouds Preparatory Examination" Volume III: "Yunshi Fort, Jiajing Thirty-eight Years of Earthen Construction, Wanli Ten Years Of Reconstruction, Brick Pack." "And clouds" The old stronghold of this fort is dangerous, and it is easy to be anxious. The trailing edge is high and waterless, the defense is difficult, and it is too far from the edge to facilitate the market. Rebuilt in the Wang Masonry River, Mishikou (i.e. Marble City of Marble Castle - Introducer)". This is the site of the remodeled fort. Flat square with a side length of 200 meters. The walls are basically preserved intact. The wall base is 5 to 7 meters wide, the top width is 1 to 3, and the residual height is 3 to 9 meters. The walls are rammed, and bricks and stones are still in place. 1 East Gate, which no longer exists. Outside the east gate there are the remains of the Urn Castle, which is 33 meters long from east to west and 48 meters wide from north to south. The gate of the urn is on the north wall, now an opening, and is 6 meters wide. There are 4 corner platforms. Southwest corner platform, the base protruding wall 10 meters, width 13, height 10 meters. Horse noodles 3 seats. The western wall is horse-faced, and the base protrudes from the wall of 13 meters, with a width of 15 meters and a height of 9 meters. The fort is now a residential home.

The old fort of Marble Fort should have been abandoned after the reconstruction of the new fort, but there are still relics on the site of the fort, which will not be repeated here.

There are more than 540 troops stationed in Yunshi Fort, there are 27 horses, and the strength of the troops is also very thin, and the ruins of the horse market are similar to those of Ningyu Fort, I am afraid that it is for the same consideration.

Third, some understanding of the relics of the horse market

In the second volume of the "Sanyun Chip Examination", "Fenggong Kao", it is said that the three markets of Datong Town are the mouth of Deshengbao City, the mouth of Xinpingbao City and the mouth of Shoukou Fort. These three markets, known as the "Yu Chieftain Market", may have been more formal venues for official trade. The remaining places are smaller, and although they are supervised by the military, they are mainly civilian border trade. However, judging from the ruins seen in the investigation, the horse markets of Xinping Fort and Shoukou Fort cannot be compared with those of Zhenqiang Fort, but not as good as Ningyu Fort and Yunshi Fort, which should be related to the preservation of the site.

From the analysis of the existing conditions of the ruins, the Ming Dynasty did not have unified regulations on the setting of the horse market, especially the location of the site. The horse markets of Zhenqiang Fort and Ningyu Fort are outside the Great Wall, the horse markets of Yunshi Fort may also be outside the Great Wall, and the remains of the horse markets of Xinping Fort and Shoukou Fort are found within the Great Wall, and there are no relics outside the Great Wall, and it is very likely that they are located within the Great Wall. According to historical records, after the mutual market, people from various Mongolian departments could enter the border area when passing through the city, and they could also have casual contact with the Han people. The "Fenggong Kao" contains several horse market restraint laws added in the forty-first year of the Wanli Calendar, one of which is: "In the previous year, the Yi people of the mutual market were not allowed to carry military blades, and now they are sabers; and when the city is finished, they come to pick up the loose goods, enter the customs, ride on camp horses, tour the street market, causing more hunger and damage; or traffic breaks, secretly buy forbidden weapons, and play as rape." In the future, the market goods will always be given, and it is not allowed to pick up sporadically, nor is it allowed to bring a knife into the market to prevent the harm. It can be seen that during the mutual market, the entry of Mongolian ministries into the border is not restricted. Then, it is also possible for the horse market to be located within the Great Wall.

Mashi was set up to communicate economic exchanges between inside and outside the Great Wall, and played an active role in the formation of our multi-ethnic unified country. However, judging from the horse market called "GaoJie" set up in the fifth year of Longqing, the market is a relatively closed place, and the vigilance for trading exceeds the emphasis on the transaction itself. From the shape of the building and the surrounding military defense facilities, it reflects this mentality of the Ming dynasty officials. This is completely consistent with the "Three Clouds Trick Examination" volume iii "Helping Ma Bao" article said that "after the money is quiet, but each city group of chiefs gathers, caress the place to prevent, and spend a lot of money to draw"; and the "kill Hu Fort" article says that "although the money is after the slang (police) is resting, it is naturally when the hole is channeled, the situation is in exchange, the market is annoying, the anti-leisure care, and the extreme fee is mediated". Therefore, the understanding of the horse market itself and its use as a symbol of national economic exchanges should be viewed differently.

(Author's work unit: Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics)