(Voiced by Hou Hailing)
Traversing 2700 years
Punch in the old city of Zheng Han
National Archaeological Site Park
Text/Zhao Congcong
In April's New Zheng, the wind and the sun are beautiful, the spring is melting, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant, and all things are competing. We came to the ruins of the 2700-year-old Zhenghan Ancient City, touched the temperature of the ancient city wall of Zhenghan with our hands, and measured the history of this ancient city with our footsteps.
(Photo/ Shen Lei)
The Ancient City of Zhenghan, located at the confluence of the Shuanghuan River and the Huangshui River in Xinzheng City, was the capital of Zheng and Han during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The capital was built in the Zheng Kingdom, and Korea destroyed Zheng, and then moved the capital here. The two countries successively built the capital of Xinzheng for 539 years, becoming one of the few large cities in the Central Plains during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
The cities of the Zhou Dynasty were not only a place where political, military, and economic centers and residents gathered, but also a symbol of feudal hierarchy. Zheng and Han built strong walls here. The city wall is the most complete preserved of the eastern Zhou dynasty, the entire city wall circumference of about 22 kilometers, the current preservation of the city wall above the ground is still eleven or twelve kilometers, the highest point up to eighteen or nine meters.
The city wall divides the ancient city of Zheng Han into two parts, the western city is the inner city, and the eastern city is the Kho city. Xicheng District is the Palace of Zhengguo, South Korea and the residential area of the nobility, archaeological excavations include the ruins of the North Palace, the West Palace, the Zhou Temple, and the Great Palace; there are the Zhengzhuang Gongwang Mother Platform, the Zheng Guojun Seal Platform, and the Zheng Nu Marriage Dresser; there is the "Lingyin Well" underground cellar; and the Zheng Guo Silk Reeling Workshop and the Ancestral Monument of the Korean Zongmiao Temple, which are rare in China and rare in the world. Dongcheng District is a civilian residential area and handicraft workshop area of Zhengguo and South Korea, with bone-making, jade-making, pottery-making, copper casting, iron smelting sites and so on.
Zhenghan's ancient city is not only dotted with ground cultural relics, but also countless underground cultural relics. In 1908, more than 100 bronze artifacts were excavated from the stone slope of Dongguan, the old county town of Xinzheng. In 1923, lijialou on South Street discovered the tomb of Zheng Guojunzi Baby, and unearthed 133 pieces of Yi ware, 723 pieces of artifact fragments and shells, which caused a sensation at home and abroad, and a pair of bronze lotus crane square pots were rare treasures. In 1971, The village of Baekmiao Fan discovered the Korean weapon cellar, and unearthed more than 180 pieces of copper goats, copper swords and copper spears, although buried in the ground for more than 2,000 years, they still did not rust, glittered, and were very sharp. From 1996 to 1997, the Zhengguo sacrifice site was discovered, and a total of 18 pits for ritual instruments were excavated, including 7 pits for ritual instruments, 4 groups of ritual instruments in Jiuding, Jiugui, Bagui, Sanju, Yijian and Yidou, and one group was 18 jiuding and nine manes; 11 pits for musical instruments, and 206 chimes were unearthed, and the project was rated as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in the country that year. In 2008, the excavation project of the Tomb of King Huzhuang Han carried out in conjunction with the construction of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project was rated as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in China that year. In 2017, the excavation project of No. 3 Pit of the North City Gate of Zheng Han's Ancient City and Zheng Guo Noble Cemetery was newly discovered by the top ten archaeologists in the country that year. The excavation project of Zhenghan Ancient City Ruins has been rated as one of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in China every year, which shows its value and status in Chinese archaeology.
Outside the middle section of the eastern city wall, that is, the place of "out of its east gate" mentioned in the "Book of Poetry zheng feng". Xinzheng built a park here, named "Zheng Feng Yuan". Here there are many strange stones, and the stones are engraved with the content that everyone is familiar with: "Qingqing Zizhen, leisurely my heart" "I don't see it for a day, like March Xi"... These contents are from the Book of Poetry and Zheng Feng.
In the "Poetry Classics and National Styles", "Zheng Feng" has 21 articles, which is the most preserved chapter among the fifteen national styles. Zhengguo is located in the geographical environment of mountains and rivers, with developed commerce and profound historical and cultural accumulation. The two rivers of Qinshui and Huanshui meet here, and the coastal resources are abundant, flowers and trees are flourishing, the scenery is beautiful, and the elegant environment has become a hotbed for nurturing romantic love songs. Whether in terms of ideological content or artistic style, "Zheng Feng" presents a strong rebellious ideology and high cultural taste, showing obvious zeitgeist and regional characteristics, leaving an important page in the history of mainland literature.
In recent years, Xinzheng City has conscientiously implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on the protection of cultural relics, fully promoted the construction of the Zhenghan Ancient City National Archaeological Site Park project, and realized the rational protection, rational utilization and rational development of Zhenghan Ancient City from the direction of scientific protection, scientific display and scientific management. In particular, the Northeast Corner City Wall Ruins Park is connected with the Zhengfengyuan Scenic Area and the Qinshuihe Wetland Park, and after completion, it has become a good place for tourists and citizens to travel, exercise and study. In December 2017, Zhenghan Ancient City Ruins Park was officially listed as a National Archaeological Site Park by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.
Today, the Zhenghan Ancient City National Archaeological Site Park is green and the flowers are open at the same time, and the majestic city wall and the slowly flowing water silently keep together, outlining the magnificent outline of the zhenghan ancient city. Perhaps, under this magical land, there are still many amazing secrets, waiting for archaeologists to help us solve the mystery, and what we need to do now is to protect these precious spiritual wealth left by our ancestors.
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Editor: Chen Xi
Editor-in-charge: Chen Yang