Site of Beixiaochengzi City

Site of Beixiaochengzi City

Site of Beixiaochengzi City

The Site of Beixiaochengzi City is located in Beixiaochengzi Town. According to the "Kangping County Annals" in the 〈〈Fengtian General Records〉〉: “Beixiaochengzi is situated forty-five li to the northwest of the county. The earthen city wall spans approximately one thousand zhang, with four gates in total. A stone stele was unearthed at the north gate during farming some years ago. Eroded by soil over time, only the characters ‘盆…

Jin

Lian Zhen Shou

’ and some numbers.” According to the 〈〈History of Liao〉〉: “Yuanchou is three hundred li southwest of Xianzhou and eight hundred li northwest of Shangjing Linhuang Prefecture. It is suspected that this city might be the one referred to.” In Volume Six of China’s 〈〈Historical Atlas〉〉, the map near Linhuang Prefecture shows Yuanchou to the north of today's county seat, whose geographical location is close to that of the Beixiaochengzi site. The 〈〈General History of China: Gazetteer of Liao, Jin, and Xia Place Names〉〉 records: “Fuzhou and Yuanchou were both located within the territory of Kangping County.” Was this site Fuzhou or Yuanchou? This remains to be verified. Currently, the site has largely been destroyed, with only remnants of the southern wall about 100 meters long, the western wall about 60 meters long, wall remnants about 2.4 meters high, and the top width over 3 meters. The site is rectangular in layout, and numerous fragments of bricks, tiles, pottery, and porcelain have been found within the city—artifacts dating back to the Liao and Jin dynasties.