Site of the Ancient City of Changyi

Site of the Ancient City of Changyi

The Site of the Ancient City of Changyi is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Era: Western Han Dynasty

Located in Changyiji, Daxiejizhen, about 27 kilometers south of Juye County, Shandong Province, it was the capital of the Shanyang Kingdom and the Changyi Kingdom during the Western Han Dynasty. In 1992, it was designated as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit of Shandong Province. Changyi, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, was a small state; it became a county in the Qin Dynasty, and served as the seat of a commandery during the Western Han. In the sixth year of the middle period of Emperor Jing's reign (144 BC), the Liang territory was divided to establish the Shanyang Kingdom, enfeoffing Liu Ding, son of King Xiao of Liang, as king, making Changyi the capital of the kingdom. In the fifth year of the Jianyuan era (136 BC) during Emperor Wu’s reign, the Shanyang Kingdom was reorganized into the Shanyang Commandery. In the fourth year of the Tianhan era (97 BC), the Shanyang Commandery was again granted as the Changyi Kingdom, enfeoffing Liu Xu, another son, as the King of Changyi. Liu Xu reigned for eleven years, and after his death, his son Liu He succeeded him. In 74 BC, Emperor Zhao of Han passed away without an heir, and Liu He was summoned to ascend the throne but was deposed after just 27 days due to incompetence and was demoted to the status of Marquis of Haihun by Grand General Huo Guang. In the first year of the Benshi era (73 BC) during Emperor Xuan’s reign, the Changyi Kingdom was changed back to the Shanyang Commandery. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was made part of the Yanzhou Inspectorate. In 1980 and 1982, the Heze Regional Cultural Relics Team conducted two surveys and explorations of the site, determining that the ancient city had an approximately square layout, with the east wall measuring 1,215 meters, the west wall 1,377 meters, the north wall 1,585 meters, and the south wall 1,720 meters. The city walls were built in sections using rammed earth, consisting of sticky black soil mixed with lime, with rammed layers varying between 9, 10, and 11 centimeters. Currently, four villages—Qianchangyi, Houchangyi, Houhuayuan, and Chengjiao Liu—are situated on the site. A large number of Han Dynasty artifacts and a small number of Warring States artifacts have been discovered within the area, including tiles, small-necked jars, shallow dishes with slender handles, pots, bronze arrowheads, iron pillars, crossbow mechanisms, and pottery well rings. Stone mills, stone troughs, house foundations, and brewing kiln sites have also been found. Additionally, there are relics from the Tang, Song, Jin, and Yuan periods such as iron cauldrons and basins. The wealth of cultural remains provides reliable physical evidence for studying the history and rise and fall of ancient Changyi. In May 2013, it was approved and announced by the State Council as part of the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units