Ruins of the Ancient City of Changle

Ruins of the Ancient City of Changle

The ruins of the ancient city of Changle are a cultural heritage site protected by Shandong Province.

The ruins of the ancient city of Changle are located in Tucheng Village, situated 30 kilometers southeast of Tengzhou City. The site lies on the northern bank of the Xue River, facing Tao Mountain across the water. Both the Ming Dynasty Wanli-era and Qing Dynasty Daoguang-era editions of the "Teng County Annals · Historical Sites" state: “The Changle City, also called Lan City, had a circumference of ten li and included a smaller inner city.” On the eve of the War of Resistance, the city was still largely intact, with remnants of crenellations faintly standing, and the north, east, and west gates all relatively complete; the north gate tower bore a brick plaque inscribed with the two characters “Changle,” arranged horizontally from left to right in Liu-style regular script, believed to be an artifact from the Tang Dynasty. Lan City was part of the territory of the lesser Zhu state.

Lan Yi was an important city of the lesser Zhu state and was renamed Changle County starting in the Eastern Han Dynasty. At the northwest corner of the city’s bastion, there is a stone carving measuring 1.5 meters in length and about 1 meter in width, bearing the inscription “Lan Yi.” On the eve of the War of Resistance, Han Fuju ordered the reconstruction of Changle City, during which the crenellations of Lan Yi were demolished. It is said that during the late Qing Dynasty, in preparation against attacks by the Taiping Rebellion army, the city was refurbished, and the crenellations were fully restored. During this renovation, a laborer named Liu Kaixiang unearthed outside the west gate the skeletal remains of a general, arranged as if wearing a sword. A tiger tally was also found, which Liu Kaixiang picked up and kept tied to his waist, carrying it day and night until he was buried with it upon his death. From this, it is inferred that the skeleton belonged to a general from the Spring and Autumn period, who was buried under the city with the tiger tally. Below two meters within the inner city, pottery-made underground pipelines were discovered, extending to the northern bank of the Xue River about a li to the southwest—Han Dynasty earthenware tiles. This ancient city served as the administrative center of the region from the Spring and Autumn period to the end of the Sui Dynasty. After the Tang Dynasty, it declined into rural use.

During a cultural relics survey in 1982, it was found that the current Tucheng ruins are the inner city of the ancient Changle City, with a perimeter of 1.5 kilometers, extending from Xiyucun in the west to Dongyucun in the east, and from Xishilou in the north to the eastern side of Tao Mountain in the south. The unearthed pottery shards match those of the inner city. Dongyucun features an “Iron Furnace Mouth,” an ancient smelting site. Charcoal blocks, ashes, and iron fragments were also discovered, indicating that the area had entered the Iron Age by the time the city was built. Based on relevant documents and the uncovered stone foundations, the old city walls were about two zhang high, the moat eight chi deep, and the top of the walls six chi wide—wide enough for carts to pass, with the base of the walls five chi above ground level. The four gates were majestic, with gate towers approximately three zhang tall, all built of brick and stone, making them very sturdy. At that time, the buildings inside the city were grand in scale, featuring towers, terraces, halls, and carved beams and painted rafters, all resplendent and magnificent. Outside the south gate of the city was an ancient garden with beautiful scenery. According to legend and historical records: during the Five Dynasties period, the daughter of Xue King Liu Chong of Changle City married to avoid a tiger, hence Changle City was also known as “Dodge Tiger City.” After more than 2,000 years of vicissitudes, the city has vanished without a trace. However, the remaining ruins, broken steles, and fragments are still enough to evoke visions of its former grandeur.

In 2013, the ruins of the ancient city of Changle were designated by the People's Government of Shandong Province as part of the fourth batch of provincial-level cultural heritage protection units in Shandong.

Tucheng Village: Tucheng Village…… More details about Tucheng Village++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units in Shandong