The Ancient City of Acheng in Yanggu (Including the Ancient Well of A)

The Ancient City of Acheng in Yanggu (Including the Ancient Well of A)

The Ancient City of Acheng in Yanggu is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Shandong Province.

The Ancient City of Acheng in Yanggu (Including the Ancient Well of A) is located in Wangzhuang Village, Acheng Town, Yanggu County, and is a provincial-level cultural heritage site.

The exact founding date of the ancient city of Acheng is unknown, but it was already an important stronghold to the west of the Qi State during the Spring and Autumn Period. Until the Han and Three Kingdoms periods, it remained a contested military site. The story of “Yanzi Governing A” from the Spring and Autumn Period unfolded here. The city site is roughly square with rounded corners, measuring 2 kilometers per side, with a perimeter of 8 kilometers and an area of 4 square kilometers. The southeastern corner and the northern wall of the city are relatively well-preserved, while other sections of the wall are slightly above ground level. The southeastern corner wall retains about 250 meters in length, reaching a height of 14 meters above ground and extending more than 2 meters underground, with a width of nearly 30 meters. The cross-section of the wall reveals its structure, consisting of the main body of the wall and later additions. The main wall was constructed using board-formed rammed earth, with flat layers ranging from 6 to 10 centimeters in thickness.

The added sections are located on both the inner and outer faces of the wall, showing better ramming quality. This section of the wall utilized cultural deposits from the Dawenkou and Longshan periods, with the rammed earth containing artifacts from those eras. The soil is grayish in color, and the main wall is built over the Longshan-period rammed foundation. The western end of the northern wall currently stands about 12 meters high, with a ramming structure similar to that of the southeastern corner, also incorporating early cultural deposits.

To the east of the Spring and Autumn city lies a settlement from the Longshan period. Part of this wall has been overlaid by the Spring and Autumn-period construction. The surviving section is approximately 56 meters long, 12 meters wide, and about 2 meters high. The wall is made of rammed yellow sandy soil, which is hard in texture, with indistinct layering. A grey pit cuts through the wall, yielding a large number of pottery fragments, predominantly red pottery with some grey pieces. Based on vessel types, they are attributed to the Dawenkou and early Longshan periods, suggesting the wall was built in the early Longshan period or even earlier. Its cultural characteristics differ somewhat from those of the Chengziya Longshan culture, exhibiting elements of Central Plains Longshan culture.

The Well of A is located in the center of Acheng. It is circular and built from blue bricks. It has existed since the Eastern Han Dynasty, and its water is clear and used for boiling donkey-hide gelatin. The Northern Wei Dynasty’s Li Daoyuan wrote in his Commentary on the Water Classic · A River: “On the west side inside the north gate of the great city of Dong’e, there is a large well on a raised platform. The largest is as big as a wheel, about six or seven zhang deep, and gelatin is boiled here every year as tribute to the imperial court.” It is also recorded in Dream Pool Essays and Compendium of Materia Medica. In the Guangxu era, a hexagonal pavilion was built over the well, along with a commemorative stele.

[Related Link] Yanzi Governing A

During the reign of Duke Jing of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period (late 6th century BC), Yanzi (whose given name was Ying and courtesy name Pingzhong) served as the magistrate of Dong’e (present-day Acheng Town, Yanggu County, Liaocheng). Over three years, Duke Jing heard many negative reports about Yanzi and wanted to dismiss him. Yanzi said, “I know where I went wrong. Let me govern for another three years.” The duke agreed and let Yanzi continue. Three years later, all reports were praiseworthy, and the duke wanted to reward Yanzi. But Yanzi said, “I cannot accept this reward.” When asked why, Yanzi explained, “In my first term, I punished vice, discouraged idleness, upheld the law impartially, avoided favoritism, and did not defer to the powerful, which offended some people. They spoke ill of me to you, so you thought I was doing a poor job. Later, I changed my approach—I ignored the immoral, neglected the lazy, showed leniency in trials to the privileged, and bowed to the nobles, so they all spoke well of me, which reached your ears and made you think I had done well. In truth, those who deserved punishment were rewarded, and those who merited rewards were punished. Therefore, I cannot accept this reward now.” From this, Duke Jing recognized Yanzi’s wisdom and appointed him to govern the state, eventually making him prime minister of Qi.

Acheng Town: Located on the north bank of the Yellow River in the eastern part of Yanggu County, Acheng Town covers an area of 115.1 square kilometers, with a population of 68,000 and 120,000 mu of arable land.

Acheng Town boasts a superior geographical location and a rich historical culture. Its scenic spots and historic sites such as the Ancient Well of A, Haihui Temple, and Sun Bin Pavilion are renowned both at home and abroad. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was “a bustling hub where scholars and merchants gathered,” and one of the famous commercial ports along the canal.

On this ancient land, many notable figures emerged, including the famous military strategist Sun Bin from the Warring States period, the Three Kingdoms general Cheng Yu, and the prominent Yuan Dynasty politician Cao Yuan Yong, among others. Acheng is also the … Detailed Information on Acheng Town++