Ancient City of the State of Tan

Ancient City of the State of Tan

The Ancient City of the State of Tan is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Ancient City of the State of Tan is located on a highland in the northern suburbs of Tancheng County, Shandong Province.

The Tongzhi·Shizu Lue (General Gazetteer · Genealogical Sketch) states: “The Tan clan, of the Qi surname, held the rank of viscount, and some say they were descendants of Shaohao, of the Ying clan.” Another account claims they were of the Ji surname. The Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo), Year 17 of Duke Zhao (525 BC), records: “In autumn, the ruler of Tan came to pay court.” Duke Zhao asked, “Why did the Shaohao clan use bird names for their official titles?” The ruler of Tan replied, “When my ancestor, Shaohao Zhi, ascended, a phoenix happened to arrive, so we recorded things according to birds, appointed bird-themed officials, and used bird names.” “Confucius heard of this and went to see the ruler of Tan to learn from him.” The state was destroyed by the Yue kingdom in the early Warring States period. The Records of the Grand Historian · House of Goujian, King of Yue, and its commentary, the Suoyin, citing the Bamboo Annals, state: “King Zhu Gou of Yue (Yu Yue Zi) ‘destroyed Tan in his 35th year,’” which corresponds to the 12th year of King Weilie of Zhou (414 BC). The Qin dynasty established the Tan Commandery, the Han dynasty set up Tan County, the Tang dynasty merged the county into Linyi, and the Song and Jin dynasties continued this arrangement. The county of Tancheng was re-established in the late Yuan dynasty.

The ancient city is an irregular quadrilateral, with a perimeter of 4,670 meters — the eastern wall is 1,370 meters long, the western wall 1,260 meters, the southern wall 780 meters, and the northern wall 1,260 meters. The eastern and southern walls have been leveled, while most of the northern and western walls remain relatively well-preserved. The surviving remnants of the walls are 3–4 meters high, with bases 35–45 meters wide. The ancient city had four gates, constructed from bluestone. The city walls were built with rammed earth. During deep plowing, ditch digging, or canal construction within the former city area, fragments of pottery, roof tiles, and ceramic dou vessels from the Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States, and Han periods are often unearthed. Qin banliang coins, Chu ghost-face coins, and Han wuzhu coins have also been found, along with frequent discoveries of jar-shaped wells with diameters of 50–70 centimeters.

In 2006, the Ancient City of the State of Tan was designated by the State Council as a sixth batch National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit as an ancient site from the Zhou to the Han dynasties.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units