Site of the Ancient Gongcheng City

Site of the Ancient Gongcheng City

The Site of the Ancient Gongcheng City is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Site of the Ancient Gongcheng City is located in the central-northern part of Huixian City, Xinxiang, Henan Province, and is the remnant of the capital city of the State of Gong during the Zhou Dynasty. In ancient times, the Gong tribe inhabited the Huixian area, and the place came to be known as "Gongdi" (Gong Land) because of them. In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the Zhou royal court enfeoffed 71 vassal states, and Gongdi became a Ji-surnamed vassal state named the "State of Gong," and its capital was called "Gongcheng."

The ancient city site is roughly square in shape, with a perimeter of about 5 kilometers. The existing city walls were built during the Warring States period and are over 2,300 years old, making them one of the few well-preserved large-scale early city walls in China. Measurements show that the western wall is 1,300 meters long, the northern wall 1,200 meters, the southern wall 1,200 meters, and the eastern wall along the eastern course of the Shih River is also 1,300 meters, bringing the total perimeter to 5,000 meters. The total area of Gongcheng is approximately 1.56 million square meters. The city walls were all built using layered rammed earth techniques, including round, oval, and flat rammers. Field surveys revealed that most of the rammed earth pits are round. The foundation trench of the northern half of the city wall is firmly built on bedrock, making it as solid as a rock.

The city walls now exist intermittently, with about 200 meters remaining at both the southern and northern ends of the eastern wall. The northern wall retains around 800 meters at its eastern and western ends, the western wall about 200 meters in its northern section, and the southern wall about 300 meters in its eastern section. The remaining walls are generally 6 meters high, with bases 40 meters wide and tops about 10 meters wide. The cross-sections of the northern and east-western walls are particularly thick, likely designed to defend against the impact of severe mountain floods from the nearby Taihang Mountains. The southeastern section of Gongcheng’s walls is relatively well preserved. The earthen materials used in the city walls include red clay, black soil, yellow soil, white soil, and a type of mixed soil known as "three-flower soil."

Before liberation, three ancient tomb excavations were carried out in the Wenchang Pavilion area at the southeastern corner of Gongcheng, uncovering 52 Warring States tombs and 4 chariot pits. In the autumn of 1950, the first major archaeological excavation of New China took place at Gongcheng, yielding 53 Shang Dynasty tombs, 27 Warring States tombs, and 1 chariot pit. A wealth of funerary objects were unearthed, including war chariots, weapons, bronze ware, and Warring States coins, among which the Sword of King Fuchai of Wu is the most precious. The Shang to Warring States tomb clusters in this area are of great reference value for studying the history and culture of the time.

The Site of the Ancient Gongcheng City not only witnessed the historical events of the “Rebellion of the Commons” and the “Republican Administration” during the reign of King Li of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but also contains a wealth of historical information such as the “First Year of the Republic” and concepts of “republican and democratic governance systems,” making it a cornerstone for China’s chronology projects and those of the Shang and Zhou periods. It also serves as valuable physical evidence for studying the social productivity of the Zhou Dynasty and the early urban planning system of China. It holds a significant place in the domestic academic community and has had a profound influence in countries such as Japan.

In February 1970, the Site of the Ancient Gongcheng City was designated as part of the first batch of county-level cultural relics protection units by the Huixian Revolutionary Committee; in September 2000, it was listed as part of the third batch of provincial-level cultural relics protection units by the People's Government of Henan Province; and in May 2006, it was further designated as part of the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units