Ancient Capital of the Ying State

Ancient Capital of the Tan State

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

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

According to the "Tongzhi · Genealogy Summary": "The Tan clan, of Qi lineage, held the rank of viscount, some say they were of Ying descent, descendants of Shaohao." Another account claims they were of Ji lineage. The "Zuo Zhuan" (Commentary of Zuo), Year 17 of Duke Zhao (525 BC), records: "In autumn, the ruler of Tan came to pay homage." 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 the throne, a phoenix happened to arrive, so we recorded officials by birds, appointing bird-officials with bird names." "Confucius heard of this, met with the ruler of Tan, and learned from him." The state was destroyed by the Yue Kingdom in the early Warring States period. "Records of the Grand Historian · House of Goujian, King of Yue," in its commentary, cites the "Bamboo Annals" stating: "King Zhu Gou of Yue (Yu Yue Zi Zhu Gou) 'in the 35th year destroyed Tan'," 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, the Song and Jin Dynasties continued this arrangement, and the Yuan Dynasty re-established Tan County at the end of its rule.

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

In 2006, the Ancient Capital of the Tan State, recognized as an ancient site from the Zhou to the Han dynasties, was included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units