Amubake Enclosure

Amubake, in Chinese, means “Reed Gully,” which refers to the present-dayJilinSipingXiwai Town, Yitong Manchu Autonomous County. The enclosure is situated on the foothills of the Changbai Mountain range, connecting to the Nadanbo Enclosure (now within Dongfeng County) to the east; bordering the Alanbakeqin Enclosure (Lalahaizi) to the south and southeast; adjacent to the Fujiahasaqin Enclosure (southeastern suburbs of Siping City) to the west and northwest; and neighboring Yaowei Village and Minzhu Village of Xiwai Town, Yitong Manchu Autonomous County, to the north and northeast, covering an area of nearly 100 square li.

Located within Xiwai Town, 15 kilometers south of Yitong County, over 380 years ago, this area enjoyed a mild climate, abundant rainfall, lush forests, and was home to a large population of wildlife including wolves, sables, black bears, roe deer, foxes, and Siberian tigers. This natural zoo was one of the famous Shengjing Enclosures — the Amubake Enclosure.

Xiwai Town: Xiwai Town is located 20 li southwest of Yitong Manchu Autonomous County. It neighbors Yitong Town to the east, Xiaogushan Town to the west, connects to Yitong Town to the north, and faces Xifeng County of Liaoning Province to the south. The town comprises 8 administrative villages, with a land area of 3,592 hectares, 3,249 households, and a population of 13,881. The per capita income is 2,500 yuan. It boasts superior geographical conditions, beautiful natural scenery, unique landscapes, captivating historical legends, and a long-standing Manchu culture.

According to the Qing Dynasty Grand Secretary Gao Shiqi’s “Diary of the Eastern Tour” and Ferdinand Verbiest’s “Travelogue of Tartary,” in the 21st year of the Kangxi Emperor’s reign (1682), the Kangxi Emperor embarked on his second eastern tour, inspecting the regions of Shengjing and Jilin Wula. On March 18th, he hunted at the Zhanlanfen Enclosure’s Alin Mountain within the Shengjing Enclosure. On March 21st, General of Jilin Baha led 200 elite riders of the Eight Banners to welcome the Emperor at Dayugushan in Yitong. Along the journey, they conducted hunting activities in the enclosures, arriving at Jilin Wula on March 25th. During the trip, the Kangxi Emperor and his entourage took mountain paths (the ancient hunting trails), hunting while traveling. While in the Amubake Enclosure, a colorful tiger suddenly leapt out, and the Emperor, drawing his bow, shot and killed the tiger.

The imperial hunting process was divided into several stages: waiting for the hunt, releasing the animals, forming the enclosure, and ending the hunt. The encirclement gradually shrank, driving the animals into a treeless lowland. Then, the Emperor, armed with a bow and arrow, would ride into the enclosure to hunt personally, or the Crown Prince would do so. During the Kangxi Emperor’s second eastern tour, there was one day when the Emperor himself killed three tigers, and the nine-year-old Crown Prince, Yinreng, also managed to kill one. Without an imperial decree, princes, ministers, and guards were not allowed to shoot a single arrow within the enclosure. There were two hunts per day, covering distances of 80 to 90 li. According to the “Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty,” during the second eastern tour, over 3,000 selected archers accompanied the Emperor, and he personally killed as many as 39 tigers.

The Northeast was the backyard of the Qing court, the “Dragon Rising Land.” To prevent the Han people, Mongolians, and others from entering and disrupting the “dragon veins,” the Qing built the Willow Palisade.

According to regulations from the Kangxi era, commoners caught entering the enclosure to gather firewood were fined five taels of silver, and those who hunted across borders faced severe punishment. The ancient enclosure trails were the only routes in and out of the imperial enclosures. When the royals hunted in the Amubake Enclosure, they had to pass through these trails. In addition, soldiers patrolling between beacon towers, hunting within the enclosure, and transporting game also had to use this route.

The ancient enclosure trails of the time “divided the mountain into two sides” — the northern boundary of the Amubake Enclosure, with the enclosed area to the south. The beacon towers around the enclosure were used by gamekeepers to guard the area, light signal fires, and communicate. “Enclosure houses” were the living quarters for the gamekeepers, locally known as “old barracks,” where soldiers guarding the enclosure resided and ate. Each barrack housed 10 to 15 gamekeepers. There were four “old barracks” in the Amubake Enclosure, accommodating over 60 soldiers in total. On the southern ridge of the Xiwai Forest Farm, remnants of the “old barracks” such as blue bricks, tiles, and earthen embankments can still be found today.

There were three forms of hunting in the Amubake Enclosure: First, the Imperial Hunt. When the Emperor went hunting, officials arranged the soldiers according to the Eight Banners formation, spaced ten steps apart, beating drums, shouting, and using falcons and dogs to drive birds and animals toward one direction for the Emperor to hunt. Second, the Annual Required Hunt. This was divided into autumn and winter hunts, with the autumn hunt involving smaller enclosures mainly targeting birds. Third, the Grand Game Hunt. The winter hunt referred to larger-scale hunts in mid-winter, focusing on catching wild animals for their valuable parts such as bear gallbladders, sable fur, musk, and deer antlers. The game hunts primarily targeted wild meats. The deer fetus, deer antler, and sable fur from the Amubake Enclosure were considered top tribute items. Each season’s tribute was bundled with birch bark and inspected by the “General Office of Game Hunting Wula,” then presented to the Emperor via the Imperial Household Department.

In the early years of the Guangxu Emperor’s reign, the Qing court gradually relaxed management of the enclosures. After the First Sino-Japanese War, the ban was lifted, allowing commoners to enter the enclosures for farming, hunting, and other activities.

To this day, most villages and hamlets within the Amubake Enclosure still retain their former place names, such as Tiger Ridge, Wild Boar Gully, Deer Pen, and Black Bear Back. Terms like Long Pool, Toad Pond, Reed Gully, and Alkali Field have endured. Many legends about the Amubake Enclosure from the past are still widely circulated among the people.

In early November 2009, the “Third National Cultural Relics Survey Office” of Yitong Manchu Autonomous County reported the discovery of the “Qing Dynasty Imperial Enclosure Ancient Trail” within its jurisdiction to the Jilin Provincial Leading Group Office for the Third National Cultural Relics Survey. Subsequently, the Leading Group Office issued a bulletin: “The discovery of the ancient trail holds significant historical value for studying the three ancient routes (the Grand Post Road, the Willow Palisade, and the Imperial Enclosures) that passed through Yitong during the Qing Dynasty. It is especially valuable for researching Qing imperial culture, the history of Manchu culture in Yitong, and modern tourism development.”