This is the eternal Zhengzhou, the capital of Shang Dynasty 3600 years ago.
On the afternoon of June 28th, 2003, 165438+ Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty Ancient City Wall Site. The afterglow of the sunset sprinkled on the ancient city wall, vicissitudes and quiet. Standing here, the pages of history opened from the cover, and a dynasty began. 3600 years have passed, and the historical situation is changing and the vicissitudes are like songs. However, as the history goes back, a question gradually emerges in the minds of journalists: Why did it become the capital of Shang Dynasty? After thousands of years, how did it appear to the world? Zhengzhou used to be the capital of emperors.
It was called Bodu 3600 years ago and was the most important capital in the early Shang Dynasty.
Shang Dynasty is the second hereditary dynasty in China history after Xia Dynasty. From Taiyi (Tang) to Zhouyi, the 17 and 3 1 generation kings of * * * experienced nearly 600 years. As for the founding of the People's Republic of China in the early Shang Dynasty, almost all historical records recorded that Shang was an ancient tribe that rose in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and did not live in Bo until the Tang Dynasty. This is the south of Cao County, Shandong Province. Shortly after the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, the Shang clan had surrendered to Xia and became a vassal state of Xia.
At the end of summer, the Shang tribe became strong and actively prepared to destroy the summer. Tang appointed sage Yi Yin as an assistant to plan the plan to destroy Xia, and successively destroyed Xia's allies Wei, Gu and Kunwu. Judging from the Xia Dynasty's own situation, at the end of the summer, the survival of the Xia regime was threatened by the sharp domestic class contradictions and the intensification of contradictions with neighboring countries and tribes. However, the internal chaos of the Xia ruling group, "the monarch and the minister are good but not close, and the flesh and blood are sparse and not attached", centrifugal separation from Germany. In order to divert people's resistance, Xia Jie launched a war of conquest. He still had a meeting with the princes, but because of the opposition of Gou's family, he ran away halfway, so he vigorously pursued the company and eliminated Gou. Then send troops to crusade against Minshan. Xia Jie was extravagant and corrupt, eliminated dissidents, conquered neighboring countries, and cherished his sister's happiness. People hated his rule extremely. Tang Shang tribe leader? Shang Tang? In order to crusade against Xia Jie's tyranny, he launched the War to Destroy Summer. The two sides fought in the wilderness of Tantric Article (now FeZōngqiu East, Henan Province) and were defeated and retreated to San (Z not ng, now Dingtao, Shandong Province). Chasing Tang, Xia Jie lost again, fled to the southeast, and finally died in the south nest? Southwest of Chao County, Anhui Province today? . Death in summer. Cheng Tang returned to Boyi and became king, with Boyi as its capital. Tribal leaders from all directions came to pay their respects and the Shang Dynasty was formally established. The time is about 1600 BC.
Why did the hinterland of the Central Plains become the commercial capital?
The concept that Zhengzhou Shangcheng site is the capital of the early Shang Dynasty is becoming more and more clear in the minds of experts and archaeologists. However, why did Zhengzhou and Bodao, located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, become the first capital of the Shang Dynasty? What advantages did Zhengzhou have at that time?
Zheng, a participant in the national "Xia Shang Zhou Dating Project" and a researcher at the Henan Academy of Social Sciences, believes that "the right time, the right place and the harmonious people" are the main reasons why Zhengzhou has become a commercial capital. First of all, geographically, Bozhou faces the Yellow River in the north; To the west of Songshan Mountain, there are two large marshes, which are natural military barriers. The south is a vast Huanghuai plain with rich products and reliable logistics support; The eastern part is also a great plain, which has become a grain base. These superior natural environments laid a solid economic foundation for Wang Shang Tang Cheng to overthrow the Xia Dynasty and establish his own political power.
Secondly, from the analysis of the political situation, the Xia Dynasty in Yanshi, Luoyang, not far from here, was in power and it was difficult to enter the DPRK. If we want to overthrow it, we must establish our own political center. Therefore, the commercial city blog established as a businessman is the first choice to establish a political center, both in terms of distance and financial resources.
Another important factor is the historical factor. Shang tribe lived here a long time ago. According to historical records, Shang originated from an ancient tribe in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. According to legend, the title deed of its ancestor was awarded to Shang Shun in recognition of his achievements in water control. South of Shangqiu, Henan today? Give a surname to a son. In the early days, businessmen often moved. From the contract to the 14th Tang Dynasty, Zhucheng moved to eight places. When the Tang Dynasty came, they lived in the south of Cao County, Shandong Province. Bo is one of the most important cities of Shang tribe. Shortly after the establishment of the Xia Dynasty, the Shang clan had surrendered to Xia and became a vassal state of Xia. For a long time, the Shang tribe established a deep-rooted political center here, which laid a political foundation for the later overthrow of the Xia Dynasty.
Zheng believes that the victory of Shang Dynasty is not only due to geographical advantages, but also due to human factors. The people of the Central Plains have a fine tradition of unity and perseverance since ancient times. At the end of the Xia dynasty, the tyranny and helplessness made the people of the Central Plains living in Bodu boil. Therefore, under the call of Shang tribes, the struggle to overthrow the Xia Dynasty was unstoppable.
Zheng's view was endorsed by Xu Shunzhan, honorary president of Henan Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Association. Xu believes that the choice and determination of Wangdu is determined by many factors such as geography, economy and politics. The first king of Shang Dynasty was elected in Zhengzhou, which also showed the important position and role of Zhengzhou in history. Businessmen moved the capital many times in history, so they built the capital in different places, leaving many ruins of the capital. So, when was the site of Zhengzhou Mall built by merchants and which capital was it? There have always been different views in academic circles, such as those established by Wang Shang Zhong Ding and Wang Shang Tang Jianguo.
165438+1On October 28th, Xu Shunzhan said in an interview that the different names of Zhengzhou Mall did not affect the importance of this city site, because what we saw from this city site was not only a capital city, but also the culture and history of the early Shang Dynasty. Another point may be more important than Zhengzhou's huge city site, magnificent palaces and spectacular bronzes. That is, during the period when merchants took Zhengzhou as their capital, bronze culture appeared in an extremely wide range, from the northern region to the south of the Yangtze River, from Gansu and Qinghai to the eastern coast. Because the archaeological data found in the above areas are identical or similar to the relics unearthed in Zhengzhou Mall, it can be considered that the bronze civilization centered on Zhengzhou Mall once spread to the surrounding areas on a large scale. This powerful expansion of advanced civilization not only expanded the territory of Shang Dynasty in the Central Plains, but also brought a wider area into the Bronze Age.
Zheng told reporters that Shangdu Site is the first city site with the nature of imperial capital in China so far, and it is also one of the largest city sites with the nature of imperial capital in the world. It was the first capital of Shang Dynasty and the largest capital in the same period, and it was unique among provincial capitals. The excavation of the site opened a history of 3600 years.
In the past, people didn't know that Zhengzhou was the capital of Shang Dynasty in the early Shang Dynasty, and there were some accidental factors in the appearance of Shangdu ruins. Shi Jinsong, a famous archaeologist, recorded the "birth" of the mall site in the article "Capital of Early Bronze Civilization".
Archaeologists excavated in 1928 Anyang, not only discovering the capital of the late Shang Dynasty? Understanding a highly prosperous bronze civilization has aroused more thoughts: since the history of the late Shang Dynasty recorded in the historical books has been proved by archaeology to be a history of belief, what about the early Shang Dynasty? What was the cultural appearance of the early Shang Dynasty? It is with these ideas that archaeologists discovered the ruins of Zhengzhou Mall in 1950s. From this website? People have seen a historical miniature of the emergence and development of bronze culture in China, and found the capital of the early Shang Dynasty. /kloc-in the autumn of 0/950, the teacher of Zhengzhou No.1 Primary School first discovered pottery and stone tools of Shang Dynasty in a highland called Erligang in the southeast of Zhengzhou City. Subsequently, the cultural relics institutions of the central, provincial and municipal cultural departments and the Institute of Archaeology of China Academy of Sciences conducted archaeological investigations in Erligang, Zhengzhou and other places, which was the beginning of the excavation of Zhengzhou Mall.
1953? Archaeologists went to Erligang for excavation again, and the importance of Erligang site appeared at this time. This excavation made people realize that this is an earlier and larger site than the Yin Ruins. Judging from the unearthed glazed pottery, white pottery and carved bones, this is not an ordinary small village? But a big city. According to the relationship between the upper and lower strata, Erligang site is divided into upper and lower strata in this excavation. Since then, people used to refer to this culture, this civilization or this period with "Erligang", "Upper Erligang" or "Lower Erligang". On the vast sites of 1955 and 1, a slightly rectangular north-south shopping mall site was found. The circumference of the city wall is nearly 7 kilometers, the remaining height is 1 ~ 5 meters, and the bottom of the wall is 20 ~ 30 meters wide. At that time, it became the earliest and best-preserved shopping mall in China.
165438+1October 28th, the site covers an area of 25 square kilometers. There is a city site in the middle of the site, surrounded by city walls, and there is a gap of 1 1 on the city wall, which may be the city gate at that time. There are palace areas in the north and northeast of the city, and the rammed earth foundation sites of three large palaces have been excavated. There are water storage facilities such as reservoirs and water pipelines in the east of the palace area. Handicraft workshops at that time were mainly distributed outside the city. For example, outside the south wall of the mall, there are workshop sites mainly casting bronze tools, outside the west wall, there are workshop sites for firing pottery and making bone utensils, and outside the north wall, there are workshop sites mainly casting bronze weapons. In addition to the wall found in the 1950s, a rammed earth wall with a length of 5,000m was found 700 ~ 900m outside the south wall of the mall, which is probably the outer wall of the mall. Among all these discoveries, the most important one is the discovery of three buried bronzes in this site.
1974, people discovered 1 hoard when digging an air-raid shelter outside the northwest section of the city wall, among which * * * buried bronzes 12 pieces, including 4 pieces of Dafang Ding, 2 pieces of Juege, 2 pieces of Zhong/kloc-0 pieces, and 2 pieces of Fang Ding put together. 1982, Zhengzhou Xiangyang Hui Food Factory found a second cellar outside the southeast corner of the city wall, where bronze wares 13 were buried, including 2 Dafang Ding, 2 Dayuan Ding 1 piece, 2 Xiaoyuan Ding, 2 bottles and 2 Zhang. 1996, a real estate company found the third cellar outside the south section of Xicheng wall during construction. There are only two large tripod placed side by side in this cellar, the largest is 1 and the highest is 100 cm. These bronzes are buried on the high ground near the city wall outside the city, and they are placed regularly. The ground in the cellar is treated, and some are covered with boards and cinnabar. Ash pits with cow skeletons have also been found near some cellars, so it is speculated that these cellars have the nature of sacrificial pits. However, some people think that these bronzes were buried because of the internal turmoil in the Shang Dynasty. But in any case, these three batches of bronzes are complete, including cookers, food containers, wine containers, water containers and weapons; At the same time, bronzes are tall and majestic, beautifully cast and beautifully decorated. There is no doubt that their master can only be the king.
Dubo used to be one of the largest cities in the world.
In Xiaoshuangqiao, 20 kilometers northwest of Zhengzhou Mall, a royal sacrificial site dating back to the late Zhengzhou Mall was discovered. Large rammed earth buildings, bronze building components, mass graves and a large number of human bones, as well as sacrificial pits with ox heads or horns, have been unearthed. The discovery of Xiaoshuangqiao was once rated as one of the "Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in China" by 1995. Some people think that Xiaoshuangqiao site should be an organic part of Zhengzhou Mall site. If so, the website of Zhengzhou Mall should be even larger.
Zheng said that the archaeological community has formed a relatively unified understanding. According to1May, 19961June, the "Dating Project of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties" and the research results of archaeological circles for many years, it has been basically confirmed that Zhengzhou Mall should be the capital of Bo where the first generation of Shang King Taiyi (Tang) lived, about 3600 years ago. At that time, Zhengzhou Mall, covering an area of more than 70 square kilometers, was one of the largest cities in the world. The section of the city wall is trapezoidal, the foundation trench is dug below, and the slope protection is carried out on both sides, all of which are rammed by sections and layers. On each level, there are many stamp marks of circular sharp bottom or circular round bottom, and there are traces of plate buildings on the city wall. The perimeter is nearly 7 kilometers, of which the north wall is about 1690 m, the west wall is about 1870 m, and the south wall and the east wall are about 1700 m.. The wall base is 20 ~ 32 meters wide, and the maximum ground residue is about 5 meters.
* * * It is found that there are 1 1 gaps around the city wall, some of which were damaged after the city wall was abandoned, and some may be city gates.
Cities are palace areas and general residential areas. There are handicraft workshops and graves in the suburbs. In the palace area, more than 20 rammed earth buildings were found in the north and northeast of the city center, with an area of 100 ~ 2000 square meters. Three sites have been excavated, the largest of which is more than 65 meters long from east to west and 13.6 meters wide from north to south. The building foundation is compacted by loess, and the existing thickness is1~1.5m.. There are two rows of rectangular column foundation grooves on the building foundation, which can be restored to a big sleeping hall with nine rooms and double eaves corridors. The other two places are relatively small and badly damaged.
Two bronze casting workshops were found, one outside the south wall and the other outside the north wall. The workshop found that there was an operating hard soil surface with copper slag on it, which may have been placed.
Burial areas are distributed in the northeast, southeast, south and west of the city. More than 100 graves have been excavated. Most of them are small tombs, with pottery, pots, beans, Jue and other pottery buried with them. Some large tombs are buried with bronzes, such as Ding, Wei, Yun, Jue, Zhang, Zun and Pan, as well as jade, ivory and primitive porcelain. In a medium-sized tomb in Baijiazhuang, more than one bronze ware 10 was unearthed, and a slave was buried on the second floor of the tomb.
A bronze cellar was found outside Ling Du City in the southeast corner of the west and east of the city, producing bronze wares 16 kinds. The larger ones are Fang Ding, Yuan Ding and Wei, Zhang, Niu Shouzun, Yang Shouzhang, Ti Liang, Yu and Pan.