What is the style of Pingyao Ancient City?

Shanxi Province has a long history and has left many excellent cultural heritages for Chinese civilization. From the ancient Yellow Emperor Chiyou battle and the legend of Dayu's flood control, to the seven great immigrants under the big locust tree, to the modern Shanxi merchants, railways and coal mines, Shanxi has continuously accumulated profound and long-lasting cultural connotations. Among them, people's eyes are always attracted by an ancient city. It has experienced a long history of more than 2,700 years, but still perfectly retains its ancient style and appearance, and can be called a cultural treasure of the Chinese nation. This is Pingyao, an ancient city located in central Shanxi Province.

The ancient city of Pingyao was built during the period of King Xuan of Zhou from 827 BC to 782 BC. It was built for the Western Zhou Dynasty general Yin Jifu to garrison here. Since 221 BC. The ancient city of Pingyao has gone through many vicissitudes and changes, and has become the most complete prototype of an ancient Chinese county town during the Ming and Qing dynasties in China. So far, the ancient city's city walls, streets, residences, shops, temples and other buildings are still basically intact, and the original form and pattern have remained largely unchanged. They are all organic parts of the existing historical relics of Pingyao Ancient City, and are "a collection and treasure trove of Chinese ancient buildings." "The preservation of cultural relics and monuments of high quality is rare in China."

In the ancient city of Pingyao, there is a large-scale, majestic and most complete ancient city wall in China; there is also an existing city wall that was built in the seventh year of Tianhui in the Northern Han Dynasty (963) and is listed as the third largest in China. The most precious wooden structure building is the Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall of Zhenguo Temple; there is the Shuanglin Temple, which was built in the second year of Wuping in the Northern Qi Dynasty (571) and is known as the "Treasure House of Ancient Chinese Painted Sculpture Art" with 2,052 existing painted sculptures from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. ; There is a rare physical object of the Confucian Temple in the Song and Jin Dynasties of China - the Dacheng Hall of the Confucian Temple; there is the "Rishengchang" bank account, the originator of Chinese finance, known as "the number one in the world". At the same time, Pingyao Ancient City is one of the centers of ancient Chinese residential architecture. There are about 4,000 ancient and modern residential buildings existing in the ancient city, which embody the typical styles and characteristics of ancient and modern northern Chinese residential buildings.

The walls of Pingyao Ancient City were built in the Western Zhou Dynasty. During the reign of King Xuan Jijing of Zhou Dynasty, he sent General Yin Jifu to station troops in Pingyao during the Northern Expedition to Yanxi. For military defense, he built plain earth walls. The ancient city of Pingyao is known as the "Turtle City". Pingyao's city wall is filled with compacted earth, the outer perimeter is covered with green bricks, and the top is paved with bricks for drainage. There are turrets at each corner of the city wall, and a Kuixing Tower in the southeast corner. There are two gates on the east and west sides of the city wall. Each gate protrudes from the outside of the wall and has two gates, inside and outside, in the shape of an urn. Since there are only 6 barbican cities, it is known as the "Turtle City". People think that the two gates in the north and south resemble a head and a tail, and the four gates in the east and west resemble four feet. There are two doors directly connected to the south gate, like the head of a turtle sticking out. There are two wells outside the south gate. People compare the two wells to the eyes of a turtle. The shape of the outer door of the north gate curves eastward, and looks like a turtle's tail swinging eastward. The entire city is centered on the city building, and the city walls and streets and alleys form a huge Bagua pattern, showing traditional civilization and culture to the world.

The Shanxi Shanxi merchants are well known all over the world, and this feature is naturally indispensable in the ancient city. The Ming and Qing Commercial Ancient Street is located on South Street in Pingyao Ancient City. This street is one of the essence of the ancient city's cultural heritage. The ancient commercial street is located in the center of the ancient city and is the axis of the symmetrical layout of the ancient city. Pingyao Ancient City takes South Street as its axis and the city tower, the tallest building in the ancient city, as its axis. It forms a symmetrical layout with ancestors on the left and society on the right, civil and military on the left and military on the right, with civil and military forces far away from each other and orderly from top to bottom. Ming and Qing Street plays a very important role in the ancient city. The more than 750-meter-long ancient street is home to 78 large and small ancient shops. As early as the last century, Pingyao enjoyed the reputation of "Little Beijing" due to its prosperous business, complete categories and outstanding reputation. In Pingyao City, there is China's first bank account - Rishengchang, which is located in the prosperous area of ??Pingyao Ancient City West Street, the "No. 1 Financial Street of Qing Dynasty". Rishengchang was founded in the fourth year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1824). After a hundred years of vicissitudes, it has achieved brilliant results and is the leader in the country's finance. Its branches are located in more than 30 cities and important commercial towns across the country, as far as Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia and other countries, with the goal of "connecting the world" "Famous throughout the world.

The Pingyao City God Temple is located in the southeast of the ancient city. The temple has suffered many disasters in history and has undergone many repairs. The existing building was rebuilt in the sixth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1867). The existing temples were regulated by the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The entire building consists of three groups of buildings: the City God Temple, the Zaojun Temple, and the Temple of Wealth. The City God is in the center, the Kitchen God and the God of Wealth occupy the left and right sides, sitting in the north and south, with four entrances to the courtyard, covering an area of ??7302 square meters. Pingyao City God's Temple has a unique architectural style, exquisite techniques, and integrates technology, art and cultural knowledge. It is one of the best-preserved City God's Temples in China. The City God's Temple and the county government office are set up symmetrically, and "yin and yang each perform their own duties." It is a clear reflection of the ancient idea of ??"human and divine governance" and is a rare resource for studying the ritual characteristics, religious system, architectural art, and ideological culture of the ancient city. historical heritage.

Pingyao Ancient City Wall Pingyao Ancient County Government is located on Government Street in the county (called Yadao Street in the Ming Dynasty and Yamen Street in the Qing Dynasty). The building is grand in scale and unique in shape. The gate of the county government faces south, with a width of three rooms and a depth of two rooms. In the middle is the walkway, and on the east side of the front eaves is a drum for people to beat and express their grievances. The lobby is the main building in the entire county government office. It stands on a platform more than half a meter above the ground. It is where the magistrate holds major ceremonies, hears major cases, and greets superior officials.

Pingyao folk houses are also a highlight of Pingyao City’s ancient folk customs. Pingyao City has a flat terrain, regular streets, and good geographical conditions for the horizontal integration or vertical expansion of courtyard houses.

A variety of courtyard groups provide material conditions for residents to live together as families, allowing the secular concept of several generations to live under one roof in the feudal era to be passed down. To appreciate Pingyao is to savor the 2,700-year-long history, the profound Shanxi culture, and the distinctive ancient folk customs. Stepping on the ancient streets of Pingyao City, you will feel that you are already in history, listening to the leisurely telling of thousands of years of time.