3, 000 Years of Beijing: An Archaeological Perspective on Beijing’s Urban History

This book tells the historical changes of Beijing through archaeological discoveries from the perspective of the evolution of the times. The book has seven historical nodes and 11 chapters introducing important cultural relics unearthed in various periods， historical figures， and important sites with typical significance as the medium to sort out the historical context of Beijing over the past 3，000 years and explore the historical and cultural genes of the city.

Archaeological Discoveries and Beijing’s 3，000-Year Urban History

3， 000 Years of Beijing: An Archaeological Perspective on Beijing’s Urban History

Special Report Department of Beijing Daily

Beijing United Publishing Co.， Ltd.

April 2024

78.00 (CNY)

Special Report Department of Beijing Daily

In 2007， Beijing Daily founded the “Chronicle” column， which was written by the Special Report Department of Beijing Daily.

When discussing the origins and development of Beijing， there is a well-known saying among the locals: “First came Tanzhe Temple， and then came Beijing City.” However， from both an archaeological and historical perspective， this saying is not entirely accurate and does not fully reflect the true history of Beijing’s urban development.

Beijing’s urban history spans over 3，000 years， during which three main city sites of capital importance emerged. The first is the Western Zhou Dynasty’s Yan Capital， located in Dongjialin Village， Liulihe Township， Fangshan District. The second is Ji City， situated in the southwestern part of today’s Beijing urban area， which later evolved into the Tang Dynasty’s Youzhou City， Liao Dynasty’s Nanjing City， and Jin Dynasty’s Zhongdu City. Both of these cities have histories exceeding 3，000 years. The third city is Yuan Dynasty’s Dadu， which further developed into the Ming and Qing dynasties’ Beijing. The core area of modern-day Beijing originated from this city， with a history of over 700 years.

Western Zhou Dynasty’s Yan Capital — the Ancient City of Dongjialin

The Western Zhou Dynasty’s Yan Capital site is located in Dongjialin Village， Liulihe Township， Fangshan District， and is therefore also known as the “Ancient City of Dongjialin.” Archaeological excavations of this ancient city began in the 1960s and were largely completed by the 1980s. In the 1990s， some partial excavations were carried out， and more comprehensive archaeological work began in 2019 to facilitate the construction of the Liulihe National Archaeological Site Park. These excavations unearthed important artifacts， including bronze ware. Archaeological conclusions suggest that the Ancient City of Dongjialin was the first capital city established by the Yan State in the Beijing area after it was enfeoffed there during the Western Zhou Dynasty， leading to its designation as the “First Capital of Yan.” The Dongjialin Ancient City site encompasses several key elements. First， there are the remains of the city walls， with the northern wall being relatively well-preserved， along with remnants of the northern sections of both the eastern and western walls. Second， within the city， the remains of a palace area and a sacrificial area have been uncovered， and outside the city， drainage ditches have been found. Third， in the southeastern area outside the city， at Huangtupo Village， a large number of tombs have been discovered — over 300 in total — ranging in status from high-ranking to middle-ranking and commoner graves. High-ranking tombs have yielded numerous burial objects， including bronzeware， jade， lacquerware， and pottery.

One particularly significant discovery is the presence of inscriptions on some of the bronzeware. For instance， a pair of bronze vessels known as the “Ke Lei” and “Ke He” bear identical inscriptions. From these inscriptions， it can be concluded that the first Yan ruler to come to the Yan territory was someone named Ke. According to historical records， such as those in the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji)， he was likely the eldest son of Duke Shi of Shao (Shaogong Shi)， who replaced his father as ruler of the Yan State in the Beijing area. Therefore， these two bronze vessels serve as crucial evidence for studying the history of the Yan State and confirming the attributes of Dongjialin Ancient City.

As for the exact time when this city was built， historical records do not provide a clear answer. However， it is known that the Yan State was enfeoffed shortly after the founding of the Western Zhou Dynasty， which has been precisely dated to 1046 BCE through the “Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project.” Even if there is some margin of error in this date， it is still reasonable to assert that Beijing’s urban history spans 3，000 years. This conclusion is supported by research in both archaeology and history.

From Ji City to Jin Zhongdu

In addition to the Ancient City of Dongjialin， another ancient city existed in Beijing over 3，000 years ago， known as Ji City. Ji City was the earliest city to appear in the urban area of Beijing， and it is documented in historical texts. For example， the Northern Wei Dynasty’s geographer Li Daoyuan mentioned in his Commentary on the Waterways Classic (Shui Jing Zhu)， “In ancient times， King Wu of Zhou enfeoffed the descendants of Emperor Yao at Ji. The northwest corner of the city contains Ji Hill， and the city was named after this hill.” According to Li Daoyuan， Ji Hill was located in the northwest corner of the city， which helps approximately locate Ji City in the area from Guang’anmen to Hepingmen in today’s southwestern part of Beijing. On the east side of Beijing’s Second Ring Road， there is a park called Binhe Park， which contains a “Ji City Memorial Column.” The column bears an inscription that reads， “Beijing’s urban area began at this site; it was during the Western Zhou Period， and the city was called Ji.” These words were written by Professor Hou Renzhi from Peking University， indicating that the origins of today’s Beijing urban area trace back to this location， and the city was called Ji during the Western Zhou Period. Based on these historical records， we can infer that Ji City and the Yan Capital at Dongjialin were likely built around the same time， suggesting a history of over 3，000 years. However， unlike the Yan Capital at Dongjialin， the early history of Ji City is only documented in historical records， with no archaeological evidence to confirm it. Current archaeological findings only verify the existence of Ji City from the Warring States period， over 2，000 years ago. During the construction of modern Beijing， a large number of ancient ceramic wells dating from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty were discovered in the area between Hepingmen and Guang’anmen. These wells， as essential facilities for daily life， were densely distributed， indicating a large population gathered in this area. Such population concentration over a millennium ago suggests the presence of an urban center.

Ji City continued to develop after its establishment， at least from the Warring States Period through the Qin and Han dynasties， and further through the Wei， Jin， Northern and Southern dynasties， Sui， Tang， Liao， and Jin periods， spanning over a thousand years. During this time， two significant changes occurred. First， the name of the city evolved: It was called “Ji City” until the Tang Dynasty， after which it was renamed “Youzhou City.” In the Liao Dynasty， it became a secondary capital known as “Nanjing，” and later， it was often referred to as “Yanjing.” In 1153 CE (the first year of the Zhenyuan era)， the Jin Dynasty moved its capital to Yanjing， renaming it “Zhongdu” (Central Capital). The second change involved the continuous reconstruction of the city， with its boundaries expanding and its internal structures becoming more densely built. For example， in Jin Zhongdu， there were many residential areas as well as the Imperial City and Palace City. The Palace City was home to a series of palaces arranged along a central north-south axis. This central axis was not aligned with the central axis of Ming and Qing Beijing; it was located along what is now Binhe Park on the east side of the Second Ring Road. Some remains of Jin Zhongdu still exist today， such as the water gate ruins of the southern city wall. These can be viewed at the Liao and Jin City Wall Museum in the Yulin Community along the southern Second Ring Road.

The history of Ji City， documented for over 3，000 years and supported by archaeological evidence for over 2，000 years， continued to develop and reached its peak during the Jin Zhongdu period. However， the Jin Dynasty’s rule over Beijing lasted only a little over 60 years. In 1215 CE (the third year of the Zhiyou era)， Zhongdu was captured and severely damaged by Genghis Khan’s Mongol army. Half a century later， Kublai Khan， after becoming the Great Khan of the Mongols， decided to unify China and chose Beijing as his capital. By then， Zhongdu was already in ruins， prompting Kublai Khan to build a new capital， which became known as Dadu.

From Dadu City to Beijing City

Dadu was a newly planned and constructed city built on flat terrain. Why was there a need to build a new city? There were two main reasons: First， Zhongdu City was in such a state of disrepair that it could no longer serve as a capital; second， the water system of Zhongdu， which relied on the Lotus Pool， was limited and could not support the needs of a large capital city. In the northeastern suburbs of Zhongdu， however， there was a vast water area known as “Haizi，” which corresponds to today’s Jishuitan and Shichahai. This water system was fed by the Gaoliang River， which provided a more abundant water supply. Additionally， Qionghua Island in Beihai was a prominent high point that originally housed the Jin Dynasty emperor’s palace， the Daning Palace. Building the city here also symbolized the suppression of the previous dynasty. Thus， Qionghua Island became the central focus of Dadu’s planning， with the city designed around it and the surrounding water bodies. As a result， the city’s location shifted from the Lotus River system to the Gaoliang River system.

Dadu was constructed based on scientific principles. Detailed topographical surveys were conducted first， followed by the development of a comprehensive plan. Before the construction of buildings and streets， a citywide drainage system was installed， and then construction proceeded step by step. In the lunar January of 1267 CE (the fourth year of the Zhiyuan era)， the construction of Dadu officially began. The major construction projects were divided into three categories: palaces， city walls， and waterways. The initial phase focused on palace construction， which was mostly completed by 1274 CE (the eleventh year of the Zhiyuan era). The city walls were then built， with the main city structure completed by 1283 CE (the twentieth year of the Zhiyuan era). Finally， the Tonghui River project was completed in 1293 CE (the thirtieth year of the Zhiyuan era).

Dadu had three concentric square layers: the outer city， the imperial city， and the palace city. The outermost city， known as the “Outer City，” was an elongated rectangular city wall， slightly longer from north to south. According to the Geographical Records in the History of the Yuan Dynasty， the city was “sixty li long.” Some remnants of Dadu’s earth city wall still exist in Beijing today， such as the section from Madian to Huangtingzi， which is the northern city wall’s ruins. In 2003， this area was developed into the “Yuan Dadu City Wall Ruins Park” for public recreation. The earth wall stretching from Huangtingzi to China University of Political Science and Law is part of the western city wall， and at its northwestern corner stands the “Jimen Smoke Trees” stele.

The imperial city was located in the center of the southern part of the outer city， comprising three main building complexes: the palace city on the east bank of Taiye Pool (today’s Beihai and Zhonghai)， and the Longfu Palace and Xingsheng Palace on the west bank. The palace city， situated in the eastern part of the imperial city， was divided into two groups of buildings: The southern complex， centered on Daming Hall， was the administrative area， while the northern complex， centered on Yanchun Pavilion， served as the residential quarters. The main buildings of the palace city were aligned along a north-south central axis. This axis extended from Lizheng Gate in the south to Zhongxin Pavilion in the north. The Ancestral Temple and Altar of Soil and Grain were located within Qihua Gate and Pingze Gate， respectively. The northern area was a bustling commercial district， with government offices scattered throughout. Dadu’s streets were laid out in a grid pattern， with nearly all running straight north-south or east-west. Nine major avenues connected corresponding city gates， with the main road along the central axis measuring 28 meters wide， while other main roads were 25 meters wide. Numerous streets and alleys were evenly spaced on either side of these main roads， with typical alleys measuring 6—7 meters wide. As Marco Polo described， the entire city of Dadu was “neatly laid out like a chessboard.”

The core of Ming Dynasty Beijing was adapted from Yuan Dadu， eventually forming a city with four concentric layers: the inner city， the imperial city， the palace city， and the outer city. During the Qing Dynasty， there were no major reconstructions of the inner and outer city walls， but the imperial and palace cities underwent some modifications. When the peasant uprising led by Li Zicheng withdrew from Beijing at the end of the Ming Dynasty， the palaces were set on fire. After the Qing Dynasty established its capital in Beijing， the palaces were rebuilt， with some renamed. For example， the Ming Dynasty’s Huangji Hall， Zhongji Hall， and Jianji Hall were renamed “Hall of Supreme Harmony，” “Hall of Central Harmony，” and “Hall of Preserving Harmony，” respectively. The Hall of Supreme Harmony was expanded from nine bays wide to eleven bays wide， with a depth of five bays and a height of 35.05 meters， making it the largest wooden structure in China.

Overall， due to Beijing’s long history， particularly over the past millennium， during which it served as the capital for five dynasties—Liao， Jin， Yuan， Ming， and Qing—the city’s construction reflects the highest achievements of ancient Chinese urban planning. It has been called “the greatest individual work of humankind on the Earth’s surface.” Although the city walls and gates are no longer complete today， many relics from these ancient capitals still exist， showcasing relatively rich types and individual relics. The village of Dongjialin in Fangshan District still holds the ruins of the Yan Capital from over 3，000 years ago; the Tianning Temple Pagoda outside Guang’anmen stands as a witness to the vicissitudes of Liao Nanjing a thousand years ago; the earthen city ruins in Fenghuangzui Village in Fengtai District and the water gate ruins in the Yulin Community reflect the grandeur of Jin Zhongdu from over 800 years ago; the remains of the Yuan Dadu city walls and the White Pagoda at Miaoying Temple in Xicheng District highlight the splendor of Yuan Dadu over 700 years ago. The Ming and Qing Beijing city has left behind even richer relics， such as the palace-filled Forbidden City， the royal altars of the Nine Altars and Eight Temples， the imperial gardens of the Three Mountains and Five Gardens， and countless hutongs and siheyuan courtyards. These cultural heritage sites not only showcase the brilliance of Beijing’s historical culture but also represent typical examples of Chinese civilization.

Finally， I would like to mention that while 3，000 Years of Beijing: An Archaeological Perspective on Beijing’s Urban History is not written by a professional， it is grounded in decades of archaeological research and findings in Beijing， using the unique perspective and writing style of the “Chronicles” column of Beijing Daily， describing the city， the history， the events， as well as the people. The book meticulously documents the history of Beijing over the past 3，000 years through archaeological discoveries， offering a well-evidenced and narratively engaging account of the city’s history. This sets the book apart from other works on Beijing’s urban archaeology and is why I， as a non-archaeology professional， enjoyed and recommend it.