Dicheng

Dicheng

Dilicheng is a good representative of Ming Dynasty dwellings in North China and a rare material object in the history of architecture. Located in the northwest corner of Runcheng Town, 13 kilometers east of Yangcheng County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province, it is commonly known as zhizhaishang by local people. It is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Dilicheng is built on a small hill with villages and towns in the South and Qinhe River in the north. It is surrounded by water on three sides and looks like a peninsula. Looking at the city from afar, the rock solid mainstay stands in the middle stream, so it is called Dizhen city. The founding date of the city is unknown, but according to the stele "mountain city list" in 1638, the founding date should be before the end of the Ming Dynasty. The city is oval, brick, covering an area of about 60000 square meters. There is a main gate in the south, which is about 10 meters high. The riverside city wall, about 20 meters high, was built by the river. It was built with battlements and battery. It was used to guard against foreign enemies. Now it has been destroyed. In the north of the city, a stone ladder is set up along the city wall, along which you can go by boat through the water gate. The roads in the city are regular, the surrounding roads are built, and the rest are residential roadways with complete facilities. In ancient times, when there was a chaos of war, the gate of the city was closed. It was an integral part of itself and could not be broken.

In 2006, the city successfully applied for the national key cultural relics protection unit.

In February 2020, in order to pay tribute to the medical workers who are struggling in the front line of anti epidemic, from the end of the epidemic to the end of 2020, the national medical workers can visit the scenic spot free of charge with their valid certificates.

Main attractions

Diqi city was built for the purpose of military defense, and at the same time, it took into account the function of residential use. The houses, roadways and city walls in the castle were all integrated into the overall defense system, taking on the defense responsibility. Therefore, Diqi city is not only different from the military Castle similar to Guangwu ancient city in Yanbei, but also different from the town with residential and administrative functions similar to Pingyao ancient city. It embodies a distinct and unique characteristics Defense oriented, peacetime and wartime combined design style and architectural features. This point can be clearly seen from the site selection of Dizhen city. Convenient transportation is usually considered in the site selection of a castle. Dizhen City deliberately chooses this peninsula like terrain surrounded by water on three sides to build a city. The first consideration of the designer is the defense function.

The height of the city wall is about 12 meters, and the part of the wall near the water is as high as 20 meters. The wall near the water on the west side is divided into two layers in a ladder shape according to the terrain, and there is a ramp between the two layers. The city wall of Tiecheng is very characteristic, and the iron smelting industry of Runcheng is developed, so a large number of rich businessmen and tycoons appeared. They used the wealth from the iron smelting industry to build castles, and the discarded crucible after iron smelting is the main building material of the city wall, which is not only strong and durable, but also reduces the cost.

The outer side of the city wall is covered with green bricks, just like other city walls. From the inner side of the city wall, you can clearly see the special structure of the crucibles and stone strips. The dense and neat arrangement of crucibles makes people feel that this is the real "honeycomb city wall". In fact, in some areas of North China, it is also useful to build courtyard walls or caves. Since then, in Liushan village across the river, many Ming Dynasty dwellings with crucibles as the main building materials can be seen. The waste crucible is used as building materials to build walls, which is not only the rational use of waste materials, but also the hollow crucible, which can play a good effect of heat preservation and insulation, making the house warm in winter and cool in summer.

structure

Although it is built of brick, stone and wood, it is very particular about its shape, specifications, building materials and practical value. The dwellings are divided into ten blocks, which are arranged in an orderly way, with different levels. Many T-shaped streets are formed in the roadway, and the roadway is deep and the wall is high, so the road is particularly narrow. The houses are connected with each other by erecting a cross street building from the top of the lane, which is convenient for people to walk. Most of the dwellings are single entry two entry courtyard, and the middle courtyard and courtyard of each square are connected with each other, extending in all directions. Most of the houses in the courtyard are double decked, and most of them are equipped with corridors. The main house also has three floors, but the body of the house is on the low side. There is no door or corridor. It is loft style. The number of the houses is "XX house", which is very elegant. In the Ming Dynasty, a businessman built a tight courtyard in the village. The book "you Heng Ju" was written on the door. The wood and stone construction technology is exquisite, with four beams, eight columns, four doors and eight windows, which is very folk characteristics.

In 1640, Zhang Shenyan, the Minister of the Ministry of officials in Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty and a native of Runcheng village, wrote a poem about his hometown houses

But if there is a window, it will reflect bamboo. We must teach that there is no flower without a threshold.

Every day, the green leaves come to Hunan, and the seal script curls with green smoke.

It is not difficult to see that the residential buildings here are not only the representative of the well preserved Ming Dynasty residential buildings, but also have strong characteristics of Jiangnan Water Town.

characteristic

On the platform of Wenchang Pavilion, a Ming Dynasty building, there is an inscription of "mountain city at a glance", which is the plan of the city. It is a brief record of Yang Zai in 1638. The stone tablet is 54 cm high and 86 cm long. The map shows the geographical location of the city outline, the distribution of main buildings, the floor area of each house, and the roadway and facilities. This kind of architectural plan for small towns in Ming Dynasty is a rare and precious material in the history of ancient Chinese architecture. Runcheng Town, where Dicheng is located, is one of the most developed ancient towns in Yangcheng. It is the hometown of Wang Guoguang, Zhang Shenyan, Zhang Dunren, Yan Junshou and other celebrities. There are many cultural relics and historic sites in this area, including Kaiming temple in Wangchuan built in Sui Dynasty and Dongyue Temple in Runcheng village, especially Haihui temple, which is known as "the crown of Shangdang mingta". Tiantan mountain, a Buddhist holy land founded in the Tang Dynasty, once became an exchange center for most of China's economic, cultural and folk customs.

Guoyu, five kilometers west of the Imperial City, is a famous town in Southeast Shanxi Runcheng. Runcheng town has few land and many people. Since the Yuan Dynasty, there have been many people going out to do business, and rich businessmen have emerged one after another. Before the outbreak of the Anti Japanese War, its business was the first of the four towns in the county, and it was the production and marketing center of iron goods. Iron smelting is a local traditional industry. Runcheng town was originally named laohuaishu. After the prosperity of iron industry, it was renamed tieye Town, and finally named Runcheng town.

Economics

Runcheng town is an economically and culturally developed area in Yangcheng County. It was attacked by bandits many times. In April 1633, Wang's self use department was stationed here. In the turbulent years of the late Ming Dynasty, three castles were born in Runcheng Town, namely Tuncheng, Liushan city and dishei city. Unfortunately, Tuncheng and Liushan have only ruins, only dishei city has been preserved. Tuncheng village it is said that Bai Qi, general of the Qin Dynasty, was named after this village for his grain cultivation during the battle of Changping. He was born in the late Ming Dynasty, including Zhang Shenyan, a minister, poet and calligrapher of the Ministry of officials, and Zhang Taijiao, governor of Zhejiang Province in the Qing Dynasty. Liushan village is across the Qinshui River from dishei city. Although the castle is destroyed, there are still a large number of Ming Dynasty dwellings in the village. The west gate of the castle is still in good condition, and a couplet is hanging on the tower: "block all rivers in the East, and come to Yiqi in the west".

style

At the same time of economic development, Runcheng's style of writing was prosperous, and the number of people in the imperial examination ranked the first in the county, which achieved a double harvest of material civilization and spiritual civilization. In the southeast of Shanxi, the most influential historical figure is not Chen Tingjing, but Wang Guoguang. Wang Guoguang was a famous statesman, financier and scholar in Ming Dynasty. He was the right-hand assistant of Zhang Juzheng to carry out the reform. He was the Minister of the Ministry of household and the Minister of the Ministry of official. Wang Guoguang is from Runcheng. Local proverb said: Guoyu three Zhuang up and down, scholar Ju Ren 2500. Sanzhuang in this article is the hometown of Wang Guoguang, whose former residence is still preserved in Shangzhuang village.

layout

With an area of about 37000 square meters, the city is similar to the planning of the ancient urban system. It is divided into 10 neighborhoods. The circular road at the bottom of the city wall and the cobweb alleys between the neighborhoods separate the houses in the city into large and small courtyards. Most of the courtyards in the city are single entry two entry courtyards, and there are also many three entry courtyards. Careful observation will show that the courtyards in Fangzhong are not closed, and they are connected with only one person's aisle between other courtyards. Although most of the modern residents seal the aisle, the trace is very obvious. The streets in the square are narrow and long, extending in all directions. There are gateways at the main entrance of the lane, and the lanes are connected by a cross street building across the lane. The watchtower is also built in the larger building complex. This kind of layout and characteristics of the city constitute a perfect internal defense system. Once the enemy breaks through the city wall, the city residents can easily transfer or fight back through the corridors between the courtyards and the buildings between the neighborhoods. The narrow spider web roadways with T-shaped structure are not conducive to attack, and it is very easy to get lost. When walking in the city, although many roadways have been destroyed He got through, but he still went back several times. In the city, there is a stele inscribed in the 11th year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, which is the plan of the building planning of the city, with detailed marks of the buildings and roadways in the city. This tablet was originally kept in Wenchang Pavilion, and now it is in a resident's home. Due to the wind and rain, this precious material in the history of architecture has been blurred and difficult to identify. Of course, if you can't see the plan clearly, I'm afraid it will only increase your regret.

Culture

Zhang (Wang Chun), the governor of Shaanxi Province, whose ancestral home is Yangcheng City, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province, is the most successful official of "three Jinshi in one city". Zhang Dunren has the highest academic achievement. Zhang Dunren was a Jinshi in the 40th year of Qianlong reign. He was 20 years old at that time. Later, he became an official in Jiangnan. He had many political achievements. He was the master of a large copper tank in his former residence

Chinese PinYin : Di Ji Cheng