The Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology organized an investigation and exploration team many years ago to conduct a one-month investigation, exploration, collection of specimens and partial cleaning of the ancient ruins of Suoyang City, basically finding

Panoramic view of the ruins of Suoyang City

As soon as we enter, we can see that the north wall of the outer city has many twists and turns, from west to east, there are two relatively large twists and turns, the winding turns in the west are about 30 meters inside, and the winding turns in the east are about 120 meters again. The east wall is about 100 meters away from the inner city wall; the south wall is about 30 meters away from the inner city wall; the total area of ​​the outer city is about 800,000 square meters, basically forming an irregular east-west rectangular outer defense wall, and it also plays the role of a moat outside the inner city. Judging from the multiple restoration of the outer city wall and the winding layout of the bent rings, wind, sand, flood erosion or damage are often caused by wind, sand, floods and erosion or damage after the city is built. Most of the western walls have been eroded and washed by floods over the years, and it is difficult to determine their original wall foundation. According to the investigation or exploration, Suoyang City is divided into inner and outer cities, and the walls of the outer city are poorly preserved, especially in the west, there are almost no complete body, and other parts have intermittent remains, but they are mostly irregular, and they are tortuous and expanding due to the terrain. They are all rammed earth walls. The walls are not large, 1-1.5 meters wide, and the highest remains 3 meters high. Only the foundation can be found in some areas. There is a partition wall in the middle of the city linking Suoyang City (north wall) and is built westward. The main city is located in the southeast of the outer city, so the northwest of the outer city is relatively wide. It is now known that there is a north gate at the turning point at the east end of the north wall, which is basically opposite to the two urban areas of the inner city. There is an east gate at the north end of the east wall, which is almost covered in sand accumulation. There is a small gate at the east end of the partition wall of the West Outer City connecting the north and south courtyards. The rest cannot be determined.

bell thorn in the west of Suoyang City ( bellflower )

In addition, in the middle of the west area, 150 meters outside the west gate of the main city, there is a small courtyard-shaped building ruins surrounded by soil, which seems to have 3 small bungalows. There are 7 bell thorns, also known as "bellflower", which is one of the special landscapes of Suoyang City. It is also a rare plant variety in Hexi area of ​​ , which is known as "rare plants in the world". It looks like White Thorn (Genometa genus White Thorn), with a stem psa, and a small pink flower blooms in spring and summer, and bears small bubbles like broad bean-like bubbles after autumn. It is shriveled but does not fall in winter. It often hangs on the branches, with small black grains inside. The wind blows the branches sway. The inner grains hit the hard shell and make a "show" sound, like a wind chime, with a unique taste. This must have been transplanted from another place by the defenders of Suoyang City.

The bell thorn (wind bellflower) in the west of Suoyang City

As for the east and north areas of the outer city area, there is a small wall 20 to 30 meters away from the main city wall. Some people call it "Sheep (raised) Horse City". It is a protective isolation area of ​​the inner city. It is a guard area where ordinary people and horses are not allowed to approach. It is also a dangerous area for stones (thunderstones) on the city to attack. It is mainly used to protect the Dongcheng District of the main city.

The inner city (main city) is well preserved, with a north-south city wall in the middle, and it is divided into the east and west urban areas. There is a corner in the northern section of the partition wall. There is a small gate about 3 meters wide to connect the east and west urban areas. A corner pier (beacon tower) is built at the southern end of the partition wall, about 6 meters higher than the city wall. There are adobe parcels that have been repaired and increased in the later stage, and the damaged areas are more obvious. There is also a corner pier (beacon tower) built at the northwest corner of the main city, with good preservation. The city wall is about 10 meters high, the lower wall is 8 meters high, and there are ancient military facilities such as enemy tower (view room) on it. The total area of ​​the inner city of Suoyang City is 280,000 square meters. Due to sand accumulation, the exploration area of ​​this time accounts for about 1/3, and the exploration of the sand pile cannot be broken.

Xicheng District is generally inverted trapezoidal shape with a narrow south and wide north. The north side of the city is 395 meters wide, the south side of the city is 305 meters wide, and the north side of the city is 510 meters long. There are four city gates in total, a north gate is opened in the middle of the north wall (that is, the northeast of the Xicheng District), and an outer wall city is built, which is the main gate of Suoyang City. There is also a corner gate to the north at the northwest corner of Xicheng, and an outer wall city is also built.There is a west gate in the middle of the west wall, and an outer wall city is also built, which is a channel connecting the west outer city. The southwest corner turns inward and a corner gate is also built, but an inner urn is set up, which is more conducive to "catching turtles in the jar".

There are relatively dense and large circular earth buns distributed in the Xicheng District. Standing on the city wall, you can see it as a crater of different sizes. The northern half is denser and the southern half is looser. There is a way to see it nearby, which looks like a yurt-shaped building. The larger these soil buns are about 20 meters in diameter and the remaining height is about 9 meters. The smaller one has an outer diameter of about 10 meters and a residual height of about 3 meters. They are all made of thick grass mud strips and gradually collected. Some are also built with short mud strips, similar to walls made of adobe. Although the arrangement of landbags is not very neat, it can be seen that there are two north and south channels in the middle that divide it into three communities. It also enters the north gate and leads directly to the south wall to form a main road. On the west side of the central and central main road, there is a north-south rectangular earth platform building with rammed earth wall foundation ruins. The earth platform is 25 long, 15 wide, and is now about 3.5 meters high. It may be a residential area or command post that will be located inside the city.

Xuoyang City West Urban Area soil pack shape

Xuoyang

On the central and western side of the main line, there is a square earth platform about 15 meters away from the partition wall in the city. After exploration, it is verified that it is the location of the city's grain warehouse. There are carbonized wheat particles under the soil platform, surrounded by rammed earth walls, and blue-gray bricks are paved at the bottom. The outer edge of the warehouse is about 20 meters long from north to south and 25 meters from east to west, and there are rammed earth steps up and down to the west. A rammed lookout platform is built 10 meters westward. The platform is 7 meters high and 5×8 meters wide on the side. It is close to the avenue. It faces all entrances and exits, and there is also an entrance and exit to the north, so that a 10-meter-wide courtyard is formed in front of the warehouse door, and grain transport vehicles and horses can enter and exit directly.

Suoyang City Granary Ruins

There is a landbag building blocking the door directly opposite the door of each gate in Xicheng District. The carriage and horse must turn around and take a detour, just like the speed bumps set on the highway today. In Xicheng District, there is a well in the northwest. It has collapsed and filled with wind and sand, with a diameter of about 1.5 and a brick and stone depth of 7 meters. It is the only well found in the city.

In addition, there is a ruler-shaped adobe wall building on the sand dunes in the southwest of Xicheng District. The base of the earth wall is reinforced with reeds, red willow , etc. The wall base is about 1 meter wide, the highest remaining is about 3 meters, the east-west residual length is about 25 meters, and the west-west residual length is about 12 meters. There are four house relics built on the south side of the wall, and there are a large number of charcoal blocks and nitro alkali soil outside the west wall. It is speculated that this is the residence of villagers near the 1950s and 1960s (1958), when they cooked Glauber's salt , and it is not the original building of the city. There are three Glauber's salt processing points in Xicheng District, and one outside the North City Gate, with a total of 4 Glauber's salt ruins.

Dongcheng District is small in area and is basically rectangular. The north side of the city is 140 meters wide, the south side of the city is 155 meters wide, and the north side of the city is 500 meters long. Only the small gate with the turning point of the West Wall connects to the Xicheng District, and there is no passage in other locations. The city is empty, but there are only some small courtyard-shaped buildings on the north and south central axis.

There is a small Han-style courtyard-style stacking in the north, with a rammed earth wall foundation, which is about 40 meters square. There is an east-west rectangular earth platform about 15 meters south (middle), which is 30 long, 20 wide, and about 2 meters higher than the current appearance. It should also belong to a courtyard. There is a square pile of about 15 meters, which should be a small courtyard.

There is an east-west screen-type wall in the south, with a wall width of 1.5 to 2 meters and a residual height ranging from 4 to 6 meters. There is a large earth platform in the north and central part of the wall, which is nearly square, 30 east-west and 25 north-south width, and about 3 meters higher than the current surface. There is a gap on both sides of the earth platform that opens to the base of the south city wall, about 20 meters away from the south city wall, and there is a rammed earth partition wall of houses and buildings on the south side of the wall, which is probably a parking area for chariots and horses or residential areas for people.

Suoyang City Investigation and Exploration Schematic

From this we know that Dongcheng District should be the location of the head office of the city. It is unknown which is the "county yamen" and which is the "county yamen". At the same time, it also verified Mr. Li Hongwei's speculation or view that his Dongcheng District was the head of the city and was also the "official office" of Guazhou County and Jinchang County at that time.

2. The attributes of the ruins of the No. 1 and No. 2 in the northwest of the city and the age

There are two small forts in the northwest of Suoyang City. They were originally planned to be the No. 1 and No. 2 ruins. Because they are relatively small in area and have tall walls, some people call them "Duanzhu". The two castles are about 80 meters away from each other, both close to square, with doors that open to the south, with an area of ​​11×14 and 12×15 meters, the wall base is both wide and about 9.5 meters high, and the rammed earth layer is 0.12 meters thick. There is a pile of sand outside the wall on the west side, with red willow branches and other objects under it, which are piled up. There were trampling road dirt and a small amount of yellow plant ash and straw 2.4 meters inside the fort. There are no traces of rafters placed on the top of the surrounding walls, which can be seen as a temporary "safe haven" for mobile posts or a temporary "sanctuary" for people who cannot enter the city in time. Neither beacon nor earthen prison. Judging from the thickness of the rammed layer and the ceramic films of the Jin Dynasty mixed in the wall, the Times and Suoyang Ancient City were buildings of the same period.

年地子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子子� The temple mainly contains the remaining 12 meters high, 10 small earth towers in the north, the "Mahara Temple" foundation in the south, and the mountain gate remains arranged on a central axis in the south. There is a square bell and a drum tower base on each side of the east and west sides of the mountain gate. There are 3 ruins of the side hall on the east side. There are 2 ruins of Huo Temple on the west side of the mountain gate. There are 6 monks' rooms on the east side of the bell tower base. The outside is surrounded by small earth walls, forming a simple and clear temple. After exploration, there are early buildings remaining in the lower part of the temple. It is said that the broken monuments of the Tang Dynasty were dug under the white pagoda. It is credible that there were temple buildings here in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that Tang Xuanzang once taught the scriptures here, so there is a stone tablet "Master Xuanzang's lecture place" in the east of Ta'er Temple. The details will be introduced separately.

Suoyang City Dongtaer Temple Plan layout diagram

Suoyang City Dongtaer Temple site

4. Conclusion

Suoyang City specific construction time cannot be verified from the existing literature and materials. There are many different opinions and there is no consensus. However, from the Kaiyuan Tongbao , which was discovered from the city's shovel (this time, half of the "Kaiyuan Tongbao" yuan was found 1.5 meters between the large wall and the city wall at the southeast corner of Dongcheng District), the Tang Dynasty artifacts and the Tang Dynasty broken monument was dug under the white tower outside the city, and the Tang Dynasty tombs were found on the hillside of the south of the city, the city's construction date should not be later than the prosperous Tang Dynasty. There are also a large number of pottery pieces from the Jin Dynasty scattered from inside and outside the city, as well as beige and black-brown glaze carved porcelain pieces from the Western Xia period, the small Buddhist pagodas cleared from the small pagoda of Ta'er Temple and the "Six-character Mantra" in the Western Xia text were cleaned out. There are many tombs distributed in the southeast of the city in Jin and Tang dynasties. During the Jin Dynasty, some people already lived in the area. Then there is a certain possibility that the city was built in the Jin Dynasty and was set as "Jinchang County", but the appearance of pottery films from the Jin Dynasty in the rammed earth in the city wall proves that it was later than the Jin Dynasty or the late Jin Dynasty. Therefore, it is more credible to build Guazhou in the Tang Dynasty. It is reasonable to use and reinforce and build Xixia. The large number of circular earth-blocked buildings left in the city may also be products of the Western Xia period. The Taer Temple was rebuilt and the " East Thousand Buddha Cave " was dug in the ravine 30 kilometers southeast. There are a large number of Western Xia Buddha statues and murals, and there are also many Western Xia relics in West Thousand Buddha Cave ( Yulin Cave ) and many Western Xia relics. According to the analysis of the remains of the city, its abandonment time is fixed at the moment after the Xixia army withdrew (day). After seven or eight hundred years of vicissitudes, almost no one has moved in or used this ancient city again. If someone enters the market, it is only for some temporary populations who cook Glauber's salt in the 1950s and 1960s who live in and out for a few months, or there are migrant populations who dig up the sun and grazing every year. Therefore, it is certain that Suoyang City began in the Tang Dynasty and was abandoned in the Western Xia. During this investigation and exploration, no ceramic pieces from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as relics used by these dynasties were found. In other words, the "abused" speaker in the Ming Dynasty had no scientific basis. He also built Great Wall to Jiuquan to set Jiayuguan as the portal, and Yumen, Guazhou and Dunhuang became abandoned places.It can also be said that Guazhou Suoyang City is the best protected city in the Western Xia period with the most complete layout.

The Xixia porcelain pieces collected by Suoyang City

are the conclusions of our investigation and exploration. After the work was over, I talked about the results of this exploration when we were having dinner at Suoyang City Management Office. A tour guide said: "Many experts say that Suoyang City has been used until the Ming Dynasty. How do you say it?" My reply was: "We all speak based on facts, not just relying on documentary records or taking it for granted."

(The author of this article is a researcher at the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.)

Editor-in-chief: Li Mei

Proofreading: Liu Wei