Same place but different destiny. Linzi, the capital of Qi State during the Warring States Period, is which city today?

Linzi, the capital of the Qi Kingdom, is located in Linzi District, Zibo City, Shandong Province today, at the northern foot of the Shandong Mountains. It borders Zihe River in the east, Xishui (commonly known as Nihe River) in the west, Niushan Mountain, Jishan Mountain and the famous spring "Tianqiyuan" in the south. It is surrounded by vast wilderness to the east and north, more than a hundred miles away from the Bohai Sea.

Linzi is named after the Zi River to the east. "Guanzi·Chengma" chapter says: "Whenever a capital is established, it should not be under the mountains, but must be above the rivers. The height should not be close to drought, and the water should be sufficient. The geographical location is favorable. "The capital construction of Linzi Qi State is quite consistent with this.

In today’s Qi State’s hometown, the luxurious pavilions and majestic palaces and pavilions of the past can no longer be seen, but the thousand-year-old ancient tombs and platform foundations dotted in the wilderness are clearly visible ancient cultural relics and generosity. The tall rammed city wall is still intact and preserved in Linzi.

As early as the 1960s, the state organized the Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics and Archeology Department and professional workers across the country to conduct a comprehensive exploration and research work on Linzi Qi Ancient City. This work took two years. time. Basically, the scope, shape and preservation of the city walls of the ancient city were found out, and the distribution of stratigraphy, traffic trunk roads, drainage systems, handicraft workshops, palace buildings, tombs and other remains in the city were understood.

According to exploration, the ancient city of Qi in Linzi consists of two parts: a large city and a small city. The small city is located to the southwest of the big city, and its northeast extends into the southwest corner of the big city. The big city is 4.5 kilometers from north to south and 3.5 kilometers from east to west. It is the Guocheng where officials, civilians and businessmen live. The small city is 2 kilometers from north to south and 1.5 kilometers from east to west. It is the palace city where the king lives. The total area of ??the two cities is 15.5 square kilometers. As the saying goes, "a city of three miles and a country of seven miles", "the city is built to protect the king and the country is built to protect the people."

The ruins of the old city wall still exist, and traces of tamping can be faintly discerned. Some of the city walls are straight, and some are meandering along the river bank, so there are 24 corners in the city wall. The base width of small city walls is generally 20 to 30 meters, with the maximum width reaching 67 meters; the base width of large city walls is more than 20 meters, with the widest point reaching 43 meters. The total circumference of the city is 21.5 kilometers.

The ancient city has 13 gates, 11 of which have been discovered, including 5 small cities and 6 large cities. The ones found in records include Yongmen, Shenmen, Yangmen, Jimen, Lumen, Zhanghuamen, Dongjianmen, Guangmen, etc. Because the exact location is not recorded, there are different opinions. The width of the city gates and doorways are all over 8.2 meters, with the widest reaching 20.5 meters.

The traffic and drainage system in the ancient city is relatively regular and scientifically arranged. There are 10 crisscrossing traffic arteries that have been discovered. Among them, there are 3 in small cities and 7 in large cities. The width of the roads is generally 6-8 meters, and the widest one is 20 meters. There are two main drainage systems in the city. There are four drainage openings, one in the small city and three in the big city. They closely connect the natural rivers, moats and rivers in the city to form a complete drainage network.

The palace area is mainly located in the northwest of the small town and has a huge area. The terrain here is higher and it is the commanding heights of the city. In the center of the palace area, there is a tall rammed earth platform - Huan Gong Terrace, 14 meters high, 86 meters long from north to south, and 70 meters wide from east to west. The top of the platform has two floors. The east, west and north sides are steep, and the south slope is slightly gentle. In 1976, a group of palace areas at the northeast corner of Huan Gong Terrace were revealed. They were gorgeously laid out and large in scale. The column base stones and scattered water stones were arranged regularly. The patterned brick paving in the courtyard was orderly and clear in pattern.

There are also four types of handicraft workshop sites scattered in the ancient city, including 6 iron smelting sites, 2 copper smelting sites, 2 coin casting sites, and 4 bone making sites. A large amount of iron slag, copper slag and furnace slag, as well as a large number of Qidao coins and money models, as well as very exquisite decorative bone products and grinding stones for sharpening knives have been continuously unearthed from these sites.

In the northeast of the ancient city of Dacheng, in the area of ??Heyatou Village in present-day Qidu Town, there is a large cemetery of Qi nobles during the Spring and Autumn Period. More than 20 large and medium-sized tombs have been discovered. Among them, a large number of martyred horses were found around Tomb No. 5. Based on the density of the arrangement, the total number of martyred horses was around 600. It is so large and spectacular that it is called a miracle in the world.

Today’s Shaoyuan Village in the southeast of Dacheng, the ancient city, was the place where Confucius came to listen to Shao music during the Spring and Autumn Period.

"The Analects of Confucius·Shuer" records: "When Confucius heard about Shao in Qi, he didn't know the taste of meat in three months." Now there is a stone tablet "Where Confucius Wen Shao" testifies.

In the Jimen area of ??the ancient city, it is the founding place of Jixia Academy, the highest institution of learning in my country, and the ruins still exist today.

In addition, there are 156 hill-like ancient tombs standing inside and outside the ancient city, forming a huge "Linzi Tomb Group" and "Tian Qi King Tomb". Most of these ancient relics are the tombs of kings and princes of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period, Warring States Period and Han Dynasty. "Tian Qi Prince Mausoleum" is the tomb of Tian Qi Huan Gongwu, Tian Hou Yan and Qi Wei, Xuan, Min and Xiang Wang. They are all located on the east side of Niushan 7.5 kilometers south of the ancient city. .