An Urban History of China

Chonglan Fu, Wenming Cao

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9789811382109
• eBook ISBN:
  9789811382116
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Chinese History
• Index: History

This book considers urban development in China, highlighting links between China's history and civilization and the rapid evolution of its urban forms. It explores the early days of urban dwelling in China, progressing to an analysis of residential environments in the industrial age. It also examines China's modern and postmodern architecture, considered as derivative or lacking spiritual meaning or personality, and showcases how China's traditional culture underpins the emergence of China's modern cities. Focusing on the notion of "courtyard spirit" in China, it offers a study of the urban public squares central to Chinese society, and examines the disruption of the traditional Square model and the rise and growth of new architectural models.

Part IHistory of Urban Habitation

Abstract The history of urban residence focuses on the historical changes of urban residence and urban architecture in China. This part sorts out and analyzes the changes and basic characteristics of the urban living pattern in China from the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors in ancient documents to modern times. At the micro-level, the residential patterns of various past dynasties from the Yellow Emperor’s Xuanyuan Hill to “siheyuan” and “hutong” in the Ming and Qing dynasties, from “lilong” and “qilou” in modern times to “villages in the city ” in the 1990s, are all investigated and studied; at the macro-level, the historical changes from the urban layout of “cheng in the west andguo in the east” starting from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the compound urban layout model in the Ming and Qing dynasties are sorted out.

Keywords History · Urban habitation · Urban architecture · Urban living pattern · Urban layout · Siheyuan · Hutong · Lilong · Qilou

© The Author(s) 2019

Chonglan Fu and Wenming CaoAn Urban History of ChinaChina Connectionshttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8211-6_1

Begin Abstract

1. The Commencement of Urban Habitation

Chonglan Fu¹ and Wenming Cao²

(1)

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China

(2)

Criminology College, People’s Public Security University of China, Beijing, China

Chonglan Fu (Corresponding author)

Email: [email protected]

Wenming Cao

Email: [email protected]

End Abstract

According to the Interpretations of the Terms, the character 宅 (pinyin: zhai. Its present-day literal meaning is residence) means selection. It means selecting an auspicious place to live. 宅 originated during the period of Emperor Yao and Shun. There was a 舜宅 (pinyin: shun zhai. Literally, the house lived by Emperor Shun) outside Puban City.¹ And according to Wei Liaozi, the emperor’s zhai covered an area of 1000 mu of land; a duke’s or prince’s zhai covered an area of 100 mu and a senior official’s lishe covered an area of 9 mu. zhai was also called di at that time. A residence where less than 10,000 households lived could not be called a zhai or di. —Peng Dayi (Ming dynasty). Palace, Shan Tang Si Kao, Volume 171

1.1 Urban Residence in Legend

China was one of the origins of human civilization. There were segmented records in ancient literature of urban residential settlements of the period when ancient Chinese cities originated. According to The Seventeenth Year of Duke Zhao in Zuo Zhuan, Zi Shen, the senior official of the Lu state, once said that “If there are fires, I’m afraid that four states have to suffer from them. They are the Song State, the Wei State, the Chen State and the Zheng State.” Among these four states, “the Song State was the former residence of Da Chen,²” “the Chen State was the former residence of Da Hao,³” “the Zheng State was the former residence of Zhu Rong” ⁴ and the “Wei State was the former residence of Zhuan Xu ⁵ and it was also called Diqiu.⁶” In the 5th month of the 18th year of the Duke Zhao, big fires, sure enough, happened in the four countries. “Zi Shen ascended the warehouse of Datingshi⁷ and overlooked it.” The Fourth Year of Duke Ding of Lu in Zuo Zhuan also recorded that “Duke of Zhou was granted Shao Hao’s ⁸ former residence (present-day Qufu. Inside the Lu State).” Based on the above-mentioned records, the capital cities of the four states should have been the capital cities of fangguo⁹ in the age of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors or around that period. These were relatively early records about urban residential settlements during the period when Chinese cities originated. There were similar records in other ancient documents. According to the Commentary on the Canal in Commentary on the Waterways Classic, “To the north of the Chen City was the old site of the Chen State (modern Huaiyang, Henan). Fuxi and Shennong had both made it their capital successively. More than 30 li northeast of the Chen City there was Xicheng Shizhong.¹⁰” Volume 173 of the Sea of Jade by Wang Yinglin in the Song dynasty also had accounts of the cities once lived by Emperor Zhuanxu, Yao and Shun.

The Chinese nation during the time of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors was in a transition stage from semi-nomadic state to settlement state. According to Benji of the Five Emperors in Records of the Grand Historian, the Yellow Emperor “built a city at the foot of the Zhuolu Hill. He frequently moved from one place to another without a permanent residence. He stayed where his military camp was stationed.” “Without a permanent residence” demonstrates that the lifestyle at that time was still in the process of transition from mobility to settlement. The sign of the transition was the emergence of the relatively fixed city at the foot of the Zhuolu Hill, which was made the capital by the Yellow Emperor. The later generations thought it was the Shanggu Prefecture in the Han dynasty, where there was also the Chiyou City and the Temple of the Yellow Emperor. The process of “building a city at the foot of the Zhuolu Hill” included “site selection” and the formation of the urban settlement. There were also accounts in the Records of the Grand Historian that “the Yellow Emperor lived in Mount Xuanyuan, and he married Leizu from the state of Xiling.” Nowadays, although the actual location of Mount Xuanyuan is hard to determine, one thing is certain: The relatively fixed dwelling places had emerged at that time.

As for the specific time when cities came into being, different historical documents had different records. According to Shiwu Jiyuan (or Origin of Objects), “The Spring and Autumn of Lü Buwei recorded that ‘Xia Gun ¹¹ had built the city, including the inner and outer cities.’ The Huainanzi recorded that ‘Gun built a nine-ren¹²-tall city wall’. Spring and Autumn of Wu and Yue recorded that ‘Yao ordered Gun to regulate rivers and watercourses. Gun build cities to consolidate the state.’ Bo Wu Zhi (or Natural History) recorded that ‘Dong Lihun blamed Yu and said he had left the state in chaos, so Yu made a concession and built three cities’ and ‘The city began with Yu.’ Xuanyuan Benji recorded that ‘the Yellow Emperor built five cities.’ Biography of Yellow Emperor recorded that ‘after killing Chi You, the Yellow Emperor built the city.’ In The Records of the Grand Historian, an official said to Emperor Wu of Han that ‘the Yellow Emperor built five cities. So construction of cities probably began with the Yellow Emperor.’ The Book of Han recorded that ‘under the instruction of Shennong, a 10-ren-tall stone city wall and a 100-bu moat were built. So construction of the city maybe originated from the Yan Emperor.¹³” These records may vary, but it doesn’t mean that they are mutually exclusive. The possible truth is that these sages and men of virtue in ancient times perhaps all had engaged in activities of building the city under certain conditions. These cities in the bud were the central settlement of the society at that time and the relatively fixed residence of the tribal leader.

With the emergence of primitive cities, living facilities and environments and the earliest urban inhabitants had appeared. “The Canon of Emperor Yao recorded that ‘Emperor Yao commanded the second brother Xi to reside at Yü-yi.’ And The Tribute of Yu recorded that ‘the people had moved from hills to flat ground and lived there.’ And The Mencius recorded a residence covering an area of 5 mu. Dai Yan’s Records of the Western Expedition recorded that ‘There was a 舜宅 (pinyin: shun zhai. Literally, the house lived by Emperor Shun) outside Puban City. Therefore, the term of zhai originated from the period of Yao and Shun.’¹⁴” However, the living facilities at that time were very simple and crude. The Shiming (literally, Explaining Names) recorded that “a house is a cosy place.” The Huainanzi recorded that “Emperor Shun built houses with thatched and reeded roofs and earth walls.” Xin Yu¹⁵ recorded that “during the era of Emperor Yao and Shun, houses were many in number and were closely linked to each other.” In The Book of Changes, “the sages of later times built houses with beams at the upper part and eaves at the lower part, which was probably the beginning of houses. And the name of house should have started from the Yao and Shun era.¹⁶” And then other public facilities also appeared in the city. Xuanyuan Benji recorded that “when the Yellow Emperor died, his officials were very much saddened. They built a temple in his honour and put his sitting cushion and walking stick in it. Later temples for him were built in almost every place he once visited. This was the beginning of the temple.¹⁷” Regardless of the accuracy of these records, the historical transition process reflected by them cannot be doubted. They provided an important clue for studying the city in its primitive age. Judged by the historical records of shanrang system ¹⁸ practiced by Emperor Yao, Shun and Yu, emperors at that time did not have all kinds of privileges enjoyed by the monarchs in later generations. There should not have been big disparity among the living environments of different city dwellers.

Ancient people also discussed the functions of the city. According to Shuowen Jiezi (literally, Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters), “城 (pinyin: cheng, it means the city) is to contain and defend people”; “yong(墉) means city walls.” And according to the interpretation of Duan Yucai, “the word 城 here is used just as it is used in ‘millet is contained in vessels.’” The viewpoint that “the city serves as a place to contain people” has been largely quoted by later generations. It shows that the most basic function of the city has been “habitability” since its emergence. Therefore, dwelling has always been the most important part in the functions of the city. According to Seven Disasters in Mozi, “The city is built for self-defense.” This accounted for the reason why ancient cities all had solid walls to surround them.

1.2 Changes of Primitive Style of Habitation

The time of origin of Chinese cities was around the time of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. It corresponded with the period of Longshan culture in archaeology, which was a very long historical process. In view of the function of living of the city, the Chinese living pattern has experienced an even...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• Part I. History of Urban Habitation
• Part II. History of Chinese Urban Public Squares
• Back Matter