Cities of Aristocrats and Bureaucrats The Development of Medieval Chinese Cityscapes by Heng Chye Kiang

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169
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1999
Cities of Aristocrats and Bureaucrats
The Development of Medieval
Chinese Cityscapes
HENG CHYE KIANG

School of Architecture
Faculty of Architecture, Building and Real Estate
National University of Singapore
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I PRESS

HONOLULU
© 1999 SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY PRESS
A ll Rights Reserved
Published in North America by

University of Hawai’i Press
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Honolulu, Hawai’i 96822
First Published in Singapore by

Singapore University Press
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Singapore 119078
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Heng, Chye Kiang, 1958-
Cities of aristocrats and bureaucrats: The development o f medieval Chinese city scapes/
Heng Chye Kiang.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8248-1982-9 (alk, paper)
1. City planning - China - History. 2. Cities and towns, Medieval - China - History.
3. Urbanization - China - History. 4. China - History - T’ang dynasty, 618-907.
5. China - History - Sung dynasty, 960-1279. I. Title.
HT169, C6H46 1999
307.76’0951’0902 - dc21 99-20299
CIP
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FOR ILLUSTRATIONS: Sources o f photographs and images illustrated, in

addition to those mentioned in the captions, are listed below. Those figures not mentioned here were produced
exclusively for this publication. M ost line drawings were redrawn to improve their quality during
reproduction.
Ancient Chinese Architecture 2 ,1 2 , 78 — Balazs 66 — Beijing Palace Museum 26 ,2 7 , 29, 30, 32, 54, 56,
5 7 ,5 8 ,5 9 ,6 0 ,7 6 — Freer Gallery, Washington 63, 80, 81 — Fu Xinian 3 1 ,3 3 ,3 4 ,3 5 ,3 7 ,44a — Hiraoka
Takeo 17 — Jingding jiankang zhi 42 — Kaogu, no. 6 (1978) 19 — Liaoning Museum 47 — Ma Chongxin
68 — Palace Museum, Taiwan 62 — Qianlong jingcheng tu 73, 7 4 ,7 5 — Sanlitu 3 — Shanghai Museum
6 4,79 — Shilin guangji 48 — Soper 61 — Wallacker 6 9 ,7 0 ,7 1 — Shou cheng lu zhushi 4 3 ,4 4 — Suzhou,
Wenmiao 1 ,2 0 ,5 0 ,5 3 ,5 5 ,7 7 — Wu Liangyong 7 ,2 2 — Xiao Mo 13,21,41 — Zhongguo kaogu lunchong
24 — Zou Zongxu 8 — Xianchun Lin’an zhi and Qiandao Lin’an zhi 3 8 ,4 0 — Zhongguo gudai ditu j i 16
Cover illustration: Detail from the Song period handscroll qingming shanghe tu, Palace Museum, Beijing.
Printed in Singapore
To my Parents
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Selected Dynasties and Rulers
Dynasty Periods of Ancient China
Introduction
1. The Tang City
2. The Transition
3. Attempted Return To Urban Control
4. The Song City scape
5. The Open City
6. A New Urban Paradigm
Selected Bibliography
Western Languages
Chinese and Japanese Languages
Index
Acknowledgements
Writing this book has been a long protracted affair. In the process, I owe much to
many people.
First o f all, I am indebted to the late Professor Spiro Kostof for stimulating my
interest in the history of cities and for his suggestion of Chinese medieval cities as
a subject for my research at the University of California at Berkeley. I also owe much
to Professor Dell Upton, who supervised my work, for his continued guidance and
critical comments not only during my stay at Berkeley but also throughout my
academic career in Singapore. I am grateful also to Professors James Cahill, Stephen
West and David Johnson for their assistance and encouragement and for the long
hours of discussion.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Professor Wu Liangyong who gave
me invaluable advice and support during my sojourn at the School of Architecture,
Tsinghua University, Beijing, and whose assistance eased my research in China
greatly. I would also like to thank the late Ge Yuanqia, Guo Daiheng, Mao Qizhi, Sun
Fengqi, Xu B o’an, Zhao Bingshi, Zuo Chuan, and the librarians who assisted me
during my stay at Tsinghua. I must also thank the many individuals who during my
fieldtrips to the various towns and cities offered help when it was most needed: Fu
Xinian, and Shan Guoqiang (Beijing); Gui Zhiyuan, Huang Yuangang, and Zhao
Liying (Xi’an); Li Guo’en, Xiao Chuntao, Zhong Jian (Luoyang); Chang Jiang, Wu
Kongfan, Xu Boyong, and Zhou Baozhu (Kaifeng); Sun Dongjia (Hangzhou); Li
Boxian (Yangzhou); Liao Zhihao, Xu Minsu, and Yu Shengfang (Suzhou); Liang
Baiquan (Nanjing); and Wang Qingzheng (Shanghai).
I am also grateful to Ooi Bee Leng who read the initial drafts, provided valuable
comments, listened to my grouses and encouraged me. Thanks must also go to the
following for their assistance: Chan Shur Haur for reproducing the line drawings,
Wee Hiang Koon and Eunice Seng for preparing the index, Teo Nam Siang for laying
out the pages, Aw Meng How for designing the cover and setting up the charts,
Vivienne Chan for ensuring consistency of style in the footnotes and bibliography
and Gan Ser Min for proof reading and overall coordination o f the manuscript. Any
shortcomings and failings in this book, however, remain that of the author.
Finally, the conduct of this study was made possible thanks to a generous
scholarship from the National University of Singapore and a grant from the Pacific
Cultural Foundation.
viii
LIST OF SELECTED DYNASTIES AND RULERS
Dynasty Name Emperor J .'f ' Reign Period
Imperial Title Name
Gaozu rSjj-B- Li Yuan 618-627
Taizong Li Shimin 627 - 649
Tang Period Gaozong % % Li Zhi 649 - 684
J* Zhongzong 17 % Li Zhe # # 684 - 685
(618 A.D. - 907 A.D.)
Ruizong t-?r- Li Dan # 2- 685 - 690
Wuhou "Kfe Wu Zhao ^5, I! 690 - 712
Xuanzong Li Longji 712-755
Suzong * % Li Heng ^ 7 756-762
Daizong IK* Li Yu 763 - 779
Dezong -tt % Li Kuo 779-804
Shunzong M Li Song 805 - 805
Xianzong % ir- Li Chun 806 - 820
Muzong # % Li Heng ^'IS- 821 - 824
Jingzong fk.% Li Zhan 825 - 826
Wenzong Li Ang # ^ 827 - 840
Wuzong 5^ % Li Yan 841 - 847
Xuanzong 4 % Li Chen 847 - 860
Yizong Is % Li Cui ^ 'S. 860-874
Xizong i$- % Li Xuan 874-888
Zhaozong 03 % Li Ye 889 - 906
Taizu iliS. Zhao Kuangyin MHJlL 960-975

Taizong iv % Zhao Guangyi 976-997
Northern Song Zhenzong %% Zhao Heng & ‘l2- 998 -1023
Period Renzong 'f—% Zhao Zhen 1023 -1064
dbfc Yingzong % Zhao Shu 1064-1068
(960 A.D. - 1127 A.D.)
Shenzong # W - Zhao Xu 1068 -1086
Zhezong W- Zhao Xu feSfc 1086-1101
Huizong Hi % Zhao Ji fe'f# 1101-1126
Qinzong ik.% Zhao Huan 1126-1127
Gaozong Si % Zhao Gou M. $3 1127-1163

Xiaozong # ^ Zhao Shen 1163-1190
Southern Song Guangzong Zhao Dun 1190-1195
Period Ningzong 'f& Zhao Kuo 1195-1225
Lizong 3§-W- Zhao Yun 1225 -1265
(1127 A.D. - 1279 A.D.) Duzong JjL % Zhao Qi 1265 -1274
Gongdi -S-'fr Zhao Xian M. fi 1275 - 1276
Ruizong % Zhao Shi & R 1276-1278
Dibing 'frM Zhao Bing & H 1278 - 1279
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Introduction
the summer of 1229, a map of Pingjiang fu ^ (modern Suzhou & )

was engraved on a stone stele under the supervision of Li Shoupeng
functionary of the prefecture (Figs. 1 and 50).1 He had been in office for less than
a year but had seen the conclusion of the renovation of the city walls and the urban
fabric begun six years earlier. This was the first major facelift for a city that had
suffered the ravages of war; it was sacked and torched by the invading Jin forces in
1130, shortly after the fall of the Northern Song capital, Kaifeng t M t . Even as late
as 1207, “the city was half in ruins.”2 The renovation had once again restored the city
to its premier position in the region and the engraved stone tablet, 1.98 m by 1.34 m,
was to be a faithful record o f the city after its rebuilding. Today, the stone stele stands
preserved in a museum housed in Suzhou’s Confucian Temple (Wenmiao i J S ).
The Suzhou map shows a city based on a supple orthogonal pattern of roads and
canals interspersed with occasional oblique and curvilinear streets and waterways at
the periphery. Except for some walled rectangles enclosing administrative centers,
official buildings, religious edifices, and the like, the map is dominated by the
complex water transportation network o f six major N-S and 14 E-W canals. This
network of “water streets” is paralleled by an equally subtle terra firma system of
bridges and streets animated by T-junctions and cranked intersections. Important
junctions were marked by street-straddling portals carrying the names o f the
neighborhoods. The map included official bureaus and religious institutions, as well
as some entertainment spots such as wineshops and gardens. The 314 bridges
depicted also indicate — by their names — where several commercial districts lay
in the city.
Exactly 149 years earlier, in 1080, another map was also engraved in great detail
on a stone stele (Figs. 2 and 17). That was the city plan of the Tang Jit (A.D. 618-
9 0 6 ) capital C hang’an -fc-Sr, m ade by Lii D afang § (1 0 2 7 -1 0 9 7 ).
Unfortunately, only fragments o f the stone tablet remain today. The surviving pieces
show the north and northeastern sections of the city with palaces and imperial parks
north of the city walls. Within the city walls, broad avenues separate neat rows of
enclosed rectangular blocks. Here, instead of the street network, prominence is given
to the walled rectangular residential wards of various sizes. Inside these city building
blocks are found the occasional government edifice, religious buildings, and the
xi
Introduction
Fig. 1. Map of Suzhou on stone stele carved in 1229.
houses of the rich and poor alike. All the blocks are provided with two or four gates.
This map represents C hang’an of the second h alf o f the Tang dynasty, when
im portant urban changes were slowly taking place, eroding, little by little, the
orderliness of the Tang urban structure.3
Although both maps were made during the Song % dynasty and at a glance, looks
xii
Fig. 2. Map of Chang’an on stone stele carved in 1080.
very similar, further comparison will reveal important differences in these two city
plans. They were not different only because they were cities located at different
geographical locations, one in the waterlogged Lower Yangzi Valley, the other in the
Yellow River Basin. N either were they different because one was a prosperous
prefectural capital whereas the other was the cosmopolitan capital of an extensive
empire. Rather they were different because they represented cities at two stages in the
developm ent of Chinese cities separated by at least three hundred years. W hile
Chang’an epitomized the mature state of the Chinese m edieval4 city with a long
history behind it, Suzhou represented the infancy of a new urban structure and a
prototype to a long line of descendants until the advent of m odern industries,
technologies, and government in the course of the last two centuries gave rise to new
urban forms and landscapes. Despite the often form ulaic rendering of medieval,
m apped space, these two plans reveal a fundam ental difference. The map of
Chang’an shows an image dominated by a grid of walled enclosures, the streets being
the consequence of the juxtaposition of these wards. The streets were certainly
present but arguably not necessarily rendered willfully. It was the walled wards that
xiii
Introduction
preoccupied the map maker’s mind. Suzhou’s plan, on the other hand, is structured
by a linear network o f streets existing quite independently of the buildings or walled
compounds interspersed within the framework established. In other words, the map
depicts streets existing on their own right stringing along them portals, buildings,
walled enclosures, and bridges. Care was also taken to render the streets with a
pattern suggesting that they were paved, perhaps with stone slabs.
However, a city is more than a formal pattern of streets or wards on a stone tablet.
To its founders and administrators, it may serve critical political, military, and
economic functions. To its inhabitants, it is the crucible in which they forge their
lives, make their living, establish meaningful personal relations, entertain themselves,
modify their environment, and eventually mold their own culture. They are also
regulated by its laws, restricted by its layout, and affected by its landscape. A study
of the history o f cities should be more than an account of the formal evolution o f
cities although inevitably that constitutes a significant aspect. It is equally important
to understand the reasons behind the formal transformations, how these cities were
perceived by and what they meant to their founders and inhabitants.
The character of the two capitals was perceived clearly and well described by then-
respective inhabitants. The poet Bai Juyi & & h (772-846), writing in 827, evoked
the orderly image and the silence of the Tang Chang’an at night:
Hundreds o f houses, thousands o f houses — like pieces on a chess-board

The twelve streets like the orderly paths between vegetable plots.
In the distance I see faint and small the torches o f riders to Court,
Like a single constellation o f stars lying to the west o f the Five Gates.5
Three and a half centuries later Fan Chengda (1126-1193) portrayed a very
different landscape when he sailed into Suzhou one night via the southwestern water
gate, Panmen A l'1 , when the city was still bustling with night life:
Noisy chatterings fill the cool night wind,

Myriad window lights appear at the turn o f the river;
Two rows o f willows cage the official ferry,
A cluster o f red towers sits on the battlements;
From where comes this tune sung while picking water caltrops?
From whose house floats the incense o f moon offerings?
With light furs and a fine horse one saunters through the market,
Lying with fatigue on a rush mat one drifts into sleep.6
Changes in the formal layout were not the only ones that affected the cities of the
Tang and Song. The cityscapes were also very different and so were the kind of urban
life and experience. Those same torches of the early morning riders to court in the
wide avenues observed by Bai Juyi in Chang’an would probably have been less
significant, if not overwhelmed by the myriad lights that burned through the night,
xiv
Cities o f Aristocrats and Bureaucrats
in some of the streets o f the later Song cities. Night life, once suppressed, blossomed.
Similarly, urban living had evolved from being ward-centered to being street-
centered as was hinted by the different emphasis shown in the two maps.
Although the map of Chang’an was engraved at about the same time a new city
structure was bom, the path of development from one form to the other was by no
means linear. Official attempts were made to curtail certain forms of development in
favor of others. However, other forces were also at work pushing the growth of cities
in directions not always desired by the authorities. The evolution of cities is not a
deterministic progression of formal types, but a record of the contest of the political,
social, and economic forces of their constituents.
Tang Chang’an and Luoyang *8-PB , and Northern Song Kaifeng are the main
subjects of my study. Since they were dynastic capitals, and were not necessarily
representative of other cities, some lower-level urban centers are also included in this
study to provide a more complete picture of the urban development at large. While
Chang’an’s national significance was also enhanced internationally by being the
model for a host o f cities in East Asia, Northen Song Kaifeng is important in the
history of Chinese cities as the paradigm for a new form o f cities. Structurally and
experientially, pre-modem Chinese cities changed little after the Song period.
The choice of subjects and the nature of my study were also guided, in part, by
the availability of sources. For Tang Chang’an and Luoyang, the earliest sources are
the surviving chapter o f the contemporary record Liangjing xinji [New
Record of the Two (Tang) Capitals] written by the Tang scholar Wei Shu 4 and
Belli zhi Jb JL& [Record of the Northern Neighborhood] completed by Shun Qi 2]'
& in 884.7 Other informative sources such as Chang’an zhi -fc -S r [R ec o r d o f
Chang’an] and Yuan Henan zhi tLH [Yuan Period Record of Henan] are
geographically specific studies compiled by later learned Song and Yuan scholars
whose interests were the physical layout of city walls, gates, palaces, official
buildings, monasteries, and residences o f senior officials. Even then, in many
instances, only cryptic descriptions are given or the names of places and facilities
listed. No details are given for the arenas and activities of everyday life, the streets
and alleys, the commercial and entertainment districts, or the houses of the common
people. The relevant sections in official compilations such as dynastic histories were
just as parsimonious in their accounts. Another source, the Tang Huiyao ,
which collects important official documents pertaining to different aspects of the
dynastic administration, also contains relevant information regarding the measures
that affected the Tang cities. However, these are once again official regulations, from
which popular behavior can only be indirectly inferred. Information pertaining to the
popular aspects o f the city had to be sieved from other forms of writings such as
poems and contemporary stories collected in later works such as the Taiping Guangji
compiled by Li Fang (925-996). Modem archaeological excavations,
especially in the case of Chang’an, are important in substantiating our understanding
o f the city’s organization and in confirming the general accuracy o f the literary
sources.
xv
Introduction
By comparison, the sources for the study o f Song Kaifeng, are richer and more
varied. Apart from the relevant sections of the standard dynastic history and the
specific entries in the Song Huiyao , there are no early studies extant similar
in nature to the Chang’an zhi or the Henan zhi. One such work entitled D ongjingji
& [Record of the Eastern Capital] by Song Minqui (1019-1079), also
the author of Chang’an zhi, is now lost. Fortunately, parts o f it are quoted in later
studies such as Li Lian’s (1488-1569) Bianjing yiji zhi [Record of
the Ruins o f Bianjing (i.e., Kaifeng)] and Zhou Cheng’s (active ca. 1740) Song
Dongjing kao % % % % [Study of the Song Eastern Capital], We are also extremely
lucky to have the memoir Dongjing menghua lu [Record of A Dream of
Splendor in the Eastern Capital] written by an inhabitant of Northern Song Kaifeng,
Meng Yuanlao ik ic M , who left us a wealth of information on the festivities, the
commercial and entertainment districts, and the many popular aspects of the capital.
Unlike the cryptic descriptions of more scholarly compilations, the memoir fleshed
out parts of the skeletal framework provided by other works with details and life,
affording us a glimpse of Kaifeng’s urban scene. Supplementary information can be
culled from elliptical accounts in the hundreds of Song biji %Li£ or miscellaneous
writings penned by scholars. Our understanding of the Song city is further aided by
visual resources not available to the study of Tang Chang’an. Painted at the end o f
the Northen Song, the handscroll Qingming shanghe tu Jl/«T SI [Going up the
River during the Qingming Festival], which depicts the city scape o f Kaifeng,
provides a wealth o f visual information that would fill volumes of description.8
Modem archaeological excavations so useful in our understanding of Chang’an’s
layout are unfortunately not conducted with the same ease or eagerness at Kaifeng.
The city, located on the flood plains of the Yellow River was submerged many times
when the silt laden river changed its course either naturally or by human intervention.
Today the ruins o f the Song capital lie between five and twelve meters below the
modem city of Kaifeng. Although recent archaeological work has determined the
locations of the walls and some of its outer gates, the internal layout is still largely
unclear.
In this study, I will show that the closed city as characterized by Tang Chang’an
and Luoyang, rooted in the highly stratified m edieval society with a strong
aristocratic power, slowly eroded under the attack o f political and economic forces
to yield at the end o f the Five Dynasties period (906-960) the seed of the open city.
Accompanying this breakdown was the gradual replacement o f the m edieval
aristocracy by a new gentry o f pragmatic career Confucianist bureaucrats under
whose management the open city eventually flourished during the eleventh century.
At the same time, China entered a period of unprecedented growth accompanied by
rapid urbanization, the loosening o f city controls, and the emergence o f a
recognizable urban culture.
The Chinese cities, I hope to show, are not simply the products of a particular
dynasty or o f their founders or builders. While I will refer to the cities studied as
Tang or Song, the dynastic prefixes are only convenient period indicators. As I will
elaborate in the first chapter, these indicators do not imply that the development of
cities, although influenced to some extent by political events, corresponded neatly
with the clear divisions of dynastic history. In the same vein, Chang’an was not the
product of Yuwen Kai ^ 3L'fS or Emperor Sui Wendi Pf any more than it was
the product of the aristocracy, the strict social hierarchy, and the legalist tendencies
o f medieval China. Similarly, Kaifeng’s new urban structure was not the result o f
Emperor Zhou Shizong M -ft % or Emperor Song Taizu’s % ic.^0- renovation any
more than it was that of the rise o f the pragmatic scholar-bureaucrats, the prosperous
merchant class, the massive influx of city dwellers, and the existence of dispossessed
urban poor ready to make a living in any way possible. Cities, we shall see, are
shaped by a complex web of political, social, economic, and cultural forces. One
should not be surprised then to find that newly built cities such as Sui-Tang Chang’an
and Luoyang did not represent radical new departures from the then prevailing trend.
Nor should one be surprised to find that few if any cities encountered in this study
conformed to the perfect diagram preconized by the classic Kaogongji 3 - iiL
[Record of Artificers] with the following stipulation (Fig. 3):
Fig. 3. Map of Wangcheng in Kaogongji.
When the builder constructs the capital, the city should be a square nine li on
each side, with three gates on each side. Within the city are nine longitudinal
and nine latitudinal streets; each o f them nine carriages wide. On the left (i.e.,
east) is the Ancestral Temple, on the right (west) are the Altars o f Soil and
Grain, in front is the Hall o f Audience and behind, the markets.9
More than formal schemes inscribed on stone tablets, cities were, after all, living
entities.
Introduction
NOTES
1 Wang Qianjin , “Pingjiang tu de dituxue yanjiu” ( f )) ¥j
[Cartographical Research on Ping Jiang Tu], Ziran kexueshi yanjiu t] fu [Studies
in the History o f Natural Sciences] 8, no. 4 (1989): p. 378-86.
2 See Du Yu “Cong Song ‘Pingjiang tu' kan Pingjiangfu Cheng de guimo he buju” A
% ( ^ i x S )) ¥] ^ [Observing the Scale and Layout of Pingjiang
Prefectural Seat from Ping Jiang Tu], Studies in the History of Natural Sciences 8, no. 1
(1989): p. 90-96. In p. 91 he quoted the statement from Wang Ao i H - , Gusu zhi -H
[Record of Suzhou] (Taiwan xuesheng congshu, 1965), c. 16, p. lb.
3 The map could only be an idealized depiction of late Tang Chang’an as it included among
other residences, the palace Xingqinggong ykJk'i built by Emperor Xuanzong % between
714 and 728. See also Chapter 2, footnote 29.
4 In this context, the term ‘medieval’ is used for the period from the end of Han to the eleventh
century. The use of the term ‘medieval’ is controversial and the exact period referred to
varies with authors; for a discussion of the periods of Chinese history, see Wolfram Eberhard,
Conquerors and Rulers: Social Forces in Medieval China (Leiden: E.I. Brill, 1965), p. 17-
21 .
5 Bai Juyi, “Deng Guanyintai wang cheng” 4 4$, [Watching the City After Ascending
Guanyin Dais], in Quan Tangshi [Complete Tang Poems] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1960), c. 448, p. 5041. Translation modified from Arthur Waley, Chinese Poems (London:
Unwin Books, 1961), p. 161.
6 Fan Chengda “Wanru Panmen” f t A i fl [Entering Pan Gate at Night], in Suzhou
mingsheng shici xuan Jh ^'1& fl&.'tffi*! ilfc [Selection of Poems on the Famous Sites of Suzhou],
ed. Qian Zhonglian IX'f+JK (Suzhou, 1985), p. 92. Unless otherwise stated, translations are
by author.
7 For a list of other contemporary sources, see Zhang Yonglu ed., Tangdai Chang’an
cidian -3c [Dictionary of Tang Chang’ari] (Xi’an: Shaanxi renmin Press, 1990),
p. 517-29. For Northern Wei Luoyang, we have the well known Luoyangjialan ji 31
•iti [Record of Monasteries in Luoyang] by the contemporary Yang Xuanzhi .
8 Although there is some debate regarding the city depicted, most scholars agree that it is
Bianjing (modem Kaifeng). See Yu Song 7~ M, “Qingming shanghe tu suo hui wei Bianjing
fengwu shuo” - t '“TS)) #f ^ % >T ^ "26 [That the Subject Depicted in Going
Up the River during Qingming Festival is Bianjing], Henan daxue xuebao i3! ^
[Henan University Journal], no. 1 (1988): p. 1-5. See also Roderick Whitfield, “Chang Tse-
tuan’s Ch’ing-ming shang-ho t ’u” (Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton University, 1965). See also
Linda Cooke Johnson, ‘The Place of Qingming shanghe tu in the Historical Geography of
Song Dynasty Dongjing,” and Valerie Hansen, “ The Mystery of the Qingming Scroll and
Its Subject: The Case Against Kaifeng,” in Journal o f Sung-Yuan Studies 26 (1996),
p. 145-82 and p. 183-200 respectively.
9 Kaogongji % [Record of Artificers], c. 2, p. 12a-12b. See other translations by Nancy
Steinhardt, Chinese Imperial City Planning (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990),
p. 33; Xiong Cunrui, ‘The Planning of Daxingcheng, the First Capital of the Sui Dynasty,”
Papers on Far Eastern History, March 1988, p. 43-80 (p. 44); Paul Wheatley, Pivot of Four
Quarters (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1971), p. 411.
1
The Tang City
Q ^ yX /e told, us that the City was very large, and extremely populous; that it
was divided into two great Parts, by a very long and very broad Street; that the
Emperor, his chief Ministers, the Soldiery, the supreme Judge, the Eunuchs, and
all belonging to the imperial Household, lived in that Part o f the City which is
on the right hand Eastward; that the people had no manner o f Communication
with them; and that they were not admitted into Places watered by Canals, from
different Rivers, whose Borders were planted with Trees, and adorned with
magnificent Dwellings. The Part on the left hand Westward, is inhabited by the
People and the Merchants, where are also great Squares, and Markets fo r all
the Necessaries o f Life. A t break o f Day you see the Officers o f the K ing’s
Household, with the inferior Servants, the Purveyors, and the Domestics of the
Grandees o f the Court, who come, some on foot others on Horseback, into that
Division o f the City, where are the public Markets, and the Habitations o f the
Merchants; where they buy whatever they want, and return not again to the
same Place till the next Morning.
This same Traveler related that this City has a very pleasant Situation, in the
m idst o f a most fertile Soil, watered by several Rivers. Scarce any Thing is
wanted, except Palm-Trees, which grow not there.1
So recorded the chronicler, Abu Zeid al Hasan, of the impressions o f an Arabian

traveler, Ebn Wahab, o f Cumdan in the third quarter of the ninth century — a
crowded metropolis o f stately mansions, splendid shrines and temples, and busy
international bazaars.
What the traveler saw was the Tang (A.D. 618-906) capital city of Chang’an at a
time when China was increasingly besieged by both internal economic difficulties,
political strife, and external threats.2 Although the city itself was undergoing the first
signs o f structural change, the observations of Ebn Wahab would have been equally
valid if he had visited the city when it was first founded nearly three hundred years
earlier. Had he arrived even earlier, say around A.D. 500, in Luoyang, the capital of
the Northern Wei Dynasty, he would have seen another city very similar in
organization to the later Chang’an. In fact the major cities in China during this entire
period were highly disciplined and controlled, laid out on equally strict grids. It was
1
only towards the end of the Tang period that these grids began to erode, yielding a
more open city structure.
To understand the significance in the history of Chinese cities of the emergence
of the open city towards the end of the eleventh century, it is necessary to investigate
the cities of the periods immediately preceding the Northern Song (960-1127). Not
only must we study the city form and imagine its cityscape, we must also try to
understand the socio-econom ic and political conditions that underlie such city
structures.
THE CHOICE OF CAPITALS

Nearly 300 years before Ebn W ahab’s arrival, Yang Jian , after a series of
intrigues, seized power from the Northern Zhou princes in 581 and founded the Sui
% dynasty (581-617). Sui Wendi % SL'ifr (Emperor Wen of Sui dynasty), as he was
known later, ordered the design of a capital for the expanding empire even though
south of the Yangzi River the Chen P& dynasty was contending the rule of the vast
Chinese territory from Jiankang ifc ji (modern Nanjing ). Yang Jian’s ambition
drove him to forsake the smaller, war devastated, 800 year-old Han & capital of
Chang’an which he had inherited from Northern Zhou itM that had made the Wei
River basin its power base (Fig. 4). What he had in mind instead was a city of glory,
larger than any previously built.3 The capital, 9.721 km by 8.652 km, was to become
the symbol of his imperialist ambition. This, he called Daxingcheng (Walled
City of Daxing), named after his own title, Duke Daxing.4 To support the needs of
the new capital and its administrative and military machinery, he resettled population
t o the capital and its surrounding region.
Vice-Inspector General Yuwen Kai ^ , a m em ber o f the aristocracy, was
charged w ith building the capital. A site about 10 km south of the Wei River
>! H , watered by the Chan >/* and Ba ;fi Rivers to its east and the Zao and Feng
>4- Rivers to its west, was chosen. The terrain slopes down northwestwards to the Wei
River, and was partially traversed by a series of six minor land spurs (Fig. 5). The
capital was hence strategically sited, protected by deserts to the north and west, by
mountains to the south and by the fortified pass o f Dongguan & ^ to the east.
The walls of the palace city were erected first, followed by those of the imperial
city. A perimeter wall of rammed earth, 36.7 km in length, was built around the city.
This wall, due to its immense scale, took many years to complete and was still being
built during the early Tang period. Further protection was offered by a 9 m wide moat
located 3 m outside the walls.5
The building and layout of the capital was m otivated by Sui W endi’s political
vision of uniting China once again. The construction of the Palace City took only
nine months and the emperor moved in in the spring of 583. Building a capital of this
magnitude was uncalled for, even unwise, just a year after founding a dynasty whose
power was not entirely consolidated — in the south a major, albeit weaker power
ruled the other half o f China. More than for pedestrian reasons, the capital was
2
The Tang City
designed as a symbol of the entire Chinese realm and o f his virtuous rule. As Arthur
W right observed, the new regim e had to prepare step by step “the way for the
conquest of the south, not only militarily, but by establishing a claim to a universal
mandate that would outweigh the pretensions of legitimacy of the southern dynasty.”6
To this end, Sui Wendi paid special attention to acts of symbolic and ritualistic
importance to enhance the legitim acy of his regime. Some scholars attributed the
northern location of the palace within the city to the Confucian political philosophy
which likens a benevolent ruler to the North Star around which all stars orbit.7
Calling the main palace Taijidian or Hall of the Cosmic Ultimate, which
symbolizes the “astral center of the universal order” made the political meaning even
more obvious.8 The four principal cardinal gates of the capital were named to recall
their cosm ological counterparts helping to render the city the psychological
equivalent o f the Chinese realm in the minds of its contem poraries. Its political
symbolism was made even more evident by the nom enclature o f the city’s main
3
southern gate situated directly in line with the palace.9 Rather than calling it Qixia
Gate & J[1 ] after its cosmological counterpart following the practice at the other
three principal cardinal gates, it was called M ingde Gate a/l % I'l or the Gate of
Luminous Virtue, once again alluding to the virtuous ruler. Instead the gate to its east
was named Qixia Gate or the Gate of Inaugural Summer (Fig. 6). Virtue with its
moral force, more than anything else, would enable him to rule the entire country.10
Political symbolism prevailed.
A secondary eastern capital, Luoyang, was founded in 605 by the second Sui
Emperor Yang % . Situated farther east, south of the Yellow River, this capital was
chosen for its strategic military position and was built in an attempt to shorten the
distance between the empire’s emerging economic center in the Lower Yangzi region
and the political stronghold of the central plains as well. Its proximity to the Grand
Canal, also constructed during the reign of Emperor Yang, made the transportation
of grain from the south to the capital relatively easy.11 Like Daxingcheng, it was
planned by Yuwen Kai and his collaborators and, once again, the palace and imperial
cities and their walls were built first.
4
The Tang City
in Chang’an.
Except for irregularities in the western section, the outer city wall was almost
square, with sides of about 7.3 km. A city symmetrical along its central axis modeled
after the first capital was perhaps planned initially but never built.12 This axis was
lined up with the two major topographical features of the region — Mt. Mang ^ ih
to the north and Yi Que i f )*1 ( ‘Yi Pylon’) to the south.13
This alignment lends further support to the theory of intended ‘sym m etricity’
(Fig. 7). What was built seems to have been the eastern half of the planned city. As
a result the palace city was located at the northwestern com er of the city. Even then
the layout and organization o f the city had m uch in com m on w ith those o f
Daxingcheng.
W hen the Tang dynasty took over the country during a popular uprising in 618,
Em peror Taizu iv?3- was content to continue to use the two imperial capitals. Few
changes were made to the eastern capital, Luoyang, and most of these were effected
in the palace complexes; the three Sui markets were eventually reduced to two. The
5
principal capital, Daxingcheng, was renamed Chang’an, the City of Everlasting

Peace. Little else was changed. The city which covered an area of 84 km2 was large
enough to cater to the needs of the expanding Tang empire and similarly expanding
urban population.14 Except for the subsequent addition in 634 of another palatial
complex at the northeastern edge, the city remained within the bounds set by the city
walls built during the Sui period. There was in fact little need to expand beyond the
walls of the city as much of the southern sections remained sparsely inhabited
6
The Tang City
throughout the Tang period, even though at its height Tang Chang’an had a
population o f about a million people.15 Such was the immense scale of the imperial
city.
The Palace City, in which the imperial household lived, occupied the central
northern section of the capital. An immense royal square some 2,820 meters by at
least 220 meters, used both for ritual and military purposes, separated the Palace City
from the Imperial City to its south.16 It was here that amongst other things, the
emperor conducted the rituals o f First Prime ytSL (first day of the lunar year) and
Winter Solstice, announced amnesties, and received foreign dignitaries. The “Walled-
City o f the Palace” first founded by the Sui Emperor was later abandoned by the
Tang emperors as the imperial residence in their preference for Darning Gong
“S to its northeast. While the ruling emperor lived in the new palace, the old one was
left to emperors who were dethroned or had abdicated or were used for imperial
funerary ceremonies. The new Darning Gong or Great Luminous Palace, begun in
634 during the reign of the great Tang Emperor Taizong ;k. % and completed 28
years later, was located on a higher ground in the imperial hunting park.17 Within its
confines were more than twenty palace halls including the much celebrated Linde
Hall WttkWi and Hanyuan Hall 'sTtLBsl .i8 Another palace, the Xingqing Palace ykJk
o ' , just northeast of the East Market, was built and used during the reign of Emperor
Xuanzong ~k %■ (r.712-755) as the primary place of court.19
The Imperial City was the administrative heart o f the empire. Within its large
walled enclosure were government offices o f both civil and military functions,
headquarters of imperial guards and the residence and offices of the crown prince. It
was also here that the emperor came to conduct ritual sacrifices at the imperial
ancestral temple (tai miao i v J i ) and at the imperial heavenly altar (taishe )
(Fig. 8).
Basically, the separation o f official functions and state machinery from the other
functions of the city was very clearly defined, although a few of the less critical
official departments were located in the wards close to the major N-S thoroughfare.
No one without good reasons was allowed into the Imperial City, much less the
Palace Cities.20
This separation was equally, if not more, distinct in the eastern capital, Luoyang.
Located on the highest terrain in the city, and surrounded on three sides by the walls
o f the Imperial City and on the fourth side by those o f the Imperial Gardens, the
Palace City was effectively isolated from the rest of Luoyang. The entire complex of
Palace and Imperial Cities was further separated from the city by the Luo River
immediately to its south and by the palatial complex o f the crown prince and an
immense network of underground granaries — Hanjiacang — to the east.21
This move, made a year after Sui Emperor Yang’s enthronement, could be seen as an
attempt to ensure that the palatial and administrative complex was even more
impregnable than that of Chang’an. Certainly this consideration was prompted by an
earlier military expedition led by prince Yang Liang to prevent Emperor
Yangdi’s coronation.22
7
r&nGate
sjjGuangyun
Changle Gateg
5
T p ^ f ll Chengtian Gate IJiafu Gate I f-* rt

Heng Street mm
ts i
-S’ 12 13 14 15
Capital Construction yt Right

Gallant
Right
Mighty
■ Left
16 Mighty.
Left
Gallant
h
20 21 22
1
29 30
Administration 1
Guards Guards 1 Guards Guards
Central
H 3& n
Judicial Palace Guardi Agriculture Department
Central Executive Administrator
Department Department Department of Arms
n a w *
Forage
Administration 23 24 25 26
kinder
Agriculture Administration Administration
Imperial Department
of of Revenue
Horse Bureau of
**#![§ Economic Affairs and Expenditure
*56 Emperor's Adminstration of Imperial Family >fImperial Famil)
Stable Waste Stone of Levies I |P
Platform and Taxes I 2
3k*
Rites and Sacrificial Imperial Imperial
Office of Heavenly
Heavenly Alter Alter Reception Bureau Ceremonies Bureau Ancestral Temple Temple
■&3fcrt Hangnang Gate & f t n Zhuque Gate 3 E -tn Anshang Gate
1 Right Guard 12 Office of Supervision 23 Left General of Imperial Guards

2 Right Entrance Guard 13 Court Supervisory Bureau 24 Left Guards of Palace
3 Right Security Guard 14 Left Security Guards 25 Department of Official Appointment & Promotion
4 Office of Rites and Ceremonies 15 Left Guards 26 Department of Imperial Examination
5 Low & Document Drafting Office 16 Left Entrance Guards 27 Office in-charge of Emperior’s Daily Life
6 Bureau of Files, Books and Documents 17 Crown Prince’s Residence 28 Crown Prince’s Left Office
7 Right Guards of Palace 18 Crown Prince’s Office 29 Left Guards of Crown Prince
8 Right General of Imperial Guards 19 Crown Prince’s Right Office 30 Princes’ Guards and Officials Administration
9 Bureau of Astronomy 20 Bureau of Crown Prince’s Carnages and Horses 31 Water Conservancy Bureau
10 Procutorial and Supervisory Department 21 Office of Night Watch 32 Administration of Imperial Board
11 Administration of Imperial Household 22 Right Guards of Crown Prince
Fig. 8. Organization of Chang’an’s Imperial City.
CHANG’AN
A Hypothetical Walk
Let us now return to the Arabian traveler and his very concise description quoted at
the beginning of the chapter. With the help o f a contemporary account of the two
capitals Liangjing xinji [New Account of the Two Capitals] by Wei Shu ^
, later studies of the city by scholars of different periods, contemporary poems and
miscellaneous writings, and recent archaeological reports, we attempt to understand
the streetscape and the cityscape of the Tang capital.23
What follows is an imaginary walk constructed for our traveler, Ebn Wahab,
through the city of Chang’an sometime in the 870s (See Fig. 6). Ebn Wahab left his
home city Basra when it was sacked. From Siraf, he sailed to China, he said, out of
curiosity. After arriving at the port of Canfu, or modem day Canton, he traveled two
months to the capital, Cumdan (i.e., Chang’an) where, after a considerable wait, the
Emperor finally gave him audience.24
8
The Tang City
Ebn Wahab could see, in the distance, the southern wall of the famed city of
Chang’an — a band of yellow earth relieved by an occasional protruding pagoda, and
the dark roofs of some princely mansions and magnificent temple complexes — set
against the backdrop o f the rugged terrain beyond the Wei River to the north.25
Behind him loomed the distant Zhongnan mountains ,26 The city was
essentially flat, made up mostly of one- and sometimes two-story buildings. Multi
story buildings were rare, comprising mainly gate towers, pagodas, or occasionally
multi-tier pavilions in temple complexes or the gardens of the rich and powerful.27
Approaching the city, he could see Mingde Gate, the main gate in the southern wall,
crowned by an imposing timber-frame gate tower with a hip roof (Fig. 9). Unlike the
rest o f the wall, the city gate and the wall immediately around it were faced with
bricks.28 Being the major gate o f the city, it had five passages instead of the
customary three. The gate tower, also the largest of all gate towers of the outer wall,
was eleven bays wide and three bays deep.29 A 4 m deep moat dug early in the
seventh century and which used to be a formidable obstacle besides the 5.9 m high
wall to any besieging army, had been abandoned and filled-in since mid Tang.30 The
gate was heavily guarded by a detachment of the imperial Jinwu Guard 3L, both
mounted and on foot.31 Being a major gate it had as many as a hundred men.32 Ebn
Wahab took the second passageway on the right (East) and noticed that all the
passages were wide enough for two chariots. The central entrance was closed as it
was reserved for the use o f the emperor; from the outer two, vehicles went in and out
of the city.33 What awaited our traveler on the other side o f the gate came as a
surprise. A major thoroughfare, 155 m wide or the equivalent o f a 45-lane modem
highway, lined with locust trees (huai & , sophora japonica) shot straight north to
the Imperial City, some 5.3 km up the road. This was the Vermilion Bird Road or
Zhuque dajie that separated the city into two halves (Fig. 10). On both
sides o f the earthen road, low mud walls about 3 m high peeped behind the tree
trunks. Ditches almost as wide as the height of the low walls separated them from
the slightly elevated roadways. Behind these walls the upper sections of the roofs of
the houses of aristocrats and commoners, o f the rich and the poor could be seen.
On either side of him, a much narrower ring road about 25 m wide ran parallel to
the tamped earth walls allowing easy access to defend the ramparts in the event of
a siege. The southern section of the city, he noticed, was very quiet. Anyi fang -Sr
S lty , the southernmost ward immediately to his right, just as Yanzuo fang
to his left, seemed scarcely, if at all, populated. The wards just north of these two
Fig. 9. Reconstruction of Mingde Gate.
9
9 „ ^
y U :
Fig. 10. Schematic cross section of a typical 120-meter-wide avenue.
were equally deserted. An east-west avenue about 40 m wide intersected the major
avenue and separated the next row of wards.34 Although it was inside the city walls,
this section of the capital seemed agrarian. This rural impression was reinforced by
the wide open spaces of the avenues and low dirt walls behind much taller trees.
Although most of the time locust trees, willows or elms lined the major avenues, they
were occasionally replaced by fruit trees.35 Repeated imperial orders attested to
sustained efforts to line the streets with trees.36 The trees o f residential gardens and
parks that protruded behind the low walls further reinforced the rural visual cues.37
In fact, the four southernmost rows of wards were hardly inhabited, and were given
to large stretches of farmland.38 The entire area o f Baoning fang just north
o f Anyi fang, was taken up by a Daoist temple — Haotianguan . This was
founded in 656 after the death of Emperor Taizong by converting a former mansion
of his ninth son as a means o f offering blessings to the deceased emperor.39
Continuing north, the next two sparsely populated wards on his left and right once
again housed Daoist, Buddhist, and a couple of family temples.
As Ebn Wahab proceeded north, he found the wards, bounded by the longitudinal
and lateral avenues, rather large — some 300 paces (441 m) from one end to the
other. In the middle o f the wall was a gate that allowed access to the interior of the
block. He had observed along the way that around some gates, folks gathered to read
posters and notices posted there.40 Apart from these ward gates, temples as well as
residences of high officials of third rank and above were also allowed to have gates
in the wall allowing direct access to the street. He discovered later during his walk
that in some wards, sections of ward walls were torn down or had private doors cut
into them, openly defying the strict regulations against such acts. What caught his
attention as he continued north, however, were two prominent temples that sat on the
spur of land that cut across his way two blocks or about a kilometer farther down the
Vermilion Bird Road. Before he came to them, he passed to his left, Yongda fang
, where, among other things, was a vast garden adorned by a pond where a
finance minister had built his famous pavilion. Here, in its garden setting, banquets
were hosted for successful candidates of imperial examinations.41 Across the road
was, Lanling fang ^•1^45', a ward with a little more life, for during their careers a
few officials had built their mansions in this ward.42
As our traveler came upon the wards that housed the temples that had first caught
his attention, he realized that he had walked for more than two kilometers, just about
midway between the southern gate and the entrance to the Imperial City. There were
10
The Tang City
more pedestrians and traffic on the road although these were hardly significant on the
broad avenue that was planned for imperial processions with their full complement
of military pomp. On the 8th day o f the first lunar month o f 841, for instance,
Emperor Wuzong ^ % proceeded down this avenue to the Altar o f Heaven located
outside Mingde Gate accompanied by “a crowd of two hundred thousand guards and
soldiers.”43 And when the avenue, or for that matter any other avenues, was actually
used during ceremonial processions, all commoners had to stay indoors and were
forbidden to witness them.44 Ebn Wahab recounted that even high ranking eunuchs
and officials had impressive parades:
It is customary fo r them [high ranking Eunuchs], as w ell as the Kings or

Governors o f all Cities, to appear abroad, from time to time, in solemn
Procession. At these times they are preceded by Men who carry great Pieces of
Wood, like those the Christians, o f the Levant, use instead o f Bells. The Noise
they make is heard afar off, and as soon as it is heard, no Man stands in the
way o f the Eunuch, or Prince. I f a Man is at his Door, he goes into his House,
and keeps his D oor shut, till the Prince, or Eunuch o f the City is gone by. So
no Soul is to be seen in the way; and this is injoined that they may beheld in
the greater Veneration, to strike a Dread, that the People may not see them
often, and that they may not grow so fam iliar as to speak to them.45
Daxingshan Monastery , one of the major Buddhist institutions in the

capital (the origin of Tantric Buddhism in China), occupied the entire area of
Jingshan fang s f -§- 45" east o f the main road.46 The elevation on which the temple
complex sat, together with five others along the main axis, were considered by
Yuwen Kai to be the physical manifestation of a geomantic schema associated with
the six unbroken lines of the Yijing h (Book of Change) qian hexagram when
he laid out the city. Accordingly, he located the palace on the second land spur and
the imperial offices on the third.47 As the fifth was considered a noble location,
people were forbidden to build their houses on this elevation on either side of the
main axis. Instead a prominent Buddhist and a Daoist temple were built on it (See
Figs. 5 and 6). Unfortunately, the temple was first damaged during a big fire in 669,48
and again forsaken and allowed to fall into disrepair during the relentless persecution
of Buddhism under the reign of Emperor Wuzong in 845. During better times, this
temple was an extensive complex organized around several courtyards, frequented by
nobles and gentry. It had among halls, large and small, a revolving sutra repository,
a pagoda, and a pond and was a veritable treasure-house with natural wonders, art
objects of the past, and fabulous murals that inspired Duan Chengshi in his
account of the capital’s temples written in the summer o f 843.49
Across the road, the Daoist temple of Yuandu t g t o o k up most of Chongye
fang . Also sharing the same ward were another smaller Daoist temple —
Futangguan # jMJL — and a Daoist convent — Xinchangguan #T H — and two
family shrines.50 Besides being one of the main Daoist observatories in the capital,
11
Yuanduguan was also a place of attraction for city folks who came to admire its
famous peach blossoms that were immortalized by Tang poems.51
Our traveler continued northward till he came to Anren fang , passing
along his way two wards that had, besides houses o f common folks, mansions of
court officials, tem ples of the royal family, nunneries and a Daoist shrine. The
northwestern portion of Anren Ward was occupied by the Xiaoyanta or Small
Wild Goose Pagoda which stood across the road from its m other tem ple in the
southern half of Kaihua fang 5f to the north (Fig. I I) .52 This hollow core brick
pagoda of fifteen levels was built in years 707-10.53 Standing at 43 m high, it was one
of the major landmarks of the city. Its square cross section was typical of pagodas
built during this period and recalls that of the Dayanta or Big Wild Goose
Pagoda, located two blocks diagonally to its southeast in Jinchang fang -f' § 4? (Fig.
12). As its name indicates, the latter pagoda is bigger and taller, standing at 64 m.54
Situated on the axis of the Darning Gong at the northern edge of the city, it was an
important point of reference in Chang’an. Daciensi Jz. M -S' ^ , the temple to which
the pagoda belonged, with its more than 10 courtyards, 1897 bays of construction,
and pond, occupied half the area of the ward.55
Across the road from the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, was its m other temple,
Dajianfusi ^ # 7 © ^ . It was also one of the main Buddhist temples and centers of
translation of Buddhist texts in the capital. Many temples in the city were founded
when aristocrats and officials donated their vast mansions to the Buddhist church.
Some of these tem ples attained truly palatial proportions.56 This temple was no
exception. It was founded 100 days after the death of Emperor Gaozong ^ in 684
when his seventh son — Em peror Zhongzong & % — donated his residence and
maintained the livelihood of 200 monks in order to “offer blessings” to his deceased
father. Hence this tem ple was first nam ed D axianfusi or the G reat
Monastery of Offered Blessings until it was renamed during the reign of Empress Wu
in 690.
In the southwestern corner of the ward across the main avenue from the Small
Wild Goose Pagoda stood a pair of conspicuous pagodas in the compound of the
nunnery, Fajie nisi , founded by the empress during the reign of Emperor
Sui Wendi. These pagodas were 38.2 m high and w ould have been im portant
landmarks close to the central axis.57
By then, the impressive southern gate of the Imperial City — Zhuquemen ^ H
— was within sight. Although located at one of the lowest spots of the capital, its
central location at the head of the Vermilion Bird Road and its sheer physical size
more than made up for the low altitude of its site. Like Mingde Gate, it was heavily
guarded and had a tim ber frame building over the gate.
Unlike the city walls, however, the walls of the Palace and Imperial Cities were
even higher, measuring about 10.3 m.58 The towering large pavilion that dominates
the axis above the gate was at times used for ceremonial activities.59 A contemporary
painting of a city gate from the mid-Tang period in Dunhuang cave number 172 gives
an idea of the appearance o f the gate (Fig. 13).60
12
The Tang City
Fig. 11. Small Wild Goose Pagoda.
13
Before arriving at the prominent T-junction in front o f the gate, our traveler
crossed a bridge over a canal about 2.5 m wide and almost 3 m deep,61 one of those
ruisseaux Ebn Wahab’s mentioned earlier. This canal — Caoqu >t Jfe — was one of
the four main canals dug at different times during the Sui and Tang periods. But
unlike the other canals that diverted water from the Chan >/* , Jiao 3c., Yu M , and
Jue '<%(also known as Hao ) Rivers to provide water to the capital, this canal was
dug during the reign o f Xuanzong in 742 to facilitate water transport in the region
as the drainage of the Wei River was poor. Flowing eastwards, it entered the capital
through Jinguangmen and fed water to a pond in the West Market where logs
from the region were stored.62 In 766, its course was extended in order to bring fuel
to the rest of the capital. It crossed the city from east to west for part o f its course
before flowing northward along the eastern sides of the Imperial and Palace Cities
and out of the city walls into the imperial gardens.
The other canals, crossed by bridges and lined with willows and flowers, added
beauty to the city through which they flowed.63 Within the wards they were also used
to irrigate gardens and create ponds in the extensive properties of the royal family,
aristocrats, officials, and rich merchants.64 A couplet in a poem written by Wang Jian
eloquently described the sparse vegetation that added greenery to otherwise
earth-colored landscape:
Leaves o f palace pines are seen above the walls,

Strands o f canal willows are even by the w ater’s edge.65
As Ebn Wahab approached the major junction o f the city, he was struck by the
vastness of the intersection. The wide expanses of the previous ones, averaging 45
14
The Tang City
to 50 m, must have awed him, but the E-W avenue immediately south of the Imperial
City was much wider. This fifth lateral artery that linked the East and West Markets
to the two most important gates o f the east and west walls was one of the busiest
thoroughfares in the capital. Excluding ditches on both sides, it measured 120 m wide
or the equivalent of a 33-lane expressway.66 In fact, as our traveler approached the
junction he might have thought that he was coming to an immense square.
We do not know where our traveler stayed before he was “lodged in a House,
appointed for him, and ... supplied with everything he should want.”67 Probably he
lodged at a hostelry in or near the busy West Market, where foreign traders from
Central Asia congregated. As mentioned in his account, the city was divided into two
halves by the Vermilion Bird Road. The eastern half came under the administrative
jurisdiction of Wannian county 7} while the western half was under the charge
of Chang’an county. Like the busier West Market, the western part of the city was
more populated, with commoners forming the bulk of the population.68 Although the
city had started off with mansions of aristocrats and high officials fairly evenly
distributed in the two halves of the city, the subsequent addition of the two palatial
complexes, Daminggong and Xingqinggong, at the north and northeastern sections of
the capital caused aristocrats and high officials to gravitate to the eastern half, within
easier reach of the courts (Fig. 14).69
Turning west, Ebn Wahab headed towards the West Market. He walked alongside
the wall of the Imperial City and after traveling about 660 m — the width of a small
ward — came to the second of the three gates, Hanguangmen , that led into
the Imperial City. If he had gone inside, he would have found within the City
ministries, offices of civil and military functions, headquarters of various imperial
guards, the office for the reception o f foreign dignitaries, the imperial ancestral
temple, and the imperial heavenly altar, all neatly grouped and arranged in blocks
defined by their own set o f walls (See Fig. 8). Five N-S and seven E-W avenues
within the City defined a grid pattern within all these blocks were set neatly.70
Som e less crucial administrative offices and government departments were
allowed to spill out of the Imperial City into the residential wards. Most of these were
located in the eastern half of the city within easy access of the courts and palaces.
The imperial university and the department that oversaw higher education, for
example, were all located in the western half o f Wuben fang immediately
southeast of the Anshang Gate -Sr-t-l'l outside the Imperial City.71 The ward that our
traveler passed next — Taiping fang — also contained a government bureau,
and, for a period of time, the capital province school.72
As Ebn Wahab approached the West Market, he found much more activity in the
streets. There were also significantly more foreign traders, some with camel trains,
in this part of the city. Just a block down the road, Buzheng fang to his right
had two temples of Central Asian faiths located at the southwestern part o f the
ward.73 One o f these, a Zoroastrian temple, was founded here during early Tang in
621 while the other, a “Persian” Manichaean temple had been moved here from an
adjacent ward.74 There were six such temples in the city of Chang’an, of which four
15
Fig. 14. Map of social composition of Chang’an’s wards showing houses of officials and
aristocrats throughout the Tang period in Chang’an.
were clustered in the northwestern part of the city. Like Buddhism and other foreign
religions, Zoroastrianism was persecuted in 845, during the reign of Emperor
Wuzong, and its temples abandoned. Apart from these temples and a number o f
residences of aristocrats and high officials, the Buzheng ward was also home to the
Jinwu Guard o f the western half o f the city. These guards were responsible for
policing the city. There were also at least one hotel, a Daoist temple, three Buddhist
monasteries, and a Buddhist nunnery in the same ward.75 For our purpose, let us
assume that our traveler chose to live in the hotel in this ward, close to his fellow
countrymen.76 As he entered the ward from the south, he could see in the distance the
walls o f the West Market with its two northern gates behind a 120 m wide circuit
road.
16
The Tang City
THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE TANG

CAPITALS
Chang’an
Network
As our traveler observed, what characterized Chang’an, as well as Luoyang and
many other Tang cities, was the grid organization of the city. This clear division of
the city into distinct city blocks separated by wide avenues, not unlike a tablet of
chocolate, was evident to its inhabitants and was referred to time and again. Du Fu
(712-770), lamenting the sorry state of affairs at the capital in the aftermath of
the An Lushan rebellion, wrote in 766:
Well said Ch’ang-an looks like a chess-board:

A hundred years o f the saddest news.
The mansions o f princes and nobles all have new lords:
Another breed is capped and robed fo r office.
Due north on the mountain passes the gongs and drums shake,
To the chariots and horses campaigning in the west the winged dispatches hasten.
While the fish and the dragons fa ll asleep and the autumn river turns cold
My native country, untroubled times, are always in my thoughts.11
The checkerboard layout of Chang’an was formed by fourteen latitudinal (E-W)

and eleven longitudinal streets (N-S) dividing the city into an axially symmetrical
plan of more than a hundred wards, large and small. The “very long and very broad
street” o f Ebn Wahab’s account — Vermilion Bird Road or Zhuquedajie ,
also commonly referred to as Tianjie (Heavenly Road) — provided the central axis
linking the imperial complexes to the main south gate, or Minde Gate, of the city.
Measuring 150 to 155 m wide (not including the 3 m wide ditches to both sides), this
principal avenue divided the capital into “two great Parts.” Like all other roads in the
city, this road was also made of compacted earth.78 This tree-lined avenue became an
important reference point in the minds of all the inhabitants of the city. Locations in
the city were indicated in relation to this main jie or avenue, and specified as east or
west of this Imperial Avenue in such and such a ward, or as how many streets east
or west of the avenue.79
In fact, there were six principal avenues in Tang Chang’an that stood out among
the rest and were commonly referred to by contemporary writings as the Six Avenues.
These were the three N-S and three E-W arteries that led to the gates of the city (Fig.
15). Measuring between 120 to 134 m, these avenues were also wider than the rest.80
Even then, at widths of between 40 and 75m, all these other streets were still very
wide by our modem day standards.81
On both sides of the roads were ditches, about 3 m wide, that helped not only in
draining water off the slightly elevated roadways, but also in irrigation. Lining the
major avenues were locust trees, while willows and elms were sometimes used for
17
0 1000 2000m
1 I__ ,___i
Fig. 15. Chang’an and its “Six Streets”.
the rest; flowering trees were more commonly used in the wards.82 The many private
gardens beyond the earthen walls o f the enclosed wards also depended on the
excellent irrigation system of the city both within and without the wards.83 The stark
contrast between the wide main earthen streets and the vegetation was evident in
another couplet from the poem “Climbling Alone to the Luoyou Gardens” written by
Bai Juyi:
I look down on the Twelve City Streets:

Red dust flanked by green trees.84
18
The Tang City
As the roadways were all made o f earth, they were dusty during the dry windy
seasons and wet and muddy in the rain and snow. Along major avenues, a path paved
with white sand transported from the Chan River by ox carts was reserved for the
officials when they went to court on horseback. For Prime Ministers, this sand path
{shati ) was extended all the way to their doorsteps.85
Overlaid on the checkerboard plan o f the city is a less detailed and less complex
system of canals that supplied the city with water and in one case helped in water
transport. Because of these waterways and the drainage system, bridges were not
uncommon in Chang’an.
Markets
Capital cities in China were usually established for political, administrative, and
military reasons rather than for economic purposes although these cities were at times
busy commercial centers before they became capitals. And even if they were not to
begin with, they would quickly become important commercial hubs jioon after being
named capital. Chang’an was no exception. Situated at the eastern' end of the Silk
Route, it enjoyed brisk trading activity and was an international bazaar. However all
these commercial affairs took place in the two specially designated wards. The East
and the West Markets, also known respectively as Duhui # and Liren M A ,86
were probably the busiest centers of commerce in the world then, packed with one-
and two-story structures and stocked with goods from all parts o f China, Central
Asia, and the South Seas.87
Located symmetrically along the main axis south of the palaces, each market (shi
‘iTr ) occupied an area of two wards, forming a square of about 600 paces on each
side.88 A perimeter wall, some four meters thick, pierced with two gates on each side
kept all trading within the ward.89 A 120 m wide road encircled the perimeter of the
market, allowing easy access to the gates by pedestrians and vehicles alike.90 Within
these walls ran another narrower perimeter road.91 Four roads each approximately
16 m wide, linked the gates, subdividing the market into nine approximately square
quarters.92 A system of brick open gutters ran on both sides of the roads.93 Along the
outer edges of the quarters, tightly packed shops, large and small, fronted the roads.
A 2 m sidewalk separated the shops from the gutter. While most shops were two bays
across or about 6 m wide and 3 m deep94, some were as narrow as only one bay
across. The larger ones were 3 bays wide.93 The quartiers were further served within
by a network of alleyways (qu $ ). Some o f these alleys even had covered drains
linked to the open gutters in the main streets.
In the East Market were “220 streets and alleyways (hang H ), each surrounded
on the four sides with warehouses (di &P ) filled with rare and curious goods from
the whole country.”96 Chinese brush sellers, musicians, performing artists, iron
mongers, cloth dealers, butchers, wineshops, printers, etc., all congregated here.97 The
West Market had an even larger array of goods and services, ranging from the
necessities of everyday life to toys, bridles and saddlery, scales and measures, and
jewelry from different parts of the world. Shops dealing with the same goods or
19
services or engaged in the same trade were grouped together in the same hang, which
during the Tang period were located on the same street. Walls separated two areas
dealing with different goods of trades delimiting the area of the hang. Larger shops
faced the roadways while retail shops and stalls, one after another, neatly lined the
small alleys.98 Owners were forbidden by the government to build lean-to extensions
in front of the shops or to encroach on the public w ays." At the entrance of each
street was a sign giving the name of the street such as garm ent street (yihang &-
H ) or butcher street (rouhang 1*1- f t) specifying the trade.100 Every shop, too, had its
sign. There were so many shops in the market that the Japanese pilgrim, Ennin, noted
in his diary that on the 27th day of the sixth moon in 843 a fire broke out at midnight
in the East M arket and destroyed some 4,000 shops in 12 streets (hang).'01 An idea
of the fnarket and the arrangement of shops within may be obtained from a relief tile
from the Eastern Han period (Fig. 16).102
Besides retail shops and warehouses, traveling merchants could also find rental
warehouses for safekeeping their goods. In fact, most inns accommodating travelers
had storage facilities to cater to such needs.103 Some well located inns had up to 20
jia n Ini or bays o f construction.104 “Proto-banks” and safe deposit firms were also
available for the convenience of merchants who could deposit their money prior to
any m ajor transactions in order to avoid moving large sums of money during the
transaction. A certificate was issued confirming the availability of funds and the new
owner of the certificate could then redeem the certificate.105 These markets also
served as places o f entertainm ent for the populace of C h ang’an. N um erous
restaurants, wineshops and brothels set up business here.106 There were also smaller
cookshops serving different kinds of food.
During the drought from 792-97, a stage was set up in both the markets for making
rain prayers. City folks, however, took the occasion to organize music competitions
on the stages. The markets were also graced by the presence of ponds — the so-called
“ponds for setting lives free” (fangsheng chi i t i - ) in which people released fishes
to gain religious merit. A large pond, used also for storing logs, and a Buddhist hall
embellished the northwestern comer of the West Market; two other ponds graced the
northeastern section o f the East M arket.107 These were large, oval shaped ponds
connected to one another by a channel of water 80 m long.108 These ponds were
probably a welcome source of water in fighting the devastating fires that frequently
raged through the m arkets.109
Public executions were also conducted in these markets and the heads of criminals
were displayed there as a public warning. The execution ground, also known as duliu
#P or “Lone Willow,” was located at the northeastern and the northwestern section
of the West and East M arket respectively.110
Like the great parts of the city in which they were situated, the East and the West
M arkets also differed in character.111 The eastern one, m ore frequented by the
wealthy, was less busy and essentially domestic in nature. However, no officials
above the fifth rank were allowed to enter the m arkets.112 Since the roadways in the
East M arket were twice as wide as those in the West M arket, they were also less
20
The Tang City
congested. Chariots and carts pulled by livestock competed with pedestrians for the
use of the roads.
The busier West Market, which was also the eastern terminus of the Silk Route,
was more cosmopolitan. Here, foreign merchants from all over congregated, selling
rare and exotic products from distant lands, obtaining in return Chinese produce sold
by the owners of the numerous shops and ateliers.113 Local merchants from different
provinces also congregated in these m arkets as did “the Officers of the K ing’s
Household, with the inferior Servants, the Purveyors, and the Dom estics of the
Grandees of the Court,” who came on foot and on horseback.
Fig. 16. Relief tile of market

of Chengdu from the Han
period.
21
At the center of the market was the Market Office {shishu ^t ) which supervised
all aspects of market transactions. The Market Director (shiling 7!5’4 ~ ) and his
specialized staff regulated all commercial activities within the market — maintaining
public order, enforcing strict trading hours, supervising weights and measures and the
quality of money in circulation, and the quality of goods on sale, issuing certificates
o f sale for slaves and livestock, and preventing unfair trading practices.114 The
movement of vehicles and horses were also strictly controlled; any mishaps were
liable to severe punishment.115 Besides the Market Office, two other government
bodies — the Price Regulating Office (Changping shu and the Price
Equalizing Office (Pingzhun shu ) — were responsible for maintaining the
price o f grain and other commodities at a fair level.116
In fact, trading was so strictly regulated that the markets were open only for a few
hours a day. At noon, the opening was signaled by 200 drum beats; one and three
quarter hours before sundown, 300 gong beats sounded before closing the market.117
Although most trading took place in the East and West Markets, other secondary
markets were set up as the need arose. A Central Market was established during the
reign of Gaozong for the trading of slaves and livestock in Anshan fang and
in the northern half of Daye fang ,118 However, this market was little
frequented owing to its inconvenient location in the southern section of the city. It
was .eventually closed during the reign of Empress Wu and its trading activities
relocated to the East Market. Another market known as New Market was set up later
in 817 during the reign of Xianzong just south o f Fanglin Gate in the north
wall, adjacent to the palace.119
Although these were known as markets, they were by no means as monofunctional
as present-day markets. Instead, the East and West Markets of Chang’an were really
the “downtowns” of the city.120 Both were substantially larger than most of the city’s
other wards. These markets had their own resident populations besides housing
foreign merchants and distant traders. Families lived and worked here. Not all
merchandise was imported. Many goods, ranging from printed calendars to jewelry,
were produced in workshops within the markets.121 Modern excavations have
unearthed articles from the west market bearing trademarks of makers in the market
suggesting a rather developed economy in which products are easily differentiable.122
The markets were also the entertainment centers of the city offering an entire range
of amusements from wine and songs to prostitution. Temple activities and “ponds for
setting free lives” allowed for the expression of religious feelings, although in some
cases these too could be seen as alternate means of entertainment. Even the moral
laden public executions could be seen in that light. The Japanese monk, Ennin, noted
that in 844 the decapitated head of a rebel chief Liu Congjian -*1] was stuck on
a three-bladed spear with his name displayed at the top of a pole over 30 feet high
and taken around the two markets.123
Given the immense sizes o f these markets, these “downtowns” were far from
being homogeneous. Rather, socio-economic differences were clearly expressed in
the layout of shops and subsequent occupation of empty plots of land. Larger shops
22
The Tang City
owned by wealthy merchants fronted the major roadways while the narrow alleys
were given to smaller shops and stalls. Idle land could be purchased for development
and was left to the imagination of the owners. One record showed how a creative
entrepreneur, Dou Yi % 5L , bought a large piece of apparently useless waterlogged
land south of Balance Street in the West Market from an unsuspecting owner for a
mere 30 strings of cash124 and turned it into a highly profitable venture. Despite the
fact that the “little sea pond,” as this piece of land was then known, was in the zone
of, and surrounded by, restaurants and wineshops, nobody was interested in it as it
was filled with trash. Having bought the land, Dou Yi erected a pole with a streamer
in the middle of the pond and set up six or seven small shops around the pond selling
pancakes and rice cakes. He encouraged children to throw stones and rubble at the
streamer and compensated those who hit it with pancakes and rice cakes. In less than
a month’s time, tens of thousands o f children were there, throwing rubbles at the
streamer. The pond was quickly filled. Duo Yi proceeded to build a 20-odd bay inn-
warehouse. This facility, situated in a prime location, reaped an income of several
thousand cash a day.125 Whether this anecdote was true or not is not very important.
What is significant, however, is the fact that the author showed the role of private
initiative and real estate in Chang’an’s economy. The imagination and creativity of
a businessman was sufficient to reap a huge profit from a plot of well-situated land.
The importance of individual efforts, location and the premium that came with a well
located facility were still evident even within such a strictly regulated market system.
Residential Wards
Markets were not the only places subjected to stringent supervision and strict spatial
and temporal constraints. Residential wards within cities were also tightly controlled.
Chang’an, for instance, was divided into 109 walled residential wards of different
sizes. These can be classified generally into five major categories although
archaeological records show variations within each category. The smallest ones were
found on both sides of the main street and measured 350 by 300 paces. The other two
columns south of the palaces had wards of 450 by 300 paces. Elsewhere in the
section south o f the Imperial City the wards were larger, measuring 650 by 300
paces. The largest wards in the city were those that were located to both sides of the
Imperial City. There were 12 of these wards, measuring 650 by 550 paces; one of
them was converted during the reign o f Xuanzong into a palatial complex —
Xingqinggong. Slightly smaller were the 12 wards on both sides of the Palace City
which measured 650 by 400 paces.126 However two of these wards were cut through
by a very broad avenue when the new palace Daminggong was built in 634, hence
breaking the two wards into four smaller ones.
The population of Chang’an lived in these walled wards, which were closed off
at night by the ward headman (fangzheng ) who kept the keys of the gates and
was also responsible for maintaining law and order within the wards after nightfall.127
Most o f the wards in Chang’an were provided with four gates — one on each side—
although the smaller wards located along the Imperial Avenue had only two gates.
23
Unless a permit was issued by the county officials or the ward headman’s office as
in the case of an emergency, illness or marriage, no one was allowed out in the
avenues at night.128 Within the wards, however, people were allowed to move around
freely. At the comers of the wards, i.e., the junctions of the avenues, were guard posts
manned by detachments of the Jinwu Guard. Depending on the size of the post,
5 or 30 guards might be stationed.129 Little activities went on within the wards in the
evening. A poem written by Quan Deyu M has a line that says “A thousand
doors were quiet when the ward gates were opened and closed.”130
Beginning in the winter o f 636, drums were set up in the six major avenues to
announce the opening and closing of the ward gates. According to the treatise on
officials in the New History o f T’ang:
At sunset, the drums were beaten 800 times and the gates were closed. From the
second night watch, mounted soldiers employed by the officers in charge o f
policing the streets made the rounds in silence. A t the fifth watch, the drums in
all the streets were beaten so as to let the noise be heard everywhere; then all
the gates o f the wards and markets were opened.131
The morning drams must have been very important in the daily rhythm o f the city
since these were beaten 300 times before the opening of the gates. Before 636,
instead of drumbeats, military patrols shouted the signal in the streets.132
The consciousness of the daily rhythm of dram beats in the minds of the local
inhabitants is illustrated in a poem written by Bai Juyi in 805 in which he described
an early morning scene in Chang’an when he bid farewell to friends scheduled to
take additional official examinations. “Early in the morning I ride in my carriages to
send off the Elevated Persons; the east was still not lightened. I have gotten up too
early, I say to myself, but already there are horses and carriages about. The torches
of cavalrymen cast shadows high and low; street drams (announcing the dawn) can
be heard far and near. The pitiable early morning (test candidates) look at one another
and their spirits rise:
The dust flies when the sun comes out;

everyone is active scheme-scheming;
scheme-scheming, what do they seek?
Nothing else but profit and fam e.133
Only temples or monastic establishments and officials above the third rank were
relieved of these curfew constraints and were allowed to have a gate that opened
directly on to the street. (An exception to this rale were the sanjue i - ^ o r houses
along the periphery o f the ward that had all the other three sides of its compound
blocked by other properties.) This could be clearly seen in the fragmentary engraved
Song map of Chang’an in which D a’anguo Monastery , which took up
more than half the area of Changle fang -fc fk to the northeastern comer of the city,
24
The Tang City
had a gate opening directly to the main avenue (Fig. 17). This privilege probably also
determined the location of the residences of many aristocrats and high officials and
many temples since a very sizable proportion of these were located at the comer or
along the periphery of the wards allowing direct access to the main streets.
Houses of commoners were confined to the interior o f the wards. Ordinary
civilians caught climbing the ramparts, market or ward w alls134 were liable to a
punishment of 70 blows o f the rod. These rules were suspended only three days a
year, on and around the night o f the Lantern Festival — the 14th, 15th, and 16th day
of the first lunar month — permitting city folks to stroll the streets at night in order
to enjoy the New Year Lantern Festival. This was the culmination of festivities
Fig. 17. Detail from the map of Chang’an engraved on a stone stele in 1080
showing Da’anguo Monastery which took up more than half the area of Changle
fang.
25
following the new year when households erected bamboo poles and hung banners
from them.135
The etymology of the word fang or ward may have something to tell us about the
nature o f the Tang city, or for that matter, imperial cities prior to the Tang period and
the reason for such tight control. These wards were called fang written with thetu A
or earth radical. However this word had its roots in the homonym, fang with the fu
or mound radical, which means to defend or to guard against. One common
interpretation then suggests that the walls of these wards were as much for the
protection of the inhabitants of the wards as for the control of the inhabitants within
the wards, guarding against popular unrest.136 These walls made it easy for the police
to ensure the security of the city. They also facilitated the arrest of criminals by
confining them within the ward where the crime was committed or providing them
with no nooks and comers to hide if they were outside.137
The internal social and administrative organization of these wards was equally
restrictive. During the Tang period, a fang denoted a geographical boundary
independent o f the number of inhabitants and it was administered by ward headman
whose main responsibility was policing the ward. Within the ward was another level
o f grouping — the li — which comprised 100 households, and was supervised by a
li headman (lizheng J L i ) whose responsibilities included the administration of
households, land, corvee duties, and tax. Hence, in the populous wards there were
several li. The households were further subgrouped in fours to form neighborhoods
(lin ) and every five o f these were grouped to form a ‘protect’ (bao # ) overseen
by a headman. Families within these lin and bao were supposed to help one another
in times of need and to denounce criminals in the event o f crimes. Failure to do so
was met with severe punishment.138
Residential wards took up about seven eighths of the city. And as Ebn Wahab
characterized it, the aristocracy, officials, and upper classes lived in the fashionable
northeastern and eastern side o f the city and built princely mansions. Their proximity
to the three palaces (The Palace City, Darning Palace, and Xingqing Palace) made
these wards highly desirable. Yishan fang and Laiting fang ,
immediately south of Darning Gong, were especially sought after by high officials.139
The social makeup o f these wards were however far from hom ogeneous for
commoners and ordinary folks lived even in these wards. Miscellaneous literary
writings indicated that even in Guanzhai fang ifc S i ? , immediately south of Darning
Gong, or farther south in Yongxing fang i , commoners’ houses existed.140And
in Pingkang fang , located two blocks farther south, one finds — besides a
couple o f Buddhist temples, a Daoist shrine, one of the highest concentration of
officials’ mansions in the city, and a dozen offices of memorial submission of various
provinces — three alleys in the northeastern section of the ward well-known as the
homes of women of pleasure.141
The western part o f the city, more populous and cosmopolitan, housed a larger
proportion of simpler folks and foreigners. The northernmost gate in the city’s west
wall, “Gate Opening to the Distant Lands” (Kaiyuanmen H ), was the gate
26
The Tang City
through which travelers to and from Central Asia left and arrived at the capital. This
was the origin of the famous Silk Route. Needless to say, the avenue that led to this
gate and the some o f the wards along it were also particularly busy.142 Not unlike the
social makeup o f areas around present-day big city railway stations, this part of the
Chang’an was inhabited by large numbers o f travelers, both foreign and local. A
direct result of this demographic distribution is the concentration of five out of the
six temples of Central Asian origin o f the city in this section of the capital. Perhaps
because of the higher population in this half of the city, there was also a slightly
higher percentage of temples here.144
All the wards were surrounded by thick earthen walls about 3 m high situated
about 2 m behind the ditches on both sides of the roadways.145 Even if not always
successful, the Tang government was very adamant about having these walls and
maintaining the constraints if we are to judge by the repeated edicts during the late
Tang period forbidding the illegal piercing of doors in them or their destruction.146
Coupled with the stringent temporal constraints of the opening o f these wards, the
significance of these walls in the minds of the inhabitants of the capital was very real
and was portrayed often in contemporary poems and fictional writings.
In an episode of the story “Renshi zhuan” f t (The Story of Madam Ren), the
author, Shen Jiji f t tfp (ca. 750-800), wrote about a young man, Zheng Zi -,
who, while riding his mule in Shengping fang - f l - - o n a summer day in 750, was
bewitched by the beauty o f a fox spirit. Having partied with the beauty the entire
night, he left her house just before dawn and arrived at the ward gate while it was
still shut. By the gate was a shop selling Turkish pastries (hubing $ M ) that was just
lighting its lamps and heating up its stove. Zheng sat under its curtain and waited for
the ward gate to open.147
Except for the smallest wards, which were divided into two parts by a 15 m wide
street running east-west, all others were subdivided into quarters by two crisscrossing
roads about 5 to 6 m wide, and further organized into 16 sectors by a set o f
intersecting xiang or alleys.148 Locations within the ward were indicated with
respect to these roads such as northeast o f the junction, or southeast o f the north gate,
or eastern half of the ward (Fig. 18). This simple secondary network of roads within
the wards was linked directly to the primary network of avenues of the city. And like
the city gates, the Vermilion Bird Road and the E-W avenues for the city, these
treelined crossroads together with the ward gates became the major elements of
reference within the wards. A tertiary orthogonal network o f xiang and even narrower
qu $ ) , or of streets and alleys, mostly E-W in direction, served the quarters within
the wards. Although much narrower at two plus meters, horse trains could still
circulate in them, serving the interior of the wards.149 While temples and mansions
of high officials were allowed to have gates fronting the main avenues, most houses,
religious buildings, and in som e cases government bureaus, in their walled
compounds had theirs fronting these smaller interior streets and alleys.150 The
surviving names of some o f these alleys in poems and writings — Willow Alley and
Date Tree Alley (indicating nature o f planting), Carpet Alley (indicating the trade),
27
Northern Gate j t f l
m b® 3K4b|?S
Northwest West o f East o f Northeast

Comer Northern Gate Northern Gate Comer
it
North o f the North o f die
North of North of
1* Western Eastern
Western Gate criss-cross street w
IB criss-cross-street Eastern Gate
o 13
O
n O
aw
*
£ South o f the South o f the 3
South of South o f
Western Eastern
Western Gate criss-cross street criss-cross street Eastern Gate
H S P pI £ jfP 8
Southwest West o f East o f Southeast
Comer Southern Gate Southern Gate Comer
Southern Gate
Fig. 18. Layout of a residential ward.
Xue ^ Alley (indicating the surname of the alley’s main family) — gives us a clue
as to their nature.151
During the later part of Tang when the severe regulations were no longer strictly
adhered to, shops too found their way into the wards. This was especially so in the
wards north o f the East Market, particularly in Chongren fang -152
Contemporary Tang writings collated in a Qing '/f period study of the city mentioned
commercial activities in at least four wards clustered around the East Market.153
Hostelries too were set up in the wards and, like commercial activities, these were
mainly concentrated in the eastern half of the capital, probably serving visiting literati
who wished to be close to the courts and homes of high officials.154
Houses
Not only were there spatial and temporal constraints as regards the wards, sumptuary
laws also strictly regulated the designation, size, jia n 1®] (number of bays of
constructions), design and decorations of the houses of nobles, officials, and
commoners.155 Officials o f the third rank and above, for example, could not have
28
The Tang City
halls o f more than five bays o f construction in a row and a front gate of more than
three bays, while officials of the sixth rank and below could not have halls o f more
than three bays and a gate o f more that one bay.156 The houses and gates of common
folks were simple with little or no decoration; only officials could decorate house
beams, rafters, and dougong (corbel and bracket sets) with paintings or use roof
tiles with animal designs.157 Officials of the fifth rank up could even enhance their
red gates with bird-head knocker.158
However, when the central authority was weak — as was the case during the
aftermath of An Lushan rebellion — or when the state was in the hands of indulgent
rulers, officials and magnates defied sumptuary laws and built ostentatious residences
with multiple halls and exclusive gardens.159 In Qinren fang , for example, the
residence o f the famous general Guo Ziyi Ip-J-'fcl was so vast that “within the
residence, one travels from one courtyard to another on horseback or in carriages;
servants entering and leaving the main gate do not even know each other.”160 Two
wards farther south in Yongchong fang zk # , Imperial Grand Secretary Lisheng
4 = ^ , during the 780s, extended his property by buying a piece of adjacent land so
that polo games could be played within his compound.161 And when the Private
Counselor in charge o f the Stewards’s Department of the Palace was slain by
EmperorWuzong ^ in 844 and his wealth taken over by the palace, all kinds of
treasures were confiscated. It took more than a month to finish the task of
transporting these treasures and rarities to the palace even with the help of 30 carts.162
Such was the extent of luxurious living enjoyed by nobles and officials within the
wards.
However, as was observed earlier, the entire city was not evenly populated. Most
of the wards in the southern four rows were sparsely inhabited. Here, very often,
temples, gardens, military installations, or even farmland took up entire wards. In
Yongyang fang 7%pa , for example, the eastern half of the ward was given to a
Buddhist monastery with a 97 m tall wooden pagoda, while another Buddhist temple
monastery and a couple of imperial temples took up most o f the western half.163
Elsewhere, closer to the central axis, the whole of Anshan fang -Sr-tt-iy was given at
one time to the military for training in the use o f the crossbow.164 Similarly, four
wards at the northwestern comer of the city were also hardly inhabited as these were
the sites of gardens, monuments and ruins from the Han period.165 Puning fang -f-'r
% just north o f Kaiyuan Gate, for example, had the remains of the Han imperial
university, Mingtang ^ , and Biyong ,166
Luoyang
The physical layout and organization o f functions in the secondary capital, Luoyang,
were very similar.167 However water transportation was more important in Luoyang
as a number of important rivers and canals criss-crossed the city. Sitting astride the
Luo River, the city was separated into a northern and a southern half connected by
several important bridges. A tributary o f the Luo River, the Chan River, further
subdivided the northern half o f the city. Like Chang’an, there was also a substantial
29
network of canals facilitating transport within the city. Bridges were prominent
features in the city of Luoyang. The Tianjin Bridge , supported by a number
of large barges chained together on the Luo River along the major axis, was an
important reference point in the city. Four towers marked the bridge, two at each end.
The main transport network, however, was provided by the dozen or so N-S and
E-W avenues which divided the city into a gridiron plan.168 Unlike Chang’an, the
Palace and Imperial Cities were located at the northwest corner of the city and as
such the main avenue that led to them was offset to one side of the city, hence losing
the important role of reference that was played by its counterpart in Chang’an (Fig.
19). Notwithstanding its location in the city, this avenue — Dingdingmenjie H
$r — aligned with the two major geographic features mentioned earlier — Mt. Mang
to the north and Yi Que i f 1*1 (“Yi Pylon”) to the south — remained the
ceremonial way and was the widest among the city’s avenues. It measured a hundred
paces across,169 and was lined with two rows of fruit trees, elms and willows on each
side.170 A canal ran along the course of the roadway. The other five major avenues,
at 75 and 62 paces across, were slightly narrower than their counterparts in Chang’an.
Separating the wards were still narrower ones about 31 paces wide.171 Translated into
measurements of 110 m, 91 m, and 45.5 m respectively, these avenues were still very
wide even by today’s standards.172
Closer to the developing Yangzi region and along the Grand Canal, the city of
Luoyang enjoyed equally brisk economic activities. Its markets were organized very
much like those of Chang’an. Although a smaller city, Luoyang was planned initially
with three markets, indicating the increasing importance of markets perceived by
EmperorYang o f the Sui dynasty. This increased importance of the practical aspect
of the market was further underscored by the non-symmetrical disposition o f these
markets. Rather than formal symmetry, as was the case in Chang’an, practical
convenience of transportation was a more important consideration. The three markets
were asymmetrically placed, one located north of the river. Luoyang’s markets were
planned with water transportation in mind. The South Market, also the biggest market
with an area of two fang and provided with three gates on each side, was located just
two wards south of the Luo River.173 A transportation canal called Yunqu i s l l passed
through the wards immediately east of the market, before joining up with the Luo
River.174 Similarly Datong k. I®] Market located in the southwestern section of the
city was served by Tongji Canal ,175 The market was even better served both
by land and water transport during the Tang period when it was relocated to the ward
adjacent to the southern gate, Houzaimen ,176
Another significant relocation was that of the North Market, conducted between
656-661. During the Sui period, it was located just north of the Luo River in Shitai
fang N" north of Shanglin fang ,177 In its new location, its western flank
was served by the Chan Canal & M (Chan River) and its southern edge was only a
block away from the navigable, Cao Canal '/t M , and two blocks away from the Luo
River. In fact the area around the North Market was to become one of the busiest
sections o f Luoyang. The Cao Canal, dug during the reign o f Emperor Yang or
30
The Tang City
Yangdi (r. 605-618) was so busy that the section east of Tongji at '/?r Bridge near the
North Market was constantly congested by “more than 10,000 boats from all over the
country.”178 At this site, the market was also better served by land routes since it was
located at the junction of two major avenues. The location of markets at easily
accessible points adjacent to rivers, canals, and major land routes, was to become a
major consideration in the cities that we will examine later.
Apart from their more convenient locations and easier accessibility, the form and
interior organization of Luoyang’s markets was essentially similar to that o f
Chang’an’s. Except for the South Market, the other two occupied an entire ward and
were each surrounded by an earthen perimeter wall. Within, shops and warehouses
31
one after another lined streets. In the South Market, for instance, were 120 hang with
over 3,000 shops. More than 400 well-stocked warehouses lined its perimeter wall.179
The smaller West Market first located at Datong fang was “four li 3- in perimeter,
had four gates, was provided with 141 warehouses, and comprised 66 hang
consisting shops dealing in goods.”180
The rest of the city was given to the 103 residential wards created by the
orthogonal grid of avenues. Sui Yangdi seemed to have learned from the experience
of city building in Chang’an. One major difference was that the wards here were
more standardized and smaller in area, allowing for even greater control of the city’s
population. The main avenues that separated these wards were also narrower. The
typical ward was a square of one sq. li (i.e. 300 paces or about 441 m each side)
surrounded by a low wall of tamped earth. Two 14 m wide roads run through the four
ward gates to cut the square into quarters and linked the intra-ward network to the
major avenues.181 As in Chang’an these quarters were once again subdivided into a
total of 16 sectors. This seemed to be one of the main characteristics of the Tang ward
system and was found in other Tang cities such as Yizhoucheng Jfi. ^11$, (later known
as Chengdu) in Sichuan , Y ouzhoucheng in the north, and
Yunzhoucheng * (later known as Datong A Is] ).182 In fact, this seemed to have
been the system for provincial and even county capitals in general. This system was
so influential that it was imitated in 7th and 8th century Japan in Fujiwara-kyo,
Heijokyo (Nara), Naniwa, Shigaraki, Kunikyo, and in the five capitals o f the
kingdom of Bohai.183
As in Chang’an, this uniform grid did not produce a city o f uniform texture. The
region around the North Market became a very active section of the city. More hotels
were built in the surrounding wards than in any other part o f the city.184 The wards
just north of the Luo River became active centers of trade and crafts. Two of the four
Zoroastrian temples were also found west of the market; the other two were clustered
around the South Market. In short, due to the presence of these international bazaars,
the neighboring wards became more active, catering to the needs of traders and
foreigners. The high officials, on the other hand, tended to prefer the southern section
of the city. Many of their mansions were found in the wards located near the avenue
leading to the southern gate Changxia -fcJl H , while in general the aristocracy
preferred the wards south o f the palace. Most gardens were also found in the
southeastern part o f the city. The garden of the Secretary General of the Imperial
Grand Secretariat (Zhongshuling + ^ ^ ) Peidu M.IM. in Jixian fang , for
instance, with man-made hills, lakes, islands, and pavilions was one of the most
resplendent.185 Private gardens during this period which were usually those of high
officials, tended to be large because the Sui and Tang inherited the juntian #7 ®
system of equal land allocation imposed to encourage the resettlement o f war
devastated areas during the Tuoba (Northern) Wei period. This system incorporated
within it “two types of land tenure, the one temporary — the lands being returned
to the state when the holder reached the age o f tax exemption — the other
hereditary.”186 High officials under this system were allotted hereditary land
32
The Tang City
commensurate with their rank and hence could have extensive properties with vast
gardens.187
THE TANG CAPITAL CITYSCAPE

A good idea o f the Tang Chang’an cityscape may be obtained by studying the
fragments o f a map o f the city engraved in 1080 in conjunction with other studies of
the city (see figs. 2 and 17). At first glance, the map looks scaled and very
convincing. Upon closer examination, one realizes very quickly that if the principal
roadway measured 147 m wide, then the heights o f the walls surrounding the wards
were greatly exaggerated. So were the gates and buildings in the map. However, it
does have something to tell us about the nature o f the cityscape. It might have been
accurate insofar as the organization o f the city was concerned. The rest was an
intellectual selection and portrayal of salient and characteristic features o f the city —
city walls, city gates, major avenues, canals, ward walls, ward gates, cross roads,
major temples, significant mansions, and large private gardens. Although the houses
o f commoners were the basic cells of any city and in the end contributed as much
if not more to the impression that one had of a city than many of the salient features,
they were often the forgotten “background n oise.” This was the case here,
independent o f the fact that the scale used would not have permitted their realistic
representation. In fact, by the same argument, it would not be possible to portray
many of the features depicted using the same scale. Rather the houses o f commoners
were not shown because they were the ordinary, the everyday and hence the
insignificant — and a map o f this nature singles out only the extraordinary, the
important and those perceived to be important in the eyes of the maker.
The map maker exaggerated the scale o f those selected features he thought were
most important. Even then, they remained mainly schematic, having minimal
resemblance to the actual shapes o f the buildings represented. But he took pains to
represent certain salient characteristics. For instance, care was taken to show that the
main gate to the Daminggong had five passage ways while the two secondary ones
had only three. Equal attention was given to portraying the flanking towers of main
palatial hall — Hanyuandian — and the two-story Qinzhenglou fh in the
Xingqing Palace. Also where relative height is concerned, all the gates seem to be
faithfully represented. To the map maker of a mainly flat city, vertical features must
have been important.
Hence one significant fact that we can deduce from the map together with our
knowledge of the city is that gate towers and pagodas excepted, there were very few
, multi-story buildings in the city. On the whole, Chang’an and Luoyang were
extremely flat cities. In a cityscape made up mainly of one- and occasionally two-
(or combination of these units and maybe three-) story buildings, any importance
announced in the form of vertical extensions are readily noticeable and became
important elements of reference in the city. The wide expanse of rectilinear public
avenues also allowed ample viewing distance to notice the vertical landmarks from
33
afar. Gate towers, pagodas, and important double-storied buildings became prominent
landmarks. In the case of Luoyang, the celebrated Mingtang, the Tiantang , and
the Tianshu (Celestial Pillar) built during the reign o f Empress Wu along the
ceremonial axis would have been visible from miles around.188 This was not the kind
of townscape that we are familiar with from medieval Europe — the townscape of
narrow crooked streets exploding into enclosed squares and plazas, revealing their
vertical climax, often in the form of cathedral, only at the last moment. Traveling up
the broad avenues of the Tang capitals one must have felt a curious mix of rural and
urban visual cues. Urban physical signs were all around. The checkerboard
organization of walled wards, the prominent city gates, ward gates, and their guards,
the roofs of palatial mansions of aristocrats and officials, the prominent temples and
their numerous pagodas near and far were all unmistakable signs of the city. And yet
the vast expanse of public avenues almost without the sense of enclosure, the
monotonous yellow color of earth that was used not only for the roadways but also
the low ward walls were visual cues closer to those found in the country. The
basically similar urban and rural residential structures also helped to reinforce the
perceived urban-rural continuum. F.W. Mote noted that “[t]he continuum from city
to suburbs to open countryside thus was embodied in the uniformity of building
styles and layout and in the use o f ground space. Neither the city wall nor the actual
limits o f the suburban concentration marked the city off from the countryside in
architectural terms.”189
However this urban-rural-continuum notion must not be carried too far, for once
within the city wards a different kind o f townscape emerged. Streets were narrower
and between the ward walls and walled-in compounds o f temples, officials and
commoners, and the occasional line of trees, there must have been an unmistakable
sense of urban enclosure. The relatively high density of the typical ward also meant
a higher level of activity in its streets. The narrower alleys, sometimes filled with
voices or music from courtyards or gardens behind the compound walls, could only
have reinforced this perception.190
And when strict regulations against the proliferation of trade broke down during
the late Tang period and small-scale commercial activities appeared within the wards,
some of the smaller, more crowded streets must have seemed even narrower. At
tim es, these narrow streets were partially blocked as was the case during a
performance of ritual music right in the middle o f a street in a ward in Chang’an
stretching into the early hours and hindering traffic. While on his way home, Wang
Shi i , the then vice-prefect o f the city, not only did not put a stop to the event
but even got off his horse for a toast.191 Even more dramatic must have been the scene
in the markets. There could be no confounding this with any rural landscape. >
Thronged with shops, warehouses, hotels, wineshops, restaurants, people, carts,
chariots, livestock, and produce, these places would have little in common with the
rural landscape. Even in smaller provincial or county level capitals, the situation was
very much the same, albeit on a smaller scale. The intensity of activities within a
small provincial town market can be felt in the following description written at the
34
The Tang City
beginning of the ninth century by the famous writer Liu Yuxi (772-856) while he was
exiled to serve as Marshal of Langzhou. Equally discernible in his description is the
attitude o f disdain typically harbored by officials towards trade. This small
prefecture, as Twitchett points out, was still very much a frontier district in
northwestern Hunan that had only recently been developed as a result o f the many
extensive irrigation schemes completed in the eighth century. When prayers for rain
had failed after a prolonged drought in 807, the prefect decided as a last resort to
moving the market to the crossroads outside the city gates.192 Liu Yuxi was hence able
to look down upon it from above the gate tower and reflect on the wisdom of the rule
in the Zhou Li M which forbade officers (lingshi) and above from entering the
markets :
On the day in which the order to move the market was fir s t issued, those
responsible fo r the market register (shiji T H ) all came and marked off the
different sections on either side o f the road. They set out the spaces [for stalls]
in exactly the same order from left to right, and sequence from front to rear as
was used in the walled market place within the city. Notices proclaim ed the
names o f the various rows (lie f'\ ) and sections (qu E ), and made known the
p ric e s and nam ed the com m odities on sale. M ingled among them were
commodities produced among the outer barbarians. There were tethering places
fo r horses and cattle. There were pens fo r slaves. The cloth-covered boxes fo r
silk contained both patterned and plain woven materials. Among the tables and
sets o f shelves there were both carved and lacquered ones and others were
unadorned and substantial. Among the round and square basketware there were
both black and white, both delicate and sturdy pieces. Those whose profession
was providing fo o d set out their hot dishes and laid out cakes and dumplings
surrounded by fragrant smells. The winesellers set up their banners advertising
their wines, and washed up their wine-cups and bowls with shining faces. The
butchers set up their platters fo r fat, and carved up the carcasses o f pigs and
sheep in a thick red atmosphere o f blood. The product o f flow er and fruit, game
taken in the hunt, birds and beast were mixed together, the products o f land and
water were intermingled.
Every sort o f person came in their flocks, innumerable people enter the
narrow alleyways between the stalls and then split up again. There were some
who had hoarded up goods, waiting to get the right prices. Others carried the
deeds o f sale fo r goods and sought to sell them. Some were out to take any
chance to make a gain, some had made their profit and were out to enjoy
themselves. There were seated hawkers sitting humbly and respectfully, walking
peddlers hastening along.
Hearts intent on profit are excited. Covetous eyes do not shut fo r an instant.
Fellow merchants in charge o f contracts, groups devoted to restricting trade
within their own circle, conclude agreements between this one and that, and
push the prices up. Feigning to do good they cause trouble by their crafty
35
words. Fair weight is ruined by their crafty hands. They trade on the difference
o f the minutest amounts in weight. Evil gossip grates on the ear. Defamation
and swindling thrive. Treacherous behavior is everywhere to be seen. They raise
a frightful hubbub, stir up the dust and dirt, emanate a rank stink like goats, pile
together their head-cloth and sandals. Snapping and gnawing at one another
they congregate, and what came to market different goes home the same. They
set off, already wrangling, at cockcrow. A t midday they throng together, ten-
thousand feet led by the single thought that they all fe a r somebody else will
forestall them. By the time their business is finished and they return home, the
sun’s glow has reached the w e s t.... Among them there is not a single one who
seeks some waste land [which he might cultivate]. All are intent only to act like
scavenger dogs or carrion crows, delighted to get hold o f some putrid left
overs.
On this day, leaning on the parapet, I watched them carefully, pondering how
their profits and loss were so intimately interdependent and speedily set it all
down in this essay. ”
Besides all these visual cues, the constant marking of market and curfew hours by
the sounding of drums and gongs would have reminded any resident or visitor that
they were within the confines of a city. In fact, this constant reminder was so much
a part o f the citizen’s experience that many a poem and story mentioned this
prominent feature. In a w ell known story “Liwa Zhuan” written by Bai
Xingjian & H fl (775-826), for instance, a scholar who was in Chang’an for imperial
exams fell in love with a prostitute who lived in Pingkang fang. The scholar was then
staying a few li outside the west gate, Yanpingmen $1 -f - I'l . During the evening of
his second visit, he was urged by the procuress to quickly leave and not violate the
curfew whenshe heard the resounding drums.193 Another couplet in a poem “The
Watchman’s Drum in the Streets of Officials” by Li He ^ 1 ? (791-817) once again
illustrates the significance o f these drums in the lives o f Chang’an’s inhabitants:
The thumps o f the dawn drums hurry the rising sun,

The sound at eve beckons the moonrise .194
TANG PROVINCIAL, PREFECTURAL, AND COUNTY SEATS

This strict observation o f curfew hours was enforced not only in the capitals,
Chang’an and Luoyang, but also in cities and towns which were administrative seats
of the government. Administratively during the first half of the eighth century, Tang
China had 39 superior prefectures (fu K t) of various sizes. Some were in charge of
more than ten prefectures while others supervised fewer than 20,000 households. The
superior prefectural seats, administered by court appointed officials, were usually
located in remote peripheral regions for the purpose of border defense .195 However,
after the An Lushan rebellion, there emerged a small number o f autonomous
territories known as fangzhen , led by military governors, which were a constant
36
The Tang City
concern for the court. Prefectures (zhou i'H ) were also divided into different
categories o f sizes. According to official documents there were at least 331
prefectural seats during the period 742-756.196 These pivotal points were usually well
connected to their counties and linked to the national network of efficient trunk roads
and waterways allowing rapid communication with the capital and the lower-level
administrative cells. The county (xian -Hr) was the basic administrative unit and were
under the charge of a magistrate, although their small size precluded them from
playing a significant political role .197 During the same period there were 1573
counties, some having a small population o f a few thousand while the bigger ones
had more than 50,000 people. The county seats were usually chosen at a convenient
location well served by the local communication network. This was vital not only
because the county town was also the market center for the region but also because
local taxes largely collected in kind had to be channeled to the town. After
withdrawing a good proportion o f the revenue to cover the operation costs o f the
local government and services, the rest was forwarded to the prefecture where
allocation of the funds to the prefecture, the province, and the central government
was made.
Most o f the administrative and political centers presided over by the governor,
prefect or magistrate were walled cities. Within was a smaller and less rigid version
o f the urban structure of Chang’an and Luoyang. In place of the Palace and Imperial
Cities were the administrative offices and quarters of the prefect or magistrate — the
yamen l l — and other government offices. In the larger centers, this area was a
walled precinct. Cities such as Tang-period Bianzhou and Suzhou had a more or less
regular grid o f walled wards surrounding this walled precinct (Fig. 20).
However, unlike the capital cities, few, if any, of these lower-level administrative
centers were built anew. The prefectural and county seats were probably less
regularly laid out. If we could talk about the rigid checkerboard plan o f the Tang
capitals, it was because they were built from scratch, and deliberately planned as
national and cosmic symbols. In fact most of the lower-level administrative centers
were preexisting cities and towns; some of them several hundred years old. As the
large number of prefectural and county seats covered the entire spectrum of cities and
towns ranging from the heavily populated and highly prosperous such as Yizhou H
in Sichuan and Yangzhou -fe in the Yangzi region, to the sparsely populated
towns in remote areas, the townscape and actual physical structure of one might have
little to do with the other. However, certain generalizations can still be made
concerning the components that made up the typical administrative and market
centers o f the more developed lowlands o f north and central China in the Sui and
Tang times.
The inhabitants of these lower-level cities and towns, like those o f the capitals,
lived in enclosed wards of different shapes and sizes. And direct access to the streets
were equally forbidden although as we shall see later, in some commercial hubs,
these constraints fell apart quite early in the Tang period. All trading was restricted
to the enclosed markets and often, in the smaller towns, trading took place only at
37
Fig. 20. Detail from Pingjiangtu showing the administrative city.
38
The Tang City
fixed times and on fixed days. Trading was also strictly supervised by the prefectural
or county market official and his assistants.198An edict promulgated in 707 prohibited
towns below the level of county seats from having markets.199 There were, however,
rural markets in the countryside that arose out of need. These xushi jk ^ or caoshi
, as they were then known, were spontaneous local assemblies independent of
government control that met at regular intervals.200 They were usually situated at
readily accessible locations such as ferry landings, river confluences, and bridges
distant from the urban market centers. They gathered once every few days — two,
three, five or six being typical — and usually traded in agricultural products,
domestic animals, and at times merchandise brought in by traveling merchants to
supplement the mainly self-sufficient communities. As we shall see later, many of
these periodic rural markets later grew into small towns during the Song period.
Some larger prefectural centers, however, had more than one market. Yizhou
(promoted to provincial seat, Chengdu fu, after 757) in Sichuan had three — a South
Market, a North Market, and a East Market.201 Yangzhou, a prosperous port of foreign
trade, had at least two; so did Huai’an >#-$- and Kuizhou # ^'1 among others. Some
county towns such as Zhaoying xian (county) and Lin’an xian im-Sc-Jr, too, had more
than one market. These markets were normally located within the city walls although,
as we have seen earlier, they were not necessarily immovable and could if needed be
relocated outside the city. In fact some o f these markets may have been very small;
Hangzhou during the reign o f Empress Wu had a market with a circumference
of only 250 paces .202Within these markets, shops engaged in the same trade were also
grouped together in their respective hang and allocated their respective place in the
market. Apart from these spatial constraints, these lower-level markets were also
subject to the same temporal constraints: 200 drumbeats at noon signaled the opening
of the market and 300 beats of the gong sounded one-and-three-quarter hours before
sunset announced its closing .203
The stringent system of urban and citizen control enforced in the capital was
therefore equally applied in these lower-level administrative seats. To understand
how the urban system o f Sui-Tang cities such as Chang’an and Luoyang was
possible, and why the inhabitants were willing to submit to such exacting social
controls, one must look at the historical background that provided the social and
economic reasons that made such conditions acceptable. In fact not only were they
considered acceptable, the order represented by the rigid orthogonal grid o f the
capitals was probably so pervasive and even thought of as ideal in the popular psyche
that its image, instead of say a garden as in many other cultures, was associated with
that of paradisic land.
Depicted in a mural in Dunhuang cave number 85 dating from the late Tang period
is a view o f the Buddhist Huayan world .204 It was represented as a lotus flower
on which was laid out the neat walled wards o f the Tang city according to a
rectilinear grid as unyielding as that of Luoyang (Fig. 21). In the place o f the walled
administrative precinct was the image of Buddha, atop a lotus. Most of these wards
are provided with four gates, one on each side, but there were also those that have
39
only two gates. A small number of these wards even have two gates pierced on one
single side. These gates are shown in a variety of manners: some as simple openings
in the wall, some with a roof giving the aspect of a main gate. Most, however, have
some form of gate tower over them .205
The size and scale o f Chang’an and Luoyang, the cities whose images were
evoked in the representation o f paradisic worlds, however, exceeded the call of
practicality. Rather they were eloquent statements of imperial grandeur, might, and
ambition. This may be understood as a reaction on the part o f the Sui emperors to
a long period of political upheaval when order was shortlived and the stability and
splendor of a unified empire, a distant memory. After the brilliance of the Han
dynasty, in the some four hundred years of political strife between 220 and 589, the
country was unified only for 24 years during the rule o f Western Jin dynasty © -f-
(266-316).206 The first ruler capable o f this reunification after four centuries of
upheaval was liable to be carried away with his prowess and make the capital, or in
this case capitals, prominent symbols of his achievement recalling the distant
grandeur, almost legendary, o f the Han dynasties.
The ultra militaristic rule during the long period of disunion, the constant military
campaigns and resulting stifled economic activities also made the continued
implementation of tight control over the civilian population within enclosed wards
and markets more acceptable during the early years o f Sui and Tang rule. The Tang
dynasty that succeeded the Sui had little to do with the actual founding of these
systems. It was the fortunate and capable heir to a legacy bestowed by the shortlived
40
The Tang City
Sui founders who had them selves refined institutions left behind by their
predecessors of the Northern Dynasties. Little was changed by the Tang rulers — the
cities were founded, the laws were written, the administrative system in place. Only
refinement was necessary. The Tang ascension has an uncanny similarity with the
Han dynasty’s succession to the ill-fated Qin dynasty some 800 years earlier.
Except for the fact that the capital was torched by a losing party in the struggle for
the throne, the Han also inherited a united country and well-managed institutions
from the Qin emperors.
PRE SUI-TANG CHINA

After the fall of the Han Dynasty in A.D. 220, the country entered an anarchic age
known as the period of the Three Kingdoms when it was split into the three rival
states of Wei H ,, Shu fj , and Wu H , which were constantly engaged in bitter
warfare among themselves for a bigger share of China. After an interregnum of 24
years when China was reunited during the Western Jin -fr Dynasty under the rule
of Emperor Wudi ^ 'f' (266-290), the fragile peace was once again ended by political
struggles within the court. In 316, the capital Chang’an was captured, spelling the
end o f Western Jin Dynasty. The wars that ensued led to a disrupted economy and
devastated the population, creating a period of repeated rebellions in which more and
more rebel leaders proclaimed themselves kings and emperors. Most of these new
kingdoms in the North were ruled by the so-called Five Barbarians from the northern
and northwestern borders. These nomadic tribes — Xiongnu K., Jie $ § , Xianbei
, Qiang & , and the Di & — related to the Tibetans and Tanguts of later times
and had imposed severe militaristic rules. They had been getting progressively
stronger and were waiting for the opportune moment to emerge as a kingdom.
Between 384 and 385 alone, four new states appeared in northern China after a
disastrous battle, waged in 383 by a northern state — the Former Qin — against
Eastern Jin in the south, left a power vacuum in what was the Former Qin’s territory.
Six more states were bom within the next 25 years. By 409, in northern China, 16
states had coexisted at one time or other.207
Any semblance of order in Northern China came only with the strengthening of
the Tuoba clan (Tabghach) of the Xianbei tribe in northern Shanxi and its subsequent
emergence as the Tuoba (Northern) Wei Jblfe Dynasty under Emperor Dao Wudi i t
in 386. By 439, his successor had unified a northern China that had been the
hotbed o f political struggle and court intrigues. This was to mark a new period of
growth.
The north entered a period of relative stability except for a large scale war in 450
and other intermittent wars waged against the south after 497 .208 An important land
reform — juntian zhi ® f'J or “equitable field system” — was introduced in 485.
There was a progressive sinicization o f the Tuoba aristocracy and administrative
system. This culminated in the systematic sinicization under the reign of Xiao Wendi
#31'$* (471-99) and the transfer of the capital from Datong to Luoyang in 494. In
41
many ways, the new Northern Wei capital at Luoyang, especially after 501 when an
outer wall enveloping 220 wards was built, could be considered as the predecessor
to the future Sui-Tang capitals (Fig. 22). We shall look more closely at the capital a
little later. The sinification and the move to Luoyang in the heartland of China
created a rift between the ruling aristocracy and the garrisons of army and tribesmen
who guarded the northern frontiers and who still maintained the nomadic way of life.
The fragile peace was once again compromised by a revolt in 524. Civil wars
during the next decade finally split the empire in 534 into two halves known as
Eastern and Western Wei; these became Northern Qi Jb if and Northern Zhou ihM
a few years later. Despite the chaotic times, the first 30 years of the sixth century
could be seen as the golden age for both north and south China (under the rule of
the Liang ^ dynasty) in which there was a reawakening o f the merchant economy
and an intensification of religious fervor.209 During the next four decades, wars were
fought both in the north and against the south until once again northern China was
reunited in 577 by the Northern Zhou Emperor Wudi. This was to prepare the way
for the eventual coup d ’etat by a Chinese general, Yang Jian — or Sui Wendi, the
founder o f Sui dynasty — in 581 when the ruling family put an eight-year-old
successor on the throne.
The situation in Southern China was only relatively better and less tumultuous.
After the fall of Western Jin in 316, a member of the royal house, Sima Rui S, t
Fig. 22. Map of Northern Wei Luoyang.
42
The Tang City
set up the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the southern China. He established his capital
at Jiankang (present day Nanjing) and proclaimed himself emperor in 317. The
following decades were an endless round of wars fought to regain the lost territory
of the north. This culminated in the famous disastrous Battle of Feishui for the
northern state of Former Qin s t # in 383. All these expeditions continued until
internal conflict for power and popular rebellions led to its demise in 420. The
successive dynasties o f [Liu] Song *l! %. (420-479), Southern Qi r£j (479-502),
Liang ^ (502-557), and Chen P& (557-589) were collectively known as the Southern
Dynasties. After a period of some 30 years of relative peace, the last decades of the
[Liu] Song dynasty were marked by incursions from the north and court intrigues.
Peace only returned after the founding o f the Liang dynasty. It lasted almost 50 years
until warfare with the north once again wreaked havoc on the empire and the Liang
dynasty was replaced by the Chen dynasty. Although the Chen government directed
its efforts towards the rehabilitation of society and economy, its existence was cut
short by Sui Wendi when he marched south with his army after having united
northern China and built the capital, Chang’an, in 582.
In short, the four centuries that separated the Sui dynasty from its illustrious
predecessor, the Han dynasty, were marked by incessant warfare that decimated the
population o f cities and wrecked the economy. Eberhard and Fitzgerald likened this
period to that following the “coincidentally synchronous breakdown of the Roman
Empire”210 which in China “most nearly approaches the character of the ‘Dark A ges’
of European history .”211 After Liu Yuan captured Chang’an in 316, the city had less
than 100 families. “Weeds and thorns grew thickly as if in a forest. Only four carts
could be found in the city. The officials had neither robes o f ceremony nor seals.
Instead they used tablets o f mulberry wood on which their names and rank were
inscribed.”212 The incessant wars in the north, especially before the establishment of
the Tuoba Wei dynasty had caused many to forsake the war tom regions and seek
safer refuge elsewhere in the periphery. Some made for southern Manchuria while
others headed south to the Huai valley, the middle and lower Yangzi, Zhejiang,
Fujian, and Yunnan. Thanks to the mass migration of northern Chinese, the south saw
its population greatly increased, especially in the area north of Nanjing. This was the
beginning o f the development of the south that was to become ever more important
in the history of China.213 Although the north, particularly the northeastern plain, was
still far more populous than the south, the region around the capital Chang’an which
had greatly suffered the tolls of endless battles had not entirely recovered even on the
eve of Sui reunification. It was, hence, not at all surprising that when Sui Wendi
established Chang’an as his capital, he resettled parts of the population to the capital
region to support the needs of the capital and its officials and gentry.
Such policies of population transfer from one region to another were also
consistent with the ‘Legalist’ tradition that was characteristic of this entire period of
turmoil.214 In the sociological analysis by Eberhard of the sixteen warring states prior
to the emergence of the Tuoba Wei, only two were considered as tribal states which
based the state on the tribe rather than the family or individual. The rest, he regarded
43
as military states. These states were made up of individuals with no tribal allegiance
but who were subject to a military commander. And as Jacques Gernet observed,
these states and the Wei kingdoms, indeed north-west China for the entire period
from Qin and Han periods down to those of the Sui and Tang, were characterized by
the centralizing, statist tendencies o f the ‘Legalist’ tradition, “according to which the
state should play an active part in the distribution o f the population and in social and
economic organization.”215 This tendency apparent in the intellectual circles towards
the end of the Han period was reinforced by the centralizing and authoritarian
policies in the state o f Wei during the period o f Three Kingdoms. Paramilitary
organization o f agricultural colonies (tuntian ® ), peopled by dispossessed
peasants, was set up to increase the agricultural production to sustain a large army
o f a country ravaged by war. Penal legislation was also strengthened. These
‘Legalists’ policies were later followed by the Northern (Tuoba) Wei empire but
“aggravated by the roughness and severity of warriors of the steppes.” 216
As an example of state control in demographic, social, and economic affairs,
during the first half of the fifth century, the Tuoba Wei dynasty transferred hundreds
of thousands of families from different parts of its territory to the capital, Datong, and
the surrounding regions .217 In its effort to resettle an uprooted farm population, to
prevent the further migration o f farmers, and to raise production and taxes, the
Northern Wei government introduced the “equitable field system” (juntian) where
every man and woman had a right to receive a certain amount of “personal land” and
“mulberry land” for his or her lifetime. Upon their death, the “personal land” was
then redistributed; the “mulberry land” on the other hand would be inherited by the
son. Produce from these lands were taxed, in the form of grains and silk, to replenish
the state coffers. This juntian system was adopted by the Sui dynasty and was still
in use during the first half o f Tang China before the An Lushan’s destructive military
rebellion broke down much o f the authority o f the central government. One
consequence of the new land law, according to Eberhard, was a legal fixation of the
social classes. There were “free burghers” (liangmin R ), i.e., gentry and free
farmers who were real citizens with all rights of a free man, and “mean people who
were subdivided into many categories — slaves, serfs, private bondsmen, and service
families. Each of these categories had its own obligations to the state, its own laws,
and had to marry within the category .218 The principle o f mutual espionage in
“Legalist” government in which the people were organized into groups responsible *
for each other and obliged to denounce each other’s crimes was practiced.219 The
peasantry was grouped to form a hierarchy o f paramilitary units led by leaders
responsible to the government: “five families formed a ‘neighborhood’ (lin 4|$), five
lin formed a ‘village’ (li M. ) and five li formed a ‘commune’ (dang ^ ).”220
The successor states of Northern Qi and Northern Zhou, which inherited much
of the institutions of (Northern) Wei dynasty, prepared the stage for the emergence
of the Sui and the Tang. Another important institution, a divisional militia (fubing /ft
^ ), which recalled earlier Tuoba practices, was created during this period in the
Northern Zhou empire in 550. The system was described in this way:
44
The Tang City
When the divisional militias were first established, they selected one stalwart
man from every six households o f the three middle ranks and above in which
there were three taxable adult males, and exempted him person ally from
taxation. The commandery prefect would have him trained and inspected during
the agricultural off-season. His weapons, his uniform, his beast o f burden, grain
and vegetables were jointly provided by the six families. They cared fo r him and
trained him as if he were a son or a younger brother. In this way it was possible
fo r a few such men to overcome superior num bers}11
Socially and politically, these northern states were dominated by the aristocracy.
Official positions were monopolized by these hereditary elites whose allegiance was
to their own social class rather than strictly to the emperor. These great clans not only
held important positions at the central court but were also prominent families who
owned large tracts o f land and had enormous local prestige. In such circumstances,
the position of the emperor was not always the most secure and was often the social
equal of his officials and peers. Strict distinctions were made and institutionalized
between aristocrats and commoners. A system of appointment to official positions
known as the System of the Nine Ranks and Recommending Legates (jiupin
zhongzheng Jh Jp ^ i £ ) was implemented. A Recommending Legate was appointed
in each commandery to classify suitable applicants for office according to nine ranks
depending on their talent, virtue, and their family’s prominence.222 Later, the ranks
accorded tended to become hereditary and became a primary factor in marriage
alliances. Genealogies of the aristocracy were compiled. Aristocratic families were
exempted from corvee duties and official land and taxation policies safeguarded their
economic interests. During the reign of Emperor Xiao Wendi, for instance, an official
list of both Chinese (Han) and Xianbei aristocracy was issued to guarantee the ruling
position of the aristocratic class. According to his new system, all social statuses were
to be hereditary.223 This further reinforced the cleavage between the aristocracy and
the common people. In short, pre-Sui-Tang China was marked by a society rooted in
a strong aristocratic power with a highly stratified social structure.224
The hierarchical social structure in turn affected the urban organization o f the city.
The zoning system o f the new capital o f the Northern Wei, Luoyang, reflected “the
concepts of social class of the time and was based largely on the needs and interests
o f the ruling classes .” 223 Two cross axes organized the city of 220 wards (See
Fig. 22). Unlike the Tang capitals the wards were initially not contained within an
outer circuit wall. These wards measured 300 paces each side, recalling those of the
later Sui capital. Northern Wei Luoyang was almost symmetrically laid out along the
vertical axis with the Palace City and the inner city within concentric circuits of walls
on the axis. The Palace City was located north of the horizontal axis which divided
the walled city into two halves. Two markets were disposed symmetrically to both
sides of the inner city south of the horizontal axis. A third market was located farther
south close to the axis. The northern portion of the city was hence mainly dedicated
for the palace and its parks. The rest o f the walled city had fourteen government
45
offices, nine monasteries and eight recorded wards. These were the residential areas
o f officials and gentry. There were also exclusive wards designated for the ruling
class outside the city in choice locations. Commoners lived mainly in wards outside
the inner city, the com position o f which depended on the social status o f its
inhabitants.226 Hence nobles and officials were allocated wards different from those
o f craftsmen and merchants, surrendered southern Chinese, aliens, and the like,
creating a situation in which the inhabitants, noble and otherwise, were very
conscious of the location of their domicile. On many occasions surrendered nobles
o f conquered territories, ashamed o f living in the wards o f aliens or subjugated
people, petitioned to the central authority for permission to move to other districts.
Even commoners, sensitive to the social stigma attached to certain wards, composed
a song for one such residential precinct.
Northeast of Luoyang is Shangshang Ward,

For ages the home o f spiteful Yin descendants,
Now forsaken by all except the lowly potters,
It brings only disgrace to its residents.221
The social distinction of wards at Luoyang was not new. The situation was similar
in the old capital Pingcheng (Datong) where the residential districts of officials and
commoners were differentiated. Even the various craftsmen and tradesmen, butchers,
brewers, etc., all had their respective quarters. In these cities, the strict social
hierarchy of the society was reflected and reinforced by the rigid segregation of the
population in their respective wards.228 In many respects, the new Northern Wei
capital at Luoyang, especially after 501 when an outer wall enveloping 220 wards
was built, could be considered as the predecessor to the future Sui-Tang capitals. The
political move by the ruling house to weaken the aristocracy, already begun during
the Sui period, perhaps accounted for the gradual relaxation in the social composition
o f the residential quarters in the Sui-Tang capitals.
THE LEGALIST ARISTOCRATIC CITY

If I have written at length about the period preceding the founding of the Sui dynasty,
it is to depict a long period o f frequent warfare during which states subjected their
inhabitants to stringent controls, continuously conscripted them and even enslaved
them to fight in battles, and located and relocated them to the benefit of the empire
to open new frontiers and cultivate new land. It is also to paint a backdrop against
which we can better see and understand the actions o f the founding Sui emperor and
the significance o f the new capital, Chang’an.
When Sui Wendi usurped the throne in 581, he was heir to the much sinicized
Northern Dynasties with aristocratic institutions that were steeped in ‘Legalist’
philosophy and which concerned themselves with the functional organization of
society and the necessity of a social hierarchical structure of the individuals within
46
The Tang City
it .229 Although they attacked certain key elements such as abolishing the nine rank
system and taking measures to weaken the aristocracy, the Sui and the early Tang
administration also adopted and further refined many of the basic institutions. The
Sui and early Tang societies, though considered genuinely Chinese, were largely
based at first on the political, social, ethnic, and cultural foundations o f the Western
Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties.230
The Sui period, in particular, was marked by a strong autocratic power with a
penchant for the Legalist philosophy. The prime minister Gao Jiong itj 'fH (555-607)
was, in Arthur Wright’s words “a man o f practical statecraft” rather than “a learned
Confucian” whose authoritarian policies recalled the great Legalist statesmen.231 His
influence also caused the Confucian scholars to be replaced by those with Legalist
outlook in favor o f all measures that would strengthen the central power .232 The
population that Sui Wendi ruled was one that had endured centuries of these
precarious conditions and to whom the state’s interference in the distribution o f
population and in social and economic organizations was nothing new. The social and
functional segregation of the wards at the capitals of the Northern Dynasties were
fresh in their minds. To these people the strict urban system o f Chang’an, Luoyang,
and other cities and its stringent citizen control were quite normal. If anything it was
probably a relaxation in terms of social segregation. Even for the inhabitants of early
Tang cities to whom those precarious conditions were recent memories, the enclosed
wards and their spatial and temporal constraints would have seemed a low price to
pay for the relative peace and stability that they enjoyed. Besides, by then, the system
of enclosed wards and curfew had been in practice in China for more than 800 years,
at least since the Qin period (221-207 B.C.), although the wards were then known as
li M. ,233 The li system, which was already in place during the tyranny of Qin Shi
Huang 1 ^ 1 , was even more oppressive than the later fang system. Only one gate
was allowed in each walled ward.234 The population, hence confined to the residential
quarters, was easy to conscript for the army. Although the very severe li system
which had its origin in the ultra Legalist Qin dynasty was gradually relaxed,
subsequent dynasties continued to employ the essentials o f the system as a tool of
population control. '
The period o f the Northern and Southern Dynasties had also seen the level o f
economic activities greatly reduced. Especially in the north, relentless wars had dealt
a severe blow to the economy. Valuable metal was used to make weapons for war.
Coins had become scarce and the money economy practised during the Han dynasty
had reverted to a partial “natural economy” in which goods were used instead. Grain
and silk, for example, were used for the payment of salaries.235 Agriculture was the
most important sector o f production as taxes collected in kind were vital to the states’
survival and for sustaining the large fighting forces. Both the tuntian system of the
Three Kingdom period and the juntian system o f the Tuoba Wei dynasties were
attempts to curb mass migration and to increase the supply of grains. Although during
the relative calmer years o f the sixth century, there was a revival in merchant
activities in both north and south China, during the Sui and early Tang they were still
47
at a scale small enough for the central government to easily control and supervise.
When Sui Wendi returned from the feng sacrifices conducted at Taishan shortly
after the reunification of China in 595, he stopped at Bianzhou >t ^'1 (also known as
Kaifeng) which, was a prosperous city at that time .236 Commercial activities were
flourishing and ward walls were torn down to provide direct access to the streets
(probably for shopfronts). Offended by the sight of opulence and the proliferation
o f ‘unscrupulous’ characters, Sui Wendi ordered Linghu , the prefect (cishi $']
3 t ) o f Bianzhou who was then in his entourage, to take care o f the situation
immediately. Linghu alighted from his chariot, and among other things, prohibited
people from living by non-agricultural occupations, curbed commercial and artisanal
activities, blocked those gates illegally opened to provide direct access to the streets,
resettled the boat dwellers who had settled outside the city walls, and ordered
refugees from the north to return to their land.237 This episode once again illustrates
the official attitude toward merchant activities and the government’s strict control of
the population.
If this description of prosperity and apparent lack o f order in Bianzhou is accurate,
the situation probably arose for several reasons. Under the relative stability of
Northern Wei rule, Bianzhou’s location along a major water route between the north
and the south had contributed to its growth. This growth continued, especially after
it was promoted to prefectural seat first under the Northern Qi and later, under the
Northern Zhou dynasty. With the reawakening of a merchant economy during the
early part of the sixth century and the increasing prosperity o f southern China, trade
between the north and the south had caused the city to further prosper and to attract
refugees from other parts of China. Bianzhou’s distance from the capital and central
authority in Chang’an, coupled with the weak central control o f the preceding
regimes o f the Northern Dynasties preoccupied by wars and court intrigues helped its
‘offensive’ development from being curtailed earlier. Once a strong central authority
was established, as was the case of the Sui regime, this kind o f market practice was
quickly controlled and geared towards the benefit of the court. Economic activities
were seen as a necessary evil, indispensable for the provision of the courts and the
imperial appendages.
However, an overly active market system would only distract the population from
tilling the fields which was, after all, the first concern of a nation eager to feed the
large army necessary to maintain its hegemony, and whose taxes were levied on the
agricultural sector. B esides the importance of logistical supply, the valuable
manpower necessary to farm the land, already reduced by army conscription and
corvees, must not be further decreased by being channeled into trade. As opposed to
the geographically mobile merchant (and other undesirable professions), the easily
accountable land-bound peasantry provided the foundation from which corvee labor
and soldiers could be conscripted.238 The strict market system imposed by the Sui and
early Tang government was perhaps a reflection o f the reality o f the primarily
agricultural concern of the state. Further evidence was provided by the fact that the
sale of horses, cows, and slaves were particularly intensely supervised as these were
48
The Tang City
factors important for the military and agricultural sectors. Furthermore, the merchant
was also seen as a disturbing factor that could upset the established social order by
providing an alternative means o f social advancement through wealth. Between the
Han and the Tang periods, measures were implemented to restrict their activities to
officially sanctioned markets and laws were imposed to prevent their upward social
mobility through officialdom.
Although this chapter is named “The Tang City”, the Tang city should not be seen
as a radically new departure in urban planning that was undertaken by the Tang or
Sui rulers. In fact, to speak of the history o f urban systems in dynastic terms is to
miss the point. While dynasties were built by the founding emperors and their
supporters and dynastic histories were built on political events, urban systems were
built by a people long conditioned by their political, social, economic, religious or
cultural ideas. And such urban systems seldom, if ever, changed overnight. Although
drastic political events did lead to changes in the wider social, economic, and cultural
context and the attendant world view; and these in turn affected the production of our
built environment, to examine city systems solely based on dynastic appellations is
to miss the important element of continuity and at the same time the profound and
significant changes that might occur within a dynastic period itself. In fact the
dynastic prefix is only a convenient but artificial indicator that helps us locate the city
and its changes in a continuous historical time scale.
The history of the city and its changes can then be seen as a manifestation of the
changes in the history of the larger context of conditions and ideas. It should not be
considered merely as the reflection o f ideas in the doctrines or opinions of a small
group o f profound thinkers or eminent writers but also the specific unit-ideas in the
collective thought of larger groups of persons. This concern for conditions and ideas
that attained a wide diffusion naturally leads to a study of the city as a receptacle o f
meaning rather than as an abstract formal urban form.
To look at the city only as an abstract formal scheme and to see the history of the
city as an evolution o f such formal types having a kind of inner logic but divorced
from the conditions and ideas that created it in the first place will therefore miss the
latent meanings that are so important in our understanding of these cities. But as Paul
Wheatley so aptly put it:
It is doubtful if a single, autonomous, causative factor will ever be identified in

the nexus o f social, economic and political transformations which resulted in
the emergence o f urban form s, but one activity does seem in a sense to
command a sort o f priority. Whatever structural changes in social organization
were induced by commerce, warfare or technology, they needed to be validated
by some instrument o f authority if they were to achieve institutionalized
permanence.239
In the case of the Sui and early Tang cities, the instrument of authority was very
clear. The central authority had absolute control, at least until the An Lushan
49
rebellion (755-63), over the production of space. Having seen the conditions and
ideas that preceded the founding of the Sui and Tang dynasties, Chang’an and
Luoyang’s rigid plans and stringent controls came as no surprise. In fact, Chang’an
and Luoyang may be regarded not only as cities but as something more ambiguous,
perhaps as a fortified collection o f semi-autonomous, closely guarded towns or
camps separated by wide expanses of policed space which were the patrolled
avenues. Rather than an innovation or a new departure in the history of Chinese
urban planning, these cities were built on the social, cultural, and political
foundations of the highly hierarchical societies of the Northern Dynasties and must
be seen as a more mature manifestation of a process already initiated in the founding
o f Wei Luoyang in the early sixth century.
NOTES
1 Al-Sirafi, Abu Zayd Hasan bin Yazid, Ancient Accounts of India and China by two
Mohammedan Travellers Who went to those Parts in the 9th Century, trans. from Arabic
by Eusebius Renandot (London: S. Harding, 1733), p. 59. In another version, an account
in French by M. Reinauld, Relations des voyages faits par les Arabes et les Persans dans
I’lnde et la Chine dans le IXes. de I’ere chretinne, texte arabe imprime par les soins de
feu Langles, publie et accompagne d’une traduction franchise par M. Reinaud, 2 vol.,
(Paris, 1845), p. 89-90, the french rendering was a little different (parts different are
underlined):
Nous questionnaires Ibn-Vahab au sujet de la ville de Khomdan, ou residait l’empereur,
et sur la maniere dont elle etait disposee. H nous parla de l’etendue de la ville et du grand
nombre de ses habitants. La ville, nous dit-il, est divisee en deux parties qui sont
separees par une rue longue at large. L’empereur, le vizir, les troupes, le cadi des cadis,
les eunuques de la cour et toutes les personnes qui tiennent au gouvemment occupent
la partie droite et le cote de 1’Orient. On n’y trouve aucune personne du peuple, ni rien
qui ressemble a un marche. Les rues sont traversees par des ruisseaux et bordees
d ’arbres; elles offrent de vastes hotels. La partie situee a gauche, du cote du couchant,
est destinee au peuple, aux marchands, aux magasins et aux marches. Le matin, quand
le jour commence, on voit les intendants du palais imperial, les domestiques de la cour,
les domestiques des generaux et leurs agents entrer a pied ou a cheval dans la partie de
la ville ou sont les marches et les boutiques; on les voit acheter des provisions et tout
ce qui est necessaire a leur maitre; apres cela, ils s’en retournent, et l’on ne voit plus
aucun d’eux dans cette partie de la ville jusqu’au lendemain matin.
2 Tang China did not recover its earlier splendor nor its undisputed political control both
at home and abroad after the An Lushan rebellion of 755-63. Efforts made by subsequent
Tang emperors to regain centralized control were often in vain. Powerful provincial
orders challenged a much weakened imperial authority troubled by pressing financial
problems. Rising foreign powers-Tibetans, Nanchao i£) 48 , Uighurs, etc.-posed serious
threats with their repeated incursions. See Robert M. Somers, “The End of the T’ang,”
in Sui and T’ang China, 589-906, Part 1, Vol. 3 of The Cambridge History of China,
ed. Denis Twitchett and John K. Fairbank (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1979), p. 683-789; Wang, Gungwu, The Structure of Power in North China during the
Five Dynasties (Stanford, Ca.: Stanford University Press, 1967), p. 7-46.
50
The Tang City
3 Ho P’ing Ti , “Lo-yang A.D. 495-534: A Study of Physical and Socio-Economic

Planning of a Metropolitan Area,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 26 (1966): p. 52-
101. He compared Chang ’an’s intramural area of approximately 30 square miles to the
5.28 sq. miles within the Aurelian Walls of Rome and the 4.63 sq. miles of
Constantinople in 447 A.D. Even the area of Baghdad, the largest city outside C h i n a
was only 11.6 sq. miles of which 1.75 sq. miles was within the walled city.
4 Song Minqiu (1019-1079), “Chang’an zhi” [Record of Chang’an], in
vol. 1 of Song-Yuan fangzhi congkan ^7t7T [Collection of Song andYuan Period
Gazetteers] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1990), c. 7, p. 5a (Henceforth abbreviated as
CAZ). Daxing was the name of the fief given to Yang Jian before he became emperor.
5 See Su Bai ■?§ & , “Sui Tang Chang’an cheng he Luoyang cheng” F-f /'f' - 3 c ^ '/$■Fs
[Sui-Tang Chang’an and Luoyang], Kaogu , no. 6 (1978): p. 409.
6 Arthur F. Wright, “The Formation of Sui Ideology, 581-604,” in Chinese Thought
and Institutions, ed. John K. Fairbank (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957),
p. 71-104.
7 Lunyu [Analects], “Weizheng bian” % , see Qian Mu , Lunyu xinjie
(Chengdu: Bashu shushe, 1958), p. 20. See also Zhao Liying M.SL^ ,
“Lun Tang Chang’an de guihua sixiang ji qi lishi pingjia” i f Mft] iig. &.
[The Planning Ideology Behind Tang Chang’an and its Historical
Evaluation], Jianzhushi i t !!$ [The Architect] 29 (June 1988), p. 41-50 and Shang
Minjie , “Sui Tang Chang’an cheng de sheji sixiang yu suitang zhengzhi”
% & -fc-Srii, 6\) Pf Jit St '/a [Sui-Tang Politics and the Design Ideas of Sui-
Tang Chang’an], Renwen zazhi [Journal of Humanities], no. 1 (1991):
p. 90-94.
8 Arthur F. Wright, “The Cosmology of the Chinese City,” in The City in Late Imperial
China, ed. G. William Skinner (Stanford, Ca: Stanford University Press, 1977), p. 56.
9 According to the early Chinese conception of the cosmic realm, the four cardinal
directions are associated with symbols, colours, seasons, and elements of the five
element theory. Hence north is associated with the black turtle/snake (xuanwu ),
winter and the element of water; south with the vermillion bird, summer and the element
fire; west with white tiger, autumn and the element of metal; and finally, east with the
azure dragon, the spring season and the element of wood. In the middle stands man
rooted to the yellow earth. The nomenclature of gates in early cities reflects the Chinese
concern for the proper naming of the principal gates corresponding to the qualities of
their cosmological counterparts. Hence, the principal east gate in Chang’an was called
Chunmingmen 11 or the Gate of Vernal Brillance and the main west gate
Jinguangmen 'k J cll or the Gate of Golden Lustre.
10 Arthur F. Wright, “The Cosmology of the Chinese City,” p. 60, however, thinks that
although imperial cosmology had discernible authority in the planning of Chang’an, its
influence was limited and pragmatic considerations such as convenience, functional
zoning and ease of policing outweighed the canonical prescriptions whenever a choice
had to be made between the two.
11 Transportation of grains between Luoyang and Chang’an was, however, very tedious
along the Yellow River. In times of famine during the Tang period, the entire court would
move from Chang’an to Luoyang, an arduous journey during which the older, weaker
officials sometimes perished. This was done 7 and 5 times during the reigns of Gaozong
jSj % and Xuanzong ‘M respectively. See Xu Pingfang # ^ 2^, “Tangdai liangjing de
51
zhengzhi, jingji he wenhua shenghuo” [The

Political, Economic and Cultural Life of the Two Tang Capitals], Kaogu , no. 6
(1982): p. 647-56, p. 648.
12 There are two views to this so-called symmetricity. Both Fu Xinian and He Yeju
do not think that a city symmetrical along its central axis was planned. He Yeju,
Zhongguo gudai chengshi guihuashi + @"i-'ft Aii, i 5"££,£'] i [History of Ancient Chinese
City Planning] (Beijing: Zhongguo jianzhu gongye chubanshe, 1996), p. 494, considers
the city complete and balanced in composition as it is. Fu Xinian, “Sui Tang Chang’an
Luoyang cheng guihua shoufa de tantao %']-?■&6x7## [The Sui-
Tang Cities of Chang’an and Luoyang: Planning Method], Wenwu, no. 3 (1995): p. 48-
63 thinks that the asymmetrical layout of the city was due to the geographical conditions
and the desire to have the Luo River run through the city.
13 See Wu Liangyong JL# , URBS ET REGIO 38(1986): A Brief History of Ancient
Chinese City Planning (Kassel: Gesamthochschulbibliotek, 1986), p. 38. The so-called
Yi Que is a gap in Mt. Longmen through which the Yi River flows.
14 This is more than seven and a half times the area of the Walled City of Xi’an (modem
Chang’an) built during the Ming period, still extant today. See “Tangdai Chang’an cheng
kaogu jiliie” [Brief Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an],
Kaogu, no. 11 (1963): p. 595-611.
15 For comments on the southern section of the city, see Xu Song (1781-1848), Tang
liangjing chengfang kao Jit $l [Study of the Walls and Wards of the Two Tang
Capitals] (1848; reprint, Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985), c. 2, p.37 (Henceforth
abbreviated as TLJCFK). Li Zhiqin , “Xi’an gudai huko shumu pingyi” ®-3r"ir
-ft/1 o & 0 if-ii [Appraisal of the Population Figures of Ancient Xi’an], Xibei daxue
xuebao © [Journal of Northwestern University], no. 2 (1984): p. 45-51,
argued for a lower estimate of about half a million or less for the population of Tang
Chang’an (p. 48).
16 220 m is the measurement that the archaeological team was able to determine. See “Brief
Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 599; earlier writings gave the dimension
as 300 paces or about 441 m, see CAZ, c. 7, p. lb.
17 The initial location of the palace at the head of the city was also the lowest lying.
Preventing water from draining into the palatial complex must have been problematic.
According to the terrain today, the difference in height between the Mingde Gate at the
southern edge of the city and the palace is about 15 meters. Being low lying, Xingdao
ward immediately in front of the imperial city suffered severely during floods. On the
twenty-first night of the sixth moon in 720, after a heavy downpour, the ward “became
a pond and more than five hundred families were submerged.” See Wu Qingzhou A /k
ift] , Zhongguo gudai chengshi fanghong yanjiu 'f* [Research on
Flood Prevention in Ancient Chinese Cities] (Beijing: Zhongguo jianzhu gongye
chubanshe, 1995), p 104.
18 The sites of Hanyuan Hall and Linde Hall have been excavated. See Ma Dezhi -S i# .*
“Tang Darning Gong fajue jianbao” fi) 4S. [Brief Archaeological Report on
the Excavation of Tang Darning Palace], Kaogu, no. 6 (1959): p. 296-301. Liu Zhiping
x'JSc-f- and Fu Xinian , “Linde Dian fuyuan de chubu yanjiu” &]in
[Preliminary Research on the Reconstruction of Linde Dian], Kaogu, no. 7
(1963): p. 385-402; and Fu Xinian, “Tang Chang’an Darning Gong Hanyuan Dian
yuanzhuang de tantao” Jit [Research on the Original
52
The Tang City
Appearance of Hanyuan Hall of Daminggong at T’ang Chang’an], Wenwu ,

no. 7 (1973): 30-48. See also Nancy Steinhardt, Chinese Traditional Architecture (New
York: China Institute, 1984), p. 91-100.
19 Originally known as Longqing fiJk ward, this was where the young prince Li Longji
(the future Emperor Xuanzong) and four other princes resided during the reign
of Empress Wu. After Longji’s ascension to the throne in 712, the ward was renamed
Xinqqing Ward. Construction to convert the former residence into a palace began in 714.
The palace grounds were extended north beyond the orginal confines of the ward in 726
and took up the southern half of Yongjia ward. Beginning from 728, Emperor
Xuanzong held court here. See Ma Dezhi and Ma Honglu , Tangdai
Chang’an gongting shihua [Historical Account of the Palaces of
Tang Period Chang’an] (Beijing: Xinhua Press, 1994), p. 223-33. See also Saehyang P.
Chung, “Hsing-ch’ing Kung: Some New Findings on the Plan of Emperor Hsiian-tsung’s
Private Palace,” Archives of Asian Art 44 (1991): p. 51-67.
20 Nobody was to ascend any higher ground or structure to look into the Imperial or Palace
Cities or a sentence of one-year imprisonment would be meted out; similarly, a three-
year sentence was passed for scaling the walls of the Imperial City, and banishment to
more than 3000 li away was the punishment for scaling the Palace City walls, see Zhang
Yonglu “Tangdai Chang’an cheng fangli guanli zhidu” JLif- JLfi'l
/fL [Management system of fang and li in Tang Chang’an], Renwen zazhi A 31 £
[Journal of the Humanities], no. 3 (1981): p. 85-88.
21 Hanjia Cang was a fortified city of over 250 subterranean granaries taking up an area
of 420,000 m2. Most of these were built during the reign of Empress Wu. See “Luoyang
Sui-Tang hanjiacang de fajue” &4S [The Excavation of Sui-Tang
Hanjia Granary], Wenwu, no. 3 (1973): p. 49-62; Yu Fuwei -tfcjk/iL and He Guanbao lif
W # , Sui-Tang dongdu hanjiacang I*1/ t [.Hanjia Granary of the Sui-Tang
Eastern Capital] (Beijing: Wenwu Press, 1982).
22 Su Jian f r i t , Luoyang gudushi J&-P3 3t [History of the Ancient Capital of Luoyang]
(Beijing: Wenbo shushe, 1989), p. 241. See Arthur Wright, “The Sui Dynasty (581-
617),” in vol. 3 of The Cambridge History of China, p. 49-149.
23 The major studies from later scholars include the CAZ, a study of Chang’an by the Song
scholar-official Song Minqiu (1019-1079), TLJCFK (prefaced in 1810) written
by Qing scholar Xu Song (1781-1848) over a period of almost forty years until
shortly before his death in 1848. More recent scholarship on the two capitals is listed
in the footnotes and the bibliography. A useful list of books related to Chang’an is
provided by Ye Xiaojun ' ' f % , Zhongguo ducheng yanjiu wenxian suoyin t S
fL3LM.1l; 31 [Index of Literary Sources for the Study of Chinese Cities] (Lanzhou
University Press, 1988), p. 9-23.
24 Al-Sirafi, Ancient Accounts of India and China, p. 51-2.
25 During the Tang period, roof tiles were dark gray or black in color, columns were
painted a dark burgundy and walls white. See Qi Yingtao # , Zenyang jianding gu
jianzhu [How to Appraise Ancient Chinese Architecture] (Beijing:
Wenwu Press, 1981). In all likelihood, Ebn Wahab would have arrived in reality from
the east and entered the city via Chunming Gate #-93 H like Ennin had done in the 8th
month of 840; Edwin O. Reischauer, trans., Ennin’s Diary: The Record of a Pilgrimage
to China in Search of the Law (New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1955), p. 283.
26 The mountains were clearly visible and were present in numerous poems about
53
Chang’an. In a long poem written in 815 by Bai Juyi toYuan Chen, for instance, Bai
described how he enjoyed leisure while at the capital and wrote: . .1 return to (my home
at) Bright Nation Ward; the man lies down, the horse is relieved of its saddle. Then I
sleep till noon, and on arising and sitting up, my heart is boundless. How much more
so in the fine season, a day clear and harmonious after the rain! The green shade of the
persimmon trees is fitting and the gardens and pavilions of the royal family are
extensive.Hu County wine in the jug, Chung-nan Mountains above the wall. I sleep
alone and then I sit alone, opening my robes before the breeze...” See Howard S. Levy
Translations from Po Chii-I’s Collected Works, vol. 1 (New York: Paragon Book Reprint
Corp., 1971), p. 46.
27 Besides pagodas, there were other multi-story buildings both within and without the
palace. TLJCFK, p. 65, mentioned a small multi-tiered building within the compound of
the Imperial Grand Secretary Li Sheng from which he could look into his
neighbor’s property.
28 Ma Dezhi, “Tangdai Chang’an yu Luoyang” [Tang Chang’an and
Luoyang], Kaogu, no. 6 (1982): p. 640.
29 Fu Xinian , “Tang Chang’an Mingdemen yuanzhuang de tantao”
[Research on the Original Appearance of Minde Gate at Tang Chang’an],
Kaogu, no. 6 (1977): p. 409-12. See also “Tang Chang’an Mingdemen yizhi fajue
jianbao” H iliAt fl] ft. [Brief Archaeological Report on the Excavation
of Minde Gate’s Site], Kaogu, no. 1 (1974).
30 CAZ, c. 7, p. 5b, gave the height of the wall as 1 zhang i . and 8 “feet” or 18 “feet” or
about 5.3 m high. In Tang construction, 1 foot is equivalent to 0.2956 m. See Wan
Guoding 2/ IS , “Tangchi kao” [Investigation of the Tang Foot], in Zhongguo
gudai duliangheng lunwenji 4* H A ^ [Papers on Ancient Weights and
Measures of China] (Zhengzhou: Zhongzhou guji chubanshe,1990), p. 119.
31 See Tang liu dian Jit5T$E-, c. 25, p. 9a-13a (Henceforth abbreviated as TLT).
32 Tangdai Changan cidian, p. 142; TLT, c. 25.
33 Facing South, the left passages were for entering the city while the right ones were for
exiting; see TLT, c. 25, p. 12a. The passageways are 5 m in width and some 18.5 m in
length. See Zhao Liying ed., Shaanxi gujianzhu [Ancient
Architecture of Shaanxi] (Xi’an: Shaanxi renmin chubanshe, 1992), p. 81-137, for a
comprehensive description of archaeological findings in Xi’an for the Tang period.
34 According to archaeological excavations, this road measured 39 m, the next 59 m, etc.,
see “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 600. Contemporary documents
however, classified the widths of the 14 E-W avenues into 3 categories: 100 paces, 60
paces, and 47 paces wide, ie 147 m, 88.2 m, and 69 m respectively.
35 The planting of fruit trees was ordered in 740, see Wang Pu i i # (922-982), ed., Tang
Huiyao [Important Documents of the Tang Period] (Shanghai: Shanghai guji
chubanshe, 1991), c. 86, p. 1846. (Henceforth abbreviated as THY).
36 Orders were given to line the streets with trees at least thrice in 740, 763, and in 766;
see THY, c. 86, p. 1867.
37 TUCFK, p. 129.
38 CAZ, c. 7, p. 8b-9a.
39 TUCFK, p. 39; CAZ, c. 1, p. 9a.
40 See Cao Erqin S' , “Tangdai Chang’an cheng de lifang” ¥} [The
Wards of Tang Period Chang’an], The Journal of Humanities, no. 2 (1981): p. 85.
54
The Tang City
41 TUCFK, p. 96; CAZ, c. 9, p. 8a.

42 TUCFK, p. 39; CAZ, c. 7, p. 8b.
43 Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p. 298. The figure two hundred thousand was most probably
much inflated but it is certain that a very large contingent of guards and soldiers
accompanied the emperor.
44 See Xu Pingfang, “The Political, Economic and Cultural Life of the Two Tang Capitals,”
p. 649, where the author cited Li Fang (925-996), ed., Taiping Guangji ic-f’T'iC.
[Extensive Records of the Great Tranquility Period] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961)
completed in 978, c. 49, p. 307.
45 Al-Sirafi, Ancient Accounts of India and China by two Mohammedan Travellers, p. 49.
46 TUCFK, p. 38; CAZ, c. 7, p. 8a.
47 CAZ, c. 9, p. 7b; TUCFK, p. 95. When the Tang Emperor Taizong decided to move his
palace, he built the new Darning Palace on the very first elevation at the site of the
Dragon Head Plain.
48 Tangdai Chang’an cidian, p. 360.
49 See Alexander Soper, “A Vacation Glimpse of the T’angTemples of Ch’ang-an: The Ssu-
t ’a chi by Tuan Ch’eng-shih”, Artibus Asiae 23, no. 1 (1960): p. 15-40.
50 CAZ, c. 9, p. 7b-8a; TUCFK, p. 95.
51 TUCFK, p. 95. However Liu Yuxi tells us that the trees planted there sometime between
805 and 815 were replaced by wild oats and other vegetables when he returned from the
provinces to the capital in 828; see Schafer, “Last Days of Chang’an,” p. 151; TUCFK,
p. 95; CAZ, c. 9, p. 7a.
52 TUCFK, p. 35-6; CAZ, c. 7, p. 7a-b.
53 Some say 13 levels; see Zhongguo gudai jianzhu jishu shi, + H "ir^ w , i
[History and Development of Ancient Chinese Architecture], compiled by Institute of the
History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, (Beijing: Science Press,
1985), p. 194. English edition published in 1986.
54 A smaller pagoda with five levels was first built by Xuanzang during the middle
of the seventh century. It was later renovated and reinforced by Empress Wu in 701 and
remodeled to have seven levels. CAZ, c. 8, p. 8b gave the height as 300 Tang feet or the
equivalent of 88.6m.
55 TUCFK, p. 68.
56 See Alexander Soper, “A Vacation Glimpse of the T’ang Temples of Ch’ang-an”.
57 CAZ, c. 9, p. 6b, gives the height of these pagodas as 130 Tang feet. TUCFK, written
later, in p. 93 made the mistake when copying this entry and gave the height as 130
zhang which is 10 times the other height.
58 CAZ, c. 6, p. la gave that as the height of the Palace City walls. As the Palace City was
directly connected to the Imperial City, the walls of the latter were probably of the same
height.
59 Most ceremonies were, however, held at the Danfenglou , the tower over
Danfeng Gate, the southern gate of Darning Palace; see Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p.
298 and p. 316. The section of avenue in front of it at 120 paces or (176 m according
to archaeological work) was even wider than the Vermilion Bird Road, see “Brief
Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 608.
60 See Xiao Mo IfT.fC, Dunhuang jianzhu yanjiu [Architectural Research of
Dunhuang Grottoes] (Beijing: Wenwu Press, 1989), p. 110.
61 TUCFK, p. 129.
55
62 THY, p. 1894.
63 TLJCFK, p. 129.
64 TLJCFK, p. 128.
65 TLJCFK, p. 129. See Wang Jian (ca. 768-830), “Chunri wumen xi wang” #■ 0 JL
( + ) 11 © H [Looking West from the Five Gates (or the Meridian Gate) on a Spring
Day], in Quart tangshi gaoben [Manuscript of the Complete Tang Poems],
facsimile ed., (Taipei: Lianjing publisher, 1979), c. 45, p. 122.
66 “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 600. According to CAZ, it was even
wider at 100 paces or 147 m across.
67 Al-Sirafi, Ancient Accounts of India and China by two Mohammedan Travellers, p. 52.
68 TUCFK, p. 75.
69 See Seo Tatsuhiko , “The Urban Systems of Chang’an in the Sui and T’ang
Dynasties,” Historic Cities of Asia, ed. M.A.J. Beg (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:
Percetakan Ban Huat Seng, 1985), pp 159-200, where he also divided the city of
Chang’an into functional and social zones.
70 TLJCFK, p. 9-16. The twelve streets here (five N-S and seven E-W) are sometimes used
as a term to refer to Chang’an. See footnote 84 and the poem by Bai Juyi.
71 TUCFK, p. 40.
72 TUCFK, p. 96-7.
73 TUCFK, p. 104-105.
74 TUCFK, p. 117.
75 TUCFK, p. 104-06; one of the Buddhist temples was abandoned sometime in 710-711.
According to the contemporary Wei Shu 4- in Liangjing xinji [New Record
of the Two Capitals] there were 64 Buddhist monasteries, 27 Buddhist convents, 10
Daoist observatories, 6 Daoist female observatories, 2 “Persian” and 4 Zoroastrian
temples in the city during the period 713-741. The later study TUCFK listed a total of
81 Buddhist monasteries, 26 Buddhist convents and 30 Daoist observatories.
76 Shi Nianhai £&?§■, ed., X i’an lishi dituji ft [The Historical Atlas of
Xi’an]. (Xi’an: Xi’an Map Press, 1996), p. 95, listed 15 inns, hotels, and the like
providing accommodation to travellers and storage for their goods. Some of those listed
in TLJCFK are not included in the list of 15. The one in Buzheng Ward, for instance,
is not accounted for.
77 Poem entitled “Autumn Meditation” translated in A. G. Graham, Poems of the Late
T’ang (London: Penguin Books, 1965), p. 53.
78 See “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 600.
79 I translate the term jie as avenue, in this context, so as to differentiate it from the
narrower roads, streets, and alleys.
80 Only the southernmost E-W principal street measured significantly less. It was, however,
still a very impressive 55 m wide. “Brief archaeological report on Tang Chang’an,”
p. 600.
81 “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 602-3.
82 THY, c. 86, p. 1876.
83 Drinking water in the city was provided from wells dug in the wards. See “Tangdai
Chang’an cheng Anding fang fajue ji,” If [Record of the
Excavation of Anding Ward of Tang period Chang’an], Kaogu, no. 4 (1989): p. 319-323,
for details regarding the two wells found.
84 Translated in Arthur Waley, A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (New York: A. A.
56
The Tang City
Knopf, 1919), p. 163.

85 Muddy roads were mentioned often in Tang poems; Bai Juyi, for instance wrote
“Returning on horse - multitudes fill Nine Avenues; letting out court, for three days
muddy roads.” See Howard S. Levy, Translations from Po Chu-I’s Collected Works, vol.
2 (New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1971), p. 46. For white sand path, see
Hiraoka Takeo ^ R1 , Chang’an yu Luoyang fS-FS ( S 3 ), trans. Yang Lisan
(Xi’an: Shaanxi renmin chubanshe, 1957), p. 17-18.
86 See CAZ, c. 8, p. lla-b, for description of East Market, and c. 10, p. 7a for West Market.
87 Denis Twitchett, “Merchant, Trade and Government in Late T’ang,” Asia Major 14
(September 1968): p. 63-95, p. 70.
88 600 Tang paces is equivalent to 909 meters. See also Adachi Kiroku’s study of Tang
Chang’an, Choan shiseki no kenkyu, 2 vols. (Tokyo: Toyo bunko ronshu, 1933) or
Adachi, Chang’an shiji kao [Research on the Remains of Chang’an], trans.
Yang Lian 4%$. (Shanghai: Shangwu yinshu guan, 1935). Actual archaeological
excavations revealed dimensions of 1000 m by 924 m for the East Market and 1031 m
by 927 m for the West Market. See “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,”
p. 605.
89 The perimeter wall for the east market is thicker, between 6 and 8 m; see “Brief
Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 607.
90 Archaeological excavations within the west market showed wheel ruts of a width of 1.35
m within its confines. See “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 606.
91 This road was 14 m wide in the West Market, see “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang
Chang’an,” p. 605.
92 In the East Market, these streets were about twice as wide, measuring almost 30 m,
hence making the market less congested. “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang
Chang’an,” p. 607.
93 Excavations revealed that, during the early Tang period these gutters were narrower and
lined with wooden planks kept in place by wooden poles. See “Brief Archaeological
Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 606.
94 See “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 606.
95 These shops were 4 m and 10 m wide respectively, See “Brief Archaeological Report on
Tang Chang’an,” p. 606; Ma Dezhi, “Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 643.
96 CAZ, c 8, p. lib. In this case I take hang to mean street or street block consisting of
shops engaged in the same trade, although during the Tang and Song periods merchants’
associations were known by the same name. For a detailed discussion on the hang, see
Kato Shigeshi, “On the Hang or the Associations of Merchants in China, with Especial
Reference to the Institution in the T’ang and Sung Periods,” in Memoirs of the Research
Department of the Toyo Bunko 8 (Tokyo: The Toyo Bunko, 1936).
97 The printing industry was beginning to develop here in the East Market; see Su Bai,
“Sui-Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” Kaogu, no. 6 (1978): p. 417.
98 See Denis Twitchett, “The T’ang Market System,” Asia Major 12, no. 2 (1966): p. 209.
See also Duan Chengshi, Jianxia zhuan, c. 1, “Chezhong niizi,” where he mentions the
neat little alleys.
99 THY, c. 86, p. 1867 and 1874.
100 See Kato, “On the Hang or the Associations of Merchants in China,” p. 53.
101 Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p. 333. See also Kato, “On the Hang or the Associations of
Merchants in China,” p. 50; see also THY, c. 44, p. 923.
57
102 Nancy Steinhardt in Chinese Imperial City Planning, p. 90 (Figure 77) believes this to
be the relief of the streets of the city Chengdu . Other scholars such as Wu
Liangyong and Zhao Liying interpret it as a representation of a Han period market,
probably because of its close resemblance to the later depiction of Chang’an’s market
in theYuan period illustration in Li Haowen ##5-3L, Chang’an zhitu S
[Illustrated Record of Chang’an], juan shan, p. 8b, in Collection of Song andYuan Period
Gazetteers, Vol. 1.
103 For details on Tang warehouses, see Kato Shigeshi’s article “Tang song shidai de
cangku” Jr £ -ft, 6\J■&$- [Warehouses of the Tang-Song Period], in Zhongguo jingjishi
kaozheng + H i t [Research on Chinese Economic History], trans. Wu Jie A
rfe (Beijing: Shangwu yinshu guan, 1959), p. 370-85.
104 See Li Fang, ed., Taiping Guangji, c. 243 “Dou Yi” % 5L , p. 1877; c. 220 “Wang Bu”
, p. 1691-92.
105 See Kato Shigeshi, “Guifang kao” f e # # [Study of Early “banks”], in Research on
Chinese Economic History, trans. Wu Jie, p. 395-412.
106 Twitchett, “The T’ang Market System,” p. 211 and 217.
107 Archaeological investigations indicate that there was another pond where fishes were set
free in the southeastern section of the West Market, dug during the years 701-705, see
Su Bai, “Sui-Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 417.
108 The bigger pond had diameters of 180 m (EW) and 160 m (NS) while the smaller one
was 70 m wide. See “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang Chang’an,” p. 607; records
also indicate that a Buddhist temple known as Zisheng Monastery if 4 ^ was found in
the East Market; see TLJCFK, p. 75.
109 In 799, a big fire devastated the West Market and killed a lot of people; another fire in
835 also raged through the same market; see THY, c. 44, p. 922-23.
110 Twitchett, “The T’ang Market System,” p. 217; CAZ, c. 10, p. 7a. One record indicates
that an execution was carried out near Zisheng Monastery iff located on the western
slope of the East Market; see TLJCFK, p. 75 and 118.
111 The eastern half of the city had a smaller population than the western part; see CAZ,
c. 8, p. lib.
112 The contempt held against commercial activities was so pronounced that any contact
with merchant activities was deemed unrespectable. THY, c. 86, p. 1873.
113 For details on physical aspects of the West Market, see Zhuang Jinqing /±. iff ># ,“Tang
Chang’an xishi yizhi fajue” JS [Excavation of the Remains of the
West Market of Tang Chang’an], Kaogu, no. 5 (1961): p. 248-50.
114 Twitchett, “Merchant, Trade and Government in Late T’ang,” p. 68-70; TLT, c. 20 (Tai
fusi ) p. 5b; Adachi/Yang, Chang’an shiji kao, p. 122. The two-story building
located at the cross junction in the middle of the market in the relief tile from the Han
period was most probably the market office building.
115 See Twitchett, “The T’ang Market System,” p. 210.
116 See Twitchett, “The T’ang Market System,” p. 218.
117 THY, c. 86, p. 1874.
118 CAZ, c. 7, p. 12b.
119 TUCFK, c. 1, p. 30.
120 See Heng Chye Kiang, “A Contest of Wills in the Tang Market” in Journal of Southeast
Asian Architecture 1 (September 1996): p. 92-104.
121 Su Bai, “Sui-Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 417-18.
58
The Tang City
122 Su Bai, “Sui-Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 418.

123 Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p. 350.
124 A string of cash or copper coins consisted of 1000 coins. The round coins had a hole
in the center to allow them to be strung together.
125 See Taiping Guangji, c. 243, under the heading of “Dou Yi”, p. 1877.
126 Actual archaeological findings gave the measurements of these wards as around 500-590
m by 558-700 m for those flanking the main axis, and 660-883 m by 1020-1125 m for
those to both sides of the palaces. The rest were of intermediate sizes, measuring about
500-590 m by 1020-1125 m. See Twitchett, “Merchant, Trade and Government in Late
T’ang,” p. 603-5.
127 Tang lii shuyi [Tang Legal Code] (Commercial Book Press, Congshu jicheng
ed., 1939), c. 8 (Weijin xia 31 ), p. 179; see also He Yeju % , Zhongguo gudai
chengshi guihua shi luncong S "ir [Discussion of the History of
Ancient Chinese City Planning] (Beijing: Zhongguo Jianzhu Gongye Press, 1986),
p. 206.
128 Tang lii shuyi, c. 8, p. 179; see also Twitchett, “The T’ang Market System,” Asia Major
12, no. 2 (1966): p. 202-43.
129 Tangdai Chang’an cidian, p. 142. TLT, c. 25.
130 Quan Deyu’s poem “Song Li chengmen baguan gui Songyang” I'l -ir "t P Pa ,
in Complete Tang Poems, c. 24, p. 3638.
131 This paragraph on the police of the capital is translated by Balazs; see Etienne Balazs,
Chinese Civilization and Bureaucracy (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964), p. 69;
cf. Robert Des Rotours, Traite des fonctionnaires et traite de Varmee (EJ. Brill, 1947-
48), p. 536-37.
132 Balazs, Chinese Civilization and Bureaucracy, p. 69; see also Zhang Yonglu,
“Management system of fang and li in Tang Chang’an,” The Journal of Humanities, no.
3 (1981): p. 85-88.
133 See Howard S. Levy, Translations from Po Chii-I’s Collected Works, vol. 1 (New York:
Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1971), p. 35. The poem gives a vivid impression of the
sights and sounds of the early morning cityscape in Chang’an: horses and carriages,
torches of cavalrymen, street drums, dust from the earthem roads, etc.
134 Ward walls were made of rammed earth and had a thickness of about 2.5-3 m at the base.
136 For the etymology of fang, see Etienne Balazs, Chinese Civilization and Bureaucracy,
p. 69.
137 See also the rescript of 831 in THY, c. 86, p. 1837 that specifically related the connection
between ward walls and crime.
138 Liu Xu (887-946), Jiu Tang Shu ® jj- 4$ [Old History of the Tang Dynasty]
(Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju, 1975), c. 2, p. 1825. (Henceforth abbreviated as JTS) See
Miyazaki Ichisada , “Kandai no risei to Todai no josei” O JL#1] t M f t
<0 [The Han li system and the Tang fang system], Toyoshi kenkyii & 'f-
[The Journal of Oriental Researches] 21, no. 3 (1962): p. 271-294; Zhao Chao ,
“Ye shuo Tangdai de fang” -&i!Jit [Also about Tang fang], Wenshi zhishi
, no. 7 (1991): p. 52-58.
139 TUCFK, p. 51.
140 TLJCFK, p. 50 and 52. See also Sun Qi , Beili zhi [Record of the Northern
Li]; Bai Xingjian & H W (775-826), “Liwa Zhuan” , in Zhongguo gudian
59
xiaoshuo jianshang cidian + HI If [Dictionary of Chinese Classical

Stories] (Beijing: China Prospect Press, 1989), p. 289-95.
141 TUCFK, p. 55-7.
142 TUCFK, p. 103.
143 Two were “Persian” temples-one Manichaen and one Nestorian-and four Zoroastrian
temples devoted to the Iranian god, Ahura Mazda.
144 From my calculations with data from TUCFK, the western half had about 57 % of the
city’s temples.
145 These walls were as thick as 2.5-3 m. See “Brief Archaeological Report on Tang
Chang’an,” p. 603-4.
146 THY, p. 1867-68.
147 Shen Jiji (ca. 750-800), “Renshi zhuan” [Story of Madam Ren] in
Dictionary of Chinese Classical Stories, p. 253.
148 Ma Dezhi, “Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 642. See also “Tangdai Chang’an cheng
Anding fang fajue ji” [Record of the Excavation of Anding
Ward of Tang Period Chang’an], Kaogu, no. 4 (1989): p. 319-24, in which Ma Dezhi
recorded that the major cross-road in this ward measured 20 m wide and the secondary
sets of crossroads measured 5 to 6 m wide.
149 Ma Dezhi, “Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” Kaogu, no. 6 (1982): p. 642; Cao Erqin, “The
Wards of Tang Period Chang’an,” The Journal of Humanities, no. 2 (1981): p. 85.
150 One alley mentioned in Taiping guangji, c. 487, p. 4006, was named gusiqu or
“Ancient Temple Alley,” suggesting the presence of a temple in this alley.
151 Cao Erqin, “The Wards of Tang Period Chang’an,” p. 85.
152 TUCFK, p. 53-5.
153 TUCFK, p. 43 (pasta with stuffing); p. 55 (musical instrument maker); p. 84 (wine);
p. 87 (carpet alley).
154 In TUCFK, there was mention of 11 hostelries in the capital, of which 8 were found in
the eastern half.
155 Sumptuary laws were instituted to “minimise or limit the exercise of economic power”
such that “wealth alone did not guarantee the right to consume” and to ensure that “the
official class was guaranteed the exclusive enjoyment of it [a lifestyle], unthreatened by
any propertied class.” See T’ung-Tsu Ch’ii, “Chinese Class Structure and its Ideology,”
Chinese Thought and Institutions, ed. J. Fairbank (Chicago: University of Chicago,
1957), p. 235-50.
156 TLT, c. 23, p. 8b; THY, c. 31, p. 14b-15a; Xin Tang shu tf\ -ft [New History of the Tang
Dynasty] (Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju, 1975), c. 24, 12b (Henceforth abbreviated as XTS).
157 HTS, c. 24, p. 12b; THY, c. 31, p. 15a.
158 THY, c. 31, p. 14b.
159 Schafer, “Last Days of Chang’an,” p. 139. In the poem “Shangzhai” -t , Bai Juyi
described an ostentatious official residence surrounded by high walls with a vermillion
gate facing the main avenue that had six or seven main halls built at great cost.
160 CAZ, c. 8, p. 6a.
161 TUCFK, p. 65-6. For the playing of polo in China, see James Liu, “Nansong zhongye
maqiu shuailuo he wenhua de bianqian” r$j £ 'f -S? S ic f t JFit [Cultural
Shifts and the Decline of Polo Playing in Mid-Southern Song], Lishi yanjiu ffi ,
no. 2 (1980): p. 99-104; also “Polo and Cultural Change from T’ang to Sung China,”
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 45 (1985): p. 203-24.
60
The Tang City
162 Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p. 350-51.

163 TUCFK, p. 127.
164 TUCFK, p. 47.
165 TUCFK, p. 114-16, 122.
166 Mingtang, meaning literally “bright hall”, is a ritual hall that symbolizes Chinese
kingship. It was used repeatedly by emperors to lend legitimacy to their reign. The
Biyong, originally a ciricular moat, later refers to the imperial university. For a detailed
study of Mingtang and Biyong, see William Edward Soothill, The Hall of Light: A Study
of Early Chinese Kingship (New York, 1952). See Wang Shiren , “Han Chang’an
cheng nanjiao lizhi jianzhu yuanzhuang de tuice” S. -fc-Sr SMI i i ^ $ #■ i'J
[Speculations on the original form of the ritual structures in the southern suburbs of Han
dynasty Chang’an], Kaogu, no. 9 (1963): p. 501-15; Nancy Steinhardt, Chinese
Traditional Architecture, p. 69-77; Yang Hongxun Wj , Jianzhu kaoguxue lunwenji
[Essays on Archaeology of Architecture in China] (Beijing: Wenwu
chubanshe, 1987), p. 169-200.
167 For details regarding the walls, gates, and streets of Luoyang, see “Suitang dongdu
chengzhi de kancha he fajue” Pf i f & ^ [Probings and Excavations
of the Site of Sui-Tang Luoyang], Kaogu, no. 3 (1961): p. 127-35.
168 The exact number of avenues and wards are still unclear. According to TLT, c. 7, p. 9a;
there were 103 wards;Yuan Henan zhi i$j [Yuan Period Record of Henan], in
Collection of Song andYuan Period Gazetteers, vol. 8, c. 1, p. 2a-b, records that there
were 120 wards. (Henceforth abbreviated as HNZ).
169 Archaeological excavations reveal a width of 121 m at its widest point. A hundred paces
would have made it 147 m wide. See HNZ, c. 1, p. 2a. See Ma Dezhi, “Tang Chang’an
and Luoyang,” p. 645; Su Bai, “Sui-Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 420.
170 HNZ, c. 1, p. 3a.
171 HNZ, c. 1, p. 2a.
172 Archaeological excavations to date reveal that the avenues at around 40-60 m for the
major ones and about 30 m for the rest were actually narrower than those recorded.
173 From Li Fang (925-996), Taiping yulan [Encyclopedia of the Great
Tranquility Period] compiled between 977-983, c. 191, p. 7a-8b quoted in Kato, “On the
Hang or the Associations of Merchants in China,” p. 46.
174 TUCFK, c. 5, p. 180.
175 Market, pierced with four gates, had 141 districts of shops and warehouses and some 66
different trades. Abandoned later. TUCFK, c. 5, p. 169.
176 HNZ, c. 1, p. 18b; TUCFK, c. 5, p. 170.
177 HNZ, c. 1, p. 24a.
178 HNZ, c. 4, p. 16a-b.
179 These figures were given by HNZ, c.l, p. 10b. A quick, rough calculation shows that
these figures are indeed credible. The perimeter wall, for example, would have measured
around 1800 paces, i.e., about 2650 m. Taking away the total length of 12 gates with
about 28 m per gate would yield 2650 - 12(28) = 2314 m. With 400 storehouses, each
storehouse would measure about 5.8 m across, which is approximately 2 bays wide on
average. A similar test could be done for the number of shops and streets. Another early
account gave different information: “...the Feng-tu-shih of the Eastern capital occupies
an area of two fang, or blocks. Each of the four sides of walled area is provided with
three gates. There are some three hundred and twelve ‘di’ or warehouses in all, and
61
a hundred ‘hang.’” See more detailed discussion on the subject in Kato Shigeshi, “On
the Hang or Associations of Merchants in China,” p. 46-7.
180 HNZ, c. 1, p. 18b.
181 Chen Jiuheng Fifc&'H., “Sui-Tang dongdu chengzhi de kancha he fajue” Pf
[Probing and Excavation of the Walls of Sui-Tang Eastern Capital],
Kaogu, no. 3 (1961): p. 127
182 Su Bai, “Sui-Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 423.
183 See Wang Renbo , “Cong kaogu faxian kan Tangdai zhong ri wenhua jiaoliu” Al
M'JIt'lK'P B [Studying the Cultural Relations between China and
Japan from Archaeological Dicoveries], Kaogu yu wenwu % X-ffc , no. 3 (1984):
p. 100-108. See also Su Bai, “Sui-Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 423.
184 Data obtained through TLJCFK, c. 5.
185 TUCFK, c.5, p. 161.
186 Denis Twitchett, Land Tenure and the Social Order in T’ang and Sung China (London:
School of Oriental and African Studies, 1961), p. 16-17.
187 Wang Duo -£-# , “Tang Song Luoyang sijia yuanlin de fengge” Fs U 6\j
R4S- [The Character of Private Gardens in Tang Song Luoyang], in Zhongguo gudu
yanjiu + [Research of Chinese Ancient Capitals], vol. 3 (Hangzhou:
Zhejiang renmin chubanshe, 1987), p. 234-52.
188 For a popular description of these three elements, see C.P. Fitzgerald, The Empress Wu
(London: The Cresset Press, 1968), p. 131-36.
189 F.W. Mote, “The Transformation of Nanking,” in The City in Late Imperial China, ed.
William Skinner, p. 101-53; p. 116.
190 A poem written by Bai Juyi in Chang’an describes this poignantly: “Fine moon, I like to
sit alone, twin pines before the balustrade. A slight wind comes from the southwest to
enter secretly the branches and leaves. Before the bright moon in the depths of night,
lonely and desolate are the sounds emitted (by the pines), (like) the soughing of rain on
a cold mountain or the cold notes of a lute in autumn. Hearing it once, the fierce heat is
washed away; hearing it twice, muddled care is broken through. I don’t sleep all night
(because of it) and my mind and body are clarified. Horses and carriages move from the
street to the south, sounds and music resound from my neighbors to the west, but who is
aware that under the eaves no noise fills my ears?” See Howard S. Levy, Translations from
Po Chii-I’s Collected Works, vol. 1 (New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1971), p. 36.
191 Wang Dang i i f . (1101-1110), Tang Yulin JH ##-, annotated ed. (Beijing: Zhonghua
shuju, 1987), c. 2, p. 105.
192 See Twitchett, “The T’ang Market System,” p. 228-30. The following passage that
Twitchett translated from Liu Mengdeji, c. 25, p. 5b-7a, is quoted at length because of
the evocative description of a small provincial town market and the reflection of the
official attitude toward trade and merchants. The only modification I made to this
translation was changing the Wade-Giles system of transliteration to the Pinyin system
for consistency.
193 Taiping guangji, c. 484, p. 3986.
194 Li He, “Guanjie gu” IT Si , translated in A.G. Graham, Poems of the Late T’ang
(London: Penguin Books, 1965), p. 116.
195 See Wu Jianguo S , “Tangdai shichang guanli zhidu yanjiu” lU X 115" 22.
3L [Research on the Tang Market Management System], Sixiang zhanxian if! ,
no. 3 (1988): p. 72-9.
62
The Tang City
196 There were initially 360 prefectural seats, some were later combined. See THY, c. 70, p.
1458.
197 See Charles A. Peterson, “Hsien-Tsung and the Provinces,” Perspectives on the T’ang,
ed. Arthur Wright and Denis Twitchett (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973),
p. 151-91.
198 See Wu Jianguo, “Research on the Tang Market Management System,” p. 73-74. See
also Kato Shigeshi, “Tang Song shidai de shi” ilr £ -ft i 3' [Markets of the Tang and
Song Periods], in Research on Chinese Economic History, trans. Wu Jie, p. 278-303.
199 THY, c. 86, p. 1874.
200 For a detailed study of these markets, see Kato Shigeshi, “Guanyu Tang Song shidai de
caoshi” & -f Jit £ N"'ft $ [Regarding Rural Markets of the Tang and Song Periods],
p. 304-9; and “Tang Song shidai de caoshi ji qi fazhan” [“Field
Market” and its Development during the Tang-Song Periods], in Research on Chinese
Economic History, trans. Wu Jie, p. 310-36. Twitchett stated in “The T’ang Market
System,” that the etymologies given for both caoshi and xu shi & ^ explain them as
“markets held in the fields”, or on the “waste”, while the alternative explanation of xu
was that since the market was not held every day, the market site was usually empty
(xu).
201 See Kato, “Tang Song shidai de shi,” M ^B^'ft ^ ^ [Markets of the Tang and Song
Periods], in Research on Chinese Economic History, trans. Wu Jie, p. 278-303; p. 279.
See also Wu Jianguo, “Research on the Tang Market Management System,” p. 73.
202 See Twitchett, “The T’ang Market System,” p. 219. Xianchun Lin’an zhi
[Record of Lin’an during the Xianchun (1265-1274) Reign Period], in Collection of
Song andYuan Period Gazetteers, Vol. 4, c 19. p. 21a, for example, gives the
circumference of the nearby Xincheng County market as 240 paces and that of
Yanguan County Ik 'S' Jr market as 250 paces.
203 TYH, c. 86, p. 1874.
204 Huayan is a Tang philosophical school of Buddhism, especially popular during the reign
of Empress Wu, primarily concerned with the study of Vasubandhu’s commentary on the
Dasabhumika Sutra. See Stanley Weinstein, “Imperial Patronage in T’ang Buddhism,”
in Perspective on the T’ang ed. Arthur Wright and Denis Twitchett, p. 265-306.
205 See Xiao Mo, Architectural Reasearch of Dunhuang Grottoes, p. 147-8.
206 Actually, civil wars already began in A.D. 190 before the actual abdication of the last
puppet Han Emperor.
207 Refer to table of the sixteen states in Bai Shouyi, ed., An Outline History of China
(Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 1982), p. 189; also Jacques Gemet, A History of
Chinese Civilization (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), p. 174-232.
Wolfram Eberhard had a useful section on this period in his A History of China, 3rd ed.
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969), p. 107-65.
208 Bai Shouyi, An Outline History of China, p. 191-3.
209 Gernet, A History of Chinese Civilization, p. 236.
210 Eberhard, A History of China, p. 107.
211 Fitzgerald, China: A Short Cultural History, 3rd ed. (New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, 1961), p. 249. Gemet, however, warned that it is inaccurate to compare the
two, because, as was mentioned earlier, the ‘barbarians’ had already settled in China
when they seized power. They were simply taking advantage of the anarchy. See Gemet,
A History of Chinese Civilization, p. 181.
63
212 Fitzgerald, China: A Short Cultural History, p. 260.

213 Eberhard, A History of China, p. 167. For the general trend in the later period, see the
excellent article by Robert Hartwell, “Demographic, Political, and Social
Transformations of China, 750-1550,” Harvard Journal of Asian Studies 42 (December
1982): p. 365-442.
214 For a brief account of “Legalist” philosophy (which Waley calls Realist), see Arthur
Waley, Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China (1939; reprint, Stanford: Stanford
University Press, 1985), p. 151-88. Some beliefs included were: that “The people were
to be organized into groups ‘who were mutually responsible for each other and were
obliged to denounce each other’s crimes,’ ” (p. 152); that “Force can always secure
obedience; an appeal to morality, very seldom,” (p. 155); that “Everyone who does what
the State wants is to be rewarded; everyone who does what the State dislikes is to be
punished,” (p. 158); that “The sole aim of a State is to maintain and if possible to expand
its frontiers. Food production and military preparations are the only activities which the
State should support, the agricultural labourer and the soldier, the only classes of citizen
that it should honour and encourage,” (p. 165); that “[There are classes to be
eliminated]...classes singled out for particular attack were [in alphabetical order]
aristocrats, artisans, hermits, innkeepers, merchants, moralists, philanthropists, scholars,
soothsayers and swahbucklers,” (p.170); that “[T]he object of every ruler is to become
a ‘hegemon,’ that is to say to make his State paramount over all States or, at the best,
to become ruler of all China,” (p. 177).
215 Gemet, A History of Chinese Civilization, p. 174.
217 See table below taken from Gemet, A History of Chinese Civilization, p. 191:
Year People Number Destination
398 Xianbei of Hebei and northern Shandong 100,000 Datong
399 Great Chinese families 2,000 families Datong
399 Chinese peasants from Henan 100,000 Shanxi
418 Xianbei of Hebei ? Datong
427 Population o f the kingdom o f Xia (Shaanxi) 10,000 Shanxi
432 Population o f Liaoning 30,000 families Hebei
435 Population o f Shaanxi and Gansu ? Datong
445 Chinese peasants from Henan & Shandong ? N o f Yellow R
449 Craftsmen from Chang’an 2,000 families Datong
In addition to these, Gemet mentions that during the reign of Dao Wudi (386-409) some
460,000 were deported from the regions east of the Taihangshan to the neighbourhood
of Datong.
218 See David Johnson, The Medieval Chinese Oligarchy (Boulder, Colorado: Westview
Press, 1977), p. 5-17. See also Eberhard, A History of China, p. 142-4.
219 Waley, Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China, p. 152; see also footnote 205.
220 Gemet, A History of Chinese Civilization, p. 191. Compare this to the similar social
organization in Tang times, see JTS, c. 43 (zhiguan zhi ^ If , c. 2), p. 1825.
221 See Mark Elvin, The Pattern of Chinese Past: A Social and Economic Interpretation
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1973), p. 52, where he translates a passage from
Family Biography of the Marquis of Yeh (a book written in the ninth century) that is
quoted in Gu Jiguang, Fubing zhidu kaoshi [An Enquiry into the Divisional Militia]
64
The Tang City
(Shanghai: 1962), p. 43.

222 See Arthur Wright, The Sui Dynasty (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1978),
p. 100- 102.
223 Wei Shu [Book of Wei], c. 60, p. 13b. See also David Johnson, The Medieval
Chinese Oligarchy.
224 The power of the aristocracy rose towards the end of the Han period and waned later
during the Sui and the Tang period. It was finally superseded during the Song period by
a bureaucracy supporting an all powerful emperor. See Tanigawa Michio, Medieval
Chinese Society and the Local “Community”, trans. Joshua Fogel (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1981).
225 Ho P’ing-ti, “Lo-yang, A.D. 495-534: A Study of Physical and Socio-Economic Planning
of a Metropolitan Area,” p. 52-101.
226 The city was built on the foundations of Eastern Han (25-220) capital. For a detailed
study of the city, see Ho P’ing-ti, “Lo-yang, A.D. 495-534”. In p. 69-70, he argued for
the 220 wards as recorded in Luoyang jialanji instead of the 323 wards
given in Weishu. See also Su Bai, “Bei Wei Luoyang cheng he Bei Mang lingmu,” Jb
[Northern Wei Luoyang and Tombs at the North Mang
Mountains], Wenwu, no. 7 (1978): p. 42-52; W.J.F. Jenner, Memories of Luoyang, 495-
534 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981); N. Shatzman Steinhardt, Chinese Imperial City
Planning, p. 82-89.
227 Ho P’ing-ti, “Lo-yang, A.D. 495-534”, p. 87-88 quoted and translated from Yang
Xuanzhi, Luoyang jialan ji Fa -icL, c.5, p. 38b.
228 Ho P’ing-ti, “Lo-yang, A.D. 495-534” p. 83.
229 Gemet, A History of Chinese Civilization, p. 204. Of course, Legalism was not adopted
to the exclusion of Buddhism and Confucianism throughout the period of disunion. It is
also true that during the Five Dynasties Period, Buddhism gained ground in China and
was often adopted by leaders of ruling houses. Northern Wei Luoyang, for instance, had
more than 1,367 Buddhist establishments by 534, not including the famous cave-temples
of Longmen Jtfl ( & $ , ) . The founding Sui emperor was also a fervent Buddhist who,
according to Wright, found in Buddhism “formulas to assuage his own feelings of guilt
and insecurity, formulas that provided, in addition, dramatic gestures to legitimize his
dynasty . . .” See Wright, The Sui Dynasty, p. 127. The adoption of the Buddhist faith
should not, however, be seen as contradictory to the practice of Legalistic policies. Even
ruthless officials were known to have donated generously to Buddhist causes; see
Wright, The Sui Dynasty, p. 50-52.
231 See Arthur Wright, “The Formation of Sui Ideology,” Chinese Thoughts and Institutions,
ed. J. Fairbank, p. 71-104; especially 81-82.
232 Arthur Wright, “Sui Ideology,” p. 82; Sui Shu Pf [Book of Sui], compiled during the
Tang period (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju edition), c. 75, p. 1706. Wright saw the upsurge
of Confucianism in the early years of Wendi’s reign as the emperor’s attempt to
legitimise and consolidate his empire through its sanctions.
233 See Miyazaki Ichisada a , “Kandai no risei to Todai no josei” )>Lft t Jit
f t o i ? f'J [The Han li system and the Tang fang system], Toyoshi Kenkyu [The Journal
of Oriental Researches] 21, no. 3, p. 271-94.
234 Miyazaki Ichisada, “Les villes en Chine a l’epoque des Han,” T’oung Pao 48, no. 4-5
(1960): p. 376-92.
65
235 Eberhard, A History of China, p. 116.

236 The feng # sacrifices at Taishan was another symbolic act that Sui Wendi conducted to
reinforce the legitimacy of his regime.
237 Book of Sui, c. 56, p. 1386. Notice the similarities of these actions and the beliefs of the
Legalists listeds in footnote 205.
238 Professions listed in footnote 205; see Waley, Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China,
p. 170-176 for the reasons why these were seen as undesirable.
239 Paul Wheatley, Pivot of the Four Quarters (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,
1971), p. 318-319.
66
2
The Transition
(/Three and a half centuries separated Tang Chang’an at the height o f its glory in
the mid-eighth century and Song Kaifeng (then known as Bianjing ) on the eve
of the Jurchen invasion in A.D. 1126.1 The Tang and the Song capitals represent two
stages in the development o f the Chinese medieval city. Chang’an, as we have seen,
was a city built from scratch, tailored to the needs o f a new dynasty. On the other
hand, Kaifeng, already a prosperous city when Sui Wendi visited it in 595 on his way
back from Taishan, grew into an important entrepot and was the capital o f a series
of short-lived dynasties before it became the foremost city of the Northern Song.
These two capital cities, each with its own urban structure and cityscape, reflected
the respective periods that produced them, one rooted in a strong aristocratic power
with a highly hierarchical social structure, the other, a pluralistic, mercantile society
managed by pragmatic professional bureaucrats. The emergence o f this new urban
paradigm is one o f the most dramatic and important changes in Chinese urban
history.
Any inhabitant of early Tang Chang’an or Luoyang transposed to the Song capital
would have found an urban environment vastly different from his own. Instead of the
semi-autonomous walled “urban villages” separated by wide expanses of transitory
space, he would have seen a dense city criss-crossed by ad hoc commercial streets S
filled with a variety of urban activities a little like the West Market of Chang’an. We
are fortunate to have a description o f the city life and festivities during the last days
of the Northern Song capital, Kaifeng, just before its fall to the Jin Jurchens on 9
January 1127.2 The author, Meng Yuanlao , had come to the capital with his
father in the year 1103. He was then about fifteen years old. They were probably
members of an influential clan, headed by Meng Changling Ji t§ ^ , a high official
in the Board o f Public Works in Kaifeng. While the author was growing up as a
young adult in the capital, he acquainted himself quickly with the city. Although we
do not know what he did for a living, his station and money allowed him to frequent
the urban commercial and entertainment facilities and to know them intim ately After
the fall of Kaifeng in 1127, he migrated south to Hangzhou, the “temporary” capital
of Southern Song, where he finally wrote his memoir, Dongjing menghua lu, for the
sake o f posterity.3
In one o f his recollections, M eng wrote about a busy entertainment and
67
commercial district immediately southeast o f the Palace City where the major east-
west thoroughfare took its name, Panlou jie /IMiMif (Pan’s Tower Street), from a
prominent wineshop located along it:
Departing eastward from the Gate o f Displayed Virtue (Xuandemen s . #■ H ),

one comes to the East Corner Tower — that is the southeastern corner o f the
Imperial Wall. Departing southward from Crossroads Street (Shizi jie )
is the location o f the ginger guild. North into Highhead Street (Gaotou jie ft
), from the gauze silk guild ( t y' f f ) to the Eastern Splendor Gate Street
(Donghuamen jie & H $ r ), to the Gate o f Morning Radiance (Chenhui men
J W 1 ), Temple of Precious Scriptures (Baolugong S H '#’ ) and straight up
to the Old Suanzao Gate (Jiusuanzao men ) is where the open
displays and stalls are most rollicking and bustling. During the Xuanhe J l fa
reign period, the double wall and its sandwiched path was widened.
Going eastward, one comes to P an’s Tower Street, the southern portion of the
street being called A ccip iter Inn M J% ; here they allow only travelling
merchants who trade in hawks and falcons. All the other shops and stores are
fo r true gems, bolts o f silk, and fragrant herbs. To the south runs an alley,
called Jieshen ^ k , which is also the trading location o f gold, silver and
colored silk. The houses are imposing and stately, and the gatefronts wide and
broad, awesome to look at. Every transaction involves thousands and tens o f
thousands [o f cash 74 and it truly startles one to see or hear it.
To the east and on the northern side o f the street is the wine shop o f Pan
Tower, and below it a market gathers every day from the fifth watch (3-5 a.m.),
where they buy and sell clothes, calligraphy and paintings, precious baubles,
rhinoceros horn and jade. When it comes level light o f dawn, then such items
as sheep’s head, tripe and lung, red and white kidneys, udders, tripe, quails,
rabbits, doves, wild game, crabs, and clams have disappeared. Then come to
market the various handy men to buy and sell miscellaneous small items that
are used in provisions.
After mealtime, then drink and food, like honey-crisp, jujube cakes, sticky
rice balls deng paste filling, fragrant-sugared fruit, and honey-simmered
sculpted figurines come on the market. Toward evening, they sell helou H
and face masks, caps and combs, collars and stomachers, precious trifles,
household implements, and the like.5
The Xu family’s Calabash Mutton Stew Shop, another popular eating place in the
capital was located farther east. South of the street was a large entertainment district
formed by several wazi ox “pleasure precincts” having among them more than
fifty theaters, large and small. The bigger ones could accommodate several thousand
spectators.6 Commercial activities flourished in these precincts too. Fortune tellers
and hawkers of herbs, food and drink, old clothes, and paper cuts displayed their
wares there.
68
The Transition
Kaifeng, however, had not always been the busy city that it was between the tenth
and twelfth centuries, filled with shoplined streets, and active with c o m m p.rr.ial
activities throughout the day and night. During the Tang period (618-906), the city
was more stringently regulated and was divided into walled wards that were opened
only during specific hours of the day. Trading activities were restricted, in both time
and space, to the East and West markets. The urban system and structure of Tang
Kaifeng resembled more closely those of the contemporary capitals, Chang’an and
Luoyang, than those o f the city that it had become during the Song period.
During the long period that separated mid-Tang Chang’an and late Northern Song
Kaifeng, a number o f significant changes — the appearance of commercial activities ^
outside the markets, the disregard o f curfew, and the tearing down of ward walls —
took place. All these helped to erode the Tang urban structure and to give birth to a
new one in which the open commercial street played an important role .7 However the
transition from the one to the other was a long and often non linear process
influenced by many factors.
LATE TANG PERIOD

Late Tang Chang’an
Order in Chang’an was disrupted when the An Lushan-Shi Siming rebellion (755 to
763) severely shook the stability of the Tang dynasty. China was then at its peak of
cultural brilliance and enjoying a period of affluence under Emperor Xuanzong
(r. 712-56). The last dozen years o f his reign were, however, marred by increasing
troubles at home and abroad. During the first thirty years of his rule (712-41), Tang
China was at its zenith .8 Its influence stretched from the Pacific coast in the east to
the Amu-Darya basin in the far west. Political reforms and an able administration
brought stability, prosperity, and population growth. One reform that had important
consequences was the creation o f senior frontier commands for the defense o f the -
northern and eastern borders of the empire. With the decline of the militia (jubing
) system, more commands were created. Each was led by a military governor
(jiedu shi T- fLML). Although initially his responsibilities were mainly military, he
was later given full control of one or several prefectures and became de facto
“governor with military responsibilities” .9
One such military governor, An Lushan, controlled three out of the ten military
commands, and was a protege of Xuanzong’s favorite concubine. He quickly grew
in pow er and am bition w h ile X uanzong withdrew more and more from
administration and left the court to his officials. In 755, An Lushan rose in rebellion
with an army o f 150,000 men, seized the capital of Luoyang in 756, and declared
himself Emperor.10 When he marched north towards Chang’an the same year, the
capital was abandoned to the rebel forces and only recaptured a year later with the
help of General Guo Ziyi. The capital once again suffered destruction when the
Tibetan Tufans stormed and torched the city in 763. In Chang’an, as in other cities,
the An Lushan rebellion and the subsequent unrest left behind an impotent central
69
government besieged by problems more pressing than that of urban control. Although
the rebellion was quelled, the once all-powerful central government had to tolerate
the nearly independent status of many provinces under the control o f powerful
military governors. They had large private armies and almost full authority over the
prefectures in their province. Taxes collected from the prefectures intended for the
central government were kept instead for their own use. Administratively, as Ikeda
On remarked, “the mid-Tang is a most important watershed in the Chinese
administrative history, as the end o f an attempt, universal down to this time, to
impose uniform administrative practices throughout the empire.” 11 The equal land
distribution system (juntian) was given up together with the tax system based on it.
A new system, the liangshuifa , or the two-tax system was implemented in
its place in 780. Tax was paid in either of two collections per year, hence its name.
Its principal feature, however, was the replacement o f the old system based on the
male adult population by one based on a more equitable assessment on property and
cultivated land. These paved the way for the concentration of large land holdings in
the hands of the rich and powerful in the subsequent period.12 After 755, able rulers
such as Xianzong % (r. 806-820) tried to rebuild the empire and re-establish
central control but such efforts ceased when he was murdered.13 What followed was
a period of decline in which the court was tom apart by striving factions of eunuchs
and officials (courtiers). Military commands temporarily brought under control by
Xianzong declared independence once again. The final death knell was sounded by
the peasant uprisings of 874-884 led by Huang Chao "k H .14 Unrest first started in
Henan H r£j . Before the rebels captured Luoyang in 880 they had already seized
most o f South China. Chang’an fell to Huang Chao the same year and was only
recaptured by imperial forces in 883. Although the rebellion ended with the defeat
and the suicide of Huang Chao in 884, it had thrown the empire into disarray and
weakened the central authority irremediably. After the rebellion, the Tang dynasty,
embroiled in wars among contending commands, survived only in name.
The gradual breakdown of the stringent urban system in Chang’an was obvious
immediately after the turmoil of the mid eighth century. Tang Huiyao, a collection of
important documents of the Tang period compiled during the Northern Song, has a
series of entries after the disruption that show the cracks in the early Tang urban
order. Edicts were issued during the reign periods o f Zhide S .% (756-758) and
Changqing (821 to 824) to prohibit people from opening doors directly to the
avenues. Only officials above the third grade, and sanjue houses, were excepted.15 A
sim ilar order was given in 831 after the Left and Right Patrol Inspectors
memorialized to the emperor about the erosion of the ward system. We can deduce
that there were numerous instances of commoners piercing private gates in ward
walls for direct access to the avenues, at least numerous enough to warrant the
decrees. The fact that one o f these edicts was issued shortly after the recapture of
Chang’an only supports the speculation that urban order, already unstable, was upset
during the time when the capital was abandoned to the rebels. The root of the
problem was already apparent in 740 when the President of the tribunal of censors,
70
The Transition
Zhang Yi , requested restoring order to those streets that had been encroached
upon by walls and structures.16 During the periods of turbulence when official
enforcement was absent, and the pillage and torching of properties were common, the
situation could only have gotten worse.
The Zhide (756-758) period edict, issued shortly after Chang’an was recaptured,
was most likely ineffective as another decree was promulgated in 767. Meanwhile,
urban order further deteriorated. The new imperial order once again forbade in all
wards and markets the encroachment on public ways, the dismantling of walls, and
the extension of primary structures [into the public ways]; and threatened offenders
with severe punishment and the demolition o f their extensions.17 A further decree
issued six years later, in 773, hinted at the sorry state of the ward and market gates,
calling for their repair.18 The integrity of the ward system must have been further
compromised when Emperor Dezong i t was forced to flee the capital temporarily
during an uprising in 783 returning only in mid-784. The rebellion was finally
defeated in 786.19 Another edict was issued two years later, in 788, ordering the use
of tax money to repair damaged walls .20
However, all these measures were o f no avail, or if they were effective, the results
did not last long. The Changqing period (821-824) edict was shortly followed by two
memorials and a decree in 831 that show how critical the situation had become. The
first memorial, mentioned earlier, complained that commoners opened gates in the
walls, defied curfew hours and made it difficult for the guards to apprehend
criminals.21 The second memorial by the Left Patrol Inspector further complained
that besides official guard posts, structures belonging to commoners and officials
were erected in the middle of the avenues. These, they claimed, complicated the
maintenance o f public order. An edict calling for their removal within three months
was issued.
When the Japanese monk Ennin (793-864) and the Arab traveler Ebn Wahab
visited Tang Chang’an during the mid-ninth century, the capital was undergoing the
initial signs of an important urban transformation. The rigidly zoned city made up of
strictly regulated walled wards was loosening up. Businesses prospered in the wards
close to markets, palaces or major routes. Restaurants and taverns opened late into
the night. Chongren fang , located at the junction of two major arteries,
became the busiest ward in the city where bustling commercial activities were carried
out day and night and lamps burned without pause .22 Its strategic location adjacent
to the Imperial City and northwest of the East Market also made it the favorite ward
of residence for those provincials called to court.
Elsewhere in the city, small scale commerce appeared in many wards. Businesses,
such as pastry shops, carpet ateliers, and musical instrument ateliers were mentioned
in at least seven wards in Chang’an in a later study of the two capitals.23 For instance,
in Chongren fang was a shop specializing in the making of musical instruments. West
o f the East Market in Pingkang fang was a shop selling jiangguo ,
probably fruits covered with ginger glaze. In Xuanyang fang s . Pa % , there was a
boutique that sold printed silk. Changxing fang had a shop selling pasta with
71
meat fillings, while south of the market in Xuanping fang J l was a shop selling
oil. Shengping fang also had a pastry shop selling central asian cakes and
biscuits. East of the West Market in Yanshou fang was a jewelry shop; the
northern side of this ward which fronted the main avenue leading to Jinguangmen jie
, was also one o f the busiest section in the city. Hotels and inns also
appeared in many wards adjacent to the major thoroughfares.24 The majority were
found close to the East Market. Pingkang fang, adjacent to the East Market was well
known for having three alleys in which women of pleasure congregated. Luoyang
also experienced the same fate; businesses appeared within the residential wards
beyond the perimeters of the walled markets.
Within and without the markets, businesses were conducted late into the night,
defying all sanctions. Wards located close to markets and palaces were especially
successful in attracting businesses. Night life in these wards thrived. Night markets
appeared in Xuanping fang, Shengping fang and Chongren fang. This attracted the
attention of the central authorities and an imperial decree in 840 meekly advise a stop
to night markets within the capital.25 The order was probably ineffective. When the
vice prefect, Wang Shi i K came upon an all-night musical performance at a local
shrine in the middle of the street in the wee hours one morning, not only did he fail
to act against it, he was actually offered the cup by the shaman (wu 3L) officiating
at the celebration.26
Other signs of the erosion o f the severe ward system were also apparent. These
were generally known as qinjie or literally “encroaching the street”. Qinjie
consisted of piercing private doors in the ward walls, tearing down sections of it, and
at times building structures beyond the street limits obstructing public roadways.
Some people were even brazen enough to build structures on public avenues beyond
the confines of the wards. In 849, for instance, the Right Patrol Inspector complained
in a memorial to the emperor that the military commander Wei Rang i t openly
defied orders and erected a structure of nine bays west o f the southwestern guard post
of Huaizhen fang ,27 This was, however, the last record o f official complaint
against a long series of “street encroachments” during the Tang dynasty. The Tang
authorities had either given up trying to stop a widespread phenomenon or were too
preoccupied by more pressing issues to deal with the problem of urban order. Popular
uprisings had already started in the southern regions of Zhedong M & and Guilin
#- after 859 and the devastating Huang Chao rebellion, as we have seen, followed
shortly after.
Judging by the frequency of urban intervention from the imperial authorities, the
greatest efforts were made to regain control of an urban system in the midst of
change between the period immediately after the An Lushan rebellion and the early
ninth century. This corresponds to the “period of apparent recovery” from 755-820
when the imperial court was trying to regain central authority.28 Enforcement of
official mandates, however, was problematic; the success of such restrictive measures
was at best short-lived. After the mid ninth century, the central authority was too
weak and preoccupied with more pressing problems than urban matters. This was
72
The Transition
especially so after popular unrest began in 860 and culminated in the disastrous
Huang Chao rebellion that crippled the regime. The empire was divided into
powerful fanzhen (commanderies) that fought for the control of the throne. The
Tang dynasty officially ended when the last boy emperor was deposed by Zhu Wen
, who pronounced himself emperor of the Later Liang Js dynasty in 907. All
this chaos before the final collapse of the empire left the cities even more disordered.
The Huang Chao rebellion and subsequent turmoil destroyed many important
cities. Chang’an, Luoyang, and Yangzhou, were torched and were only a shadow of
their past during the Five Dynasty period. Wei Zhuang 4 & wrote a poignant and
vivid description o f Chang’an after the anti-aristocratic Huang Chao and his rebels
slaughtered the gentry and torched the capital:
Chang’an lies in mournful stillness: what does it now contain?

— Ruined markets and desolate streets, in which ears o f wheat are sprouting.
Fuel-gatherers have hacked down every flowering plant in the Apricot Gardens,
Builders o f barricades have destroyed the willows along the Imperial Canal.
All the gaily-coloured chariots with their ornamented wheels are scattered and
gone,
O f the stately mansions with their vermilion gates less than half remain.
The Hanyuan Hall is the haunt o f foxes and hares,
The approach to the Flower-calyx Belvedere is a mass o f brambles and thorns.
All the pomp and magnificence o f the olden days are buried and passed away;
Only a dreary waste meets the eye; the old fam iliar objects are no more.
The Inner Treasury is burnt down, its tapestries and embroideries a heap o f
ashes;
All along the Street o f Heaven one treads on the bones o f State officials.29
Late Tang Yangzhou

While the capital was being transformed, similar developments were taking place
during the second half of the Tang period in many cities. This was especially obvious
in cities o f the increasingly prosperous lower Yangzi region. Distant from the
weakened central authority, Kaifeng, Suzhou, and particularly Yangzhou — the most
prosperous port city then — had begun to defy the stringent constraints of enclosed
wards by the first quarter of the ninth century, if not earlier. Yangzhou, the largest city
after Chang’an and Luoyang, was particularly important in this aspect and critical in
the emergence o f a new urban paradigm during the Tang-Song transition.30
Located along the northern bank o f the Yangzi River, the fate of Yangzhou was
closely linked to the Grand Canal and the waterways. The city first came into
prominence during the Sui period, under Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty.31 Earlier
in 587, his father, in a campaign to defeat the Chen empire, had revived Hangou fl5
, a canal that linked the region of Shanyang iliPs (modern Huai’an ?#-3r in
Jiangsu frjfr Province) to the Yangzi River. This canal was first dug around 486 B.C.
by King Fucha of Wu A S . A M (496-73 B.C.) for a military expedition. At that time,
73
the Yangzi was much wider than it was during the Sui and subsequent periods. Its
northern bank reached almost to the foot of Shugang Jjj R] where the king built his
bastion. Over the course of the following centuries, silt was deposited along the north
bank, causing the River to retreat south creating a plain at the foot of the hillock.
After the Han period, there was no incentive to maintain the canal which linked the
relatively peaceful south to the warring states in the north and the canal slowly fell
into disrepair. In 605, Yangdi renewed his father’s efforts, dredging and widening the
canal to forty paces, adding imperial avenues along its banks, and lining them with
willows.
Then came the project that revolutionized China’s transportation network.
Between 605 and 610, the emperor, through massive corvee labor, caused the
opening of the Grand Canal. This was made up of three sections, the first — known
as Tongji Canal i t /°T linked the Luo River to the Yellow River, then to the Huai
River (this stretch was also known as the Bian River >t H ) and farther to Hangou
which led to the Yangzi River. The second section, known as the Yongji Canal
;5T , went north to Zhoujun (modern day Beijing); the third, also known as the
Jiangnan (South of the River) Canal & H linked the Yangzi to Qiantang River 4%
% >3- at Hangzhou. Together, these canals formed an extensive network of waterways
that connected the Yangzi, the Huai, and the Yellow river systems to one another.
Goods could now be transported from Hangzhou in the south to the Gulf of Bo Hai
in the north through canals.
The Grand Canal became the major transportation artery of China linking the
economic centers of the south to the political centers of the north.32 The strategic
position of Yangzhou at the junction of the Yangzi River and the Grand Canal
contributed much to the prosperity of the city during the succeeding Tang period
(Fig. 23).
Sui and early Tang Yangzhou was still confined to the fortification crouched atop
Shugang, the ridge north of the modern-day city. At twenty to thirty meters high, it
overlooked the plain to its south. This site was repeatedly used by previous regimes
and the Sui and Tang rulers were content to adopt the extant fortified city.33 The five-
to-ten-meter high ramparts were strengthened and faced with bricks .34 The city was
further protected by a moat. Though irregular in shape, the city was served by two
intersecting main arteries that led to four cardinal gates (Fig. 24). As usual, the south
gate — the only gate with three passages — was the most spectacular. Although these
main streets were about ten meters wide, the junction was around twenty-two meters
wide .35 Located in the center of the city, it probably also served as a public square.
Northeast o f the intersection was the administrative center which housed the
prefectural offices of the Governor General of Yangzhou, and later, the bureau for the
Regional Commander of Huainan i$], and at the same time, the prefectural yamen
11 . Archaeologists believe that the southwestern comer of the city was the location
of a palace built by Emperor Sui Yangdi when Yangzhou was his favorite resort.36
Towers were erected at the northwestern and northeastern corners for further
protection.
74
The Transition
Fig. 23. Site of Tang Yangzhou.
Because Yangzhou was the foremost port in a vast hinterland rich in agricultural
produce and minerals, it quickly grew in importance .37 After the Han period, the
economic center o f China had shifted gradually from the north to the south,
especially to the Lower Yangzi region. As we have seen in the previous chapter, the
long period o f wars among the feuding kingdoms had not only devastated the
Northern Central Plains but had also led to massive migrations to the relatively stable
south. Thanks to the fertile and well irrigated land, Jiangnan (South of the Yangzi
River) became the rice bowl of China. The canal dug to tap the economic resources
of the south was a boost to the city, making it the premier trading center in the
country. All goods from the south and from overseas intended for Chang’an had to
pass through Yangzhou.38 The city became the nation’s premier emporium, famous
75
Fig. 24. Schematic reconstruction of Tang Yangzhou.
for the trading of salt, tea, gems, wood, brocade, herbs, and industrial products such
as copper wares (especially mirrors), silk products, and ship building. Being an
important entrepot, its financial and shipping services were also highly developed.
Yangzhou also had a substantial population of foreign traders.39
76
The Transition
As Yangzhou’s economy expanded, so did its population. Sui Yangzhou had an

estimate o f around 10,000 households. By 627, the number of households had risen
to around 23,199 with about 94,347 inhabitants. This increased dramatically during
the next 100 years to 77,150 households or 467,857 inhabitants in 743 .40 As the
population grew, the city extended beyond the walls o f the fortified zicheng or
yacheng % 3$, (administrative city) to the plain south o f the hill. This area is well
served by Guanhe f t (Official Canal), a section of the Grand Canal that branches
north from the Yangzi River.
Unlike the northern region which was ravaged by the An Lushan rebellion, the
southern cities and Yangzhou escaped the upheaval almost unscathed. If anything,
members of the great families and rich merchants who migrated south to escape the
catastrophe of the capital regions added to the prosperity of the Yangzi and Huai river
region. After the rebellion, the court at Chang’an and Luoyang became even more
dependent on south China for its resources. The emperor could only depend on four
regions for the survival of the empire since the rest of the military governors were
out of his control. The lower Yangzi valley and Huai valley region became the main
source o f revenue. Yangzhou, located along the lifeline and the biggest city after the
capitals, profited from the situation. In 763, Liu Yan $ , the Transportation
Commissioner reformed grain transportation and made Yangzhou a major center of
redistribution.41 In order to shorten waiting time for the optimal water level in the
canal, rice from the south was routed to Yangzhou to be consolidated, and then
shipped north. After the An Lushan upheaval, the quantity of grains shipped through
Yangzhou was around four hundred thousand shi.41 Taxes from two provinces,
Guangzhou t and Guizhou ti^'l , were also sent to Yangzhou.43
With the expanding economy and population, a wall was finally built around the
settlements south o f zicheng. The exact date of its construction is uncertain, although
mention was made o f its construction (or repair) in 783 in preparation for a military
campaign.44 This new circuit of walls was further protected by a moat. The new
annex, known as luocheng W , was the residential and business sector of the city.
Roughly rectangular in shape, it was provided with four gates on each of the east,
west, and south walls. The north wall had two gates, one o f which was the south gate
of the zicheng. The annex, measuring 4200 by 3120 meters, was almost five times
larger than the administrative city.45
Within the luocheng $ 4$,, or dacheng A ik (big city) as it was sometimes called,
four main lateral E-W avenues spaced about 1000 m apart linked the east and west
gates. The northernmost of these avenue was the most important and busiest. It was
straddled by the only pair o f gates with three passages. It ran parallel to the canal
Hangou and probably extended, like the canal, beyond the eastern wall. Measuring
ten meters across, it was also tw ice as w ide as the southernmost avenue .46
Longitudinally, there were at least three main N-S avenues; the middle one ran
obliquely along the canal, Guanhe.47 The avenue to its east led northwards along
another secondary canal, Baozhanghe ffi-f^-ft , to meet the major N-S avenue o f the
zicheng. Unlike Guanhe, this canal, spanned by nine bridges, was not navigable.
77
Once again, as in Chang’an and Luoyang, these avenues sectioned up the city into
blocks of about 600 by 1000 meters, although the existence of the oblique avenues
and major waterways complicated the neat division. Administratively, Guanhe
became the line of division for the two counties in charge of the city. Wards west and
north of the canal came under the jurisdiction of Jiangdu county while those
east and south of the waterway were administered by Jiangyang county.48
Although, a priori, the plan of the city looks regular, the situation within the city and
beyond its walls was not as clear cut as it seemed to be. Around this time, during the
Zhenyuan reign $ tL (785-805), street encroachment was also taking place in the
city .49 Officials, artisans, and merchants were building structures that encroached on
the public roadway. Unlike the capitals, however, the city was not neatly confined to
the area within the walls. Faubourg-like settlements and temples gathered outside the
gates, especially to the east. Inscriptions on tombstones unearthed in recent years
show several fang (wards) outside the major east gate. Archaeological evidence and
contemporary writings also confirmed the existence of prominent temples beyond
the city walls. Outside the main west gate is Darning Temple k aJ$ ^ with its pagoda
o f nine tiers.50 Across the city, the prominent Chanzhi Temple rF was located
about three li east of city, on a high ground known for good burial sites .51 To its south
was the Bright Moon Bridge , otherwise also known as Chanzhi Bridge #
Hf #f- .52 Between the major east gate of luocheng and the bridge were the wards,
Daohua fang and Xiange fang . Still further east, before arriving at
Shanguang Temple was another ward, Linwan fang i®'/(' ,53
The faubourg outside the east gate must have been very busy if we are to judge
by literary evidence. In 838, before Ennin entered the city through “the water gate
o f the eastern outer wall”, he waited at the Chanzhi Bridge where he witnessed the
hustle and bustle of the canal, noting in his diary that “the river was full of large
boats, boats laden with reeds, and small boats, too numerous to be counted.”54 The
party he was traveling with had some forty boats, itself joined together and pulled
along by buffaloes or sometimes by trackers along the shore .55 The canal was not
only busy during the day but also equally active at night. Earlier, on his way from
Rugaozhen to Yangzhou, Ennin noted that as they started out again in the
middle of the night, “boats of the salt bureau laden with salt, with three or four, or
again, four or five boats bound side by side and in line, followed one after the other
without a break for several tens of li.”56 The poem “Zongyou Huainan"
(Touring South of Huai [River]) probably written around the same period by Zhang
Hu (792-852), describes a busy street market that led all the way to the Bright
Moon Bridge.
The ten-li long street links markets to market,

On Bright Moon Bridge, I look at “spirits and sylphs ”
A man ought to die in Yangzhou, where
The graveyards are fine at the side o f “Zen Wisdom” hill.51
78
The Transition
In this descriptive poem, Zhang Hu, enticed by the beauty and splendor of
Yangzhou, wrote about his surroundings — the Bright Moon Bridge, the Chanzhi
Hill, the ten-Zi long market street, and Yangzhou whose beauty and splendour maHp.
it a place befitting to die in .58 The only road that ran along the canal flowing under
the Bright Moon Bridge, as we have seen earlier, was the ten-meter wide primary E-
W avenue. And while ten-/i during the Tang period is equivalent to about 4.43 km,
the width of intramural Yangzhou was only 3.12 km .59 Therefore part of the busy
market street must have extended beyond the city gates. As we know from Ennin, the
Bright Moon Bridge was approximately three li, i.e., about 1.33 km from the city, or
around about 4.45 km from the western wall. If the market street started within the
confines of the western wall, it would have stretched all the way to the site o f the
bridge. If we were to use the longer measure for the Tang li, the market street would
be even longer, going way beyond the west gate or way past the Bright Moon
Bridge.60
The fact that there were faubourgs outside the city gates of Yangzhou during the
late Tang is significant since it clearly shows that not only did residential quarters
proliferated beyond the city limits, but so did commercial activities. As we have seen
earlier in the case o f the Tang capitals, urban residential quarters were closely
supervised wards confined within city walls. Although not all cities and towns during
the Tang period kept their populations within their ramparts, market activities in
general were more controlled. Urban commercial activities were strictly regulated
within stipulated limits under the jurisdiction o f the city authorities. If there were any
markets beyond the walls they were usually in the form of xushi or periodic rural
markets held at a considerable distance from the urban centers. Yangzhou’s suburban
expansion was probably one of the first few instances during the Tang period o f a
phenomenon that became widespread during the Song administration.
However the primary East-West artery was not the only busy street in the city. The
oblique North-South avenue along Guanhe was probably just as active. Along a
section of about three kilometers, there were at least nine bridges spaced an average
of 350 m apart spanning the canal. Considering the width of the canal — at least
thirty meters — and the necessity to ensure that even big boats shipping grain could
use this canal, the construction o f these bridges must have been a significant
burden.61 One can only speculate then that the street along its east bank must have
been commercially very active to warrant the effort and expense of such important
civil works. This speculation is corroborated by archaeological findings of massive
remains of building materials along the banks o f the canal and especially along the
avenue on the east bank. Here, remnants of Tang brick wells, house foundations, and
building material abound.62
Indeed, this canal, which was initially used to ship grain, was later used
exclusively as a market canal since accumulated silt rendered the canal less navigable
to the large barges. In a memorial to the court in 826, the Commissioner of Iron and
Salt, Wang Bo i # (759-830) complained that this intramural section of the canal
being too shallow, hampered traffic, and delayed shipments.63 He was allowed to dig
79
a new section that ran outside the city along the south and east walls .64 This new
section, 19 li long, diverted grain shipping boats before the south gate and led them
to rejoin the canal outside the east water gate. In so doing, it freed the intramural
Guanhe of heavy traffic and rendered it exclusively into a market canal.
The market canal and the street along it probably functioned very much as some
canals still do in present day Suzhou (Fig. 25). Boats, large and small, laden with
produce, pulled up along the banks and especially near bridges selling their goods.
Stores and stands lined the sidewalks and the banks. Others congregated around
bridgeheads, peddling their goods, while street-front shops, restaurants, and taverns
catered to the whims and fancies of passersby. Although painted much later toward
the end of the Northern Song, Going up the River during Qingming Festival probably
portrayed a scene of a busy canal not very different from that of Guanhe in late Tang
Yangzhou (Fig. 26). Commercial activities were no longer confined to well
demarcated markets occupying spatially an entire allocated area as was the case in
early Tang Yangzhou. Instead they were conducted along canals and streets, stretched
linearly, and fluctuated in intensity depending on their proximity to bridges and
junctions. Location, although already important in the earlier form of markets,
became even more so.
Walled boundaries, critical to the ward system, lost their significance since the
bustling market street became a connector. Shops and houses, instead of walls, were
strung together along the street or canal front. In fact, by late Tang, the walls of wards
Fig. 25. Market activities along a canal in modem Suzhou.
80
The Transition
Fig. 26. A section of a canal lined with shops (detail of Qingming shanghe tu)
along both the market streets by the canals were gone. In his poem “Song shuke you
weiyang ,” i'A Sj % (Accompanying Guest from Shu [Sichuan] on the tour of
Weiyang [Yangzhou]), Du Xunhe J i (846-904) sang of bridges, and canals lined
by willows and flanked by decorated buildings (and not ward walls ).65 Along the
canal the cityscape must have looked like what Ennin saw in at a place called
Rugaozhen , east of Yangzhou, where “along the north shore of the dug canal
stretched stores and houses,” and further along, “the waterway was lined on both
sides with rich and noble houses quite without a break.”66 Street encroachment, which
was the constant subject of repression, at the capital, had triumphed in Yangzhou. It
is doubtful that the luocheng which was probably built only in 783 for the purpose
of defense, ever had a well-managed ward system as in Chang’an and Luoyang. More
likely, the city was already in the middle of important urban changes when the walls
were built.
Not only did businesses flourish outside the once-designated market wards, they
were also conducted beyond the curfew hours into the night. The poet Du Mu
(803-852) gave an evocative description o f Yangzhou at sunset in one o f his
writings:67
Yangzhou is a place o f beauty. W henever the double city approaches dusk,

above entertainm ent halls are usually crim son gauze lamps, in tens o f
thousands, brightly arranged in the sky. The nine-li and 30 bu (paces) street, in
which thronged pearls and jade, looked like a fa iry land in the distance. ”68
Here, in contrast to early Tang Chang’an, where nightfall meant empty streets
patrolled by police, night life was active. Night markets thrived. The four-kilometer-
long market street was lined with elegant multistoried buildings, brightly lit and
81
crowded with city folks .69 Many poems written during this period portrayed the new
developments in Yangzhou’s city life. Two lines from Wang Jian’s (ca. 768-830)
poem “Yekan Yangzhou shi” (Watching the Market o f Yangzhou at
Night) depicts a scene akin to the evocative description above:
From night markets, lamps by thousands lit the azure clouds,

Upon lofty towers, red sleeved [ladies] and guests throng.10
Yet another poem by Li Shen (772-846), who was once the Regional
Commander of Huainan, entitled “5m Yangzhou” (Lodging Overnight at
Yangzhou) had a couplet that hinted at the active night markets around the bridges
and the busy canals:
A t night, bridge lights merge with the Milky Way,

In the Water city, boat masts draw near the Big D ipper and the Altair.
Yangzhou was not unique; similar developments were happening in other cities
too. During the Tang dynasty, Kaifeng, located along the Grand Canal which brought
supplies from the south to the capitals of Chang’an and Luoyang, was quickly
becoming one o f the most important commercial nodes. Spurred by the dramatic
increase in trade, the old strict urban structure was also breaking down. Wang Jian
wrote that this busy city had markets around water gates and bridges patronized by
drinkers throughout the night .71 Farther south, Suzhou, too, was a busy city with
bustling night markets that attracted the attention of Bai Juyi who described it as
“more populous than Yangzhou” with “wards more active than half of Chang’an”,
and of Du Xunhe who left us descriptive lines such as “Night market sells lotus roots,
spring boats ship damask robes .”72 In another couplet from the poem “Sending off
friends on a tour of Wuyue”, he wrote of the sights in the region of Suzhou and
Hangzhou:
By the bridges, lights from night markets gleam,

Outside the temples, boats rest in the spring wind.13
Here, once again, he showed us that the region of Suzhou and Hangzhou already
had the familiar sights of night markets along water ways and at bridges. Hangzhou
too w as a busy city w h ere in the words o f yet another contem porary
“lines of ship masts stretched 20 li long and had thirty thousand shops” .74
The seed for the flowering of a new urban form was already planted in the capital
cities and especially in the urban centers o f the prosperous Lower Yangzi region
during the second half of the Tang period. The An Lushan rebellion that weakened
the control o f the central government irremediably, together with the growth of trade,
led to the appearance of commercial activities to appear, at first discreetly, and later
on a larger scale within the wards in the capitals. Private efforts by commoners and
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The Transition
officials alike compromised, little by little, the integrity of the wards walls. Farther
from the capital, growing trade, an expanding economy, and the lack of official
intervention allowed even more radical urban changes to take place, laying the
foundation for a new kind o f urban form.
THE FIVE DYNASTIES PERIOD

The interregnum of half a century that separated the fall of the Tang dynasty and the
foundation of the Northern Song dynasty was a crucial transition period for the
development of the Chinese city. Although important urban changes were already
taking place during the later half of the Tang period and were eventually tolerated,
officially, qinjie — the occupation of and encroaching on government roadways —
was still illegal. The urban transformations during the Five Dynasties period,
especially in the cities in the north, must be seen against the historical backdrop o f
the Huang Chao rebellion and the resulting unrest which devastated the cities and
decimated much o f the gentry. Between the fall o f Tang in 907 and the subsequent
founding of the Song in 961, a series of five dynasties — Later Liang Js ^ , Later
Tang , Later Jin % , Later Han '<%, and Later Zhou JsM — came and went
in rapid succession in Northern China.75 During this period of continuous military
campaigns, these shortlived feuding kingdom s were more preoccupied with
maintaining power and with extending its area o f political and military influence than
with imposing strict urban controls. It was during this period of flux and weak central
government that some of the most important urban and judicial changes took place.
Two important series of documents show clearly the critical change in attitude vis-
a-vis urban planning that took place between the Later Tang (926-936) and Later
Zhou (951-960) periods.
Later Tang Luoyang

The first series are the memorial and imperial decrees issued between 924 and 931
during the Later Tang dynasty, the only one o f five northern dynasties that had chosen
Luoyang instead o f Kaifeng as its capital. War-ravaged Luoyang, however, had most
of its wards and houses destroyed and its population dispersed. In 924, in an attempt
to encourage the rebuilding o f the capital city, an imperial decree ordered that “vacant
land must be available within the capital on which the people can request to build.
Nobilities from afar, and local and foreign officials who have no houses within the
capital, can also request for land to build their house on. Owners o f vacant land are
required to build within half a year; if no house is built within the time limit, others
are permitted to request occupation o f the land .” 76 A separate district was also
allocated for the residences o f the various officials.
The extent o f destruction to the city was further hinted in the 926 edict that
allowed the people to fill in the moats and built on it .77 The Prefect o f Henan was
also assigned the task of laying out streets where they once were, within what used
to be the city walls.
83
What these two edicts show is that the Later Tang capital was no longer the
Luoyang that we described in the earlier chapter. Within the remnants of the city
walls, some wards were completely destroyed and even the streets had to be rebuilt.
Houses were destroyed and there was vacant land on which one could request
permission from the Henan prefectural office to build.
Five years later, in 931, in the midst of the rebuilding, the Left and Right Military
Inspectors reported to the emperor the problems that had arisen in the capital:
Within the bounds o f the various xiang M (military unit)n there are often
instances o f households illegally occupying government streets and building
houses on fields and land within the wards. However without official sanction,
[w e] dare not pu t a stop to it within the xiang. It is feared that in time folks
would move from illegal occupation o f streets and wards to misappropriation of
the same property. Narrowness o f public ways not being the only problem, we
also fea r that in time this would lead to quarrels between the households. In the
recent days, taxable fields and land belonging to households are often treated
as vacant and. free land by soldiers and common fo lk s who then set up
boundaries and built walls to appropriate it. Once again, without official
sanction, it is difficult fo r suburban authorities to settle disputes caused either
by the original owners having deeds and mortgages, or by [others] claiming
that they have appropriated [the land] fo r many years, or that taxes were
paid... ”79
In reply to the report, Emperor Mingzong % issued an imperial edict that laid
down planning guidelines and regulations:
The people are allowed to request permission to build. I f public and private
fields are available, and the original land owner has the means, he should be
ordered to build houses. I f he is without means, then others are allowed to
request the right to build [on it].... Henceforth the P refect o f Henan is
appointed to investigate disputes brought to his notice. I f it is indeed vacant
land and ddes not encroach on government roadways, he should then order its
apportionment.
For current cases where various people have misappropriated land in wards
and streets, and in cases where houses are built on taxable land with owners,
the necessary considerations are hindrance to the movement o f carts and cows,
and concern fo r disputes among the folks. Regulations must be established and
followed. Within the capital’s Yingtianjie , existing buildings excepted,
future construction is forbidden.
The sides o f streets and alleys within the various wards must always be open
to ox carts. If there are small alleys, these too must be open to the circulation
o f carts and horses. Furthermore, at no time must there be any illegal
occupation. Besides ensuring that the streets in various wards are open to
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The Transition
traffic, should anyone disobey the regulations to construct houses, sheds, or

sto ried p avilion s, a tim e lim it m ust be se t f o r the dem olition. B esides
conforming to regulations, provide to the streets a suitable width after careful
an alysis and report accordingly. In fu tu re should any person dare to
misappropriate land, regardless o f the amount, punishment should be meted out
accordingly by the local authorities.
Within the roadways, except fo r canals, it is forbidden to dig holes to take
earth. If holes have already been made, inhabitants at the various locations
must be ordered to quickly fill them up. ”80
The edict went on to specify the value o f land and to provide guidelines for the
founding o f new wards:
In the various wards within the capital — excepting gardens, ponds, and
pavilions — folks are allowed to purchase cultivated and vacant fields, on
which the origin al owners must build according to their ability. Within
inhabited wards, vacant fields and cultivated land on which street-front shops
can be built will be divided into bays; each bay with breadth o f seven rafters.
The Prefect o f Henan is appointed to evaluated the value of each bay and to
purchase the land. Apart from those on which shops can be built, if the rest are
land that adjoins shops, the price fo r every mu (0.0667 ha) o f land should be
fix ed at seven thousand cash; even inferior ones should be fix e d at fiv e
thousand cash.
For areas where no construction has yet taken place, order should be given
to... divide the land into wards following the practices o f former times, to lay the
main streets (avenue), determine the boundaries o f the wards, erect ward gates
and hang (above them) placards carrying the w ard’s name. Determine first the
dimensions o f the streets and alleys. Besides making the land owners build as
much as their means would allow on vacant land, seedling fields, and vegetable
gardens within the ward, others should be perm itted to purchase land to build
houses. I f it is land on which street-front shops can be built, every bay will have
a breadth o f seven rafters, the price o f which w ill also be evaluated by the
Prefect o f Henan and allow ed to be purchased. Apart from those on which
shops can be built, if the rest are land-adjoining shops, the price fo r every mu
(0.0667 ha) o f land should be fixed at seven thousand; then land closer to the
exterior at five thousand p e r mou, and even inferior ones at three thousand. The
order still holds fo r land without buyers... ”81
T h ese d o cu m en ts sh o w a lo t about th e p r o c e ss o f c ity b u ild in g

during th is c h a o tic p eriod . F irst o f a ll, th ey su g g e st a c ity w h ere
initially much was destroyed and unoccupied land, whether owned or free, was
ample. There w ere probably few houses left in good condition, hence the
encouragement to build new ones. However whilst building was being encouraged,
85
common folks and soldiers were also illegally occupying land, erecting walls to
protect their gains, and digging holes in roadways for the earth necessary for
construction.82 This kind o f land grabbing and vandalism led to disputes and urban
disorder thereby hindering the flow of traffic. The resulting landscape was probably
chaotic, at least until regulations were implemented. Makeshift walls were probably
common boundaries, demarcating one’s property while roadways and other public
domains were damaged and lay neglected. With each inhabitant staking a bigger
share o f public land, and houses and sheds being erected indiscriminately, the
avenues and streets became narrow and congested. Although to a lesser degree, this
had been a perpetual problem since the middle of the eighth century.
Second, land became a commodity which could be bought and sold. More
important, the value of land was now dependent on its location and use. These were
legally recognized and implemented as official policy. The resulting effect on the city
was probably the appearance o f smaller lots in the expensive, well-located areas
resulting in a denser fabric o f narrower street fronts or ward walls.
Third, the old system o f city wards with its walls and gates was still in use. The
process of its building was also stipulated. While the planning — that is the layout
of the main avenues, streets and alleys, boundaries of the ward, location and even
erection of ward walls and gates — was undertaken by the government, the building
of individual properties was the responsibility of the people.
Fourth, commercial activities, once confined to specific wards during the previous
periods, were now legally accepted in residential wards. Here they were arranged
along the street edges and prime locations within the wards commanded higher land
prices. Even land closer to the shops, probably usable as adjoining workshops,
storage, or other quasi-commercial purposes were more expensive than the rest.
Proximity to shops and hence adcjed convenience, was probably another reason.
However one must note that although shops were now fronting streets, they were still
confined to streets within wards. Effort was still made to maintain the thoroughfares
outside the wards free of all intrusions. Traffic worthiness was a major concern.
Finally, a new urban management unit known as the borough (xiang M ) emerged.
Until then, it was mainly a military management system. Henceforth, it would also
become an urban management unit, one level above the ward. The borough first
originated during the Tang period. Troops stationed at the capital were divided into
left and right borough for command and control.83 Initially, they took over the
responsibility of protecting the city from fires and, as we have seen, they eventually
assumed other duties seen in the reports made above.
Two major steps were taken here: first, the official acknowledgment that
commercial activities could no longer be strictly confined only to specific market
wards within the city; and second, the demand for higher premiums for well-sited
commercial property. These were the first steps taken in the direction of creating a
more open kind o f city. The main reason for this relaxation in urban control lay in
the general instability o f the regime. The Later Tang, after all, lasted only thirteen
years from 923 to 936. In the meantime, four emperors came and went with the
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The Transition
longest tenure being that o f Mingzong (926-933, i.e., seven years). It was under his
relatively stable rule that the guidelines for city building were established.
Unfortunately, after his death chaos reigned. His successor was killed the following
year by a contender to the throne, who in turn committed suicide in 936 after massive
rebellions and an invading army captured the capital.
It came as no surprise then that Later Tang Luoyang was disordered and that the
greatest efforts at urban control were conducted during the reign o f Mingzong. To
return the city to the strict urban order of the Tang period required a stable regime
which could muster and supervise the manpower to carry out intensive and extensive
construction projects and later maintain their integrity. These, the Later Tang could
not do.
Later Zhou Kaifeng

Unlike the Later Tang rulers, the Later Zhou emperor chose Kaifeng as his capital.
Kaifeng, which had also been the capital of the three other preceding dynasties, was
in a better, albeit more crowded, condition than Later Tang Luoyang. When Emperor
Zhou Taizu (Guo Wei Ip/H ) captured the crown in 951 he proceeded to repair
the city walls and conscripted 55,000 men for the task.84 When his adopted son Ghai
Rong ^ .3^ (later known as Emperor Shizong -fit 5^ ) succeeded him in 954, he set out
to improve the conditions of the capital further. A year later, he issued an imperial
edict calling for the expansion of the capital; more than a hundred thousand men
were ordered to build the new outer wall.
Chinese and foreigners converge on the Eastern Capital, well served by land
and water routes. Thanks to prolonged peace, the city’s prosperity increases
daily. However as the city is old and the system is still not large, all the guards’
barracks are m ostly narrow, and there is no site to locate the various
government bureaus. Furthermore, there are limited inns and shops within the
wards and markets, and an endless influx o f artisans and merchants. The
increase in rental property being unstable, it is extremely difficult to supply and
manage the p o o r households [ with housing]. Additionally, houses adjoin one
another; roads and streets are damp and narrow; and people suffer from the
heat and humidity in summer and worry about frequent fires.
For the convenience o f the State and the people, the city must be expanded.
The office [in charge o f the city w alls] should be ordered to build an outer wall
around the four sides o f the capital. Markers must first be erected; wait fo r the
end o f winter and the beginning o f spring when spared from agricultural chores
to order appropriate numbers o f men from the nearby suburbs to construct [the
walls]. Once spring chores begin, they should be dismissed. If the earth works
are still unfinished, construction will resume the following year.
Henceforth, cemeteries, furnaces, and caoshi (rural markets) must be
located seven li beyond the markers. Within the markers, aw ait planning
87
decisions from the court to determine the [locations of] army barracks, roads
and lanes, granaries, and various public offices and government bureaus. Once
this is done, order the common people to build them } 5
At the same time, in spite of protests, roadways encroached upon by add-on

structures and ill-suited for traffic were widened, some to as much as 30 paces
a cro ss.86 W hen Chai R ong inherited K aifeng, the city had two circuits
o f walls that dated back to the last major rebuilding in 781 when Li Mian , the
regional commander stationed here, erected them to protect the city from other
rebelling regional commanders.87 In the meantime, the city, as the capital for the three
previous dynasties, had grown. People moved and stayed outside the walls. The
emperor appointed the jiedushi (Regional Commander) of Zhangxin, Han Tong
to oversee the building of the wall, while Wang Po i # was in charge o f layout
and design.88 When the new outer walls were completed, the perimeter was 48 li
223 paces long. Military considerations were central to Chai Rong’s new circuit of
walls. According to a Song miscellany, he mounted the southern gate, Zhuquemen
11 , from which he made the Commander of the Imperial Army, Zhao Kuangyin
M. H J tl, gallop a horse. When the horse was too tired to run any further, the location
o f the new outer wall was set.89 As it was then popularly known as Woniucheng Eh
4 ^ or “crouching-cow city” after its shape, one could draw the conclusion that it
was not a regular rectangle.90 It was provided with a total o f 21 gates of which nine
were water gates. The extension had walled in the canals that were once outside the
confines o f the inner cities.
The following year, in 956, having seen the results of his previous efforts, he gave
further guidelines for the use of the street shoulders:
The capital city is big and prosperous. Horses from ten thousand countries
gallop here; great numbers from the four directions gather here.... The recently
built capital is congested with people and activities. Alleyways are narrow.
When it rains and snows, there is the problem o f mud. When it is windy and dry,
there is the worry o f fire. Whenever it is humid and sweltering hot, it is easy
to produce miasma.
R ecently the capital is expanded, and the streets and wards enlarged.
Although it is laborious f o r the moment, eventually we w ill secure the big
benefits.... O f the thousands and ten o f thousands o f households, all want an
easy and comfortable life, and to reduce the discomfort o f heat and chill during
the peak o f summer and winter.
Hence, within the capital, fo r street fifty paces wide, households on both
sides are permitted to use up to five paces fo r planting trees, digging wells, and
building sheds. For streets with widths between twenty five and thirty paces,
each may use up to three paces .91
These two edicts are extremely important in revealing Emperor Chai Rong’s
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The Transition
philosophy on urban system and control. They also showed a significant slackening
of central control over the process o f city making.
First of all, the expansion of the city was done out of necessity. Being the premier
seat of government during the three preceding dynasties, Kaifeng had prospered and
become crowded. Unlike the Sui effort where capital building was a political
statement, the Later Zhou expansion o f the capital was a pragmatic consideration.
Construction was scheduled to follow the rhythm o f the agricultural cycle and not to
interfere with primary production, even if this meant that a longer period was needed
to complete the task. Once again, this concern for people and production was not
present during the earlier period.
Second, where detailed planning o f the city was concerned, the central authorities
seemed content to be involved only in general zoning, in the transportation network,
and in the selection of sites for critical government functions. Installations that were
detrimental to health such as cemeteries and kilns were relegated to areas distant
from the city. Caoshi, the close presence o f which caused the growth of extramural
suburbs and administrative burden, were also forbidden within close proximity of the
city. The rest o f city building — residential, commercial activities, and non-
hazardous industries, and perhaps open spaces — seems to have been left to the
initiative of the common people.
Third, unlike the Later Tang example where very clear instructions were given to
the founding of wards, no mention of it was made here. Is this perhaps an indication
that the city ward was no longer a component of the new urban system? With these
edicts alone, it is not possible to determine for sure whether the city within the new
circuit of wall was divided into wards although they do suggest that ward walls were
no longer extant. However, the fact that there was no mention of wards in these
imperial orders is significant in itself. During the Tang period, the wards, their walls,
and the curfew drums were constantly in the consciousness of the inhabitants of the
capitals. Not only were they present in contemporary poems and writings, they were
also often mentioned in edicts concerned with the renovation or maintenance of the
city. Even during the Later Tang period they were still important as seen in the edicts
quoted above. The conspicuous absence of reference to wards in the two important
Later Zhou urban renovation decrees above could only mean their different and
greatly diminished roles if not their complete disappearance.
Fourth, the public was allowed to use the shoulders of major public avenues and
streets for personal purposes. Since the 50-pace wide avenues mentioned in the edict
c o u ld o n ly h a v e b e e n the m ajor th o r o u g h fa re s in the c a p ita l, th e
use o f th eir e d g e s p rob ab ly in d ic a te s s ig n ific a n t e r o sio n , or e v e n
the disappearance, o f ward walls. This also reinforced the speculation o f the
decreased significance, if not the disappearance o f wards. Most shops and houses
probably had, by now, entrances fronting the streets and avenues. The phenomenon
of qinjie, already prominent since the late Tang, must have been widespread. No
longer was it a battle to maintain the integrity o f the ward walls but a matter of
preventing the encroachment on roadways by ad hoc structures. And instead o f
89
simply clearing the streets o f encroaching structures, they were widened, when
necessary, to thirty paces across. Inhabitants were then permitted to use the edges for
their own purposes. The imperial sanction was probably issued to limit the extent of
street encroachment since eradicating it was not possible. All the same, the legal
consent accorded to the people to use up to twenty percent o f the street edge — an
activity that was officially proscribed until now — was another major step towards
a more open urban system.
Finally, the character of the main thoroughfares had also changed drastically from
that o f the early Tang dynasty. They were not only narrower, they were also less
ceremonial and less prohibiting.92 Instead of extremely wide policed processional
ways, they became multivalent arteries, the edges of which were used by common
folks for their own convenience and comfort. However, this does not mean that
processions were no longer conducted although the scale and pomp were certainly a
far cry from those of Sui and Tang eras.
The half-century-long interregnum of the Five Dynasties was an important turning
point in the development o f Chinese cities. The city structure, already loosened
during the second half of the Tang period, saw an even greater erosion during this
period o f political instability, incessant rebellions, and warfares. The great cities
destroyed at the end of the Tang period were rebuilt in haste and were only shadows
o f their former selves. The careful planning and forethought that preceded the
building o f Tang Chang’an and Luoyang were a distant memory. At Later Tang
Luoyang, the measures taken were mainly remedial in nature and the building of
ward w alls, gates, and streets were undertaken only after disputes and urban
problems had surfaced. Although the enclosed ward was still retained as the basic
component of the city, its contents now included commercial properties on expensive
plots o f land. By the end of the Five Dynasties, even the existence of the wards was
in question. The Later Zhou authorities were only involved in the planning of the
vital network and installations in Kaifeng, relegating the building o f large sections of
the capital to private initiatives. Even the use of the street edge for private purposes
by the city dwellers, prohibited during the Tang period, was now allowed. The
development of the Chinese city had embarked on a new path. Not all the succeeding
Song emperors were pleased.
NOTES
1 During the Song period, Kaifeng was known as Dongjing It- % or Eastern Capital. It was
also commonly known as Bianjing or Daliang . However, it also came to be known
as Bianliang >T , but only after the Yuan Period.
2 The date on the Western calendar was computed by James Hargett in “A Chronology of
the Reigns and Reign-Periods of the Song Dynasty (960-1279),” Bulletin ofSung-Yuan
Studies, no. 19 (1987): p. 26-34.
3 For information regarding Meng Yuanlao, see Stephen West, “The Interpretation of a
Dream,” T’oung Pao 71 (1985): p. 63-108; See also Kong Xianyi , “Meng
Yuanlao qi ren” [Regarding the Person of Meng Yuanlao], in Lishi yanjiu
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The Transition
, no. 4 (1980): p. 143-8.

4 The monetary unit was omitted in the text but is assumed to be the wen ( X .) or a copper
coin often translated as cash. The other monetary unit commonly used for large
transactions was the guan ( IT ) or a string of theoretically one thousand coins.
5 Meng Yuanlao, Dongjing menghua lu if.7^*4'^ r 7k [Record of a Dream of Splendor in
the Eastern Capital], preface dated 1147, p. 15. (Beijing: Commercial Press, 1982).
(Henceforth abbreviated as DJMHL). In this edition, DJMHL is bound with four other
works (Henceforth abbreviated as W4). This translation is based largely on that of the
passage found in Wilt Idema and Stephen West, Chinese Theater 1100-1450: A Source
Book (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH, 1982), p. 14-15. The Daoist temple-
Temple of Precious Scriptures-was built in 1115 by Emperor Huizong who was a devout
Daoist. Uncertain about the meaning of helou # .
6 Deng Zhicheng ^ iA , Dongjing menghualu zhu & ^ ^ ^ >£ [Record of a Dream
of Splendor in the Eastern Capital: Annotated] (Beijing: Commercial Press, 1959), p. 67.
(Henceforth abbreviated as MHLZ).
7 For the gradual erosion of the Tang ward system, see Kato Shigeshi, “Sodai ni okeru
toshi no hattatsu ni tsuite” [The Development of Cities during the Sung Period], in Shina
kei zaishi kosho [Studies in Chinese Economic History] (Tokyo, 1952-1953), p. 93-140;
Kita Tomou , “Sodai no toshi kenkyu o megura sho mondai” <D
[Several Questions Regarding the Research of Song Period Cities], Toyoshi
Kenkyu & [The Journal of Oriental Researches] 37 (September 1975): p. 117-
29; Umehara Kaoru -fiP, “Sodai no Kaifu to toshi seido” <0 tM-f <h ffr f'J)%_
[Song Period Kaifeng and its City Structure], Oryo Shigaku [Journal of
Historical Studies], no. 3 &4 (July 1977): p. 47-74; He Yeju IT , Zhongguo gudai
chengshi guihua shi luncong + IS !£&] [Discussion of the History of
Ancient Chinese City Planning] (Beijing: Zhongguo jianzhu gongye chubanshe, 1986).
8 Things artistic were promoted. Great painters and poets emerged; painters such as Wang
Wei i i f e (699-759), Zhang Xuan I? , Zhou Fang $ Etf, Han Gan # "P , and Wu
Daozi Jcill ; and poets such as Li Bai ^ & (701-762) and Du Fu if (712-70).
9 See Wang Gungwu, The Structure of Power in North China during the Five Dynasties,
p. 7 and footnote for more details about jiedu shi.
10 Edwin G. Pulleybank, The Background of the Rebellion of An Lu-shan (London: Oxford
University Press, 1955), c. 2; see also Charles A. Peterson, “Court and province in mid-
and late T’ang,” in Cambridge History of China, ed. Denis Twitchett, p. 472-84.
11 Ikeda On, “T’ang Household Registers,” in Perspective on the Tang, ed. Arthur Wright
and Denis Twitchett, p. 148.
12 See Denis Twitchett, Financial Administration under the T’ang Dynasty (Cambridge,
1970, 2nd edition), p. 39ff.
13 Michael T. Dalby, “Court Politics in Late T’ang Times,” in Cambridge History of China,
ed. Denis Twitchett, p. 561-681.
14 This rebellion was preceded by two other peasant uprisings in 860 and in 868-9.
The 874-885 uprising was first led by Wang Xianzhi until he was killed
in 878.
15 See THY, c. 86, p. 1867. Sanjue houses are houses located along the periphery of the
ward and that had all the other three sides of their compounds blocked by other
properties.
16 THY, c. 86, p. 1877.
91
17 THY, c. 86, p. 1867.

18 THY, c. 86, p. 1874.
19 Michael Dalby, “Court Politics,” p. 582ff.
20 THY, c. 86, p. 1867.
21 See THY, c. 86, p. 1867.
22 See CAZ, c. 8, p. 2b; see TUCFK, p. 53.
23 See TUCFK, p. 43; 53; 72; 77; 84; 86; and 126. Shi Nianhai, ed., Historical Atlas, p.
95 listed eleven commmercial concerns in nine wards.
24 Once again, according to TUCFK, there were at least 12 wards with facilities to
accommodate travellers, see p. 35; 40; 43; 47; 53; 62; 66; 79; 84; 105; 112; and 113.
25 See THY, c. 86, p. 1875.
26 Wang Dang, Tang Yulin, c. 2, p. 105.
27 See THY, c 86, p. 1868.
28 See Wang Gungwu, The Structure of Power in North China, p. 5.
29 “The Lament of the Lady of Ch’in” translated by Lionel Giles in T’oung pao 24 (1926):
p. 343-4. See also E. H. Schafer, “The Last Days of Ch’ang-an”, Oriens Extremus 10
(1963): p. 137-79.
30 See Heng Chye Kiang, “Kaifeng and Yangzhou: The Birth of the Commercial Street,”
in Streets: Critical Perspectives on Public Space, ed. £elik et al. (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1994), p. 45-56.
31 It began as a fortified city crouched atop a hillock in 495 BC. Built
by King Fucha of the Wu Kingdom it was then known as Hancheng and planned
as a bastion for his ill-fated attempt to capture the northern plains. The city was rebuilt
several times under the Han and, subsequently, the Eastern Jin periods and was known
as Guangling; see Wang Xucheng 2- F & and Wang Tinghuai , “Luelun
Yangzhou lishi dili” J£ [Brief Discussion of the Historical Geography
of Yangzhou], Nanjing Bowuyuan jikan rl] [Collected Papers of Nanjing
Museum] 3 (1981): p. 53-65. See also Li Tingxian , Tangdai Yangzhou shikao Jit
[History of Tang period Yangzhou] (Suzhou guji chubanshe, 1992).
32 See Quan Hansheng, Tangsong digou yu yunhe [The Tang and Song
Empires and the Grand Canal] (Shanghai: Commercial Book Press, 1936); Fu Chonglan
# a? ■=-, Zhongguo yunhe chengshi fazhan shi ^ II is A. [History of the
Development of the Grand Canal Cities in China] (Sichuan renmin chubanshe, 1985);
Lyman P. Van Slyke, Yangtze: Nature, History, and the River (Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company, Inc., 1988), p. 65-80.
33 Literary records show that after the Han period, the city walls were repaired twice during
the Eastern Jin period in 354 and 369, and later during the Liu Song period in 458. See
Ji Zhongqing fe'ff Jk , “Yangzhou guchengzhi bianqian chutan” H 'J it? # #
[Preliminary Investigation of the Changes in the Site of the Ancient City of Yangzhou],
Collected Papers of Nanjing Museum 3 (1981): p. 78-91.
34 See “Yangzhou cheng kaogu gongzuo jianbao” ib ^1 ft [Brief Report of
Archaeological Work at Yangzhou City], Kaogu, no. 1 (1990): p. 36-44.
35 I very much doubt that the streets were only 10 m wide during the Tang period as was
reported in archaeological findings because the total width of the three passages (the
middle one measuring 7 m and flanked by two others measuring 5 m each and separated
by 2.5 m thick walls) of the south gate was 22 m, which coincidentally corresponds to
the width of the junction.
92
The Transition
36 The site is now occupied by a temple but archaeological tests revealed a square tamped
earth terrace of about 100 m across. See “Brief Report of Archaeological Work at
Yangzhou City,” p. 39.
37 See Bian Xiaoxuan T # $ .“Tangdai Yangzhou shougongye yu chutu wenwu”
ih i t # [The Handicraft Industry in Yangzhou in Tang Dynasty and Its
Cultural Relics Unearthed], Collected Papers of Nanjing Museum, no. 3 (1981): p. 125-
38. First published in Wenwu, no. 9 (1977).
38 Even though Canton had become an important port and, indeed, most foreign traders,
especially those from the South, stopped there, goods from Canton to Chang’an had to
pass through Yangzhou.
39 During the unrest following the An Lushan rebellion, a large scale revolt led by Liu Zhan
*'] broke out in the Yangzi region in 760. Government forces were sent in to suppress
the rebellion but instead looted and killed indiscriminately in the city. “More than 2,000
Arab and Persian traders were killed”, see XTS, c.144, p. 4702. This goes to show the
sizable population of foreigners in the city. For the economy of Yangzhou during the
Tang period, see Quan Hansheng, “Tang-Song shidai Yangzhou jingji jingkuang de
fanrong yu shuailuo” Jit £ N""ft# ^1 £1 ^ ^ /X^ ^ SE & % [The Prosperity and
Decline of the Yangzhou’s Economy During the Tang and Song Periods], in Quan
Hansheng, Zhonggou jingjishi luncong + 11 & yfr [Collected Essays on Chinese
Economic History], vol. 1 (Hong Kong, 1972), p. 1-28. See also Bian Xiaoxuan “The
Handicraft Industry in Yangzhou,” p. 125-32; Li Tingxian, History of Tang period
Yangzhou, p. 373-85.
40 See XTS (Dilizhi [Geographical Record]), c. 41, p. la-b. Although the boundary
of the area of census might have changed, these population figures for the seven counties
under the jurisdiction of the prefecture of Yangzhou are still good indicators of
population growth.
41 See Quan Hansheng, The Tang and Song Empires and the Grand Canal, p. 47-53.
42 See THY, c. 87, p. 1887, in which a memorial in 811 mentioned that this was the usual
amount of rice shipped each year. At times, this could be as high as 1.1 million shi. One
shi is about 1.75 bushels. See also Li Tingxian, History of Tang period Yangzhou, p. 391.
43 However, the city of Yangzhou was destroyed in the ravages of war towards the third
quarter of the ninth century and again during the Later Zhou period. With the bank of
the Yangzi River retreating south, the city eventually lost its position as a major port to
its neighbor, Zhengzhou W , during the Song period.
44 See Sima Guang Jo (1019-1086), Zizhi tongjian iff /'&at [Comprehensive Mirror
for Aiding Government] (Taipei: Yuanda chuban gongsi, 1983), c 229; see also “Brief
Report of Archaeological Work at Yangzhou City,” p. 43. The city gates were later
provided with enceinte walls to further strengthen its defense. These were most likely
added around 879. See Li Tingxian, History of Tang period Yangzhou, p. 345.
45 According to Ennin, the city of Yangzhou in 838 is “eleven li from north to south, seven
li from east to west and forty li in circumference.” See Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p. 38.
Shen Kuo, writing in 1088, stated that the city measured 15 li 110 bu N-S and 7 li 13
bu E-W. The discrepancy between Shen’s N-S measurements of Yangzhou and those of
Ennin’s was probably due to the subsequent expansion of the city southwards. See Li
Tingxian, History of Tang period Yangzhou, p. 339-40.
46 Once again, I doubt that this avenue was only 10 m wide during the Tang period since
the gates at both end had three passages. The middle passage was 5 m wide and was
93
flanked by two 4 m wide ones separated by 4 m thick walls. Excluding the rest of the
gate, the total width of the three passages was 25 m. The rest of the avenues might have
been much narrower since they led to gates with only one passage, presumably 5 m
wide.
47 Archaeologists have detected 3 longitudinal avenues and are speculating
about the existence o f a fourth, just as they speculated about the
existence of four gates in the south wall when only three were actually found. The fourth
avenue and gate were supposed to be east of the rest, closest to the east wall. See “Brief
Report of Archaeological Work at Yangzhou City,” p. 40-41.
48 The prefecture of Yangzhou had 7 counties at that time. See Li Tingxian, History of Tang
period Yangzhou, p. 337.
49 See JTS (Duya zhuan ), c. 146, p. 3963.
50 This area was probably also well frequented as in a poem “Tong Letian deng Qiling sita"
Is) & [Ascending the Qiling Temple Pagoda with Le Tian (i.e., Bai Juyi
)], written by Liu Yuxi 31] $3% (772-842). He described suddenly hearing
laughter at the summit and saw countless people raising their eyes to look up. According
to Ennin, there were at least forty monasteries [temples] in the city of Yangzhou; see
Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p. 56.
51 In the vicinity is Wutaishan where several Tang tombs were found. See Ge
Zhigong % ia*)] and Zheng Jinxing f$'k!L , “Jiangsu Yangzhou Wutaishan Tang,
Wudai, Song mu fajue jianbao” 3L# ihj§-. JLj-’i . 5Rjt ^ fsf [Brief
Report on the Excavation of Tang, Five Dynasties, and Song Tombs at Wutaishan of
Yangzhou, Jiangsu], Collected Papers of Nanjing Museum, no. 3 (1981): p. 149-50. In
fact, the area might w ell have been a cemetery, located outside the
walled city. This shows a certain concern for the functional zoning
of the city, an idea that we w ill see clearly expressed in the planning
of Kaifeng during the Later Zhou period.
52 See Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p. 23 : “At 2 p.m. we stopped on the east side of the
Ch’an-chih Bridge. At the north of the bridge is the Ch’an-chih-ssu.
. . .The capital city of Yangzhou lies three li west of the bridge.” See also Zhu Jiang %-
, “Tang Yangzhou jiangyang xian kao” [Study of Tang Yangzhou’s
Jiangyang County] in Collected Papers of Nanjing Museum, no. 3 (1981): p. 29-32,
where he cites Gujin tushu jicheng S $ ^ , c. 756, for identification of Chanzhi
Bridge as Bright Moon Bridge, and for identification of several fang beyond the east
gate.
53 See Zhu Jiang ^ , “Dui Yangzhou tangcheng yizhi ji youguan wenti de guanjian” *t
I'^^S T? JSL[Regarding the Site of the Tang Yangzhou], Collected
Papers of Nanjing Museum, no. 3 (1981): p. 41-4.
55 Reischauer, Ennin's Diary, p. 16-8.
56 Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p. 19-20.
57 See Complete Tang Poems, vol. 511, p. 5846.1 must thank Stephen West for helping me
with the translation of this poem..
58 One could probably dismiss ten li as a round figure used by a poet to describe a long
street. However, the existence of at least one ten-// street in Yangzhou is undeniable if
we were to look at the number of times this was mentioned in poems and prose by other
writers. See Zhu Jiang, “Regarding the Site of the Tang Yangzhou,” p. 43.
94
The Transition
59 There are two kinds of measurements during the Tang period, the longer or the shorter
standard, the longer li measures about 531 m while the shorter one is about 442.5 m.
60 See Zhu Jiang, “Regarding the Site of the Tang Yangzhou,” p. 43.
61 A wooden bridge spannin'g the secondary canal was discovered in archaeological
excavations in 1978. The bridge is 7.2 m wide and has a total span of 30 m divided into
5 sections. See Li Boxian $L, “Tangdai Yangzhou de chengshi jianshe,” ft]
i 3" [ T h e Construction of Tang Period Yangzhou], first published in Nanjing
gongxueyuan xuebao TjCi , no. 3 (1979): p. 55-62. Collected in Collected
Papers of Nanjing Museum, p. 45-52.
62 See Zhu Jiang, “Regarding the Site of the Tang Yangzhou,” p. 41. Multiple
archaeological finds in this area between 1973 and 1978 support the view that along the
canals were active handicraft workshops and busy commercial areas. See Li Tingxian,
History of Tang period Yangzhou, p. 341-42.
63 The sale of salt was monopolized by the State. Yangzhou was also made a major center
of concentration and redistribution for the Huainan region. The Commissioner of Salt
and Iron was stationed in the city.
64 See THY, c. 87, p. 1895. The shallowness of Guanhe was a recurring problem. In 788,
the Regional Commander of Huainan, in the effort to solve the problem, dug a huge
reservoir 15 li west of the city which would supply the canal with water during dry
seasons. In 809, a sluice gate was also installed to maintain the water level of the canal.
65 See Manuscript of the Complete Tang Poems, c. 63, p. 79.
66 Reischauer, Ennin's Diary, p. 18-9.
67 See Taiping guangji, c. 273, p. 2151.
68 Here “pearls and jade” are metaphors for women. Nine-Zi and thirty paces is about 4.02
km or 4.83 km.
69 See also the poem “Jiangdu” by Luoyin ¥ Kl-, in which he laments the loss of
Yangzhou’s splendor after the ravages of wars in late Tang and mentions the scene of
prosperity in the nine-W long street lined with elegant storied buildings in Complete Tang
Poems, c. 663, p. 7599-600.
70 Two lines from the quatrain “Watching the Market of Yangzhou at Night” by Wang Jian
(ca. 768-830). See Complete Tang Poems, c. 301, p. 3430.
71 Complete Tang Poems, c. 300, p. 3406, see Wang Jian’s poem entitled “Sending Off
Bianzhou’s Master Linhu.”
72 Complete Tang Poems, c. 447, p. 5033-34; c. 691, p. 7925.
73 “Songyou you wuyue” [Sending Off Friends on A Tour of Wuyue], in
Complete Tang Poems, c. 691, p. 7926.
74 See Zhou Feng m^ Suitang mingjun Hangzhou f'n I [Sui-Tang Hangzhou]
(Hangzhou: Zhejiang Renmin chubanshe, 1990), p. 4. The 20 li was the distance
between two suburban markets located to the north and south of the city along the Grand
Canal. Thirty thousand might simply have been a convenient round figure but it does
show the the extent of commercial activities in the city.
75 In the south were 10 comparatively stable kingdoms occupying more or less independent
geographical regions.
76 See Wang P u i i f (922-982), ed., Wudai huiyao [Important Documents of the
Five Dynasties] (Henceforth abbreviated as WDHY). (Shanghai: Commercial Press,
1936), c. 26, p. 315.
77 WDHY, c. 26, p. 319.
95
78 Xiang, initially a military management unit but one whose function was extended to
include the management of urban sectors within its jurisdiction, later became the
equivalent of an arrondissement or borough.
79 WDHY, c. 26, p. 315.
80 WDHY, c. 26, p. 315-16.
81 WDHY, c. 26, p. 316.
82 The problem of digging holes in roadways for earth was also noted during the Tang
period as early as 731. See THY, c. 86, p. 1867.
83 THY, c. 72, p. 1531. In 723, an order directed that when the emperor was at the capitals,
troops, divided into left and right xiang, should be stationed at different specific
locations accordingly. See also Zhou Baozhu, “Songdai chengshi xingzheng guanli zhidu
chutan” [Preliminary Study of the Management System of
Song Cities], in vol. 1 of Song Liao Jin shi luncong [Collected Essays
on Song, Liao, and Jin History] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985), p. 152-67.
84 WDHY, c. 26, p. 319.
85 WDHY, c. 26, p. 320.
86 See Comprehensive Mirror for Aiding Government, c. 292, p. 2030.
87 The wall that Li Mian built measured 21 li 155 paces and was one of the bigger circuit
walls after Chang’an and Luoyang. It was provided with seven gates, one in the south
and two each in the other three cardinal directions. These were increased to ten by the
Song period, excluding two water gates.
88 See Zhou Cheng (- ca. 1765), Song Dongjing kao %.%%% [A Study of the Eastern
Capital of the Song Dynasty] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju edition after the 1762 edition,
1988), p. 3 (Henceforth abbreviated as SDJK), where the author quotes from Dongjingji
& -5^icL [Record of the Eastern Capital].
89 See SDJK, p. 2, where the author quotes from the miscellany Huamanlu a H ft by
(Song) Zhang Shunmin R (ca. 1034-ca. 1110).
90 Li Lian (1488-1569), Bianjing yiji zhi >t ^ [ R e c o r d of the Historical
Remains of Bianjing], c. 1, p. la. Later, when the Song founding emperor ordered the
extension of the wall in 968, he insisted, for military reasons, that the outer wall remain
irregular as it was more sturdy. Even the internal layout of streets and activities were
irregular. His advisor had initially advised, to the emperor’s displeasure, a regular
orthogonal plan with a symmetrical disposition for aesthetic reasons. See MHLZ,
p. 23-4.
91 WDHY, c. 26, p. 317.
92 However, even at 40 paces (60 m) across, Kaifeng’s main avenues were still wide by
modem standards.
96
3
Attempted Return To Urban Control
(/The Later Zhou was a short but fruitful period. Political and economic reforms
were introduced; taxes and rent reduced. Its territory, after three successful
campaigns against Southern Tang between 955 and 958, stretched as far south as the
northern bank of the Yangzi River. The provinces of Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu
became part o f the empire. The canal that brought grain from the Yangzi and Huai
region to the capital, Kaifeng, was revived. All these laid a strong foundation for the
succeeding Song emperors. Upon the premature death of Chai Rong in the sixth
month of 959, the imperial army commander, Zhao Kuangyin (later known as
Emperor Taizu), usurped the throne that then belonged to a seven-year-old boy and
founded the Song dynasty. A semblance o f national unity was achieved after the
conquest of the Northern Han in 979. The Song territory was extended but much of
northern China was still in the hands of the Liao Khitans. Kaifeng was retained as
the capital, although the founding emperor, Zhao Kuangyin, did entertain the thought
of moving the capital to the more easily defensible Luoyang.1
On another front, however, the battle by the people to abandon the rigid system
of walled wards was not won easily. During the Northern Song dynasty, there was
a period when the central authority tried hard to revive the system of walled wards \j
in the bustling city o f Kaifeng. After the founding emperors had consolidated the
empire, the Song rulers, especially Zhenzong % % (998-1022) and Renzong £
(1023-1063), turned their attention to the increasingly cluttered capital. In 980, for
example, encroachment on the street leading to Jingyang Gate Pa H , situated at
the northeastern corner o f the outer wall, by other government buildings was
reported. The emperor was furious and ordered the demolition of the intrusive
structures and the bureaucrat in charge was demoted.2 However, this was not the first
time that encroaching structures were demolished. In fact as early as 976, when
Emperor Taizu held a feast at Huijie Garden & 'f B to entertain his retinue, he had
the houses o f commoners demolished along a narrow street to ease his departure
from the garden.3
In 995, the effort to reinstate the old urban order o f the Tang city was carried a
step further. An imperial order instructed Zhangji :M to reinstate ward names,
repair ward walls and erect drum towers and to establish a system of street patrols.4
Writing around 1046-50, Song Minqiu confirmed this and said:
97
Within the thoroughfares in the capital, drums were mounted in small towers to
announce the coming o f dawn. During the reign ofTaizong (976-997), Zhang
Ji was ordered to establish ward names, and to display them above [ward gate]
towers. Following the practice o f Tang and Zhou, “dongdong ” drums were
installed; only the two capitals had them. Later, the northern capital also had
these “dongdong" drums. It was the system fo r the capitals. Since twenty-four
years ago (i.e., around 1022-26), we have not heard the sound o f street drums,
and the duty ofJinwu Guards have been discontinued .”5
All these sound very familiar. Kaifeng seemed to have returned to the ward system
of Tang Chang’an. However we do not have enough evidence to determine if the
system that was implemented was in fact followed. Just thirty years earlier, in 965,
'J the founding emperor had abolished the curfew system.6 This meant that city dwellers
were allowed to stroll the street o f Kaifeng till the third watch (11 p.m. to 1 a.m.).
The citizenry of Kaifeng must have gotten used to the freedom and would only very
reluctantly, if at all, abide by the new rules. If the drum towers and the street patrol
were indeed used once more to enforce the temporal constraints and the ward walls
used to keep structures from encroaching the streets, their success was at best
moderate in the beginning. For in 1002, when the senior palace intendant Xie Dequan
heeded Zhenzong’s order to widen the narrow street and alleys in the capital,
he was met with strong protest from the rich and powerful. Many o f the shops and
houses that he had to demolish belonged to persons of power who had built these
rental properties for their personal profit. The emperor was ready to rescind his order
but for the insistence o f X ie Dequan. Finally, the streets were widened and
lengthened, and the dawn and dusk curfews re-imposed. The old system of urban
control was once again in place. The Bureau of Streets belonging to the Prefecture
of Kaifeng was further ordered to carry out a survey and erect markers along the
roadways to prevent future street encroachment by the public.7
SOCIAL ORDER
As the above episode shows, Song imperial efforts at urban control were met with
increasing resistance from the official-gentry class. Some o f those assigned to carry
out the orders saw their own interests directly threatened. Tang officialdom, as we
have seen earlier, was monopolized by members o f prominent great clans through
their rights to hereditary employment and the emperor was merely primus inter
p a re s} Although imperial examinations were instituted to draw talent from other
sources, thus providing social mobility to educated persons from relatively modest
backgrounds, the influence o f this practice was not strong enough to affect the
composition o f the ruling aristocracy. Such efforts were especially vigorous under the
reign of Empress Wu (660-705) when she tried to weaken her detractors by boosting
the civil service through enlarged recruitment on the basis of education and ability
through civil examinations. The Tang period, in general, saw efforts made by the
98
ruling house to weaken the strength o f the great clans. Official revisions to the
national genealogy were carried out several times during the Tang dynasty. More
families were added to increase the numbers o f prominent clans in an effort to
weaken the pre-existing ones. After the An Lushan rebellion, the strength o f the
aristocratic class gradually waned. The Huang Chao rebellion decimated much of the
gentry and the turbulence of the Five Dynasties further hastened the disappearance
of the great families.
While the mid-Tang government recruited 15 percent of its officials through v
examinations, 30 percent of the Song government were degree holders. A new social
order was slowly emerging, headed by a new elite o f the scholar-gentry class who
owed their allegiance to the state. The Northern Song became what James Liu called
“an apogee o f the bureaucratic state not only because of the civil service system it
developed but also because o f its policy o f treating bureaucrats w ell.”9 The new
endogamous social group of professional bureaucrats, like the aristocrats o f the
preceding dynasties, dominated the Chinese fiscal and political bureaucracy during
most of the Northern Song. Robert Hartwell saw this group maintaining its hegemony
through marriage alliances and controlling the civil service procedures for
recruitment and promotion.10 The later period o f the Northern Song, however,
witnessed the decline o f the professional bureaucratic elite as a result o f the
factionalism that plagued the Song court. “The growing harshness of purges
conducted by victorious partisans in the political power struggles during the late
eleventh and twelfth centuries” he said, contributed to the rise of the local gentry
between 1102 and 1165.11 Since the privileges o f the Song officials, unlike the
aristocrats of the previous eras, were not hereditary and could not be bequeathed to
their children, a new strategy of diversification was developed. Elite families
diversified their activities, depending “less on office holding by a family member and
more on the family’s wealth, power and prestige in the local scene” to maintain their
elite status.12At the same time, the limited number o f government posts restricted the
growing number o f candidates and degree holders from becoming officials and
helped raised the importance of the local community elite and local networks of
family connections.
OFFICIAL ATTITUDES TOWARD TRADE AND URBAN REAL

ESTATE
Trade
The emergence o f the new social order — the replacement of the old ru ling
aristocracy by a professional bureaucracy recruited through open civil examinations
— had significant impact on the official attitude toward commercial activities.
Although the scholar elite of China traditionally disdained commerce and m erchants,^
the official attitude towards trade and the merchant class improved during the Song
dynasty. Many officials even ventured into business directly or indirectly in
association with merchants.13 To circumvent regulations that forbade officials from
99
engaging in commercial activities, covert investments o f funds were made and

businesses were operated under the names of close kin. The long waiting period for
official appointments and the high cost o f urban living also drove some indebted
candidates to engage “shamelessly in trade and competed with the people for profit”
once they were appointed.14
Indebted candidates were not the only ones engaged in trade; the pursuit of profit
also lured many officials into commercial ventures throughout the empire. When Shi
Yannian’s (994-1041) term as the prefect o f Haizhou /§■^1 expired, he
dispatched boats of contraband salt to Shouchun % where it was sold publicly on
the market with the aid of the local prefect.15 Xiao Gu ^ @1 (1002-1066) while in
office as the prefect of Guizhou dispatched his subordinates to the Lower
Yangzi region to sell his personal property.16 At the capital, the situation was equally
blatant. A hundred years later, the prefect of Taizhou o Tang Zhongyou
(113 l-c.1183), opened a colored-silk shop, a fishery, as well as a book shop in his
hometown o f Wuzhou $ ;H'I . He even employed artisas in his bureau to carve
blocks and print books for sale.17 Names and titles of officials such as Imperial
Defense Commissioner Chou and Imperial Defense Commissioner Gai were openly
displayed above shops of respectable trades such as drugstores (Fig. 27).18
Fig. 27. A drugstore owned by a minor functionary (detail of Qingming shanghe tu)
100
Senior officials and imperial relatives were also commonly involved in trade. In
980, for instance, the emperor was furious when reports reached him that logs and
bamboos were imported by senior officials and imperial relatives to the capital,
without paying taxes along the way. When the building materials reached the capital,
bureau officials were bribed, and the goods sold to the state at a huge profit.19 Less
openly, others were involved in m oneylending, pawnbroking, and industrial
activities.20
Urban Real Estate

One of the profitable investments that officials put their money into was urban real
estate. As we have seen in LaterTang Luoyang, well located commercial property
was priced higher than residential property. Good location within the city, especially
with the collapse o f the controlled market system, carried a premium. Depending on
its location, vacant state land in the city was classified either as fast land (jindi f-
) or slow land (mandi i f Ak>); the former being well located and easily accessible.
Houses and shops built on these lands were similarly classified and their rent differed
accordingly. In Kaifeng, “within the inner city, below the twin gate-towers,” wrote
a contemporary, “every inch of land is equal in value to gold.”21 In certain cities, even
greater distinctions were made. Land in Mingzhou , for instance, was divided
into three classes with subdivisions, making a total of ten categories.22 And so was
urban land in Linhai county capital. However, even though urban land and
property were categorized, fraud and abuse still took place as there was much profit
to be made. During the Song period ownership of urban land and houses became an
important source of income. Once the merchants could locate their shops freely,
“renting out premises for the purpose of trade and industry became a distinctive
urban source of income, different from renting out land in the countryside”.23 Urban
residents who owned farmland on the peripheries held on to them in the hope o f
getting high returns. Besides private land, well located state land often also ended up
in the hands of the rich and powerful who sublet them at a profit and at the same time
defaulted on the payments due to the government. Urban land was, as Shiba noted
“a more secure investment than commerce, and thus the well-to-do steadily displaced
the poorer classes as the owners of urban real estate.”24 In general the Song period
witnessed the replacement of the hereditary ruling class of aristocrats by a class o f
scholar official who gradually became “large-scale landlords and formed the upper
section of the land owning class.”25
Even residential properties were profitable investments. A large proportion o f the
population of Kaifeng, including officials, rented their apartments and houses. Zhu Xi
fcS: (1130-1200) wrote that during the Northern Song, like most officials, even the
prime ministers lived in rented houses.26 For residential properties, locality carried a
premium as well. A record recounting the higher rents that scholars were willing to
pay for lodgings close to the residence of a famous scholar with an extensive library
suggest the pervasiveness of rental differentials. However, the problem o f rent abuse
101
once again surfaced, causing the government to intervene. A decree from 1107 tried
to remedy the situation:
There are families in the capital whose business consists o f renting out houses.
Recently many o f them, on the pretext o f having done repairs, have raised rents
— frequently to more than twice their form er level. The situation is becoming
steadily worse and making it difficult fo r registered commoners and people o f
semi-dependent status fximin & ) to manage. The long-term consequences
will be harmful if these practices are not prohibited. Henceforth, landlords at
the capital, whether within or without the city walls, may not suddenly increase
rents unless they have increased the area o f the property concerned .21
The public outcry that followed X ie Dequan’s effort to widen the street almost
causing Zhenzong to rescind his edict in 1002 was not unique. The practice of
officials’ owning commercial rental properties was so rampant that ten years later, in
1012, an imperial edict was promulgated that forbade officials close to the court from
owning “extensive property other than their dwellings in the capital.”28 The imperial
order probably had little effect as a high-ranking official and noted scholar — Zhang
Fangping (1007-1091) — for example, was impeached much later in Kaifeng
“for the purchase of a didian , a sort o f hotel with storage facilities for the
merchant where business transactions often took place.”29 Another official He
Zhizhong 1’5T#I + (-1116) was said to have owned more shops and warehouses than
anyone else in the capital, collecting a rental income to the tune of 120 strings o f cash
a day.30
The return to the old urban management system was easier said than done.
Measures o f urban control met not only resistance from the rich and powerful but
were also hampered by the common people. Another decree in 1012. showed that
even though earlier orders had been given for their demolition, houses of common
folks still obstructed roadways. Issued on the twelfth month o f 1012, this decree
advised that in view o f the harsh winter the demolition should be delayed till the
spring months.31
Hence, besides shops and rental properties built by local magnates and gentry,
houses erected by urban dwellers wtere also encroaching on roadways. The Song
cities were becoming increasingly crowded owing to a rapid increase in urban
population, as the country’s population escalated. In the ensuing years, many more
decrees were issued for the demolition o f structures that obstructed the streets.
However, instead o f ward walls, street markers (already referred to in the 1002
decree) were mentioned. These street markers were mostly made o f wood although
at times trees planted along the street served as markers of the original limits of the
road. In 1024, for instance, the Prefecture o f Kaifeng notified the public to use the
original markers as reference and to clear the streets and thoroughfares of
encroaching houses within a year.32 Again in the sixth month o f 1034, an order was
given in Kaifeng to demolish shops and houses that encroached beyond the original
102
Attem pted Return To Urban Control
markers.33 The assistants to the Prefect completed the work in less than two months.34
Four months later, the Prefect of Kaifeng ordered the Bureau of Streets of the Left
and Right Military Inspectors to investigate future encroachment of roadways, and
allowed the public to complain of such infringements to the authorities.35 This was
the case in Xiangzhou Jl^'l (i.e., Xiangyang) when instances of qingjie were reported
in 1059. Here, qingjie had led to bamboo houses being built one adjoining another
causing devastating damage in the event of fires. These infringements were probably
not sporadic incidents but were carried out on an extensive scale city-wide. It was
probably inevitable as urban population grew rapidly and cities became increasingly
cluttered. When the prefectural capital, Xiangzhou, was cleared o f its qingjie
structures in 1059, more than 1500 houses were taken down.36
INCREASE IN POPULATION
The problem o f qinjie, as we have seen, was compounded by the rapidly increasing
population. In 742, mid:Tang China had a population o f about 43.7 million. By 1080
the population had almost doubled to about 85 million. Hartwell has shown that the
growth was especially phenomenal in the Middle Yangzi region and in southeast
China, where a four to five-fold increase was not uncommon for the same period.37
This dramatic population growth was due in large part to two main factors — the
“agricultural revolution” that took place during the eleventh century and the
prolonged peace of the Song period.
With the breakdown o f the juntian © system after 756, great landed estates or
zhuangyuan /3L H appeared. These were managed by bailiffs who controlled tenant
farmers (dianhu 'fwf ) for absentee landlords. The financial strength and manpower
available to these great estates allowed large-scale land reclamation and irrigation
that vastly increased the acreage o f cultivated land during the early Song dynasty.38
The adoption o f early-ripening and drought-resistant rice from Champa during the
Five Dynasties and early Song also helped in increasing the output of grains.39 These
new strains made possible cultivation in areas previously too dry for agriculture and
allowed for two or even three harvests a year. This helped to free surplus land for
cultivating commercial crops.40 Advancement in agriculture technology and irrigation
systems and their dissemination during this period through printed treatises were also
critical in boosting productivity. All these were accompanied by a large-scale shift of
population to the more fertile southern regions of China.
The long period o f peace after the consolidation o f the empire was central to
population growth. However, this peace had to be bought annually at a high price
through treaties concluded in 1005 and 1042 with the Liao Khitans. The Song rulers
and officials realized that it was more econom ical to compensate the Khitans
financially than to wage war. Although annual tribute to the Khitans alone constituted
100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk (these were later raised to 200,000
and 300,000 respectively), it was less than one or two percent o f the cost to wage
war, not counting the loss o f lives and the disruption o f production.41 This
103
appeasement policy practiced by Wang Dan I S . (957-1017) who became chief

councilor in 1006 was so successful in maintaining peace that he was popularly
known as Taiping zaixiang or “the prime minister o f great peace”.42
Furthermore, through foreign trade surplus with the neighboring states, Song China
was able to recuperate all the silver paid as tribute.43
In return for the humiliation, Northern Song enjoyed one and a half centuries of
peace, during which time the population grew and cultural and material wealth
accumulated. Shortly before his death, the philosopher Shao Yong (1011-1077)
wrote his “Song of Severe Illness” lauding the long period of uninterrupted peace in
the realm:
Born into a world o f peace,

Brought up in a world o f peace,
Grew old in a world o f peace,
Going to die in a world o f peace:
You ask how old I am?
Sixty-seven, that’s my age.
I look up, I look down, between heaven and earth,
Exultant and free from all shame .44
Under these conditions, the population of Song China grew at an unprecedented

rate. Cities and towns also became crowded. Kaifeng which had 178,631 households
during the years 976-984 had to shelter 235,599 households between 1078 and
1085.45 Besides Kaifeng’s residents, there was also the problem of housing significant
numbers of transients and homeless. Being the capital and the most important
administrative center of the empire was the major factor in Kaifeng’s dramatic
population growth. The actual population of the metropolis is unclear. Scholars have
fielded widely differing estimates ranging from 800,000 to 5 million although most
agree that it was probably around 1.5 million toward the end o f the Northern Song.46
Of these, troops stationed in and around the capital formed an important proportion.
According to Hartwell, there were at least 300,000 soldiers stationed around Kaifeng
in 1048. Thirty years later, a more modest 150,000 were encamped there.47 Most of
the time, the army was probably closer to 100,000. Another significant group was the
civil service personnel and their families. The administrative class probably consisted
of as many as 250,000 people. Artisans also constituted an important component. The
government alone had hundreds of ateliers under the charge of departments such as
the Department of Imperial Ateliers '}'& , the Department of Public Works
-ife , and the Department of Arms % H .S&.. The Department of Arms by itself had
more than 51 ateliers with almost 8000 artisans. Although less important, there were
also many privately owned industries.
In terms o f physical size, the intramural city was not much bigger than it was
during the Later Zhou dynasty. Kaifeng’s density was increasing by the day. Houses
not only mushroomed within the city walls, they were also built outside the walls and
104
formed sprawling suburbs. The situation that we saw developing outside mid-Tang
Yangzhou and Later Zhou Kaifeng was now taking place on a very large scale,
especially in southern China. While numerous rural transportation nodes grew into
towns, many prefectural and county seats had extensive suburbs outside the walls.48
Some of these developed into flourishing faubourgs. At times a new wall was built
to enclose the new conurbation. In fact, two important edicts were issued in 1077 and
1082 which ordered the building of new walls around all suburbs and the re
allocation o f security responsibilities to the county authorities respectively.49
However, Su Shi (1036-1101), a w ell known scholar and governor o f
Hangzhou, did not consider this always possible or desirable. In 1092 he wrote:
“the outer wall o f Suzhou had been narrow and small since the Tang dynasty
and people live mostly outside the city walls. The present dynasty had existed
in peace fo r more than a hundred years and people [here] are contented and
do not mind the small wall. In addition, there are many caoshi (rural
markets) scattered outside o f the walls [near] the cities, which, like this city,
have small walls and many people. How can each [o f the cities] be extended
with an outer w all ?50
TERRITORIAL ADMINISTRATION
Kaifeng, for instance, did not add a new circuit wall even though the city further
expanded. Around 975, the capital itself was under the jurisdiction o f two
metropolitan counties (xian J r ) — Kaifeng and Xiangfu # - f t — with eight
fangs each.51 As we have seen in the earlier chapter, as the population increased and
m anagem ent b ecam e m ore com p lex, the x ia n g M (urban boroughs or
arrondissement), originally a military management unit, was extended to serve as an
intermediate urban management unit between the fang and the higher county
administration. Although, the term fang was still being used, its meaning had
changed. Rather than the physical residential block or ward that we associate with
Tang Chang’an or Luoyang, the term had com e to signify a neighborhood
administrative unit. Popularly, it was sometimes used interchangeably with street
names, and at other times, it designated a certain “street-centered neighborhood.”52
Western Market fang (Xishifang © ) in Suzhou, for instance, was also known as
Iron Vase A lley (Tiepingxiang ). The number of urban boroughs and
neighborhoods varied during Kaifeng’s career as the capital. Under Zhenzong, it had
130 fang under the charge of 19 xiang. The more populous boroughs had up to 26
neighborhoods while the suburban ones had only one or two. The number o f
government functionaries allocated to each borough depended on the number of
families. Typically for 500 or less families, ten functionaries of different rank and
responsibilities were assigned. In 1008, the Song capital had an extensive suburb
managed by nine xiang with a total o f 14 wards beyond its outer walls.53 This
probably constituted around five to ten percent of the intramural population.54 This
105
system of extramural xiang was quite common after late Northern Song. Wp.n7.hnn m.
#1 had four while Chuzhou ft# ] had two. Raozhou fit #1 , Fuzhou #1 , and
Jiankang had suburban boroughs as well.55 A distilled view of a section of
Kaifeng’s suburb, active with numerous shops and taverns, is depicted outside an east
gate in the first two-thirds of the contemporary painting Going up the River during
Qingming Festival (See Fig. 26). The development of suburbs outside the walls of
towns and cities, according to Shiba, made commercial activities even more difficult
to control. This subsequently led to the erosion of the controlled market system and
to the development o f rental properties as a profitable investment.
The proliferation o f suburbs also led to speculation of land in the outskirts. Shiba
noted that urban residents sometimes owned agricultural land close to their cities and
administered it in the expectation o f a rise in the value o f real estate. Evidence is
provided by an entry in the Draft Song Digest which says that “People are greedily
attached to fields in the vicinity of cities.”56
Furthermore, the territorial administrative structure remained almost unchanged
throughout imperial Chinese history.57 There were about 1,255 basic county-level
administrative seats in the Sui dynasty, 1,235 in the Tang, and 1,230 in Song. During
the same period the Chinese population had more than doubled. Meanwhile, the size
o f the government remained almost constant. There was only a slight increase in the
number of official posts listed from around 18,000 in the Tang to about 20,000 in the
Song. Song magistrates in crowded core areas were hence responsible for a much
larger population than their Tang counterparts. As Skinner suggests, instead of
creating more counties to an unmanageable level as the population and the territory
expanded, the administration consolidated the counties in populous regional cores
w hile new counties were created on the peripheries. As a result, government
effectiveness declined. Local administrative functions were reduced. The strict
control o f the market system and commercial affairs was loosened.58 The borough
(xiang), originally a military organizational unit, was probably allowed to become an
urban management unit because of the increasing burden that the county-level
administration had to shoulder. It helped to relieve part o f the responsibilities o f the
county or even of higher-level administration vis-a-vis the city in which it had its seat
as well as the surrounding suburbs.
Within the city, reduced control led to the flourishing o f market activities
everywhere. When the Japanese monk Jojin arrived in Hangzhou shortly after
landing in China in 1072 he was fascinated with the intense commercial activities
that went on within the city. In his diary, he provided us with a vivid description of
the night market in the provincial capital:
A t 8:00 p.m. Ship Master Wu, along with Lin Nien-lang ^ and Li Erh-lang
, join ed us, and we a ll went to see the marketplace. It was decorated
with hundreds — thousands — o f rare treasures. At one spot suspended in a row
were two or three hundred glass lanterns, each one lit. The large ones were five
or six inches in diameter; the small ones, three or four inches. They were hung
106
in front o f every shop and were colored green, red, or white. Some buildings
were decorated with jew eled curtains.
Women strummed zithem s or played flutes, and numerous masked performers
were wonderfully skilled. Also, water was used to make various dolls dance,
beat drums, or spout water. Two o f them spun around like dancing sorcerers,
two spouted w ater from their mouths to the height o f fou r to five feet, two
sprayed w ater fiv e fe e t from their elbows [ to make them turn ?], and two
galloped on horsebacks. All together, there were more than 100 dolls — each
about five inches tall — on a high platform. I cannot possibly describe all their
clever tricks. Everyone who watched was given a cup o f tea and had to pay one
cash.
The marketplace was more than 30 blocks from east to west and more than
30 blocks from north to south. The great avenues were one block apart, but the
alleys numbered in the hundreds or thousands. I cannot describe all the
commercial activity. The streets and stores thronged with sightseers. A drink of
tea from a silver cup cost each o f us one cash .59
If Jojin’s description was indeed accurate, the marketplace he saw stretched over
an extremely large area o f more than three and a half kilometers on each side.
Compared to the East and West Markets o f Tang Chang’an which were one-
kilometers square, Hangzhou’s marketplace was more than 13 times the size o f the
East or West Markets. This could only imply that Hangzhou’s businesses had
expanded beyond any previously designated market wards and that the so-called
marketplace was actually a large section o f the city where commercial activities
flourished alongside other activities in the streets and alleys. The vitality of urban
activities, already this considerable in a prosperous provincial capital, could only be
more intense in the capital, Kaifeng.
Exactly when the government began to accept the practice of qinjie is unclear.
However by the late eleventh century there was a shift in the administration’s attitude
toward the urban problem. In 1079, Li Ji , the Salt and Iron Exploitation
Assistant, found another way to deal with the problem. He implemented a qinjie rent
in all cities and towns within the prefecture of Chang’an.60 In Kaifeng, the change in
attitude was also evident. An imperial order, issued in 1084 to demolish illegal
constructions lining the streets of the capital, was withdrawn because of opposition.
Wang Cun , the prefect of Kaifeng, claimed jurisdiction over the capital and
protested against the said decree.61 More significant, however, was the 1086 edict that
instructed all prefectural and county administrations in the country to inspect streets
and canals and to collect additional rent for any encroachment of public land. Denial
on the part o f the offender would be met with the demolition of his property or the
clipping of its roof.62 Later, during the reign of Huizong (1101-1125), another similar
rent known as “street-encroaching houses and galleries rent” qinjie
fanglang qian) was introduced.63
107
SOCIAL CLASSES
Instrumental in the shift of attitude toward the urban problem was the emergence of
a more pluralistic society accompanied by a change of attitude toward trade and
commercial activities. While we have seen in the previous chapter the pre-Qin
Legalist division of the society into four social classes of scholars, farmers, artisans,
and merchants, Han Yu # 1 ? (768-824) thought that the Tang society had two new
categories, Buddhists and Taoists. By the eleventh century, Chen Shunyu (?-
1074) further extended the classification to eight classes by including soldiers and
vagrants. He also lamented that:
Scholars in the past did not practice farming nor did the great officers o f the
state pursue the kind o f profits suitable fo r gardeners or workmaids. Our
present-day nobles and high officials build up vast landed estates. Once the
artisans and the merchants on the one hand and the peasants on the other
supported each other in interdependent fashion and acted with moderation; but
now artisans and merchants practice extortion upon the peasants and never
grow tired o f cheating them .64
Shen Kuo (1031-95) also recognized the change in social structure during the
Song and that of the preceding dynasties. He noted that the preceding eras had rigid
and precise hierarchical distinctions between the various social groups which he
compared with the Indian caste system.65
With the emergence of a more pluralistic society and the weakening of government
control over trade and the market system since the mid eighth-century, the social
status of merchants improved. In Twitchett’s words “many o f the laws and policies
designed to underline the inferior status o f the merchant in society — the strict
sumptuary laws regarding dress, ceremonial, houses, carriages, and sorts of animal
upon which the merchant might ride, the denial o f participation in the official
examinations for sons o f merchants — were gradually relaxed and abandoned”
during the late Tang and early Song periods.66 While the theory o f “Four Social
Classes” adopted by the Tang Statute Law considered farmers as “fundamental” (ben
) and more important than the artisans and merchants who were considered as
“secondary”, the Song period saw all three as “fundamental.” Children o f merchants
were allowed to attend prefectural and county schools as well as to sit for civil
service examinations. Successful candidates could also gain official positions. There
were even examples of unsuccessful examinees who turned to trade temporarily and
eventually passed the examinations.67 In times o f war or disasters the court also
allowed “households of means” to provide the government with needed supplies in
return for official titles. This practice subsequently led to abuse and there were
outright purchase of official positions at the end of the Northern Song and especially
during the Southern Song. The wealthier merchants were also climbing the social
ladder by associating themselves with members of the imperial family and officials
and by marrying their daughters to successful candidates. The general improvement
108
of the merchant class in the Song society probably lured many people to abandon
their previous vocation in pursuit of profit. Even religious institutions and their
followers were not spared the development and were active in both trade and crafts.
Nuns in Kaifeng, Hangzhou, and Yuezhou manufactured and sold their embroidered
fabrics, sometimes nationwide.68 The general preponderance of merchant activities
led some high officials such as Xia Song (Hsia Sung) J [# - (985-1051) to lament the
lack of control:
since the unification o f the empire, control over the merchants has not yet been
well established. They enjoy a luxurious way o f life, living on dainty foods o f
delicious rice and meat, owning handsome houses and many carts, adorning
their wives and children with pearls and jades, and dressing their slaves in
white silk. In the morning they think about how to make a fortune, and in the
evening they devise means o f fleecing the poor. Sometimes they ride through the
countryside behaving haughtily, and sometimes they inveigle rich profits from
the poor. In the assignment o f corvee duties they are treated much better by the
government than average rural households, and in the taxation o f commercial
duties they are less rigidly controlled than commoners. Since this relaxed
control over merchants is regarded by the people as a common rule, they
despise agricultural pursuits and place high value on an idle living by trade.
They also want to sell farm tools in exchange fo r carts and vessels, letting the
land lie waste and meeting at markets .69
In the earlier periods, the government’s disdain for commercial activities and
merchants alike had relegated them to closely supervised enclosed markets; trade, if
needed, was primarily for the consumption of the court. When trade blossomed after
mid-Tang and could no longer “be suppressed or adequately controlled,” it was
“exploited as a source o f revenue.”70 After the middle of the Northern Song, the
imperial coffers that had depended mainly on agricultural taxes now derived a large
income from urban and commercial taxes. The total annual commercial tax revenue
for the empire rose from about 4 million strings in the beginning of the Northern
Song to approximately 22 m illion strings during the reign o f Renzong, while
averaging about 10 million strings most o f the time.71
Official distinction was made between an urban household (fangguohu i f Jp f )
and a village family (xiangcunhu % f ). Urban households were divided, like
those in the villages, into ten categories according to the quality of their houses and
the financial strength of the families.72 The amount of tax that was levied on an urban
household depended on its category. Commercial tax-collection stations were also set
up in cities, towns o f local trading system s, and even at periodic markets.73
Commercial taxes were generally transit taxes (guoshui i i f L ) or as sales taxes
(zhushui { H t or “residence tax”). The first was a two-percent tax levied whenever
goods passed tax stations along its transport route. The second was a three-percent
tax charged at the point of sale.
109
Any effort to assign a date to the dem ise of the ward system is probably
misdirected. As we have seen, it was a long and non-linear process. It is also doubtful
that the system was uniformly applied throughout the empire. In fact, in all
likelihood, cities and towns in the rapidly developing Southern China were not
subject to the same constraints as were the cities in the north. As Mote has noted,
“superficially observed”, Chinese cities fall into three main types: “the planned,
regular city; the unplanned, sprawling large town; and the hybrid created when some
degree of planning was superimposed on the natural city.”74 While the cities of North
China were generally older and planned, southern cities were relatively o f more
recent origins and were unplanned. These southern cities grew so rapidly that official
constraints were probably completely ineffective. Tingzhou , in Fujian, for
example, had three fang within its eleventh-century walls. By the Southern Song,
there were twenty-three fang outside the walls.75 Its extramural population was at
least ten times that within the city walls. For towns close to the frontier, on the other
hand, the ward system remained intact far longer than most other cities. As late as
1068-77, for instance, Shen Kuo revived the ward system with its gates and
household registers in border towns that the Khitans often invaded.76 Rather we could
discern a general attempt of the central authority to re-implement the stringent ward
system to the capitals after the consolidation of the empire in 979. During the next
century, unsuccessful efforts were frequently made to enforce the system, at least in
the capitals.
The nature o f the enforcement changed with time. W hile it had to do with
preventing the piercing of gates and the tearing down o f sections o f ward walls
during the Tang period, the authorities were more concerned during the first half of
the eleventh century with m aintaining houses and shops behind a certain
predetermined street limit set by wooden markers. Although decrees were issued to
dismantle structures encroaching the roadway, there was no further mention of ward
walls. This was probably because the low earthen walls were no longer intact and
buildings, especially shops, were erected beyond the original confines of the wards.
Many o f these must actually have infringed on the roadways making the streets
narrower than their intended sizes indicated by the road markers. The Song emperors’
decrees revealed that they were acknowledging the breakdown of the historical ward
system, an acknowledgment the Later Zhou conceded when Chai Rong laid down the
guidelines for the use of the road shoulders. Although the curfew system was re
imposed in the capitals for about thirty years (995-ca. 1024), it, too was finally given
up. Its effectiveness during those thirty years was also questionable, especially since
the system had already been abolished and night markets allowed by Emperor Tai7.11
in 965. During the second half o f the eleventh century, the maintenance of shops and
houses behind the street limit was becoming ever more difficult. Another important
step was taken toward the end of the eleventh century when the Song authorities
actually gave in to the unmanageable phenomenon of street encroachment by houses,
stores, and shops. Instead o f demolition, offenders were charged a rent for the
infringement of roadways. Street encroachment was now legal. The pragmatism of
110
the Song reign had finally turned an urban problem into a money-making opportunity
and had given birth to a new urban structure. The rigid physical and temporal urban
constraints were finally abandoned.
By the beginning of the twelfth century, the Song capitals had forsaken completely
the urban structure of the Sui-Tang period and a new paradigm was born. All the
characteristics o f the Sui-Tang system as it was practiced in Chang’an were
abandoned. Wards, though still existing in name, were no longer confined within
walls. The segregation o f residential and commercial activities gave way to a
plurality of activities in the same street. The low mud walls that lined the main streets
were replaced by houses and shops, all jostling one another for the precious street
front. Instead of the wide, forbidding expanses of the Chang’an main streets, much
narrower pluralistic streets served as thoroughfares to the Song capital. Urban
population growth also rendered the Song cities far denser that their Tang
counterparts. The strict curfew that closed the markets and kept the people in their
wards was lifted. Once suppressed, night life and entertainment bloomed.
NOTES
1 Although Kaifeng was strategically located along the Grand Canal in terms of logistic
supply, its position on the flood plains of the Yellow River made it vulnerable militarily.
However, Taizu reluctantly gave in to the advice of his counselors and his brother-the
next emperor, Taizong % -to hold court in Kaifeng and make Luoyang his secondary
capital. One strong reason for retaining Kaifeng was the relative ease of procuring
logistic supply for the large army that was constantly stationed at and around the capital-
an imperial army loyal to the emperor to prevent the military takeovers that were so
common during the Five Dynasties period. A system of four capitals was implemented,
Kaifeng was known as the Eastern Capital; Luoyang, the Western Capital; Yingtianfu
(now Shangqiu in Henan Province), the Southern Capital; and Damingfu (now
Damingdong in Hebei Province), the Northern Capital.
2 Xu zizhi tongjian changbian i t -S- -fc [Continuation of the Comprehensive
Mirror for Aiding Government], facsimile ed. (Shanghai, 1986), c. 21. p. 7a.
(Henceforth abbreviated as CB).
3 CB, c. 17, p. 8a L & ).
4 SHY, section on fangyu %^ “Dongjing zalu £ % £ 5: [Miscellany of the East capital]”
c. 1, p. 12a.
5 Song Minqiu, Chunming tuichao lu (Congshu jicheng ed., Shanghai:
Commercial Book Press, 1936), p. 9.
6 CB, c. 92, p. 9a, midnight was the new limit and night markets were allowed.
7 CB, c. 51, pp. 6b-7a ( — M ).
8 Denis Twitchett, “The Composition of the T’ang Ruling Class,” p. 48.
9 James Liu, China Turning Inwards: Intellectual and Political Changes in the Early
Twelfth Century (Cambridge, Mass.: Council of East Asian Studies, Harvard University,
1988), p. 90.
10 Robert Hartwell, “Demographic, Political, and Social Transformations of China, 750-
1550”, p. 365-442.
11 Robert Hartwell, “New Approaches to the Study of Bureaucratic Factionalism in Sung

China: A Hypothesis,” The Bulletin of Sung-Yuan Studies, no. 18 (1986): p. 33-40. This
is basically the same thesis that Robert Hymes put forward in Statesmen and Gentlemen:
The Elite of Fu-chou, Chiang-hsi, in Northern and Southern Sung (Cambridge
University Press, 1986), where he finds that there was a first shift in personnel followed
by a second shift in the ways of life, of strategies.
12 John K. Fairbank, China: A New History (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1992), p. 95. For a detailed study of the rise of the local community elite, see Robert
P. Hymes, Statesmen and Gentlemen.
13 For the business activities of officials, see Laurence Ma, Commercial Development and
Urban Change in Sung China (Ph.D. dissertation, Dept, of Economy, University of
Chicago, 1971), p. 129-34.
14 Laurence Ma, Commercial Development, p. 130-31.
15 Kong Pingzhong (1040-1105), Kongshi tanyuan «L [Talks of Kong
Pingzhong] c. 4, trans. in Ting Ch’uan-ching, A Compilation of Anecdotes of Sung
Personalities trans. Chu Djang ^ H and Jane C. Djang (Taipei,
1989), p. 201.
16 Zhu Ruixi , “Songdai shangren de shehui diwei ji qi lishi zuoyong”
ifc.'ffc/U [The Social Status and Historical Role of Merchants during
the Song Period], Lishi yanjiu, no. 2 (1986): p. 127-43.
17 Zhu Ruixi, “The Social Status and Historical Role of Merchants,” p. 131.
18 MHLZ, p. 71; p. 85.
19 Song shi [History of Song] (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1977), c. 257, p. 8957.
(Henceforth abbreviated as SS).
20 D. Twitchett, “Merchant, Trade,” p. 94. For a study of the involvement of officials in
trade, see Quan Hansheng , “Songdai guanli zhi siying shangye” W-'iX'W
1? [Private Commercial Activities of Song Officials], in vol. 2 of Zhongguo
jingjishi yanjiu t HI ££ ;?r S.-5^ % [Research on Chinese Economic History] (Hong Kong,
1976), p. 1-74. Although he was not an official, the example of Wang Ko (d. 1181), who
was a xiucai % % (“Flourishing Talent”) shows the diverse enterprises that some may
be involved in. He had foundries, a lake for fishing, a wineshop, and a charcoal factory.
See Wolfram Eberhard, “Wang Ko, An Early Industrialist” in Oriens: Journal of the
International Society for Oriental Research 10 (December 1957): p. 248-52.
21 Wang Yucheng i S i # (954-1101), Xiaochu ji 'M T ft, c. 16 (“Lishi yuanting ji” [ #
& II ]), p. 18 (in Siku quanshu henceforth SKQS) (Taipei: Taiwan
shangwu yinshu guan, 1983), vol. 1086, p. 154.
22 Hu Jianhua ^3 ^ , “Songdai chengshi fangdichan guanli jianlun” T?
M. % i t [Brief Study on the Management of Landed Property During the Song Period],
Zhongguo shi yenjiu 13 S [Chinese Historical Research], no. 4 (1989): p. 24-31.
Land in Jiande xian and the villages of Ninghai xian 7 and Huangyan ^
f of Taizhou o W were divided into three categories.
23 See Shiba Yoshinobu, Commerce and Society in Sung China, trans. Mark Elvin
(University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies, 1970), p. 131. It is not true to say
that location was not important during the Tang period. It was also important, but
relative to its enclosed market, as was shown in the episode of Dou Yi. Once commercial
activities were liberated from the market wards, location relative to the entire city
became more critical.
112
24 Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 133.

25 Denis Twitchett, Land Tenure and Social Order in T’ang and Sung China, p. 27.
26 Zhu Xi ^ J; (1130-1200), Zhuzi yulei , c. 27. It is uncertain what percentage
of the officials lived in rented houses. I admit that there seems to be a contradiction
when officials were said to live in rented properties and yet they were owning houses
and shops and letting these out for a profit. However, one must remember that there were
a large number of civil and military officials in Kaifeng then, some estimate as many as
12,600. Including their families, the figure might be as high as 250,000 in the middle
of the 11th century. See Hartwell, “A Cycle of Economic Change,” p. 128, fn.
27 Quoted from Song Huiyao jigao %.%% [Draft Song Digest], henceforth
abbreviated as SHY, in Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 132. Those who rented
from the state were probably better off. Renting houses and shops were common during
the Song period and rental income constituted an important component of the State’s
total revenue. The Song government set up, early during the dynasty, the Shop and
House Bureau (Zuoyou xiang dianzhai wu £. ) in Kaifeng to take charge of
shops, their rental and their repair. Rents were collected either daily or monthly
depending on the category. In times of disaster or major festivals, these were dispensed
with. In 1054, Renzong ordered a three-day rental waiver for the Cold Feast Festival; in
1054, due to heavy rain and snow storm, 3 days of rent were waived. At times, as much
as half a month’s rent was waived. Other concessions were made too. When a property
is first rented, there is an initial waiver of five days for moving installation. Rental
revenue collected in Kaifeng increased substantially during the Song period. It rose from
143,549 strings in 1012 to 216,581 strings in 1077, i.e., half the total commercial tax
revenue collected from the capital. Sales of property were also taxed at 4, 6, or 10
percent, higher than commercial sales or transit tax rates. See Hu Jianhua, “Brief Study
on the Management of Landed Property During the Song Period,” p. 26-27.
28 CB, c. 107, p. 7a, quoted in Laurence Ma, Commercial Development, p. 131.
29 CB, c. 189, p. 7a, mentioned in Laurence Ma, Commercial Development, p. 132.
30 Dong Fen f. ^ (after 1162) Xianyan changtan H M [Common Talks Made at
Leisure]. In Huizhu lu ji qita yizhong f t [Talks Conducted While
Waving a Chowry] (Congshu jicheng ed., Shanghai: Commercial Book Press, 1936),
p. 1.
31 CB, c. 79, p. 14b. In Kaifeng, harsh winters were reported during the winters of 1012,
1015, 1017, 1087, 1088, 1097,1098, 1113,1115, 1116, and 1125; see Hartwell, “A Cycle
of Economic Change,” p. 132. The cold climate during the 12th century was also
prevalent in South and Southwest China. Even Lake Taihu by Suzhou was frozen in the
year 1111; see Chu Ko-chen, “A Preliminary Study on the Climatic Fluctuations during
the last 5,000 years in China,” Scientia Sinica 16 (May 1973): p. 226-56. This is
important as urban domestic heating during winter months was a major consumer of fuel
and its repercussions will be discussed in a later chapter.
32 CB, c. 102, p. 9a.
33 CB, c. 115, p. 16b.
34 SS, c. 291, p. 9745.
35 CB, c. 116, p. 7b.
36 CB, c. 190, p. 21b-22a.
37 Robert M. Hartwell, “Demographic, Political, and Social Transformations of China, 750-
1550,” p. 291-325.
113
38 Denis Twitchett, Land Tenure and Social Order in T’ang and Sung China, p. 26-32.
39 For the adoption of early ripening rice, see Ho P’ing-Ti, “Early Ripening Rice in
Chinese History,” The Economic Review 9 (December 1956): p. 200-18.
40 See Shiba Yoshinobu, “Commercialization of Farm Products in the Sung Period,” Acta
Asiatica 19 (December 1970): p. 77-96. With a good transportation network, the
increased output in rice also led to certain regions being able to specialize in industries,
such as “fishery, forestry, sericulture, pomiculture, pottery manufacturing, paper making,
brewing, sugar refining, etc.”
41 See Tao Jing-Shen, “Barbarians or Northerners: Northern Sung Images of the Khitans,”
China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and its Neighbors, 10th-14th Centuries, ed.
Morris Rossabi (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973), p. 66-86. Besides
making payments to the Liao dynasty, Song China also had similar treaties with the
Tanguts of Xi Xia (and later the Jin Jurchens). Xi Xia’s aggression during the second
quarter of the eleventh century was, in part, responsible for the inflation that Song China
experienced during the same period; see Quan Hansheng, “Price Fluctuations in
Northern Song” $.$] in vol. 1 of Collected Essays on Chinese Economic
History by Quan Hansheng, p. 30-86.
42 Ting/Djang, Anecdotes of Sung Personalities, p. 201.
43 See Shiba Yoshinobu, “Song Foreign Trade: Its Scope and Organization,” in China
Among Equals, ed. Morris Rossabi, p. 89-115.
44 See Kojiro Yoshikawa, An Introduction to Sung Poetry, trans. Burton Watson,
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967), p. 84.
45 See Zhou Baozhu M , Songdai dongjing yanjiu [Research on the
Song Eastern Capital] (Kaifeng: Henan University Press, 1992), p. 346.
46 Zhou Jianming, in “Beisong caoyun yu dongjing renko” Jb £ ;'# is & 7^ A. cr [Northern
Song Kaifeng’s Grain Transportation and Its Population], Guangxi shifan daxue xuebao
t ©W [Journal of Guangxi Normal University], no. 2 (1989): p. 59-66,
estimates a maximum of 800,000 people in Kaifeng. Hartwell in “A Cycle of Economic
Change in Imperial China: Coal and Iron in Northeast China: 750-1350,” Journal of the
Economic and Social History of the Orient 10 (1967): p. 125, estimates a population of
750,000 to 1 million in Kaifeng by 1078.
47 Robert Hartwell, “A Cycle of Economic Change,” p. 128-9. He also estimated at least
“450,000 employees of the state” residing in Kaifeng. See also Laurence Ma,
Commercial Development and Urban Change in Sung China, p. 108-13.
48 Laurence Ma, Commercial Development, p. 91-5; Shiba/EIvin, Commerce and Society,
p. 127-31.
49 SHY, section on fangyu c. 8, p. 4 and p. 6; SHY, section on zhiguan IT , c. 48, p. 65;
See Fu Zongwen 3L , “Songdai de caoshizhen yu kuocheng jianjiao”
# i? 4ri/S, Jt Sp [Song Period Rural Markets Towns and the Development of Suburbs],
Shehui kexue zhanxian no. 4 (1984): p. 162-6.
50 Su Shi , Su Dongpo ji it- f t ^ [Collection of the Works of Su Shi], in juan xia,
p. 116, passage translated by Laurence Ma in Commercial Development, p. 92.
51 The N-S Imperial Avenue was the dividing line. Areas east of it were under Kaifeng
county while the western half was under Xiangfu. For a detailed study of the
organization of the city, see Kong Xianyi IL&ib , “Beisong dongjing chengfang kaoliie”
it [Study of the Northern Song Eastern Capital and its Neighborhoods],
in Songshi yanjiu lunwenji % [Collected papers on Song History-1982
114
Annual Meeting Papers] (Henan renmin chubanshe, 1984), p. 346-69. Part Two of the
article is published in Songshi yanjiu lunwenji [Collected papers on
Song History-1984 Annual Meeting Papers] (Zhejiang renmin chubanshe,1987),
p. 346-69.
52 E. A. Kracke, Jr., “Sung K’ai-feng: Pragmatic Metropolis and Formalistic Capital,”
Crisis and Prosperity in Sung China, ed. John Haeger (The University of Arizona Press,
1975), p. 49-78; see p. 62-7 for the organization and relative densities of wards and
boroughs in the capital.
53 SHY, section on fangyu, c. 1, p. 13a.
54 E.A. Kracke, Jr., “Sung K’ai-feng: Pragmatic Metropolis and Formalistic Capital,” p. 65.
55 See Fu Zongwen, “Song Period Rural Markets Towns and the Development of Suburbs,”
p. 163.
56 Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 128.
57 William Skinner, “Introduction: Urban Development in Imperial China,” in The City in
Late Imperial China, ed. W. Skinner, p. 3-31. There were 8,351,000 households in China
in A.D. 609, 8,754,000 in 742, 17,026,000 in 1080, and 21,114,000 in 1200. See
Hartwell, “Demographic, Political, and Social Transformations of China, 750-1550,”
p. 369.
58 J. K. Fairbank, China: A New History, p. 106.
59 Translation taken from Robert Borgen,”5an Tendai Godai san ki as a Source for the
Study of Sung History,” Bulletin ofSung-Yuan Studies, no. 19 (1987): p. 1-16. According
to Borgen the physical dimensions of the marketplace described as thirty ®T in the diary
could be translated as thirty blocks since the character ®T could refer “either to a city
block approximately 400 feet square in the Heian capital, or to a unit of distance equal
to approximately 360 feet” in early Japanese usage. He chose to use the first of the two
meanings in this instance.
60 CB. c. 297, p. 16a-b; see also SS, c. 334, p. 10724-25.
61 See Du Dagui 5Mingchen beizhuan wanyan ji & ^ ^ , vol. 2,
c. 30 , p. 12b-13a (in SKQS, vol. 450, p. 435).
62 CB, c. 377, p. 10b. Not only were streets encroached upon, hawkers were also setting
up shops on bridges and on levees; see SHY, section on fangyu, c. 13, p. 20.
63 Wenxian tongkao (Taipei: Xinxing shuju, 1963), c. 19 (■?£## 6), p. 186.
64 Duguanji ‘t , c. 7 “Shuo nong” quoted in Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society,
p. 483.
65 See Twitchett, “The Composition of the T’ang Ruling Class,” p. 54-7 where he translated
the relevant passage from Shen Kuo’s Dream Brook Essays completed in 1086.
66 Twitchett, “T’ang Market System,” p. 205.
67 Zhu Ruixi , ‘The Social Status and Historical Role of Merchants,” p. 134.
68 See Quan Hansheng, “Trade and Industries Managed by Monasteries during the Song
Period,” Research on Chinese Economic History, vol. 2, p. 75-84; see also Shiba/Elvin,
Commerce and Society, p. 113-4.
69 Xia Song J [4 |., Wenzhuang ji %. [Literary Works of Xia Song], Siku quan shu
zhenben, chuji, c. 13, quoted in Shiba, “Urbanization and Development of Markets,”
p. 43.
70 Twitchett, “Merchant, Trade and Government,” p. 81.
71 Zhu Ruixi, “The Social Status and Historical Role of Merchants,” p. 129. SS, c. 186,
p. 4541-46.
115
72 For more detailed discussion, see Wang Zengyu i If Sir, “Songchao de fangguo hu” £
|p f [Urban and Suburban Households during the Song Dynasty], in vol. 1 of
Collected Essays on Song, Liao, and Jin History, p. 64-82, esp. p.70-7.
72 A quote from SHY in Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 155, illustrates well: ‘There
is an institution in the villages which is known as the ‘periodic market’. It simply
consists of a market which meets once every three days. Initially there was no system
for taxing it, but as the prefectures were in urgent need of revenue, they instituted tax
stations.”
74 F. W. Mote, “The Transformation of Nanking, 1350-1400,” in The City in Late Imperial
China, ed. W. Skinner, p. 107.
75 Yongle dadian & & , fascimile ed. (Peking: Zhonghua shuju, 1960), c. 7890, p. 6b.
76 CB, c. 267, p. 4a; Umehara Kaoru in “Song Period Kaifeng and its City Structure” thinks
that this was only a border defense strategy and not the general condition of Song cities.
116
4
The Song Cityscape
£/?owards the end o f the eleventh century, the burgeoning city form of the Later
Zhou Kaifeng finally took shape. A new city structure with its attendant streetscape
and cityscape was formed. The active urban scene so w ell evoked in Jojin’s
description o f Hangzhou in 1072 was even more intense at the capital, Kaifeng,
during the first quarter o f the twelfth century. Kaifeng during the reign of Emperor
Huizong (1101-1126) was also in the process o f change. Important construction
projects, many o f them o f symbolic importance, were undertaken by the emperor to
formalize the otherwise pragmatic city. This quarter-century-long period of brilliance
was the last enjoyed by Kaifeng before it was besieged by the invading Jin army in
the winter of 1126. In an attempt to reconstruct the cityscape of Kaifeng during this
period of brilliance before its fall, let us follow Meng, a minor functionary of the
Board of Public Works, on a hypothetical walk early one summer morning from the
residential area south o f Wucheng fang A A # , southwest of the inner city to his
place of work at the Department of State Affairs, southwest of the Imperial City (Fig.
28).1 The description o f the urban landscape is informed both by contemporary
literary and visual sources. The primary literary source is the memoir Dongjing
menghua lu, introduced earlier in Chapter 2, which described the city and its
festivities before it was captured. The other important source is the painting Going
up the River during Qingming Festival, agreed by most scholars to have been painted
shortly before the fall of Kaifeng. Before we embark on our walk through the city,
let us first attempt to understand the subject of the painting and the artist’s point o f
view.
KAIFENG
Going up the River during Qingming Festival
No literary description o f Kaifeng’s streetscape or narrative of a fictitious promenade
in the city can be complete without the visual description and the hidden agenda
provided by the painting, Going up the River during Qingming Festival. The artist,
Zhang Zeduan , was a member of the Imperial Academy serving the court o f
Emperor Huizong during the last years o f the Northern Song.2 In his time, he was
celebrated for his excellence in the subjects o f jiehua — buildings, boats,
117
Legendj
1. Zhang Family Pancake Shop 9. University 14. Shuncheng Granary Bridge 21. Xuande Gate
2. Prince Wucheng Temple 10. University for the Sons of State 15. Genyue Garden 22. Zuoye Gate
3. Zhou Bridge 11. i. Zhuangyuan Lou 16. L Left Treasury Storage for 23. Youye Gate
4. Horse Guild Street ii. Wheat Straw Alley Ordinary Expenses 24. Main Street of the
5. Imperial Avenue iii. Commissioner in Charge of ii. Imperial Sacrifices Court Eastern Turret
6. Street Viewing Pavilion the Transmission of iii. Bureau of Imperial Music 25. Pan’s Tower Street
7. i. Gate of the Vermilion Sparrow
ii. Longjin Bridge
Frontier Alerts 17. Dudngyi 26. Main Street of the
12. Administrator of the Court of 18. Baoci Temple Western Turret
iii. Fruit Market Military Affairs 19. Jingling West Palace 27. Department of State Affairs
8. South Medical Relief Bureau 13. Xiangguo Monastery 20. Jingling East Palace
Fig. 28. Schematic reconstruction of Kaifeng and hypothetical route taken by Meng in
Kaifeng.
118
The Song Cityscape
bridges and carriages.3 Zhang Zeduan’s painting is the only one of its kind that has
survived and provides us with a wealth of information on the life and the cityscape
of the Northern Song capital.4 Its detailed and faithful account of almost every aspect
of urban experience is exceptional and the degree o f verisimilitude in the objects
depicted is remarkable.
In the seventeen feet o f what was perhaps once a longer handscroll, “Up the River
during the Spring Festival” shows us a section of the capital and its suburbs along
the banks o f the Bian River during the Q ingm ing festival.5 Nothing in this
masterpiece was painted without a prior understanding of its raison d’etre. In his
minute and careful rendering of the gate-tower, the ornamental cailou, the carts and
chariots, the bridge and its structure or the barge that passed beneath it, the artist
seemed to be conducting as detailed an objective study of the physical world as a
scientist would. Dots and lines were not added merely for the sake of decoration but
were drawn because physically that was how a cart was constructed, a boat was built
(see Fig. 26). And as the artist discovered and understood, so does the viewer. As
James Cahill said of another painting, “The artist aims at persuading the viewer that
the world of his painting is not only real but all there, and that the more he looks at
it, the more he will find.”6
Yet the search for an understanding and description of the physical world, the
intense observation that led the artist to paint a highly realistic account of the subjects
had produced, paradoxically, a highly unreal view of the physical environment. Every
detail was studied separately with equal attention as if seen through a telescope and
then pieced together once again to form a composite whole, one that is even more
informative than the real world. And it is here, I believe, that we must see beyond
the veneer of great descriptive depth and startling realism and understand that the
painting probably stitched together a series o f disjointed views o f different parts of
the city and its surrounding country into a continuous composition. Rather than an
objective study of the physical world, Zhang Zeduan has composed a subjective
understanding o f the capital, one laden with his own values and worldview. In it, the
artist went beyond crafting a narrative, beyond the description of an urban setting and
its multifarious activities; he seemed to be seeking and probing the order of things.
Social and economic orders were woven into the formal structure of his composition,
the countryside with its farms and peasants provided the opening to the handscroll
as well as to the possibility of the city life and the extravagant urban consumption
that was to follow. Just as the nation recognized the importance of agriculture and
saw farmers as the basis o f the society, Zhang Zeduan began his painting with the
quiet countryside, without romanticizing it as painters usually would. Instead it was
a productive countryside with fields and hamlets, irrigation channels and farming
equipment (Fig. 29).
Just as important was the inclusion of the Bian River, introduced in the second part
of his composition, that brought grains and supplies to the capital. Once again, here
was a very realistic portrayal of a vital waterway, cruised by a large number of boats
and barges, some laden with sacks of grains, some towed by teams of trackers, others
119
Fig. 29. The countryside o f Kaifeng (detail of Qingming shanghe tu)
(som e o f them presumably houseboats) moored along banks, and still others
unloading their cargo. Also portrayed were the activities that went on around the
river, along its banks, visibly dependent on the very presence of this river (see Fig.
26). What the artist depicted was a setting for a series of socioeconomic activities
necessary for the survival of the city and, more important, the symbiotic relation of
the river and its surroundings.
Within the urbanized areas in the third section of the composition, the order was
equally clear. While businesses and daily activities occupied much of the surface of
the tableau, the only governmental and religious institutions depicted were situated
on the upper register, “raised above the levels where physical labor is performed”(see
Fig. 60).7 In what is left of the handscroll, the painting ended, significantly, with the
vast residence of, presumably, an important official in the upper left hand comer (see
Fig. 27).
None of these, I believe, were mere coincidences, especially if we remember that
the utmost care was given to painting even a mere mule cart. Rather it was the
conception that the artist (and perhaps a large section of the population) had of both
the city and the society, and of the inherent social structure. The inclusion of the first
two sections of the composition takes on added importance since all these were
painted in the handscroll format — one that necessitates a progressive reading of the
painting in sections. Oblivious of the entire composition, one is led slowly through
the painting by the artist who exposes his personal conception of a city — one
intimately bound with its hinterland and its lifeline — and finally his vision of an
ideal city. And this was probably what the painting represented, a distillation of the
city of Kaifeng. It was not an objective record o f a section o f the city and its
120
The Song Cityscape
surroundings but rather a complex subjective composition consisting o f sets of

typical settings and their elements that one would have found in the Northern Song
capital. And masterful though it was, the painting necessarily presents the distilled
city frozen in time — a spring morning shortly before the fall of the capital — and
not a record o f the city that changes over seasons and years. It is with this
understanding that we must examine the painting and resist the temptation to
endlessly match depicted elements geographically with what we know of the city
through literary sources.
The painting is not only a mine of information regarding the general landscape of
the city and its suburbs, it also teaches us much about the individual components of
the city such as streets, houses, shops and markets, temples, and government
buildings. Reading this painting in conjunction with contemporary writings,
especially the Dongjing menghua lu, we shall now follow our minor functionary in
his walk through the city.
A Walk
It was still dark outside. Meng was awakened by the familiar sounds o f the
neighborhood monks who were out early for alms. They were already out in the
streets before the fifth watch (3-5 a.m.), tapping iron tablets and wooden fish while
proceeding to their individual areas of activity.8 Buddhist and Daoist temples were
common in the capital region and several were in the neighborhood. Meng lit an oil
lamp, and changed into a turquoise-colored robe that he had retrieved from a wooden
chest. As a lower-level official of a government department, he had to follow the
regulations. His superior, the Director of the Board of Public Works wore purple, a
privilege accorded to officials of the third grade.9 More and more officials, however,
were granted the privilege of wearing purple.10 Sumptuary laws were strict and still
obeyed by most people although the rich merchants and business magnates were
openly defying them, not only in the way they dressed but also in the way they lived
and traveled. They were different, however, since they could not only afford their
lifestyles, but often had strong connections with powerful officials as w ell.... As
Meng walked to the local calabash mutton stew shop he could hear the familiar
sounds of pancake making coming from the neighborhood pancake shops (bingdian
tyj% ). Some of these shops specialized in making the steamed variety and others the
baked and stuffed ones. They have been busy since the fifth watch. Teams of three
to five cooks gathered around kitchen tables preparing the dough and bringing cakes
to the stoves. The most popular shops were owned by Haizhou’s Zhang family in
front of Prince Wucheng Temple southwest of the Zhou Bridge, and by the Zheng
family in front o f Huangjianyuan j t 1%just south of Horse Guild Street (Mahang
jie f ).” They had more than 50 stoves each!12
Meng ordered a bowl o f stew made of meaty bone along with some water for
washing his face. Water for washing up was an added convenience some restaurants
provided for their clients at a modest fee. Tea was served. At other tables, patrons
121
had ordered stir-fried lamb lungs, or were eating porridge, rice, and side dishes. Some
sat on benches at long tables set outside the shop under matted awnings propped up
by wooden poles. Across the street, another candle-lit restaurant was also busy
attending to its customers. It was still early and dark, but soon the summer morning
sun would rise. All the markets at the gates and around the bridges were already
opened (Figs. 30 and 57). At the western section of the city, fish markets gathered
at Xinzheng Gate , Xishui Gate <5 ?jcH , and Wansheng Gate and by
the roadsides nearby with several thousand loads of fresh fish. These were mostly
placed in shallow wooden pails of fresh water with some willow leaves.13
Fig. 30. Shops outside an east gate (detail of Qingming shanghe tu)
While Meng ate his mutton stew, butchers at the slaughter houses were loading
goats and pigs by the hundreds on to carts bound for the many markets in the city.
Set up around bridges and in the streets, these markets had meat counters behind
which three to five butchers served customers both raw and cooked meat in thin
slices or in huge chunks. At night, they even had hot roasted meat dishes which they
sold inexpensively.2 At bigger restaurants, twenty to thirty halves of pigs and goats
were hung from a structure (shanpeng $1, literally “mountain awning”) of wooden
poles and festoons bound together into a tall, intricate latticed awning at the
entrance.3 Throughout the day, herds of pigs numbering in the ten thousand, were
driven by several dozen men through Nanxun Gate & M H (Gate o f Southern
Fragrance), the main south gate of the city, on their way to the abattoirs at Slaughter
Pig Alley south of New Gate (Xinmen Iff H ).16
After breakfast, Meng was served a concoction of freshly brewed licorized herbal
tea. His meal cost him less than 20 wen ( X .). With his monthly salary of about 5000
wen, this was a luxury that he could not afford everyday.17 He remembered a time
when prices were lower, when rice and salt could be purchased at less than half the
current prices.18 However, since the ascension of Emperor Huizong (1101-1026) and
the appointment of Cai Jing (1046-1126) as Prime Minister in 1102, prices had been
122
The Song Cityscape
going up. Inflationary measures such as the minting of large quantities of iron coins
and the over-issue of paper currency (jiaozi ) were partly to be blamed.19 At the
same time, the supply of primary produce, already disrupted by natural disasters of
floods and droughts in various parts of the country, was further hampered by the
transportation of building materials necessary for the infamous construction projects
started by Cai Jing and Huizong.
As Meng left the neighborhood west of the main N-S avenue, occasional shops
and restaurants broke the monotony of the low walls and gates of the houses of
common folks. And in the back streets where there was vacant land, houses were
built in rings around common courtyards. These settlements were inhabited by the
lower sorts who made their living selling steamed pears, steamed dates, cakes, bean
sprouts and the like.
At the Yujie or Imperial Avenue, he headed north towards the Imperial City
(see Fig. 28). Close ahead to his right was a tower structure aptly named Kanjieting
jft 'f't 'f* or the “Street Viewing Pavilion”. This was where the emperor, while out on
processions, came up to rest and watch the parade of horses and men below. Perhaps
for this reason, this stretch of the Imperial Avenue, between the southern gates of the
two circuit walls — the Gate of the Vermilion Sparrow and the Gate of Southern
Fragrance — had scarlet cross-staved barricades demarcating a central lane reserved
for imperial use.20 Military inspection posts were set up about every three hundred
paces (around 450 m) apart in the city. In each were stationed five soldiers whose
duties included patrolling the streets and running official errands at night.
Meng soon arrived at the South Medical Relief Bureau (Huimin nanju S R rS] ),
three blocks southeast of the Gate of Vermilion Sparrow. Here, free medical services
and medicine were provided for the needy.21 One block farther north stood the
University22 and the “University for the Sons of State”23 which together had more
than 2,600 students.
A lateral street, the “Wheat Straw Alley” (M aijiexiang ^ t # # ) , separated the
institutions of higher learning from the restaurant Zhuangyuan lou , a couple
of temples to the north, and a brothel district. On either side of the Imperial Avenue
were residences o f high officials, that of the Administrator Deng of the Court o f
Military Affairs ( ) to the left and that of the Commissioner Liu in Charge of
the Transmission of Frontier Alerts ( -*ll ) to the right. Like other residences o f
important officials, these properties probably had imposing gateways, supported by
columns and multilayered brackets, that stood boldly in front of the tile-capped
perimeter walls. Some gates to some official residences were in a form known as
wutoumen Ai fl or “raven’s head gate”, signaling the superior status of its
occupants (Fig. 31). Beyond the gateway and the walls, one could occasionally catch
a glimpse of the tile roofs of halls and lofts inside through the foliage of the trees
in the courtyards and gardens.
Meng had walked for about a kilometer. In front o f him was Longjin Bridge fa
, one of the thirteen bridges that spanned the busy Huimin River or Canal
R, H within the city.24 Later during the day, this bridge, like most of the rest on this
123
Fig. 31. Examples of “raven’s head gate”.
canal, was usually crammed with shops and stands selling foodstuff and sundry
goods. As these obstructed the towing of barges, the passage of vehicles and horses,
and even damaged the roadway, an edict forbidding such activities on the bridges
within the capital was issued in 1025.25 It was, however, ineffective.
From the bridge, government junks and private vessels, large and small, carrying
goods from regions west of the capital and from the areas of modern Henan and
Western Anhui, could be seen plying the waterway. Huiming Canal was dug in 960
to facilitate the transport of produce from the western and southern regions west to
the capital. As much as 600,000 shi of grain were sent to the capital via this canal
every year to feed the army stationed at the nearby counties o f Taikang ilM . ,
Xianping ic -f-, and Weimin & ,26
About a hundred paces farther north was the impressive Gate of the Vermilion
Sparrow. Above the seven to eight-meter-high ramparts sat an imposing hall, lifted
on porch sitting on a row of brackets (pingzuo ) and supported by vermilion
columns (see Fig. 30).27 Below the gate tower, carts, mules, and pedestrians were
already busy going into the inner city. Some led taiping che iv — the common
two-wheeled goods cart with an open crate-like platform. Two wooden supports were
added behind the cart and served as brakes when the cart was tilted backwards. As
many as twenty or more mules were sometimes harnessed to it in two lines. At times
five to seven oxen were used instead. A couple of donkeys were also attached behind
the cart to check the descent of the cart down steep slopes or bridges.28 Other
merchants had smaller vehicles, pulled by a single animal or even pushed manually.
Until the light of day, an endless stream of pack mules and horses, and mule carts
124
The Song Cityscape
and ox carts, loaded with sacks of wheat flour passed through the gate into the inner
city (see Figs. 30 and 58).
Between the canal and the gate was the fruit market. This was one of two main
places in the city where wholesalers and retailers dealing in all kinds o f fruits
conducted their business. They had probably chosen this location because its
proximity to the canal allowed easy access for both goods and people, a crucial factor
in view of the perishable nature of the fruits sold. Paper and painting businesses also
congregated here. Peddlers abounded.
Soon, around the bridge and the intersection, carpenters, masons, and odd-jobbers,
would gather, as they would every morning around other bridges and prominent
junctions, waiting for people to hire them for house repairs. Buddhist monks and
Taoist priests, usually hired to conduct commemorative ceremonies, also waited with
them.29
North of the Gate was one of the busiest commercial sections in town. The street
was free of those scarlet lacquered railings. Meng could see the prominent landmark,
Zhou Bridge and its two flanking towers, about a kilometer down the road. One and
two-story houses, dumpling-shops, pastry stores, steamed stuffed-bun shops, stew
kitchens, restaurants, taverns, teahouses, eateries, fragrance shops, and the like lined
the street. Buildings large and small, staggered along the street edge. Here and there,
hawkers were preparing for the day, setting up matted straw awnings and paper
parasols, laying out their wares on ground sheets and on tables. Others gathered
under roofs and canopies in front of shops and restaurants, sat on little stools behind
low display stands or besides their basketful of goods (see Fig. 58). Behind them, the
shop owners were already busy hailing early morning folks to patronize their
establishment. Conspicuous ornamental scaffoldings or cailou # , built o f
bamboo, bound together into light, intricate structures, animated by pinnacles and
spires, and embellished with festoons, flowers, and lanterns advertised wineshops and
restaurants (Fig. 32).30 Those cailou belonging to high-class restaurants and taverns
were often profusely decorated structures several stories high erected in front of the
entrance. The more modest operations were content to mount smaller and simpler
ones on the eaves above the entrances.31 White and blue flags, some written with the
character jiu >0 (wine) fluttered on poles in front o f all shops where wine was served
(see Figs. 32, 54, and 58).32 Farther down the road, people were fetching water at a
public well by the roadside (see Fig. 27). Soon professional water fetchers would
come to their regular well, ready to offer their help for a fee.
Dawn was breaking. Meng knew that this street would be even busier later in the
day as more hawkers come to set their tables and stands and as city folks joined in
the morning activities. The street would be full of food stands; fragrance of all kinds
would fill the air. Some food peddlers would hawk goat-head meat, kidneys,
intestines, quail, rabbits, fish, shrimps, de-feathered chicken and duck, clams, crabs,
various cooked food, incense and herbs, and fruits in front of the homes of the
wealthy. Others would sell combs, collars, face masks (toumian -k ® ), clothes,
miscellaneous hardware, clothes chests, pottery, and sundry items. On summer days,
125
in the side alleys, army musicians would gather to perform for an audience of
children and women and sell sweets and candies to supplement their income.
However, the scene was perhaps most spectacular at night when lamps were lit and
business went on till the third watch (11 p.m .-l a.m.). The night market along this
stretch of the Imperial Avenue between Zhou Bridge and the Longjin Bridge was one
of the busiest food and drink section of town. Stalls were set up right in the middle
of the street. Some sold porridge, stewed meat, dried meat, chicken, and game such
as badger and wild fox. Other stores such as the ones owned by the Mei family and
the Lu family catered goose, duck, chicken, rabbit, tripes, stuffed-eel-buns, chicken
skin, chicken kidneys, gizzards, and internals; each of these dishes costing less than
15 wen. Yet others sold stir-fried mutton, lamb intestines, salted fish, fish head,
ginger and chilli-pickled radish, thinly-sliced meat with ginger and fermented soya
beans, and the like. During the summer months, more fruits and cold dishes such as
lichee jelly, ice-cold glutinous rice sweet dumplings, iced licorice drinks, papayas,
apricots, plums, and fruits from different parts of the country were offered.33
Fig. 32. View of cailou (detail of Qingming shanghe tu)
126
The Song Cityscape
Meng was approaching the imposing Zhou Bridge just a little ahead.34 It was also
named Tianhan Bridge or Heavenly River Bridge during the Song period
since the Bian River H which it straddled was considered to be the Heavenly
River. Along the south bank were eateries, stores selling lamb meat and mutton rice,
taverns, and even a charcoal shop. Across the river, west of the bridge was where
fruit stores were once again concentrated. Zhou Bridge was one of the rare stone
bridges in the capital. It was a flat bridge as it was located along the Imperial Avenue.
Close rows of stone columns supported the bridge while stone railings framed the
bridge.35 The banks of the river near the bridge were lined with stone walls, sculpted
with seahorses, water creatures, and swirling clouds.36 On the northern bank, two
towers stood, one along each side of the imperial way. Two shallow square boats with
several giant iron spears fixed to the stern were moored west of the bridge. On the
same side, three iron chains were attached to the river banks. These were raised every
night to the water surface to prevent boats that had caught fire and were drifting
downstream from colliding with the bridge. Zhou Bridge was, after all, a flat bridge.37
Fire prevention was a major concern in this congested city, built primary of wood.
Countless minor fires and 44 major ones had devastated the city during its 166-year
tenure as the capital.
Understandably, the city had very strict fire regulations and well formulated
preventive measures. These not only affected the lives of the citizens but also the
skyline of the city.38 Apart from the military inspection posts that provided local
surveillance, brick fire watchtowers were built on high grounds in the city. At the
summit of these prominent landmarks, soldiers were constantly on the lookout. A
hundred or more soldiers were stationed at their feet in official buildings which
contained fire-fighting equipment such as pails, sprinklers, hemp vests, axes and
saws, ladders, fire forks, thick ropes, and iron anchors.39 Upon spotting a fire,
mounted soldiers would notify the chief official of the borough (xiangzhu M i ), the
cavalry, the three military bureaus in front of the palace, and the Kaifeng prefecture.
These would in turn lead their soldiers to fight the fire.
In practice, the Zhou Bridge divided the Bian River into two sections. Only the
smaller flat boats from upstream which could negotiate the flat bridges were seen
around the Bridge. The bulkier grain-shipping vessels from the eastern portion of the
river were stopped by the other flat bridge in front of the famous Xiangguo
Monastery just a block downstream. The river had recently been dredged to the
stipulated depth of six chi or about two meters. This was normally done in spring,
when the frozen canal began to thaw. Since the middle of the eleventh century it had
been dredged less and less often. Now, more often than not, it was dredged once
every three or five years. Silt built up quickly in the canal since it derived its water
from the muddy Yellow River.40
The Bian River was the busiest of the four waterways that served Kaifeng.41
Traffic on this river was extremely heavy as it was the lifeline that brought southern
goods and produce to the capital. Endless boats carried tax grains from the south to
feed the swelling population at the capital. At its peak, during Emperor Renzong’s
127
reign (1023-1063), the annual quota for tax grains transported via this canal reached
eight million shi during certain years.42 Most o f the time, however, the quota was
fixed at six million.43 The majority of these grains were most likely stored in the
extensive granary district along the river near the Shuncheng Granary Bridge
within and beyond the eastern wall. These granaries were probably the same
ones that Lou Yue # $ 3 (1137-1213) saw when he came through the city via the
imperial avenue along Bian River some fifty years later.44 Other products from the
south, ranging from precious metal, luxury goods to tea also arrived at the capital via
this canal. It was little surprise then that the Japanese Buddhist monk, Jojin ,
who came to China in 1072, was impressed by the number of vessels going up and
down the river when he visited Kaifeng’s Xiangguo Monastery the same year. He
noted that there were countless boats and barges on both banks, easily carrying seven,
eight or ten thousand hu M of grains each and that he must have seen, during the two
days, vessels in the thousands and tens of thousands.45 Along the banks o f the canal
were willow trees planted in part to reinforce and maintain its banks.46
Crossing the bridge, Meng lamented the disruption of traffic on the river by
convoys carrying exotic stones, rare flowers, and animals from the Taihu region and
other parts of the country.47 No effort was spared to locate and transport these
fabulous rocks, some weighing several tons, to grace the mystical Genyue Garden &-
& that Emperor Huizong was building northeast of the Palace City. Public and
private gardens in the Lower Yangzi region were raided for the rocks. These were
then used in the imperial garden to make artificial hills, the highest o f which
measured some 90 paces tall, and to grace ponds and streams and countless follies.48
As large numbers of both government and private boats were diverted for this
enterprise, fewer vessels were available for the transport o f grains and other
necessities to the capital resulting in shortages and higher prices for the city folks.
In some cases, bridges and even city gates were demolished to make way for the
passage o f the huge rocks.49
North of the Zhou Bridge began the most splendid and formal section of the
Imperial Avenue, a prelude to the splendor of the main gate to the Imperial City about
a kilometer farther north. In the middle o f the roadway, two rows o f vermilion-
lacquered barricades once again defined the imperial way on which all other traffic
were prohibited. Within, water ditches faced with bricks and stone verged the scarlet
railings. Lotus filled the ditches while peach, pear, plum, and apricot trees, and a
wide variety of flowers covered the banks along the imperial way. During spring and
summer, all these took on an embroidery-like beauty. On both sides of the avenue
were Imperial Galleries where, until officials put a stop to the practice during the
Zhenghe reign (1111-1118), merchants used to buy and sell in them. Black-lacquered
railings were then erected and only pedestrians could use these galleries.50
Meng took the gallery on his left. Across the road behind the eastern gallery was
a succession o f imperial bureaus. There was the Left Treasury Storage for Ordinary
Expenses ££&,$■, followed by the Imperial Sacrifices Court and the Bureau
of Imperial M usic f a . Immediately to his left was the recently renovated
128
The Song Cityscape
Dutingyi where envoys and trade m issions from the Liao empire were
received and accommodated. With some 525 bays of construction, it was the one of
the largest hostelries for international missions in the capital.51 These Liao missions
were restricted to a hundred or less personnel and on the average visited Kaifeng
twice a year.
North of Dutingyi was the Buddhist monastery of Baoci & M rF , later destroyed
during the Jin invasion. Just ahead were the Jingling East and West Palace J: ,
located on both sides of the avenue. The eastern palace complex was built in 1012
to house the imperial portrait o f the founding emperor. By 1070, there were four
emperors whose portraits were enshrined there, in separate halls.52 Eleven more halls
were erected when Shenzong decided to transfer portraits of the imperial family
housed in Buddhist monasteries and Daoist observatories in the capital to the palace.
By 1100, the eastern palace complex was already too congested and the western
component had to be built across the avenue to house the portraits of Shenzong and,
later, of Zhezong.
All along the imperial avenue, from Zhou Bridge to the palace gate, numerous
herb peddlers and food sellers called out to passersby to buy their goods.53 Looming
above the city, the imposing south gate of the Palace City, Xuande Gate $.-& H (Gate
of Displayed Virtue), was in full sight. In front was a great square, more than three
hundred meters wide and probably just as long.54 It was here that the city gathered
for the major festival celebrations with the emperor participating from the gate tower
above. Two more doorways were added to the gate in 1118, which until then had only
three passages. This was carried out under the advice of Cai Jing who insisted that
imperial gateways had five passages (Fig. 33). The doors were painted vermilion and
studded with gold nailheads. The surrounding walls of brick and stone were sculpted
with the reliefs of dragons, phoenix, and swirling clouds.55 Above the gate, stood a
magnificent hall o f seven bays in width with vermilion railings, columns, and
brackets. A large palatial-style hip roof (also known as a wudian roof) of green
glazed tiles capped the hall. The main roof ridge was decorated with gaping-mouth
dragon finials while crouching beasts lined sections of the sloping ridges (Fig. 34).
At each end o f the hall, a sloping gallery connected the main hall to an adjacent
pavilion on the rampart. These pavilions, also known as duolou (buttress-lofts),
in turn had wings that protruded into the square, terminating in triple-stepped
watchtowers (quelou !®14# ) (Fig. 35).56 Between these watchtowers, red wooden
barricades further barred access to the closely guarded entrance of the palace.57 Meng
knew that behind this gate, along the central axis, was the main hall of the Imperial
City — the awe-inspiring Daqingdian X lk f it or the Hall of Major Celebrations. This
hall, the biggest in the Palace City, was nine bays wide and joined at both sides each
to a secondary hall (dongxi xie it-. 3? -ft ) o f five bays, making a stupendous total
width of 19 bays.12 An immense ceremonial square to its fore, flanked on both sides
by sixty bays of gallery, was capable of holding more than ten thousand people.
East and west of the main south gate were Youye Gate f c lU n and Zuoye Gate
■i-lUn (Right and Left Supporting Gates). To the east was Main Street of the Eastern
129
Fig. 33. View of imperial gateway with five passages on Song period bronze bell,
Liaoning Museum.
Fig. 34. Roof of gateway tower painted by Song Huizong in “Auspicious Cranes”,
Liaoning Museum.
Turret (Dongjiaolou dajie % Ml # ), a major commercial thoroughfare which

subsequently ran into Pan’s Tower Street. Meng headed west toward the Right
Supporting Gate southwest o f which his bureau was located. Southeast of the gate
were the Imperial Grand Secretariat ^ 4 ' and the Court of Military Affairs M
15t,, the so-called liangfu ftlMt (“two offices”). These were built during Shenzong’s
reign (1068-1085) as four separate buildings facing one another.59 Located farther
west was the Department of State Affairs where Meng worked. It was moved
into this large and magnificent building complex of more than 3100 bays of
construction during the reign of Shenzong. Here, concentrated in one place were all
its major functions including the six boards (or ministries) of civil office, finance,
rites, war, justice, and public works.60
130
131
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 35. Jin period wall painting of palatial complex in the South Hall of Yanshan Monastery in Fanshi county, Shanxi province,
supposedly inspired by the palace of Song Kaifeng showing entrance gate towers, main hall, and fortifications.
Changing Faces
No one promenade across the city could show us the complexity o f Kaifeng and its
different countenances, ever changing with the time of the day, the season o f the year,
and on a larger scale, during its career as an imperial capital. For example, Pan’s
Tower Street, the street we saw in the previous chapter, changed with the rhythm of
the day. Below Pan’s wineshop, commercial activities went on day and night, with
the things traded varying throughout the day. Between three and five in the morning
the market gathered. Stores and stands were set up to buy and sell clothes,
calligraphy and paintings, precious baubles, rhinoceros horns, and jade. At dawn,
shops selling food items ranging from sheep’s head and tripe to rabbits, doves, wild
game, crabs, and clams opened up. Next came the various tradesmen to peddle
miscellaneous small items. After meals, delicious sweets and snacks of all sorts were
sold. Toward evening, merchants sold garments, household implements, precious
trifles, toys, and the like. A little further east of Pan’s Tower was the market Tushizi
, one of the busiest junctions in the city where bamboo poles were bought and
sold. The largest entertainment precincts in the capital, Liwa JL HL , Zhongwa ^ & ,
and Sangjiawa which together had more than fifty theaters were also
concentrated here. The largest theaters — Lianhuapeng , Mudanpeng f e f r
, Yechapeng , Xiangpeng — were each capable of holding several
thousand spectators. Understandably, the night markets here and along the north-
south avenue Mahangjie (Horse Guild Street) were among the most active in
the city. Chariots, animals, and pedestrians thronged the road, in bigger crowds than
at the night market at Zhou Bridge.61 Scarcely had the activities here calmed down
when business began once again at the fifth watch at the junction a block farther east.
Teahouses lit up for business and garments, paintings, flower rings, collars, and the
like were bought and sold. This so-called “Ghost Market” dispersed at dawn,
giving way to other sorts of activities.62
If the street scene changed with the time of the day, so did the cityscape vary with
the seasons o f the year. Not only did the city change with the season as did the things
bought and sold, shops and houses were decorated according to the approaching
festivities and celebrations. For three to five days during the Qixi - t $ festival which
took place on the seventh day of the seventh month, the streets of Kaifeng were filled
with canopies and tents erected by vendors and the markets were full of horses and
vehicles.63 Most rich families put up decorative scaffoldings which they called
Dexterity-Seeking Towers in their courtyards, where they displayed figurines of clay,
cloth, or even o f precious material, wine and meat, ink and brush, and needle and
thread. Here women, particularly unmarried girls, prayed for dexterity in needlework.
Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, for instance, all wineshops in the capital erected
new bunted awnings or redecorated existing ones in front of the entrances. New
standards and streamers were hung and new wine was sold. On the night itself, the
rich gathered in their newly decorated terraces and balconies while the folks
converged in restaurants and wineshops where they could enjoy the sight of the full
132
The Song Cityscape
moon. Those living close to the palace could even hear the music of reed pipes
drifting through the air from afar. Throughout the night, the city was lively.64 Less
than a month later, during the Chongyang t Pa festival on the ninth day of the ninth
month, wineshops and taverns tied all kinds o f chrysanthemum to make cave-like
entrances of flowers in front of their businesses.
Kaifeng was especially gaily adorned during the winter months when important
festivals followed one another in rapid succession. The three most important festivals
—- Winter Solstice ■%-£-, New Year’s Day , and the Cold Feast Festival
T? — were each allowed a total of seven days of holidays — three before and four
after the festival.65 During the first 15 days of the New Year, the city was transformed
into a vast stage o f entertainment and celebration. To begin the year, Kaifeng allowed
three days of gambling. Goods of all sorts filled the streets and alleys and people
were urged to wager on foodstuff, household implements, fruits, firewood, charcoal,
and the like. Along Horse Guild Street, Pan’s Tower Street, outside of Song Gate
n in the eastern part o f city, on Yong Road outside of Liang Gate fl in the
western part of the city, outside of Old Fengqiu Gate ® to the north, and the
entire area in the southern section of the city, bunted awnings were set up to display
caps and combs, pearl and jade jewelries, face masks, garments, flowers, collars,
shoes and boots, baubles, and the like. Amidst all these were dance stages and song
halls. Carts and horses crisscrossed the streets. Toward evening, the womenfolk of
noble families came and joined the crowd in watching the gambling, and went into
markets and taverns to feast and drink. They were neither laughed at, nor are their
actions considered startling as this had already become a custom.66
All these festivities culminated in the extravaganza held during the fifteenth day
of the first month. The major celebrations took place in the vast public square in front
o f the Imperial City where the Prefecture of Kaifeng had tied together “mountain
awnings” (shanpeng J-/#3) and set up poles facing the Gate of Displayed Virtues
since the Winter Solstice of the preceding year (see figs. 33 and 35). By then roamers
had already gathered below the two covered galleries o f the Imperial Boulevard to
watch all kinds o f performances by talents of every sort and “the sound of music and
clamor went on for some three m iles.”67 There were acrobats, actors, singers,
musicians, jugglers, magicians, and even animal trainers. Monkeys performed “the
Hundred Entertainments”, fishes leaped through gates o f crossed blades while
trainers summoned bees, butterflies, and crickets. There were also those who sold
herbs, sold hexagram fortunes, and wrote riddles on the ground with sand.
On the seventh day of the first month, hills of lanterns were set up and decorated
with colored brocade, all radiating with sparkle and brilliance. The north side that
faced the palace was decorated with knotted bunting and stories of spirits and
immortals were painted on all the sides. Three gates were set up in rank, each with
a large plaque in gold en letters knotted on w ith bunting. The m iddle
one said ‘Capital Gate Boulevard,’ and the ones on the left and right read ‘Left and
Right Gates of the Protectors of the Forbidden City.’ Above these a large plaque
announced ‘Xuanhe Shares Joy with the People.’
133
____________________________ Cities of Aristocrats and Bureaucrats
Meng Yuanlao further wrote:
Images o f Manjusri and Samantabhadra, the one riding a tiger and the other
riding a white elephant, were tied on the left and the right o f these bunted
mountains. Each o f them shot five streams o f water out o f their fingers as they
waved their hands.
Water was raised to the top o f the lantern hills and stored there in wooden
casks. Time and again, it was released, appearing like a waterfall. On the left
and right gates grass was bound into the shape o f sporting dragons and then
covered with green drapes. Tens o f thousands o f lamps and candle cups were
set densely on the grass, making them appear undulating like a p a ir o f flying 1
dragons.
More than a thousand feet separated the lantern hills from the thoroughfare that
ran crossways in front of the Gate of Displayed Virtue. Brambles and prickles were 1
used to surround this area, called the “Thorn Basin” (jipen ). Within, two long
poles wound with colored silk were erected several hundred feet high. From these
were hung figurines of the Hundred Entertainments made from paper and paste that
fluttered like flying immortals in the wind. Music lofts were set up and officially
registered actors were sent there to entertain with music and performances. So were
the Hundred Entertainments of the Troops o f Left and Right; all performing in
concert once the emperor had taken his seat.
On top of the Gate of Displayed Virtue, which was decorated with curtains, was t
a canopy of yellow silk. Within was the Imperial Seat shielded by a yellow curtain.
Behind stood Guards of the Imperial Dragon, holding yellow umbrellas and fans. A
large spherical lantern more than ten feet in circumference and lit with a “pillar
candle” was hung from each o f the side towers flanking the Gate. Below on a *
wooden Open Dais decorated with bunting, comedies performed by imperial
entertainers were staged. From within the curtains emanated music, laughter, and the
happy sounds of palace consorts while the common folks below, led by actors, yelled
from time to time “Long L ive...”68 ,
On the sixteenth day, celebrations continued. On that day the emperor dressed in
a red robe and a small cap ascended the Gate after breakfast so that all can see him.
The square was once again the scene of ceremonial splendor where officials and
nobles sat in curtained boxes at the side towers by the Gate opposite each other.
Within the boxes and in the square music was played. Below the western side tower
was the Accusation and Suppression Curtain Box of the Magistrate of Kaifeng from
which judgments and banishments were announced. From above the gate came
occasional oral pardon which granted them amnesty.
When it came to the third drum, small red silk lamps were strung on a rope from
the top o f the Gate and pulled up in the air — the people o f the capital all knew
then that the emperor had returned to the Inner [City]. In a few minutes the
134
The Song Cityscape
sound o f snapping whips was heard outside the Gate. Then above and below the
mountain lofts hundreds o f thousands o f lamps and candles were extinguished
at the same time.
Then, dense as fish scales, carts and horses o f noble fam ilies leave from in
fron t o f the Inner [C ity ] and all went southw ard to roam in Xiangguo
M onastery...where the various troops performed,69
Elsewhere in the city, all the temples were scenes of celebration, brightly lit and
thronged with people. In front of all the gates, the city erected music lofts to entertain
the crowd. At neighborhood alley junctions, shadow puppet stages were set up if
there were no music lofts. The city became a sea o f entertainment where shops and
temples competed in lighting and entertainment, and all major public spaces had
music lofts and stages to distract the citizenry.
With the end of the New Year’s celebrations, the city settled back into its daily
routine. This urban transformation in tune with the daily and seasonal rhythm was
certainly true not only for the Song city but for all cities at large. The countenance
o f early Tang Chang’an and Luoyang too varied with daily and periodic changes.
Only the level of complexity was different. With the rigid temporal constraints, strict
segregation of activities, and severe urban regulations, early Tang cities were simpler.
Chang’an’s East and West Markets, for instance, swung from a scene of intense
commercial affairs to one of inactivity at the sounding of the curfew drums. And the
broad avenues of the Tang capitals remained vast expanses o f transitory space most
o f the day. In late Northern Song Kaifeng, where urban controls were relaxed, there
was a rich superposition o f temporal layers over spatial ones. The aspect o f a
location, although geographically specific, was different at varying times of the day
and night. This complexity extends to the social makeup as well. There was a greater
mix of population, from all walks of life, of all ages and o f both sexes, at one place.
It is significant that even the womenfolk of noble families mingled freely with the
rough and tough at gambling grounds during festivals. The Northern Song society
was in many respects less conservative than the later Southern Song one when Neo-
Confucianism gained ground and became state orthodoxy. One must however
remember that social distinctions were still important as there were clear sumptuary
laws that stipulated the kinds of attire that one was allowed to wear according to
one’s station. Most o f the time, a glance at the color of the attire or the type o f head
dress was enough to ascertain the social status of its owner. Even though there were
blatant breaking o f such rules, the offenders were mainly confined to the wealthier
merchants and industrials who had both the means and the influence to sustain such
a lifestyle.
THE CHOICE OF KAIFENG AND HANGZHOU AS CAPITALS

Kaifeng had been a far humbler city when Zhao Kuangyin ascended the throne on
3 February 960 and founded the Song dynasty than it was in the early twelfth century.
135
He inherited a capital enlarged only five years earlier by his predecessor Chai Rong.
It was already a city with a long history, in constant use since the Sui period. During
the first half of the tenth century, it was the seat of the government of four succeeding
dynasties — the Later Liang fe M , Later Jin Js -f- , Later Han Js :d L, and Later Zhou
Js M . Since it was small and congested, the second Zhou emperor undertook a
relatively modest enterprise to build a new circuit wall and widen the main streets.
Unlike Sui Wendi who set out to build Chang’an from scratch at his coronation,
although half of China was still in the hands of the Chen dynasty in the south, Zhao
Kuangyin was content to keep the old capital of the Later Zhou as his new seat of
government when he usurped the throne.70 One could certainly contend that the
position of the Song dynasty was, perhaps, still precarious and hence that it could not
afford the grandiose design of a new capital. However this argument must be
discounted since the co-founder o f the Song empire, Emperor Taizong, retained
Kaifeng as the capital after he consolidated the empire in 979. Having captured all
the southern territories, he marched his army north toward the last of the smaller
kingdoms, Bei Han Jb>3l (Northern Han) (951-979) based at the northern stronghold
of Taiyuan and seized it the same year.
While the Sui emperor’s effort to build a new capital showed his political
ambition, extravagance, and even his lack of concern for the populace drafted for its
rapid construction, the continued use of Kaifeng by the founding emperor, Taizu, was
equally revealing of the Song ruler’s pragmatism and sense of moderation. Equally
indicative of their respective tendencies was the founding of the new capital Luoyang
by the Sui Yangdi upon his enthronement as compared to the continued use of
Kaifeng by succeeding generations o f Song rulers.
For defensive reasons, however, Emperor Taizu did consider moving his capital to
the militarily strategic Luoyang. The vulnerability of Kaifeng, on the flood plains of
the Yellow River, was his constant worry. However his plans were abandoned after
his brother and ministers, who militated for Kaifeng, counseled him against the
move. The political and military philosophy of the Song emperors made the choice
of Kaifeng even more critical. Having profited from military revolts that had crippled
many preceding dynasties, and fearing their recurrence in distant provinces, the Song
ruler stationed half o f his army in and around the capital, directly under his
command. At its peak, there were more than 300,000 troops stationed in and around
Kaifeng.71 Logistics became a crucial factor. Kaifeng’s location along the Grand
Canal and its relative proximity to the productive Jiangnan region were factors that
could not be ignored. This assured the easy replenishment of supplies for a city that
would in time house more than a million inhabitants.
In ste ad o f m o v i n g , a s y s t e m o f m u l t i p l e c a p i ta l s was set up.
Kaifeng was known as the Eastern Capital. Three other military strongholds were
selected. Luoyang became the Western Capital to which the court could retreat in
times o f threat. Damingfu (now Damingdong in Hebei Province) was chosen as the
Northern Capital; Yingtianfu (now Shangqiu in Henan Province) became the
Southern Capital. These three secondary capitals, located .about a hundred and eighty
136
The Song Cityscape
kilometers to the west, north, and east of Kaifeng respectively, provided an additional
arc of defense around the capital, which was vulnerable to attacks from these quarters
(Fig. 36).72
Compared to Chang’an, Kaifeng was a relatively modest city. Its outer wall, built
in 955, has a perimeter o f merely 48 li 233 paces (27 km) as compared to the 67 li
(36.7 km) of the Tang capital.73 Even after reinforcements and extensions, the
perimeter was only 50 li 165 paces (28.07 km) long still about a kilometer shorter
than Tang Luoyang’s outer wall.74 Although intramural Kaifeng’s area was about the
same as that of Luoyang, it was only about sixty percent that of Tang Chang’an.75
Not only was the city as a whole smaller than its Tang predecessors, but so was
the Imperial City. In fact, there was hardly any basis for comparison since in Kaifeng
the Imperial City not only held some governmental apparatus but also the palace
complex (Fig. 37). The remaining official bureaus and related services which could
not fit into the much smaller Imperial City had to be located elsewhere throughout
the city of Kaifeng. In both Chang’an and Luoyang the palace complex was housed
separately in a clearly demarcated fortified Palace City. Chang’an’s Palace City alone
had an area of about 4.2 km2 — ten times the size o f Kaifeng’s Imperial City. Its
Imperial City represented another 5.2 km2; the building of Darning Gong added an
additional 3.31 km2. Although smaller, Luoyang’s Palace City had an area of
137
1.78 km2.76 Kaifeng’s Imperial City was smaller mainly because unlike the other two
cities, the capital was not built from scratch. Instead its Imperial City was built on
the foundations provided by that of the Later Zhou-which was itself the site of the
earlier Tang Kaifeng prefectural government.
When Emperor Taizu came to power, he wanted to model his Imperial City after
that o f Luoyang. He reorganized and enlarged the palace precinct in 962, extending
its walls to five li long. In 986, further expansion was planned but was finally given
up when it was clear that the common people whose houses had to be destroyed to
make way for construction were reluctant to move — a highly unusual concern for
the government which once again suggest the moderafe nature of the founding
emperor.77 Within the Imperial City, residential and official buildings were no longer
separated in fortified compounds. Although the emperor’s palace and offices
138
The Song Cityscape
occupied the northwestern quadrant of the walled precinct, no strict distinction was
made between the Imperial City and the Palace City.78 Until the last years of Song
Kaifeng, no major changes were made to the Palace City. However, under Emperor
Huizong, a new palace, Yanfugong , was built. This was done in two stages.
During the first stage, a wine distillery, storages for oil and vinegar, firewood and
coal, and for saddlery, two army barracks, two Buddhist temples, and the imperial
tailors north of the Palace City were moved. Thus cleared, the area from the Palace
City to the northern wall of the inner city was used for the expansion. The second
phase extended the palace compound beyond the north wall and its moat.
Considerably enlarged, the new Imperial City was more than twice its original size
with a circumference of 9 li and 13 paces (5 km).79 The real extent of the palace and
park grounds was even more considerable when we consider the contiguous imperial
park of Genyue just northeast of the Imperial City. This infamous park alone had a
perimeter of about a dozen li. Upon the completion of the palace, Huizong stayed
there until the fall o f Kaifeng.80
While Song pragmatism may account for the continued use of Kaifeng under the
Northern Song, Lin’an 'l®4r (modem day Hangzhou ), became the capital o f the
Southern Song almost by default. Lin’an, although the preferred choice o f the
emperor, became the capital only after a long series of events. After the Jin Jurchens
captured Kaifeng together with its rulers on 9 January 1127, Zhao Gou M.$l , the
ninth son of Emperor Huizong promptly pronounced himself Emperor (later known
as Gaozong Si £ ) in the Southern Capital, Yingtianfu. With the Jin army hot on his
heels, he fled south, first to Yangzhou, then across the Yangzi River to Zhenjiang #
and retreated farther south to Hangzhou the following year. Popular opinions
and a revolt however compelled him to move north to Jiankang ^ in an effort to
adopt a more militaristic stance against the enemy. Although Jiankang was south of
the Yangzi River which offer some protection from the northern enemy, Gaozong had
preferred Hangzhou all along because, being located even farther south, it had the
additional protection afforded by Qiantang River %%%'/!-. Furthermore, the
surrounding terrain o f hills, lakes, and waterways, were additional obstacles for an
enemy on horseback accustomed to fighting on the northern plains (Fig. 38). He was
soon forced to flee Jiankang and to retreat once again, this time via sea route south
to Wenzhou and Taizhou o . In 1131, he set up court in Shaoxing .
Here, he remained for only more than a year and then moved to Hangzhou where he
finally declared it his “temporary residence” in 1138.81
Hangzhou’s status as “temporary residence” was only symbolic, an appellation
implying that the lost territories would soon be recaptured and the court returned
north to the c a p ita l, K a ife n g . H o w e v e r , a p e a c e treaty w as so o n
negotiated. The Huai River became the boundary and Hangzhou remained as the
capital throughout the Southern Song.
Hangzhou was an even smaller city than Kaifeng. Located at the mouth o f the
Qiantang River, it was well served by both land and sea routes. The opening of the
Grand Canal during the Sui period made it the southern terminus of the lifeline of
139
Fig. 38. Site of Hangzhou from contemporary gazetteers.
China and gave its location a further boost. Caught between the beautiful West Lake
to the west, the river to the east, and mountains to the south, the city took on an
irregular elongated shape with the sole possibility of expansion being to the north.
140
The Song Cityscape
Although the site had seen urban occupation since the Six Dynasties period,
Hangzhou really gained prominence only during the Tang period when the region
was emerging as one o f the most productive in China. A new perimeter wall,
measuring 36 li 90 paces (about 20.2 km), was erected by the Sui emperor in 5 9 1.82
Further expansions o f the city were made later. Its population increased rapidly from
about 15,400 families during the Sui period to some 86,000 in 742.83 The upheaval
o f the An Lushan rebellion in the north had caused many to migrate to the south,
further contributing to the growth of the city. By 1085, it had grown to about 202,800
households, making it the most populous city in the lower Yangzi region. When it
was made the new capital, “approximately 20,000 salaried high officials, tens of
thousands of clerks, and the greater part of 400,000 regular soldiers and their
families” moved to the city and its surrounding regions including Suzhou, Jiankang,
and Zhenjiang.84 Estimates of its population during the Southern Song ranged from
1.5 to 5 million although most scholars would agree that the more conservative
estimate seems more realistic in view o f the figures available for the total annual
grain imports alone.85
The city also grew in physical size. When it was the capital city o f Wuyue ,
one of the ten southern kingdoms during the Five Dynasties period, its walls were
extended in 890, 893, and 910 to include land to the north, south, and east (Fig. 39).
The new wall measured 70 li long 86 During this time, an administrative seat, the
wangcheng , was also built within its own circuit wall at the southern section
o f the city. Like Kaifeng under the Later Zhou, it had three sets o f walls.
Hangzhou’s economy expanded quickly. Besides being the major center for silk
production, paper making, printing, brewery, and ship building, it also became an
important coastal port at which ships from Korea, Japan, Persia, and Arabia
frequently called. The volume of trade was considerable. During Xianzong’s % 'M
reign (806-820), Hangzhou yielded about 4.2 percent of the total annual tax income.
During its tenure as Wuyue’s capital, its economy further strengthened due to the
stability that the kingdom enjoyed.87 Unlike the northern dynasties whose average
reign lasted only a dozen years, Wuyue remained in power for more than seventy
years until it willingly relinquished its territory and wealth to the Song in 978. By
the Northern Song period, Hangzhou had become one of China’s four major ports
and the foremost city in the southeast. The prosperity o f Hangzhou so impressed the
Japanese monk Jojin upon his arrival in 1072 that he left a lengthy account o f it in
his dairy. Five years later, the city’s commercial tax amounted to 82,173 strings.88
The selection and retention o f Hangzhou as the capital by Emperor Gaozong was
even more indicative o f the pragmatism, the diminished capacity, and the crippled
ambition of the Southern Song. The already congested city hardly had any land to
offer to the court in flight (Fig. 40).89 The site used by the Tang and Northern Song
prefectural administrations located at the foot o f Phoenix Hill, Fenghuangshan,
southeast of the city was finally chosen. At this difficult hilly area was finally erected
the Palace City, which during the early years of the Southern Song had a minimal
number of buildings. Gaozong, in his quandary, had personally advocated simplicity
141
and moderation. A single hall had to be used for a number of different functions and
plaques announcing the names of the edifice were changed for the appropriate
occasion.90 The main hall, Wende dian , depending on the occasion became
Ziehen dian ^ $.$£. , Daqing dian , Jiying dian , Chuigong dian -§-
, or Xiangxi dian . More awkward was the fact that the Palace City was
/located at the extreme south of the city, neither precedented nor followed in the
''history of Chinese imperial capitals. Like all its other predecessors, however, the
different functions were laid out accordingly in the Imperial City with residential
buildings to the north and administrative and ceremonial buildings to the south. And
since the Emperor had to face south in his official duties, all the buildings were
oriented likewise.91 Taken as a whole, the Imperial City had, so to speak, turned its
back to the city.
Fig. 39. Contours of Hangzhou during various periods.
142
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 40. Maps of Hangzhou and its Imperial City from a contemporary gazetteer.
143
THE SONG CITY

Three major components of the city — gates, streets, and buildings — contribute to
a large extent to the character of a city.92 In the case of the Song cities, the city gates
had become even more imposing than their Tang counterparts (Figs. 41 and 42).
Improvements in the technology o f warfare, including the discovery and use of
gunpowder, affected the design of walls and city gates.93 By the end of the Northern
Song, after multiple reinforcements, the outer wall of the city was equipped with
protective battlements (mamian ® meaning literally ‘horse face’), defensive
towers (dilou "Sc#), and crenels (nuqiang ) (Figs. 43 and 44). These protective
battlements were built every 100 paces apart. Along the inside of the wall were
arsenals for the defense of the ramparts spaced every 200 paces apart. The new
massive walls of Kaifeng were provided with gates that were veritable bastions. Of
all the land gates only Nanxun Gate r£j !'] and three other major gates — Xinzheng
Gate , Xinsong Gate , and Xinfengqiu Gate #/t H H were double
layer straight gates with a “killing area” in between (Fig. 45) All the rests were the
even more secure triple-layer offset gates (Fig. 46). Xinzheng Gate, the biggest of the
ten gates already probed by Kaifeng’s archaeological team, had a footprint o f 120 m
(E-W) by 150 m (N-S). The doorway itself was 30 m wide.94 The enormous size of
this gate was probably due to its location along the imperial avenue that linked
Kaifeng to Luoyang. Furthermore, just outside the gate was Jinming Pond -sk3fi >&
(Golden Bright Pond) where the imperial army practiced naval battles and where the
emperor and, indeed, the entire city came during the third month to watch water
144
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 42. Examples of Song gates from a contemporary source.
sports among other performances (Fig. 47). For 40 days, the pond and its gardens
otherwise closed to the public during the year were opened for all sorts of leisurely
activities.
A description of another straight gate that straddled the imperial avenue, this time
on the eastern wall, was provided by a Southern Song official on an official mission
when he passed through the city while on his way north to the Jin capital, Yanjing
(also known as Zhongdu t ^ or “Central Capital’). When Lou Yue entered the
Kaifeng via Xinsong Gate on ninth day of the twelfth moon in 1169, he described
the gate as such:
“The walls and towers were imposing and piagnificent; and the watchtowers
and moat were strong and orderly. On both sides o f the moat ( ) were
planted willow trees, [lined straight] like pulling a cord. First, one entered
through an enceinte gate (wengcheng ' £ $ .) on which defensive towers were
erected. Next was a protective battlement with a three-bay wide tower building
above it. Only next did one entered the main city wall where there were three
passages. Above was a large tower building.95
In 1368, 90 years after the fall of Southern Song a similar gate, Jubao Gate
I] , was built in Ming (1368-1644) Nanjing. This gate, still extant and currently
known as Zhonghua Gate 1*^11 is probably close both in working and in
appearance to Xinzheng Gate although it has a total o f four layers (Fig.48).
145
Fig. 43. An example of wengcheng.
Fig. 44. Example of mamian. Fig. 44a. Example of dilou.
146
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 46. Examples of triple-layer

offset gate.
Fig. 47. Song painting of Golden Bright Pond, Liaoning Museum.
147
Depictions of simpler ones were also found in wall paintings in Dunhuang, in a stone
engraving of the military stronghold, and in contemporary publications of local
histories (see Figs. 41, 42, and 69).
Wansheng Gate f i l'1 (Gate of Ten Thousand Victories), located just north of
Xinzheng Gate was probably typical of the other city gates. Recent archaeological
investigations confirmed the shape of the gate portrayed in a later woodblock print
of Kaifeng (Fig. 49). A semicircular enceinte gate (wengcheng) was added in front
of the city gate to afford additional protection. It had a footprint of 60 m (E-W) by
105 m (N-S). When necessary an additional fortified segment of a circle could be
added to the existing structures to further strengthen the gate’s defense. To prevent
easy access, all openings in these fortifications were staggered. Illustrations of such
gates found in contemporary literature on city defenses throw further light on the
these impressive structures (see Figs. 45 and 46).
The land gates were not the only ones well fortified. Water gates were also
provided w ith d e fe n siv e m ech an ism s that h elp ed ensure the secu rity
of the city. Dongshuimen (East Water Gate) which allowed the passage of
Bian River through the east wall of the city had metal-clad gates that descended like
a sluice gate at night to seal off the entrance. The two roads that sandwiched the canal
outside the gate were provided with gates for pedestrians.96 A similar gate from
Southern Song Suzhou which provided passages for both land and water routes gives
us a clear understanding of the appearance and the workings of such a defensive
Fig. 48. Model of Ming period

Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing.
148
The Song Cityscape
structure. Although Panmen A fl , located at the southwestern comer of the city, was
probably more sophisticated in design, the principle behind it was the same (Figs. 50
and 51).
While the capital Kaifeng and other military strongholds such as Jingjiangfu cheng
If were provided with strong defensive gates, other cities were not as well
equipped. Of the thirteen land gates in the exterior wall of Hangzhou, only one —
Genshan Gate S. J-i H — located on the east wall had a enceinte gate (wengcheng).
Just as the walls and gates gave travelers and inhabitants alike the first impression
of the city limits, within the walls, streets and buildings constituted the urban fabric
that together formed the urban landscape. Their composition and the way they were
used also threw light on the nature of the city and the way it was controlled.
Popularization of the City

By the late Northern Song, the Chinese city was significantly more popular than
cities of the previous centuries. There was, at one level, a gradual political loosening
that slowly rendered the city and its constituents more accessible to its inhabitants.
Streets, public squares in front of city gates, temple courtyards, restaurants, taverns,
and pleasure precincts alike were scenes of popular entertainment, differing only in
149
intensity and regularity. Imperial relatives, scholar-officials, and the common people
frequented the same establishments, limited more by their financial ability than by
their hereditary social status. Urban land, much o f it in the hands of the official-
gentry and the monied merchant class, was used to produce a city for their own
consumption — a city crisscrossed by streets lined with shops, taverns, restaurants,
pleasure precincts, and brothels offering a plurality of services only matched by the
purchasing power of the new social classes. Against the background formed by the
innumerable courtyard houses of the urban folks, which did not change drastically
during the intervening centuries, certain components of the city stood out which
deserve our attention.
150
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 51. Photo of Panmen in modem Suzhou.
Streets
Three major commercial streets together with four imperial avenues constituted the
primary structure to which the other secondary and tertiary streets and alleys attached
to form a closely knit road network in Kaifeng. The avenues in Kaifeng served
purposes different from the extremely wide imperial avenues in Tang Chang’an.
While spatially the width of Chang’an’s thoroughfares rendered them more as
dividers, those of Kaifeng remained narrow enough to serve as spatial connectors.
The presence of street-encroaching structures, as we have seen in the painting Going
up the River during Qingming Festival, also reduced the physical width o f the
roadways, making them even more congested.
Politically, the severe ward walls, the strict control of access to the wide avenues,
and the frequent disposition of police posts at intersections also made the Tang
thoroughfares instruments of population control. By contrast, the linear connectors in
Kaifeng were far less regulated. Although there were still frequent guard posts set up
151
in the streets, the narrower width of the roadways, the presence of street-front shops,
sheds, and stands, and the urban congestion all served to minimize the visual and
physical impact o f these installations. The abolition o f curfews also made these
streets active with market and entertainment activities throughout the day, and at
some places, throughout the night.
The psychological and sociological roles that these streets played were very
different as well. The constant presence of the temporal and spatial restrictions in the
consciousness of the Chang’an and Luoyang inhabitants was a thing o f the past.
While contemporary poems spoke of the curfew drums, the checkerboard division,
the ward walls, and the “Six Streets” o f Tang Chang’an, Song writings emphasized
the commercial and entertainment aspects of the streets in the city. Similarly social
restrictions were also less important. Liu Yuxi, the Marshal of Langzhou, could only
observe and describe the market place from the watch tower above the city gate in
807 whereas Song officials owned many of the prime commercial properties in town
and womenfolk o f noble families jostled with the common people in the streets of
Kaifeng to watch gambling and celebrations during popular festivals. The rich mix
of activities, functions, and social classes were also seen in the major commercial
arteries of the city.
One o f the three major commercial streets that cut through the city left the square
in front o f the Imperial City, headed west along Dongjiaolou dajie % M past
the Liang Gate and later through the Gate o f Ten Thousand Victories
(Wanshengmen 75 I'l ) to the imperial gardens outside the city walls. Along this
stretch o f about two and a half kilometers, there were many government installations
including the Imperial Army ®f *1 , Medical Relief West Bureau, West Government
Hostelry, and the Capital City Defensive Arsenal .97 Also scattered along
the way were numerous religious buildings — at least, a Zoroastrian temple, two
Buddhist monasteries, a D aoist temple, and an imperial shrine honoring the
birthplace o f Emperor Taizong ).98 Businesses, including eateries serving
lamb stew and buns, fanciful restaurants such as Clear Wind Loft (Qingfenglou >f
) and Yichenglou fiAfcHc, hotels, numerous drugstores, and peddlers of all
sorts, also lined the avenue. Along it was also found the urn market where public
executions were conducted, and large popular entertainment precincts or wazi & ^ .
So were the houses o f the common folks and the vast mansions o f the rich and
powerful. The prime minister Cai Jing, for example, had a residence just outside
Liang Gate. Its eastern counterpart, the second commercial artery, parted in the
opposite direction, heading east from Xuandemen square to the Old Cao Gate
(Jiucaomen ® f I'] ) and then to the N ew Cao Gate (Xincaomen M t H ) and
beyond. Another important commercial street led northwards, skirting the east wall
of the Imperial City, passed the Old Suanzao Gate (Jiusuanzaomen '0 §£#11 ) and
later on through the New Suanzao Gate (Xinsuanzaomen ) into the suburbs.
These two commercial streets also cut through the liveliest sections o f the city and
were the scenes o f diverse bustling activities that changed with time and place
(Fig. 52).
152
The Song Cityscape
o 1000 2000 a Religious institution

♦ Government o r official facility
• Commercial activities
o Brothel
□ Entertainment precint
Fig. 52. Schematic reconstruction of Kaifeng and its activities.
153
More important militarily and, perhaps, economically for Kaifeng were the four
imperial avenues, the first of which ■ — the N-S Imperial Avenue — we have already
seen. South beyond the Nanxun Gate, this avenue connected the capital to the various
regions o f Xiangyang It Pa , Jiangling , Jingzhou #J 4'H , Huzhou 'M , and
Guangnan t i$j. Together, the four imperial avenues linked the capital to the larger
regional and national network of land routes. The eastern one that started from Zhou
Bridge went through the New Song Gate (Xinsongmen £ H ) and connected the
capital first to the Southern Capital, Yingtianfu, and then to Xuzhou , Chuzhou
*£ ^1 , and subsequently to the lower Yangzi region. Its western counterpart led from
Zhou Bridge to New Zheng Gate (Xinzhengmen H ) and continued to Luoyang,
Chang’an and to the western regions of the Xia kingdom. The northern one, on the
other hand, left from Tushizi , east o f Pan’s Tower Wineshop, through
Fengqiu Gate (Fengqiumen M I'l ) and continued north to the Northern Capital
Damingfu, Baozhou # ^'1 , and eventually to the Liao territories.
Within the capital, these major thoroughfares by which land-bound travelers
arrived at the capital were also important commercial conduits. The northern one was
particularly busy. Along its path were, first, the entertainment precincts, followed by
the active horse market, a busy district o f prominent restaurateurs and wineshops, and
an area of drugstores. Leaving the inner city, it plunged into another crowded district
of shops and houses as well as army barracks farther north before leading off into the
northern suburbs.
Just as important was the eastern branch along which were located among others,
many restaurants and brothels, a fish market, and several temples. One of these was
the prominent Xiangguo Monastery which doubled as an important periodic market
where “the myriad surnames gathered to trade” five times a month.
In spite o f all that was said of the prosperity of the city and its street-centered
activities, the roadways in Kaifeng were well known for their bad conditions which
were “dusty in good weather and a sea of mud when it rained” as is shown in the
poem “Working for the Government” written by Wang Anshi i-Sr-S (1021-1086):
Spring Snow in Daliang — a city o f mud:

Head the horse into the setting sun, ride home again
I know what my life has been, and I can laugh —
A long thirty-nine years o f nothing."
Not all city streets were as bad as those in Kaifeng. Hangzhou, for instance, had
streets paved with stone, and so had Suzhou judging by the engraved map o f 1229
(Figs. 53 and 55).
Consequently, as we have seen, the different contents and nature of the streets in
Kaifeng made them play roles very different from those in Chang’an. That Kaifeng
could be described in terms of a network o f seven major streets, lined with
m u lt if a r io u s a c t i v i t i e s , th a t t r a v e r s e d th e c a p ita l is in i t s e l f
s ig n ific a n t. The a c tiv itie s o f th e c ity are n ow seen as o r g a n iz e d
154
The Song Cityscape
along streets. And so was the mental map of the city similarly structured. Literary
descriptions of the city cited, for instance, Mahangjie and Panloujie and used them
as the linear structure for their narrative. The same cannot be said of Chang’an, the
structure of which is predominantly ward-based. The main streets or avenues were
wide expanses of no man’s land devoid of the hustle and bustle of daily activities.
If they were used as references in literary works, they were mainly used to simply
established the framework for the identification of wards within which daily activities
were enacted. The significance o f this difference is also poignantly rendered in
graphic form in the stone engravings of Pingjiangfu and Jingjiangfu. Like the literary
descriptions, both city maps emphasize the network of streets linking occasional
symbolic representations o f buildings and landmarks. Chang’an’s map, on the other
hand, was portrayed rather differently. Like the framework o f avenues established in
literary descriptions of the Tang capital, the arteries depicted in the engraved stone
map of Chang’an constitute a grid within which the walled wards were rendered in
Fig. 53. Pingjiang tu.
155
prominence.
Physically, the main streets of the capital that we have described were probably not
very wide. The widest streets in Later Zhou Chai Rong’s Kaifeng were only fifty
paces across with five paces on each side designated for trees, wells, and sheds;
narrower ones were between 25 and 30 paces across with three paces set aside on
each street edge. If there were no encroaching structures, this would give a free
roadway of about 62 m and between 29 m and 37 m wide respectively.100 However,
as we have seen, shops and stalls often encroached on the roadway during the Song
period, making the streets even narrower. The neighborhood streets and alleys were
even more constricted. The painting Going up the River during Qingming Festival
shows a range of different roads. The main artery — the commercial street that led
to the city gate on the east wall — was narrow and crowded. Elsewhere streets and
alleys zigzagged. Along the canal and beyond the ramparts, curvilinear and oblique
streets were common. Most of the streets were lined with trees and the drains were
covered although occasionally a drain with timber-reinforced banks runs along the
street to empty itself into the canal (Fig. 54). In some cities,fangbiao or portals
with plaques announcing the name of the neighborhood straddled the streets (Fig.
55). These were, according to some, the remnants of the old ward gates when the
wards walls disintegrated.101
The breakdown of the residential wards and their walls and the proliferation of
multi-functional streets throughout the city were probably the most obvious
manifestations of the popularization of the city. The strict functional zoning of the
previous era yielded to a city where mixed use o f neighborhoods and streets alike
reigned. Residential quarters, shops, brothels, temples, and universities were found in
the same proximity. Not only were the streets made available to the unban dwellers
at all times of the day and night, businesses were conducted in them round the clock.
Spatially, too, the restrictions were lifted. Temples, government offices, and houses
of the common folks alike opened directly on to the same streets. Stalls and stands,
sheds and awnings, ornamental cailou and horse-barricades crowded the street edge.
Table and benches, signs and advertising boards, parasols and makeshift canopies
encroached on public space. Artisans short of space in their workshops worked in the
streets (Fig. 56). Even the bridges were not spared (Fig. 57).
Markets, Shops, and Entertainment Precincts

Although commercial streets criss-crossed Song cities and the strictly confined
markets of the earlier era were no longer intact, specialized markets were still set up
by merchants at various locations in the city. In Kaifeng, for example, even though
large sections of the inner city could be considered commercial, there were many
product-specific markets scattered at particular locations throughout the city.102 These
markets became places where shops of the same trade grouped together. During the
Song period, shops of the same trade were no longer required to be located at the
same locality and, indeed, shops of all kinds were found in the streets of the Going
156
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 54. Drain reinforced with wooden banks (detail of

Qingming shanghe tu).
up the River during Qingming Festival. For convenience, however, many merchants
chose to remain together.103 One of the two markets specializing in fruits, as we have
seen earlier, was located along the bank of the Huiming Canal just outside the Gate
of the Vermilion Sparrow. The meat market was located east of Zhou Bridge along
the Bian River. The horse market was located beneath the well known tavern Helelou
'fa along the Horse Guild Street.104 Other markets such those specializing in rice,
meat, fish, bamboo, ginger, onion, cloth, urns, gold and jewelry, etc., all had specific
locations in the city. The situation was similar in other cities. At Hangzhou, the rice
market was located at the northern end of the city, vegetable market at the eastern
gate and the market for firewood at the southern one. Suzhou had many bridges
named after markets such as Fish Guild Bridge (Yuhangqiao ), Fruit Bridge
157
(Guoziqiao Slipper Bridge (Saxieqiao and the like.105 Although

most of these m arkets were located at convenient locations near bridges, along
waterways, around city gates, at prominent intersections, on major thoroughfares, and
near warehouses, their locations were probably also influenced by the origin of the
goods sold. The fish markets in Kaifeng were located around the western gates
through which the produce were routed. The fruit markets were also conveniently
located along the banks of the main waterways.
This relaxation in the location of shops within the city also translated into the
increased influence and improved social status of the merchant class — another facet
of political loosening. Merchants of the same trade formed proto-guilds headed by a
guild headm an who acted as the conduit betw een the m erchants and the state.
Merchant guilds were now allowed the responsibility of fixing their own prices and
regulate the affairs of their members.106 During Wang Anshi’s premiership, they were
even allowed to substitute their hang obligations by paying the government an agreed
sum of money (mian hangyi qian ).
Also prominently featured in Going up the River during Qingming Festival which
depicted commercial units of all kinds are the numerous wineshops. There were 72
zhengdian 3-J& or first-class wineshops (or wine-lofts) in the capital authorized to
158
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 56. Artisans working in a street

(detail of Qingming shanghe tu).
Fig. 57. Shops and stalls on bridge (detail of Qingming shanghe tu).
159
distill their own liquor. The other thousands of taverns and wineshops had to buy
wine daily from these zhengdian, one o f which is shown in the painting with a
mountain of wine urns in the backyard (Fig. 58). An example of a more m odest
tavern, a jiaodian J% , with an intricate entrance structure is depicted in the middle
section in front of the arched bridge as well (Fig. 32). Meng Yuanlao also devoted
large sections o f his m em oir to describing the many w ineshops, taverns, and
restaurants that lent a constant air of festivity to the city. At Jiuqiao Gate
where there were many restaurants and taverns, for instance, “richly decorated cailou
faced one another across the street, and embroidered banners and streamers fluttered
in the air screening the daylight.” 107
Leading the hierarchy of food and drink establishment were the zhengdian that
served the best wines and dishes. Slightly less exalted were the jiaodian which
catered more ordinary fares although many were excellent restaurants frequented by
powerful officials and wealthy folks. N ext came the restaurants serving a wide
variety of food and tea, the noodle shops, and the stew kitchens. While the zhengdian
attended to the lavish tastes of the urban rich, the thousands of restaurants and noodle
shops catered to the needs of the masses. The humblest of these were little more than
sheds covered with thatched roofs as depicted in the suburban areas in Going up the
River during Qingming Festival (Fig. 59).
Among all the zhengdian in Kaifeng, Baifanlou & was probably the biggest;
it alone was responsible for the daily wine supply o f three thousand smaller taverns.
It was also the most prominent in the capital usually having more than a thousand
patrons at any one time. Towards the end of the Northern Song the wineshop was
expanded to comprise five three-story buildings most likely arranged in the shape of
a cross. Flying bridges and balconies connected them while pearl curtains and
embroidered tablets graced their many room s.108
There were many others which competed in rank and style with Baifanlou. All the
wineshops in the capital had elaborately festooned cailou before their entrances, at
times, complemented by railed-balustrades and silk gauze gardenia lanterns. M ost
were substantial buildings with tiled roofs and had doors and windows painted red
and green. Some were converted from form er villas o f officials com plete with
gardens and courtyards.109 Others had halls and courtyards with galleries and little
rooms along them decorated with draperies and curtains while screens of hanging
flow ers and bam boos further added to their beauty and privacy.110 One such
restaurant, Rendian & had a long gallery leading from the main entrance for more
than 150 m. Little rooms along the galleries by the north and south courtyards
glittered like jew els at night. With a few hundred sing-song girls under the eaves of
the main gallery ever ready to serve, the scene was “fairylike” in beauty.111 Others
such as Renhedian or Huixianlou had over a hundred dining rooms
for the pleasure of their patrons who could easily spend a hundred taels of silver on
a feast for two, all served on exquisite silver wares.
Entertainment and restaurants went hand in hand. Besides the singing girls hired
by the wineshops to serve patrons, there were also lower-class entertainers who
160
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 58. Example of a zhengdian and a mountain of urns in the

backyard (detail of Qingming shanghe tu).
Fig. 59. Humble eateries in suburban areas (detail of Qingming shanghe tu).
approached and sang for the patrons without being asked, leaving only when given
some token or cash. Many wineshops also provided prostitutes on the second level
in chambers concealed by screens. It was said that the presence of prostitutes was
indicated by the red silk gardenia lanterns hung before these establishment. Besides
their association with the restaurant business, brothels were also commonly found
close to other commercial and entertainment concerns. A brothel district was
located just in front o f Xiangguo Monastery where important fairs were held
periodically. Others were situated close to entertainment precincts and the
161
university.
Popular entertainment was an important feature in the Song capitals. Kaifeng had
eight washe J L ( o r wazi J L ^ ) or “pleasure precincts” while Southern Song
Hangzhou had at least 17.112 These were the places where all sorts of performances
including story telling, recounting history, singing lyrics (ci ) and popular songs,
dances, comedy, and marionette shows were staged.113 W hile these places of
entertainment were the haunts of young dandies who spent their days among the
prostitutes and actresses, the scale and size of these pleasure precincts suggests that
they were frequented by large sections of the population. The entertainment district
east of Pan’s Tower, for example, had more than fifty theaters, large and small, the
larger ones were capable of holding several thousand people.6 Their popularity was
further underlined by the fact that all kinds of commercial activities were conducted
within these precincts ranging from purveyors of food and drink and hawkers o f old
clothes to peddlers o f paper cut-outs and sellers of hexagram fortunes.
With the proliferation of entertainment facilities in the Kaifeng, the city became
a veritable place of entertainment. As we have seen earlier, the increased population
and competitiveness o f the city also forced many to be highly specialized, training
all kinds of creatures to perform various kinds of tricks. Entertainment was no longer
performed only for the pleasure of upper classes. Its popularity pervaded all walks
of life and was probably affordable to most people.
Religious Institutions
In the upper register of the middle section of the painting Going up the River during
Qingming Festival is depicted a rather impressive entrance to a Buddhist monastery
located in the midst o f shops and houses. The entrance faced the canal and it had a
little square to its fore where a herd of pigs loitered nearby (Fig. 60). This gateway
had a higher central section o f three bays with a nail-studded gate in the middle
flanked by statues. At each end are secondary entrance gates, also three bays across
although narrower in width. Buddhist monasteries and Daoist observatories o f this
scale must certainly have been commonplace in Kaifeng. In 1021, there were more
than 40,000 monasteries and observatories throughout the empire and some 913 were
found in the capital region alone.115 Xiangguo Monastery, together with Kaibao
M onastery Taiping Xingguo M onastery ic.-f-tn 11 ^ , and Tianqing
Monastery , were the four major Buddhist institutions in the capital.
Kaibao Monastery located northeast of the palace just outside of Old Fengqiu Gate
was a prominent landmark in the city. It had 24 courtyard precincts and was
especially remarkable for having the tallest pagoda in Kaifeng. Octagonal in shape
and built entirely of wood, the 13-tiered pagoda reputedly reached the enormous
height of 360 chi (111.3 meters). Unfortunately it was destroyed in a fire after being
struck by lightning in 1044. Its replacement, a brick structure, was an equally
remarkable building. It came to be commonly known as Tieta or Iron Pagoda
because of the rusty color of its glazed bricks.116 Taiping Xingguo Monastery, located
162
The Song Cityscape
north of a bridge by the same name in the inner city, was another prominent landmark
o f Kaifeng.117 Its pavilion built to house a gigantic statue of Buddha was as tall as
its pagoda and were visible from miles around. Equally conspicuous was the 240 chi
(74.18 m) pagoda of Tianqing Monastery otherwise commonly known as Potaisi %
a after the high ground on which it stood southeast of the inner city.
The most noteworthy religious complex in Kaifeng, however, was Xiangguo
Monastery. First founded in 555 under the Northern Qi and later abandoned,
Xiangguo Monastery was reconsecrated in 712 during the Tang period but once again
destroyed in a fire between 890 and 892. After its restoration by Emperor Taizu and
especially by the private efforts of his officials, it grew to become the foremost
monastery in the capital.
Architecturally, Xiangguo Monastery was an imposing and extensive building
complex befitting its status as an imperial monument.118 Fronting the street was an
awe-inspiring four-storied gateway tower at least five bays wide with three openings,
earning it the name, Triple Gate ( -=-f] ) (Fig. 61). Once within the threshold, two
bottle-shaped glazed pagodas stood at either side o f the gate. An inner courtyard
separated this main southern doorway from an inner triple gate framed by a
colonnaded corridor. This second gate was most likely two stories high, built after the
fire o f the early 890s. Beyond both the east and west limits of this cloistered
courtyard probably stood pagoda precincts, lending further symmetry to the
composition. Behind the inner gate was the main courtyard of enormous proportions
commanded on the north by the Maitreya Hall, one o f the two principal halls o f
worship. Corridors extended from the sides of the hall to join on the east and west
the enclosing cloister colonnade.119Along the central axis behind the main prayer hall
stood Zisheng Pavilion lit Jr 1^ , the second principal hall in the complex, flanked
symmetrically by smaller side halls. This imposing pavilion, probably five stories
high, had five roofs and stood as one of the major landmarks in the city. From above
one could “look out all over the whole metropolis, [lying] as it were in the palm of
one’s hand, unimaginably broad and great.”120 A minor gateway provided access to
the compound from the north. Outside this group organized along the central axis
were other precincts and priests’ dormitories, the organization of which we are
uncertain.
Although Xiangguo Monastery with its reliquaries was an important Buddhist
sanctuary in the city, it was equally significant to the city economically and otherwise
as periodic fairs were held on its grounds five times a month. Once again Meng
Yuanlao left us with a vivid description o f the activities that went on within the
monastery on a typical fair day:
On [ the platform of] the Great Triple Gate there were such things as flying
birds and coursing hounds, with no lack o f rare fo w l and strange beasts. The
second Triple Gate was wholly devoted to sundries fo r [everyday] use. Inside
the courtyard were set out parti-colored canopies [over the] booths and public
shops; here were sold mats made o f fine bamboo and rush, screen curtains,
163
Fig. 60. Example o f a temple (detail of Qingming shanghe tu).
laundry items, saddles and bits, bows and swords, fruits in season, dried meats,
and the like. Near the Buddha Hall, alongside the main east walk, [were the
booths where] Wang Daoren had honey preserves, where Zhao Wenxiu had
brushes, and where Pan Gu had inks. The two cloister corridors [sheltered] the
temple nuns, selling embroidered collars and girdles, flowers, pearl and jade,
head ornaments, washed gold artificial flowers in life-like colors, kerchief caps,
(women’s ) hats to hold up the hair, ribbons, and the like. Back o f the hall and
in front o f the Zisheng Pavilion was where all books, curios, and pictures were
sold, and where the various ex-provincial officials had such things as regional
specialties, incense, and medicine fo r sale. The rear corridor was all fortune
tellers, conjurors, portrait artists, and the like.121
In short, the monastery courtyard became a vast market where goods of all sorts
164
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 61. Triple Gate of Nanzenji, Kyoto: seventeenth century copy of

Song design.
from around the country w ere sold. Entertainm ent was found here too. In his
recollections, Wu Zeng ^ W (?-after 1170) wrote an anecdote in which public song
and dance perform ances were given in the courtyard where spectators watched,
leaning against the columns of the prayer hall.122 Similarly Meng Yuanlao wrote that
“it was in the hall courtyard that they had performances by the Music Office, cavalry
drills, and so on.” 123 And as we have seen earlier, a music loft on which various
troops perform ed was erected in front o f the great hall during the New Year.
Xiangguo Monastery was not unique. In other great monasteries such as Kaibao and
Jingde ■§:% , music lofts were also erected and music perform ed.124
‘Temple m arkets’ (miaoshi ) were also com m only held in m arket towns
together with theatrical perform ances.125 Buddhist gatherings (fohui # # ) , Taoist
gatherings (daohui i t # ), and gatherings at the altars of local spirits (shehui )
were typically held in conjunction with some periodic religious celebrations complete
with fairs and popular entertainm ent.126 The pervasiveness of such events gave rise
to an entry in the Song Huiyao in 1214:
From the capital to the Jiangzhe region there are many despicable aspects o f
present-day popular behavior which demand watchful attention. Regular
sacrifices are owing to the altars o f land and grain, but these days stupid people
bestow obsequious flattery upon the spirits and under the title o f a gathering at
the local altar often collected large crowds o f idle rascals.'21
‘Temple markets’ were usually crowded with people and during major celebrations
165
“they greeted the deity with hundreds of plays.” At the same time as at Xiangguo
Monastery, trade was most probably conducted as is suggested by this entry in the
Sanshan Gazetteer.
However, the landless folk o f the rural communities everywhere still have their
own celebrations similar to this one, and these too are thronged with people.
Advantage is taken o f these occasions to make profits (i.e. to trade). They do
not take place at any particular time o f year, but usually last fo r two to three
days. Sometimes they are held in peoples ’ homes, and sometimes in the temples
to the local gods. The old men and women from the villages who turn up to take
their ease, to eat and to gossip also number several hundreds. This custom is
o f recent date. ”128
While there were certainly temple celebrations and fairs in the previous eras, it
was probably after the increased commercialization of farm goods and the rapid
expansion of population and urban centers that such temple fairs took on the new
dimension of important markets where trade and popular entertainment involving the
masses took place. The common notion that there were no public squares in Chinese
cities is only half true at best. In front o f temples, as we have seen in the example
depicted by the Going up the River during Qingming Festival, was an open area for
public activities. Although belonging to the religious establishments, temple
courtyards were also often used for festivities and fairs. During temple festivals,
stages, if not already present, were set up for popular performances and opened to the
general public.
The p o litic a l lo o s e n in g that w as s lo w ly ren d erin g the c ity m ore
open not o n ly to o k p la ce at the p la c es u su a lly a sso c ia te d w ith the
p o p u la c e but w as a lso h a p p en in g at in s ta lla tio n s ty p ic a lly out o f
bounds to the common people. Imperial gardens aside, even the Golden Bright Pond
'k a/l where the imperial troops practiced naval battles was opened to the citizens
for all kinds of activities for forty days a year (see Fig. 47). On the day of Lichun
. i # which marked the beginning of spring on the tenth day of the first month,
commercial activities went on even in the open space in front of the two metropolitan
county bureaus.129 A spring ox made o f clay was displayed before the county office
where it was beaten by bureau attendants as a ritual for welcoming spring. In front
o f the office, common folk sold spring calves that were kept within railed enclosures
decorated with images o f popular theatrical characters, little spring flags, and
fontanesia branches, all of which were popular gift items during this festival.
At another level, there was the emergence of a recognizable urban population
conscious o f its flowering urban culture. This did not happen only at the level of the
official-gentry or the monied class who had the means to command services and
entertainment at the capital. Rather there was an emerging general urban
consciousness during the late Northern Song that permeated across boundaries to
other classes and to the provinces. Symptomatic o f this development was the
166
The Song Cityscape
pervasive commercialization and consumption that accompanied urban living.

Although written in the thirteenth century during the Southern Song, Wang Mai’s
comment i i S (1184-1248) would probably have been equally valid a century
earlier:
These days the fam ilies o f artisans and merchants trail white silks and
brocades, adorn themselves with jades and pearls. In nine cases out o f ten, if
one looks a person over from head to foot, one will find that he is breaking the
law.... The customs o f the empire have now become extravagant. Limitless sums
are squandered on the construction o f lofty and elegant mansions, something
which used to be forbidden. These days such is the practice o f spendthrift
emulation that roof beams confront each other in unbroken succession. There is
no end to the waste o f money on gilding and kingfisher feathers, something on
which restrictions used to be imposed. There are at present rows o f shops which
do gold-plating, competing with each other fo r profit. One drinking-bout among
the gentry may squander property worth ten pieces o f gold. It is not only
officials o f long standing who do this; the pernicious practice is imitated by
those who have ju st entered the government service. Trifles like wom en’s
ornaments and clasps may cost up to a hundred thousand cash. Nor does this
happen only in the great households; those of moderate means also strive to do
the same. Adornments which make their appearance in the Rear Palace in the
morning will have become the fashion among the commoners by evening. What
is manufactured yesterday f o r those in high places w ill spread commonly
throughout the capital tomorrow.130
Although the situation may have been less rampant during the Northern Song, the
commercialization o f goods and services was already very important. While the
urban folk of means dictated the trends, the rest either imitated or were there to
furnish the goods and services demanded supporting an urban culture of lavish
consumption and entertainment.
Also indicative of the rise of an urban consciousness was the appearance of a new
genre of painting. The Song period saw the advent of paintings of urban landscape
and c ity l if e w h ic h w e r e , u n til th en , h ard ly su b je c ts o f in te r e st.
Although we have only a couple o f extant paintings showing cityscape from the
period — Going up the River during Qingming Festival and The Return o f Wenji to
China ( X.M. f t i x B ) . — other paintings such as Moxibustion (zh i’ai tu & x @ ) by
Li Tang (1049-after 1130), The Peddler (Huolang tu JT S ) and Playful Infants
(Xiying tu -§?■0 ) by Su Hanchen & & S. all depict scenes of urban life (Figs. 62
to 63). Li Song (1160-1243) in a later painting of Hangzhou’s Westlake (Xihu
tu © S ) took pains to show a comer of the city in the lower left hand comer of
the handscroll (Figs. 64 and 79). Despite the fact that they were mainly painted by
court artists, the depiction of these urban scenes alone is indicative that urban life and
culture had become an important component of the general consciousness.
167
Fig. 62. The Peddler (Houlang tu), Su Hanchen, Song dynasty.
168
The Song Cityscape
Fig. 63. Knick-knack peddler by Li Song, Song dynasty.
Fig. 64. Xihu tu, Li Song (1160-1243), Song dynasty, Shanghai Museum.
169
Another indication o f the urban consciousness was the increasing popularity

during the Song period o f the cults of city-gods or chenghuang shen ( $ , j L # ).
Although the worship of city-gods most likely started around the middle of the sixth
century, reference to the cults only became more common after the seventh century
and they probably did not gain importance until the eighth century.131 Prior to this,
she or the ancient god of the soil, which could be seen as the forerunner, was
worshipped by both country folk and city dwellers. However as the distinction
between the city and the countryside grew, the she was slowly supplanted by “more
functionally specific deities.” By Song times, the she was largely replaced in the city
by city gods and in the country by tudi (god of the land). The cults o f city-gods
were so prevalent during the Song period that contemporary records said that “Since
Tang times the prefecture and counties have all sacrificed to the chenghuang. In
recent times people have become especially reverent toward the chenghuang.... The
cult is honored above all others. While the altars of the soil and grain are respected,
and their service is specially mandated by the statutes and ordinances, there is
nothing remotely like the chenghuang when it comes to rituals o f exorcism or
ceremonies of thanksgiving,” and that the city god “has come to be worshipped
everywhere under H eaven.”132 David Johnson has argued that it was with the
emergence of a “genuine urban culture” which included, as we have seen earlier, the
appearance of a “wide variety of professional entertainers” that the idea of the city
as opposed to the country took shape, and that the worship o f city-gods followed
quite naturally.133
The list could go on, ranging from the development of urban literature and popular
entertainment to the popularity o f the ci form of poetry and the reformation of the
urban management system which shifted the importance of the fang to the xiang.134
All these point to the flourishing o f an urban culture and the emergence of an urban
consciousness toward the end of the Northern Song period.
In short, after a long development beginning from the late Tang, the city was
rendered politically more popular. The status-sensitive wards o f the highly
hierarchicized societies o f pre- and early Tang had broken down, replaced by
pluralistic street-centered neighborhoods. Although certain locations within the city
were more desirable residentially and had a higher concentration of the monied
classes, one’s option of location was less determined by one’s position in the social
hierarchy or profession than by one’s financial strength. Most spatial and temporal
constraints were lifted. Public spaces such as streets and squares were opened to
business and entertainment round the clock. Commercialization was so important that
even temple courtyards were opened to the public for trade. Hand in hand with the
political loosening and increased commercialization was the emergence of an urban
culture. As the city became more open, urbanization spreaded across the empire more
rapidly, and the urban culture became more discernible, the city also became a part
o f the general consciousness.
170
The Song Cityscape
NOTES
1 The Meng clan was prominent in the Board of Public Works when Cai Jing was the
prime minister. For the sake of the hypothetical day, a member of the clan was assumed
to have lived in the residential area southwest of the inner city. Although a distance of
more than two kilometers separated his home from his place of work, this was not
uncommon among the officials, especially senior ones who had horses at their disposal.
For example, the Administrator of the Court of Military Affairs, whose office was a
stone’s throw from the Department of State Affairs, lived only a couple of blocks north
from Meng. Wucheng fang was named after a temple in the neighborhood, Wucheng
wang miao -J& (Prince Wucheng Temple). See Kong Xianyi, “Study of the
Northern Song Eastern Capital and its Neighborhoods,” p. 364.
2 Little is known of the artist Zhang Zeduan except that he had come to the capital from
the province of Dongwu and was later a painter of the Hanlin Academy.
3 Jiehua -If-& as a term might have been an abbreviation of jiechi hua which
simply means painting done with the ruler. Sometimes, it has also been translated as
boundary painting, although I believe that ruled-line painting is a more accurate
translation. As a category, its repertory included the depiction of any subject that
required r e la tiv e ly lon g straight lin e s such as carriages, carts,
boats, and other mechanical objects, although architecture remained by
far the most frequently depicted subject.
4 There were other paintings of urban scenes recorded but they did not survive. In
Laurence Sickman and Alexander Soper, The Art and Architecture of China (Penguin
Books, 1971), Sickman wrote that the theme of popular manners and customs had a long
tradition in China: “At the end of the sixth century there were in existence old paintings
with such titles as A Village Gathering, Farm Houses, Carts Overturned at the P ’ing
Gate...,’’ p. 230-231.'
5 We are uncertain if the handscroll is complete in its composition or if it is part of a larger
composition extending farther into the city. Later versions of the painting often include
more urban scenes. For a more detailed discussion, see Roderick Whitfield, “Chang Tse-
tuan’s Ch’ing-ming shang-ho t ’u” (Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton University, 1965).
6 James Cahill, “Some Aspects of Tenth Century Painting as seen in Three Recently
Published Works,” paper for the International Conference on Sinology, Academia Sinica,
Taipei, August 1980, p. 9. These words were written in reference to the painting, The
Water Wheel, painted during the Five Dynasties period. Another masterpiece of the
jiehua genre, it showed the socioeconomic activities that went on around a water mill
and shared many things in common with the later painting, Going up the River during
Qingming Festival.
1 James Cahill, “Tenth Century Painting,” p. 8. These words were once again written to
describe The Water Wheel.
8 MHLZ, p. 121.
9 Li Jie # 1$,, who became the Director of the Board of Public Works around 1105, was
promoted to the rank of yuchaoyi dafu “with the right to wear the garb of the third
grade” in 1106. See Sung Biographies, ed. Herbert Franke, vol. 2 (Wiesbaden, 1976):
p. 527.
10 Sumptuary law stipulated that officials above the third grade must wear purple; above
the sixth-vermilion; above the seventh-green; above the ninth-turquoise. Ordinary
171
individuals could only wear black and white. “However these regulations soon fell into
disuse, because the court granted the right to wear purple indiscriminately to officials of
all grades.” See Jacques Gemet, Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion:
1250-1276 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1962), p. 128.
11 MHLZ, p. 60 and 71.
12 MHLZ, p. 133. However on MHLZ, p. 71, the Zheng family operation which I assume
to be the same one mentioned on p. 133, was said to operate more than 20 stoves instead.
13 For a study of fish consumption in Kaifeng, see Stephen West, “Cilia, Scale, and Bristle:
The Consumption of Fish and Shellfish in the Eastern Capital of the Northern Song,”
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 47, no. 2 (1987): p. 231-70.
14 MHLZ, p. 133.
15 MHLZ, p. 132.
16 The pigs were probably brought to Slaughter Pig Alley (Shazhuxiang south of
New Bridge. As the name connotes, pigs were probably slaughtered here, although this
may not be the only location where abattoirs were located. It was also noted that there
were brothels in this alley as well. See MHLZ, p. 60-1.
17 When exiled to Huangzhou Hi W , Su Shi was paid 4500 cash a month which he
divided into 30 equal parts and hung from a rafter, taking one part down each morning.
See Ting/Djang, Anecdotes of Sung Personalities, p. 487.
18 Using rice as a standard, a dou 4" of rice generally cost less than 100 cash (wen) during
the period 1068-1100. For instance, a dou of rice cost about 85 cash in Kaifeng in 1072,
70-77 cash in the lower Yangtze and Huainan region between 1091-92, but shot up to
250-300 cash in Huainan region during the years 1122-23. By the end of the Northern
Song in 1126, when the city was under siege, rice cost up to 3000 cash per dou. And
since it is estimated that an adult requires an average of a quarter dou of rice a day, it
was little wonder that corpses of the poor lined the streets of Kaifeng during the siege.
See Quan Hansheng, “Price Fluctuations in Northern Song,” p. 30-86; see chart and
graph on p. 74-75.
19 Wang Fuzhi (1619-1692), the noted Qing historian, in his Song lun
[Discourse on the Song] (15 c., 1840-42), singled out “two developments that stood out
during the reign of Jen-tsung, one beneficial and the other harmful to posterity. The
beneficial one was the purchase of ten thousand stones of early rice seeds from
Cambodia which were distributed to farmers, thus revolutionizing rice culture in China
and greatly increasing its production. The harmful one was the issuance of jiaozi
or “exchange notes” on the recommendation of a certain Hsueh Tien © , at one time
the commissioner of transport of Szechwan. Jiaozi later degenerated into huizi or
“paper notes” and finally into chaozi #' or “currency notes.” ” He saw them as useless
paper, a device used by the government “to defraud the merchants, and for the
merchants, in turn, to defraud the common people.” See Ting/Djang, Anecdotes of Sung
Personalities, p 34.
20 This stretch was between Longjin Bridge and Nanxun Gate, see MHLZ, p. 60.
No details were given for the width of this section of the imperial avenue. Although
Meng did say that the imperial avenue was more than 200 paces or more than 295 meters
wide just south of the Palace City, I believe that it was true for only a section of the
avenue. The fact that this section immediately south of the Imperial City also functioned
as a public square probably accounted, in part, for its extraordinary width. Ceremonial
and military needs were other factors.
172
The Song Cityscape
21 There were at least five such relief clinics in the capital. This system was first initiated
in the provinces and implemented in Kaifeng by decree in 1105 (other forms of relief
were available earlier). However this system was quickly abused by officials who
practiced favoritism for their own relatives or embezzled articles intended for patients.
For a more detailed account of the various relief agencies, see Hsu I-tang, “Social Relief
During the Sung Dynasty,” in Chinese Social History: Translations of Selected Studies
ed. E-tu Zen Sun and John De Francis (Washington: American Council of Learned
Societies, 1956), p. 207-15.
22 The University was first established in Kaifeng between 960-63. Because the library 4$
$- was in need of space, it was extended 10 paces into the compound of its neighbour,
the residence of the Prince Qian Chu of Wuyue during the reign of Emperor
Zhenzong %% (998-1022). Twenty classes were set up. In 1071, there was an
educational reform and the university was organized into three tiers, with a quota of 700
freshmens, 300 juniors, and 100 seniors. When the number of classes was increased to
80 in 1080, the student population was also increased accordingly to 2,400 (30 students
per class). Each class had a size of five bays. In 1102, Li Jie was ordered to built
a new campus south of the Palace City. The building was circular on the outside and
square on the inside, making a specific reference to the form of the imperial college in
antiquity. Furthermore, it was given the name Biyong ^ ^ in direct reference to the
archaic institution. This was part of a series of efforts made to formalize the capital
during the reign of Huizong. With the new campus, the total student population was
increased to 3,800. The new campus was meant for the freshmen. For Kaifeng’s
university, see Zhou Cheng, A Study of the Eastern Capital of the Song Dynasty, p. 156-
62. See also Edward A. Kracke, “The Expansion of Educational Opportunity in the
Reign of Hui-tsung of the Sung and its Implications,” Sung Studies Newsletter, no. 13
(1977): p. 6-30. For the symbolic connotations of the Biyong, see William Edward
Soothill, The Hall of Light: A Study of Early Chinese Kingship (New York, 1952).
23 The “University for the Sons of State” was meant for the sons and grandsons of the
nobility and high and middle level officials. The number of students was restricted to
200. See SS, c. 157, p. 3657.
24 This was most probably a flat bridge since it was on the imperial avenue. Most other
bridges in the city were arched to allow the passage of bigger boats under them.
25 SHY, section on fangyu, c. 13, p. 21.
26 This is the southernmost o f the four canals that traversed the city.
It was dug in 960 to connect Min River 1*1>"Tto the southwest and Cai River to
the southeast. Through Cai River, Min River, renamed Huimin River in 973, was
connected to Huai River, linking the capital to an important waterway. The upper reaches
of the canal were hence called Huimin River while the lower reaches were called Cai
River. Within the capital, however, this canal was known by both names. In 987, 400,000
shi of millet, 200,000 shi of beans were transported. The tax grain quota for this canal
was later set at 600,000 shi, 350,000 of which came from the region west of Kaifeng,
while the rest was from the Huainan area. The volume of tax grains transported was
however unstable and varied from 50,000 to 70,000 shi during the Renzong’s reign to
267,000 shi in 1065. After the reform of the Xining years (1068-77) and the repair of
the sluice gates, the volume of grains transported recovered somewhat. For water
transportation during the Song period, see also Aoyama Sadao, “Le developpement des
transports fluviaux sous les Sung,” Etudes Song 1, no. 3 (1976): p. 281-96.
173
_ _ _ _ ______________________ Cities o f Aristocrats and Bureaucrats
27 The height of the ramparts was derived from a rough estimation of the city wall
portrayed in Qingming shanghe tu. From the painting the walls seemed to be constructed
of earth. Shrubs and plants even grew on it. The protruding gate structure, on the other
hand, was faced with bricks. It is still uncertain whether the inner city had a surrounding
moat. Kaifeng Museum reconstructed a schematic map of the Song capital indicating
that there was a moat around the inner city. Although Meng Yuanlao did not say
specifically if the circuit wall of the inner city was surrounded by a moat, his description
of avenues going in and out of the inner city often mentioned bridges just beyond the
gates which suggests that there was indeed a waterway just beyond certain sections of
the inner circuit wall. The map of Kaifeng from Shilin guangji iZ. (published in
the 1330s, i.e., more than 200 years after the fall of Kaifeng and after the flood had
washed away most traces of the old city) did not show a moat around the inner wall but
drew a waterway that wrapped around the northern and part of the eastern side of the
inner city. This was supposed to be the Jinshui Canal but its position was most probably
wrong. The map-maker probably assumed that Jinshui Canal must have been there
because there was a bridge outside Jiucao Gate.
28 This cart was called taiping che. Meng Yuanlao gave a detailed description of the
different kinds of goods carts and passenger chariots. There were a variety of carts: the
pingtou che -f- (Level-head vehicle), similar to the taiping che, but smaller, and
pulled by a single ox and used by most wineshops to transport wine barrels; the
zhaijuanzuo che which was similar to the pingtou che except for the fact that
it had a canopy and latticed doors both at front and back and was a passenger vehicle;
the dulun che (single-wheel vehicle) which was pulled by a mule and managed
by four persons, one in front, one behind, and two others at the sides and was commonly
used for moving bamboo, wood, tiles, and stones, and also by people selling cakes and
pastries; the langzi che >^^4- which was basically a large wheel barrow. There was
also a kind of coach that could be rented, driven by a single ox and capable of seating
up to about six people. MHLZ, p. 123.
29 MHLZ, p. 129.
30 This description is derived partly from the street scene in Going Up the River during
Qingming Festival.
31 From the painting Going Up the River during Qingming Festival, it appears that shops
of other nature had cailou marking their shopfronts too.
32 In the villages, the wine flag may be replaced by a straw broom ( ), or even a bowl
or a spatula.
33 MHLZ, p. 66.
34 Zhou Bridge was short for Bianzhou Bridge. It was also known as Bian Bridge during
the Five Dynasties period. See Xu Boyong &% , “Kaifeng, Bianhe yu Zhouqiao” tf-
M JN# [Kaifeng, Bian River, and Zhou Bridge], in vol. 2 of Zhongguo gudu
yanjiu + f i [Research on China’s Ancient Capitals], p. 134-43.
35 Archaeological excavations conducted in 1984 by the Kaifeng Song city archaeological
team revealed a bridge, 17 m long and 30 m wide, probably supported
by three stone arches. The bridge deck was also made of stone panels and was divided
into three lanes, each about 10 m wide. However, although its location coincides with
that of the Song Zhou Bridge, most of the bridge dates back to the Ming period. The
length and width of the Ming bridge can perhaps provide an indication of the size of the
Song Zhou Bridge. Song documents stated that the narrower sections of the middle
174
The Song Cityscape
course of the river was 5 zhang £ or 50 chi K. wide, which corresponds to the modem
measure of 50 X 31.12 cm or about 15.56 m wide. See “Kaifeng gu zhouqiao kantan
shijue jianbao” ifii ^1 fa] ik [Report of the Trial Excavation of Kaifeng’s
Historical Zhou Bridge], Kaifeng wenbo tM-f 1, no. 2 (1990): p. 10-16. For Song
measures, see Wenren Jun and James M. Hargett, “The Measures Li and Mou,” Bulletin
of Sung Yuan Studies, no. 21 (1989): p. 8-30. For width of river, see SS, c. 93, p. 2321.
36 At other bridges, the banks of the river were reinforced by wooden boards and logs, see
the painting Going Up the River during Qingming Festival.
37 MHLZ, p. 27.
38 Lights had to be extinguished before midnight. Hence, commoners and scholars who had
wedding or offerings had to inform the borough official (xiangshi iS f t ) in order to bum
paper money after midnight. Official establishments were also subject to strict control.
See SHY section on xingfa & , c. 2, p. 12. See Wei Tai (ca 1050-1110) in his
Dongxuan bilu [Jottings from the Eastern Pavilion] (Congshu jicheng ed.
Commercial Book Press, 1939), c. 10, p. 77.
39 MHLZ, p. 120. Prefectural seats also had their own fire fighting arrangements. The fire
fighting team was stationed at the yamen (administrative office) and a 3-bay adobe hut
with tile roof was used to store fire-fighting equipment. In the prefectural and county
seats, common folks were also organized into teams to fight fire. Every ten families
constitute a jia T and one family was selected to head the team. See Zhou Baozhu,
“Preliminary Study of the Management System of Song Cities,” p. 163.
40 Dredging the canal was vital to its navigability. The Bureau of Rivers and Canals was
set up in 1051 to take special charge of the maintenance of the waterways. An imperial
order was given the same year to dredge the canal annually. See CB, c. 171, p. 7a. Stone
slabs and statues were sunk to mark the original level of the river bed and to served as
standards for future dredging. But these efforts were not kept up for long. By the time
Shen Kuo (1031-1095) wrote his Mengxi bitan ^ >li € [Dream Brook Essays]
(Shanghai: Shanghai chuban gongsi, 1956), c. 25, p. 795-96, between 1086 and 1093,
he was complaining that the canal was neglected and had not been dredged in twenty
years. Besides, although it was forbidden, drains and ditches in the capital emptied their
contents into the canal. East of Kaifeng, from the East Water Gate to Yongqiu $1.6. and
Xiangyi JI eL (i.e., modem Qixian fc and Suixian Bfc4 in Henan about 50 km and
80 km southeast of the capital respectively), the river bed within the levee was actually
more than 4 meters higher than the surrounding land. However, the stretch within the
capital was probably better taken care of.
41 It was first dug by Sui Yangdi as part of the Grand Canal that brought supplies from the
southeast to the capitals of Chang’an and Luoyang. It had since become the lifeline of
China, critical to the survival of the Tang dynasty and was one of the major reasons for
the choice of Kaifeng as capital by the Later Liang, Later Jin, Later Han, Later Zhou,
and the Northern Song dynasties. However the transportation of grains during the last
years of the Northern Song period was not as effective as it had been during the previous
eras. This was because the effective system of shipping using relay stations developed
during the Tang period was abandoned in 1101 to save on expenses and manpower. See
Quan Hansheng, The Tang and Song Empires and the Grand Canal, p. 114.
42 SS, c. 331, p. 10642; This was probably necessary to make up for the drastic drop of
grain income from, as well as to supply the western parts of the nation engaged in war
with the Xi Xia empire.
175
43 CB, c. 64, p. 13b-14a. This volume, first delivered in 993 became a fixed quota in 1006.
See also Zhou Baozhu, Research on Song Eastern Capital, p. 199. In comparison, Tang
Chang’an received about 2 million shi a year.
44 Lou Yue, Beixing rilu i'tH 0 S. [Daily Record of Northern Travels] (Itinerary of Lou
Yue’s Journey from Chuzhou , Zhejiang, to Yenjing [modem Beijing]), shang juan,
collated in his Gongkui ji (Congshu jicheng ed., Shanghai: Commercial Book
Press, 1935), c. I ll, p. 1579. There were many granary districts along the Bian River
all the way from the Rainbow Bridge to within the outer city such as Yuanfeng granary
, Shuncheng granary >'$, ifo. , Guangji granary F , etc.
45 During the Song period, two hu made one shi. San-tendai-godaisan-ki # ^ a £- o
•IciE., in Dainihon bukkyo sensho fc. 0 -=f? , vol. 115, c. 4, p. 63.
46 SS, c. 93, p. 2317. In 962, Emperor Taizu ordered the officials of all provinces and
counties along the Bian canal to make use of corvee labor to plant willow trees along
the banks of the river to reinforce its banks.
47 See Quan Hansheng, The Tang and Song Empires and the Grand Canal, p. 114-22.
48 The Genyue Garden had a circumference of more than 10 li, see Fengchuang xiaodu M
I H '® (Congshu jicheng ed., 1939), p. 6.
49 Wang Mingqing i m (1127-ca.l215), Huizhulu [Record of Conversations],
(Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1964), p. 300-301.
50 MHLZ, p. 52. Once again no measurements were given for the width of this stretch of
the avenue. See footnote 20.
51 SHY section on fangyu, c. 10, p. 15. The area in which it was located was also known
as Guanghua fang f , probably an usage of a past era but with no real connotations
of a walled fang. See also Zhou Baozhu, “Beisong shiqi zhongguo ge zu zai dongjing
de jingji wenhua jiaoliu” 11 $. ^ 5c iil [Economic and
Cultural Exchanges of the Various Peoples in Song Eastern Capital], Henan shida
xuebao /°T A #48. [Henan Normal University Journal], no. 4 (1982): p. 17-26.
52 The portraits of Shengzu in Tianxingdian , of Zhenzong in
Wanshoudian 7i built in 1023, of Renzong /f- £ in Xiaoyandian built
around 1064-65, and of Yingzong in Yingdedian . See SDJK, p. 218-23.
53 MHLZ, p. 121.
54 I believe that instead of a 300-meter-wide imperial avenue that stretched all the way
from the Southern Gate to the Zhou Bridge as MHLZ suggests, it was more likely to be
a public square, 300 m wide in front of the palace. The length of the square is unknown
although from MHLZ, p. 173, the “mountain awning” (shanpeng J-t$i ) which probably
marked one end of the square was about 300 over meters from Xuandemen. Xu Bo’an
# ',f£l-3r in an unpublished paper, “Beisong dongjing xuande louqian” Jk £ & ^
i t [In Front of Xuande Tower in the Eastern Capital of Northern Song], delivered at
Society for the Study of Ancient Chinese Capitals, October 1988, also thinks likewise.
See MHLZ, p. 52.
55 MHLZ, p. 30. In all likelihood, the Song Imperial City and its gates bore little
resemblance to their Later Zhou predecessors. An edict issued in 1012 by Zhenzong
ordered that the Imperial City walls be faced with bricks. Prior to that, the walls were
made of earth. Only the portions surrounding the gates were brick-faced; see CB, c. 77,
p. 5b. The other two walls were of tamped earth.
56 These details can be seen in a painting entitled Auspicious Cranes 3&j S currently
kept in the Liaoning Museum. It was painted by Emperor Huizong in 1112 and depicts
176
The Song Cityscape
the roofs of the gate towers before the reconstruction. Another piece of evidence comes
from a Song period bronze bell, also kept in the same museum, with a relief of
Xuandemen with its five doorways. Triple-stepped watchtowers were used exclusively
in imperial palaces. See Fu Xinian , “Shanxisheng fanshixian yanshansi nandian
jindai bihuazhong suo hui jianzhu de chubu fenxi” ^ ®
+ [Preliminary Analysis of the Architecture depicted in the Jin
Period Wall Paintings in the South Hall of Yanshan Monastery in Fanshi county in
Shanxi province], in Jianzhu lishi yanjiu % [Research of Architectural
History], vol. 1 (Beijing, 1982), p. 119-51.
57 These were also known as chazi -fc , juma ££-3; , xingma , or lujiao JL fa .
58 See SHY, ,c . 1, p. 3a. By comparison, Taihedian, the main hall in the Forbidden
City in Beijing, has eleven bays set apart by lower blank walls on both sides.
59 Xu Bo’an, “In Front of Xuande Tower,” p. 4.
60 For a detailed description of this new administrative complex see (Song) Pang Yuanying
( £ ) til i t £ , Wenchang zalu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1958).
61 This street derived its name from the horse market located below the wineshop Helelou
fa one and a half blocks north of the junction. MHLZ, p. 71; MHLZ, p. 84 has a
line which reads “Night market north of Zhou Bridge was even a hundred times more
active” which in the context of the paragraph regarding the shops at the Horse Guild
Street seemed out of place. The character north (bei i t ) is a misprint and should read
as bi, i.e., ‘in comparison’ ( Jfc) as was the case in c. 3, p. la of the Yuan dynasty edition
of MHL reproduced of a copy in Seikado Hikyu If i i f - , Japan. When read in
context it would then mean that “In comparison, the night market at the Horse Guild
Street was a hundred times busier than that at the Zhou Bridge.”
62 MHLZ, p. 71.
63 This would normally fall around the fourth week of August.
64 MHLZ, p. 222.
65 Winter Solstice falls on December 22, New Year’s Day about a month later, followed by
Li Chun A # or the holiday marking the beginning of Spring. This is the tenth day of
the first month and normally falls on Feb 4th or 5th. The Lantern Festival t l % was
celebrated on the 14th, 15th, and 16th of the first month. Cold Feast Festival W-'k T-
normally took place 105 days after the winter solstice. Qingming Festival (Spring
Festival) takes place on the third day. MHLZ, p. 171.
66 The same happened during the three-day holiday period preceding the Cold Feast
Festival and Winter Solstice, MHLZ, p. 162.
67 See MHLZ, p. 172-3. The following description of the celebrations of the fifteenth day
of the first month is aided in large part by Stephen West’s translation of the relevant
passages in Chinese Theater, p. 33-4.
68 At times, an elephant kept by at the Yujin Garden was brought in front of the gate and
made to kneel facing north in the direction of the emperor.
69 Translation rendered by Stephen West in Chinese Theater, p. 33-4.
70 Although having a smaller territory, the Later Zhou emperors were equally contented to
use the capital of the preceding dynasties, Later Jin fe -f- and Later Han Jo . It was
only under the second Zhou emperor, Shizong, that the city was extended-a modest
effort compared to the Sui schemes of Chang’an and Luoyang.
71 Robert Hartwell, “A Cycle of Economic Change,” p. 128-29.
72 Yingtianfu is closer, at about 130 km from Kaifeng.
177
73 See SS, c. 85, p. 2102.

74 Tang Luoyang’s outer wall measured 52 li (28.93 km). Kaifeng’s outer wall was
reinforced more than a dozen times during the Song period. The most extensive
reinforcement was conducted from 1075 to 1078 during the reign of Shenzong (1068-
1085) when the walls were extended to 50 li 165 paces. Between 1082 and 1084, a moat
was dug around the wall and “urn walls” (wengcheng ), defensive towers (dilou -ft
4#), and nuqiang were added. See SDJK, p. 2-3. For details of Kaifeng’s three
walls, see article written by a member of the Kaifeng archaeological team, Qiu Gang &-
, “Beisong dongjing sancheng de yingjian he fazhan” i t %% If, 3-3$,¥] %•
[The Construction and Development of the Three Walls of Eastern Capital of the
Northern Song], Zhongyuan wenwu ^ [Relics from Central Plain], no. 4 (1990):
p. 35-40.
75 These comparisons are done using the dimensions of Kaifeng’s outer wall provided by
the archaeological team in Qiu Gang, “The Construction and Development of the Three
Walls,” p. 38. The east wall measured 7.66 km; the west: 7.59 km; the north: 6.94 km;
and the south: 6.99 km.
76 The above areas were computed using the dimensions given in Su Bai, “Sui Tang
Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 411-4; 420. The area for Kaifeng’s Imperial City was
calculated on the assumption that the perimeter was 5 li long.
77 SS, c. 85, p. 2097.
78 Tian Kai ® , “Beisong Kaifeng huangcheng kaobian”
[Investigation of Northern Song Kaifeng’s Imperial City], Zhongyuan wenwu t & X.4%
[Relics from Central Plain], no. 4 (1990): p. 41-3, argued that the Palace City was
distinct from the Imperial City and that the five li long perimeter wall was that of the
Palace City alone. The Imperial City was to the south and east of the Palace City. Until
archaeological work reveals the detailed layout of the Imperial city, the controversy will
remain.
79 See also SS, c. 85, p. 2097-102. The circumference and location of the Imperial City
cannot be determined with exactitude since the city was flooded by the Yellow River
during one of its changes in course. It now lies several feet under the current level.
80 An excellent study and schematic reconstruction of Kaifeng’s Imperial City was
conducted by Fu Xinian in “Yanshan Monastery in Fanshi county,” p. 119-51.
81 See Lin Zhengqiu , “Nansong dingdu Lin’an yuanyin chutan” if] £ -Sri?-
IM&M [Preliminary Investigation of the Reasons for Southern Song’s Choice of Lin’an
as Capital], Hangzhou shiyuan xuebao [Hangzhou Normal University
Journal], no. 1 (1982): p. 29-34.
82 Qiandao lin’an zhi [Record of Lin’an during the Qiandao (1165-1173)
Reign Period], in Collection of Song and Yuan Period Gazetteers, vol. 4, c. 2, p. 7b.
83 In 639, it had some 35,071 households. See Wu Zimu A 1 , Mengliang In f | t [ A
Record of the Millet Dream], preface dated 1334, c. 18, p. 149 (Henceforth MLL), in
W4\ Zhou Feng, Sui-Tang Hangzhou, p. 33. These figures include extramural population
in areas under the jurisdiction of the Hangzhou administrative seat. The rapid population
increase was also obvious in other cities in the lower Yangzi region when the south was
growing very rapidly as a whole. See Hartwell, “Demographic, Political, and Social
Transformations of China, 750-1550” for a general picture of the population growth.
84 See Yoshinobu Shiba, “Urbanization and Development of Markets in the Lower Yangtze
Valley,” in Crisis and Prosperity in Sung China, ed. John Haeger, p. 13-48; p. 19.
178
The Song Cityscape
85 Shiba, “Urbanization and Development of Markets,” p. 22.

86 See History and Development of Ancient Chinese Architecture, p. 424. For details
of walls, see Zhou Feng W\ ^ , ed., Wuyue shoufu Hangzhou [The
Capital of Wuyue-Hangzhou] (Hangzhou: Zhejiang renmin chubanshe, 1988),
p. 26-30.
87 See Zhou Feng M% , The capital of Wuyue-Hangzhou, p. 86-98. The book is also useful
for the different aspects of Hangzhou when it was a capital of Wuyue; see also Xu Gui
and Lin Zhengqiu , “Wudai shiguo shiqi de Hangzhou”
[Hangzhou during the Five Dynasties], Hangzhou shiyuan xuebao 4/U'l'l flf ]%#&
[Hangzhou Normal University Journal], no. 1 (1979): p. 84-8.
88 SHY section on sihuo ■fc'W, c. 16, p. 7a.
89 Its presence, although a boost to the local economy, was most probably a nuisance to the
local inhabitants, many of whom had to relocate to make way for governmental edifices
in the beginning.
90 MLL, c. 8, p. 56; SS, c. 85. p. 2105. See Wang Shilun l i f e , “Huangcheng jiuli” JL
A, JL [Nine li of Imperial City], in Nansong jingcheng Hangzhou
[Southern Song Capital Hangzhou], ed. Zhou Feng (Hangzhou: Zhejiang renmin
chubanshe, 1988), p. 14-29. Wang is of the opinion that in the later years, the Song court
did add many more buildings to the palace.
91 The rare instance when the Emperor officially faced north was when he offered
sacrifices to Heaven at the Winter Solstice. See Jeffrey Meyer, Peking as a Sacred City,
Taipei, 1976, p. 53-4.
92 See Anthony Vidler, “The Scenes of the Street: Transformations in Ideal and Reality,
1750-1871,” in On Streets, ed. Stanford Anderson (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press,
1986), p. 29-112.
93 See Lin Zhengcai , Shou cheng lu zhuyi lit ft [Record of Defending a
City Annotated] (Bejing: Jiefangjung chubanshe, 1990), p. 69-70, for an example.
94 See Qiu Gang, “The Construction and Development of the Three Walls,” p. 38-9.
95 Lou Yue, Daily Record of Northern Travels, in Gongkui ji, c. I ll, p. 1579. For a brief
account of Lou Yue, see Herbert Franke, ed., Sung Biographies, vol. 2, p. 668-72. There
are discrepancies regarding Xinsong Gate. According to Meng Yuanlao, the gate was
only double layered while Lou Yue’s description clearly shows a three-layer gate
building.
96 MHLZ, p. 1.
97 Located within Huining fang of the West Borough in the outer city, it was
originally known as shangyuan xiyi Ji ® # . Its name was later changed in 1008. It
dealt mainly with envoys from the West (Hexi region); Xi Xia envoys, for example,
stayed here.
98 The Buddhist monasteries were Taiping xingguo si ± ^ 7 ^ S # and Dafo si .
Jianlongguan £fefI:5.E was the Daoist temple.
99 Kojiro Yoshikawa, An Introduction to Sung Poetry, p. 18. Daliang was the name used
for Kaifeng during the period of the Warring States. Also among the paraphernalia
that goes with a title bestowed on a person by the emperor was “a water container with
which a retainer was supposed to sprinkle water in front of him in his travels.” See Li
Jian (1049-1109), Shiyou tanji ' ) % i [Record of Conversations with Teachers
and Friends] 1 ch. (ca. 1093), quoted in Ting/Djang, Anecdotes of Sung Personalities,
p. A ll.
179
100 The resulting distance of 40 paces or 62 meters is still about 10 meters narrower than
the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
101 Kato Shigeshi, “Songdai dushi de fazhan” Ml [The Development of Song
Cities], Research on Chinese Economic History, trans. Wu Jie, p. 239-77.
102 These markets were known as hang H , tuan SI , zuo , or shi . The hang and tuan
were usually places of wholesale trade, while the shi was where retailers gathered. The
zuo was mainly a place where craft related manufactures such as jade zuo, stone zuo,
bamboo zuo, etc., sold the products they made.
103 Although the term hang was still being used, its meaning had changed. During the Tang
period, it was normally used to describe a geographically specific location, usually a
street within the market, where merchants of the same trade gathered. However, it had
developed during the late Tang and Song periods into a proto-guild or an association of
merchants specializing in a certain trade, whereby members of the same hang were no
longer necessarily found conducting business on the same street. Kato Shigeshi saw this
development of the hang into a proto-guild as an attempt to maintain their monopoly.
Their development was also encouraged by the government who exacted hangyi t f •?£
[hang obligations] or compensations in return “for the government’s recognition of the
right of the a hang continuing its monopoly.” In Kaifeng alone, there were at least 160
hang since this was the number of associations that chose to pay their obligations in kind
instead of money when given the choice at the end of the eleventh century. Hangzhou
had 414 hang. See Xihu laoren [pseud.], Xihu laoren fansheng lu © M A
[The Old Man of West Lake’s Record of the Multidinous Splendors] (written ca.
1250), p. 18, in W4.
104 MHLZ, p. 71.
105 Fan Chengda (1126-1193), Wujun zhi Mi&P& [Record of Wu Prefecture] (Jiangsu guji
chubanshe, 1986), p. 234-47.
106 See Kato Shigeshi, “On the Hang or the Associations of Merchants in China,” p. 62-71.
107 MHLZ, p. 72.
108 MHLZ, p. 12.
109 MHLZ, p. 73 mentioned “Zhang Ba family garden residence z h e n g d ia n see Guanpu
naideweng [pseud.], Ducheng jisheng [Recording the Splendor
of the Capital City], preface dated 1247, p. 4, (section on jiusi /'S# [wineshops]) on the
nature of this kind of zhengdian, in W4..
110 MHLZ, p. 75.
111 MHLZ, p. 72.
112 MLL, c. 19, p. 166 gave the etymology of the term washe: “Washe means that when [the
patron and performer] arrive it is like piling tiles (i.e., wa) together; when they depart
it means “tiles falling apart”: so it is easy to gather and disperse, no one knows when
[the custom] arose, but it was formerly the place in the capital where men of worth and
commoners were free and unrestrained and completely out of moral control. It was the
gate through which young wastrels went to fritter away their time and pass to their ruin,”
quoted and translated in West, Chinese Theater, p. 15.
113 For more details see West, Chinese Theater, p. 17-20.
114 MHLZ, p. 67. These so-called theaters were probably simple stages set in large open
spaces bounded by railings and screened from view. See Liao Ben , “Songyuan
xitai yiji” [Remains of Song-Yuan stages], Wenwu, no. 7 (1989):
p. 82-95.
180
The Song Cityscape
115 This figure does not include smaller temples that had less than thirty bays of
construction. There were also more than 400,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, and Daoist
priests and priestesses with some 24,000 of them found in the capital. See Zhou Baozhu,
Research on Song Eastern Capital, p. 559.
116 Li Lian, Record of the Historical Remains of Bianjing, c. 10, p. 6a-8a. The Tieta is still
extant and reaches the height of 55.084 m.
117 Li Lian, Record of the Historical Remains of Bianjing, c. 10, p. lOa-b.
118 Although there are no remains to inform us of its appearance, through surviving texts
Soper has reconstructed, to a certain extent, its architectural form. See article by
Alexander Soper, “Hsiang-kuo-ssu, an Imperial Temple of Northern Sung,” Journal of
the American Oriental Society 68 (January-March 1948): p. 19-45, from which the
following description of the monastery is derived. For greater detail, see also Xiong Bolu
M ‘OsM ., Xiangguosi kao & S ^ % [A Study of the Xiangguo Monastery] (Zhongzhou
guji chubanshe, 1985); Xu Pingfang, “Beisong Kaifeng daxiangguo si pingmian fuyuan
tushuo” Jb A.^3 S -f- ® S. JS- S iJL [The Reconstruction of the Plan of Northern
Song Kaifeng’s Great Xiangguo Monastery], in Wenwu yu kaogu lunji i
[Treatises on Archaeology and Cultural Relics] (Beijng: Wenwu chubanshe, 1987),
p. 357-69.
119 According to Jojin, the courtyard had “four-sided corridors each about 200 bays (long)”.
Soper, however, doubts the accuracy of this statement as such a courtyard would be
“fantastically large” He thinks that the 200 bays was more likely the length of the
circumference or was a figure wrongly transcribed in later copies of the manuscript. All
the same, this courtyard must have been extraordinarily large as a contemporary
mentioned that the courtyard could hold ten thousand people, see MHLZ, p. 95; Xiong
Bolu, A Study of the Xiangguo Monastery, p. 89.
120 Jojin A 4 - , “San-tendai-godaisan-ki,” c. 4, p. 74; translated and quoted in Soper,
“Hsiang-kuo-ssu,” p.26.
121 See MHLZ, p. 90-1, translation rendered by Soper in “Hsiang-kuo-ssu,” p. 26, with slight
modifications here.
122 See Xiong Bolu, A Study of the Xiangguo Monastery, p. 96-7 where he quoted from Wu
Zeng, Nengai zhai manlu i [Recollections of the Master of Nenggai Studio]
(1157; reprint, Shanghai, 1979), c. 18, p. 514.
123 MHLZ, p. 91, translation by Soper, “Hsiang-kuo-ssu,” p. 26.
124 MHLZ, p. 181.
125 See Quan Hansheng, “Zhongguo miaoshi zhishi de kaocha [Study
of the History of Temple Markets], Sihuo 1, no. 2 (1934): p. 28-33. Shiba, “Song
Foreign Trade: Its Scope and Organization,” China Among Equals, ed. M. Rossabi,
1983, p. 89-115.
126 Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 156-63.
127 Quoted in Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 157.
128 Quoted in Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society in Sung China, p. 158.
129 Falls usually on February 4 or 5. See MHLZ, p. 171.
130 Quoted and translated in Shiba, “Song Foreign Trade: Its Scope and Organization,”
p. 96.
131 David Johnson, “The City-God Cults of T’ang and Sung China,” in Harvard Journal of
Asian Studies 45 (December 1985): p. 363-457; p. 391.
132 The first quotation was written by the Song poet Lu Yu in 1158 in Weinan wenji m i£j
181
(Si bu congkan ed.), c. 17, p. 3a. while the second is from Qiujian xiansheng
daquan wenji (Si bu congkan ed.), c. 40, p.l4a.; both quoted and
translated by David Johnson, in “City-God Cults,” p. 398-9.
133 David Johnson, “City-God Cults,” p. 418; see especially p. 415-6.
134 For the development of urban literature, see Jaroslav Prusek, “The Beginnings of
Popular Chinese Literature; Urban Centers-The Cradle of Popular Fiction,” Archiv
Orientalm 36, no. 1 (1968): p. 67-121. The ci form of poetry although written by the
literati was commonly sung in pleasure precincts and its popularity during the Song
period was probably due to the pervasiveness of urban entertainment. See MHLZ, p.
137-140; see also West, Chinese Theater, p. 17; Jaroslav Prusek, Origins and Authors
ofHua Pen, Prague, 1967.
182
5
The Open City
C^Vo / ot all Song towns and cities were as urbanized as the capitals. Kaifeng and
Hangzhou were the major nodes within the national network toward which the most
important roads and canals converged. Being capital cities, they were also the
exception, and the intense urban activities of these cities must not be seen as typical.
If the amount of commercial tax that a city yielded is any indication of the degree
of commercialization and urbanization, Kaifeng in 1077, for instance, furnished a
commercial tax o f 402,379 strings o f cash, or 5.5 percent of the national total.
Hangzhou with the second highest quota of 82,173 strings, contributed about a fifth
as much.1Although 63 of the 1,431 towns (zhen 41) and cities that had tax stations
contributed more than 20,000 strings each, the median for the rest was closer to three
or four thousand strings.2 Hundreds o f new and smaller urban centers mushroomed
across the empire.
LOWER-LEVEL URBAN CENTERS

The rapid urbanization between 8th and 13 th century
Since the collapse o f the strong central authority in the mid-eighth century, China
saw important social and economic changes in which the transformation o f urban
institutions and rapid urbanization were integral. As was mentioned earlier,
commercial activities were restricted to the officially sanctioned and supervised
markets within the Tang cities. This was later challenged, and together with other
factors discussed earlier, led to the emergence of a new kind o f urban structure. In
the countryside unofficial rural markets, usually periodic in nature and commonly
known as caoshi , cunshi ^ or xushi iM. ^ , were also set up to cater to the
needs o f the peasantry distant from the urban markets.
The increases in agricultural productivity, the rapid population growth, the
development of an extensive communication network, and the efficient transportation
of goods brought about a deep transformation, eventually integrating the rural
economy into a developing national market. Surplus land was used for crops to serve
the needs of new industries or the tables of the rich. Fruits, vegetables, mulberry
trees, and sugar cane, etc., were cultivated. Even fish farms developed. Surplus labor
183
specialized in crafts and industries producing goods for a rapidly growing urban
consumer population. The ease of transportation assured a national market for grains
and a constantly expanding market for the goods produced. Regional centers began
to specialized in products that they had an advantage in. Suzhou, for instance, was
well known, among other things, for its brocade and embroidery and iron cookware.
A county in Hunan was “so wholly devoted to tea cultivation that even the
countryfolk bought their vegetables in the markets”.3 Trade, once mainly confined to
luxuries goods, extended to daily necessities as specialization continued and
communities became more interdependent.
While there was a “fairly dense pattern o f village settlement but at the same time
comparatively few small towns ranking below the administrative county towns in
size and status,” during the early Tang period, large numbers o f small and
intermediate size towns emerged during the late Tang and early Song periods.4 Rural
population gravitated towards urban centers while villages and rural markets grew
into “half towns”, small or medium sized towns or even cities.5 Significant during
this period was the development of towns from rural markets which functioned as
intermediate trading centers providing a new economic linkage between cities and
villages.6 The conduct of trade was so pervasive that Changshu County in the Suzhou
Prefecture, for example, had one market town for every 8.65 villages during the
period 1241-1252.7 One such market place was the town of Dingqiao of which this
was written:
These days, wherever there is a settlement o f ten households, there is always a

market fo r rice and salt. The use o f the term ‘m arket’ indicates that there is
business going on there. A t the appropriate season people exchange what they
have fo r what they have not, raising or lowering their prices in accordance with
their estimation o f the eagerness or lack o f enthusiasm shown by others, so as
to obtain the last small measure o f profit. This is o f course the usual way o f the
world. Although Dingqiao is no great city yet its river will take boats and its
land-routes will take carts. Thus it too serves as a town fo r peasants who trade
and artisans who engage in commerce.8
Coastal cities also grew rapidly. The loss o f the northwestern territories had cut off
Song’s access to the overland Silk Road. Instead maritime trade developed at an
unprecedented scale, thanks to the progress in shipbuilding technology and the
invention of the compass during the twelfth century. Persian, Arab, Southeast Asian,
Korean and Japanese ships called at the flourishing ports along the coast. Foreign
trade was also encouraged as the court recognized it as an important source of
income. In 1128, for instance, maritime trade alone accounted for “twenty percent of
the empire’s total cash revenue o f ten million strings”.9 Nine port cities — Jiangyin
, Huating ¥ -f*, Ganpu , Xiuzhou % ^'1 , Hangzhou , Mingzhou
^1 , Wenzhou , Quanzhou , and Guangzhou f~ — were designated for
foreign trade (Fig. 65).
184
The Open City
Fig. 65. Port cities.
The growth o f trade and the proliferation o f urban centers created a situation in
which the importance o f an “artificial” administrative center did not necessary
correspond with its importance as an economic center. During the early Tang, these
administrative centers, though mainly political or military, normally served the
secondary function of market centers as well. They were the centers through which
taxes, collected mainly in kind, were funneled through to the central government and
redistributed through official expenditure.10 The Song inherited the Tang local
administration system with minor changes. The empire was divided into 23 regions
(lu $$-), some 300 prefectures and about 1500 counties.11 Although administratively,
prefectural capitals preceded county capitals, economically many county seats
superseded their prefectural counterparts in importance after the rapid growth of trade
during the Song dynasty. A network was developed in which these economic centers
may be ranked hierarchically as regional cities, followed by local cities, central
market towns, intermediate market towns, and finally rural marketplaces known as
“standard markets”.12
Growth was especially rapid in the lower Yangzi Valley.13 Social disorder in North
China since the mid-Tang had accelerated the southward migration. Coupled with the
natural growth o f the indigenous population, the south saw an unprecedented
expansion. While only 23 percent o f the population lived in the south in 606, the
185
situation was reversed by 1078 when southern population accounted for 65 percent
of the total.14 Urban population constituted an important component. In the early 13th
century, about 14 percent o f the population o f Yin County in which the city of
Mingzhou (modern Ningbo T ;&) was situated was urban. In She County (where
Huizhou was located), urban population constituted about 26 percent; in Dantu
County (where the prefectural seat Zhenjiang was located) it was 28 percent in 1208-
1224 but rose to 33 percent in 1265-74; Hanyangjun’s urban population amounted to
about 13 percent.15 In the prefecture of Dingzhou in Fujian, Elvin noted that the urban
population rose quickly from six percent of the total population in the later twelfth
century to 28 percent by the middle of the thirteenth century.16 Across the empire the
number o f big cities were also increasing. During the Song period there were more
than forty cities with population exceeding a hundred thousand, a considerable
increase from the dozen or so during the Tang era.17
According to statistics available in 1077, there were 2,041 large and small centers
in the empire that furnished substantial commercial taxes to the state.18 And this
number did not include the economically negligible but nonetheless politically or
militarily significant prefectural and county seats as well as some 1,300 towns.19
Altogether more than 3,200 zhen (towns) and cities were listed. If we were to include
small towns in Southern China similar to the zhen but which were known as xu ,
chang , p u M , du '& , dian J% , zhai $■, the number would even be higher.20 The
increase in urban centers did not, however, result in an increase in the number of
prefectural or county capitals. If anything, there was a slight decrease in the number
o f administrative seats.21 It was the proliferation of rural markets and lower-level
economic centers such as intermediate market towns that changed the landscape and
the rural-urban relationship. An urban system of higher order cities, county seats, and
towns serving as intermediate market towns and local markets, stretched across the
empire like nodes linked by an extensive communication network (Fig. 66).
Prefectural Capitals, County Seats, and Towns

At the lowest level, a town might consist of a hundred households to several thousand
households. As Shiba has noted, besides salt depots, wine-shops and tax-offices, such
a town would have its own boundaries and occasionally even a wall. Either a Town
Supervising Official (jianzhen guan J ), or a Police Inspector (xunjian ),
or sometimes a County Captain (xianwei ) would be placed in charge, and
“there would be the administrative subdivisions called ‘quarters’ (fang £? ) and
officially sanctioned guilds”.22
Perhaps due to the rapid expansion and also in part to the nature of the terrain,
many cities during the Song period no longer had rectilinear envelopes. Unlike the
wide expanse of flat plateau o f northern China, the southern lands were waterlogged,
dotted with lakes, scissored by streams, rivers, and canals, and sprinkled here and
there with hills. The larger cities that emerged here often grew quickly adapting to
the form of the terrain. Quanzhou, an important port in the south, is a good
186
The Open City
Fig. 66. Commercial centers of Song China.
example.23 The city was first founded during the reign o f Emperor Sui Wendi in 589.
During the Tang period it gradually became an important coastal port between the
two other major ports, Canton to its south and Yangzhou to its north. A modest inner
city (zicheng ) wall of 3 li and 160 paces was said to have been erected in 906.
This was almost square in shape and was served by two intersecting roads that left
the city through four gates, one on each side — a layout typical o f the earlier urban
structure. Its shape too conformed to those used largely in the north. During the Five
Dynasty period however when Southern Tang Dynasty (Nantang &Jlt , 937-958) was
in control of the territory, a rectangular enceinte for the administrative city (yacheng
) was built off-axis north of the inner city. An outer wall, about 20 li long, of
irregular shape was also added, supposedly during this period (Fig. 67). The
proverbial prosperity and rapid growth of the port city together with the peculiarities
of the site were responsible for breaking the once rigid geometry of the city.
Quanzhou was not unique in being irregular in shape. In fact many towns and
cities in the south were not rectilinear in form. Wuxi , Jingzhou #] , Ganzhou
if" ^'1 , and Hangzhou are just a few examples.24 Farther west, the military stronghold
o f Jingjiang prefectural capital I f '/i-Jtfidi (modern Guilin) was similar in some
respects. However, being a military stronghold which had expanded over time, its
187
188
The Open City
plan and organization was far more complicated than most cities. A map engraved in
1272 on the southern cliff face o f Parrot Mountain (Yingwushan ih ) provides
us with detailed information of its layout (Fig. 68).25 Located at the southeastern
section of the city, the small zicheng, built during the Tang period, was, as expected,
rectangular in shape. This was where the provincial administrative center was
located. However its subsequent expansion and reinforcements during the Song
period once again upset the rigid geometry. Between 1258 and 1272 the city was
reinforced four times in preparation for the approaching assault by the Mongol army.
The city was sectioned into six parts, including an inner city, a “sandwiched-city”,
two outer cities — one to the west and the other to the south, a new city, and an
administrative city. The new walls were no longer strictly rectilinear as was the case
o f the Tang administrative precinct. Rather the new contours adapted to the
surrounding features. A lower secondary brick circuit wall (known as Yangma wall
Pa 4 $ , ) hugging the contours of the city walls was built as an additional obstacle.
While the eastern and southern moats were sections of rivers, the moat on the western
side o f the city was dug in response to the existing conditions and subsequently
yielded the curvilinear forms. Also noteworthy was the road network within the city.
It was no longer the rectilinear gird o f the earlier periods. Instead some roads were
oblique and most roads terminated at T-junctions. This was a common military
strategy developed to confuse and delay a sieging army from capturing the city’s
nerve center once it had breached the walls. This T-junction feature was also found
in the prosperous city of Suzhou (see Fig. 53).
Whatever the scale of the towns however, the urban experience toward the end of
the Northern Song period was very different from that of the early Tang period. Even
if it was not always as intense as in Kaifeng or in Hangzhou, it was certainly urban.
The concentration o f population, the presence of suburbs, the relaxation of control
and the resulting proliferation of trade and entertainment increasingly distanced
urban living from village life.
THE OPEN CITY

Besides the emergence of a new streetscape fronted by shops and stalls and crowded
with rich merchants, peddlers, performers, animal trains, and ordinary citizens, many
other aspects of the open city were different from those of its predecessor. Not only
did the aspect of the streets change, so did their overall organization. A new urban
fabric and skyline also appeared. Less dramatic perhaps was the appearance of a
more colorful, decorative, and elegant architecture replacing the stern and
monumental style of the past.
The change in city grid

While we frequently think o f the Chinese city as a perfect diagram whether in the
form o f the checkerboard plans o f Sui-Tang Chang’an or Luoyang, or the triple
189
Fig. 68. Map of Jingjiang fu.
concentric walls of Yuan Dadu and Ming-Qing Beijing after the paradigm of Zhou
Wangcheng , the reality was quite different for the city during the phase of rapid
urbanization in China. The square and rectangular city contours were true primarily
for North and Northwestern China where the earlier Chinese dynasties were based.26
The square city walls of Datong k . Is] , Taiyuan icif- , Darning k Z , etc., and their
simple gridiron urban structures come to mind (Figs. 69 to 71).27 However, when
190
The Open City
e co n o m ic prim acy shifted south to the L ow er Yangzi region after m id-Tang, and
d evelop m en t took place farther south in G uangdong and Fujian during the Song,
highly irregular city form s em erged w ith equally irregular street networks in these
regions. On the other hand, even the rigid urban structure o f the northern cities, when
given the opportunity and necessary conditions, broke dow n. Strict grids eroded and
crooked and obliqu e streets appeared (F ig. 72). A lthough not a northern city, the
subtle road and canal network o f Song period Suzhou is a fine exam ple o f the erosion
o f a on ce stricter grid o f fa n g (see F igs. 1 and 53). A lso w hen a new w all w as built
to protect any suburbs that had developed, these new intramural sections were far less
ordered. K a ife n g ’s outer city , fo r in sta n c e , had sev era l o b liq u e streets. T his
develop m en t is equally v isib le in cities o f later periods w hen new w alls w ere added
to e n clo sed hea v ily populated suburbs. M ing period B eijin g is a case in point. Its
south eastern and south w estern se c tio n s, e n c lo sed in 1553 under the reign o f
Emperor Jia Jing after the addition o f a new outer wall, contain numerous curved and
crook ed streets co m p letely out o f character w ith the rigid ly planned grid o f the
im perial capital (Fig. 73).
The change in urban tissue

A s the ward w alls fell, and stalls, shops, taverns, restaurants, brothels, and the like
left the con fin es o f en clo sed m arket to line m ain streets and side alleys, the urban
fabric also changed. The proliferation o f these pluralistic streets throughout the city
not on ly had a great im pact on the structure o f the city but also altered the urban
tissue. The distinction and location o f the different urban tissues typical o f residential,
com m ercial, and adm inistrative functions so d efinite in the Tang city w as no longer
as clear during the Song period. W hile a relatively dense fabric o f narrow lots filled
the markets o f C han g’an and L u oyang the rest o f the city w as m ade up m ainly o f
larger plots for courtyard houses interspersed w ith even larger ones for the extensive
properties o f officials and m agnates, state bureaus and official facilities, and religious
institutions.
The Son g city w as m ore com p lex and its urban tissue is less easy to characterize.
K aifeng, for instance, had land lots and properties o f different shapes and sizes lining
its streets. A lthough a distilled v iew o f the city, Going up the River during Qingming
Festival illustrates this point w ell. A series o f adjoining shops along a street m ay be
interrupted here and there by large m ultistory taverns, restaurants, residences or even
govern m en t b u ild in g s (se e F ig. 7 2 ). G enerally, sm aller lots com p risin g m ainly
com m ercia l properties lin ed the m ain streets and a lley s in the busier location s.
B ehind these shops and at less central locations, larger lots o f courtyard houses were
found. E ven larger ones for m ilitary cam ps w ere located along the outer w all.
An eighteenth-century map o f B eijin g, com plete w ith representations o f urban
features, typical hou ses, and shops, sh o w s a city made up o f the different kinds o f
urban tissue. A long the main streets w ere rows o f single-story buildings with narrow
bay w idths (F igs. 74 and 75 ). B ehind w ere large courtyards, m ainly rectangular in
191
shape, surrounded by buildings on one or more sides. Occasionally free standing

structures were located within the courtyards. Gates and compound walls often lined
the narrower alleys, distant from the thoroughfares. Although of a much later period,
the urban fabric depicted was most probably very similar to that of Kaifeng during
the Northern Song — the period that gave rise to this new urban structure.
The change in urban skyline

While the changes in urban tissue constituted change at the level o f the city plan, the
city also saw changes in its vertical profile. In general, the Chinese city was flat,
com prising m ainly one and two-story buildings. The Song period saw an
unprecedented vertical growth in its capital cities. Competing with the many
Fig. 69. Map of Datong.
192
The Open City
Fig. 70. Map of Taiyuan.
Fig. 71. Map of Darning.
193
Fig. 72. Reconstruction of a schematic plan of a section of Qingming shanghe tu.
Fig. 73. Detail of an eighteenth century map of Beijing showing irregular urban grid
southeast of Chongwen gate in the outer city.
conspicuous gate towers, corner turrets, and fire observation towers, were the tall
structures of commercial, religious, and residential properties alike. The limited size
of Kaifeng and especially Hangzhou and the galloping growth o f population were
partly responsible for this phenomena. As was noted in the previous chapter, a four-
to five-fold increase in population in certain parts of the country was not uncommon.
With the growth of trade, the itinerant population in cities also increased. At the
capital, this was further compounded by the arrival of about 10,000 hopeful scholars
every third year for the civil service examinations. In Southern Song Hangzhou,
“there were ten times more scholars than usual from the different regions” during the
period of examinations.28 Two-story buildings were common as the number of
194
The Open City
references to lou # , sometimes translated as loft buildings, imply (see Figs. 58 and
76). At times these included buildings with three or more levels such as Baifanlou
, one of the largest wineshops in Kaifeng, described earlier. Less spectacular,
perhaps, were buildings that straddled roadways known as kuajielou 2^%$! . One
such building was recorded in the engraved map of Suzhou along the major artery
in the city (Fig. 77). These buildings were probably not uncommon as Lou Yue noted
the presence of another such wineshop-restaurant in Suzhou while he was
traveling north.29
Perhaps, the quest for verticality was more than just a matter o f necessity. As
Soper has noted “the Song age seems to have carried to a climax a passion for
verticality long growing in the Chinese aesthetic sense”.30 The four-story gateway to
the imperial monastery of Xiangguo in Kaifeng is a testament to such efforts. Even
more impressive were the numerous pagodas that dotted its skyline. Although these
were equally prominent within the Tang city, they reached new heights in congested
city of Kaifeng. The first pagoda of Kaibaosi , we have seen, shot more than
a hundred meters into the air. Even its smaller replacement built in 1049, now stands
Fig. 74. Detail of an eighteenth

century map of Beijing showing a
major business district around
1750 in the Outer City.
195
a tow ering 55.1 m eter tall in the modern city o f K aifeng (Fig. 7 8 ).31 G enerally, the
shapes o f these pagodas also differed from their Tang counterparts in shifting from
a square section to a octagon al one. In 1069, Lou Yue, upon entering the city gate
X insongm en, cou ld see this pagoda located about three kilom eters to the north and
the im pressive Potaisi Pagoda o' about tw o kilom eters farther south.32 A long
the im perial avenue, he noted several others that graced the silhouette o f the city.
W riting later, Zhou M i (1 2 3 2 -a fte r l3 0 8 ) remarked that the tow ers and pavilions o f
K aifeng were “extrem ely lofty.”33
Public establishm ents w ere not the only ones to dom inate the skyline. W ealthy city
dw ellers w ere also building tow ers and pavilions to add charm and elegance to their
properties. Within the com pound o f H uizong’s prime m inister Cai Jing outside Liang
Gate w as the S ix Crane H all w hich w as four zhang nine chi or about 15
meters high. The o fficia l Li Zunhui (-a fte r l0 2 0 ) earned his residence the
nam e o f “T he W atch-T ow er-L i F a m ily ” w hen he b u ilt a “tall-m u ltistoried loft
building along the street.34
H angzhou w as ev en m ore crow ded if w e w ere to ju d g e by the contem porary
accounts and those o f later western observers during the Yuan dynasty. An inhabitant
Fig. 75. Detail of an eighteenth century

map of Beijing showing an upper-class
district around 1750 near the east wall
of the Inner City.
196
The Open City
wrote that the alleyw ays w ere con g ested and the streets narrow and “the houses o f
com m on ers are high and built c lo s e to each other. Their beam s touch and their
porches are continuous. There is not an inch o f unoccupied ground anyw here.”35
Visual accounts provided by paintings confirm the vertical tendencies o f the Southern
S on g capital. In a contem porary h andscroll o f the W est Lake by L i Song (1160-
1243), a busy lak e-sid e street ou tsid e the southw estern w a lls is lined by tw o and
three-storied b u ild ings (se e F igs. 65 and 7 9 ). If this w as true o f a relatively low
d en sity southern d istrict by the lak e, the situation cou ld o n ly h ave been m ore
dramatic in the congested sections o f the city where the poorer com m on folks lived.
A n anonym ous painting o f the panoram ic view o f the W est Lake, probably from the
14th century, show ed a scene equally filled with multistoried buildings along the lake
Fig. 76. Example of a two-story wine loft (detail of

Qingming shanghe tu).
197
Fig. 77. Detail of Pingjiang tu

showing Kuajielou, a restaurant
that straddled a street.
front (F ig. 80). T he street painted by Li S on g in the earlier handscroll w as also

depicted in the M ing period panorama, albeit from a different view point, show ing the
endless row s o f tw o and three-storied shops and houses (Fig. 81).
The change in the city edge

The changes w ere not o n ly ob viou s in the p h ysiogn om y o f the city, but also at the
periphery o f the city. T his d ifferen ce is heightened w hen w e com pare preplanned
C h an g ’an or L u oyan g w ith sp ontaneou s K aifen g or H angzhou. W h ile the Tang
capitals had substantial cultivated field s w ithin their w alls, the Song capitals had
exten sive suburbs beyond their ramparts.
Son g K aifeng, as w e have seen, established nine suburban boroughs w ith a total
o f 14 fa n g to h an dle the problem o f suburban grow th. G oin g by contem porary
accounts, H angzhou’s suburbs w ere no less remarkable. N ai D ew en g wrote in 1235
that the area w as still densely populated scores o f li beyond the south, w est, and north
o f the city and that one cou ld w alked for days w ithout exhausting the markets and
streets.36 Suburban d evelop m en t w as not confined to the capital cities alone, in fact
m any cities w ere surrounded by exten sive faubourgs. D uring the first quarter o f the
198
Fig. 78. Kaibaosi pagoda.
Fig. 79. Detail of West Lake by Li Song,

Song dynasty, Shanghai Museum, showing
a street at the lower left hand corner.
199
Fig. 80. Detail of Panorama o f Westlake, Anonymous, Ming Dynasty, Freer Gallery.
Fig. 81. Detail of Panorama o f Westlake, Anonymous, Ming Dynasty, Freer Gallery.
eleventh century, Taiyuan, for instance, had a suburban population o f more than 2000
households. B etw een 1038-40, there were also more than ten thousand m ilitary and
civilian fam ilies residing around the suburban markets o f Q inzhou # ^'1 . During the
secon d h a lf o f Northern S o n g , suburban developm ent w as even m ore widespread.
O utside the w a lls o f M in gzh ou ^'1 and Jiangningfu f r f / f t w ere markets that
gathered every m orning. X infan County capital (in Chengdu Prefecture
) and the military stronghold o f Pingding 3(~'aL% too had important extramural
200
The Open City
developm ent.37 W hen Lou Yue passed through H ongxian it - lr a century later, he also
rem arked that m ost o f the m arkets w ere located outside the city w a lls.38 Su S h i’s
earlier rem ark “H ow can each [o f the cities] be exten d ed w ith an outer w a ll? ”
underlines the pervasiveness o f suburban growth.
H ow ever, the difference is far le ss dram atic w hen w e con sid er the lo w er-lev el
Tang cities. U n like the capital cities o f C hang’an and Luoyang, m any Tang cities did
not have w ell delim ited city-ed ges defined by their w alls. For a number o f cities the
situ a tio n during the later p eriod o f the Tang w as rather sim ilar to their S on g
counterparts. M any centers first estab lish ed for m ilitary and political reasons had
sm all en cein tes for their adm inistrative centers. Rapid population grow th quickly
spilled inhabitants beyond the w alls. Y angzhou, Suzhou, K aifeng, and Hangzhou are
typical exam ples. A s the extramural population o f these cities grew during the late
Tang, new circuit w alls were built to contain the expanding suburbs. O nly this growth
did not stop for the next several hundred years until the invasion o f the M ongols.
M ean w hile, m ore and more v illa g es, tow ns, and cities expanded beyond their w alls
and sin c e w a lls w ere not or c o u ld not a lw a y s be built to h old the exp an d in g
population, the city ed ge b ecam e less and less distinct.
A s Spiro K o sto f had pointed out, “P ow er d esign s cities, and the raw est form o f
pow er is control o f urban land.”39 The strong, autocratic grip that the Sui emperors
had over their capitals, cou pled w ith rigid social order, produced an equally strict
urban order o f w a lled m on ofu n ction al wards separated by w id e, p o liced streets,
co n fin in g c itiz e n s to e a sily co n tro lla b le quarters. The go v ern m en t’s disdain for
com m ercia l a ctiv ities and m erchants alik e relegated them to c lo se ly supervised
en clo sed markets; trade, if needed, w as primarily for the consum ption o f the court.
A lthough, the system w as adopted during the early Tang period, the second h alf o f
the Tang period saw a gradual erosion o f the urban structure thanks to a w eakened
central governm ent, an exp and ing econ om y, and the em ergence o f a prosperous
urban c la ss. T he h alf-cen tu ry lon g interregnum , w h ich d ecim ated m uch o f the
aristocracy and the gentry, brought an end to the “apogee o f the pow er o f the great
aristocratic cla n s” and paved the w ay for a n ew so cial order.40 U nder the m ore
pluralistic Son g society, com m ercial activities, once considered a necessary ev il and
kept to a m inim u m , b lo sso m ed . T he im perial coffers that dep en d ed m ain ly on
agricultural taxes now derived a large in com e from com m ercial taxes. Even officials
and gentry, attracted by profit, participated in com m ercial ventures on ce regarded
w ith contem pt. In fact, m any o f the rental properties that encroached on the public
roadw ays w ere built and ow n ed by high o fficia ls th em selves, m aking it ever more
difficu lt for the central authority to rid the streets o f these structures.
The n ew city w as m uch le ss controlled and m ore open than its predecessors to
popular involvem ent. Governm ent ed ifices, im perial shrines, and army encam pm ents
aside, the rigid zoning and segregation o f activities in the city gave w ay to pluralistic
neighborhoods w here market forces determ ined to a large extent the allocation o f
activities. Public and private spaces b ecam e accessible to large cross-sections o f the
201
populace. Intense urban activities, ranging from recreation to trade filled the city at
all times leading to the blossoming of a genuine urban culture and the emergence of
a popular urban consciousness. Physically, the open city was significantly different
from its predecessors. Driven by increasing congestion and economic considerations,
there was a tendency, slight though it may be, to vertical expansion. Wineshops and
restaurants in busy locations built additional levels to cater a larger clientele while
multistory residential buildings appear in congested cities like Hangzhou. Rapid
urban population growth also led to the emergence of suburbs at strategic locations
around the city. Within the walls the gridiron plan eroded to a more subtle network
filled with T-junctions, cranked intersections, and oblique streets over a complex
urban fabric. Toward the end o f the Northern Song, a new kind of city was bom. This
new paradigm would remain the dominant form until contact with the West and the
advent o f modern industries and government once again changed the urban
landscape.
NOTES
1 Ma, Commercial Development and Urban Change, p. 64-70.
2 See Ma, Commercial Development and Urban Change, p. 67, table 3.
3 Mark Elvin, The Pattern of Chinese Past, p. 168.
4 Twitchett, “The Tang Market System,” p. 203.
5 Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 128. See also Fu Zongwen, “Song Period Rural
Market Towns and the Development of Suburbs”; Fu Zongwen, “Songdai de
caoshizhen” £ 'ft Tf # [Song Period Rural Market Towns], Kexue zhanxian,
no. 1 (1982): p. 116-25.
7 Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 129-30.
8 Passage from Zhenjiang zhi 4ft [Zhenjiang Gazetteer] for the Zhishun JU® reign
period (1330-1332) quoted from Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 129.
9 Ma, Commercial Development and Urban Changes, p. 38; he also noted that this became
an imperial policy when Gaozong issued an edict in 1137 saying: “The profits from
maritime commerce are very great. If properly managed, they can bring in a million
[strings of cash]. Is this not better than taxing the people? We pay attention to this matter
because we wish to lighten the burden of the people.” See SHY, c. 44 (Zhiguan zhi),
p. 20a-b quoted in p. 34.
11 The number of prefectures and counties varied during the duration of the dynasty. At its
peak in the early 1100s, there were about 1500 counties and 300 prefectures. During the
Yuanfeng period (1078-1085) there were only 224 prefectures and 1093 counties. See
Ting/Djang, Anecdotes of Sung Personalities, p. 48-9. During the Southern Song there
were only 16 regions left.
12 See William Skinner, “Marketing and Social Structure in Rural China,” The Journal of
Asian Studies 24, no. 1,2,3 (1964, 1965) for typology and terminology.
13 Six of the nine ports were clustered around the deltas of the Yangzi and the Qiantang
rivers.
202
The Open City
14 See Shiba, “Urbanization and Development of Markets,” p. 16. See also Hartwell,
“Demographic, Political, and Social Transformations of China, 750-1550.”
15 All these figures are estimates since the urban population cannot be determined with
certainty. Shiba/Elvin, Commerce and Society, p. 137-9.
16 Mark Elvin, The Pattern of the Chinese Past, p. 175.
17 Liu Zhiping -*'] Sk.-f- , Zhongguo juzhu jianzhu jianshi [A Brief
History of Chinese Residential Architecture] (Beijing: Zhongguo jianzhu gongye
chubanshe, 1990), p. 41.
18 Ma, Commercial Development and Urban Changes, p. 66
19 Of the 1,135 county capitals in 1077, only 743 or 65 percent had stations for collecting
commercial taxes while only one quarter of the 1,815 zhen H (towns) had stations; see
Shiba, “Urbanization and Development of Markets,” p. 26; also Ma, Commercial
Development and Urban Changes, p. 63.
20 Xu and chang were towns that grew out of rural markets while pu and dian were towns
that developed from commercial establishments and inns. Du were towns located at ferry
points and zhai were towns which were military camps initially.
21 There were only 220 odd prefectures during the Yuanfeng period (1078-1085) as
compared to about 331 prefectural seats between 742 and 756 during the Tang dynasty.
See footnote 11 and Chapter 1, footnote 187.
22 Shiba, Commerce and Society, p. 131.
23 See Dong Jianhong i # , Zhongguo chengshi jianshe shi + [History
of Chinese City Development] (Beijing: Zhongguo jianzhu gongye chubanshe, 1987),
p. 53-7.
24 See Wu Qingzhou ^ , “Shilun woguo gucheng kanghong fanglao de jingyan” iK
[Experience of Chinese Old Cities in Preventing Flood
and Waterlogging], Jianzhushi lunwenji [Collected Papers on History of
Architecture], vol. 8, p. 1-20. The research was furthered in his Research on Flood
Prevention in Ancient Chinese Cities.
25 See History and Development of Ancient Chinese Architecture, p. 435-7; and Ma
Chongxin -3/ # # , “Shi lun Guilin Songdai moya shike ‘Jingjiang fuchengchi tu’ zai
ditushi shang de yiyi” ;&S)) -jii&S ^5L
[The Significance of the Song Jingjiangfu Map in the History of Maps], Lishi dili fit it
[Historical Geography] 6 (1988): p. 251-7.
26 See Sen-dou Chang, “The Morphology of Walled Cities,” The City in Late Imperial
China, ed. Skinner, p. 75-100.
27 For an unanalytical and non-chronological collection of Chinese city maps, see
Benjamin E. Wallacker et al., ed., Chinese Walled Cities: A collection of Maps from
Shina Jokaku no Gaiyo (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1979). A quick
glance is sufficient to convince one of the difference in morphology of cities north and
south of the Yellow River.
28 Xihu laoren [pseud.], The Old Man of West Lake’s Record of the Multidinous
Splendors, p. 9, in W4.
29 Luo Yue, Beixing rilu, p. 1577. For a study of the Potaisi Pagoda, see Kong Xianyi,
“Pota guanjian” JSL, Songshi yanjiu lunwenji [Collected Papers
on Song History] 1987 Annual Meeting edition, 1989, p. 322-33.
30 Alexander Soper, “Hsiang-kuo-ssu,” p. 28.
203
31 Zhou Baozhu, Research on Song Eastern Capital, p. 569-70.

32 Lou Yue, Daily Record of Northern Travels, in Gongkui ji, c. I ll, p. 1579.
33 Zhou Mi $ , Kuixin zashi [Miscellaneous Notes from the Kuixin quarter]
(ca. 1298) quoted in Soper, “Hsiang-kuo-ssu,” p. 27.
34 Wang Mingqing 3L&M (1127-after 1214), Huizhu qianlu ®T:S. [Talks Conducted
While Waving a Chowry] (Congshu jicheng ed., Shanghai: Commercial Book Press,
1936), c. 2, p. 84.
35 MLL, c. 10, p. 81, in W4.
36 Guanpu naideweng /ft 81 [pseud.], Recording the Splendor of the Capital City, p.
15 (fangyuan ^ K .), in W4.
37 See Fu Zongwen, “Song Period Rural Markets and the Development of Suburbs, p. 162.
38 Lou Yue, Daily Record of Northern Travels, in Gongkui ji, c. I ll, p. 1576.
39 Spiro Kostof, The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History
(London: Thames and Hudson, 1991), p. 52.
40 D. Twitchett, “The Composition of the T’ang Ruling Class,” p. 52.
204
6
A New Urban Paradigm
(/?he Tang-Song transition period, important in many aspects of Chinese social,

cultural, and economic history, is equally critical in the history of Chinese cities.
While the Sui and the early Tang city was controlled and highly disciplined with
restricted commercial activity that recalls the capital cities o f the Six Dynasties
period, the late Northern Song city established a new paradigm, that of the open city
filled with multifunctional streets active round the clock. These cities reflected the
respective societies that gave rise to them, one rooted in a strong aristocratic power
with a highly hierarchical social structure, and the other shaped by a diverse,
mercantile society managed by pragmatic professional bureaucrats. The emergence of
the new urban paradigm towards the end of the eleventh century is one of the most
dramatic and important changes in Chinese urban history.
The Sui-early Tang and late Northern Song city as epitomized in this study by their
respective capitals and major urban centers were very different from one another.
Sui-Tang Chang’an was extremely controlled and was divided into large enclosed
wards by extraordinarily wide streets. These closely patrolled streets became vast
expanses o f “no-man’s land” at night. The people of Chang’an who lived in the wards
were subject to stringent supervision and forbidden to leave the wards during curfew
hours. Access to the streets after dark was strictly regulated. Guards stationed in
police posts located at junctions of the avenues at the comers o f the fang enforced
compliance. The main streets were also devoid o f commercial activities, which were
restricted to the fortress-like East and West Markets in the city. There, trading was
permitted only during certain hours of the day. In fact Chang’an was very much like
a collection of semi-autonomous walled cities or urban “villages” separated by wide
avenues within a fortified precinct. Mitigated by the low density, wide streets, and
earthem walls, the visual cues were probably not very different from those o f the
country even within the fortified enclosure.
The emergence towards the end of the eleventh century of the open city announced
the advent o f a very different form o f city. The new urban center was crisscrossed
by streets lined with establishments of all kind including shops, taverns, restaurants,
ateliers, entertainment facilities, religious institutions, government edifices, and
residences. Extensive suburbs often mushroomed outside the city walls. Within,
overpopulation and high density forced buildings to be built closely together.
205
Multistory buildings became common. Free to move, shops and entertainment

facilities congregated at bridges and important intersections o f major land and water
routes both inside and outside the city walls, creating busy commercial districts.
Business was conducted at all hours of the day.
The process of transformation from one form to the other, as we have seen, was
long and tortuous. The reasons for such a development were equally complex and
multifaceted. During the long period of relative peace during the Song period, the
population in China as well as in the urban centers grew rapidly, a result, in part, of
agricultural advancements. The adoption of new strains o f early ripening Champa
rice allow ed for m ultiple harvests per year; im provem ents in agricultural
technologies brought about spectacular increases in production. At the same time,
surplus labor began to specialize, resulting in ample consumer goods for the growing
urban population. The Song saw a period of unprecedented economic growth. Rural
markets grew into towns, and towns into cities. Spurred by natural population growth
and rural influx, these urban centers quickly became crowded. Suburbs flourished.
Houses and sheds invaded public roadways. Simultaneously, commercial activities
blossom ed. Ward w alls, if still extant, fell. Shops expanded beyond the last
semblance of wards; they first lined and later encroached upon the streets and
avenues.
Although the economic expansion of the Song period contributed much to the birth
o f the new urban paradigm, the social transformation during the important Tang-Song
transition period was also significant in the emergence of the new urban structure.
Efforts were made by the Tang emperors to weaken the strength o f the ruling
aristocrats through diverse means, including the issue of official genealogies and the
selection o f government officials through civil examinations. The An Lushan
rebellion in 755 had put an end to the centralizing authority of the Tang court. Later
the Huang Chao rebellion and the ensuing half-century-long social turmoil ended the
power o f the aristocracy and helped pave the way for the rise of a new scholar-
official gentry and a new social order. The aristocratic and centralizing nature o f the
Sui and early Tang administration was eventually replaced by a Song government
managed by pragmatic career Confucianist bureaucrats. The strict social hierarchy of
the previous eras gave way to a more socially mobile social structure. Under the more
pluralistic Song society, commercial activities, no longer regarded with the same
contempt, blossomed under less governmental supervision. The social position of
merchants improved; some even became officials. Lured by great returns, officials
and gentry, likewise, invested in commercial activities and real estate. Self interest
and greed led many to crowd roadways with commercial properties, making it ever
more difficult for the authority to clear the streets o f encraoching structures. Urban
land, accumulated by the officials, the gentry, and the monied merchant class, was
used to produce a city for their own consumption.
However, just as important to the appearance o f the open city was the political
relaxation in urban control whatever the reasons might have been. The aftermath of
the An Lushan rebellion was once again critical in this respect. The erosion of the
206
A New Urban Paradigm
ward system during the second half of the Tang period was, I believe, less directly
due to an increase in trade and commercial activities that had for precondition an
increasing population but more directly influenced by the weakening o f the central
authority in the wake of the rebellion. Immediately after the An Lushan uprising the
population of the country declined dramatically. Even if the conditions then did not
allow for an accurate census to be taken, it was undeniable that there was a sharp
decline in population both in the cities and in the country at large. The Tang dynasty
during the second half of its reign was constantly besieged by problems both
domestic and foreign. Efforts to control urban disorder were completely given up
after the mid-ninth century when imperial attention was channeled to suppressing
internal popular uprisings. The further loosening of urban controls during the half-
century-long interregnum between the Tang and the Song periods when war-torn
states succeeded one another laid the foundation for the blossoming o f a new urban
form. When state control was strong as in the beginning o f the Sui period, urban
order was enforced in Kaifeng after the visit o f Emperor Wendi even though
prosperity and flourishing trade had worn away the rigid urban structure in that city.
Once a strong central authority was established and the security of the state assured,
urban restoration measures followed. The same attempt was made by the Song
emperors after the consolidation o f their empire in 979 to reimpose the Tang urban
order on the capital Kaifeng.
However, in the face of the booming economy and social transformation, coupled
with the pragmatism o f the Confucian bureaucrats, the efforts of the Song emperors
were destined to fail in the long run. The strong, autocratic grip that the Sui emperors
had over their capitals was replaced by that of a bureaucratic government of practical
scholar-officials. Trade once strictly regulated in enclosed markets and conducted
primarily for the court’s consumption was widespread and permeated all levels of the
society. Under the Song administration, commercial and urban taxes became major
sources o f income for the court. The slackening of commercial controls went hand
in hand with the relaxation of urban regulations. Street-encroaching structures were
taxed but accepted. The rationalism of the Song reign turned an urban problem into
a money-making opportunity and accepted the birth of a new urban structure.
Just as important as the emergence o f the open city was the beginning of an urban
culture. Prompted by the political loosening, the economic prosperity, and the rapid
urbanization, Song China saw the rise o f an urban conscience and the formation of
a veritable urban culture. Religious ideas, literary forms and contents, entertainment
varieties, and ways o f life all testified to the importance o f the city in the general
worldview o f the Song citizen. How much this urban consciousness in turn spurred
the development of the new urban form is unclear and difficult to assess.
Not all cities, however, underwent the same transformation. Cities that flourished
during the Tang period in the Lower Yangzi Region and Southern China were
certainly less rigidly controlled to begin with. Their relatively late origin, their long
distance from the central authority and their rapid population increase and active
trading activities probably made them more open in the first place. Similarly,
207
relaxation o f urban controls did not take place in all Song cities at the same rate.
Northern frontier cities, under the constant threat of invasion, were more strictly
controlled and managed. The general trend however was clear, although to pinpoint
a city or a date as the place or time the transformation first took place, is counter
productive and futile.
In the five centuries that separated the Sui dynasty from the end of the Northern
Song, many dynastic houses came and went. The appearance of the open city towards
the end o f the eleventh century was in itself a long process that stretched over a
period o f more than 300 years. The development was by no means linear or the
outcome certain. It is not my intention to suggest that the birth of the open city during
the eleventh century was inevitable. In fact, while late Northern Song Kaifeng was
already an active open city, Liao Yanjing i l , also known as Nanjing 4] % , was
still divided into 26 wards with ward walls, gates, and ward names still intact when
the Jin Jurchen forces captured it in 1122.1 It was only under the new Jin 'k regime
that the city, renamed as Zhongdu i f and modeled after the fallen Kaifeng, became
less disciplined. Instead of the former 26, there were now more than 62 wards. Some
o f the former wards were each divided into two new ones suggesting that ward walls
were probably no longer standing in their entirety.
W hile I have written at length about the Tang and Song cities, the period
identifications — Tang and Song — as I have explained in an earlier chapter, are
simply convenient dynastic indicators. They do not imply that the development of
cities, although influenced to some extent by political events, corresponded neatly
with the clear divisions of dynastic history. Those drastic political upheavals which
toppled governments did not always bring about new urban structures and forms,
even though new cities were sometimes built and old ones were often remodeled
when a new dynasty was founded. Instead the evolution o f city forms was affected,
as we have seen, not only by political events, but also by the wider social, economic,
and cultural contexts. However, whatever the factors involved, the urban structural
changes needed to be “validated by some instrument o f authority if they were to
achieve institutionalized permanence.”2 Whatever decision is made on the city, as
Joseph Rykwert wrote in another context, it is “ultimately political” even if it may
be called economic.3
Even as I am writing, China is once again undergoing a dramatic urban change,
perhaps as important as the one during the Tang-Song transition. The important
political transition that placed Deng Xiaoping at the helm o f the Chinese Communist
Party and the Four Modernisations (in Agriculture, Industry, Science and Technology,
and Defense) that he initiated in 1978 has launched China’s economy on a new path.
His policy o f opening the economy to foreign capital and technology led to an
economic boom of unparalleled dimensions in recent Chinese history. Just as the
political relaxation and the economic expansion during the Song had led to the birth
of a new urban structure, the endorsement of new economic policies for the nation
by the supreme political authority coupled with a galloping economy has initiated
once again a significant urban transformation. The cities, stamped with a socialist
208
A N ew Urban Paradigm
imprint o f the past decades, especially those along the coast, are now rapidly
transforming under the forces o f a more open economy. The outcome of this urban
transformation is still uncertain. However, we can be certain that economic forces
alone are insufficient in modelling the new urban form. Political decisions had to
made first. And just as the Later Tang, Later Zhou, and Song emperors had issued
edicts to regulate the growth of their respective capitals, lest economic forces alone
lead urban development astray, wise political directives and good administrative
guidelines are critical to a favorable outcome of the current urban construction fever.
NOTES
1 See Yu Jie and Yu Guangdu "f-JtJx., Jin Zhongdu ^ ^ [The Central Capital of
the Jin Dynasty] (Beijing, 1989), p. 11.
2 Paul Wheatley, Pivot of the Four Quarters, p. 318-9.
3 Joseph Rykwert, “The Street: The Use of its History,” in On Streets, ed. Stanford
Anderson, p. 15-27.
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Index
A artisans 64, 78, 87, 104, 108, 156, 159, 167,

184
Abu Zeid al Hasan 1
Accipiter Inn 68 Asia 15, 19, 27, 56-57, 59
Central Asia 1 5 ,1 9 ,2 7
activities 12, 22, 24, 28, 30, 34, 39, 44, 51-52,
Asian 15, 27, 53, 59, 64, 72, 111, 181, 184,
62, 66-69, 71, 79-80, 83-85, 89, 91, 96, 99-
202
101, 106-109, 111-112, 119-120, 124-125,
ateliers 21, 71, 104, 205
132, 135, 145, 152-156, 163, 166-167, 172,
shops 19, 68, 80, 113, 122, 156, 159, 206
183, 201-202, 205-207
avenues 10-12, 15, 17, 19, 23-25, 27, 30, 32,
administrative seats 36, 39, 106, 186
34, 50, 54, 55-57, 60-61, 70-72, 72, 74, 77-
agriculture 47, 103, 119, 208
79, 85-86, 93-94, 96, 107, 114, 123,126-129,
agricultural 39, 44-45, 48-49, 64, 75, 87, 89,
132, 135, 144-145, 151-152, 154-155, 172-
103, 106, 109, 183, 201, 206
174, 176, 196, 205-206
agricultural colonies 44
jie 17, 41, 56, 58, 63, 68, 72, 121, 171,
agricultural production 44
173,180, 209
alleys 19-20, 23, 26-27, 34, 56-57, 72, 84-86,
axis 5, 11-12, 17, 19, 29-30, 34, 45, 52, 59,
98, 107, 126, 133, 151, 156, 191-192
129, 163, 187
alleyways 19, 35, 88, 197
central axis 5, 12, 17, 29, 52, 129, 163
hang 19-20, 32, 39, 57, 61-62, 85, 158,
ceremonial axis 34
180-182
amusements 22
anarchic age 41
Ancestral Temple 7, 15 B
Anhui 97, 124 Ba 2, 180
An Lushan 17, 29, 36, 49-50, 69, 72, 77, 82, Baifanlou 160, 195
93, 99, 141, 206-207 Bai Juyi 18, 24, 54, 56-57, 60, 62, 82, 94
An Lushan rebellion 29, 36, 49-50, 69, 72, 77, Bai Xingjian 36, 59
82, 93, 99, 141, 206 Balance Street 23
Anren fang 12 banquets 10
Anshan fang 22, 29 banners 26, 35, 160
Anyi fang 9, 10 Baoci 129
Arab 71, 93, 184 Baolugong 68
Arabia 141 Baoning fang 10
Arabian 1, 8 Baozhou 154
aristocracy 2, 26, 32, 41-42, 45-47, 65, 98-99, barracks 87-88, 139, 154
201, 206 barbarians 35, 41, 114
aristocratic power 45, 67, 205 Basra 8
aristocrats 9, 12, 14-16, 25, 34, 45, 64, 99, battles 41, 43, 46, 89, 97, 144, 166
101, 206 baubles 68, 132-133
army 9, 42-44, 47-48, 69, 87-88, 97, 104, 111, gems 68, 76
117, 124, 126, 136, 139, 144, 152, 154, 189, jewelry 19, 22, 72, 157
201 beams 29, 167, 197
armies 70 Beijing 51-53, 55, 58-63, 65, 74, 91, 96, 112,
224
Index
176-177, 190-191, 194-196, 203, 209 Butcher Street 20

Beili zhi 59 butchers 19, 35, 46, 122
bells 11, 130, 177 Buzheng fang 15
ben 108, 180
Bian 51, 74, 93, 119, 127, 128, 148, 157, 174,
176 c
Bianjing 67, 90, 96, 181 Cahill 119, 171
Kaifeng 48, 67, 69, 73, 82-83, 87-92, 94, James 60, 90, 99, 111, 119, 171, 175
97-98, 101-105, 107, 109, 111, 113-114, Cai Jing 122-123, 129, 152, 171, 196
116-118, 120, 127, 129, 131-139, 141, cailou 119, 125-126, 156, 160, 174
144-145, 148-149, 151-154, 156, 158, calendars 22
160, 162-163, 172-175, 177-181, 183, calligraphy 68, 132
1 8 9 ,1 9 1 -1 9 2 ,1 9 4 -1 96 ,1 9 8 ,2 0 1 ,2 0 7 -2 0 8 canals 1, 4, 14, 19, 29-31, 33, 73-75, 77-82,
Bianjing yiji zhi 96 85, 88, 92-93, 95, 97, 107, 111, 123-125,
Bianzhou 37, 48, 174 127-128, 136, 139, 148, 156-157, 162, 173-
bingdian 121 176, 183, 186, 191
bird-head knocker 29 Canfu 8
Biyong 29, 61, 173 Canton 8, 93, 187
Board o f Public Works 67, 117, 121, 171 Caoqu 14
boats 31, 48, 78-80, 82, 100, 117, 119, 127, caoshi 39, 63, 87, 89, 105, 183
128, 171, 173, 184 capitals 1-8, 10-12, 14-15, 17, 19, 27-29, 32-
boat dwellers 48 34, 37, 39-48, 52-56, 59-62, 65, 67-73, 77-
Bo Hai 74 79, 81-91, 94, 96-98, 100-107, 110-111, 113-
boroughs 105-106, 115, 198 115, 117, 119, 121, 124, 127-129, 132-136,
brackets 123-124, 129 139, 141-142, 145, 149, 152, 154-156, 158,
brewery 141 160, 162-163, 165-167, 171, 173-181, 183,
bridges 14, 19, 29, 30, 39, 7 7,79-82, 115,119, 185-187, 191-192, 194, 197-198, 200-201,
122-125, 127-128, 156-158, 160, 173-175, 203-205, 207-209
206 prefectural capital 187
bridles 19 Capital City Defensive Arsenal 152
Bright Moon Bridge 78, 79, 94 carpenters 125
brothels 20, 150, 154, 156, 161, 172, 191 carriages 24, 29, 59, 62, 108, 119, 171
brush sellers 19 carts 19, 21, 29, 34, 43, 84, 109, 119-120, 122,
Buddha 39, 163, 164 124-125, 133, 135, 171, 174, 184
Buddhism 11, 16, 63, 65 chariots 21, 132
Tantric Buddhism 11 cattle 35
Buddhist 10-12, 16, 20, 26, 29, 39, 56, 58, 65, cave 12, 14, 39, 65, 133, 144
121, 125, 128-129, 139, 152, 162-163, 165, Celestial Pillar 34
179, 181 cemetery 94
Buddhist gatherings 165 cemeteries 87, 89
Buddhist hall 20 Central Plains 4, 75
Buddhist institutions 11,162 centers 3, 4, 12, 19, 22, 32, 37, 39, 59, 74-75,
Buddhist monastery 29, 129, 162 77, 79, 82, 95, 104, 112, 141, 166, 182-187,
Buddhist temples 12, 26, 56, 139 189, 201, 205-206
buffaloes 78 administrative center 37, 74, 104, 185,
buildings 2, 9 ,1 2 , 32-34, 5 4 ,5 8 , 7 2 ,7 6 ,7 8 -7 9 , 189, 201
81, 84-90, 95, 97, 101, 105, 107, 110, 117, commercial centers 187
121, 123, 125, 127-128, 130, 137-138, 141- centers o f commerce 19
142, 144-145, 149, 152, 155, 160, 162-163, certificates 2 0 ,2 2
173, 179, 191-192, 194-197, 202, 205-206 certificates o f sale 22
government buildings 97, 121, 191 Chai Rong 87-88, 97, 110, 136
multi-story buildings 33, 54 Champa 1 03,206
bureaucrats 67, 97, 99, 205-207 Chan 2, 14, 19, 29, 30
Confucianist bureaucrats 206 chang 171, 186, 203
Bureau o f Imperial Music 128 Chang’an 53, 57, 93
Bureau o f Streets 98, 103 Changqing 7 0 ,7 1
225
Changshu 184 civilians 25

Changxia 32 clans 41, 45, 67, 98, 99, 171, 201
Changxing fang 71 class 45, 46, 60, 98, 99, 101, 104, 108, 109,
chariots 9, 17, 34, 48, 73, 119, 174 111, 115, 125, 150, 158, 160, 166, 173, 196,
carts 19, 21, 29, 34, 43, 84, 109, 119-120, 201, 204, 206
122, 124-125, 133, 135, 171, 174, 184 classes 26, 44-45, 64, 101, 108, 150,
checkerboard plan 19, 37 152, 162, 166, 170, 173
chess-board 17 cloth 19, 35, 36, 132, 157
Chen 2, 43, 54, 62, 73, 108, 113, 136 cloth dealers 19
Chengdu fu 39 clothes 68, 125, 132, 162
Chenghuang shen 170 coins 47, 59, 91, 123
chess-board 17 Cold Feast Festival 113, 133, 177
chi 20, 55, 127, 162-163, 175, 196 commercial 19, 22, 28, 34, 37, 48, 58-59, 67-
children 23, 99, 108-109, 126 69, 71, 79, 80, 82, 86, 89, 90-92, 95, 99-103,
Chinese Communist Party 208 106, 107-109, 111-114, 125, 130, 132, 135,
Chongren fang 28, 71, 72 141, 151-152, 154, 156, 158, 161-162, 166,
Chongyang 133 175-176, 183, 186-187, 191, 194, 201-207
Chongye fang 11 commercial activities 22, 28, 34, 48, 58,
Christians 11 68-69, 71, 79, 80, 82, 86, 89, 95, 99-
Chuigong dian 142 100, 106-109, 111-112, 132, 162, 166,
Chuzhou 106, 154, 176 183, 201, 205-207
ci 162, 170, 182 commercial affairs 19, 106, 135
cishi 48 commercial centers 19
city 1-3, 5-12, 14-20, 22-30, 32-36, 38-39, 43, commercial hubs 19, 37
45-46, 48-49, 51-54, 56, 58, 65, 67, 69, 71- commercialization 114, 170
75, 77-90, 92-95, 97-98, 101-107, 110, 112, commissioner 77, 79, 95, 100, 123
114-115, 117, 119-125, 127-129, 132-133, commodity 86
135-137, 139-142, 144-145, 148-150, 152, commodities 22, 35
154-158, 160, 162-163, 166-167, 170-174, merchandise 22, 39
176-179, 183-184, 186-187, 189-192, 194- goods 19, 20, 22, 32, 35, 47, 5 6,74-75, 80,
198, 201-203, 205-208 93, 101, 109, 124-125, 127-129, 133,158,
city blocks 17 164, 166-167, 174, 183-184, 206
city dwellers 90, 98, 170, 196 ‘ commoners 9, 11, 15, 25, 26, 28, 33, 34, 45-
city folks 12, 20, 25, 82, 125, 128 46, 70-71, 82, 97, 102, 109, 167, 175, 180,
city grid 189 197
cityscape 2, 8, 33, 59, 67, 81, 117, 119, communication network 37, 183, 186
132, 167 Confucian 3, 47, 207
city structure 2, 90-91, 116-117 Confucian scholars 47
city walls 53, 55, 176 Confucianism 65, 135
division o f the city 1, 17 construction 2, 12, 20, 29, 53-54, 77, 79, 84-
inner city 45-46, 101, 117, 124-125, 87, 89, 95, 117, 123, 129-130, 136, 138, 167,
139, 154, 156, 163, 171, 174, 187, 178-179, 181, 209
189, 196 bays o f construction 12, 20, 29, 129-
medieval city 67 BO, 181
cities 1-2, 4, 7, 11-12, 14, 17, 19, 23, 26, BO jian 2, 14, 20, 28, 42, 51, 53, 56, 82, 95,
SS, 36-37, 39-41, 43, 46-47, 49-53, 56, 67, 179
6 9 ,7 3 ,7 7 ,7 9 , 82-83, 88, 90-92, 96,101-107, contracts 35
109-111, 116, 135, 138, 144, 149, 156-157, corvee duties 26, 45, 109
166, 175, 178, 180, 183-187, 189, 191-192, cosmic 3, 37, 51
194, 198, 201-203, 205-208 cosmopolitan 21, 26
Chinese cities 2, 52-53, 110, 166, 203, countryside 34, 39, 101, 109, 119-120, 170,
205 183
development o f cities 91, 208 court 1, 7, 12, 19, 21, 36, 37, 41, 43, 45, 48,
Palace cities 7, 14, 53 51, 53, 57, 69-72, 77, 79, 88, 91-92, 99, 102,
citizens 44, 127, 166, 189, 201 108-109, 111, 117, 123, 128, 130, 136, 139,
City o f Everlasting Peace 6 141, 167, 171-172, 179, 184, 201, 206-207
226
Index
courtyards 11-12, 29, 3 4 ,1 2 3 ,1 3 2 ,1 4 9 - dignitaries 7, 15

150, 160, 162-166, 170, 181, 191-192
dilou 144, 146, 178
Court o f Military Affairs 1 2 3 ,1 3 0 ,1 7 1 Dingdingmenjie 30
cows 48, 84 Dingqiao 184
crafts 32, 109, 180, 184 Dingzhou 186
craftsmen 46, 64 districts 46, 61, 176, 206
criminals 20, 26, 71 commercial districts 206
execution ground 20 entertainment district 68, 162
Crossroads Street 68 ditches 9, 15, 17, 27, 128, 175
crouching-cow city 88 doctrines 49
Cumdan 1, 8 domestic animals 39
cunshi 183 Dongguan 2
curfew 24, 36, 47, 69, 71, 81, 89, 98, 110-111, Donghuamen jie 68
135, 152, 205 Dongjiaolou dajie 130, 152
currency 123, 172 Dongjingji 96
Dongjing menghua lu 67, 91, 117, 121
Dongshuimen 148
D dongxi xie 129
dacheng 77 dormitories 163
Dadu 190 dough 121
Dajianfusi 12 dougong 29
Darning Temple 78 D o u Y i 2 3 ,5 8 ,5 9 ,1 1 2
Damingdong 111, 136 downtowns 22
Daminggong 15, 23, 33, 53 D raft Song D igest 106,113
Damingfu 111, 136, 154 dragons 17, 129, 134
dances 107, 133, 162, 165 drainage system 19
Dantu 186 drought 20, 35, 103
Dao Wudi 41, 64 drugstores 100, 152, 154
Daxianfusi 12 drums 17, 22, 24, 36, 59, 89, 97-98, 107, 134-
daohui 165 135, 152
Daoist 10-12, 16, 26, 56, 91, 121, 129, 152, drumbeats 24, 39
162, 179, 181 du 17, 50, 81-82, 91, 115, 120, 186
Daoist shrine 12, 26 Du Fu 17, 91
Daoist temple 10, 11, 16, 91, 152, 179 Dunhuang 12, 14, 39, 55, 63, 144, 148
Daqing dian 142 Dutingyi 129
Datong 30, 32, 41, 44, 46, 64, 190, 192 duolou 129
Datong fang 32 Du Xunhe 81, 82
Daxing 2, 51 dwellings 1, 102
Duke Daxing 2 dynasty 1-3, 5, 30, 34, 40-44, 46-50, 53, 59,
Daxingshan 11 60-61, 65, 67, 69-70, 72-73, 82-83, 87-91,
Dayanta 12 93, 96-97, 99, 103-106, 108, 113-114, 116,
Daye fang 22 135-136, 141, 168, 169, 173, 175, 177, 185,
decoration 29, 119 187, 190, 196-197, 199, 200, 202-203, 205,
decrees 70-72, 83, 89, 102, 107, 110, 173 207-209
defamation 36 dynasties 41, 43, 46-48, 50, 56, 65, 83,
demographic distribution 27 90-91, 94-95, 99, 103, 111, 141, 171,
Deng Xiaoping 208 174, 179, 205
Department o f Arms 104
Department o f Imperial Ateliers 104
Department o f Public Works 104 E
Department o f State Affairs 117, 130, 171 earth 2, 9 ,1 4 ,1 7 ,1 9 ,2 6 , 32, 34, 5 1 ,5 9 , 85-87,
designation 28 93, 96, 104, 174, 176
Di 19,41 earth radical 26
dian 52, 54, 142, 186, 203 East Comer Tower 68
dianhu 103 East Market 7, 19-20, 22, 28, 39, 57-58, 71-72
didian 102 Eastern Han period 20
227
Eastern Splendor Gate Street 68 Feng 2, 48, 61, 66, 95, 115, 178, 179
Eberhard 43-44, 63-64, 66, 112 Fengqiu Gate 133, 154, 162
Ebn Wahab 1, 5, 8-11, 14-15, 26, 53, 71 festivals 25, 80, 106, 113, 117, 119, 129, 132-
edicts 27, 70, 84, 88-89, 105, 209 133, 135, 151-152, 156-158, 160, 162, 166,
Elevated Persons 24 167, 171, 174-175, 177, 191
Elvin 64, 112-116, 181, 186, 202-203 fires 11, 20, 51, 58, 86-88, 103, 127, 162-163,
emergency 24 175, 194
emperors 1-10, 16, 30, 40-43, 45-46, 49-51, fire-fighting 127, 175
53, 55, 61, 63, 65, 69-74, 77, 84, 86-88, 90- fire regulations 127
91, 96-98, 101, 110-111, 117, 122, 123, 127- First Prime 7
129, 134, 136, 138-139, 141-142, 144, 152, fish 17, 121, 122, 125-126,135, 154,157-158,
163, 173, 176-177, 179, 187, 191, 201, 206- 172, 183
207, 209 fishery 100, 114
empires 2, 6, 7, 40, 42-44, 46, 65, 69, 70, 73, Five Dynasties 50, 65, 83, 90-91, 94-95, 99,
77, 92-93, 97, 100, 103-104, 109-110, 129, 103, 111, 141, 171, 174, 179
136, 162, 167, 170, 175-176, 183, 185-186, Fitzgerald 43, 62-64
207 flowers 14, 35, 39, 73, 125, 128, 132, 133,
Empress Wu 12, 22, 34, 39, 53, 55, 62-63, 98 160, 164
Ennin 20, 22, 53, 71, 78, 79, 81, 93, 94 flutes 107
entertainment 20, 22, 67, 68, 81, 111, 132-133, fohui 165
135, 149, 152, 154, 156, 160-162, 165-167, follies 128
170, 182, 189, 205-207 food 20, 35, 68, 125-126, 129, 132, 160, 162
entertainment centers 22 fortune tellers 164
places o f entertainment 20, 162 Four Modernisations 208
amusements 22 Four Social Classes 108
entrepot 6 7 ,7 6 free burghers 44
entrepreneur 23 frontiers 42, 46, 64
equal land distribution system 70 fu 17, 26, 36, 39, 52, 54, 91-92, 112, 114-115,
equitable field system 41, 44 117-118, 190, 202, 204
European history 43 Fucha 73, 92
examinations 10, 24, 98, 99, 108, 194, 206 fubing 44, 64, 69
imperial examinations 10, 98 Fujian 43, 110, 186, 191
executions 20, 22, 58, 152 Fujiwara-kyo 32
execution ground 20 funds 20, 37, 100
criminals 20, 26, 71 availability o f funds 20
furnaces 87
Fuzhou 106
F
fabrics 109
Fajie nisi 12 G
falcons 68 Gao Jiong 47
Fan Chengda 180 Gaotou jie 68
fan g 9-12, 15, 22, 24-30, 32, 3 6 ,4 7 , 53, 55-56, Gaozong 12, 22, 51, 139, 141, 202
58-61, 65, 71-72, 78, 91, 94, 105, 110, 117, gardens 7, 9-10, 14, 18, 29, 32-34, 54, 62, 73,
170-171, 176, 179, 186, 191, 198, 205 85, 123, 128, 145, 152, 160, 166
fangbiao 156, 158 private gardens 18, 32, 33, 62, 128
fangguohu 109 garment street 20
fangzhen 36 gates 3-4, 9-10, 12, 14, 15-17, 19, 23-27, 29,
fanzhen 73 30, 32-36, 39-40, 47-48, 51, 55, 60-61, 70-
farmers 44, 103, 108, 119, 172 71, 73-74, 77-80, 82, 85-86, 88, 90, 92, 93-
farmland 10, 29, 101 96, 98, 101, 106, 110, 119, 122-125, 128-
fast land 101 131, 133-135, 144-149, 152, 156-158, 162-
faubourgs 79, 105, 198 163, 173-174, 176-177, 179-180, 187, 194,
Feishui 43 196, 208
Battle o f Feishui 43 gate towers 9, 33-34, 131, 177, 194
fen g sacrifices 48 cardinal gates 3, 4, 74
228
Index
Gate o f Displayed Virtue 68, 129, 134 gutters 19, 57

Gate o f Morning Radiance 68
Gate o f Southern Fragrance 122-123
Gate o f the Vermilion Sparrow 123-124, 157 H
Gate o f Ten Thousand Victories 148, 152 halls 3, 7, 11, 20, 29, 33, 52-53, 60-61, 73, 81,
gauze silk guild 68 123-124, 129, 131, 133, 142, 160, 163-165,
Genyue Garden 128, 176 173, 177, 196
geomantic schema 11 Hall o f the Cosmic Ultimate 3
Genshan Gate 149 Han 2, 20-21, 2 9 ,4 0 -4 1 , 43-45, 47, 49, 58-59,
geometry 187, 189 61, 63, 65, 74-75, 83, 88, 91-92, 97, 108,
Gemet 44, 63-65, 172 136, 175, 177
Jacques 44, 63, 172 Bei Han 136
ginger guild 68 Han Dynasty 40-41, 43, 47, 61
Golden Bright Pond 144, 147, 166 Later Han 83, 136, 175, 177
gongs 7, 12, 17, 22, 26, 36, 39, 52, 137 Han period 20-21, 29, 44, 58, 65, 74,
gong beats 22 75, 92
goods 19, 20, 22, 32, 3 5 ,4 7 ,5 6 , 74-75, 80, 93, Han imperial university 29
101, 109, 124-125, 127-129, 133,158, 164, Han Tong 88
166-167, 174, 183-184, 206 hang 19-20, 32, 39, 57, 61-62, 85, 158,
curious goods 19 180-182
commodities 22, 35 alleyways 19, 35, 88, 197
merchandise 22, 39 Hanguangmen 15
government 7, 15, 20, 22, 27, 36, 37, 39, 43- Hangou 7 3 -7 4 ,7 7
48, 57-59, 70, 82-84, 86-89, 93, 96, 97, 99, Hangzhou 39, 62, 67, 74, 82, 95, 105-106,
101-102, 104-109, 111, 113, 115, 121, 124, 109, 117, 135, 139, 140-143, 149, 154, 157,
128, 136, 138, 152, 154, 156, 158, 167, 172, 162, 178-180, 183-184, 187, 189, 194, 196,
180, 185, 191, 201-202, 205-207 198, 201-202
government bodies 22 Hanjiacang 7, 53
government bureaus 27, 87-88 Han Yu 108
governors 11, 36, 70, 77 Hanyuan Hall 7 ,5 2 ,5 3 ,7 3
grains 4, 22, 44-45, 47, 51, 77-80, 97, 103, Hao 14
114, 119, 124, 127-128, 141, 165, 170, 173, Hartwell 64, 99, 103-104, 111-115, 177-178,
175,184 203
price o f grain 22 Robert 50, 59, 64, 99, 111-115, 177
Grand Canal 4, 30, 73-74, 77, 82, 92-93, 95, harvests 103,206
111, 136, 139, 175-176 hawkers 35, 68, 115, 125, 162
Great Luminous Palace 7 heaven 11, 73, 104, 170, 179
Great Monastery o f Offered Blessings 12 Heijokyo 32
grids 1-2, 15, 17, 32, 37, 39, 155, 189, 191, Helelou 157, 177
194 Henan 61, 64, 70, 83-85, 111, 114-115, 124,
guan 5 7 ,5 8 ,9 1 ,1 1 2 ,1 8 6 136, 175, 176
Guangnan 154 herbs 68, 76, 125, 133
Guangzhou 77, 184 hexagram 11, 133, 162
Guanhe 77-80, 95 Highhead Street 68
Guanzhai fang 26 hinterland 75, 120
guards 7, 11, 15-16, 24, 34, 55, 71, 98, 134, Hongxian 201
205 horses 1 7 ,2 2 ,2 4 ,2 7 , 34-35,48, 54, 57, 5 9 ,6 2 ,
guilds 68, 121, 132-133, 157-158, 177, 180, 84, 88, 121, 123-124, 132-133, 135, 144,
186 154, 156-157, 171, 177
Guilin 72, 187, 203 horse trains 27
Guizhou 77, 100 Horse Guild Street 121, 132-133, 157, 177
gunpowder 144 hostelries 28, 60, 129
guoshui 109 hotels 32, 34, 56, 72, 152
Guo Wei 87 houses 9, 11-12, 15-16, 24-29, 33, 42, 46, 65,
Guoziqiao 158 68, 70, 79-81, 83-87, 89, 91, 97-99, 101-104,
Guo Ziyi 29, 69 107-111, 113, 121-123, 125, 129, 132, 136,
229
138, 150, 152, 154, 156, 162-163, 171, 191, Imperial Grand Secretariat 32, 130
197-198, 206, 208 Imperial Grand Secretary 29, 54
noble houses 81 Imperial Sacrifices Court 128
Houzaimen 30 Indian caste system 108
Hsia Sung 109 industries 89, 104, 114, 183-184, 202
hu 54, 78-79, 112-113, 116, 128, 176 inns 20, 56, 72, 87, 203
huai 43, 46, 74, 77-78, 97, 139, 173 institutions 11, 41, 44, 46-47, 51, 57, 60, 65,
Huainan 74, 78, 82, 95, 172, 173 109, 115-116, 120, 123, 162, 173, 183, 191,
Huai River 74, 77, 139, 173 205
Huai valley 43, 77 international bazaar 19
Huaizhen fang 72 intersections 14, 74, 125, 151, 158, 202, 206
Huang Chao 70, 72-73, 83, 99, 206 intra-ward network 32
Huang Chao rebellion 72-73, 83, 99, investments 100-101, 106
206 iron 19, 79, 95, 105, 107, 114, 121, 123, 127,
Huating 184 162, 184
Huayan 39, 40, 63 iron coins 123
hubs 1 9 ,3 7 iron mongers 19
commercial hubs 19, 37 iron tablets 121
hubing 27 Iron Pagoda 162
Huimin 123, 173 Iron Vase A lley 105
Huimin nanju 123 irrigate 14
Huizhou 186 irrigation 17, 18, 35, 103, 119
Huizong 91,107, 117, 122-123,128, 130, 139, islands 32
173, 176
Hunan 35, 184
huolang tu 167 J
Huzhou 154 jade 68, 81, 95, 132-133, 164, 180
Japan 32, 62, 141, 177
Japanese 20, 22, 71, 106, 115, 128, 141,
I 184
income 23, 101-102, 109, 113, 126, 141, 175, Japanese monk 22, 71, 106, 141
184, 201, 207 Japanese pilgrim 20
illness 24,104 jewelries 133
Imperial 1-5, 7-12, 14-15, 17, 23, 26, 29-30, jian 2, 14, 20, 28, 42, 51, 53, 56, 82, 95, 179
32, 36-37, 40, 48, 50-55, 58, 61-63, 65, 68, bays o f construction 12, 20, 29, 129-
70-74, 83, 84, 87-90, 97, 98, 100-102, 104, 130, 181
106-109, 111-123, 126-130, 132-134, 137- Jiangdu 78, 95
139, 142-145, 150-152, 154, 163, 166, 172- jiangguo 71
173, 175-179, 181, 191, 195-196, 201-203, Jiangling 154
207 Jiangnan 74-75, 136
Imperial appendages 48 Jiangningfu 200
Imperial Army 88, 97, 111, 144, 152 Jiangsu 73, 94, 97, 180
Imperial Avenue 17, 23, 114, 123, 126- Jiangyang 7 8 ,9 4
129, 144-145, 154, 172-173, 176, 196 Jiangyin 184
Imperial Boulevard 133 Jiangzhe 165
Imperial City 2, 7-10, 12, 15, 23, 52-53, Jiankang 2, 43, 106, 139, 141
55 ,5 8 , 65, 7 1 ,1 1 7 ,1 2 3 , 128-129, 133, jianzhen guan 186
137-139, 142-143, 152, 172, 176, 178- Jiao 14
179 jiaodian 160
Imperial complexes 17 jiaozi 123, 172
Imperial Galleries 128 ji e 17, 4 1 , 5 6 , 5 8 , 63, 68, 7 2 , 121, 171,
Imperial gardens 7, 14, 152, 166 173,180, 209
Imperial household 1, 7 avenues 10-12, 15, 17, 19, 23-25, 27,
Imperial park 139 30, 32, 34, 50, 54, 55-57, 60-61, 70-
Imperial troops 166 72, 74, 77-79, 85-86, 93-94, 96, 107,
Imperial Wall 68 114, 123, 126-129, 132, 135, 144-145,
230
Index
151-152, 154-155, 172-174, 176, 196, land 2, 10-11, 22-23, 26, 29-32, 35-36, 39, 41,
205-206 44 -46 ,4 8 , 62, 7 0 ,7 5 , 81, 83-87, 90,101-104,
jiedushi 88 106-107, 109, 123, 139, 141, 144, 148-150,
jiehua 117, 171 154-155, 165, 170, 175, 183-184, 191, 201,
Jieshen 68 205-206
Jin 40-43, 67, 83, 92, 96, 114, 116-117, 129, idle land 23
131, 136, 139, 145, 175, 177, 208-209 landlords 101-103
Jin army 117, 139 landmarks 12, 33-34, 127, 155, 163
Jin dynasty 40-41, 209 land routes 31, 154
Later Jin 83, 136, 175, 177 landscape 14, 34, 86, 117, 121, 149,
Jinchang fang 12 167, 186, 202
jindi 101 land tenure 3 2 ,6 2 ,1 1 3 -1 1 4
Jingling 129 waterlogged land 23
Jinming Pond 144 lanterns 25, 106, 125, 133-134, 160, 161, 177
Jingyang Gate 97 law and order 23
Jingzhou 154, 187 lean-to extensions 20
Jinwu Guard 9, 16 Left Treasury Storage for Ordinary Expenses 128
jiu 59, 125 legalists 44, 46-47, 64, 66, 108
jiupin zhongzheng 45 legislation 44
Jiuqiao Gate 160 legitimacy 3, 61, 66
Jiusuanzaomen 152 Levant 11
Jixian fang 32 li 26, 32, 35-36, 44, 47, 52-55, 58-59, 61-62,
Jiying dian 142 65, 78, 79-82, 87-88, 91-96, 106-107, 137-
Johnson 64-65, 170, 181-182 139, 141, 167, 169, 171, 173, 175-179, 181,
David 64-65, 170, 181-182 187, 196-199
Jojin 106, 128, 141, 181 Liang 7, 42, 43, 73, 83, 133, 136, 152, 175,
Jubao Gate 145 196
Jue 14 Liang dynasty 43
junctions 14-15, 24, 27, 31, 58, 7 1 ,7 4 , 80, 92, Liang Gate 133, 152, 196
125, 132, 135, 177, 189, 202, 205 Later Liang 73, 83, 136, 175
juntian zhi 41 liangfu 130
Jurchens 67, 114, 139 Liangjing xinji 8, 56
liangmin 44
liangshui fa 70
K Lianhuapeng 132
Kaibao 162, 165 Liao 96, 97, 103, 114, 116, 129, 154, 180, 208
Kaiyuanmen 26 Lichun 166
Kanjieting 123 lie 35, 109
Kaibaosi 195, 199 Li Erh-lang 106
Khitans 97, 103, 110, 114 Li Fang 55, 58, 61
kilns 89 Li He 3 6 ,6 2
kin 100 Li Ji 107
kings 11, 41, 73-74, 92 Li Lian 96, 181
Korea 141 Li Mian 88, 96
Korean 184 lin 2 6 ,4 4
Kostof, Spiro 201, 204 Linghu 48
Kuizhou 39 lingshi 35
kuajielou 195, 198 Linhai 101
Lin Nien-lang 106
Li Shen 82
L Li Song 167, 169, 197, 198, 199
labor 48, 74, 120, 176, 183, 206 Li Tang 167
Laiting fang 26 literati 28, 182
lakes 32, 112, 113, 139, 140, 186, 197, 199 scholars 3, 8, 36, 47, 53, 58, 64, 99, 101-
lamps 27, 71, 81-82, 126, 134-135 102, 104-105, 108, 117, 141, 150, 175,
Lanling fang 10 194, 206-207
231
Liu Congjian 22 standard markets 185

Liu Yuxi 35, 55, 94, 152 West markets 14-16, 19-23, 32, 57-58,
livestock 21-22, 34 67, 69, 72, 107, 135, 205
liwa 36, 59, 132 marriage 24, 45, 99
Liwa Zhuan 36, 59 Marshal o f Langzhou 35, 152
lizheng 26 masons 125
Longjin 123, 126, 172 measures 19, 22, 47, 49, 54, 71-72, 90, 95,
lords 17 102, 123, 127, 175, 207
lotus 39, 82,128' Medical R elief West Bureau 152
lou 123, 195 medieval 34, 64-65, 67
Lou Yue 128, 145, 176, 179, 195-196, 201, medieval Europe 34
204 memoir 57, 67, 117, 160
lu 67, 91, 111, 113, 117, 121, 178-179, 180, Meng Changling 67
185 Meng Yuanlao 67, 90-91, 134, 160, 163, 165,
Luo River 29-30, 32, 52, 74 174, 179
luocheng 77-78, 81 merchandise 22, 39
Luoyang 1, 4-7, 17, 29-31, 33-34, 36-37, 39- commodities 22, 35
42, 45-47, 50-54, 57-62, 65, 67, 69-70, 72- goods 19, 20, 22, 32, 35, 47, 56, 74-75, 80,
73, 77-78, 81-84, 87, 90, 96, 97, 101, 105, 93, 101, 109, 124-125, 127-129, 133,158,
111, 135-138, 144, 152, 154, 175, 177-178, 164, 166-167, 174, 183-184, 206
189, 191, 198, 201 merchants 1, 14, 20-23, 35, 39, 46-49, 57-59,
61-62, 64, 68, 77-78, 87, 99, 101, 108-109,
112, 115, 121, 124, 128, 132, 135, 156-158,
M 167, 172, 180, 189, 201, 206
magistrates 37, 106, 134 foreign merchants 21, 22
magnates 29, 102, 121, 191 traveling merchants 20, 39
Mahang jie 121 wealthy merchants 23
mamian 144, 146 metropolis 1, 104, 115, 163
Manchuria 43 mian hangyi qian 158
mandates 3, 72 miaoshi 165, 181
mandi 101 migrations 43, 44, 47, 75, 185
Mang 5, 30, 65 military 2, 4, 7, 11, 15, 19, 24, 29, 36, 40, 44,
Manichaean temple 15 49, 64, 69-70, 72-73, 77, 83-84, 86, 88, 96,
Manjusri 134 103, 105-106, 111, 113, 123, 127, 130, 136,
manpower 48, 87, 103, 175 148-149, 171-172, 185, 187, 189, 191, 200-
mansions 1, 9-10, 12, 15, 17, 26-27, 32-34, 73, 201, 203
152, 167 military installations 29
maps 16, 24-25, 33, 42, 56, 137, 143, 149, military patrols 24
154-155, 174, 189, 190-196, 203 Mingdemen 54
map o f the city 33, 155 Mingde Gate 4, 9, 11, 12, 52
map maker 33 Mingtang 29, 34, 61
markets 1 -5 ,7 ,1 4 -1 6 ,1 9 -2 5 , 28, 30-35, 34-37, Mingzhou 101, 184, 186, 200
37, 39-40, 45, 48-49, 57-59, 61-63, 67-69, Mingzong 84, 87
71-73, 78-82, 86-87, 95, 100-101, 105-112, ministers 1, 10, 19, 47, 101, 104, 122, 136,
114-116, 121-122, 125-126, 132-133, 135, 152, 171, 196
152, 154, 156-158, 164-166, 177-179, 180- moats 2, 9, 61, 74, 77, 83, 139, 145, 174, 178,
lS l , 183-186, 191, 198, 200-207 189
market office 22, 58 monastery 11-12, 24-25, 29, 58, 127-128, 131,
market register 35 161-166, 177-178, 181, 195
East market 57 monasteries 16, 46, 56, 94, 115, 129, 152,
Ghost market 132 162, 165, 179
N ew market 22 money 20, 22, 47, 67, 71, 101, 111, 158, 167,
North market 30-32, 39 175, 180, 207
public markets 1 deposit their money 20
secondary markets 22 large sums o f money 20
South market 30-32, 39 quality o f money 22
232
Index
strings o f cash 102, 183, 202 67, 69-73,77-78, 83-84, 86, 98-103, 106,
Mongols 172, 189, 201 108-109, 110, 112-113, 120-121, 123, 127-
monks 12, 22, 71, 106, 121, 1 2 5,1 2 8 ,1 4 1 ,1 8 1 128, 134, 137-138, 141-142, 145, 150, 152,
Mote 34, 62, 110, 116 160, 163-164, 166-167, 171-173, 175-176,
mound radical 26 185-186, 191, 196, 201, 206-207
mount 125 official buildings 127, 138
mountains 2, 9, 17, 53-54, 62, 65, 122, 134- official examinations 24, 108
135, 140, 160, 161, 176, 189 rank 10, 20, 24, 28, 29, 33, 36, 43, 47,
Moxibustion 167 105, 133, 160, 171
mu 85, 94 Old Suanzao Gate 68, 152
Mudanpeng 132 open city 2, 183, 189, 202, 205-208
mulberry 43-44, 183 ox 19, 84, 125, 166, 174
mulberry land 44
mulberry wood 43
music 20, 34, 62, 128, 133-135, 165 P
paces 10, 19, 23, 30, 32, 39, 45, 52, 54-57, 61,
63, 74, 81, 88, 90, 95-96, 123-124, 128, 137,
N 139, 141, 144, 156, 172-173, 178, 180, 187
Nai Deweng 198 pagodas 9, 11-13, 29, 33-34, 54-55, 78, 94,
Naniwa 32 162-163, 195, 196, 199, 203
Nanjing 2, 43, 92-95, 145, 148, 208 paintings 12, 14, 29, 68, 106-117, 119-121,
Nantang 187 125, 131-132, 144, 147-148, 151, 156, 160,
Nanxun Gate 122, 144, 154, 172 162, 167, 171, 174-177, 197
neighborhood 105, 121-123, 135, 156, 171 palaces 2-5, 7 ,1 1 -1 2 ,1 4 -1 5 ,1 9 , 22-23, 2 6 ,2 9 -
New Gate 122 30, 32-33, 37, 45, 52-55, 59, 68, 71-72, 74,
New Market 22 98, 127-129, 131, 133-134, 137-139, 141-
New Year Lantern Festival 25 142, 162, 167, 172-173, 176-179
n igh tlife 7 2 ,8 1 ,1 1 1 Palace City 2, 5, 7, 23, 26, 45, 53, 55,
Nine Ranks 45 68, 128-129, 137, 139, 141-142, 172,
Ningbo 186 173, 178
nobles 11, 17, 28, 29, 46, 108, 134 palatial complex 6, 7, 23, 52, 131
nodes 82, 105, 183, 186 pancakes and rice cakes 23
nomadic 41, 42 food 64
Northern 1-3, 7, 12, 16, 22, 29, 32, 41-43, 44- Pan Gu 164
48, 50, 59, 64-65, 67-70, 72-75, 77, 80, 83, Panlou jie 68
92, 97-99, 101, 104, 106, 108, 109, 111-112, Panmen 149-151
114, 117, 119, 121, 127, 135-136, 139, 141, parades 11, 123
144, 149, 154, 157, 160, 163, 166-167, 170- parks 7, 10, 45, 139
172, 174-176, 178-179, 181, 186, 189, 191- Imperial park 139
192, 200, 202, 204-205, 208 hunting park 7
Northern dynasties 41, 46, 47, 48, 50, patrol inspectors 70
83, 141 pavilions 9-10, 12, 32, 54, 85, 123, 129, 163-
Northern Qi 42, 44, 48, 163 164, 175, 196
Northern Song 2, 67, 69-70, 80, 83, 97, peasants 44, 64, 70, 91, 108, 119, 184
99, 101, 104, 106, 108-109, 114, 117, pedestrians 2, 11, 19, 21, 124, 128, 132,
119, 121, 135, 139, 141, 144, 149, 148
160, 166-167, 170-172, 175-176, 178, peddlers 35, 125, 129, 152, 162, 167-169, 189
181, 189, 192, 200, 202, 205, 208 hawkers 35, 68, 115, 125, 162
nunnery 12, 16 performers 107, 180, 189
nuqiang 144, 178 performing artists 19
Persia 141
Persian 15, 56, 60, 93, 184
o philosophy 3, 46, 47, 64, 89, 136
occupations 22, 48, 83, 84, 141 pilgrim 20
officials 7, 10-12, 14-16, 19-20, 24, 28-29, 32, Pingcheng 46
34-37, 39, 43, 45-46, 48, 51, 53, 60, 62, 65, Pingkang fang 26, 36, 71, 72
233
pingzuo 124 125, 128, 130, 133, 135, 145, 149, 152, 156,
plans 5, 17, 19, 30-31, 37, 50, 53, 78, 96, 136, 163, 165-166, 170-172, 176, 196, 201, 206
181, 189, 192, 1 9 4 ,2 0 2 public order 22, 71
plazas 34 public ways 20, 71, 84
poems 8, 12, 14, 18, 24, 27, 36, 53-54, 56-57, Puning fang 29
59-60, 62, 78-79, 81-82, 89, 94-95, 152, 154
W illow Alley 27
Date Tree Alley 27
Carpet Alley 27
a
qian 11, 51, 107, 158,173
poets 81, 91, 94, 181 Qiang 41
ponds 10-12, 14, 20, 22-23, 52, 58, 85, 128, Qiantang River 74, 139
144-145,147, 166 Qin 41, 43, 44, 47, 108
population 2, 6, 7, 15, 23, 27, 32, 37, 40-41, Qing 28, 53, 172, 190
43-44, 46-48, 52, 58-70, 76-77, 83, 93, 101- Qingfenglou 152
106, 110-111, 114, 120, 127, 13-5, 141, 151, Qingming shanghe tu 81, 100, 120, 122, 126,
162, 166, 173, 178, 183-186, 189, 194, 200- 157, 159, 161, 164, 174, 194, 197
203, 206-207 qinjie 72, 83, 89, 103, 107
portals 156, 158 Qinren fang 29
posters 10 Qin Shi Huang 47
Potaisi 163, 196, 203 Qinzhenglou 33
Potaisi Pagoda 196, 203 Qinzhou 200
precincts 37, 39, 46, 68, 132, 138-139, 149- Qixi 132
150, 152, 154, 156, 161-163, 182, 189, 205 Qixia Gate 4
pleasure precincts 68, 149-150, 162, qu 19, 27, 35
182 Quan Deyu 24
prefect 34-35, 37, 45, 48, 72, 83-85, 100, 103, Quanzhou 184, 186-188
107 quarters 19, 27, 32, 37, 46-47, 66, 79, 137,
prefectures 35-36, 37, 69-70, 93-94, 98, 102, 156, 201, 209
107, 116, 127, 133, 170, 180, 184-186, 200,
202-203
Price Equalizing Office 22 R
government bodies 22 rafters 29, 85
Price Regulating Office 22 railway stations 27
Prime Ministers 19, 101 rain prayers 20
princes 2, 7, 11, 17, 53, 121, 171, 173 rammed earth 2, 59
printers 19 ramparts 9, 25, 74, 79, 124, 144, 156, 174, 198
Private Counselor 29 rank 10, 20, 24, 28, 29, 33, 36, 43, 47,
processions 11, 90, 123 105, 133, 160, 171
products 21-22, 35, 3 9 ,7 6 , 1 1 4 ,1 2 8 ,1 5 6 , 180, officials 7, 10-12, 14-16, 19-20, 24, 28-
184 29, 32, 34-37, 39, 43, 45-46, 48, 51,
promenade 117, 132 53, 60, 62, 65, 67, 69-73,77-78, 83-
promotion 99 84, 86, 98 -1 0 3 , 106, 108-109, 110,
property 29, 54, 70, 84, 86, 87, 100-102, 107, 112-113, 120-121, 123, 127-128, 134,
112-113, 167 137-138, 141-142, 145, 150, 152, 160,
properties 14, 24, 33, 71, 86, 90-91, 98, 163-164, 166-167, 171-173, 175-176,
1 0 1 -102,106,1 1 3 ,1 2 3 , 1 5 2 ,1 9 1 ,1 9 4 , 185-186, 191, 196, 201, 206-207
196, 201, 206 Raozhou 106
prostitutes 36, 161, 162 real estate 23, 101, 106, 206
prostitution 22 rebellions 17, 29, 36, 41, 43-44, 50, 69-73, 77,
protect 86, 88, 191 82-83,87, 90-91, 93, 99, 141, 206-207
proto-banks 20 rebels 22, 41, 69-70, 73
provinces 15, 21 ,2 6 , 3 7 ,5 5 , 63, 70, 7 3 ,7 7 , 91, reclamation 103
97, 111, 131, 136, 166, 171, 173, 176-177 recruitment 98, 99
pu 186, 203 reforms 41, 69, 97, 173
public 1, 20, 22, 33-34, 67, 71-72, 74, 78, 84, religious 20, 22, 27, 42, 49, 109, 120, 152,
86, 88-89, 92, 98, 102-104, 107, 117, 121, 162, 163, 165-166, 191, 194, 205
234
Index
religious feelings' 22 Secretary General o f the Imperial Grand

religious fervor 42 Secretaria 32
religious institutions 109, 120, 191, 205 sections 6, 9-10, 15, 30, 35, 72, 74, 90, 95,
religious merit 20 110, 120, 125, 127, 129, 152, 156, 160, 162,
Rendian 160 174, 189, 191, 197, 201
Renshi zhuan 27, 60 serfs 44
Renzong 97, 109, 113, 176 servants 1, 21, 29
residents 22, 36, 46, 101, 104, 106 services 19, 20, 37, 76, 123, 137, 150, 166-167
restaurants 20, 23, 34, 71, 80, 121-123, 125, Shaman 72
132, 149-150, 152, 154, 160-161, 191, 195, Shanglin fang 30
198, 202, 205 Shangshang Ward 46
The Return o f Wenji to China 167 Shanguang Temple 78
reunification 40, 43, 48 shanpeng 122, 133, 176
revenue 37, 77, 109, 113, 116, 184 Shanyang 73
rice 23, 68, 75, 77, 93, 103, 109, 114, 122, Shanxi 41, 64, 131, 177
126-127, 157, 172, 184, 206 Shaoxing 139
rivers 1-4, 7, 9, 14, 17, 19, 29-32, 39, 51-52, Shao Yong 104
73-75, 77-78, 80, 92-93, 97, 106, 111, 117, she 98, 170, 186
119-120, 123, 127-128, 136, 139, 140, 148, She 186
151, 156-158, 160, 162, 166-167, 171, 173- shehui 112, 114, 165
176, 178, 184, 186, 189, 191, 202, 203 Shen Kuo 93, 108, 110, 175
roads 9- 12, 15-17, 19, 21, 27, 32-33, 35, 54- Shen Jiji 27, 60
57, 59-60, 79, 87-88, 102, 110, 125, 128, Shengping fang 27, 72
132-133, 148, 151, 156, 183-184, 187, 189, Shenzong 129-130, 178
191 shi 19, 55, 59, 63, 69, 77, 82, 91-93, 96, 112,
roadways 9, 17, 19, 20, 23, 27, 34, 72, 124, 128, 173, 176, 180, 203
83-86, 88-89, 96, 98, 102-103, 110, Shiba 101, 106, 112-116, 178, 179, 181, 186,
151, 152, 154, 195, 201, 206 202-203
robes o f ceremony 43 Shigaraki 32
Roman Empire 43 shiji 35, 57, 58
rouhang 20 Shitai fang 30
routes 5, 19, 21, 27, 31, 48, 71, 87, 109, 118, Shizong 87, 177
139, 148, 154, 184, 206 shops 19-23, 27-28, 31-32, 34, 39, 57, 61, 68,
rows 10, 29-30, 35, 127-128, 167, 191, 198 71-72, 80-82, 85-87, 89, 98, 100-102, 106-
Rugaozhen 78, 81 107, 110-111, 113, 115, 121-125, 127, 132,
ruisseaux 1 4 ,5 0 135, 150, 152, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162-163,
rulers 3-4, 29, 40-41, 49, 64, 70, 74, 87, 97, 167, 174, 177, 186, 189, 191, 198, 205-206
103, 136, 139,171 ateliers 21, 71, 104, 205
Rykwert, Joseph 208-209 stalls 20, 23, 35, 68, 156, 159, 189, 191
Shouchun 100
s shrines 1, 11-12, 26, 72, 152, 201

shu 22, 60, 115
sacrifices 7, 48, 66, 128, 165, 179 Shu 8, 41, 56, 59, 65, 81
saddlery 19, 139 Shugang 74
safe deposit firms 20 Shuncheng Granary Bridge 128
Samantabhadra 134 si 179, 181
sanctions 65, 72, 84, 90 Sichuan 32, 37, 39, 81, 92
sanctuary 163 silk 35, 44, 47, 68, 71, 76, 100, 103, 109, 134,
Sangjiawa 132 141, 160-161
sanjue 24, 70, 91 Silk Route 19, 21, 27
Sanshan Gazetteer 166 Sima Rui 42
scales 19, 135 Siraf 8
scholars 3, 8, 36, 47, 53, 58, 64, 99, 101-102, Six Crane Hall 196
104-105, 108, 117, 141, 150, 175, 194, 206- Six Dynasties 141, 205
207 Skinner 51, 62, 106, 115-116, 202-203
seasons 19, 51, 95, 121, 132 Slaughter Pig Alley 122, 172
235
slaves 22, 35, 44, 48, 109 196-199, 201-202, 205-207, 209
slow land 101 street patrols 97
social 16-17, 26, 27, 39, 44-47, 49-50, 56, 62, strings o f cash 102, 183, 202
64, 67, 98-99, 108, 111-115, 119-120, 135, money 20, 2 2 ,4 7 , 67, 7 1 ,1 0 1 , 111, 158,
150, 152, 158, 170, 173, 178, 183, 185, 201- 167, 175, 180, 207
203, 205-208 structures 2, 17, 19, 34, 37, 45-46, 50, 53, 60-
social classes 44, 108, 150, 152 61, 67, 69, 71-72, 78, 82, 88-92, 97-98, 102-
social composition 16, 46 103, 106, 108, 110-111, 116-117, 119-120,
social hierarchy 46, 170, 206 122-123, 125, 148-149, 151, 155-156, 160,
social segregation 47 " 162, 174, 183, 187, 190-192, 194, 201-202,
social structure 17, 45, 67, 108, 120, 205-208
202, 205, 206 Suanzao Gate 68, 152
socio-economic differences 22 suburban 34, 79, 84, 95, 105-106, 116, 160-
Song 2, 24, 39, 43, 51, 52, 53, 57-63, 65, 67, 161, 198, 200-201
69-70, 73, 79-81, 83, 88, 90-94, 96-99, 101- suburbs 34, 61, 87, 89, 105-106, 114-115,119,
106, 108-117, 119, 121, 127, 130-131, 133, 121, 152, 154, 189, 191, 198, 201-202, 204-
135-136, 139, 141, 144-145, 147-149, 152, 206
154, 156, 160, 162, 165-189, 191-192, 194- Su Hanchen 167, 168
195, 197-209 Sui 2-7, 12, 14, 30, 32, 37, 39-53, 56-59, 61-
Song cities 96, 102, 111, 116, 144, 156, 62, 65-67, 73-74, 77, 89-90, 95, 106, 111,
175, 180, 208 136, 139, 141, 175, 177-178, 187, 189, 201,
Song dynasty 43, 83, 90, 96-97, 99, 103, 205-208
116, 135-136, 168-169, 173, 185, 199Sui dynasty 2, 3 0 ,4 2 ,4 3 -4 4 ,4 6 , 53, 6 5 ,7 3 ,
Song Gate 133, 154 106, 208
Song Kaifeng 67, 69, 131, 135, 139, Sui Wendi 2-3, 12, 42-43, 46-48, 66, 67, 136,
198, 208 187
Song Dongjing kao 96 supervision 23, 205-206
Song Huiyao 113,165 survey 98
Song Minqiu 51, 53, 97, 111 Su Yangzhou 82
Song shuke you weiyang 81 Suzhou 37, 73, 80, 82, 92, 105, 113, 141, 148,
Soper 55, 171, 181, 195, 203-204 151, 154, 157-158, 184, 189, 191, 195, 201
sophora japonica 9 swindling 36
Southern 3-4, 6, 9-10, 12, 22, 29, 30, 32, 42- symbols 2, 3, 37, 40, 51
43, 46-48, 52-53, 55, 60-61, 67-68, 72, 77, symbolism 3, 4
88, 97, 103, 105, 108, 110-112, 122-124, System o f the Nine Ranks and Recommending
127, 133, 135-136, 139, 141, 145, 148, 154, Legates 45
157, 162-163, 167, 176, 178-179, 186-187,
189, 194, 197, 202, 207
Southern dynasties 43, 47 T
Southern Qi 43 T-junctions 14, 189, 202
South Medical R elief Bureau 123 Taihu 113, 128
South Seas 19 Taikang 124
squares 1, 34, 149, 166, 170 tai miao 7
stages 20, 44, 133, 135, 139, 166, 180 taiping che 124, 174
state control 44, 207 Taiping fang 15
stone 25, 127, 128-129, 148, 154, 155, 174- Taiping Guangji 55, 58-60, 62, 95
175, 180 Taiping Xingguo Monastery 162
stone slabs 175 Taiping zaixiang 104
stone stele 25 Taishan 48, 66-67
store 175 Taiyuan 136, 190, 193, 200
streets 1, 10, 15, 17-20, 23-25, 27, 32, 34, Taizhou 100, 112, 139
36-37, 48, 54, 56-59, 61-62, 67-69, 71-74, Taizong 7, 10, 55, 98, 111, 136, 152
78-81, 83-90, 92, 94-98, 102-103, 105, 107, Taizu 5, 87, 97, 110, 111, 136, 138, 163, 176
110-111, 115, 121-123,125-126, 129-130, Tang 1-2, 5-9, 12, 14-17, 20, 26, 27, 28, 30,
132-133, 136, 144, 149-152, 154-157, 158- 32-34, 36-37, 39-42,44-65, 67, 69-76,79-84,
160, 163, 170, 172, 174, 177-180, 189, 191, 86-87, 89-101, 103, 105-112, 135, 137-138,
236
Index
141, 144, 151-152, 155, 163, 167, 170, 173, Tongji Canal 30, 74
175-176, 178, 180, 183-187, 189, 191, 195- towers 9, 30, 3 3-34,40, 55, 68, 74, 82, 97, 98,
196, 198, 201-203, 205-209 101, 119, 123-125, 127, 129-131, 132-134,
Tang cities 17, 32, 39, 47, 49, 52, 135, 144-145, 152, 154, 162-163, 176-178, 194,
183, 201 196
Tang dynasty 5, 40, 59-60, 69, 70, 72- Dexterity-Seeking towers 132
73, 82, 83, 90, 93, 99, 105, 175, 187, townscape 34, 37
203, 207 toys 19, 132
later Tang 83-84, 86, 87, 89-90, 101, trades 20, 27, 32, 34-36, 39, 48, 57-59, 61-62,
209 68, 82, 83, 99-101, 104, 108-109, 112, 114-
Tang period 2, 7, 12, 16, 20, 26, 27, 30, 115, 129, 141, 154, 156, 158, 166, 170, 180,
34, 37, 39, 51, 53-54, 56-57, 60, 65, 181, 184-185, 189, 194, 201-202, 207
69-70, 73-74, 79, 82-83, 86-87, 89-90, tradesmen 46, 132
92-96, 98, 110-112, 141, 163, 175, traders 15, 22, 32, 76, 93
180, 184, 187, 189, 201, 207 distant traders 22
Tang Statute Law 108 trading 19, 22, 37, 39, 68-69, 75-76, 109, 184,
Tang urban structure 69 205, 207
Tang Huiyao 54, 70 trading activities 19, 22, 207
Tanguts 41, 114 trading center 75
Tang Zhongyou 100 trading hours 22
Taoists 108, 125, 165 unfair trading practices 22
taxes 26, 32, 37, 44, 47-48, 70-71, 77, 84, 97, transactions 20, 22, 68, 91, 102
101, 109, 113, 116, 127, 128, 141, 173, 183, transport 14, 19, 30, 109, 124, 128, 172,
185-186, 201, 203, 207 174
tax exemption 32 water transport 14, 19, 30
tax grains 127, 128, 173 transportation 4, 29-30, 51, 74, 77, 89, 105,
tax stations 109, 116, 183 114, 123, 173, 175, 183-184
tax system 70 transport network 74, 89, 114
agricultural taxes 109, 201 travelers 1, 8-10, 12, 14-17, 20, 27, 71, 149,
sales taxes 109 154
transit taxes 109 traveling merchants 20, 39
taxation policies 45 treasures 29, 106
technology 49, 103, 144, 184, 208 treatises 24, 103, 181
temples 1, 7, 9-12, 15-16, 22, 24-27, 29, 32- trees 1, 9, 10, 17, 18, 27, 30, 34, 54, 55, 88,
34, 55-56, 58, 60, 65, 68, 78, 82, 91, 93-94, 102, 123, 128, 145, 156, 176, 183
121, 123, 135, 139, 149, 152, 154,156, 164- flowering trees 18
165, 166, 170-171, 179, 181 fruit trees 10, 30, 54
temple activities 22 green trees 18
Zoroastrian temples 32, 56, 60 locust trees 9, 10, 17
monastic establishments 24 tribes 4 1 ,4 3
Temple o f Precious Scriptures 68, 91 tribesmen 42
theaters 68, 91, 132, 162, 177, 180, 182 Triple Gate 163, 165
Thom Basin 134 tu 61, 81, 100, 120, 122, 126, 150, 155, 157-
thorns 43, 73 158, 159, 161, 164, 167-168, 169, 173-174,
thoroughfare 7, 9, 68, 130, 134 194, 197-198
Three Kingdoms 41, 44, 47 tudi 170
Tianhan Bridge 127 Tufans 69
Tianqing Monastery 162-163 tuntian 44, 47
Tianshu 34 Tuoba 32, 41, 43-44, 47
Tiantang 34 Turkish pastries 27
Tibetans 41, 50 Tushizi 132, 154
Tiepingxiang 105 Twitchett 35, 50, 57-59, 62-63, 91, 111-115,
Tieta 162, 181 202, 204
Tingzhou 110 Two-tax system 70
tombstones 78
237
u walls 2-7, 9-10, 12, 14-16, 18-19, 20, 22, 26-

unearthed articles 22 27, 31-34, 39-40, 42, 45-46, 48, 51-55, 57,
universit 15, 29, 50-53, 59-61, 63-66, 91, 92, 5 9 -6 2 ,68-72,77-81, 83-84, 86-90, 92-94,96-
111-112, 114-115, 123, 156, 162, 171-173, 98, 102, 104-106, 110-111, 123, 127-129,
176, 178-179, 203 131, 136-138, 141, 144-145, 149, 151-152,
University for the Sons o f State 123, 173 156, 174, 176-179, 186-192, 196-198, 200-
urban 6, 34, 37, 39, 45, 47, 49-50, 56, 67, 69- 202, 205-206, 208
73, 79, 81-83, 86-87, 89-90, 96-103, 105- circuit wall 45, 105, 136, 141, 174, 189
109, 111-117, 119, 135, 141, 149, 150, 152, perimeter w alls 2, 19, 31-32, 57, 61,
156, 160, 166-167, 170-171, 182-187, 189- 123, 141, 178
192, 194, 201-203, 205-209 city walls 6, 10, 12, 14, 33, 39, 48, 78-
urban changes 81, 83, 202-203 79, 83-84, 87, 92, 102, 104-105, 110,
urban constraints 111 152, 189-190, 201, 205-206
urban control 70, 86, 87, 97-98, 102, compound walls 34, 192
206 mud walls 9, 111
urban culture 166-167, 170, 202, 207 Wang Anshi 154
urban development 115, 209 Wang Bo 79
urban enclosure 34 Wangcheng 190
urban experience 119, 189 Wang Cun 107
urban fabric 149, 189, 191, 192, 202 Wang Dan 104
urban form 49, 82, 83, 207, 209 Wang Daoren 164
urban household 109 Wang Jian 14, 56, 82, 95
urban intervention 72 Wang Po 88
urban land 101, 150, 201, 206 Wang Shi 34, 72
urban management unit 86, 105-106 Wannian county 15
urban order 70-72, 87, 97, 201, 207 Wansheng Gate 122, 148
urban planning 49, 50, 83 wars 2, 32, 41-44, 47-48, 63, 70, 75, 83, 93,
urban population 6, 102-103, 111, 166, 95, 103, 108, 130, 175, 207
186, 202-203, 206 wards 7 ,9 -1 2 ,1 4 -1 9 , 2 2 -3 4 ,3 7 ,3 9 -4 0 ,4 2 , 45-
urban problems 90 48, 52-54, 56, 59-61, 65, 69-73, 78-92, 97-
urban scene 117 98, 102, 105, 110, 107, 110-112, 115, 151-
urban skyline 192 152, 155-156, 170, 191, 201, 205-208
urban structure 37, 67, 69, 82, 111, 183, ward headman 23, 26
187, 191-192, 201, 206-208 designated wards 19
urban systems 49, 56 residential wards 15, 23, 26, 32, 72, 86,
urban tissue 191, 192 156
urban transformation 71, 135, 208, 209 warfares 41, 43, 46, 49, 90, 144
urban villages 67 warehouses 19, 20, 31-32, 34, 58, 61, 102, 158
urbanization 115, 170, 178-179, 183, 190, 202- waning states 43, 74,179
203, 207 washe 162, 180
water 14, 17, 19-20, 29-30, 35, 48, 51-52, 56,
77-78, 80, 82, 87-88, 95-96, 107, 121-122,
V 125, 127-128, 134, 144, 148, 171, 173, 179,
vegetation 14, 18 206
vehicles 9, 19, 22, 124, 132 water fetchers 125
Vermilion Bird Road 9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 27, 55 waterways 19, 37, 73, 74, 78, 127, 139,
villages 67, 109, 112,116, 166, 171, 174, 184, 158, 175
189, 201, 205 transport 14, 19, 30, 109, 124, 128, 172,
village family 109 174
visitor 36 water 82, 121, 134, 148, 171, 175
w azi 68, 152, 162
weapons 4 5 ,4 7
w Wei 1-3, 8-9, 14, 32, 41-48, 50, 56, 65, 72-73,
walks 8, 10, 117, 121, 135, 162, 164 87, 91, 175
hypothetical walk 8, 117 Wei Dynasty 1, 43, 44
Northern Wei 1, 42, 44-46, 48, 65
238
Index
Western Wei 42, 47 xianwei 186

weights and measures 22, 54 Xianzong 22, 70
Weimin 124 Xiao Gu 100
Wei Rang 72 Xiao Wendi 41, 45
Wei Shu 8, 56, 65 Xia Song 109,115
Wei Zhuang 73 X ie Dequan 98
wen 91, 122, 126, 172 Xihu tu 167, 169
Wende dian 142 Xingqing Palace 7, 26, 33
wengcheng 141 Xinfan 200
Wenzhou 106, 139, 184 Xinmen 122
West Government Hostelry 152 Xinsong Gate 144-145, 179
Whealty, Paul 4 9 ,6 6 ,2 0 9 Xinsongmen 154, 196
Wheat Straw A lley 123 Xinzheng Gate 122, 144-145, 148
w illows 10, 14, 17, 30, 73, 74, 81 Xinzhengmen 154
wine 22, 35, 54, 60, 68, 125, 132, 139, 158, Xiongnu 41
160, 174, 186, 197 Xishifang 105
winesellers 35 Xishui Gate 122
wineshops 19-20, 23, 34, 125, 132-133, Xiuzhou 184
154, 158, 160-161, 174, 180, 195, 202 Xiying tu 167
Winter Solstice 7, 133, 177, 179 xu 63, 186
women o f pleasure 26, 72 Xuande Gate 129
Woniucheng 88 Xuanhe 68, 133
wooden fish 121 Xuanping fang 72
Working for the Government 154 Xuanyang fang 71
Wright 3 ,5 1 ,5 3 ,6 3 ,6 5 , 9 1 Xuanzong 7, 14, 23, 51, 53, 69
Arthur 3, 47, 51, 53, 56, 63-65, 91 xunjian 186
writers 35, 49, 94 xushi 39, 79, 183
writings 8, 17, 26-28, 52, 78, 81, 89, 121, 152 Xuzhou 154
contemporary writings 17, 78, 121
miscellaneous writings 8
wu 72, 113 Y
Wuben fang 15 yacheng 77, 187
Wucheng fang 117,171 yamen 37, 74, 175
Wucheng Temple 121,171 Yanfugong 139
Wudi 4 1 ,4 2 ,6 4 Yang 2, 4, 7, 30, 42, 51, 57-58, 61, 65, 73
wudian 129 Yangdi 31-32, 74, 136, 175
wutoumen 123 YangJian 2 ,4 2 ,5 1
Wuxi 187 Yang Liang 7
Wuyue 82, 95, 141, 173, 179 Yangma 189
Wu Zeng 165, 181 Yangzhou 37. 39, 73-82, 92-95, 105, 139, 187,
201
Yangzi 2, 4, 30, 37, 43, 73-75, 77, 82, 93, 97,
X 100, 103, 128, 139, 141, 154, 178, 185, 191,
Xia 59, 64, 109, 114-115, 154, 175, 179 202, 207
xian 37, 39, 94, 105, 112 Yanjing 145,208
Xianbei 4 1 ,4 5 ,6 4 Yanpingmen 36
xiang 27, 84, 86, 96, 105-106, 113, 170 Yanshou fang 72
xiangcunhu 109 Yekan Yangzhou shi 82
Xiangfu 105, 114 Y ellow River 4, 51, 74, 111, 127, 136, 178,
Xiangguo Monastery 127-128, 135, 154, 161- 203
163, 165, 166, 181 Yichenglou 152
Xiangxi dian 142 Yihang 20
Xiangyang 103, 154 Tying 11
Xiangzhou 103 Yin 46, 186
xiangzhu 127 Yingtianfu 111, 136, 137, 139, 154, 177
Xianping 124 Yingtianjie 84
239
Yingwushan 189 zhengdian 158, 160-161, 180

Yi Pylon 30 Zheng Zi 27
Yi Que 5, 30, 52 Zhenjiang 139, 141, 186, 202
Yishan fang 26 Zhenyuan 78
Yizhou 37, 39 Zhenzong 97, 102, 105, 173, 176
Yizhoucheng 32 Zhezong 129
Yongda fang 10 Zhide 7 0 ,7 1
Yongchong fang 29 Zhongdu 145, 208, 209
Yongji Canal 74 Zhongnan mountains 9
Yongxing fang 26 Zhongwa 132
Youye Gate 129 Zhongzong 12
Yu 14, 51, 53-54, 57, 62, 9 2-93,108, 114,174, Zhou 2, 35, 42, 44, 47-48, 83, 87, 89-91, 93-
181, 209 98, 104-105, 110, 114, 117, 121, 125-129,
Yuan 51, 61, 90, 112,115, 149, 175, 177, 178, 132, 136, 138, 141, 154, 156-157, 174-179,
180, 190, 196 181, 190, 196, 204, 209
Yuan Henan zhi 61 Zhou dynasty 48, 104
Yuezhou 109 Later Zhou 83, 87, 89-90, 93-94, 97,
yujie 123 1 0 4 -1 0 5 ,1 1 0 ,1 1 7 ,1 3 6 ,1 3 8 ,1 4 1 ,1 5 6 ,
Yunnan 43 175-177, 209
Yunqu 30 Northern Zhou 2, 42, 44, 47-48
Yunzhoucheng 32 Zhou Bridge 121, 125-129, 132, 154, 157,
Yuwen Kai 2, 4, 11 174-177
zhou 37
Zhou Cheng 96, 173
z Zhoujun 74
Zao 2 Zhou Li 35
zhai 181, 186, 203 Zhou Mi 196, 204
zhang 54-55, 175, 196 Zhou Taizu 87
Zhang Fangping 102 zhuangyuan 103, 123
Zhang Hu 78, 79 Zhuquemen 12, 88
Zhangji 97 Zhu Wen 73
Zhangxin 88 Zhu Xi 101, 113
Zhang Yi 71 Ziehen dian 142
Zhao Kuangyin 88, 97, 135, 136 zicheng 77, 187, 189
Zhao Liying 51, 54, 58 Zisheng 58, 163-164
Zhao Wenxiu 164 zithems 107
Zhedong 72 Zongyou Huainan 78
Zhejiang 43, 62, 95, 115, 176, 179 Zoroastrianism 16
zhen 186,203 Zuoye Gate 129
240

Cities of Aristocrats and Bureaucrats The Development of Medieval Chinese Cityscapes by Heng Chye Kiang

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I P S iP p N ?

HENG CHYE KIANG

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I PRESS

Published in North America by

First Published in Singapore by

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FOR ILLUSTRATIONS: Sources o f photographs and images illustrated, in

List of Selected Dynasties and Rulers

Dynasty Periods of Ancient China

1. The Tang City

3. Attempted Return To Urban Control

4. The Song City scape

5. The Open City

6. A New Urban Paradigm

Taizu iliS. Zhao Kuangyin MHJlL 960-975

Gaozong Si % Zhao Gou M. $3 1127-1163

the summer of 1229, a map of Pingjiang fu ^ (modern Suzhou & )

Fig. 1. Map of Suzhou on stone stele carved in 1229.

Fig. 2. Map of Chang’an on stone stele carved in 1080.

Hundreds o f houses, thousands o f houses — like pieces on a chess-board

Noisy chatterings fill the cool night wind,

Fig. 3. Map of Wangcheng in Kaogongji.

The Tang City

So recorded the chronicler, Abu Zeid al Hasan, of the impressions o f an Arabian

THE CHOICE OF CAPITALS

principal capital, Daxingcheng, was renamed Chang’an, the City of Everlasting

T p ^ f ll Chengtian Gate IJiafu Gate I f-* rt

Capital Construction yt Right

■&3fcrt Hangnang Gate & f t n Zhuque Gate 3 E -tn Anshang Gate

1 Right Guard 12 Office of Supervision 23 Left General of Imperial Guards

Fig. 8. Organization of Chang’an’s Imperial City.

Fig. 9. Reconstruction of Mingde Gate.

Fig. 10. Schematic cross section of a typical 120-meter-wide avenue.

It is customary fo r them [high ranking Eunuchs], as w ell as the Kings or

Daxingshan Monastery , one of the major Buddhist institutions in the

Fig. 11. Small Wild Goose Pagoda.

Leaves o f palace pines are seen above the walls,

THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE TANG

Well said Ch’ang-an looks like a chess-board:

The checkerboard layout of Chang’an was formed by fourteen latitudinal (E-W)

Fig. 15. Chang’an and its “Six Streets”.

I look down on the Twelve City Streets:

Fig. 16. Relief tile of market

The dust flies when the sun comes out;

Northwest West o f East o f Northeast

Fig. 18. Layout of a residential ward.

THE TANG CAPITAL CITYSCAPE

The thumps o f the dawn drums hurry the rising sun,

TANG PROVINCIAL, PREFECTURAL, AND COUNTY SEATS

Fig. 20. Detail from Pingjiangtu showing the administrative city.

PRE SUI-TANG CHINA

Fig. 22. Map of Northern Wei Luoyang.

Northeast of Luoyang is Shangshang Ward,

THE LEGALIST ARISTOCRATIC CITY

It is doubtful if a single, autonomous, causative factor will ever be identified in

3 Ho P’ing Ti , “Lo-yang A.D. 495-534: A Study of Physical and Socio-Economic

zhengzhi, jingji he wenhua shenghuo” [The

Appearance of Hanyuan Hall of Daminggong at T’ang Chang’an], Wenwu ,

41 TUCFK, p. 96; CAZ, c. 9, p. 8a.

Knopf, 1919), p. 163.

122 Su Bai, “Sui-Tang Chang’an and Luoyang,” p. 418.

xiaoshuo jianshang cidian + HI If [Dictionary of Chinese Classical

162 Reischauer, Ennin’s Diary, p. 350-51.