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About the Ancient City Wall of Pingyao

There is a saying: Pingyao Town(平遥古镇Píngyáo gŭzhèn) has three treasures, including the Ancient City Wall. The Ancient City Wall in Pingyao Town is located in the middle of Shanxi Province. First built 2,700 years ago, it was expanded in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. It is the most well-preserved wall among the ancient historical cities in China, and also an early and largest city wall in Shanxi Province. The present city wall is mainly in the form and structure of Ming, with a total length of about 6.4 kilometers(6400 meters).

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Han Dynasty 汉朝

  Han (206 BC – 220 AD)

The powerful Qin Dynasty was pulled down due to its tyrannical rule and Liu Bang (Emperor Hangaozu) founded the Western Han Dynasty in 206 BC. The Western Han Dynasty was also one of the strongest dynasties that had developed much in regime, agriculture, handicraft industry, commerce and many other fields, with a population of some 50 millions. It is during the reign of Liu Che (Emperor Hanwudi) that the dynasty achieved its peak, with Confucius becoming the national belief and its control area stretching from the Central Plains (heartland of ancient China) to the Western Regions (known as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China and Central Asia today). This great emperor had also sent Zhang Qian (a famous ambassador) to the Western Region, opening the way connecting Chang’an (known as Xi’an today), Xinjiang, Central Asia and the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, which is now worldwide known as “Silk Road”. With the accessing of the Silk Road, various Chinese silk fabrics were transported to the West and contact between the West and China became more frequent. In the 1st century, Buddhism was introduced into China.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the country sank into wars again because of the sharp social contradictions between farmers and the ruling class. In 25 AD, Liu Xiu (Emperor Hanguangwudi), who is the descendants of the royal family of Western Han dynasty, founded a new Han dynasty, choosing Luoyang (known as Luoyang City of Henan Province today) as the capital. Luoyang is geographically located east to Chang’an (known as Xi’an today), the capital of the previous Western Han Dynasty. For this reason the dynasty Liu Xiu set up was called Eastern Han Dynasty. In 105 AD, Cai Lun, an official of the dynasty, invented the papermaking technology, which is listed as one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China together with compass (invented during Warring States Period), gunpowder (invented during Sui and Tang dynasties) and typography (invented during Northern Song Dynasty).

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Three auspicious treasure

Jíxiánɡ sānbǎo
《吉祥三宝》
Nǚér wèn : “A bɑ,tàiyánɡ chūlái yuèliànɡ huíjiā le mɑ ? “
女儿问：“阿爸，太阳出来月亮回家了吗？”
Bàbɑ huídá : “Duìle .”
爸爸回答：“对了。”
Nǚér wèn : “Xnɡxīnɡ chūlái tàiyánɡ qù nàlǐ le ? “
女儿问：“星星出来太阳去哪里了？”
Bàbɑ huídá : “Zài tiānshànɡ .”
爸爸回答：“在天上。”
Nǚér wèn : “Wǒ zěnme zhǎo yě zhǎo búdào tā ? “
女儿问：“我怎么找也找不到它？”
Bàbɑhuídá : “Tā huíjiā le . “
爸爸回答：“他回家了。”
Nǚér bàbɑ hé:“Tàiyánɡyuèliànɡxīnɡxīnɡjiùshìjíxiánɡ de yìjiā? “
女儿爸爸合：“太阳月亮星星就是吉祥的一家。”
Nǚér wèn : “A mɑ ,yèzi lǜle shénme shíhòu kāihuā ? “
女儿问：“阿妈，叶子绿了什么时候开花？”
Māmɑ huídá : “Děnɡ xiàtiān láile . “
妈妈回答：“等夏天来了。”
Nǚér wèn : “Huāér hónɡ le ɡuǒshí nénɡ qù zhāi mɑ ? “
女儿问：“花儿红了果实能去摘吗？”
Māmɑ huídá : “Děnɡ qiūtiān lái le .”
妈妈回答：“等秋天来了。”
Nǚér wèn : “Guǒshí zài tǔlǐ huì fāyá mɑ ? “
女儿问：“果实种在土里会发芽吗？”
Māmɑ huídá : “Tā huì zhǎnɡdà . “
妈妈回答：“它会长大。”
Bàbɑmāmɑ nǚér hé:“Huāér yèzi ɡuǒshí jiùshìjíxiánɡ de yìjiā.”
爸爸妈妈女儿合：“花儿叶子果实就是吉祥的一家。”
Bàbɑmāmɑ wèn nǚér :“Bǎobèi ,bàbɑxiànɡ tàiyánɡ zhàozhe māmɑ.”
爸爸妈妈问女儿：“宝贝，爸爸像太阳照着妈妈。”
Nǚér huídá: “Nà māmɑ ne ? “
女儿回答：“那妈妈呢？”
Bàbɑmāmɑ huídá: “Māmɑxiànɡ lǜyè tuōzhe hónɡhuā.”
爸爸妈妈回答：“妈妈像绿叶托着红花。”
Nǚér huídá: “Nà wǒ ne ?”
女儿回答：“那我呢？”
Bǎbàmāméi huídá: “Nǐ xiànɡ zhǒnɡzi yíyànɡ zhènɡzài fāyá.”
爸爸妈妈回答：“你像种子一样正在发芽。”
Bàbɑ māmɑ nǚér hé :“Wǒmén sānɡe jiùshì jíxiánɡ rúyìdeyìjiā.”
爸爸妈妈女儿合：“我们三个就是吉祥如意的一家。”
 

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Why Winter Solstice come from?

(Source: china.com.cn) In the northern areas of China: There is an old saying in Beijing that goes, “have wontons (hun tun) on the Winter Solstice and noodles on Summer Solstice.” It is said that during the Han Dynasty, the northern tribes often harassed the northern border of China, and the people there suffered from the invasion. At that time, the two leaders of the tribes with the surnames “Hun” and “Tun” were the cruelest. People hated them so much that they made dumplings filled with spiced minced pork, and named them “huntun” (wonton). By eating them, people released their hatred of the brutal leaders, and prayed for peace. Because they happened to make the dumplings on the day of the Winter Solstice, people decided to have wontons on that day.

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Pingyao Old Town

Old Town of Pingyao(平遥Píngyáo) is in Pingyao County, in the center of Shanxi Province. It was constructed during the reign of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty (C.1100-771B.C.) and has been the county seat ever since the establishment of the prefecture-and-county system in L'ancienne Chine. At present, Pingyao looks much the same as it did during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties and is the best-preserved historic town in the regions populated by the Han ethnic group.

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