|
Pingyao
Old Town
The Old Town of Pingyao
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 ancient
China. Today, 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.
Pingyao is known mainly for
three historical treasures: the ancient
large-brick city wall, the Zhenguo Temple,
and the Shuanglin Temple.
The city wall of Pingyao was
originally built with rammed earth and was
rebuilt with bricks in 1370, the third year
of the reign of Emperor Hong Wu of the Ming
Dynasty. The city wall extends for six kilometers
and testifies to the profound influence
of Confucianism in this region, as the disciples
of Confucius are said to be represented
by the 3,000 embrasures on the wall and
the 72 best disciples are represented by
the 72 small watchtowers. In the later period
of the Qing Dynasty, the Kuixing Pavilion
was built on the southeast section of the
wall and became a symbol of the flourishing
culture of the ancient city.
The Old Town of Pingyao was
constructed according to the traditional
planning and building style of the Han ethnic
group and was laid out according to the
functions of its different parts. Four large
streets, eight smaller ones, and 72 lanes
made a neat grid. Symmetrically arranged
along an axis, the private houses were constructed
either in the style of courtyard houses
or in the style of manmade-cave houses,
all with local features. Today, Pingyao
still has 3,797 courtyard houses, 400 of
them especially well preserved. In addition,
richly decorated temples and shops are scattered
all over the town. These old buildings bring
back a scene of the flourishing town of
Pingyao during the Ming and Qing periods.
The Zhenguo Temple, located
in the northeast part of the city, was built
1,000 years ago, and its Hall of Ten Thousand
Buddhas (Wanfo) is the third oldest existing
wood building in China. The painted statues
from the Five Dynasties period (907-960)
inside the Wanfo Hall are listed as precious
works of sculptures.
The Shuanglin Temple, with its
ten halls, is located in the southwest part
of the town and was rebuilt in 571, during
the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577). The temple
houses more than 2,000 painted clay statues
from the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) through
the Ming Dynasty and is known as the Treasure
House of Painted Sculptures.
Other treasures in Pingyao include
the Hall of Great Achievements in the Temple
of Confucius, reconstructed in 1163, and
the Qingxu Temple, originally constructed
in 657.
Pingyao occupies an important
place in the financial history of modern
China. It was the location of the Shanxi
Commerce and Rishengchang Piaohao, a kind
of banking firm dealing mainly in the transfer
of money. The now-defunct firm is considered
to be the predecessor of modern banks in
China. During the Ming and Qing dynasties,
along with the development of economy and
commerce, several large commercial firms
of Shanxi Province opened branches outside
the province, thus establishing a trans-regional
business network. The circulation of commodities
and the transfer of money gave rise to the
piaohao.
In 1824, the Rishengchang Piaohao,
the first banking firm in China, was established
on what had been the site of the Xiyucheng
Pigment Shop on Xidajie Street. Three years
later, Rishengchang opened branches in Shandong,
Henan, Liaoning, and Jiangsu provinces.
In the 1840s, it expanded its operations
to Japan, Singapore, and Russia. Following
the example of Rishengchang, more than 20
piaohaos opened one after another in Pingyao,
turning the town into the financial center
of China.
Remembering Pingyao's glorious
past, the local people have protected and
preserved the old town. On December 3, 1997,
at the 21st session of the World Heritage
Committee of UNESCO, Pingyao was put on
the World Heritage List.
"The Old Town of
Pingyao is an outstanding example of the
Han cities in the Ming and Qing dynasties,
retaining all the features of these periods.
Pingyao presents a picture of unusual cultural,
social, economic, and religious development
in Chinese history."¡ªfrom
a report of the World Heritage Commission
of UNESCO.
|
