The Taizicheng city site of the Jin dynasty in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province

Abstract

Abstract In 2017 to 2018, Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and other institutions excavated the Taizicheng city site. Assisted by coring, the fieldwork confirmed that there were 67 building foundations, 14 roads, and two drainage ditches in this city site; the foundation of the No. 9 building in the center of the south zone and the courtyard No. 3 in the center of the north zone formed a tandem arrangement of “qian chao hou qin” [in front, audience hall; behind, resting chambers] along a symmetrical axis. In the unearthed artifacts, there are large numbers of bricks with stamps of “nei,” “gong,” and “guan,” white-glazed Ding wares with an inscription “shang shi ju,” fragments of chiwen-dragon heads on the main ridge, etc. Seen from the ranks of the artifacts and architectural sites, this city site would be the remains of an imperial residence of the mid through late Jin dynasty, which might be the Taihe Palace for Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin dynasty to hold summer nabo-imperial encampment. The excavation of the Taizicheng city site greatly improves the studies on the site selection of imperial encampments, construction regulations, utensil assemblage for the use of imperial courts, etc. of the Jin dynasty.