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　　The geographical environment is the cradle of civilization.

my country's three-level stepped landform forms different interlaced zones.

This complex geographical structure has given birth to the Chinese nation’s unity of inward cohesion and inclusiveness of its opening to the outside world.

　　This column uses the development history of the people in the intersection area to show the vivid practice of exchanges and integration of various ethnic groups in this area, and to show the regional experience of the formation of the Chinese nation.

　　In Jining District, Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, there is a Yuan Dynasty site of great historical research value - the Jining Road Ancient City Ruins.

The site is 140 kilometers away from Zhangjiakou City in the east and 90 kilometers away from Datong City in the south. It enters the Mongolian Gobi grassland to the north and the hinterland of the Central Plains to the south. It is an important starting point at the eastern end of the Prairie Silk Road.

It was once a prosperous prairie town, a place where nomadic civilization and farming civilization met. Various ethnic groups lived together here, and different customs and cultures gathered, integrated and passed on here, forming an inclusive northern Xinjiang culture with distinctive regional characteristics. .

▲The location of Jining District on the map of Ulanqab City.

(Image source: People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region)

A thousand-year look back at the legacy of the ancient city

　　The northern grassland peoples have the traditional custom and production and living rules of "living in pursuit of water and grass".

In 1192, Jin Zhangzong Wanyanjing chose to set up a spring market called "Jining" led by the central government on the east coast of Baihuolao (today's Baihuang Banner Sea) on the border between Jin, Mongolia and Khitan.

The reason why it is called "Jining" means "peace in the market", and the ancient city of Jining Road comes from this.

　　The ancient city is surrounded by ringed mountains to the north and Huangqi Sea (called Baishuibo in the Jin Dynasty) to the south. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with flat terrain and convenient transportation, making it suitable for nomadic living and farming.

There are east and north walls on the surface of the ancient city, while the west and south walls are buried underground.

▲Excavation area of ​​ancient city ruins on Jining Road.

(Image source: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology)

　　The east and west walls of the ancient city each have a gate. The east gate is located in the northern section of the east wall, with a square urn outside; the west gate is located in the middle section of the west wall, with a horseshoe-shaped urn outside.

The roads in the city are six vertical and seven horizontal, dividing the ancient city into thirty-one units.

There is a large building platform in the middle of the northern part of the city, and the southern part of the platform is the ruins of a store.

There is a north-south road on the west side outside the city that connects Ximen Wengcheng and the roads within the city.

▲ Jining ancient city ruins and Ximen Wengcheng ruins.

(Photo source: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology)

　　The historical book "History of the Jin Dynasty·Geography" records that "Xijing Road is under the jurisdiction of Fuzhou, which governs Rouyuan, Jining and other counties." Fuzhou in the Jin Dynasty was equivalent to the current prefecture-level administrative structure, and Rouyuan (today's Hebei Province) was under its jurisdiction. Zhangbei County) and Jining are county-level organizations.

　　After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Xianzong of the Yuan Dynasty (1251-1259) upgraded Jining County to Jining Road, which is equivalent to the current prefecture-level city structure. Jining Road belongs to Zhongshu Province and is regarded as the hinterland of the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.

　　Judging from the scale of the ancient city ruins and the unearthed cultural relics, Jining Road was once a prosperous grassland city at that time.

Such an ancient historical city was buried by war and time, leaving endless reveries and emotions for future generations.

Cultural blending of ancient and modern inheritance

　　Although there are records in historical materials, the exact geographical location of Jining has never been determined.

Until 1922, the ruins of an ancient city were discovered in Basumu Dacheng, the original Zhenghuang Banner of Chahar. In the ruins of the Confucius Temple in the ancient city, a piece of "Dacheng Zhi Sheng" carved in the first year of Emperor Renzong's reign (1312) was unearthed. Wenxuanwang Temple Study Monument", the monument is engraved with "Jining".

According to research by historians, this is the site of Jining County in the Jin Dynasty and Jining Road in the Yuan Dynasty.

▲The "Dacheng Most Holy Monument of the Temple of King Wenxuan" of the Yuan Dynasty is now erected in the front area of ​​the Ulanqab Municipal Museum on Jining Road.

(Photo source: Official website of the People's Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region)

　　In order to effectively govern the country, the central government of the Yuan Dynasty vigorously spread Confucian culture.

Emperors revered Confucianism and built Confucian temples, and regarded Confucian culture as the basic content of their ruling policies. Confucius was even named the "Dacheng Supreme Saint Wenxuan King", which was the highest title given to Confucius in previous dynasties.

　　The "Dacheng Supreme Saint Wenxuan Wang Temple Monument" on Jining Road, which is stored in the Ulanqab City Museum today, records the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty's supreme respect for Confucius and is an important witness to the spread of Confucianism in the Jining area of ​​the Yuan Dynasty.

By vigorously promoting Confucian education, the Yuan Dynasty further realized the integration and development of culture.

　　When the Jining Road site was discovered, the Pingsui Railway was under construction.

The original plan was to build a station in Pingdiquan, but due to obstruction from local church forces, the station had to be rebuilt in Laoluzuizi (the predecessor of Jining) and named Pingdiquan Station.

In 1922, the government of the Republic of China planned to establish Pingquan County in the Pingdiquan area, but it was not allowed because it had the same name as Pingquan County in Hebei Province.

▲Jining County Railway Station on the Pingsui Railway. Jining was an important transportation and military town in Suiyuan Province at the time.

Photographed by Fang Dazeng in 1936.

(Image source: People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region)

　　When choosing another county name, the word "Jining" on the stone tablet unearthed from the ancient city site on Jining Road was used, and modern Jining was born.

On February 15, 1924, Jining County was officially established, and the name Jining was adopted.

A vanished ancient city and a modern city thus achieve connection and inheritance.

Merchants gather and develop with each other

　　During the Yuan Dynasty, economic and cultural exchanges between the north, south, and east of Eurasia were frequent and extensive, and commercial trade further developed. The ancient city of Jining was located on the transportation artery from the Central Plains to Mobei.

In the Yuan Dynasty, Jining County was promoted to Jining Road and a fortified city was built to protect residents, merchants and goods.

　　This promoted mutually beneficial exchanges between the northern grassland peoples and people from the Central Plains.

The Northern Territory exchanged woolen fabrics, wild animal skins, large livestock, salt, iron and other items with the Central Plains for silver, silk, tea silk, etc. It can be said that the mutual trade was fair and beneficial to the government and the people.

The daily necessities and handicrafts necessary for the nomadic people were continuously imported from the Central Plains to Mobei. At the same time, "miscellaneous livestock were left wild in the Central Plains", which promoted the development of agricultural productivity in the Central Plains.

　　In the center of the ancient city on Jining Road, a complete store site was excavated, 100 meters long from east to west and 60 meters wide from north to south.

The house sites are distributed on both sides of the cross street, and the houses facing the street are laid out in a grid pattern.

It is speculated that the houses facing the street may have been places for living and trading, while the houses on the inside were workshops or places for storing items. They were important places for commodity transactions in the ancient city.

The ruins of the shops in the ancient city of Jining Road are located on both sides of the cross thoroughfare leading to the West City Gate. They are a central and key part of the city, which fully illustrates the great importance that the Yuan Dynasty attached to the commercial and trade functions of the ancient city of Jining Road.

▲The remains of shops excavated and cleared out of the ancient city of Jining Road.

(Photo source: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology)

　　At that time, Jining Road was a commercial city outside the Great Wall, with complete urban functions and a wide range of commodity exchanges.

　　A large number of ancient coins were unearthed from the Jining Road ancient city ruins, with the total number reaching more than 30,000.

In some houses facing the street in the bustling area of ​​Cross Street, kilns for baking food were found, with burnt food remaining in the kilns. In some houses, strings of jewelry and jade ornaments were also found.

In addition, nine cellars were discovered in a group of houses at the east end of the east-west street. In addition to the unearthed porcelain, there was also a set of copper spoons, copper spoons, copper dishes and other utensils. It is inferred that it should be the location of a large pharmacy.

▲Coins unearthed from the Jining Road ancient city site in their original condition.

(Photo source: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology)

　　In the fifteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1278), the Yuan Dynasty set up a special agency in charge of porcelain in Jingdezhen - Fuliang Porcelain Bureau, which was subordinate to the "General Manager's Office of Gold and Jade Craftsmen" under the Craftsman Academy. This was the only agency in the history of China The official institution for the manufacture of porcelain.

The porcelain manufacturing technology handed down from the Tang and Song Dynasties achieved unprecedented exchanges and development in the Yuan Dynasty.

With Jingdezhen as the center, famous kilns such as Longquan Kiln, Ding Kiln, Yaozhou Kiln, Jun Kiln, and Cizhou Kiln continued to expand production. At the same time, a large number of private kilns also emerged in the north and south of the Yangtze River, and kiln smoke was everywhere for a while.

　　Porcelain from major kilns in the east, west, south and north of the Central Plains is gathered in the ancient city of Jining Road.

According to statistics, more than 200 complete pieces of porcelain from various major kilns were unearthed from the Jining Road ancient city site, more than 7,000 pieces of porcelain can be restored, and tens of thousands of porcelain specimens are of high quality and exquisiteness.

In particular, 7 complete pieces of blue and white porcelain unearthed from Cellar 19 and 24 were discovered in the Jining Road ancient city ruins, and 6 complete sets of blue and white stemmed bowls were unearthed at one time, becoming important archaeological discoveries.

▲24 porcelains were unearthed from the Jining Road ancient city site in their original condition.

(Image source: People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region)

▲The underglaze red jade spring vase (left) and the blue and white pear-shaped injection pot (right) unearthed from the ancient city site of Jining Road.

(Photo source: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology)

　　The distance from Jingdezhen to Jining Road is thousands of kilometers, and the journey is bumpy with people and animals being transported.

The high-quality porcelain unearthed from major kilns in the Central Plains bears witness to the past prosperity of the Prairie Silk Road and the exchanges and blending of various ethnic groups.

　　(Author: Contributed by the Ethnic Affairs Committee of Jining District, Ulanqab City, Inner Mongolia)

　　Producer | Wang Xiangyu

　　Editor | Cai Liyuan

　　Review | Lan Xifeng

　　Production | Hu Xiaodie

　　Source: Daozhonghua WeChat public account