An inquiry into the influence of the Xing Platform on Liu Bingzhong planning the Central Platform of Yuan Dadu
Yuan Dadu is grand in scale and neat in layout,and a series of planning innovation has enriched the theory and method of ancient urban planning and design,which occupies an important position in Chinese urban planning history.As one of the highlights,Yuan Dadu was the first city where a central platform was built,which was located not only in the center of the capital city,but also at the intersection of the observation lines aimed at mountains.As the planning of the Central Platform has always been a puzzle in the urban planning history,exploring its origins will not only help to deeply interpret the planning of Yuan Dadu,but also to further examine the technical methods of positioning via mountains in ancient China.According to previous studies,Liu Bingzhong was responsible for the overall design of Yuan Dadu,including the planning of the central platform.Coincidentally,in Liu Bingzhong's hometown Xingzhou happened to exist the Xing Platform.Is the nature and position of the Xing Platform in Xingzhou related to the Central Platform in Yuan Dadu?This provides an alternative approach to explore the planning motives of the Central Platform of Yuan Dadu.Dating back to the era of Liu Bingzhong,the paper locates the platform,city and mountains by textual criticism,and analyzes the spatial relationship among them.Firstly,combining ancient literature with material evidence,the city wall of Xingzhou during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties is recovered,and that the north wall at that time was about 370 m south of that of the current old town is found.Secondly,we confirm the specific location and geographic coordinates of the Xing Platform which is proved to be the visual focus of Xingzhou,and discover that the Xing Platform was equidistant from the east and west gates as well as the north wall,suggesting that the Xing Platform was in the center of the Xingzhou City during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties.Thirdly,we locate Mount Long and Mount Que in the northwest of Xingzhou,which are proved culturally important in Xingzhou.Finally,through spatial analysis and simulation we find that the Xing Platform,Mount Long and Mount Que were exactly in line,and that beautiful ridgelines of Mount Que can be seen when viewing at the position of the Xing Platform.By comparison,three similarities between the platform-city-mountain relationship of Xingzhou and that of Yuan Dadu are revealed.Firstly,the platforms were both in the geometrical center of the city;secondly,one of the observation lines intersecting at the platforms oriented northwest,with the other one orienting approximately north;thirdly,the northwest observation line passed through two famous mountains,with the smaller ones in the vicinity,Mount Long and Mount Yuquan,both playing the role of the city's water head site,and the larger ones in the distance,Mount Que and Mount Yang,as the most famous natural landscape and cultural attractions in the region.By combing through Liu Bingzhong's biographies,poems and other ancient literature,we make clear his life experience,and find that he had deep affection for Xingzhou and full knowledge of the platform,city,and mountains as well as the spatial relationship among them.Based on the objective spatial similarity and the subjective possibility of creation,it is presumed that the setting of the Central Platform in Yuan Dadu was inspired by the Xing Platform in Xingzhou,and that positioning via mountains in Yuan Dadu originated from Liu Bingzhong's experience and understanding of the spatial relationship among the platform,city,and mountains of Xingzhou.Tracing the theoretical outline of ancient Chinese planning methods of positioning via mountains,it is found that the setting of the Central Platform in Yuan Dadu is not an isolated and accidental creation,but Liu Bingzhong's creative development of the ancient Chinese technical methods of positioning via mountains based on his own knowledge system.Therefore,the Central Platform in Yuan Dadu and the Xingtai Platform in Xingzhou as well as the spatial relationship with the surrounding mountains are important planning heritage in ancient China,not only reflecting the wisdom of the ancient urban planning legacy of positioning via mountains and its evolution,but also embodying the historical process of Liu Bingzhong absorbing the local planning wisdom and creating a new situation for capital planning as a planning master.
Yuan DaduLiu Bingzhongpositioning via mountainsplanning methodplanning heritage
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
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