Journey into the History of Ancient Capitals for Children: Start Our Journey to Xi’an

This book tells stories about Chinese history for children. It provides many stories that took place in the famous historical city Chang’an (now called Xi’an)， where many dynasties set up their capitals.

Journey into the History of Ancient Capitals for Children: Start Our Journey to Xi’an

Feng Xiaoxue

New Century Publishing House

January 2022

39.00(CNY)

Feng Xiaoxue

Feng Xiaoxue holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chinese and a Master’s Degree in Ancient Chinese Literature from Zhejiang University. She grew fond of literature and history when she was a child. She operates a self-media account in the field of literature and history， which" has won various quality article awards from self-media platforms.

Night markets quietly emerged in the mid-and-late Tang Dynasty. Some traders stopped setting up stalls in the eastern and western markets. They boldly carved open the walls of the “Fangs，” doing their business by opening their doors to the street， and often ran till late at night， to which the government would turn a blind eye. From that time on， the “Fangs” for residence and the “markets” for trade were gradually mixed， so the “Fang” and market system was broken， and night markets quietly emerged. Just imagine if you were a “Jinwuwei” (security guard) in Chang’an in the Tang Dynasty， how would you hunt down the assassins in the city?

What kind of houses did people in the Tang Dynasty live in?

Pictures show the layout of the Beijing traditional “Siheyuans” (courtyard houses) in the Qing Dynasty. Since the Tang and Song dynasties， the layout of such courtyards surrounded the main buildings with low corridors. They were relatively narrow and long， comprising the grand hall， front hall， middle hall， backyard， and main bedroom， with rockery pavilions in the backyard and gallery houses on both sides. It was not until the Ming and Qing dynasties that the layout of enclosed spaces consisting of the main room， wing room， walls and doors， etc. came into being.

What did a toilet look like in the Tang Dynasty?

People in the Tang Dynasty had begun to use manure to increase the fertility of the land. There were people in Chang’an City who specialized in collecting manure and transporting it to the countryside for waste utilization.

It was getting late， and in an hour or two， the sunset would fall. At that time， all the city gates and the residential gates of Chang’an City would be closed， and no one was allowed to walk on the street without special reasons; otherwise， they would violate the curfew. Zhang Yuan did not dare to stay longer， as he hurriedly rode his donkey to head for the Chongren Fang in the north of the city which was his temporary residence in Chang’an.

Passing through the street lined with locust trees and willow trees， and through the Lifangs (residential areas) surrounded by the earthen walls， Zhang Yuan entered into an inn in Chongren Fang. It was a narrow courtyard with plane trees and peach trees planted in front of and behind it， and the houses inside the courtyard were built with wooden roofs and rammed earth walls， which were typical houses in Chang’an.

Although the Chongren Fang was small， the rent was not cheap， because it enjoyed a favorable location: To its west was the Imperial City， and behind that was the Officials Selection Courtyard of the Department of State Affairs; to the southeast was the Eastern Market， a supermarket in the east of the city where many pen shops and book shops were seen. Therefore， the scholars who arrived at the capital to be elected as officials and those who planned to take the Imperial Exam all preferred to live in Chongren Fang. There were many inns here， too.

Every morning， on the city tower of the Chengtian Gate of Chang’an Palace， the first drum sounded， followed by 600 beatings of the drums on each street， and then the city gates and residential gates of the entire Chang’an City would be opened in turn. The temples in the city also rang the morning bells， then people went out to work amid the sound of bells and drums. The drums on the street were called Dongdong drums， which were the “clock” for the people of Chang’an to arrange their day’s work and rest.

Near sunset， the drums in Chengtian Gate and those on the street would be beaten again， and the city gates and residential gates would be closed accordingly. When people heard the drums， they would hurry back to return to the residential areas， and if they were still walking on the street outside the residential area at night， they would be regarded as violating the curfew.

How did the ancients celebrate the Lantern Festival more than a thousand years ago?

The Lantern Festival was also known as the Shangyuan Festival in the Tang Dynasty. At that time， appreciating lanterns was a main activity， and the cities of the Great Tang Dynasty also implemented a night shift system. People were forbidden to walk on the streets at night until the Lantern Festival was over.

During Lantern Festival， the street of Chang’an was lit up and crowded， and in the evening， people would eat “Yuan Xiao” (sweet dumplings). Since then， there has been a custom of appreciating lanterns and eating sweet dumplings.

Where did Monk Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty start his journey to the West?

On the western wall of Chang’an City in the Tang Dynasty， there was a gate called Kaiyuan Gate， and outside the gate stood a stone tablet that read: “9，900 km away to Anxi in the west.” Kaiyuan Gate was the starting point of the overland Silk Road from Chang’an in the Tang Dynasty， where people preferred to bid farewell to their guests going to the Western Regions. Monk Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty also set out from here to pursue scriptures from the Western Regions.

But as summer was about to be over， Kang Yena still hadn’t seen the two come to drink， which was very unusual. One day at the end of summer， Kang Yena brought grape wine and Sanle wine to the two guests and overheard them talking about Li Bai and He Zhizhang. She couldn’t help but prick up her ears.

Someone said that a few months ago， He Zhizhang， who had been an official for 50 years， suddenly resigned from the government and returned to his hometown. The other said that Li Bai was granted gold by the Emperor and was allowed to resign， and then he sighed and left Chang’an.

“No wonder I didn’t see them this year. They all left Chang’an.” Kang Yena suddenly felt a little lost， she lowered her head to serve wine to the guests， retreated away and played the five-string lute， silently listening to their gossip.

In this year， the royal court was dominated by Prime Minister Li Linfu， and the border areas were handled by the beamish regional military governor An Lushan. While Emperor Li Longji fell in love with the female Taoist priest Yang Taizhen.

In a trance， Kang Yena recalled those old days: The drunken He Zhizhang rode a horse and staggered， as if he was riding a boat， and he always went to the downtown street to drink and sing with others; Li Bai loved to write poetry while drinking， and when he got drunk， he would willfully lay down in the restaurant and sleep soundly. Isn’t that the unrestrained personality of a celebrity?

Mother-of-pearl rosewood five-string pipa in the Tang Dynasty

After the five-string pipa was introduced to the Central Plains from the Western Regions， it became a popular star instrument in the royal court and folk society in the Tang Dynasty. It was mentioned in a poem Five-String Music by the famous poet Bai Juyi， “... Zhao Bi knew your deep fondness of it， and tuned up the five strings one by one...” However， the only five-string pipa that has been handed down was this mother of-pearl rosewood five-string pipa of the Tang Dynasty. This precious instrument is covered in delicate mother-of-pearl patterns， with one special pattern among it: a Hu man riding on a camel and playing a lute.

In the first year of the Tianbao Period (742 CE)， the forty-two-year-old Li Bai was summoned to the capital by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. He was full of joy， and before leaving， he said goodbye to his children and wrote a heroic sentence “Looking up at the sky， I laugh aloud and head on. Am I a man to crawl amid the brambles low?” But unexpectedly， the ambitious Li Bai’s arrival in Chang’an was just to serve as a royal literati for the Emperor， writing some poems for the royal nobles to entertain themselves. As this was not the life Li Bai had expected， he felt that he was unable to achieve his ambition， so he often fell into drunkenness at wineshops in Chang’an to relieve his distress.