The Qing City and the Manchu City

This book selects the streets and alleys of the Shaocheng district in Chengdu and vividly and thoroughly introduces the reasons for naming， historical changes， the stories and anecdotes of famous people in the streets and alleys， important historical events， folk activities， and so on.

After the Tang Dynasty （618--907 CE）， Chengdu continued to follow the pattern of an inner city wall surrounded by an outer city （luo） wall. Following the Five Dynasties （907--979 CE）， in the Shu period， an immense outer fortification was built within the northern and western sections of the outer city to serve as the luo wall’s boundary， a perimeter of 21 kilometers. However， as it was made entirely out of rammed earth rather than bricks， the wall was destroyed during the Northern Song Dynasty （960--1127 CE）. Throughout the Song Dynasty （960--1279 CE）， there were five restorations to Chengdu’s city walls. But in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty （1279--1368 CE）， the majority of the luo wall was destroyed in the war， along with the entire inner city. During the Ming Dynasty （1368--1644 CE）， a larger city called Fucheng was built over the remains of the luo city. Shu Palace or the Imperial City， as it was typically called — was then built on the foundations of the inner city. Although the city always had remained an irregular shape and skewed orientation in the past， Shu Palace was more like a typical Chinese city — a planned city， square and oriented perfectly north to south. Although the new city wasn’t very large， it was encircled by a city moat， beyond which lay a large outer wall， known as the “spirit screen.” In terms of the present city， this wall extends approximately east to Shuncheng Street， south to Dongyu Street and Xiyu Street， west to Dongchenggen Street， and north to Yangshi Street and Xiyulong Street.

As the Ming Dynasty collapsed in 1644， Zhang Xianzhong led an army of peasants against the city. They went on to occupy not only Chengdu but the majority of the Sichuan Basin. With Chengdu designated as the Western Capital， Zhang Xianzhong proclaimed himself Emperor of the “Great Western Empire” and set up his palace in the palace of the former Shu. However， when Zhang Xianzhong commanded his armies northward to resist the Qing Army in 1646， the entire city of Chengdu， including the palace， was destroyed in the fire of war.

When Qing soldiers occupied Chengdu in the fourth year of Emperor Shunzhi’s reign （1647）， it was already overgrown with grasses and brambles， a pile of ruins inhabited only by grazing deer. Not only were there no residents， but no structures to provide shelters. For the time being， the Qing government could only relocate the government to Langzhong. This arrangement continued to the seventeenth year of Emperor Shunzhi’s reign （1660）， during which the Sichuan capital was moved back to Chengdu. Starting with the official offices， step by step， the Qing set out to restore the city and rebuilt the city wall in 1665. In the fifty-seventh year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign （1718）， the Qing government accelerated the process， mobilizing the administration authorities of all counties， districts， and prefectures in the province to take respective responsibility for building segments of city walls and streets in Chengdu. The city was completed the following year. In the fifth year of Emperor Yongzheng’s reign （1727）， the city underwent repair. Then in the forty-eighth year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign （1783）， under the direction of Sichuan Governor Fu Kang’an and by the collective power of the province， the city and walls were entirely rebuilt with bricks. This would be the last and most important rebuilding event for Chengdu’s major city structures. Prefectures and counties from all over the province were responsible for the project， and they constructed it according to unified standards. Two and a half years later， the project was completed （by that time Fu Kang’an had left office and been succeeded by Li Shijie）. Therefore， to put it more accurately， the latest construction of the ancient walls of Chengdu， which can still be seen today， were constructed" in the fiftieth year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign （1785）. From then on， all of Chengdu’s walls， avenues， bridges， and principal urban structures have been retained until today.

The layout of Chengdu in the Qing Dynasty differed from past dynasties in certain respects. What remained the same was the skewed orientation of the area enclosed by the city moat， a trend established with the “Turtle City” in the Qin Dynasty （221--207 BCE）. Thus Chengdu’s four main roads do not run east， south， west， and north， but southeast， southwest， northwest and northeast. This helps explain why when Chengdu’s old timers give or ask for directions， that they prefer to say “left hand” or “right hand” rather than say east or west. （The “left hand” and “right hand” habit of speech was probably introduced to Chengdu by migrants from Huguang， present-day Hubei and Hunan provinces. ）

Chengdu in the Qing Dynasty was largely analogous in shape and scale to the Chengdu of the Ming Dynasty， while the extent of the city expanded just slightly. According to written records， the city wall had a perimeter of 22 li and eight fen" at that time. As for its height of three zhang， it was equivalent to about ten meters. Although the walls of the Qing Dynasty had already been demolished， the city moat structure was still retained from the Tang Dynasty， with the Fuhe River and Nanhe River embracing the city. Therefore， the layout of Chengdu in the Qing Dynasty was basically visible as the inner boundaries of the Fuhe River， Nanhe River， and Xijiao River （there was no inner boundary line on the west side; it roughly conformed to the direction where present-day Tongren Road runs to the Xijiao River）.

Records of Streets and Alleys in Shaocheng

Written by Yuan Tingdong

Translated by Zhu Hua， Mollie Gossage， Chen Xingjun， Wang Cong， Chen Feng

Sichuan Literature amp; Art Publishing House

January 2023

168.00 （CNY）

Yuan Tingdong

After graduating with a Master’s degree in History from Sichuan University， he worked for the Sichuan People’s Publishing House in 1968. He then participated in establishing the Bashu Publishing House in 1983 and became a freelancer after 1993.