Architectural layout of Longli ancient city

The ancient city is roughly rectangular, with a width of 217m from north to south and a length of 222m from east to west. The city wall was built with rammed earth, and in the first year of Tianshun (1457), it was changed into a pebble frame. Circumference1500m, wall height10ft, trench depth10ft. On Wednesday, the city is divided into three parts, one in the southeast and one in the northwest. There are four gates in the southeast and northwest of the city, and the east gate is Qingyang Gate, also known as Xumen. There are three floors on the door. The east gate is mainly used as the entrance for officials and troops to enter the city, which means "purple gas comes from the east". The south gate is Zhengyang Gate, and the west gate is Yingen Gate. In addition to the two-story building on the door, there are two inner and outer gates, that is, a wall is built in front of the door opening, and after going out, you need to turn 90 degrees and then take another door to get outside the city. This structure is called "returning carbine" by Longli people. In the old saying, the sounds of "North" and "Defeat" are similar and interchangeable, and the word "Defeat" undoubtedly violates the taboo of military strategists. Therefore, the north gate is closed all the year round. In order to take advantage of the saying that the wind gathers gas, there is a temple on the upper tower of the north gate to worship bodhisattvas for peace. There is Happy Valley Road on the city wall, and there is a "sky lamp holder" on the city wall to transmit information. There is a moat outside the ancient city wall to prevent the enemy from invading.

In the city.

The interior of the ancient city strictly followed the operational requirements at that time from design to construction. For more than 600 years, the pattern of this city is still intact. It is a military castle with both soldiers and farmers, capable of fighting and defending. There are more than 20 streets, all paved with pebbles and inlaid with various patterns. The city is centered on the former site of Qianhusuo Yamen and faces east. There are three main streets in the west and south, and the intersection of streets and lanes is not cross-shaped, but a street structure with a "D" as the main axis. The city gate has two streets inside and outside, which looks like a "urn" structure. Important buildings such as government agencies face south, which is closely related to the construction of urban defense system and has strong security (such as the north gate is not open, and the standby is safe); From the perspective of Feng Shui thought and military defense, the staggered connection of streets has the significance of "keeping calm", "avoiding disasters" and favorable defense. The reason why the word "ten" is not opened in the city is because it is homophonic with "loss". As a military castle, it is taboo for the city, but the word "Ding" means "the population is prosperous and the city is forever solid". The three main streets in the city are divided into six lanes, which divides the whole city into nine relatively independent residential areas, which is exactly the pattern called "three streets, six lanes and nine yards" locally. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many temples in Longli. There are eleven temples in the city, five temples outside the city, and temples are built in every street. There is a "Great Temple" in downtown Kannonji, a "City God Temple" on the right side of the Great Temple, a "Confucian Temple" on the east street, a "Wu Temple" (Guandi Temple) on the west street, a "Kuixing Building" on one side of the Wu Temple, a "Ma Temple" and a "Jade Emperor Pavilion" in the northwest corner, and the southwest corner and the East Drum Tower. There are Taoist priests in every temple. They all worship Taoist Jade Emperor, Zhenwu Emperor, Wenchang Emperor, Zhao Gongcai God, Guan Emperor, Confucian Confucius, Buddhist Guanyin Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Tibetan Bodhisattva.