| Yan State,which belonged to the clan of Ji(?),lasted more than 800 years,from Zhaogong was sealed up at the beginning of Zhou Dynasty(about 1046B.C.),until King JI Xi was captured by Qin's army in Liaodong(222B.C.).In the Zhou Dynasty,the duration of the Yan States was second only to that of the Wei(?)State.Zhaogong belonged to the Three,so he stayed in Haojing and assisted King Cheng of Zhou Dynasty,who was a child king.His son Ji Ke acceptanced of the feudal territory on behalf of him.At this time,the Yan State was the northern barrier of Zhou Kingdom.The early Yan State was invaded perennially by the northern nomads represented by Shanrong,so for a long time,there was no contact with the Central Plains.Plus the loss of the state's history books Yan Chunqiu,this resulted in a large-scale historical blank which Sima Qian called "the tenth generation without examination".After five states recognized each other as kingdom,Yan State was confronted with the turmoil brought by Zi Zhi.After the change of monarchy,Qi State took advantage of the empty land to enter the state,which was subjugated for three years.After the restoration of King Zhao of Yan,he first destroyed Zhongshan State,then broke through Qi State and drove the King of Qi to Jimo.Only then did the Yan State become a powerful country juxtaposed with the powers of Central Plains.Later,Yan's commander Yue Yi was dismissed and Tiandan revived the Qi State.The Yan State was seriously injured and devoted itself to the management of the Northern Territory.At the end of the Warring States Period,Prince Dan of Yan and Ying Zheng,the King of Qin formed an enemy and failed to assassinate him.Later,the west of Liao River was obtained by the Qin State.Soon the Qin State broke through Liaodong and the Yan State perished.According to the textual research of historical documents like Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals,Shi Ji,Strategies of the Warring States Period and Shui Jing Zhu,then referring to archaeological excavation reports,there are six capital cities in the Yan State.The first capital city is named Yanbo(??),its former site is Dongjialin Village,Liulihe Town,Fangshan District,Beijing City.In the middle of Spring and Autumn Period,the Yan State annexed Ji State and moved its capital to Ji's capital city,following the name "Ji(?)".This capital city,also known as Shangdu(the upper capital)during the Warring States Period,was the capital of the late Yan State.It is located in the southern part of the Xicheng District of Beijing,and is under the jurisdiction of Xuanwu District,which has been abolished.When Shanrong invaded the Yan State,the Yan State was forced to move its capital southward to the Yishui River Basin.It was once built in Linyi,where it was located in Nanyang Village,Liangmatai Township,Rongcheng County,Hebei Province.Now it is in Xiongan New Area.In the mid-Yan State,the capital had repeatedly migrated between Ji and Linyi.King zhao of Yan built Wuyang City as the accompanying capital to recruit wise men,also known as Xiadu(the lower capital).Wuyang City is an important economic and cultural center in the late Yan State.It is located in Gaomo Township,Yixian County,Hebei Province.Between the upper and lower capitals,another companion was built to rest halfway,called Zhongdu(the middle capital).The former site of Zhongdu is located in Doudian Town,Fangshan District,Beijing City.After the failure of Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin,the Qin State attacked the Yan State in a large scale,returning to the Liao River due to bad weather,the Yan King was able to prolong his life in eastern Liaoning Province,and Xiangping in eastern Liaoning Province became the last capital of the Yan State.Xiangping is located in Wensheng District,Liaoyang City,Liaoning Province.Among them,in the late Warring States Period,three capital cities coexisted in the upper,middle and lower parts of the Yan State.In fact,there was a "three-capital system".Among the six capitals,except Ji,which is located in the sensitive area near the central government organ and has not been excavated due to the accumulation of cultural strata of later generations,the other five capitals have been excavated to varying degrees,especially Wuyang City and Yanbo.As far as the ground remains are concerned,Linyi has elevated platform foundation remains;Zhongdu have city wall remains;and Wuyang City has both elevated platform and city wall remains.As far as the continuity of the city is concerned,Ji has always been the capital of Youzhou in later generations.It became the accompanying capital in Liao Dynasty andthe capital since Great Jin,that is,Beijing today.Since then,Xiangping has been the political center of Eastern Liaoning until the Ming Dynasty and is now Liaoyang City.The other four cities were abandoned as cities. |
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