The Western Zhou Yan State Capital Museum () is an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

in southwestern

Beijing Municipality } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

at the site of the capital of the ancient

State of Yan Yan (; Old Chinese pronunciation: ''*'') was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Its capital was Ji (later known as Yanjing and now Beijing). During the Warring States period, the court was also moved to another capital at Xiadu ...

during the

Western Zhou dynasty The Western Zhou ( zh, c=, p=Xīzhōu; c. 1045 BC – 771 BC) was a royal dynasty of China and the first half of the Zhou dynasty. It began when King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang dynasty at the Battle of Muye and ended when the Quanrong n ...

. The site is located in Dongjialin Village, just north of Liulihe Township (琉璃河镇), in

Fangshan District Fangshan District () is situated in the southwest of Beijing, away from downtown Beijing. It has an area of and a population of 814,367 (2000 Census). The district is divided into 8 subdistricts, 14 towns, and 6 townships. The district administ ...

, south of Beijing's city centre. During the Western Zhou dynasty, over 3,000 years ago, the walled settlement at Liulihe, as the site is also known, served as the capital of the Yan, a

vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back t ...

of the Zhou dynasty. The discovery of the site in 1962 is considered to be one of the 100 major archaeological discoveries in China during the 20th century. Artifacts from the site including engraved bronze ware and chariots provide the earliest archaeological evidence of urban settlement in Beijing Municipality. The museum at the site, operated by the municipal government, opened in 1995.

The Liulihe Site

The ancient city at Liulihe measured from east to west and from north to south, covering an area of .(Chinese
遗址遗迹''">"北京市西周燕都遗址博物馆" ''房山区史志网 > 遗址遗迹''
Accessed 2012-01-24 Some of the north wall and of the west wall still remain and are visible in the farmland around the museum.(Chinese
"西周燕都遗址博物馆概况" ''BEIJING.CN''
Accessed 2012-01-24(Chinese

2011-03-30 A moat deep surrounded the city. A palace was located inside the city just north of city center with sacrificial sites and living quarters nearby. Cemeteries located outside the city to the southeast are divided by the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway into Sectors I and II. Sector I, from the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty a ...

, is smaller in size and contains remnants of human and dog sacrifice. Sector II, possibly from the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

, contains greater numbers of large- and medium-sized tombs of nobles with chariots and rich set of burial items. In all, 200 tombs have been found, with the largest containing 42 sacrificed horses. Several thousand ceramic, ivory, jade, bone, lacquer and bronze artifacts including bronze ceremonial vessels and weapons have been found at the Liulihe Site. The most historically significant discovery at Liulihe is M1193, the tomb of the Marquis of Yan, which yielded two inscribed bronzes. These two bronzes memorialize exchanges between Yan, the vassal state, and the kings of the

. The inscriptions on the bronzes describe

investiture Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian k ...

ceremony and the

enfeoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

of the vassal State of Yan to the

Duke of Shao Shi, Duke Kang of Shao (died 1000 BC), or Ji Shi, also known as the Earl of Shao, was a high-ranking minister of the early Zhou dynasty. He was a younger brother of King Wu, the founding king of Zhou. Siding with his half-brother Duke of Zhou, D ...

. The inscriptions corroborate the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'', which states that when

King Wu of Zhou King Wu of Zhou () was the first king of the Zhou dynasty of ancient China. The chronology of his reign is disputed but is generally thought to have begun around 1046 BC and ended three years later in 1043 BC. King Wu's ancestral name was ...

defeated the

and founded the

in 1045 B.C., he conferred titles of nobility to vassal rulers in his domain. Among those receiving titles were the rulers of the States of Ji and Yan, two states located in modern-day

. The capital of Yan at Liulihe has been established with considerable certainty through archaeological evidence at Liulihe. The capital of Ji, is believed to be located further north, near modern-day Guang'anmen in

Xicheng District Xicheng District () is a district of Beijing. Xicheng District spans , covering the western half of the old city (largely inside the 2nd Ring Road - the eastern half is Dongcheng District), and has 706,691 inhabitants (2000 Census). Its postal ...

. The artifacts unearthed at Liulihe demonstrate the Yan capital's wealth and political importance during the

dating back to at least the 11th century B.C. During the subsequent Eastern around in the 7th century B.C., the state of Yan conquered the State of Ji to the north and moved its capital from Liulihe to Ji, which became the urban center of Beijing for the next 2,000 years until the 13th century, when the city centre shifted further north during the Yuan dynasty. The ancient city at Liulihe was discovered in 1962. Four major archaeological excavation were undertaken from 1972 to the early 1990s. The site was named a National Level Cultural Heritage Protection Site in 1988 and planning for a museum began in 1990. The Western Zhou dynasty Yan Capital Site Museum opened on August 21, 1995. In 1996, a tortoise shell was discovered in H108 with the initials of

King Cheng of Zhou King Cheng of Zhou (), personal name Ji Song (姬誦), was the second king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1042–1021 BCE or 1042/35–1006 BCE. His parents were King Wu of Zhou and Queen Yi Jiang (邑姜). King Cheng w ...

, the second ruler of the Zhou dynasty who ruled from 1042 to 1020 B.C. This artifact has been used in the

Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project () was a multi-disciplinary project commissioned by the People's Republic of China in 1996 to determine with accuracy the location and time frame of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. The project was d ...

Museum

The museum complex occupies of land at the Liulihe Site. The main exhibition hall with display space is divided into seven halls—including the Halls of Bronze Ceremonial Ware, Entombed Chariots, Bronze Libation Vessels and Weapons, and Ceramic and Lacquerware.(Chinese
"西周燕都遗址博物馆"
Accessed 2012-01-24 In all, there are over 300 artifacts and hundreds of other models and replicas on display.

Access

The museum is located near Dongjialin Village in Liulihe Township in Fangshan District off the G4 Expressway and National Highway 107. Parking is available.

Beijing Bus Public bus service in Beijing is the among the most extensive, widely used and affordable form of public transportation in urban and suburban districts of the city. In 2015, the entire network consisted of 876 routes with a fleet of 24,347 bus ...

Route No. 834, 835 and 835快 and Fangshan Bus Route No. 房27 and 房39 stop at the Shang Zhou dynasty Site (商周遗址站).(Chinese
"经过“商周遗址”的线路" 8684.cn
Accessed 2012-07-19

Information

Admission is free to the museum, which is closed on Mondays.

References

{{authority control Museums in Beijing Museums established in 1995 1995 establishments in China Archaeological museums in China History museums in China Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing Yan (state) History of Beijing Buildings and structures in Fangshan District

The Liulihe Site

Museum

Access

Information

See also

References