Jiangnvshi and Jieshi in Jiangnvshi Site

Is Jiangnvshi the "Jieshi" in history?

Jieshi and Qin Shihuang's quest for immortality are clearly recorded in the history of China. However, they have been covered with layers of fog in the long years and become an eternal mystery. Since 1982, the discovery of Jiangnvshi site, a large-scale Qin and Han architectural complex site covering an area of about 25 square kilometers along the Bohai Sea in Suizhong, Liaoning Province, has provided a new answer to this eternal mystery.

Mystery of Jieshi

Jieshi recorded in the literature has appeared many times in the past two thousand years. After Qin Shihuang unified China, he made five voyages to the West for the political purpose of expanding the territory to show imperial power and the personal purpose of seeking immortality. Among them, the first eastward tour did not reach the seaside, and the other four went to the seaside and the sea. Jieshi is the fourth time to travel eastward to Qinhuangdao, that is, the third time to go to the seaside. It is recorded in Historical Records of Qin Shihuang: "In the thirty-second year of the first emperor (2 15 BC), Jieshi ordered Lu Sheng, a Yan, to make a high oath and carve Jieshi Gate." The purpose is to seek the medicine of immortality. During the Warring States Period, many monarchs believed in alchemists, and Qi Weiwang, Qi Xuanwang and Yan Zhaowang all made people go to the sea to seek Penglai, the abbot and Yingzhou. In this way, Jieshi naturally became a settlement for alchemists to seek immortality. "Biography of Historical Records Mencius Xun Qing" records: "Zou Yan entered Yan, studied as a teacher and built Jieshi Palace." This is the first time that the history books mentioned Jieshi Palace. Zou Yan is a great yin and yang family of Qi, and he respectfully built the Jieshi Palace, which shows how prominent the alchemist was at that time. Later, Jieshi became a holy place for emperors and celebrities to splash ink and recite poems. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was a clever man. He traveled eastward along the Bohai Sea to Jieshi. Emperor Wu is also superstitious about immortals and wants to live forever. He went to Jieshi to seek immortality, so he specially built a lookout. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao climbed Jieshi to see the sea on his way back to Wuhuan in the northern expedition, leaving a magnificent poem of "Jieshi looks at the sea in the east and rivers and mountains are on the island"; After Emperor Taizong Li Shimin conquered Korea in the 19th year of Zhenguan (AD 644), he moved his troops back to Korea, passing through Jieshi in western Liaoning, and when Emperor Wu arrived, he boarded the "offshore platform".

So where is this "Jieshi" that fascinated the kings of past dynasties? Is it in Liaoning?

Jieshi recorded in the literature has appeared many times in the past two thousand years. But for a long time, there have been different opinions about Jieshi and its own environment and natural features, which has become an unsolved case. The records of the literature itself are relatively brief, and the annotations are not the same. Therefore, in order to solve the problem of Jieshi, we must correspond to archaeological materials, on-the-spot investigation and literature, in order to get a satisfactory answer.

So far, the largest ceramic tile found in China was unearthed at the Jiangnvshi site.

Jiangnu Stone, the tomb of Jiangnu Stone, is a natural sea pillar and the legendary place where Meng Jiangnu threw herself into the sea. Jiang Nv's Tomb is located in the sea area hundreds of miles near Shanhaiguan, which is very eye-catching. Its geographical environment and appearance are very similar to Jieshi recorded in historical books. Jiangnvshi site is centered on Shibeidi site, flanked by the architectural sites of Heishantou and Zhimiaowan, just like "one palace and two pavilions". Facing Jieshi (Jiangnvfen) in the sea, there is a magnificent platform facing the sea. The rammed earth platform in the center of the "Stone Monument" is the main building of the site. The rammed earth platform is 8m high, and the wall base of Miyagi is 2.8m wide. Generally, there are narrow walls with a width of about 1 m.. Houses are generally built on rammed soil foundation, with palaces on both sides. Rows of column foundations, collapsed roof tiles, hollow tread tiles (steps) and a complete drainage system are still preserved, especially the unearthed Kuiwen tile, which is 54 cm in diameter, 37 cm in height and 68 cm in length, showing a large semicircle. This is by far the largest tile found by archaeologists in China. Tiles are the covers at the front of rafters in ancient buildings in China, which are used to prevent rain. The surface of the residual cylinder is decorated with thick rope patterns, and there are hemp patterns in the mold cloth. Kuiwen is vigorous and concise. Kuiwen's body is full of twists and turns, extreme exaggeration and vigorous lines. All previous dynasties' tiles were very small. At present, this huge tile is only found in the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in Lintong, Shaanxi Province in China, and the scale of the whole site is only equivalent to that of Epang Palace in Qin Dynasty. It is a typical architectural specification of the royal class in the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, archaeologists believe that this is the "Jieshi Palace" of Qin Shihuang's palace, which is related to the historical event of Qin Shihuang's east tour of Jieshi. It may be the palace where Qin Shihuang and Qin Ershi visited Bohai Bay. It is of great reference value for us to understand the development of China people outside Shanhaiguan more than 2000 years ago and to study the political and economic situation in Northeast China at that time. This is an important archaeological discovery of Qin and Han Dynasties in China. Jiangnv Stone may be a famous Jieshi in history. Because this is the first time that the archaeological community in China has discovered the palace site of the Qin Dynasty outside Guanzhong, its historical significance and academic value are self-evident. 1988 National Cultural Heritage Administration designated the site as a state-level cultural relic protection unit, and 1997 was rated as one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in China.

There are also Han architectural sites in Jiangnvshi site. Due to the shallow surface and poor preservation conditions, the architectural layout is not as well preserved as the site of Qin Jieshi Palace. A number of architectural cultural relics with Han characteristics, such as Juanyunwa, have been unearthed. Jieshi Palace is an ideal summer resort, which makes use of the natural landscape of the seashore and stands proudly in the face of the endless Bohai Sea. At present, the multimedia display of Jieshi Palace in the unified exhibition hall of Liaohe Civilization and China in Liaoning Provincial Museum shows the restoration of Jieshi Palace architectural site and the scene of the Qin and Han emperors facing Jieshi Palace in the east. The adjacent showcase shows the architectural components of the Qin and Han Dynasties, such as Kuiwen tiles, hollow stepping bricks, cirrus tiles and so on. These cultural relics tell us the glorious past more than 2000 years later.