Looking at the Liao Dynasty，Although the mobile political center of Nabo in Four Seasons has always been maintained，But the Five Capitals System was also established to consolidate the country's rule。As the first capital city established in Songmo Grassland，Liao Shangjing is an important symbol bet365 bonus code 2023 Khitan Dynasty's transformation from a nomadic country to a city-based government，Discussion on its layout and planning concepts，Is an important path to interpret the political development bet365 bonus code 2023 city-state in the early Liao Dynasty。The development and evolution from Shangjing to Zhongjing，It also provides an important window for us to observe the spread and development of capital culture in the Central Plains。

　　First, the architectural layout of Liao Shangjing is centered on the east direction.Liao Shangjing is the Khitan imitating the politics bet365 bonus code 2023 Central Plains city-states、An important beginning to establish a fixed political center for rule。Judging from archaeological discoveries and documentary records，Liao Shangjing has an obvious east-oriented layout，Mainly reflected in four aspects。First，The plane outline bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city has a certain degree of symmetry，i.e. Imperial City East、North、The three south walls are all straight lines，The west wall relies on the high hills on the west slope，The north and south ends are tapered inwards，Form a folded corner，The overall layout is generally characterized by an east-facing architectural feature。Secondly，Form the east gate bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city、The eastward central axis centered on the east gate of Miyagi Castle and the eastward courtyard ruins in Miyagi Castle。Again，The eastward layout bet365 bonus code 2023 Buddhist temple ruins on the west slope。Last，The street-facing buildings on the west side of Imperial City No. 1 Street and the felt tents in the palace are arranged eastward。

Nomads have a long history of advocating the east and the sun，Wuhuan、Rouran、Turkic、The Uighurs and other ethnic groups have the tradition of opening their tents to the east，The Khitan Dynasty also continued this custom。The imperial city was built in the third year of Shenshu (918)，The palace city and Hancheng (Qianguo) were built in the first year of Tianxian (926) (Dong Xinlin: "Liao Shangjing Regulation and the Tokyo Model bet365 bonus code 2023 Northern Song Dynasty"，"Archaeology" Issue 5, 2019)。It can be seen from the outline，When the imperial city was first built, it was laid out with the east direction in mind。Shangjing is the place where Taizu Taizu of Liao Dynasty spent his early years - the West Tower is located，According to the "History bet365 bonus code 2023 Old Five Dynasties·Foreign Biographies", "all the gates bet365 bonus code 2023 west buildings face eastward"，It can be seen from the record of "The Law bet365 bonus code 2023 Car Account"，Excluding tents during Nabo construction，There are still fixed buildings，And all follow the custom of opening doors facing the east，The Imperial City of Shangjing was built on this basis。Except West Building，Historical books also have records of "the imperial tent faces eastward" ("History of Liao·Hundred Officials") and "the gatehouses on the fourth floor all face east" ("New History of Five Dynasties·Siyi Appendix")，This shows that the fourth floor safari is an early form of Nabo，The custom of respecting the east has been continued in the camp settings。In the middle and late Liao Dynasties，The camp layout of Nabo still retains this feature，As seen by Song Shou, the envoy of Song Dynasty, Shengzong was holding a bowl ("Khitan Customs"，"Records bet365 bonus code 2023 Envoy's Journey to Liao and Jin Dynasties"，Commercial Press 2017 edition) and Daozong Shi Nabo seen by Shen Kuo ("Xining Envoy Illustrated Copy"，"Records bet365 bonus code 2023 Envoy's Journey to Liao and Jin Dynasties"，Commercial Press 2017 edition) are all east-facing layout。The Dongnabo ruins of Liao Dynasty discovered in recent years，The imperial sleeping area also has the characteristic of opening the door to the southeast。In a nutshell，The Khitan custom of respecting the east has not only remained in the layout of Nabo, the country's mobile political center，It also has a very important influence on the planning and layout bet365 bonus code 2023 capital, a fixed political center established in the Central Plains。

　　Second，Liao Shangjing adapted measures to the times and local conditions、The planning concept of adapting to the situation。Before Liao Shangjing was built，This area serves as the West Tower for Taizu’s safari，Some fixed buildings have appeared。When Taizu first built the imperial city，The planning should be based on considering the original building layout and felt tent settlement area。Shangjing adjusts measures to the time and local conditions、The planning concept of adapting to the situation is mainly reflected in the following points。

First，About the architectural layout in the imperial city。Miyagi is not located in the middle bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city，But in the northeastern part bet365 bonus code 2023 central part bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city。Viewed from the topography bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city，There are two natural high hills arranged north and south in the middle bet365 bonus code 2023 city slightly to the north，This is within the scope of Miyagi，And the small hill on the south side corresponds to the third courtyard of Miyagi。According to the records of "History of Liao·Geography"，Some government districts are located in the gentle areas south of Miyagi City。Combining the ruins bet365 bonus code 2023 Buddhist temple on the west slope bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city and the ruins bet365 bonus code 2023 pond on the gentle slope on the north side, it can be known，The layout bet365 bonus code 2023 city is not symmetrical、Regular，But adapt to the situation，High and low。

Secondly，About the gate locations bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city and palace city。The gates bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city and the palace city are not symmetrical，Except that the east gate bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city is roughly in the center，The other gate sites are not in the middle bet365 bonus code 2023 city wall，But to one side (Dong Xinlin: "Liao Shangjing Regulation and Northern Song Dynasty Tokyo Model"，"Archaeology" Issue 5, 2019)。We speculate，When the imperial city was built, the topography and original architectural layout bet365 bonus code 2023 place were fully taken into consideration，In order to avoid the high hills on the west slope，Build the west gate to the north bet365 bonus code 2023 west wall，Build the south gate to the east bet365 bonus code 2023 south wall，corresponds to the hill in the south bet365 bonus code 2023 central part bet365 bonus code 2023 city。The terrain in the middle section bet365 bonus code 2023 north wall is gentle，If you look at the distance between the east and west city walls，The north gate is roughly in the middle，And it is convenient to reach the high hill in the north bet365 bonus code 2023 central part bet365 bonus code 2023 city。In addition，The palace city was built later than the imperial city，In order to take into account the original building layout on the high hills in the city，So it is not a matter of choice，It is located in the northeast bet365 bonus code 2023 central part bet365 bonus code 2023 city。In order to make the palace city gate correspond to the imperial city gate as much as possible，The west gate can only be built north bet365 bonus code 2023 middle bet365 bonus code 2023 west wall，The south gate is built west bet365 bonus code 2023 south wall，The east gate is built south bet365 bonus code 2023 east wall。Although no gate site has been found on the north wall bet365 bonus code 2023 palace city，But they discovered the road from the north gate bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city to the north wall bet365 bonus code 2023 palace city，Because no archaeological excavation has been carried out，It cannot be ruled out that it was the road leading to the high-rise buildings in the middle bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city before the construction bet365 bonus code 2023 palace。

AGAIN，About the "日" glyph layout in Shangjing。The north of Beijing is the imperial city，Seoul is Seoul，The construction of Seoul was later than that bet365 bonus code 2023 Imperial City。This design concept of dividing the north and the south is not an imitation bet365 bonus code 2023 ancient Central Plains system，It is closely related to the background bet365 bonus code 2023 times for the vast number of people at that time。Longhua Prefecture as the early base of Abaoji，The construction process provides important clues for us to understand this concept of partition based on current circumstances。"History of Liao Geography" records: "Longhua Prefecture...called Longting...Taizu...Bi Daibei，Relocate their people，Building a city to live in。Next year... hundreds of families will be captured。The first year of God’s blessing，Additional renovation of East City，The system is quite magnificent。”It was very common at that time to build city sites to house captive households，The east city built by Longhua Prefecture is where the ruling class lives。Although this two-city division is not a north-south pattern，But we can also see the impact on the later construction of Beijing。In addition，Building Seoul on the south side bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city was closer to the river course at that time，Convenient for production and domestic water use in the city。

　Finally，About the shape bet365 bonus code 2023 west wall bet365 bonus code 2023 Imperial City。The western slope bet365 bonus code 2023 imperial city is the commanding height bet365 bonus code 2023 city，The middle section bet365 bonus code 2023 west city wall is built west bet365 bonus code 2023 top bet365 bonus code 2023 hillside，The entire hill is not enclosed within the city wall，This is not a lack of depth defense on the west side bet365 bonus code 2023 building on the slope，It is precisely to take advantage of Gao Gang’s strength，Form a condescending defensive posture，At the same time, it can also resist the cold wind in winter and spring to a certain extent。

Adapt measures to the times and local conditions、The planning concept of adapting to the situation is closely related to the living habits of nomadic groups，This is not only reflected in the layout of Liao Shangjing，He also performed very prominently in the construction of Yuan Shangdu，It is of great significance to our interpretation bet365 bonus code 2023 capital culture bet365 bonus code 2023 grassland peoples。

　　Third, the evolution from Liao Shangjing to Liao Zhongjing.Different from Shangjing，Liao Zhongjing was the capital established in the mid-Liao Dynasty，It imitates the capital system and culture bet365 bonus code 2023 Central Plains，The layout has changed from "orienting to the east" to "facing the north and facing the south"，In terms of planning concepts, we have also completed the process of adapting measures to the time and local conditions、Follow the situation and pay attention to orderliness、Founder and symmetrical transition。

The establishment of Zhongjing is an inevitable choice for Liao to consolidate its rule after conquering the Xi people，It is also the urgent need for exchanges with Song Dynasty after signing the Chanyuan Alliance。From the existing archaeological discoveries，The architectural features of Zhongjing are mainly reflected in the following points。

First，The layout bet365 bonus code 2023 city site has changed from the east-facing layout bet365 bonus code 2023 Shangjing Imperial City to facing north and south，From the outer city of Fangzheng、Inner City、Composition bet365 bonus code 2023 Imperial City，The layout is very neat，From the layout of several palaces in the imperial city，To the design of squares and corridors on both sides of Central Street in the outer city，Both show the characteristics of east-west symmetry with the south axis as the center。Secondly，Three cities only open at the south wall。Last，There is a central axis that runs through the south gates bet365 bonus code 2023 three cities。This kind of layout and planning is imitated from the Central Plains，Represents the Khitan people’s understanding bet365 bonus code 2023 politics bet365 bonus code 2023 Central Plains city-state、Understanding and learning。Liao Shengzong Period，The establishment of Zhongjing City and the improvement bet365 bonus code 2023 Nabo system，It can be said that the Khitan Dynasty realized the integration of agricultural and animal husbandry resources、An important sign bet365 bonus code 2023 further improvement bet365 bonus code 2023 country and the city。

Sit north and face south、There is a clear north-south central axis、The layout bet365 bonus code 2023 buildings in the city is symmetrical with the central axis as the center, etc.，It is an important feature that gradually formed in the development bet365 bonus code 2023 capital system in the Central Plains during the Han and Tang Dynasties，Reflects the concentration of royal power and the majesty bet365 bonus code 2023 ruler。The planning idea of ​​facing north and south in the capital construction bet365 bonus code 2023 Liao Dynasty did not originate from Beijing，Already existed when Shangjing was rebuilt。During the Taizong period bet365 bonus code 2023 Liao Dynasty, "relying on the Han system"，Yu Kai Huang Palace，Pichengtianmen receives the gift，Because the imperial capital was changed to Shangjing" ("History of Liao Geography")。According to current archaeological findings，"Pichengtianmen" is probably the addition of rammed earth mounds and wooden gate towers to the south gate bet365 bonus code 2023 palace city (Wang Ying、Dong Xinlin: "A Brief Analysis bet365 bonus code 2023 Relics bet365 bonus code 2023 Imperial City and Palace Gate in Shangjing, Liao Dynasty"，"Chinese Archeology" 2018 Issue 6)。Although this reconstruction did not change the layout bet365 bonus code 2023 palace with the east as the center，But to a certain extent, it reflects the ruler's recognition bet365 bonus code 2023 Central Plains culture's idea of ​​facing the south and becoming king。At the time bet365 bonus code 2023 Holy Sect，Build Zhongjing as a "like divine capital" to show the momentum of a great power，It faces south、The layout of important cities with each other，Not only an imitation bet365 bonus code 2023 capital system bet365 bonus code 2023 Tang and Song Dynasties，It is also the recognition bet365 bonus code 2023 orthodoxy bet365 bonus code 2023 Central Plains。

In summary，Cong Taizu、When Emperor Taizong went to the capital, he respected the east direction、The plan to divide the north and the south and the innovations of "establishing Chengtianmen to receive gifts" and "changing the imperial capital to Beijing" based on the Han system，Go to Shengzong Dynasty and sit in the north-south layout of Jianzhongjing；Flexible layout and planning concepts based on time and place from Shangjing，The choice to go to Zhongjing City to learn and imitate the system and culture bet365 bonus code 2023 Central Plains capital，Not only reflects the Khitan rulers’ material and ideological identification with the Central Plains culture and the gradual strengthening of their centripetal force，It also shows the spread of farming culture in the Central Plains and its huge influence on the Khitan nomadic country。

(Author’s unit: School of History, Renmin University of China)