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Kaifeng : Capital City of the Northern Song

Kaifeng : Capital City of the Northern Song. Probably the greatest city in the world from the late 10 th century to the late 12 th century Population: one million The seat of the most advanced civilization A cosmopolitan trade center Center of great art and higher education

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Kaifeng : Capital City of the Northern Song

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  1. Kaifeng: Capital City of the Northern Song Probably the greatest city in the world from the late 10th century to the late 12th century Population: one million The seat of the most advanced civilization A cosmopolitan trade center Center of great art and higher education The central stage for a political and military power Center of communications

  2. Some interesting observations No any historical monuments in the city survived Unlike other great cities in Europe, such as Constantinople, the city is remembered in words, not in stones—a case of “monumental absence of the past.”

  3. Kaifeng: a Highly Commercialized City Known for a wide array of industries, particularly The textile industry The iron and steel industries The printing and book industries Known for workshops of many kinds Produced articles of luxury for the imperial family, high officials, wealthy businessmen Known for the export trade Tea, books, building materials, measures, chemicals, clothing

  4. Right: Da Xiangguo Temple Left: Ten-thousand arms Guanyin in the temple

  5. Creating New Spaces • Emperor Huizong • Construction of the Sacred Peaks of Longevity (Genyue), a gigantic rock garden in the northeast quadrant of the Old City of Kaifeng. • A result of thousands of men that had been forced into service of the so-called “Flower and Rock [Transporting] Network” (Huashi gang)

  6. intended to be an exhibition of Song prosperity and virtue • an enigmatic place of rest • an organism where all things start and end • A physical expression of the Divine Empyrean Daoism, where at any moment immortals might descend and acknowledge this earthly paradise.

  7. The garden consisted of : • exquisite anthropomorphic rock formation, • bridges over crevices, • waterfalls and brooks, • pavilions and studios high up on cliffs and ridges or hidden deep in bamboo groves, • Thousands of exotic trees and shrubs from the far reaches of the empire • The landscape represented an ideal world, a sanctuary, and island worthy of immortals in the center of the busiest metroplis on earth

  8. Sculptures on the walls of the pagoda Iron Pagoda (originally, Kaibao Pagoda) Reconstructed Song pagoda dated 997

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