This study is concerned with the origin, time and territorial peculiarities of medieval castles in the Amur Region and Primorsky Krai, as well as their relation and contact with architectural traditions of surrounding cultures. It is necessary to und...
This study is concerned with the origin, time and territorial peculiarities of medieval castles in the Amur Region and Primorsky Krai, as well as their relation and contact with architectural traditions of surrounding cultures. It is necessary to understand the development of this architectural tradition and how it has influenced other, local traditions.
The object of this study are 402 castle sites located across a broad territory spanning modern-day Russia (Amur region and Primorsky Krai) and China (Heilongjiang province). These castles are predominantly found in 11 areas along major rivers, including the Upper Amur, Middle Amur, Lower Amur, Nengjiang, Middle Songhua, Lower Songhua, Mudanjiang, Muling, Suifen and Ussuri, as well as the Primorsky coastal district.
Examining characteristics such as their location, topography, form, size, function, constructional materials and structure, my research provides an analysis of each castle’s purpose and peculiarities. In accordance with the conventional historiography of well-known medieval castles in the Amur Region and Primorsky Krai, all castles in this study have been divided into three main periods: Early (CE 4/5th-10th centuries) dominated by Mohe and Palhae, Middle (CE 10th-13th centuries) dominated by the Jurchens and Eastern Xia, and Late (CE 13th-17th centuries). My analysis flows in chronological order beginning with the Mohe Culture in the 4th century.
Mohe castles are spread out across the entire area under examination besides Heilongjiang province. Mohe castles are usually located on a small hill near a river. They are relatively small, featuring one to three walls with moats. Their earthen walls were constructed without any special methods and featured no defensive structures along them. Their planning generally did not reflect any geometric layout, besides a few which took on a rectangular form. Castles belonging to the Mikhailovka culture are located only in the Middle-Amur basin and share a lot of similarities with Mohe castles. By the end of 7th century, Palhae begins to supersede Mohe, and a new style of castle began to appear as the preeminent style in the region.
Palhae castles are located only along the Mudanjiang, Muling, Suifen and the Upper Ussuri Rivers. The style of Palhae castles is predominantly plain, though a far smaller number of some mountain castles prevails. These castles often featured a rectangular or square form. They were generally larger than their Mohe predecessors, though their size varied by location, importance and administrative function. Unlike preceding Mohe castles, they featured a variety of construction materials and methods, including earthen, stone-and-earth and stone walls. Defense works along the walls are absent or were built only at a few specimens.
Jurchen period (or Lyao-Jin Dynasty) castles also span virtually the entire territory under discussion, except the Upper Amur basin and Primorsky coastal district. Jurchen-period castles are predominantly situated on plains, reflect construction methods such as hantu and feature various defensive works along their walls. Rectangular and square patterns pervade in this period. Like Palhae, their size varied greatly by strategic importance and function.
Eastern Xia castles are located generally along the Suifen, Mudanjiang and Ussuri Rivers, as well as the Primorsky coastal district. These castles defended settlements and were located at strategic positions where they could overlook vast territories. Eastern Xia emerged at the end of the Jin Dynasty and only existed for a short time, during which it was mostly at war with the Mongols. Therefore, irregular mountain castles are the predominant form in this period. They generally feature the rammed-clay hantu method of construction and various defensive works along their walls. Within their walls, large civilian settlements were established and many artificial terraces were built to extend living and handicraft places.
Late medieval castles are located only in the Middle-Amur basin. This period is dominated by smaller castles featuring rectangular, square or sinusoidal wall layouts, with huge corner towers built like a moats outside each wall. This period came to an end in the 17th century with the onset of Imperial Russian colonization.
While the architectural tradition of the Amur Region and Primorsky Krai demonstrates a high degree of local evolution, it was also influenced by many surrounding states and cultures. As a multi-ethnic state, Palhae exhibited a confluence of Mohe, Koguryo, Tan Chinese, and Central Asian cultures, and this is strongly reflected in its castles’ architecture and construction. Likewise, Jurchen, China, residual Palhae and Lyao’s cultures influenced Jin castles.
Rectilinear layout, southward-facing gates, earthen walls, few to no defensive works, imitation of Tan China’s capital (Chang’an), inner-walled cities, location of palatial buildings and other Chinese architectural ideas significantly influenced Palhae castle construction. Later on, these concepts continued to influence Jin castle development, but with the increasing proliferation of the hantu method.
Mountain castles, stone or earth-and-stone wall construction, occasional use of defensive works in wall such as corner or frontal towers, external gate construction onson and other Koguryo architectural concepts strongly influenced Palhae castle construction as well. During the Lyao-Jin period, defensive works along walls became widespread. These trends continued to have a strong influence on castle development through several centuries, even up to the emergence of Eastern Xia. But defensive works along walls was typical in Central Asia, including Uighur’s castles. This closely mirrors migration patterns of Central Asian peoples who were absorbed by late Palhae and especially Lyao (Jin).
Early Medieval castle style in the Amur Region and Primorsky Krai derives from from Early-Iron Age castles. With the course of time, they drew influence from a variety of outside architectural traditions, which the examples from Mohe, Palhae, Lyao-Jin, Eastern Xia and late-medieval cultures exhibited. At the same time, local political, economic, cultural and technical developments played a critical role in castle construction for each culture and period. It can be a method to describe medieval city life and society in future research.
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