Editor’s Note:
In 1989, iron bulls, iron men, seven-star iron pillars, cast in the flourishing Kaiyuan Reign (713-741) of the Tang Dynasty were unearthed on the Pujin Ferry relics, Shanxi Province. Mr Zheng Yunfeng, a contributing photographer of our magazine hurried to the site and took pictures of the excavation. After archaeological excavation, the Pujin Ferry relics were paved with cobblestones with cement to provide ease to tourists. Now the original excavation site is gone. This series of pictures shows the excavation site was valuable.

 

There are many important Yellow River ferries in Southwest Shanxi, for example, Fengling Ferry and Mengjin Ferry in Ruicheng County, Longmen Ferry in Hejin City, and Pujin Ferry in Puzhou. They were strategic points that war parties fought to control, as they were places that passengers from Shanxi into Guanzhong plain in Shaanxi Province and Luoyang, or the other way round, had to go through.
 

 

Known as the side door to Guanzhong, and in the back of Tongguan County, Puzhou is dubbed ‘The Primary Key to Guanzhong overland from the East and North of the Yellow River’. The survival of this old city was destined to two factors, the Yellow River and war turmoil. If it were not the winding course of the Yellow River and the river itself as a massive barrier, there would not be Puzhou as ‘key to cross the Yellow River’.
 

 

West to the Yellow River, Puzhou (Reed State) was amidst a wide expanse of tidal flat with dense reeds, which gave rise to its name. From the legendary emperor Shun of Yu of the primordial China to the Tang Dynasty, Puzhou remained the political and economic centre and yet, in the end, could not run away from the fate of fading out of sight. Its sinking into oblivion was just a riddle on the surface, the answer to the riddle can be traced back in history to a bridge.

 

Captions:
Located on the east back of the Yellow River, outside the West Gate of ancient Puzhou, now Yongji City, Shanxi Province, the ancient side of Puzhou Ferry was an important component of the ancient bridge of Pujin Ferry. This picture was taken on the excavation side of the bridge in 1990. The iron bulls and iron men remain where they were originally discovered yet the surroundings are much different.
 

 

The modern look of the renovated Pujin Ferry relics, makes them look more like a replica, without the vestiges of time.

 

 

Ferry Bridge Transcending Time
The ancient bridge of Pujin Ferry boasted a history of more than 1,900 years, but remained a swing floating bridge. It had a lot to do with the Yellow River. The river water rose year by year, and the river changed course often. A floating bridge was the best choice. Compared with stone or wooden bridges of a high architectural aesthetics, Pujin Ferry Bridge could only find its value in historic events. From the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC) to the Sui Dynasty (581-618), the bridge underwent a few rebuilds. ‘The one who used it built the bridge’ became a common practice.
 

 

The floating bridge was first built in the Spring and Autumn Period. After the prince of Qin State crossed the river, he dismantled the bridge in order to flee from his enemy. As time went by, many kings of states and emperors of dynasties had built a floating bridge here when having a war. In most cases, Pujin Ferry Bridge was linked with a chapter of war history.