Unveiling Kao Gong Ji: The World’s Oldest Urban Blueprint
“The capital city spans a square area, with three gates opening on each of its 2.5-mile-long walls. Three main streets run north-south, and three run east-west. Three paths branch off from each main street.”
This ancient description comes from the Kao Gong Ji (The Artificer’s Record), the oldest known Chinese text on science and technology. Compiled over two thousand years ago during the Warring States Period (475–221 BC), an era of both intense conflict and significant technological advancement, it is considered the world’s earliest surviving technological encyclopedia.
The text, consisting of approximately 7,000 characters, serves as a manual for producing a vast array of handcrafted items, from bronze weapons and ornaments to wooden structures and carriages. It also contains the earliest recorded formulas for alloying copper and tin to create bronze, tailored to the needs of different objects—a fact corroborated by archaeological findings.
Although lost for centuries, the Kao Gong Ji was rediscovered during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). Upon its recovery, it was appended to the esteemed Zhou Li (The Rituals of Zhou), a canonical work on ancient ceremonies and statecraft. The addition led to the text being titled “Kao Gong,” likely derived from “kao gong shi” (考工室), the office responsible for weapon manufacturing.
One of the most renowned editions of the Kao Gong Ji is found among the Stone Classics of the Kaicheng era. In 837 AD, during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the Zhou Li, along with eleven other Confucian classics, was engraved onto stone tablets, preserving the appended text for future generations. The oldest printed edition of the manual dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279).
The chapter on city planning within the Kao Gong Ji is particularly remarkable, given the technological level of its time. Its principles have had a lasting influence on urban design for centuries. According to the text, the royal palace sits at the center of the capital, flanked by the ancestral temple to the left, the Earth God’s temple to the right, and the market to the north.
One prominent example of this enduring legacy is the layout of Beijing. Designed during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), the city’s expansion followed a central axis running north to south through its historic core. This axis, defined by imperial palaces, gardens, sacrificial altars, administrative facilities, ceremonial structures, and major roads, continues to fascinate visitors today. In recognition of its historical significance, the Beijing Central Axis was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2024.
