The history of a city is the history of a nation.
China has a long history of choosing the location of the capital.
In the Ming Dynasty, the scholar Chen Jian put forward in his "On the Construction of Capital": "According to ancient times, there are four metropolises today: Chang'an, Luoyang, Bian, and Yan. The four have been since the establishment of the capital by the former emperor. The place is also."
means the "four metropolises" are Xi'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Beijing.
In the 1920s, academic works began to call Xi'an, Luoyang, Beijing, Nanjing, and Kaifeng the "Five Ancient Capitals" and gradually became public opinion.
Later, there were even "seven major" and even "ten major ancient capitals", with different opinions.
Throughout Chinese history, you can find:
Whether it is an ancient unified dynasty, a period of division or even modern times, most of the capital or the capital is located in several cities or Its nearby.
Especially the "Five Ancient Capitals" is the most popular. Not only has it been the capital of multiple national unified regimes, it has a high status, but also has many dynasties/countries and a long time.
The accumulated years of several famous ancient capitals, according to the calculation standard of Mr. Shi Nianhai, a recognized historian in the academic circles:
Xi’an is 1077, Beijing is 903, Luoyang is 885, Nanjing is 450, Kaifeng It is 366 years, Anyang is 351 years, Hangzhou is 210 years, Zhengzhou is 355 years;
According to the order of the length of the capital, the order is Xi’an, Luoyang, Beijing, Kaifeng, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Anyang .
Overall characteristics of the ancient capital
Generally speaking, these cities that can become the capital or companion capital must meet the relevant basic standards (see my The last mythical article "Decoding the Ancient Chinese Capital Code: The Heart of the Quartet, the Foundation of the Country").
From a macro level, it is a location within the national territory, preferably in the geographic center of the country, or close to the birthplace of the ruling group;
From a micro perspective In other words, it is the environment of the capital site itself, including basic conditions such as economy, hydrology, military, and transportation.
Of course, it is difficult to have a place that fully meets these conditions. Only the most advantageous place can be selected based on the main contradictions at the time.
will wander around two places to build the capital during a certain period, and the phenomenon of auxiliary capital and accompanying capital appears. Moreover, Guodu and Peidu are often concentrated in a few cities.
This phenomenon not only reflects the historical process, but also explains the development and change of the city.
Dynasty change and the change of the capital
The status change of the ancient capital city is accompanied by the change of dynasty and the characteristics of the city, which can be roughly divided. For several historical stages.
In the first stage, most of the capital of the country moved between Xi'an and Luoyang.
During the Xia and Shang dynasties, the capital was moved many times. Since its core territory was in part of Henan Province today, it was mainly concentrated in Henan Province in addition to temporarily moving its capital to other regions.
As the vassal state of Zhou, in order to expand eastward, the political center moved eastward from the west of Guanzhong and King Wu moved to Ho.
Soon, King Wu defeated Zhou and replaced the Shang Dynasty. As the capital, Haojing seemed too westward, so Luoyi (now Luoyang), the center of the Central Plains, was chosen to build a new capital.
So Haojing is the official capital, named Zongzhou; Luoyi is the accompanying capital, named Chengzhou. This is the beginning of China's "dual capital system".
The reason why the capital of the country did not move throughout the Western Zhou Dynasty: First, it was close to the birthplace of Zhou people and had political backing. Second, the Guanzhong area has good natural conditions, with dangers to guard against, and sufficient food supply; third, it is close to the former enemy and suitable for offense and defense.
As the "Book of Songs•Daya•Minlao" said: "Benefit this China to the Quartet; benefit this capital to the Four Kingdoms."
In view of the Western Zhou Dynasty's death in the northwest of Qunrong etc. The nation moved its capital to Luoyi in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
The Kingdom of Qin prospered in the west, the capital was moved several times, and Xianyang was established as the capital after the unification of the six countries. Although the Qin Dynasty did not use Luoyang in the Central Plains as its accompanying capital, instead of it, the emperor made many rounds of the country.
When Liu Bang first became emperor in the Western Han Dynasty, Luoyang was his capital. This is not only in the world, but also close to the abundant hometown. Later, he accepted Lou Jing and Zhang Liang's suggestions and moved west to Chang'an.
Zhang Liang believes that:
"Guanzhong Zuoweihan, Youlongshu, fertile fields, thousands of miles away, there is the Rao of Bashu in the south, and the benefits of Hu Yuan in the north, blocking three sides and guarding on three sides, and a single east system The princes. The princes are stable, the rivers and Wei Rivers help the world, and the west is given to the capital; the princes have changed, and they will go down the river, enough to lose. This is the so-called golden city for thousands of miles, the country of abundance."
Lou and Zhang both believed We can learn from the Qin Dynasty’s experience in determining the capital. Guanzhong is the hometown of Liu Bang. While relying on Guanzhong’s security, richness and self-insurance, he can be aggressive and control the national situation.
And Luoyang, the biggest disadvantage is that it is difficult to defend. The Zhongzhou Plain is the site of the Four Battles, and the Yiluo Plain is even more insecure.
The so-called victory of "East ruled Chenggao, west blocked Wei and Mian, leaned back against the river, and faced Yiluo" is just the argument of those who advocate the establishment of Luoyang as the capital.
If you really start a war, it’s like Zhang Liang said: “Although there is this solid, it is small, but a few hundred miles, the field is thin, and the enemy is surrounded by enemies, this is not a country with force.” Especially if the country is internal. When there is a rebellion, Luoyang is not as safe as Xi'an.
From the perspective of internal control, in the early period of the Qin Dynasty, the first priority was to deal with the potential dangers of the rebellion of the old aristocrats of the six eastern countries. , That is, the internal hostile forces all come from the east, so Guanzhong, whose capital is westward, is a low-risk option;
From the perspective of imperial foreigners, the biggest foreign enemy facing the Qin and the Western Han Dynasty is the Xiongnu in the north. Set the capital in Guanzhong, close to the battlefield of resistance against Hungary, which is conducive to fighting the enemy with all strength.
The fact is also true. With Guanzhong as its political base, the Qin State regained the Hetao area and occupied Henan to build a new Qinzhong, which deeply attacked the Huns. Since the beginning of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the national power has been strong, and the Huns have been hit hard and opened up the Hexi Five In the county and western regions, the territory expanded greatly to the west, so Chang'an was almost at the geographic center of the country at that time.
When Wang Mang of the new dynasty wandered between Xi'an and Luoyang, with Chang'an as the western capital, he planned to move to Luoyang, the eastern capital, but failed. After that, Emperor Liu Xuan, who had been in power for less than three years, first moved to Luoyang and then moved to Chang'an.
At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu set up his capital in Luoyang. The main reason was:
He started his army from Nanyang, and later used Hanoi County to the north of the Yellow River as a rear powerhouse to dominate the world; Luoyang’s geographical and transportation is convenient. It can save the huge amount of transportation costs for the capital Chang'an; the Eastern Han Dynasty's national power is far inferior to that of the Western Han Dynasty. Facing the invasion of the northern Huns and the Western Qiang people, there is more than enough power.
However, the controversy between returning to Chang'an and maintaining Luoyang as the capital has not ceased, and officials such as Du Du, Ban Gu, and Zhang Heng expounded their political opinions in the form of "Du Yi Fu" and discussed the advantages of Chang'an and Luoyang.
But the Eastern Han Dynasty has never returned to Chang'an, the political and cultural centers are in the Central Plains, but the emperor will often visit the west. This also reflects the two political and cultural trends of the Eastern Han Dynasty: military retreat and revival of rituals and music.
During the subsequent period of the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu, each set its capital in Chengdu, Nanjing and Luoyang. Later, the Western Jin Dynasty was born out of the Cao Wei regime and established Luoyang as the capital to maintain the unification.rule.
At that time, Jiangdong was less affected by the war in the Central Plains and had plenty of wealth, so Sima Rui built the Eastern Jin Dynasty in Nanjing.
During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, wars were frequent, and various regimes held their own ground. Chang'an, Luoyang, Anyang, Nanjing, and Chengdu continue to be regarded as national capitals, and a number of new capitals such as Wuwei in Gansu and Ledu in Qinghai have emerged.
The Emperor Jing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty resigned to Yang Jian, named the country "Sui", and inherited his capital, Daxing City (now Xi'an). After Emperor Yang of Sui came to the throne, he moved the capital to Luoyang in order to facilitate the transportation of water, conquer the Quartet, strengthen national economic, social and cultural exchanges and commercial development.
In the Tang Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty was established. Since the Guanlong Group as the ruling class was based in the northwest and the Turks in the West were the main foreign enemies, Chang'an was the national capital and Luoyang was the eastern capital. After Wu Zetian became emperor, Luoyang was the capital.
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Zhu Wen, the Jiedu envoy of the Xuanwu Army stationed in Kaifeng, usurped the Tang Dynasty and proclaimed himself emperor. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Liang directly set his capital to Kaifeng.
Since then, Chang'an has lost its status as the capital of the country. After a short period of time as Xijing, the accompanying capital of the Later Tang Dynasty, it bid farewell to the status of the capital after the Northern Song Dynasty.
Therefore, the main reason for the national capital to move between Xi’an and Luoyang is: Xi’an and Luoyang are both high-quality options of the national capital, but each has its advantages and disadvantages, neither can Take advantage of absolute scores.
This characteristic phenomenon also reflects:
First, the political bases of the Qin, Western Han, and Tang dynasties are all located in the northwest area. They have operated for many years and relied on the military forces in this area to gain political power. In the book, "Qin and Han Dynasties have come, Shandong has come to be the prime minister, and Shanxi is a general." Such a background has provided them with a reliable foundation for their capital in the Guanzhong area.
Secondly, if the dynasty is aggressive, the capital will be Chang'an, such as the Qin, Western Han, and Tang dynasties; if it protects itself, it will be Luoyang, such as the Eastern Han, Western Jin and many separatist regimes.
Third, Xi’an’s geographic westward was badly wounded, and Luoyang’s central position needed to be remedied and replaced, so the "double capital system" appeared.
In the second stage, the capital of the country moved between Luoyang and Kaifeng.
During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Changsha, Guangzhou, Taiyuan, Chengdu, and Jiangling were the capitals of separate regimes.
Later Zhou Zhujiang launched a mutiny on Chenqiao, supported Zhao Kuangyin as emperor, established the Song Dynasty, and Kaifeng was the capital of Zhou after inheritance.
The change of Jingkang, the Northern Song Dynasty fell, Zhao Gou succeeded to the throne in Yingtianfu (now Shangqiu, Henan Province), and later moved to Lin'an (now Hangzhou), which was called the Southern Song Dynasty.
The military power of the Southern Song Dynasty is relatively weak, relying on the Qinling-Huaihe River, the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, and the rich land in the south of the Yangtze River, forming a confrontation with Jin Guo, Xixia and Dali.
The Khitan tribe first set the capital to go to Beijing Linhuang Mansion (now Balin Left Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia), and then went south to the Central Plains to capture Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan) as the state capital and change the country’s name For Liao.
Later, following the civil strife and the decline of the country, the capital was moved back to Zhongjing Dading Mansion (now Ningcheng County, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia). Later, capitals were established in Liaoyang, Beijing, and Datong. The regime was eventually destroyed by the Kingdom of Jin and Mongolia.
After the end of the Tang Dynasty, as the political, economic, and cultural centers moved eastward, the capital rotation occurred between Luoyang and Kaifeng.
From the end of the Tang Dynasty, Kaifeng became the political center. The direct reason was that the Xuanwu Army Jiedu who controlled the Tang regime made Zhu Wen stationed here. Zhu Wen forced Tang Zhaozong to move the capital to Luoyang, which was naturally easy to control; after usurping the Tang and establishing the post, he directly set the capital to Kaifeng. Moreover, Kaifeng uses the canal to facilitate transportation.
However, the next is the small period of wandering between Kaifeng and Luoyang. Zhu Wending moved west to Luoyang in less than two years after Kaifeng was opened. Four years laterThey are all opened.
Later Tang destroyed Liang and moved the capital to Luoyang. After the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Tang Dynasty, the capital was decided to be Kaifeng two years later, and remained unchanged until the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. But Luoyang has always existed as a companion.
The Northern Song Dynasty was not completely certain that the capital was opened. Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin once planned to use Luoyang as the capital, but his brother Zhao Guangyi and the officials all tried to resist him.
Zhao Kuangyin took a step back and talked about the construction of the capital of Chang'an. Zhao Guangyi and others are still firmly opposed.
Kaifeng is the place of the four battles. There is no natural danger to guard, so it has to be guarded by pure force. The Northern Song Dynasty guards numbered 140,000.
Kaifeng was also the most prosperous in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was the prosperous city in the world at that time.
Qingming Shanghe Figure
In order to avoid the invasion of the Mongols, Emperor Jin moved his capital to Nanjing, and his accompanying capital was Kaifeng.
Later, Nanjing fell, and Kaifeng's status as the capital and state capital in history came to an end.
In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang admired the Song Dynasty system and had the idea to build the capital Kaifeng. However, due to the blockage of the waterways around Kaifeng, the capital Yingtian was Nanjing and Kaifeng was Beijing (maintained for about ten years).
Kaifeng has water advantages, but it is also a double-edged sword:
Qin Shihuang, ordered General Wang Ben to attack Weidu Liang (now Kaifeng). After a long time of attack, he opened the Junyi Canal to divert water and irrigate the city, destroying the city and destroying the Wei;
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng mobilized his army to besiege Kaifeng. There were countless dead, and the city suffered severe damage;
During the 600 years from the 5th year of Mingchang in the Jin Dynasty to the 13th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, the Yellow River flooded Kaifeng more than 40 times, invading and submerging the inner city four times. The prosperous Song City was gone, buried under the loess by mud and sand.
In the third stage, the capital of the country moved between Beijing and Nanjing.
From the 3rd century to the 6th century during the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, most Jiangnan regimes chose Nanjing as the capital, relying on the natural fortifications of the Yangtze River and the rich local resources to maintain their rule.
The Golden State was established by the Jurchen tribe. It was successively established in Adong City in Heilongjiang, Beijing, Ningcheng in Inner Mongolia, Liaoyang, Kaifeng, and Datong. Fell and fall.
The Xixia regime established by the Dangxiang people in the northwest, the capital Xingqing Mansion (now Yinchuan, Ningxia), was destroyed by Mongolia.
The Mongolian nationality established the great unity of the Yuan Dynasty and set the capital as the capital (now Beijing).
The Red Scarf Uprising Army overthrew the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country and made his capital at Yingtianfu (now Nanjing); later Zhu Di moved his capital to Shuntianfu (now Beijing), with Yingtianfu as his accompanying capital.
Jianzhou Jurchen Ministry changed its country name to Qing Dynasty, entered the Central Plains, moved its capital to Beijing.
The north and northeast of Beijing are the Yanshan Mountains, and the west is the Taihang Mountains, forming a three-sided and semi-circular encircled circle. Only the southeast is the endless North China Plain.
is close to the northern homeland, with natural dangers to protect, and plain agricultural economic foundation, so Beijing has become an ideal capital after the northern minorities enter the Central Plains. Such as the Jin, Yuan, and Qing dynasties.
In 1912, the Republic of China made Nanjing the capital, and the Beiyang government moved to Beijing in the same year. Later moved the capital to Luoyang briefly. After completing the Northern Expedition in 1928, he moved back to Nanjing and accompanied the capital of Chongqing.
In 1949, the People's Republic of China established Beijing as its capital.
In summary, from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty two thousand years, the capital of the countryIf it wandered and moved between Xi'an and Luoyang; the two hundred years from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty was the period of wandering between Luoyang and Kaifeng. These two periods are essentially shifted in position on the east-west horizontal axis, with almost the same latitude.
After the Jin Dynasty, it was from the reciprocating period between Beijing and Nanjing, which essentially shifted the position on the north-south vertical axis, and the longitude difference was also very small.
This regular phenomenon not only embodies the unique geographical and human charm of ancient capital cities, but also shows that they are the products of historical development and their destiny, rise and fall trajectory are closely related to them.
As for geography and geomantic omen, the benevolent sees benevolence, and the wise see wisdom.
