The economic center of ancient China was constantly moving south, which was a major trend in the changes in the ancient economic pattern. However, unlike the economic center of gravity shifting southward, China's political center of gravity shifting eastward. In ancient times, China's political focus was mainly in the Guanzhong Plain and the Yiluo River. The capitals of the Qin and Han Dynasties, Wei and Jin Dynasties, Northern Dynasties to Sui and Tang were basically in Chang'an and Luoyang . By 
th dynasty and Northern Song , the capital of the Central Plains dynasty gradually moved eastward to Kaifeng. Since then, the political focus has gradually shifted to Beijing. What determines the shift in China's political focus?
1, from Chang'an to Luoyang: Xidu and Dongdu Shuangcheng Opera
China's political center of gravity has undergone three large-scale shifts. This article first talks about the first transfer, that is, from Chang'an to Luoyang.
In ancient times, China's unified dynasty generally regarded Chang'an as the political center and Luoyang as the economic center, and was called the Xidu and Dongdu. The biggest advantage of Chang'an is that it is located in Guanzhong . Its three major directions are not threatened by other powerful regimes, and it has the advantage of "one-side-one control of the princes". In the east there are important passes such as Hangu Pass , Tongguan, and Wuguan , which are easy to defend but difficult to attack. Therefore, the Guanzhong area is very safe.
Guanzhong region
Guanzhong region has a wider economic hinterland. The Guanzhong Plain itself is a fertile land of thousands of miles and can provide certain food support. The southern part of its Chengdu Plain is very closed, very geographically safe, and agricultural production is stable. The Longxi area in the northwest can provide important strategic resources - horses. And through Hexi Corridor , Guanzhong can trade with the northwest. Therefore, the rear of Guanzhong area is relatively stable.
Guanzhong region had geographical advantages in the era of division, but in the era of great unification, it had certain limitations. First of all, Guanzhong is located in the northwest and it is difficult to radiate across the country. Secondly, the area of Guanzhong Plain and Sichuan Plain is too small to provide sufficient food support to the capital. Therefore, generally, the unified dynasty would choose to build the Eastern Capital in Luoyang as the center of economic importance and remotely control Kanto. The more representative one is Zhou Dynasty .
After Zhou destroyed Shang, the scope of Zhou's jurisdiction expanded greatly to the east. In order to control the East, King Wu of Zhou tried to move to Luoyang, " stayed in China ". After quelling the "Three Supervisors Rebellion", he inherited the wishes of King Wu of Zhou and established the two cities of Luoyang as the stronghold for the Western Zhou Dynasty to control the princes of Guanzhong and also as a base for collecting Eastern taxes.
However, Guanzhong's advantages will also disappear. There are a large number of nomadic peoples in northwest of Guanzhong. Once these nomadic peoples are strong, Guanzhong will change from the rear to the front line. During the end of the Western Weekly, the northwest of the Quanrong rose. They captured Haojing, and King Ping of Zhou could only move the capital to Luoyang, so the political focus was moved eastward. It was not until , the Qin Dynasty, that the political focus returned to Guanzhong.
During the Western Han Dynasty, Chang'an served as the capital for more than 200 years. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, during the period of , considering the serious economic damage in Guanzhong, Luoyang was regarded as the capital. After that, Luoyang was the capital, which was the political center of the country, which was the capital. It was not until the unification of the Sui Dynasty that the political focus returned to Guanzhong.
After the unification of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang built the Eastern Capital in Luoyang. Luoyang connects Guanzhong and North China Plain , and Guanzhong controls the hub city of Guandong. After the opening of the Grand Canal of Sui and Tang Dynasties, Luoyang became the intersection of the north and south canals. The Sui Dynasty built many large granaries near Luoyang to store grain collected from the country.
By the time of the Tang Dynasty , Guanzhong's political and economic advantages no longer existed. Politically, the rise of Turkic and Tubo is that Guanzhong no longer has a safe rear, especially Tubo can attack Guanzhong at any time, causing a shock to Chang'an. Economically, due to ecological destruction, Guanzhong's agriculture can no longer support meeting Chang'an's needs.Therefore, the Tang Dynasty needed to transport large quantities of grain from Jiangnan to Guanzhong, and the canal became the economic lifeline of the Tang Dynasty.
Once there is insufficient food in Guanzhong, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty may migrate to Luoyang to "just eat". During the Wu Zetian period, Luoyang directly became the political focus of the country. It can be seen that China's political focus is shifting from Chang'an to Luoyang.
2, Kaifeng's brief glorious time
During the Five Dynasties, Kaifeng became the political center of the country. Among the Five Dynasties, four dynasties established their capital in Kaifeng, and one established their capital in Luoyang, and Chang'an has been completely abandoned.
In the late Tang Dynasty, vassal states separatist occurred, among which the vassal states in the North China Plain were the most powerful. These vassal states controlled the canal, resulting in the inability to transport food from Jiangnan to Guanzhong, and the emperors of the Tang Dynasty also became hungry. The Five Dynasties were actually dynasties developed by vassal states, and they naturally regarded the canal as their economic lifeline. Kaifeng is the best place to control the canal.
Tang Dynasty Agriculture
Kaifeng, known as Daliang in ancient times, has been the transportation center of the East since ancient times. As early as the Warring States era, due to the opening of the gap, the Yellow River water system and the Huaihe water system were communicated, and Daliang was the hub for communicating the two major water systems. In 364 BC, the Wei State moved the capital from Anyi to Daliang to facilitate the fight for hegemony of the Central Plains.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Grand Canal was opened, and Kaifeng City communicated with the four major water systems of the Yellow River, Haihe , Huaihe River, and Yangtze River . Kaifeng itself is located in the hinterland of the North China Plain and has the largest grain-producing area in China. Through the canal, Kaifeng can quickly defend the Yanshan area to the north and control the south of the Yangtze River to the south. Therefore, Kaifeng became the first choice for the capital of the Five Dynasties.
Beijing Tokyo River Transport Map
The Northern Song Dynasty itself was a dynasty developed by the Five Dynasties, so Kaifeng is naturally regarded as the capital. During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a powerful Xixia in the northwest directly threatening the Guanzhong region. In addition, the Guanzhong economy had been severely damaged, so it was completely impossible to establish the capital of Chang'an. As a hub connecting Guanzhong and North China, Luoyang's status dropped rapidly after Guanzhong declined, so it was unable to be competent for the capital. Kaifeng can quickly transport troops and food to the Yanyun area through the canal.
However, Kaifeng has not been the focus of the country's political focus for a long time, because the powerful Jin Dynasty captured Kaifeng in 1127 and the Northern Song Dynasty perished. After that, the Southern Song Dynasty was darker in the south, and the north was occupied by the Jin Dynasty. Starting from Jinguo , China's political focus gradually shifted to Beijing. However, Kaifeng's status has not been completely lost.
During the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Liang intends to unify the world and chooses to move the capital to Kaifeng. However, his plan was not realized. After Wanyan Liang's failure, the capital of the Jin Kingdom moved back to Beijing. However, Kaifeng became Nanjing of the Jin Kingdom, and its status was also very important. In the late Jin Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty moved its capital to Kaifeng. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang once considered moving the capital to Kaifeng, but died before it was implemented.
In the farming era, Kaifeng was very suitable to serve as the national economic center, but there were certain flaws in serving as the political center. One of the biggest flaws is that it was surrounded by plains and had no barriers, which was a place that was difficult to defend and easy to attack. The Jin Dynasty destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty and the Mongolians destroyed the Jin Dynasty were both leading straight forward and heading south in one fell swoop. Of course, there are no absolutely safe cities in the world. A country relies not on geography, but on the hearts of the people.
3, why did Yanjing become the capital?
During the Liao Kingdom period, Yanjing became Nanjing of the Liao Kingdom and was one of its political centers. When he arrived in the Jin Dynasty, he directly established the capital of Yanjing. However, for a long time, the Yan area has been regarded as the northern border and is the front line for the Central Plains dynasty to resist the nomadic peoples' southward advance. Why did this frontier position become the capital of the country?
is mainly the formation of a binary country. Before, the Central Plains dynasties were basically Han dynasties. Even if nomadic peoples entered the Central Plains, they would abandon the bases in the desert and gradually become completely sinicized. Xianbei is an example. However, since the Liao Kingdom, the situation began to change.The Liao Kingdom implemented the system of officials in the north and south, and managed nomadic areas with the system of nomadic peoples and the system of the Central Plains, which was the beginning of the formation of China's dual system.
monsoon zone and non-monsoon zone boundary
, and Yanjing is in the transition zone between nomadic and farming, and establishing capital in Yanjing is conducive to controlling the two major regions at the same time. Therefore, the Jin Dynasty moved its capital to Yanjing. After the establishment of Yuan Dynasty , it also built a capital in Yanjing. It is backed by the vast Mongolian Plateau , overlooking the vast Central Plains, and can also realize the operation of the Northeast through Liaoxi Corridor .
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang established his capital in Nanjing. In history, the capital of Nanjing was basically the An dynasty. The most typical ones were Eastern Wu , Eastern Jin , Song Qi, Liang and Chen, so Nanjing is also known as the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. During the Tang and Song dynasties, the economic center of gravity moved south. Nanjing was located in the hinterland of the national economic center and also had the conditions to be the capital of a unified dynasty. However, Nanjing has only been a national capital for decades.
After the Jingnan Campaign, Ming Chengzu chose to move the capital to Beijing. Why move the capital to Beijing? First of all, Beijing is Zhu Di’s base, and Zhu Di’s foundation here is more stable. Secondly, Beijing is the frontier position in the country to resist Mongolia and operate the Northeast. Moving the capital to Beijing is conducive to concentrating the central army across the country against the Mongolian army. However, since the Ming Dynasty failed to unify the northern desert, Beijing has long become the front line, and the situation of "the emperor guarding the national gate" has not changed.
ming Great Wall
Beijing is suitable to serve as the capital of a binary empire, but a kingdom does not control Dibei , then it is too dangerous to establish a capital of Beijing. The history of the Ming Dynasty also proves this. From the transformation of Tumu Fort to the transformation of Gengxu , Beijing in the Ming Dynasty was repeatedly besieged and even captured by the Mongolian in the north. Therefore, it is hard to say that "the emperor guards the country's gate" is a correct choice.
After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the binary empire was formed again. In 1644, the Qing army entered the pass and directly established the Yanjing to soothe China. The situation after the Qing Dynasty established its capital in Yanjing was similar to that of the Yuan Dynasty, that is, it was backed by the Mongolian Plateau and the Northeast, overlooking the Central Plains. Even in modern times, Beijing has served as the capital for a long time. Because Beijing is located not far from the estuary of the Haihe River, it belongs to the coastal area. Bohai is China's largest inland sea. Here are Shandong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula, which is conducive to blocking invasions from the sea. Therefore, Beijing's status as the capital has been further consolidated.
