Beijing, Xi'an, Luoyang and Nanjing are recognized as "the four ancient capitals of China". In the long history of ancient China, before the Yuan Dynasty, Xi'an ( Chang'an ) and Luoyang have long been the capital or accompanying capital of the feudal dynasty.
Starting from the Yuan Dynasty, Beijing became the capital of the feudal unified dynasty. Nanjing is the first choice for separatist dynasties in the Central Plains after civil strife.
▲Luoyang Lijing Gate has witnessed the prosperity of Luoyang City
Among the four ancient capitals, Beijing is still the capital of China. Nanjing and Xi'an are currently also provincial capitals and important regional central cities. Luoyang is an exception. It is not a provincial capital, but an ordinary prefecture-level city.
is located in Luoyang in the Heluo region of the Central Plains. It has a history of city construction of more than 3,000 years and a history of capital construction of more than 1,500 years.
Since Eastern Han established Luoyang as the capital and the capital of the feudal unified dynasty.
▲Luoyang, once the starting point of the eastern end of the Silk Road
After the Eastern Han Dynasty, many feudal dynasties such as the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, etc., had established their capitals in Luoyang. From the Xia and Shang dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty, a total of 13 dynasties established their capitals in Luoyang, which is why Luoyang is called the "Ancient Capital of the Thirteen Dynasties".
▲The ancient capital of Luoyang
However, since , the status of Luoyang began to plummet.
After the Yuan Dynasty unified China, the provincial system was established, laying the foundation for today's local system. The Central Plains region where Luoyang is located is divided into " Henan-Jiangbei Province ", and the provincial capital is Kaifeng.
▲Modern Henan Province map
After the demise of the Yuan Dynasty, the provincial system has been used to this day, and Kaifeng has existed as the capital of Henan Province for a long time. In 1954, the capital of Henan Province moved from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou. Luoyang once again lost the opportunity to become a provincial capital and improve its political level.
So, why did Luoyang become so " open high and close low" among the four ancient capitals, and how did it go from the capital (the accompanying capital) to a prefecture-level city now?
1. Luoyang - Win by its position
Luoyang is located in western Henan. Its location is named after it is located on the northern bank of Luoshui, a tributary of the Yellow River (the mountains and rivers are "Yang" in the north).
▲In history, Luoyang was located in the central plains to Guanzhong
Historically, Luoyang was located in the important road leading to Guanzhong and was highly valued by feudal rulers. This provides a basis for Luoyang to set its capital many times.
▲Luoyang, guarding the important roads to enter and exit Guanzhong in the Central Plains
Thousands of years ago, the Yellow River Basin was warm and humid, with abundant water sources and fertile soil. The plains in the Central Plains are vast and are an ideal farming place. This provides favorable conditions for the reproduction and development of mankind.
Therefore, the Central Plains became the birthplace of Chinese civilization. The capitals during the Xia and Shang dynasties were all located in the Central Plains. In ancient times, the Central Plains became synonymous with "China".
▲Zhou Dynasty map
After the Western Zhou Dynasty replaced Shang, the Guanzhong Plain became an ideal place to settle the capital with its dense water network and surrounded by mountains and an important strategic position. China's political center began to move from the Central Plains to the Guanzhong region.
▲Guanzhong Plain, a mountainous river valley area, is conducive to the construction of the capital
After the Qin Dynasty unified China, Xianyang and Chang'an of the Guanzhong Plain became the core of the feudal dynasty. After the Western Han Dynasty replaced the Qin Dynasty, the capital was also set in Chang'an in Guanzhong.
In 114 BC, Zhang Qian opened the Silk Road connecting China and the West, and Chang'an became the starting point of the Silk Road on the land.
With the improvement of productivity level, Guanzhong region has been further developed and its population has grown rapidly.
However, the plains in Guanzhong are relatively small, and the grain produced is difficult to meet the requirements of rule. Rulers needed to transport food from the vast Central Plains and even the south of the Yangtze River to maintain feudal rule with Guanzhong as the core.
. Luoyang is the only way to enter and exit the Central Plains of Guanzhong, and it is backed by Hangu Pass , so Luoyang has become a barrier to protect Guanzhong.
▲Luoyang, the only way to enter and exit the Central Plains and Guanzhong
Luoyang is located at the intersection of the shore of the Yellow River and the Luo River. The Yellow River and Luo River have abundant water volume and convenient water transportation, and Luoyang has become an ideal choice for the capital or capital.
In 8 AD, Wang Mang usurped the Han and established the New Dynasty . However, the reform of the New Dynasty did not solve the land problem and caused war. Chang'an became the main battlefield and its infrastructure was severely damaged.
In 25 AD, Liu Xiu, a descendant of the royal family, defeated the New Dynasty army and the rebel army and established the Eastern Han Dynasty. Because Luoyang is a passageway to enter and exit Guanzhong, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. In addition, most of Liu Xiu's troops came from the Central Plains. The Eastern Han Dynasty chose to establish its capital in Luoyang.
Eastern Han Dynasty became the first unified feudal dynasty to establish its capital in Luoyang.
▲Restoration of Luoyang City in Eastern Han Dynasty
The eastern end of the Silk Road changed from Chang'an to Luoyang. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, foreign cultures such as Buddhism entered Luoyang one after another.
▲Luoyang White Horse Temple, a symbol of Buddhism entering Luoyang
In the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty, a peasant uprising broke out due to corruption in the dynasty. The rulers of the Eastern Han Dynasty had to rely on local gentry to help suppress the peasant uprising. During the battle with the rebel army, some local state patriarchs grew and became local warlords who dominated the country.
Before 220 AD, Liu Bei , Cao Cao and Sun Quan became the three strongest warlords. Among them, Cao Cao occupied the Central Plains, Liu Bei occupied Sichuan and Shu, and Sun Quan occupied Jiangnan.
In 220 AD, Cao Cao's son Cao Pi deposed Emperor Xian of Han. After the demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the three local warlords proclaimed themselves emperors, and China entered the era of the Three Kingdoms. The capital of the State of Wei was established by the Cao regime was in Luoyang.
▲The Three Kingdoms are in power, and the capital of Wei State in the north is Luoyang
Cao Wei Later, the powerful Sima family took power. Sima Yan abolished Cao Wei, established Jin Dynasty , and established the capital of Luoyang. After that, Jin unified China. Luoyang became the capital of Western Jin (later the separatist regime in the south was Eastern Jin ).
▲The Western Jin Dynasty Luoyang City
After Sima Yan died, civil strife occurred in the royal family of the Western Jin Dynasty, and finally the " The Eight Kings Rebellion " broke out. The Eight Kings Rebellion seriously weakened the strength of the Western Jin Dynasty. In 316 AD, the Western Jin Dynasty was destroyed by the northern nomads, and northern China was occupied by the nomads.
A large number of northern Han people went south to establish a regime. At this point, China has fallen into a state of separation between the north and the south. The Han regime heading south established its capital Jiankang (Nanjing).
▲Whenever the Central Plains is civil strife, Nanjing is the first choice for the establishment of the capital of the separatist dynasty in the south
After the Xianbei people in the north occupied the Central Plains, in order to express their orthodox identity, they not only changed their Chinese language, but also changed the surnames of the Xianbei people to the Han surnames and moved the capital to Luoyang.
After several generations of development, Luoyang and Chang'an became the political centers of the northern regime.
▲ Northern Wei Luoyang City , restoration map
The Chineseization of northern ethnic minorities has greatly improved the status of Han landlords, and they have mastered the central government.
In 581 AD, Yang Jian seized the northern regime, established the Sui Dynasty, and established the capital of Chang'an.In 589 AD, the Sui Dynasty destroyed the separatist regime in the south (determined its capital in Nanjing). China has regained its unification after more than 200 years of chaos.
From the Qin Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty, Guanzhong has long been the political center. After the unification of the Sui Dynasty, production was encouraged by adopting a policy of light taxes and low taxes.
The population growth of the Sui Dynasty was rapid, which made the Guanzhong Plain overwhelmed and the vast Central Plains became a new economic center.
From the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to before the unification of the Sui Dynasty, a large number of people in northern China migrated south due to escaping war. The warm climate and densely populated water network have been developed by generations and have become another important grain-producing area.
In order to strengthen the connection between the north and the south, Emperor Yang of Sui after ascended the throne, he focused on building a large channel that runs through the north and the south - Grand Canal .
▲Grand Canal, Luoyang is located in the water transport area
Luoyang is the node between Guanzhong and the Central Plains and Jiangnan. It has convenient water transport. In history, it was the capital of many dynasties and was favored by Emperor Yang of Sui.
After Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne, he decided to build the eastern capital Luoyang. The Sui Dynasty formed a situation where Chang'an and Luoyang were united together.
Peasant uprising broke out in the late Sui Dynasty due to years of war and heavy labor service. In 618 AD, Li Yuan established the Tang Dynasty and replaced the Sui Dynasty.
Li Yuan 's subordinates are mainly Longxi nobles, close to Guanzhong. Therefore, Chang'an was established in the early Tang Dynasty.
After the Tang Dynasty experienced the Zhenguan rule, the economy was restored. With the stability of the agricultural economy of the Tang Dynasty, commerce gradually flourished. Luoyang is an important node for the transportation of grain in the south and the north. It has developed commerce and is loved by the rulers of the Tang Dynasty. Luoyang was built into the Eastern Capital.
▲The ancient city of Luoyang that was restored by the TV series
Luoyang was once baptized by war during the great peasant uprising at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, once ordered the reconstruction of Luoyang City and renamed it "Luoyang Palace". During Li Shimin's reign, he came to Luoyang City three times and lived for two years.
After Emperor Taizong of Tang passed away, Emperor Gaozong of Tang Li Zhi ascended the throne. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, efforts to build Luoyang were increased. By the time of Wu Zetian’s rule, Shangyang Palace and Mingtang (Vianxiang Temple) were built, and Luoyang City further developed and flourished.
After the development of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Wu Zetian, by Dong Xuanzong of Tang , Luoyang's population was recorded to have 1 million, making it the second largest city after Chang'an.
▲Ming Palace, built by Wu Zetian (TV drama restoration)
During the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, the national strength of the Tang Dynasty reached its peak and its economy was prosperous. The Tang Dynasty was also one of the most open dynasties in China.
As the eastern capital, Luoyang has attracted many Sogdians and Japanese come to do business and study. For example, Kyoto, , Nara, and other cities in Japan are all imitating the capital designs of Luoyang in the Tang Dynasty and Luoyang in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
▲Nara Castle in Japan
2. The war broke out, the capital was lost
In 755 AD, the Tang Dynasty broke out in the Anshi Rebellion broke out. Guanzhong and Zhongyuan both became the main battlefields. A large number of Guanzhong and Central Plains gentry fled to Jiangnan.
In 763 AD, the Tang Dynasty finally defeated the rebels. But after this rebellion, the Tang Dynasty declined from prosperity to decline. The status of Chang'an and Luoyang declined accordingly.
▲Anshi Rebellion
3 Over the past 1,000 years from the Qin Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the Guanzhong Plain has been developed for a long time, and the soil fertility has decreased and the sediment content of the Yellow River has increased. The navigation capacity of the Yellow River and tributaries Luoshui and Yihe has decreased.
Luoyang river channel was silted, and the canal transportation was transferred to Bianliang (Kaifeng). Kaifeng began to rise gradually and became the economic center of the Central Plains.
▲In the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng water transportation
In 907 AD, the Tang Dynasty fell, and the Chang'an and Luoyang dual-duty modes ended.
After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, China entered the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. The Guanzhong Ping was slaughtered due to the war and the disadvantage of being narrow and densely populated, so the possibility of becoming an imperial capital was lost.
The Central Plains, with a wider area, has gradually become a new economic and political center. With the loss of Guanzhong's status, Luoyang, located at the junction of Guanzhong and the Central Plains, also decreased and gradually became marginalized.
▲Guanzhong declined, and Luoyang went from a "two-place hub" to a "brief area"
Kaifeng is located in the center of the Central Plains, at the junction of Tongji Canal and the Yellow River. Its shipping is developed and favored by the Central Plains dynasty. In 960 AD, after the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, the capital was established in Bianliang (Kaifeng).
▲ From the late Tang Dynasty to the Northern Song Dynasty, the river channel near Tokyo (Kaifeng)
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Luoyang was the main road to enter and exit Guanzhong and control the northwest. It was established as " Xijing ", and was one of the three accompanying capitals of the Northern Song Dynasty.
▲The three accompaniment locations of the Northern Song Dynasty, Xijing is Luoyang, Beijing is Daming Mansion (Hebei Daming), Nanjing is Shangqiu, Henan
Kaifeng became the economic center of the Northern Song Dynasty with its developed water transportation. However, Kaifeng's shortcomings as the capital are also very obvious, that is, it is located in the center of the plain and has a flat terrain. Except for the Yellow River, there is almost no danger to defend.
At the beginning of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, northern China was still facing the danger of ethnic minority invasion. Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning of its founding, he planned to move the capital to Luoyang.
▲Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin advocated moving the capital
Because the cost of moving the capital was high, Zhao Kuangyin's plan to move the capital was opposed by his ministers. From the efforts of several generations of emperors such as Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, to the , the capital Kaifeng was unprecedentedly prosperous during the period of Emperor Huizong of Song.
▲Along the River During the Qingming Festival, the prosperous state of Bianliang (Kaifeng), the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty,
The Northern Song Dynasty long-term implementation of the policy of emphasizing culture over military force led to weak national strength. Therefore, Kaifeng's glorious history is too short compared to Luoyang.
In 1127 AD, the Northern Song Dynasty was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty , established by the Northern Jurchens (Historical ancestors of the Manchus). Zhao Gou, a member of the Northern Song Dynasty, fled to the south, established a regime, and established his capital in Hangzhou, which is known in history as ", Southern Song Dynasty ".
In 1141 AD, the Southern Song and Jin signed the " Shaoxing Peace Discussion ", ceding the Qinling Mountains and Dasanguan to the Jin Kingdom, and the Southern Song Dynasty became a "Central Plains Dynasty" in a safe and secure corner.
▲In the Southern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng and Luoyang were assigned to the Jin Dynasty
At this point, the Central Plains region, including Luoyang and Kaifeng, was taken into the hands of the Jin Dynasty.
3. Luoyang: Is there no more scenery?
Mongol successively destroyed Jin and Xixia , unifying northern China.
In 1271 AD, Mongolia changed its country name to Yuan. In 1279, the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty and China regained its unification. The Yuan Dynasty established its capital in Beijing, and the political center of the unified dynasty moved out of the Central Plains.
After the Yuan Dynasty unified China, the province was established. The Central Plains region established the Henan-Jiangbei Province. Kaifeng was the capital during the Northern Song Dynasty and had good infrastructure. It became the provincial capital and Luoyang became an ordinary capital.
▲Yuan Dynasty province, Bianliang Road, the capital of Jiangbei, Henan, is Kaifeng
Yuan Dynasty rebuilt the Grand Canal in order to strengthen the connection between the north and the south. At that time, due to the eastward movement of the Grand Canal channel, when the Yuan Dynasty built the Grand Canal, it directly bypassed Luoyang, which was enough to prove that Luoyang's status was declining.
▲The Grand Canal of the Yuan Dynasty
After the demise of the Yuan Dynasty, both the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty followed the provincial system. During the Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent excessive local power, the Henan Jiangbei Province was reduced, roughly equivalent to the scope of today's Henan Province.
Kaifeng, the capital of Henan Province during the Ming and Qing dynasties, became the economic center of the Central Plains.
▲In China before the Opium War , the capital of Henan Province was Kaifeng
Railway construction in the late Qing Dynasty changed the fate of the Central Plains cities. After the Opium War, China gradually became a semi-colonial of the great powers. The great powers obtained the right to build roads in China.
In order to save yourself, the Qing government opened the path of learning from the West. In modern times, due to the decline in navigation capacity of northern rivers such as the Yellow River, railways replaced the canal transportation and became an important means of transportation. At the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Qing government began to build its own railway.
▲Beijing-Han Railway
899, the Beijing-Han Railway (the predecessor of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway) was built under the leadership of Zhang Zhidong. When the Beijing-Hankou Railway was selected for the Yellow River, the relatively stable water flow of Zhengxian stood out.
906, the Beijing-Hanzhou Railway was built and crossed Zheng County across the Yellow River. Subsequently, the Qing government built the Bianluo Railway connecting Kaifeng and Luoyang, and Zheng County's status became increasingly important.
▲Zhengzhou (called Zheng County at the time) became the intersection of the Beijing-Hanzhou and Bianluo railways
931, Zheng County was renamed Zhengzhou, and it changed from a county town to a city. Before the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhengzhou became an important commercial port.
After the founding of New China, the Bianluo Railway was connected with Lanzhou, the important western town in the east, and Lianyungang, the important eastern town in the east, and became the Longhai Railway. The Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and the Guangdong-Guangzhou Railway are connected to the Beijing-Guangzhou Line .
two railway lines have been extended, becoming an artery connecting north and south China and east and west China. Zhengzhou is located at the intersection of two railways.
▲New China Railway Line. The Longhai and Beijing-Guangzhou lines meet at Zhengzhou
have always been China's granary and cotton production areas. Zhengzhou took advantage of this convenient condition to build a large number of cotton textile factories and became cotton textile centers, gradually surpassing Luoyang and Kaifeng. Zhengzhou's economic radiation capacity to the whole province of Henan has been enhanced.
▲Zhengzhou National Cotton Factory 1
Luoyang is located in a relatively west position in Henan, and its economic strength is completely surpassed by Zhengzhou. Therefore, Luoyang lost the opportunity to become the capital of Henan Province.
In October 1954, Henan moved the provincial capital from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou. Zhengzhou became the political and economic center of Henan.
At this time, China has made administrative division adjustments. Gong County, which originally belonged to Luoyang, and , Dengfeng were assigned to Zhengzhou.
▲Zhengzhou administrative divisions, Gongyi and Dengfeng originally belonged to Luoyang
After that, Luoyang became an ordinary provincial municipality in Henan. In the 1980s, China carried out local administrative adjustments. Luoyang has become a prefecture-level city in Henan Province.
▲Now Luoyang
Although Luoyang is not selected as the prefecture-level city of sub-provincial city , it is second only to Zhengzhou in Henan Province. In 2021, Luoyang ranked second in Henan Province after the provincial capital Zhengzhou.
▲Henan 2021 GDP
