In the five thousand years of Chinese history, several unified dynasties have appeared on the land of China, such as Qin, Han, Tang, Yuan, Ming, Qing, etc. The Western Han Dynasty included the Western Regions in the Chinese territory for the first time. The Tang Dynasty even took the homeland of the Turks (previously the Huns) as its own, while the Yuan Dynasty had the largest territory in Chinese history. However, if any dynasty has the most perfect territorial territory in Chinese history, I think it was in 1820. Qing Dynasty.
Of course, some people do not agree with this point of view. The author can demonstrate this conclusion through detailed comparison. Although the six countries were defeated and the first unified country in Chinese history was established, the Qin Dynasty was excluded because it had an area of only 3.4 million square kilometers, so we start with the Western Han Dynasty.
西汉
Each dynasty has different territories at different stages. The author chose the data of their heyday. The Western Han Dynasty was another big unified dynasty established on top of the Qin Dynasty. Therefore, the territory of the newly established Western Han Dynasty was roughly equivalent to that of the Qin Dynasty, and it was finally able to incorporate the Western Regions into the territory of China, thanks to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The allusions that made everyone excited, such as Feng Lang Juxu, not breaking Loulan will not return and so on.
During the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, under the attack of Wei Qing, Huo Qubing and others, the Western Han Dynasty captured the Hetao area and the Hexi Corridor, annexed Weiman Korea, established Jiaozhi County, and incorporated the Western Regions into itself The sphere of influence laid the foundation for the later Han Xuan Emperor to establish the Western Regions Protector House. Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions opened up the Silk Road that lasted for more than two thousand years and opened up cultural exchanges between the East and the West.
The territory in the heyday of the Western Han Dynasty reached 6.09 million square kilometers , roughly twice that of the Qin Dynasty.
唐朝
For more than a thousand years, no dynasty surpassed the Western Han Dynasty until the appearance of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty was the second peak of all the feudal dynasties in China after the Han Dynasty. Under the leadership of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty took the homeland of the Turks (previously the Xiongnu) as its own and established the Anbei Duhu Mansion. Even the Aral Sea and eastern Iran, which are as far away as Central Asia, were included in China's territory. Finally, the Persian Capitol was established in the Persian Tomb City (now Zabol, Iran), which was subordinate to the Anxi Metropolitan Defense House.
The heyday of Tang Dynasty's territory appeared under the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, reaching 12.37 million square kilometers, which is much larger than the present China. This is unprecedented. Its territory The territory starts from the Sea of Japan in the east, and borders Annan (present-day Vietnam) in the south, the Aral Sea in the west, Beibao Baikal to the lower reaches of the Yenisei River. It is also the only dynasty in Chinese history that has both the Aral Sea and Baikal.
It is a pity that has such a vast territory in the Tang Dynasty, but it does not include the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the northeastern part of .
元朝
The Yuan Dynasty is the first unified dynasty established by ethnic minorities in Chinese history. Its territory is the largest in Chinese history, Handi, Monan, Mobei, and Northeast (Including the Outer Northeast and Sakhalin), the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea islands were all under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, reaching 13.72 million square kilometers at its peak, and 22.67 million square kilometers if it extends north to the Arctic Ocean.
In the Yuan Dynasty, for the first time, Qinghai-Tibet, Yunnan, and Northeast China were included in the territory of China. Of course, Sakhalin was included. Unfortunately, northern Xinjiang belonged to the Chagatai Khanate. Not under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty .
明朝
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di was the first and only Chinese emperor in Chinese history to set up a military base in Southeast Asia. After Zheng He went to the west, he set up the old port Xuanweisi on Sumatra. , This is by far the furthest territory from mainland China.
Although the territory of the Ming Dynasty was inherited from the Yuan Dynasty, due to the remnant power of the Yuan Dynasty still entrenched in the Mongolian plateau, The territory of the Ming Dynasty did not include Mongolia, and the Xinjiang region also Occupy by Yili’s nomadic regime.
清朝
Although the Qing Dynasty has been shrinking since 1840, it still controlled 11.35 million square kilometers of land at the time of its demise. In its heyday, the Qing Dynasty’s territory reached 13.16 million square kilometers, in this vast territory, including Xinjiang, which has been lost since the Tang Dynasty, is the only dynasty that has Xinjiang, Tibet, Mongolia and Northeast at the same time besides New China.
In the Qing Dynasty in 1820, the territory of the country extends to Sakhalin in the east, the northeast and Russia are separated by the Ergun River, the Geerbiqi River and the Waixing'an Mountains, and the south bank of Lake Baikal is in the north, and the west Dabar Kashgar Lake (included), south of the Nansha Islands including today's Zengmu Ansha, can be said to be the largest conglomerate of China's territory.
With such a perfect territorial border, overseas trade in Northeast China will no longer need to bypass Russia, and can directly enter and exit the North Pacific directly; such a perfect territorial border, the capital’s safety The coefficient will be greatly increased. After all, the north has a greater depth. With such a perfect territorial border, Xinjiang will have an extra "South of the Great Yangtze River". Because Balkhash Lake is in hand, fresh water resources will be well supplemented, reaching 413,000. The area of the Balkhash Lake basin of square kilometers is not comparable to that of a desert zone.
To sum up, the author believes that the Qing Dynasty in 1820 had the most perfect territory in Chinese history, not other dynasties. What do you think?
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