The ancient capitals of China can surprise an unprepared person with their number. There were four of them, but in the last century the list was expanded to 7 capitals. We will briefly review each of them.
Beijing
The first capital of Ancient China, like all the others, was located near a mountain range. The first settlements in this area existed since the first millennium BC. e. During the reign of the Zhou Dynasty, a military fortress was built here. In 1368, the Ming Dynasty was established. The capital was moved to Nanjing for a while, but the Yongle Emperor returned the Ming capital to Beijing. The architecture of modern Beijing is largely a legacy of the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the reign of the last of them, the famous Beijing gardens, the Old Summer Palace, were built. During the reign of the Ming Dynasty, the Temple of Heaven, the Imperial Palace, was built. It was the Yongle Emperor who transformed Beijing, making it look like a chessboard.
Nanjing
By the way, the capital of ancient China during the time of the first emperor is Shanghai. However, scientists did not list this city and Shanghai is not considered one of the historical capitals.
Nanjing is one of the most ancient cities in China. It was the capital of ten dynasties and the Republic of China. Today it is the capital of Jiangsu. Nanjing is conveniently located between the other two capitals of ancient China - Beijing and Shanghai. In translation, the name Nanjing means "Southern Capital". The city was founded in the 5th century. BC e. It was here that the largest number of the most dangerous uprisings took place. By the way, this is where the founder of the Ming Dynasty is buried. In 1853, the city became the capital of the Taiping State, ruled by Hong Xiuqian. In 1912, under the pressure of the revolutionaries, the city became the capital of the Republic of China.
Today, Nanjing is a developed center. More and more foreigners come here every day. The city is replenished with hotels, skyscrapers and luxury shopping malls. Like Shanghai, it is turning into a cosmopolitan city.
Changyaan
The list of ancient capitals of China continues with the city of Chang'an, whose name means "long peace". During its existence, it managed to visit the capital of several states in China. However, today the city of Xi'an is located in its place.
The first settlements appeared in the Neolithic times. Chang'an became the capital during the reign of the Tang Empire. As in Beijing, the building looked like a chessboard. In the middle of the 8th century, more than 1 million people lived here, which, by that time, made the city the largest in the world. During the Ming Dynasty, the capital was moved to Beijing and Changyaanrenamed to Xi'an.
Luoyang
The capital of Ancient China, whose history we will now consider, was also one of the most ancient cities. The city of Luoyang was the capital of various Chinese states. The history of the city begins in the 11th century. BC e. It is believed that this is the first metropolitan Chinese city that was built according to a well-thought-out plan, taking into account cosmological semantics. In 770 B. C. e. Luoyang became the capital of the Zhou Empire. After that, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Wei, the Three Kingdoms, and the Western Jin Dynasty.
He flourished during the Sui, Tang and Song eras. Luoyang became the cultural capital of Changyaan. The construction of the Eastern Capital, as Luoyang was then called, began during the reign of the Sui Dynasty. In just 2 years, they managed to build a completely new, transformed city. However, all buildings were significantly damaged during the end of the Tang era, which was marked by frequent wars. Luoyang's revival began during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Today it is a small, relatively modern province.
Kaifeng
The historical capitals of China have been supplemented with three more cities. One of them is Kaifeng. It had a huge variety of names: Bianliang, Dalian, Liang, Banjing. The city was the capital during the reign of the Song Dynasty in the period from 960 to 1127. During the Han Dynasty, the city was of great military importance. However, soon the Wei kingdom built its capital on this territory, calling it Dalian. Whenthe Wei kingdom was defeated by the Qin kingdom, the city was destroyed and abandoned. During the reign of the Eastern Wei Empire, the city was again called Kaifeng. Many times the city changed its name at the request of the rulers. Kaifeng, under various names, was the capital of the Later Han, Later Qin, Later Zhou states. According to scientists, in the period 1013-1027, the city was the largest in the world.
During its existence, the city was destroyed many times by military intervention or natural disasters. This did not prevent the rulers from rebuilding it every time and making it the capital of their state.
Hangzhou
The list of ancient capitals of China continues with the town of Hangzhou, which today is a province. In ancient times, before the Mongol invasion, the city was called Lin'an. It was the capital during the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time it was the most populated city in the world. Today, the city is known for its natural beauty, huge tea plantations and Xihu Lake. There are two important historical monuments here - the 30-meter Baochu Pagoda and the mausoleum of Yue Fei. Still the city remains the historical center. Hundreds of Chinese come here every weekend to see the famous monuments. In addition, Hangzhou is a powerful industrial center. It is also called the city of a thousand Chinese corporations. A huge number of goods are produced here. The international airport makes it possible to get from Hangzhou to any major city located in Southeast Asia.
Anyang
Today the city is a small urban district. Anyang was created after the Qin kingdom unified China into a single empire. Under the Sun empire, the administrative division of Anyang became two-tiered. In addition, the city became the gathering center for the Xiangzhou authorities. At the end of the Sui Empire, it was here that an astonishing in scale uprising against the government began. The city was greatly impoverished due to the fact that it became the scene of hostilities during the An Lushan rebellion.
In the summer of 1949, after winning the civil war, the communists organized a province, the city of subordination of which became Anyang. For many years, Anyang was part of various districts and regions. Anyang City was established in 1983.
Today we learned about the seven ancient capitals of China. A history book can tell a lot more, but the history of China is incredibly huge and complex, so it is very difficult to invest in the scope of an article. However, we learned the most important and most interesting things about the historical capitals of China, and also plunged a little into the historical roots of cities and found out their current state. In any case, the capitals of Ancient China are of great interest not only for researchers, but also for ordinary tourists. China is a mysterious country that fascinates with its diversity and brightness.
