Chapter 4 Chapter 3 One Party Wins, Regional Center——The Capital City During the Split Period

After the unification of Qin Dynasty, unified dynasties such as Qin, Western Han, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Sui, Tang, Northern Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing appeared in China successively, and their capitals were the five ancient capitals.In addition, there have been four major divisions in this historical process: the first, the Three Kingdoms era in the third century AD, when the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu stood together for 60 to 70 years.The second time, from the fourth to sixth centuries AD, the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the south and Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen in the Southern Dynasties confronted the Sixteen Kingdoms in the north and the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou in the Northern Dynasties for two to three hundred years.The third time, during the period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the 10th century AD, the Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Five Dynasties mainly occupied North China. Nine separatist regimes, including Nanping, Nanping, and Nanhan, and the Northern Han Kingdom in Shanxi in the north, have been divided for more than half a century.For the fourth time, in the 12th and 13th centuries AD, the Southern Song Dynasty in the south, the Jin Dynasty in the north and the later Mongolian regime, the Yuan Dynasty, confronted each other for a century and a half.In addition, at the time of successive regime changes, the peasant uprising army and local powerful factions often had to establish some shorter separatist regimes.In short, in any period of division, there will always be several or even ten or twenty capital cities throughout the country.

The scope of rule of these regimes during the split period was limited to some parts of our country, and their capitals were the political centers of the areas they ruled.These capitals are generally cities with superior geographical location and relatively developed economy and culture, and they are often also the political, economic, and cultural centers of a certain region during the unified period.As the capitals of the unified dynasty, the five ancient capitals were often the capitals of a separate regime during the split period. Since they have been covered in the previous section, this section is omitted.

Let's first enter the Yellow River Basin to the east of the Taihang Mountains to see Anyang, which is known as one of the seven ancient capitals.Anyang is located in the center of the North China Plain and was built as a capital very early.Xiaotun Village in the northwest of Anyang is where Yin, the capital of the Shang Dynasty, was located.The former site is 40 miles north of Anyang (now Yecheng in the southwest of Linzhang County, Hebei). It was the capital of Wei Wenhou in the early Warring States period.In the following three hundred and seventy-eight years in the Qin and Han Dynasties, Ye has always been a local administrative center in the southern part of the North China Plain, second only to Handan.At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was ruled by Yuan Shao, the warlord of Hebei Province, and it was governed by Jizhou Prefecture, which became the political center of the North China Plain.In the ninth year of Jian'an (204 A.D.), Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, and unified the Yellow River Basin a few years later.Cao Cao led Jizhou Mu on his own, appointed him as prime minister, and later became king of Wei, stationed in Yecheng.At this time, the Yellow River domain name belonged to the Han Dynasty, the capital Xu (now Xuchang City, Henan Province), and the actual political center was Ye.In the first year of Huangchu, Emperor Weiwen of the Three Kingdoms (AD 220), Luoyang was the capital of Cao Pi, and Ye was reduced to one of the accompanying capitals.The Hou Zhao, Ran Wei, and Qian Yan of the Sixteen Kingdoms, and the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi of the Northern Dynasties successively established their capitals in Ye for a total of 78 years.Relying on the economic strength of the Kanto region, these regimes confronted the regimes of the former Zhao, former Qin, Western Wei, and Northern Zhou who established their capitals in Chang'an at the same time.It can be seen that at that time, all the separatist regimes that ruled the area east of the Taihang Mountains but failed to control the entire Yellow River Basin generally built their capitals here.

Yecheng has two cities, north and south.The northern city was built by Cao Wei, and the southern city was built by the Eastern Wei.The north city is six miles from east to west and four miles from north to south. The streets and buildings in the city adopt a new layout method.The palace offices and noble residences are all concentrated in the north, completely separated from ordinary residences.The buildings are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the main street, with a north-south central axis.This layout of Yecheng has epoch-making significance in the history of the development of ancient capitals in my country. Later, the capital planning of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties was developed with reference to its layout.The South City is slightly larger than the North City, seven miles from east to west and nine miles from north to south. Many palaces imitate Luoyang in the Northern Wei Dynasty.After the completion of the southern city, the northern city continued to be used, and the area of ​​Ye was actually more than doubled.

From the Three Kingdoms to the Northern Dynasties, although the ruling scope of the dynasty with its capital in Ye changed, Ye was one of the main economic and cultural centers in the Yellow River Basin.Water transportation can reach the northern end of the North China Plain in the north, and reach the Jianghuai River via the Yellow River in the south. The city's industry, commerce and surrounding agriculture are quite developed.Jian'an literature, which occupies a place in the history of Chinese literature, was also born here.With magnificent buildings and a prosperous city, it is a famous capital in the north.On the eve of the reunification of the Sui Dynasty, the city of Ye was destroyed by Bingxian [xianxian], and it was never revived.

Today's Xingtai City and Dingzhou City in Hebei Province were also important capitals during the Sixteen Kingdoms period.Xingtai was called Xiangguo in the Sixteen Kingdoms. In 319 A.D., Shi Le, the leader of the Jie nationality, called Zhao Wang here. In 329 A.D., the former Zhao was destroyed. Shanxi, Shandong, Shaanxi and other places.In 335 AD, Later Zhao moved its capital to Ye.Dingzhou was called Zhongshan at that time. In 384 AD, Murong Chui, the leader of the Xianbei tribe, was called the King of Yan, established Houyan, and proclaimed Emperor two years later.In its heyday, it occupied parts of present-day Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, and Liaoning. It had confronted the East and West of the Later Qin Dynasty for more than 10 years, and was defeated by the Northern Wei Dynasty and moved to Longcheng (now Chaoyang City, Liaoning).

From the North China Plain to the west of the Taihang Mountains, it enters the Shanxi Plateau. Linfen, Datong and Taiyuan occupy the south, north and central parts of the plateau, and are important cities in Shanxi.From 309 to 318 AD, the Han regime established by the Liu family of the Huns established its capital in Pingyang (now southwest of Linfen City, Shanxi). During this period, Liu Cong destroyed the Western Jin Dynasty and ruled most of North China.In 319 A.D., Liu Yao, the ruler of the Han Dynasty, moved his capital to Chang'an. Before that, he changed the name of the country to Zhao (former Zhao) in 318 A.D.

Datong is adjacent to the Mongolian plateau. It has been an important town to defend the north in the past dynasties, and it is also the only place where nomads from the Mongolian plateau went south to Shanxi in history.It was called Pingcheng in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital here from Shengle (northwest of Linger County, Inner Mongolia today) in the first year of Tianxing (398 A.D.) and gradually annexed Houyan, Xia, Beiyan and Beiliang from this base. , to unify the North.During this period, Pingcheng received relatively large-scale construction.The circumference of the city is 32 miles, and some palaces in the city are modeled on the Central Plains, and have gradually become more ornate.There are also many gardens such as deer park and Hongyan pool for play inside and outside the city.In order to enrich the capital, the rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty used force to move more than one million people from all over the Yellow River Basin to Pingcheng, thus promoting the economic and cultural development of this frontier city.The world-famous Yungang Grottoes were excavated at this time. There are 53 existing caves and more than 51,000 stone sculptures. It is one of the largest grottoes in China.In the 17th year of Taihe (AD 493), after Emperor Xiaowen moved his capital to Luoyang, he still used it as his accompanying capital and called it Beijing.In the second generation of Liao and Jin Dynasties, due to Datong's important position in controlling Shanxi and overseeing Xixia, it was still set as the accompanying capital, called Xijing Datong Mansion.

Before the Northern Song Dynasty, the urban area of ​​Taiyuan was located in Jinyuan Town, southwest of Taiyuan City, which was called Jinyang.In 403 B.C., the Jin State, whose original territory was mainly in Shanxi, was divided into three kingdoms: Han, Zhao, and Wei.In the early days of Zhao State, Jinyang was established as the capital, and based on this, it expanded its territory to the north of Yanmen Pass and became one of the powerful states in the Warring States Period.Because Taiyuan is located in the Shanxi plateau, the internal and external transportation is convenient, the surrounding products are rich, and the iron smelting industry is developed. It has been the political center of Shanxi almost since the Eastern Han Dynasty.At the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Er Zhurong, the chieftain of the Xiurong tribe, an inland ethnic group living in Shanxi, took Jinyang as his base and took control of the government, known as the "King of Taiyuan".The Eastern Wei Dynasty used Jinyang as its other capital, and General Gao Huan built the Prime Minister's Mansion here to manipulate the government, and Jinyang became the de facto political center.After Gao Huan died, his son Gao Yang simply abolished the Eastern Wei emperor and established the Northern Qi regime. The capital city system followed the previous dynasty, and several emperors ascended the throne in Jinyang.Therefore, Jinyang was an important town in the north during the Northern Dynasties, and its importance was not inferior to that of Yecheng.The rulers of the Northern Qi Dynasty vigorously managed Jinyang and built it into a magnificent city.During the period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the founders of the three dynasties of Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han first raised troops in Jinyang, and then aspired to the Central Plains.In 950 AD, the Later Han Dynasty was replaced by the Later Zhou Dynasty.However, Liu Chong, who was not reconciled to the country's demise, proclaimed himself emperor in Jinyang the following year and established the Northern Han Dynasty, which ruled the central part of Shanxi for 29 years.After the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, it took a lot of effort to conquer the Northern Han Dynasty.When the Song Dynasty destroyed the Northern Han Dynasty, Jinyang City was burned down, and Taiyuan City was built as the administrative center of Shanxi Plateau.

Crossing the Yellow River from the Shanxi Plateau to the west, it entered the ancient Kansai region.Today's Wuwei City in Gansu Province was called Liangzhou in ancient times. It is located in the east of the Hexi Corridor. It has developed agriculture and animal husbandry in history and has an important position. It has always been an important town on the Silk Road and the main regional center of the Hexi Corridor.During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the former Liang, the latter Liang and the Northern Liang all had their capitals here, for a total of nearly a hundred years.These regimes ruled the Hexi Corridor for a long time and controlled the Western Regions several times. There were few wars in the territory and the economy and culture were developed.Liangzhou also became an important cultural center in northern China at that time, preserving a lot of traditional Han culture.Because it was the first to come into contact with the culture of the Western Regions, Liangzhou has more temples, pagodas and monks.

The period of the Sixteen Kingdoms from 304 to 439 A.D. was the period with the most separatist regimes in the Central Plains of my country since the unification of Qin Dynasty, and many places served as the capitals of large and small countries.In addition to the cities mentioned above, the following cities and counties were also the places where the separatist regimes in the Central Plains were established during the Sixteen Kingdoms: Huaxian County in Henan Province (called Huatai at the time, the capital of the early Nanyan Dynasty), Qingzhou in Shandong Province (the northwestern part of it was called Guang Gu, the capital city of Nanyan), Shanxi Changzhi (the south was called the eldest son, and the capital was moved here in the later period of Xiyan), Shanxi Lishi (the north was called Zuoguocheng, the capital of the early Zhao Dynasty), Gansu Dunhuang (the capital of Xiliang in the early stage), Jiuquan in Gansu (the late capital of Xiliang), Zhangye in Gansu (the capital of Northern Liang), and Yuzhong in Gansu (the northern part was called Yuanchuan at that time, and the capital of the Western Qin Dynasty was established here).In addition, the Liaohe River Basin in today's Liaoning Province has been the distribution area of ​​Han immigrants since the Warring States Period.During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, there were still many Han people in this area. The main part of the Northern Yan Kingdom established by the Han people was located here. The capital city of Northern Yan, Longcheng, is now Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province. From the Kansai region, crossing the Qinling Mountains and the Micang Mountains - Daba Mountains, you enter the Sichuan Basin in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, known as the Land of Abundance.Chengdu is located in the center of the Chengdu Plain and is the political, economic and cultural center of the Sichuan Basin.During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, two slave states, Ba and Shu, stood side by side in the basin.The Ba Kingdom occupied the east, and its capital was Jiangbei, Chongqing City; the Shu Kingdom occupied the west, and its capital was located in Chengdu.After the unification of the Qin Dynasty, the Sichuan Basin was the region with the most separatist regimes in my country.These separatist regimes, including the Cheng family of Gongsunshu at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the Shu Han of Liu Bei and his son in the Three Kingdoms period, the Cheng Han of the Badi Li family in the Sixteen Kingdoms period, and the former Shu and Later Shu of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, all took Chengdu as their capital.During the Shu Han period, Chengdu underwent relatively large-scale construction.At the end of Tang Dynasty, the area of ​​the city expanded, with a circumference of 25 kilometers and 120 neighborhoods.During the Five Dynasties, the city had a population of at least 500,000. The handicraft industries such as textiles, papermaking, and printing were well-known throughout the country. The commerce was developed and the city was rich.It can be said that Chengdu is qualified to be among the important ancient capitals of our country. From the Sichuan Basin down the Yangtze River, after leaving the Three Gorges, it enters the Lianghu area in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.The three ancient capitals of Jiangling, Changsha and Ezhou are in the shape of an inverted "pin", inlaid on the plain land.Among them, Jiangling was the earliest and took the longest time to establish the capital. Jiangling is located at the junction of the mountains in western Hubei and the Jianghan Plain. It is the waterway hub for the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to enter and exit the Sichuan Basin. In ancient times, the North-South Road leading to the Central Plains via the west bank of Dongting Lake also passed through this place.Good geographical location and well-developed agriculture and handicrafts in the surrounding areas made it one of the earliest capital cities in the south. Ying, the capital of Chu State in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, was located in the northwest of Jiangling and was the center of Chu culture.After the unification of Qin Dynasty, Jiangling has long been the main regional center of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.If it is in the period of the north-south division, it will often become a battleground between the south and the north, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.In 525 A.D., Xiao Yi, a general of the Liang Dynasty who guarded the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, ascended the throne here as Emperor Liang Yuan. Although he died in the Western Wei Dynasty three years later, he once ruled half of China south of the Yangtze River.After the Western Wei Dynasty took Jiangling, a small Houliang regime was established here, which lasted for 30 to 40 years, until it was incorporated into the Sui Dynasty in 587 AD.During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Gao Jichang, who led troops from Henan to the south, established Nanping Kingdom (also known as Jingnan) here.Nanping Kingdom only governed a small area in Hubei, including today's Jiangling, Yichang, and Zigui. It was the smallest country among the ten countries, and it existed in the cracks between big countries for forty or fifty years. Changsha is located in the south of Dongting Lake and is the center of land and water transportation in Hunan.During the Five Dynasties, Ma Yin established the state of Chu in the land of Hunan, and established Changsha as its capital, which lasted for 45 years. At its peak, it occupied the whole province of Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, and part of Guangdong.At that time, Changsha's handicraft industries such as textiles and ceramics were at a certain level, and its commerce also had a relatively large development. Today's Ezhou City, Hubei Province is located in the east of Wuhan, on the south bank of the Yangtze River, and is an important military town in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.In 221 A.D., in order to compete with Liu Bei for Jingzhou, Sun Quan moved the ruling center here, calling it Wuchang, and moved thousands of wealthy families from Jianye (now Nanjing) to settle here.In the same year, Sun Quan was proclaimed King of Wu, and he became emperor in April of the first year of Huanglong (229 A.D.).Because the rich families in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River opposed moving the capital to Wuchang, they strongly appealed "I would rather drink Jianye water than eat Wuchang fish, and I would rather die in Jianye than live in Wuchang", forcing Sun Quan to move the capital to Jianye in September of that year.Later, Sun Hao also used Wuchang as his capital for a time. Downstream from the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, it enters the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.In addition to Nanjing, the capital of the dynasty that ruled the entire southern China is Hangzhou, which is known as one of the seven ancient capitals.Hangzhou is located at the intersection of rivers, lakes, seas, mountains and plains, with beautiful scenery, rich products and convenient transportation.After the construction of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty, Hangzhou became the starting point of the Grand Canal and began to develop rapidly.During the Five Dynasties, the Wuyue Kingdom ruled present-day Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, with Hangzhou as its capital.Due to the long-term absence of war in the territory, the economy and culture of Wuyue Kingdom developed rapidly, and Hangzhou was also built into a southeastern metropolis with beautiful scenery and prosperous economy.Strong and majestic embankments were built along the river and coast to protect the city from the harm of the tide.The city is 70 miles around, and a sub-city was built under Phoenix Mountain as the office and living area of ​​King Wuyue.The streets, canals, markets, and houses in the city were also planned and built accordingly.The West Lake was dredged, and many monasteries and pagodas were built around it, and it began to become a famous scenic spot in the south.By the time of the Northern Song Dynasty, Hangzhou had become one of the most important cities in the south. It was famous throughout the country for its beautiful scenery, prosperous city, and luxurious life for the rich.Liu Yong's "Wang Hai Tide" chanted Hangzhou as "the shape of the southeast, the city of the three Wus", and said that Hangzhou "has smoked willows and painted bridges, wind curtains and emerald curtains, and hundreds of thousands of homes", which is extremely rich. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jurchens who originally lived in the Northeast established the Jin Dynasty, invaded the Central Plains, and destroyed the Liao Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty.Zhao Jian, the royal family of the Song Dynasty, established the Southern Song Dynasty regime and led some officials to move to the south.At the beginning of the southward migration, Zhao Gou moved between today's Yangzhou, Nanjing, Shaoxing and other places. Some ministers suggested that the capital be located in present-day Nanjing, but it was not adopted. Finally, Hangzhou was chosen as the capital, which was called Lin'an Prefecture.Since then, Hangzhou has been the political, economic, and cultural center of the southern region during the Southern Song, Jin, and Southern Song and Mongolian (Yuan) confrontations for 150 years. After one and a half centuries of construction in the Southern Song Dynasty, Hangzhou has a population of about one million and has become the largest city in the country.The imperial city where the imperial court is located is nine miles around.Due to the topography, the city plane is shaped like a waist drum. The layout of the city faces north, and the imperial city is located at the southern end.The Royal Street extends northward from Chaotianmen in the imperial city, and is 13 kilometers long.The houses of the government and the nobles are often mixed with the houses of the residents, and many markets are distributed along the river.Shipbuilding, ceramics, textiles, papermaking, printing and other handicraft industries are well developed, and the quality is well-known throughout the country.The shops are next to each other, doing business day and night, which is very lively.There are many schools of all kinds, and there are many places to perform various folk arts and dramas.The West Lake Scenic Area, known as "the green hills outside the mountains, the buildings outside the buildings", has basically been completed, with a cloud of tourists and constant singing and dancing. Famous tourist destination.Marco Polo came here 25 years after the death of the Song Dynasty, and he also believed that Hangzhou was "the most expensive and magnificent city in the world". After the completion of the Grand Canal, Yangzhou, which strangles the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, has developed into a major hub of water transportation between the south and the north and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the industry and commerce have prospered day by day.In the late Tang Dynasty, it was known as "Yang Yi Yi Er", that is, the most important industrial and commercial cities in the country, the first was Yangzhou, and the second was Yizhou (now Chengdu, Sichuan).During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the State of Wu occupied part of present-day Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces, and established its capital in present-day Yangzhou City, known as Jiangdufu, for 36 years.Affected by the severe wars at the end of Tang Dynasty and the beginning of Five Dynasties, Yangzhou is not as prosperous as before, but it is still an important industrial and commercial city in the south.At the end of the Five Dynasties, the Northern Zhou Dynasty went south to attack the Southern Tang Dynasty, and a large number of Yangzhou people moved out, and the city tended to decline. From the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the south, it enters the Fujian-Guangzhou area on the southern coast.Fuzhou is located in the lower reaches of the Minjiang River, the largest river in Fujian, and is the largest city and political center in the region.At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, the capital of the Minyue Kingdom of East Vietnam was located here. However, after the fall of the Minyue Kingdom, most of the local people were moved to the Huaihe River Basin, so it did not have much impact on the later construction of Fuzhou City.During the Five Dynasties, Wang Shenzhi occupied the land of Fujian, established the State of Fujian, and established the capital in Fuzhou, which was called Changle Mansion for 37 years.The Five Dynasties was an important period in the history of Fujian when the economy began to achieve greater development. Fuzhou City was expanded, the north and south sandwich cities were added, and Pingshan, Wushishan, and Yushan were encircled into the city. Guangdong and Guangxi are located in the southern Xinjiang of the motherland, the farthest from the Central Plains, and are the regions that developed the economy in the south relatively late, with the exception of today's Guangzhou City, which is located in the center of sea routes in Southeast Asia and East Asia, and has always been an important seaport in ancient my country.The two separatist regimes that emerged in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions in ancient times—the Nanyue Kingdom in the early Western Han Dynasty and the Nanhan Kingdom in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, both had their capitals in Guangzhou (named Panyu at the time).Among them, Guangzhou was established as the capital of the Southern Han Dynasty for 55 years, and it was called Xingwangfu.During the Southern Han Dynasty, Guangzhou’s southern business district was expanded, called “New South City”, and many gardens and palaces were built. There are 26 known palaces and eight gardens.