Over the course of China’s 5,000-year history, 20 dynasties have risen and fallen. The capitals of these dynasties were established in various sections of the country. Some of them had many capitals, while others shifted their capital from city to city. As a result, China has a large number of historic capitals. These historical Chinese capitals served as the country’s political, economic, and cultural centers during the period. The “Four Great historical Capitals of China” (Zhngguó S Dà G D) are the traditional names for the four great historical capitals of China. Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang, and Xi’an (Chang’an) are the four cities.
- Xi’an
Western Zhou (1046 BC – 771 BC), Qin (221 BC – 207 BC), Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD), Xin (9-23), Eastern Han (25-220), Western Jin (265-316), Former Zhao (304-329), Former Qin (351-394), Later Qin (384-417), Western Wei (535-557), Northern Zhou (557-581), Sui (581-618), Western Wei (535-557), Northern Zhou (557-5 (618-907).
For the next 1,200 years after becoming the capital of the Western Zhou, Xi’an (https://www.britannica.com/place/Xian-China) exerted political, economic, and cultural influence on neighboring places. Xi’an became the first historical capital of China after Emperor Qin Shi Huang put an end to the political upheaval in 221 BC.
- Beijing
Beijing is China’s old capital, with a history dating back over 3,000 years. It was the realm of two subordinate states, Ji and Yan, during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC – 256 BC). It later served as the auxiliary capital of the Liao Dynasty (907-1125) and the Jin Dynasty’s capital (1115-1234). Mongolian Kublai Khan founded the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) here in 1267. Beijing completely superseded Xi’an and Luoyang at that point, and became linked with rising political prominence. Emperors of China’s final two ancient dynasties, the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911), picked this location as their capital as well.
- Luoyang
Luoyang, also known as Luoyi or Luojing , has long been a contender to Xi’an as a Chinese historical capital. The Xia (21st – 17th century BC), Shang (17th century BC – 1046 BC), Eastern Zhou, Eastern Han, Kingdom of Wei (220-265), Western Jin, Northern Wei (386-534), Sui, Tang, Wuzhou (690-705), Later Liang (907-923), Later Tang (923-936), and Later Jin (936-946) Dynasties were among the thirteen dynasties that established their capitals here.
Actually, Luoyang does not need to compete for a title because its uniqueness is irreplaceable. The Heluo Culture, which began here, is regarded as the cradle of Chinese civilization. In addition, it was in Luoyang that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism first acquired prominence. Luoyang was also an economic and cultural hub in ancient China, with to its location at the crossroads of the Silk Road and the Sui-Tang Grand Canal, and the Luoyang Peony has been praised until this day.
- Nanjing
The first written record of the Nanjing region dates from 571 BC. Sun Quan founded the Kingdom of Wu (222-280) here in 229 AD, ushering in Nanjing’s heyday as the continuous capital of six major dynasties. The other five are the Eastern Jin (317-420), Song (420-479), Qi (479-502), Liang (502-557) and Chen (557-589) of Southern Dynasties. Nanjing was one of the world’s largest cities at the time, with a population of over one million people. Also, affluent life inclined people to pursue spiritual satisfaction, and the system of ancient poetry, music, calligraphy and painting was preliminarily formed meanwhile.
Nanjing also experienced China’s historic transition from feudal monarchy to republican governance as the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864) and subsequently the Republic of China (1912-1949). Unfortunately, in 1937, an atrocious massacre occurred in this old Chinese capital, dealing a fatal blow to the economy and infrastructure of this China capital, which existed prior to Beijing.
