The Capitals of China

Introduction

Traditionally people think of Beijing ("Peking" in Wade-Giles romanization) when they think of China's capital. And although Beijing with few short interruptions indeed has been the capital of China for some 800 years there have been many more capitals in China's past.

This mini-series will trace the capitals back to pre-dynastic times -in fact all the way to the Neolithic period some 3,000 years ago from where the first traces of modern man in China stem.

Early Societies: Food (- 1000 BC)

As elsewhere in the world, the location of China’s capitals was from ancient times determined by Food and security.

The first settlers of northern China chose the fertile and water rich area around and south of the lower reaches of Huanghe, the Yellow River. Numerous villages and cities have existed with few natural defenses but the weapons of the time required little more than a wide and deep moat around a settlement to ensure sufficient protection from would-be attackers (see village model right).

The first "capital" has been found close to today’s Anyang. It dates back to year 1400-1300 BC and served as capital for the Shang dynasty. Logistics and transportation was less important with an abundance of food nearby. The lack of natural defenses was made up for by constructing city walls mostly made from rammed earth.

Organized Societies: Protection over Food (1000 BC - 1279 AD)

The proliferation of halberds, cavalry, chariots and armor raised the bar for security. Organized societies needed capitals for the government. Rulers needed protection for themselves and their followers. About year 1000 BC the Western Zhou dynasty chose the more defensible area around today’s Xi’an over the open plains of Anyang.

Better protection came at the cost of accessibility to sufficient food but sophisticated irrigation projects and grand canal constructions delayed the inevitable for centuries.

The Xi'an area in today's Sha'anxi province remained favorite capital location for all China's main dynasties until Kublai Khan came along from Mongolia and changed all of that in the 13th century. Luoyang was a constant "backup" capital when needed for defense or food reasons.

Modern Societies: Geopolitics over Protection (1279 AD - )

Khubilai Khan (right) established his capital in Dadu (today's Beijing) signaling his dominance over China and yet not too far south to still be north-south centered when including his homeland, Mongolia.

But after Kublai Khan Beijing would not seem to be a logical choice for capital -not even today. It is far from China's commercial center of Shanghai. It is far to the north of China's geographical center. It has a dry climate and is short of water. Food and other necessities must be transported to it from the far south. It is plagued by drifting sands from the Gobi desert. Why on earth then would anyone choose Beijing as capital? (See box right).

China’s Many Capitals

Beijing, Anyang, Xi'an and Luoyang are however only 4 capitals out of many. In fact, since China's Neolithic period a total of 15 cities have made it into China’s history as “capitals”. Most of these other 11 cities held the honor of being capital during periods of disunion, invasion or infighting. Many of them were even concurrent capitals.

Beijing's Tian'anmen Gate

Click on the picture left for a map of all the capitals. The map also shows during which dynasty(-ies) a city was capital.

The total list of capitals is elsewhere on this page (see box top right). Each capital has its own unique and exciting tale. Some have dwindled into history's dark, forgotten chapters. Others carried the Chinese baton in times of war and hardship and yet remain almost unknown to non-Chinese people. Click on a name to learn more of the glory of each city as a capital.

We'll let this brief introduction end with a picture of the well-known Tian'anmen Gate located just north of Tian'anmen square. The gate is also the southern entrance gateway to the Forbidden City lying further north. The Forbidden City served as court from 1417 till 1911 and is located in the center of Beijing.

Why Beijing as Capital?

After 90 years of racial oppression the Chinese finally managed to cast of the Mongolian yoke with the founding of the Ming dynasty in January 1368 with capital in Nanjing.

Ming emperor Hongwu's first task was to militarily oust the Mongol court in Dadu (today's Beijing). The city was renamed to Beiping meaning "The north is pacified".

But the north was not peaceful. The Mongolian leader Kökö Temür kept insurging from the area around Taiyuan and was not finally defeated until 1372.

Only in 1377 was the Korean state of Koryo pusuaded to abandon its loyalty to the Yuan rulers and recognize Ming.

A Historically Gigantic Decision !

In 1406 Ming's 3rd emperor, Yongle, therefore took the momentuous decision to move the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. This would permit a closer liaison with- and control of the northern military forces and thus better prevent the Mongolians from retaking control of China.

Construction of the new capital took 12 years and involved thousands of laborers and artisans not to mention huge quantities of timber, bricks and marble.

To secure sufficient food supply the Grand Canal had to be restored and extended -a large-scale project that took almost 10 years to complete.

Was all this really necessary?

Well, the military threat very much stayed alive. In 1449 the northern Oirat tribe invaded China and defeated Ming's forces near Datong. A counter-attack resulted in an ambush and a disastrous Chinese defeat at Tumu, just 110 km north-west of Beijing.

And then came The Great Wall...

It's no wonder that Ming now commenced the construction of The Great Wall as we know it today to the north and west of Beijing .