Xi'an is a very old city, and many feudal dynasties in China have chosen to set up their capital here. For example, the Qin Dynasty, the most representative dynasty, its capital was established in Xi'an.
Since the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty has also occupied the capital of the previous dynasty. However, after the Sui Dynasty, Xi'an was basically abandoned, and the emperors gradually turned their attention to Luoyang in Henan. As the feudal dynasty continued to develop into modern times, the capital was finally set in Beijing.
Since the Qin Dynasty set up Xi'an
for
Why did you choose to move the capital after the Tang Dynasty? Is the geography of this place not good enough? Or is there some other reason?
Regarding the number of ancient capitals in our country, some people say that it is five, and some people say that it is six or even seven.
These cities are Xi'an, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou and Anyang.
For Hangzhou and Anyang, there are many controversies among scholars, but no matter how many controversies there are from people from all walks of life, Xi'an has always been recognized by all scholars, and its status cannot be shaken under any circumstances.
When Yin Zheng established the Qin Dynasty, he chose to set the capital in Xi'an. At that time, the climate of the whole world was relatively humid and mild, and this place in Xi'an gathered countless capable people and strangers, accumulating wealth in a short period of time.
Because the overall environment of this place is relatively good, the people are more willing to live here.
During the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, the climate in Xi'an was still relatively good. But the climate is never static, but constantly changing, and the city of Xi'an has not always been so warm and jade.
As the times continue to move forward, the climate is constantly changing, and the originally very warm climate is gradually becoming drier and drier. Under the influence of the monsoon climate, Xi'an's climate problems are more serious than other cities, and the environment is getting worse and worse.
Changes in the environment and climate are most directly reflected in the grain harvest. The Northwest is becoming drier and drier, and the harvest of food is becoming more and more unstable. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, Xi'an's grain was no longer self-sufficient.
Image: Stills of the grain harvest
Many people say that the Sui Dynasty Emperor was very happy and meritorious, and in order to make meritorious achievements for the world to see, he excavated the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. In fact, whether the Sui Emperor was good or not was not clear about one or two things.
Leaving aside the character of the Sui Emperor, we will find that the reason why he spent so much manpower and material resources to do this was not just to prove his merits to the world. The ultimate goal is precisely to solve the food problem.
According to his expectations, as long as the canal is successfully excavated, Jiangnan can transfer grain to Chang'an City through the canal. Unfortunately, his ultimate goal was not achieved, and the food problem in Chang'an was not solved.
Although the canal was successfully excavated, other problems arose in the process of being put into use. The grain in Jiangnan could indeed be transferred outward, but after the grain arrived in Luoyang, it could not be sent to Chang'an smoothly.
The picture comes from the network: Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal
The reason for this difficulty is because of the terrain. From Jiangnan to Luoyang, the area can still be smoothly connected to the ship, but when the ship arrives in Luoyang, it cannot send grain to Chang'an smoothly because of the terrain problem.
Because Luoyang is in a low place and Chang'an is in a high place, if the ship reverses the current, it is very likely to lead to capsizing. The result of the capsizing is very dangerous, the ship is full of a ship of grain, once the ship is overturned, it can make the merchants ruined, and even lose their lives.
In this case, even if the grain in Jiangnan is very rich, no one is willing to send grain to Chang'an.
When the food problem could not be solved, the sui and Tang emperors would sometimes go to Luoyang and rebuild an imperial palace in Luoyang. After the Tang Dynasty, it basically formed a situation of two imperial palaces in one country.
Image: Stills of the ship
Some people may ask, can't grain be transported to Chang'an by water, and can't it be transported from land? Judging from the general environment at that time, this road was obviously not feasible.
If grain was transported from land, merchants could only transport it through cattle or horses. Whether it is cattle or horses, they can only transport a small amount of grain at a time, and if they need to transport a large amount, they need to use a lot of ox carts or horse-drawn carriages, which cannot be paid for at all in terms of cost.
Although cattle and horses usually walk very fast, when they actually escort grain, they will walk very slowly due to the weight of the grain on their bodies, and they are very susceptible to thieves on the road, so it is not feasible to escort food by land.
Image: Stills of transporting grain in a horse-drawn carriage
During the Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty, Chang'an's grain was basically self-sufficient, and only crops that the people of Chang'an could not grow needed to go to other cities to buy, and the costs incurred during this period were also frighteningly high, but basically they could bear it.
After the Tang Dynasty, the people of Chang'an City could no longer grow much grain, and the state could only transfer transportation to the Jiangnan area, and its expenses were so large that even the state could not support it.
Time developed to the Song Dynasty, and Chang'an had completely lost its original advantages.
After the Central Plains ended the tang dynasty, most of the five generations of countries were located in Kaifeng. So, is this place really suitable for Dingdu?
With the geographical location of Kaifeng, water traffic is very convenient, but Kaifeng is too close to the Yellow River, and once it encounters heavy rain, the flooding of the Yellow River is a frequent occurrence, and it may be greatly affected at any time.
At the same time, the terrain of Kaifeng was not suitable for defense, and once the enemy attacked, the consequences were very serious. So
Kaifeng is not really a suitable place for the capital.
Image: Grain stills
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated on the issue of the location of the capital
pass
For a long time. He brought chang'an and Luoyang and other regions to the bill, and he even thought of his hometown of Fengyang.
But these are not the most suitable places, especially Fengyang.
Later, after Liu Bowen's continuous persuasion, the capital of the Ming Dynasty finally chose Nanjing. In fact, Nanjing still has a place that is not suitable, although Nanjing's materials and military are relatively stable, but it can not do a good job in the long-term defense of the whole country, coupled with Nanjing's geographical location is relatively southern, it is also criticized.
During Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, many countries from the north often harassed the Ming borders because of the scarcity of materials. In this case, the Ming dynasty's troops had to be divided into two parts. One part remained in Nanjing to protect the royal family, while the other part was placed in the area of the Great Wall to prevent foreign invasions.
In the case of the inability to concentrate troops, whether it is an invasion by a foreign enemy or a rebellion within the country, it directly affects the stability of the country. Part of the reason why Zhu Di won the throne so smoothly was also because the country's military strength was not unified.
Zhu Yuanzhang once sent the crown prince Zhu Biao to Chang'an to investigate and prepare to move the capital to Chang'an. However, the crown prince found that Chang'an was no longer suitable for the capital, and in the absence of choice, Zhu Yuanzhang could only continue to occupy Nanjing.
Image: Zhu Yuanzhang stills
Zhu Yuanzhang's willingness to nest in Nanjing does not mean that his descendants are also willing. After Zhu Di seized the throne, he directly moved the capital to Beijing. Although Beijing is not as rich as the Jiangnan region, it can better defend against nomadic invasions.
1939 was Xi'an's last chance to choose the capital, but unfortunately it was ultimately lost. In fact, the geographical location of the city of Xi'an is still very conducive to ruling the country. Unfortunately, the environment in Xi'an is too harsh to feed many people.
In fact, Beijing was not suitable for the establishment of a national capital, as can be seen from the invasion of the Qing Dynasty by foreign powers.
Article author: Dahui
The entire graphic was produced by the team of the Big Cafe Say History Studio!