In the late Qing Dynasty, the land of China was constantly in war, and Sun Yat-sen believed that only by overthrowing the Manchu Qing government and establishing a brand-new country could the common people be rescued from the depths of the water, but to establish a country, it was necessary to choose a place as the capital to reassure the people. In 1902, after discussing the issue of the fixed capital with Zhang Taiyan and others, Dr. Sun Yat-sen brainstormed to give this view:
The meaning of the phrase "Wuchang is the headquarters of the Ministry, Xi'an is the case, and The continent is Ili" Is very clear, if you just want to ensure the peace of the thirteen provinces of Han China, you will set the capital of Wuchang; if you want to unify China, you will build Xi'an; if you want to conquer Asia, then you must be in Ili, Xinjiang. So why is it finally set to be in Nanjing?
"Mou Headquarters Ze Wuchang"
In fact, when Sun Yat-sen put forward this view, the revolutionaries' insurrectionary activities had not yet brought a fatal blow to the Qing government, and Sun Yat-sen himself had no bottom in his heart about when a new state would be established. The revolutionaries' initial idea was to "expel the Tartars", with the restoration of the thirteen provinces of The Han Dynasty as the main demand, which was also their lowest revolutionary standard.
If we only look at the thirteen provinces of Han China, Wuchang is indeed in the center of the hinterland of the Central Plains, and controlling Wuchang, the "thoroughfare of the nine provinces", controls the hub of the entire inland, radiating to the north of China, north China and other regions, to the south can control central and southern China, to the west can radiate Bashu, and to the east can control Jiangsu and Zhejiang and other regions. From this point of view, the capital of Wuchang can indeed meet the original demands of the revolutionaries.
"Mou Fan Fu Then Xi'an"
Most of the great unified dynasties in Chinese history were established with Xi'an as their capital, and during the agricultural period, the capital xi'an not only controlled the distant western region, but also effectively curbed the invasion of the northern desert. In modern times, the location of Xi'an is still very prominent, Xi'an is located in the Guanzhong Plain, surrounded by plateau mountains, easy to defend and difficult to attack, in 1900 the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded the city of Beijing, Cixi westward escape to Xi'an is still vividly remembered.
If the capital is Xi'an, it can be taken as the center and strengthened control over Xinjiang and Tibet through Gansu to the west, so as to achieve the effect of radiating the entire western region.
"Seek the continent then Ili"
In the early Qing Dynasty, after the destruction of the Dzungar Mongols, Ili was set up as a stronghold to control Xinjiang, and in the late Qing Dynasty, when Zuo Zongtang recaptured Xinjiang, Tsarist Russia occupied Ili, and finally through arduous negotiations to recover Ili. It can be seen how important the position of Ili is in modern China, which is connected to Mongolia in the north, with lips and teeth, and Tibet in the south.
The importance of Ili made Sun Yat-sen feel that if China wanted to stand on the top of the world power again, it should at least include Asia in its sphere of influence, at least not let the Western powers such as Tsarist Russia once again peek into China's northwest region, of course, it is best to let the many vassal countries during the Qing Dynasty re-attach themselves to China. Therefore, there is a saying that the capital is Ili, and China can dominate Asia.
Although the Wuchang Uprising made a good start, the political basis of the revolutionaries at that time was in the southeast coastal area, and after the revolutionaries conquered Nanjing, the provincial representatives decided to build the capital in Nanjing, and Sun Yat-sen was still abroad at this time.
References: Dr. Sun Yat-sen's View of the Northwest, Industrial Plan
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