The capital is the core of a country, and the impact on a dynasty is undoubtedly very far-reaching. There have been many debates in history about the choice of the address of the capital. For example, in 202 BC, some people advocated building the capital city in Luoyang, and some people advocated building the capital city in Guanzhong.
This caused a lot of controversy at that time, and Liu Bang could not choose where to go. Fortunately, later Lou Jing made up his mind and built the capital Guanzhong. In modern times, Dr. Sun Yat-sen also commented on the choice of capital:
"After the unification of the eighteen provinces, the capital can be Nanjing; after the unification of Manchuria, Mongolia, Hui, and Tibet, it can be all in Lanzhou; but if we want to support the independence of all the weak and small ethnic groups in Asia, we must all be in Xinjiang and Ili."
It can be seen that Dr. Sun Yat-sen believes that there are three most suitable capitals in China, one is Nanjing, one is Lanzhou, and the other is Lanzhou. However, the strength required by these three capitals is different, with Nanjing having the lowest requirements for strength, followed by Lanzhou, followed by Ili. Because the strength of the Republic of China has always had congenital defects, the final capital of the Republic of China was Nanjing. So, when the capital was chosen in 1949, there were 11 candidates for the capital, so why was Beijing finally chosen?
Unlike the Republic of China period, in 1949, the whole country was unprecedentedly united, so there were 11 places to choose the capital. They are Beiping, Harbin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Yan'an, Xi'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Chengdu, Chongqing and Nanjing. These 11 cities can be qualified for the role of the capital to a certain extent in terms of historical, cultural and political factors, so why did they finally choose Beiping?
First, let's look at Harbin. Its advantages are obvious, because Harbin was a heavy industrial city at that time, and the industrial base was stronger than other cities in the country; and the entire northeast at that time was China's heavy industrial base, and the establishment of the capital city here could allow the capital city to get the strongest industrial support at all times. However, its flaws are also more obvious, one is remote, not conducive to controlling the whole country; the other is in the middle of the Soviet Union, Japan, and North Korea, which is a dangerous place, so it was ultimately defeated.
Look at Shanghai again. Shanghai's advantage is that the economy there is very developed, it is an international metropolis, and the economic problems of the capital can be solved quickly. However, Shanghai also has the same shortcomings as Harbin, because it is in the easternmost part of China, if the capital is built here, the north, south, and west can not be affected enough to radiate; at the same time, the Chinese navy was fragile, but Shanghai was directly exposed to the sea, which was dangerous, so it was ultimately defeated.
Next is Guangzhou, which was once regarded as the capital by the Nationalist government, so it has a certain historical foundation; and the people here are particularly open-minded, whether in modern times or modern times, they are the vanguard of reform and development, suitable for leading the national economy; at the same time, it is safer than Shanghai and Harbin, after all, it is still some distance from the sea, and it is difficult for the enemy to come directly to the South China Sea to deter Guangzhou. However, its geographical location is too far south, and the entire Great North cannot be taken care of, so it was ultimately defeated.
Yan'an as the capital was actually very suitable at that time. On the one hand, it had been operated for many years at that time, the local mass base was very good, and everyone was adapted to the environment there; on the other hand, it was relatively close to the historical imperial capital, Chang'an, and was in the middle of the world, with the geographical advantage of dominating the world; at the same time, the local economic system was also developed. But after all, it is still much more economically backward, and it has to take into account the opinions of other people, and its history is relatively short.
The impact on the country is unpredictable. So in the end, I was defeated. Luoyang is the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, relative to the places except Chang'an (Xi'an) and Yan'an, but its economy at that time was relatively backward, and its popularity was not particularly strong - because during the Qing Dynasty, it did not receive much attention there, and modern revolutionaries rarely came from there, so there were fewer people who chose it.
Kaifeng and Luoyang are in the same Henan Province, and the advantages and disadvantages are relatively close. In particular, we must also consider the situation at that time, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression as Henan Province has always been the front line of contention. At that time, most of Henan Province fell, and only a very small part of the area was still in control, so this place became the focus of conflict between the two sides, so the urban facilities here were more seriously damaged, and if the capital was fixed here, it might take a long time to build the capital.
The Chongqing area served as the "capital" in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Its advantage is obvious, Chongqing is located in the hinterland of China, it can be said that it is indestructible in defense, and it is difficult for the enemy to fight there; at the same time, because the Kuomintang has operated there for a long time, the urban facilities and economic conditions are relatively good; and the Sichuan Basin is very rich in products, and the supply of materials for the capital city there can be fully guaranteed. However, the historical great unified dynasty did not build a capital here.
The only time to accompany the capital was the fall of a large part of the country's territory, so it is not appropriate to build a capital from historical experience. So here it was ultimately lost. Chengdu is close to the location of Chongqing, in history, there were Shu kingdoms, Chenghan and other separatist forces built capitals there, rich in products, strong defenses, rich in products, but it is not a place that can rule the world, it is only suitable for the capital of the separatist forces, not suitable for the capital of the great unification forces, so it was not selected.
Nanjing is the old capital of the Kuomintang, and it has been used as a capital city many times in history, but most of them are small imperial courts on the side of security, and the national fortunes are not very long, and it is obviously inappropriate to be the capital of new China, so it has also been defeated.
In the end, there are two places where competition is fierce: Beiping and Xi'an. From the perspective of history and geography, there is no doubt that Xi'an is a better choice than Beijing, which is the old capital of the Han and Tang Dynasties, the hometown of the Zhou Dynasty, the ancestral land of China, and at the same time the world, and is the real "imperial township".
And Beijing only the Ming Dynasty began to build a capital here, the History of the Ming Dynasty was once beaten to the capital by others, the national fortune of more than 200 years ended, and then ushered in a tragic shaving and change of clothes, causing immeasurable damage to Chinese civilization. Historically, Beijing is also known as Yanjing and Fanyang, and the Anshi Rebellion was caused by the separatist forces here, and has always been a relatively turbulent place.
However, the Ming Dynasty in Beijing has more than 200 years after all, and it is not a short-lived dynasty; at the same time, Beijing can take care of both the north and the Central Plains, and it is not particularly far south of the Yangtze River, but it is too far from the west. The most important thing is that Beijing was peacefully liberated, the damage suffered in the War of Resistance Against Japan was not particularly large, and the city facilities were complete, and it could be moved in and directly lived, which was the most practical capital city.
Since the Fire of Huangchao in Xi'an, the city has long been dilapidated, and although Li Zicheng tried to claim the title of emperor in Xi'an, he was eventually destroyed.
This shows that this place has been destroyed too badly, and if you want to rebuild the capital Chang'an, you must govern and rest here, and after you have certain conditions, you can restore the pattern of "Imperial Township" here, so the capital is finally set in Beijing.