Play and play, make trouble, don't joke about moving the capital. The capital city is essential to a country, it is the core of its politics, economy, and culture.
When the ruler allocates the resources of the state, it is inevitable that he will lean more towards the capital. In the Shang and Zhou dynasties, the capital was breached and the temple was destroyed as a sign of the country's demise.
Once the capital is breached and the temple is destroyed, even if the monarch is alive, it is defined as "national destruction". Therefore, the capital city has a pivotal position for a country.
In feudal society, those who moved the capital once or twice belonged to the majority, and the vast majority of dynasties had no idea of moving the capital for generations.
Having said that, I don't understand why the Shang Dynasty regarded the relocation of the capital as child's play, and moved the capital many times during the reign, why were they able to be so "reckless"?
According to the records, the number of times the Shang Dynasty moved the capital was really a lot. According to the record of the "Bamboo Book Chronicle", the capital of the Shang Dynasty has the saying that "the first eight and the last five".
How should this be understood? The so-called first eight refers to the fact that Shang Tang had migrated eight times before the summer was destroyed, and the last five times were done after Shang Tang destroyed the summer.
This question is placed here again, if it is said that before Shang Tang destroyed the summer, it was because of military and other reasons, then what was Shang Tang migrating after the summer was destroyed?
After all, the Xia Dynasty had already fallen, and it was impossible for the Shang Dynasty to move more frequently in order to avoid the Xia Dynasty. Could it be that the flood that was cured by Dayu appeared again, forcing the Shang Dynasty to move the capital many times?
Therefore, the matter of the Shang Dynasty's relocation of the capital has to be divided into two places, as a branch of the Northeast origin, the Shang tribe is also a brave and warlike person.
According to the usual logic, the tribes will pursue more habitable and tribal development areas, and the fundamental purpose of the Shang migration from the northeast region is to strategically shift to the Central Plains.
Because the Central Plains of the Yellow River Basin is a more suitable golden area for tribal development. According to the records of the migration of the Shang capital, they traveled all the way from the northeast to Hebei and then to Henan, migrated all the way to grow, and finally took root in Henan.
Since before the Shang Dynasty destroyed the Xia, the reason for migrating all the way was to develop and survive, not to avoid anything, then after the Shang Dynasty destroyed the Xia, why did they migrate as many as 5 times?
After the Shang Dynasty reached the tenth monarch Zhongding, they began to "toss" again, and they started the migration road again. According to the "Historical Records", the capital of the Shang Dynasty was moved from Bo to Qi, from Qi to Xiang, from Pi to Xian, and then to Yin.
The scope of these migrations is not large, and the overall direction is from south to north, and it does not get rid of the two provinces of Hebei and Shandong. One of the characteristics of this route is that they migrate from areas where the land is fertile to places where the land is not.
When people couldn't explain this phenomenon, they began to come up with the theory of the Great Flood again. But a careful analysis can disprove this statement, and the flood can't chase the capital of Shang.
Looking at the historical records, it can be seen that the Shang Dynasty suffered floods during the Wuding and Zuyi periods, but even so, they did not move the capital, and it can be concluded from the above two points that the Shang Dynasty's frequent relocation of the capital was not as simple as avoiding floods.
This matter is not something that has been brought out for discussion now, it was discussed by the ancients thousands of years ago. According to Ma Qian, Taishi Company, since Zhongding, the rulers of the Shang Dynasty have implemented the practice of abolishing the heirs and appointing younger brothers, which has caused turmoil in the current situation, which in turn has led to a struggle for the throne and turmoil in the country.
Sima Qian also gave clues in the "Historical Records" that the rise and fall of the Shang Dynasty did not follow a "parabola" law like the feudal dynasty.
The Shang Dynasty showed the characteristics of an anti-revival and decline curve, and during the existence of the Shang Dynasty, there were many rises and falls. Behind the turmoil is probably the main reason for the frequent migration of the capital.
You must know that no matter who is the leader, they will choose to stay in their base camp, and then there will be a phenomenon of frequent capital moves.
There is some truth in the turmoil that led to the relocation of the capital, but archaeologists have also given a different view. The number of bronze weapons unearthed in Henan Mall and Yanshi is only 15%, while the proportion of ceremonial instruments is 85%.
The proportion of bronzes unearthed in Yinxu is the opposite, and what is even more amazing is that the number of bronze weapons unearthed in Yinxu is several times that of Yancheng.
Of course, the number of weapons alone does not mean anything, and along with the unearthing of other items, one of which is the scale of human martyrdom. In terms of the scale of human martyrdom, the scale of the excavation of Yinxu is far greater than that of other periods.
As the saying goes, offense is the best defense. When they extended to Yin, they turned around and found that the Dongyi problem had become a problem again.
The reason why the capital city was expanding along with it was, in my opinion, that information was transmitted slowly at that time, and although it was a country, it was not comparable in scale compared to the feudal period.
In this case, a country often has several large cities, and military leadership occupies a greater proportion in the assessment of the ability of the monarch.
Therefore, the monarch has to rule the people and command the war, and in the battle, in addition to the number of people, but also the logistics and supplies. Therefore, it is more convenient to build the capital on the "front line", both for the dispatch of the army and for the replenishment of logistics.
This may be the real reason for the frequent migration of the Shang capital, although they have established a political power, but still maintain the tradition of the year, and the frequent movement of the capital is also a major feature of the Shang tribe's combat survival.
Although the relocation of the capital provided convenience for offensive expansion and logistical supply, due to the frequent relocation of the capital, the defensive and military measures of the capital were relatively weak.
As the saying goes, offense is the best defense. When they extended to Yin, they turned around and found that the Dongyi problem had become a problem again.
When the king of Shang targeted Dongyi, he was "stolen" by King Wu of Zhou, and lost a great battle in just one battle. This is the hidden danger brought about by their frequent relocation of the capital, the unstable foundation and insufficient defense, which makes the foundation of hundreds of years ruined, which is really regrettable.
Just one big battle and a loss. This is the hidden danger brought about by their frequent relocation of the capital, the unstable foundation and insufficient defense, which makes the foundation of hundreds of years ruined, which is really regrettable.