Xi'an is known as the ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties, including 13 dynasties of Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Xin, Eastern Han, Western Jin, Former Zhao, Former Qin, Later Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang, which lasted for 1140 years. The most important of these are the four dynasties of Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang, which are very important "great unification" dynasties in Chinese history, all of which have independently built capitals - namely the Western Zhou "Fenghao And Two Capitals", Qin Xianyang City, Han Chang'an City, and Tang Chang'an City. They were not only used as capitals in the dynasty, but also repaired after the fall of the dynasty, and continued to be used as the capital or provincial capital of the local government, and it can be said that the cities themselves lasted longer than the dynasties that built them. Let's analyze the survival and use time of the four ancient capitals respectively.
Schematic map of the location of the four ancient capitals of Xi'an, Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang
I. The capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty - "Fenghao" (Fengjing and Hojing)
The two capitals of the "Fenghao" were the capitals of the Western Zhou Dynasty, also known as Zong Zhou. After King Wen of Zhou destroyed Chongzhong (Guanzhong, Shaanxi), he built Fengjing (present-day southwest of Xi'an) on the west bank of Fengshui, and moved the capital from Qizhou to Fengjing, where King Wu of Zhou established Hojing on the east bank of Fengshui. According to archaeological investigations and excavations, the Fenghao site is located on both sides of the Feng River in Mawang Town and Doumen Town, Chang'an District, Xi'an. In the western zhou dynasty, King Zhou You, who was unscrupulous and spoiled, was "a prince of beacon theatre" in order to win the concubines' praise and laughter. In 771 BC, Inuyasha attacked and killed King You of Zhou, while looting and destroying the two capitals of Fenghao.
Inuyasha breaks the pickaxe Kyo
After Inuyasha left, he was supported by the princes and made crown prince Ji Yiusu, the King of Zhouping. However, the capital was already in tatters and unable to resist Inuyasha, so king Ping of Zhou decided to move the capital east to Luoyi, and thereafter called it Eastern Zhou. When King Ping of Zhou moved east, he promised to reward the Qin people with the "ancestral lands of Zong Zhou" (roughly equivalent to the Guanzhong region), but in fact these lands had long been occupied by Rong Di, which was equivalent to an "empty check". In order to regain the land in Guanzhong, Qin Xianggong died heroically in the battle with Inu rong, and his son Duke Wen inherited his father's legacy, and after years of recuperation, finally led the Qin people to defeat inu rong and enter guanzhong (longxi), laying a solid foundation for the rise of the Qin Empire, so after the Zhou people moved east, the Qin people naturally could not use the Fenghao left over from the Western Zhou as the capital, and the two capitals of Fenghao were abandoned after the Ping King moved east. In the Book of Poetry, there is "Huang Li", and Mao Shi preface notes: "As for Zong Zhou, the zhou doctor marched to serve Zong Zhou, and passed through the palace room of the ancestral zong temple, all of which were he. The subversion of min zhou room seems to be unbearable to go, and the composition is poetry. It proves that the ancient capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, "Fenghao", has been completely abandoned and reduced to wasteland. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty excavated the Kunming Pond on the site of Hojing, which reflects that there were no ground ruins of Fenghao in the Western Han Dynasty, and the Notes on the Water Classics recorded that "since Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty wore the Kunming Pond to the ground, the foundation was degraded, and now there is no investigation." ”
Floor plan of the Ruins of Fenghao in western Zhou
Due to the lack of specific chronological documents of King Wen of Zhou and the estimation of the reign of King Wen (50 years), the two capitals of Fenghao were used for up to 381 years. After the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the relocation of the Ping King to the east, it was abandoned and used, and it was not repaired and used in later generations.
2. The capital of the Qin Dynasty - Xianyang City
The capital city of Qin Dynasty, Xianyang City, was founded in the time of Qin Xiaogong, after the Shang martingale transformation method, the national strength of the Qin State gradually increased, and the capital city of Liyang at that time could no longer meet the needs of national development, so in the twelfth year of Qin Xiaogong (350 BC), the capital was moved to Xianyang, and the "History of Qin Benji" said: "Twelve years, as Xianyang, build Ji Que, Qin Migration Capital. Qin Xianyang City was originally located on the north bank of the Wei River, and Xin's "Records of the Three Qins" said: "Xianyang, the capital of Qin." In the south of Jiujun Mountain, north of Weishui, shanshui juyang, hence the name Xianyang. "By the time of King Qin Zhao, hengqiao and Zhangtai Palace were built, so that the capital city gradually developed south of the Wei River, and developed to its peak during the Qin Shi Huang period, forming "Weishui through the capital, like the Heavenly Han; Cross the bridge to the south, in order to fa morning glory" layout. After the fall of Qin, Xianyang City was destroyed on a large scale in the war, of which the Weinan Palace Room was less damaged and the Weibei Palace Room was seriously damaged, and the following is analyzed according to the two parts of Weinan and Weibei respectively:
Restoration of Xianyang Palace in Film and TELEVISION City
1. Qin Xianyang City Weinan Palace - the basis for the construction of Chang'an City: In the early Han Dynasty, Liu Bang heeded the suggestions of Lou Jing, Zhang Liang and others and decided to move the capital to Guanzhong, and Xiao He built the Changle Palace on the basis of the Weinan Palace room of Qin Xianyang City - Xingle Palace, and in 200 BC, the construction of Changle Palace was completed, and the capital city was named Chang'an. Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, moved the capital from Liyang to Chang'an, and the "Records of History" says: "In February (the seventh year of the Han Dynasty), GaoZu passed from Pingcheng through Zhao and Luoyang to Chang'an. Changle Palace was formed, and the chancellor had moved to rule Chang'an. In the same year, Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, ordered Xiao He to build Weiyang Palace on the basis of Qin Zhangtai Palace. The two palaces of Changle and Weiyang are the most important palaces in Chang'an City, the capital of the country, and the core foundation of urban construction. They all belong to the "Qin Palace Han Yao", in fact, the Han Chang'an City can be seen as a continuation of the use of qin Xianyang City.
Distribution map of the ruins of Qin Xianyang City
2, Qin Xianyang City Weibei Palace Room - Western Han Dynasty Weicheng County Governance: Although the Qin Xianyang City Weibei Palace Room was seriously damaged, there were still many old Qin people living here, during the Han WuDi period, the Weibei area of Xianyang County was divided into "Weicheng County", and the city was built in the civilian residential area of Qin Xianyang, which is Weicheng County. Shi'an County in the Southern and Northern Dynasties still uses this city as the county rule. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, because the Wei River moved north to threaten the city, when Tang Gaozu placed Xianyang County, the county administration was moved elsewhere, and the Taiping Huanyu Record says: "Tang Wude sent BaoQiao for two years, moved to Baiqi Fort in three years, and moved to the north of Baibuguan Road northwest of Benqiao in six years, that is, in present-day county." Since then, it has no relationship with Qin Xianyang City. In addition, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the core area of the heavily damaged Qin Xianyang Palace was repaired, and as a departure palace, the Zhou Shu Di Ji Vii records: "At noon, the lucky (middle) mountain prayed for rain." To Xianyang Palace, rain fell. The Tang Dynasty's "Yuanhe County Atlas" also contains: "There is Changle Palace in the south of Weishui, and Xianyang Palace in the north of Weishui." "The late Tang Dynasty was completely abandoned after the war, and the ground ruins completely disappeared with the passage of time.
From the founding of Xianyang City in the twelfth year of Qin Xiaogong (350 BC) to the fall of the Tang Dynasty (907), Qin Xianyang City existed for 1257 years.
3. The capital of the Western Han Dynasty - Chang'an City
The Western Han Dynasty Chang'an City was built on the basis of the Weinan Palace of qin xianyang city, because the early Han Dynasty had already pacified the world, although there were rebellions by kings with different surnames and kings with the same surname, but the general situation of unifying the world did not overturn, and the choice of the capital city was even greater, which was the basis for the use of the old capital of the Qin state in Dingdu Guanzhong. During the reign of Han Gaozu Liu Bang, only Changle Palace and Weiyang Palace were built, while the nearby city walls and streets were not built. Emperor Hui of Han built a huge city wall in the first year and five years, completing the construction of the urban system, the city wall surrounded by 65 miles, and there were 12 city gates. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Jianzhang Palace was built outside the western wall of the city, and when Emperor Yuan and Emperor Cheng built some ceremonial buildings in the southern and northern suburbs, the urban pattern of Han Chang'an City was basically stable and unchanged.
Han Chang'an City
After the fall of the Western Han Dynasty, Xinmang, the Eastern Han Dynasty (Xiandi), the Western Jin Dynasty (Emperor Huan), former Zhao, Former Qin, Later Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, and Sui successively took the Han Chang'an City as their capital. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Sui fixed the capital Chang'an, still with the Han Chang'an City as the capital, but at that time, Chang'an City was repeatedly destroyed by soldiers, "This city from the Han Dynasty, withered for a long time, repeatedly as a battlefield, long suffered from mourning ... Not enough to build the Emperor's Estate. Moreover, the water pollution was serious and threatened by the flooding of the Wei River diversion, so it was decided to build another new city on the southern slope of Longshouyuan in the southeast direction - Daxing City. In the third year of the kai emperor (583), Daxing City was completed, and the Sui Dynasty officially moved the capital to Daxing City, and the Han Chang'an City was abandoned and no longer repaired and used. The Sui Dynasty opened up the northern part of Daxing City as the "Forbidden Garden", also known as the "Daxing Garden", and the ruins of the Han Chang'an City were included as a forbidden area. This is not for the protection of cultural relics, but for military security reasons. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, wars were frequent, and the army garrison often used the old city of the former dynasty, and if the Han Chang'an City was not in the area under direct control, it was easy to be used by the rebels once there was a war. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin led an army to the outskirts of Chang'an City, and was stationed at the ruins of Qin Afang Palace. The Tang Dynasty followed the old practice of the Sui Dynasty and still classified the Han Chang'an City into the "North Garden", and the ruins of the Han Chang'an City in the Forbidden Garden were in an unmanaged and abandoned state, collapsing and destroying with the passage of time.
Floor plan of the ruins of Han Chang'an City
From the capital of Chang'an (200 BC) by Liu Bangding of the Han Dynasty to the relocation of the capital Daxingcheng in the third year of Emperor Wen of Sui (583), a total of 783 years of existence and use.
4. The capital of the Tang Dynasty - Chang'an City
The model restores the landscape of Tang Chang'an City
Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty was the Daxing City built by Emperor Wen of Sui, and was renamed Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty. The city consists of Waiguo City, Imperial City and Miyagi City, Forbidden Garden, and Fang City, with an area of nearly 100 square kilometers (including the newly built Daming Palace, Xi NeiYuan and Dong Nei Yuan in the Tang Dynasty), which is the largest capital city in the history of the world. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Huang Chao invaded Chang'an and severely damaged the city. In the first year of Tianyou (904), Zhu Quanzhong abducted Tang Zhaozong and moved east and demolished the palace, making it difficult for Tang Chang'an to restore the prosperous scene.
Floor plan of the ruins of Tang Chang'an City
In the first year of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (904), the Youguo army made Han Jian abandon the dilapidated Waiguo Castle and Miyagi Castle and rebuild the imperial city, called the "New City", which is believed by the academic community to be a sign of the abandonment of Sui Daxing and Tang Chang'an City. But in a broad sense, "new city" is still on the basis of Tang Chang'an City repair and transformation, with a strong historical inheritance, the five dynasties of the new city, Song Jing Zhaofu City, YuanFengyuan Road City, Ming and Qing Xi'an FuCheng are following the "new city", although the passage of time, the historical buildings in the city have long collapsed, but the urban pattern is still unchanged, from today's Xi'an "checkerboard" road network can still see the shadow of the Sui and Tang City construction layout, it can be said that Tang Chang'an City is still in use.
Floor plan of the new city in the five generations period
Since Emperor Wen of Sui moved the capital to DaxingCheng in the third year (583) (2021), the Sui Daxing Tang Chang'an City has existed and been in use for 1438.
5. Conclusion
In terms of the existence and use time of the four ancient capitals of Xi'an, the two capitals of Fenghao were used for about 381 years, the Qin Xianyang City was used for 1257, the Han Chang'an City was used for 783 years, and the Sui Daxing and Tang Chang'an Cities were used for 1438 years and are still in use today.
Tang Chang'an City > Qin Xianyang City> Han Chang'an City> Fenghao and Fenghao