Text/Mu Bingsen
Luoyang is one of the ancient cities in China and is often referred to as the "Ancient Capital of the Nine Dynasties". In fact, from the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, there were ten dynasties successively established capitals here, such as the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Wei, the Western Jin Dynasty, the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty (Wu Zhou Period), the Later Liang, the Later Tang Dynasty, and the Later Jin Dynasty, which was the place with the largest number of dynastic capitals in Chinese history. What is so special about Luoyang, and why can it attract so many emperors to build a capital here?
Let's understand the geographical environment and economic conditions of Luoyang, as well as the changes and developments, we can find the answer.
Luoyang is located on the north bank of the Luo River in the hilly area of Guanzhong in northwest Henan, and is named "Luoyang" according to the traditional regulation of "water north is yang". With a history of more than 5,000 years, Luoyang is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization.
Luoyang is north of the Yellow River, the two mountains of Yaozhi Taihang and Wangwu, and the Mountain of Yao as a natural barrier, and faces the North China Plain. There are dangerous Yique in the south, the dangers of The Kang and The Letter in the west, and the Tiger Prison and the Black Stone Pass in the east, such a geographical environment has always been a place where soldiers and families must fight. In addition, Luoyang is surrounded by rivers such as Yi and Luo, with abundant water and fertile land, and is a place where grain and crops are abundant. Later, with the opening of the canal, water and land transportation was very convenient, and the exchange of materials between the north and the south was more convenient, so that Luoyang's economy gradually prospered and became the eastern starting point of the Silk Road. Judging from its superior geographical location and developed economic conditions, Luoyang is indeed a Guanzhong key point and military stronghold that "controls the three rivers and consolidates the four plugs", so it has become the place to which successive emperors aspired.
As early as the time of King Wu of Zhou, in order to strengthen his control over the eastern princes, he saw that Luoyang was a good place for "tribute from all sides under the heavens", so he moved the treasure of the country "Jiuding" here, and he had the idea of fixing the capital here, but for various reasons, it could not be realized. When King Cheng of Zhou arrived, he sent Zhou and the Second Duke to the field to investigate, and after divination, he built a seven-mile square city in the east of Luoyang Jianshui. Later, king Ping of Zhou moved east from Hojing (present-day Xi'an) to live here, and Luoyang became the capital of Eastern Zhou, called "Luoyi". The Wangcheng Park in the west of Luoyang that we see now is the site of the capital of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
Han Gaozu's ancestor Liu Bang declared himself emperor in Xi'an, so why didn't he set the capital luoyang? After Liu Bang ascended the throne in Shandong, he wanted to build a capital in Luoyang, but because the Xiongnu harassed the border very badly at that time, many ministers put forward the suggestion that "only by settling Longxi can we consolidate Guanzhong", which was adopted by Liu Bang and decided to move the capital to Xi'an, until the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu established the Eastern Han Dynasty, and then officially set the capital Luoyang. Later regimes such as Cao Wei and The Western Jin Dynasty also set up capitals here. After several dynasties of construction, Luoyang became a relatively large city in the country.
The Northern Wei Dynasty was a northern minority regime with its capital in Pingcheng (平城; present-day Datong, Shanxi). Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong (later renamed Yuan Hong), a very ambitious emperor, saw that the Central Plains region had convenient transportation, pleasant climate, rich materials, and advanced culture, which was conducive to the development of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and decided to move the capital to Luoyang. After Yuan Hong moved the capital, on the basis of the original, Luoyang was extensively expanded, with two capitals and two palaces, and the capital city was expanded to "Nine-Six Cities". At the same time, grottoes were excavated, temples were built, and Buddhism was advocated, so that luoyang's urban construction and cultural atmosphere reached a very high level.
From the Sui Dynasty onwards, Luoyang entered its heyday. After the Sui Emperor moved the capital from Daxingcheng (present-day Xi'an) to Luoyang, in order to satisfy his luxurious life, he did not hesitate to use the huge state finances to build Luoyang. All the stone and wood used in the building were brought from the south, and it is said that a pillar transported to Luoyang cost thousands of taels of silver. In order to obtain sufficient taxes and grain, the Sui Emperor also requisitioned millions of migrant workers to dig the Grand Canal, which made the transportation between the north and the south more convenient, and the abundant materials and energy from the south were continuously transported to Luoyang, which increased the effective supply to Gyeonggi and also provided convenience for him to cruise and requisition the four sides.
Although the sui emperor's actions made the city of Luoyang expand and the economy prosperous, he consumed a large amount of national strength and led to the demise of the Sui Dynasty.
The original capital of the Tang Dynasty was Xi'an, Luoyang was called "Tokyo", and later changed to "Shendu", and the Emperor of Heaven moved the capital to Luoyang after establishing the Wuzhou regime. Wu Zetian moved the capital to Luoyang, in addition to the political purpose of getting rid of the control of the Guanlong clique, Luoyang's superior geographical conditions were the main reason for her move to the capital.
After Wu Zetian moved the capital, she not only strengthened social governance and made the economy develop steadily, she also built an imperial palace in Luoyang, and built two large palaces, "MingTang" and "Heaven", and built temples and Buddha statues at the same time, making Luoyang's architecture more magnificent, the urban area was further expanded, the social economy was thriving, and its prosperity surpassed Xi'an and became the largest city in the country.
The fifth-generation Liang taizu Zhu Huang, although he was emperor at Bian Prefecture (汴州, in present-day Kaifeng, Henan), moved his capital to Luoyang two years later. After The Later Tang Dynasty Li Cunxun destroyed Liang, the capital was moved from Wei Prefecture (魏州, in modern Daimyo, Hebei) to Luoyang. Later Jin Shi Jingyao was proclaimed emperor, and also took Luoyang as the capital, but for a short time, he moved back to Kaifeng. In this way, there are ten dynasties in history that have set their capital luoyang. The modern scholar Chen Yinke once said: "Emperor Fu moved the capital to Luoyang, in addition to other political and entertainment reasons, such as the Sui Emperor, Wu Zetian, etc., there is still a main reason, that is, the reason for supply." This phrase broke the emperor's purpose of building the capital Luoyang.
Since the Song Dynasty established the capital Kaifeng, Luoyang has declined. At that time, Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, also wanted to move the capital to Luoyang. Only because, at that time, eastern China had developed and risen rapidly, with convenient transportation, pleasant climate, rich products and developed economy. After years of war, Luoyang has been in tatters and beyond recognition. In contrast, the conditions in all aspects of Kaifeng were better than those of Luoyang, so Zhao Kuangyin dismissed the idea of moving the capital. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the northern ethnic minorities fought across the Yellow River, luoyang was occupied by them, and the Song court had to move the capital to Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou) and live in a remote corner.
However, there are many historical and cultural relics in Luoyang, and at that time, it still attracted many famous scholars and literati to gather here, and it is said that the famous history book "Zizhi Tongjian" was completed by Sima Guang here.
After the Song Dynasty, after the Jin, Yuan, Ming, Qing and other dynasties, none of them built the capital Luoyang. Since then, Luoyang has lost its former style and completely withdrawn from the historical stage of serving as the capital of the country.
After the founding of New China, the people of Luoyang built their homeland with diligent hands. Today, Luoyang is already the second largest city in Henan Province, with a total area of 15,230 square kilometers and a population of more than 7,170,200 people, and is a famous garden, health and civilized city integrating manufacturing, agriculture, culture, Buddhism and tourism, which is more brilliant than when it was the "national capital" in the past.