Historical capitals of China

The Chinese phrase Four Great Ancient Capitals of China (simplified Chinese: 中国四大古都; traditional Chinese: 中國四大古都; pinyin: Zhōngguó Sì Dà Gǔdū) traditionally refers to Beijing (the current capital), Nanjing, Luoyang, and Chang'an (Xi'an).

Due to additional evidence discovered since the 1930s, other historical capitals have been included in the list. The later phrase Seven Ancient Capitals of China includes Kaifeng (added in the 1920s as the fifth ancient capital), Hangzhou (the sixth, added in the 1930s), and Anyang (a proposal by numerous archaeologists in 1988, after which it finally became the seventh ancient capital). In 2004, the China Ancient Capital Society officially added Zhengzhou as an eighth due to archaeological finds from the early Shang dynasty there.

List of historical capitals of China

Historical capitals in use prior to the 20th century.

Historical capitals in use from the 20th century onwards.

In alphabetical order:

A'cheng (now a district of the city of Harbin), was the capital during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) from 1115 until 1153, called Shangjing Huining Fu. Destroyed in 1157 and re-established as a secondary capital of the empire in 1173.

Anyang was the capital during the Yin period of the Shang Dynasty (estimated between 1600 BC and 1046 BC): called Yin (殷, pinyin: Yīn).

Beijing (previously romanized as Peking in postal romanization; briefly known as Peip'ing in Wade-Giles (WG) or Běipíng in pinyin (py)), the Northern Capital, was and has been the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):

State of Yan (Yen in WG) in Spring and Autumn Period (722-481 BC): called Ji (薊, pinyin: Jì).

Liao Dynasty (907-1125), as a secondary capital: called Yanjing (燕京, pinyin: Yānjīng, "capital of Yan").

Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) from Emperor Shizong until 1215: called Zhongdu (中都, pinyin: Zhōngdū, "central capital").

Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368): called Dadu (大都, pinyin: Dàdū, "great capital") in Chinese, Daidu (a direct transliteration from Chinese^[1]) in Mongolian and Khanbaliq ("city of the Khan") in the Turkic languages. This was reported as "Cambuluc" by Marco Polo.

Ming Dynasty from the time of the Ming Yongle Emperor (r. 1402/1424) until 1644 called Jīngshī (京師,"capital").

Qing Dynasty from the fall of the Ming in 1644 to the end of the dynasty in 1912.

The Beiyang Government of the Republic of China.

The current capital of the People's Republic of China.

Chengdu (WG: Ch'eng-tu) was the capital of the Shu Kingdom during the period of the Three Kingdoms. It was briefly the seat of Chiang's ROC government during the Chinese civil war with the Communist Party of China.

Chongqing (CPMR: Chungking) was the provisional capital of the government of Chiang Kai-shek during World War II (Second Chinese-Japanese War), and was briefly the seat of Chiang's ROC government during the Chinese civil war with the Communist Party of China.

Datong (WG: Ta-t'ong) was the capital during Northern Wei Dynasty before moving to Luoyang in 493.

Guangzhou (formerly Romanized Canton from CPMR)

Kingdom of Nanyue (206-111BC)

Republic of China: it was seat of the National Government before the Northern Expedition, and was briefly the seat of Chiang's ROC government during the Chinese civil war with the Communist Party of China.

Hangzhou (also Hangchou or Hangchow) was the capital of:

The Wuyue Kingdom (904-978), during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

China during the Southern Song Dynasty: called Lin'an (臨安 Lín'ān).

Fenghao was the capital during the Western Zhou Dynasty, located near present-day Xi'an.

Kaifeng was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):

Later Liang during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Later Jin during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Later Han during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Later Zhou during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Northern Song Dynasty: called Dongjing (東京 Dōngjīng).

Luoyang was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):

Eastern Zhou Dynasty

Eastern Han Dynasty from 25 to 220

Kingdom of Wei during the Three Kingdoms.

Western Jin Dynasty

Northern Wei Dynasty since 493, moved its capital from Datong.

Zhou Dynasty from 690 to 705

Later Tang during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Later Liang during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, from 909 to 913.

Nanjing (formerly Romanized Nanking (CPMR) or Nanching in WG), the Southern Capital was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):

all of the Six Dynasties: called Jianye (建業 Jiànyè) or Jiankang (建康 Jiànkāng). The Six Dynasties are:

Kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms.

Southern Tang during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Ming Dynasty before Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing.

Taiping Tianguo (Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace and Prosperity) during the Taiping Rebellion. Known as Tianjing (天京，literally 'Heavenly Capital') between 1853 and its fall in 1864.

Republic of China after the Northern Expedition until the Japanese invasion in 1937 of WWII, and after the war until Chiang Kai-Shek retreated to Taiwan in 1949.

Wang Jingwei's pro-Japanese collaborationist government.

Taipei has been the de facto capital of the Republic of China since 1949 when the government relocated to Taiwan.

Wuhan was the capital of a leftist Kuomintang government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kaishek during the 1920s.

Xanadu (Shangdu) (上都) was the summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire.

Xi'an (WG: Hsi'an; called Chang'an in ancient times) was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):

Western Zhou Dynasty, also see Fenghao.

State of Qin in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Qin Dynasty 221 BC-207 BC: Xi'an is located near the former Qin capital Xianyang (咸陽 Xiányáng).

Western Han Dynasty from 206 BC to AD 9

Xin Dynasty from 8 to 23

Eastern Han Dynasty

Western Jin Dynasty

State of Former Zhao, a state in the Sixteen Kingdoms period during the Jin Dynasty (265-420).

State of Former Qin from 351 to 394, during the Sixteen Kingdoms period.

State of Later Qin from 384 to 417, during the Sixteen Kingdoms period.

Western Wei Dynasty

Northern Zhou Dynasty

Sui Dynasty from 581 to 618

Tang Dynasty from 618 to 907

[[Ye, China|Ye]] was the capital of Eastern Wei Dynasty and Northern Qi Dynasty.

Chronology

Government		Capital	Chinese	Period	Notes
Xia		Song	崇	Gun
		Yangcheng	陽城	Yu^[2]
		Chu	鉏	Yi
		Qiongshi	窮石	Yi, Hanzhuo
		Zhen	斟	Taikang
		Diqiu	帝丘	Xiang
		Yuan	原	Zhu
		Laoqiu	老丘	Zhu
		Xihe	西河	Yinjia
		Zhen	斟	Jie
		Henan	河南	Jie^[3]
Shang		Bo	亳	Tang of Shang^[3]
		Fan	蕃	Xie
		Dishi	砥石	Zhaoming
		Shang	商	Zhaoming
		Shangqiu	商邱	Xiangtu
		Foot of Mount Tai	"泰山麓"	Xiangtu
		Shangqiu	商邱	Xiangtu
		Yin	殷	Shanghou
		Shangqiu	商邱	Yinhou
		Bo	"西"亳	Tang
		Xiao	囂	Zhongding
		Xiang	相	Hedanjia
		Xing	邢	Zuyi
		Bi	庇	Zuyi
		Yan	奄	Nan'geng
		Yin	殷	Pan'geng
Zhou	Western	Zongzhou	宗周	1046 BC—771 BC	Western capital
	Western	Chengzhou	成周	1046 BC—771 BC	Eastern capital
	Eastern	Chengzhou	成周	770 BC—367 BC
		"Henan"	河南	367 BC—256 BC	capital of the Western Zhou State
		Gong	鞏	367 BC—249 BC	capital of the Eastern Zhou State
Qin		Xiquanqiu	西犬丘
		Pingyang	平陽	—677 BC
		Yong	雍	677 BC—
		Jingyang	涇陽	—383 BC
		Yueyang	櫟陽	383 BC—250 BC
		Xianyang	咸陽	350 BC—207 BC
Han	Western	Luoyang	雒陽	202 BC
		Yueyang	櫟陽	202 BC—200 BC
		Chang'an	長安	200 BC—8 BC
Xin		Chang'an	長安	8 AD—23 AD
Han	Eastern	Luoyang	雒陽	25—190
		Chang'an	長安	191—195
		Xu	許	196—220
Three Kingdoms	Wei	Luoyang	洛陽	220—265
	Shu	Chengdu	成都	221—263
	Wu	Jianye	建業	227—279
Jin	Western	Luoyang	洛陽	265—313
	Western	Chang'an	長安	313—316
	Eastern	Jiankang	建康	317—420
Northern dynasties	Wei	Pingcheng	平城	386—493
		Luoyang	洛陽	493—534
		[[Ye, China\|Ye]]	鄴	534—550	capital of the Eastern Wei State
		Chang'an	長安	535—557	capital of the Western Wei State
	Qi	[[Ye, China\|Ye]]	鄴	550—577
	Zhou	Chang'an	長安	557—581
Southern dynasties	Song	Jiankang	建康	420—479
	Qi	Jiankang	建康	479—502
	Liang	Jiankang	建康	502—557
	Chen	Jiankang	建康	557—589
Sui		Dongdu	東都	581—618
Sui		Daxing	大興	581—618	auxiliary capital
Tang		Chang'an	長安	618—690
Tang		Luoyang	洛陽	657—690	auxiliary capital
Zhou		Luoyang	洛陽	690—705
Tang		Chang'an	長安	705—904
		Luoyang	洛陽	705—736	auxiliary capital
		Luoyang	洛陽	904—907
Five dynasties	Liang	Dongdu	東都	907—923
	Tang	Dongdu	東都	923—936
	Jin	Dongjing	東京	936—947
	Han	Dongjing	東京	947—950
	Zhou	Dongjing	東京	951—960
Song	Northern	Dongjing	東京	960—1127
	Southern	Nanjing	南京	1127—1129	After the fall of Dongjing, Zhao Gou declares himself Emperor Gaozong in Henan
		Yangzhou	杨州	1129—1130	Flight of Emperor Gaozong during the Jin invasion of the Yangtze Delta in 1129—1130.
		Zhenjiang	镇江
		Lin'an	臨安
		Yuezhou	越州
		Mingzhou	明州
		Dinghai	定海
		Off the coast Taizhou, Wenzhou	"海上朝廷"
		Zhang'an	章安
		Yuezhou	越州
		Lin'an	臨安	1130—1276	Song court settles in Lin'an for 146 years
		Fuzhou	福州	1276—1277	Flight of Emperor Duanzong along the southeast coast following the fall of Lin'an in 1276.
		Guangzhou	广州	1277—1278
		Guanfuchang	官富场	1278
		Gangzhou	碙州	1278	Emperor Bingzong succeeds Duanzong on Lantau Island in modern Hong Kong
		Yashan	厓山	1278—1279	Song court makes last stand off the coast of Yashan
Liao, Empire of the Khitan		Shangjing	上京	907—1120
		Nanjing	南京	1122—1123
		Tokmok	虎思斡耳朵	1134—1218
Jin		Shangjing	上京	1115—1153
		Zhongdu	中都	1153—1214
		Nanjing	南京	1214—1234
Western Xia		Xingqing	興慶	1038—1227
Yuan
		Shangdu	上都	May 1264 — 1267
		Dadu	大都	1267^[4] — August 1368
		Shangdu	上都	August 1368 — 1369
Ming		Nanjing	南京	23 January 1368 — 2 February 1421
		Beijing	北京	2 February 1421 — 25 April 1644
		Nanjing	南京	1644 — 1645
		Fuzhou	福州	1645 — 1646
		Zhaoqing	肇慶	1646 — 25 April 1662
Later Jin		Feiala	費阿拉	1587 — 1603
		Hetuala	赫圖阿拉	1603 — 1619
		Jiefan	界凡	1619 — September 1620
		Sarhu	薩爾滸	September 1620 — April 1621
		Dongjing	東京	April 1621 — 11 April 1625
		Shengjing	盛京	11 April 1625 — 1636
Qing		Shengjing	盛京	1636 — 30 October 1644
Qing		Peking	北京	30 October 1644^[5] — 12 February 1912^[6]
Republic of China		Nanking	南京	1 January 1912 — 2 April 1912	Provisional Government
		Beijing	北京	2 April 1912 — 30 May 1928	Beiyang Government^[6]
		Shenyang	奉天	30 May 1928 — 29 December 1928	Beiyang Government
		Guangzhou	广州	1 July 1925 — 21 February 1927	Guangzhou Nationalist Government
		Wuhan	武漢	21 February 1927 — 19 August 1927	Wuhan Nationalist Government^[7]
		Nanking	南京	18 April 1927 — 20 November 1937	the Nanjing decade^[6]
		Luoyang	洛陽	29 Jan 1932 — 1 December 1932
		Beijing	北平	9 September 1930 — 23 September 1930	Beiping Nationalist Government
		Taiyuan	太原	23 September 1930 — 4 November 1930	Beiping Nationalist Government
		Guangzhou	廣州	28 May 1931 — 22 December 1931	Guangzhou Nationalist Government
		Chongqing	重慶	21 November 1937 — 5 May 1946	during the Second Sino-Japanese War^[6]
		Nanking	南京	30 March 1940 — 10 August 1945	Wang Jingwei Government
		Nanking	南京	5 May 1946 — 23 April 1949^[6]
		Guangzhou	廣州	23 April 1949 — 14 October 1949	during the Chinese Civil War
		Chongqing	重慶	14 October 1949 — 30 November 1949	during the Chinese Civil War
		Chengdu	成都	30 November 1949 — 27 December 1949	during the Chinese Civil War
		Sichang	西昌	27 December 1949 — 27 March 1950	during the Chinese Civil War
		Taipei	臺北	10 December 1949 — Present
People's Republic of China		Beijing	北京	1 October 1949 — Present

References

↑ Denis Twitchett, Herbert Franke, John K. Fairbank, in The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p 454.
↑ 李玉潔. [2003] (2003). 中國早期國家性質. 知書房出版集團. ISBN 986-7938-17-8, ISBN 978-986-7938-17-6.
1 2 Bamboo annals Xia chapter on Xia Jie under the name Gui (癸).
↑ Kenneth Pletcher (2010) ”The History of China”, page 173 ISBN 1615301097
↑ William T. Rowe (2009) ”China's Last Empire: The Great Qing”, page 19 ISBN 0674036123
1 2 3 4 5 Esherick, Joseph. [2000] (2000). Remaking the Chinese City: Modernity and National Identity, 1900-1950. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2518-7.
↑ Clark, Anne Biller. Clark, Anne Bolling. Klein, Donald. Klein, Donald Walker. [1971] (1971). Harvard Univ. Biographic Dictionary of Chinese communism. Original from the University of Michigan v.1. Digitized Dec 21, 2006. p 134.

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Historical capitals of China

List of historical capitals of China

Chronology

See also

References