Life is endless and endless. Although the capital is the lifeblood of a country and has a great relationship, since ancient times, many emperors have actively or passively moved their capitals for various reasons. Among them, the most famous and influential ones are undoubtedly the following six.
1. Shang King Pan Geng moved to Yin
When Shang Tang established the Shang Dynasty, the capital was built in Bo (today's Shangqiu, Henan). At that time, various natural disasters occurred frequently. One year, a flood even broke out and submerged the capital. The Shang Dynasty was forced to move its capital many times.
By the 20th monarch of the Shang Dynasty, that is, the Pan Geng era. Pan Geng thought, it was not possible to be chased by floods all the time. Therefore, Pan Geng made up his mind to move the capital to Yin (now Anyang, Henan) again.
This move is done. The weather has improved, and the rebel forces are no longer able to cause trouble. From then on, the political situation of the Shang Dynasty was stable, and the princes came to the dynasty and became more and more powerful.
2. King Ping of Zhou moved the capital to Luoyi
During the reign of King Ping of Zhou Dynasty, another famous capital relocation event occurred.
The last monarch of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Zhou You, died unexpectedly because of the war with the princes. This is the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty. Subsequently, the princes elected Yijiu, the prince of King Zhou You, as their king. This was King Ping of Zhou.
The capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty was Haojing (now Chang'an District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province). Due to the earthquake in Hogyeong, it was in dilapidated condition. And they were directly threatened by the nomads in the north. Therefore, King Ping of Zhou moved the capital to Luoyi (now Luoyang, Henan) under the protection of Zheng, Qin, Jin and other princes. The Eastern Zhou Dynasty began.
3. Zhao Gou moved the capital to Lin'an
In March 1127, under a massive attack by the Jin army, Tokyo, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, was captured. Two emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty: Song Huizong and Song Qinzong, became prisoners of the Jin army. In March of the following year, they, together with the concubines, clan members, and thousands of officials, were escorted to the bitter cold land in the north.
History is called the "Jingkang Incident".
However, the Jin army did not catch all the Song Dynasty clans in one fell swoop, and there was another fish that slipped through the net, namely Kang Wang Zhaogou, the ninth son of Song Huizong. Zhao Gou announced his succession to the throne in Nanjing. The country's name was still Song, and it was known as the Southern Song Dynasty in history. However, as the Jin army continued to catch up. Zhao Gou was forced to travel all the way south, and finally came to Lin'an (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang), and determined this to be the new capital of the Song Dynasty.
Lin'an is a typical Jiangnan city, rich and prosperous. Zhao Gou and his successors settled here for more than 100 years. Although the economy and culture became extremely prosperous, their military capabilities became weaker. In the end, the Southern Song Dynasty was destroyed by Mongolia.
4. Ming Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing
The Central Plains regime generally preferred to have its capital in the south. The capital of the Ming Dynasty was Nanjing.
Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, believed that the threat to the empire mainly came from the north, and the capital must be located in Beijing in the north to directly resist threats from the north.
This is the famous "the emperor guards the country's gate".
In 1406, Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty began to build the imperial palace and city walls in Beijing. Due to the large scale of the construction and the crude construction technology at the time, the preliminary preparation work alone took 11 years. Precious wood and stone were mined from all over the country and transported to Beijing.
In 1417, the construction of the Beijing Imperial Palace officially started. Three years later, the Beijing Imperial Palace was announced as completed. Ming Chengzu immediately ordered the capital to be moved. This is the origin of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
5. Shunzhi moved the capital to Beijing
The Qing Dynasty was a feudal dynasty established by the Jurchen noble Nurhachi. Nurhaci initially made his capital Shengjing (today's Shenyang). This was a very correct choice of clan at that time, because the strategic location of Shengjing was very important, and it was "a place connected in all directions. The Ming Dynasty expedition in the west crossed the Liao River from Du'erbi, and the road was straight and close; it took three days to reach Mongolia in the north, and it took three days to reach Mongolia in the south. North Korea can be entered from Qinghe Road."
However, when Emperor Shunzhi sent his troops into the pass, all this changed. After entering the customs, in order to unify the whole country, you must choose a new capital within the customs. Therefore, Emperor Shunzhi finally chose Beijing, the "capital of eternal emperors", as the capital of the Qing Dynasty.
This move also meant that the Qing Dynasty was officially transformed from a local government into a central dynasty that ruled all of China.
6. Chiang Kai-shek moved the capital to Chongqing
In 1937, marked by the July 7 Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the all-out Anti-Japanese War broke out. The war only lasted for more than four months, and Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, was captured by the Japanese army.
Fortunately, before this, the Nationalist Government had gradually shifted its national defense center to the southwest, to Sichuan. On November 12, 1937, Chiang Kai-shek decided to move the capital to Chongqing. Subsequently, the National Government and the Central Party Headquarters of the Kuomintang in Nanjing moved to Chongqing to work. On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. On May 5, 1946, the Nationalist Government returned its capital to Nanjing. Chongqing's historical mission as the wartime capital came to an end.
During the Anti-Japanese War, the Nationalist Government used Chongqing as its command center and led the epic War of Resistance Against Japan. Chongqing also made great contributions to the Anti-Japanese War as a wartime capital.