The ancient capitals were gorgeous and spectacular, consisting of Luoyang in Tokyo and Chang'an in Xijing. Tokyo's Luoyang is backed by Beimang Mountain and faces Luoshui River in the south; Xijing'an is across the Wei River on the left and Jing River on the right.
Here we start with the country’s capital and introduce basic knowledge and common sense related to the country’s superstructure. This paragraph introduces the two oldest capitals in China, as well as the exquisite buildings in the capitals.
China’s two oldest capitals are Luoyang in Tokyo and Chang’an in Xijing. Luoyang is known as the ancient capital of the Nine Dynasties. Historically, nine dynasties have established their capitals in Luoyang. The history of establishing the capital of Luoyang is earlier than that of Chang'an. It was established in the Western Zhou Dynasty. King Wu defeated Zhou and established the Zhou Dynasty. King Wu died of illness within a few years and was succeeded by his fourteen-year-old son Cheng Wang. King Cheng was too young to govern, so he was assisted by his uncle Zhou Gong. Although the Yin and Shang regime was overthrown, the old and young nobles of the previous dynasty were still there, and they were not willing to give in. For safety reasons, Luoyi was established in Luoyang just outside the capital Bo of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and then all the nobles of the former Shang Dynasty were moved to Luoyang to prevent them from causing trouble.
During the reign of King Ping of Zhou, the Dog Rong tribe from the western minority invaded the Central Plains and disrupted the Zhou Dynasty. Even King You of Zhou who "played with the princes with beacon fire" was killed. The successor King Zhou Ping had no choice but to move the capital east to Luoyang, which was known as "Tokyo" in history. Later, the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Wei, Western Jin, Northern Wei, Sui Dynasty, and even the early Tang Dynasty all set their capitals in Luoyang, so Luoyang was called the "Ancient Capital of Nine Dynasties".
Xijing Chang'an, referred to as Xi'an, is the "ancient capital of the Eleven Dynasties" due to its geographical location close to the center of China. The Western Han Dynasty was the first to establish its capital in Chang'an. Later, many dynasties such as the Qin, Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang Dynasties all established their capitals here. There are many historical sites around Xi'an, such as Banpo Village in the east, which is the largest Neolithic site discovered in China and is 7,000 years old. One is Luoyang, Tokyo, and the other is Chang'an, Xijing. They are the two oldest and most magnificent capitals in Chinese history.
What is "city"? "The palace of the emperor is called the capital", and the place where the emperor lives is called the capital; "the capital of the princes is called the city", and the place where the princes live is called the city, which is equivalent to the current capital and provincial capital. concept.
China’s culture is splendid, so it is called “Hua”; China’s land is vast, so it is called “Xia”, and Huaxia represents China. The oracle bone inscription "京" is shaped like a tall mound, and later became a special word for a country's capital.
Back to Mang and facing Luo, floating on Wei and occupying Jing.
These two sentences describe the geographical location and topography of the two capitals of the East and West, Chang'an and Luoyang. "Back to Mang and facing Luo" describes Luoyang. Luoyang city is backed by Beimang Mountain and Luoshui is to the south. In ancient Chinese, when it comes to the back, it refers to the north in terms of orientation, and when it comes to the face, it refers to the south. Chinese people pay attention to facing south and facing north. We prefer south and regard south as the correct position; Westerners prefer north and north as the correct position. The same compass, we call it a compass, they call it a north needle. Ancient maps were oriented with top and south facing north, which is opposite to modern European maps. Therefore, our living rooms should also be oriented from north to south. Historically, government offices have always opened to the south.
Why do you have to sit north and face south? This is our culture. Facing south and facing north is the emperor's position. Since the emperor occupies the position of cadre and has the dignity of ninety-five, every move of the emperor must be upright and can withstand the direct sunlight of Bingding fire (sunlight) from the south. The shadow under the sun must be upright, and the politicians must be upright. Only when they are upright can they govern. , so "the emperor has no selfish things".
It is an ideal Feng Shui treasure land. There are countless tombs of ancient emperors on the mountain. There is a saying in history that "they were born in Suzhou and Hangzhou and buried in Beimang". Within the main area of ??dozens of kilometers of Mang Mountain, there are five royal cemeteries alone, divided into five royal tomb areas: Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Wei Dynasty, Western Jin Dynasty and Northern Wei Dynasty. They are buried with Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty, Liu Chan, Queen of Shu, and Nan Chen. Emperors such as Chen Shubao, the later leader, and Li Yu, the later leader of the Southern Tang Dynasty, as well as celebrities such as Jia Yi, Ban Chao, Li Mi, Xue Rengui, Di Renjie, Du Fu, Shi Chong, Meng Jiao, and Yan Zhenqing. There is a poem from the ancients that says, "The tombs on Beimang Mountain stand opposite to Luo City through the ages." This is true at all. In addition, everyone knows that "Luoyang peonies are the best in the world", but "Luoyang peonies come out of Mang Mountain", and Beimang Mountain is also called Mudan Mountain. This allusion is not known to everyone.
To the south of Luoyang City is the Luoshui River. This water originates from Luonan County, Shaanxi Province, flows through the south of Luoyang City, and then merges into the Yellow River. Therefore, "back to Mang and facing Luo" is a depiction of the geographical background of Luoyang City.
"Floating Wei and occupying Jing" refers to the geographical location of Chang'an, Xijing. Xi'an has the Wei River on its left and the Jing River on its right. The Wei River originates from Gansu and the Jing River originates from Ningxia. The two rivers merge here in Xi'an and flow into the Yellow River. Before flowing into the Yellow River, Jingshui was clear and Weishui was turbid, and the water quality was completely different, hence the idiom "Jingshui and Weishui are distinct". Fu means drifting, floating; zhi means relying on, evidence, and relying on.
The vernacular translation of these two sentences is:
Ancient Chinese capitals were majestic.
The oldest ones are Luoyang in Tokyo and Chang'an in Xijing.
Luoyang is backed by Beimang Mountain and faces Luoshui River;
Chang'an is across the Weishui River on the left and Jinghe River on the right.