The Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty were the two most powerful dynasties in ancient China. If this is the case, Chang'an in the Han Dynasty must also be prosperous. If we compare Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty with Chang'an in the Han Dynasty, what are the differences under different eras?
When it comes to the Land of Abundance, everyone knows that it is Sichuan, but everyone knows that the earliest Land of Abundance was Guanzhong. Guanzhong is located in the alluvial plain of the Wei River. It has a suitable climate, early development, dense population, and developed agriculture. It has always been a wealthy and prosperous place before the Anshi Rebellion. In addition, the terrain of our country is high in the west and low in the east. Guanzhong is exactly on the second step, and has the advantage of being in a strategic position over the Kanto region. I think at the beginning, Qin State relied on the advantages of Guanzhong to defeat the six countries.
It was a wise move for Liu Bang and Li Yuan to choose to establish their capital in Guanzhong. Guanzhong is very large. To choose the best place to build a capital, it is undoubtedly the core area of ??Guanzhong with "eight rivers surrounding Chang'an". Xianyang of the Qin Dynasty and Chang'an of the Han and Tang Dynasties were both located in this core area. Liu Bang originally wanted to establish his capital in Xianyang, the former capital of the Qin Dynasty. Unfortunately, Xiang Yu had already burned it completely. Fortunately, Xingle Palace, which faced Xianyang across the Wei River, was not damaged.
Xingle Palace has a good geographical location, with the Wei River to the north and Longshouyuan to the south, making it suitable for building a capital. Liu Bang asked Xiao He to build the capital of the Han Dynasty on the basis of Xingqing Palace. Li Yuan was similar to Liu Bang. He also wanted to benefit from the past and directly turned Daxing City in the Sui Dynasty into Chang'an City. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty originally wanted to capitalize on the past, but Chang'an in the Han Dynasty had been ravaged by war and was already dilapidated. In addition, the quality of the groundwater had also deteriorated, so he had to spend "big money" to choose another place.
After some research and discussion, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty believed that the new capital must be built in the Longshouyuan area. Since the north of Longshouyuan has been abandoned, he chose to build it in the south. Compared with the northern foothills of Longshouyuan, its southern foothills are more open, and there are six high slopes on the south side of Longshouyuan. Their distribution is very similar to the six lines of Qian in Bagua. From the perspective of Feng Shui, it is very suitable for building a capital. . Therefore, Chang'an in the Han Dynasty was located to the north of Longshouyuan, which was low-lying and relatively flat, while Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty was located to the south of Longshouyuan, which was higher and undulating.
Liu Bang simply renovated Xingle Palace and renamed it Changle Palace. Later, Weiyang Palace and Beigong Palace were built around it. As the Xiongnu grew stronger, Chang'an was very close to the Hetao occupied by the Xiongnu. For military considerations, Liu Bang's son Liu Ying, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, built a ring of city walls centered on several palaces, giving Chang'an the appearance of an imperial capital. After Liu Ying, the Han Dynasty went through the rule of Wen and Jing, and the national treasury gradually became full.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che was worried that if the money was not spent, all the money would be left to rot, so he began to build a large-scale construction project. Not only did he build the Mingguang Palace inside the city wall, but he even built a majestic founding seal outside the city wall. palace. Since then, Chang'an in the Han Dynasty has basically stabilized after more than ninety years of construction. In contrast, Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty did not take so much trouble.
Before Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty built Daxing City, he asked Yu Wenkai, a generation of architects, to do a lot of homework in advance. He not only carefully inspected the construction site, but also drew on various experiences passed down from previous generations. Detailed building plans were drawn up. In this way, Daxing City was basically formed in the hands of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, unlike the Han Dynasty.
When the Tang Dynasty built Chang'an City, it basically did not make any major changes to the layout of Daxing City. It only made some minor adjustments to suit local conditions and the times. For example, with the change of climate, the original Daxing Palace (renamed Taiji Palace in the Tang Dynasty) was a little too low due to its low terrain, making it a bit hot in the summer. Therefore, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty built the new Yong'an Palace on the Longshouyuan highland to the north. The palace was later expanded into the Daming Palace by Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty.
The shape of the city in Chang'an during the Han Dynasty was very different from the square one we commonly see. It was an irregular shape. Except for the east wall, which was straight, the other three The walls on both sides are winding.
Some people call Chang'an in the Han Dynasty Doucheng. Its north is shaped like a Beidou, and its south is shaped like a South Dou. They also say that this idea of ??building a city follows the Qin Dynasty's idea of ??"faith the sky and the earth". The specifics are yet to be determined by experts. Further argument.
When the Qin Dynasty built Xianyang, it was indeed very particular. When describing Afang Palace in "Historical Records", it used the following sentence, "From Afang to Wei, it belongs to Xianyang, so as to resemble the pole of the sky." But when the Han Dynasty built Chang'an, I personally think it was more out of practical considerations. It was first built in the Han Dynasty and was full of wastes waiting to be renovated. When Liu Bang chose Xingqing Palace, he mostly considered its geographical location and architectural integrity. Liu Ying is famous for being diligent and frugal. He should have built the city wall based on the principles of practicality and cost-saving, combined with geographical conditions and building distribution, not to follow the "law of heaven, image and earth".
The outline of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty was basically a rectangle. In the middle of the rectangle was Zhuque Street, which ran north and south, which was the central axis of the entire city. It had a symmetrical structure in the east and west directions. Things with regular shapes often give people a sense of balance and stability, and aren’t balance and stability what Confucian culture strives for? This shows that the construction of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty has integrated Confucian cultural thought.
Compared with Chang'an in the Han Dynasty, the squareness of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty is indeed a great improvement. A square city is always easier to use than a city with irregular shapes. The orientation of the buildings in the city is easier to control and the space utilization rate is higher. In addition, once a foreign enemy invades, a square city is easier to defend. No matter which point the enemy attacks from, the defenders lined up on the city wall can take care of each other.
In the capital, there are not only emperors and ministers, but also a large number of civilians. Regardless of whether it is the emperor or the common people, they all need a place to stay. The emperor has a palace to live in, but where will the common people live? Food, clothing, housing and transportation are the most basic material life. When Chang'an was being built in the Han Dynasty, nine cities and one hundred and sixty villages were established in the city in consideration of the people's housing problems.
Because the palace city of Chang'an in the Han Dynasty occupied a large area and was relatively scattered, these 160 villages could only accommodate some of the people, and the other people had to live outside the city, and 160 people had to live outside the city. A large part of the ten villages can only be arranged near the palace city. This formed a scene where the emperor and the people lived together, which also provided convenience for the emperor to observe the people's sentiments.
When the Sui Dynasty built Daxing City, it was very long-term and the area was very large. By the Tang Dynasty, it had reached 84 square kilometers, fourteen times the size of the ancient Roman city! With a large area and regular shape, it is easier to arrange in civilian residential areas. Looking at the ground plan of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, the palace city is located in the north of the city, and the area it occupies is not large compared to the entire city. The area south of the palace city is a bit like a chessboard.
The lines on the chessboard are criss-crossing streets, and many of the more than a hundred grids on the chessboard were set up as civilian residential areas, which people at the time called "li" or "fang". Each square is surrounded by tall square walls, forming a relatively independent unit, just like a current community, with a sense of security and order. Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty became the first city in the world with a population of more than one million, and the rational planning and layout of its civilian residential areas played a key role.
The Han Dynasty established its capital in Chang'an more than 800 years earlier than the Tang Dynasty established its capital in Chang'an. Over such a long period of time, the two Chang'ans will definitely have many differences. This article only briefly discusses the location, construction process, and city. The four aspects of appearance and residential areas are discussed. As for other differences, readers need to further explore.
In any case, even though there are many differences between Chang'an in the Han Dynasty and Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, they have one thing in common. The two Chang'ans are no longer just cities, but like the dynasties in which they were located, they have become the national pride of our country.
References:
"Historical Records"
"Chang'an Chronicles"
"Chang'an City in Sui and Tang Dynasties"