Beijing is the earliest historical city in the world. During the Shang Dynasty, there were two ancient countries, thistle and swallow, which naturally grew in Beijing today. In 1 1 century BC, Zhou Wuwang destroyed the Shang Dynasty, and the Yan State and Ji State distributed here merged into the territory of the Zhou Dynasty and became the vassal states of the Western Zhou Dynasty. "Historical Records" contains: "When it was destroyed, it was sealed in Beiyan" and "common discussion and Yan Zhao". Zhao, with the same surname as the Zhou royal family, followed the old customs to establish the Yan State, that is, the Yan State in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
In 1970s, archaeologists discovered a large-scale Shang and Zhou cultural site in Dong Jialin Village, northeast of Liu Lihe Town, Fangshan County, Beijing, including residential addresses, burial areas and ancient city sites. Through the textual research of tombs and unearthed artifacts and the investigation of the ruins of the ancient city, experts come to the conclusion that this is the initial fief of Yan State in the early Zhou Dynasty, and the ancient city should be the capital of Yan State.
As the site of Liu Lihe was confirmed as the capital of Yan State, the date of the capital establishment of Beijing was inferred as BC 1045 and BC 1995, which was officially confirmed by the Beijing Municipal Government.
Yandou Ji Cheng is located in Guang 'anmen area, north of the original Baiyun Temple. With the strength of Yan State, Ji Cheng has been built into a world-famous city called Yanjing, which is as famous as Handan of Zhao State, Linzi of Qi State and Wancheng of Chu State. The site of Beijing City has lasted for thousands of years from Ji Cheng, but it has been located in the Yongding River, which crosses the Western Hills and flows into the ancient ferry of Beijing Plain. This pivotal position connecting the North China Plain with Mongolia and northeast China is the main reason for the rise of Ji Cheng.
There are three theories about the origin of Beijing, and there are different opinions in academic circles.
In the Binjiang Park outside Guang 'anmen in the south of Beijing, there stands a "Ji Cheng Memorial Column", on which is engraved The Story of Building a City in Beijing written by the famous historical geographer Hou Renzhi. Looking up at this not gorgeous "Ji Cheng Memorial Column", people feel a sense of historical mission. Some experts believe that Beijing, as the seat of ancient Ji Cheng, originated here.
Is the birthplace of Beijing really here? In fact, for a long time, there have been different opinions about where Beijing originated and how it evolved during the period.
There are three representative views: First, the source of Beijing should be the Dong Jialin of Liu Lihe River in Fangshan District, which is mainly based on the fact that the site of the old city and a large number of artifacts, tombs and chariots and horses prove that it was once the old city of Yan State when the Western Zhou Dynasty was enfeoffed. Second, Beijing City originated in the area of Beixin 'an and Old Town in Shijingshan District today. Third, Beijing City began in Guang 'anmen, Xuanwu District.
Guo Moruo, a late historian, writer and poet, mentioned in the Ancient History of China that Yan and Ji were two ancient countries in China and merchants in the north.
According to Zuo Zhuan and Historical Records, due to the strategic importance of Yan State and Ji State, in 1046 BC, after the Shang Dynasty was destroyed, King Wu divided the descendants of the "holy king" or imperial clan into Ji State and Yan State successively to consolidate his rule in the Central Plains.
These are also the two earliest cities in Beijing so far.
So, which is the source of Beijing, thistle or swallow?
Hou Renzhi, who has profound historical knowledge, believes that a thistle mountain and a lotus pond are closely related to the origin of Beijing. He believes that the traffic near the ancient Yongding River Ferry seems to be the most suitable place for the birth and growth of a city, just like the city that is still close to the River Ferry. But the flood of Yongding River is impermanent, which really threatens the growth of a city like a scourge.
Therefore, Lugou ancient ferry did not develop into the capital of thistle. On the contrary, not far from the ferry, the terrain is relatively flat, and the water source is not easily threatened by floods, but it has rapidly developed into a transportation hub connecting the north and the south, thus giving birth to a city.
From the natural geographical position, the area outside Guang 'anmen today is just behind the flood impact fan of the ancient Yongding River. The terrain here is gentle, the soil is fertile, the land is just in the overflow area of diving, and the water source is rich, which is convenient for drilling wells and pumping water. Then, it seems logical that thrips were born here.
Over the years, people have not excavated such convincing cultural relics as the river here, but experts believe that this is only because "Yan" annexed "Ji" and made "Yan" its capital. Jicheng went through Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Liao and Jin Dynasties until Kublai Khan abandoned the capital of Jin Dynasty and built the capital of Yuan Dynasty with Qionghua Island as the center in its northeast suburb.
Of course, it is very difficult to explore the cultural relics before Yan Dou and Ji Cheng in this area.
In order to prove this point, some experts analyzed the geological and topographic maps of Beijing in the 1970s. Experts found from the disturbance data that the area inside and outside Guang 'anmen is indeed the most disturbed area by human activities in the suburbs of Beijing, or the area with the largest distribution and deepest disturbance of artificial backfill.
The Origin and Changes of Beijing City
According to the recorded history, Beijing urban construction city has a history of 3040 years. At that time, its name was Ji, which was the capital of the Zhou Dynasty. Ji Cheng was the seat of Zhuojun in Sui Dynasty, and Youzhou in Tang Dynasty. The Liao Dynasty took Du Ji as its capital and renamed it Nanjing, also known as Yanjing. After the Liao Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty officially moved its capital here and named it Zhongdu. In the Yuan Dynasty, a new city named Dadu was founded in the suburbs of Zhongdu. The Ming Dynasty rebuilt the metropolis, which was called Beijing. The Qing Dynasty continued to build Beijing until the feudal dynasty finally collapsed.
The growth of "Ji" The name "Ji" was first seen in the Book of Rites and Music: "Yin Ke, anti-Shang, did not get off the bus, and the Yellow Emperor was later than Ji." It's about immediately starting to enfeoffment the descendants of the Yellow Emperor to Ji after destroying the power of Shang Dynasty. "Thistle" is the name of the northern vassal state of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and it was also the capital of that time. In other words, at least in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was already a city called "Ji" near Beijing today.
"Yan" and "Ji" In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Wuwang enfeoffed Ji State, and at the same time enfeoffed another vassal state in the north, namely Yan State. "Historical records. "Yan Zhaogong Family" records: "Destroy Zhou Wuwang and seal Zhao Gong as Beiyan." The Northern Yan mentioned here is what we call the Yan State. In this way, in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were actually two vassal states of the Western Zhou Dynasty, one was Jizhou, and the other was Yan State established near Jizhou.
So, when Zhou Wuwang was enfeoffed, where was the original fief? Historians have been arguing for a long time, and there has been no conclusion. Later, a site of the ancient city of the Western Zhou Dynasty and a large burial area were discovered near the Liu Lihe River in Fangshan District, southwest of Beijing, from which a large number of funerary objects were unearthed. Only after that, the unsolved case about the initial fief of Yan State in history was finally solved satisfactorily.
During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the political structure around Beijing changed greatly. Yan State, located in the south of Jizhou, increased its power, gradually annexed Jizhou in the north and moved its capital to Jicheng. From then on, there was the saying of Yan Dou Jicheng. Later, Beijing was also called Yanjing, which also came from here. (Left, Chemakeng, Liu Lihe Yanguo Cemetery)
Qiu Ji and Ji Cheng are most interested in the exact location of the Ji Cheng site. Where in Beijing today? Are there any remains of ancient thrips in Beijing today? Li Daoyuan, a great geographer in the Northern Wei Dynasty, made a credible annotation on the origin of "Shui Jing Zhu" and explained the relationship with "Shui Jing Zhu". Li Daoyuan said: "In the past, Zhou Wuwang was named Jiyuan, but now there is Jiyun Mountain in the northwest corner of the city. Because the mountain is named after the city, it is Qufu and the camp mountain of Qi. " According to this statement, the origin of the name of Ji Cheng started from Qiu Ji in the northwest corner of the city. Like Qufu in Lu and Yingqiu in Qi, it is named because of a remarkable geographical feature, that is, it is close to a mound that protrudes from the ground.
Chen Ziang, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem "Autumn Lucky Gulan", including: "Looking north at Qiu Ji, looking for the ancient Xuanyuan Terrace. Ying Long has disappeared, and the shepherd's life has a pale yellow dust. " Therefore, at least in the Tang Dynasty, Qiu Ji is still vivid, so Chen Ziang Qiu Ji's homesickness poems are possible. Since the relative position of Jiyu Mountain mentioned by Li Daoyuan is credible, we are willing to determine the position of Jiyu Mountain according to the map according to this important clue and referring to relevant documents. From the analysis of geographical location and situation, Ji Mountain recorded by Li Daoyuan is near Guang 'anmen in Beijing today. Now there is a high mountain outside the west wall of Baiyun Temple, which is probably the site of Gujishan Mountain. In the early days of Beijing's liberation, some pottery pieces from the Warring States period were found among the newly excavated local tyrants around Gaoqiu, which shows that this Gaoqiu has a very long history. 1957 During the spring and summer, archaeologists excavated this mound in a planned way and found an ancient city wall buried underground, as well as some sites and relics from the Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. For various reasons, this discovery failed to reach the bottom of the local cultural layer, so there was no direct evidence of the early city site, but there was not enough evidence to deny that it was not the old site of Guji Mountain. The final location of Jishan Mountain needs further archaeological discoveries to confirm.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Ji Cheng and Ji Cheng had a very prominent military position in northern China. Ji Cheng is the seat of Zhuoxian in Sui Dynasty and Youzhou in Tang Dynasty, so Ji Cheng is also called Zhuoxian or Youzhou for short. After the national reunification, both Yang Di and Emperor Taizong made a crusade to the northeast based on Ji Cheng, which is a typical example that Ji Cheng was often used as the offensive stronghold when the Han Dynasty was strong in the Central Plains.
Nanjing Chengliao, the capital of Liao Dynasty, was a northern minority regime established by Qidan nationality. The Khitan nationality is one of the ancient ethnic minorities in China, originally living in the Xilamulun River basin in the upper reaches of the Xiliao River in eastern Inner Mongolia. Shortly after the annexation of sixteen states, the Khitan rulers changed their country name to Liao, with Huangfu as their capital (now Baling, Inner Mongolia) and Youzhou as their capital (with its capital outside the capital city). Because this capital is located in the south of the territory under its jurisdiction, it is called Nanjing, also called Yanjing. Why did Qidan build Nanjing in Youzhou? There are two reasons: first, use the favorable geographical position here as a stronghold to attack the Central Plains south; Another reason is that after the Khitan occupied sixteen states, its ruling territory expanded greatly. The newly occupied areas are densely populated, rich in products, superior in natural conditions, and the level of economic, cultural and production development is much higher than that of the northern grassland areas where the Khitan nationality originally lived. Therefore, in order to strengthen the rule of the newly occupied areas and win more wealth, Youzhou City naturally became the political center of Liao in North China.
Zhongducheng, the ruling center of Jin Dynasty, became more and more powerful when Liao and Northern Song Dynasties confronted each other along the Tang Harbor. In less than two years, the Jin people made a comeback and pursued the Song Dynasty. 8 jin j arrived at the gate of yanshan mansion, and the defenders of the northern song dynasty surrendered without fighting. So, after the Jin Army occupied Yanshan Mansion, it marched straight into the Yellow River and reached the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Bianliang. At this time, Song Huizong, like a frightened bird, quickly abdicated to his son Zhao Huan, that is, Song Qinzong. In the first year of Jingkang (1 126), Bianliang, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, was captured by the Jin army, and the emperors Hui and Qin, as well as more than 3,000 royal families and bureaucrats, became prisoners under the order, and the Northern Song Dynasty perished. After the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty's sphere of influence suddenly expanded to the Huaihe River basin, and its rule over the North China Plain turned into a relatively stable state, so the rulers of the Jin Dynasty moved the capital from Huining House (now Baicheng Zi, Acheng County, Heilongjiang Province) on the far side of the Songhua River to Yanjing. In the third year of Jin Tiande (1 15 1), in March, the gold owner Yan Yanliang, Kong Yanzhou and others ordered them to expand the new capital on the basis of Yanjing City. In the first year of Jin Zhenyuan (1 153), Yan Yanliang officially moved the capital and changed Yanjing to Zhongdu. From then on, Beijing's history as the ruling center of China's feudal dynasty really began. Jinzhongdu is the last big city developed on the former site of Beijing's primitive settlement, and it is also the key to the transition to the national political center. At the same time, it has played a connecting role in the history of Beijing's urban construction and deserves special attention.
The city of the Great Han Dynasty-Dadu of the Yuan Dynasty was at the end of12nd century and the beginning of13rd century. Another nomadic people in northern China is becoming stronger and stronger. In the Tang Dynasty, Mongolians were called "Wu Mengshi Committee". They originally lived in Ergon, Heilongjiang. In the eighth century, they began to move westward and nomadic in Nanhe. In A.D. 1206, Temujin formally established the Mongolian regime, ascended the Mongolian Khan, and was honored as Genghis Khan by various ministries. Mongolian aristocrats headed by Genghis Khan launched a large-scale war against the south. In A.D. 12 1 1 year, the Mongolian army cut gold heavily. Two years later, he divided his troops to the south and surrounded Zhongdu City, and also occupied some places on the Great Plains south of Zhongdu City. When Mongolian cavalry invaded Jinducheng, the Mongolian aristocratic group had no intention of building a capital here. So in the war, the Jin Dynasty Palace in Zhongdu City was destroyed by fire, and the palace of a generation of emperors was in ruins. At this time, Zhongducheng has been renamed Yanjing, just a ruined city. Since then, more than forty years have passed and great changes have taken place. At this time, Genghis Khan had died for more than 30 years, and his grandson Kublai Khan inherited the position of Khan. In the first year of the unification of China (1260), Kublai Khan came to Yanjing City from the capital and forest of the Mongolian Plateau (now in the area of Hal and forest in outer Mongolia) with great ambition to destroy China in the Southern Song Dynasty. But at this time, the palace in the city was in ruins, and Kublai Khan decided to choose a new site in the northeast suburb of the old capital, build a new capital, take "Yuan" as the country name, and name the new capital as.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, in the imperial capital of Ming Dynasty, the peasant uprising against Mongolian rulers swept the country like a storm. After Zhu Yuanzhang merged the forces of Chen Youqiong and Zhang Shicheng, he occupied half of the south of the Yangtze River. In the twenty-seventh year of Yuan Dynasty (1367), he sent generals Xu Da and Chang Yuchun to the Northern Expedition. On August 2nd, the first year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1368 September 1368), in the third year of Hongwu (1370), Zhu Yuanzhang made his fourth son Judy the prince in Beiping in order to consolidate the guards in the north and resist the Mongols' southward aggression. In the thirty-first year of Hongwu (1398), Zhu Yuanzhang died, Huang great-grandson succeeded to the throne, and the year number was built. At this time, Judy, the prince of Yan, was armed to the teeth and deliberately seized the right to rule, and after Judy ascended the throne, he took it as Beijing. In view of the fact that the main danger threatening the Ming Dynasty was still the remnants of Mongolia from the Great Wall, he first moved the capital to Beiping and renamed it Beijing. The construction of Beijing City in Ming Dynasty began in the fourth year of Yongle (1406) and was basically completed in the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420), which lasted for fifteen years.
The ruler of the Qing dynasty, the capital of the last feudal dynasty, completely followed Beijing of the Ming dynasty without any change. Even the Forbidden City has only carried out some reconstruction, local and small-scale reconstruction and addition to the building. In order to satisfy the rulers' enjoyment, the Qing Dynasty developed the scenic spots in the northwest suburb of Beijing on a large scale for more than 200 years, and built an unprecedented magnificent detached palace complex. This is the so-called "three mountains and five gardens" in the northwest suburb, that is, Yuquan Mountain Jingming Garden, Xiangshan Jingyi Garden, Wanshou Mountain Qingyi Garden (Summer Palace), Changchun Garden and Yuanmingyuan Garden. The Qing emperor traveled here and dealt with the affairs of the court, becoming another political center that paid equal attention to Beijing and the Forbidden City. Many important historical events in the Qing Dynasty are closely related to the gardens in this area. Some people say that Beijing in the Qing Dynasty was a "twin city" system with one south and one north, which is not unreasonable.
The future of Beijing The ancient city of Beijing has experienced 3040 years of vicissitudes. The development of Beijing is closely related to the long history of China. It is full of rich historical connotation and vitality of the new era. Ancient Beijing has also begun to step into a first-class modern international city. In this new situation, how to pay full attention to the protection of historical and cultural heritage in Beijing's urban construction to reflect the traditional culture of the ancient capital is a problem that everyone who loves and cares about it should think deeply.