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 of the People's Republic), 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:

• 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 (formerly Romanized as Peking, from Chinese Postal Map Romanization (CPMR); briefly known as Peip'ing in Wade-Giles (WG) or Běipíng in pinyin (py)) 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)

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 Dynasty during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

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

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

Later Zhou Dynasty 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.

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

• Nanjing (formerly Romanized Nanking (CPMR) or Nanching in WG) 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.

Eastern Jin Dynasty

Liu Song Dynasty

Southern Qi Dynasty

Liang Dynasty

Chen Dynasty

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 (Taiwan) since 1949.

• 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 was the capital of Eastern Wei Dynasty and Northern Qi Dynasty.

Chronology

Government	Capital	Period
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)	Shang Tang[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, Western capital)	1046 BC—771 BC
	Chengzhou (成周, Eastern capital)	1046 BC—771 BC
Zhou (Eastern)	Chengzhou (成周)	770 BC—367 BC
	"Henan" (河南, capital of the Western Zhou State)	367 BC—256 BC
	Gong (鞏, capital of the Eastern Zhou State)	367 BC—249 BC
Qin	Xiquanqiu (西犬丘)
	Pingyang (平陽)	—677 BC
	Yong (雍)	677 BC—
	Jingyang (涇陽)	—383 BC
	Liyang (櫟陽)	383 BC—250 BC
	Xianyang (咸陽)	350 BC—207 BC
Han (Western)	Luoyang (雒陽)	202 BC
	Liyang (櫟陽)	202 BC—200 BC
	Chang'an (長安)	200 BC—8 BC
Xin	Chang'an (長安)	8 CE—23 CE
Han (Eastern)	Luoyang (雒陽)	25—190
	Chang'an (長安)	191—195
	Xu (許)	196—220
Wei (Three Kingdoms)	Luoyang (洛陽)	220—265
Han (Three Kingdoms)	Chengdu (成都)	221—263
Wu (Three Kingdoms)	Jianye (建業)	227—279
Jin (Western)	Luoyang (洛陽)	265—313
	Chang'an (長安)	313—316
Jin (Eastern)	Jiankang (建康)	317—420
Wei (Northern dynasties)	Pingcheng (平城)	386—493
	Luoyang (洛陽)	493—534
	Ye (鄴, capital of the Eastern Wei State)	534—550
	Chang'an (長安, capital of the Western Wei State)	535—557
Qi (Northern dynasties)	Ye (鄴)	550—577
Zhou (Northern dynasties)	Chang'an (長安)	557—581
Song (Southern dynasties)	Jiankang (建康)	420—479
Qi (Southern dynasties)	Jiankang (建康)	479—502
Liang (Southern dynasties)	Jiankang (建康)	502—557
Chen (Southern dynasties)	Jiankang (建康)	557—589
Sui	Dongdu (東都)	581—618
	Daxing (大興, auxiliary capital)	581—618
Tang	Chang'an (長安)	618—690
Zhou	Chang'an (長安)	690—705
Tang	Chang'an (長安)	705—904
	Luoyang (洛陽)	904—907
Liang (Five dynasties)	Dongdu (東都)	907—923
Tang (Five dynasties)	Dongdu (東都)	923—936
Jin (Five dynasties)	Dongjing (東京)	936—947
Han (Five dynasties)	Dongjing (東京)	947—950
Zhou (Five dynasties)	Dongjing (東京)	951—960
Song (Northern)	Dongjing (東京)	960—1127
Song (Southern)	Lin'an (臨安)	1127—1279
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	1038—1227
Yuan
	Shangdu (上都)	May 1264 — 1276
	Dadu (大都)	1276 — 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 — 20 September 1644
	Beijing (北京)	20 September 1644 — 12 February 1912[4]
Republic of China	Nanjing (南京)	1 January 1912 — 2 April 1912 (Provisional Government)
	Beijing (北京)	2 April 1912 — 30 May 1928 (Beiyang Government)[4]
	Fengtian (奉天)	30 May 1928 — 29 December 1928 (Beiyang Government)
	Guangzhou (廣州)	1 July 1925 — 21 February 1927 (Guangzhou Nationalist Government)
	Wuhan (武漢)	21 February 1927 — 19 August 1927 (Wuhan Nationalist Government)[5]
	Nanjing (南京)	18 April 1927 — 20 November 1937 (the Nanjing decade)[4]
	Beiping (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)[4]
	Nanjing (南京)	30 March 1940 — 10 August 1945 (Wang Jingwei Government)
	Nanjing (南京)	5 May 1946 — 23 April 1949[4]
	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)
	Xichang (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)	10 October 1949 — Present

See also

• List of current and former capitals of subnational entities of China

References

1. ^ 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.
2. ^ 李玉潔. [2003] (2003). 中國早期國家性質. 知書房出版集團. ISBN 9867938178, 9789867938176.
3. ^ ^{a b} Bamboo annals Xia chapter on Xia Jie under the name Gui (癸).
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} Esherick, Joseph. [2000] (2000). Remaking the Chinese City: Modernity and National Identity, 1900-1950. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0824825187.
5. ^ 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.