Capital of China
Numerous cities have been the
capital of China during the course of history.
- Anyang was the capital during the Yin period of Shang Dynasty
- Beijing was and has been the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
State of Yan in
Spring and Autumn Period: called Ji (薊 ji4)
Liao Dynasty, as a secondary capital: called Yanjing (燕京 yan4 jing1 "city of Yan")
Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) from Jin Shi Zong until 1220s (1217?): called Zhongdu (中都 zhong1 du1 "central city")
Yuan Dynasty: called Dadu (大都 da4 du1 "great city")
Ming Dynasty since Yongle Emperor of China: called Jingshi (京師 jing1 shi1 "metropolis")
Qing Dynasty since the fall of Ming in 1644.
the current capital of the People's Republic of China
- Chang'an (modern day Xi'an) was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
Western
Han Dynasty, from
206 BC to AD
9.
Western Wei Dynasty and Northern Zhou Dynasty
Sui Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Wu Yue Kingdom (904-978), during the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
China during the Southern Song
- Hao was the capital during Western Zhou Dynasty.
- Jiankang (formerly Jianye) was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
Three Kingdoms
Six Dynasty
- 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
- Luoyang was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
Eastern Zhou Dynasty
Eastern Han Dynasty from AD 25 to AD 220.
Kingdom of Wei during the Three Kingdoms.
Western Jin Dynasty
Northern Wei Dynasty since 493 AD, moved its capital from Datong.
Later Tang Dynasty during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
- Nanjing was the capital of various Chinese governments including (sorted chronologically):
all of the
Six Dynasties:
- Kingdom of Wu during the Three Kingdoms
- Eastern Jin Dynasty
- Song Dynasty
- Qi Dynasty,
- Liang Dynasty
- Chen Dynasty
Ming Dynasty before Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing.
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. (It is still the "official" ROC capital.)
collaborationist government of Wang Jingwei
The Chinese phrase
Four Great Ancient Capitals of China (中国四大古都
pinyin zhong1 guo2 si4 da4 gu3 du1) refers to Nanjing, Beijing, Xi'an, and Luoyang.\n