The Illustrious Three Souls of Qin·Journey to Xi'an·Xi'an·Emperor State from Ancient Times

The Illustrious Three Qin Souls·Journey to Xi'an·Xi'an·Emperor State from Ancient Times

Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, known as Chang'an in ancient times, was the ancient capital of the Han and Tang Dynasties and one of the birthplaces of ancient civilization in the Yellow River Basin of my country. one.

Eight rivers surround Chang'an

Xi'an is located in the western part of the Guanzhong Plain, leaning on Zhongnan Mountain to the south and facing Li Mountain to the east. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers and is rich in products. There are rivers all around, and there is a saying that "eight rivers surround Chang'an". "Eight Rivers" refers to the eight rivers of Jing, Wei, Ba, Chan, Feng, Pou, Jian and Lao.

The Wei River originates from Wushu Mountain in Weiyuan County, Gansu Province, flows through the north of Xi'an City, and joins the Yellow River at Tongkong. It is the largest river flowing through Guanzhong. The Weihe River and its tributaries alluvially form the Weihe Basin, also known as the Guanzhong Basin and Guanzhong Plain. The basin starts from Baoji Gorge in the west and ends at Tongguan Port in the east. It is a narrow channel about 360 kilometers long from east to west. Because the ancient Qin people have been active here for a long time, it is known as the "Eight Hundred Miles of Qinchuan". Because it is located among the four passes of Hangu Pass, Dashan Pass, Wuguan Pass and Xiao Pass, it is also called Guanzhong. In ancient times, the Wei River provided both shipping and irrigation benefits, and was an important support for the economic development of Guanzhong. The famous towns in the Guanzhong area are all located along the Wei River. The famous historical capitals Xianyang and Chang'an both emerged in the north and south of the Wei River. The Jing River originates from the western foot of Liupan Mountain in Jingyuan County, Gansu Province, and flows into the Wei River in Gaoling County. The other six rivers originate from the Qinling Mountains and merge into the Weihe River. The Fenghe River, the Piaohe River, and the Laohe River flow through the western border of Xi'an, and the Piaohe River has now dried up. Fengshui and Bianshui were the political centers of the Western Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou capitals Fengjing and Haojing were named after Fengshui and Bianshui. The Jianhe River flows through the southern border of Xi'an, passing through Duqu, Weiqu, and Ducheng, and flows north to Zhangbagou, passing to the east of Qin Afang Palace and entering the Weihe River in the north. The Jinghe River was the most famous river in Xi'an in ancient times. It had beautiful scenery and rich products along its coast. It was also the water source of Chang'an City in the Han and Tang Dynasties. Ba and Chan linger in the east of Xi'an. The famous Banpo Neolithic ruins are located on the east bank of the Chan River. The Bahe River has a large flow and has historically been a natural barrier between Fenghao and Chang'an Dongfang. It has always been a battleground for military strategists.

One of the birthplaces of the Yellow River Civilization

The Xi'an area is one of the important birthplaces of ancient civilization in the Yellow River Basin of my country. The Lantian ape-man ruins discovered in Chenjiawo Village and Gongzhuling, Lantian County, date back to approximately 50 to 1 million years ago. Three or four powdery black substances were found in the Lantian ape-man site, which may be traces of the Lantian people's use of fire. About 200,000 years ago, early Homo sapiens called Dali people lived north of the Wei River. Neolithic Age sites are scattered all over Guanzhong, with the Banpo Village site in the east of Xi'an City and the Jiangzhai site in Lintong being the most representative. The Banpo site is a complete primitive village. The Banpo people are in the prosperous stage of matrilineal clan communes and have already established a preliminary division of labor. Women are engaged in agriculture, gathering and pottery making, while men are mainly engaged in fishing and hunting. The Jiangzhai ruins are from the same period as the Banpo ruins. The Jiangzhai people mainly focus on agriculture, but also engage in hunting and gathering. A fragment of copper was found in the Yangshao Culture layer of the Jiangzhai site. It is the earliest bronze fragment found in my country and is of great significance for studying the origin of my country's bronze culture.

Ancient my country’s Political Center

Xi’an has been the political center of ancient China for 1,062 years. Starting from the Western Zhou Dynasty in the 11th century BC, the Qin, Han, and Eleven dynasties established their capitals here, including the Western Jin, the former Zhao, the former Qin, the later Qin, the Western Wei, the Northern Zhou, the Sui, and the Tang. The capitals of the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties are the most famous. The earliest national capitals in Xi'an were Fengjing and Haojing in the Western Zhou Dynasty. With Fenghao as the center, the Zhou Dynasty controlled the whole country by enfeoffing the princes. During the Warring States Period, Qin and Qin Shihuang established Xianyang as their capital. Due to the geographical constraints of Xianyang, Qin Shihuang expanded the capital to the east and built Afang Palace in the western suburbs of Xi'an today. Chang'an, the capital of the Western Han Dynasty, is about 10 kilometers northwest of present-day Xi'an City. It has been the political and economic center of the Western Han Dynasty for more than 200 years. Another heyday of Chang'an was in the Tang Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, the economy and society developed greatly. The capital Chang'an was unprecedentedly prosperous, with a population of 800,000. It was not only the center of the country, but also a famous metropolis in the world at that time and one of the international trade distribution centers.

After the Tang Dynasty, the national political center moved eastward. Although Chang'an is no longer the capital, it still occupies an important position in politics, economy and culture, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Ming Dynasty was a prosperous period in the development history of Chang'an City after the Tang Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was established after the Yuan Dynasty overthrew the Mongol nobles. The Mongols who fled back to Mobei continued to be enemies of the Ming Dynasty. Xi'an became an important frontier for the Ming Dynasty to resist Mongolian invasion.

Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to the status of Xi'an. In the second year of Hongwu (1369), he changed the original "Fengyuan Road" to "Xi'an Prefecture", expressing his hope for stability in the northwest. Since then, the name of Xi'an has been used to this day. In the third year of Hongwu's reign, Zhu Yuanzhang named his second son Zhu Feng the King of Qin, built the Qin Palace in Xi'an, and built a new city. Since Li Shimin ascended the throne from King Qin, no one in the past dynasties has ever granted him the title of King of Qin. Zhu Yuanzhang named his second son King of Qin and stationed heavy troops there, which shows the importance of Xi'an at that time.

During the Qing Dynasty, Xi'an was heavily defended by troops. The northeast corner of the city, which accounted for about a quarter of the city, was classified as a Manchu residential area and was called the garrison city. The original Qin Prince's Mansion was also demolished and used as a training ground for Eight Banners officers to perform horse racing and martial arts.

The starting point of the Silk Road

Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, especially in the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an has become the center of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, a distribution center for commerce and trade, and is the world-famous "Silk Road". The starting point of the road. The "Silk Road" was the main line of land transportation between the East and the West in ancient times. It was gradually formed after Zhang Qian's passage to the Western Regions in the Western Han Dynasty. There were two north and south roads in the Western Han Dynasty, and a north road was added in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the north road in the Western Han Dynasty was renamed the middle road. After Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty established the Anxi Protectorate and the Beiting Protectorate, a transportation network extending in all directions with Tingzhou (today's Jimusar, Xinjiang) as the center was formed, and Xizhou Road, Uighur Road, Yizhou Road, Broken leaf road. The Suiye Road goes westward from present-day Jimusar, passing through Luntai, Changji, Manas, Wusu, Jingke, Huocheng, and Yining, to Suiye City, which is the famous North Silk Road north of the Tianshan Mountains. The main channel for transportation between China and the West. Through the "Silk Road", China's silk fabrics, porcelain, ironware, silk, tea, iron smelting, gold and silverware making and other handicrafts were continuously spread to West Asia and European countries through Persia, food and other countries. Many commodities, technologies and cultures from Western countries were introduced to China through the Silk Road. For example, the popular polo sport in Chang'an originated from Persia and was introduced from Central Asia; acrobatics such as "swallowing knives" and "breathing fire" from the Qin Dynasty (Rome) were introduced to our country; businessmen from Arabia introduced Islam to our country ,etc. The “Silk Road” played a major role in the mutual exchanges and influences between ancient Eastern and Western civilizations.