Damingfu was so famous in history, why is it reduced to a county seat now?

Daming Prefecture was a very famous place in ancient times. The earliest Daming Prefecture was called Daming County. Since the Tang Dynasty, Daming County was renamed Daming Prefecture. It began to flourish after the Tang Dynasty, and even became a companion capital during the Northern Song Dynasty. Therefore, this place was almost well-known at that time, and its economy was also quite prosperous. However, now it has no reputation at all. For the local people, Damingfu is just a small county.

Why did Damingfu decline to such a state? Today we will learn about the rise and fall of Daming Mansion.

Daming Mansion is located in Daming County, Hebei Province today. It has existed since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It can be regarded as a famous city with a long history. When Daming Mansion was young, it was the famous "Wulu City" during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Later, it changed its name several times. Among them, the oldest name was Weizhou. Finally, it became "Da Ming Mansion" in the Tang Dynasty, and this name has remained. It was used until the late Qing Dynasty.

As for this name, it actually has a little story. It was in the third year of Emperor Dezong's founding in the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty was on the verge of collapse. The Jiedushi envoys occupied the vassal towns and each of them maintained their own rule. In the three towns in Hebei at that time, their leader was Wei Bo Jiedu envoy Tian Yue. With his power and ambition rapidly expanding, he was no longer satisfied with obeying the orders of the declining Tang Dynasty, so he and other governors from other vassal towns established themselves as kings and openly resisted the Tang Dynasty.

As we all know, the first thing to do when a dynasty changes is to change the name. After all, the new regime needs a new atmosphere, so Tian Yue changed his Weizhou to a resounding name, which is called? Daimyo?. For him, this name is not only a good omen, but can also fully demonstrate its fame and enhance its influence.

And this is indeed the case. Since it was renamed Daming Palace, this place has become more and more famous. In 907 AD, the Tang Dynasty fell and our country entered the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period with frequent wars. Once a war breaks out, the people are the first to suffer, so the population of various places plummets. Logically speaking, Damingfu, which is located in the north and borders Khitan, should become sparsely populated, but the fact is that it was still one of the cities with a huge flow of people at that time.

In 960 AD, Zhao Kuangyin joined the Yellow Robe, replaced the Later Zhou Dynasty, and established the Northern Song Dynasty. Because the Northern Song Dynasty focused on the development of the commodity economy and had a relatively stable environment, the economy of Daming Prefecture became increasingly prosperous. , the population is also increasing.

And such a place is destined to be a place that the Northern Song Dynasty pays special attention to. This is indeed the case. After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, four capitals were established in the east, west, south and north, namely Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan Prefecture in Luoyang, Henan today, Shangqiu Prefecture in Shangqiu, Henan today, and Daming Prefecture. .

Daming Mansion even became a companion capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, which shows its importance in the Northern Song Dynasty regime.

The reason why it can be used as a companion capital is not only for economic considerations, but also for military purposes.

We have mentioned before that the Daming Palace of the Northern Song Dynasty is bordering Khitan, but everyone knows that the Northern Song Dynasty is famous for emphasizing culture over military affairs. In terms of culture, no country in the surrounding countries is more powerful than him, but When it comes to fighting, there seems to be nothing softer than it. Faced with such a soft persimmon, the Khitan, which was at its peak, would certainly not miss the opportunity to squeeze it, so it often invaded the borders of the Northern Song Dynasty.

If the Northern Song Dynasty did not strengthen its military strength in the Yellow River area at this time, then it would probably not be able to maintain its passive defense state in the face of the Khitan cavalry.

In order to solve the predicament, some officials from the Northern Song Dynasty suggested setting up Daming Mansion as a companion capital and strengthening the military power of Daming Mansion, using it as a base to defend against powerful enemies in the north. On the one hand, it could resist the Khitan's continued invasion. With the momentum of the southern invasion, if the Khitans continued their southern invasion, it would be quick to send troops from Daming Prefecture to support them. On the other hand, Daming Prefecture was already one of the best in economic development. Now that it is named as a companion capital, it will also be a good thing for the overall economic development of the Song Dynasty. Good thing.

In this way, it was natural to get the consent of the rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty, so Daming Mansion became the companion capital. After becoming the companion capital, there will naturally be a considerable degree of resource tilt, and relying on these resources to help Daming Mansion reaches the peak of history. At that time, Daming Prefecture was almost well-known to everyone. At its peak, the city's population reached more than one million. There may not be many people today, but during the peace period of the Song Dynasty, the total population was just over 100 million. Daming Prefecture had a population of several million. The city is definitely one of the best. Moreover, there are many princes and nobles living in Daming Mansion. Daming Mansion is prosperous and lively, with countless valuable buildings of various types. The people also live and work in peace and contentment, and everything is in order.

In the novel "Water Margin", Daming Mansion has been described many times, and from it we can also get a glimpse of the prosperity of Daming Mansion at that time.

In general, the reason why Daming Mansion prospered in the Song Dynasty was because it had the right time, place, people and people. At that time, every time there was a war, only by conquering Daming Prefecture could we have the opportunity to completely penetrate the Central Plains and enter the two economic and political centers of Kaifeng and Luoyang. Therefore, whenever there was a war, Daming Prefecture was the first to be attacked; It is precisely because of this unique geographical location that the rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty paid special attention to this land and gave it strong military support.

However, the peak was followed by decline. After the Song Dynasty, Damingfu ushered in its turning point.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the status of Daming Mansion began to gradually decline. The Yuan Dynasty no longer established Daming Mansion as its companion capital, but because its heritage is still there, it is still a famous city.

But during the Ming Dynasty, continuous heavy rains caused the water levels of the rivers near Damingfu to skyrocket. Eventually, floods broke out in the Zhanghe and Weihe rivers, flooding the city. Even though Damingfu was dozens of meters high, Even the city walls could not stop the raging flood. All kinds of valuable buildings in the city were washed away by the flood, and the previous prosperity was gone.

It will take a few months for the water in the city to drain away. However, although the water has drained away, it has left behind several meters of silt. Cleaning up this dirt requires a lot of manpower and material resources, and even if it is clear, Without the silt, it is impossible to repair the valuable buildings built at that time.

In ancient times, people were relatively superstitious. Most people were unwilling to live in a city that had experienced floods. Because they believed that the flooding here meant that the city had aroused the wrath of God.

As a result, people living in Daming Mansion began to move away from Daming Mansion.

Due to the destruction of infrastructure and population migration, after the flood, Daming Mansion’s status in the Ming Dynasty began to fall to the bottom, and it even became an empty city. Even if people came back to live in it later, It is impossible to restore its former glory. Without this incident, although Damingfu may not necessarily become a first-tier city like Shanghai and Shenzhen, it will never become a small county.

But even now, it is no longer glorious, but it still contains the history and culture of our country from the Western Han Dynasty to the present. It is still a authentic historical and cultural city, many of which have ancient architectural relics, so if Damingfu wants to grow again, relying on these historical relics, developing tourism will be one of the ways out.