History and Culture of Xi'an

Xi'an is one of the first batch of national historical and cultural cities announced by the State Council. In history, 13 dynasties, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang, have built their capitals here, and it is one of the four major ancient capitals in the world, which once served as the capital of China and the center of its politics, economy, and culture for more than 1,100 years. As early as 1 million years ago, Lantian ancient human beings built settlements here; 7,000 years ago, during the Yangshao culture period, the prototype of a city wall already appeared here; in 2008, Yang Guanzhai in Gaoling, Xi'an, unearthed the remains of a late Neolithic city more than 6,000 years ago, and it was selected as the first archaeological discovery of that year in China, which is the earliest city site discovered in China so far, and it also pushes forward the history of Xi'an's city to more than 6,000 years ago, which is the earliest city site discovered in China. to the Late Neolithic period more than 6,000 years ago. Since the founding of the nation, more than 200 heads of state and dignitaries from around the world have visited the ancient capital of Xi'an, including the secretary-general of the United Nations, the president of the United States, the president of Russia, the chancellor of Germany, the president of France, the queen of the United Kingdom, the emperor of Japan and the president of South Korea.

In ancient times, the "Lantian Apes" flourished here; the Neolithic "Half-slope Forefathers" established their tribes here, and agricultural production played an important role in the economic life of the Half-slope people, who burned down trees, reclaimed farmland, and planted corn and other dryland crops. They burned down trees, reclaimed farmland and planted dryland crops such as corn. At that time, the tools used by people engaged in production activities were made of stones, animal bones, antlers and pottery pieces. In addition to food production, the people of Half-Slope had also begun to grow vegetables. Livestock breeding industry had already appeared at that time, and the livestock raised at that time had two kinds of pigs and dogs, with pigs being the main ones. Hunting and fishing were also an important productive activity at that time.

In 1957, on the basis of archaeological excavations, the Xi'an Half-slope Museum was built on the spot, which was completed and officially opened to the public in April 1958, and it is China's first Neolithic site museum, as well as New China's first prehistoric settlement site museum. The museum covers an area of about 3,000 square meters, with half-cave houses, cellars, fences and large ditches for protection and flood relief, etc. The original appearance of the primitive village of the Half-slope society has been preserved in a relatively complete way.

Xi'an was called "Feng-ho" in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The name "Feng-ho" is a collective name for Fengjing and Haojing, which were built by King Wen and King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty respectively. King Wen of the Western Zhou Dynasty (周文王) built Fengjing in the southwest of Xi'an, and moved his people from the Zhouyuan area of Qishan Mountain (岐山周原). He also ordered his son Ji Fa (King Wu of Zhou) to build Haojing on the east bank of Fengshui. The latter was the political center and the former was the religious and cultural center, collectively known as "Zongzhou", which was the beginning of the city of Xi'an. After King Wu destroyed the Shang Dynasty and established the Zhou Dynasty, Feng-ho became the capital of Xi'an, which was the beginning of Xi'an as a capital city.

The early Western Zhou Dynasty marked the heyday of Chinese slavery with the "Rule of Chengkang" (成康之治). In 841 B.C., the "Riot of the People" in Haojing was the earliest mass riot in Chinese history to expel a king.

The capital city of Xianyang, most of the area of the A-fang Palace is in present-day Xi'an City, and the Terracotta Warriors and the Mausoleum of Qin are in present-day Xi'an City (located in the Lintong District of Xi'an City). Qin's clan temple on the south bank of the Wei River, Jing Ke stabbed the Qin king, it happened in the Qin Zhangtai Palace (later the former hall of the Han Weiyang Palace); Lian Po Lin Xiangru, the king of Qin sitting Zhangtai. Qin Dynasty palace layout has not yet formed the layout of the palace city, the Imperial City and the three halls. Qin Xianyang city land across the Wei River north and south.

In 202 B.C., Liu Bang gained power and established the Western Han Dynasty in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an City, a northwest suburb of Han City). Liu Bang set up his capital at Guanzhong, taking the meaning of the local township of Chang'an, and established the name "Chang'an", meaning "long-lasting peace".

The city of Chang'an is located on the Guanzhong Plain south of the Wei River, covering an area of about 36 square kilometers. During the Western Han Dynasty, Chang'an City, as the capital, has been the political, economic and cultural center of the country, and the first large-scale city with many inhabitants in Chinese history. Han Chang'an was established on the basis of the site of Qin Xianyang, "The Records of the Grand Historian": "Han Chang'an, Qin Xianyang also", Zhang Heng, "Xijing Fu" cloud: Western Han Chang'an "is a view of the Qin system, across the Zhou law", "three auxiliary Huangtu - preface" also cloud: "Wuzhao, rule Xianyang, due to the Han capital". The old Tang book Geography Zhi said: "the capital, so the Qin Xianyang, Han of Chang'an also." Since King Huiwen, Qin Xianyang has been expanding to the south, and buildings such as Zhangtai, Xingle Palace, Ganquan Palace, Xin Palace, Afang Palace and the Seven Temples were built south of the Wei River. After Liu Bang captured the world, he was persuaded by Lou Jing and Zhang Liang to build the capital Chang'an. He repaired the Xingle Palace of Qin and changed it to Changle Palace, and built Weiyang Palace on the basis of Qin Zhangtai. That is, the Han Chang'an City was established on the basis of the Qin capital Xianyang, indicating that in the capital city site is the Han Cheng Qin system. The Han Dynasty palaces are all located in the present-day Xi'an City, within the Han City Reserve, north of the North Second Ring Road, while the mausoleums of Emperor Wudi, Emperor Wen, and Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty are located in the present-day city of Xianyang. After the opening of the Silk Road, Chang'an became the center of Eastern civilization, known as "Rome in the West, Chang'an in the East".

In 9 A.D., at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang, the Grand Secretary of State, officially became the emperor and changed the name of the capital city of Chang'an to Chang'an.

In 582 A.D., Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered the construction of a new capital, Daxing City, southeast of Chang'an in the Han Dynasty, on the site of the present-day city of Xi'an. At the beginning of the Sui Dynasty, the capital was still in the old city of Chang'an, which was in a state of disrepair after a long period of war. Therefore, the Sui Emperor gave up the former Chang'an City north of Longshouyuan, and chose a new site southeast of Han Chang'an City south of Longshouyuan to build the new city of Daxing City.

After the Tang Dynasty set its capital at Chang'an, it changed Sui Daxing City to Chang'an City and carried out additions and expansions. In the eighth year of Emperor Taizong's reign (634 A.D.), the Daming Palace was built on Longshou Yuan, northeast of the former Waikuo City. In the following years, the city walls, towers, Xingqing Palace and other buildings were continuously built. The Palace City completely overlapped with the present-day Xi'an City, and the Imperial Palace overlapped with the Ming City Wall of the present-day Xi'an City. Tomb of the Tang Dynasty emperors, such as the Zhaoling Mausoleum, Qianling Mausoleum, and so on most of the present-day Xianyang City in the territory. And in the Tang Dynasty, Tang eighteen mausoleums all in the jurisdiction of the county of Jingzhaofu, Qianling is Jingzhaofu Fengtian County.

It took 72 years from the second year of Kaihuang of Emperor Wen of Sui (582 A.D.) to the fifth year of Yonghui of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (654 A.D.) when it was basically ready. The city covers an area of 84.1 square kilometers, the layout is neatly planned, strictly symmetrical east and west, divided into three major parts: the Palace City, the Imperial City and the Outer Silhouette City. The layout of the city structure fully reflects the grandeur of the peak of feudal society, in the history of Chinese architecture, urban history has epoch-making impact.

During the Five Dynasties, Houliang changed Jingzhaofu to Yongzhou and set up Daanfu, which was changed to Jingzhaofu by the Later Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, Shaanxi Road was set up, and then Yongxing Military Road. Zhao Kuangyin united China, once intended to move the capital Chang'an, finally due to the opposition of the ministry, only to give up the Jin Dynasty to change the Yongxing Military Road for the Beijing Zhaofu Road.

The beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the scope of Chang'an City still follows the Han Jian "new city", and use the name of Beijing Zhaofu. In the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Zhiyuan (1272 A.D.), Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty appointed his third son, Busco, as the King of Anxi to guard his land and built the Anxi King's Palace. In the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Zhiyuan (1279 A.D.), the name of Jingzhaofu became Anxi Road. Later, due to the rebellion of the Anxi King, the Anxi Kingdom was withdrawn. In the first year of Huangqing (1312 A.D.), the Anxi Road was changed to Fengyuan Road. According to the map of Feng Yuan City drawn by Li Hao Wen in Chang An Zhi Tu, there was only one gate on each of the four sides, with the south gate favoring the east, the north gate favoring the west, and the east and west gates being asymmetrical, and there was no symmetrical pattern of buildings in the city. The market is concentrated in the northwest corner of the city, there are horse market, sheep market and Qinchuan stage and so on. Northeast corner of the Prince's residence (Ming Qin Wangfu), City God Temple, Chanyuan and so on. Marco Polo in to the first twelve years (1275 years) traveled here, wrote: "the city is very magnificent, for the capital of the country of Beijing Zhaosha ...... this city of industrial and commercial prosperity, production of silk, residents to make all kinds of gold brocade silk ...... where life's necessary things

The city is very magnificent, the capital of Beijing Zhaoguo State This city is very prosperous in industry and commerce, and produces much silk.

The Ming Dynasty formed the pattern of today's Xi'an, Xi'an's name also originated in the Ming Dynasty. In March of the second year of the Ming Dynasty (1369 A.D.), General Xu Da marched into Feng Yuan Road, and the government of the Ming Dynasty changed Feng Yuan Road to Xi'an Prefecture.

In the third year of Hongwu (1370 A.D.), Zhu Yuanzhang made his second son, Zhu Jin, the king of Qin. In the same year, the northeast corner of the city of Xi'an began to build the Qin Wangfu. Qin Wangfu was called "Wangcheng", after the blackmail for the "Imperial City", Ming Hongwu seven years to eleven years of the newly repaired city walls, Hongwu thirteen years (A.D. 1380) and Hongwu seventeen years (A.D. 1384), respectively, to build the Drum Tower and Bell Tower, the location of which is also the same as the Yuan Dynasty's Jingshilou and Bell Tower. and the bell tower are no different.

Zhu Biao proposed to move the capital to Xi'an after his western tour in the 24th year of Hongwu (1391 AD), but he died of illness after returning to Nanjing.

The city of Xi'an remained the same during the Qing Dynasty, but a Manchu garrison was built in the northeast of the city, a Han garrison was built in the southeast of the city, and the governor's office southwest of the Bell Tower was added. At the time of the Gengzi Rebellion, Cixi and Guangxu fled west and stayed in Xi'an for a year.

On October 22, 1911, after the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, Xi'an also broke out in armed revolt, accounting for about a quarter of the total area of the city of Manchuria was captured by the insurgents and burned down, becoming a dead end of the city of Xi'an.

Feng Yuxiang, the first governor of Shaanxi in 1921, modified the houses and stationed troops in the former Qinwangfucheng (Eight Banners Churchyard).

On the eve of the War of Resistance, the National Government once established the Xijing Preparatory Committee of the National Government.

Henan and other places were lost during the war, and a large number of refugees poured into Xi'an along the Longhai Road, mainly concentrated in the railway station and Shangren Road (now Jiefang Road). Shangren Road quickly developed into a new commercial area, and the center of commercial gravity in Xi'an began to concentrate in the eastern part of the city.

After China***s Long March, the northern Shaanxi region became a Soviet zone, and Xi'an became an important front line for the Kuomintang, where the Xi'an Incident took place.

Xi'an was liberated on May 20, 1949, and became a municipality in the Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.

In 1950, it was changed to be led by the Northwest Military and Political Commission, and on January 27, 1953, the Northwest Military and Political Commission was changed to be under the jurisdiction of the Northwest Administrative Commission, and the city of Xi'an belonged to the Northwest Administrative Commission.

On March 12, 1953, it was changed to a central municipality, one of the 12 central municipalities in the country; on June 19, 1954, it was changed to a provincial municipality.