北京历史英文简介

History of Beijing

There were cities in the vicinities of Beijing by the 1st millennium BC, and the capital of the State of Yan,

one of the powers of the Warring States Period (473-221 BC), Ji (

蓟

/

蓟

), was established in present-day

Beijing.

After the fall of the Yan, the subsequent Qin, Han, and Jin dynasties set-up local prefectures in the area.

In Tang Dynasty it became the headquarter for Fanyang jiedushi, the virtual military governor of current

northern Hebei area. An Lushan lauched An Shi Rebellion from here in 755. This rebellion is often

regarded as a turning point of Tang dynasty, as the central government began to lose the control of the

whole country.

In 936, the Later Jin Dynasty (936-947) of northern China ceded a large part of its northern frontier,

including modern Beijing, to the Khitan Liao Dynasty. In 938, the Liao Dynasty set up a secondary capital

in what is now Beijing, and called it Nanjing (the

annexed Liao, and in 1153 moved its capital to Liao's Nanjing, calling it Zhongdu (

中都

),

capital.

southwest of central Beijing.

Mongol forces burned Zhongdu to the ground in 1215 and rebuilt it to the north of the Jin capital in 1267.

In preparation for the conquest of all of China, Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty founder Kublai Khan made this his

capital as Khanbaliq (Mongolian for

大都

, Chinese for

capital

wanted to become a Chinese emperor, established his capital at this location instead of more traditional

sites in central China because it was closer to his power base in Mongolia. The decision of the Khan

greatly enhanced the status of a city that had been situated on the northern fringe of China proper.

Khanbaliq was situated north of modern central Beijing. It centred on what is now the northern stretch of

the 2nd Ring Road, and stretched northwards to between the 3rd and 4th Ring Roads. There are

remnants of Mongol-era wall still standing.

After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368, the city was later rebuilt by the Ming Dynasty and Shuntian (

顺

天

) prefecture was established in the area around the city. In 1403, the third Ming Emperor Yongle

moved the Ming capital from Nanjing (Nanking) to the renamed Beijing (Peking) (

北京

), the

capital

京师

, simply meaning capital.

During the Ming Dynasty, Beijing took its current shape, and the Ming-era city wall served as the Beijing

city wall until modern times, when it was pulled down and the 2nd Ring Road was built in its place.

It is believed that Beijing was the largest city in the world from 1425 to 1650 and from 1710 to 1825 [2].

The Forbidden City, home to the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Panorama view of the Forbidden City, home to the Emperors of the Ming and Qing

Forbidden City was constructed soon after that (1406-1420), followed by the Temple of Heaven (1420),

and numerous other construction projects. Tiananmen, which has become a state symbol of the People's

Republic of China and is featured on its emblem, was burned down twice during the Ming Dynasty and