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How many times did the Shang Dynasty move the capital? Why did the Shang Dynasty move the capital frequently?
Shang Dynasty is the second dynasty in the history of China. From the demise of Shang Tang in 1600 BC to the demise of Zhou Wuwang in 1046 BC, the Shang Dynasty existed for 554 years, with 3 1 merchant kings in 17 generations. Just like Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty moved its capital frequently.

First Shang (now Shangqiu, Henan)

The ancestor of the Shang royal family was named Qi. He is Yao's half-brother and his son. Qi was enfeoffed by Yao in the commercial land, which is now Shangqiu City, Henan Province. Accurately speaking, the name of Shangqiu comes from the State of Qi, because the State of Qi is a commercial land, and the official position of the State of Qi is Huozheng, which is responsible for offering sacrifices to Vulcan and managing kindling. After Qi's death, Qi was buried in Vulcan Terrace in Shang Dynasty, also known as Qi.

At present, there are still Xubotai ruins in Shangqiu, Henan Province. It is said to be an antique of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. It is made of rammed earth, 35 meters high and 270 meters in circumference. It is like a terrace and a hill, so the place where the deed is buried is called Shangqiu, which has become a local place name over time.

Shangqiu is the earliest ancestral home and fief of Shang nationality, where merchants thrive. The era of Qi's existence is the Five Emperors' period. He survived as a vassal because he was sealed in a commercial land. In Xia Dynasty, Shang was the kingdom of Xia. Fourteen generations later, Shang Tang, the leader of the Shang clan and the descendant of Qi, perished in the Xia Dynasty.

There were 65,438+04 generations from Qi to Tang. According to historical records, this 14 generation moved its capital eight times. However, due to the age, it is difficult to assess the current position of these places. At this time, the capital can only be regarded as the capital of Fang. It was not until Shang Tang destroyed the summer and established the Shang Dynasty that there was a real capital.

In 1970s, a Longshan Age site was discovered in lizhuang village, Shenqiao Township, Zhecheng County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province. It was named "Lizhuang Site", also known as "Shantai Temple Site". According to archaeological research, the distance is between 4200 and 4500 years. Lizhuang site covers an area of 30,000 square meters, and a large number of Neolithic cultural relics have been unearthed.

Nine whole cows and 1 deer heads were unearthed in one of the sacrificial pits in Lizhuang site, which is consistent with the sacrificial culture in the pre-Shang period. Sacrifice on this scale shows the importance here, and it is likely to be Shang Zhouwang-level. In addition, the time of Lizhuang site happened to be the period when Shang Qi lived, and Lizhuang site is probably the capital of Qi Qi.

Second, Bo (now Luoyang Yanshi)

Historical Records Yin Benji: Cheng Tang, from Qi to Tang 8,000. Tang Shi lived in Bo, once a royal residence, which became the patent of the emperor.

This means that Tang Cheng (also known as Tang Cheng in Shang Tang) moved the capital from Shang Dynasty to Shang Tang eight times. It was not until I became a soup that I settled in Bo, so as to follow my late king Di Ku and return to my hometown.

Shang Tang's capital is in Bo, which is actually not one place, but many places. Shang Tang's political center was Bo, and Shang Tang lived in a commercial place, which was Shangqiu, Henan. In order to destroy the summer, Shang Tang moved its capital from business (now Suiyang District, Shangqiu City, Henan Province) to Bo (now Gushu Town, Yucheng County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province).

After the demise of Shang Tang in Xia Dynasty, it moved its capital to Yanshi District, Luoyang City, which is still called "Bo" today. Yanshi District of Luoyang City is the last capital of Xia Dynasty. At that time, Xia people called it Zhuan Xu.

1983, after the archaeological excavation in Yanshi, Henan Province, the site of Yanshi Mall was discovered, covering an area of about 2 square kilometers. Yanshi Mall has the scale of a modern capital, including a complete palace area, city walls, moats, drainage facilities, barracks, treasuries, city gates, inner cities and outer cities, with clear division of labor and complete functions. The site of Yanshi Mall has also been recognized by the archaeological community as the capital of Shang Tang after the destruction of Xia Jie.

As the capital of the early Shang Dynasty, Bohai existed for more than 100 years, after nine Shang kings, until Zhong Ding, the Shang king, moved the capital to Jiao (now Zhengzhou, Henan Province), and during the period of Pan Geng, the Shang king 18, the capital briefly moved back to Bohai (now Yanshi, Luoyang) and soon moved to Yin (now Anyang, Henan Province).

Three. Wei (now Zhengzhou, Henan)

Zhong Ding was the ninth monarch of Shang Dynasty after Shang Tang. Its capital is from Bo (now Yanshi, Luoyang) to Wei (now Zhengzhou, Henan), also known as Xiao.

1950, the site of Shang dynasty was discovered in Zhengzhou, Henan province, covering an area of 3.06 million square meters. The site was confirmed as a Shang Dynasty site by archaeological excavation, in which the circumference of the city wall is nearly 7000 meters, the bottom of the city wall is 20-30 meters wide, the top is 5 meters wide and the height of the city wall is about 10 meter.

Palace area, handicraft workshop area, tomb area and sacrificial site area have been found in the site, and a large number of cultural relics such as bronzes, pottery, jade articles and stone tools have been unearthed, which has the scale of the capital city. The Shang Dynasty site in Zhengzhou, Henan Province is probably the place where Zhong Ding moved his capital.

Iv. Item (now Puyang, northern and inner Huangnan, Henan Province)

Only after two monarchs, the Shang Dynasty moved the capital again. He was the king of Shang Dynasty. During his reign, he moved the capital to Xiangzi (now Huangnan in Henan and Puyang in North), but the specific address of Xiangzi is still controversial, including Tangyin in Henan and near Anyang in Henan.

Five, Geng (now Hejin, Shanxi Province), Xing (now wen county, Henan Province), Pi (now Yuncheng North, Fanxian Southeast, Shandong Province)

He Qijia died after only nine years in office. His son Zu Ti succeeded the king. Zu Ti was the monarch of Shang Dynasty 13, and moved the capital three times in 19. He regarded Xiang as the capital for several years, and Zu Ti began to move the capital. First moved the capital from Xiang to Geng (now Hejin, Shanxi), and then moved the capital.

6. Election (now Qufu, Shandong)

During the reign of Nan Geng, the first 16 monarch of Shang Dynasty, the capital of Shang Dynasty moved from Pi to Yan (now Qufu, Shandong Province), and Nan Geng died after only six years in office. Shortly after his death, the Shang Dynasty began to move the capital again.

Seven, Yin (now Anyang, Henan)

During the reign of Pan Geng, the first18th monarch of Shang Dynasty, the capital first moved from Yima to Bo (now Yanshi, Luoyang), but soon moved from Bo to Yin (now Anyang, Henan).

Pan Geng was a King of Zhongxing in Shang Dynasty. During his reign, the most important thing was to move the capital to Yin. Yin is not only a place, but also replaced the title of Shang dynasty, so there is a saying that Shang dynasty called Yin.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Yin Ruins were gradually discovered. From 1928 to 1986, Yin Ruins were excavated dozens of times, and finally the world-famous Oracle Bone Inscriptions was excavated. At the same time, Yin Ruins are considered as the capital of Shang Dynasty, which is the capital under the dual argumentation of archaeology and historical records.

Covering an area of 36 square kilometers, Yin Ruins is a standard capital configuration, which consists of several sites with detailed division of labor, including palace area, ancestral hall area, tomb area and city wall area. A considerable number of cultural relics have been unearthed, the most famous of which is Oracle Bone Inscriptions, which is a mature script of Shang Dynasty, which strongly proves the existence and civilization of Shang Dynasty and has great historical significance. You know, even the history of Shang Dynasty was unified before the discovery of Yin Ruins.

Obviously, since Pan Geng moved the capital to Yin, the capital of Shang Dynasty began to stabilize below, forming the scale of the capital. After Pan Geng, the Shang Dynasty no longer moved its capital, but took Yin as its capital until its demise.

Judging from these records, the Shang Dynasty moved the capital nine times, and there are only records. In fact, it may move the capital more often. Then the question is, why did the Shang Dynasty move the capital so frequently? What is the reason for having to move?

1, flood threat

Mencius and: When Yao was in power, the world was not flat. Floods cross the river and flood the world; The water is flowing backwards, and China is flooded.

Prehistoric floods are recorded in ancient books all over the world, and even more in China. Around the time of Yao Shunyu, there was a big flood in China, and the story of Dayu's flood control was widely known. Moreover, the inscription on the unearthed bronze cultural relic "Sui Gonggong" clearly records Dayu's words of water control: Heaven commands Yu to fill the soil and dredge the Sichuan with mountains.

Among them, "dredging the river" means dredging the river, which means Dayu's water control, and the merchant's ancestral deed is one of the heroes who helped Dayu control the water. Dayu's water control is generally regarded as the Yellow River, which has been flooded from time to time for thousands of years, and it is still the case until now. Although Dayu's flood control is recorded in history books, it is actually only temporary, and the Yellow River will not flood from time to time in the later period.

During the Xia and Shang Dynasties, China people mainly lived on both sides of the Yellow River, and the flood of the Yellow River would naturally affect people's lives. For example, during the reign of Wang Shangzu Yi, the capital was moved three times because of floods. During the reign of Zu Ti, the capital was in the north of Puyang, Henan Province, and the Neihuang River was named after the Yellow River was diverted many times, including through Neihuang County.

Sanyangzhuang site was found in Neihuang County 1986, because the Yellow River flooded the village in Han Dynasty. Within a million square meters, villages in the late Western Han Dynasty were flooded. Since floods can flood villages in the Western Han Dynasty, floods can certainly flood villages in the older Shang Dynasty. Therefore, Zu Ti of Shang Dynasty moved its capital three times because of the flood.

Even if the capital is moved, it will be moved to a place not far from the Yellow River. For example, Zu Ti moved from Neihuang, Henan Province to wen county, Henan Province, wen county was still a town along the Yellow River, and then moved from wen county, Henan Province to Yuncheng and Fanxian, Shandong Province, or along the Yellow River. People can't live without water, not only drinking water, but also agricultural irrigation water. Although the Yellow River often overflows, important cities still follow it.

2. Causes of the war

Chronology of Bamboo Books: Wang Shang Zhong Ding ascended the throne and was recruited by Lan Yi.

During the Zhongding period of Shang Dynasty, Lanyi in the southeast of Shang Dynasty was strong and had a war with Shang Dynasty. Lanyi originated in Shandong Peninsula. By the early Shang Dynasty, Lan Yi had moved westward to Shuilan, Tunliu County. In fact, Lan Yi's sphere of influence began to contact with the sphere of influence of Shang Dynasty, so war broke out.

He and He both fought against Lanyi, and Zhong moved the capital from Bo (now Yanshi, Luoyang) to Iraq (now Zhengzhou, Henan). One of the reasons is that in order to avoid war, Luoyang Yanshi is close to Shanxi Tunliu, so why did it move its capital from Iraq (now Zhengzhou, Henan Province) to Xiang (now Puyang, Henan Province and Huangnan, Henan Province)?

The capital of the early Shang Dynasty was in Shangqiu City, Henan Province, which was already bordered by Shandong Province. In the process of moving westward, Lan Yi had to pass through the sphere of influence of Shang Dynasty, and the war between the two sides was certain. Because of this, the purpose of moving the capital is to ensure the safety of the capital and facilitate the fight against foreign enemies.

3. Internal struggle

There is a very important reason for the weakness of Shang Dynasty, which is the internal political struggle. There are two main reasons: one is the struggle for the position of Shang king. The succession of the Shang dynasty throne included brothers and sisters, fathers and sons, and even cousins and uncles vying for the throne, which triggered a series of struggles and wars.

For example, in the ninth rebellion after Zhong Ding, when Zhong Ding was alive, his strength was exhausted because of the war with Lan Yi. After Zhong Ding's death, his younger brothers began to fight for the throne, and foreigners became the kings of Shang Dynasty with great power. After the death of a foreigner, his brother He succeeded to the throne and moved the capital from the dock (now Zhengzhou, Henan Province) to Xiang (now Puyang, north of Henan Province, and Huangnan in Inner Mongolia).

After the death of Qi family, his son Zu Ti succeeded to the throne. Zu Ti moved the capital three times because of the flood, and at the same time, foreign wars continued. After the death of Zu Ti, his son Zuxin succeeded to the throne, and Zuxin's younger brother Wo Jia succeeded to the throne. After Wo Jia died, his nephew Zu Ding succeeded to the throne. After Zu Ding, his cousin Nangeng acceded to the throne. After Nangeng, his cousin Yang Jia ascended the throne and Yang Jia died.

In the process of power transfer in Shang Dynasty, members of the royal family often killed each other for the throne, which was also one of the reasons for the weakness of Shang Dynasty. The reason for moving the capital is to stay away from political struggle. The throne of Shang dynasty changed from a brother to a later father and son because of a series of turmoil. In the late Shang dynasty, the inheritance system was changed to the eldest son inheritance system, which was also inherited by later generations.

The second is the rebellion of the princes. During the Shang Dynasty, governors often rebelled. For example, during the reign of foreign ministers in Shang Dynasty, Wa and Pi rebelled against Shang Dynasty. Wa nationality is a descendant of Xin family, and once married with Shang family. Yi Yin is a Xin family, but the Wa state rebelled.

Pi is a descendant of Xizhong, a car official in the Xia Dynasty, and his ancestors also helped Shang Tang destroy the summer. But at this time, they all rose up against the Shang Dynasty. Pi is in Jiangsu, Wa is in Shandong, and the capital of Shang Dynasty is in Shangqiu, Henan, just at the junction of Shandong and Jiangsu provinces. In the middle and late period, the three parties turned against each other and the war continued. Of course, the Shang Dynasty moved its capital from the easternmost part of Henan to the central and western regions.