The Decline of the Luoyang Capital during the Five Dynasties and Northern Song, as a Turning Point in the History of Chinese Capital Cities

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  • 五代・北宋における都城洛陽の退場 --中國都城史の轉換點によせて--
  • ゴダイ ・ ホクソウ ニ オケル トジョウ ラクヨウ ノ タイジョウ : チュウゴク トジョウシ ノ テンカンテン ニ ヨセテ
  • 五代・北宋における都城洛陽の退場 --中国都城史の転換点によせて--

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Abstract

The states that succeeded one another on Chinaʼs Central Plain during the Five Dynasties period maintained a system of multiple capital cities. The eastern capital was Kaifeng 開封 and the western capital was Luoyang 洛陽. This system of multiple capital cities was not just a formality ; the functions of the capitals were distinct. The suburban sacrifices (jiaosi 郊祀) and other religious rites such as those performed at the imperial ancestral temple (taimiao 太廟) and for the gods of soil and grain (sheji 社稷) were performed at Luoyang, while Kaifeng was the centre of administrative and military affairs. The relocation of a capital to Luoyang had been regarded as an ideal since the Later Han. According to the Shangshu 尙書, Luoyang was a royal capital that had been founded by Dan 旦, Duke of Zhou, and it had been identified as the “centre of the land” (tuzhong 土中). But during the Later Zhou the facilities for performing religious rites were moved to Kaifeng, where the suburban sacrifices were then performed. Kaifeng then came to be identified as the “centre of the earth” (dizhong 地中) in accordance with the measuring methods described in the Zhouli 周禮. By using this data, it became possible to concentrate the functions of the capital in Kaifeng. Emperor Taizu 太祖 of the Northern Song drew up plans in his later years to move the capital to Luoyang, but Zhao Kuangyi 趙匡義 (Emperor Taizong 太宗) argued against this. Whereas Taizu wanted to revive Luoyang as a capital city on the basis of pre-Tang ideals, his younger brother Zhao Kuangyi invoked the suprahistorical principle of government by virtue to oppose this. Once he ascended the throne, Zhao Kuangyi carried out construction work and repairs in Kaifeng, and the capitalʼs prosperity was staged in a way that made visible the idea of sharing the rulerʼs enjoyment with the people (yumin tongle 與民同樂). Luoyang, as the western capital, became the secondary capital, but it was the secondary capital only in formal terms. Emperor Zhenzong 眞宗 made two imperial visits to Luoyang, but none of his successors travelled there. In this fashion, the imperial palace at Luoyang fell into ruin, but its urban spaces were favoured by retired officials as a place to spend oneʼs retirement, and many gardens were created there. It also became a place where a new culture of historical and Confucian studies was produced. During the reign of Emperor Huizong 徽宗 plans for an imperial visit were made, and the palace in Luoyang was repaired. During this time plans for performing sacrifices to heaven and earth (fengshan 封禪) on Mount Tai 泰山 were also progressing, and there were moves to reinstate ancient rites. It was the grand councillor Cai Jing 蔡京 who was behind these endeavours. But Huizong himself was not very keen on these plans, and this led to a confrontation between the two, as a result of which Cai Jing retired for a time from public life. Huizong adopted the position of virtuous rule based on the Zhouli that had been promoted by Taizong. In this manner, Luoyang receded from its former place in the history of Chinaʼs capital cities. In the Southern Song, Linʼan 臨安 became the capital. During the first half of the Southern Song, Kaifeng was the ideal capital, with data about Kaifeng, which had been identified as the “centre of the earth, ” being used to draw up the calendar and so on. But during the second half, the idea that Linʼan was the capital grew stronger. The age when areas on the Central Plain, which included Luoyang and Kaifeng, had been made capital cities on the basis of ideas about capital cities found in Confucian canonical texts had come to an end, and there began an age in which Jiangnan 江南, the centre of production, or Beijing 北京, the political centre, would become the capital.

Journal

  • 東洋史研究

    東洋史研究 76 (4), 691-725, 2018-03-30

    THE TOYOSHI-KENKYU-KAI : The Society of Oriental Researches, Kyoto University

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