The city of Beijing has a long and rich history that dates back over 3,000 years. Prior to the unification of China by the First Emperor in 221 B.C., Beijing was for centuries the capital of the ancient state of Yan. During the first millennia of imperial rule, Beijing was but a provincial city in northern China. Its stature grew in the 10th to the 13th centuries when the nomadic Khitan and Jurchen peoples from the steppes expanded into northern China, and made the city a capital of their dynasties, the Liao and Jin. When Kublai Khan made Dadu the capital of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), all of China was ruled from Beijing for the first time. From this time onward, with the exception of two interludes from 1368 to 1421 and 1928 to 1949, Beijng would remain as China's capital, serving as the seat of power for the Ming (1421-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, the early Republic of China (1912-1928) and now the People's Republic of China (1949 - present).
Some half a million years ago, Peking man lived in Zhoukoudian, in the southwestern suburbs of Beijing. The climate of that time was warmer and more humid than it is today. Forests and lakes in the area supported large numbers of living creatures. The fossil remains of Peking man, his stone tools and evidence of use of fire, as well as later tools of 18,000 years ago, bone needles and article of adornment from the age of Upper Cave Man are the earliest cultural relics on record in China today.
Some four to five thousand years ago, settlements to the southwest of Beijing were thriving on basic agriculture and animal husbandry. Story has it that the legendary Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) battled against the tribal leader Chiyou in the "wilderness of the prefecture of Zhuo."Zhuolu, a town west of present-day Beijing, is perhaps the site of the first metropolis in the area. Yellow Emperor's successor, Emperor Yao, was said to have established a legendary capital Youdu (City of Quietude) that was where the city of Ji was actually built.
In 1045 B. C, a small town appeared southwestern of present city of Beijing. It was named Ji and then changed to Yan.
At the beginning of the 10th century,the city was the second capital of the Liao Dynasty. From then on, it had been the capital of the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties until 1911.
In the early twenties, Beijing became the cradle of China's new democratic revolution. The May Fourth Movement against imperialism and feudalism began here in 1919.
On October Ist, 1949, Chairman Maozedong proclaimed to the whole world the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing., |
