Nanjing and Beijing, the southern and northern capitals

A Ming capital in the south

In 1267, under the Mongol Yuan dynasty, a new city called Dadu was built where Beijing stands and became China’s capital.^[2] When the Hongwu emperor founded the Ming dynasty in 1368, he made his capital at Nanjing, on the Yangtze, and drove the last Mongol emperor out of Beijing.^[4] The old Mongol capital was renamed Beiping, “Northern Peace”.^[2] Nanjing’s great Ming wall, 34 km long, still stands for about two-thirds of its length.^[1]

The Yongle emperor moves north

Hongwu’s son Zhu Di had been made prince of Yan, the Beijing region, and lived there from 1380, guarding the northern frontier against the Mongols. After his father’s death he rebelled against his nephew, the new emperor, and took Nanjing in July 1402. He reigned as the Yongle emperor and moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing.^[4]

The name Nanjing, “Southern Capital”, was introduced in 1403.^[1] The northern city became Beijing, “Northern Capital”.^[2] Its imperial palace, the Forbidden City, was built between 1406 and 1420, and 14 Ming and 10 Qing emperors were enthroned there over the next 505 years.^[3]

The Nationalists go back south

In 1928, after the Northern Expedition had nominally unified much of China, the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek moved the capital from Beijing to Nanjing.^[5] Beijing became Beiping again.^[2]

Japanese troops seized Nanjing on 13 December 1937 and over about six weeks killed and raped Chinese civilians and surrendered soldiers; most estimates of the dead range from 100,000 to more than 300,000.^[5] During the war with Japan the Nationalist capital was Chongqing, far up the Yangtze.^[6]

1949

In 1949 the Communists chose Beijing as the capital of the People’s Republic, and the city took back its name.^[2] Nanjing is today the capital of Jiangsu province.^[1] In all it has been the capital of regional empires seven times and of a united China twice.^[1]