Nanjing: Encyclopedia II - Nanjing - History

Nanjing - History

Nanjing is one of the earliest established cities in the southern China area. According to the legend, Fu Chai, the Lord of the State of Wu, founded the first city, Yecheng (冶城) in today's Nanjing area in 495 BC. Later in 473 BC, The State of Yue conquered Wu and constructed the city of Yuecheng (越城) on the outskirt of the present day Zhonghua Gate. In 333 BC, after eliminating the State of Yue, the State of Chu built Jinling Yi (金陵邑) in the northwestern part of the present day Nanjing. Since then, the city has experienced numerous destructions and reconstructions.

Nanjing first became a capital in 229 AD, where Sun Quan of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Period relocated its capital to Jianye (建邺), a city he extended on the basis of Jinling Yi in 211 AD. After the invasion of the Five Hu, the nobles and wealthies of Jin Dynasty escaped across the Yangtze River and established Nanjing as the capital, which was then called Jiankang (建康). Since then Jiankang remained as the capital of Southern China during the North-South Division period, until Sui Dynasty reunified China and destroyed the entire city, turning it into farmland.

The city was reconstructed during late Tang Dynasty and was again made the capital by the short-lived Southern Tang Kingdom (937 – 975). Jiankang's industry burgeoned and thrived during Song Dynasty, although it was constantly under threat from the northern foreign invasion. The Mongolians, after taking over China, further consolidated the city's status as a hub of the textile industry.

After successfully emerging as the winner during the warlords division period at the end of Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of Ming Dynasty, established the city again as the capital of China in 1368, for the first time adopting the modern name, Nanjing, for the city. He constructed what was the largest city in the world during that time, and it took 200,000 laborers 21 years to finish the project. The present day city wall of Nanjing was mainly built during that time, and it is the longest surviving city wall in the world.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Nanjing area was known as Jiangning (江宁) and served as the seat of government for the Liangjiang Viceroy. Nanjing was the capital of the Taiping Kingdom in the mid-19th century, being renamed as Tianjing (天京) (lit. Heaven's Capital). As Qing general Zeng Guofan retook the city in 1864, massive slaughtering occurred in the city with over 100,000 committing suicide or fighting to the death.

In 1912, Dr. Sun Yat-sen led a successful democratic revolution to overthrow Qing Dynasty and founded the Republic of China, making Nanjing its capital. The capital was later moved to Beijing after Yuan Shi-kai taking over the presidency. Yet in 1928, the Kuomintang(KMT) under Chiang Kai-Shek again established Nanjing as the capital of China (Republic of China), as opposed to a government in Beijing led by northern warlords and an alternate government in Wuhan led by Wang Jingwei.

In 1937, the Japanese army invaded and occupied Nanjing, which was then the capital of China. Fiercely debated, it is commonly recognized that a systematic massacre was carried out by the occupying force in the city, with the estimated death toll varying greatly depending on the source. The official estimate made by the Chinese government today holds the death toll at 300,000, although official Chinese records show a total of only 100,000 people lived in Nanjing at the time of the massacre. It will never be known how many people were killed during the Japanese occupation. A puppet government led by Wang Jingwei was established in Nanjing, and after World War II, the KMT relocated its central government to Nanjing. On April 23, 1949, The People's Liberation Army conquered Nanjing, officially ending the Republic of China's rule in the mainland. Nanjing has remained the provincial capital of Jiangsu until today.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki