The Background and Reasons of Kaifeng, the Capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, in The Twelve Historical Manuscripts of Song Dynasty

In the history of China, Kaifeng, as the capital of a unified dynasty, only appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty, which also marked the completion of the capital's eastward movement. Then, under what historical background did Kaifeng become the capital, and how did the founding fathers of the Northern Song Dynasty choose Kaifeng as the capital? These problems have been discussed by ancient people and modern people, but they are either biased or incomplete. This paper intends to discuss this again. The ancient capital of China is the ruling center of autocratic and centralized dynasties. The so-called foundation of the world and the pivot of Kyushu, for example, a person's body is the center of the capital, and its branches are all around. Therefore, the capital was highly valued by feudal rulers. When Beijing was chosen as the capital, it was to gather the capital according to the trend of the world. That is, all the social conditions at that time were integrated as the basis for establishing the capital. Among these conditions, economic, political, national defense and defensive terrain factors are the most important. First of all, from the perspective of economic conditions, the so-called Peking University, the teachers and the masses, is tied by the masses, so it is called the capital. Only when you have food can you build a capital, and superior economic conditions are a necessary prerequisite for building a capital. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River were the most economically developed areas in China, among which Guanzhong Plain was the richest. Therefore, the land in Guanzhong is one-third of the world, while the population is only one-third, but the wealth is one-sixth, which is the focus of the national economy at that time. It was on this basis that Qin Shihuang destroyed the Six Kingdoms, and Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor accordingly. But at that time, the southern region had not been greatly developed and the economy was quite backward. In this economic situation, Guanzhong undoubtedly has the necessary material conditions to build its capital. Secondly, from the perspective of politics and national defense, when ancient means of transportation and communication were quite backward, all countries should be in the political center of the world, so as to dominate the world. The political center must adapt to the national defense priorities. The capital is not only the ultimate goal of national defense, but also the highest command center of national defense. Since the pre-Qin period, the external threat of the Central Plains regime has always been in the northwest, and the south rarely constitutes a major border trouble, so the national defense and military focus in the Qin and Han Dynasties was in the northwest. Guanzhong adapted to the national defense situation at that time, which was convenient for nearby command and became the political center of gravity. Thirdly, as far as defensive terrain is concerned, in the era of cold weapons, natural barrier terrain has great advantages in defense, which has always been valued by defenders and is extremely important to the security of the capital. The so-called founding the capital, everything is in danger, mountains and rivers are in danger, and the people of a city are also in danger. Surrounded by mountains and rivers in the mid-Qin dynasty, the walls thought they were impregnable, but they were in urgent need, so millions of people were able to take advantage of it and occupy defensive positions. The above reasons made Guanzhong the most favorable capital at that time, so when Emperor Gaozu considered moving the capital to Luoyang, Lou Jing and Sean strongly opposed it. Xianyang and Chang 'an, located in the hinterland of Guanzhong, became the capitals of Qin and Han Dynasties. Since then, although the capital once moved eastward, it was also asked to move westward from time to time. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the capital returned to another place. Generally speaking, the national situation in the Sui Dynasty and the early Tang Dynasty was similar to that in the Qin and Han Dynasties: the economy in the north was superior to that in the south, the Turks in the northwest were the main frontier, and the situation in the world was dominated by the northwest. However, after Wu Zetian took office, the above situation began to change. On the one hand, with the increasing expansion of the bureaucracy of the central government in the Tang Dynasty, the economic power in Guanzhong was difficult to cope with, and embarrassing phenomena appeared from time to time. Several emperors in the Tang Dynasty ate in Du Dong. There is often a period of time.

During the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years of the Tang Dynasty, the atmosphere of the Earth and America changed from northwest to northeast. At that time, the atmosphere of the earth and America will turn from the west to the northeast, so it will suddenly become peaceful, and history indicates its end. When Chang 'an was reduced to a county, the insurance machine of Qidan had already started to operate in Liao country, while people in the northeast of Qi were lured by Luoyang and the capital of song dynasty. Although Zhao Diqi's theory is not credible, the mystery of these statements shows that he has observed the inevitable trend of the eastward movement of the ruling center, and believes that this movement is related to the changes of the national defense center of gravity and the political center of gravity. The establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty came into being under the above social background. Therefore, the choice of the capital city can not be ignored. On the one hand, the forces of the Khitan in the northeast continued to develop. At the end of the Jin Dynasty, the soldiers washed the border capital and the Yellow River drank horses. On the other hand, the economic strength of the southeast completely overwhelmed the north. Guanzhong, once a barren land, has been in disrepair for a long time, and the benefits of the land of abundance have been lost, and it is unable to support huge capital economically. Besides being too far away, the water transport line connecting the southeast has three obstacles, which seriously limits and affects the scale of water transport. Although Luoyang is in Chang 'an, it still has the above shortcomings. He once said to the courtiers: Luoyang Palace is magnificent, but the north of Luoyang is narrow and the hub is shallow, so it is difficult to travel and it is not a place to live for a long time. Objectively speaking, under the new social situation, the capital chosen by the Northern Song Dynasty should meet the requirements of the political and national defense center at that time, as well as the needs of the economy. With these conditions, you can choose Kaifeng as the capital, which was superior in the early Song Dynasty. Its advantages are mainly manifested in the following aspects: First, Kaifeng is located in the center of the world, which is conducive to controlling the whole country, especially the vast kanto region. The four corners of the world are the hubs of the world, which can dominate the whole world; Secondly, Kaifeng is the old capital of the former dynasty, which was built in the Five Dynasties and Four Dynasties. The palace in this city is complete and densely populated, which occupies an unusual position in people's minds. Third, and most importantly, Kaifeng has convenient transportation and many canals around it, including Huimin, Jinshui, Zhangwu and Bianshui. Divided into four roads, salt can reach the sky, especially on the Bianhe River connecting the southeast, avoiding obstacles such as three doors and greatly shortening the distance of water transportation. It is advisable to establish a capital and a cooperative so that all countries can transport water. In a word, Kaifeng, as the capital, can make up for the shortcomings of Chang 'an and Luoyang to a great extent. However, the plain terrain around Kaifeng is quite unfavorable to its defense. As the saying goes, Kaifeng extends in all directions. It is better to make Qin Tianfu's book solid and surrounded by mountains and rivers. When sixteen states, including the Northern Great Wall Line, fell in the late Jin Dynasty, this defensive weakness became more prominent. As the Song people said: South of Yanji, thousands of miles away from Pyongyang, there are endless mountains and rivers, and fans are inspired by the Han people. So Kaifeng is often worried about military service in the suburbs. Facing the geographical advantages and disadvantages of Kaifeng, the Song ruling group chose to build its capital in Kaifeng after weighing. The main reason is that Kaifeng's convenient water transportation conditions met the needs of strengthening centralized politics in the early Song Dynasty, which touched the authorities. As we all know, from the Middle Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, there were anti-imperial decrees from the United States, which was a good side at home. As a result, there was a political situation in which the internal light was heavy and the central authority was swept away. The Song Dynasty, which was established under this background, is bound to learn from the past and strengthen division.

In other words, it only combines military strength with strengthening the defense of the capital. However, despite the two northern expeditions of Song Taizong and China, the capital is still located in Kaifeng, which is actually equivalent to sacrificing the important defense barrier of the capital. As later generations said, without danger, the country will be in danger. Why this empire? However, in order to ensure the implementation of the centralized policy, the rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty had to weaken national defense and put domestic troubles and foreign invasion in the first place on the issue of building the capital. Song Taizong publicly stated that if the country is not invaded by foreign enemies, there will be internal troubles. You can avoid worrying about the outside world. However, evil has no form. If it is internal, it can be abhorrent. Therefore, the direct source of Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, lies in water transportation. Fan Zuyu said: The capital of China is on the riverside, which is actually beneficial to the southeast. Zhang even told me that Bianhe is the foundation of our country. Judging from the situation in the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng, as the capital, did not have any wealth. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the Bianhe River was able to transport millions of stones of grain every year, and later it reached 6 million stones, with a maximum of 78 million stones. Coupled with the water transport of several other rivers, it provided a solid material foundation for the centralized rule of the Song Dynasty. At the age of 18, water transportation flooded the Han and Tang Dynasties, relieving its economic worries. Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, as a unified dynasty, also shows that the political centers of China and China moved eastward. Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, caused a long-term controversy due to unfavorable defensive factors. According to Sima Guang's records, he had intended to move the capital to Luoyang and Chang 'an, which was full of dangers, but was unanimously opposed by his ministers. Li Huaizhong, one of the generals, remonstrated that Tokyo has a tributary waterway, and Jianghuai must have four or five thousand millet to feed a million troops. Your majesty lives here (Luoyang, Tokyo, the army is fully armed, your majesty. Who is here? Zhao Kuangyin had to forget about it. At that time, people pointed out the reason: they didn't have room in the Zhou and Han Dynasties and didn't return, but Liang lived there for a reason, not for pleasure. Those who don't get what they want generally benefit from water transportation and teachers who support them, and serve the country by paying attention to them. Later, when Song Zhenzong visited Luoyang twice, the local elders suggested that he move the capital here. Although Zhenzong envied Luo Zhai, considering the difficulty of waterway transportation, he had to leave with regret. Scene? At that time, Fan Zhongyan suggested to build Xijing, and Taiping lived on the land in Tokyo for the whole world to enjoy. In case of emergency, Fan Zhongyan would live in the safe and secure Xiluo House to defend the Central Plains, but it was also opposed by many people. After the celebration dinner, the Khitan moved south, which left a deep impression on Song Ting. Han Qi also suggested the construction of Xijing, which was very difficult to prevent. There were many similar discussions and suggestions in the Northern Song Dynasty, which reflected the disadvantages of Kaifeng as the national capital. Zheng Qiao, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty, sighed angrily: Song Zuji, I didn't mean to. The young minister, Duke Zhou, didn't have Lou Jing's invitation and didn't enter the customs. He followed the precedent of his predecessors, and the Nine Dynasties were not easy to be caught, so it was difficult to get Jingkang. Ye Shi has a similar view. Actually, I don't object. Generations of emperors have never considered the issue of moving the capital. However, under the background of the rapid development of centralization in the Northern Song Dynasty and the restriction of the founding policy, the huge state machine, especially the heavy troops, had to be attached to Kaifeng, which was convenient for grain transportation. The state supports soldiers, and soldiers live on food and water, which leads to R.