1．秦中自古帝王都

1．秦中自古帝王都

西安位于陜西省關中平原中部，地跨渭河兩岸。作為一座文化歷史名城，西安是中國封建社會前期主要建都的地方。在中國歷史上，先后有12個王朝在這里建都，歷經1000多年，是中國七大古都中建都時間最長的城市。如此漫長的歷史也給西安留下了大量的文化遺存和文物古跡?，F在的西安已經成為享譽世界的歷史文化名城，也是國際熱點旅游城市。

西安城的南面是中國著名的秦嶺山脈，北面是陜北高原的南緣山脈，雖然都距離西安城較遠，但山體高大聳立，成為西安城的天然屏障。西安附近河流眾多，為城市的發(fā)展提供了豐富的水源和便利的水路交通。此外關中平原還是通往西南和西北的咽喉，地勢險要，戰(zhàn)略地位十分重要。正是有了這些優(yōu)越的自然條件，歷史上先后有周、秦、漢、唐等12個王朝選擇在這里建都。

大約在公元前1122～前1027年，周人在渭河流域崛起，向東發(fā)展，滅掉了控制中原的商王朝，建立了周王朝，并以豐鎬為國都。豐鎬，原是兩個地名。周文王在世時，在豐水之側建了一座都城，號豐都。周武王姬發(fā)繼位后，在其側的鎬地再建一座都城，號鎬都。豐都與鎬都，相距極近，因而古代文獻上經常將兩個都城合稱為“豐鎬”。這是在這里出現的最早的國都。周文王和武王在這里建都后，他們的后代都繼承了這一遺規(guī)，不再有大的變動，這主要是因為這里有著重要的軍事和經濟條件，利于都城的建立和發(fā)展。而且這里位于關中的中心地帶，有利于控制整個關中地區(qū)。據史料記載，豐鎬布局完整，都呈正方形分布，規(guī)模在當時的城市中已經算是龐大了。豐鎬在西周末年開始衰落，到了春秋時期，這一帶的地面建筑已經不復存在了。

秦國占據關中平原以后，經過幾次遷都，最終定都在瀕臨渭水的咸陽，故址建在現在的咸陽市東北10千米處。隨著秦朝的滅亡，項羽開始大規(guī)模地破壞咸陽城，燒毀了秦朝的宮殿，致使一代都城化為灰燼。

由于秦朝的都城咸陽被項羽焚燒一空，漢高祖劉邦不得不在渭河南岸重建都城，這就是西安近郊最早的城市。當時僅僅修建了長樂和未央兩座宮殿。公元前200年，長安被正式定為國都，統(tǒng)治者開始對長安進行大規(guī)模的修建。特別是在國力強盛的漢武帝時期開始大興土木，在未央宮的北面增修了漢高祖時沒有完成的北宮，另外又修建了桂宮，在長樂宮的北面修建了明光宮，這些宮殿組成了一組宮殿群，規(guī)模很非常宏大。漢代長安城位于現在西安西北的漢城一帶，周長25.7千米，面積36平方千米。漢代時長安城的外城也有了三個重要的發(fā)展，那就是修筑建章宮和明堂，開鑿昆明湖和擴展上林苑。規(guī)模最為宏大的建章宮宏偉壯麗，是漢武帝為滿足其虛榮心而修建的，建章宮的建材十分奢華，樓頂裝飾有鍍金的銅鳳，連臺階都是用玉石砌成的。明堂是用來祭祀拜祖的。昆明湖為長安城提供了一個巨大的水庫，很好的解決了供水和漕運的問題。上林苑是皇帝狩獵的場所，里面亭臺樓閣，矚目相望，還布滿奇獸異禽，名樹異草。

漢代長安城是當時世界上最宏偉壯麗的城市之一，這也為后來的幾個朝代在西安建都奠定了一定的基礎。

隋朝建立以后，也在長安地區(qū)建都。隋文帝修建了一座規(guī)模更大、布局更加整齊的城市，叫做“大興城”。唐朝建立以后，便在隋朝大興城的基礎上加以擴建，形成了唐代的國都長安城。唐長安城規(guī)模十分龐大，全城周長36.7千米，面積84平方千米，幾乎是現在西安城的10倍。作為全國行政中樞的皇城和宮城位于外城墻的北部中央，是唐長安城的核心。城市布局鮮明，街道整齊劃一，宮殿區(qū)、行政區(qū)、住宅區(qū)等都嚴格分開。城市的平面布局呈一個正方形，以六條東西向的高坡和核心進行設計建造，皇宮、政府機關、重要的寺院等大都建造高坡上，這種布局安排除了顯示皇權的至高無上外還充分利用了地形的特點，增大了城市的立體空間。唐長安城采用左右對稱的布局格式，有明顯的中軸線，這種布局特點，對中國城市的發(fā)展有著深遠的影響。

在唐朝近300年的歷史中，長安不僅是中國的政治、經濟、文化中心，還是當時世界上著名的商貿和文化中心之一。唐朝末年，長安城遭到了嚴重的破壞，朱溫拆毀了長安城，從此長安便失去了國都的地位。后來，節(jié)度使韓建在皇城的基礎上又修建了一座新城，這就是五代、宋、元時期的長安城。到了明代，在此基礎上加以擴展，重新構筑了城墻，使西安成為控制西南和西北的軍事重鎮(zhèn)。在明代，“西安”這一名稱第一次出現在歷史上，反映了統(tǒng)治者希望西北安定的愿望。

清朝沿用了明代的“西安府”這一名稱。

1. History

In the middle of the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi province, there is a city called Xi'an. Nourished by the Weihe River which runs through it, the fertile land of Xi'an attracted twelve emperors in the early Chinese feudal history who made Xi'an the capital of their dynasties. The over one thousand years of history as a feudal capital makes Xi'an the most ancient one among all the seven ancient capitals in China and endows the land with numerous cultural and historical relics which have helped establish its world fame as a historically and culturally renowned city and as an internationally reputed tourist destination.

Xi'an was chosen to be the capital in the Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang and other dynasties for good reasons: far as they are from the city proper, the grand and lofty Qinling Ridge to the south and Nanyuan Ridge to the north are a natural defense for the city; rivers that run by or run through means abundant water resources and convenient waterway transportation; and the Guanzhong Plain, the vital passage to China's southwest and northeast that was difficult to access then, is a place of strategic importance.

From around 1122 BC to 1027 BC, on the valley of Weihe River, a group of people who are called Zhou people in Chinese history began to rise and gradually stretched their presence to the east. After they defeated the Shang dynasty, the second slavery-based state in the Chinese history and the ruler of the Central Plains then, Zhou people founded the Zhou dynasty with Fenghao as its capital. Fenghao were actually two places. The first king of Zhou dynasty, who was titled as King Wen after his death, built a capital on one side of the Feng River and named it "Feng" after the river, and later his successor King Wu built another capital on the other side of the river and named it "Hao". These two capitals were so close geographically that they were often referred to as "Fenghao" in the ancient literature. Fenghao was the first capital in this area. Succeeding kings in Zhou dynasty continued to appoint Fenghao as the capital, mainly because it has favorable conditions for both military and economic development, thus an ideal place for capital. It was easy for the king to put the whole Guanzhong (the Weihe River basin) under control, for Fenghao was virtually the centre of the area. According to historical records, the capital city had a complete layout, resembling a square from a bird's view, and was considerably large compared with other cities then. Nonetheless, towards the end of the Western Zhou dynasty, the city began to fall; and in the Autumn and Spring period, all the buildings above the ground were destroyed and no longer seen.

Then came the Qin dynasty. Having moved the capital several times, the state of Qin, the ruler over the Guanzhong Plain and the founder of the Qin dynasty, finally built its capital in Xianyang, which lies on the bank of the Weihe River and is about 10 kilometers northeast to today's city of Xianyang. After the fall of the Qin dynasty, an insurgent general Xiang Yu marched into Xianyang and burned the once glamorous palaces to ashes.

Thus unable to use the capital city of the previous dynasty, the first emperor of the Han dynasty, whose name was Liu Bang, had to build on the south bank of the Weihe River a new capital and named it Chang'an (literally means lasting stability), the earliest city that was built in the suburbs of Xi'an. Emperor Liu Bang only built two palaces, Changle Palace (Palace of Perpetual Happiness) and Weiyang Palace (Palace of Endlessness). After 200 BC when Chang'an was officially designated as capital, succeeding rulers began a large-scale construction of the city who saw its most glamorous times during the reign of Emperor Wu, the most powerful period in the Han dynasty. Started by Emperor Liu Bang, the construction of the North Palace annexed to Weiyang Palace was finished by Emperor Wu. In addition, two new palaces, the Gui Palace (Palace of Laurel) and the Mingguang Palace (the Palace of Brightness) to the north of the Changle Palace were erected. Thus a magnificent palace complex took shape.

Situated in the northwest of today's Xi'an, Chang'an in the Han dynasty was 25.7 kilometers in girth and 36 square kilometers in area. In the outer city, there were the Jianzhang Palace, the Ancestral Shrine, the Kunming Lake and the Shanglin Garden. With gilded copper phoenix decorating the roof and stairs made of jade stone, Jianzhang Palace was luxurious enough to gratify Emperor Wu's vanity as it was originally intended. The Ancestral Shrine was the place to worship ancestors. Kunming Lake, the big reservoir in Chang'an, not only provided Chang'an residents with water but also backed water transportation. For emperors, Shanglin Garden was a place for fun. There, they joyfully chased after the animals and birds among the trees and showed off their booties in pavilions.

Chang'an was one of world's most magnificent cities then. However, the Han dynasty was by no means its heyday, and later dynasties would continue to build on its grandeur.

In the Sui dynasty, Chang'an was made the capital once again. But it was even larger in area and a lot more orderly in layout. The first Emperor of the Sui dynasty, Emperor Wen, named his capital "the city of Daxing" (which literally means great prosperity). After the Tang dynasty substituted Sui, the capital, renamed Chang'an, was expanded into an unprecedented one, 36.7 kilometers in girth and 84 square kilometers in area, nearly 10 times larger than present Xi'an city. With the imperial city and the imperial palace as the center, Chang'an was clearly divided into a palace area, an administrative area and a residential area. All the imperial palaces, administrative organs and important temples were constructed on the six high slopes that stretched from east to west. Such a layout reflects the supremacy of the imperial power on the one hand and enlarges the city's space on the other. All buildings in Chang'an were constructed symmetrically along a central axis. This layout has a far-reaching impact on the urban development in China.

During the nearly 300 years when the Tang dynasty ruled China, Chang'an was not only a national political, economic and cultural centre but also an international trading and cultural centre. In the late Tang dynasty, however, Chang'an was destroyed to a great extent. When Zhu Wen (a military commissioner who made Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang dynasty abdicate in 907 and became the first emperor of the Later Liang) forced the Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang dynasty to move its capital from Chang'an to Luoyang and ordered to demolish the city, Chang'an finally lost its status as the capital. Later, on the site of the original imperial city, Han Jian (another military commissioner) built a new city which was referred to as Chang'an during the Five Dynasties, the Song dynasty and the Yuan dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, city walls were constructed, making Chang'an a town of military importance for the control over the southwest and northwest. For the first time in history, Chang'an was renamed Xi'an (literally means "west peace"), reflecting the ruler's wish to keep the northeast stable and secure.

The name of Xi'an was kept by the Qing dynasty.