As
Beijing is literally the "Northern Capital," Nanjing
is literally the "Southern Capital." During the
Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was strategically selected as a capital
to avoid the invading hoards from the north, before later
being relocated to Beijing. Remnants of the Ming dynasty
can be seen around the city, as well remnants of the revolutionary
spirit before the fall of the last Chinese dynasty. Now
capital of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing has an extensive past
that still can be felt in the city's spirit today.
Human
habitation goes back some 5,000 years, documented by the
discovery of prehistoric, Shang and Zhou era artifacts.
In the Warring States period there was a walled city that
had an armaments foundry there. Following the break up of
the Han dynasty, Nanjing became the capital of a number
of short-lived dynasties, particularly for the southern
dynasties during the 4th-6th century period of division
between barbarian Northern and native Chinese Southern dynasties.
At that time Nanjing was also a center for the propagation
of Buddhism. As soon as China was reunified under the Sui
in the late 6th century, the Sui ruler established his capital
at present day Xi'an and demolished all the old palace buildings
at Nanjing. The building of the Grand Canal, however, aided
the economic significance of the city, and it became a center
of weaving, particularly of brocade, and of metal foundries.
With
the defeat of the Manchus in the year 1911 and the formation
of a Chinese Republic, Nanjing again became the national
capital. The dejected and often violent history of the city
continued, however, as it was the site of mass executions
of Communists by Chiang Kai-shek in 1927, and of the infamous
"Nanjing Massacre" by Japanese forces who occupied
the city in 1937, when some 300,000 residents of the city
were brutally tortured, raped, murdered and dismembered.
After the year 1945 Nanjing yet again became the capital
of the Kuomintang government. After peace talks between
the Kuomintang and the Communists held there in 1947 broke
down, Nanjing was captured by People's Liberation Army in
1949. Thus, Nanjing has a lot of historical landmarks, museums,
memorials and relics.
