Beijing - A Concise History (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)

Beijing - A Concise History (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)

Language: English

Pages: 224

ISBN: 041539905X

Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub


Stephen Haw sets out the history of the city of Beijing, charting the course of its development from its early roots before 2000 BC to its contemporary position as capital of the People’s Republic of China.

Haw, a well-established author on China, outlines the establishment of the earliest cities in the years before 1000 BC, its status as regional capital during most of the long Zhou dynasty, and its emergence as capital of the whole of China after the conquest of the Mongol invaders under Chenghiz Khan and his successors. He considers the city’s assumption of its modern name ‘Beijing’ under the Ming dynasty, conquest by the Manchus and the turbulent years of civil war that followed the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, culminating in the communist revolution and Beijing’s resumption of the role of capital of China in 1949.

Overall, Haw gives an impressive account of the long and fascinating history of a city that is growing in prominence as an urban centre of global significance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a stone lion. At the western end is a pair of stone elephants. In 1937, the first shots of the war against Japan, which might be considered the first shots of the Second World War, were fired near this bridge. There is a small museum commemorating the anti-Japanese war near the eastern end of the bridge. Zhoukoudian (the Peking Man site) The site where the remains of Peking Man, New Cave Man and Upper Cave Man were found is preserved and it is possible to view the various caves from walkways.

of paper money (in use in China since the period of the Northern Song dynasty). The resultant inflation further weakened the Jin economy. In 1215, the Mongols again appeared outside the walls of Zhongdu. It was no longer as strongly defended as it had been when it was the residence of the Jin emperor. Part of the army in the region had already mutinied and defected to Chinggis Khan. The city soon fell to the invaders. The Mongols had little interest in it at this time except as a source of

without leaving a son as heir, then factional disputes were virtually inevitable. Temür Öljeitü had spent a lot of his younger years campaigning on the steppes, but he proved to be a capable ruler who maintained the government practices of his grandfather. After Temür’s death in 1307, there was a succession of brief reigns until the accession of the last Yuan emperor in 1333. Factional struggles and civil war were almost continuous during this period. The long reign of the last Mongol emperor in

Anglo-French armies in 1860. 82 Besieged of government to handle foreign affairs, which he headed until 1884. Throughout his period of office, he was able to avoid further serious conflict with Western nations, though his position was frequently difficult as many in the Manchu court continued to hold highly conservative, anti-foreign views. Prince Gong may well have understood that the dynasty had come very close to complete collapse in 1860 and that its survival was at least partly dependent

first shots are fired of outright war between China and Japan: Beiping is occupied by Japanese troops: the Japanese create a puppet ‘Provisional Government of the Republic of China’ ( continued ) Chronology of Major Events (Continued) 1938 The Japanese military headquarters in north China is moved to Beiping: the ‘United Reserve Bank of China’, created by the puppet government, issues money: the puppet government changes the name of Beiping back to Beijing: the puppet government set up by the

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