Riding the vicissitudes of empires and dynasties, each change in leadership left an imprint on the city, some of which resulted in a new name. Here is a brief overview of its relatively recent appellations. Beijing has one of the most storied histories of any urban centre in the world — the saga of the city can seem to take on mythical proportions. And there are many stories to tell, given that this particular spot on the globe has hosted life for over two millennia. It is also one of the few cities to have held domain over such a vast geographic area; its history is a regal one.
In the year , during the Yuan Dynasty , the city was first anointed as a national capital. Towards the end of the Yuan dynasty, agricultural difficulties, economic problems and high levels of taxation stirred resentment between the Mongolian rulers and the Han Chinese. This resentment culminated in a rebellion led by Hongwu. He took over the strategically important Yangtze River and sent an army up to conquer Dadu. When Hongwu became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty , he moved his administrative capital to Nanjing.
Dadu was uncomfortably close to the northern edge of the country; just across the border were the former rulers. After having kicked out the Mongols, the Ming court determined that a bit of distance might be beneficial.
The name may also have expressed hopes that the north would remain peaceful and that the fierce Mongol army would not try to spark another invasion. The name Beiping was to be short-lived. About us Contact us business cooperation.
Hot search. Royal gardens. Modern nightlife. Red tourism. Must visit spots. Tiananmen Square. The Great Walls. No one, for example, now uses the old English names of Teintsin and Sianfu for the Chinese cities of Tianjin and Xi'an. Only in Britain is there still any lingering debate and it centres on one name - Peking. This was what the English called the city when they were masters of the China Sea.
It has all sorts of historical resonances. ProPekingers ask, why change it? Some cite practical reasons. The highly-respected China scholar, Jonathan Spence, continues to use Peking as a word "long familiar in the west and difficult to recognise in pinyin" The Search for Modern China, For other English-speakers the ones who might argue their case in a letter to the editor signed "Outraged, Kingstown" the adoption of Beijing is rejected contemptuously, and wrongly, as a craven case of kow-towing to China's communist rulers.
Some other languages have not followed the new spellings, but for entirely different reasons. Russians for example continue to refer to Pekin, but then in Russian a black person is still a negr, the Russians never having seen any reason to debate issues of political or linguistic correctness in the English-speaking world. Certainly it is a loaded term to the Chinese, who take offence when they hear anyone in the English "establishment" using the word.
Recently, the London Times correspondent in China, James Pringle, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and told co-operation would be withdrawn if the Times did not stop using Peking.
It now uses Beijing. Other British newspapers have long since fallen into line, though the London Independent remains a Peking holdout. Today, almost all of Taiwan, including the ROC government, uses Beijing , although some maps of China from Taiwan still use the old name along with pre political boundaries. This name is reflected in the locally-brewed Yanjing Beer as well as Yenching University, an institution of higher learning that was merged into Peking University.
The history section below outlines other historical names of Beijing. This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia with only minor checks and changes see www. See also our Disclaimer. The Temple of Heaven, an enduring symbol of Beijing. CNY Chinese arborvitae Platycladus orientalis Pagoda tree Sophora japonica.
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