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Chang'an facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
HanHorse
A terracotta horse head from the Han Dynasty.

Chang'an was the capital of ancient China of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace"; yet after its fall in the year 23 AD, the old name was restored. During the Ming Dynasty, the name was changed to its present name Xi'an, meaning "Western Peace".

History

The imperial city of Chang'an during the Han Dynasty was in northwest of today's Xi'an. During the Tang Dynasty, the area to be known as Chang'an included the area inside the Ming Xi'an fortification, plus some small areas to its east and west, and a major part of its southern suburbs. The Tang Chang'an was 8 times the size of the Ming Xi'an. During this time Chang'an was one of the largest and most populous cities in the world. Around 750 A.D. Chang'an was called a "million people's city" in Chinese records, while modern estimates put it at around 800,000–1,000,000 within city walls.

In 710, the grid of Japan's capital city at Heijō-kyō was planned to mirror the grid of Chang'an. In 794, the plan of the new capital at Heian-kyō also mirrored the Chang'an design.

  • Benn, Charles (2002). China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 0-19-517665-0.
  • Ebrey, Walthall, Palais (2006). East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 0-618-13384-4.
  • Ma, Dezhi. "Sui Daxing Tang Chang’an Cheng Yizhi" ("Archeological Site of Sui's Daxing and Tang's Chang'an". Encyclopedia of China (Archeology Edition), 1st ed.
  • Wang, Chongshu. "Han Chang’an Cheng Yizhi" ("Archeological Site of Han's Chang'an"). Encyclopedia of China (Archeology Edition), 1st ed.
  • Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (1999). Chinese Imperial City Planning. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
  • Xiong, Victor Cunrui (2000). Sui-Tang Chang’an: A Study in the Urban History of Medieval China. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies.


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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Chang'an para niños

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