Editing Taiyuan (section)

==History==
Taiyuan is an ancient city with more than 2500 years of urban history, dating back from 497 BC. It was the capital or secondary capital ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|陪|都}}}}, {{lang|zh-hans|{{linktext|别|都}}}}) of [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]], [[Former Qin]], [[Eastern Wei]], [[Northern Qi]], [[:zh:北晋|Northern Jin]], [[Later Tang]], [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Later Jin]], [[Later Han (Five Dynasties)|Later Han]], [[Northern Han]]. Its strategic location and rich history make Taiyuan one of the economic, political, military, and cultural centers of Northern China.<ref name="太原市政府网站-历史沿革"/>

===Pre-Qin dynasty history===
From about 859 BC the area around modern-day Taiyuan was occupied by the [[Rong people]]. In 662 BC the Rong were driven out by the [[Beidi|Di]] people.<ref name="先秦史籍中的太原">{{cite web |last=Li |first=Guangjie |date=April 22, 2010 |title=先秦史籍中的"太原" |trans-title="Taiyuan" in the pre-Qin historical records |url=http://www.tydao.com/2010/0420/ws100422xianqin.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312053143/http://www.tydao.com/2010/0420/ws100422xianqin.htm |archive-date=12 March 2011 |access-date= |website=tydao.com |language=zh-cn}}</ref>

In 497 BC, the first ancient city of Jinyang was built around the southern Jinyuan District of present-day Taiyuan, by Dong Anyu ({{linktext|lang=zh|董|安|于}}), who was a steward of {{ill|Zhao Jianzi|zh|赵简子}} ({{lang|zh-Hans|赵鞅}}), an upper-level official of the state of Jin.<ref name="太原市政府网站-历史沿革"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WqAtZ9is8OgC&q=%E5%A4%AA%E5%8E%9F%E6%8C%87%E5%8D%97&pg=PA101 |script-title=zh:太原指南汉 |publisher=[[:zh:五洲传播出版社|China Intercontinental Press]] |isbn=9787508502175 |language=zh-cn |access-date=18 October 2020 |archive-date=19 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219042606/https://books.google.com/books?id=WqAtZ9is8OgC&pg=PA101&lpg=PA101&dq=%E5%A4%AA%E5%8E%9F%E6%8C%87%E5%8D%97&source=bl&ots=TjSNAMODbA&sig=opr83cWZ7R4IFmi2NIplejEL9L0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAmoVChMIjaWa3ZHMxwIVBhs-Ch3wZAbN |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the [[Battle of Jinyang]] in 453 BC, [[Zhi Yao]] diverted the flow of the Fen River to inundate the city of Jinyang, caused significant damage to the Zhao. Later, [[Zhao Xiangzi]] alerted Wei and Han, who both decided to ally with Zhao. On the night of 8 May 453 BC, Zhao troops broke the dams of the Fen River and let the river flood the Zhi armies, and eventually annihilated the Zhi army, with the help from Wei and Han.<ref>Sima Qian vol. 43 司马迁 史记 卷43</ref>

The [[Partition of Jin|Tripartition of Jin]] happened in 403 BC, when the state of Jin, then a strong power in Northern China, was divided into three smaller states of [[Han (Warring States)|Han]], [[Zhao (state)|Zhao]] and [[Wei (state)|Wei]]. This event is the watershed between the [[Spring and Autumn period|Spring and Autumn]] and [[Warring States period|Warring States]] periods in Chinese history.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

===Qin dynasty===
In 248 BC, the [[Qin (state)|state of Qin]] attacked Zhao under General [[:zh:蒙骜|Meng'ao]], and obtained the area around Jinyang from Zhao. Qin set up the [[Taiyuan Commandery|Commandery of Taiyuan]] ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=太原郡}}), with the city of Jinyang as its administrative center. Although, the name ''Taiyuan'' had appeared in historic records before, potentially referring to different regions in nowadays southern and central [[Shanxi]], this was the first time ''Taiyuan'' was officially used to refer to present-day Taiyuan.<ref name="先秦史籍中的太原"/>

Between 229 and 228 BC, Qin General [[Li Xin (Qin)|Li Xin]] lead two armies that marched from the cities of Taiyuan and Yunzhong to attack Zhao's northern commandery of Dai. Three months after General [[Li Mu]]'s death; Wang Jian, Li Xin & Qiang Lei conquered Zhao.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In 221 BC, [[Qin dynasty|Qin]] conquered the rest of China, and officially started the first imperial dynasty of China. Qin established thirty-six [[Commandery (China)|commanderies]] on its territory, and Taiyuan was one of them. Also, the capital of commandery of Taiyuan was Jinyang.<ref name="taiyuan.gov.cn">{{cite web |url=http://www.taiyuan.gov.cn/zjtyzt/201175.jhtml |script-title=zh:历史沿革 |author=Government of Taiyuan |language=zh-hans |access-date=26 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924112901/http://www.taiyuan.gov.cn/zjtyzt/201175.jhtml |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

===Jin dynasty and Sixteen Kingdoms===
During the [[Jin dynasty (265–420)|Jin dynasty]], Taiyuan was again changed into a vassal state. Following the ending of the Jin dynasty, [[Five Barbarians|ethnic minority peoples]] settled a series of short-lived sovereign states in northern China, commonly referred to as [[Sixteen Kingdoms]]. Taiyuan was part of [[Former Zhao]], [[Later Zhao]], [[Former Qin]], [[Former Yan]], [[Former Qin]] again, [[Western Yan]], and [[Later Yan]] chronologically.

In 304, [[Liu Yuan (Han Zhao)|Liu Yuan]] founded the [[Xiongnu]] state of [[Former Zhao]], whose army raided the area around Taiyuan for years and eventually obtained Taiyuan in 316.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} In 319, Taiyuan became part of [[Later Zhao]], founded by [[Shi Le]]. Later, Taiyuan was obtained by [[Former Yan]] in 358, and by [[Former Qin]] in 370.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Fu Jian died in 384. His son [[Fu Pi]] declared himself an emperor in 385, with Jinyang (central city of Taiyuan) as the capital. But the next year, Fu Pi was defeated by the [[Western Yan]] prince [[Murong Yong]] in 386, and Taiyuan became part of Western Yan.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

===Southern and Northern Dynasties===
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}
[[File:Tang Sitzender Bodhisattva Museum Rietberg.jpg|thumb|A sitting bodhisattva statue originally from [[Tianlongshan]] Grottoes, currently in Museum Rietberg, Zürich]]
In 386, [[Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei|Tuoba Gui]] founded [[Northern Wei]]. In 396, Northern Wei expanded to Taiyuan.
In 543, [[Eastern Wei]] was founded by [[Gao Huan]], with the capital at the city of [[Ye (ancient China)|Ye]], and Taiyuan as the alternative capital ({{lang|zh-Hans|别都}}), where the Mansion of the "Great Chancellor" Gao Huan ({{lang|zh|大丞相府}}) was located.

In 577, Taiyuan was conquered and became part of [[Northern Zhou]].

===Sui dynasty===
[[File:Establishment of the Tang Dynasty.svg|350px|thumb|right|Main battles involved for the establishment of the Tang dynasty originated from Taiyuan.]]
In 581, [[Emperor Wen of Sui]] founded [[Sui dynasty]]. Jinyang was first the administrative center of Bing Zhou ({{lang|zh-hans|并州}}), which was changed into [[Taiyuan Commandery]].
In 617, [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang|Li Yuan]] rose in rebellion based in Taiyuan, and expanded quickly.

===Tang dynasty===
In 618, [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang|Li Yuan]] founded [[Tang dynasty]], which is generally considered a golden age of Chinese civilization. Taiyuan expanded significantly during the Tang dynasty, partly because Taiyuan was the military base of the founding emperors [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang|Li Yuan]] and [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Li Shimin]]. As [[Li Shimin]] wrote in 619: "Taiyuan, the base of the imperial regime and the foundation of the state." ({{lang-zh|labels=no|s=太原，王业所基，国之根本}})<ref>{{lang|zh-Hans|资治通鉴 唐纪三 司马光}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2020}}</ref>

In 690, [[Wu Zetian]] set Taiyuan as the Northern Capital, ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c={{linktext|北|都}} |p=Běidū}}), one of the three capitals, along with [[Chang'an]] and [[Luoyang]], as depicted in the poem by [[Li Bai]]: "The king of the heaven has three capitals, the Northern capital is one of them." ("{{lang-zh|labels=no|c=天王三京，北都居一}}").<ref name="汉典-三京"/> In 742 AD, [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] changed its name further to ''Beijing'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c={{linktext|北京}}}}). During the Tang dynasty, the title ''Northern Capital'' to Taiyuan had been endowed or abolished multiple times.<ref name="taiyuan.gov.cn"/>

===Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms===
In 923, [[Li Cunxu]], son of [[Li Keyong]], founded [[Later Tang]] with capital of [[Daming County|Daming]], and soon conquered most of North China, and ended Later Liang. Afterwards, Li Cunxu moved the capital from [[Daming County|Daming]] to [[Luoyang]], and Taiyuan was set as a provisional capital, titled "Beidu" (北都, literally 'Northern Capital').<ref name=ZZTJ275>''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'', [[:zh:s:資治通鑑/卷274|vol. 275]].</ref>

In 936, [[Shi Jingtang]] established [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Later Jin]] in Taiyuan with the help from [[Liao dynasty|Khitan Liao dynasty]]. The next year, Shi Jingtang moved the capital from Taiyuan to [[Luoyang]], and then to [[Kaifeng]], and Taiyuan became a provisional northern capital ("Beijing") again. {{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

===Song dynasty===
[[File:Goddess Temple Jinsi.JPG|thumb|The hall of the holy mother in Jinci, constructed from 1023 to 1032 during the Song dynasty]]
[[Emperor Taizu of Song|Zhao Kuangyin]] ([[Emperor Taizu of Song]]) established the [[Song dynasty]] and embarked on the campaign of re-unification of China. Using a power struggle at the [[Northern Han]] court [[Emperor Taizu of Song|Taizu]] moved against it in the late 968.<ref name="song">A. D. Levine, ''The Reigns of Hui-tsung (1100–1126) and Ch’in-tsung (1126–1127) and the Fall of the Northern Sung'', in P. J. Smith (ed.), ''The Cambridge History of China'', vol. 5, Part One: ''The Sung Dynasty and Its Precursors, 907–1279'', (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994), Ch. 7.   {{ISBN|978-0-521-81248-1}}</ref>  By early 969 his armies encircled Taiyuan and defeated the reinforcements sent by the [[Khitan people|Khitan]]. However, an attempt to flood the city failed. The siege was lifted after three months, as heavy rains caused diseases in the besieging army, the supplies were running low, and another [[Khitan people|Khitan]] relief force was advancing towards the city.<ref name="song" />

[[Emperor Taizu of Song|Taizu]] launched the second invasion of [[Northern Han]]
in September 969, but the armies were recalled after his death (November 14,969).<ref name="song" />

Taizu's brother [[Emperor Taizong of Song|Taizong]] subjugated the last independent kingdoms in the south of China by 978, and in 979 launched the third campaign
against the [[Northern Han]] and its overlord the [[Khitan people|Khitan]] state of [[Liao dynasty|Liao]]. Using the north-western route instead of the southern (used in the previous campaigns) the armies of [[Emperor Taizong of Song|Taizong]]  defeated a
major [[Liao dynasty|Liao]] force. Isolated, the Northern Han resisted for only
fifteen days before surrendering.  In contrast to the mild policies of his brother, Taizong dealt harshly with the city. He ordered the flooding of Taiyuan by releasing the [[Fen River]], and set the city on fire.<ref name="song" />  The former capital was downgraded from prefecture to county town status.

It was not until 982 that a new city was founded on the banks of the [[Fen River]]. The oldest existing building in Taiyuan today is the Temple of the Goddess ({{lang-zh|t= {{linktext|聖|母|殿}}|s={{linktext|圣|母|殿}}}}) inside the [[Jin Ci]] Complex. It was originally built in 1023 and reconstructed in 1102.

From 1027 one of the two private markets for [[Tangut people|Tangut]] goods, particularly salt, operated in Taiyuan.<ref>R. Dunnel, ''The Hia Hia'', in D. Twitchet and J. K. Fairbank (eds.),  ''The Cambridge History of China'', vol. 6, ''Alien Regimes and Border States, 907—1368'' (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994), p. 178   {{ISBN|978-0-521-24331-5}}</ref> During the [[Song dynasty|Song]] period many people, including the family of chancellor [[Wang Anshi]],  migrated south.<ref>P. J. Smith, ''Shen-tsung's Reign and the New Policies of Wang An-shih, 1067–1085'', in P. J. Smith (ed.), ''The Cambridge History of China'', vol. 5, Part One: ''The Sung Dynasty and Its Precursors, 907–1279'', (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994), p. 357.   {{ISBN|978-0-521-81248-1}}</ref>

===Jin dynasty===
The [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jurchen Jin dynasty]] was founded in 1115, and in 1125, Taiyuan was conquered by Jin.

===Yuan dynasty===
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}
The Mongol empire emerged in 1206 under the leadership of [[Genghis Khan]], and it expanded quickly. In 1218, Taiyuan was conquered by the Mongol army led by General [[Muqali]].
[[Kublai Khan]] established the [[Yuan dynasty]] in 1271, and the administrative area of Taiyuan Lu ({{linktext|lang=zh|太原|路}}) was expanded.

The Taoist [[:zh:龙山石窟|Longshan Grottoes]] was built in early Yuan dynasty, initiated by Taoist monk Song Defang ({{linktext|lang=zh|宋|德|芳}}).

===Ming dynasty===
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}
In 1368, [[Hongwu Emperor]] established the [[Ming dynasty]], and Taiyuan was obtained from Yuan, by General [[Xu Da]].

The Ming dynasty installed [[Nine Garrisons of the Ming dynasty|Nine Military Garrisons]] to defend the northern territory during the reign of the [[Hongzhi Emperor]], which included the Garrison of Taiyuan ({{lang|zh-hans|{{linktext|太|原|镇}}}}).

[[Shanxi merchants]] became prominent in Chinese business history since the beginning of Ming dynasty, thanks to the logistic requirements of the military around the borders of northern Shanxi to defend Ming against the remnant Mongol [[Northern Yuan dynasty]].

===Qing dynasty===
In 1644, [[Shunzhi Emperor|Shunzhi]] founded the [[Qing dynasty]] and defeated the Great Shun Army in Taiyuan in the same year.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Throughout the Qing dynasty, the international trade with Russia, especially of tea, and the creation and development of so-called draft banks, or ''Piaohao'', boosted the central Shanxi basin to become the financial center of Qing China. Even though most of these Piaohao were based in different neighboring counties of [[Qi County, Shanxi|Qi County]], [[Taigu County|Taigu]], and [[Yuci District|Yuci]], Taiyuan became a significant trading center, due to its political and economical status in Shanxi.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Shanxi Provincial Academy of Social Sciences |script-title=zh:山西票号史料 |location=Taiyuan |publisher=Shanxi Economics Publishing Press |year=1992 |pages=36–39}}</ref><ref>[[History of banking in China]]</ref>

In 1900, the [[Taiyuan Massacre]] occurred, during which a number of Western missionaries were killed.<ref>{{cite book|last=Roger R. Thompson|editor=Robert Bickers and R.G. Tiedemann|title=The Boxers, China, and the World|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxgZT6XJUIoC&pg=PA65|year=2007|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|chapter=Reporting the Taiyuan Massacre: Culture and Politics in the China War of 1900|isbn=9780742553958|access-date=13 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219065447/https://books.google.com/books?id=jxgZT6XJUIoC&pg=PA65|archive-date=19 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Taiyuan Cathedral 1907.jpg|thumb|left|Taiyuan Cathedral, photographed by Edouard Chavannes in 1907]]

===Republic of China===
The warlord [[Yan Xishan]] retained control of Shanxi from the [[Xinhai Revolution]] in 1911 to the end of the [[Chinese Civil War]] in 1949. Taiyuan consequently flourished as the center of his comparatively progressive province and experienced extensive industrial development. It was linked by rail both to the far southwest of Shanxi and to [[Datong]] in the north. Until the end of the [[Chinese Civil War]] in 1949, Yan's arsenal in Taiyuan was the only factory in China sufficiently advanced to produce field artillery. Because Yan succeeded in keeping Shanxi uninvolved in most of the major battles between rival warlords that occurred in China during the 1910s and 1920s, Taiyuan was never taken from Yan by an invading army until the [[Battle of Taiyuan|Japanese conquered it]] in 1937.<ref name="GE289294">
Gillin, Donald G. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2943488 "Portrait of a Warlord: Yen Hsi-shan in Shansi Province, 1911–1930."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229172224/http://www.jstor.org/stable/2943488 |date=29 December 2016 }} ''The Journal of Asian Studies''. Vol. 19, No. 3, May, 1960. Retrieved 23 February 2011. pp.289–294</ref>

[[File:AntiJapaneseWar taiyuan.jpg|thumb|left|Chinese soldiers and civilians celebrating the victory at [[Battle of Pingxingguan|Pingxingguan]] in 1937]]

Yan was aware of the threat posed by the Japanese; and, in order to defend against the impending Japanese invasion of Shanxi, Yan entered into a secret "united front" agreement with the Communists in November 1936. After concluding his alliance with the Communists, he allowed agents under [[Zhou Enlai]] to establish a secret headquarters in Taiyuan.<ref>Gillin, Donald G. ''Warlord: Yen Hsi-shan in Shansi Province 1911–1949''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1967. p.263.</ref> Yan, under the slogan "resistance against the enemy and defense of the soil", attempted to recruit young patriotic intellectuals to his government from across China. By 1936 Taiyuan became a gathering point for anti-Japanese intellectuals who had fled from [[Beijing]], [[Tianjin]], and [[Northeast China]].<ref>Feng Chongyi and Goodman, David S. G., eds. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ib-sEZzxkb4C&pg=PA158 ''North China at War: The Social Ecology of Revolution, 1937–1945''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426212649/https://books.google.com/books?id=ib-sEZzxkb4C&pg=PA158&dq |date=26 April 2016 }}. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield. 2000. {{ISBN|0-8476-9938-2}}. Retrieved 3 June 2012. pp.157–158</ref> A representative of the Japanese army, speaking of the final defense of Taiyuan, said that "nowhere in China have the Chinese fought so obstinately".<ref>Gillin, Donald G. ''Warlord: Yen Hsi-shan in Shansi Province 1911–1949''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1967. pp.272–273.</ref>

From the Japanese occupation of Taiyuan to the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Japanese continued to exploit Taiyuan's industries and resources to supply the Japanese army. After the Japanese army in Shanxi surrendered to Yan Xishan, 10,000–15,000 Japanese troops, including both enlisted men and officers, decided to fight for Yan rather than return to Japan. Yan also retained the services of experienced and foreign-educated Japanese technicians and professional staff brought into Taiyuan by the Japanese to run the complex of industries that they had developed around Taiyuan.<ref>Gillin, Donald G. and Etter, Charles. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2055515 "Staying On: Japanese Soldiers and Civilians in China, 1945–1949."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104192613/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2055515 |date=4 January 2017 }} ''The Journal of Asian Studies''. Vol. 42, No. 3, May, 1983. Retrieved 23 February 2011. p.500, 506–508.</ref>
[[File:Taiyuan Campaign2.jpg|thumb|left|Taiyuan Campaign]]
Taiyuan was the last area in Shanxi to resist Communist control during the final stages of the [[Chinese Civil War]]. The city was taken by the Communists on 22 April 1949, after they surrounded Taiyuan and cut it off from all means of land and air supply, and taking the city required the support of 1,300 pieces of artillery.<ref>Gillin, Donald G. ''Warlord: Yen Hsi-shan in Shansi Province 1911–1949''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1967. p.288.</ref> Many Nationalist officers committed suicide when the city fell to a Communist army.<ref>[[Jonathan Spence|Spence, Jonathan D.]] ''[[The Search for Modern China]]'', [[W.W. Norton and Company]]. 1999. {{ISBN|0-393-97351-4}}. p.488</ref>