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===Historical period=== [[File:Tomb of King Tongmyong, Pyongyang, North Korea.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Tomb of King Tongmyong]]]] Pyongyang was founded in 1122 BC on the site of the capital of the legendary king [[Dangun]].<ref name="EBPyongyang"/> [[Wanggeom-seong]], which was in the location of Pyongyang, became the capital of [[Gojoseon]] from 194 to 108 BC. It fell in the [[Han conquest of Gojoseon]] in 108 BC. [[Emperor Wu of Han]] ordered four commanderies be set up, with [[Lelang Commandery]] in the center and its capital established as "Joseon" (朝鮮縣, 조선현) at the location of Pyongyang. Several archaeological findings from the later, [[Eastern Han]] (20–220 AD) period in the Pyongyang area seems to suggest that Han forces later launched brief incursions around these parts. The area around the city was called Nanglang during the early [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms period]]. As the capital of Nanglang ({{korean|hangul=낙랑국|hanja=樂浪國|labels=no}}),{{Efn |Nanglang-state is different from Lelang Commandery.}} Pyongyang remained an important commercial and cultural outpost after the Lelang Commandery was destroyed by an expanding [[Goguryeo]] in 313. Goguryeo moved its capital there in 427. According to [[Christopher I. Beckwith|Christopher Beckwith]], ''Pyongyang'' is the [[Sino-Korean vocabulary|Sino-Korean reading]] of the name they gave it in their language: ''Piarna'', or "level land".<ref>{{Cite book |first=Christopher I. |last=Beckwith |title=Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-691-13589-2 |page=104}}</ref> In 668, Pyongyang became the capital of the [[Protectorate General to Pacify the East]] established by the [[Tang dynasty]] of China. However, by 676, it was taken by [[Silla]], but left on the border between Silla and [[Balhae]]. Pyongyang was left abandoned during the [[Later Silla]] period, until it was recovered by [[Taejo of Goryeo|Wang Geon]] and decreed as the Western Capital of [[Goryeo]]. During the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98)|Imjin War]], Pyongyang was captured by the Japanese and [[Battle of Pyongyang (1592)|held the city wall]] until they were defeated in the [[Siege of Pyongyang (1593)|Siege of Pyongyang]].<ref name="EBPyongyang"/> Later in the 17th century, it became temporarily occupied during the [[Qing invasion of Joseon]] until peace arrangements were made between Korea and Qing China. While the invasions made Koreans suspicious of foreigners, the influence of [[Christianity]] began to grow after the country opened itself up to foreigners in the 16th century. Pyongyang became the base of Christian expansion in Korea. By 1880 it had more than 100 churches and more Protestant missionaries than any other Asian city,<ref name="EBPyongyang">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/484693/Pyongyang |title=Pyongyang |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |access-date=19 April 2015}}</ref> and was called "the [[Jerusalem]] of the East".<ref>{{cite news |title=Pyongyang, one-time Jerusalem of East |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2021/03/197_304944.html |work=[[The Korea Times]] |date=2021-03-04 |access-date=13 March 2021 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306130908/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/opinion/2021/03/197_304944.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1890, the city had 40,000 inhabitants.<ref name="populstat.info">{{cite web |first=Jan |last=Lahmeyer |publisher=University of Utrecht |url=http://www.populstat.info/Asia/nkoreat.htm |work=Populstat |title=North Korea – Urban Population |access-date=27 April 2011 |archive-date=16 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516061707/http://www.populstat.info/Asia/nkoreat.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> It was the site of the [[Battle of Pyongyang (1894)|Battle of Pyongyang]] during the [[First Sino-Japanese War]], which led to the destruction and depopulation of much of the city.<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Pyongyang |title=P'yŏngyang | national capital, North Korea | Britannica |date=29 May 2023 |access-date=27 November 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404043358/https://www.britannica.com/place/Pyongyang |url-status=live }}</ref> It was the provincial capital of South Pyeongan Province beginning in 1896. During the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese colonial rule]], Japan tried to develop the city as an industrial center, but faced the [[March First Movement]] in 1919 and severe anti-Japanese socialist movement in 1920s due to economic exploitation.<ref name="britannica.com"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://english.seoul.go.kr/the-march-first-independence-movement-of-seoul-and-pyeongyang/ |title=March 1st movement Pyongyang |date=5 March 2019 |access-date=8 April 2023 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408084735/https://english.seoul.go.kr/the-march-first-independence-movement-of-seoul-and-pyeongyang/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%9C%9D%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%A9%E7%94%A3%E5%A5%A8%E5%8A%B1%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95-98045 |title=朝鮮物産奨励運動 |access-date=8 April 2023 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408083054/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%9C%9D%E9%AE%AE%E7%89%A9%E7%94%A3%E5%A5%A8%E5%8A%B1%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95-98045 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0052020 |script-title=ko:물산장려운동 |access-date=8 April 2023 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408083054/https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0052020 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was called Heijō (with the same Chinese characters {{lang|ja|平壤}} but read as {{lang|ja|へいじょう}}) in Japanese. [[File:De daken van Pyongyang Gezicht op de daken van eenvoudige, dicht op elkaar gebouwde huizen, Pyongyang, Noord-Korea, RP-F-2000-9-51.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Pyongyang, 1907]] [[File:Heijo Tram.JPG|thumb|Pyongyang Tram, {{circa|1920s}}]] In July 1931, the city experienced [[Wanpaoshan Incident#Anti-Chinese riots in Korea|anti-Chinese riots]] as a result of the [[Wanpaoshan Incident]] and the sensationalized media reports about it which appeared in Imperial Japanese and Korean newspapers.<ref>Memorandum (Institute of Pacific Relations, American Council), Vol. 2, No. 5 (16 Mar 1933), pp. 1–3</ref> By 1938, Pyongyang had a population of 235,000.<ref name="populstat.info" />
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