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Chang'an (, ) () is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" (); yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored. By the time of the Ming dynasty, the name was again changed to Xi'an, meaning "Western Peace", which has remained its name to the present day. Chang'an had been settled since the Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao Culture established in Banpo in the city's suburb. Also in the northern vicinity of the modern Xi'an, the tumulus ruler Qin Shi Huang of Qin dynasty held his imperial court, and constructed his massive mausoleum guarded by the famed Terracotta Army. From its capital at Xianyang, the Qin dynasty ruled a larger area than either of the preceding dynasties. The imperial city of Chang'an during the Han dynasty was located 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 hence, was 8 times the size of the Ming Xi'an, which was reconstructed upon the premise of the former imperial quarter of the Sui and Tang city. During its heyday, Chang'an was one of the largest and most populous cities in the world. Around AD 750, 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.〔(a) Tertius Chandler, ''Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census'', Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1987. ISBN 0-88946-207-0. (b) George Modelski, ''World Cities: –3000 to 2000'', Washington, D.C.: FAROS 2000, 2003. ISBN 0-9676230-1-4.〕 According to the census in 742 recorded in the ''New Book of Tang'', 362,921 families with 1,960,188 persons were counted in Jingzhao Fu (京兆府), the metropolitan area including small cities in the vicinity.〔''New Book of Tang'', vol. 41 (Zhi vol. 27) Geography 1.〕 ==Strategic and economic importance of ancient Chang'an== The strategic and economic importance of ancient Chang'an was mainly due to its central position. The roads leading to Gansu, Sichuan, Henan, Hubei and Shanxi all converged here. The mountainous country surrounding the Wei River basin led to the existence of only two practicable roads through to the south, and two through mountainous Gansu to the west, forming the beginning of the ancient Silk Routes. Chinese itineraries gave the following distances: * Chang'an to Chengdu (Sichuan), 2318 Tang era ''li'' (766 miles or 1233 km) * Chang'an to Lanzhou (Gansu), 1180 Tang era ''li'' (390 miles or 628 km) * Chang'an to Hami (Xinjiang), 4518 Tang era ''li'' (1493 miles or 2403 km) * Chang'an to Yining (Xinjiang), 8087 Tang era ''li'' (2673 miles or 4302 km) * Chang'an to Yarkand (Xinjiang), 9329 Tang era ''li'' (3083 miles or 4962 k) * Chang'an to Beijing, 1645 Tang era ''li'' (544 miles or 875 km).〔Rockhill (1899), pp. 22-23, and n. 1.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chang'an」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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