Chinese Cities by Historical Events #2

ca 1300 BC

Pan Geng (盤庚) moved the Shang dynasty's capital to this city. It is the source of the archeological discovery of oracle bones and oracle bone script, which resulted in the identification of the earliest known Chinese writing

164 BC

Liu An (劉安), the lord of this city, supposedly invented soya milk and tofu by "alchemical" methods, perhaps as a medicine for eternal life

401

Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什), a Buddhist monk, scholar, missionary and translator from the Kingdom of Kucha, was brought to this city by the armies of Emperor Yao Xing (姚興). Kumārajīva was hailed as a great master from the Western regions and translated many sutras into Chinese

1038

Li Yuanhao (李元昊), a Tangut, declared himself the first emperor of the Great Xia with his capital at this city

1138

Song dynasty lost control of its northern half to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in the Jin-Song Wars. During this time, the Song court retreated south of the Yangtze and established its capital at this city

1273

This city surrendered after a six year siege, allowing the victorious Mongol forces to push further into the Chinese heartland and the Song dynasty collapsed in just a few years

1839

The destruction of 1,000 long tons (1,016 t) of illegal opium seized from British traders by Lin Zexu (林則徐) on the banks of the Pearl River outside this city led to Great Britain declaring war on Qing China, which is now known as the First Opium War

1898

During German occupation, this city underwent major urban construction including wharves, railway, a brewery, electrification, a sewer system and a safe drinking water supply

1931

The Japanese military staged an attack on a railway line owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway near this city as a pretext for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria

1947

On February 27 in this city, agents of the State Monopoly Bureau struck a Taiwanese widow suspected of selling contraband cigarettes which triggered an anti-government uprising that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang-led Republic of China government, killing thousands of civilians