The flood plain of the Wei river valley, the site of modern Xi’an, is traditionally considered one of the cradles of Chinese civilizations. It was here that the Neolithic people referred to as the Yangshao culture emerged to form one of the first societies at the dawn of Chinese history. Between 5000 – 3000BCE, the influence of Yangshao culture spread throughout modern Shaanxi, Shanxi and Xi’an. The Yangshao are most famous for their exquisite painted pottery depicting a variety of human faces, animals and geometric designs. Recent archaeological evidence also reveals that the Yangshao may have participated in the genesis of the Silk Road, being among the first peoples in the world to practice sericulture, the raising of silkworms to produce raw silk. Today, visitors can tour the Yangshao archaeological site at Banpo village just south of Xi’an.
In the 11th century BCE, another culture known as the Zhou emerged from their vassal status under the reigning Shang dynasty. They eventually overthrew the house of Shang, founding their own Zhou dynasty and establishing their twin capitals of “Feng” and “Hao” west of modern Xi’an. This was the first of thirteen times the Xi’an region would be home to the capital city of the Middle Kingdom over the next 2000 years.
Although nominally ruled by the Zhou, the political situation in China from around 771 – 221BCE was violent and chaotic with the various feudal states perpetually engaged in increasingly bloody power struggles. Eventually it was the state of Qin, originally consigned to the western fringes of the Chinese world, that would come to subjugate the other states under the central authority of one of history’s most influential (and ruthless) leaders; Qin ShiHuang, the first emperor of China. The Qin capital at Xi’an now became the center of the Chinese world where Qin ShiHuang set about consolidating his new empire and erecting colossal monuments to his own greatness. It is said that his palace, located just outside modern Xi’an city, was so massive that when his dynasty was eventually overthrown and the capital sacked, it took nearly three whole months for it to burn to the ground.
In 202 BCE after four years of civil war the Han dynasty ushered in one of China’s most flourishing periods of culture and wealth. From the ashes of the Qin rose the first Han emperor Gaozu’s palace and around it the city of Chang’an, meaning “Eternal Peace.” As capital of the Han from 202BCE – 8CE, Chang’an became an extraordinarily wealthy and cosmopolitan city. Confucian scholars rubbed elbows with Persian entertainers, Central Asian merchants and Indian holy men. In 120CE, even after the capital had moved east to Luoyang, a visit by a troupe of Roman jugglers was recorded. Foreigners were such an integral element in the Han capital that they had their own special street where they were accommodated and a protocol department established to coordinate their reception. Chang’an’s status made it a renowned international hub of commerce and culture, making it the first truly great Silk Road city.
After the fall of the Han in 220CE, China was wracked by peasant revolts, foreign invasions and a series of unstable, short-lived dynasties for the next 350 years. By the time China was reunited under the Sui Dynasty (581CE), old Chang’an was in ruins. Naming the city capital of Sui, the emperor Wendi embarked upon an ambitious plan to restore the city to its former glory. Realized by the genius of the imperial engineer Yumen Kai, the new city, called “Daxingcheng” or “City of Great Revival,” had a massive rectangular layout oriented to the four cardinal directions and enclosed by an outer wall whose perimeter measured nearly 36km (22 miles). The stage was now set for what is widely regarded as the golden age of Chinese history.
The short-lived Sui was soon replaced by the Tang who restored the city’s former name of Chang’an, an echo of the greatness of days gone by. The Tang, however, was destined to preside over an empire and a city that would eclipse even the great Han in terms of wealth and international influence. The Tang would be the apogee of Chinese influence in Central Asia and along the Silk Road. The many splendors of their far-flung empire were reflected in the exotic blend of cultures in what was arguably the greatest city in the world at the time. It is estimated that Chang’an reached a population of nearly two million, including a large foreign contingent which had designated for it not just a street, but an entire quarter. Nearly every nation in Asia was represented, with a tide of new caravans of foreign princes, merchants, clerics and a variety of other characters pouring in daily from the Silk Road seeking fame and fortune. The Chinese citizens of Chang’an reveled in the ubiquitous foreign luxuries. Persian dress, Turkish cuisine and Indian music are just a few examples of the exotica that were all the rage and permeated all aspects of life in every social class. During the Tang, Buddhist influence in China was at its most pervasive, yet for a time, religious tolerance was the order of the day in Chang’an. In addition to the numerous temples populated by Indian and Japanese Buddhists, Manichean temples, Islamic mosques, Nestorian Christian churches and Jewish synagogues also had a place in this most eclectic milieu.
By the end of the Tang however, these halcyon days were a distant memory. The “City of Eternal Peace” was razed to the ground and for the next 500 years sunk into an abyss plagued by an endless series of droughts, floods, famines, and insurrections. By the time the Ming prince Zhu Shuang came to rule the area, the once-great metropolis was but a shadow of its former self. Through an ambitious renovation of this provincial backwater by the Prince, Chang’an regained some of its economic vitality and re-established itself as in important regional center. The city walls and Bell and Drum towers built during the Ming are still some of modern Xi’an’s most prominent features today.
In 837CE during the Tang Dynasty, a number of Confucian classics were etched into large steles. They were housed in various locations through the turbulent final days of the Tang and the Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms period. In 1040 under the Song they were moved into the temple where the collection eventually grew over 1000 years to its present size. The collection was given the name “Beilin” or “Forest of Stelae” in the 17th century. Today it consists of nearly 3000 steles, making it the largest collection of its kind in China. In addition to classic philosophical texts and historical records, there are many fine examples of calligraphy and illustrations by the masters of classical China. One of the most famous steles however, is the Nestorian stele carved in 781 and commemorating the achievements of the Nestorian Church of Xi’an.
Located in south Xi’an, the Big Goose Pagoda and the adjacent Ci'En Temple were built in 652CE at the request of the famed Buddhist monk Xuan Zang as a place where he could store and translate the many scriptures he brought back from India. The brick pagoda was originally five stories and later the Empress Wu added another five stories. The ravages of time, however, have reduced it to its current seven stories. Even so, it is still 64m tall and offers great views of Xi'an and the surrounding area. Its companion, the Little Goose Pagoda, stands at 43m tall and was built in 709CE by the emperor Gaozong and also served as a repository for the great many Buddhist scriptures that made their way along the Silk Road to China during the Tang.
