Contexts - The Rough Guide to Beijing - page 266

HISTORICAL NAMES OF BEIJING
Ji (11th century BC-607 AD), the first recorded name of Beijing, employed from the Zhou
to the Northern Dynasties periods; “Yan” was also used at times, and referred to a separate
settlement to the south.
Zhuojun (607-616) Used for a short time during the Sui dynasty.
Youzhou(616-938) During the Tang and Five dynasties periods; “Fanyang” and “Yanjing”
were also used at times.
Nanjing (938-1125) During the Liao dynasty; the name “Yanjing” was also employed.
Yanjing (1125-1271) In addition to its earlier use, this became the city's official name in
the Jin dynasty, as well as the early Yuan; it remains a nickname for the city, best evidenced
as the brand name of its best-selling beer.
Dadu (1271-1368) The name given to Beijing when it was chosen to serve as the Yuan
dynasty capital.
Beiping (1368-1403) The name chosen following the Ming conquest; it was also used at
points after the proclamation of the Republic.
Beijing (1403-present) “North Capital” was first chosen as a name under the Ming,
used as a sole name under the Qing, occasionally eschewed by the Republic in favour of
Beiping , then brought back in 1949 by the People's Republic.
Peking Never an official name in Mandarin, though used as a transliteration by the Western
world until the dawn of pinyin in 1958. Though “Beijing” has been the official romanized
spelling since then, the erroneous name still lives on in the form of Peking duck and Peking
man, and in various European languages.
The Yuan dynasty
Beijing's true pre-eminence dates back to the latter half of the thirteenth century, and the
formation of Mongol China under Genghis Khan (1162-1227), and subsequently Kublai
Khan (1215-94). It was Genghis who took control of the city in 1215, his Mongol army
breaking through the walls and demolishing Beijing. It was not until 1264 that Kublai set
about its reconstruction; the Yuandynasty was proclaimed seven years later with Beijing as
capital, replacing the earlier power centres of Luoyang and Xi'an.
MarcoPolo visited Kublai here and was impressed with the city's sophistication: “So great
a number of houses and of people, no man could tell the number…”, he wrote. “I believe
there is no place in the world to which so many merchants come, and dearer things, and of
greater value and more strange, come into this town from all sides than to any city in the
world…” The wealth he depicted stemmed from Beijing's position at the start of the Silk