Two Chinese Jing: Beijing (North Capital) and Nanjing (South Capital)

[AndrewJin]

Both Jing (it means capital in Chinese) are historic cities as well as modern metropolis.
Both were/are national capitals of ancient dynasties and modern republics.
Both are big economic engines today.

Beijing
The northern capital

Nanjing
The southern capital

 

[AndrewJin]

If you speak an East Asian language, you might notice some other city also has the character 京 in its name.

Tokyo 東京，literally means East Capital.
It was named as such because the city lies east to the ancient capital of Kyoto (京都，literally capital capital).

Tokyo was originally known as Edo (江戸), which means "estuary".[23] Its name was changed to Tokyo (東京 Tōkyō, 東 tō "east", and 京 kyō "capital") when it became the imperial capital with the arrival of Emperor Meiji in 1868,[24] in line with the East Asian tradition of including the word capital (京) in the name of the capital city (like Kyoto (京都), Beijing (北京) and Nanjing (南京)).[23] During the early Meiji period, the city was also called "Tōkei", an alternative pronunciation for the same characters representing "Tokyo", making it a kanji homograph. Some surviving official English documents use the spelling "Tokei";[25] however, this pronunciation is now obsolete.[26]


East Capital in China is referred to Kaifeng City, which was briefly called East Capital 東京 during some dynasties.

Interestingly, Seoul, South Korea's capital, was briefly called 京城, which means the capital city in Chinese.
Seoul itself also means the capital city in Korean.

 

[艹艹艹]

xi an（chang an）（xi jing）

 

[AndrewJin]

xi an（chang an）（xi jing）

West Capital could be referred to lots of cities in history.
Xi'an is one of them.
There are also Luoyang, Datong, etc.

But Xi'an indeed is the most famous West Capital.
I think Chang'an is a better name, Perpetual Peace! What a romantic name!

 

[Place Of Space]

South capital is acutally south-east capital.

 

[TaiShang]

Both Jing (it means capital in Chinese) are historic cities as well as modern metropolis.
Both were/are national capitals of ancient dynasties and modern republics.
Both are big economic engines today.

Beijing
The northern capital

View attachment 507215
View attachment 507218

Nanjing
The southern capital

View attachment 507216 View attachment 507217

I believe Nanjing is more attractive as a city. But, Beijing definitely deserves to be the capital city. Perhaps it is because this is how we got to used to it since birth.

 

[AndrewJin]

I believe Nanjing is more attractive as a city. But, Beijing definitely deserves to be the capital city. Perhaps it is because this is how we got to used to it since birth.

Having a huge collection of imperial buildings of course!
There was some legit reasoning Empire Yongle moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing and then build the Forbidden City.

South capital is acutally south-east capital.

Southeast is not a commonly used geographic notion.
South is more cultural，as in Jiangnan (South to the River), which is geographically about South to the Yangtze River, but in practices more about a cultural identity.

 

[Cybernetics]

I voted Beijing (Northern capital) because I am more familiar with it, so it has more personal meaning. It has a history of over 3000 years. In contemporary times, it is a major economic and technological engine and is the political center of PRC. That being said, there are aspects to be appreciated from both and both are very important Chinese civilizational cities.

There are many superficial as well as deeper aspects that I admire about Nanjing (Southern capital). Superficially, Nanjing is a well kept city with great architecture.

On a deeper level from personal experience, I think the people from Nanjing have the Chinese civilization deeply embedded in their way of thinking. Perhaps they are a product of the forces of history. Many from Nanjing have a fondness for the Ming dynasty due to the fact that Nanjing was once the capital of the Ming dynasty (along with Beijing). I have a personal connection to that since some of my ancestors from Shandong were government officials during the Ming dynasty.

 

[haidian]

Why all NanJing based dynasties were short lived?

 

[Mista]

I didn't get the lyrics until I read the comments...

 

[AndrewJin]

I didn't get the lyrics until I read the comments...

What?

 

[Mista]

What?

I've no idea what the lyrics are about or rather, how to interprete the song until I read the comments on YouTube lol.

 

[Menthol]

I vote for Xi'an

 

[AndrewJin]

I vote for Xi'an

Economy-wise, the West Capital, Xi'an, is not strong enough.
Beijing's GDP is 420 billion US dollars,
Nanjing (40% of Beijing's population), 180 billion
Xi'an (55% of Beijing's population), 120 billion

I voted Beijing (Northern capital) because I am more familiar with it, so it has more personal meaning. It has a history of over 3000 years. In contemporary times, it is a major economic and technological engine and is the political center of PRC. That being said, there are aspects to be appreciated from both and both are very important Chinese civilizational cities.

There are many superficial as well as deeper aspects that I admire about Nanjing (Southern capital). Superficially, Nanjing is a well kept city with great architecture.
View attachment 507248

On a deeper level from personal experience, I think the people from Nanjing have the Chinese civilization deeply embedded in their way of thinking. Perhaps they are a product of the forces of history. Many from Nanjing have a fondness for the Ming dynasty due to the fact that Nanjing was once the capital of the Ming dynasty (along with Beijing). I have a personal connection to that since some of my ancestors from Shandong were government officials during the Ming dynasty.

I feel like Beijing is a little bit 土。。。
No offence, that's my general feeling to most cities around Beijing.
I also fancy Nanjing food way more than Beijing food except for Beijing roasted duck.

 

[TaiShang]

I feel like Beijing is a little bit 土。。。

Definitely agree, LOL. That's my feeling, as well, again, perhaps due to being accustomed to it.

Beijing feels more official, serious, and related to powerful.