Why did Pan Geng move the capital?

We know from which dynasty the earliest recorded history of China began, namely Shang Dynasty.

When Shang Tang established the Shang Dynasty, the earliest capital was Bo (sound bó). In the next 300 years, the capital moved five times.

Why did the Shang Dynasty move its capital five times? Because, since Tai Geng, the sixth king of Shang Dynasty, the situation of the country has been declining day by day, and the royal families often compete for the throne, causing civil strife, coupled with frequent floods in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Once a flood flooded the capital and had to move.

By the time the 20th King of Shang Dynasty, Pan Geng, had moved the capital four times, and the capital was scheduled for election. Although the election has been very lively and prosperous, it is very low-lying Every rainy season, it will be flooded here, and traffic is often interrupted, which is very inconvenient to contact with the outside world.

Pan Geng is a successful king, and he is determined to make the people live a good life. How can we realize this wish? As a first step, he decided to move the capital. He knows that moving the capital can not only avoid floods, but also get rid of the oppression of those princes and nobles and old ministers, let go of their hands and feet to govern the country, and at the same time take the opportunity to eradicate the luxury and laziness of the nobles.

Pan Geng first sent someone to carefully select the address of the new capital-Beimeng. It is right in the middle of the territory of Shang Dynasty, protected by dangerous terrain and natural barriers. This is an ideal place to command the world. Then, Pan Geng gave the order to move the capital.

The order to move the capital was opposed by many upper-class aristocrats. Some of them pretend to maintain the ancestral temple; Some say it is unlucky to move abroad; Some even incited some civilians to make trouble, which was very serious. In the face of strong opposition, Pan Geng did not fear or flinch. He resolutely announced: "I have asked wizards many times to predict the relocation of the capital, which is in line with God's will. This is also conducive to the stability of the country and the happiness of the people. I've made up my mind and won't change it again. Whoever opposes it again will be severely punished! "

Because of Pan Geng's insistence, he defeated the opposition, and finally crossed the Yellow River with civilians and slaves, and moved the merchants to Yin, where he rectified the politics of the Shang Dynasty and revived the declining Shang Dynasty. He hasn't moved the capital for more than 200 years.

So Shang Dynasty is also called Yin Shang, or Yin Dynasty. After the demise of Shang Dynasty, this Yin capital was abandoned, so people also called it "Yin Ruins".

"Yin Ruins" were actually discovered by modern people in archaeology, in Xiaotun Village, Anyang, Henan Province. Many tortoise shells and animal bones were unearthed in Yin Ruins, all of which were engraved with illegible words. The ruling class of Shang Dynasty was very superstitious about ghosts and gods. It is unlucky for them to use tortoise shells and animal bones for divination during sacrifices, hunting and expeditions. A powerful monarch like Pan Geng also asked a wizard to predict when he moved his capital. In ancient times, people could not explain some phenomena and thought that everything was decided by the gods. After divination in Shang Dynasty, people carved the results of divination on tortoise shells and animal bones in words, which was called "Oracle Bone Inscriptions". The Chinese characters we use now are evolved from Oracle Bone Inscriptions.