Luoyang (simplified Chinese:洛阳;traditional Chinese:洛陽;pinyin:Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of theLuo River and theYellow River in the west ofHenan province, China. Governed as aprefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital ofZhengzhou to the east,Pingdingshan to the southeast,Nanyang to the south,Sanmenxia to the west,Jiyuan to the north, andJiaozuo to the northeast. As of December 31, 2018, Luoyang had a population of 6,888,500 inhabitants with 2,751,400 people living in the built-up (or metro) area made of the city's five out of six urban districts (except theJili District not continuously urbanized) andYanshi District, now being conurbated.[1] By the end of 2022, Luoyang Municipality had jurisdiction over 7 municipal districts, 7 counties and 1 development zone. The permanent population is 7.079 million.[4][5]
The name "Luoyang" originates from the city's location on the north or sunny ("yang") side of theLuo River. Since the river flows from west to east and the sun is to the south of the river, the sun always shines on the north side of the river. Luoyang has had several names over the centuries, includingLuoyi (洛邑) andLuozhou (洛州), but Luoyang has been its primary name. It has also been calledDongdu (東都; 'eastern capital') during theTang dynasty,Xijing (西京; 'western capital') during theSong dynasty, orJingluo (Chinese:京洛;lit. 'capital Luo'). During the rule ofWu Zetian, the onlyfemale emperor in Chinese history, the city was known asShendu (神都; 'divine capital'). Luoyang was renamedHenanfu (河南府) during theQing dynasty but regained its former name in 1912.
Museum of Luoyang Eastern Zhou Royal Horse and Chariot Pits
Several cities – all of which are generally referred to as "Luoyang" – have been built in this area. In 2070 BC, theXia dynasty kingTai Kang moved the Xia capital to the intersection of the Luo and Yi and named the cityZhenxun (斟鄩). In 1600 BC,Tang of Shang defeatedJie, the final Xia dynasty king, and built Western Bo, (西亳), a new capital on the Luo River. The ruins of Western Bo are located in Luoyang Prefecture.[citation needed]
In 1036 BC a settlement named Chengzhou (成周) was constructed by theDuke of Zhou for the remnants of the capturedShang nobility. The Duke also moved theNine Tripod Cauldrons toChengzhou from theZhou dynasty capital atHaojing. A second Western Zhou capital,Wangcheng (also: Luoyi) was built 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Chengzhou. Wangcheng became the capital of theEastern Zhou dynasty in 771 BC. The Eastern Zhou dynasty capital was moved to Chengzhou in 510 BC. Later, theEastern Han dynasty capital of Luoyang would be built over Chengzhou. Modern Luoyang is built over the ruins of Wangcheng, which are still visible today at Wangcheng Park.[6]
Qin Shi Huang's chief minister, Lu Buwei, was given Luoyang. Lu began programs to develop and beautify Luoyang. It is said thatLiu Bang visited Luoyang and considered making it his capital but was persuaded to reconsider by his ministers to turn toChang'an instead for his capital.[7]
In 25 AD, Luoyang was declared the capital of the Eastern Han dynasty on November 27 byEmperor Guangwu of Han.[8] The city walls formed a rectangle 4 km south to north and 2.5 km west to east, with the Gu River, a tributary of theLuo River just outside the northern eastern walls. The rectangular Southern Palace and the Northern Palace were 3 km apart and connected by The Covered Way. In 26 AD, the Altar of the Gods of the Soils and Grains, the Altar of Heaven, and the Temple of the eminent Founder,Emperor Gao of Former Han were inaugurated. The Imperial University was restored in 29 AD. In 48 AD, the Yang Canal linked the capital to the Luo. In 56 AD, the main imperial observatory, the Spiritual Terrace, was constructed.[9]
For several centuries, Luoyang was the focal point of China. In AD 68, theWhite Horse Temple, the firstBuddhist temple in China, was founded in Luoyang.[citation needed] The temple still exists, though the architecture is of later origin, mainly from the 16th century.An Shigao was one of the first monks to popularizeBuddhism in Luoyang.[citation needed]
The diplomatBan Chao restored theSilk Road during the Eastern Han dynasty, thus making Luoyang the eastern terminus of the Silk Road during the Han dynasty.[citation needed]
In 166 AD, the firstRoman mission, sent by "the king of Da Qin [the Roman Empire], Andun" (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, r. 161–180 AD), reached Luoyang after arriving by sea inRinan Commandery in what is now centralVietnam.[10]
The late 2nd century saw China decline intoanarchy:
The decline was accelerated by the rebellion of theYellow Turbans, who, although defeated by the Imperial troops in 184 AD, weakened the state to the point where there was a continuing series of rebellions degenerating into civil war, culminating in the burning of the Han capital of Luoyang on 24 September 189 AD. This was followed by a state of continual unrest and wars in China until a modicum of stability returned in the 220s, but with the establishment of three separate kingdoms, rather than a unified empire.[11]
On April 4, 190 AD,[12] ChancellorDong Zhuo ordered his soldiers to ransack, pillage, and raze the city as he retreated fromthe coalition set up against him by regional lords all over China. The court was subsequently moved to the more defensible western city ofChang'an (modern Xi'an). Following a period of disorder, during which warlordCao Cao held the last Han emperorXian inXuchang (196–220), Luoyang was restored to prominence when his son Cao Pi,Emperor Wen of theWei dynasty, declared it his capital in 220 AD. TheJin dynasty, successor to Wei, was also established in Luoyang. At the height of Jin rule, Luoyang had a population of 600,000 and was probably the second largest city in the world afterRome.[13]
At the start of the 4th century, Luoyang was subjected to repeated attacks during theWar of the Eight Princes andUpheaval of the Five Barbarians under the Jin. In 311 AD, rebel forces of theXiongnu-ledHan-Zhao dynasty sacked and razed the city in an event known as theDisaster of Yongjia.[14] For the next two centuries, Luoyang would cease as a major population hub, but remained a hotly contested region among various states to come.[13] It was the site of a pivotal battle in 328 between the Han-Zhao andLater Zhao dynasties which established the latter as a hegemonic power in the north.[15] The city changed hands several times throughout theSixteen Kingdoms period, as it was also controlled by theFormer Yan,Former Qin andLater Qin dynasties. The Jin dynasty, which had relocated south of theYangtze river after the upheaval, was even able to recover the city on a few occasions.[citation needed]
In winter 416, duringLiu Yu's northern expedition against the Later Qin, Luoyang fell to the Jin generalTan Daoji. In 422, the city was captured byXianbei-ledNorthern Wei dynasty. TheLiu Song dynasty, which succeeded the Jin, briefly recovered the city in 430, but by the 460s, Luoyang was definitively under Wei control. In 493 AD, as part of hissinicization campaign,Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei moved the capital fromDatong to Luoyang, moving over 150,000 people to the site by 495,[16] and started the construction of therock-cutLongmen Grottoes. More than 30,000Buddhist statues from the time of this dynasty have been found in the caves. Many of these sculptures were two-faced. At the same time, theShaolin Temple was also built by the Emperor to accommodate an Indian monk on the Mont Song right next to Luoyang City. TheYongning Temple (永宁寺), the tallest pagoda in China, was also built in Luoyang. The city reached a population of 600,000 at its height during the Northern Wei.[16] The city was destroyed by the warlordGao Huan, who captured the city and forced its population to move to his capital atYe in 534.[17] The old city was the site of numerous battles betweenWestern Wei (and its successorNorthern Zhou) andEastern Wei (and its successorNorthern Qi) between 538 and 575.[citation needed]
WhenEmperor Yang of Sui took control in 604 AD he founded the new Luoyang on the site of the existing city using a layout inspired by his fatherEmperor Wen of Sui's work in newly rebuilt Chang'an.[18][19]
Model of Luoyang palace city during Wu Zetian's reign. Many major construction projects were commissioned during Wu Zetian's time, such as theBright Hall [zh] of Luoyang(right) commissioned by Wu Zetian (original 294chi = 93m tall).[20]
The Luoyang Pavilion by Li Zhaodao (675–758)
During theTang dynasty, Luoyang was Dongdu (東都), the "Eastern Capital", and at its height had a population of around one million, second only to Chang'an, which, at the time, was the largest city in the world.[21]
During an interval in the Tang dynasty, the first and the only empress in Chinese history –Empress Wu, moved the capital of her Zhou dynasty to Luoyang and named it as Shen Du (Capital of the God). She constructed the tallest palace in Chinese history, which is now in the site of Sui Tang Luoyang city. Luoyang was heavily damaged during theAn Lushan Rebellion.[7]
Epitaphs were found dating from the Tang dynasty of a Christian couple in Luoyang of a Nestorian Christian Sogdian woman, Lady An (安氏), who died in 821, and her Nestorian Christian Han Chinese husband, Hua Xian (花献), who died in 827. These Han Chinese Christian men may have married Sogdian Christian women because of a lack of Han Chinese women belonging to the Christian religion, limiting their choice of spouses among the same ethnicity.[22] Another epitaph in Luoyang of a Nestorian Christian Sogdian woman also surnamed An was discovered and she was put in her tomb by her military officer son on 22 January, 815. This Sogdian woman's husband was surnamed He (和) and he was a Han Chinese man and the family was indicated to be multiethnic on the epitaph pillar.[23] In Luoyang, the mixed raced sons of Nestorian Christian Sogdian women and Han Chinese men has many career paths available for them. Neither their mixed ethnicity nor their faith were barriers and they were able to become civil officials, a military officers and openly celebrated their Christian religion and support Christian monasteries.[24] Central Asians like Sogdians were called "Hu" (胡) by the Chinese during the Tang dynasty. Central Asian "Hu" women were stereotyped as barmaids or dancers by Han in China. Occasionally, "Hu" women would be involved in prostitution as the "Hu" women in China were at times in occupations that doubled as illicit services.[25]
Map of Luoyang during the Eastern Han dynasty when it was the capital of China
During the NorthSong dynasty, Luoyang was the 'Western Capital' and birthplace of Zhao Kuangyin, the founder of the Song dynasty. It served as a prominent cultural center, housing some of the most important philosophers. This prosperity was mainly caused by Luoyang undergoing new developments and reconstruction during this period.[7]
Since theYuan dynasty, Luoyang was no longer the capital of China in the rest of the ancient dynasties. During the Yuan andMing dynasties, Luoyang was razed and rebuilt twice. Its walls were destroyed by peasant rebels in the late Ming period. The city walls were then rebuilt during theQing dynasty.[7] The population was reduced to that of an average county. However, for one last time, Luoyang city was the capital of theRepublic of China for a brief period of time during the Japanese invasion. By 1949, Luoyang's population was 75,000.
After the People's Republic of China was established, Luoyang was revived as a major heavy industrial hub. In thefirst five-year plan of China, 7 of 156 Soviet-aided major industrial programmes were launched in Luoyang'sJianxi District, including Dongfanghong Tractor Factory, Luoyang Mining Machines Factory and Luoyang Bearing Factory. Later, during theThird Front construction, a group of heavy industry factories was moved to or founded in Luoyang, including Luoyang Glass Factory. Industrial development significantly shifted Luoyang's demographic makeup, and about half of Luoyang's population are new immigrants after 1949 from outside the province or their descendants.
During the2010 census, the 5 "built-up" urban districts held a population of 1,857,003, making it the fourth-largest city inHenan. The entire area of Luoyang's municipal government held 6,549,941 inhabitants total.
With the 2017 designation of Zhengzhou as a National Central City, Henan Province in 2020 proposed a new development plan for Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area, which called for the development of Luoyang as a sub-central city. As part of this development, authorities decided to expand the urban area of Luoyang. This not only facilitated planning and coordinated use of resources and infrastructure in Luoyang, but also allowed for better integration towards Zhengzhou, as Yanshi, Jili and Mengjin previously separated the Luoyang urban area from Zhengzhou.[29]
On 28 March 2021, the central government approved a major administrative reorganization of Luoyang city.Yanshi City was reorganized into an urban district (Yanshi District), whileJili District andMengjin County were merged into Mengjin District. This reorganization effectively doubled the urban area of Luoyang.[29]
Asits name states, the Old Town of Luoyang is located on the north bank of theLuo, a southern tributary of the middle reaches of theYellow River. The districts of the modern urban center include both banks and some of the surrounding mountains.
The countryside controlled by the municipal government includes still more rugged land: mountains comprise 45.51% of the total area; hills, 40.73%; and plains, 13.8%.[30]
Luoyang has a highly continental dry-winterhumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification:Cwa). Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −18.2 °C (−1 °F) (unofficial record of −20 °C (−4 °F)) was on January 17, 1936)[31] to 44.2 °C (112 °F).
Climate data for Luoyang (Yanshi District), elevation 190 m (620 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–2010)
TheLuoyang Museum (established 1958) features ancient relics dating back to theXia,Shang, andZhoudynasties. The total number of exhibits on display is 1,700.[36] China's only tomb museum, theLuoyang Ancient Tombs Museum, opened to the public in 1987 and is situated north of the modern town.
Luoyang is the foundation of Confucianism, the birth of Taoism, the first transmission of Buddhism, the formation of metaphysics, and the origin of neo-Confucianism. All kinds of cultural thoughts are integrated and symbiosis here, and thecompass,paper making andprinting among thefour great inventions of ancient China were born here. Luoyang is also the cultural root and ancestral lineage of the global Chinese, more than 100 million Hakka ancestral home in the world, 70% of China's clan name originated here, Heluo culture represented by "Hetu Luoshu" is the ancestral source of Chinese civilization.[38]
Cuisine
Water Banquet, which is one of the famous banquets passed on for generations in the history of Chinese cuisine, consists of 8 cold and 16 warm dishes all cooked in various broths, gravies, or juices. The water here has two meanings: one is that all the hot dishes have soup-tang soup water; the other is that each dish is served after another smoothly just like flowing water. It comprises a wide selection of ingredients, simple and versatile, diverse tastes, sour, spicy, sweet and salty, comfortable and delicious.
Botany
Luoyang is also celebrated for the cultivation ofpeonies, its city flower. Since 1983, each mid-April the city hosts the Peony Culture Festival of Luoyang. More than 19 million tourists visited Luoyang during the 2014 festival.[39]
Music
"Spring in Luoyang" (洛阳春;Luòyáng Chūn), an ancient Chinese composition, became popular inKorea during theGoryeo dynasty (918–1392) and is still performed in itsdangak (Koreanized) versionNakyangchun (낙양춘).Lou Harrison, an American composer, has also created an arrangement of the work.
The city can be reached by highways, trains or planes. Long-distance buses are also an option although they generally tend to take longer. High-speed rail is the most common way to get into the city from eitherXi'an orZhengzhou.Luoyang has a bus system of around 30+ lines.Taxis are also a common sight in the city.
Abramson, Marc.Ethnic Identity in Tang China. University of Pennsylvania Press (Philadelphia), 2008.ISBN978-0-8122-4052-8.
Cotterell, Arthur.The Imperial Capitals of China: An Inside View of the Celestial Empire. Pimlico (London), 2008.ISBN978-1-84595-010-1.
Hill, John E.Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. BookSurge (Charleston), 2009.ISBN978-1-4392-2134-1.
Jenner, W. J.Memories of Loyang. Clarendon Press (Oxford), 1981.
Yang Hsüan-chih.Lo-yang ch'ien-lan chi, translated by Wang Yi-t'ung asA Record of Buddhist Monasteries in Lo-yang. Princeton University Press (Princeton), 1984.ISBN0-691-05403-7.
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