Why did Pan Geng move the capital in Shang Dynasty?

after the establishment of the Shang dynasty, its capital also moved many times. Zhong (Zhong) Ding moved from Bo to Xiao (now north of Xingyang, Henan Province), He Jia moved to Xiang (now southeast of Neihuang County, Henan Province), Zu Yi moved to Xing (now Xingtai City, Hebei Province), and moved to Pi (now northeast of Yuncheng County, Shandong Province), and Nangeng moved to Yan (now Qufu City, Shandong Province). However, since Pan Geng moved to Yin (now Xiaotun, Anyang, Henan), the capital did not move again in 273 years (say 253 years and 275 years) until the Shang Dynasty died. In the meantime, only Di Yi moved, but it is estimated that it will return to Yin soon. Di Yi and his son, Di Xin (Zhou), often live in Pastoral (Chaoge, now northeast of Qixian County, Henan Province), but the official capital is still in Yin.

If we go back further, the Xia Dynasty before the Shang Dynasty also recorded the frequent relocation of the capital. According to the Records of Bamboo Annals, Yangcheng (now southeast of Dengfeng City, Henan Province), Zhen (now southwest of gongyi city City, Henan Province, which archaeologists believe was discovered in Erlitou site of Yanshi in recent years), Diqiu (now west of Puyang County, Henan Province), Yuan (now northwest of Jiyuan City, Henan Province), Laoqiu (now southeast of Kaifeng City, Henan Province) and Xihe (now southeast of Neihuang County, Henan Province) were all the capitals of the Xia Dynasty.

It can be seen that before Pan Geng moved to Yin, the migration of the main body and population of a political power was a normal state, and a capital often did not last long, but after moving to Yin, the capital of Shang Dynasty was basically fixed. Moreover, from then on, from the Western Zhou Dynasty and the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the capital was fixed as the norm, but moving the capital became a special case. Why has such a great change taken place?

Scholars in the past have given several explanations about the reasons for the frequent migration of businessmen. Some people think that businessmen are not divorced from the characteristics of nomadic people, and migration is the need of nomadic people. Some people think that at that time, agricultural production mainly used the natural fertility of the land and implemented fallow and rotation. After a few years, the cultivated land would be abandoned and reclaimed in different places. Another view is "to be frugal"-the capital is fixed in one place, which will lead to the luxury of the ruling class, so it is necessary to move to another place for reconstruction in order to restore a more frugal life. More people believe that businessmen moved to avoid the frequent flooding and diversion of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It seems that Pan Geng's previous migration cannot be explained by a single factor, but should be comprehensively analyzed from both natural and social aspects.

As far as natural conditions are concerned, dikes were not built on both sides of the lower reaches of the Yellow River until around the 4th century BC. Before that, the flood and diversion of the Yellow River often occurred. Under the conditions of productivity and technology at that time, it was neither possible nor necessary to defend the capital against floods, but it was a wise and simple way to move and avoid harm. However, the siltation area left after each flood or diversion is the most suitable agricultural area, which is very attractive to farming people, so it will not be too far away from the Yellow River and its main tributaries.

Compared with other capitals before, Yin is located in the plain, but it is close to Taihang Mountain and far away from the Yellow River, so it will not be affected by flood. At that time, the average annual temperature was higher than it is now. The climate in this area was warm, with abundant precipitation, dense vegetation and many wild animals, which was suitable for agricultural production and also met the needs of grazing and hunting. There are many records about hunting in Oracle Bone Inscriptions, including that the Shang King captured seven elephants at a time. Yin's natural conditions are superior to those of other candidate capital cities, and it is more suitable for long-term capital construction.

In terms of social factors, the early businessmen could not get rid of the influence of nomadic or migratory agriculture, and developed the habit of coping with natural disasters, overcoming difficulties in production or life and solving social contradictions by migration. However, with the improvement of production capacity, the expansion of territory and the strengthening of ruling means, such migration is actually unnecessary, just following a long-established custom. When you go to Pan Geng and decide to change it, it will follow. We can infer that in the Xia and Shang capitals before Yin Dynasty, because the rulers had no long-term plans and did not deliberately operate, the construction was relatively simple and they could easily give up. However, after Pan Geng moved to Yin, he decided to change this habit of frequent migration and build a capital, which can be proved by the huge scale and rich artifacts shown in the archaeological excavation of Yin Ruins. From the content of Shangshu Pan Geng, we can be sure that shortly after moving the capital, the noble subjects had fierce opposition. If the direct cause of Pan Geng's move to the capital is the Yellow River flood, the degradation of agricultural production or other natural and man-made disasters, or if Pan Geng has not taken any new measures after its move to the capital, it would not have happened. Judging from the content of the lecture given by "Wang" (Pan Geng himself) to the noble subjects in Shangshu Pan Geng, he did not give any specific reasons, but issued a severe warning, which showed that his determination to carry out the established policies could not be shaken. It is precisely because of Pan Geng's assessment of the situation, regardless of the opposition of conservative forces, that he insisted on building a permanent capital, which laid the foundation for a business capital of more than 2 years, and also set a precedent for China to establish its capital in past dynasties. Yin (Anyang) also became one of the seven ancient capitals of China with its earliest long-term capital.