Luoyang (Simplified Chinese: 洛阳; Traditional Chinese: 洛陽; Pinyin: Luòyáng) is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province, Peoples Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.
Situated on the central plain of China, one of cradles of the Chinese civilization, Luoyang was one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
Names
Luoyang has had several names over the centuries, including "Luoyi" (洛邑) and "Luozhou (洛州)", though Luoyang has been the primary name for this city. It has been called, during various periods, "Dongdu" (東都, meaning the Eastern Capital, during the Tang Dynasty), "Xijing" (西京, meaning the West Capital, during the Song Dynasty), or "Jingluo" (京洛, meaning the general capital for China).
The origin of the name "Luoyang" is the citys location to the north of the Luohe River.
History
The original city was constructed by the Duke of Zhou (周公) in the 11th century BC as a settlement for the remnants of the captured Shang nobility and was named Chengzhou. It became the capital of the Zhou Dynasty in 770 BC. The city was destroyed in a civil war in 510 BC and rebuilt the next year at the request of the king.
Horse Carriage Pits Museum, city centre.In AD 25, Luoyang became the capital of Eastern Han Dynasty. For several centuries, Luoyang was the center of gravity of China.
In AD 68, the White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, was founded in Luoyang. The temple still exists, though the architecture is of later origin, mainly from the 16th century. An Shihkao was one of the first monks to popularize Buddhism in Luoyang.
In AD 190, Chancellor Dong Zhuo ordered his soldiers to ransack, pillage and raze the city as he retreated from the coalition set up against him by regional lords from across China. The court was subsequently moved to the more defensible western city of Changan. Following a period of disorder, Luoyang was restored to prominence when Emperor Wen of the Wei Dynasty declared it his capital in AD 220.
The Jin Dynasty, successor to Wei, was also established in Luoyang. When Jin was overrun by invaders and forced to move its capital to Jiankang (modern day Nanjing), Luoyang was nearly totally destroyed.
In AD 493 the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital from Datong to Luoyang and started the construction of the artificial Longmen Grottoes. More than 30,000 Buddhist statues from the time of this dynasty have been found in the caves.
