Chongqing - History

History

Tradition associates Chongqing with the State of Ba. The Ba people supposedly established Chongqing during the Spring and Autumn period after moving from their first capital Yicheng (夷城) in Hubei under pressure from Chu. This new capital was first named Jiangzhou (江州). In 316 BCE, however, the state of Ba was conquered by the State of Qin.

The name Jiangzhou was subsequently renamed during the Southern and Northern Dynasties to Chu Prefecture (楚州), then in 581 AD (Sui Dynasty) to Yu Prefecture (渝州), and later in 1102 during Northern Song to Gong Prefecture (恭州). The name Yu however survives as an abbreviation for Chongqing till this day and the city centre where the old town stood is called Yuzhong (Central Yu). It received its current name in 1189, after Prince Zhao Dun of the Southern Song Dynasty described his crowning as king and then Emperor Guangzong as a "double celebration" (simplified Chinese: 双重喜庆; traditional Chinese: 雙重喜慶; pinyin: shuāngchóng xǐqìng, or chongqing in short). In his honour, Yu Prefecture was therefore renamed Chongqing subprefecture marking the occasion of his enthronement.

In 1362, (Yuan Dynasty), Ming Yuzhen, a peasant rebelling leader, established the Daxia Kingdom (大夏) at Chongqing for a short time. In 1621 (Ming Dynasty), another short-lived kingdom of Daliang (大梁) was established by She Chongming (奢崇明) with Chongqing as its capital. In 1644, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty to rebel army, Chongqing, together with the rest of Sichuan, was captured by Zhang Xianzhong, who was said to have massacred a large number of people in Sichuan and depopulated the province. The Manchus later conquered the province, and during the Qing Dynasty, immigration to Chongqing and Sichuan took place with the support of Qing emperor.

In 1890 the British Consulate General was opened in Chongqing. The following year, the city became the first inland commerce port open to foreigners. The French, German, US and Japanese consulates were opened in Chongqing in 1896-1904.