唐五代時期之成都

Ch'êng-tu in the T'ang and the Five Dynasties

嚴耕望(Yen Keng-wang)

《中國文化研究所學報》 12卷 (1981/01) Pp. 23-64

https://doi.org/10.29708/JCS.CUHK.198101_12.0002

並列摘要

Ch'êng-tu is situated in the centre of the only vast plain in the extensive south- west region of China, The place is rich in products. All around the city are large regions with many races, they all rely on it as a collecting and distributing centre of goods and materials. Thus, Ch'êng-tu even since it appeared in history has been the political, military, communication, economic, as well as cultural centre in south- west China. In the later years of Western Han, Ch'êng-tu was one of the six largest cities in the country. From then on it was one of the few cities in the history of China whose prosperity was never interrupted. Ch'ang-an, the capital in T'ang times, relied on Ch'eng-tu as its, repository in normal times. In times of emergency, Ch'êng-tu became the refuge to which the people could retreat and there make their temporary homes., This in turn added to its prosperity. Consequently, besides the capital Ch'ang-an, Ch'êng-tu and Yang- chou were the two largest cities in the middle period of the T'ang, In the late Tang and the Five dynasties, Ch'ang-an and Yang-chou were repeatedly devastated by wars. Moreover, the country was under several independent political authorities. Communication between north and south was hindered, and canals were wrecked, Yang-chou even lost its special position as a centre of communication. Nevertheless, Ch'êng-tu was still politicaly stable. Without the burden of supplying Ch'ang-an, it flourished as an economic centre. With the settlement of people from Kuan-chung there were further cultural developments in this period. Ch'eng-tu was thus unique in its prosperity in the whole of China, and reached its peak in its long history, Yet historians have paid little attention to the Ch'eng-tu of this period. This article gathers together a good deal of information, including information about the city walls, political, military and commercial conditions, population, literature and religion which confirms the importance of the city in the Tang dynasty.