[Pei-ching, Peking], Present-day capital of China, The Shang civilization reached this area in the early part of the dynasty; a grave of about the 14th century bc at Pinggu Liujiahe contained bronze ritual vessels and a bronze axe with a blade of forged meteoritic iron. Many early Zhou finds have been made in the city, notably at the cemetery site of Fangshan Liulihe. These are connected with the Yan fief, whose capital may have been at Beijing (the old literary name of the city is Yanjing, ’the Yan capital’). In later times the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties had capitals at Beijing, which apart from short interruptions has been the capital of China since the 13th century ad.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied