Jinling (Jianye)

Timeline

1. 589–750Jinling (Jianye) · JiangsuAfter the Sui destroyed Chen, Jinling was downgraded to Jiangzhou and later renamed Jiangning Commandery; the city walls continued the layout of the Jiankang palace-city of the Six Dynasties and the Qinhuai River area. In the Tang it was established as Jiangning (Jinling) County under Runzhou or Jiangnan East Circuit, preserving Six Dynasties remains such as Taicheng and serving the transfer of Jiangnan grain and tax.
2. c. 801–850Jinling (Jianye) · JiangsuIn the 8th–9th centuries Jinling was the seat of Jiangnan East Circuit, controlling the lower Yangtze waterway and the salt-and-iron and grain transport; Buddhist temples and markets lined the Qinhuai River, and literati were fond of composing on Six Dynasties remains, with the city's economy and culture ranking among the leading southeastern prefectures.
3. c. 850–900Jinling (Jianye) · JiangsuIn the late Tang, as central authority declined, the Jianghuai region where Jinling lay became a focus of contention among jiedushi and local powers; the city's defensive and grain-storage functions were strengthened, laying the geographical and economic foundation for the Wu-Yang kingdom of the Five Dynasties to make Jinling (Shengzhou) its capital.