Nanjing, the capital of numerous ancient dynasties and even the nation itself previously, is also capital of Jiangsu Province. But it hasn’t always been that way. The factors at play? War, peace, dynastic politics, provincial demarcations and simple old optics.
南京是古代众多王朝乃至国家的都城，也是江苏省的省会。但情况并非总是如此。起作用的因素？战争、和平、王朝政治、省份划分和简单的旧光学。
Jiangsu, by some measures the wealthiest province in China, with a GDP exceeding some moderately-developed countries and the size of South Korea, has at present, 13 prefecture-level cities under its jurisdiction. Nanjing has been its capital since, most recently, 1953.
江苏是中国最富裕的省份，GDP超过一些中等发达国家，规模相当于韩国，目前辖13个地级市。南京自 1953 年以来一直是其首都。
That we now know as Jiangsu dates back to 1666 when the area then named Nanzhili was split into Jiangsu and Anhui by the Qing Dynasty government. There followed a long period marked by a pattern of dual capital coexistence, with the new Jiangnan Province having Suzhou Prefecture and Jiangning Prefecture for capitals, the latter being today’s Nanjing.
我们现在所知道的江苏可以追溯到1666年，当时的南直隶地区被清朝政府分为江苏和安徽。此后很长一段时期，形成了新江南省以苏州府和江宁府为都城的双都并存的格局，后者就是今天的南京。
Fast forward to 1912, after the demise of the Qing Dynasty, when a new round of debate broke out regarding the capital’s location. It was argued that while Suzhou had a developed economy, its geographical location is too far east, making it not conducive for taking account og both the north and south of the Yangtze River. Meanwhile, Nanjing was thought to be more suitable, both in terms of its regional geographical location and the convenient conditions offered by the Yangtze River waterway. Hence, the capital of Jiangsu came to be established in Nanjing.
时间快进到1912年，清朝灭亡后，关于首都选址的新一轮争论爆发。有人认为，苏州虽然经济发达，但地理位置过于偏东，不利于兼顾长江南北。同时，无论是从区域地理位置还是长江航道的便利条件来看，南京都被认为更合适。于是，江苏定都南京。
As the Yangtze Evening News reports, in 1928, the status of Nanjing was further improved, with the City becoming a municipality under the central government of the time (much like Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Tianjin today). But that presented the conundrum that a municipality cannot be the capital of a province since it enjoys a status on the par of a province itself.
据《扬子晚报》报道，1928年，南京的地位进一步提高，成为当时的直辖市（类似于今天的北京、重庆、上海、天津）。但这带来了一个难题，即直辖市不能成为省的省会，因为它享有与省本身同等的地位。
Jiangsu Province repeatedly weighed the three cities of Yangzhou, Suzhou and Zhenjiang, and finally settled on Zhenjiang for its convenience in being located at the crossroads of the three major trunk lines of the Jiangsu Provincial Railway, as well as the Yangtze River and Grand Canal. Hence, Zhenjiang became capital of Jiangsu in July of 1928.
江苏省反复权衡扬州、苏州、镇江三座城市，最终选定镇江，因为镇江地处江苏省铁路三大干线以及长江、大运河的交汇处。 1928年7月，镇江成为江苏省省会。
Yet Zhenjiang’s tenure as capital lasted only about 10 years. With the outbreak of war with Japan in 1937, so the Jiangsu Provincial Government found itself having to uproot to many places in Jiangsu and even Anhui Province.
然而镇江作为首都的任期仅持续了大约10年。 1937年抗日战争爆发，江苏省政府不得不迁往江苏乃至安徽省的许多地方。
Specifically, those would be Jiangdu County (Yangzhou City) in November, 1937; Huaiyin County (Huai’an City) in December, 1937; Xinghua County (Taizhou City) in 1939; Cheqiao of Huai’an County (Huai’an City) in April, 1941; Taihe County of Anhui Province in October, 1941; and Lizhai in Fuyang County of Anhui Province in 1944.
具体来说，就是1937年11月的江都县（扬州市）； 1937年12月，淮阴县（淮安市）； 1939年属兴化县（台州市）； 1941年4月，淮安县（淮安市）车桥； 1941年10月，安徽省太和县； 1944年，安徽省阜阳县李寨。
Each of the six can be regarded as temporary capitals of Jiangsu Province, with that holding the title the longest lasting about 3 years and the shortest only 1 month. With victory in the Second World War against Japan in 1945, the Provincial Government moved back to Zhenjiang in September of that year, with the City reclaiming its status as Provincial Capital.
这6个省都可以被视为江苏省的临时省会，最长的时间约为3年，最短的也只有1个月。 1945年抗日战争胜利，同年9月省政府迁回镇江，镇江恢复省会。
Jiangsu has therefore had as many as nine capitals throughout its history, but only Nanjing, Suzhou and Zhenjiang are considered genuine. The final change which would restore Nanjing as capital came in February, 1953.
江苏历史上曾有过九个都城，但真正称得上的只有南京、苏州、镇江。 1953 年 2 月，最后一次恢复南京为首都。
