Why Is Beijing Called Beijing? The Northern Capital

Beijing (北京, Běijīng) is one of the most transparent city names in the world: it simply means "Northern Capital." The two characters are běi (北, "north") and jīng (京, "capital" or "metropolis"). This straightforward name places Beijing in a geographic naming system paired with Nanjing (南京, "Southern Capital"), reflecting centuries of Chinese dynastic history in which the capital shifted between northern and southern cities.

Introduction

The English name "Peking," still seen in institutions like Peking University and Peking duck, is an older romanization based on a historical pronunciation from southern Chinese dialects and early European missionary transliterations. The shift from "Peking" to "Beijing" in international usage occurred in 1979 when China adopted the Pinyin romanization system, aligning the English spelling with standard Mandarin pronunciation.

The Characters and Their Meaning

• 北 (běi): North
• 京 (jīng): Capital, metropolis
• Combined: Northern Capital
• Pair: Nanjing (南京) = Southern Capital

The character 京 (jīng) originally depicted a tall building or watchtower on a hill — a physical representation of a capital city's prominence. It appears in other Chinese place names and words related to capital cities: Jingdong (京东, "East of the Capital"), Jingshi (京师, "capital city"), and the old name for Tokyo, which uses the same characters read in Japanese as "Tōkyō" (東京, "Eastern Capital").

The north-south capital naming system reflects a fundamental geographic axis in Chinese history. China's political center has oscillated between the north (closer to the Mongol and Manchu frontiers) and the south (closer to the economic heartland of the Yangtze Delta). Beijing and Nanjing represent the two poles of this axis. When Beijing was the capital, Nanjing was often the secondary capital, and vice versa.

Historical Names of the City

• Ji (蓟): Ancient name (~1000 BCE)
• Yanjing (燕京): Capital of the State of Yan (Warring States period)
• Zhongdu (中都): Jurchen Jin dynasty capital, "Central Capital" (1153)
• Dadu (大都): Mongol Yuan dynasty capital, "Great Capital" (1271)
• Beiping (北平): "Northern Peace" — used when not the capital

The site of modern Beijing has been inhabited for over 3,000 years and has borne at least a dozen names. The ancient settlement of Ji (蓟) dates to the Western Zhou dynasty (~1000 BCE). During the Warring States period, it became Yanjing (燕京, "Capital of Yan"), a name still used poetically and in the Yanjing beer brand. The Khitan Liao dynasty made it a secondary capital called Nanjing (南京 — confusingly, "Southern Capital," as it was south of their Manchurian heartland).

The Jurchen Jin dynasty rebuilt the city as Zhongdu (中都, "Central Capital") in 1153. After Genghis Khan destroyed Zhongdu in 1215, his grandson Kublai Khan rebuilt it as Dadu (大都, "Great Capital") — known in Mongolian as Khanbaliq ("City of the Khan") and to Marco Polo as "Cambaluc." The Ming dynasty renamed it Beiping (北平, "Northern Peace") in 1368 when they moved the capital to Nanjing, then restored it as Beijing (北京, "Northern Capital") in 1403 when the Yongle Emperor moved the capital back north.

Why English Speakers Said "Peking"

• Source: French Jesuit missionaries (17th century)
• Pronunciation: Based on Nanjing dialect or older Mandarin
• Wade-Giles: Romanized as "Pei-ching" or "Peking"
• Pinyin: Adopted by China in 1958, internationally from 1979

The English spelling "Peking" derives from 17th-century French Jesuit missionaries who transliterated the city name based on a southern Chinese dialect pronunciation or an older form of Mandarin in which 北 was pronounced closer to "pei" or "pe" rather than modern Mandarin "bei." The French Jesuits were among the first Europeans to produce detailed maps and descriptions of China, and their romanizations became standard in European languages.

The Wade-Giles romanization system, developed in the 19th century, rendered the name as "Pei-ching," which in practice was simplified to "Peking." This remained the standard English spelling until 1979, when the People's Republic of China requested international adoption of the Pinyin system. "Beijing" (Pinyin) better reflects the modern standard Mandarin pronunciation. Legacy uses of "Peking" persist in Peking University (founded 1898), Peking Opera, and Peking duck.

Beijing's Role as Capital

• Yuan Dynasty: Capital from 1271 (as Dadu)
• Ming Dynasty: Capital from 1421 (as Beijing)
• Qing Dynasty: Capital from 1644
• Republic of China: Capital 1912-1928 (renamed Beiping 1928-1949)
• PRC: Capital from 1949

Beijing has served as China's capital almost continuously since the Mongol Yuan dynasty made it Dadu in 1271 — over 750 years. The brief interruptions occurred when the Ming dynasty initially used Nanjing (1368-1421) and when the Republic of China moved the capital to Nanjing in 1928, renaming Beijing as "Beiping" (Northern Peace) to strip it of capital status.

When Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949, he chose Beijing as the capital and restored its name from "Beiping" back to "Beijing." The choice was strategic — Beijing was in the north, closer to the Soviet Union (China's ally), and carried the prestige of the Ming and Qing imperial legacy. The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and other imperial monuments were preserved as symbols of the nation's historical continuity.

Key Facts

• Beijing (北京) means "Northern Capital" in Mandarin Chinese, from běi (north) + jīng (capital).
• The city pairs geographically with Nanjing (南京, "Southern Capital") in the Chinese naming system.
• The site has been continuously settled for over 3,000 years under a dozen different names.
• The English "Peking" derives from a 17th-century French Jesuit romanization based on an older pronunciation.
• "Beiping" (Northern Peace) was used when the city was not serving as the capital (1368-1403, 1928-1949).

Fun Facts

• Tokyo (東京) uses the same 京 character as Beijing and means "Eastern Capital" — reflecting Japan's adoption of Chinese naming conventions.
• Kublai Khan's Dadu (Marco Polo's "Cambaluc") and modern Beijing occupy the same site, but the Mongol city was demolished and rebuilt by the Ming dynasty.
• The Yanjing beer brand preserves the city's Warring States-era name from over 2,000 years ago.
• When the capital moved, Beijing was literally renamed "Northern Peace" — removing the word for "capital" was a deliberate political act.

Final Thoughts

Beijing's name is a compass point and a political statement in two characters. "Northern Capital" defines the city in relation to its southern counterpart, Nanjing, and asserts its status as the seat of power in a civilization spanning five millennia. The dozen names this site has borne — from Ji to Yanjing to Dadu to Beiping to Beijing — read like a table of contents for Chinese history itself.