Why did most ancient Chinese kings prefer to have their capitals in the north rather than the south?

This is not a question of whether you like it or not. In ancient times, there were many factors that needed to be considered when choosing an imperial capital, such as feng shui, safety, transportation, economy, culture, floods, etc., which determined most The emperor's choice lies in the north rather than in the south.

First of all, let’s talk about Feng Shui. People in ancient times believed in Feng Shui. They felt that the quality of Feng Shui in a place could affect everything about themselves and even future generations. As an emperor, the choice of the capital was even more important. It is related to the momentum and destiny of a country, and it is also important to consider the dynasty that you have worked so hard to build for generations to come, so you must choose a place with good feng shui. The mountains in the north are higher, and many strange people say that this is the gathering place of dragon veins. , so many emperors chose their sites in the north.

The second is the geographical advantage. China's terrain is high in the north and low in the south. The terrain in the north is mostly mountains and plateaus. It is condescending and easy to defend but difficult to attack. In that era of frequent wars, choose a good geographical location. It was very important. At that time, the main threat to the Central Plains was from the nomadic forces in the north. In the north, rivers could be used as natural barriers to resist the invasion of nomadic forces in the north. Therefore, from a tactical and strategic perspective, the north was the best place.

There are also economic issues. The Yellow River Basin is the origin of civilization. The land is fertile and the water is sufficient. This makes the north densely populated, rich in talents, and highly civilized than the south. Most of the economic centers at that time were concentrated in the north. , and the south was called a barbaric land in ancient times. It can be seen that the economy in the south is underdeveloped, and the rugged terrain and inconvenient transportation in the south will also cause great problems for the transmission of information. From this, we can see that the north is more suitable as an imperial capital.