Why Peking? | Beijing City Planning Part 1: The Blueprint

"Peking" isn't a Western mispronunciation. It's actually closer to how people used to say 北京 four hundred years ago. The sound changed. The spelling didn't. The New York Times didn't switch to "Beijing" until 1986. And Peking duck, Peking University, Pekingese; the old name is still everywhere. This episode starts with a name, goes back 3,000 years, and ends with the 2,000-year-old rulebook that told every Chinese dynasty exactly how to build a capital city. A Day In Beijing is an English-language Beijing podcast inspired by the history, innovations, and people of Beijing, created and hosted by a born-and-raised Beijinger. We exist not only as your virtual travel guide, your dictionary to China, but also to challenge and break the colonial narratives that have been shaping Beijing and China. 🌏 Planning a trip to Beijing? I run small, responsible cultural experiences that support independent businesses and local communities. DM me on Instagram.📪 Next Wednesday — Part 2: the gates. Beijing had more then 10 of them. Each one had a different job. Hit Follow so you don't miss it.🎧 Search "A Day In Beijing", it's also available on: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / YouTube Music / Goodpods / 小宇宙 / Substack🌐 adayinbeijing.carrd.co📸 Instagram: @a_day_in_beijing / @chen_backinbeijing✉️ ⁠[email protected]⁠ What this episode covers:🔹 Why "Peking"? 京 used to be pronounced closer to /kiŋ/ — a sound that shifted over centuries to the modern /tɕiŋ/. The spelling stuck in European maps and postal systems.🔹 Seven names, seven lives. 燕 Yān (~7th century BC) — a border state on the military frontier. The beer brand 燕京啤酒 still carries this name. 🔹 南京 Nánjīng (938 AD, Liao Dynasty) — "Southern Capital," one of five Liao capitals, with the supreme capital 上京 in Inner Mongolia. 🔹 中都 Zhōngdū (1153, Jin Dynasty) — "Central Capital." 1215: Genghis Khan burned it to the ground. 大都 Dàdū / Khanbaliq (1267, Yuan) — Kublai Khan's new capital. 🔹 北平 Běipíng (1368, Ming) — "Northern Peace," deliberately demoted when the capital moved to Nanjing. 🔹 北京 Běijīng (1403) — renamed by the Yongle Emperor, the usurper who seized the throne from his own nephew. 🔹 北京 Běijīng (1949) — restored by a vote. Every name was political. 🔹 Beijing as military frontier. For most of Chinese history, this wasn't a capital. It was a border town; a strategic point between the central plains and the northern steppe. The names tell the story: each one reflects who controlled it, what they wanted it to be, and how much power they had. The shift from frontier garrison to imperial capital is the story of China itself. 🔹 The blueprint — 考工记, Kǎogōng Jì. The Book of Diverse Crafts. Over 2,000 years old. One of the oldest urban planning manuals in human history. It prescribed exactly how a capital must be built: 9 li on each side (~4.5 km). Palace at the centre, facing south. 🔹 Ancestral temple on the left — 左祖. Altar of earth and grain on the right — 右社. Court in front — 前朝. Market behind — 后市. Central axis running north to south. 🙏 I'm no historian — I research every episode the best I can. If anything sounds off, let me know. I'm always learning and this podcast gets better with your help.