| One of the small, early, states which took Kaifeng as its capital was the [[Liang Dynasty]] ([[907]]-[[923]]), one of the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms]] which emerged in the aftermath of the fall of the [[Tang Dynasty]]. | | One of the small, early, states which took Kaifeng as its capital was the [[Liang Dynasty]] ([[907]]-[[923]]), one of the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms]] which emerged in the aftermath of the fall of the [[Tang Dynasty]]. |
− | During the Northern Song Dynasty, the city was known as Baijing. In the late years of the Northern Song, the city, roughly 60 km<sup>2</sup> in area, housed over one million people - a larger population than London would see until five hundred years later. Unlike in the earlier capital of [[Chang'an]], in Kaifeng there was no citywide curfew, and the pleasure quarters (for example), along with many restaurants, remained open all night.<ref>Valerie Hansen, ''The Open Empire'', New York: W.W. Norton & Co (2000), 281-282.</ref> Also unlike Chang'an, Kaifeng was not centrally planned, but grew organically, containing at its height a lively interplay of government offices, shipyards, restaurants and teahouses, garrisons, warehouses, textile businesses, [[Chinese medicine]] shops, and lumberyards, among many other types of shops, as well as, of course, extensive residential areas.<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 199.</ref> | + | During the Northern Song Dynasty, the city was known as Baijing. In the late years of the Northern Song, the city, roughly 60 km<sup>2</sup> in area, housed over one million people - a larger population than London would see until five hundred years later. Unlike in the earlier capital of [[Chang'an]], in Kaifeng there was no citywide curfew, and the pleasure quarters (for example), along with many restaurants, remained open all night.<ref>Valerie Hansen, ''The Open Empire'', New York: W.W. Norton & Co (2000), 281-282.</ref> Also unlike Chang'an, Kaifeng was not centrally planned, but grew organically, containing at its height a lively interplay of government offices, shipyards, restaurants and teahouses, garrisons, warehouses, textile businesses, [[Chinese medicine]] shops, and lumberyards, among many other types of shops, as well as, of course, extensive residential areas.<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 199.</ref> The first Jewish synagogue in China was established in Kaifeng in [[1163]]; it remained the only synagogue in the country until the 19th century.<ref>Gallery labels, Royal Ontario Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/48532396166/in/photostream/]</ref> |