Editing Henan (section)

===Imperial era===
[[Ying Zheng]], the leader of Qin, crowned himself (220&nbsp;BCE) as the [[Emperor of China|first emperor of China]]. He abolished the feudal system and centralized all powers, establishing the [[Qin dynasty]] and unifying the core of the [[Han Chinese]] homeland for the first time. The empire quickly collapsed after the death (210&nbsp;BCE) of Ying Zheng and was replaced by the [[Han dynasty]] in 206&nbsp;BC, with its capital at Chang'an. Thus, a [[golden age]] of Chinese culture, economy, and military power began. The capital moved east to [[Luoyang]] in 25&nbsp;AD, in response to a coup in Chang'an that created the short-lived [[Xin dynasty]]. Luoyang quickly regained control of China, and the [[Eastern Han dynasty]] (25–220) began, extending the golden age for another two centuries.

The late [[Eastern Han dynasty]] saw war and rivalry between regional warlords. [[Xuchang]] in central Henan was the power base of [[Cao Cao]], who eventually succeeded in unifying all of northern China under the [[Cao Wei|Kingdom of Wei]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=三国时期曹操建魏都于许昌，其实早在春秋末期，这里就是魏国疆土_许国 |url=https://www.sohu.com/a/www.sohu.com/a/450894238_120784094 |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=www.sohu.com }}{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Wei then moved its capital to Luoyang, which remained the capital after the unification of China by the Western [[Jin dynasty (265-420)|Jin dynasty]]. During this period Luoyang became one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the world, despite being repeatedly damaged by warfare.

[[File:Mural Painting of a Banquet Scene from Han Tomb in Tahut'ing.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A late [[Eastern Han]] (25–220&nbsp;AD) [[Chinese painting|Chinese tomb mural]] showing lively scenes of a banquet, dance and music, acrobatics, and wrestling, from the [[Dahuting Han tombs]], on the southern bank of the [[Suihe River]] in [[Xinmi]]]]
With the fall of the Western Jin dynasty in the 4th and 5th centuries, nomadic peoples from the north invaded northern China and established many successive regimes in northern China, including Henan. These people were gradually assimilated into the [[Chinese culture]] in a process known as [[sinification]].

The short-lived [[Sui dynasty]] reunified China again in 589 with its capital back in Chang'an. It collapsed due to [[Emperor Yang of Sui China|Sui Emperor Yang's]] costly attempt to relocate the capital from Chang'an to Luoyang and the construction of many extravagant palaces there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=中国古代史 中国历史：中国是世界上最早诞生文明的国家之一，有近5000年的历史。中国古代史包括三个阶段：原始社会阶段（距今约170万年前-约公元前2070年）、奴隶社会阶段（约公元前2070年-公元前475年）和封建社会阶段（公元前475年-公元1840年）全文介绍_科技进步_中国管理科学研究院科技管理研究所 |url=http://ceshi.zgykjs.com/index.php?c=show&id=7371 |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=ceshi.zgykjs.com}}</ref> The succeeding [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907) kept its capital in [[Chang'an]], marking the beginning of China's second golden age, with Henan being one of the wealthiest places in the empire.

The Tang dynasty lasted for three centuries before it eventually succumbed to internal strife. In the [[Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms]] (907–960) that followed, [[Kaifeng]] in eastern Henan became the capital of four dynasties. The [[Song dynasty]] that reunified China in 982 also had its capital at Kaifeng. Under Song rule, China entered another era of culture and prosperity, and Kaifeng overtook Luoyang and Chang'an as the largest city in China and in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Development |first=PodBean |title=Feeding and Supplying the World's Largest City: The Environmental Impact of Northern Song Kaifeng {{!}} The Chinese History Podcast |url=http://www.chinesehistorypodcast.com/e/feeding-and-supplying-the-world-largest-city-the-environmental-impact-of-northern-song-kaifeng/ |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=www.chinesehistorypodcast.com |language=en}}</ref> In 1127, however, the Song dynasty succumbed to [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jurchen]] ([[Jinn dynasty|Jin dynasty]]) invaders from the north in the [[Jin campaigns against the Song dynasty|Jin–Song war]], and in 1142 [[Treaty of Shaoxing|ceded]] all of northern China, including Henan. The Song government moved its capital to [[Hangzhou]] in Southern China, which, under the [[Southern Song dynasty]] (1127–1279) continued to enjoy relative economic and culture prosperity. A prolonged period of peace and cultural and economic prosperity in the Yangtze delta ''[[Jiangnan]]'' region (modern southern [[Jiangsu]], northern [[Zhejiang]], and Shanghai) made this the new center of Chinese culture and economy.

Kaifeng served as the Jurchen's "southern capital" from 1157 (other sources say 1161) and was reconstructed during this time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.san.beck.org/AB3-China.html#9|title=Ethics of China 7 BC To 1279 by Sanderson Beck|work=beck.org|access-date=6 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204064227/http://san.beck.org/AB3-China.html#9|archive-date=4 February 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.upkorea.net/news/photo/7345-2-7037.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=6 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070705112718/http://www.upkorea.net/news/photo/7345-2-7037.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> But the Jurchen kept their main capital further north, until 1214, when they were forced to move the imperial court southwards to Kaifeng in order to flee the [[Mongol]] onslaught. In 1234 they succumbed to combined Mongol and [[Song dynasty]] forces. Mongols took control, and in 1279 they conquered all of China, establishing the [[Yuan dynasty]] and set up the equivalent of modern Henan, with borders very similar to the modern ones. Neither its territories nor its role in the economy changed under later dynasties. Henan remained important in the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644) and [[Qing dynasty]] (1644–1911) that followed, though its economy slowly deteriorated due to frequent natural disasters.