Daido

Japanese: 大同 - だいどう

A prefecture-level city in the northern part of Shanxi Province, China. It also has a county of the same name under its jurisdiction. It is located in the northwest of the basin (Sangqian Basin, Datong Basin) created by the Sangqian River, the upper reaches of the Yongding River, and its tributary, Yuhe, eroding the Loess Plateau. It has jurisdiction over four city districts and seven counties (as of 2016). The population is 3,392,000 (2014). The city borders the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the north, across the Great Wall.

It developed as a collection point for leather, wool and other products produced by nomadic tribes on the Mongolian Plateau, and is currently a transportation hub, being the junction of the Jingbao Line (Beijing-Baotou) and Tongpu Line (Datong-Huashan) connecting Beijing, Taiyuan and Inner Mongolia, as well as the Jingyuan Line (Beijing-Yuanping). Datong County is also home to Datong Yungang Airport, which opened in 2006. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, it has become the center of coal production in Shanxi Province, boasting one of the largest production volumes in the country. It is characterized by its high-quality coal and abundant reserves, and the coal transport railway Daqin Line has been laid between it and Qinhuangdao Port, which boasts the world's largest coal handling volume, making it a base for coal transport. In addition, coal-related and food industries have developed, making it the second largest industrial city in Shanxi Province.

[Motohide Akiyama, Editorial Department, October 19, 2017]

history

Since ancient times, it has been a strategic location in the contact zone between the northern nomadic tribes and the Han people, and when the power of the Han people was stable, it was a frontline base defending the Central Plains and North China, but when the country fell into chaos, it became a place where the northern tribes first invaded and established their base. As an example of this nature, the Great Wall of China also has an outer wall running north of Datong, and another inner wall (the former is also called the border wall and the latter the second wall) built to the south.

During the Han dynasty, Pingcheng County was established in the area, belonging to the Yanmen Commandery on the outskirts. However, as the country fell into turmoil at the end of the Later Han dynasty, it came under the control of the Xianbei, a northern tribe. During the Yongjia period (307-312) of the Jin dynasty, the Tuoba tribe, a tribe of the Xianbei, established a base here for invading the south, gradually expanding their influence. Eventually, the country was renamed Wei (Northern Wei), and with Shengle (near present-day Holingol in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) as its northern capital and Pingcheng as its southern capital, it annexed the various tribal nations in northern China, and in 398, Pingcheng was designated the national capital (dai capital), and many residents were relocated from other regions, working to develop the surrounding area. From then on, it was the political center of northern China until Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang in 494. After that, it was often a place where northern foreign tribes thrived as they tried to move south, and it was a key defense in the northwest, especially when the capital was in Beijing. During the Ming dynasty, military facilities such as Datong Wuwei were established, with Datong becoming its center, and it was around this time that the aforementioned double-layered Great Wall was built. The city itself was expanded during the Ming dynasty and is now surrounded by strong walls.

When it was the capital of the Northern Wei dynasty, the Yungang Grottoes, excavated at the foot of Mount Wuzhou to the west of the city, are famous as one of the three major caves in China, and were registered as a World Heritage Site in 2001. Other sites include Huayan Temple, which was the center of the Huayan sect during the Liao and Jin dynasties, Shanhua Temple, which was founded in the Tang dynasty, and Xiankong Temple, which was built in the Northern Wei dynasty.

[Motohide Akiyama October 19, 2017]

[Reference items] | Yungang Grottoes | Shanxi (province) | Great Wall of China | Northern Wei

Yungang Grottoes No. 20 Ro Seated Buddha
The statue is about 14m tall. On the right is a standing Buddha statue. The front wall of the cave has collapsed, exposing the statue. Part of the World Heritage "Yungang Grottoes" (China, registered in 2001) China Datong ©Shogakukan ">

Yungang Grottoes No. 20 Ro Seated Buddha

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

中国、山西(さんせい)省北部の地級市。管轄下に同名の県もある。永定河(えいていが)の上流桑乾河(そうかんが)や、その支流御河(ぎょか)が黄土高原を侵食してつくる盆地（桑乾盆地、大同盆地）の北西部に位置する。4市轄区、7県を管轄する（2016年時点）。人口339万2000（2014）。市の北は万里の長城を境にして内モンゴル自治区と接する。

　モンゴル高原の遊牧民族の産する皮革、羊毛などの物産の集積地として発展し、現在も北京(ペキン)、太原(たいげん)、内モンゴルをつなぐ京包線（北京―パオトウ）、同蒲(どうほ)線（大同―華山(かざん)）の交差点にあるほか、京原線（北京―原平(げんへい)）も通るなど、交通の中心地である。また、大同県には2006年開港の大同雲崗(うんこう)空港がある。中華人民共和国の成立以後は山西省の石炭生産の中心地となり、全国でも有数の産出量を誇る。優良な炭質と豊富な埋蔵量が特長で、世界最大の石炭取扱量を誇る秦皇島(しんこうとう)港との間に石炭輸送鉄道の大秦線も敷かれており、石炭輸送の拠点となっている。そのほか石炭関連工業や食品工業が発展しており、山西省第二の工業都市である。

［秋山元秀・編集部　2017年10月19日］

歴史

古来、北方遊牧民族と漢民族との接触地帯にある要衝の地で、漢民族の勢力が安定しているときは、中原(ちゅうげん)や華北の地を守る最前線の拠点となったが、国内が乱れると、まず北方民族が侵入し、彼らの拠点をつくる地となった。この性格を示すように、万里の長城も大同の北を走る外長城と別に、南にもう1本、内長城（前者を辺墻(へんしょう)、後者を次墻(じしょう)とも称する）が築かれている。

　漢代には辺縁の雁門(がんもん)郡に属し平城(へいじょう)県が置かれた。しかし後漢(ごかん)末に国内が乱れると、北方民族の一つである鮮卑(せんぴ)の占拠するところとなり、晋(しん)の永嘉(えいか)年間（307～312）に鮮卑の一部族である拓跋(たくばつ)部がここに南方侵入の拠点をつくってしだいに勢力を拡大した。やがて国名を魏(ぎ)（北魏）とし、盛楽(せいらく)（現在の内モンゴル自治区ホリンゴル付近）を北都、平城を南都として華北一帯の諸部族国家を併合し、398年平城を国都（代都）と定め、他地方から多くの住民を移住させ付近の開発に努めた。以後、孝文帝が494年に洛陽(らくよう)へ都を移すまで、中国北部の政治の中心地であった。その後もしばしば南下を図る北方異民族の跳梁(ちょうりょう)する地となり、とくに北京に都が置かれた時代には西北防御の要(かなめ)であった。明(みん)代には大同五衛などの軍事施設が設けられて、大同はその中心となり、前述の二重構造の長城が築かれたのもこのころである。市街も明代に増築され強固な城壁に囲まれている。

　北魏の都であったとき、市の西、武周(ぶしゅう)山の山麓に開削された雲崗石窟(せっくつ)は、中国三大石窟の一つとして有名で、2001年世界遺産の文化遺産に登録された（世界文化遺産）。そのほか遼(りょう)・金(きん)時代の華厳宗(けごんしゅう)の中心であった華厳寺、唐代創建の善化寺、北魏時代に建てられた懸空(けんくう)寺などがある。

［秋山元秀　2017年10月19日］

[参照項目] | 雲崗石窟 | 山西（省） | 万里の長城 | 北魏

雲崗石窟第20洞露坐大仏

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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