History
It was long thought that tribes who migrated from western Asia founded the Shang dynasty (1700–1100 BC). Shang dynasty settlement excavations in Hénán, however, have shown these towns to be built on the sites of even more ancient – prehistoric even – settlements. The first archaeological evidence of the Shang period was discovered near Ānyáng in northern Hénán. Yet it is now believed that the first Shang capital, perhaps dating back 3800 years, was at Yǎnshī, west of modern-day Zhèngzhōu. Around the mid-14th century BC, the capital is thought to have moved to Zhèngzhōu, where its ancient city walls are still visible.
Hénán again occupied centre stage during the Song dynasty (AD 960–1279), but political power deserted it when the government fled south from its capital at Kāifēng following the 12th-century Juchen invasion from the north. Nevertheless, with a large population on the fertile (although periodically flood-ravaged) plains of the unruly Yellow River, Hénán remained an important agricultural area.
Not until the communist victory was the province able to begin keeping up with its neighbours. Zhèngzhōu, Luòyáng and Kāifēng have sought to bury much of their history under concrete, but exploration yields some tempting glimpses of their ancestry.
