<P> Archaeological discovery shows that "Nanjing Man" lived in more than 500 thousand years ago . Zun, a kind of wine vessel, was found to exist in Beiyinyangying culture of Nanjing in about 5000 years ago . In the late period of Shang dynasty, Taibo of Zhou came to Jiangnan and established Wu state, and the first stop is in Nanjing area according to some historians based on discoveries in Taowu and Hushu culture . According to a legend quoted by an artist in Ming dynasty, Chen Yi, Fuchai, King of the State of Wu, founded a fort named Yecheng in today's Nanjing area in 495 BCE . Later in 473 BCE, the State of Yue conquered Wu and constructed the fort of Yuecheng (越 城) on the outskirts of the present - day Zhonghua Gate . In 333 BCE, after eliminating the State of Yue, the State of Chu built Jinling Yi (金陵 邑) in the western part of present - day Nanjing . It was renamed Moling (秣陵) during reign of Qin Shi Huang . Since then, the city experienced destruction and renewal many times . The area was successively part of Kuaiji, Zhang and Danyang prefectures in Qin and Han dynasty, and part of Yangzhou region which was established as the nation's 13 supervisory and administrative regions in the 5th year of Yuanfeng in Han dynasty (106 BCE). Nanjing was later the capital city of Danyang Prefecture, and had been the capital city of Yangzhou for about 400 years from late Han to early Tang . </P> <P> Nanjing first became a state capital in 229 CE, when the state of Eastern Wu founded by Sun Quan during the Three Kingdoms period relocated its capital to Jianye (建 業), the city extended on the basis of Jinling Yi in 211 CE . Although conquered by the Western Jin dynasty in 280, Nanjing and its neighbouring areas had been well cultivated and developed into one of the commercial, cultural and political centers of China during the rule of East Wu . This city would soon play a vital role in the following centuries . </P> <P> Shortly after the unification of the region, the Western Jin dynasty collapsed . First the rebellions by eight Jin princes for the throne and later rebellions and invasion from Xiongnu and other nomadic peoples that destroyed the rule of the Jin dynasty in the north . In 317, remnants of the Jin court, as well as nobles and wealthy families, fled from the north to the south and reestablished the Jin court in Nanjing, which was then called Jiankang (建 康), replacing Luoyang . It's the first time that the capital of the nation moved to southern part . </P> <P> During the period of North--South division, Nanjing remained the capital of the Southern dynasties for more than two and a half centuries . During this time, Nanjing was the international hub of East Asia . Based on historical documents, the city had 280,000 registered households . Assuming an average Nanjing household consisted of about 5.1 people, the city had more than 1.4 million residents . </P>

When was nanjing(nanking) selected as the capital city of the republic of china