Ancient Changan, China
In 754 AD, there were 1,859 cities in Tang China. All of them served as seats of government administration and were closely overseen by the central government. At this time,the largest cities in China were the two capitals, Changan in the west, and Luoyang in the east. Changan with a population of 2,000,000 may have been the largest city in the world. Changan began serving as the main capital of the Tang dynasty in 618.
Ancient Chinese Crime and Punishment
During the Tang dynasty the very worst crimes were called the Ten Abominations. The Ten Abominations were divided into four major categories of crimes. The first category contained crimes against the emperor including threatening to carry out a rebellion. Doctor malpractice could also find its way into this category, especially if the doctor did not follow the proper formulas for the emperor's medicine. The next category was composed largely of crimes of treason. This category included switching allegiances, killing a superior, or betraying a city. After recapturing the capital city of Luoyang from An Lushan, the Tang executed 39 of 200 officials who chose to switch sides and fought against them. The third category was for crimes against the family. This category included murdering a family member, selling them into slavery, or failing to provide proper support for an elder family member.