'' (;
Postal map spelling: ''Shansi'') is a
province in the
northern part of the
People's Republic of China. Its one-character abbreviation is Jin (晋
pinyin jìn), after the
state of Jin that existed here during the
Spring and Autumn Period.
Shanxi's name literally means "mountains' west", which refers to the province's location west of the
Taihang Mountains. Shanxi borders
Hebei to the east,
Henan to the south,
Shaanxi to the west, and
Inner Mongolia to the north. The capital of the province is
Taiyuan.
History
Shanxi was the location of the powerful
state of Jin during the
Spring and Autumn Period (
722 BC -
403 BC), which underwent a three-way split into the states of
Han,
Zhao and
Wei in
403 BC, the traditional date taken as the start of the
Warring States Period (
403 BC -
221 BC). By
221 BC all of these states had fallen to the
state of Qin, which established the
Qin Dynasty (
221 BC -
206 BC).
The
Han Dynasty (
206 BC -
220 AD) ruled Shanxi as the province (''
zhou'') of
Bingzhou (幷州 Bīng Zhōu). During the invasions of northern nomads during the
Sixteen Kingdoms period (
304 -
439, what is now Shanxi was controlled one after the other by several regimes, including
Later Zhao,
Former Yan,
Former Qin, and
Later Yan. They were followed by
Northern Wei (
386 -
534), a
Xianbei kingdom, which had one of its earlier capitals at present-day
Datong in northern Shanxi, and which went on to rule nearly all of northern China.
During the
Tang Dynasty (
618 -
907) and after, the area was called ''Hédōng'' (河東), or "east of the (Yellow) river".
During the first part of the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (
907 -
960), Shanxi supplied three of the Five Dynasties, as well as the only one of the Ten Kingdoms to be in northern China. Shanxi was initially home to the ''
jiedushi'' (commander) of Hedong,
Li Cunxu, who overthrew the first of the Five Dynasties,
Later Liang Dynasty (
907 -
923) to establish the second,
Later Tang Dynasty (
923 -
936). Another ''jiedushi'' of Hedong,
Shi Jingtang, overthrew Later Tang to establish the third of the Five Dynasties,
Later Jin Dynasty, and yet another ''jiedushi'' of Hedong,
Liu Zhiyuan, established the fourth of the Five Dynasties (
Later Han Dynasty) after the Khitans destroyed Later Jin, the third. Finally, when the fifth of the Five Dynasties (
Later Zhou Dynasty) was established, the ''jiedushi'' of Hedong at the time,
Liu Chong, rebelled and established an independent state called
Northern Han, one of the Ten Kingdoms, in what is now northern and central Shanxi.
Shi Jingtang, founder of the
Later Jin Dynasty, the third of the Five Dynasties, ceded a large slice of northern China to the
Khitans in return for military assistance. This territory, called The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, included a part of northern Shanxi. The ceded territory became a major problem for
China's defense against the Khitans for the next 100 years, because it lies to the south of the
Great Wall.
During the
Northern Song Dynasty (
960 -
1127), the sixteen ceded prefectures continued to be an area of hot contention between Song China and the
Liao Dynasty. The
Southern Song Dynasty that came after abandoned all of
North China to the
Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) in
1127, including Shanxi.
The
Mongol Yuan Dynasty divided China into provinces but did not establish Shanxi as a province. Shanxi was formally established with its present name and approximate borders by the
Ming Dynasty (
1368 -
1644). During the
Qing Dynasty (
1644 -
1911), Shanxi was extended northwards beyond the Great Wall to include parts of
Inner Mongolia, including what is now the city of
Hohhot, and overlapped with the jurisdiction of the
Eight Banners and the
Guihua Tümed banner in that area.
During most of the
Republic of China's period of rule over mainland China (
1912-
1949), Shanxi was held by warlord
Yen Hsi-shan, regardless of the frequent political upheavals that shook the rest of China. During the
Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan occupied much of the province after defeating China in the
Battle of Taiyuan. Shanxi was also a major battlefield between the Japanese and the Chinese communist guerrillas of the
Eighth Route Army during the war.
After the defeat of Japan, much of the Shanxi countryside became important bases for the communist
People's Liberation Army in the ensuing
Chinese Civil War. Yen had incorporated thousands of former Japanese soldiers among his own forces, and these soldiers became part of his failed defense of Taiyuan against the People's Liberation Army in early
1949.
For centuries Shanxi was a center of
trade and
banking, and the term "Shanxi merchant" (晋商 jìnshāng) was once synonymous with wealth; the well-preserved city of
Pingyao, in Shanxi, also shows many signs of its former dominance as a center of trade and banking. In modern times, the mining of
coal is important in Shanxi's economy.
Geography
Shanxi is located on a plateau, which is in turn made up of higher ground to the east (
Taihang Mountains) and the west (
Lüliang Mountains), and a series of valleys in the center through which the
Fen River runs. The highest peak is
Mount Wutai (Wutai Shan) in northeastern Shanxi at an altitude of 3058 m. The
Great Wall of China forms most of the northern border of Shanxi with
Inner Mongolia.
The
Huang He (Yellow River) forms the western border of Shanxi with
Shaanxi. The
Fen and
Qin rivers, tributaries of the Huang He, run north-to-south through the province, and
drain much of its area. The north of the province is drained by tributaries of the
Hai River, such as
Sanggan and
Hutuo rivers. The largest natural lake in Shanxi is
Xiechi Lake, a salt lake near
Yuncheng in southwestern Shanxi.
Shanxi has a
continental monsoon climate, and is rather arid. Average January temperatures are below 0
°C, while average July temperatures are around 21 - 26
°C. Annual precipitation averages around 350-700 mm, with 60% of it concentrated between June and August.
[1]
Major cities:
★
Taiyuan
★
Datong
★
Changzhi
★
Yangquan
Administrative divisions
Shanxi is divided into eleven
prefecture-level divisions, all of them
prefecture-level cities:
★
Taiyuan (
Simplified Chinese: 太原市,
Hanyu Pinyin: Tàiyuán Shì)
★
Datong (大同市 Dàtóng Shì)
★
Yangquan (阳泉市 Yángquán Shì)
★
Changzhi (长治市 Chángzhì Shì)
★
Jincheng (晋城市 Jìnchéng Shì)
★
Shuozhou (朔州市 Shuòzhōu Shì)
★
Jinzhong (晋中市 Jìnzhōng Shì)
★
Yuncheng (运城市 Yùnchéng Shì)
★
Xinzhou (忻州市 Xīnzhōu Shì)
★
Linfen (临汾市 Línfén Shì)
★
Lüliang (吕梁市 Lǚliáng Shì)
The 11
prefecture-level divisions of Shanxi are subdivided into 119
county-level divisions (23
districts, 11
county-level cities, and 85
counties). Those are in turn divided into 1388
township-level divisions (561
towns, 634
townships, and 193
subdistricts).
See '
List of administrative divisions of Shanxi' for a complete list of
county-level divisions.
Economy
Important crops in Shanxi include
wheat,
maize,
millet,
legumes, and
potatoes. Agriculture in Shanxi is greatly limited by Shanxi's arid climate and dwindling water resources.
[2]
Shanxi contains 260 billion metric tonnes of known
coal deposits, about one third of China's total. As a result, Shanxi is a leading producer of coal in China, with annual production exceeding 300 million metric tonnes. The Datong (大同), Ningwu (宁武), Xishan (西山), Hedong (河东), Qinshui (沁水), and Huoxi (霍西) coalfields are some of the most important in Shanxi. Shanxi also contains about 500 million tonnes of
bauxite deposits, about one third of total Chinese bauxite reserves.
Industry in Shanxi is centered around heavy industries such as coal and chemical production, power generation, and metal
refining.
Shanxi's nominal GDP in
2004 was 304.2 billion yuan (US$37.74 billion), ranked eighteenth in China.
Shanxi is also famous about its bad working environment in coal and other heavy industries. Thousands workers died every year in those industries. The abusing of child labor was found recently.
Demographics
The population is mostly
Han Chinese with
minorities of
Mongol,
Manchu, and
Hui.
Excludes members of the
People's Liberation Army in active service.
Source: Department of Population, Social, Science and Technology Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司) and Department of Economic Development of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China (国家民族事务委员会经济发展司), eds. ''Tabulation on Nationalities of 2000 Population Census of China'' (《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》). 2 vols. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House (民族出版社), 2003. (ISBN 7-105-05425-5)
In
2004, the
birth rate was 12.36 births/1000 population, while the
death rate was 6.11 births/1000 population. The
sex ratio was 105.5 males/100 females.
[3]
Culture
People in most regions of Shanxi speak dialects of
Jin, a subdivision of spoken Chinese. However, dialects in the southwest, near the border with Henan and Shaanxi, are classified as part of the
Zhongyuan Mandarin subdivision of the
Mandarin group rather than Jin. In terms of characteristics, Jin dialects are generally distinguished by their retention of the
entering tone from Middle Chinese. In this respect they are unique in all of northern China, as most of the surrounding Mandarin dialects (spoken over the remainder of northern China) have lost it. (In central and southern China, it is much more common for the entering tone to be kept.) Jin is also noted for extremely complex
tone sandhi systems.
Shanxi cuisine is most well known for its extensive use of
vinegar as a condiment and for its
noodles. A dish originating from
Taiyuan, the provincial capital, is the
Taiyuan Tounao (太原头脑, literally "Taiyuan Head"). It is a soup brewed using mutton, ''
shanyao'' (山药, Chinese wild yam), lotus roots, ''
astragalus membranaceus'' (黄芪, membranous milk vetch), tuber onions, as well as cooking liquor for additional aroma. It can be enjoyed by dipping pieces of unleavened cake into the soup, and is reputed to have medicinal properties.
Shanxi Opera (晋剧 ''Jinju'') is a popular form of
Chinese opera in Shanxi. It was popularized during the late Qing Dynasty, with the help of the then-ubiquitous Shanxi merchants who were active across parts of China. Also called ''Zhonglu Bangzi'' (中路梆子), it is a type of ''bangzi'' opera (梆子), a group of operas generally distinguished by their use of wooden clappers for rhythm and by a more energetic singing style; Shanxi opera is also complemented by ''quzi'' (曲子), a blanket term for more melodic styles from further south.
Puzhou Opera (蒲剧 ''Puju''), from southern Shanxi, is a more ancient type of ''bangzi'' that makes use of very wide linear
intervals.
Shanxi merchants (晋商 ''Jinshang'') constituted a historical phenomenon that lasted for centuries from the Song to the Qing Dynasty. Shanxi merchants ranged far and wide from Central Asia to the coast of eastern China; by the Qing Dynasty they were conducting trade across both sides of the Great Wall. During the late Qing Dynasty, a new development occurred: the creation of ''piaohao'' (票号), which were essentially small
banks that provided services like money transfers and transactions, deposits, loans, and so on. After the establishment of the first ''piaohao'' in
Pingyao, the bankers of Shanxi enjoyed nearly one hundred years of financial dominance across China before being eclipsed by the rise of modern, larger banks.
Tourism
★ The Ancient City of
Pingyao is a
World Heritage Site near
Taiyuan. Once a great financial center of China, it is noted for its preservation of many features of northern
Han Chinese culture, architecture, and way of life during the
Ming and
Qing Dynasties.
★ The
Yungang Grottoes, a
World Heritage Site in
Datong, consist of 252 caves noted for their collection of
5th and
6th century Buddhist grotto sculptures and reliefs.
★
Mount Wutai (Wutai Shan) is the highest point in the province. It is known as the residence of the
bodhisattva Manjusri, and as a result is also a major
Buddhist pilgrimage destination, with many temples and natural sights.
★
Mount Hengshan (Heng Shan), in
Hunyuan County, is one of the "Five Great Peaks" of China, and is also a major
Taoist site. Not far from Heng Shan, the
Hanging Temple is located on the side of a cliff and has survived for 1400 years despite earthquakes in the area.
★
Yingxian Pagoda, in
Ying County, is a pagoda built in
1056. It is octagonal with nine levels (five are visible from outside), and at 67m, it is currently the tallest wooden pagoda in the world.
★
Hukou Waterfall is located in the
Yellow River on the Shanxi-
Shaanxi border. At 50 meters high it is the second highest waterfall in China.
★
Dazhai is a village in
Xiyang County. Situated in hilly, difficult terrain, it was a holy site during the
Cultural Revolution, when it was set out to the entire nation as exemplary of the hardiness of the
proletariat, especially
peasants.
★ The Cloud Ridge Caves are shallow caves near
Datong. There are over 50,000 carved images and statues of Buddhas and Boddhisatvas within these
grootes, ranging from 4
centimeters to 7
meters tall.
Colleges and universities
Major colleges and universities in Shanxi include:
★
Changzhi College (长治学院)
★
Changzhi Medical College (长治医学院)
★
Datong University (山西大同大学)
★
Jinzhong College (晋中学院)
★
North China University of Science and Technology (华北工学院)
★
Shanxi Agricultural University (山西农业大学)
★
Shanxi College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (山西中医学院)
★
Shanxi Medical University (山西医科大学)
★
Shanxi Teachers University also called Shanxi Normal University (山西师范大学)
★
Shanxi University (山西大学)
★
Shanxi University of Finance and Economics (山西财经大学)
★
North China University (中北大学)
★
Taiyuan Normal University (太原师范学院)
★
Taiyuan University of Science and Technology (太原科技大学)
★
Taiyuan University of Technology (太原理工大学)
★
Xinzhou Teachers University (忻州师范学院)
★
Yuncheng University (运城学院)
All of the above universities are under the authority of the provincial government. Institutions not offering full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
External links
★ http://www.shanxi.gov.cn
★
China Internet Information Center
★
Introduction to Shanxi Province of China, by China Report
★
Large map of Shanxi
★
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