Fujian

Fujian ({{zh-cpw |c=福建 |p=Fújiàn |w=Fu-chien}}; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait.

History

Recent archaeological discoveries demonstrate that Fujian (especially the northern coastal region around Fuzhou) had entered the Neolithic Age by the middle of the 8th millennium BP (6th millennium BC). From the Keqiutou (壳丘头) site (7450-5590 BP), an early Neolithic site in Pingtan Island located about 70 km southeast of Fuzhou, numerous tools made of stones, shells, bones, jades, and ceramics (including wheel-made-ceramics) have been unearthed, together with spinning wheels, a definitive evidence of weaving. The Tanshishan (昙石山) site (5500-4000 BP) in suburban Fuzhou spans the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Age where semi-underground circular buildings were found in the lower level. The Huangtulun (黄土崙) site (ca.1325 BC), also in suburban Fuzhou, was of the Bronze Age in character. These findings, however, also indicate that the agricultural tradition was weak if not lacking in this area, which is consistent with the early records stating that the indigenous people in Fujian, primarily those living along the Min River, were Austronesians with "large eyes, flat nose and tattooed bodies", who made their living by fishing. These people probably arrived by sea from southeast Asia. They were eventually exiled during Han Dynasty to eastern China (north of present-day Shanghai).

Related Topics:
Fuzhou - Neolithic Age - Pingtan Island - Shell - Bone - Jade - Ceramics - Spinning wheel - Weaving - Chalcolithic - Bronze Age - Min River - Austronesian - Southeast Asia - Shanghai

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For the Han Chinese, this area was also known as Minyue. The word "Mǐnyuè" was derived by combining "Mǐn" (?/?; POJ: bân), perhaps an ethnic name and associated with a Chinese word with pejorative associations (?/?; pinyin: mán; POJ: bân), and "Yue", after the State of Yue, a Spring and Autumn Period kingdom in Zhejiang Province to the north. This is because the royal family of Yuè fled to Fujian after their kingdom was annexed by the State of Chu in 306 BC. Mǐn is also the name of the main river in this area, but the ethnonym is probably earlier.

Related Topics:
Han Chinese - Minyue - POJ - Yue - State of Yue - Spring and Autumn Period - Zhejiang - State of Chu - 306 BC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Minyue was a de facto kingdom until the emperor of Qin Dynasty, the first unified imperial Chinese state, abolished the status. In the aftermath of the fall of the Qin Dynasty, however, civil war broke out between two warlords, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang; the Minyue king Wuzhu sent his troops to fight side-by-side with Liu Bang, and his gambling bit was paid off. Liu Bang was victorious, and founded the Han Dynasty; in 202 BC he restored Minyue's status as a tributary independent kingdom. Thus Wuzhu was allowed to construct his fortified city in Fuzhou as well as a few locations in the Wuyi Mountains, which have been excavated in recent years. His kingdom extended beyond the borders of contemporary Fujian into eastern Guangdong, eastern Jiangxi, and southern Zhejiang. By this time Minyue was being sinicized and had a combination of aborigine (possibly Austronesian) and Han Chinese elements.

Related Topics:
Qin Dynasty - Xiang Yu - Liu Bang - Han Dynasty - 202 BC - Fuzhou - Wuyi Mountains - Guangdong - Jiangxi - Zhejiang - Sinicized - Austronesian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the death of Wuzhu, Minyue maintained its militant tradition and launched several expeditions against their neighboring kingdoms in Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, mostly in the 2nd century BC, only to be stopped by the Han Dynasty. The Han emperor eventually decided to get rid of the potential threat by sending in large forces simultaneously from four directions via land and sea in 111 BC. The rulers in Fuzhou surrendered in time to avoid a futile fight and destruction; thus the first kingdom in Fujian history come to an abrupt end. Nonetheless, the people of northern Fujian still erect temples in memory of their first kings.

Related Topics:
Guangdong - Jiangxi - Zhejiang - 2nd century BC - Han Dynasty - 111 BC

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Han Dynasty collapsed at the end of the 2nd century AD, paving the way for the Three Kingdoms era. Sun Quan, the founder of the Kingdom of Wu, spent nearly twenty years of subduing the Shan Yue people, the Yue people living in mountains.

Related Topics:
Han Dynasty - 2nd century - Three Kingdoms - Sun Quan - Kingdom of Wu - Yue people

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The first wave of immigration of the gentile class arrived in the province in the early 4th century AD when the Western Jin Dynasty collapsed and the north was torn apart by invasions by nomadic peoples from the north, as well as civil war. These immigrants were primarily from eight families in central China: Lin (林), Huang (黄), Chen (陈), Zheng (郑), Zhan (詹), Qiu (邱), He (何), and Hu (胡). The first four remain as the major surnames of modern Fujian.

Related Topics:
Western Jin Dynasty - Lin - Huang - Chen - Zheng - Zhan - Qiu - He - Hu

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nevertheless, isolation from nearby areas owing to ragged terrain contributed to Fujian's relatively backward economy and level of development, despite major population boost from northern China during the "barbarian" invasions. Population density in Fujian remained low compared to the rest of China. Only two commanderies and sixteen counties were established by the Western Jin Dynasty. Like other southern provinces such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan, Fujian often served as a destination for exiled prisoners and dissidents at that time.

Related Topics:
Commanderies - Western Jin Dynasty - Guangdong - Guangxi - Guizhou - Yunnan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties era, the Southern Dynasties reigned south of the Yangtze River. Their sovereigns made enormous effort of populating the area with Han Chinese.

Related Topics:
Northern and Southern Dynasties - Southern Dynasties - Yangtze River

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Tang Dynasty (618-907) oversaw the next golden age of China. As the Tang Dynasty ended, China was torn apart in the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. During this time, a second major wave of immigration arrived in the safe haven of Fujian, led by general Wang, who set up an independent Kingdom of Min with its capital in Fuzhou. After the death of the founding king, however, the kingdom suffered from internal strife, and was soon swallowed up by Southern Tang, another southern kingdom.

Related Topics:
Tang Dynasty - 618 - 907 - Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms - Kingdom of Min - Southern Tang

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Quanzhou was blooming into a seaport under the reign of the Min Kingdom, and may have been the largest seaport in the Eastern hemisphere. In the early Ming dynasty, Quanzhou was the stationary and supply depot of Zheng He's naval expeditions. Further development was severely hampered by the sea trade ban of the Ming Dynasty, and the area was superseded by nearby ports of Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai despite the lifting of the ban in 1550. Large scale piracy by Wokou (Japanese pirates) was eventually wiped out by Chinese military and Japanese authority of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Related Topics:
Quanzhou - Min Kingdom - Ming dynasty - Zheng He - Sea trade ban - Guangzhou - Hangzhou - Ningbo - Shanghai - 1550 - Wokou - Toyotomi Hideyoshi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Late Ming and early Qing Dynasty symbolized an era of large influx of refugees and another 20 years of sea trade ban under the Kangxi Emperor, a measure intended to counter the refuge Ming government of Koxinga in Taiwan. Incoming refugees, however, did not translate into a major labor force owing to their re-migration into prosperous regions of Guangdong province. In 1689, the Qing dynasty officially incorporated Taiwan into Fujian province. Settlement of Taiwan by Han Chinese followed, and the majority of people in Taiwan are descendants of emigrants from Fujian. After Taiwan was separated into its own province in 1885 and ceded to Japan in 1895, Fujian arrived at its present extent. It was substantially influenced by the Japanese after the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895 until the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) of WWII.

Related Topics:
Qing Dynasty - Kangxi Emperor - Koxinga - Taiwan - Guangdong - 1689 - Han Chinese - 1885 - 1895 - Treaty of Shimonoseki - Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) - WWII

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Owing to the mountainous landscape, Fujian was the most secluded province of the PRC in eastern China due to the lack of rail and underdeveloped networks of paved roads before the 1950s. The first railway to the province was completed in mid-1950s connecting Xiamen to the rest of the mainland. Despite its secluded location, Fujian has had a strong academic tradition since Southern Song Dynasty. At the time, north China was occupied by the Jurchen Jin Dynasty, which caused a shift of the cultural center of China to the south, benefiting Fuzhou and other southern cities. In the Chinese Academy of Science and Chinese Academy of Engineering, there are more members from Fuzhou than from any other cities. In addition, it should also be pointed out that the slow development of Fujian in its early days was really a blessing in disguise; today, the province has the highest forest coverage rate and the most diverse biosphere in China whereas central China suffers from severe overpopulation and displays severe signs of soil erosion accompanied by frequent draughts and floods due to lack of forest coverage.

Related Topics:
Xiamen - Mainland - Southern Song Dynasty - Jurchen - Jin Dynasty - Chinese Academy of Science - Chinese Academy of Engineering - Fuzhou - Soil erosion

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Since the late 1970s, the economy of Fujian along the coast has greatly benefited from its geographic and cultural proximity to Taiwan. In 2003, Xiamen ranked number eight GDP per capita among 659 Chinese cities, ahead of Shanghai and Beijing, while Fuzhou ranked no. 21 (number 4 among 30 provincial capitals). The development has been accompanied by a large influx of population from the over-populated areas in the north and west, and much of the farmland and forest as well as cultural heritage sites such as the temples of king Wuzhu have given way to the ubiquitous high-rise buildings. It is a tough challenge for the government at all levels to sustain the development at the same time to preserve the unique and vital natural and cultural heritage of Fujian.

Related Topics:
1970s - Taiwan - 2003 - Xiamen - Fuzhou

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

See also: Early western influence in Fujian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~