Provinces

History

Early

The area of modern Zhejiang was outside the major sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the Shang Dynasty (16th to 11th century BC). Instead, this area was populated by peoples collectively known as the Yue, such as the Dongyue and the Ouyue. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the state of Yue emerged in northern Zhejiang. The Yue state was heavily influenced by the Chinese civilization further north. Under King Goujian of Yue, Yue reached its zenith and was able to wipe out the powerful state of Wu to its immediate north, in 473 BC. Then, in 333 BC, Yue was in turn conquered by the state of Chu, which was to the west. In 221 BC, the state of Qin completed the conquest of the last of the formerly independent states of China, including the state of Chu. This conquest made what is now Zhejiang part of a unified Chinese empire.

Qin, Han, and Three Kingdoms.

Throughout the Qin Dynasty (221 to 206 BC) and Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), Zhejiang was under the control of a unified Chinese state. However, the area of today's Zhejiang was still on the fringe of the empire, at best. Southern Zhejiang was under no more than nominal control. Its Yue inhabitants largely retained their own political and social structures. Near the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhejiang was home to the minor warlords Yan Baihu and Wang Lang. These two were defeated by Sun Ce and Sun Quan, who established the Kingdom of Wu (222–280), one of the three kingdoms of the Three Kingdoms era.

Six Dynasties

From the 4th century onwards, China experienced invasions from the north by nomadic peoples, who succeeded in conquering much of the territory of North China. This ushered in the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Southern and Northern Dynasties. As part of this process, massive numbers of refugees fled the north and arrived in South China. The large numbers of refugees from the north accelerated the sinicization of South China, including Zhejiang, as people from the northern areas became incorporated into the kingdom of the Eastern Jin Dynasty or the other Southern Dynasties states of the time. Though the capital of the Southern Dynasties kingdoms was (almost by definition) Jiankang, in the location of modern Nanjing, in the province of Jiangsu; nevertheless, the Zhejiang area was home to the major metropolis and cultural center of Hangzhou, formerly known as Qiantang, but renamed in 589. Jiankang and Hangzhou together with Chengdu were the three major cities of southern China in this period, and Hangzhou was the main city of what is now Zhejiang.

Sui and Tang

The Sui Dynasty reestablished unity and rebuilt and expanded the Grand Canal of China, which linked Hangzhou to the North China Plain, providing Zhejiang with a vital link to the other centers of Chinese civilization. The Tang Dynasty (618–907) presided over a golden age of China. Zhejiang was, at this time, part of the Jiangnan East Circuit, and there began to appear references to its prosperity. Later on, as the Tang Dynasty disintegrated, Zhejiang constituted most of the territory of the regional kingdom of Wuyue.

Northern Song

The Northern Song Dynasty re-established unity in around 960. Under the Song Dynasty, the prosperity of South China began to overtake that of North China. After the north was lost to the Jurchens in 1127, Zhejiang had its heyday. The modern provincial capital, Hangzhou, was the capital of the Han Chinese Southern Song Dynasty which remained in power in South China. Renowned for its prosperity and beauty, it may have been the largest city in the world at the time. Ever since then, north Zhejiang has, together with neighboring south Jiangsu, been synonymous with luxury and opulence in Chinese culture. The Mongol conquest and the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty in 1279 ended Hangzhou's political clout, though Hangzhou continued to prosper. Marco Polo visited the city, which he called "Kinsay"; he called it the "finest and noblest city" in the world".

Southern Song

The Zhejiang province, particularly the Longquan district, became renowned during the Southern Song and Yuan dynasty for its production of a particular celadon (greenware) ceramic. The Southern Song Longquan celadon is characterized by a thick unctuous glaze of a particular bluish-green tint over an otherwise undecorated light-grey porcellaneous body that is delicately potted. Yuan Longquan celadons feature a thinner, greener glaze on increasingly large vessels with decoration and shapes derived from Middle Eastern ceramic and metalwares. These were produced in large quantities for the Chinese export trade to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and during the Ming Dynasty, Europe. Ming wares are mainly noted for a decrease in quality. It is in this period that the Longquan kilns declined, to be eventually replaced in popularity and ceramic production by the kilns of Jingdezhen, in neighboring Jiangxi province.

Ming

This tripod planter from the Ming Dynasty was found in Zhejiang province. It is housed in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

The Ming Dynasty, which drove out the Mongols in 1368, created the province of Zhejiang. The borders of the province have changed little since it was founded.

Modern

Under the late Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty that followed it, Zhejiang's ports were important centers of international trade.

"In 1727 the to-min or "idle people " of Cheh Kiang province (a Ningpo name still existing), the yoh-hu or " music people " of Shan Si province, the si-min or "small people " of Kiang Su province, and the tan-ka or "egg-people" of Canton (to this day the boat population there), were all freed from their social disabilities, and allowed to count as free men."[6] "Cheh Kiang" is another romanization for Zhejiang.

During the First Opium War, the British navy defeated Eight Banners forces at Ningbo and Dinghai. Under the terms of the Treaty of Nanjing, signed in 1843, Ningbo became one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened to virtually unrestricted foreign trade. Much of Zhejiang came under the control of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the Taiping Rebellion, which resulted in a considerable loss of life in the province. In 1876, Wenzhou became Zhejiang's second treaty port.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, which led into World War II, much of Zhejiang was occupied by Japan and placed under the control of the Japanese puppet state known as the Reorganized National Government of China. Following the Doolittle Raid, most of the B-25 American crews that came down in China eventually made it to safety with the help of Chinese civilians and soldiers. The Chinese people who helped them, however, paid dearly for sheltering the Americans. The Imperial Japanese Army began the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign to intimidate the Chinese out of helping downed American airmen. The Japanese killed an estimated 250,000 civilians while searching for Doolittle’s men.

After the People's Republic of China took control of Mainland China in 1949, the Republic of China government based in Taiwan continued to control the Dachen Islands off the coast of Zhejiang until 1955, even establishing a rival Zhejiang provincial government there, creating a situation similar to Fujian province today. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), Zhejiang was in chaos and disunity, and its economy was stagnant, especially during the high tide (1966–69) of the revolution. The agricultural policy favoring grain production at the expense of industrial and cash crops intensified economic hardships in the province. Mao’s self-reliance policy and the reduction in maritime trade cut off the lifelines of the port cities of Ningbo and Wenzhou. While Mao invested heavily in railroads in interior China, no major railroads were built in South Zhejiang, where transportation remained poor.

Zhejiang benefited less from central government investment than some other provinces due to its lack of natural resources, a location vulnerable to potential flooding from the sea, and an economic base at the national average. Zhejiang, however, has been an epicenter of capitalist development in China, and has led the nation in the development of a market economy and private enterprises. Northeast Zhejiang, as part of the Yangtze Delta, is flat, more developed, and industral.South Zhejiang is mountainous and largely ill-suited for farming and has traditionally been poor and underdeveloped. The economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping, however, have brought change to that region unparalleled across the rest of China. Driven by hard work, an entrepreneurial spirit, low labor costs, and an eye for the world market, south Zhejiang (especially cities such as Wenzhou and Yiwu) has become a major center of export. This, together with the traditional prosperity of north Zhejiang, has allowed Zhejiang to leapfrog over several other provinces and become one of the richest provinces of China.

Contrary to traditional Confucian ideas, intellectuals in Zhejiang, such as Shi Ye of the Yongjia School, promoted commercial activity. Over the years, Zhejiang has developed a tradition of commercial activity and entrepreneurship.