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Jiangxi

Province in eastern China

  • 12 min read
  • 12 chapters
SanQingShan
Emitchan · Public domain

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Jiangxi was one of the earliest Communist bases in China. The Nanchang uprising took place in Jiangxi on 1 August 1927, beginning the Chinese Civil War. In 1931, the Chinese Soviet Republic's government was established in Ruijin, which is sometimes called the "Former Red Capital".

The southern half of Jiangxi is hilly and mountainous, with ranges and valleys interspersed; notable mountains and mountain ranges include Mount Lu, the Jinggang Mountains and Mount Sanqing. The northern half is comparatively lower in altitude. The Gan River flows through the province.

Although the majority of Jiangxi's population is Han Chinese, Jiangxi is linguistically diverse. It is considered the center of Gan Chinese; Hakka Chinese is also spoken to some degree. Jiangxi is rich in mineral resources, leading the provinces of China in deposits of copper, tungsten, gold, silver, uranium, thorium, tantalum, niobium and lithium.

History

Jiangxi is centered on the Gan River valley, which historically provided the main north–south transport route of south China. The corridor along the Gan River is one of the few easily traveled routes through the otherwise mountainous and rugged terrain of the south-eastern mountains. This open corridor was the primary route for trade and communication between the North China Plain and the Yangtze River valley in the north and the territory of modern Guangdong province in the south. As a result, Jiangxi has been strategically important throughout much of China's history.

Jiangxi was outside the sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the Shang dynasty (16th to 11th centuries BC). It is likely that peoples collectively known as the Baiyue inhabited the region. During the Spring and Autumn period, the northern part of modern Jiangxi formed the western frontier of the state of Wu. After Wu was conquered by the state of Yue (a power based in modern northern Zhejiang) in 473 BC, the state of Chu (based in modern Hubei) took over northern Jiangxi and there may have been some Yue influence in the south. Chu subjugated Yue in 333 BC. In 223 BC, when Qin conquered Chu, a majority of the Jiangxi area was recorded to be put under Jiujiang Commandery situated in Shouchun (壽春). However the commandery was ineffective and ended shortly when Qin falls.

Yuzhang Commandery (豫章, Gan: Ì-zong) was established in Jiangxi at the beginning of the Han dynasty, possibly before the death of Xiang Yu in 202 BC, and it was also the first commandery set up by Chinese dynasty in Jiangxi. It was named after the Yuzhang River (豫章江, Gan: Ì-zong Kong), the original name of Gan River. "Gan" has become the abbreviation of the province. In 201, eight counties were added to the original seven of Qin, and three more were established in later years. Throughout most of the Han dynasty the commandery's eighteen counties covered most of the modern province of Jiangxi. The county seats of Nanchang, Gan, Yudu, Luling among others were located at the sites of modern major cities. Other counties, however, have been moved or abolished in later centuries.

Under the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty, Yuzhang Commandery was assigned to Yangzhou Province, as part of a trend to establish provinces (zhou) all across China. In 291 AD, during the Western Jin dynasty, Jiangxi became its own Zhou called Jiangzhou (江州, Gan: Kong-chiu). During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Jiangxi was under the control of the southern dynasties, and the number of zhou slowly grew.

During the Sui dynasty, there were seven commanderies and twenty-four counties in Jiangxi. During the Tang dynasty, another commandery and fourteen counties were added. Commanderies were then abolished, becoming zhou (henceforth translated as "prefectures" rather than "provinces").

Circuits were established during the Tang dynasty as a new top-level administrative division. At first Jiangxi was part of the Jiangnan Circuit (lit. "Circuit south of the Yangtze"). In 733, this circuit was divided into western and eastern halves. Jiangxi was found in the western half, which was called Jiangnanxi Circuit (lit. "Western circuits south of the Yangtze"). This is the source of the modern name "Jiangxi".

The Tang dynasty collapsed in 907, heralding the division of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Jiangxi first belonged to Wu (吳, Gan: Ng), then to Southern Tang (南唐, Gan: Nām-thóng). Both states were based in modern-day Nanjing, further down the Yangtze River.

After the ten Chinese kingdoms, Jiangnanxi Circuit was reestablished with nine prefectures and four army districts (with sixty-eight districts). Jiangxi was later divided into thirteen different circuits, and Jiangxi Province was established for the first time. This province also included the majority of modern Guangdong. Jiangxi acquired (more or less) its modern borders.

After the fall of the Qing regime, Jiangxi became one of the earliest bases for the Communists and many peasants were recruited to join the growing people's revolution. The Nanchang Uprising took place in Jiangxi on 1 August 1927, during the Chinese Civil War. Later the Communist leadership hid in the mountains of southern and western Jiangxi, hiding from the Kuomintang's attempts to eradicate them. In 1931, the Chinese Soviet Republic's government was established in Ruijin, which is sometimes called the "Former Red Capital" (红色故都, Gan: Fūng-set Kū-tu), or just the "Red Capital". In 1935, after complete encirclement by the Nationalist forces, the Communists broke through and began the Long March to Yan'an.

From 1930 to 1934, the National Government carried out five military campaigns against the Jiangxi Soviet area. Its brutal two-party battles and cleansing (including the internal cleansing of the Red Army and the cleaning of the post-war government) caused a large number of deaths or escapes, causing the population of Jiangxi to drop by 40%, until only 13.8 million people were left in 1936.

In 1936, after the opening of the Yuehan Railway in Hunan, Jiangxi lost its important position regarding north–south traffic. In 1937, the east-west Zhegan Railway was opened to traffic, which changed the original traffic patterns in Jiangxi to a large extent. The Jiujiang Port (九江港) began to decline in importance.

Following the Doolittle Raid during World War II, most of the B-25 American crews that came down in China eventually made it to safety with the help of Jiangxi locals. The Gan who helped them, however, paid dearly for sheltering the Americans. The Imperial Japanese Army began the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign to intimidate the Chinese from helping downed American airmen. At least 10,000 civilians died in Jiangxi while searching for Doolittle's men.

Jiangxi came under the full control of the CCP upon the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The Republican provincial government was evacuated to Taichung in Taiwan Province before dissolving itself that same year.

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