CH'ANG-TE

Pinyin Changde, city in northern Hunan sheng (province), China. Situated on the north bank of the Yan River above its junction with the Tung-t'ing Lake system, Ch'ang-te is a natural centre of the northwest Hunan plain. In historical times it was also a centre from which governments controlled the mountain tribes of western Hunan. A county, named Lin-yan, was established there in the 2nd century BC. In 589 its name was changed to Wu-ling, and under the T'ang dynasty (618907) it became the seat of Lang prefecture. Under the Sung dynasty (9601279) the name of the prefecture was changed to T'ing-chou, and in 116474 it became a superior prefecture called Ch'ang-te. This status was retained until 1912, when the superior prefecture was abolished and the city became a county seat. In the late 19th century Ch'ang-te became a prosperous commercial centre and the chief agricultural central market of the Yan River basin. Many Chinese firms, andafter 1905, when it was opened to foreign tradeforeign firms as well, maintained branches there to buy rice, cotton, tung oil, and timber, so that Ch'ang-te's economic influence reached out into northern Kweichow, southwestern Hupeh, and parts of southeastern Szechwan provinces. The merchants of the Ta-ho quarter of the city controlled much of the northwestern Hunan economy, and early in the 20th century Ch'ang-te was the second city of Hunan, after Ch'ang-sha. Although the commercial dominance of Ch'ang-te firms disappeared with the advent of communist rule in 1949, the city remained an important centre of trade, with the majority of its population engaged either in commerce or in transportation. Grain, oil, cotton, and other commodities are loaded into medium-sized ships and taken to Yeh-yang, Ch'ang-sha, or Han-k'ou (Wu-han, Hupeh province) for onward shipment. Timber is also rafted there and floated across the Tung-t'ing Lake to Heh-yang, and thus to the Yangtze River. After 1949 the city developed some light industry, mostly based on such local products as wood, leather, and bristles. Pop. (1990 est.) 301,276.