CHUNGKING

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ch'ung-ch'ing, (Pinyin) Chongqing largest city of the Szechwan sheng (province), China. The leading river port and industrial centre in southwestern China, the city is located 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometres) from the sea, at the confluence of the Yangtze and Chia-ling rivers. During World War II it was the capital of Nationalist China. The city was named Ch'ung-ch'ing (Double-Blessed) in 1188 under the Nan (Southern) Sung dynasty (AD 11271279) because of its commanding position between the cities of Shun-ch'ing (modern Nan-ch'ung) to the north and Shao-ch'ing (modern P'eng-shui) to the south. The city proper includes the Old City and adjacent areas, while the much larger Chungking Municipality (Ch'ung-ch'ing Shih) comprises several counties and a number of lesser cities. Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ch'ung-ch'ing, or (Pinyin) Chongqing, largest city of Szechwan sheng (province), China. Chungking (meaning Double-Blessed) is the principal river port and industrial centre of southwestern China. The old city of Chungking occupies a historically strategic location on a promontory, Mount Chin-pi, at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Chia-ling River, 1,400 miles (2,250 km) inland from the East China Sea. Chungking is shielded from cold northern winds by the Tsinling Mountains; the city has a mild climate and has little frost in winter. The summer is hot and humid. Between October and April it is blanketed by fog. Once a city of narrow and irregular streets, Chungking changed greatly as a result of a vigorous modernization program introduced during World War II, when it became the Nationalist capital. Heavy aerial bombardment by the Japanese in 193842 destroyed much of the city and led to a reconstruction program that continued in the decades after the war. Numerous industrial towns and suburban communities have extended the city limits and relieved some of the crowding of the Old City. Modern Chungking is a city of contrasts, with architecturally modern apartment buildings and commercial structures as well as houses of traditional design. The foundations of Chungking's modern industry were laid between 1938 and 1945. Its industries include iron and steel production; coal mining; petroleum refining; the manufacture of machines, farm tools, munitions, and trucks; and production of chemicals and fertilizers. The city is a leader in light industries, including the production of cotton, silk, and paper; dyeing, food processing, and handicrafts also are important. It is the focal point of trade and transport not only of Szechwan but also of the adjoining provinces of Shensi, Yunnan, and Kweichow and of eastern Tibet. Chungking University (1929) and numerous other institutes offer training in the professions and the arts. The Chungking Library and the Chungking Municipal Museum are among the leading cultural centres in the city. The principal means of transport in the city are bicycles, motorbikes, and buses. Cable tramways climb the steep hills. The city's port accommodates heavy river traffic. Several rail lines and an extensive highway network link the city with other cities and provinces. Chungking's airport handles domestic service. Pop. (1990 est.) 2,266,772. Additional reading Comprehensive general references are Fredric Kaplan, Julian Sobin, and Arne De Keijzer, The China Guidebook, 6th ed. (1985), revised annually; and Nagel Publishers, China, English version by Anne L. Destenay, 4th ed. (1982). References to Chungking's role in Chinese history can be found in Immanuel C.Y. Hs, The Rise of Modern China, 3rd ed. (1983); and an analysis of a specific epoch is Robert A. Kapp, Szechwan and the Chinese Republic, 19111938 (1973). Chungking during World War II is portrayed in Theodore H. White and Annalee Jacoby, Thunder out of China (1946, reprinted 1980); and Paul M.A. Linebarger, The China of Chiang K'ai-shek: A Political Study (1941, reprinted 1973). Edgar Snow, Red China Today, rev. ed. (1971), contains one of the best descriptions of the modern scene. For geography, see George Babcock Cressey, China's Geographic Foundations (1934); and for an economic geography, see T.R. Tregear, China, a Geographical Survey (1980). Frederica M. Bunge and Rinn-Sup Shinn (eds.), China, a Country Study, 3rd ed. (1981), discusses several aspects of Chungking's industry, trade, and transportation. Articles in China Reconstructs (monthly) and Far Eastern Economic Review (weekly) contain useful information on contemporary developments. Ping-chia Kuo Wang Mingye History The early period According to ancient accounts Chungking was the birthplace of the consort of Emperor Y of the legendary Hsia dynasty, about 4,000 years ago. In the 11th century BC, under the Western Chou dynasty, the region surrounding Chungking became a feudal state known as Pa. In the 5th century BC, Pa established relations with the mid-Yangtze kingdom of Ch'u. It was later incorporated into the Ch'in empire. By the mid-3rd century BC the region became part of the kingdom of Shu and was totally independent of northern and central China. The swing of the historical pendulumin which the city's status alternated between being ruled by an empire in northern China, forming part of an empire in central China, and detaching itself to become independent of both northern and central Chinacontinued throughout subsequent centuries. The city finally became an integral part of the unified Chinese empire, first under the Ming dynasty (13681644), and then under the Ch'ing, or Manchu, dynasty (16441911/12). The first substantial city wall was constructed around 250 BC. It was repaired and expanded during the 3rd century AD and rebuilt with solid stone in 1370. In the 1630s, at the end of the Ming dynasty, the rebellion of Chang Hsien-chung subjected Chungking to plunder, slaughter, and destruction. The city wall was restored in 1663. Some five miles in circumference, it had a total of 17 gates: eight gates remained closed on the advice of geomancers (practitioners of divination by means of figures or lines), while nine were open to traffic. Additional work was done to strengthen the city wall in 1760. The modern period Chungking was opened to British trade in 1890, but navigational difficulties on the Yangtze delayed steamer traffic for more than a decade. Meanwhile, the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895), which concluded the first Sino-Japanese War (189495), gave Japan the right to establish a concession. Accordingly, in 1901, when British trade opened, a Japanese concession was established at Wang-chia-to on the south shore of the Yangtze. This concession lasted until 1937, when it was abandoned by Japan on the outbreak of war. On the eve of the revolution of 1911 Chungking, along with the provincial capital, Ch'eng-tu, played a major role in bringing about the overthrow of the Manchus; many patriots of the region joined the revolutionary party of the Chinese Nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen. Despite such progressive trends and a nominal allegiance to the central government, Chungking was unable to break away from the grip of regional separatism. Yet in 1938, when war again broke out with Japan, Chungking became the capital of the Nationalist government. Hundreds of government offices were moved to the city from Nanking, along with the diplomatic missions of foreign powers; and tens of thousands of people came from coastal provinces, bringing with them arsenals, factories, and schools. Friendly powers, too, rushed supplies to Chungking to bolster its war effort. Despite the Japanese bombings, the morale of its populationat the time more than 1,000,000was high. Chiang Kai-shek's failure to control inflation and corruption, however, caused the war effort to falter from 1942 onward. In 1946, on the eve of the renewed civil war against the Communists, the Nationalist capital returned to Nanking. Three years later, in April 1949, Nanking fell. The Nationalist government fled to Canton and then once againfor less than two monthsto Chungking (October to December 1949). When the Nationalists fled to Taiwan in December, the Communist victory on the mainland was complete. Shortly after the Communist takeover in 1949, repair of the war damage began, and expansion of the city's industrial base, established in the early 20th century, was vigorously pursued. Even though energies were temporarily deflected during the Great Leap Forward (195860) and the Cultural Revolution (196676), the city, nonetheless, succeeded in carrying out extensive modernization projects and significantly raised the standard of living.