SHANG-CH'IU

Pinyin Shangqiu, formerly called (locally) Chu-chi, Pinyin Zhuji, city, eastern Honan sheng (province), China. Situated in the middle of the North China Plain, it lies at the junction of the north-south route from Chi-nan (Tsinan) in Shantung province to the central section of the Yangtze River and the routes from Cheng-chou and the northwest to Suchow in the east and Nanking in the southeast. Two places are called Shang-ch'iuthe modern city and the old county seat of the same name, which lies a few miles to the southwest. The old town has a long history. In the Ch'un-ch'iu period (770476 BC) it was the walled capital of the state of Sung. It became the seat of Sui-yang county in 220 BC. Its name and status subsequently underwent various changes until AD 589, when its name was changed to Sung-ch'eng and it became the administrative seat of Sung-chou prefecture. In the early 10th century it became the headquarters of the Kuei-te army of the Southern T'ang (937975/976) dynasty. Sung-chou (Shang-ch'iu) was a canal port on the New Pien Canal from 607 onward. Under the Sung dynasty (9601279), when the capital was transferred to K'ai-feng, some 80 miles (130 km) to the west, it became a supply base. In 1005 it was made a superior prefecture named Ying-t'ien, and in 1014 it became the subsidiary southern capital. In 1130, under the occupation of the Juchen, it became known as Kuei-te superior prefecture. At the beginning of the Ming dynasty (13681644) its significance was reduced by the construction of the Grand Canal farther east, and it was demoted to a simple prefecture named Kuei-te, which was subordinate to K'ai-feng superior prefecture. It again became a superior prefecture as Kuei-te Fu in 1545 and retained this status until the foundation of the Chinese republic (1911). The modern city of Shang-ch'iu was originally a market town, some miles northeast of Kuei-te, called Chu-chi. It outstripped the old Shang-ch'iu (Kuei-te) in importance, largely as a result of the construction of the Lunghai Railway, which made it a major regional commercial and collecting centre for the agricultural produce of the area, such as grain, beans, cotton, and raw silk. It is the focus of a dense road network and has good rail links. The city has developed a variety of small-scale industries, including flour milling, tobacco manufacture, oil pressing, and food processing. Pop. (1990) 164,880.