SHANSI

WadeGiles romanization Shan-hsi, Pinyin Shanxi sheng (province) of northern China, bounded by the provinces of Hopeh to the east, Honan to the south and southeast, and Shensi to the west, and by the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region to the north. The article that follows is a summary of significant detail about the Chinese province of Shansi; for additional detail about its geography, history, economy, and culture, see China: Shansi. Evidence exists that certain cereal plants were cultivated in Shansi as early as the 5th to 3rd millennium BC. Since ancient times the province has held a strategic position as a gateway to the fertile plains of Hopeh and Honan and has also served as a buffer zone between China proper and the Mongolian and Central Asian steppes. A key route for military and trading expeditions, it was also one of the major avenues for the entrance of Buddhism into China from India. Through various dynasties Shansi's political status varied with the relative strength or weakness of the Chinese central government. Commercial aggressiveness produced a class of Shansi bankers and merchants in the 18th and 19th centuries who were famous throughout China. After the overthrow of the Ch'ing dynasty in 1911/12, the Shansi warlord Yen Hsi-shan ruled as an absolute dictator until the end of World War II. During the Sino-Japanese War (193745), the Japanese developed coal resources and expanded heavy industry in Shansi. After Communist forces assumed control of Shansi in 1949, agricultural and handicrafts cooperatives established at former Communist mountain bases were instrumental in revitalizing the province's economy. The provincial capital, T'ai-yan, is located in the centre of Shansi. Most of the province is composed of a vast plateau that lies at average elevations of between 1,000 and 3,000 feet (300 and 900 metres) above sea level. Shansi is surrounded by mountains. The Huang Ho (river) flows through a mountain gorge from north to south and forms the western border with Shensi province. Shansi has a semi-arid climate. Winter droughts and summer hailstones and flooding are familiar conditions. Most of the population lives in agricultural villages, and most are of Han origin and speak the Northern Mandarin dialect of Chinese. Small minority ethnic groups include Chinese Muslims, some Mongols, and Manchus. The two major urban areas are T'ai-yan, the capital and leading industrial and mining complex; and Ta-t'ung, a mining and rail transport centre near the borders of Hopeh Province and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. Shansi is important for its vast reserves of coal and iron and for its production of cotton for export. Its reserves of both anthracite and high-grade coking coal have supported the development of heavy industry. Major mining operations are located at Ta-t'ung, Hsi-shan, Yang-ch'uan, Fen-hsi, and Hsien-kang. Another 150 smaller coal mines are located throughout the province. Iron ore is also mined and the largest titanium and vanadium deposits in China are located near Fen-hsi. Also mined are silver, zinc, and copper; salt is produced in the southwest. Most industry is concentrated in the T'ai-yanY-tz'u region. Industries include iron and steel, heavy machinery, industrial chemicals, and chemical fertilizers, as well as cement, paper, textiles, milled flour, and wine. Agricultural production is limited by a short growing season and widespread erosion. Where possible, winter wheat, millet, soybeans, corn (maize), and some tobacco and peanuts (groundnuts) are cultivated. However, Shansi is China's largest provincial producer of cotton, and sesame is grown both for its oil seeds and for its fibre. There are three major rail lines; long-distance, all-weather roads are few. Waterways are little used for freight traffic. Area 60,700 sq mi (157,200 sq km). Pop. (1983 est) 25,460,000. Chinese (Wade-Giles) Shan-hsi, (Pinyin) Shanxi, sheng (province) of northern China. It has an area of about 60,200 square miles (156,000 square kilometres). Roughly rectangular in shape, Shansi is bounded by the provinces of Hopeh to the east, Honan to the south and southeast, and Shensi to the west and by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the north. The name Shansi (Western Mountains) testifies to the rugged terrain of the territory. The largest city and provincial capital, T'ai-yan, is located in the centre of the province. Shansi has always held a strategic position as a gateway to the fertile plains of Hopeh and Honan. Since ancient times it has also served as a buffer between China and the Mongolian and Central Asian steppes. A key route for military and trading expeditions, it was one of the major avenues for the entrance of Buddhism into China from India. Today it is important for its vast reserves of coal and iron, which form the basis of heavy industrial development, and for its production of cotton for export. History Pollen analyses from western and southern Shansi reveal that several cereal plants were grown there as early as the 5th to the 3rd millennium BC. During the Hsi (Western) Chou period (1111771 BC) the fief of Chin (now a colloquial and literary name for Shansi) was established in the area of modern Ch'-wo (Hou-ma) along the Fen River in the southwest. Under the Han dynasty (206 BCAD 220) Shansi assumed what was to become its traditional role as a buffer state between the pastoral nomads to the north and west and the sedentary Chinese farmers to the south and east. A predilection for political autonomy was paralleled by a commercial aggressiveness that led to the rise in the 18th and 19th centuries of a class of Shansi bankers and merchants famous throughout China. From the end of the Han dynasty until the reunification of the empire under the Sui dynasty in 581, Shansi came under the dominance of several short-lived dynasties, most prominent of which was the Wei dynasty (AD 386534/535) of the Pei-ch'ao (Northern Dynasties). Buddhism prospered for the first time during the Wei period; it was from Shansi that the Chinese Buddhist monk Fa-hsien began his legendary journey to India. The Buddhist cave sculptures dating from this period and preserved at Yn-kang today constitute some of China's most precious art treasures. From the 7th century until the end of the 14th century, control over the area shifted back and forth among local military leaders, invading Turkic and Mongol forces, and representatives of the Chinese dynasty in power. Some stability was restored during the Ming dynasty (13681644). Antiforeign feeling ran high during the latter years of the Ch'ing (Manchu) dynasty (16441911/12), despite the fact that there was relatively little foreign influence in the province. A few manufacturing establishments were set up in T'ai-yan in 1898, and a French- and Chinese-financed railway between T'ai-yan and Shih-chia-chuang in western Hopeh was built from 1904 to 1907. In 1900 antiforeign feeling took a violent form when an English mission church in T'ai-yan was burned by the I-ho ch'uan (a secret society that came to be known as the Boxers), and foreigners and Chinese Christian converts were killed. This led to the outbreak of what became known as the Boxer Rebellion, which eventually spread to Peking. After the overthrow of the Ch'ing dynasty in 1911/12, the Shansi warlord Yen Hsi-shan (18831960) ruled as an absolute dictator until the end of World War II. Yen was instrumental in establishing the nucleus of a heavy industrial base and in opening the T'ung-p'u railway in 1934. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1937 to 1945, the Japanese developed coal resources in the T'ai-yan Basin and expanded heavy industry. They were, however, continually harassed by Communist guerrillas who operated from mountain bases. The agricultural and handicrafts cooperatives established at these bases were instrumental in facilitating economic and social recovery after Communist forces assumed control of Shansi in 1949. Baruch Boxer