ANHWEI

Wade-Giles romanization An-hui, Pinyin Anhui, sheng (province), east-central China. Anhwei is one of the smallest of China's provinces. It is landlocked and is bounded by the provinces of Kiangsu to the northeast, Chekiang to the southeast, Kiangsi to the south, and Hupeh and Honan to the west. The capital is Ho-fei. Anhwei was the first part of southern China to be settled by the Chinese (Han) people. It was the hub of an early water-transportation system developed to carry grain. Anhwei was long regarded as the most backward province of eastern China, but since 1949 successful attempts have been made to utilize its economic and human resources. The northern portion of Anhwei is occupied by the North China Plainan immense level surface that has periodically been flooded by its dominant rivers. The southern section of the province, occupied mostly by a portion of the Yangtze River valley, is separated from the northern plain by a series of low mountains that stretch roughly from west to east. The northern plain is drained by the Huai River, which flows across the level plain and drains into the Hungtse Lake. The Huai River basin is subject to widespread and disastrous floods. Vast irrigation schemes constructed after 1949 on the major Huai tributaries have alleviated this flooding to a large extent and have also provided increased agricultural land and electric power. The Yangtze plain is crisscrossed by canals that are used for irrigation, drainage, and transport. Anhwei has a temperate monsoon climate characterized by hot, wet summers and cool, dry winters. Anhwei's regions of densest population are along the tributaries and banks of the Huai River above Pang-fou and in the diked areas along the right (south) bank of the Yangtze. There are four large towns in the province: Ho-fei, Huai-nan, Pang-fou, and Wu-hu. The population is almost totally Han. In the Huai River basin to the north, wheat is the predominant crop, while rice is grown in the Yangtze River basin to the south. Most of the land produces two crops a year. Summer crops include rice, sweet potatoes, kaoliang (sorghum), soybeans, peanuts (groundnuts), and sesame. Winter crops are wheat, corn (maize), barley, rape (an herb of the mustard family), peas, and green manure crops that are plowed under as fertilizer. The main industrial and commercial crops are vegetable oilseeds, cotton, tea, fibres, and tobacco. Anhwei has been famous for its tea since the 7th century. Pigs are the main source of meat, and sheep are raised in increasing numbers in northern Anhwei. Coal, iron ore, and iron and steel are all produced in Anhwei. Secondary in importance are textiles and machine accessories. Area 54,000 square miles (139,900 square km). Pop. (1990) 56,180,813; (1994 est.) 58,970,000. Chinese (Wade-Giles) An-hui, (Pinyin) Anhui, sheng (province) of China. It is one of the country's smallest provinces, covering an area of 54,000 square miles (139,900 square kilometres) and stretching for 400 miles (640 kilometres) from north to south. Landlocked, it is bounded by the provinces of Kiangsu to the northeast, Chekiang to the southeast, Kiangsi to the south, and Hupeh and Honan to the west. Its northern extremity barely touches the southern extremity of Shantung. Its name means beautiful peace and is derived from the names of two citiesAn-ch'ing and Hui-chou (now She-hsien). The capital, Ho-fei, is located in the heart of the province. Anhwei was long one of China's poorest and most undeveloped areas. Since 1949, however, successful attempts have been made to utilize the province's economic and human resources. Vast irrigation schemes on the major rivers have alleviated severe periodic flooding and have also provided increased agricultural land and electric power. History During the Chan-kuo (Warring States) period of the Chou dynasty (475221 BC) Anhwei formed part of the large southern state of Ch'u. Between 221 and 206 BC the Ch'in dynasty unified the states, and a great southward migration along the natural highway of the North China Plain and the Huai River basin began. Anhwei became the first part of southern China to be settled by the Han. Unrest following the fall of the Han dynasty in AD 220 led to further immigration into the area. The Yangtze River basin subsequently became the granary of the empire, and an improved transport and canal system was developed across northern Anhwei to carry tribute grain to the capital from Su-chou to Pien (modern K'ai-feng) in Honan and from there to Lo-yang in Honan. It was later superseded by the New Pien Canal, built during the Sui dynasty (581618). The new canal ran along the Kuei River and then cut across the region to Pien, forming the main line of communication to the capital. During the 12th century Anhwei was the scene of bitter battles between the Nan Sung emperors and the invading Juchen. After the establishment of the capital at Ta-tu (modern Peking), the Yan, or Mongol, dynasty (12061368) constructed the Grand Canal to the east, connecting Hang-chou in Chekiang Province with Ta-tu, and the previously built waterways fell into disuse. In the early 1850s the Huang Ho made one of its great changes in course, flowing into the Po Hai, north of the Shantung Peninsula instead of south into the Yellow Sea. The loss of water for the Huai Basin resulted in great distress for the farmers of northern Anhwei. Subsequent peasant risingstogether with the Taiping Rebellion of 185064resulted in widespread devastation. The Yangtze was opened to foreign shipping in 1860, but it was not until 1877 that the walled city of Wu-hu in Anhwei was opened to international trade. Although it was the province's only treaty port, the city never figured prominently in overseas commerce. In 1938 the Huang Ho was temporarily diverted south of Shantung by the Nationalist government, which blew up the river's dikes in Honan in an attempt to stem the advance of Japanese invaders. The river waters then surged south to Hung-tse Lake on the Anhwei border, flooding an enormous area at the cost of about 900,000 lives. During World War II most of Anhwei was occupied by Japanese forces, but, because of the resistance of the Chinese inhabitants, Japanese control could be effectively enforced only during daylight hours. Between 1946 and 1949 the province was controlled by the Nationalist forces. From 1949 to 1952 Anhwei was administered in two separate parts. The section north of the Yangtze, which came under Communist military control in 1949, was constituted as the North Anhwei Administrative District. The South Anhwei Administrative District was established several months later, after the People's Liberation Army (PLA) crossed the Yangtze and based its administration in Wu-hu. In August 1952 the province was reunified under the leadership of Zeng Xisheng (Tseng Hsi-sheng), a long-time veteran of the PLA. Anhwei's provincial administration experienced relatively greater leadership turnover than other provinces in the 1950s and '60s and a major shift in leadership during the Cultural Revolution. During the 1970s Anhwei supported many of the radical programs of the Cultural Revolution, but in the late 1970s the province became a base for many of the moderate reforms advocated by the post-Mao leadership. Thomas R. Tregear Victor C. Falkenheim The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica