HSIEN-YANG

Pinyin Xianyang city, Shensi sheng (province), China. Hsien-yang is situated on the north bank of the Wei River about 12 miles (20 km) northwest of Sian, in an area that was the cradle of early Chinese civilization. It is on a vital east-west route through the Wei River valley, with good communications to the Northwest via its tributary, the Ching River. Its historical importance began with the Ch'in state, which emerged in the 4th century BC as a powerful contender for control of China. In 350 BC this state's ruler, Hsiao Kung, moved his capital to Hsien-yang from Yung. When all China was united under the Ch'in dynasty (221206 BC), Hsien-yang was expanded to form the capital of the new unified empire. Magnificent public buildings and palaces were erected, and some 120,000 households were moved from their homes elsewhere to populate the capital. The city was burned during disturbances and civil war in 206 BC. In 1974 farmers digging wells near the tomb mound of Shih Huang-ti (the first emperor of the Ch'in dynasty), located east of Hsien-yang, found a collapsed subterranean vault containing a veritable army of life-size ceramic figures including warriors (each a unique portrait), horses, and wooden chariots. The Han dynasty (206 BCAD 220), successor to the Ch'in, moved its capital to Ch'ang-an, and Hsien-yang became a minor county named Wei-ch'eng. With the transfer of power to the Eastern Han capital, Lo-yang, after AD 23, it ceased even to be a county. Under the T'ang dynasty (618907), when the capital was returned to Ch'ang-an, Hsien-yang again became a suburban county, the first staging post on the road to the west and a garrison post commanding the crossings of the Wei River. It remained a county subordinate to Sian until the establishment of the Chinese republic in 1911, when it became autonomous. The original Hsien-yang was about 6 miles (10 km) east of the modern town on the river almost north of Sian. In modern times, Hsien-yang has functioned as the market centre for a large and fertile irrigated area in the central Wei River valley, where in the 20th century the irrigation system has been greatly improved. The main products are grains, tobacco, and cotton. Since 1949 Hsien-yang, which was linked by rail to the coast and eastern China in 1935, has increased its commercial importance. It has also developed a large cotton-textile industry. Hsien-yang remains closely linked both commercially and industrially with the growing industrial complex of Sian. Pop. (1990 est.) 352,125.