History

It was here that the Hemudu people cultivated rice almost 7,000 years ago-the earliest known cultivation of paddy rice in history. The name Yue-as in Yue opera-is often used to refer to ancient Zhejiang Province. It is the name of a former state which, when it conquered the kingdom of Wu (whose heartland was in modern Jiangsu province) in 473 B.C.E., brought northern Zhejiang under its sway. Later Yue was itself annexed by the state of Chu, during the Warring States period (475-221 B.C.E.), when one kingdom was pitted against another, until the powerful Qin dynasty ended the fighting once and for all and unified all of China, laying the foundation of the first Chinese empire.

Under the first Qin emperor, the area now known as Zhejiang was divided into three provinces, of which Kuaiji, a name we still hear today, was one. Later, during the period of the Three Kingdoms (220-265 C.E.), when the empire was once more divided into contending factions, Zhejiang came under the rule of the eastern state of Wu. Thereafter the various succeeding dynasties imposed their own administrative order upon Zhejiang, sometimes dividing it into smaller entities, other times uniting those entities.

Northern Zhejiang leapt into prominence at the turn of the sixth century. Under the political impetus of the Sui dynasty (581-618) the Grand Canal was built, extending from Beijing down through the various towns of "the land of fish and rice" south of the Yangzi River to terminate at Hangzhou. At the same time intensive agriculture was introduced for the first time in the remarkably fertile lands to the north of Hangzhou.

It was from the Five Dynasties period (906-960) that Zhejiang began to approach the peak of its development, a process greatly accelerated by the shift of the southern Song court first to Nanjing and then Hangzhou. The Song dynasty was culturally brilliant, but militarily weak, and the Jurchen Tartars easily captured its original capital, Kaifeng, in 1126. With the establishment of the Yuan dynasty by the Mongols in 1279, the whole of China came under foreign dominion for the first time, but Zhejiang continued to prosper. Silk production flourished, as did coastal trade. But as the centuries passed, continued development was hindered by rebellions that disrupted the Grand Canal traffic and ruined the economy revolving around it, by crippling taxes, and by the Japanese pirates who descended in waves upon the coast.

During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) China again came under foreign dominion, and Zhejiang began to decline gradually under Manchu rule until the onslaught of the Taiping Rebellion reached the northern part of the province in the 19th century and caused it to plunge hopelessly downhill in a welter of bloodshed and destruction. The Taiping were a millennial revolutionary army of southern Chinese farmers led by Hong Xiuquan, the self-proclaimed "Younger Brother of Jesus Christ" who challenged both the existing social order and the authority of the Qing government. Zhejiang was one of the main battlefields of the insurrection, and the city of Hangzhou was of great strategic importance.

Zhejiang's cultural development was less troubled. "The southeast is a land of riches; Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the home of men of letters" is a well-known Chinese saying. Scholars abounded in Zhejiang, especially after the court's southward move; and for centuries afterwards candidates from here dominated the honor lists of the imperial examinations, their number outranked only by people from Jiangsu. Hangzhou became famous for its growing population of artists, in whose picturesque setting the genius of many painters, calligraphers and poets could flourish.

Under the first Qin emperor, the area now known as Zhejiang was divided into three provinces, of which Kuaiji, a name we still hear today, was one. Later, during the period of the Three Kingdoms (220-265 C.E.), when the empire was once more divided into contending factions, Zhejiang came under the rule of the eastern state of Wu. Thereafter the various succeeding dynasties imposed their own administrative order upon Zhejiang, sometimes dividing it into smaller entities, other times uniting those entities.

Northern Zhejiang leapt into prominence at the turn of the sixth century. Under the political impetus of the Sui dynasty (581-618) the Grand Canal was built, extending from Beijing down through the various towns of "the land of fish and rice" south of the Yangzi River to terminate at Hangzhou. At the same time intensive agriculture was introduced for the first time in the remarkably fertile lands to the north of Hangzhou.

It was from the Five Dynasties period (906-960) that Zhejiang began to approach the peak of its development, a process greatly accelerated by the shift of the southern Song court first to Nanjing and then Hangzhou. The Song dynasty was culturally brilliant, but militarily weak, and the Jurchen Tartars easily captured its original capital, Kaifeng, in 1126. With the establishment of the Yuan dynasty by the Mongols in 1279, the whole of China came under foreign dominion for the first time, but Zhejiang continued to prosper. Silk production flourished, as did coastal trade. But as the centuries passed, continued development was hindered by rebellions that disrupted the Grand Canal traffic and ruined the economy revolving around it, by crippling taxes, and by the Japanese pirates who descended in waves upon the coast.

During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) China again came under foreign dominion, and Zhejiang began to decline gradually under Manchu rule until the onslaught of the Taiping Rebellion reached the northern part of the province in the 19th century and caused it to plunge hopelessly downhill in a welter of bloodshed and destruction. The Taiping were a millennial revolutionary army of southern Chinese farmers led by Hong Xiuquan, the self-proclaimed "Younger Brother of Jesus Christ" who challenged both the existing social order and the authority of the Qing government. Zhejiang was one of the main battlefields of the insurrection, and the city of Hangzhou was of great strategic importance.

Zhejiang's cultural development was less troubled. "The southeast is a land of riches; Jiangsu and Zhejiang are the home of men of letters" is a well-known Chinese saying. Scholars abounded in Zhejiang, especially after the court's southward move; and for centuries afterwards candidates from here dominated the honor lists of the imperial examinations, their number outranked only by people from Jiangsu. Hangzhou became famous for its growing population of artists, in whose picturesque setting the genius of many painters, calligraphers and poets could flourish.

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