Huizhou () is a historical region in

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

Province which is known today as the

Huangshan City Huangshan (), is a prefecture-level city in southern Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. Huangshan means ''Yellow Mountain'' in Chinese and the city is named after the famously scenic Yellow Mountains which cover much of the city's vast ge ...

– the southernmost region of the province. In

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

dynasties, Huizhou was a prefecture corresponding to Huangshan city and

Jixi County Jixi County (, Mandarin pronunciation: ; Jixihua pronunciation: ''jie' cii xin'') is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xuancheng, in the southeast of Anhui province, China, bordering Zhejiang province to the east ...

of modern

Xuancheng Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal administration since the Qin dynasty. Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage ...

, plus Wuyuan County in northeastern

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

. Anhui, the name of the province, is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsAnqing Anqing (, also Nganking, formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province, People's Republic of China. Its population was 4,165,284 as of the 2020 census, with 804,493 living in the ...

and Huizhou.

History

During the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(1211), Huizhou was named from Shezhou () or She Prefecture (), now the name of She County under Huangshan City. The prefecture remained intact for about 800 years with six counties: Shexian County (), Yixian County (),

Xiuning Xiuning County () is a county in the south of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Huangshan City. The southernmost county-level division in the province, it has a population of and an ...

(),

Qimen Qimen County (; alternately romanized as Keemun) is a county in the southeast of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi Province to the southwest. It is the westernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of ...

(),

Jixi Jixi () is a city in southeastern Heilongjiang Province, People's Republic of China. At the 2020 census, 1,502,060 people resided within its administrative area of and 560,118 in its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of 3 out of 6 urban dis ...

(), and Wuyuan (). The region was known for its production of writing utensils. In the late

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, the city also became known for publishing texts on a broad range of subjects, such as

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

, classic literature, and illustrated novels and dramas. The carvers of the printing blocks were highly skilled, allowing the printed works to be of high quality.

Geography

Huizhou is a mountainous region in the south of Anhui province. Huizhou is also well known for the scenic

Huangshan Mountains Huangshan (),Bernstein, pp. 125–127. literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a mountain range in southern Anhui Province in eastern China. It was originally called “Yishan”, and it was renamed because of a legend that Emperor Xuany ...

Economy

Since the Ming dynasty, the merchants of Huizhou, collectively known in Chinese as Huishang ( 徽商; pinyin: Huīshāng), were renowned for their economic prowess. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, they formed a formidable political force both regionally and nationally. After the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...

, Huizhou merchants became less prominent as the war disrupted trade in inland China.

Culture

Huizhou has its own distinct culture as well as spoken Chinese form, known as

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in central-east Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Heyua ...

and recognized as one of the main subdivisions of spoken Chinese.

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

, which arose in the 18th century, has its origins in a local opera form from Huizhou.

Hui cuisine Hui cuisine may refer to: * Chinese Islamic cuisine (Chinese: 回族菜; pinyin: Huízú cài) * Anhui cuisine Anhui cuisine, alternatively referred to as Hui cuisine, is one of the Eight Culinary Traditions of Chinese cuisine. It is derived fr ...

, which is known for its extensive use of wild herbs, is one of the eight main Chinese cuisines.

Architecture

Huizhou is famous for ancient streets and buildings, such as ancestral temple, memorial archway. Residential buildings in Huizhou attach importance to feng shui and

yin-yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...

Notable people

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...

(1130-1200) *

Huang Binhong Huáng Bīnhóng (; 1865–1955) was a Chinese literati painter and art historian born in Jinhua, Zhejiang province. His ancestral home was She County, Anhui province.Cihai: Page 2056. He was the grandson of artist Huang Fengliu. He would lat ...

(1865-1955) *

Hu Shih Hu Shih (; 17 December 1891 – 24 February 1962), also known as Hu Suh in early references, was a Chinese diplomat, essayist, literary scholar, philosopher, and politician. Hu is widely recognized today as a key contributor to Chinese libera ...

(1891-1962) *

Tao Xingzhi Tao Xingzhi (; October 18, 1891 – July 25, 1946), was a renowned Chinese educator and reformer in the Republic of China mainland era. He studied at Teachers College, Columbia University and returned to China to champion progressive education. ...

(1891-1946) *

Hu Xueyan Hu Guangyong (1823–1885), better known by his courtesy name Xueyan, was a businessman in China during the latter Qing dynasty. He was active in banking, real estate, shipping and Chinese medicine. He was involved in the salt, tea, clothing, gra ...

(1823-1885) *

Hu Zongxian Hu Zongxian (; November 4, 1512 – November 25, 1565), courtesy name Ruzhen () and art name Meilin (), was a Chinese general and politician of the Ming dynasty who presided over the government's response to the wokou pirate raids during the rei ...

(1512-1565) *

Zhan Tianyou Zhan Tianyou/Chan T'ien-yu (; 26 April 1861 – 24 April 1919), or Jeme Tien-Yow as he called himself in English, based on the Cantonese pronunciation, was a pioneering Chinese railroad engineer. Educated in the United States, he was the chief ...

(1861-1919) *

Sai Jinhua Sai Jinhua (; "Prettier Than Golden Flower"; Chang, Jung. ''Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China'' (eBook). Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2013. eBook . p. 118. "Her minister to Berlin, Hung Jun, was quite the opposite of Guo ...

(1872-1936) *

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as pres ...

(1926-2022) *

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...

(1942- ) * Wang Zhi (?-1560)

References

{{Regions and cities of China Geography of Anhui Regions of China Huangshan City