Yang Province


Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the Tribute of Yu, Erya and Rites of Zhou.

Name

There are four different theories regarding the origin of the name "Yangzhou":
Before the Sui dynasty conquered the Chen dynasty in 589, the Chinese terms 揚州 and 楊州 were used interchangeably when referring to "Yangzhou".

Geographical location

According to legend, when Yu the Great tamed the flood, he divided the land of China into the Nine Provinces, of which Yangzhou was one. Pre-Qin dynasty historical texts such as the Tribute of Yu, Erya, Rites of Zhou and Lüshi Chunqiu all mention the Nine Provinces. Yangzhou appears in all these texts even though they provide different names for the Nine Provinces. However, there are three different accounts of the geographical location of Yangzhou.

''Tribute of Yu'' account

The Tribute of Yu records that Yangzhou was located between Huai and the Sea. Kong Anguo explained in Shangshu Zhuan that the text meant that Yangzhou was bordered by the Huai River in the north and the South China Sea in the south. In modern China, the area covered by the ancient Yangzhou corresponds to Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and parts of Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong. The modern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu is within the ancient Yangzhou's boundaries. However, in later dynasties, the Shangshu Zhuan was proven to be not written by Kong Anguo, hence the book's credibility was largely reduced.

''Erya'' account

The ancient Chinese encyclopaedia Erya states that Jiangnan was Yangzhou, with the "jiang" referring to the Yangtze River. Guo Pu mentioned in his annotations to the Erya that Yangzhou was defined as the region between south of the Yangtze to the Sea. This area in modern China covers roughly parts of Jiangsu and Anhui that are located south of the Yangtze, as well as Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, and parts of Jiangxi and Guangdong. However, the modern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu is not within these boundaries, because it is situated north of the Yangtze. Xing Bing wrote in Erya Shu that Jiangnan was a large portion of the ancient Yangzhou, and the lands covered by the ancient Yangzhou was not only limited to Jiangnan. Going by this account, the modern city of Yangzhou was therefore within the ancient Yangzhou. However, as Xing Bing's Erya Shu makes references to Kong Anguo's Shangshu Zhuan, which was verified to be not written by Kong, the Erya Shu's credibility is also disputed.

''Rites of Zhou'' and ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' accounts

The Rites of Zhou records, "The southeast is called Yangzhou." By this saying, the ancient Yangzhou would then cover the entire southeastern China, an area larger than the Yangzhou defined in the Tribute of Yu and Erya. This definition is even more sketchy than the above two, because it is unclear whether the modern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu could be within the ancient Yangzhou or not. The accuracy of the Rites of Zhou itself is also in question. The Lüshi Chunqiu similarly mentioned that "the southeast is Yangzhou."

History

Han dynasty

In 106 BCE, during the reign of Emperor Wu in the Western Han dynasty, China was divided into 13 administrative divisions or provinces, each governed by a cishi. 11 of them were named after the Nine Provinces mentioned in the historical texts Classic of History and Rites of Zhou. Yangzhou was one of the 11, and it covered parts of modern Anhui and Jiangsu, as well as Shanghai, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, and parts of Hubei and Hunan. The modern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu was not within the ancient province of Yangzhou; it was in another administrative division called Xuzhou.
Initially, the 13 administrative divisions were known as cishi bu and were not under direct administration by the central government, and did not have any capitals. Instead, commanderies, which were nominally under the jurisdiction of inspectorates, were directly controlled by the central government, hence an Administrator wielded more power than an Inspector even though the latter held a higher rank. In 8 BCE, during the reign of Emperor Cheng, the post of cishi was replaced by zhoumu, and the administrative divisions were officially called zhous, and each had its own capital. The original cishis were renamed zhoucishis to reflect the new changes. Despite so, the provinces were still not under direct administration by the central government.
During the Eastern Han dynasty, Yangzhou's provincial capital was designated in Liyang. In 188, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was mostly pacified, Emperor Ling promoted many Provincial Inspectors to Governors and granted them autonomy in the administration of civil and military affairs in their respective provinces. This helped to facilitate the Governors in suppressing revolts, but also empowered them with greater authority, as the provinces were now directly administered by the central government.
Towards the end of the Han dynasty, the warlord Cao Cao rose to power and took control of the central government. He moved Yangzhou's capital to Shouchun and later to Hefei. However, most of Yangzhou was independent of the Han central government's control, as it was ruled by the warlord Sun Quan. Sun Quan's capital was initially in Wu County, Wu Commandery, but was later moved to Jingkou and eventually to Jianye. Yangzhou was effectively divided between the domains of the warlords Cao Cao and Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty, and later between the states of Cao Wei and Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms period.

Three Kingdoms period

In 220, Cao Pi ended the Han dynasty and established the state of Cao Wei, marking the start of the Three Kingdoms period. A year later, in 221, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor of the state of Shu Han. In 222, Sun Quan received the title of "King of Wu" and became a vassal under Cao Wei, but later declared himself emperor of Eastern Wu in 229.
Yangzhou was divided between Wei and Wu: Wei controlled only a small part of Yangzhou and its provincial capital was at Shouchun ; Wu occupied most of Yangzhou, and its provincial capital, which was also the state capital, was at Jianye. Yangzhou served as the foundation of Wu, so the situation in the Wu-controlled Yangzhou was rather stable. On the other hand, the Wei-controlled portion of Yangzhou was located at the border between Wei and Wu, with many battles between the two states taking place in that region, including the Three Rebellions in Shouchun. The modern city of Yangzhou was part of Guangling Commandery in Xuzhou at the time, with Wei and Wu taking turns to occupy that area throughout the Three Kingdoms period.

Jin dynasty, and Southern and Northern Dynasties period

In 265, Sima Yan ended the state of Cao Wei and established the Western Jin dynasty. However, even then, Yangzhou was still divided between Jin and Eastern Wu. In 280, Jin forces invaded Wu's capital Jianye and conquered Wu after the last Wu emperor, Sun Hao, surrendered to Jin. After the fall of Wu, the Jin dynasty reunified Yangzhou and set up its provincial capital at Jianye, which was renamed to "Jianye", and later to "Jiankang".
When the Yongjia Rebellion broke out in 311, the Jin government moved south to Jiangnan and established the Eastern Jin dynasty there, with Jiankang as the state capital. The Eastern Jin government subsequently partitioned Yangzhou into smaller provinces and prefectures such as Jiangzhou, Southern Xuzhou and Eastern Yangzhou, thus reducing the size of the original Yangzhou in the Western Jin dynasty. The modern city of Yangzhou remained part of Guangling Commandery and was never part of the historical Yangzhou throughout the Jin dynasty and the subsequent Southern and Northern Dynasties period.

Sui dynasty

In 589, during the reign of Emperor Wen in the Sui dynasty, Sui forces conquered Jiankang, the capital of the Chen dynasty and unified China under Sui rule. The Sui government renamed Yangzhou to "Jiangzhou", and Wuzhou to "Yangzhou". Since then, a link was established between the historical Yangzhou and the modern city of Yangzhou.
In 605, Emperor Wen's successor, Emperor Yang, reduced provinces to prefectures. Yangzhou was renamed "Jiangdu Prefecture".

Tang dynasty and after

In 620, during the reign of Emperor Gaozu in the Tang dynasty, the modern city of Yangzhou was renamed "Yanzhou" while Jiangning County in Runzhou was renamed "Yangzhou". Three years later, Yanzhou was renamed "Hanzhou". Traces of the name "Hanzhou" can still be found in the name of Hanjiang District of the modern Yangzhou city.
After the Xuanwu Gate Incident in 626, Emperor Taizong ascended the throne and made the following changes: Yangzhou was merged into Runzhou ; Hanzhou was renamed back to "Yangzhou". Only since then was the modern city of Yangzhou officially named "Yangzhou".
In 742, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, provinces were reduced to prefectures again, and Yangzhou was renamed "Guangling Prefecture" but it was still commonly referred to as "Yangzhou" even though its official name had been changed. In 760, Emperor Suzong restored the provinces and Guangling Prefecture was renamed back to "Yangzhou". The name "Guangling" survives to this day in the name of Guangling District, which includes Yangzhou's historic centre.
Since then, the name "Yangzhou" has been more or less fixed to that particular location. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Yangzhou was called "Yangzhou Prefecture". The Nationalist Government of the Republic of China renamed it "Jiangdu County", but the government of the People's Republic of China restored the name "Yangzhou City" after 1949. The name "Jiangdu" survives to this day in the name of Jiangdu District in Yangzhou's eastern suburbs.