Cultural life

The Anhui region was one of the earliest areas in the Yangtze basin to be settled by Sinitic peoples. Many of the current linguistic and cultural traits of the region were shaped during the Nan (Southern) Song period (1127–1279), particularly the characteristic conservatism of language and art forms. A number of separate regional subcultures continue to exist, including the Huizhou culture from the region around Shexian, renowned for its commercial and clan traditions.

A number of well-known traditional specialty products come from Anhui. Notable are Xuan paper and Huizhou ink sticks, which collectively are considered to be two of the traditional “four treasures of the study” along with Duan ink slabs in Guangdong province and Huzhou writing brushes produced in Zhejiang province. The ink slabs produced in Shexian, in southeastern Anhui, are also renowned. Iron pictures from Wuhu (which reproduce in iron Chinese paintings), jade sculptures from Bengbu, paper cuttings from Fuyang, and sleeping mats from Shucheng are all highly regarded articles. A type of liquor, distilled in Bozho, is also well known in China, and both Qimen black tea and Tunxi green tea sell well at home and abroad.

Among Anhui’s notable historical sites are the two ancient villages of Xidi and Hongcun near Huangshan, which collectively were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. Among the province’s most popular scenic places is Mount Huang, also near Huangshan and named a World Heritage site in 1990.

History

During the Zhanguo (Warring States) period of the Zhou dynasty (475–221 bce) Anhui formed part of the large southern state of Chu. Between 221 and 207 bce the Qin dynasty unified the states, and a great southward migration along the natural highway of the North China Plain and the Huai River basin began. Anhui became the first part of southern China to be settled by the Han. Unrest following the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 ce 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 Anhui to carry tribute grain to the capital from Xuzhou to Bian (modern Kaifeng) and Luoyang in Henan province. It was later superseded by the Bian Canal, built during the Sui dynasty (581–618). The new canal ran along the Gui River and then cut across the region to Bian, forming the main line of communication to the capital. During the 12th century Anhui was the scene of bitter battles between the Nan Song emperors and the invading Juchen. After the establishment of the capital at Dadu (modern Beijing), the Yuan, or Mongol, dynasty (1206–1368) constructed the Grand Canal to the east, connecting Hangzhou in Zhejiang province with Dadu, and the previously built waterways fell into disuse.

In the early 1850s the Huang He made one of its great changes in course, flowing into the Bo Hai north of the Shandong Peninsula instead of south into the Yellow Sea. The loss of water for the Huai basin was a major catastrophe for the farmers of northern Anhui. Subsequent peasant risings—together with the Taiping Rebellion of 1850–64—caused widespread devastation.

The Yangtze was opened to foreign shipping in 1860, but it was not until 1877 that the walled city of Wuhu in Anhui 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 He was temporarily diverted south of Shandong by the Nationalist government, which blew up the river’s dikes in Henan in an attempt to stem the advance of Japanese invaders. The river waters then surged south to Hongze Lake on the Anhui border, flooding a vast area and causing the deaths of about 900,000 people. During World War II most of Anhui was occupied by Japanese forces, but the resistance of the Chinese inhabitants effectively restricted Japanese control to only the daylight hours. Between 1946 and 1949 the province was controlled by Nationalist forces.

From 1949 to 1952 Anhui 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 Anhui administrative district. The South Anhui administrative district was established several months later, after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had crossed the Yangtze and based its administration in Wuhu. In August 1952 the province was reunified under the leadership of Zeng Xisheng, a long-time veteran of the PLA.

Anhui’s provincial administration experienced relatively greater leadership turnover than other provinces in the 1950s and ’60s and during the Cultural Revolution. However, it subsequently became a base for many of the economic reforms implemented in China since 1980.