Shaanxi
(1996 est. pop. 34.6 million). The northern Chinese province of Shaanxi (Shensi, Shanxi) borders on Gansu and Ningxia in the west; on Inner Mongolia in the west; on Shanxi, Henan, and Hubei, following the course of the Huang (Yellow) River, in the east; and on Sichuan in the south. Covering an area of 205,000 square kilometers, Shaanxi is geographically divided into a large northern and a much smaller southern part by the Qinling mountain range. The northern region is high, eroded loess plateau about 1,000 meters above sea level. This is a fertile, but dry, steppe with temperate climate and an annual precipitation of 300–500 millimeters. South of the Qinling the climate is subtropical, with annual rainfall of 750–1,000 millimeters. All of Shaanxi has a continental climate, with monsoon rain from July to September. The capital is Xi'an (1996 pop. 3.03 million), which is situated in the valley between the Wei River and the Qinling range. Shaanxi is divided into eight regions and ninety-three counties.
The Wei River valley was inhabited by settled peasants before 5,000 BCE, and it was the homeland of the Zhou people who overthrew the Shang dynasty (1766–1045 BCE) and founded the Zhou dynasty (1045–256 BCE). The capitals of the Qin (221–206 BCE), Han (206 BCE–220 CE), Tang (618–907), and some minor dynasties were located in the vicinity of modern Xi'an. Following the downfall of the Tang, the capitals of the succeeding dynasties were established in eastern China, and Shaanxi lost its importance as a political center and declined, becoming one of the most destitute areas in China.
Rebellions, famine, and civil war have caused havoc in the province well into the twentieth century. In 1935, following the Long March, the Chinese Communist Party established its headquarters in Yan'an on the northern plateau, from where they fought the Japanese occupying forces from 1937 to 1945.
The majority of the population lives in the valleys of the Wei and Han Rivers, and the most important agricultural products are wheat, millet, rice, and tubers, but rape, tobacco, and soybeans also account for a considerable part of the agricultural economy. Sheep breeding is important on the northern plateau, and south of the Qinling range corn, beans, fruits (especially apples), tea, and medical herbs are grown. Industry, which is concentrated along the Wei River, has a relatively high output of light industrial products such as cloth, sewing machines, TV sets, and watches, but heavy industry is also significant.
Further Reading
Vermeer, Eduard B. (1930) Economic Development in Provincial China: The Central Shaanxi since 1930. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Liu, Xin. (2000) In One's Own Shadow: An Ethnographic Account of the Condition of Post-reform Rural China. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Keating, Pauline B. (1997). Two Revolutions: Village Reconstruction and the Cooperative Movement in Northern Shaanxi, 1934–1945. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
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