- Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Hainan and Hunan
Henan (Chinese: 河南; pinyin: Hénán; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is 豫 (pinyin: yù), named after Yuzhou Province (豫州 Yù Zhōu), a Han
Dynasty province (zhou) that
included parts of Henan. The name Henan means "south of the (Yellow) River"
(Huang He).
With nearly 100 million people, Henan is the most populous province of China. It borders Hebei to the north, Shandong to the northeast, Anhui to the southeast, Hubei to the south, Shaanxi to the west, and Shanxi to the northwest.
Henan is often called Zhongyuan (中原 zhōngyuán) or Zhongzhou (中州
zhōngzhōu), literally "central plains" or "midland"; this name is also broadly applied to the entire North China Plain. Henan is traditionally regarded as the source of
Chinese civilization.
History
Northern Henan, along the Yellow River, was the core area of ancient
China for at least the first half of Chinese history. The two cities of Luoyang and
Kaifeng served as the capital cities of a long list of dynasties.
Archaeological sites reveal that prehistoric cultures such as the Yangshao Culture and Longshan Culture were active in
what is now northern Henan. The Erlitou Culture, which has been controversially identified with the Xia Dynasty, the first Chinese dynasty as described in Chinese records, was also centered in Henan.
The first literate dynasty of China, the Shang Dynasty (16th century BC - 11th century BC), was centered in Henan. Their last capital, Yin, was located the modern city of Anyang, Henan.
In the 11th century BC the Zhou Dynasty arrived from the west and destroyed the Shang Dynasty. Their capital was located initially in
Hao, to the west in what is now Shaanxi province. In 722 BC it was moved to Luoyang, Henan. This began the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, a period of warfare and rivalry. What is now
Henan was divided into a variety of small states, including Chen,
Cai, Cao, Zheng, Wei (衛), and powerful Jin from Shanxi to the north. Later on
these were replaced with Han and Wei (魏). Throughout this
period the state of Chu also held much of what is now southern Henan.
In 221 BC the state of Qin
from what is now Shaanxi completed the unification of China, establishing the first
unified Chinese state, the Qin Dynasty. They were followed by the Han Dynasty in 206 BC, which initially put
its capital in Chang'an (now Xi'an,
Shaanxi). The second half of this dynasty (the Eastern Han Dynasty) moved its capital to Luoyang
(now Luoyang, Henan).
The late Eastern Han Dynasty saw war and rivalry between
regional warlords. Henan was the power base of Cao Cao, who was based in Xuchang and eventually succeeded in unifying all of northern China under the Kingdom of Wei. Wei then put its capital in Luoyang. The Western Jin Dynasty that
followed also put its capital at Luoyang.
In the 4th century nomadic peoples from the north invaded northern China.
Henan then came under the rule of many successive regimes, including the Later
Zhao, the Former Yan, the Former Qin, the Later Yan, and the Later Qin. The Northern Wei Dynasty,
which unified North China in 439, moved its capital to Luoyang in 493.
Northern Wei splintered in 534 and would not be restored until 589, when the Sui Dynasty reunified China. Sui put its capital in
Luoyang. The Tang Dynasty that
followed moved the capital to Chang'an (modern Xi'an, Shaanxi). The Tang lasted for three centuries, but eventually
succumbed to internal strife.
In the Period of
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms that followed, Kaifeng was the capital of four
dynasties: Later Liang Dynasty, Later Jin Dynasty, Later Han Dynasty, and Later Zhou Dynasty. The
Song Dynasty that reunified China in 982 also had its capital at Kaifeng. Under Song rule, China entered a
golden age of culture and prosperity, and Kaifeng was the largest city in the world [1] (http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201a.htm). In 1127, however, the Song Dynasty succumbed to Jurchen (Jin Dynasty) invaders from the north, and in 1142 had to cede away all of northern China, including Henan. By this point, cultural and economic development in the
Yangtze River delta region (modern southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, and Shanghai) had made that area into the new economic and cultural center of China, instead of Henan. Henan would
forever lose this pre-eminent position.
The Jurchens kept their capital further north, at least until 1214, when they were
forced to move the imperial court southwards to Kaifeng in order to flee the Mongol onslaught. In 1234 they succumbed to combined
Mongol and Song Dynasty forces.
Mongols took control, and in 1279 they conquered all of China.
Mongol rule over China ended in 1368. The Ming Dynasty that followed set up the equivalent of modern Henan province, with borders extremely similar to
modern ones. The capital was, however, at Kaifeng instead of modern Zhengzhou. The Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911) did not make any significant changes to
this arrangement; nor did the Republic of China in their rule
over Mainland China (1911-1949).
The completion of the Pinghan
Railway (Beiping (Beijing) - Hankou)
made Zhengzhou, a previously unnoted county town, into a major transportation
hub. In 1954 the new People's Republic of China government moved the capital of Henan from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou. The PRC also established a short-lived Pingyuan Province consisting of
what is now northern Henan and western Shandong, with capital Xinxiang. This province was abolished in 1952.
In 1958, Yashan in Suiping County, Henan became the first people's commune of China, heralding the beginning of the Great Leap Forward. In the subsequent famines of the early 1960s
popularly attributed to the Great Leap Forward, Henan suffered terribly, with up to several million dead. [2] (http://www.boxun.com/hero/dangshi/21_1.shtml)
The collapse of the Banqiao Dam and other dams in 1975 in southern Henan, following extraordinarily high levels of rainfall caused by a typhoon, is estimated to have killed 230,000 people across several counties. This was the most deadly
dam-related catastrophe in human history.
In recent years the prevalence of "blood selling" (blood donation with pay) among poor villagers has put Henan in the
spotlight of the nation, after it was exposed that AIDS villages, where most of the population is HIV positive, have resulted
due to poor sterilization techniques. The initial coverup of the crisis by local officials, followed by national exposure, has
put Henan in a somewhat negative light.
Geography
Henan is flat in the east and mountainous in the west and extreme south. The eastern and central parts of Henan form part of
the North China Plain. To the northwest the Taihang Mountains intrude
partially into Henan's borders; to the west the Qinling Mountains
enter Henan from the west and end about halfway across Henan, with branches (such as the Funiu Mountains) extending
northwards and southwards. To the far south, the Dabie Mountains separate Henan from neighbouring Hubei
province.
The Yellow River passes through northern Henan. It enters from the
northwest, via the Sanmenxia Reservoir. After it passes Luoyang, the Yellow
River is raised upwards via natural sedimentation and artificial
construction onto a levee, higher than the surrounding land. From here onwards, the
Yellow River divides the Hai He watershed to the north and the Huai He watershed to the south. The Huai He itself finds its
origin in southern Henan. The southwestern corner of Henan, around Nanyang, is part
of the drainage basin of the Han Shui
River across the border in Hubei.
There are many reservoirs in Henan. Major ones include the Danjiangkou Reservoir on the border with Hubei, the Sanmenxia Reservoir, the Suyahu Reservoir, the Baiguishan Reservoir, the Nanwan Reservoir, and the Banqiao Reservoir.
Henan has a temperate continental climate, with most rainfall in summer. Temperatures average about 0 °C in January, and 27 - 28 °C in July.
Major cities:
Administrative divisions
Henan is divided into 17 prefecture-level divisions, all of them prefecture-level cities, as well as 1 directly administered county-level city.
The prefecture-level cities:
- Zhengzhou (Simplified Chinese: 郑州市; Hanyu
pinyin: Zhèngzhōu Shì)
- Sanmenxia
(三门峡市 Sānménxiá Shì)
- Luoyang (洛阳市 Luòyáng Shì)
- Jiaozuo (焦作市
Jiāozuò Shì)
- Xinxiang (新乡市 Xīnxiāng Shì)
- Hebi (鹤壁市 Hèbì Shì)
- Anyang (安阳市 Ānyáng Shì)
- Puyang (濮阳市 Púyáng
Shì)
- Kaifeng (开封市 Kāifēng Shì)
- Shangqiu (商丘市
Shāngqiū Shì)
- Xuchang (许昌市 Xǔchāng Shì)
- Luohe (漯河市 Luòhé
Shì)
- Pingdingshan
(平顶山市 Píngdǐngshān Shì)
- Nanyang (南阳市 Nányáng Shì)
- Xinyang (信阳市
Xìnyáng Shì)
- Zhoukou (周口市
Zhōukǒu Shì)
- Zhumadian (驻马店市 Zhùmǎdiàn Shì)
The directly administered county-level city is more accurately described as a sub-prefecture-level city:
The 17 prefecture-level
divisions and 1 directly administered county-level city of
Henan are subdivided into 159 county-level divisions (50 districts, 21 county-level cities,
and 88 counties; Jiyuan is counted as a county-level city here).
Those are in turn divided into 2440 township-level divisions (866 towns,
1234 townships, 12 ethnic townships, and 328 subdistricts).
See List of administrative divisions of Henan for a complete list of county-level divisions.
Demographics
Henan is the most populous province of China. Just under 99% of Henan's population is Han Chinese, while Hui take up about 1%.
Economy
Henan is an agricultural province, leading the provinces of China in wheat and
sesame production, and is third place overall in terms of total grain output. Cotton, rice, and maize are also important crops in Henan.
There are several important centers of coal production in Henan, including Pingdingshan, Yima, and Jiaozuo. Luanchuan County in western Henan
is an important center of molybdenum extraction. Electricity generation is another important industry of
Henan.
Culture
Most of Henan speaks dialects of Mandarin.
Linguists put these dialects into the category of "Zhongyuan Mandarin". The northwestern corner of Henan is an exception, where people speak Jin dialects instead. The dialects of Henan are collectively called
"the Henan dialect" in popular
usage, with easily identifiable stereotypical features.
Henan opera is the local form of
Chinese opera; it is also famous and popular across the rest of China.
Henan Quju and Henan Yuediao are also important local
opera forms.
Henan cuisine is the local
cuisine, with traditions such as the Luoyang Shuixi (Luoyang "Water Table", consisting entirely of
various soups, etc.); Xinyang
Duncai (Xinyang brewed vegetables), and
the traditional cuisine of
Kaifeng.
Important traditional art and craft products include: Junci, a type of porcelain originating in Yuzhou noted for its unpredictable colour patterns; the jade carvings of Zhenping; and Luoyang's Tangsancai ("Tang Three Colours"), which are
earthenware figurines made in the traditional style of the Tang
Dynasty.
Stereotypes
In recent years there has appeared in China an extremely negative stereotype of Henan. People in Henan are stereotyped to be
ignorant, backward, uncultured, lazy, dishonest and untrustworthy. Several recently publicized events / phenomena, such as
AIDS villages as well as various
scandals, scams, and sensational crimes, may have contributed to this stereotype. There are also widely circulated anecdotes of
companies refusing job applicants from Henan outright, and Henan job applicants posing as natives of other provinces. Some Henan
writers have also published books that attempt to defend the reputation of Henan.
Transportation
Two important railway arteries, the Jingguang Railway (Beijing - Guangzhou) and the Longhai Railway (Lianyungang - Lanzhou), pass through Henan and cross at Zhengzhou, the
provincial capital. The Jingjiu
Railway (Beijing - Kowloon) also
passes through Henan.
With the recent completion of the Zhengzhou - Xinxiang expressway, a continuous expressway now crosses Henan from north to south, as part of a longer line
linking Beijing with Shenzhen. Another
expressway crosses Henan from east to west, and more are being built.
Important airports include: Xinzheng Airport, of Zhengzhou.
Tourism
Miscellaneous topics
Professional sports teams in Henan include:
Colleges and Universities
[Public] (a partial list)
(河南中医学院) Shangqiu Normal Teacher's College
External links
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