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134-510: Fuzhou's population was 8,291,268 as of the 2020 Chinese census . Like other prefecture-level cities in China, its administrative area contains both urban and rural areas: in 2020, 72.49% of inhabitants (6,010,242) were urban, while 27.51% (2,281,026) were rural. As of 31 December 2018, the total population was estimated at 7,740,000 whom 4,665,000 lived in the built-up ( or metro ) area made of five urban districts plus Minhou County. In 2015, Fuzhou

268-620: A humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa ) influenced by the East Asian monsoon ; the summers are long, very hot and humid, and the winters are short, mild and dry. In most years, torrential rain occurs during the monsoon in the second half of May. Fuzhou is also liable to typhoons in late summer and early autumn. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 11.4 °C (52.5 °F) in January to 29.4 °C (84.9 °F) in July, while

402-471: A 2,000-man force led by Han Qianqiu (韩千秋) and Queen Dowager Jiu's brother Jiu Le (樛乐) to try to assist the king and the queen dowager, Lü staged a coup d'état and had the king and the queen dowager killed. Lü then made another son of Zhao Yingqi, Zhao Jiande , king and went on to annihilate the Han forces under Han and Jiu. Several months later, Emperor Wu commissioned a five-pronged attack against Nanyue. In 111 BC,

536-899: A British Consul and a Fuzhou Club comprising western businessmen. In The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom , author Simon Winchester relates the visit of Dr Needham in 1944. Needham encountered the American government agent (John Caldwell) and the British SIS agent ( Murray MacLehose working undercover as the British Vice-Consul in Fuzhou) involved in aid to

670-469: A Chinese geographical treatise published in the 9th century, says that Fuzhou's name came from Mount Futo a mountain northwest of the city. The mountain's name was then combined with - zhou , meaning "settlement" or "prefecture", in a manner similar to many other Chinese cities. During the Warring States period , the area of Fuzhou was sometimes referred to as Ye ( Chinese : 冶 ), and Fuzhou

804-473: A Chinese woman whom Zhao Xing's father Zhao Yingqi had married while he served as an ambassador to Han – were both in favor of becoming incorporated into Han. This was opposed by the senior prime minister, Lü Jia (吕嘉), who wanted to maintain the kingdom's independence. Queen Dowager Jiu tried to goad the Chinese ambassadors into killing Lü, but the Chinese ambassadors were hesitant to do so. When Emperor Wu sent

938-473: A Japanese landing force on May 13, 1938. The fall of Amoy instantly threatened the security of Fuzhou. On May 23, Japanese ships bombarded Mei-Hua, Huang-chi and Pei-Chiao while Japanese planes continued to harass Chinese forces. Between May 31 and June 1, Chinese gunboats Fu-Ning , Chen-Ning and Suming defending the blockade line in the estuary of the Min River were successively bombed and sunk. Meanwhile,

1072-443: A century earlier, a Chinese General named Wiman had taken the throne of Gojoseon and had established Wiman Joseon at Wanggeom-seong , (modern Pyongyang ), which became a nominal Han vassal. When Wiman's grandson King Ugeo refused to permit Jin 's ambassadors to reach China through his territories, Emperor Wei sent an ambassador She He (涉何) to Wanggeom to negotiate a right of passage with King Ugeo, but King Ugeo refused and had

1206-407: A circle of young loyal supporters from ordinary backgrounds and promoted them to middle-level positions in order to infiltrate executive ranks in the government. These newly established officials, known as the "insider court" (内朝), took orders and reported directly to Emperor Wu. They had real influence over the operation of government affairs though lower in rank. They became a powerful counter against

1340-527: A crucial political alliance with Princess Guantao. Princess Guantao's daughter Chen Jiao , also known by the milk name A'Jiao (阿嬌), was of marriageable age (which was legally marked at the time by menarche ), making her at least eight years older than the young prince. Due to this age difference, Emperor Jing initially did not approve of this union. According to the Wei-Jin era fable Hanwu Stories (漢武故事 / 汉武故事 also called Stories of Han Wudi ), during

1474-532: A daughter from that marriage. However, her mother Zang Er (臧儿) (a granddaughter of the one-time Prince of Yan, Zang Tu , under Emperor Gao ) was told by a soothsayer that both Wang Zhi and her younger sister would one day become extremely honoured. She then got the idea to offer her daughters to the then crown prince Liu Qi, and forcibly divorced Wang Zhi from her husband at the time. After being offered to Liu Qi, Wang Zhi bore him three daughters – Princess Yangxin , Princess Nangong (南宫公主), and Princess Longlü. On

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1608-537: A failed plan to trick a force of 30,000 Xiongnu into an ambush of 300,000 Han soldiers. While neither side suffered any casualties, the Xiongnu retaliated by increasing their border attacks, leading many in the Han court to abandon the hope for peace with the Xiongnu. The failure of the Mayi operation prompted Emperor Wu to switch the Han army's doctrine from the traditionally more defensive chariot – infantry warfare to

1742-404: A family of his own. One night, he dreamt of a silver-haired elderly man, who told him that he has very good fortune, the young man then asked him what he can do to obtain good luck, the elderly man then floated away. That's when the young man notice the setting moon, and after the moon sank under the clouds, rose from the east a golden sun, he was inspired by the dream and invented oyster cake, which

1876-459: A general escort She back to Han territory. When they got close to Han borders, She assassinated the general and claimed to Emperor Wu that he had defeated Joseon in battle. Emperor Wu, unaware of his deception, made him the military commander of the Commandery of Liaodong (modern central Liaoning ). King Ugeo, offended, made a raid on Liaodong and killed She. In response, Emperor Wu commissioned

2010-559: A great strain on the national treasury and caused difficulties on the locales that he visited, twice causing the governors of commanderies to commit suicide after they were unable to supply the emperor's entire train. In 112 BC, a crisis in the Kingdom of Nanyue (modern Guangdong , Guangxi, and northern Vietnam ) erupted, leading to military intervention. At that time, the King Zhao Xing and his mother Queen Dowager Jiu (樛太后) –

2144-665: A high-speed rail corridor to Taipei . Xi Jinping served as the Secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Committee for more than six years and lived in Fuzhou for nearly thirteen years, developing a deep affection for the city. When he visited Fuzhou again in 2021, he remarked that Fuzhou could make significant contributions to the great rejuvenation and unification of the Chinese nation, noting that the airport in Changle

2278-472: A highly mobile and offensive cavalry-against-cavalry warfare. At the same time, he expanded and trained officers from his royal guards. After a series of defeats by Wei Qing (the half-brother of Emperor Wu's favourite concubine) and Wei's nephew, Huo Qubing between 127 and 119 BC, the Xiongnu were expelled from the Ordos Desert and Qilian Mountains . As a result of these territorial acquisitions,

2412-497: A kind of mildly savory pastry), Buddha Jumps over the Wall (佛跳墙), and pork floss ( 肉鬆 ). Many of these street food dishes have a long history and their own local legend; an example would be the oyster cake, according Fuzhou local folklore, in the early Qing dynasty, there was a young man who inherited his father's dim sum business, despite all his hard works, he only managed to earn enough money to feed himself, not enough to raise and feed

2546-781: A length of fortified wall along the border of the Hexi Corridor, colonizing the area with 700,000 Chinese soldier-settlers. The Battle of Mobei (119 BC) saw Han forces invade the northern regions of the Gobi Desert . The two generals led the campaign to the Khangai Mountains where they forced the Chanyu to flee north of the Gobi Desert, and then out of the Gobi Desert. The Xiongnu, destabilized and worried about further Han attacks, retreated further north into

2680-517: A major dramatic surge in its refined culture and educational institutions throughout the Song dynasty as Fuzhou produced 10 Fuzhounese zhuangyuan scholars (scholar who is ranked the top first place in the imperial examinations), a large number for a city in the country during that dynasty. The "Hualin" Temple ( 華林寺 , not to be confused with the temple of the same name in Guangzhou ), founded in 964,

2814-664: A mediator in seeking the Emperor's reconciliation with his powerful grandmother. Princess Guantao took every opportunity to influence the Grand Empress and also constantly made demands on behalf of her nephew / son-in-law. Emperor Wu, already unhappy with his lack of an heir and Empress Chen's spoiled behavior, was further enraged by her mother Princess Liu Piao's greed, that she took a lot from him in everything she did for him. However, Emperor Wu's mother, Empress Dowager Wang, convinced him to tolerate Empress Chen and Liu Piao for

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2948-419: A mixed sweet and sour taste. Soup, served as an indispensable dish in meals, is cooked in various ways with local seasonal fresh vegetables and seafood and often added with local cooking wine ( 福建老酒 ). Fuzhou is famous for its street food and snacks. Some notable street food dishes include Fuzhou fish balls ( 魚丸 ), meat-pastry dumplings ( 扁肉燕 ), oyster cake (海蛎饼), rice scroll soup ( 鼎邊糊 ), guong bian ( 光餅 ;

3082-469: A particular divinity in the historical Chinese religious pantheon existing at that time. Combined, "Wu" plus "di" makes the name "Wudi", the emperor's posthumous name used for historical and religious purposes, such as offering him posthumous honours at his tomb. The emperor's temple tablet name is Shizong (世宗) One of Han Wudi's innovations was the practice of changing reign names after a number of years, as deemed auspicious or to commemorate some event. Thus,

3216-436: A plan that many dynasties would repeat later: creating national monopolies for salt and iron . The national treasury would further purchase other consumer goods when the prices were low and sell them when the prices were high at profit, thus replenishing the treasury while at the same time making sure the price fluctuation would not be too great. In 109 BC, Emperor Wu started yet another territorial expansion campaign . Nearly

3350-508: A province or prefecture—and the Fujian area was organized as Minzhong Commandery ( 閩中郡 ). The area seems to have continued mostly independent of Chinese control for the next century. The Han dynasty followed the short-lived Qin, and Emperor Gaozu of Han declared both Minyue and neighboring Nanyue to be autonomous vassal kingdoms. In 202 BC, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed a leader named Wuzhu ( 無諸 ; Old Chinese : Matya ) as King of Minyue, and

3484-522: A record not broken until the reign of the Kangxi Emperor more than 1,800 years later – and remains the record for ethnic Han emperors. His reign resulted in a vast expansion of geopolitical influence for the Chinese civilization , and the development of a strong centralized state via governmental policies, economical reorganization and promotion of a hybrid Legalist – Confucian doctrine. In

3618-1060: A rich heritage in Fuzhou's Protestant culture. They supported the creation of hospitals and schools, including the Woolston Memorial Hospital , run by the American-trained Hü King Eng . On August 23, 1884, the Battle of Fuzhou broke out between the French Far East Fleet and the Fujian Fleet of the Qing dynasty. As the result, the Fujian Fleet, one of the four Chinese regional fleets, was destroyed completely in Mawei Harbor. On November 8, 1911, revolutionaries staged an uprising in Fuzhou. After an overnight street battle,

3752-526: A royal relative and the Prince of Huainan. Minyue nobles, fearful of the massive Chinese force, assassinated their king Luo Ying (骆郢) and sought peace. Emperor Wu then imposed a dual-monarchy system on Minyue by creating kings out of Luo Ying's brother Luo Yushan (雒余善) and nobleman Zou Chou (驺丑), thus ensuring internal discord in Minyue . Although initially launched as a punitive expedition by Emperor Wu against

3886-546: A second and shorter captivity by Xiongnu. After the Prince of Hunxie surrendered the Gansu region, the path to Xiyu became clear and regular embassies between Han and the Xiyu kingdoms commenced. Another expansion plan, this one aimed at the south-west, was aimed at the eventual conquest of Nanyue, which was viewed as an unreliable vassal. The plan was to first obtain submission of the south-western tribal kingdoms—the largest of which

4020-432: A subsequent royal gathering, Princess Guantao held the 5-year-old Liu Che in her arms and asked the nephew whether he wanted to marry his first cousin A'Jiao. The young prince boasted that he would "build a golden house for her" if they were married. Princess Guantao then used the boy's response as a divine sign to convince Emperor Jing to finally agree to the arranged marriage between Liu Che and Chen Jiao. This inspired

4154-463: A target of increasing its population to about 1.42 billion by 2020, from 1.34 billion in 2010 . After the relaxation of the one-child policy, 17.9 million babies were born in 2016, an increase of 1.3 million over the previous year, but only half of what was expected. In 2017, the birth rate fell to 17.2 million, far below the official forecast of more than 20 million. It is possible that the Chinese government will further relax its fertility policy in

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4288-530: A walled city called Ye ( 冶 ; Old Chinese: Lya ; literally: Beautiful) was built. The founding of Ye in 202 BC has become the traditional founding date of the city of Fuzhou. In 110 BC, the armies of Emperor Wu of Han defeated the Minyue kingdom's armies during the Han–Minyue War and annexed its territory and people into China. Many Minyue citizens were forcibly relocated into the Jianghuai area, and

4422-544: Is also home to many Buddhist monasteries, Taoist temples and Buddhist monks. Apart from mainstream religions, a number of religious worship sites of various local religions are situated in the streets and lanes of Fuzhou. The origins of local religion can be dated back centuries. These diverse religions incorporated elements such as gods and doctrines from other religions and cultures, such as totem worship and traditional legends. For example, Monkey King , originated to monkey worship among local ancients, gradually came to embody

4556-463: Is distinct from the mainstream inland cultures of central China, and in details vary from other areas of the Chinese coast. Besides Mandarin Chinese , the majority local residents of Fuzhou ( Fuzhou people ) also speak Fuzhounese ( 福州話 ), the prestige form of Eastern Min . Min opera , also known as Fuzhou drama, is one of the major operas in Fujian Province. It enjoys popularity in

4690-468: Is given as October 5, 1944. Fuzhou remained under Japanese control until May 18, 1945, months before the atomic bombings. Following the restoration of Republic control (1946), the administration divisions of Fuzhou were annexed, and administration level was promoted from county-level to city-level officially. Fuzhou was occupied by the People's Liberation Army with little resistance on 17 August 1949. In

4824-445: Is one of the eight Chinese regional cuisines. Dishes are light but flavorful, with particular emphasis on umami taste , known in Chinese cooking as xianwei (simplified Chinese: 鲜味 ; traditional Chinese: 鮮味 ; pinyin: xiānwèi ), as well as retaining the original flavor of the main ingredients instead of masking them. In Fuzhou cuisine, the taste is light compared to that of some other Chinese cooking styles, and often have

4958-542: Is one of the oldest and surviving wooden structures in China. New city walls were built in 282, 901, 905, and 974, so the city had many layers of walls – more so than the Chinese capital. Emperor Taizong of the Song dynasty ordered the destruction of all the walls in Fuzhou in 978 but new walls were rebuilt later. The latest was built in 1371. During the Southern Song dynasty , Fuzhou became more prosperous; many scholars came to live and work. Among them were Zhu Xi ,

5092-401: Is white like the moon before being lowered into hot grease and coming out golden as the morning sun. According to the legend, after the young man made a fortune out of his invention and his oyster cake was imitated by many others, which was passed down till this day. another example of a Fuzhou street food with a long history is rice scroll soup, which became popular in Fuzhou in the early part of

5226-547: The Financial Times reported that according to some sources who know the data of the seventh census, Chinese population in 2020 did not meet 1.4 billion. Chinese state media say that Chinese mainland population in 2019 was 1.40005 billion. If true, this would indicate the first population decline since the Great Leap Forward . On April 28, 2021, Bloomberg News , quoting the Chinese state media outlet

5360-550: The Global Times , reported that it is unlikely there would be a drop in the total population in the 2020 census, citing a comment by Lu Jiehua, a professor at Peking University . Still, it was reported that China's population may peak in 2022, which is much earlier than previously estimated. In May 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics of China released a report revising the data for the previous 10 years before

5494-710: The Chinese heartland . The administrative and economic center of the Fujian area was still the Ye area during the Sui dynasty (581–618). In 725, the city was formally renamed "Fuzhou". Throughout the mid- Tang dynasty , Fuzhou's economic and cultural institutions grew and developed. The later years of the Tang saw a number of political upheavals in the Chinese heartland such as the An Lushan Rebellion and Huang Chao Rebellion, prompting another wave of northerners to immigrate to

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5628-531: The Chinese idiom "putting Jiao in a golden house" (金屋藏嬌). Now sealed in the marriage alliance with Consort Wang, Princess Guantao began incessantly criticising Lady Li in front of Emperor Jing. Over time, Emperor Jing started to believe his sister's words, so he decided to test out Lady Li. One day he asked Lady Li whether she would happily foster-care the rest of his children if he were to pass away, only to have her rudely refuse to comply. This made Emperor Jing angry and worried that if Liu Rong were to inherit

5762-641: The Han conquest of Gojoseon in what is now present-day North Korea and Manchuria . Han Chinese colonists in the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies of northern Korea would later fight against frequent raids by the Goguryeo and Buyeo kingdoms. However, they would engage in mostly peaceful trade relations with surrounding Korean peoples over the centuries, the latter of whom became gradually and significantly influenced by Chinese culture . The exploration into Xiyu

5896-577: The Han forces captured the Nanyue capital Panyu (番禺, modern Guangzhou ) and annexed the entire Nanyue territory into Han, establishing ten commanderies. That same year, one of the co-kings of Minyue (modern Fujian ), Luo Yushan, was fearful that Han would attack his kingdom next and made a pre-emptive attack against Han, capturing a number of towns in former Nanyue and in the other border commanderies. In 110 BC, under Han military pressure, Luo Yushan's co-king Luo Jugu (骆居古) assassinated him and surrendered

6030-574: The Hong Kong SAR Government at the end of 2020) and Macau's population was 683,218 (provided by the Macau SAR Government at the end of 2020). According to the census, China has 1,430,695 immigrants, dividing between 845,697 foreign nationals and 584,998 residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. In October 2015, China scrapped the one-child policy in the hope of boosting the number of births. In 2016, China set

6164-479: The Min Kingdom in 909. The Wang brothers enticed more immigrants from the north, though their kingdom only survived until 945. In 978, Fuzhou was incorporated into the newly founded Song dynasty , though their control of the mountainous regions was tenuous. Fuzhou prospered during the Tang dynasty. Buddhism was quickly adopted by citizens who quickly built many Buddhist temples in the area. Fuzhou underwent

6298-784: The Qing army surrendered. On November 22, 1933, Eugene Chen and the leaders of the National Revolutionary Army 's 19th Army set up the short-lived People's Revolutionary Government of Republican China . Blockaded by Chiang Kai-shek and left without support from the nearby Soviet Republic of China , the PRGRC collapsed within two months. With the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 , hostilities commenced in Fujian Province. Xiamen (Amoy) fell to

6432-492: The Siberian regions where they suffered starvation due to livestock loss from harsh climates. The battle was however also costly for the Han forces, which lost almost 80% of their warhorses. The cost of the war led the central Han government to introduce new levies, increasing the burden on average peasants, and the population census of the empire showed a significant drop from famines and people fleeing to avoid having to pay

6566-667: The Yue Kingdom (present-day Zhejiang ) fell to the state of Chu . Han dynasty historian Sima Qian wrote that the surviving members of the Yue royal family fled south to what is now Fujian, where they settled alongside the native Yue people, joining Chinese and Yue culture to create Minyue. The First Emperor of Qin unified ancient China in 221 BC and desired to bring the southern and southeast regions under Chinese rule. The Qin dynasty organized its territory into "Commanderies" (Chinese: 郡 ; pinyin: jùn )—roughly equivalent to

6700-445: The political child marriage officially became Empress Chen . The Han dynasty up to this point was run according to a Taoist wu wei ideology, championing economic freedom and government decentralization . With regard to foreign policy-wise, periodic heqin was used to maintain a de jure "peace" with the powerful Xiongnu confederacy to the north. These policies were important in stimulating economic recovery following

6834-578: The post-Qin dynasty civil war , but had their drawbacks. The non-interventionist policies resulted in loss of monetary regulation and political control by the central government, allowing the feudal vassal states to become powerful and unruly, culminating in the Rebellion of the Seven States during Emperor Jing's reign. Nepotism among the ruling class also stagnated social mobility and encouraged nobles' rampant disregard of laws, leading to

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6968-461: The "outsider court" (外朝) made up of the Three Lords and Nine Ministers that, at the time, were mostly composed of anti-reformists. Furthermore, Emperor Wu sent out nationwide edicts appealing to grassroots scholars such as Gongsun Hong to enrol in government services in an attempt to break the stranglehold that the older-generation noble class had on the nation's levers of power. In 138 BC,

7102-574: The 1950s, the city was on the front line of the conflict with the KMT in Taiwan , as hostile KMT aircraft frequently bombed the city. The bombing on 20 January 1955 was the most serious one, killing hundreds of people. Fuzhou was also involved in violent mass chaos during the Cultural revolution . Different groups of Red Guards fought with each other using guns on the streets of the city, and even attacking

7236-432: The 2020 census. They announced that there were about 10 million more births between 2011 and 2019 than previously thought. That means there were actually more births before Beijing ended one-child policy in 2016. Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87   BC), born Liu Che and courtesy name Tong , was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty from 141 to 87 BC. His reign lasted 54 years –

7370-478: The Chinese ship Chu-Tai berthed at Nan-Tai was damaged. The Chinese Navy's Harbor Command School, barracks, shipyard, hospital and marine barracks at Ma-Wei were successively bombed. Fuzhou is recorded as having fallen to Japanese forces in 1938. The extent of Japanese command and control of the city of Fuzhou itself as opposed to the port at Mawei and the Min River Estuary is uncertain. By 1941 (5/7),

7504-723: The East Lake and West Lake were constructed in Ye, as well as a canal system. The core of modern Fuzhou grew around these three water systems, though the East and West Lakes no longer exist. In 308, during the War of the Eight Princes at the end of the Jin dynasty, the first large-scale migration of Chinese immigrants moved to the south and southeast of China began, followed by subsequent waves during later periods of warfare or natural disaster in

7638-806: The Empire's borders spanned from the Fergana Valley in the west, to northern Korea in the east, and to northern Vietnam in the south. Emperor Wu successfully repelled the nomadic Xiongnu from systematically raiding northern China, and dispatched his envoy Zhang Qian into the Western Regions in 139 BC to seek an alliance with the Greater Yuezhi and Kangju , which resulted in further diplomatic missions to Central Asia. Although historical records do not describe him as being aware of Buddhism , emphasizing rather his interest in shamanism ,

7772-720: The Fuzhou area and in neighboring parts of Fujian such as the northeast and northwest areas where the Fuzhou language is spoken, as well as in Taiwan and the Malay Archipelago . It became a fixed opera in the early 20th century. There are more than 1,000 plays of Min opera, most of which originate from folk tales, historical novels, or ancient legends, including such traditional plays as "Making Seal", "The Purple Jade Hairpin" and "Switching Fairy Peach with Litchi". The two traditional mainstream religions practiced in Fuzhou are Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism . Traditionally, many people practice both religions simultaneously. The city

7906-627: The Fuzhou current administrative divisions were formed officially, namely, 5 districts and 8 counties. In 1990 and 1994, Fuqing ( Foochow Romanized : Hók-chiăng ) and Changle (Foochow Romanized: Diòng-lŏ̤h ) counties were promoted to county-level cities ; Changle became a district in 2017. Despite these changes, the administrative image of "5 districts and 8 counties" is still held popularly among local residents. Fuzhou's entire area only covers 9.65 percent of Fujian Province. The city of Fuzhou has direct jurisdiction over 6 districts , 1 county-level city , and 6 counties : The culture of Fuzhou

8040-660: The God of Wealth in Fuzhou after the novel Journey to the West was issued in Ming dynasty . As the most popular religion in the Min River Valley, the worship of Lady Linshui is viewed as one of the three most influential local religions in Fujian, the other two being the worship of Mazu and Baosheng Dadi ( 保生大帝 ). Fuzhou cuisine is most notably one of the four traditional cooking styles of Fujian cuisine , which in turn

8174-411: The Han court. Emperor Wu dispatched an amphibious expedition force led by Wang Hui (王恢) and Han Anguo (韩安国) to address the Minyue threat. Again fearing the Han intervention, Luo Yushan (雒余善), the younger brother of Minyue's King Ying, orchestrated a coup with other Minyue nobles, killed his brother with a spear, decapitated the corpse and sent the severed head to Wang. Following the campaign, Minyue

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8308-409: The Han dynasty successfully opened up the Northern Silk Road , allowing direct access to trade with Central Asia. This also provided a new supply of high-quality horse breeds from Central Asia, including the famed Ferghana horse (ancestors of the modern Akhal-Teke ), further strengthening the Han army. Emperor Wu then reinforced this strategic asset by establishing five commanderies and constructing

8442-407: The Han forces. The two states of Minyue and Dongyue were then completely annexed under the Han rule. In 135 BC, when Minyue attacked Nanyue , Nanyue also sought assistance from Han even though it probably had enough strength to defend itself. Emperor Wu was greatly pleased by this gesture, and he dispatched an expedition force to attack Minyue, over the objection of one of his key advisors, Liu An ,

8576-486: The Han. Enraged, Emperor Wu sent a combined army led by generals Han Yue (韩说), Yang Pu, Wang Wenshu (王温舒) and two marquesses of Yue ancestry. The Han army crushed the rebellion, and the Dongyue kingdom began to fragment after King Yushan stubbornly refused to surrender. Elements of the Dongyue army defected and turned against their ruler. Eventually, the king of the other Minyue state, Zou Jugu (驺居股), conspired with other Dongyue nobles to kill King Yushan before surrendering to

8710-454: The Nationalist resistance to Japanese forces in Fujian Province. As part of Operation Ichi-Go (1944), the last large-scale Japanese offensive in China in World War II, Japanese troops intended to isolate Fuzhou and the Fujian Province corridor to Nationalist forces in western China and the wartime capital of Chongqing. One account of Japanese troops re-taking of Fuzhou city itself is narrated by American naval officer, Houghton Freeman. The date

8844-435: The People's Liberation Army. Under the reform and opening policy since the late 1970s, Fuzhou has developed rapidly. In 1982, Fuzhou became the first city in China where the stored program control was introduced, which marked a milestone in the history of telecommunications in China. In 1984, Fuzhou was chosen as one of the first branches of Open Coastal Cities by the Central Government. In 1990, Xi Jinping served as

8978-556: The People's Republic of China ( Chinese : 第七次全国人口普查 ; pinyin : Dì Qī Cì Quánguó Rénkǒu Pǔchá ), also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census , was the seventh national census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China . Census work began on November 1, 2020, and continued through December 10, 2020, involving seven million census workers. The 2020 Chinese census covers all Chinese citizens living in mainland China , as well as those living abroad on temporary visas. Foreigners who live in

9112-509: The Prince of Huainan (a previously trusted adviser of Emperor Wu, and closely enough related to have imperial pretensions) and his brother Liu Ci (刘赐), the Prince of Hengshan, were accused of plotting treason. They committed suicide; their families and many alleged co-conspirators were executed. Similar action was taken against the other vassal Princes, and by the end of the reign, all the vassal kingdoms had been political and militarily disabled. A famous wrongful execution happened in 117 BC, when

9246-403: The Qing dynasty. As more Fuzhou residents settled overseas, Fuzhou dishes spread to Taiwan, Southeast Asia and the U.S.. For example, one is able to find guong bian and Fuzhou fish balls in Sitiawan in Ipoh, Malaysia while Fuzhou fish balls, meat-pastry dumplings and rice scroll soup can be found in New York's Chinatown. 2020 Chinese census The Seventh National Population Census of

9380-404: The Secretary of the CPC Fuzhou Municipal Committee. He proposed the Fuzhou 3820 Project to establish Fuzhou as the political economic cultural educational transportation and technological center of Fujian Province and the West Coast Economic Zone of the Taiwan Straits. He also planned the development of Fuzhou for the next hundred years. He believed that, with Guangzhou to the south and Shanghai to

9514-417: The Tanshishan Culture ( 曇石山文化 ), from around 3000 BC—have been discovered and excavated in the Fuzhou area. During the Warring States period (c. 475–221 BC), Chinese began referring to the modern Fujian area as Min Yue ( 閩越 ), suggesting that the native inhabitants of the area were a branch of the Yue peoples , a diverse population of non-Chinese tribes who once inhabited most of southern China. In 306 BC,

9648-577: The West since Marco Polo . The Ryukyu Kingdom established an embassy in Fuzhou. In 1839, Lin Zexu , who himself was a Fuzhou native, was appointed by the Daoguang Emperor to enforce the imperial ban on the opium trade in Canton . His unsuccessful actions, however, precipitated the disastrous First Opium War with Great Britain, and Lin, who had become a scapegoat for China's failure in war,

9782-529: The Yue ethnic group was mostly assimilated into the Chinese, causing a sharp decline in Ye's inhabitants. The area was eventually re-organized as a county in 85 BC. During the Three Kingdoms period , southeast China was nominally under the control of Eastern Wu , and the Fuzhou area had a shipyard for the coastal and Yangtze River fleets. In 282, during the Jin dynasty , two artificial lakes known simply as

9916-451: The advice of General Yang Pu (杨仆), Emperor Wu rejected a military solution, and the Han forces arrived home without attacking Dongyue, though border garrisons were told to prepare for any military conflicts. After King Yushan was informed of this, he became overly confident and proud and responded by revolting against the Han, proclaiming himself emperor and assigned his "Han-devouring generals" (吞汉将军) to invade neighbouring regions controlled by

10050-684: The annual mean is 20.5 °C (68.9 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 24 percent in March to 54 percent in July, the city receives 1,607 hours of bright sunshine annually. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −1.9 °C (29 °F) on 25 January 2016 to 41.7 °C (107 °F) on 26 July 2003. Snow is very rare, having covered the ground last times in February 1957, December 1975 and December 1991. See or edit raw graph data . The administrative divisions of Fuzhou have been changed frequently throughout history. From 1983,

10184-478: The autonomous kingdom of Nanyue , the entire Nanyue territory (which includes modern Guangdong , Guangxi , and North Vietnam ) had been conquered by the Emperor's military forces and annexed into the Han Empire by 111 BC. Military tension had long existed between China and the northern " barbarians ", mainly because the fertile lands of the prosperous agricultural civilization presented attractive targets for

10318-562: The biggest chickens in the world. Between 1405 and 1433, a fleet of the Ming Imperial navy under Admiral Zheng He sailed from Fuzhou to the Indian Ocean seven times; on three occasions the fleet landed on the east coast of Africa. Before the last sailing, Zheng erected a stele dedicated to the goddess Tian-Fei (Matsu) near the seaport . The Ming government gave a monopoly over Philippine trade to Fuzhou, which at times

10452-532: The case of Emperor Yingzong of Ming ). In 104 BCE (1st year of the Tai'chu (太初) era), a new calendar was put into effect: the Tai'chu calendar (太初历). This calendar came about due to the observations of three officials (Gongsun Qing (公孙卿), Hu Sui (壶遂) and Sima Qian (author of Shiji ) that the calendar then in use was in need of reform. Among other reforms, the Taichu calendar made the zheng month (正月, also known as

10586-557: The city and soon set up the first missionary station there. ABCFM was followed by the Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society that was led by Revs. M. C. White and J. D. Collins , who reached Fuzhou in early September 1847. The Church Missionary Society also arrived in the city in May 1850. These three Protestant agencies remained in Fuzhou until the communist revolution in China in the 1950s, leaving

10720-663: The city is recorded as having returned to Nationalist control. The British Consulate in Fuzhou is noted as operational from 1941 to 1944 after the United Kingdom Declaration of War on Japan in December 1941. Western visitors to Fuzhou in the period 1941–1944 include the Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett in 1942 and the British scientist Joseph Needham in May 1944. Both visitors record the presence of

10854-555: The commanderies, initially nearby Chang'an , but later extending to much farther places, worshipping the various gods on the way, perhaps again in search of immortality . He also had a succession of magicians whom he honoured with great things. In one case, he even made one a marquess and married his daughter, the Eldest Princess Wei, to him; that magician, Luan Da , was later exposed as a fraud and executed. Emperor Wu's expenditures on these tours and magical adventures put

10988-399: The crown prince to the Prince of Linjiang (臨江王) and exiling him from the capital city Chang'an in 150 BC. Lady Li was stripped of her titles and placed under house arrest ; she died of depression not long after. Liu Rong was arrested two years later for illegal seizure of imperial shrine lands and committed suicide while in custody. As Empress Bo had been deposed one year earlier in 151 BC,

11122-476: The cultural exchanges that occurred as a consequence of these embassies suggest that he received Buddhist statues from Central Asia, as depicted in the murals found in the Mogao Caves . Emperor Wu is considered one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history due to his strong leadership and effective governance, which made the Han dynasty one of the most powerful nations in the world. Michael Loewe called

11256-466: The day of Liu Qi's accession to the throne as Emperor Jing of Han (upon the death of his father Emperor Wen in 156 BC), Wang Zhi gave birth to Liu Che and was promoted to a consort for giving birth to a royal prince. While she was pregnant, she claimed that she dreamed of a sun falling into her womb. Emperor Jing was ecstatic over the divine implication, and made the young Liu Che the Prince of Jiaodong (胶东王) on 16 May 153 BC. An intelligent boy, Liu Che

11390-404: The desert, but was able to escape around 129 BC and eventually made it to Yuezhi, which by then had relocated to Samarkand . While Yuezhi refused to return, it and several other kingdoms in the area, including Dayuan ( Kokand ) and Kangju , established diplomatic relations with Han. Zhang was able to deliver his report to Emperor Wu when he arrived back in the capital Chang'an in 126 BC after

11524-508: The emperor even went so far as to construct a "House of Life" ( shou gong ) chapel at his Ganquan palace complex (in modern Xianyang , Shaanxi) specifically for this purpose, in 118 BC. One of the religious rituals that Emperor Wu organized was the Suburban Sacrifice, and the nineteen hymns entitled Hymns for Use in the Suburban Sacrifice were written in connection with these religious rites and published during Wu's reign. It

11658-510: The end of her life. But now with the military firmly in his control, Emperor Wu's political survival was assured, and his grandmother or anyone else could no longer threaten to dethrone him as directly, easily and quickly as before. In the same year, Emperor Wu's newly favoured concubine Wei Zifu became pregnant with his first child, effectively clearing his name and silencing any political enemies who had schemed to use his alleged infertility as an excuse to have him removed. When this news reached

11792-533: The field of historical social and cultural studies, Emperor Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts, including development of the Imperial Music Bureau into a prestigious entity. It was also during his reign that cultural contact with western Eurasia was greatly increased, directly and indirectly. During his reign as Emperor, he led the Han dynasty through its greatest territorial expansion. At its height,

11926-415: The final step to defeat Lady Li — she persuaded a minister to officially advise Emperor Jing that he make Lady Li empress, as Liu Rong was already the crown prince. Emperor Jing, already firm in his view that Lady Li must not be made empress, was enraged and believed that Lady Li had conspired with government officials. He executed the clan of the minister who had made that proposal, and deposed Liu Rong from

12060-511: The first month) the beginning of a new year, rather than the tenth month in the Zhuanxu calendar. From then on, the Chinese calendar had retained the property of having the first month as the beginning of the year. Liu Che was the 11th son of Liu Qi , the oldest living son from Emperor Wen of Han . His mother Wang Zhi (王娡) was initially married to a commoner named Jin Wangsun (金王孫) and had

12194-474: The former state of Jin (in the area of the modern province of Shanxi ) as official religious functionaries of his new empire. Emperor Wu worshiped the divinity Tai Yi (or, Dong Huang Tai Yi), a deity to whom he was introduced by his shaman advisers, who were able to provide him with the experience of having this god (and other spiritual entities, such as the Master of Fate, Si Ming ) summoned into his presence;

12328-532: The future. On November 2, 2020, Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping answered census workers' questions in Beijing . The 2020 census showed that the gender ratio of mainland China has improved, with the male-to-female ratio reaching a new record low of 105.07. This is the most balanced gender ration since the People's Republic of China began conducting censuses in 1953. On April 27, 2021,

12462-455: The gods of heaven and earth to seek immortality. He then decreed that he would return to Mount Tai every five years to repeat the ceremony, but only did so once in 98 BC. Many palaces were built for him and the princes to accommodate the anticipated cycles of the ceremony. It was around this time that, in reaction to the large expenditures by Emperor Wu that had exhausted the national treasury, his agricultural minister Sang Hongyang conceived of

12596-445: The government. While his mother, Empress Dowager Wang, and his uncle Tian Fen were still heavily influential, they also benefited from the death of the old woman, especially the mother of Emperor Wu, but they lacked the ability to restrain the Emperor's actions. Emperor Wu began military campaigns focused on territorial expansion. This decision nearly destroyed his empire in its early stages. Reacting to border incursions by sending out

12730-541: The interests of the nobles and were swiftly defeated by his powerful grandmother Grand Empress Dowager Dou , who held real political power in the Han court and supported the conservative factions. Most of the reformists were punished: Emperor Wu's two noble supporters Dou Ying (窦婴) and Tian Fen (田蚡, Empress Dowager Wang's half-brother and Emperor's uncle) lost their positions, and his two mentors Wang Zang (王臧) and Zhao Wan (赵绾) were impeached, arrested and forced to commit suicide in prison. Emperor Wu, deprived of any allies,

12864-518: The kingdom to Han. However, Emperor Wu did not establish commanderies in Minyue's former territory; instead, he moved its people to the region between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers. Later that year, Emperor Wu, at great expense, carried out the ancient ceremony of the Feng and Shan sacrifices fengshan (封禅) at Mount Tai ; this involved the worship of heaven and earth and presumably a secret petition to

12998-539: The local garrison. However the tiger tally , which was needed to authorize any use of armed forces, was in Grand Empress Dowager Dou's possession at the time. Yan Zhu, as the appointed imperial ambassador, circumvented this problem by executing a local army commander who refused to obey any order without seeing the tiger tally and coerced the governor of Kuaiji to mobilize a large naval fleet to Dong'ou's rescue . Seeing that superior Han forces were on

13132-408: The mainland for more than six months are also recorded in the data. The preliminary results were released on May 11, 2021, with a news conference being held on the same day. The release was originally planned to be in early April, but was delayed by a month. The population of mainland China was 1,411,778,724 as of 1 November 2020. In addition, Hong Kong's population was 7,474,200 (provided by

13266-507: The minister of agriculture Yan Yi (颜异), was falsely accused of committing a crime, though he was actually targeted because he had previously offended the emperor by opposing a plan to effectively extort double tributes out of princes and marquesses. Yan was executed for "internal defamation" of the emperor, and this caused the officials to be fearful and willing to flatter the emperor. Starting about 113 BC, Emperor Wu began to display further signs of abusing his power. He began to incessantly tour

13400-434: The modern-day Northern Min and Eastern Min areas. In 879, a large part of the city was captured by the army of Huang Chao during their rebellion against the Tang government. In 893, the warlord brothers Wang Chao and Wang Shenzhi captured Fuzhou in a rebellion against the Tang dynasty, successfully gaining control of the entire Fujian Province and eventually proclaiming their founding of an independent kingdom they called

13534-530: The most celebrated Chinese philosopher after Confucius , and Xin Qiji , the greatest composer of the ci form of poetry. Marco Polo , an Italian guest of the Emperor Kubilai , transcribed , after the conventions of Italian orthography , the place name as Fugiu . This was not the local Min pronunciation but that of the mandarin administrative class. According to Odoric of Pordenone , Fuzhou had

13668-438: The nation to "rest and recover" (休养生息). Despite the periodic humiliation of appeasement and providing gifts, the Han borders were still frequented by Xiongnu raids for the next seven decades. Following the death of his powerful grandmother, Emperor Wu decided that Han China had sufficiently recovered enough to support a full-scale war. He first ended the official policy of peace with the Battle of Mayi in 133 BC, which involved

13802-556: The necessity of important policy reforms, but neither Emperor Wen nor Emperor Jing was willing to risk implementing such changes. Unlike the emperors before him, the young and vigorous Emperor Wu was unwilling to put up with the status quo . Only a year into his reign in late 141 BC, Emperor Wu took the advice of Confucian scholars and launched an ambitious reform, known in history as the Jianyuan Reforms (建元新政). The reforms included: However, Emperor Wu's reforms threatened

13936-843: The north Fuzhou's geographical location was ideal for becoming an international metropolis between the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta. He proposed supporting strategies such as the Fujian-Zhejiang-Jiangxi-Anhui Fuzhou Economic Cooperation Zone the Fuzhou Metropolitan Circle, Maritime Fuzhou the Minjiang Estuary Golden Triangle and a Modern International City as well as the idea of building

14070-476: The opportunity for Consort Wang and the young Liu Che to gain the emperor's favour. When Emperor Jing's older sister, Eldest Princess Guantao (馆陶长公主) Liu Piao (刘嫖), offered to marry her daughter with Chen Wu  [ zh ; ko ] ( 陳午 ), the Marquess of Tangyi, to Liu Rong, Lady Li rudely rejected the proposal out of her dislike of Princess Guantao, who often procured new concubines for Emperor Jing and

14204-596: The poorer but more militaristic horseback nomads . The threat posed to the Xiongnu by the northward expansion of the Qin Empire ultimately led to the consolidation of the many tribes into a confederacy. Following the end of the Chu-Han Contention , Emperor Gao of Han realized that the nation was not yet strong enough to confront the Xiongnu. He therefore resorted to the so-called "marriage alliance", or heqin , in order to ease hostility and buy time for

14338-517: The position of empress was left open and Emperor Jing made Consort Wang empress four months later. The seven-year-old Liu Che, now legally the oldest son of the Empress, was made crown prince in 149 BC. In 141 BC, Emperor Jing died and Crown Prince Liu Che ascended to the throne as Emperor Wu at the age of 15. His grandmother Empress Dowager Dou became the grand empress dowager , and his mother became Empress Dowager Wang . His cousin-wife A'Jiao from

14472-465: The practice for dating years during the reign of Wudi was represented by the n year of the [Reign Year Name] (where n stands for an ordinal integer) and "Reign Year Name" for the specific name of that regnal year. This practice was continued by later emperors until the Ming and Qing eras, whereby the emperors of the two dynasties used only one reign name for their entire reign (unless interrupted, as in

14606-427: The reign of Emperor Wu the "high point" of "Modernist" (classically justified Legalist) policies, looking back to "adapt ideas from the pre-Han period." Especially later in his life, some of his most trusted advisers were proponents of Shang Yang , but did not necessarily support Shang Yang's harsh punishments. Despite establishing an autocratic, centralised state, Emperor Wu adopted the principles of Confucianism as

14740-442: The rise of local despots who bullied and oppressed the population. The heqin policy also failed to protect the Han borders against nomadic raids, with Xiongnu cavalries invading as close as 300 li (100 miles, 160 km) from the capital during Emperor Wen's reign, and over 10,000 border residents abducted or enslaved during Emperor Jing's reign. Prominent politicians like Jia Yi and Chao Cuo had both previously advised on

14874-568: The southern autonomous state of Minyue (in modern-day Fujian ) invaded the weaker neighbouring state of Dong'ou (in modern-day Zhejiang ). After their king Zuo Zhenfu (驺贞复) died on the battlefield, the battered Dong'ou desperately sought help from the Han court. After a heated court debate over whether to offer military intervention for such a distant vassal state, Emperor Wu dispatched a newly promoted official Yan Zhu (严助) to Kuaiji (then still located in Suzhou , rather than Shaoxing ) to mobilize

15008-448: The state of Huainan, Liu An , who was hoping the young Emperor Wu's infertility would allow him to ascend to the throne, went into a state of denial and rewarded anyone who told him that Emperor Wu was still childless. In 135 BC, Grand Empress Dowager Dou died, removing the last major obstacle against Emperor Wu's ambition for reform. After the death of Grand Empress Dowager Dou in 135 BC, Emperor Wu had full and unrivaled control of

15142-476: The state philosophy and code of ethics for his empire and started a school to teach future administrators the Confucian classics . These reforms had an enduring effect throughout the existence of imperial China and an enormous influence on neighbouring civilizations. The personal name of Emperor Wu was Liu Che (劉徹). The use of "Han" ( 漢 ) in referring to emperor Wu is a reference to the Han dynasty of which he

15276-550: The taxes. Emperor Wu carried out an invasion of the northern Korean Peninsula and established the Commandery of Canghai , but abandoned it in 126 BC. Some of the military colonies established at that time survived into the 4th century, leaving behind various particularly well-preserved funerary artefacts. After the conquest of Nanyue in 111 BC, Emperor Wu launched a second invasion of the Korean peninsula and by 108 BC completed

15410-405: The throne and Lady Li to become empress dowager , many of his concubines might suffer the tragic fate of Consort Qi in the hands of Empress Lü . Princess Guantao then began to openly praise her son-in-law-to-be to her royal brother, further convincing Emperor Jing that Liu Che was a far better choice for heir apparent than Liu Rong. Taking advantage of the situation, Consort Wang put in place

15544-463: The time being, as his aging grandmother was declining physically and would soon die. He spent the next few years pretending to have given up any political ambition, playing the part of a docile hedonist , often sneaking out of the capital Chang'an to engage in hunting and sightseeing and posing as an ordinary nobleman. Knowing that the conservative noble classes occupied every level of the Han court, Emperor Wu changed his strategy. He secretly recruited

15678-419: The troops, Emperor Wu sent his armies in all directions but the sea. Following the successful manoeuvre against Minyue in 138 BC, Emperor Wu resettled the people of Dang'an into the region between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers. In 135 BC, Minyue saw an opportunity to take advantage of the new and inexperienced king of Nanyue , Zhao Mo . Minyue invaded its south-western neighbour and Zhao Mo sought help from

15812-452: The way, Minyue forces became fearful and retreated. This was a huge political victory for Emperor Wu and set the precedent of using the Emperor's decrees to bypass the tiger tally, removing the need for cooperation from his grandmother; Of course, this did not mean that Grand Empress Dowager Dou's influence and intervention would disappear, she was a serious and insurmountable obstacle and competing authority in administration for Emperor Wu until

15946-409: The western region, part of his report indicated that embassies could more easily reach Shendu (India) and Anxi ( Parthia ) by going through the south-western kingdoms. Encouraged by the report, Emperor Wu sent ambassadors in 122 BC to try to persuade Yelang and Dian (modern eastern Yunnan ) into submission again. Han Gaozu , founder of the Han dynasty, had installed shaman cultists from the area of

16080-475: Was Yelang (modern Zunyi , Guizhou)—so that a route for a potential back-stabbing attack on Nanyue could be made. The Han ambassador Tang Meng (唐蒙) was able to secure the submission of these tribal kingdoms by giving their kings gifts; Emperor Wu established the Commandery of Jianwei (犍为, headquarters in modern Yibin , Sichuan) to govern over the tribes, but eventually abandoned it after being unable to cope with local revolts. Later, after Zhang Qian returned from

16214-403: Was a part. His family name is "Liu"; the ruling family or clan of the Han dynasty shared the family name of "Liu", the family name of Liu Bang , the founding father of the Han dynasty. The character "Di" ( 帝 ) is a title: this is the Chinese word which in imperial history of China means "emperor". The character "Wu" ( 武 ) literally means "martial" or "warlike", but is also related to the concept of

16348-585: Was a serious matter. These enemies of Emperor Wu wished to replace him with his uncle Liu An , the King of Huainan , who was renowned for his expertise in Taoist ideology. Even Emperor Wu's own maternal uncle Tian Fen switched camps and sought Liu An's favor, as he predicted the young emperor would not be in power for long. Emperor Wu's political survival now relied heavily on the lobbying of his influential aunt / mother-in-law, Princess Guantao (Liu Piao), who served as

16482-614: Was also during this time that Emperor Wu began to show a fascination with immortality . He began to associate with magicians who claimed to be able to, if they could find the proper ingredients, create divine pills that would confer immortality. However, he himself punished others' use of magic severely. In 130 BC, for example, when the witch Chu Fu tried to approach Empress Chen to teach her sorcery and love spells to curse Consort Wei and regain Emperor Wu's affections, he dispatched Zhang Tang to execute Chu Fu for witchcraft, which

16616-515: Was built to support the city's expansion towards the sea. On December 13, 1993, a raging fire swept through a textile factory in Fuzhou and claimed the lives of 60 workers. On October 2, 2005, floodwaters from Typhoon Longwang swept away a military school , killing at least 80 paramilitary officers. Fuzhou is located in the northeast coast of Fujian province, connects jointly northwards with Ningde and Nanping, southwards with Quanzhou and Putian, westwards with Sanming respectively. Fuzhou has

16750-537: Was considered to be Emperor Jing's favourite son from a very young age. Emperor Jing's formal wife, Empress Bo , was childless. As a result, Emperor Jing's oldest son Liu Rong , born to Lady Lì (栗姬, Emperor Jing's favorite concubine and mother of three of his first four sons), was made crown prince in 153 BC. Lady Li, feeling certain that her son would become the future emperor, grew arrogant and intolerant, and frequently threw tantrums at Emperor Jing out of jealousy over him bedding other women. Her lack of tact provided

16884-431: Was diffusing the favor received by Lady Li. Insulted by the rejection, Princess Guantao then approached the next favorite of Emperor Jing's concubines – none other than Consort Wang, who had been observing these developments quietly from the sidelines. Guantao offered to marry her daughter to the consort's young son, Liu Che, then aged only 5. Seizing the opportunity, Consort Wang accepted the offer with open arms, securing

17018-462: Was exiled to the northwestern section of the empire. The Treaty of Nanjing (1842), which put an end to the conflict, made Fuzhou (then known to Westerners as Foochow) one of five Chinese treaty ports , and it became completely open to Western merchants and missionaries. Fuzhou was one of the most important Protestant mission fields in China. On January 2, 1846, the first Protestant missionary, Rev. Stephen Johnson (missionary) from ABCFM , entered

17152-417: Was first started in 139 BC, when Emperor Wu commissioned Zhang Qian to seek out the Kingdom of Yuezhi , which had been expelled by Xiongnu from the modern Gansu region. Zhang was to entice the kingdom to return to its ancestral lands with promises of Han military assistance, with the intention that Yuezhi forces would fight against the Xiongnu. Zhang was immediately captured by Xiongnu once he ventured into

17286-613: Was illegal at the time. Around the same time, perhaps as a sign of what would come to be, Emperor Wu began to trust governing officials who were harsh in their punishment, believing that such harshness would be the most effective method to maintain social order and so placing these officials in power. For example, one such official, Yi Zong (义纵), became the governor of the Commandery of Dingxiang (part of modern Hohhot , Inner Mongolia) and executed 200 prisoners, even though they had not committed capital crimes; he then executed their friends who happened to have been visiting. In 122 BC, Liu An ,

17420-671: Was incorporated into China proper during Qin dynasty . The city's name was changed numerous times between the 3rd and 9th centuries before finally settling on Fuzhou in 948. In Chinese, the city is sometimes referred to by the poetic nickname Rongcheng (Chinese: 榕城 ; Foochow Romanized: Ṳ̀ng-siàng ), lit. 'The Banyan City'. In older English publications, the name is variously romanized as Foochow , Foo-Chow , Fuchow , Fūtsu , Fuh-Chow , Hock Chew , and Hokchew . The remains of two Neolithic cultures—the Huqiutou Culture ( 虎丘頭文化 ), from around 5000 BC, and

17554-409: Was now the subject of conspiracies designed to have him removed from the throne. For example, his first wife Empress Chen Jiao was unable to become pregnant. In an attempt to remain his first love, she had prohibited him from having other concubines. Emperor Wu's political enemies used his childlessness as an argument to seek to depose him, as the inability of an emperor to propagate a royal bloodline

17688-885: Was ranked as the 10th fastest growing metropolitan area in the world by Brookings Institution . Fuzhou is listed as No. 20 in the China Integrated City Index 2016's total ranking, a study conducted by the National Development and Reform Commission . Fuzhou is also a major city for scientific research, appearing in the global top 50 cities as tracked by the Nature Index . The city is home to several major universities , notably Fuzhou University , one of China's key universities and other public universities, including Fujian Normal University and Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University . The Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties ,

17822-553: Was shared with Quanzhou . Galeote Pereira , a Portuguese soldier and trader, was taken prisoner during the pirate extermination campaign of 1549 and imprisoned in Fuzhou. Later transferred to a form of internal exile elsewhere in the province, Pereira escaped to Langbaijiao in 1553. The record of his experiences in the Ming Empire, logged by the Jesuits at Goa in 1561, was the first non-clerical account of China to reach

17956-569: Was split into a dual monarchy: Minyue was controlled by a Han proxy ruler, Zou Chou (驺丑), and Dongyue (东越) was ruled by Luo Yushan. As Han troops returned from the Han–Nanyue War in 111 BC, the Han government debated military action against Dongyue. Dongyue, under King Lou Yushan, had agreed to assist the Han campaign against Nanyue, but the Dongyue army never reached there, blaming the weather while secretly relaying intelligence to Nanyue. Against

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