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95-747: The range is part of the Xiáo ( 崤 ) historical region on the border of Hénán and Shānxī provinces in China. The area between Yáo and the strategic Hángǔ Pass was called Xiáohán ( 崤函 ). There is a dispute over the pronunciation of its name. According to one of the most authoritative Mandarin Chinese dictionaries, the Cihai ( 辭海 ), xiáo should be yáo according to ancient pronunciation. However, other dictionaries such as Ciyuan ( 辭源 ), Xīnhuá Zìdiǎn , Hànyǔ Dà Cídiǎn , and Xiàndài Hànyǔ Cídiǎn use

190-580: A Xianbei kingdom, which had one of its earlier capitals at present-day Datong in northern Shanxi, and which went on to rule nearly all of northern China. The Tang dynasty (618–907) originated in Taiyuan. During the Tang dynasty and after, present day Shanxi was called Hédōng ( 河東 ), or "east of the (Yellow) river". Empress Wu Zetian , one of China's only female rulers, was born in Shanxi in 624. During

285-545: A continental monsoon climate, and is rather arid. Average January temperatures are below 0 °C, while average July temperatures are around 21–26 °C. Winters are long, dry, and cold, while summer is warm and humid. Spring is extremely dry and prone to dust storms. Shanxi is one of the sunniest parts of China; early summer heat waves are common. Annual precipitation averages around 350 to 700 millimetres (14 to 28 in), with 60% of it concentrated between June and August. Major cities: The outline of Shanxi's territory

380-414: A body of teaching and publication in modern Chinese medicine that became one of the foundations of the national institution of modern traditional Chinese medicine that was adopted in the 1950s. Yan invested in Shanxi's industrial infrastructure, and by 1949 the area around Taiyuan was a major national producer of coal, iron, chemicals, and munitions. Yan was able to protect the province from his rivals for

475-571: A large, fortified prison complex filled with Communist prisoners. In a final act of desperation, Liang set fire to the prison and committed suicide as the entire compound burned to the ground. Soon after the Chinese Communist Revolution , Mao Zedong assigned Kang Sheng to carry out land reform in Shanxi. Kang encouraged the populace to have numerous farmers from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds denounced as "landlords," beaten, arrested, and executed. In some areas of

570-436: A major part of Shanxi's economy. Shanxi possesses 260 billion metric tons of known coal deposits, about a third of China's total. As a result, Shanxi is a leading producer of coal in China and has more coal companies than any other province, with an annual production exceeding 300 million metric tonnes. The Datong ( 大同 ), Ningwu ( 宁武 ), Xishan ( 西山 ), Hedong ( 河东 ), Qinshui ( 沁水 ), and Huoxi ( 霍西 ) coalfields are some of

665-523: A selected few to be his retainers. However, Shi Hu, citing his vast contributions to the state's founding, was angered by Shi Le's decision as he saw himself having more claim to the throne. In 333, Shi Le died and was succeeded by Shi Hong. Almost immediately, Shi Hu launched a coup and took over the government, facing very little resistance from most of the Zhao gentry and military. Shi Le's family and allies were swiftly eliminated by Shi Hu, and in 334, he took

760-500: A small force of 6,000 men to hold off the entire Japanese army. A representative of the Japanese Army, speaking of the final defense of Taiyuan , said that "nowhere in China have the Chinese fought so obstinately". The Japanese suffered 30,000 dead and an equal number wounded in their effort to take northern Shanxi. A Japanese study found that the battles of Pingxingguan, Xinkou, and Taiyuan were responsible for over half of all

855-542: A third of China's total coal deposits. Nevertheless, Shanxi's GDP per capita remains below the national average. The province hosts the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center . The province is also known for having by far the largest number of historic buildings among all Chinese provinces, by possessing over 70% of China's surviving buildings built during or predating the Song dynasty . Also notable are

950-571: A wealthy family in Shandong but soon attained his freedom. By 305, Shi Le had made a name for himself by becoming a bandit, and raised a personal army with his friend, Ji Sang . Taking advantage of growing resentment against the Jin government, the two joined the rebel general Gongshi Fan to avenge the Prince of Chengdu, Sima Ying and later took leadership after Fan’s death, going as far as to sacking

1045-539: A width of 385 km (239 mi) from east to west, with a total area of 156,700 km (60,500 sq mi), accounting for 1.6% of the country's total area. Shanxi is divided into eleven prefecture-level divisions : all prefecture-level cities : The 11 prefecture-level cities of Shanxi are subdivided into 118 county-level divisions (23 districts , 11 county-level cities , and 84 counties ). Those are in turn divided into 1388 township-level divisions (561 towns , 634 townships , and 193 subdistricts ). At

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1140-518: Is 晋 ( Jìn ), after the state of Jin that existed there during the Spring and Autumn period ( c.  770  – c.  481 BC ). The name Shanxi means 'west of the mountains', a reference to its location west of the Taihang Mountains . Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west and Inner Mongolia to the north. Shanxi's terrain

1235-428: Is a parallelogram that runs from southwest to northeast. It is a typical mountain plateau widely covered by loess . The terrain is high in the northeast and low in the southwest. The interior of the plateau is undulating, the valleys are vertical and horizontal, and the types of landforms are complex and diverse. There are mountains, hills, terraces, plains, and rivers. The area of mountains and hills accounts for 80.1% of

1330-422: Is characterised by a plateau bounded partly by mountain ranges. Shanxi's culture is largely dominated by the ethnic Han majority, who make up over 99% of its population. Jin Chinese is considered by some linguists to be a distinct language from Mandarin and its geographical range covers most of Shanxi. Both Jin and Mandarin are spoken in Shanxi. Shanxi is a leading producer of coal in China , possessing roughly

1425-440: Is from north to south and from basin to high mountain. The annual precipitation in the whole province is between 358 and 621 mm, and the seasonal distribution is uneven. In June–August, the precipitation is relatively concentrated, accounting for about 60% of the annual precipitation, and the precipitation distribution in the province is greatly affected by the terrain. The province has a length of 682 km (424 mi) and

1520-576: Is now the city of Hohhot , and overlapped with the jurisdiction of the Eight Banners and the Guihua Tümed banner in that area. For centuries, Shanxi served as a center for trade and banking. The " Shanxi merchants " were once synonymous with wealth. The well-preserved city and UNESCO World Heritage Site Pingyao shows many signs of its economic importance during the Qing dynasty. With

1615-413: Is possible that decades of Yan's socialist indoctrination may have prepared the people of Shanxi for Communist rule. After the death of Mao, the experiment was discontinued, and most peasants reverted to private farming under post-Maoist economic reforms . Shanxi is located on a plateau made up of higher ground to the east ( Taihang Mountains ) and the west ( Lüliang Mountains ) and a series of valleys in

1710-726: The Former Liang and Dai ; only the Former Yan in Liaoning remained fully out of their control. For roughly twenty years, it maintained a stalemate with the Eastern Jin dynasty in the south before its rapid collapse in 349 following the death of Shi Hu. Shi Le was a Jie chieftain from Shangdang Commandery in Bing province . The Jie was one of the miscellaneous hu (胡; "barbarian") tribes; these tribes did not fall under

1805-626: The Former Liang , Dai and Duan-Liaoxi states partially retained their independence through vassalage, while the Xianbei Murong tribe in Liaodong remained loyal to the Eastern Jin dynasty . To consolidate his rule, Shi Le enacted several policies with the help of Han Chinese ministers such as Zhang Bin . Among others, he re-introduced the Nine Ranks System , promoted agriculture and emphasized education. He also continued

1900-678: The Jin-Song wars . The Mongol Yuan dynasty administered China into provinces but did not establish Shanxi as a province. Shanxi only gained its present name and approximate borders during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) which were of the same land area and borders as the previous Hedong Commandery of the Tang dynasty. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Shanxi extended north beyond the Great Wall to include parts of Inner Mongolia , including what

1995-589: The Nationalist government until 1949. Early in Yan's rule he decided that, unless he was able to modernize and revive the economy of his small, poor, remote province, he would be unable to protect Shanxi from rival warlords. Yan devoted himself to modernizing Shanxi and developing its resources during his reign over the province. He has been viewed by Western biographers as a transitional figure who advocated using Western technology to protect Chinese traditions, while at

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2090-682: The North China Plain , plundering the local counties and commanderies although never capturing them and staying there for long. In 311, he massacred the 100,000 strong Jin imperial army in the Battle of Ningping , allowing Han forces to capture Luoyang in the Disaster of Yongjia . Shortly after, Shi Le assassinated his rival peer, Wang Mi , and absorbed his army. The Han court, fearing that he would rebel, could only reprimand and appease him. With Wang Mi’s death, Shi Le essentially controlled

2185-704: The Sixteen Kingdoms period. Among the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Later Zhao was the second in territorial size to the Former Qin dynasty that once unified northern China under Fu Jian . In historiography, it is given the prefix of "Later" to distinguish it with the Han-Zhao or Former Zhao, which changed its name from "Han" to "Zhao" just before the Later Zhao was founded. When the Later Zhao

2280-661: The Yungang Grottoes in Datong, which date back over 1500 years. In the Spring and Autumn period ( c.  770  – c.  481 BC ), the state of Jin was located in what is now Shanxi. It underwent a three-way split into the states of Han , Zhao , and Wei in 403 BC, a traditional date sometimes taken as the start of the Warring States period ( c.  473  – 221 BC). By 221 BC, all of these states had fallen to

2375-545: The collapse of the Qing dynasty , Shanxi became part of the newly established Republic of China . From 1911 to 1949, during the period of the Republic of China's period of rule over Mainland China , Shanxi was mostly dominated by the warlord Yan Xishan until the Chinese Communist Party took full control in 1949; Communists had already set up secret bases in 1936, but did not completely overturn Yan and

2470-518: The state of Qin , which established the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC). The Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220) ruled Shanxi as the province of Bingzhou . During the invasion of northern nomads in the Sixteen Kingdoms period (304–439), several regimes including the Later Zhao , Former Yan , Former Qin , and Later Yan continuously controlled Shanxi. They were followed by Northern Wei (386–534),

2565-491: The 1925 generated great interest in Shanxi for the Kuomintang 's ideology, including women's rights , Yan allowed girls to enroll in middle school and college, where they promptly formed a women's association. Yan attempted to eradicate the custom of foot binding , threatening to sentence men who married women with bound feet, and mothers who bound their daughters' feet, to hard labor in state-run factories. He discouraged

2660-606: The Crown Prince. Shi Zun even planned to assassinate Shi Min, but after the plan leaked, Shi Min led his troops to depose him. He installed Shi Zun's half-brother, Shi Jian to the throne, but real power in Ye was held by himself and his ally, Li Nong . In the old capital, Xiangguo, another son of Shi Hu, Shi Zhi , began rallying a coalition to fight Shi Min. While controlling Shi Jian, Shi Min survived three attempts on his life, which made him deeply wary of his followers. Seeing that

2755-539: The Eastern Jin launched a series of northern expeditions to reclaim lost territory from the south. For most of his reign, Shi Zhi was besieged at Xiangguo by Ran Min's army. He was forced to make an alliance with the Former Yan and demoted his own title to King of Zhao. Despite eventually lifting the siege, he and his family were soon betrayed and slaughtered by his general, Liu Xian in 351. The last member of

2850-528: The Eighth Route Army and continued to advance towards Yan's capital. The lack of attention directed at their forces gave the Communists time to recruit and propagandize among the local peasant populations (who generally welcomed Communist forces enthusiastically) and to organize a network of militia units, local guerrilla bands and popular mass organizations. Genuine Communist efforts to resist

2945-577: The Han Chinese scholar-officials. Various ethnic group from conquered places were relocated to live around his capital, as to better control them and restore agricultural output in the north. Buddhism was also given a platform to grow as the Kuchean monk, Fotu Cheng , held a high-ranking position within Shi Le's court. Shi Le and his family had an unusual practice of adopting people into their clan,

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3040-489: The Japanese "special forces" under Yan totaled 15,000 troops, plus an officer corps that was distributed throughout Yan's army. These numbers were reduced to 10,000 after serious American efforts to repatriate the Japanese were partially successful. Yan's Japanese army was instrumental in helping him to retain control of most of northern Shanxi during much of the subsequent Chinese Civil War , but by 1949 casualties had reduced

3135-418: The Japanese gave them the authority to carry out sweeping and radical social and economic reforms, mostly related to land and wealth redistribution, which they defended by labeling those who resisted as Hanjian . Communist efforts to resist the Japanese also won over Shanxi's small population of patriotic intellectuals, and conservative fears of resisting them effectively gave the Communists unlimited access to

3230-465: The Japanese into his service in the manner that he did, he retained both the extensive industrial complex around Taiyuan and virtually all of the managerial and technical personnel employed by the Japanese to run it. Yan was so successful in convincing surrendered Japanese to work for him that, as word spread to other areas of north China, Japanese soldiers from those areas began to converge on Taiyuan to serve his government and army. At its greatest strength

3325-594: The Japanese. During the Battle of Xinkou , the Chinese defenders resisted the efforts of Japan's elite Itakagi Division for over a month, despite Japanese advantages in artillery and air support. By the end of October 1937, Japan's losses were four times greater than those suffered at Pingxingguan, and the Itakagi Division was close to defeat. Contemporary Communist accounts called the battle "the most fierce in North China", while Japanese accounts called

3420-681: The Jie and other tribespeople in Ye refused to submit, he decreed an infamous culling order, calling on his Han Chinese subjects to kill any hu person they find. Shi Min personally led his army to massacre the tribes in Ye, while also ordering his generals to purge their armies of tribespeople. The Jie and hu were identified by their high noses and full beards, but many of the people killed were also mistakenly-identified Han Chinese. In total, around 200,000 people were killed. Shi Min killed Shi Jian and declared himself Emperor of Wei in 350, changing his name to Ran Min . In response, Shi Zhi proclaimed himself

3515-826: The Khitans for the next 100 years because it lay south of the Great Wall . The later Zhou , the last dynasty of the Five Dynasties period was founded by Guo Wei , a Han Chinese, who served as the Assistant Military Commissioner at the court of the Later Han which was ruled by Shatuo Turks . He founded his dynasty by launching a military coup against the Turkic Later Han Emperor however, his newly established dynasty

3610-523: The Nationalists or the Japanese. He then negotiated a secret anti-Japanese " United Front " with the Communists in October 1936 and invited them to establish operations in Shanxi. Yan, under the slogan "resistance against the enemy and defense of the soil", attempted to recruit young, patriotic intellectuals to his government in order to organize a local resistance to the threat of Japanese invasion. By

3705-558: The Research Society for the Advancement of Chinese Medicine, based in Taiyuan, in 1921. Highly unusual in China at the time, the school had a four-year curriculum and included courses in both Chinese and Western Medicine. The main skills that Yan hoped physicians trained at the school would learn were: a standardized system of diagnosis; sanitary science, including bacteriology ; surgical skills, including obstetrics ; and,

3800-525: The Shi clan, Shi Kun fled to the Eastern Jin at Jiankang , where he was put to death. Xie Fei and Wei Mengbian were two mechanical engineers under the Later Zhao who built a south-pointing chariot (also called south-pointing carriage ), a directional compass vehicle that apparently did not use magnetic principle, but was operated by use of differential gears (which apply an equal amount of torque to driving wheels rotating at different speeds), or

3895-694: The Ten Kingdoms, in what is now northern and central Shanxi. Shi Jingtang , founder of the Later Jin , the third of the Five Dynasties, ceded a piece of northern China to the Khitans in return for military assistance. This territory, called the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun , included a part of northern Shanxi. The ceded territory became a major problem for the Song dynasty's defense against

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3990-643: The United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. The mining-related companies include Daqin Railway Co. Ltd., which runs one of the busiest and most technologically advanced railways in China, connecting Datong and Qinhuangdao exclusively for coal shipping. The revenue of Daqin Railway Co. Ltd. is among the highest among Shanxi companies due to its export of coal to Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Shanxi's nominal GDP in 2011

4085-482: The battle a "stalemate". In an effort to save their forces at Xinkou, Japanese forces began an effort to occupy Shanxi from a second direction, in the east. After a week of fighting, Japanese forces captured the strategic Niangzi Pass , opening the way to capturing Taiyuan. Communist guerrilla tactics were ineffective in slowing down the Japanese advance. The defenders at Xinkou, realizing that they were in danger of being outflanked, withdrew southward, past Taiyuan, leaving

4180-594: The border, he sent his generals to launch an early attack, capturing a few cities before withdrawing. In 346, he invaded the Former Liang but was repelled, although he captured their territory south of the Yellow River . His reign was also troubled by a succession crisis that would lead to the empire's downfall. On two occasions, his crown princes attempted to kill him and usurp the throne, which led to him executing them in brutal fashion. In 349, shortly before his death, Shi Hu chose his 10-year-old son, Shi Shi to be

4275-526: The campaign, Liu Yao was instated as emperor, so Shi Le sent an envoy to congratulate him. However, Liu Yao, believing that Shi Le's rebellion was already in motion, had the envoy killed instead. Shi Le promptly declared independence as Liu Yao moved the capital to his base in Chang’an , splitting the empire into two. In 319, Shi Le proclaimed himself the King of Zhao, a title he was supposed to receive before his envoy

4370-606: The capital, such as the Di and Qiang people from Guanzhong . Shi Hu had ambitions to expand the state and heavily conscripted his subjects, but his campaigns yielded very minimal success. In 338, he carried out a joint campaign with the Murong-led Former Yan to conquer the Duan-Liaoxi. After the campaign, he turned on Yan but was defeated in the Battle of Jicheng . In 339, provoked by Eastern Jin movements along

4465-420: The casualties suffered by the Japanese army in North China. Yan himself was forced to withdraw after having 90% of his army destroyed, including a large force of reinforcements sent into Shanxi by the central government. Throughout 1937, numerous high-ranking Communist leaders, including Mao Zedong , lavished praise on Yan for waging an uncompromising campaign of resistance against the Japanese. Possibly because of

4560-534: The center through which the Fen River runs. The highest peak is Mount Wutai (Wutai Shan) in northeastern Shanxi with an altitude of 3,058 m. The Great Wall of China forms most of the northern border with Inner Mongolia . The Zhongtiao Mountains run along part of the southern border and separate Shanxi from the east–west part of the Yellow River. Mount Hua is to the southwest. The Yellow River forms

4655-612: The city of Ye in 307. After their defeat, Shi Le led his forces to join the Xiongnu -led Han state in Bing province. Under Han, Shi Le quickly rose through the ranks, attracting many Jie and hu tribes in Hebei to his cause. Like many rebel generals who joined the state, he had full control over his army as the Han court had little actual power to assert their authority. With his peers, he raided

4750-510: The city's walls, initiating bloody street-to-street fighting for control of the city. At 10:00 am, April 22, the Taiyuan Campaign ended with the Communists in complete control of Shanxi. Total Nationalist casualties amounted to all 145,000 defenders, many of whom were taken as POWs. The Communists lost 45,000 men and an unknown number of civilian laborers they had drafted, all of whom were either killed or injured. The fall of Taiyuan

4845-551: The commander of the Eighth Route Army active in Shanxi and was named the vice-commander of the Second War Zone, under Yan himself. Yan initially responded warmly to the re-entry of the arrival of Communist forces, and they were greeted with enthusiasm by Yan's officials and officers. Communist forces arrived in Shanxi just in time to help defeat a decisively more powerful Japanese force attempting to move through

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4940-494: The defenders due to fears of being shot down by the advancing Communists. The People's Liberation Army , depending largely on their reinforcements of artillery, launched a major assault on April 20, 1949, and succeeded in taking all positions surrounding Taiyuan by April 22. A subsequent appeal to the defenders to surrender was refused. On the morning of April 22, 1949, the PLA bombarded Taiyuan with 1,300 pieces of artillery and breached

5035-421: The earliest example being Shi Hu , a distant cousin who was adopted by Shi Le's father during their tribal years. He continued this practice after taking the throne, and his adopted relatives, especially Shi Hu, became important princes and military commanders. Near the end of his reign, Shi Le prepared his biological son, Shi Hong to take the throne in accordance with the Chinese rule of succession and handpicked

5130-574: The eastern parts of the empire, with the exception of Shandong. In 312, Shi Le departed from his practice of leading a roving army to cultivate a base in Xiangguo. He also expanded his territory by defeating the Jin governors, Wang Jun and Liu Kun . In 318, he joined forces with the prince, Liu Yao , in quelling the coup of Jin Zhun , who massacred the emperor and imperial family in Pingyang . During

5225-457: The end of 1936 Taiyuan had become a gathering point for anti-Japanese intellectuals from all over China. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937 led the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces to invade China, and Shanxi was one of the first areas the Japanese attacked. When it became clear to Yan that his forces might not be successful in repelling the Imperial Japanese Army , he invited Communist military forces to re-enter Shanxi. Zhu De became

5320-439: The end of 2017, the total population of Shanxi is 37.02 million. The Governor of Shanxi is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Shanxi. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor is subordinate to the provincial Communist Party Committee Secretary ( 中共山西省委书记 ), colloquially termed the "Shanxi Party Committee Secretary ". As is the case in almost all Chinese provinces,

5415-541: The expense of the common people, who were forced into construction work and often had their women taken away from them. On the other hand, he showed extreme leniency towards his own ministers and military generals, rarely punishing them to maintain their loyalty. The empire remained largely intact throughout his reign, with rebellions being quickly dealt with. Shi Hu reaffirmed Buddhism by continuining to show reverence to Fotu Cheng and promoting religious freedom. He also continued Shi Le's policy of relocating people to live around

5510-480: The first part of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960), Shanxi supplied rulers of three of the Five Dynasties. Among the Ten Kingdoms, it was the only one located in northern China. Shanxi was initially home to the jiedushi (commander) of Hedong, Li Cunxu , who overthrew the first of the Five Dynasties, Later Liang (907–923) to establish the second, Later Tang (923–936). Another jiedushi of Hedong, Shi Jingtang , overthrew Later Tang to establish

5605-587: The former base of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Liberation Army. Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre , one of China's three satellite launch centers, is located in the middle of Shanxi with China's largest stockpile of nuclear missiles . Many private corporations, in joint ventures with the state-owned mining corporations, have invested billions of dollars in the mining industry of Shanxi . Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing made one of his largest investments ever in China in exploiting coal gas in Shanxi. Foreign investors include mining companies from Canada,

5700-451: The head of Yan's "Patriotic Sacrifice League", had fought for years against the Communists in Shanxi until he was finally trapped in the massively fortified city of Taiyuan. For six months Liang put up a fierce resistance, leading both Yan's remaining Republic of China Army forces and his thousands of Japanese mercenaries. When Communist troops finally broke into the city and began to occupy large sections of it, Liang barricaded himself inside

5795-407: The highest-ranked provincial officials, Jin Yinhuan , died in a car accident. Since Xi Jinping 's ascendancy to General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party at the 18th Party Congress , numerous highly ranked officials in Shanxi have been placed under investigation for corruption-related offenses, including four incumbent members Bai Yun , Chen Chuanping , Du Shanxue , and Nie Chunyu of

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5890-452: The influence of solar radiation, monsoon circulation and geographical factors, Shanxi's climate has four distinct seasons, synchronous rain and heat, sufficient sunshine, significant climate difference between north and south, wide temperature difference between winter and summer, and large temperature difference between day and night. The annual average temperature in Shanxi Province is between 4.2 and 14.2 °C. The overall distribution trend

5985-563: The most important in Shanxi. Shanxi also contains about 500 million tonnes of bauxite deposits, about a third of total Chinese bauxite reserves. Industry in Shanxi is centered around heavy industries such as coal and chemical production, power generation, and metal refining . As part of an effort to promote diversification in non-resource industries, since 2004, some local governments in Shanxi province have required that coal mining companies set aside funds for investing in non-coal business like agriculture and produce processing. In 2006,

6080-437: The new Crown Prince and took the title of Emperor. In addition to the displeasure of his other sons, many of the military generals were also not pleased with his decision as he bestowed power to a regent and the soon-to-be empress dowager . After Shi Shi ascended the throne, his half-brother, Shi Zun conspired with the generals to depose him, and among these generals was Shi Hu's adopted Han Chinese grandson, Shi Min . Shi Min

6175-422: The new Emperor of Zhao. At this point, the Later Zhao was on the verge of collapse. The Di general, Fu Hong led his forces west to occupy the Guanzhong, where his son Fu Jiàn founded the Former Qin dynasty in 351. The Xianbei general, Duan Kan , also founded his short-lived state of Duan Qi in Shandong. From the northeast, the Former Yan began an invasion to establish themselves on the Central Plains , while

6270-399: The number of Japanese soldiers under Yan's command to 3,000. The leader of the Japanese under Yan's command, Hosaku Imamura, committed suicide on the day that Taiyuan fell to Communist forces. Yan Xishan himself (along with most of the provincial treasury) was airlifted out of Taiyuan in March 1949. Shortly afterwards Republic of China Air Force planes stopped dropping food and supplies for

6365-537: The period of his rule partially due to his building of an arsenal in Taiyuan that, for the entire period of his administration, remained the only center in China capable of producing field artillery. Yan's army was successful in eradicating banditry in Shanxi, allowing him to maintain a relatively high level of public order and security. Yan went to great lengths to eradicate social traditions which he considered antiquated. He insisted that all men in Shanxi abandon their Qing-era queues, giving police instructions to clip off

6460-489: The pronunciation of xiáo . 34°25′18″N 110°47′28″E  /  34.42167°N 110.79111°E  / 34.42167; 110.79111 This China -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sh%C4%81nx%C4%AB Shanxi is a province in Northwestern China . Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan , while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong . Its one-character abbreviation

6555-422: The province as many as one in five residents were denounced as landlords, and his program was copied throughout the rest of the new People's Republic of China . Shanxi became the site of Mao's "model brigade" of Dazhai : a utopian communist scheme in Xiyang County that was supposed to be the model for all other peasants in China to emulate. If the people of Dazhai were especially suited for such an experiment, it

6650-424: The provincial Communist Party Standing Committee. They were all removed from office around August 2014. The following were also removed from office: Thousands of Shanxi officials were disciplined during the anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping . This necessitated a scramble to find find suitable personnel for many vacated offices. In the aftermath of the 'political earthquake', party secretary Yuan Chunqing

6745-415: The provincial government established a policy of "subsidizing peasants by coal" which made this diversification a provincewide requirement and encouraged local governments to develop policies like subsidies and favorable tax treatment to further encourage mining companies to invest in non-coal business. There are countless military-related industries in Shanxi due to its geographic location and history as

6840-464: The provincial party secretary and Governor are not natives of Shanxi; rather, they are outsiders who are, in practice, appointed by the central party and government authorities. The province went through significant political instability since 2004, due largely to the number of scandals that have hit the province on labour safety, the environment, and the interconnected nature between the provincial political establishment and big coal companies. Yu Youjun

6935-425: The queues of anyone still wearing them. In one instance, Yan lured people into theatres in order to have his police systematically cut the hair of the audience. He attempted to combat widespread female illiteracy by creating in each district at least one vocational school in which peasant girls could be given a primary-school education and taught domestic skills. After National Revolutionary Army military victories in

7030-420: The rural population. Subsequent atrocities committed by the Japanese in the effort to rid Shanxi of Communist guerrillas aroused the hatred of millions in the Shanxi countryside, causing the rural population to turn to the Communists for leadership against the Japanese. All of these factors explain how, within a year of re-entering Shanxi, the Communists were able to take control of most of Shanxi not firmly held by

7125-537: The same time reforming older political, social and economic conditions in a way that paved the way for the radical changes that would occur after his rule. In 1918 there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in northern Shanxi that lasted for two months and killed 2,664 people. Yan's interactions with the Western medical personnel he met with to discuss how to suppress the epidemic inspired him to modernize and improve Shanxi's medical infrastructure which he began by funding

7220-467: The separate governance system between the Han Chinese and non-Chinese people from the Han-Zhao dynasty . He adopted the Grand Chanyu title, tasked with managing the tribes, while also introducing new offices that specifically dealt with litigations and population movements of the tribes. He banned the word “ hu ”, opting to use “ guoren ” (國人; countryman) instead, and forbid the tribes from oppressing

7315-607: The severity of his losses in northern Shanxi, Yan abandoned a plan of defense based on positional warfare, and began to reform his army as a force capable of waging guerrilla warfare. After 1938 most of Yan's followers came to refer to his regime as a "guerrilla administration". After the surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World War , Yan Xishan was notable for his ability to recruit thousands of Japanese soldiers stationed in northwest Shanxi in 1945, including their commanding officers, into his army. By recruiting

7410-418: The strategic Pingxing Pass . The Battle of Pingxingguan was the largest battle won by the Communists against the Japanese. After the Japanese responded to this defeat by outflanking the defenders and moving towards Taiyuan , the Communists avoided decisive battles and mostly attempted to harass Japanese forces and sabotage Japanese lines of supply and communication. The Japanese suffered, but mostly ignored

7505-406: The third of the Five Dynasties, Later Jin , and yet another jiedushi of Hedong, Liu Zhiyuan , established the fourth of the Five Dynasties ( Later Han ) after the Khitans destroyed Later Jin, the third. Finally, when the fifth of the Five Dynasties ( Later Zhou ) emerged, the jiedushi of Hedong at the time, Liu Chong , rebelled and established an independent state called Northern Han , one of

7600-516: The throne by forcing Shi Hong to abdicate before also having him executed. When he first ascended, Shi Hu took the title of Regnant Heavenly King and later elevated it to Heavenly King in 337. He also moved the capital from Xiangguo to his base in Ye in 335. Records describe Shi Hu as a tyrant with a violent streak who spent his time indulging in women and alcohol. Most notably, he took on several grand building projects in Ye and greatly expanded his harem at

7695-530: The total area of the province, and the area of Pingchuan and river valleys accounts for 19.9% of the total area. Most of the province's altitude is above 1,500 meters, and the highest point is the Yedoufeng, the main peak of Wutai Mountain , with an altitude of 3061.1 meters, which is the highest peak in northern China. Shanxi is located in the inland of the mid-latitude zone and belongs to the temperate continental monsoon climate in terms of climate type. Due to

7790-400: The umbrella of the major ethnic groups like the Xiongnu or Xianbei . In 303, when a great famine broke out in Bing that displaced many of the Jie and other hu tribes in the region, the provincial inspector, Sima Teng , had these people captured and sold into slavery to fund his army. The Jie and hu people were scattered throughout Hebei and Shandong , including Shi Le who was sold to

7885-419: The use of diagnostic instruments. Yan hoped that his support of the school would eventually lead to increased revenues in the domestic and international trade of Chinese drugs, improved public health , and improved public education . Yan's promotion of a modern curriculum and infrastructure of Chinese medicine achieved limited success, but much of the teaching and publication that this school of medicine produced

7980-500: The use of the traditional lunar calendar and encouraged the development of local boy scout organizations . Like the Communists who later succeeded Yan, he punished habitual lawbreakers to "redemption through labour" in state-run factories. After the failed attempt by the Chinese Red Army to establish bases in southern Shanxi in early 1936 Yan became convinced that the Communists were lesser threats to his rule than either

8075-412: The warlord, Cao Ni . War between the two Zhaos only broke out in 324, and in 328, Shi Le and Liu Yao led their armies to face each other in the pivotal Battle of Luoyang . Liu Yao was captured during the battle and later executed, while the remaining Former Zhao forces was destroyed in 329. Thus, the Later Zhao became the hegemonic power in northern China, though some areas were still out of their control;

8170-458: The western border of Shanxi with Shaanxi . The Fen and Qin rivers, tributaries of the Yellow River, run north-to-south through the province, and drain much of its area. The north of the province is drained by tributaries of the Hai River , such as Sanggan and Hutuo rivers. The largest natural lake in Shanxi is Xiechi Lake , a salt lake near Yuncheng in southwestern Shanxi. Shanxi has

8265-434: Was 1110.0 billion yuan (US$ 176.2 billion), ranked 21st in China. Its per-capita GDP was 21,544 yuan (US$ 3,154). Later Zhao Zhao , briefly known officially as Wei (衛) in 350 AD, known in historiography as the Later Zhao ( simplified Chinese : 后赵 ; traditional Chinese : 後趙 ; pinyin : Hòu Zhào ; 319–351) or Shi Zhao (石趙), was a dynasty of China ruled by the Shi family of Jie ethnicity during

8360-442: Was a powerful commander and favoured grandson of Shi Hu, who had adopted his father Shi Zhan, originally named Ran Zhan . To convince him into joining the plot, Shi Zun offered Shi Min the position of Crown Prince, which he accepted. Just a month into his reign, Shi Zun's forces overthrew Shi Shi, his regent and the empress dowager at Ye. However, after ascending the throne, Shi Zun reneged on his promise and appointed another nephew as

8455-498: Was founded by former Han-Zhao general Shi Le , the capital was at Xiangguo (襄國, in modern Xingtai , Hebei ), but in 335 Shi Hu moved the capital to Yecheng (鄴城, in modern Handan , Hebei ), where it would remain for the rest of the state's history (except for Shi Zhi 's brief attempt to revive the state at Xiangguo). After defeating the Han-Zhao in 329, the Later Zhao ruled a significant portion of northern China and vassalized

8550-408: Was killed. Prior to that, Liu Yao had also renamed the state from Han to Zhao. To distinguish the two states, historiographers refer to Liu Yao’s state as Former Zhao and Shi Le’s state as Later Zhao. In his early reign, Shi Le expanded eastwards while Liu Yao dealt with matters in the west. By 323, he defeated Duan Pidi , one of the last remaining Jin powers in the north and conquered Shandong from

8645-616: Was limited to the area around Taiyuan: by 1949 three of the seven government-run hospitals were in the city. In 1934 the province produced a ten-year-plan that envisaged employing a hygiene worker in every village, but the Japanese invasion in 1937 and the subsequent civil war made it impossible to carry these plans out. Yan's generous support for the Research Association for the Improvement of Chinese Medicine generated

8740-487: Was one of the few examples in the Chinese Civil War in which Nationalist forces echoed the defeated Ming loyalists who had, in the 17th century, brought entire cities to ruins resisting the invading Manchus. Many Nationalist officers were reported to have committed suicide when the city fell. The dead included Yan's nephew-in-law, who was serving as governor, and his cousin, who ran his household. Liang Huazhi ,

8835-647: Was removed from his post in September 2014, with Wang Rulin 'helicoptered' into the provincial Party Secretary office. The GDP per capita of Shanxi is below the national average. Compared to the provinces in east China, Shanxi is less developed for many reasons. Its geographic location limits its participation in international trade, which involves mostly eastern coastal provinces. Important crops in Shanxi include wheat , maize , millet , legumes , and potatoes . The local climate and dwindling water resources limit agriculture in Shanxi. Mining-related industries are

8930-571: Was sent by the central government in 2005 to become Governor but resigned in the wake of the Shanxi slave labour scandal in 2007. He was succeeded by Meng Xuenong , who had been previously sacked as Mayor of Beijing in the aftermath of the SARS outbreak. Meng himself was removed from office in 2008 after only a few months on the job due to the political fallout from the 2008 Shanxi mudslide . In 2008, provincial Political Consultative Conference Chair, one of

9025-714: Was short-lived and was conquered by the Song dynasty in 960. In the early years of the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), the sixteen ceded prefectures continued to be an area of contention between the Song dynasty and the Liao dynasty . Later the Southern Song dynasty abandoned all of North China , including Shanxi, to the Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234) in 1127 after the Jingkang Incident of

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