Hengyang (Hengyang Shi)
Hengyang ( Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about 160 km south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, whom 1,290,715 lived in the built-up (or metro) area consisting of 4 urban districts, Nanyue District not being conurbated yet.
Hengyang is home to University of South China, Hengyang Normal University, and Hunan Institute of Technology, three major provincial public universities in the city.
The former name of the city was Hengzhou (Hengchow). This was the capital of a prefecture in the Tang Dynasty's Jiangnan and West Jiangnan circuits. Li Jingxuan was banished to superintendence of Hengzhou after feigning an illness and attempting to usurp control of the legislative bureau at Chang'an against the Gaozong Emperor's wishes in AD 680. Following the AD 705 coup that removed the Empress Wu Zetian from power, her ally Li Jiongxiu was also briefly demoted to superintendence of this province. During the reign of Emperor Muzong, the chancellor Linghu Chu was also demoted to this province for his underlings' alleged corruption.
In the 750s, the superintendent of Hengzhou Chen Xi'ang not only ruled his own region but also used his private army to dominate his nominal superior, the military governor Zhang Weiyi headquartered in Jing Prefecture (modern Jingzhou). Upon Zhang's replacement by the former chancellor Lü Yin in 760, however, Chen was placated and then killed in a surprise attack.
During the reign of the Tang emperor Xizong, Zhou Yue overthrew first the prefect of Hengzhou Xu Hao in 881 and then the agent of the rebel Qin Zongquan in the capital of the Qinhua Circuit at Tan Prefecture (modern Changsha) in 886. Xizong confirmed Zhou Yue in all his posts, renaming his circuit Wu'an. Xizong's brother then gave him additional authority over West Lingnan Circuit (modern Guangxi). Shortly after, in 893, Deng Chune and Lei Man attacked and killed him.
Other superintendents included Qi Ying and Xiao Ye.
After initially falling to agrarian rebels under Yang Shiyuan, Hengzhou was recovered by the lord of Wu'an Ma Yin and formed part of his power base during the collapse of the Tang. He initially supported the Later Liang, then declared himself king (Ma Chu) in his own right during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
During the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, Wu Sangui declared himself Emperor of the Great Zhou and established an imperial court at Hengzhou in 1678 before dying of illness later that year. His grandson Wu Shifan then retreated to Yunnan, and the Qing recovered Hengzhou the next year.
The Battle of Hengyang was the longest defense of a single city during the Second Sino-Japanese War. When Changsha fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on June 19, 1944, Hengyang became their next target. The reorganized 11th Army, consisting of 10 divisions, four brigades, and over 110,000 men, assumed the task of attacking Hengyang. It was part of the Japanese Ichi-Go offensive.
A Roman Catholic diocese of Hengzhou was established, although periodically suppressed. This was suffragan to the Archbishop of Changsha following its elevation in 1946.
Hengyang is home to University of South China, Hengyang Normal University, and Hunan Institute of Technology, three major provincial public universities in the city.
The former name of the city was Hengzhou (Hengchow). This was the capital of a prefecture in the Tang Dynasty's Jiangnan and West Jiangnan circuits. Li Jingxuan was banished to superintendence of Hengzhou after feigning an illness and attempting to usurp control of the legislative bureau at Chang'an against the Gaozong Emperor's wishes in AD 680. Following the AD 705 coup that removed the Empress Wu Zetian from power, her ally Li Jiongxiu was also briefly demoted to superintendence of this province. During the reign of Emperor Muzong, the chancellor Linghu Chu was also demoted to this province for his underlings' alleged corruption.
In the 750s, the superintendent of Hengzhou Chen Xi'ang not only ruled his own region but also used his private army to dominate his nominal superior, the military governor Zhang Weiyi headquartered in Jing Prefecture (modern Jingzhou). Upon Zhang's replacement by the former chancellor Lü Yin in 760, however, Chen was placated and then killed in a surprise attack.
During the reign of the Tang emperor Xizong, Zhou Yue overthrew first the prefect of Hengzhou Xu Hao in 881 and then the agent of the rebel Qin Zongquan in the capital of the Qinhua Circuit at Tan Prefecture (modern Changsha) in 886. Xizong confirmed Zhou Yue in all his posts, renaming his circuit Wu'an. Xizong's brother then gave him additional authority over West Lingnan Circuit (modern Guangxi). Shortly after, in 893, Deng Chune and Lei Man attacked and killed him.
Other superintendents included Qi Ying and Xiao Ye.
After initially falling to agrarian rebels under Yang Shiyuan, Hengzhou was recovered by the lord of Wu'an Ma Yin and formed part of his power base during the collapse of the Tang. He initially supported the Later Liang, then declared himself king (Ma Chu) in his own right during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
During the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, Wu Sangui declared himself Emperor of the Great Zhou and established an imperial court at Hengzhou in 1678 before dying of illness later that year. His grandson Wu Shifan then retreated to Yunnan, and the Qing recovered Hengzhou the next year.
The Battle of Hengyang was the longest defense of a single city during the Second Sino-Japanese War. When Changsha fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on June 19, 1944, Hengyang became their next target. The reorganized 11th Army, consisting of 10 divisions, four brigades, and over 110,000 men, assumed the task of attacking Hengyang. It was part of the Japanese Ichi-Go offensive.
A Roman Catholic diocese of Hengzhou was established, although periodically suppressed. This was suffragan to the Archbishop of Changsha following its elevation in 1946.
Map - Hengyang (Hengyang Shi)
Map
Country - China
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Modern Chinese trace their origins to a cradle of civilization in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. The semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BCE and the well-attested Shang and Zhou dynasties developed a bureaucratic political system to serve hereditary monarchies, or dynasties. Chinese writing, Chinese classic literature, and the Hundred Schools of Thought emerged during this period and influenced China and its neighbors for centuries to come. In the third century BCE, Qin's wars of unification created the first Chinese empire, the short-lived Qin dynasty. The Qin was followed by the more stable Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), which established a model for nearly two millennia in which the Chinese empire was one of the world's foremost economic powers. The empire expanded, fractured, and reunified; was conquered and reestablished; absorbed foreign religions and ideas; and made world-leading scientific advances, such as the Four Great Inventions: gunpowder, paper, the compass, and printing. After centuries of disunity following the fall of the Han, the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties reunified the empire. The multi-ethnic Tang welcomed foreign trade and culture that came over the Silk Road and adapted Buddhism to Chinese needs. The early modern Song dynasty (960–1279) became increasingly urban and commercial. The civilian scholar-officials or literati used the examination system and the doctrines of Neo-Confucianism to replace the military aristocrats of earlier dynasties. The Mongol invasion established the Yuan dynasty in 1279, but the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) re-established Han Chinese control. The Manchu-led Qing dynasty nearly doubled the empire's territory and established a multi-ethnic state that was the basis of the modern Chinese nation, but suffered heavy losses to foreign imperialism in the 19th century.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNY | Renminbi | ¥ or 元 | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| ZH | Chinese language |
| UG | Uighur language |
| ZA | Zhuang language |