中华 People's Republic (Zhōnghuá People's Republic)--part: 新疆 维吾尔 自治区 (Xīnjiāng Wéiwúĕr Zìzhìqū)--part: (Chāngjí Huízú Zìzhìzhōu; 乌鲁木齐 (Wūlǔmùqí) Shì; 吐鲁番 (Tǔlǔfān) Shì; Hāmì Shì; and Wǔjiāqú Shì), Gānsù Shěng, Qīnghǎi Shěng, Nèi Měnggǔ Zìzhìqū, Níngxià Huízú Zìzhìqū, Shǎnxī Shěng, Sìchuān Shěng, Hēilóngjiāng Shěng, Jílín Shěng, Liáoníng Shěng, Héběi Shěng, Běijīng Shì, Tiānjīn Shì, Shānxī Shěng, Hénán Shěng, Húběi Shěng, Guìzhōu Shěng, Yúnnán Shěng, Shāndōng Shěng, Ānhuī Shěng, Jiāngsū Shěng and Chóngqìng Shì

How is the land laid out?

This part of the 中华 People's Republic (Zhōnghuá¹ People's Republic) comprises part of 新疆 维吾尔 自治区 (Xīnjiāng² Wéiwúĕr³ Zìzhìqū⁴), Gānsù⁵ Shěng,⁶ Qīnghǎi⁷ Shěng, Nèi Měnggǔ⁸ Zìzhìqū, Níngxià⁹ Huízú¹⁰ Zìzhìqū, Shǎnxī¹¹ Shěng, Sìchuān¹² Shěng, Hēilóngjiāng¹³ Shěng, Jílín¹⁴ Shěng, Liáoníng¹⁵ Shěng, Héběi¹⁶ Shěng, Běijīng¹⁷ Shì,¹⁸ Tiānjīn¹⁹ Shì, Shānxī²⁰ Shěng, Hénán²¹ Shěng, Húběi²² Shěng, Guìzhōu²³ Shěng, Yúnnán²⁴ Shěng, Shāndōng²⁵ Shěng, Ānhuī²⁶ Shěng, Jiāngsū²⁷ Shěng and Chóngqìng Shì.²⁸ The included parts of 新疆 维吾尔 自治区 (Xīnjiāng Wéiwúĕr Zìzhìqū) are Chāngjí²⁹ Huízú Zìzhìzhōu;³⁰ 乌鲁木齐 (Wūlǔmùqí³¹) Shì; 吐鲁番 (Tǔlǔfān³²) Shì; Hāmì³³ Shì; and Wǔjiāqú Shì.³⁴

The southwest is very high--above 3000 meters. This zone is the eastern continuance of the world's 'rooftop': the Tibetan Plateau. Its northern bound approximately follows the southern bound of Gansu Province along the Qilian³⁵ Mountains. Its eastern bound is zig-zaggy until becoming a wall marking the west edge of the Sìchuān Basin in the province of the same name. The Tsaidam Basin in Qīnghǎi is a hole in these highlands. In the southeast behind the T'aihang wall in Sìchuān, sliced by river gorges including the Upper Cháng,³⁶ are the Hengduan (Heng Tuan) Mountains.

Another dividing line starts in the northeast of Manchuria and follows the Greater Khingan Range south. Beyond the Huang³⁷ River it continues along the Taihang Mountains that separate the dusty Shānxi loess Plateau on the west from the North Zhōnghuá Plain, low to the east. This line continues along the Wu Mountains by the famed Cháng Gorges and finishes by marking the eastern edge of the Yúnnán-Guìzhōu Plateau. This karst highland has eye-catching features wrought by erosion. Its opposite is in the monotonous north--the Inner Mongolian Plateau.

Beyond the second line are the cold Manchurian Plain, the village-studded North Zhōnghuá Plain and the spill-lakes of the Cháng. Farthest east are the eastern Manchurian uplands, the mountains that give Shāndōng its name and whose continuance is the peninusla extending east and dividing the Bo Gulf³⁸ from the Yellow Sea.

The world's fourth longest river, the Cháng, starts in Qīnghǎi, marks the western bound of Sìchuān, heads northeast in Yúnnán and heads east out of Sìchuān, flows by its spill lakes in Húběi and then turns northeast through Ānhuī and finally east across Jiāngsū to the East China Sea.

The world's seventh longest river, the Huang, flows from Qīnghǎi in great turns, then northeast across Gānsù and Níngxià, to bend south out of Nèi Měnggǔ and between Shǎnxī and Shānxī. It then turns east across Hénán and northeast across Shāndōng to the Bo Gulf. Historically it has changed its lowermost course several times and quite catastrophically--even emptying south of the Shāndōng Peninsula.

The world's tenth longest river, the Mekong³⁹ flows in deep canyons south across Yúnnán.

Asia's sixth longest river, the Amur,⁴⁰ starts as the Hailar in northeastern Nèi Měnggǔ, becomes the Sino-Russian border along Hēilóngjiāng, flows southeast, and--soon after receving the Songhua--it leaves Zhōnghuá.

Who lives there?

The vast majority are speakers of Pǔtōnghuà Chinese, a group of dialects based on how Chinese is and has been spoken in Běijīng and other northern areas. There are important linguistic regional minorities such as the Uighur in 新疆 (Xīnjiāng); the Mongolians⁴¹ in 新疆 (Xīnjiāng), Níngxià and Nèi Měnggǔ; Tibetans⁴² in Qīnghǎi; Koreans in Jílín; Gàn⁴³ Chinese in Húběi; Hmong⁴⁴ in Guìzhōu; Buyi⁴⁵ in Guìzhōu; Yi⁴⁶ in Yúnnán; and Wú Chinese in Ānhuī and Jiāngsū.⁴⁷ Statistics are not easy to come by since the government groups people whose ancestors did not speak Chinese along with those still speaking their ancestors' tongue. The government also counts Chinese-speaking Moslims as a distinct group called the Hui--especially numerous in 新疆 (Xīnjiāng), Gānsù, Qīnghǎi and Nèi Měnggǔ. Most Chinese are Mahayana Buddhists who combine practices of Taoism, Confucianism and traditional folk religions into a syncretic whole. Those in power disdain religion and presumably there are substantial numbers who would remain aetheists even in a free society. Most minorities' religions follow the majority but Lamaist Buddhism is the norm for Tibetans and Mongolians.

The national capital of Běijīng has over ten million residents as do Chóngqìng, Hā'ěrbīn, Nányáng, Línyí, Chéngdū and Tiānjīn. Other cities are listed.

Who was there before?

Proto-Chinese speakers moved into this area from south of the lower Cháng and were established along the lower and middle Yellow River by the middle of the second millenium BCE. From then to about 1 CE the language was Archaic (or Old) Chinese and it spread by conquest and assimulation to much of the current area. But this transformation was gradual and continues today. Perhaps 6000 years ago speakers of Tungusic languages reached Manchuria from the west. The nearly extinct language of Manchu gave the region its name from its former importance. Korean is thought by some to have branched off of the Tungusic group thousands of years ago. Otherwise an easy generalization is that current regional minority languages represent previous majority languages in and around those places. The languages of many peoples known from Chinese history or archaeology are unknown. One exception is Tangut,⁴⁸ the now extinct language of an empire whose capital was at the west end of today's Nèi Měnggǔ.

Religion is simpler. The ancester reverance, ethics and folk religions of the Chinese formalized under the influence of the state and the writings of Confucius⁴⁹ who flourished about two and a half millenia ago. This developed partly as a counter to legalism. Taoism, notwithstanding older literary roots, became an organized religion in the second century CE. Its nominal opposition to traditional participation is an overstatement since many Confucists were also Taoists even long ago. Buddhism's acceptance was slower. It arrived about 2000 years ago following trade routes through Tibet.⁵⁰ It became widespread by the second century CE but the state remained aloof. The final religious contribution was when traders arriving by sea from Persia and Arabia established Islam as a minority religion--in the seventh century CE. Minorities in the west adopted it starting in the 10th and 11th centuries. Many local religions disappeared as Chinese ways were adopted. Others ended when minorities converted, as when the Tibetans gave up Bon for Buddhism.

Within the Area

Eastern 新疆 (Eastern Xīnjiāng)
Gānsù and Níngxià
Qīnghǎi
Nèi Měnggǔ
Shǎnxī
Sìchuān and Chóngqìng
Hēilóngjiāng
Jílín
Liáoníng
Héběi, Běijīng and Tiānjīn
Shānxī
Hénán
Húběi
Guìzhōu
Yúnnán
Shāndōng
Ānhuī
Jiāngsū

Footnotes

1. Zhonghua in Pinyin transliteration and Chung-hua in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as the Middle Land or Middle Kingdom. China in English.
2. Xinjiang in Pinyin and Hsin-chiang in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as the New Frontier. Formerly called Sinkiang in English.
3. Uyghur or Uighur in English.
4. Tzu-chih-ch'u in Wade-Giles transliteration. Autonomous Region in English.
5. Kan-su (or Kansu) in Wade-Giles transliteration. Translates literally as Pleasant Respect.
6. Province in English.
7. Ch'ing-hai in Wade-Giles transliteration. Formerly Tsinghai in English. Translates literally as Blue Sea.
8. Nei-meng-ku in Wade-Giles transliteration. Nei Monggol or Inner Mongolia in English.
9. Ning-Hsia in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as Peaceful Summer. Sometimes Ningsia in English.
10. Huízú (or just Hui) means Chinese-speaking Moslims.
11. Shen-hsi in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as West of the Pass. Shaanxi, formerly Shensi, in English.
12. Sichuan in Pinyin and Ssu-ch'uan in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as Four Rivers. Formerly Szechuan in English.
13. Hei-lung-chiang in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as Black Dragon River. Formerly Heilungkiang in English.
14. Chi-lin in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as Magic Forest. Formerly Kirin in English.
15. Liao-ning in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as Distant Peace.
16. Ho-pei in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as North of the River. Formerly Hopeh in English.
17. Beijing in Pinyin and Pei-ching in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as the Northern Capital. Formerly Peking in English.
18. Or shih. City in English.
19. Tianjin in Pinyin and T'ien-chin in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as Heavenly Ford. Formerly Tientsin in English.
20. Shan-hsi in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as West of the Mountains. Shanxi, formerly Shansi, in English.
21. Ho-nan in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as South of the River. Formerly Honan in English.
22. Hu-pei in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as North of the Lake. Formerly Hupeh in English.
23. Kuei-chou in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as Honorable District. Formerly Kweichow in English.
24. Yun-nan in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as South of the Clouds. Formerly Yünnan in English.
25. Shan-tung in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as East of the Mountains. Formerly Shantung in English.
26. An-hui in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as Peaceful Honor. Formerly Anhwei in English.
27. Chiang-su in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as River Revival. Formerly Kiangsu in English.
28. Ch'ung-ch'ing in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates literally as Double Celebration. Formerly Chungking in English.
29. Or Ch'ang-chi-hui-tsu.
30. Or Tzu-chi-chou. Autonomous Prefecture in English.
31. Or Wu-lu-mu-ch'i or Ürümqi or Urumchi.
32. Or T'u-lu-fan. Turpan or Turfan in English.
33. Or Ha-mi.
34. Wǔjiāqú Shi is administered by the 新疆 (Xīnjiāng) Production and Construction Corps.
35. Ch'i-lien in Wade-Giles transliteration.
36. Called the Yalung or Ya-lung in its upper course. The entire course is called the Yangztse in English.
37. Yellow in English.
38. Hai in Chinese.
39. Lacang locally.
40. Heilong in Chinese.
41. The Oirat dialect in Xīnjiāng and the Menggu dialect in Nèi Měnggǔ.
42. Amdo, Kham and Choni dialects. They might be so mutually unintelligible as to constitute distinct languages.
43. Pǔtōnghuà Chinese, Gan Chinese and Wu Chinese share a written language but the spoken languages are not mutually intelligible.
44. Or Miao.
45. Or Puyi or Jui or Dioi or Yoi or Yay or Zhongja or Chung-chia, or Yi-jen or I-jen or Bouyei.
46. Or Nosu or Mosu; Lalo is a racist term.
47. Actually a very small part of the area--near Suzhou--is south of the lower Cháng.
48. Or Xixia or Hsihsia.
49. Kong-fuzi or Kung-fu-tze, that is Master Kong-fu or Kung-fu.
50. Bod-pa in Tibetan.