The 中华¹ (Zhōnghuá) People's Republic--part: 浙江² (Zhèjiāng) and 上海³ (Shànghăi)

How is the land laid out?

Imgaine an oval slightly taller than wide. Now imagine that you've pried open the top right leaving a triangular ident halfway throught the oval. The northeast end of the pulled up piece is 上海 (Shànghăi), the rest 浙江 (Zhèjiāng), with the triangular indent being 杭州 (Hángzhōu) Bay. The east side, bordering the East China Sea, is an irregular coast south of the bay with many string islands including the Zhoushan Archipelago.

The north of the province and 上海 (Shànghăi) are both low plains, but the rest of the province is hills, low mountains and intermontane river valleys flowing east to the sea. The Grand Canal⁴ flows south from the area's top center to the provincial capital at the head of 杭州 (Hángzhōu) Bay. 上海 (Shànghăi) Municipality includes the estuarial islands in the mouth of the Chang⁵ River, which marks the area's northernmost reaches.

Map

Who lives there?

Wu Chinese dialects are spoken here but of course the written language for Wu is identical to to other Chinese languages and facilitates national identification. Religious beliefs here are the same as in the rest of communist China: difficult to know given state discouragement, liable to change if freedoms increase, apt to include a significant number of sincere aetheists and agnostic non-observors but otherwise reflecting pre-revolutionary patterns. Nineteenth century beliefs were a syncretic blend of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and ancient folk religions.

上海 (Shànghăi)), a metropolis of over 23 million, is a port on the Huangpu River close to the mouth of the Yangzte. 杭州⁶ (Hángzhōu) is the capital of 浙江 (Zhèjiāng). The other eight other metropolitan areas⁸ with a million or more metropolitan residents are 宁波⁹ (Níngbō), 温州¹⁰ (Wēnzhōu), 绍兴¹¹ (Shàoxīng), 嘉兴¹² (Jiāxīng), 湖州¹³ (Húzhōu), 金华¹⁴ (Jīnhuá), 衢州¹⁵ (Qúzhōu) and 台州¹⁶ (Tāizhōu).

Who was there before?

It is thought that Proto-Sino-Tibetan may have orignated in this area as much as 10,000 years ago. The dialects that became the Karen and Tibeto-Burman groups moved west; the remainder evolved from Proto-Chinese into Chinese by 1400 B.C.E. some of these speakers moved beyond this area by 500 B.C.E. and now spoke Archaic Chinese. The modern Chinese languages, including Wu, evolved in the last two millenia.

Religion evolved here in tune with the rest of Chinese culture. The ancester reverance, ethics, and folk religions were formalized under the influence of the state and the writings of Confucius,¹⁷ who flourished about two and a half millenia ago, partly acting as a counter to legalism. Taoism, notwithstanding older literary roots, became an organized religion in the second century C.E. 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. It beame widespread by the second century C.E. but the state remained deaf.

Around the Area

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Footnotes

1. Zhōnghuá or Chung-hua or Junghwa in transliterated Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. The first character means central and the second means Chinese/ illustrious/ flowery. China is its English name. In the Wu dialect group it transliterates as Tsonkoh.
2. Zhèjiāng or Che-Chiang or Jejyang in transliterated Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. It is also called Chekiang (former postal designation based on the Nanjing dialect). The first character is a phonetic marker coupled with the water radical. In reconstructed Old Chinese it was pronounced like tet, and was a proto-Wu term for the Yue people according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang, accessed August 10, 2016. The second character means river.
3. Shànghăi or Shang-hai in transliterated Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. The first character means above and the second sea, so a reasonable translation is Upon-the-Sea. In the Shanghai dialect of the Wu dialect group it transliterates as Zånhae.
4. Locally the Jiangnan Canal. Its long distance name can be transliterated from the Chinese as Da Yunhe.
5. Yangzte River in English. It is the world's fourth longest.
6. Hángzhōu or Hang-chou or Hangjou in transliterated Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. It is also called Hangchow (former postal designation based on the Nanjing dialect). The first character is used only in naming people and places. The second refers to an administrative division, usually translated as either province, prefecture or county. In the Hangzhou dialect (Wu dialect group) it transliterates as Ɦaŋtsei. At one point it was named 臨安, which in today's simplified characters would be 临安, and which transliterates from Pŭtōnghuà Chinese as Lín'ān or Lin-an or Linan. The first character has meanings clustered about the concept of 'nearly'; the second character is about peacefulness. Jiàndé is a shì subordinate to Hángzhōu.
7. Xi Hu.
8. Metropolitan area in the case of 浙江 (Zhèjiāng) is defined as those qu and county-level shi (city) that are contiguous to the prefectural-level shi's seat or to any qu or county-level shi included by that rule. Qian (rural counties) and county-level shi that border only qian are excluded. This is still a generous definition and includes rural areas and outlying cities. By this definition Jiande Shi is excluded from Jiaxing's metropolitan calculation. Also two prefectural-level shi with over a million residents have less than a million metropolitan residents when this rule is applied: Zhoushan and Lishui. In Lishui's case only Liandu Qu is included; Longquan county-level shi and all the xian are excluded. Sources for the county-level populations comes from drilling down from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang, with pages accessed July 31 and August 2, 2016. Where those subordinate pages lacked county-level populations, I used http://www.citypopulation.de/php/china-zhejiang-admin.php, accessed on the same dates.
9. Níngbō or Ning-po or Ningbwo in transliterated Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. The first character is in its modern form and means peaceful or rather. The second character wave, ripple, storm or surge. Thus: peaceful waves. In the Wu dialect group it transliterates as Nyingpo. Yúyáo and Cíxī are shì that are subordinate to Níngbō.
10. Wēnzhōu or Wen-chou or Wenjou in transliterated Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. The first character is in its modern form and means warm or review. The second character refers to an administrative division, usually translated as either province, prefecture or county. In the Wenzhou dialect of the Wu dialect group it transliterates Luciou. Ruì'ān and Yuèqīng shì are subordinate to Wēnzhōu.
11. An older way of writing it is 紹興. Shàoxīng or Shao-hsing or Shausying are transliterations from Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. It is also called Shaohing (former postal designation based on the Nanjing dialect). The first character means to connect or join, and the second to flourish or prosper. In the Wu dialect group it transliterates as Sohshing. It was formerly called 會稹 (Kuàijī or K'uai-chi or Kwaiji or, in the Wu dialect group, Kwaeji), which today would be written as 会稹. The first character means to meet or to gather and the second, to bow low or inspect. Zhūjì and Shèngzhōu shì are subordinate to Shàoxīng.
12. Jiāxīng or Chia-hsing or Jyasying are transliterations from Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. It is also called Kashing (former postal designation based on the Nanjing dialect). The first character means good or commend and the second flourish or prosper. In the Wu dialect group it transliterates as Gāshīng. Hǎiníng, Pìnghú and Tóngxiāng shì are subordinate to Jiāxīng.
13. Húzhōu or Hu-chou or Hujou are transliterations from Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. The first character means lake and the second refers to an administrative division, usually translated as either province, prefecture or county. In the Huzhou dialect of the Wu dialect group it transliterates as Vuciu.
14. Jīnhuá or Chin-hua or Jinhwa are transliterations from Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. The first character means gold and the second Chinese/ illustrious/ flowery. I do not know how it would transliterated from the local Wu dialect. The prefectural shi is new to this century. Last century the triple cities (county level shi) of 义乌 (Yìwū or I-wu or Yiwu or Iwu), 东阳 (Dōngyáng or Tung-yang or Dungyang) and 永康 (Yŏngkāng or Yung-k'ang or Yungkang) constituted a metropolitan area; now they are subordinate to the prefectural shi. 义 means righteous, 乌 means crow. 东 means east; 阳 means male. 永 means flowing-water or eternal; 康 means peaceful/ quiet/ happy/ healthy. I do not know the Wu dialect group's transliteration of these three cities. Lánxī Shì is also subordinate to Jīnhuá.
15. Qúzhōu or Ch'u-chou or Chyujou are transliterations from Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. The first character means broad road and the second refers to an administrative division, usually translated as either province, prefecture or county. I do not know the Wu dialect group's transliteration of this city. Jiānshān Shì is also subordinate to Qúzhōu.
16. Tāizhōu or T'ai-chou or Taijou are transliterations from Pŭtōnghuà Chinese. It is also called Taichow (former postal designation based on the Nanjing dialect). The first character, when pronounced this way, refers to a mountain in the province; the second character refers to an administrative division, usually translated as either province, prefecture or county. In the Tāzhōu dialect of the Wu dialect group, it transliterates as T'e-tsiu. Línhǎi, Wēnlǐng and Yùhuán shì are subordinate to Tāizhōu.
17. Kung-tze, that is Master Kung.