Northeast China
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Northeastern China (Simplified Chinese: 中国东北; Traditional Chinese: 中國東北; pinyin: Zhōngguó Dōngběi) is a geographical region of China. It is separated from Russia largely by the Amur, Argun, and Ussuri rivers, from North Korea by the Yalu and Tumen rivers, and from the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region by the Greater Khingan Range. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain.
Northeastern China is defined by the government of the People's Republic of China to include the three northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning and, thus, the region is sometimes called the Three Northeastern Provinces (东北三省/東北三省; Dōngběi Sānshěng).[1]. Some people in parts of Inner Mongolia (like Chifeng) still call themselves Northeasterners. It is generally coterminous with some definitions of the historical region of Manchuria and is often referred to in English as such.
Another term for the area is Guandong (关东/關東; Guāndōng) meaning "east of the gate," referring to the gate at Shanhaiguan. This name was used by the Japanese Kwantung Army which was used set up the puppet state of Manchukou in Northeastern China. However this term can also be used to include the Korean Paninsula and there is a Kwandong University (Hangul: 관동대학교) in South Korea. Guandong also is written with the same Chinese characters (Kanji) as the Kantō region of Japan.
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[edit] History
Northeastern China was the homeland of several nomadic tribes, including the Manchus (or Jurchens), Ulchs, Hezhen (also known as the Goldi and Nanai). Various ethnic groups and their respective kingdoms, including the Gojoseon, Sushen, Xianbei, Buyeo, Mohe, Goguryeo, Balhae, and Khitan have risen to power in the Northeast. Han Chinese dynasties in China loosely controlled the southern parts of the region until the Song Dynasty. During the Song dynasty, the Khitan set up the Liao Dynasty dynasty in Northeastern China. Later, the Jurchen overthrew the Liao and formed the Jin Dynasty, which went on to conquer northern China. In AD 1234, the Jin Dynasty fell to the Mongols, whose Yuan Dynasty was later replaced by the Ming Dynasty in 1368. In 1644, the Manchu conquered the entirety of China and established the Qing dynasty (1644–1912).
Northeastern China came under influence of the Russian Empire with the building of the Chinese eastern railway through Harbin to Vladivostok. The Empire of Japan replaced Russian influence in the region as a result of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904–1905, and Japan laid the South Manchurian Railway in 1906 to Port Arthur. During the Warlord Era in China, Zhang Zuolin established himself in Northeastern China , but was murdered by the Japanese for being too independent. The last Qing dynasty emperor, Puyi, was then placed on the throne to lead a Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. After the atomic bombing of Japan in 1945, the Soviet Union invaded the region as part of its declaration of war against Japan. From 1945 to 1948, Northeastern China was a base area for the Communist People's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. With the encouragement of the Soviet Union, the area was used as a staging ground during the Civil War for the Chinese Communists, who were victorious in 1949 and has been controling this region since.
[edit] Demographics
Northeastern China has a total population of about 107,400,000 people, accounting for 8% of China’s total population. The majority of the population in the Northeast is Han Chinese. Manchus form a significant minority, and have been almost completely assimilated into the Han Chinese; the Manchu language is almost extinct, and many Han Chinese in Northeastern China, as well as the rest of China, can claim some Manchu ancestry. Other major ethnic groups include the Mongols, the Koreans, and the Huis.
[edit] Economy
The Northeast was one of the earlier regions to industrialize in China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Northeastern China continued to be a major industrial base of the country. Recent years, however, has seen the stagnation of Northeastern China's heavy-industry-based economy, as China's economy continues to liberalize and privatize; the government has initialized the Revitalize the Northeast campaign to counter this problem.
The region is, on the whole, more heavily urbanised than most parts of China, largely because it was the first part of the country to develop heavy industry owing to its abundant coal reserves. Major cities include Shenyang, Dalian, Harbin and Changchun, all with several million inhabitants. Other cities include the steel making centres of Fushun and Anshan in Liaoning, Jilin City in Jilin, and Qiqihar and Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang. Harbin, more than any other city in China, possesses significant Russian influences: there are many Orthodox churches that have fallen out of use since the Cultural Revolution.
The rural population of Manchuria is heavily concentrated in the warmer southern part of the area, where very warm to hot summer weather permits crops such as maize and millet to be grown with high yields. Soybeans and flax are also very important, as are wheat and barley. The region possesses large flocks of sheep, and pigs are abundant in the more densely settled southern part. The northern half of Heilongjiang is so cold and poorly drained that agriculture is almost impossible; however, the Amur River provides very rich fishing prospects, and sheep are even more abundant than in southern Heilongjiang.
Northeastern China is the country’s traditional industrial base, focusing mainly on equipment manufacturing. Major industries include the steel, automobile, shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, and petroleum refining industries. The gross regional product of the three northeastern provinces totaled ¥160.3 trillion in 2002. In recent years, the Chinese government has initialized the "Revitalize the Northeast campaign" to turn this region into one of China's economic growth engines.
[edit] Culture
The concept of "the Northeast or the East to the Great Wall" is important in the way Northeasterners view themselves. People from Northeast usually define themselves as "Northeasterners" first and then by province (Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang). This stands in contrast with the rest of China, where people usually identify themselves first and foremost by province.
This self-concept exists in part because the three provinces share the common history and are culturally homogeneous — Northeasterners have a sense that they are similar to each other, and different from the "inner Wall" China. This is because most people in Northeastern China are descended from relatively recent immigrants, who left their homes in the late 19th or early 20th century to trailblaze a new life in Manchuria, which was scarcely populated and had plenty of available rich farmland at the time. Also, provincial boundaries in the Northeast have been more temporary than in other parts of China, thus giving little time for provincial identities or cultural contrasts to take hold. Most other provincial boundaries were fixed during the Ming dynasty, some as early as in the Yuan dynasty, while those in Northeastern China were first drawn in the late 19th century and have been changed numerous times since then.
In general, the culture of the Northeast takes its elements from the cultures of north China (especially Shandong, where most of the Han Chinese migration into Manchuria originated), the native Tungus peoples and its own innovations. Traces of Russian and Japanese influence are also seen in the culture of Manchuria, especially the architecture and cuisine.
People from the Northeast speak northeastern varieties of Mandarin Chinese, known collectively as Northeastern Mandarin (Dōngběihuà). This dialect is very similar to the Beijing dialect, upon which Standard Mandarin (Pǔtōnghuà) is based, and some Northeasterners claim to speak a more pure form of Mandarin than those in China's capital.
However, Northeastern Mandarin also retains elements from native Tungusic languages, Japanese, and Russian and there are enough differences to give the dialect its own distinctive characteristics. Ethnic Manchus speak Mandarin, and the Manchu language is almost extinct due to widespread assimilation to Han culture over the last four centuries. Ethnic Koreans and Mongols tend to be bilingual in both their own languages (Korean and Mongolian) as well as Mandarin.
Northeastern Chinese cuisine reflects the region's ethnic diversity. Native Manchu, Korean, Northern Chinese, Russian and Japanese cooking styles all find their traces in Manchurian cooking. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the cuisine is the use of uncooked fresh vegetables. In almost every other region of China, vegetables are cooked thoroughly before being eaten. Suan cai (similar to sauerkraut) and grits (in Southern Manchuria) are among the well known food items in Manchuria. Northeastern China is also distinguished by the popularity of extremely strong distilled spirits, known collectively as baijiu or shaojiu.
In general, the culture of Northeastern China takes its elements from the cultures of Northern China and especially Shandong, where most of the Han Chinese migration into Northeastern China originated, the native Tungusic peoples, and its own innovations.
Errenzhuan, Yangge and Jiju are popular forms of traditional entertainment in Northeastern China.
Because of its climatic conditions, Northeastern China is the base for China's winter sports. Ice hockey and ice skating athletes often come from or were educated in Northeastern China.
[edit] Major Cities
[edit] Major Universities
- Northeastern University (东北大学)
- Dalian University of Technology (大连理工大学)
- Jilin University (吉林大学)
- Northeast Normal University (东北师范大学)
- Northeast Forestry University (东北林业大学)
- Shenyang Normal University (瀋陽師範大學)
[edit] Notes
- ^ According to the Republic of China's administrative divisions, the Northeast (including parts of Inner Mongolia) is divided into nine provinces and the region is called the Nine Northeastern Provinces (东北九省/東北九省; Dōngběi Jiǔshěng).
