Jiangnan

Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (Chinese: 江南; pinyin: Jiāngnán; Wade–Giles: Chiang-nan; sometimes spelled Kiang-nan) is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of the Yangtze Delta. The region encompasses the Shanghai Municipality, the southern part of Jiangsu Province, the southern part of Anhui Province, the northern part of Jiangxi Province, and the northern part of Zhejiang Province. The most important cities in the area are Shanghai, Nanjing, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Shaoxing.

Most people of the region speak Wu Chinese.

Etymology

The word Jiangnan is based on the Chinese name for the Yangtze, Cháng Jiāng, and nán meaning "south." In the 19th century, English speakers also called it Keang-nan.

History

The earliest archaeological evidences were of the Majiabang and of the Hemudu cultures. The later Liangzhu culture, from around 2600-2000 BC, created complex and beautiful jade artifacts. Their economy was based on rice cultivation, fishing and constructed houses on stilts over rivers or lakes. During the Zhou dynasty, the Wu and Baiyue peoples inhabited the area with heavy aquaculture and stilt houses, but became increasingly sinicized through contact with northern Chinese states. They adopted the Chinese writing system and created excellent bronze swords. The Chu state from the west (in Hubei) expanded into this area and defeated the Yue state. After Chu was conquered by the Qin state, China was unified. It was not until the fall of the Western Jin dynasty during the early 4th century AD that northern Chinese moved to Jiangnan in significant numbers. The Yellow River valley was becoming barren due to flooding (lack of trees after intensive logging to create farmland) and constant harassment and invasion by the Wu Hu nomads.

Jiangnan (disambiguation)

Jiangnan (Chinese: 江南; pinyin: Jiāngnán; Wade–Giles: Chiang¹ Nan²; literally: "south of the river") refers to the region south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China.

Jiangnan may also refer to:

Places

History

People

Other

See also