Wu Han (historian)
Wu Han (Chinese: 吴晗; August 11, 1909 – October 11, 1969) was a Chinese historian and politician, and a leading scholar on the Ming dynasty. Wu was one of the most important historians in the development of modern historical scholarship in China during the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1940s he was a leading member of the China Democratic League, a non-aligned political organization during most of the Chinese civil war which eventually threw its weight behind the Communist Party of China. After 1949, he served as the Vice-Mayor of Beijing.
In November 1965, at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, he came under attack for a play he authored about an upright Ming dynasty official called Hai Rui Dismissed from Office, which was later branded as an anti-Mao allegory. His political downfall also resulted in the purge of Beijing Mayor Peng Zhen. He died in prison in 1969.
Biography
Early life and education
Wu Han was born in Yiwu, Zhejiang in 1909. With support from the Wu clan organization and with the money from selling his mother's jewelry, he attended university preparatory schools in Hangzhou and then in Shanghai, where he was inspired by the lectures of Hu Shi. He entered Tsinghua University in 1931 and came under the influence of Tsiang Tingfu. Since he was responsible for the support of his brother and sister, he was unable to go abroad for study. Wu stayed at Tsinghua as a teaching assistant but began to publish important articles on Ming dynasty history using critical techniques to resolve old controversies and raise new questions.
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province,China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain at the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers. Arising out of the conglomeration of three cities, Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, Wuhan is known as "Jiusheng Tongqu (the nine provinces' leading thoroughfare)"; it is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city and connecting to major cities in Mainland China. Because of its key role in domestic transportation, Wuhan was sometimes referred to as the "Chicago of China."
Holding sub-provincial status, Wuhan is recognized as the political, economic, financial, cultural, educational and transportation center of central China. The city of Wuhan, first termed as such in 1927, has a population of 10,220,000 people (as of 2013). In the 1920s, Wuhan was the national capital of a leftist Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek, as well as wartime capital in 1937. At the 2010 census, its built-up (or metro) area made of 8 out of 10 urban districts (all but Xinzhou and Hannan not yet conurbated) was home to 8,821,658 inhabitants.
Wu Han
Wu Han may refer to:
See also
Wu Han (Han dynasty)
Wu Han (simplified Chinese: 吴汉; traditional Chinese: 吳漢; died 44) was an Eastern Han Dynasty general who made great contributions to Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu)'s reestablishment of the Han Dynasty and who is commonly regarded as Emperor Guangwu's best general, but who was also known for cruelty against civilians.
Biography
Wu Han was initially a deputy to Peng Chong (彭寵), the governor of Yuyang Commandery (漁陽, roughly modern Beijing), during the brief reign of Emperor Gengshi. In 23, he was sent by Peng to assist Liu Xiu while Liu was still a general under Emperor Gengshi. Liu was impressed by Wu's prowess on the battlefield, and he made Wu one of his key generals. After Liu declared himself emperor in 25, he made Wu the commander of the armed forces (大司馬, da sima) -- one of the three most important officials in the imperial government. It is because Emperor Guangwu greatly elevated Wu, who was Peng's deputy, while ignoring Peng in his promotions, that partly led to Peng's eventual revolt against Emperor Guangwu in 26.
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