South China

The name of a region in southern China. It includes Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hainan Province, and Fujian Province. However, in the six major regional divisions after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan were incorporated into the Central South Region, and Fujian into the East China Region, but the ancient concept of South China was not completely rejected. It is separated from the Yangtze River (Changjiang) basin in the north by the Nanling and Wuyi mountain ranges, and includes the vast South Sea Islands that reach as far south as Zengmuansha at 4 degrees north latitude, and Hainan Island also belongs to this region.

Most of the mainland consists of low mountains and hills, with valley plains and small deltas developing along the river valleys that run between them. The largest plain is the Pearl River Delta. The entire region has a subtropical climate, and in addition to rice, sugar cane and tropical fruit cultivation is thriving, and coffee and rubber are also grown on Hainan Island. Rice can be grown twice a year. Tungsten and tin are abundant underground resources, but there are also abundant oil deposits near the mouth of the Pearl River and in the Beibu Gulf (Gulf of Tonkin). There are many cities with thriving industries, including Guangzhou, Nanning, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Shantou, Shenzhen, and Maoming, and the coastal areas have good ports such as Mawei, Xiamen, Shantou, Huangpu, Zhanjiang, and Fangcheng. Karst topography is widely seen in Guangdong and Guangxi, and there are also many scenic tourist destinations such as Guilin. Historically, it was in the Lingnan area and far from the political center, but ports such as Quanzhou and Panyu (Guangzhou) developed as bases for trade in the South Seas, and many Arabian merchants arrived here. The Taiping Revolution also began here, and Sun Yat-sen also used Guangzhou as a base for his revolution, so there are many historical sites in the history of the Chinese revolution. In the 1980s, the reform and opening-up policy established four special economic zones: Xiamen, Shantou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, and Hainan Island and many other cities were also recognized as economic opening zones. Many modern factories using cutting-edge technology have been built as joint ventures between overseas Chinese and foreign capital, and there are areas where industrialization is progressing rapidly. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which was returned from the UK in 1997, is also part of this area.

[Kono Michihiro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国南部の地区名。広東(カントン)省、広西(こうせい／カンシー)チワン族自治区、海南(かいなん／ハイナン)省、福建(ふっけん／フーチエン)省を包括する。ただし新中国成立後の六大地域区分では広東、広西、海南は中南区に、福建は華東区に編入されているが、古くからの華南の概念がまったく否定されたわけではない。南嶺(なんれい／ナンリン)と武夷(ぶい／ウーイー)山脈などにより北方の長江(ちょうこう／チャンチヤン)（揚子江(ようすこう／ヤンツーチヤン)）流域と隔てられ、南は北緯4度の曽母暗沙(そうぼあんさ)まで達する広大な南海諸島を含み、海南島もこの地区に属する。

　本土部の大部分は低い山地と丘陵からなり、その間を流れる河谷に沿って谷底平野と小デルタが発達する。最大の平野は珠江(しゅこう／チューチヤン)デルタである。全域亜熱帯気候を呈し、米作のほかサトウキビや熱帯果実の栽培が盛んで、海南島ではコーヒー、ゴムも栽培される。米は二期作が可能である。地下資源としてはタングステン、錫(すず)が豊富だが、珠江河口付近や北部湾（トンキン湾）には豊富な石油の埋蔵もみられる。広州(こうしゅう／コワンチョウ)、南寧(なんねい／ナンニン)、福州(ふくしゅう／フーチョウ)、厦門(アモイ)、汕頭(スワトウ)、深圳(しんせん／シェンチェン)、茂名(もめい／マオミン)をはじめ工業の盛んな都市も多く、また沿岸部には馬尾(ばび)、厦門、汕頭、黄埔(こうほ／ホワンプー)、湛江(たんこう／チャンチヤン)、防城(ぼうじょう)などの良港がある。広東、広西にはカルスト地形が広くみられ、桂林(けいりん／コイリン)など風光明媚(めいび)な観光地にも富む。歴史的には嶺南の地で、政治中心より遠かったが、古来南海貿易の基地として泉州、番禺(ばんぐう)（広州）などの港が発達し、アラビア商人も多く来航した。また太平天国革命はここに始まり、孫文(そんぶん／スンウェン)も広州を拠点に革命を図るなど、中国革命史上の史跡も多い。1980年代からの改革開放政策で厦門、汕頭、深圳、珠海(しゅかい／チューハイ)の4経済特区が置かれ、さらに海南島と多数の都市が経済開放区として認められた。先端技術を駆使する多くの近代的な工場が華僑や外資の合弁で建設され、急速に工業化が進展している地区がある。また1997年イギリスから返還された香港(ホンコン)特別区も本地区の一部である。

［河野通博］

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