Taiyuan

A prefecture-level city in the central part of Shanxi Province, China, and the capital of the province. It is located in the middle reaches of the Fen River, in the northern part of the Taiyuan Basin. It governs six city districts and three counties, Yangqu, Qingxu, and Loufan, and acts as the governor of one county-level city (as of 2016). Population: 3,697,000 (2014). Taiyuan County was established during the Qin Dynasty, and Bingzhou was added during the Han Dynasty, and the area was subsequently called by both names. The seat of Taiyuan County was in the former Yangqu County, which was commonly called Taiyuan, but there was another county with the name Taiyuan located southwest of Yangqu County (near where Jinci is now). The current Yangqu County is a newly established county.

The Taiyuan Basin is located in the middle reaches of the Fen River and is surrounded by mountains on all sides, making it isolated. However, it is connected to the Guanzhong and Zhongyuan regions, the oldest and most civilized areas in the Yellow River basin, via the Fen River to the south, close to the Great Wall to the north, and crossing the Taihang Mountains to the east to the North China Plain. For this reason, it was one of the most politically and geographically important areas from the North China Plain to the middle reaches of the Yellow River. At the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Cheng's younger brother Shuyu was enfeoffed here and founded the state of Jin, which assisted the Zhou Dynasty together with the state of Qi (present-day Shandong Province) in the east. Later, when there was war in the north, it often became a base for opposition forces against the central government. Even in modern times, the "Shanxi Monroe Doctrine" of the warlord Yan Xishan is famous.

Despite its cold climate, the Taiyuan Basin's flat topography and fertile soil, combined with irrigation using a diversion from the Fen River, have made the province an important production area since ancient times. Livestock farming, which makes use of the mountainous terrain, is also well developed. Commerce has also developed in the province since ancient times, and along with Fenyang in the southern part of the basin, the province was a producer of Shanxi merchants. Prior to the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was only small-scale light industry, but today heavy industry has been added, making use of the province's abundant resources, and the province has developed into an industrial city. There are railways running to all directions, from east to west, north to south, including the Shijiazhuang Line (Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan), Taijiao Line (Taiyuan-Jiaozuo), Taizhongyin Line (Taiyuan-Zhongwei-Yinchuan), and Tongpu Line (Datong-Huashan), and there are also air routes to various cities both domestically and internationally from Taiyuan Wusu International Airport in the southeast of the city, making it the transportation hub of the province.

There are many scenic places and historical sites around the city. The Tianlong Mountain Grottoes were excavated during the Northern Dynasties period and are comparable in value to those in Yungang, Datong City. There are also many other temples such as the Kaihua Temple and the Dafo Temple that retain the footprints of Northern Dynasties Buddhism. Jinshi is a shrine dedicated to Shuyu of the Zhou Dynasty, and many buildings from each era remain, including the Holy Mother Hall, making it the area's number one tourist attraction.

[Motohide Akiyama, Editorial Department, October 19, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、山西(さんせい)省中央部にある地級市で、同省の省都。汾河(ふんが)の中流、太原盆地の北部に位置する。6市轄区と陽曲(ようきょく)、清徐(せいじょ)、婁煩(ろうはん)の3県を管轄し、1県級市の管轄代行を行う（2016年時点）。人口369万7000（2014）。秦(しん)代に太原郡が置かれ、漢代には并州(へいしゅう)も加えられ、以後この両地名でよばれた。太原郡府の治所はかつての陽曲県に置かれ、陽曲県を一般に太原と称していたが、太原の名をもつ県は別に陽曲県の南西（現在、晋祠(しんし)のある付近）にあった。また、いまの陽曲県は新しく設けられた県である。

　太原盆地は汾河の中流にあって四周を山地に囲まれて孤立してはいるが、南は汾河を経て黄河(こうが)流域でもっとも古く文明の発達した関中(かんちゅう)、中原(ちゅうげん)の地へ通じ、北は長城線に近接し、東は太行(たいこう)山脈を越えて華北平原に進出できるという位置にある。このため華北平原から黄河中流域にかけてもっとも政治地理的に重要な地域の一つであった。西周初め、成王の弟叔虞(しゅくぐ)がここに封ぜられ晋(しん)国を建て、東の斉(せい)（現在の山東省）とともに周室を補佐した。その後、北方に戦乱があるときには、しばしば中央に対する反対勢力の拠点ともなった。近代においても軍閥閻錫山(えんしゃくざん)の「山西モンロー主義」は有名である。

　農業は、寒冷な気候ながら太原盆地の平坦(へいたん)な地形と肥沃な土壌を有し、汾河の分流を利用した灌漑(かんがい)も行われ、古代から重要な生産地とされてきた。山地を利用した牧畜業も発達している。また古くから商業が発達し、盆地南部の汾陽(ふんよう)とともに山西商人を輩出した地域であった。工業は中華人民共和国成立前には小規模な軽工業しか存在しなかったが、現在は省内の豊富な資源を利用する重工業がこれに加わり、工業都市として発達している。石太線（石家荘(せきかそう)―太原）、太焦線（太原―焦作(しょうさく)）、太中銀線（太原―中衛(ちゅうえい)―銀川(ぎんせん)）、同蒲(どうほ)線（大同(だいどう)―華山(かざん)）など、鉄道が東西南北へ通じているほか、市南東部の太原武宿国際空港からは国内外の各都市への航空路も開かれており、交通上でも省の中心となっている。

　市の周囲には名勝・旧跡が多い。天竜山石窟(てんりゅうざんせっくつ)は北朝期から開削されたもので、大同市雲崗(うんこう)のそれに匹敵する価値をもつ。そのほか開化寺、大仏寺など北朝仏教の足跡を残す寺院も多い。晋祠は周代の叔虞を祠(まつ)ったもので、聖母殿をはじめ各代の多くの建造物が残り、地域第一の名所となっている。

［秋山元秀・編集部　2017年10月19日］

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