Changsha

Japanese: 長沙 - ちょうさ

A prefecture-level city along the lower reaches of the Xiangjiang River in eastern Hunan Province, China, and the capital of the province. It also houses the Changsha County government. It is also known as Tanzhou or Xingcheng. It governs the six city districts of Yuelu, Furong, Tianxin, Kaifu, Yuhua, and Wangcheng, as well as Changsha County, and acts as the governor of Ningxiang City and Liuyang City (as of 2017). It has a population of 6,803,600 and a city district population of 3,185,000 (2015). During the Qin Dynasty, it was called Linxiang County, and Changsha County was already located there. During the Han dynasty, it became the state of Changsha, and during the Later Han dynasty, it was restored to Changsha County. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was the prefecture of Tanzhou, and during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was the prefecture of Changsha. In 1933, the city of the county was established.

It has a subtropical monsoon climate with an average annual temperature of 17.2°C. The annual precipitation is abundant at 1,362 mm. There are four distinct seasons, with long summer and winter periods of about 120 days each. The temperature changes drastically in spring, and there is a lot of rain in early summer. The temperature remains high in early autumn, and the winter is not very cold. It has a sister city relationship with Kagoshima City.

[Michihiro Kono, Editorial Department, January 19, 2018]

history

It is the oldest city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (Changjiang) and was a key transportation and military location. Since ancient times, it has been a defensive base against the Miao people and the Nanyue people, and during the Spring and Autumn period it belonged to the Chu Dynasty and was one of the centers of the southern cultural sphere. It corresponds to Linxiang County after the Han dynasty and Changsha County after the Sui dynasty. It was the capital of the Changsha Kingdom during the Han dynasty, and Xiangzhou, Tanzhou, Changsha County, Changsha Prefecture, and others after the Southern Dynasties. It was often a battleground in times of turmoil, and in 1852 it was besieged by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for over 70 days, but did not fall. In 1927 it also briefly became a base for the Chinese Communist Party army. It was opened to foreign trade in 1904 under the Treaty of Shimonoseki, but foreign trade did not develop much and it has flourished as an industrial city in the hinterland.

[Hoshi Hashio January 19, 2018]

Industry and Transportation

It is a key transportation hub with the Xiangjiang River waterway and the Beijing-Guangzhou Line. The high-speed railroads include the Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railroad and the Shanghai-Kunming High-Speed Railroad (Shanghai-Kunming), and the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway and the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway also pass through the city. Changsha Huanghua International Airport in Changsha County has expanded its takeoff and landing slots with the completion of its second terminal in 2011.

It has long been an important commercial city, and industry developed after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Food processing, construction machinery, and materials industries account for half of industrial production, but since the establishment of the Changsha Economic and Technological Development Zone and the Changsha Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Hi-tech Zone) around 1990, the automobile and electronics manufacturing industries have also developed remarkably. Other thriving industries include the traditional fireworks industry and the content industry, represented by Hunan Television. Liuyang is rich in underground and non-metallic resources, and Liuyang's painted chrysanthemum stones in particular are known as rare ornamental stones. In addition to carvings using painted chrysanthemum stones as a traditional craft, embroidery known as Xiang embroidery and ceramics are specialty products.

[Tang Lin January 19, 2018]

Culture and Tourism

It was a transportation and military center in the southern part of the Yangtze River from early on, and was also a developed culture. In 1972, three ancient tombs from the early Han dynasty (Mawangdui Han Tombs) were excavated in Mawangdui on the eastern outskirts of the city, and over 3,000 valuable artifacts that are useful for elucidating ancient Chinese history were discovered there, making it a city of archaeological interest.

Changsha is also an important place in the history of the Chinese revolutionary movement, and was the stage for Mao Zedong's early revolutionary activities. Many revolutionary historical sites remain, including the former site of the Xiang District Committee of the Communist Party of China in Qingshuitang, Mount Yuelu, the site of the Hunan Provincial First Normal School, and the site of Hunan Self-Study University, and are famous for Mao's poems about them. The grave of Yang Kaihui (1901-1930), Mao's first wife who was a victim of the revolution, is also located in his hometown of Bancang, Changsha County. Scenic spots include Aiwan Pavilion on the top of Mount Yuelu on the west bank of the Xiang River, and Orange Island on the Xiang River.

[Michihiro Kono January 19, 2018]

[References] | Beijing-Guangzhou Line | Hunan (province) | Xiangjiang | Mao Zedong

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

中国、湖南(こなん)省東部、湘江(しょうこう)下流部に沿う地級市で、同省の省都。長沙県の県政府も置かれている。別名は潭州(たんしゅう)または星城。岳麓(がくろく)、芙蓉(ふよう)、天心(てんしん)、開福(かいふく)、雨花(うか)、望城(ぼうじょう)の6市轄区と長沙県を管轄し、寧郷(ねいごう)市、瀏陽(りゅうよう)市を管轄代行する（2017年時点）。人口680万3600、市轄区人口318万5000（2015）。秦(しん)代に臨湘(りんしょう)県とよばれ、すでに長沙郡治が置かれていた。漢代に長沙国となり、後漢(ごかん)には長沙郡に復し、隋(ずい)代に長沙県と改称した。隋・唐代には潭州の州治、明(みん)・清(しん)代は長沙府治であった。1933年県の市街地に市制施行。

　亜熱帯季節風気候で、年平均気温は17.2℃。年降水量は1362ミリメートルと豊富。四季の区分は明瞭で、夏と冬はそれぞれ120日程度と長い。春は気温の変化が激しく、初夏には雨が多い。初秋は高温が続き、冬の寒さはあまり厳しくない。鹿児島市と姉妹都市提携を結んでいる。

［河野通博・編集部　2018年1月19日］

歴史

長江(ちょうこう)（揚子江(ようすこう)）中流では最古の都市で、交通・軍事上の要衝であった。古来、ミャオ族（苗(びょう)族）、南越に対する防衛拠点で、春秋時代には楚(そ)に属し、南方文化圏の一中心であった。漢以後の臨湘県、隋以後の長沙県にあたる。漢代の長沙国、南朝以後の湘州・潭州と長沙郡・長沙府などの首邑(しゅゆう)であった。乱世にしばしば争奪地となり、1852年太平天国軍に70余日包囲されても陥落しなかった。1927年には、一時中国共産党軍の拠点ともなった。1904年下関(しものせき)条約で開港されたが、対外貿易はあまり発展せず、むしろ奥地の工業都市として栄えている。

［星　斌夫　2018年1月19日］

産業・交通

湘江の水運と京広線が通じる交通の要地である。高速鉄道では京広高速鉄道、滬昆(ここん)高速鉄道（上海(シャンハイ)―昆明(こんめい)）が通じ、京港澳(けいこうおう)高速道路（北京(ペキン)―香港(ホンコン)―マカオ）、滬昆高速道路も通る。長沙県にある長沙黄花国際空港は、2011年に第2ターミナルが完成して発着枠が拡大した。

　古くから重要な商業都市であり、中華人民共和国成立後、工業が発展した。食品加工、建設機械、素材産業が工業生産の半分を占めているが、1990年前後に長沙経済技術開発区と長沙ハイテク産業開発区（高新区）が設置されて以降、自動車産業や電子製品製造業の発展も目覚ましい。そのほかには伝統の花火産業と、湖南テレビに代表されるコンテンツ産業が盛ん。地下資源、非金属資源が豊富で、とくに瀏陽の彩色菊花石(きっかせき)は希少な鑑賞石として知られる。伝統工芸として彩色菊花石を使った彫刻のほか、湘繍(しょうしゅう)とよばれる刺しゅう、陶磁器が特産である。

［唐　琳　2018年1月19日］

文化・観光

早くから長江南部の交通・軍事上の中心であって文化も開けていた。1972年に東郊の馬王堆(まおうたい)で発掘された漢代初期の古墓3基（馬王堆漢墓）からは、中国古代史を解明するうえでの貴重な遺物3000点余りが発見され、考古学的に注目される都市でもある。

　長沙はまた中国革命運動史のうえからも重要な土地であり、毛沢東(もうたくとう)の初期の革命活動の舞台であった。清水塘(せいすいとう)の中国共産党湘区委員会旧跡、岳麓山、湖南省立第一師範学校跡、湖南自修大学跡をはじめ多くの革命史跡が残され、それを詠んだ毛沢東の詩によって有名である。毛沢東の最初の妻で革命の犠牲となった楊開慧(ようかいけい)（1901―1930）の墓も故郷の長沙県板倉にある。景勝地として湘江西岸の岳麓山頂の愛晩亭、湘江の中州の橘子州(きっししゅう)などがある。

［河野通博　2018年1月19日］

[参照項目] | 京広線 | 湖南（省） | 湘江 | 毛沢東

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