Nanchang

A prefecture-level city in the northern part of Jiangxi Province, China, and the capital of the province. It is located in the lower reaches of the Ganjiang River, facing Lake Poyang to the northeast. The city is made up of six districts: Donghu, Xihu, Qingyunpu, Wanli, Qingshanhu, and Xinjian, and has three counties under its jurisdiction: Nanchang, Anyi, and Jinxian (as of 2016). It has a population of 5,100,800 (2013). It is the political, economic, and cultural center of the province, and a transportation hub. During the Han dynasty, Nanchang County was established as the administrative center of Yuzhang County, and during the Sui dynasty, it was changed to the administrative center of Hongzhou. Later, during the Southern Song dynasty, it was the administrative center of Longxing Prefecture, and during the Yuan dynasty, it was the administrative center of Longxing Road (later Longxing Road). After it became the administrative center of Nanchang Prefecture during the Ming dynasty, it was inherited by the Qing dynasty and was the capital of Jiangxi Province during both the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, industries such as steel, electronics, automobiles, tractors, machinery, chemicals, spinning, and paper have developed. In the surrounding rural areas, rice, wheat, cotton, peanuts, sesame, rapeseed, soybeans, and sweet potatoes are produced, and the fishing industry at Poyang Lake is also thriving. The Shanghai-Kunming Line runs east-west through the southern part of the city, and at Xiangtang it intersects with the Beijing-Kowloon Line, which runs from Beijing to Kowloon (Hong Kong) via Nanchang. The city is also well-connected by water, with the Ganjiang, Fuhe, and Jinjiang rivers connecting it to major cities in the province, and the Poyang Lake connecting it to the Yangtze River, making it an easily accessible area. In the north of the city is Nanchang Changbei International Airport, which opened in 1999.

Nanchang is one of the cities that played an important role in the history of the Chinese revolutionary movement. On August 1, 1927, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, He Long and others led the troops stationed in Nanchang in an armed uprising (Nanchang Uprising) to break away from the counter-revolutionary Wuhan government. Although the uprising failed, it was the first time that the Chinese Communist Party had its own military, and today the August 1st Army Foundation Day is celebrated as the origin of the People's Liberation Army. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, buildings commemorating the revolutionary war, such as the Nanchang August 1st Uprising Memorial Hall and the Jiangxi Province Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall, were erected in the city.

There are many famous places and historical sites both inside and outside the city, including the August 1st Park, which is home to scenic spots such as Baihuazhou and East Lake, and Qingyunpu, a Taoist temple where the painter Bada Shanren (Zhu Ye) of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties lived in seclusion.

[Editor, Michihiro Kono, February 16, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、江西(こうせい)省北部にある地級市で同省の省都。贛江(かんこう)下流域に位置し、北東に鄱陽湖(はようこ)を臨む。市は、東湖(とうこ)、西湖(せいこ)、青雲譜(せいうんふ)、湾里(わんり)、青山湖(せいざんこ)、新建(しんけん)の6市轄区からなり、南昌、安義(あんぎ)、進賢(しんけん)の3県を管轄下に置く（2016年時点）。人口510万0800（2013）。省の政治、経済、文化の中心で、交通の中枢となっている。漢代に南昌県が設置され豫章(よしょう)郡の治所となってから、隋(ずい)に至って洪州(こうしゅう)の治所に改められ、以後、南宋(なんそう)では隆興府(りゅうこうふ)、元では隆興路（のちに竜興路）の治所が置かれた。明(みん)代に南昌府の治所となってからは、清(しん)もこれを継承して、明清両代、江西省の省都であった。

　新中国になってから鉄鋼、電子、自動車、トラクター、機械、化学、紡績、製紙などの工業が発達した。周辺の農村部では、米、小麦、綿花、ラッカセイ、ゴマ、ナタネ（アブラナ）、大豆、サツマイモを産し、鄱陽湖での水産業も盛んである。市域南部を滬昆(ここん)線（上海(シャンハイ)―昆明(こんめい)）が東西に走り、向塘(こうとう)で北京(ペキン)から南昌を経由して九竜(きゅうりゅう)（香港(ホンコン)）に延びる京九線と交差する。また水運の便もよく、贛江、撫河(ぶが)、錦江(きんこう)などによって省内の主要都市と結ばれるほか、鄱陽湖によって長江(ちょうこう)（揚子江(ようすこう)）とも連絡しており交通至便である。市北部には1999年開港の南昌昌北国際空港がある。

　中国の革命運動史のうえで重要な役割を演じた都市の一つで、1927年8月1日、周恩来(しゅうおんらい)、朱徳(しゅとく)、賀竜(がりゅう)らは反革命化した武漢(ぶかん)政府と決別すべく、南昌に駐屯していた部隊を率いて武装蜂起(ほうき)を行った（南昌暴動）。蜂起は失敗したものの、これが中国共産党が自己の軍隊をもった最初であり、人民解放軍の起源として、現在、八・一建軍節（建軍記念日）が設けられている。新中国成立後、市には南昌八・一起義（蜂起）記念館や江西省革命烈士記念堂などの革命戦争を記念する建築物が建てられた。

　市の内外には名所・旧跡が多く、百花洲、東湖などの名勝がある八・一公園や、明末清初の画家八大山人（朱耷(しゅとう)）が隠棲(いんせい)した道観である青雲譜が有名。

［河野通博・編集部　2017年2月16日］

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