Wuchang

Wuhan City is the capital of Hubei Province in central China. It is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River (Changjiang) in the central east part of the province. It has a population of 1,056,137 (2015). It began as Xiakou City, built by Sun Quan during the Three Kingdoms period, and Shaxian County was established at the beginning of the Jin Dynasty. After the Sui Dynasty, it became Jiangxia County. It was also the administrative center of Ezhou or Jiangxia County during the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties, and was called Wuchang Road during the Yuan Dynasty and Wuchang Prefecture during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was the capital of Huguang Province. In 1949, the urban area became part of Wuhan City, but the rural area remained as Wuchang County. In 1995, Wuchang County was incorporated into a district and became Jiangxia District.

This is where the Xinhai Revolution began, and today there are many factories, including the Wuhan Iron and Steel Industrial Complex in Qingshan District. There are also many higher education institutions, such as Wuhan University, and the density of educational and research institutions in the district is second only to Haidian District in Beijing. Tourist attractions include the Yellow Crane Tower (rebuilt in 1985), which was mentioned in a poem by Li Bai, and the Wuchang Uprising Memorial Hall of the Xinhai Revolution. Wuchang County, which existed from the Three Kingdoms period until the end of the Qing Dynasty, is now Ezhou City.

[Michihiro Kono, Editorial Department, August 21, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国中部、湖北(こほく)省の省都武漢(ぶかん)市の市轄区。同省中東部の長江(ちょうこう)（揚子江(ようすこう)）南岸に位置する。人口105万6137（2015）。三国時代に孫権(そんけん)が築いた夏口城(かこうじょう)に始まり、晋(しん)の初めに沙羨(さい)県が設けられ、隋(ずい)以降、江夏(こうか)県となった。また隋・唐・宋(そう)代に鄂州(がくしゅう)または江夏郡の治所も置かれたが、元代には武昌路、明(みん)・清(しん)代には武昌府とよばれ、湖広省の省都であった。1949年、市街地は武漢市の一部となったが、農村部は武昌県として残った。武昌県は1995年に区制施行し、江夏区となった。

　辛亥(しんがい)革命が始まった地で、現在は青山(せいざん)区の武漢鋼鉄のコンビナートをはじめ多くの工場が建ち並ぶ。武漢大学など高等教育機関も多く、区内の教育研究機関の密集度は北京(ペキン)市海淀(かいてい)区に次ぐ。李白(りはく)の詩に歌われた黄鶴楼(こうかくろう)（1985年再建）や辛亥革命武昌起義記念館などの観光名所がある。なお、三国時代以降清末までの武昌県は、今の鄂州(がくしゅう)市にあたる。

［河野通博・編集部　2017年8月21日］

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