Yangzhou

Japanese: 揚州 - ようしゅう

A prefecture-level city located in the south-central part of Jiangsu Province, China, between the Yangtze River and Gaoyou Lake. It is at the junction of the Grand Canal and the Tongyang Canal. In 1949, the city was separated from the urban district of Jiangdu County and established. It has jurisdiction over three city districts, including Jiangdu, and one county, and acts as the administrator for two county-level cities (as of 2016). The permanent population is 4,459,760 (2010). In the northern part of the city district are hills called Shugang, which are about 10 meters above sea level and formed in the Tertiary Period. The southern part is the alluvial plain of the Yangtze River, which is low and humid with accumulated mud and sand.

It used to be a distribution center for agricultural products, and traditional crafts such as lacquerware and meat processing were carried out here. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, various industries developed, and factories producing chemical fertilizers, machinery, semiconductors, etc. are operating on both sides of the Grand Canal (Jinghang Grand Canal), which was newly opened in 1958. A thermal power plant and a steelworks are located along the old Grand Canal in the north of the city, and the Baotawan district in the south is an industrial zone producing cotton spinning, power tools, etc. Polyester fiber production is also well developed, and the city is counted among China's leading textile industries. In agriculture, lotus root production is thriving. Famous traditional crafts include lacquerware, jade, artificial flowers, embroidery, and paper cutting.

The Slender West Lake in the west of the city and the Hirayamado area in the north are scenic sightseeing areas. In 1973, the Ganjin Memorial Hall was built at the Daimyoji Temple.

[Kazuo Hayashi, Editorial Department, February 16, 2017]

history

During the Spring and Autumn period, Wu established Guangling Village, which was succeeded by Chu. In the Qin and Han dynasties, Guangling County was established, and after the Eastern Jin dynasty, Nanyan Prefecture was established. During the Sui dynasty, it was renamed Yangzhou, and grew as a key transportation hub, and even had a villa. The Tang dynasty followed suit, and Yangzhou became the base for maritime traffic with East Asia and the Arab world, and also flourished as a collection point for rice and salt from Jiangnan that were sent north, becoming a major city in central China on a par with Chengdu in Sichuan (Yizhou), or "Yang One and Two." Ganjin, a monk of the Ritsu sect who preached in Japan, lived in the nearby Daming Temple.

The area was devastated by wars at the end of the Tang Dynasty, but Yang Xingmi (852-905), the governor of the Tang Dynasty, established the state of Wu with Yangzhou as its capital. From this time on, Yangzhou became a distribution center for Huainan salt along the Jiangsu coast, and a transshipment center for rice and silk from Jiangnan sent north. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Yangzhou was the location of a transfer sack, and in the Southern Song Dynasty, a general office was established. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, profits from Huainan salt were used to supply troops in the north, and great merchants from Shanxi and Sinan gathered in Yangzhou, prospering again, and a cultural salon for scholars and literati was also established. The city's prosperity is recorded in detail in the "Yangzhou Huafeng Lu."

[Yoshinobu Shiba, Editorial Department, February 16, 2017]

World Heritage Registration

In 2014, the Yangtze Canal was registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) as a component part of the "Grand Canal of China" (World Cultural Heritage).

[Editorial Department, February 16, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

中国、江蘇(こうそ)省中南部、揚子江(ようすこう)と高郵湖(こうゆうこ)の間にある地級市。大運河と通揚(つうよう)運河の分岐点にあたる。1949年に江都(こうと)県の市街区を分離して市が設置された。江都など3市轄区と1県を管轄し、2県級市の管轄代行を行う（2016年時点）。常住人口445万9760（2010）。市区の北部には蜀岡(しょくこう)とよばれる比高10メートル前後の第三紀に形成された丘陵が続く。南部は揚子江の沖積平原で、泥砂が堆積し低湿である。

　かつては農産物の集散地で、また漆器などの伝統工芸と食肉加工などが行われていた。中華人民共和国成立後は各種の工業が発達し、1958年に新たに開通した大運河（京杭(けいこう)大運河）の両岸には化学肥料、機械、半導体などの工場が操業している。市の北部、旧大運河（古運河）の沿岸には火力発電所と製鉄所が立地し、南部の宝塔湾(ほうとうわん)地区は綿紡績、電動工具などの工業区である。また、ポリエステル繊維生産が発達しており、中国の代表的な繊維産業の一つに数えられる。農業では、蓮根(れんこん)の生産が盛ん。伝統工芸品では漆器、玉器、造花、刺しゅう、切り紙細工が有名。

　市の西の痩西湖(そうせいこ)と北の平山堂一帯は風光明媚(めいび)な遊覧地区である。1973年に大明寺に鑑真(がんじん)和尚記念堂が建設された。

［林　和生・編集部　2017年2月16日］

歴史

春秋時代に呉が広陵邑(こうりょうゆう)を建て、楚(そ)がこれを継ぎ、秦(しん)、漢では広陵県、東晋(とうしん)以後は南兗(なんえん)州が置かれた。隋(ずい)代に揚州と改名、交通の要地として成長、離宮もあった。唐もこれを受け、東アジアやアラブとの海上交通が揚州を拠点とし、また北送する江南の米、塩などの集結地となって栄え、「揚一益二」つまり四川(しせん)（益州(えきしゅう)）の成都(せいと)と並ぶ華中の大都会となった。日本に布教した律宗の僧鑑真は近くの大明寺に居住していた。

　唐末の兵乱で荒廃したが、節度使楊行密(ようこうみつ)（852―905）が揚州を都に呉国を建てた。このころから揚州は江蘇沿海の淮南(わいなん)塩の集散地、また北送される江南の米、絹などの積換え地となり、北宋(ほくそう)では転般倉、南宋では総領所が置かれた。明(みん)・清(しん)では北辺の軍隊への補給に淮南塩からの利益が利用され、山西(さんせい)、新安(しんあん)の大商人が揚州に集まってふたたび繁栄し、学者、文人による文化的サロンもできた。『揚州画舫録(がぼうろく)』にその繁栄ぶりが詳しく記録されている。

［斯波義信・編集部　2017年2月16日］