In the previous article, the author talked to you about a series of stories about the adjustment of administrative divisions of various provinces, such as Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province, Guangdong Province and so on. Today, we turn our attention to the northwest region and talk to you about the adjustment of the zoning between Gansu Province and Qinghai Province. At that time, the 7 counties of Gansu Province were assigned to Qinghai Province, forming an important part of Qinghai Province. So, why were the seven counties of Gansu included in Qinghai Province? Today, we talk about the ownership of the Xining area.
First, let's talk about the historical reasons for Gansu and Qinghai provinces. In ancient Chinese history, after the Central Plains Dynasty controlled the Central Plains, Guanzhong, Southwest, Jiangnan and other places, it would basically choose to develop westward with all its might. The northwest region is rich in resources and vast in area, and successive unified dynasties have controlled the northwest region. However, the Central Plains Dynasty was not without challenges, and the steppe Mongol regime in the north often competed with the Central Plains Dynasty for the northwest region. This situation lasted from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, which belonged to the strategic collision of the two major groups. Let's talk about the Xining area, on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, due to altitude, climate and other reasons, many areas are not suitable for farming or grazing.
However, the river valley is rich in water and grass, and the climate is relatively moderate, which is very suitable for life. There are two relatively large river valleys on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one is Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, and the other is the Xining area. Because, in ancient history, many tribes lived around the Xining area and formed various small regimes, such as Tuguhun, Qingtang Tubo and so on. The topographic structure of the Xining area is very good, and for the Central Plains Dynasty, it belongs to the first line of the Gongwei Longyou region and the Guanzhong region. The name Xining appeared during the reign of the Song Dynasty, when the Song Dynasty attacked the Qingtang Tubo regime and occupied qingtang city, and named it Xining.
After the Yuan Dynasty unified the whole country, due to the very vast territory, the Yuan Dynasty encountered trouble in administrative management. Under such circumstances, the Yuan Dynasty introduced the system of Xingzhongshu Provinces, dividing the country into 10 provinces, such as Gansu Province, Sichuan Province, Huguang Province, and so on. The Gansu provincial jurisdiction of the Yuan Dynasty was very large, and of course, the provincial system of the Yuan Dynasty had many problems. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the provincial system of the Yuan Dynasty was followed, but a series of reforms were carried out. Due to the defense of the Mongol cavalry from the north to the south, the Ming Dynasty abolished the province of Gansu, and during the Ming dynasty, the Gansu region was administered by Shaanxi Province. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for the Shaanxi-Gansu family to be close.
In the mid-17th century, the Ming Dynasty, which ruled for more than 200 years, collapsed, and the Qing Dynasty in the northeast region began to enter the customs on a large scale. After more than 10 years, the Qing Dynasty established its own rule. The Qing Dynasty did not have much administrative experience, so it followed many mature systems of the Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty continued to use the provincial system, but the provinces were further refined, from the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty to the eighteen provinces inland of the Qing Dynasty. During the reign of the Qing Dynasty, Gansu Province was separated from Shaanxi Province, and Gansu Province was re-established. The Qing Dynasty had already controlled the northern Mongolian departments before entering the customs, so the Qing Dynasty did not have to worry about the threat from the north. As for the Dzungars in the northwest, although very tenacious, they could not pose a major threat to the Qing Dynasty.
During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, with the demise of the Dzungars, the Qing Dynasty pacified the northwest region, and the administrative divisions of Gansu Province were adjusted and further consolidated. At that time, Gansu Province had a vast jurisdiction, including the present-day Gansu Province, Ningxia Autonomous Region, parts of Inner Mongolia, the easternmost part of Xinjiang, and parts of Qinghai Province. In the film and television drama "Iron Tooth Copper Tooth Ji Xiaolan", there is a case about Gansu Province, which talks about the completely different customs and customs of various parts of Gansu Province, reflecting the vast area of Gansu Province from the side. At that time, the Xining area was known as Xining Province, which was under the administration of Gansu Province, and had 7 counties and departments under its jurisdiction, which belonged to the important towns in the northwest region of the Qing Dynasty. So, what about Qinghai Province? During the reign of the Qing Dynasty, there was no Qinghai Province.
The Qing Dynasty followed the provincial system in the homeland of the Ming Dynasty. In the northwest and northeast, there was no provincial system, and there were town guards in various places to manage the affairs of various places. This model was very loose, and the imperial court did not understand the actual situation in the northeast and northwest regions, and there were great hidden dangers. Especially in the later period of Qing rule, the Western powers launched a series of wars and began to peek into the northeast and northwest regions of the Qing Dynasty. In order to consolidate the border, the Qing Dynasty successively established Xinjiang Province and three northeastern provinces, but Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and other places still did not have a provincial system.
In 1912, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, China entered the stage of warlord melee. The various warlords attacked each other and simply did not have the energy and ability to deal with the problem of administrative division adjustment. This situation lasted for more than 10 years, and in 1928, the Northern Expedition ended and the era of all-out warlords fighting, but the situation was not stable. In order to solve the problem of the division of the northwest and Inner Mongolia regions, in 1928, the then regime established Suiyuan Province, Ningxia Province, Chahar Province, Rehe Province and Qinghai Province. Qinghai Province is a large area, but it is mainly nomadic areas, and it lacks the necessary large cities, and the choice of provincial capital is a big problem.
Eventually, in order to solve this problem, the Xining area of Gansu Province was included in Qinghai Province. At that time, xining area, a total of 7 counties under the jurisdiction of Xining County, Nianbo County, Datong County, etc., after being assigned to Qinghai Province, directly strengthened the economic strength of Qinghai Province, Xining became the provincial capital of Qinghai Province. In fact, in 1928, the administrative divisions of Gansu Province changed greatly, except for the Xining area of Qinghai Province, which was separated from Gansu Province and established Ningxia Province. In the late 1920s, the administrative divisions of Gansu Province at that time were very close to those of contemporary divisions, but there were certain differences in local areas.
Finally, let's talk about the economy of Gansu Province, due to the terrain, climate, amount of cultivated land, transportation and other reasons, the total economic volume of Gansu Province is more than 800 billion, which is equivalent to the total economic volume of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province. The total economic output of a province is only equivalent to that of a city in a neighboring province. One of the author's former colleagues was a Gansu native (Pingliang or Dingxi, I don't remember exactly), a colleague who worked in Shanghai for 7 years and, according to him, did not want to go back because he was afraid of not finding a job. In fact, many people in the central and western regions have such concerns, and they can only choose one hometown and work.
Gansu Province is very rich in resources, the population is not too small, and it has a brilliant and rich history and culture. How to develop the economy, establish real enterprises, attract more talents to settle down, and reflect their advantages in all aspects is very important. The author traveled to Gansu this summer and gained a deeper understanding of Gansu Province. Although the author is not from Gansu, he likes to listen to the song "Gansu Hometown". There are many more stories about the adjustment of administrative divisions in various regions of our country, and the author will slowly talk to you in future articles.