The origin of the Xiantao place name is legendary, the earliest is Qiuyang County, with a long history, and has a history of more than 1500 years. During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, Qiuyang belonged to Jingzhou, during the Spring and Autumn periods and the Warring States period belonged to Chu, Qin belonged to Nan County, and Han and Jin were Yundu and Jing territories. In 503 AD, Qiuyang County was established as Qiuyang County, named after the county seat in the north of Qiushui.
The Tang, Five Dynasties, and Song Dynasties were Fuzhou, the Yuan was changed to Qiuyang Prefecture, the Ming Dynasty was Qiuyang Prefecture, and the Republic of China was Qiuyang County. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chuyang Special Office was set up. In 1951, the Qiuyang Special Bureau was abolished, and Qiuyang County came under the jurisdiction of the Jingzhou Special Bureau. In 1986, Qiuyang County was abolished and Xiantao City was established, which was listed as a provincial municipality in 1994. As of 2016, the registered population of Xiantao City is 1.5635 million people
Since modern times, Xiantao City has undergone major changes with the turmoil of the times, and the city administration has migrated many times, which has had a complex and changeable impact on local society and people's lives.
I. Moving from Chucheng to Pengchang (April 1912 – June 1949)
As the seat of governance of Qiuyang, Qiucheng has a history of more than 1,500 years, and although it has experienced a lot of damage during this period, it has always been relatively stable. After the establishment of the Republic of China, the city suffered repeated damage, was blown up by Japanese aircraft in 1938, and then carried out a scorched earth war, so that it basically lost its function as a regional administrative center.
At this time, Pengchang Town had a good mass base in the local area and was a good base area for the Communist Party in Qiuyang. In June 1949, the county government moved to Pengchang, which can also be seen from the local government's hope to change a new environment to welcome the arrival of new China, and also rely on the establishment of a new political power in the base areas that they know well.
2. Moving from Pengchang to Qiucheng (June 1949 to October 1949)
During this period, when the Communist Party of China was in the early days of its political power in Qiuyang, various organizational structures were slowly established and life gradually stabilized.
However, the governor of Qiuyang County moved from Qiucheng to Pengchang in June 1949, and then rushed to move back from Pengchang to Pengchang in October of the same year, and the author could not find the reason for the relocation by reading various historical materials about the events in Qiuyang during this period, and there was no clear record in the "Records of Qiuyang County". According to personal speculation, the reasons may be:
Pengchang is located in Qiuyang County, the terrain is flat and there are no defense facilities, and it is far away from the Jingzhou area, the southwest Mandarin cultural circle, and the centripetal force is not enough. In addition, the economic level of Pengchang is far from enough to lead the development of a county. At the same time, most of the people of Qiuyang County are thinking of their homeland, and their personal feelings, ideological concepts, and living habits are still in their hearts towards Qiucheng, which is difficult to change for a while.
At the same time, after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the city has been successively rebuilt, and the villagers have donated funds to rebuild the temple of literature, ancestral hall, county court, etc. The function and material foundation of the city as a county rule still exist, and material production has also been restored to a certain extent.
III. Moving from Cuncheng to Xiantao (October 1949 – April 1952)
In October 1949, the county was moved from Pengchang to Qiucheng, and in 1952, it was moved from Qiucheng to Xiantao Town, and it was fixed for a long time.
In 1951, Qiuyang belonged to the Jingzhou region, divided into Honghu County in the south of Qiuyang, and Qiuyang was divided into two, and the geographical advantage of Qiucheng as a county rule no longer existed, and at the same time, Qiucheng was already in ruins and did not adapt to the planning and development of the new government, and it was urgent to find administrative centers outside Qiuyang County to coordinate local development for a long time.
Xiantao Town has obvious regional advantages. Xiantao Town is also a base area that the Communist Party of China has been cultivating for a long time, and the mass base is relatively good. There is also a better geographical location of Xiantao Town, which is in the middle of the northernmost and higher geographical area of Qiuyang County, which is far away from the flood-stricken area and can also radiate the entire territory of Qiuyang County.
Chucheng and Pengchang have been seriously damaged due to the wars and chaos over the years, while Xiantao Town has been less damaged and the production conditions are relatively superior. At the same time, Xiantao Town sits on the Han River and has rich water conservancy and transportation resources and ports, which is convenient for developing the economy and driving the social production of the whole county.