Henan Province is the central province of China, and it is also a province with a large population and a large grain province. Henan Province borders the surrounding provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Anhui, shaanxi and other provinces, and Henan and Jiangsu provinces are provinces that do not border each other, although parts of the two provinces are very close. For example, the Shangqiu area in Henan Province and the Xuzhou area in Jiangsu Province are separated by two counties. In fact, these two counties originally belonged to Jiangsu Province, so why do they now belong to Anhui Province? Thus forming two provinces do not border. Today, we talk about two counties between Henan Province and Jiangsu Province.
First, let's talk about our provincial system. The provincial system appeared in the Yuan Dynasty, and before that, China has always followed the system of administrative divisions at the state and county levels. As for the states of the Han Dynasty, the dao of the Tang Dynasty, and the roads of the Song Dynasty, they all belonged to the supervision area, not the administrative division. After the Yuan Dynasty unified the whole country, it established an empire with unprecedented territory. However, with the expansion of the territory, the original two-level administrative division could no longer meet the needs of the imperial court. Under such circumstances, the Yuan Dynasty divided the country into 10 provinces, such as Henan Jiangbei Province, Gansu Province, and so on. However, after all, the provincial system of the Yuan Dynasty had just been established, and there were many problems in all aspects.
For example, the power of local officials was too great, and at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, a situation of local division was formed. After the Ming Dynasty expelled the Yuan Dynasty forces, it continued to follow the Yuan Dynasty provincial system, but carried out various reforms. The Ming Dynasty divided the country into 13 provinces, in addition, there were two regions: southern and northern. The administrative divisions of many provinces in China were basically established in the Ming Dynasty, such as Henan Province, Shandong Province, etc., which are not much different from the current administrative divisions. The Northern Zhili of the Ming Dynasty corresponded to the present-day Hebei Province and the Beijing-Tianjin region, and the Southern Zhili corresponded to Jiangsu Province, Anhui Province, and Shanghai Municipality. After the establishment of the administrative division, Henan Province directly bordered the Southern Zhili. Specifically, GuideFu in the eastern part of Henan Province is bordered by Xuzhou Prefecture in the north.
In the mid-17th century, the rule of the Ming Dynasty ended, and the Qing Dynasty in the northeast region began to enter the customs on a large scale. Over the course of more than 10 years, the Qing Dynasty gradually established its own rule. After the rule was secured, the Qing Dynasty began to deal with provinces that were too large. Since the capital of the Qing Dynasty was in Beijing, the Southern Zhili of the Ming Dynasty had been renamed Jiangnan Province. Jiangnan Province has a large population and economic development, and the Qing Dynasty is very uneasy about this province. In the early days of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Jiangnan Province was split into Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province.
With the division of Gangnam Province, the administrative divisions have also been adjusted. Yanshan County in the north of Jiangsu Province continues to border Yongcheng County in Guide Province, Henan Province, in other words, the two provinces are still neighboring provinces. This continued until the late 1940s, when it changed. In 1912, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, China fell into a situation of warlord chaos. Due to the serious fighting between the various warlords, the warlords did not have the time and energy to adjust the administrative divisions of the provinces. In 1938, after the yellow river broke, not only a large area of yellow pan was formed. Moreover, the irrigation of Hongze Lake has increased, and the silt around Hongze Lake has increased, and there are many problems in all aspects. But because of the times, these problems simply cannot be governed.
Fast forward to the end of the 1940s, when the northern region was basically liberated. However, the area south of Jianghuai has not yet been liberated. In order to better manage the localities, Anhui Province is temporarily divided into the Northern Anhui Administration District and the Southern Anhui Provincial Bureau, and Jiangsu Province is divided into the Northern Jiangsu Branch Office District and the Southern Jiangsu Branch Office District. Due to administrative needs, 7 counties in the north of Jiangsu Province were temporarily assigned to Shandong Province.
In addition, Yanshan County and Xiao County were temporarily assigned to the Northern Anhui Administration District. At the same time, Yongcheng County in the Shangqiu region of Henan Province was also temporarily included in the Northern Anhui Administration District. After entering the 1950s, with the stabilization of the situation, China began to recover and develop its economy after the war. Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province were re-established successively, and 4 administrative districts were abolished. The 2 counties assigned to Anhui Province and 7 counties to Shandong Province were successively returned to Jiangsu Province. Yongcheng County was also returned to Henan Province, and the administrative division returned to the original model. Henan Province and Jiangsu Province are still neighbors, bordering Yongcheng County and Yanshan County. However, this administrative division lasted only 3 years, mainly to deal with the problem of Hongze Lake.
In the mid-1950s, China began to free up its hands to deal with all aspects of Hongze Lake. However, in the process of harnessing Hongze Lake, it faces difficulties in all aspects. The west bank of Hongze Lake belongs to Sihong County and Xuyi County, which belong to Anhui Province. The eastern shore of Hongze Lake is under the management of Jiangsu Province, and because the work of the two provinces is not synchronized, the investment of manpower and material resources is also different. In order to better manage Hongze Lake, Sihong County and Xuyi County in Anhui Province were included in Jiangsu Province. Of course, Anhui Province could not lose two counties in vain, and in order to supplement anhui province's losses, Jiangsu Province transferred its northern Counties and Xiao Counties to Anhui Province for the second time.
With the division of the two counties into Anhui Province, Henan Province and Jiangsu Province no longer directly border each other, becoming distant neighbors. At present, Zhongshan County and Xiao County are under the administration of Suzhou City, Anhui Province. However, the two counties are closer to the urban area of Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province. For the people of these two counties, if it is not necessary, they basically go to Xuzhou. Xiao County, in particular, is very close to Xuzhou City. Although Xuzhou is not as good as the capital city of several surrounding provinces, it is also a prefecture-level city with strong strength. If placed in the six central provinces, it is second only to several provincial capitals. As a result, it is possible to meet the needs of people in all aspects.
Finally, let's talk about northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui. Northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui and parts of Henan are very close in terms of food culture, accent and so on. The accents of these regions are close to the Henan dialect and the Shandong dialect. A colleague before the author was a young Xuzhou girl. If she speaks dialect, there is a pronounced Henan accent. In fact, in the 1950s, many provinces in China underwent administrative division adjustments, such as Henan Province, Shandong Province, Gansu Province and so on. Regarding the story of administrative division adjustment, the author will talk to you slowly in future articles.