In the previous article, the author talked to you about a series of stories about the changes in the administrative divisions of Jiangsu Province. For example, regional adjustment between Jiangsu Province and its neighbors Shanghai, Anhui Province, and Shandong Province, or regional changes within Jiangsu Province. Today, we talk about the capital city of Jiangsu Province. As we all know, the capital of Jiangsu Province is Nanjing. However, in modern history, the capital of Jiangsu Province has been relocated back and forth in four cities: Nanjing, Suzhou, Zhenjiang and Wuxi. So, what's going on here? In fact, it has a lot to do with a series of historical events in modern history.
First of all, we need to talk about the historical origins of Jiangsu Province, which is a relatively young province. In that year, after the Yuan Dynasty unified the whole country, due to the vast territory of the country, the administrative divisions at the prefecture and county levels at that time could no longer manage the vast territory. Under such circumstances, the Yuan Dynasty introduced the System of Xingzhongshu Provinces, dividing the country into 10 provinces, such as Lingbei Province, Huguang Province, and so on. However, there are many problems in the provincial system of the Yuan Dynasty, and it is still in the exploratory stage.
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, although the provincial system was followed, it has been improved in all aspects. Please note that during the ming dynasty, the administrative divisions of many provinces were basically formed. For example, Henan Province, Shandong Province, etc., the administrative divisions of that year are very close to contemporary ones. The Ming Dynasty had two capitals, Beijing and Nanjing, so there were two direct subordinate districts, the Northern Zhili and the Southern Zhili. Among them, the jurisdiction of Nanzhi is equivalent to Jiangsu Province, Anhui Province and Shanghai Municipality. There were no envoys, envoys, or envoys under the command of the capital, and were directly managed by the six ministries of Nanjing. In the mid-17th century, the Qing Dynasty in the northeast region entered the customs and over a period of more than 10 years, it established its rule over all parts of the Central Plains. The capital of the Qing Dynasty was in Beijing, and the status of Nanjing declined and it was renamed Jiangning Province. The area under Nanzhili was renamed Gangnam Province, and the provincial capital was Jiangning Province.
Jiangnan Province has a developed economy and a large population, and Suzhou and Songjiang provinces alone bear about 10% of the country's taxes. The Qing Dynasty was not at ease with Jiangnan Province, and in the 4th year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty split Jiangnan Province into two parts, namely Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province. The local official system of the Qing Dynasty was gradually improved, and official positions such as governor, inspector, and admiral appeared. According to the regulations of the Qing Dynasty, the capital of Anhui Province was Anqing Province in southern Anhui. Jiangsu Province nominally had two provincial capitals, the Viceroy of Liangjiang was in Jiangning Province, and the Governor of Jiangsu was in Suzhou Province, both of which belonged to the feudal governors. Because Nanjing and Suzhou both have the functions of provincial capitals.
This continued until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, in which Suzhou and Nanjing officials competed with each other and felt that they should become the only provincial capital. In 1912, the Qing Dynasty, which had ruled for more than 200 years, collapsed. With the demise of the Qing Dynasty, traditional official positions such as governor and inspector were abolished. In the two cities of Nanjing and Suzhou, there will definitely be one out. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Beiyang warlord regime came to power. During the reign of the Beiyang warlords, Nanjing surpassed Suzhou and became the capital of Jiangsu Province. However, at that time, the whole country was still in the stage of warlord melee, with various warlords fighting with each other and administrative divisions in a mess.
In 1928, after the end of the Northern Expedition, the Beiyang warlord regime collapsed. The subsequent establishment of the regime was set in Nanjing. Since Nanjing has become the capital, it is natural that it cannot also serve as the capital of Jiangsu Province. In such a situation, Jiangsu Province needs a new provincial capital. In the selection of various cities, the strongest Suzhou was unexpectedly out, and Zhenjiang became the capital of Jiangsu Province. This is because although Suzhou is economically developed, it is from the southeast of Jiangsu Province, which is not conducive to the management of the province. Zhenjiang has its own advantages and is a neighbor of Nanjing. In this way, from 1928 to 1949, Zhenjiang City was the provincial capital for 21 years. As of now, Zhenjiang City still preserves some relics of that year. In the 1930s and 1940s, China experienced a series of historical events such as the War of Resistance Against Japan. Fast forward to the end of the 1940s, when the northern region of our country had been basically liberated.
However, a large area south of the Yangtze River has not been liberated. In the need of administrative management, Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province were temporarily abolished. Anhui Province is divided into the Anhui North Branch District and the South Anhui Branch Office District, with the special office of the Anhui North Branch Office district in Hefei and the special office of the Anhui South Branch Office district in Wuhu. The situation in Jiangsu Province is more complicated, and Jiangsu Province is divided into the Northern Jiangsu Administration District and the Southern Jiangsu Provincial Administration District. After the liberation of the southern region, Nanjing was temporarily elevated to a municipality directly under the central government.
In addition, 7 counties in the north of Jiangsu Province were temporarily assigned to Shandong Province, and 2 counties were temporarily assigned to Anhui Province. The special office of the northern Jiangsu branch is in Taizhou, and the special office of the southern Jiangsu branch is in Wuxi. Please note that the administrative level of the administrative district is at the same level as that of the provinces, and the city where the special office is located is equivalent to the provincial capital. In the 1950s, with the stabilization of the national situation, China began economic construction. Jiangsu Province is one of the provinces with the strongest economic strength in China, and is divided into several parts, which is very unfavorable to economic development.
In order to better develop the economy, in 1952, the Northern Jiangsu Administration District and the Southern Jiangsu Provincial Administration District were merged, and The status of Nanjing Was revoked. Jiangsu Province was reorganized, and Nanjing became the capital of Jiangsu Province. Subsequently, a total of 9 counties were assigned to Anhui, Shandong and other places, all of which were returned to Jiangsu Province. Let's summarize the process of change in the capital of Jiangsu Province: from Nanjing and Suzhou to Nanjing, to Nanjing as a dominant family, to Zhenjiang to replace the provincial capital, to Wuxi to become a special office, and finally to Nanjing to become the provincial capital again. In 30 years, the capital city of Jiangsu Province has changed by 4 cities. From another aspect, it also reflects a series of changes in China's modern history.
Let's talk about the economic situation of several cities in Jiangsu Province. In 2018, the total economic volume of Jiangsu Province reached 9.2 trillion yuan, second only to Guangdong Province, ranking second in the country. Within Jiangsu Province, Suzhou's economic aggregate is far ahead, with a total economic volume of nearly 1.8 trillion yuan. It not only exceeded many provincial capitals, but even reached the level of Tianjin, a municipality directly under the central government. As for the provincial capitals of Nanjing and Wuxi, the total economic volume is also more than 1 trillion. It has to be said that the economic development of the prefecture-level cities under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province is relatively balanced, and there are no prefecture-level cities that are particularly lagging behind. There are many more stories about the adjustment of administrative divisions in Jiangsu Province, and the author will talk to you slowly in future articles.