Elizabeth is here...
Jiangxi Province
Jiangxi Province in southeast China covers an area of 166,900 square kilometers (103,478 sq. miles) and has a population of 36,950,000 people. Jiangxi, which literally means “west of river,” often is called Gan for short and is named for being situated west of the Ganjiang River. It lies to the south of the Yangtze River valley. Nanchang is the provincial capital. The Communists’ first victory occurred here on August 1, 1927; they lost control over Nanchang a few days later. Many places in Nanchang are given the name Ba Yi, which means “August 1” (literally, “eight one”).The public square in Nanchang, People's Square, is the second largest in China after Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The monument there honors the August 1, 1927, Communist takeover of Nanchang. The main building at People's Square is an exhibition hall. Originally, Chairman Mao Zedong's face adorned it, but it was "removed for cleaning" and replaced by a red star in the mid-1980s. In the early 1990s, the star was replaced by neon advertising. The Tengwang Pavilion, one of the three most famous buildings in Jiangxi Province, was rebuilt in the 1980s and opened in 1989; a pavilion has been on that site off and on since the Tang Dynasty. During the Cultural Revolution, when Deng Xiaoping was out of favor with Chairman Mao Zedong, he was placed under house arrest in Nanchang. Nanchang also is the home of the Nanchang Airplane Manufacturing Plant, which makes military aircraft and Silkworm missiles.
The climate in Jiangxi Province is sub-tropical and humid with four distinct seasons. There are numerous rivers, streams, and lakes in Jiangxi, including Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China. The largest flock of white cranes in the world lives on Poyang Lake, and every year, several thousand white cranes winter there. Jiangxi Province also has many beautiful mountains: Lushan Mountain, Sanqing Mountain, and Longhu Mountain are among the most famous mountains in China. Lushan Mountain, with its main peak at 1,474 meters above sea level on the lakeshore, is a famous tourist spot and was a retreat for Western missionaries during the first half of the twentieth century.
Jiangxi Province is rich in mineral deposits. Of the more than 150 kinds of minerals so far discovered in the world, 126 kinds have been found in Jiangxi. Tungsten ore, copper ore, lead ore, zinc ore, and rock salt are the main minerals in the province. There are also rich deposits of porcelain clay, silty quartz, granite, marble, peralite, and other non-metal minerals. Jiangxi now has nearly 20,000 industrial enterprises and many of its large enterprises are important to China's economy. Jiangxi Province also has rich agricultural resources. It is one of China's major grain producers. Major crops include rice, wheat, soybeans, and potatoes. As a major producer of lumber and bamboo, the province has vast stretches of forests and bamboo. Major tree species include China fir, masson pine, camphor tree, and nanzhu (a fast-growing variety of bamboo).
Jiangxi also boasts many specialties. The most famous include Nanfeng's oranges, Nanchang's zhulan tea extract, Taihe's black-boned chicken, Guangchang's lotus roots, tea leaves from Lushan Mountain, and bamboo shoots from Jinggang Mountain. The province's traditional handicrafts include Yichun's lacquerware, Yujiang's wood carvings, Nanchang's porcelain engravings, Qianshan bamboo handcrafts, and Jingdezhen’s porcelain.
Of the eight great men of letters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, three were born in Jiangxi.: Wang Anshi, Zeng Gong, and Ouyang Xiu. In addition, Jiangxi was the birthplace of Zhu Xi, a famous scholar of the Middle Ages; Tang Xianzu, known as the "Shakespeare of the East;" and Song Yingxing, the most accomplished scientist of the 17th century.
”The best porcelain of the world is in China, and China's best is in Jingdezhen,” Chinese writer Guo Moruo once said.
Jingdezhen, known as the "Porcelain Capital of China,” is one of China's most famous cultural and historic cities. It is situated in the northeast part of Jiangxi Province on a tributary of the Changhe River, south of the Yangtze. The Changhe River connects northeast Jiangxi from Jingdezhen to the Yangtze River and ultimately to the ocean. Jingdezhen is located between the Huangshan mountain range and the plain of Poyang Lake (the largest freshwater lake in China) and has a population of over 1,520,000. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Jingdezhen and three other towns (Zhuxianzhen in Henan Province, Hankouzhen in Hubei Province, and Fushanzhen in Guangdong Province) were listed as the Top Four Towns of China.
During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), Jingdezhen was named Changnan, meaning “south of the Chang River.” During the Song Dynasty, the city was renamed Ching-te-zhen (AD 1004) by Emperor Zhenzong, whose reigning title was Ching-te or Jingde. Jingdezhen became a major porcelain producer in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), although people were producing ceramics in the area as early as in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). Since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it has been the center of the ceramic industry. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, when skills became perfected and the general quality became more refined, governmental kilns were set up to cater exclusively to the need of the royal families. In fact, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Imperial Porcelain Depot was established in the city.
The porcelain industry has enjoyed a high reputation both at home and abroad. With a long porcelain-making history to its credit, Jingdezhen is known for its flawless craftsmanship and trend-setting style in porcelain making. Its porcelain is "as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, as thin as paper, and with the sound of a bell when struck." The city's porcelain enjoys a brisk market in more than 100 countries and regions the world over. The most famous varieties include blue and white porcelain, colored glazed porcelain, exquisitely designed blue and white porcelain, and famille rose porcelain. These products have won many international awards. Besides the porcelain industry, Jingdezhen has also developed other industries, such as automobile, refrigerator and food production, mechanics, electronics, chemistry, aviation, building materials, and pharmaceuticals.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) wrote of King-ke-tching in his poem, Keramos:
Oer desert sands, oer gulf and bay
Oer Ganges and oer Himalay,
Bird-like I fly, and flying sing
To flowery kingdoms of Cathay,
And bird-like poise on balanced wing
Above the town of King-te-tching,
A burning town, or seeming so, -
Three thousand furnaces that glow
Incessantly, and fill the air
With smoke uprising, gyre on gyre,
And painted by the lurid glare,
Of jets and flashes of red fire.
(with thanks to www.ChinaCulture.org and www.gurrad.com/china/jingdezhen.htm)
No comments:
Post a Comment