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1 History

Recent archaeological discoveries demonstrate that Fujian especially the northern coastal region around Fuzhou entered the Neolithic Age by the middle of the 8th millennium BP (6th millennium BC). From the Keqiutou (壳丘头) site (7450-5590 BP), an early Neolithic site in Pingtan Island located ca. 70 km southeast of Fuzhou, numerous tools made of stones, shells, bones, jades, and ceramics (including wheel-made-ceramics) have been unearthed, together with spinning wheels, a definitive evidence of weaving. The Tanshishan (昙石山) site (5500-4000 BP) in suburban Fuzhou spans the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Age where semi-underground circular buildings were found in the lower level. The Huangtulun (黄土崙) site (ca.1325 BC), also in suburban Fuzhou, was of Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age is a period in a civilization's development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. The Bronze Age is part of the Three-age system for prehi in character. These findings, however, also indicate that the agricultural tradition was weak if not lacking in this area, which is consistent with the early records stating that the indigenous people in Fujian, primarily those living along the Min River, were Austronesians with "large eyes, flat nose and tattooed bodies", who made their living by fishing. These people probably arrived by sea from the southeast Asia. They were eventually exiled during Han Dynasty to eastern China (north of Shanghai).

For the Han Chinese, this area was also known as Minyue. The word "Minyue" was derived by combining "Min", the name of the main river in this area, and " Yue", the name for an ancient kingdom in Zhejiang Province to the north since the royal family of Yue fled Fujian after their kingdom was annexed by Chu in 306 BC. Minyue was a de-facto kingdom until the emperor of Qin Dynasty abolished the status, which was restored by the founding emperor of Han Dynasty in 202 BC. The Minyue king Wuzhu had sent his troops to fight side-by-side with the army of Han in the war between Chu and Han, and his gambling bit was paid off. Thus he was allowed to construct his fortified city in Fuzhou as well as a few locations in Wuyi Mountains, which have been excavated in recent years. His kingdom extended beyond the borders of contemporary Fujian into eastern Guangdong, eastern Jiangxi, and southern Zhejiang. Therefore, Minyue is not an ethnic group as some would like to think, but a combination of very different groups of people, Austronesians, Han, Hakka, etc.

After the death of Wuzhu, Mingyue maintained their militant tradition and launched several expeditions against their neighboring kingdoms in Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang, mostly in the second century BC, only to be stopped by the Han (Chinese) army. The Han emperor eventually decided to get rid of the potential threat by sending in large forces simultaneously from four directions via land and sea in 111 BC. The rulers in Fuzhou surrendered in time to avoid a futile fight and destruction; the first kingdom in Fujian history come to an abrumpt end. Nonetheless, the people of northern Fujian still erect temples in memory of their first kings.

The first wave of immigration of the gentile class arrived in the province in the early 4th century AD when Jin Dynasty collapsed and the north was torned apart by civil war. These immigrants were primarily from eight families in central China: Lin (林), Huang (黄), Chen (陈), Zheng (郑), Zhan (詹), Qiu (邱), He (何), and Hu (胡). The first four remain the major families in today's Fujian.

Despite the new immigrants, the population density in Fujian was low compared to the rest of China. Only two prefectures and sixteen counties were established by Jin Dynasty. Like other southern provinces such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunan , Fujian still served as penal colony for prisoners and dissidents at that time.

As the Six dynasties reigned south of the Yangtze River, their sovereigns made enormous effort of populating the area with Han Chinese. Sun Quan, the founder of Kingdom of Wu of the Three Kingdoms, spent nearly twenty years of subduing the Shan Yue people, the Yue people living in mountains. Isolation from nearby areas owing to the ragged terrain contributed to its backward technology and economy despite major population boost from northern China during the Wu Hu ravage.

As the Tang Dynasty entered its terminal decline, a second major wave of immigration arrived in the safe haven of Fujian, led by general Wang, who set up a kingdom of Min with its capital in Fuzhou. After the death of the founding king, however, the kingdom suffered from internal striff, and was soon swallowed up by Southern Tang , another southern kingdom.

Late Ming and early Qing Dynasty symbolized an era of large influx of refugees and another 20 years sea trade ban under Kangxi Emperor against the refuge Ming government of Koxinga in Taiwan. Furthermore these refugees did not translate into a major labor force owing to their re-migration into prosperous regions of Guangdong province. In 1689, the Qing dynasty officially incorporated Taiwan into Fujian province, and the majority of people in Taiwan are descendants of emigrants from Fujian. As Taiwan was separated into its own province in 1885, Fujian took its current area and was substantially influenced by the Japanese after the Treaty of Shimonoseki until the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) of WWII.

Owing to the mountainous landscape, it was the most secluded province of the PRC in eastern China due to the lack of rail and underdeveloped networks of paved roads before 1950's. The first railway to the province was completed in mid-1950s connecting Xiamen to the rest of the mainland. Despite the secluded location, Fujian has established a strong academic tradition since Southern Song Dynasty. Ironically, occupation of northern China by the Jin invaders caused a shift of the cultural center to the south, which benefits Fuzhou and other southern cities. In Chinese Academy of Science and Chinese Academy of Engineering , there are more members from Fuzhou than from any other cities. In addition, it should also be pointed out that the slow development of Fujian in its early days was really a blessing in disguise; today, the province has the highest forest coverage rate and the most diverse biosphere in China whereas central China suffers from severe over population and displays severe signs of soil erosion accompanied by frequent draughts and floods due to lack of forest coverage.

Since the late 1970s, the economy of Fujian along the coast has greatly benefited from its geographic and cultural proximity to Taiwan. In 2003, Xiamen ranked number eight GDP per capita among 659 Chinese cities, ahead of Shanghai and Beijing, while Fuzhou ranked no. 21 (number 4 among 30 provincial capitals). The development has been accompanied by a large influx of population from the over-populated areas in the north and west, and much of the farmland and forest as well as cultural heritage sites such as the temples of king Wuzhu have given way to the ubiquitous high-rise buildings. It is a tough challenge for the government at all levels to sustain the development at the same time to preserve the unique and vital natural and cultural heritage of Fujian.