The Historical Trend of Chinese Urbanization

Author(s): Sen-Dou Chang

Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Jun., 1963), pp.
109-143
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Association of American Geographers
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 ANNALS of the
Association of American Geographers
Volume 53 JUNE 1963 Number 2

THE HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION'

SEN-DOU CHANG
San Fernando Valley State College

URBANIZATION in China has a long tra- the imperial capitals and the capitals of the
ditional history during which imperial feudal states; those established after 221 B.C.,
authority has acted periodically to establish with the founding of a strong and more effec-
walled cities designed to serve as adminis- tive central imperial government, are repre-
trative centers. Such cities became central sented by the hsien, or county, capitals.2 The
places for rural areas and, as such, became provincial capitals and the capitals at differ-
centers of Chinese settlement in regions pre- ent provincial levels since the Han (206 B.C.-
viously populated by non-Chinese pastoral or 221 A.D.) also are included in the group of
agricultural peoples who did not normally hsien capitals, as these secondary administra-
build cities. A study of the growth of walled tive centers, being provincial capitals them-
cities in various periods can throw light on selves, also had the status of a hsien capital.
how the Chinese developed and spread their Some walled cities have existed at times with-
urban civilization throughout the country and out an official political status, but the number
can also illuminate characteristic features of of such cities, as shown in the various local
China's historical geography, including terri- gazetteers, seems not to be large enough to
torial expansion, frontier colonization, sequent distort the picture represented by the admin-
occupance, and regional development in vari- istrative centers.
ous parts of the country. One of the important characteristics of the
The main source used for the compilation Chinese city is continuity from ancient times
of the maps around which this study is organ- to the present. It is likely that there are more
ized is the local gazetteers. In spite of their
cities of great age in China than in any other
country in the world. Many of the contempo-
limitations and deficiencies, these local gazet-
rary metropolitan centers of China, such as
teers are a treasury for any regional or urban
Shanghai, Tientsin, Mukden, Chungching, and
studies of traditional China and have been
Canton, and some of the new industrial centers,
relatively little used by modern geographers.
such as Paotou, Taiyuan, Lanchou, and Loyang
The walled cities were mainly administrative
were all hsien capitals in origin and have sur-
centers; those established in Shang China in
vived through several dynastic changes. This
the second millenium B.C. and in Chou China
article, with the aid of maps, attempts to relate
in the first millenium B.C. are represented by the changing pattern of distribution of the
hsien capital to other social, economic, and
1 Thanks are due to Professor Rhoads Murphey,
University of Washington, for his advice in the prep- political phenomena in a particular period in
aration of this article; to Professor Hellmut Wilhelm, order to show how these cities came into being
Far Eastern and Russian Institute, University of
Washington, for his suggestions of source material; 2 The political status of the hsien capital in China
to Professor Robert E. Dickinson, University of Leeds, is approximately equivalent to that of the county seat
and Professor Kung-chuan Hsiao, Far Eastern and in the United States. For the effect of the hsien
Russian Institute, University of Washington, for their capital on the urbanization of China, see Sen-Dou
criticism of the manuscript; and to Mr. Andrew Chang, "Some Aspects of the Urban Geography of
March, University of Washington, for use of his un- the Chinese Hsien Capital," Annals, Association of
published paper on "The Development of the Lower American Geographers, Vol. 51, No. 1 (March, 1961),
Yangtze Area between Han and Sui." pp. 23-45.

109

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 110 SENSDoU CHANG June

Hsien capitals established by each dynasty China, as opposed to villages, appears to have
are so numerous and the distribution pattern been the city of Ao, built near the present
for each period is so complex that it would site of Chengchou in Honan in the sixteenth
be very difficult to interpret every detail of century B.C. by Chung Ting, the tenth King
these patterns in this article. The particular of the Shang.3 The city was built on the ruins
features of the distribution pattern of those of a late Neolithic settlement of the Black
cities selected for interpretation in this article Pottery culture. This was a millenium and a
seem most striking and are believed to con- half later than the cities of Aphroditopolis
veniently coincide with many major eco- and Hierakonpolis in the Nile valley, or Ur
nomic, political, and demographic events of and Eridu in Mesopotamia, and perhaps a
each period. As a result, certain apparent millenium after Mohenjodaro and Harappa
features shown on the map may have been in the Indus valley. It is supposed that some
neglected or not emphasized proportionately; of the Shang people were still pastoral no-
on the other hand, some minor features shown mads, following their flocks and herds, but
on the map may have been overstressed. in the main they were sedentary agriculturists
Nevertheless the article attempts to serve as and lived in small villages. Presumably, Chi-
a basic guide for the understanding of some nese cities were formed, like other ancient
relevant features of the distribution of the cities, as a result of the consolidation of vari-
hsien capital through history, and, where the ous small villages and gradually evolved into
interpretation of these patterns is incomplete, a new form of social organization. The new
to function merely as a cartographic represen- cities occupied easily defensible locations, to
tation of regional urban growth in China, a protect themselves as well as their agricul-
phenomenon which could be further elabo- tural surpluses.
rated and explained by other scholars. The city walls which characterized all tra-
The article deals mainly with the hsien cap- ditional Chinese cities were originated as
ital. The category of hsien capital by no means early as the "Black Pottery" period, when the
includes all the cities in China. However, the site of the village of Ch'eng-tzu-yai (near the
hsien capital has been the most numerous village of Lungshan in western Shantung)
type of city in each dynastic period since Han was surrounded by a rampart of pounded
times, and it is likely that its distribution pat- earth, terre pise, two kilometers or so in
terns through time may well represent the length. The average width of the rampart
spatial pattern of urban growth of China.
was nine meters and it was probably six
Since the earliest Chinese cities, prior to the
meters high. The wall enclosed an area 450
establishment of the hsien capital, have been
meters long by about 390 meters wide,
little studied, the first part of this article is
roughly rectangular in shape.4 The city walls
devoted to the location and structure of the
in Shang times seem to have enclosed a much
imperial capitals and the capitals of feudal
larger area than those of preceding periods.
states during Shang (approximately 1600
Excavation has shown that the city of Ao had
B.C.-1111 B.C.) and Chou (1111 B.C.-221
dimensions of two kilometers from north to
B.C.) times. Recent archeological evidence
has thrown important light on the nature and south, and 1.7 kilometers from east to west,
characteristics of these ancient Chinese cities. making a total area of about 3.4 square kilo-
meters.5 The area covered by the ancient city
URBANIZATION ACCORDING TO of Ao was about 2.5 times as large as the
ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
3 Cheng Te-k'un, Archaeology in China, Vol. II,
(BEFORE 1111 B.C.)
"Shang China" (Cambridge: 1960), p. 39.
4 "Ch'eng-tzu-yai," ed. Li Chi et al., Archaeologia
It seems certain that the earliest Chinese
Sinica [in Chinese], No. 1 (1934), tr. Kenneth Starr,
cities were formed at a later date than the Publications in Anthropology, No. 52 (New Haven:
cities of ancient Egypt, the Near East, and 1956), p. 37. See also Walter A. Fairservis, Jr., The
India, since irrigated agriculture was devel- Origin of Oriental Civilization (Mentor Books: 1959),
pp. 95-98.
oped earlier in the latter areas. According to
5 Chen Te-k'un, "The Origin and Development of
archeological data available at present, the Shang Culture," Asia Major, Vol. VI, Part I (July,
first clearly urban settlement of ancient 1957), pp. 80-98.

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 111

present walled city of Chengchou at the same was used extensively for royal palaces, tem-
site. The large size of the city leads us to ples of worship, cemeteries, and archives, as
believe that a great amount of cultivated land well as for dwelling houses of the people.
must have been included within the walls. According to the oracle records which were
Compared with the ancient cities of the Near found at the site, a total of twelve kings ruled
East, however, the Shang cities of China were from this capital. The Great City Shang was
relatively small. The walls of ancient Baby- the chief center of Chinese culture for 273
lon, for example, embraced an area of roughly years in the latter part of the dynasty.
3.2 square miles and the walls of Erich en- According to the Shu Ching, one of the
compassed an area of two square miles.6 Chinese classics, the Shang rulers moved the
The Shang city which has been studied capital five times.9 The factors causing such
most intensively is the Great City Shang,7 movements might have been many: avoid-
near Anyang, about a hundred miles north of ance of flood, external invasions, or internal
the city of Ao. It was built in the fourteenth disorders, among other important possibili-
century B.C. by Pan Keng, a Shang ruler. ties. Some historians believe that the first
The city was surrounded by a level alluvial Shang capital was located at a place near the
plain, formed of rich loess deposits carried present city of Shangchiu'0 ("The Hills of
down by the old Yellow River, which formed Shang"), Honan, about a hundred miles west
a bend from north to east along two sides of of Ch'eng-tzu-yai, a site of the Black Pottery
the city. The old Yellow River8 probably culture. Geographically the three cities of
Anyang, Chengchou, and Shangchiu formed an
played an influential role in the site selection
irregular triangle, located in the northern tip
of the Shang capital. It provided water for
of Honan, which might be defined as the core
irrigation to insure a more or less reliable
region of the earliest urbanization in China.
harvest each year in this semiarid region of
Favorable natural conditions in this area of-
North China. It also provided a physical bar-
fer some explanations for the rise of the ear-
rier on the north, the east, and a portion of
liest cities of China. Like ancient cities in
the western front of the city for effective
Egypt and India, which arose along great
defense. A range of mountains west of the
rivers, the area of the early urban centers in
city provided assurance that the region China was close to the old course of the Yel-
around the city could not easily be attacked low River. Rich alluvial soils of loessial ori-
by a large force from the west. These nearby gin provided a favorable background for the
mountains probably provided timber for development of agriculture, and the natural
building construction and a hunting area for levee of the river offered sites for large set-
the kings and nobles. Excavation has shown tlements.
that the base of the city wall of the Great The Shang culture was bronze age, and
City Shang was at least twelve feet broad, so bronze was used widely for weapons, utensils,
that it must have reached a considerable and implements. The establishment of bronze
height. Accumulated arrowheads at the foot factories and other kinds of industries could
of the wall help to indicate its defensive have been an important factor in the forma-
function. Various types of architectural re- tion of these early urban centers. Such indus-
mains indicate that the land inside the walls tries were found both inside and outside the
walled city. For example, around the city of
6Kingsley Davis, "The Origin and Growth of
Urbanization in the World," American Journal of Ao, a large center of bronze manufacture was
Sociology, Vol. LX (March, 1955), pp. 429-37. located one kilometer to the north, a bone
7For the most complete report on the excavations and horn works half a kilometer to the north,
at Anyang, see Li Chi and others, Preliminary Re-
port of Excavations at Anyang (4 vols., 1929-1933). and a ceramic factory a kilometer to the
8Before 602 B.C. the Yellow River turned north-
ward at a point some sixty-five miles to the west of 9 James Legge, The Chinese Classics, Vol. III,
the present bend, which is twenty miles east of K'ai- Part I (London: 1865), p. 221.
feng. Thence it ran northeast in the direction of 10 Tung Tso-pin, "Po-tze chung ti Po-yu-shang"
Tientsin, and thus passed some fifteen miles east of (The Cities of Po and Shang as Revealed in the
Anyang. See H. G. Creel, Studies in Early Chinese Oracles), Ta-lu tsa-tze (The Continent Magazine),
Culture (Baltimore: 1937), p. 167. Vol. VI, No. 1 (Taipei: January 15, 19;57), pp. 8-12.

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 112 SEN-DOU CHANG June

west.'1 Granet, as quoted by Needham, has a territorial nobility monopolizing both mili-
demonstrated that the origin of towns in tary and civil control.
China was probably connected with the be- Chou feudalism resulted in a sort of cellu-
ginning of the working of bronze, because the lar structure of society. Each cell, which rep-
first metallurgists had to have installations of resented a vassal's domain, included a garri-
some complexity, which required protection soned walled city for safe storage of grain,
from the changes and chances of life in the the residence of the nobility, and the protec-
villages of the primitive tribal community.12 tion of the surrounding countryside. Thus,
the Chou cities functioned mainly as capitals
URBANIZATION IN THE YELLOW RIVER VALLEY
and central places in the domains of feudal
THE CHOU DYNASTY (1111-221 B.C.) lords and, as was believed by Bishop, were the
The Shang were conquered around 1111 ancestors of the modern hsien capital. Many
B.C. by the Chou, a people living to the west hsien capitals retain to this day the same
in present Shansi province. The Chou ruled names they bore as independent cities 3,000
China for about 900 years, developing a rich years ago.13 Like the present hsien capital,
and complex culture comparable to the the city was usually situated in the center of
Golden Age of Greece. Whereas Greece cre- the domain, where a sacred mound or temple
ated many powerful city-states, the Chou often provided space for a congregation of
people witnessed a new stage of urbanization, people to attend the fairs or festivals of
which was characterized by the emergence spring and autumn. The central location of
of the capitals of various feudal states. the city had important effects on the land-
The Chou were originally a hunting people use pattern of a domain. According to an
who lived in caves and huts on the loess hills, ancient idea, the city was surrounded by five
and who may also have engaged in some zones of concentric form: the capital, the
shifting cultivation. They did not practice suburban zone, the rural zone, the forest zone,
settled agriculture until they moved down to and the frontier zone.14 The suburban zone
the Wei valley, and shifting cultivation still has been interpreted as the cultivated land,
was practiced somewhat, though permanent the rural zone as the pastoral land, and the
field agriculture gradually replaced it around forest and frontier zones as areas in which
cities and in more populous districts. The shifting cultivation was the first agricultural
ease with which the loess soil of Shensi could system employed. If this pattern reflects a
be cultivated and, locally, irrigated led from reality of Chou times, the remoteness of the
a primitive mixed economy of hunting and forest zone from the central city is in contrast
farming to one of intensive agriculture during with Von Thunen's concentric zoning pattern,
Chou times. Irrigation demanded cooperative in which the forest zone constitutes the sec-
organization, not only for the digging of ca- ond ring around the city. This suggests not
nals but also in order to regulate the right of only the relative sparseness of original forest
access to water and to defend community- cover in North China in contrast to Europe,
owned irrigation works. Irrigation made pos- but also that wherever Chinese settled, forest
sible larger crops to the acre and greater lands were cleared for cultivation. Forests
population to the square mile. Granaries had were seldom preserved as a productive natu-
to be erected and protective devices had to ral resource during Chou times. They usually
be established. The peaceful development of remained only in the frontier region as bound-
intensive agriculture had to be safeguarded aries between feudal domains.
by a warrior class, and as the allotment of Soon after the Chou conquest, Chou Kung,
war service under the military chiefs had to the conqueror, organized the conquered terri-
be coordinated with the division of collective
13 Carl Whiting Bishop, "The Geographical Factor
labor in establishing and maintaining irriga-
in the Development of Chinese Civilization," Geo-
tion, the situation favored the development of graphical Review, Vol. XII, No. 1 (January, 1922),
pp. 19-41.
"- Cheng Te-k'un, "The Origin and Development of '4 Shuo-wen chieh-tsu ku-1in (A Collection of All
Shang Culture," op. cit. of the Available Material on the Oldest Etymological
12 Joseph Needham, Science and Society in Ancient Dictionary of China), compiled by Ting Fu-pao, Vol.
China (London: 1947), p. 6. 28 (Shanghai: 1928), p. 2268, under "Chiung."

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 113

CAPITALS OF FEUDAL STATES ABOUT 1100 B.C.

1 00 200 300MILES

PROVINCIAL BOUNDARIES AS OF 1930S a

FIG. 1. Walled cities established about 1100 B.C. (Source: Ch'i Ssu-ho, "The Geography of the West-
ern Chou Period," Yenching Journal of Chinese Studies, No. 30, June, 1946, pp. 63-106.)

tories into feudal states. The number of such of the territory among five orders of nobility,
states in existence at the beginning of Chou called, in translation, dukes, marquises, earls,
times is still controversial, but at least twenty- viscounts, and barons. These titles were con-
six have been geographically identified.15 If ferred upon tribal chieftains, making each
the capitals of these states did roughly repre- principality a state. By the annexation of
sent the walled cities at that time, the distrib- tribes located in the peripheral areas of an-
utive pattern of these walled cities could be cient China, the Chou people expanded their
shown in Figure 1. The main concentration boundaries eastward and southward. The
of these cities was along the middle course of capital of each large principality, according
the Yellow River, with the Fen valley and the
to Eberhard, was a walled city.16 The num-
Wei valley dotted by a few cities. Most of
ber of these states in Chou times is still not
these cities were created in the territory for-
merly occupied by the Shang people.
16 According to Eberhard, the lord as well as the
In order to solve the problem of annexation vassals of Chou times kept a certain area under direct
of tribes, the Chou dynasty adopted a land administration. There were his palaces as well as
system whereby all land belonged to the con- other buildings, living quarters for his personal ser-
vants, for military guards, and his craftsmen such as
federated head or king. Keeping the central
carpenters, blacksmiths, swordmakers, potters, and
area for himself, he distributed the remainder others. Such areas soon became centers of industrial
production and constituted points of attraction for
15 Ch'i Ssu-ho, "The Geography of the Western the surrounding agricultural people. See Wolfram
Chou Period," Yenching Journal of Chinese Studies, Eberhard, Conquerors and Rulers (Leiden: 1952), p.
No. 30 (June, 1946), pp. 63-106. 10.

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 114 SEN-DOU CHANG June

l ~~~~~~~~~~~~CAPITALS OF FEUDAL STATES DURING 722-480 B.C. -

0 100 200 300MILES

PROVINCIAL BOUNDARIES AS OF 1930'5

FIG. 2. Distribution of walled cities during 722-480 B.C. (Source: Ch'en P'an, "Emending Notes on
Ch'un-ch'iu ta-shih piao, lieh-kuo chueh-hsing chi ts'un-mieh piao," Bulletin of the Institute of History and
Philology, Academia Sinica, 1956-1957, Vol. XXVI, pp. 59-94; Vol. XXVII, pp. 325-70; Vol. XXVIII, pp.
393-440; Vol. XXIX, pp. 513-44.)

exactly known. However, over a hundred along the banks of the Yangtze and only two
states during the so-called Spring and Au- arose south of the Yangtze, as the capitals of
tumn period (722-480 B.C.) have been iden- the two neighboring kingdoms of Wu and
tified'7 and their capitals located as shown in Yueh. Economic development of the Yangtze
Figure 2. delta seems to have been earlier than in other
Compared with the capital cities in the parts of the river valley. Besides a productive
early Chou period, the capital cities in the agriculture in a favorable environment, the
Spring and Autumn period were more nu- development of an early iron forge industry
merous and more widely spread eastward as in this area had possibly stimulated the ag-
well as southward. To the south, many capi-
gregation of population in urban communi-
tal cities emerged along the Han River valley,
ties.18 The greatest number of new capital
and to the east the Shantung peninsula saw
the greatest number of new walled cities. 18 E. H. Parker supposed that it was at this time
However, only a few cities were established that the Chinese discovered the method of forging
steel weapons, and that before this date bronze only
17 Ch'en P'an, "Emending Notes on Ch'un-ch'iu was worked. It is certain that there was great activity
Ta-shih Piao, Lieh-kuo Chueh-hsing Chi Ts'un-mieh in the craft of swordmaking, and famous weapons
Piao, "Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philol- had names like that of King Arthur's sword, Excalibur.
ogy (Academia Sinica: 1956-1957), Vol. XXVI, pp. See John Darroch, "A Page from Ancient Chinese
59-94; Vol. XXVII, pp. 325-70; Vol. XXVIII, pp. History," Journal of North China Branch of the Royal
393-440; Vol. XXIX, pp. 513-44. Asiatic Society, Vol. LIV (1923), pp. 114-28. The

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 115

DISTRIBUTION OF SOME HSIEN CAPITALS IN THE CH'IN DYNASTY

FIG. 3. Distribution of some walled cities during 221-206 B.C. (Source: Shih Nien-hai, "Ch'in hsien
kao," Yu Kung or Chinese Historical Geography, Vol. VII, No. 6-7, June, 1937, pp. 271-318.)

cities in the middle of the first millenium was born. Secondly, the area contained nu-
B.C. occurred in the Shantung peninsula, es- merous tribes in Chou times. The rolling
pecially in the hilly portion of the area. Two hills and low mountains which dominate the
factors, among others, seem important in ex- landscape of the area are broken into several
plaining the concentration of capital cities sectors, which fact might have favored the
there. First, the area is mainly composed of formation of numerous independent states.
little rolling hills which constitute an island In the latter part of the Chou dynasty,
of upland surrounded by an extensive flood- when the king no longer maintained the bal-
plain subject to frequent inundation by the ance of power and when the more powerful
Yellow River. Better drainage and avoidance feudal princes annexed the territory of the
of flood on the upland margins led to a more minor ones, the number of states was greatly
stable and reliable agriculture which made a reduced. In the "Warring States" period
high degree of urbanization possible. It was (481-221 B.C.) the seven most powerful
one of the most flourishing and prosperous states dominated the political scene. Though
areas of China in late Chou times, the seat of many walled cities lost their political status
the powerful kingdom of Chi, and the region as administrative centers, most of them con-
in which the great philosopher, Confucius, tinued to grow, and some new cities were
created as a result of increasing trade and
ancient Chinese literature, such as WUt-iueh Ch'un-
exchange between states and between cities.
ch'iu, Lu-shih Ch'un-chi'iu, K'ao-kung-chih, frequently
mentioned that the best swords, knives, and weapons The merchant class probably played an im-
in Chou times all came from Wu and Yueh. portant role in developing and serving the

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 116 SEN-Dou CHANG June

urban communities in late Chou times. When cident with what came to be the Great Wall,
a lord had cleared some land and wished to intended to divide the nomadic tents of
found a town there, he sought the coopera- pastoral society and the walled cities of agri-
tion of a merchant. In order to insure mutual cultural society. The linear pattern of the
trust, each made a treaty of alliance for him- walled cities along the border indicates the
self and for his descendants.'9 The merchant defensive function of garrison towns estab-
agreed not to rebel against the lordly author- lished by the states of Yen and Han.
ity and the lord agreed not to take merchan-
dise by force. From that time, the power of URBANIZATION IN THE SZECHWAN BASIN
the provost of the merchants grew side by
THE CH'IN DYNASTY (221-206B.C.)
side with the power of the lord. Merchants
plied their trade by hereditary right and, with About 221 B.C., Shih Huang-ti, ruler of the
their extensive knowledge of the lands of oth- state of Ch'in, with an overwhelming military
ers, often took part in embassies sent by the striking power, destroyed the kind of feudal
overlord to neighboring courts. Moreover, in strength which had enabled the various re-
times of war, merchants and artisans were gional Chinese kingdoms to live in indepen-
not, like laborers and farmers, expected to dence and disunity. Then he extended to the
take arms under the leadership of the lord. entire empire a system of military and civil
Thus, the Chou merchants in an urban center centralization and divided the empire into
seemed to have enjoyed a certain degree of thirty-six commanderies, each directly ad-
freedom and independence not often known ministered by a civil governor, a military
in later times. The later part of the Chou governor, and a superintendent. Each com-
dynasty was possibly the only period in Chi- mandery was subdivided into hsien. Each
nese history in which city merchants had
hsien was administered by a magistrate di-
rights and status, to a certain extent, similar
rectly appointed by Shih Huang-ti. The for-
to those of mediaeval Europe, without the
mation of hsien capitals in Ch'in times marked
tight control of a centralized bureaucratic
the beginning of an important aspect of Chi-
government. It was probably also the only
nese urbanization which continued for the
period in Chinese history prior to the nine-
next 2,000 years. Since Ch'in times, the
teenth century in which many walled cities
urbanization of China, in a spatial sense, has
were created without a dominantly political
function. been roughly coincident with the creation of
Just how many walled cities had already hsien capitals in various regions.
existed in the "Warring States" period is dif- The number of hsien capitals which were
ficult to know. Since the short-lived Ch'in in existence during Ch'in times is still un-
dynasty (221-206 B.C.) inherited all impor- known. One historian estimated the number
tant walled cities of Chou times and con- as between eight and nine hundred.20 The
verted them into hsien capitals, the distribu- sites of all hsien capitals of Ch'in times, how-
tion of hsien capitals in the Ch'in dynasty ever, have not been identified, and Figure 3
should reveal much concerning the pattern of shows onlv 320 hsien capitals of Ch'in times
the walled cities which existed in the "War- as traced by Shih Nien-hai in 1937.21 These
ring States" period (Fig. 3). The greater 320 hsien capitals are probably less than half
density of urban centers in northern Honan of those which existed during that time. Nev-
reflects the concentration of numerous trade ertheless, they include the most important
centers in the area in late Chou times. The cities and seem numerous enough to show a
area was located at the crossroads of ancient general distribution pattern of walled cities
China and was once occupied by the state of for that time.
Ch'eng, a state whose merchants were famous
for their talent and genius in trade. To the 20 Yang Shou-ching, Ch'in Chun-hsien Piao Hsu
north, the limit of the walled cities was coin- (The Preface of the Table of Hsien in the Spring and
Autumn Period), as quoted by Shih Nien-hai, "Ch'in
19 Seraphin Couvreur, La Chronique de la Princi- Hsien K'ao," Yu Kung (Chinese Historical Geogra-
paute de Lou (French translation of Tso Chuan) phy), Vol. VII, Nos. 6-7 (June, 1937), pp. 271-318.
(Paris: 1951), Vol. III, p. 268. 21 Shih Nien-hai, op. cit.

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 117

Though, as mentioned before, the walled few walled cities here in Ch'in times marked
cities in Ch'in times were mostly inherited only the beginning of a great population
from the Chou period, the Ch'in dynasty itself growth in the Chengtu plain, one of the most
also created a number of walled cities, mainly densely populated areas of China today.
along the upper course of the Min River in
URBANIZATION OF THE "RIVER EMPIRE"
the Szechwan basin and along the Hsiang
THE HAN DYNASTY (206 B.C.-221 A.D.)
River south of the Yangtze, in both cases
producing a linear pattern. The cities along Throughout the "Warring States" period
the Min River were possibly administrative and the Ch'in dynasty, the Great Wall was
centers for water control and irrigation works roughly the boundary between the pastoral
developed in that area. The Min valley was Hsiung-nu and the agricultural Chinese. Dur-
one of the earliest areas settled by the Chi- ing the reign of the Emperor Wu-ti of the
nese in the Yangtze River basin. The Szech- Han dynasty, however, the boundary was
wan basin, a tribal territory in Chou times, pushed northward and walled cities, symbols
was invaded by the Ch'in army as early as of an agricultural society, were established
316 B.C., almost a hundred years before the for the first time beyond the Great Wall as
Ch'in unification of all of China.22 It later the result of a successful military campaign.
became a commandery in the reign of Shih The Chinese had long suffered from the con-
Huang-ti. The first governor-general of the stant raids of the Hsiung-nu. In the year 128
commandery, Li Ping, has been recognized as B.C., Wu-ti's general, Wei Ch'ing (a former
one of the greatest engineers in Chinese his- herdsman who could rival the Hsiung-nu
tory. He directed and constructed the Tuki- themselves as an archer and horseman) car-
ang Jetty Project on the Min River in 250 ried out a "counter-raid" across the Mongo-
B.C., probably the earliest multiple-purpose lian Gobi.26 Using the nomads' own tactics,
project constructed in China.23 The project and with the addition of the powerful cross-
consisted mainly of several flood diversion bow, he was able to defeat the Hsiung-nu. As
spillways on the Min River below Kuan- a result, military colonies were created along
hsien at the apex of the Chengtu plain.24 By the great bend of the Yellow River. The camps
diverting the river into several well-designed of soldier-farmers were analogous to the mili-
courses, it served the purposes of navigation, tary outposts of the Roman Empire and were
flood control, irrigation, and power develop- likewise intended to protect the boundaries
ment for husking grain, grinding rice, and for (limes) as well as to increase Chinese culti-
spinning and weaving.25 The appearance of a vated lands at the expense of pastoral lands.
Irrigation works were constructed and walled
22 Ma Pei-tang, "Pa-shu Kuei Ch'in k'ao" (On the
cities established (Fig. 4). Throughout most
Date when Szechuan Became A Part of Ch'in), Yu
Kung (Evolution of Chinese Geography), Vol. II, of the early Han period, the great northern
No. 2 (September 16, 19]34), pp. 2-6. loop of the Yellow River formed a frontier as
23 Whether Li Ping deserves the credit for all the vital to the Han Empire as was the Danube
initiative and engineering work on the Min River is
doubtful. Some believe that others had a share in to the Roman Empire.
the work both before and after his day. However, But the greatest military achievement of
Li Ping had much to do with the extension and the frontier expansion in Han times was probably
perfecting of the working of the system. See T. Tor-
the conquering of western territory and the
rance, "The Origin and History of the Irrigation
Work of the Chengtu Plain," Journal of the North establishment of Chinese cities along the Silk
China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. LV Road (Fig. 4). During Ch'in times, the
(1924), pp. 60-77. Kansu corridor was populated by a pastoral
24 Li Ping's principles for the regulation and main-
tenance of the irrigation system were "dig the chan- people called Yueh Chih, possibly of Indo-
nel deep, keep the spillway low." About the engi- European stock. The Hsiung-nu drove the
neering aspect of the Tukiang Jetty Project, see Fred Yueh Chih westward and assumed control
0. Jones, "Tukiangyien: China's Ancient Irrigation
over Kansu. During the years from 121-119
System," Geographical Review, Vol. XLIV, No. 4
(October, 1954), pp. 543-59. B.C. the Han general, Ho Ch'u-ping, with
25 Shih Yang-cheng, "Hydraulic Works" in Gen-
eral Handbook on China, Human Relation Area Files, 26 Shih Chih, Vol. III, "Wei-chiang-chun p'iao-chi
Inc. (New Haven: 1956), Vol. II, pp. 1765-1817. li-ch'uan" (Biography of General Wei), No. 51.

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 118 SEN-DOu CHANG June

DISTRIBUTION OF HSIEN CAPITALS IN THE HAN DYNASTY

PROVINCIAL OlNdCARIES AS OF 1930 o w

FIG. 4. Distribution of walled cities during 206 B.C.-221 A.D.

well-trained cavalry, drove the Hsiung-nu enough to form small urban centers. Travel-
away from western Kansu.27 Military colo- ers crossed the corridor by stages from one
nies were established and the route to the city to the next. These cities were spaced so
west was opened, bringing the Chinese into as to become early trade centers along the
touch with small city-states in the oases of Silk Road connecting the Han Empire and
the Tarim basin. During the reign of Wu-ti the Roman world (Fig. 5).
alone, some 600,000 Chinese soldiers were Walled cities were also added to the land-
moved into this barren corridor, many of scape of the alluvial plain in the present
whom became permanent inhabitants of the Hopei province in Han times (Fig. 6). The
frontier region.28 Numerous streams carried territory of Hopei was mainly occupied by
Nanshan mountain snow melt-water out onto the state of Yen during the "Warring States"
period and was relatively sparsely populated
the piedmont lowland, and many streams sup-
in comparison with Honan and Shantung.
ported a small area of irrigated land culti-
The urbanization of this area in Han times
vated by the garrison colonies. Gradually
was related to the increase in its total popu-
these early military colonies became populous
lation in the later part of the dynasty. Mainly
27 Ch'ien-Han-shu, Vol. 55, "Wei-ching Huo Ch'u- owing to the increasing strength of the Hsi-
ping ch'uan" (Biography of General Wei Ching and ung-nu, all the frontier commanderies in the
Huo Ch'u-ping), No. 25. west and north decreased in population after
28Lao Kan, "Population and Geography in the approximately 100 A.D., except for the com-
Two Han Dynasties," in Chinese Social History, ed.
and tr. by E-tu Zen Sun and John de Francis, Wash-
mandery of Yu-yang in Hopei which in-
ington, D.C., 1956, pp. 83-101. creased in population from 264,116 in 2 A.D.

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 119

Dates of establishment r . W

* Before 221 A kD. 960-1280

o 221-265 ?I 1280-1368 /
? 265-316 e 1368-1644Ok J
O 316-589 C, 1644-191 1
\:/NNNSAKNUADTSINGHAI _
@ 589-618 0 1912-1949
? 618-960 0

FIG. 5. Establishment of walled cities in Ninghsia, Kansu, and Tsinghai. (Main sources: Sheng Yun
and others, Kansu hsing t'ung-chih, 46 volumes, 1909. Chou Chen-hou, Tsinghai, Commercial Presis, 1938.)

to 435,740 in 140 A.D.29 Thus, with the ex- The first route was from the Wei valley
ception of a few walled cities established in across the Ts'ingling Mountains to the Szech-
Chou times as the capitals of feudal states, wan basin. This route had been taken previ-
such as Yenching (the capital of Yen, near ously by the Ch'in army as well as by immi-
the present city of Peking), few walled cities grants who settled mainly near the irrigation
were established in Hopei until after Chinese works of the Min River. During Han times,
soldiers and colonists moved down from the people from the densely settled Wei valley
northern commanderies, probably as a result (Fig. 7) must have come in very large num-
of the retreat of northern boundaries in the bers into the Szechwan basin. Many new
Late Han period. walled cities were established in the Ch'engtu
The first large-scale Chinese colonization plain and at favorable sites along the Kialang
south of the Yangtze River occurred during River and its tributaries (Fig. 4).
the Han dynasty. The distribution of walled The second route started from northern
cities established during this period may pro- Honan (Fig. 8), traced downstream along the
vide some general indications of the routes Pai valley, and proceeded southward toward
followed by some of the earliest pioneers. As the middle course of the Han. Here it was
shown on Figure 4 the southward movement joined by the route from the upper course of
of the Han people seems to have pursued the Han at an old frontier post long defended
by Chu against the state of Ch'in. The immi-
three main routes.
grants evidently did not continue along the
29 Ibid. Han toward its mouth, since few walled cities

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 120 SEN-DOU CHANG June

03 50 100 km 0 S?.

;X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~E

ip ~ '4,~
~ ~~~ ~~~~~~
~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~H
0 GUL_ g STBIHMN F HSIE CAPITALI

g : 4 i t) < 07 1 ~~~~~~~~~~IN SHANSI AND HOPEI

gr vot 0~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 316-589 O 1644-1911

F\\. 6. Establishment of walled cities in Shani a Dates of Establishment
O )7 y 9 * \ <_/ * \ *~~~~~~~~~ Before 221 A. D. ED 960-1280

* * ~~~~~~ Q) J _t 0 ~~~~~~~~0 221-265 (D 1280-1368

X O-^ ^* * 265-316 e) 1368-1644
1 X~~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5 f89-618 0 1912-1949

FIG. 6. Establishment of walled cities inl Shansi and Hopei. ( Main sources: Chang Cheng-mu and
others, Hopei t'ung-chih, Hopei-sheng t'ung-chih kuan, 1932. Tseng Kuo-ch'uan and others, Shansi t'ung-
chih, 96 volumes, 1892.)

were established along the lower Han at this River in Kwangtung where they joined with
time. Instead they crossed the river and con- immigrants from Hunan who had traveled
tinued due south across the plain to the Yang- along the Kwei River. The linear distribu-
tze and then crossed it probably at the walled tion of walled cities along these rivers reveals
city of J-ch'ang. After passing the Yangtze, that valley routes, with their waterways, were
the colonists established their walled cities the important passages for the southward
chiefly along the Yuan and the Hsiang (Fig. migration of early colonists. In the northern
4), though others proceeded into Kwangsi section of this route, however, canals also
and Kwangtung along the Kwei River.30 played an important role in providing favor-
The third route went by way of the Yang- able sites for walled cities. For example, the
tze delta, then upstream along the northern section of the Grand Canal between the Huai
bank of the Yangtze to a point north of Po- and the Yangtze was completed as early as
yang Lake, on across the river, and southward 482 B.C. by the king of Wu, Fu-chia, to carry
along the Kan River. Beyond the Meiling supplies for his invasion of Ch'i.3 From that
pass the colonists finally reached the Pei
31 Lo Y.P., Communications and Transportation of
30 Hans Bielenstein, "The Census of China during the Ch'in, Early Han, and late Han Periods, Research
the Period 2-742 A.D.," Bulletin, Museum of Far paper, Far Eastern and Russian Institute, University
Eastern Antiquities, Vol. 19 (1947), pp. 125-63. of Washington.

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 121

pattern of walled cities in Kiangsi (Fig. 10).

ESTABLISHMENT OF HSIEN CAPITALS IN SHENSI
This province is a saucerlike basin in its geo-
morphological structure, with the Kan River
draining the lowest and most productive por-
Dates of
tion of the basin. The Han cities were almost
Establ ishment
exclusively located along the bank of the Kan
* Before 221 A. D.

o 221-265
and the lower portions of its tributaries. The
? 265-316 upper courses of the tributaries and the pe-
I0 316-589 ripheral hill countries were not touched by
9 589-618
? 618-9600
large settlements until T'ang times.
e 960-1280
URBANIZATION IN THE HILL COUNTRY
( 1280-1368
o 1368-1644 SOUTH OF THE YANGTZE
(D 1644-1911
O 1912-1949 THE THREE KINGDOMS PERIOD

(221-265 A.D.)

At the end of the Han dynasty in 221 A.D.

the political structure of the empire was no
0 X @ 0 longer able to efficiently handle the whole
0 ~ 0 of the geographical spread of the Chinese
people and their culture. There followed a
0
period of about three and a half centuries

In~~~~E
WEI @0 0 km
during which the area of Chinese culture re-
verted to a system of smaller political units.
First was the half-century of the Three King-
doms period. In the north was the kingdom
of Wei, including the area of the middle Yel-

FIG. 7. Establishment of walled cities in Shensi.

(Main source: Yang Hu-ch'eng and others, Shensi ESTABLISHMENT OF HSIEN CAPITALS
t'ung-chih kao, 122 volumes, 1914.) Dates of Establishment
IN HONAN

* Before 221 A. D. @ 960-1280

o 221-265 (D 1280-1368
time, the zone along the canal gradually de- ? 265-316 e 1368-1644

veloped and walled cities were erected to ) 316-589 (D 1644-1911 v

* 589-618 0 1912-1949
meet the needs of the increasing population. o 618- 960

Almost all the walled cities along the canal

were already in existence before the end of
Han times (Fig. 9).
0~~~~~

As revealed by Figures 4 and 10, the walled 0

cities established south of the Ts'ing-ling 0

Mountains during Han times were mainly

located in lowland zones along important
0
;o 0

north-south waterways. The Han, Kialing,

Hsiang, Kan, and Pei rivers opened easy pas- 0 0~~~~~

sage for the Chinese to the hill country of the

0

* 0
south. Han times thus witnessed a closer * 0 *

association between urbanization and water-

ways than any other period of China. In this
sense, the Han Empire, which represents the . 50 100 km

first great empire of China, could well be

considered a "river empire."
FIG. 8. Establishment of walled cities in Honan.
The river-oriented urbanization of Han (Main source: T'ien Wen-ching and others, Hona-n
times is best exemplified by the distribution t'lng-chih, 40 volumes, 1914.)

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 122 SEN-DOU CHANG June

ESTABLISHMENT OF HSIEN CAPITALS

IN KIANGSU AND CHEKIANG

o 50~~~~~~~~~

* Before 221 A. D. g / > , ,

0 221-265

9 618-960 i

~ 1644-1918T

8 2-3164 n 196.g

O 1612-194911~.

CHEKIANG

lem 618TA wra rdwihte 0atrlpo

O 55 100 km
& A IN ANHWEI AND KIANHSI

ha >' t/>@~ ~ ~ 589-618 o 1912-1949

FIG. 9. Establishment of walled cities in Kiangsu
(* Before 221 AD. @ 960-1280
and Chekiang. (Main sources: Li Changfu, Ki- 5 {) QJ' j t t 0~~~~~ 221-265 a) 1280-1368
angsu, China Book Company, 1936. Ke Sui-ch'eng,
\-~~~) /rr 5/ 0~~~E- 316-589 (i 1644-1911
Chekiang, China Book Company, 1939t )
o 0 618-960

low River, and inheriting the frontier prob-

lems of war and trade with the pastoral peo- FIG. 10. Establishment of walled cities in An-
ples of Mongolia. In the west, based on the hwei and Kiangsi. ( Main sources: Wu K'un-hsiu
rich rice-growing region of Szechwan, iso- and others, Anhwei t'ung-chih, 120 volumes, 1877.
Liu K'un-i and others, Kia~ngsi t'ung-chih, 120 vol-
lated and protected by mountain ranges, was
umzes, 1881.)
the kingdom of Shu. Along the middle and
lower Yangtze, drawing wealth from the rice
lands around Tungt'ing and P'oyang lakes, southern frontier region. He carried out a
was the kingdom of Wu. military colonization policy and also made
Among the three, Wu's geographical loca- great efforts to settle in his territory about
tion demonstrated the greatest potentiality 200,000 families of refugees from North
for southward expansion. The area south of China.32 In the meantime, he conquered ter-
the Yangtze, with the exception of the delta ritories of hilly lands which were occupied by
region, was still covered in large part with the Shan Yueh, a tribal people who were
forests and was occupied by racially different never subjected to military service or taxation
groups of Tai peoples who were "non-Chi- during Han times.33 As a result, many walled
nese" in culture. The early Chinese immi- cities established in the kingdom of Wu were
grants still resided in scattered groups along
a few important river valleys. The leader of 32 San-kuo-chih, Wu Chih, Sun-ch'uan Ch'uan (Bi-
ography of Sun-ch'uan).
Wu, Sun Chuan, was not only a military ge-
33Hsu Te-lin, San-kuo Shih Chiang-hua (Lectures
nius, but also devoted much time to the agri- on History of the Three Kingdoms Period) (Shang-
cultural development of the hill lands of his hai: 1955), p. 95.

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 123

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING THE THREE KINGDOMS PERIOD

0 F Wl t ss0 3IG , C .

PROVINCIAL BOUNDARIES AS OF 1930'5

FIG. 11. Walled cities established during 221-265 A.D.

located in upper stream valleys in southern The migration began as early as 298 A.D.
Anhwei (Anhuei), western Chekiang (Che- Drought, civil war, political chaos, and ensu-
chiang), and eastern Kiangsi (Chianghsi) ing lawlessness were contributing causes to
(Figs. 9, 10, 11). the precipitous movement. In the year 298
alone, some 200,000 people from Kansu and
THE MOVEMENT OF NORTHERN WALLED CITIES
Shensi migrated to Szechwan and Honan.34
TO THE YANGTZE VALLEY The large-scale migrations to Szechwan were
THE TSIN AND THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN followed by mass movements from Szechwan
into Hupei and Hunan. In 311 A.D., when
DYNASTIES (265-589 A.D.)
five tribes of Huns invaded China, destroyed
After sixty years of division, China was the imperial palace at Loyang, and took the
temporarily reunited under the house of Ssu- emperor prisoner, about 900,000 Chinese fled
ma, the new dynasty of Tsin. Tsin was char- southward to the Yangtze valley.35 These
acterized by rapid political degeneration and northern refugees brought with them associ-
numerous killings of kinsmen resident at the ations with the original hsien from which
court. It was also a time when Turco-Mongo- they came. Many hsien capitals established
lian hordes invaded the empire, thereby caus- near the Yangtze River by these immigrants
ing one of the greatest north to south migra-
tions in Chinese history. Tsin began with a 34 Herold J. Wiens, China's March Toward the
Tropics (Hamden, Connecticut: 1954), p. 175.
capital at Loyang on the Yellow River and
35 T'ang Ch'i-hsiang, "Migration after 312," Yen-
ended with a capital at Nanking on the lower ching Journal of Chinese Studies, No. 15 (June,
Yangtze. 1934).

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 124 SEN-DOU CHANG June

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING THE TSIN DYNASTY AD

PROVINCIAL BOUNDARIES AS OF 1530 5'AmS A

FIG. 12. Walled cities established during 265-316 A.D.

(Fig. 12) were called by the place-names of help of large numbers of immigrants from the
their native areas.36 This demonstrates the north, made the Yangtze River valley an im-
strong regionalism of the hsien unit, which portant economic area. Many walled cities
has been characteristic of China for many were established there, even in the poorly
centuries. drained lands of Hupei (Fig. 13).
With the downfall of the Tsin dynasty, Urbanization in the Yangtze valley during
China entered into a period called the North- this period may well be attributed in part to
ern and Southern Dynasties, during which the institutional and technological changes which
north was controlled by a Mongolian people brought increases in agricultural productivity.
called the Toba, and the south was divided The immigrants from the north included a
into many turbulent little kingdoms. In the large proportion of gentry, knowledgeable in
north, the establishment of a few scattered agriculture as well as in administration.37
cities was due probably to the settling down They brought with them cultivation tech-
of whole ethnic groups in districts which had niques, organizational skills, and consumption
become depopulated by emigration. In the patterns which must have produced an impact
south, the successive small kingdoms of Sung, on the economy of the Yangtze valley, and
Chi, Liang, and Chen all chose the city of helped to stimulate the growth of walled
Nanking (Nanching) in the Yangtze valley as cities.
their capital. These small kingdoms, with the The most important technological innova-

36 Li Chi, Formation of the Chinese People (Har- 37 Chi Ch'ao-ting, Key Economic Areas in Chinese
vard University Press: 1928), p. 233. History (Leiden: 1936), p. 108.

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1963 HISTOIRICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 125

0 t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ r ~~~~ESTABLISHMENT OF HSIEN CAPITALS l l

at~~~~~~~~~~~~ U P E
0 50 100 m t~) / ~ | 0 191-1949 l

FI.1.Esalsmnto ald iisi Hpiad ua.(Mansucs:Yn hen-s n

othrs Hueit'ug-h~h Cmmrcil res, 934 L Hn-can an oher, unn tun-chhComeria
Press, ~~~ 1934.

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 126 SEN-DOU CHANG June

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING THE NORTHERN

AND SOUTHERN DYNASTIES (316-589 A. D.)

PROINCALBOUDFIG. 14c e d g A D

FIG. 14. Walled cities established during 316-589 A.D.

tions in raising the productivity of both land by summer could be used to fill the gap between
the old and the new grain.39
and labor in the Yangtze valley in this period
included double-cropping, which seems to The lower Yangtze valley probably has been
have been introduced by the northerners. Be- a rice-wheat double-cropping region since the
fore the turn of the fourth century, the natives beginning of the fourth century.
in this area probably practiced only the Intensive land use in the Yangtze valley
method of "fire plowing and water cultiva- may also have been accentuated by the change
tion,"38 a system of shifting agriculture with in animal husbandry, which shifted from
low yields. In 318 A.D. however, in order to sheep and cattle to pigs and water buffalo
supplement the summer crop of rice, the court during this period. The area is too humid for
introduced to the area winter crops such as raising the sheep and cattle of the north, but
wheat and barley which were previously its mature alluvial soils and poor drainage are
grown only in the north. A decree in that suitable for rice paddies. Pigs could be kept
year said that in pens and fed on leavings without using
. . . in the provinces of Hsu and Yang (Kiangsu land, and water buffalo were valuable for
and western Anhwei) the land was suited for ploughing wet paddies; both contributed im-
planting three kinds of wheat and barley. The portantly to food production and still left land
people should be ordered to plant these in dry
land at the approach of autumn. The crop ripened
free for grain crops and vegetables, which are
far more productive of calories and volume
3 Yang Lien-sheng, "Notes on the Economic His- per acre than are animals. The spread of pigs
tory of the Chin Dynasty," Harvard Journal of Asi-
atic Studies, Vol. 9 (1945-1947), pp. 107-85. 39 Ibid.

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 127

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING THE SUI DYNASTY

1? 2e 300M0LE

PROVINCIAL BOUNDARIES AS OF 19305s

FIG. 15. Walled cities established during 589-618 A.D.

and water buffaloes, together with the intro- Yangtze was also recorded.41 This marks the
duction of improved farming techniques and first time that the Yangtze River, aligned east-
the construction of water-conservancy works, west, became the most important water trans-
contributed to the surplus of agriculture in portation route in China. The key economic
the area. area of the country had shifted from the Yel-
Agricultural surpluses were one factor lead- low River valley to the Yangtze valley (Fig.
ing to increased exchange. In addition to the 14).
new walled cities established along the Yang-
URBANIZATION IN THE TEA COUNTRY
tze, many old administrative cities suddenly
emerged as trade centers of regional character THE SUI AND T'ANG DYNASTIES (589-960 A.D.)
during this period. In the cities of Yangchou, South China (the area south of the Yangtze)
Wuhsien, Chiangling, Wuch'ang, Nanch'ang, was the site of colonization both in the Han
Ch'angsha, and others, money, the sign of dynasty and during the Three Kingdoms pe-
commercialization, was used instead of grain riod. However, Han colonization of South
or cloth for exchange.40 In addition to handling China was limited to a few river valleys, and
local trade, many of these cities must have Wu settlements in the hilly regions were
been involved in South Sea or Central Asian scattered intermittently on a relatively small
luxury trade on behalf of the great families
and the court. A boom in shipbuilding on the 41 Fu Lo-ch'eng, "Nan-pei-chao pien" (History of
the Northern and Southern Dynasties), in Chung-
40 Etienne Balazs, Le Traite Economique du kuo li-shih ti-li (Chinese Historical Geography) (Tai-
"Souei-chou" (Leiden: 1953), p. 135. pei: 1954), Vol. II, p. 13.

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 128 SEN-DOU CHANG June

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING THE TANG

AND THE FIVE DYNASTIES (618-960 A.D.)

PRVICIL OUDFIE. 16 u0ag 960A

FIG. 16. Walled cities established during 618-960 A.D.

scale. The hill country of southeast China mands for grain from this area. Both military
was still largely neglected by early colonists and civil colonies for cultivation were estab-
until the seventh century. The T'ang dynasty lished, especially in the western part of Che-
witnessed the widespread construction of kiang. Cultivated lands were expanded and
walled cities in this region (Fig. 16). the total population grew. Walled cities as
Urbanization in the southeast corner of local administration centers were eventually
China during this period was associated with established.
two important facts. First, the dredging of Secondly, the establishment of tea planta-
the Han-Kou canal between the Huai and the tions in T'ang times may have contributed to
Yangtze and the opening of a new canal south the development of this area. Tea was prob-
of the Yangtze directly to Hangehou during ably first introduced to China as early as the
the Sui dynasty gave great impetus to the middle of the third century.42 It did not be-
development of the area. As the Grand Canal come generally used or become an important
had now reached Hangchou, the Chien T'ang commercial crop until the T'ang dynasty.43
River south of that city became a natural ex- 42 Tea became a luxury drink among the nobles in
tension of the Grand Canal, and thus an im- the early third century. The first record of tea used
for drink in Chinese history appears in San-kuo-chih,
portant waterway. A significant portion of the
Wu-shu, Vol. 65, Wei-Yo ch'uan.
southeastern hill lands was within reach of 43 The Arabic merchant Soleiman who wrote about
the Chien T'ang River and thus acquired 851 A.D. appears to be the first foreigner who gives
direct connection by waterways with the accurate notice of the use of tea leaves as a popular
beverage on the part of the Chinese, and gave the
political center of the north. A better trans- curious name "sax." See Berthold Laufer, Sino-
portation system fostered greater imperial de- Iranica (Chicago: 1919), p. 553.

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 129

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING THE SUNG DYNASTY

PROV I FNCIAL BOUNDARIES AS O 193 0 S

FIG. 17. Walled cities established during 960-1280 A.D.

The tea bush thrives best in a tropical or sub- The T'ang dynasty also witnessed the ad-
tropical climate, at an altitude of 300 to 900 dition of new walled cities in the Szechwan
meters, in a slightly acidic, light loam soil, basin (Fig. 18). Szechwan enjoyed a great
and with an abundant rainfall evenly distri- degree of prosperity during T'ang times. The
buted throughout the growing season. The area was not only connected with the imperial
low hill regions of Chekiang, Anhwei, and capital, Ch'angan, by the ancient "Shu Tao,"4
Kiangsi generally meet these requirements but was also linked with Kwangtung in 624
and they produced a large amount of tea for A.D. by a newly built courier route which
trade in T'ang times.44 The tea industry, in- passed through the northeastern corner of
cluding planting, picking, selection, roasting, Kweichow (Kueichou) .46 Many tropical prod-
and packing, requires the employment of large ucts as well as European goods brought by the
labor forces. The emergence of several new Arabs were shipped to Ch'angan on this route.
walled cities in this area during the T'ang Trade and trans-shipping stimulated the de-
dynasty (Fig. 16) is probably connected with
the rapid population increase in the area, re- 45"Shu-tao" literally means "road to Szechwan" in
Chinese. It was an important mountain road in the
sulting from the development of a commercial
Ts'ingling, connecting the Wei valley of Shensi and
tea industry. the Chengtu plain of Szechwan since Ch'in times.
See Herold J. Wiens, "The Shu Tao or Road to
44 The T'ang poets frequently based their stories Szechwan," Geographical Review, Vol. XXXIX, No. 4
on the tea-producing regions south of the Yangtze. (October, 1949), pp. 584-604.
See P'i-p'a-hsing, a well-known poem in China by 46 T'ang Chi-yu, Li-tai t'un-k'en yen-chiu (Re-
Po Chu-i, who mentioned the city of Fou-liang in search on Military Colonization of Dynastic China)
Kiangsi as the major trade center of tea. (Chungking: 1943), p. 483.

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 130 SEN-DOU CHANG June

ESTABLISHMENT OF HSIEN CAPITALS IN SZECHUAN AND KWEICHOU

b~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 58961 10 km. ? O

E) 61-6 0 O D

Fr. 8 Establishment of waldcteOnSeha n K wechu (Mi sore: hn-mn n

others, Szechwan t'ung-chih, 110 volumes, 1816. Lou Yun-lin, Szechwan, China Book Company, 1941.
Chang Kuan-ssu and others, Kweichou t'ung-chih, 32 volumes, 1741.)

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 131

t~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0 50 100 km

~~~~~Q 0~~~~~~~~~~

WAN 0~~~~~~~~~~I KAGUGAN WNS

t ~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ B-r 22 A.D | 960128096

FIG. 19. Establishment of walled cities in Kwangtung and Kwangsi. (Main sources: Yuan Yuan and
others, Kwangtung t'ung-chihx, 5 volumes, Commercial Press, 1934. Hsieh Chi-k'un and others, Kwangsi
t'ung-chih, 80 volumes, 1891. )

velopment of walled cities along the route. A cities (Fig. 19). The island had long been
string pattern of walled cities from Szechwan occupied by the Li group of Yao-Tai peoples,
through Kweichow to Kwangsi can be seen who had resisted all attempts to penetrate the
in Figure 16. Szechwan became a refuge for hinterland of the island, and the island had
the royal family of T'ang both in the eighth remained a zone of simple culture for many
and ninth centuries, at the time of the rebel- centuries. A few walled cities were established
lion of An Lu-shan, a T'ang general of Tartar by the Chinese as military stations on the west
descent, and during the revolution of Huang coast at the beginning of the seventh century
Ch'ao. During the latter incident, the Em- (Fig. 15). In 627 A.D., at the commencement
peror Hsi Tsung stayed in Szechwan for five of the reign of Emperor Tai Tsung, a complete
years.47 Along with these flights of the court, rearrangement of the territorial divisions of
Hainan was initiated, concurrently with the
there came a great number of civil officials,
strengthening of Chinese military stations
soldiers, and refugees. Many of them settled
throughout the island.48 A large number of
permanently in Szechwan and contributed in
soldier-colonists moved in from the mainland.
part to the establishment of new walled cities
The exclusive location of walled cities on the
during this period.
coast did not reflect any particular trading
As part of the great territorial expansion of
convenience, but rather indicated the only
the T'ang Empire, Hainan Island in the South
China Sea was completely ringed with walled 48 William Frederick Mayers, "A Historical and
Statistical Sketch of the Island of Hainan," Journal
47 Chiu-T'ang-shu, Vol. 19, Peng-chi, T'ang-hsi- of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic So-
tsung. ciety, No. VII (Shanghai: 1871-1872), pp. 1-23.

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 132 SEN-DOU CHANG June

0 50 100 km | ESTABLISHMENT OF HSIEN CAPITALS

IN FUKIEN AND TAIWAN

i'~~~~~~~~~~ 0
0~~~~~~

0 ~~~~~~~~TAIWAN

DATES OF ESTABLISHMENT

*Before 221 A.D. Q 589-618 e 1368-1644

O 221-265 0 618-960 ) 1644-1911
o 265-316 0 960-1280 0 1912-1949
o 316-589 C) 1280-1368

FiG. 20. Establishment of walled cities in Fukien and Taiwan. (Main sources: Ch'en Yen and others,
Fukien t'ung-chih, 100 volumes, 1938. Yuan K'e-wu, Taiwan, Commercial Press, 1927.)

level lands favorable for Chinese-type agri- land areas. The emergence of walled cities
culture on the island. on the Fukien coast was closely associated
The T'ang dynasty was also the first to with the expansion of overseas trade, especially
initiate urbanization, to any great extent, along with the Arabs, during the T'ang period. Be-
seacoasts (Fig. 16). The early cities of Fukien fore the seventh century, Chinese trade with
were established in coastal areas, a phenome- European countries was carried out mainly
non in contrast with that of other coastal prov- through the caravan routes of central Asia,
inces, where cities were first built in the in- and sea trade was minimal. From the early

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 133

part of the seventh century, these inland Ch'ao revolution. In the fifty turbulent years
routes had been cut by the Turkish people, of the Five Dynasties period (907-960 A.D.),
who arose at the northwestern frontier of the area became a refuge for people from the
China and continued to expand their territory north. The Sung dynasty, which transferred
at the expense of the T'ang. In the meantime, its capital to Hangchou as a result of the in-
Arab merchants gradually extended their vasion of the north by the Nu-chen people,
sphere of activities from the Indian Ocean and saw a more prosperous development of the
Southeast Asia to the South China Sea, be- area. A number of walled cities were estab-
coming a trading bridge between Europe and lished there during the period of the Southern
Asia. Port cities, such as Canton and Foochow, Sung (Fig. 17).
emerged as maritime metropolises of interna- City building in inland Fukien coincided
tional importance. Many walled cities also with a rapid cultural development. V. K.
arose on the Fukien coast. These cities served Ting made a study of the geographical shift
not only as ports for foreign trade during the of the culture-bearing strata of Chinese society
T'ang period but also as stepping-stones for in this period. He calculated that Kiangsi and
cultural relations with the islands of Japan. Fukien each had about five per cent of the
In 853 A.D., for instance, a famous monk, empire's famous men during the Northern
Enchin, landed in the neighborhood of Lien- Sung, whereas during the Southern Sung they
kiang Hsien in northern Fukien on his return each produced some 13 or 14 per cent.50 The
trip from Japan; in 865 A.D. the monk Shuei neo-Confucian philosopher Chu Hsi not only
and some of his companions embarked for developed his Min school of thought in this
Japan at Foochow.49 Coastal cities of Fukien area, but also initiated his well-known granary
developed earlier than those of other coastal system called She Tsang (community granary)
areas partly due to the many natural deep in Chung-an Hsien of northern Fukien.51
harbors available along Fukien's submerged Other coastal areas adjacent to Fukien, such
coast. Other coastal areas suffered from shal- as the lower Chien T'ang valley to the north
low water and lack of indentations owing to and the Canton delta to the south, contributed
their emergent shorelines and silt deposits substantially to urbanization in Fukien. A
carried down by rivers. great portion of the food supply for the cities
of Fukien was shipped from these adjacent
CITIES ESTABLISHED BY "BARBARIANS rice-surplus regions.52
THE SUNG DYNASTY (961-1280 A.D.) In the far north, the areas of eastern Hopei
and eastern Kansu also experienced some con-
During the T'ang dynasty cities established
struction of walled cities during this period
in Fukien were mainly in the coastal areas. (Fig. 17). The new cities of North China,
The inland part of Fukien was only sparsely however, were established not under the reign
populated. The retarded development of in- of the Sung emperors, but under the control
land Fukien was partly owing to the fact that of pastoral peoples who established powerful
the terrain was too rugged for the aggregation kingdoms and adopted Chinese political and
of a large agricultural population, and partly social culture in these areas. Prior to the Sung
to the mountain barrier of the Wu-yi Shan on dynasty, a pastoral people called the Khitan
the west, which effectively separated the area had occupied the northeastern territories with
from the rest of China. The area was ne- their stronghold in what is now Jehol. They
glected both by the early colonists during the set themselves up as the Liao dynasty at the
southward movement of Han times and by the beginning of the tenth century, and by the
refugees from the north during the chaotic beginning of the twelfth century they were
period of Tsin. Inland Fukien was not sig-
nificantly urbanized until the latter part of 50 Chang Chi-yun, Chung-Kuo-rmin-tsu-shih (His-
tory of Chinese Ethnical Groups) (Shanghai: 1947),
the ninth century, when a great number of p. 26.
refugees entered the area during the Huang 51 J. E. Baker and T. Y. Chao, "Granaries in
China," China Critic (Shanghai), August 8, 1935.
49 Edwin 0. Reischauer, "Notes on T'ang Dynasty 52 Ch'uan Han-sheng, "Production and Distribution
Sea Routes," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. of Rice in Southern Sung," in Chinese Social History,
V, No. 2 (June, 1940), pp. 142-44. op. cit., pp. 222-33.

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 134 SEN-DOU CHANG June

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING THE YUAN DYNASTY

FIG. 21. Walled cities established during 1280 1368 A.D.

ruling all of North China as far south as the cultural elements from them.54 The establish-
Yellow River. In order to administer a pastoral ment of a number of hsien capitals by the Liao
empire which included a sedentary population in the Luan valley seems to support his view.
in the south, they established five capitals in The walled cities which originated during
their core areas, with the "southern capital" this period in eastern Kansu were probably
located at the present site of Peking and the established by the kingdom of Hsi Hsia at the
"western capital" at the present site of Tat'ung beginning of the eleventh century. Hsi Hsia
in northern Shansi.53 Each of the five capitals was created in the tenth century by the
controlled a province of the same name. The Tangut people of Tibetan origin, after they
five provinces were divided into prefectures had driven the Uigurs out of their homes in
of varying rank. The hsien capitals established the Kansu corridor. It was under the leader-
by the Liao were mainly located in the lower ship of Yuan Hao (around 1032 A.D.) that
Luan valley within the province of the south- Hsi Hsia attained the zenith of its power,
ern capital, an area suitable for winter wheat having a standing army of 500,000 and be-
and kaoliang and settled largely by Chinese. coming a powerful threat to the Sung. Yuan
Wittfogel has held that the Liao ruling fam- Hao learned the Chinese language, and as-
ilies and nobles came in frequent contact with sumed an imperial title, calling himself Em-
their Chinese subjects and adoped numerous peror of Great Hsia.55 With his well-trained

53 Karl A. Wittfogel and Feng Chia-sheng, History 54 Ibid., p. 5.

of Chinese Society, Liao (907-1125) (Philadelphia: 55 Sung-shih, Vol. 485. Li-ch'uan, No. 244, "Hsia-
1949), p. 44. kuo ch'uan."

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 135

cavalry, he occupied almost the entire ter- TABLE 1. *-THE DISTRIBUTION OF ACTIVE MINES IN
EACH PROVINCE DURING THE SUNG AND YUAN
ritory of Kansu and pushed his eastern frontier
DYNASTIES
into present Shensi province. The walled
cities established during this period were lo- Province Gold Silver Copper Iron Lead Tin
cated exclusively in eastern Kansu, a territory
captured from the Sung. This suggests that Sung Times

the Tangut people were sinicized to the extent Chekiang - 3 1 - 1

Anhwei 1 - - - - -
that they learned the Chinese way of city
Kiangsi 3 4 4 4 2 3
building, and adopted the local administrative Fukien 1 7 6 5 5 -
system of hsien. Kwangtung 1 6 2 4 4 1
Hunan - 4 - 2 1 2
URBANIZATION IN THE YUNNAN PLATEAU Hupei - - - 4 - -
Szechwan - 1 1 3
THE MONGOL DYNASTY (1280-1368 A.D.)
Yunnan - - - -
The Southern Sung, with its territory mainly Honan - - - 2 - 1
Shantung - - - 3 - -
confined to the zone south of the Yangtze,
Shansi - - - 1 - -
was succeeded by the Mongol dynasty which Hopei - - - 3 - -
covered a territory unparalleled in size by Shensi 1 7 - 8 - -
any other empire in Chinese history. Com- Yuan Times
pared with other great dynasties of China, Chekiang - 1 - 4 2 2
however, the Mongol dynasty added few Anhwei - - - 2 - -
walled cities to China's landscape. The Kiangsi 4 2 - 7 - -
Fukien - - - 5 2 1
dynasty was a comparatively short-lived one.
Kwangtung - 1 - 1 1 1
Its greatness lasted less than a century. The Hunan 8 - - 10 1 1
great achievements of the Mongols were their Hupei 2 1 - - - -
enormous military conquests rather than any Szechwan 6 - - 2 - -
Yunnan 11 5 2 6 - -
well-planned frontier colonization or regional
Honan - 4 - - - -
agricultural development. The walled cities Shantung 1 3 1 1 - -
established during this period were almost Shansi - 2 - 1 - -
exclusively concentrated in the southwestern Hopei 2 3 - 3 - -
Shensi - - - 1 - -
corner of the country. The Yunnan plateau
had previously been occupied for four cen- * Data from Stung Shih, Shih-huo-chih, Keng-chih-t'iao;
turies by the Nan Chao Kingdom of the Tai Yuan Shih, Shih-huo-chih, Keng-chih-t'iao.

peoples. In 1253, Kublai, then a general in

the army of Mengku Khan, his elder brother, South China. After the annexation of Yunnan
led his army from Kansu into Yunnan and in the thirteenth century, the province sud-
took over the territory of Nan Chao.56 For the denly became the leading producer of min-
first time since the Han dynasty Yunnan be- erals in the country. Table 1 illustrates the
came a part of China. Many large settlements position of Yunnan in mining activities during
in the intermontane basins were converted the Sung and Yuan (Mongol) dynasties. A
into hsien capitals (Fig. 21). Thousands of few cities established during this period, such
Moslem people were brought in by the Mon- as Ko-chiu (producing tin) and Huai-tze
gols from northwest China, forming a base for (producing copper), were essentially mining
the later Moslem sections of many cities in towns.
the area.
URBANIZATION IN THE COASTAL COLONIES
The growth of some cities in Yunnan may
OF THE SOUTH
also be attributed to the discovery and ex-
ploitation of mineral resources at that time. THE MING DYNASTY (1368-1644 A.D.)
Through the dynasties of T'ang and Sung, the Whereas the Yuan dynasty had its great
important mining regions of China were boom of walled cities in the far inland prov-
scattered mainly in the Yangtze valley and in ince of Yunnan, the Ming dynasty estab-
lished most of its new walled cities in the
56 Edouard Chavannes, "Inscriptions et pieces de
Chancellerie Chinoises de l'6poque Mongole," T'oung
coastal provinces from the Yangtze delta
Pao, Vol. VI (1905). southward to the Canton delta. Judging from

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 136 SEN-DOU CHANG June

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING THE MING DYNASTY

FIG. 22. Walled cities established during 1368-1644 A.D.

the concentration of new walled cities in these pioneer cultivation. Reservoirs, lakes, and
maritime provinces (Fig. 22), no other period water channels were constructed or put into
in Chinese history had a sea-oriented urban- working order for irrigation and drainage.57
ization equal to that of the Ming dynasty. People were encouraged to plant mulberry
A number of walled cities were built in the trees in these newly reclaimed lands. The
Yangtze delta during this period. As men- population increased rapidly, and nine walled
tioned before, the Yangtze delta was settled cities were added in this area, including one
with the establishment of walled cities as on the recently emerged island of Ch'ung-
early as the middle of the first millenium B.C. ming (Fig. 9).
From that time on, almost every dynasty Another cluster of new walled cities in Ming
added a few cities as the economic center of times was formed in the hill regions of south-
the country gradually shifted southward. How- ern Fukien, in the hinterlands of the two port
ever, the number of cities built in this area cities of Chuanchou and Chanchou (Fig. 20),
during the Ming dynasty exceeds that of any an area of military colonization during the
other dynasty except possibly the Han. This reign of Kublai Khan for the production of
was partly a result of the fact that the Ming food to supply the Mongol troops. During the
government adopted the policy of encourag- Ming dynasty, military colonization in this
ing settlement in the lower Yangtze valley, area was carried out on a much larger scale
especially during the years when Nanking as a measure of defense against increased
served as the imperial capital. A significant
57 Mabel Ping-hua Lee, The Economic History of
area of the Yangtze delta, newly built by the China, Ph.D. Thesis, Columbia University, 1921, p.
deposits of the Yangtze, was available for 97.

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 1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 137

Japanese pirate raids. Secondly, many cities tury, the area was still considered to be a
along the Fukien coast had become important place of exile for disgraced officials. Partly
ports for direct trade with Southeast Asia.58 because of the influence of these exiled of-
The city of Hai-ch'eng (near the present ficials, Chinese culture gradually penetrated
harbor of Amoy), for example, had become into the non-Chinese ethnic groups of Kwei-
the starting point of the so-called Eastern Sea chow. The Ming dynasty encouraged migra-
Route which extended to North Borneo by tion from the lower Yangtze valley to the
way of the islands of Luzon and Mindanao southwestern territories. The hill regions of
and the Sulu Islands. The growth of coastal eastern Kweichow saw the establishment of
cities had a great effect on the development twelve walled cities, and a number of new
of large settlements in the hinterlands. The walled cities were also added to western
introduction of tobacco from Luzon during Yunnan, where the last remnants of Nan Chao
this period, for example, had an important rule had been annihilated.61
bearing on the land use of the area.59 "In a
URBANIZATION IN SOUTHERN MANCHURIA
short time it had found its way to all the nine
frontier cities."60 Population increase and THE CH ING DYNASTY ( 1644-1911 A.D.)
urbanization in this area were stimulated by
During the Ch'ing dynasty, which lasted
the introduction of a new commercial crop.
about three centuries, more walled cities were
In the interior, the territory of Kweichow
created than during any previous dynasty with
saw the rise of many walled cities for the first the possible exception of Han. Such large-
time in its history. This mountain country was
scale city building is an expression of the
probably the last territory in China proper to enormous growth of the Chinese population
be settled by the Chinese. During the T'ang during this period.62 The new cities were lo-
and Sung dynasties when the Nan Chao cated both in frontier regions, such as Man-
kingdom was developing agricultural settle-
churia, southwestern China, and Formosa, and
ments in the intermontane basins of Yunnan,
in the older settled regions, such as the Yang-
the highland of Kweichow formed an effective
tze delta and the southeast coastal region, sug-
buffer between Nan Chao and China. When
gesting both the cultivation of new lands and
the Mongols brought in large numbers of
the more intensive use of lands already under
Moslem people to Yunnan, neighboring Kwei-
cultivation.
chow was almost untouched. The slow devel-
As shown in Figure 23, the largest concen-
opment of Kweichow is perhaps partly ex-
tration of new cities in the Ch'ing dynasty
plained by its rugged terrain, its inclement
was in southern Manchuria. Chinese migra-
climate, and its unproductive soils of lime-
tion to Manchuria did not occur on a large
stone origin, unattractive to Chinese farmers.
scale until the beginning of the ninteenth
Even at the beginning of the sixteenth cen-
century. In the early years of Manchu rule,
Manchuria was considered to be a "forbidden
58 The late fourteenth century and the early fif-
teenth century mark a great epoch of Chinese over- country" to the Chinese, and it remained
seas expedition and trade. The sphere of Chinese sparsely settled except for a thin fringe along
influence at that time included almost all the islands
and peninsulas of Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, 61 Chang Chi-yun, "The Historical Development of
and eastern Africa. For a summarized account of the
the Land of China," Chinese Culture, Vol. I, No. 3
countries and localities which had some relationship
(Taipei: January, 1958), pp. 65-85.
with China during that period, see W. W. Rockhill,
62 Ho Ping-ti's compilation of official population
"Notes on the Relations and Trade of China with the
data from 1741 to 1850 shows the following figures:
Eastern Archipelago and the coast of the Indian
Year Population
Ocean during the 14th Century," T'oung Pao, Vol.
XVII (1915), pp. 61, 236, 374, 435, and 604. 1741 143,411,559
59Tobacco was first cultivated in Fukien during 1750 179,538,540
the period of Wan-li (1573-1620) of the Ming dy- 1775 264,561,355
nasty, about the time when peanuts and sweet pota- 1800 295,273,311
toes were introduced from Luzon. See Berthold 1825 379,885,340
Laufer, Tobacco and Its Use in Asia (Chicago: 1850 429,931,034
1924), pp. 58-59. See Ho Ping-ti, Studies on the Population of China
60 Li Ung-bing, Outlines of Chinese History 1368-1953 (Harvard University Press: 1959), pp.
(Shanghai: 1914), p. 256. 281-82. Appendix I.

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 138 SEN-DOU CHANG June

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING THE CHING DYNASTY

PROVINCIAL BOUNDARIES AS OF 1930.

FIG. 23. Walled cities established during 1644-1911 A.D.

the coast. In 1743, however, a drought in the caused frequent disruption in the supply of
eastern part of Hopei caused thousands of military grain. In 1803, in order to produce
hungry people to swarm through the gates of military grain locally, a decree was issued per-
the Great Wall and to flee into the fertile mitting Chinese farmers to settle in southern
plains of southern Manchuria. The Chien Manchuria.64 In the two decades from 1850
Lung Emperor, in view of the calamity, issued to 1870, the southern part of Kirin (Chilin)
a special decree permitting Chinese peasants was also opened up for Chinese colonization.
to enter Manchuria during a two-year period.63 During the reign of Kuan Chu (1875-1907)
After that time, whenever there was a serious all the regulations which forbade Chinese
famine, Chinese refugees were allowed to pass emigration to northeastern territories were
through the Great Wall. This policy was per- abolished and new policies designed to en-
petuated in later years for national defense courage Chinese migration were set up one
reasons. In the middle of the nineteenth cen- after another, such as the distribution of lands
tury, Russian troops had repeatedly invaded at extremely low prices, exemption from taxes
the northern borders along the Amur River during the first five years of residence, loans
and a great number of Chinese troops were from the government, and related practices.
maintained there. Natural calamities and In the early years of Manchu rule, the total
political disorders inside the Great Wall population of Manchuria was estimated at
about one million. In 1903, the number
63 Chu Ch'ieh, "Man-chou i-min ti li-shih ho hsien-
chuang" (The History and Present Situation of Im- reached 14 million, about eighty per cent of
migration in Manchuria), Eastern Miscellany, Vol.
XXV, No. 12 (Shanghai: June, 1928). 64 T'ang Chi-yu, op. cit., p. 275.

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 139

whom were Chinese.65 Such a great demo- Many walled cities also grew up in Chinese
graphic change led to the establishment of Turkestan during the Ch'ing dynasty. This
numerous walled cities to serve as administra- marked the beginning of modern Chinese mi-
tive centers. The fact that among the hsien gration into this territory. The area between
capitals founded in Manchuria during the the Altai Mountains and the Tien Shan had
Ch'ing period only nine were established be- been occupied by a pastoral people of Mongol
fore 1875 indicates that Manchuria became a origin called Dzungars since the end of the
region of large-scale Chinese colonization less seventeenth century. The Dzungars had been
than a century ago. The cities of Manchuria permitted to retain their tribal government,
in Ch'ing times were concentrated in the and many of their khans were made nobles
southern part. Easier access to China proper by the Ch'ing emperor. During the early
and better physical conditions for agriculture eighteenth century, the Dzungars attempted
were responsible for the development of the to extinguish the authority of China and to
Liao valley earlier than the Sungari and restore their independence under a strong
Amur valleys. leader of their own. Chinese armies could not
The second largest group of walled cities achieve a decisive victory until several cam-
established during Ch'ing times was located paigns were launched by the powerful em-
in the southwestern provinces where minority peror, Chien-Lung, under whom the Manchu
peoples predominated (Fig. 23). After the Empire attained its greatest power. Chien-
annexation of Yunnan in the thirteenth cen- Lung's army conquered the routes north and
tury, a self-governing system called Tu-ssu south of the Tien Shan and captured the ruler
was adopted by the Chinese authorities in of the Dzungars.67 Military colonies were
areas occupied by non-Chinese peoples. The established along the Ili River and the Tarim
Tu-ssu signified the allegiance of these groups River; most colonists were Moslems and Mon-
to the Chinese emperor and involved the pay-
gols. Large numbers of Chinese settlers did
ment of a nominal tribute. The Chinese au-
not move in until the 1860's, after the viceroy
thorities made no attempt to interfere with
Tso Tsung-tang had successfully put down a
internal administration as long as the non-
large-scale Moslem rebellion in the north-
Chinese did not become troublesome. In the
western provinces. Tso Tsung-tang was
early eighteenth century, however, the non-
praised not only for his successful military
Chinese showed signs of unrest. In 1726, the
mission, but also for his initiative in the agri-
powerful Manchu viceroy of Yunkwei, Ortai,
told his sovereign that the Tu-ssu administra- cultural development of this vast territory. It
tive system was badly in need of revision, and was mainly through his strong recommenda-
that all tribal people should be under the tion that the territory of Chinese Turkestan
direct control of the government. The change officially became a province of China in 1884
he advocated was known as "the bestowal of and was renamed Sinkiang, which literally
the rights of citizenship."66 After years of means in Chinese "new dominion." In the
guerrilla warfare, the great part of Kweichow train of the Chinese army there came hordes
was thus conquered in the name of the Ch'ing of Chinese migrants, many of whom were
dynasty. In Yunnan, all the country along the
banks of the Salween River was cleared of 67 The Manchu conquest of Sinkiang in the 18th
century was a result of several factors. Most impor-
hostile tribes, and many Tu-ssu of Kwangsi tant of all, according to Duman, was the need to
were made to give up their fiefs. Thus the direct attention from within China itself. The Man-
appearance of many new hsien capitals in the chu conquest of 1664 had been followed by a con-
southwestern territories at that time was not siderable distribution of land; but after a century of
peace there had been a great concentration of land-
only the result of population growth and new ownership, resulting in peasant unrest and the danger
land under cultivation, but also the result of a of risings. Secondly, there was the desire to open up
change in the local administrative system. A the Central Asia market. Thirdly, the power of the
Dzungars was a military danger, and the spread of
number of Manchu and Chinese officials now
their activity into Outer Mongolia was alarming. See
moved into the cities as the new ruling class. Owen Lattimore, "A Review of 'Agrarian Policy of
the Ch'ing Government in Sinkiang at the End of
65 Ibid., p. 276. the 18th Century' by L. I. Duman," Pacific Affairs,
66 Ch'ing shih-k'ao, Vol. 126, TuL-ssuL ch'uan, No. 1. Vol. XII, No. 3 (September, 1939), pp. 336-39.

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 140 SEN-DOU CHANG June

HSIEN CAPITALS ESTABLISHED DURING 1912-1949

FIG. 24. Walled cities established during 1912-1949 A.D.

merchants and craftsmen from Hunan, Tso ture, and turned the island into a significant
Tsung-tang's native province. These new im- producer of sugar and rice. The island did
migrants contributed a great deal to the for- not become politically Chinese until Koxinga,
mation of urban settlements in areas with the son of a Chinese general in the Ming
dense agricultural population, which usually dynasty, drove out the Dutch in 1661. For-
coincided with well-irrigated oases. mosa thus became an asylum for all Chinese
Walled cities also appeared on the island of who refused to submit to Manchu rule. An
Formosa (Taiwan) in the seventeenth century. independent state was established on the is-
Formosa is separated from Fukien province land under the leadership of Koxinga, but his
by a channel about a hundred miles in width, death in 1662 left the Manchus in undisputed
and was inhabited mainly by tribal peoples, control of the island. During the eighteenth
though a few Chinese settlements originated and nineteenth centuries, a period of enor-
along the coast before the seventeenth century. mous Chinese emigration overseas, Formosa,
When the Dutch came in 1624, they built a with its nearby location, became an important
few walled settlements on the island, of which destination of emigrants from Fukien and
Fort Zealandia and Fort Providentia were Kwantung. It was estimated that in 1897
the largest. The establishment of the Manchu there were 2,546,731 people on the island,
dynasty on the continent spurred thousands compared with 200,000 people in 1683.68 Eight
of Chinese families to migrate to Formosa; hsien capitals were established on the Island
they settled under the Dutch or planted
68 Chen Han-kuang, "Taiwan i-min shih-lieh" (His-
colonies of their own, reduced the forested tory of Immigration in Taiwan), in Essays on Taiwan
zones by initiating permanent field agricul- Culture (Taipei: 1954), pp. 62-63.

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 1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 141

during the Ch'ing dynasty (Fig. 23), before continuously driven northward as Japanese
the Japanese took control in 1895. troops advanced from the south. After the
war many of the refugees, with new lands and
URBANIZATION IN THE PERIPHERAL REGIONS
opportunities, settled permanently in the
THE REPUBLIC PERIOD (1911-1940)
north.
The walled cities established in the early A number of hsien capitals also appeared
half of the present century were mainly lo- along the southern borders of Yunnan and
cated in the frontier regions of the country. Kwangsi. Among the twenty-two hsien cap-
As shown in Figure 24, northern Manchuria, itals established in Kwangsi province during
the southwestern borderlands, and northern this period, fifteen were created in the former
Sinkiang include the largest number of new territories of Tu-ssu.72 Thus, the establish-
cities. Chinese sovereignty has become more ment of these cities in southwestern China
solid in these peripheral regions after many was mainly a result of the continuation of a
centuries of war, conquest, and military oc- policy inherited from the Ch'ing dynasty,
cupation; in some cases, they have actually which put the self-governed territories of the
been settled, partially or wholly, by Chinese. non-Chinese under the direct control of the
In Manchuria the walled cities established central government. Judging from the late
in this period are located mainly north of the appearance of these hsien capitals, a great
portion of the southwestern territories was
Sungari River (Fig. 24). The frontier of
neither under Chinese control nor an im-
Chinese settlement here was pushed north-
portant area for Chinese colonization until
ward. Except for a few cases, almost all the
the last few decades.
new cities of this period of large Chinese mi-
The northwestern provinces also saw the
gration to Manchuria resulted from increasing
establishment of many hsien capitals during
demand for laborers in railroad construction
this period, the largest concentration being
and mineral exploitation, and cumulative
along the north bend of the Yellow River and
disasters of disintegration in China proper.
in northern Sinkiang (Fig. 24). A greater
During the ten years immediately following
part of northwest China is much too dry to
the opening of the Chinese Eastern Railroad
support large agricultural settlements; the
in 1903, the average number of Chinese en-
emergence of hsien capitals here reflects the
tering Manchuria reached 100,000 each year.69
development of irrigation works on an enor-
After that the number increased rapidly. In
mous scale. Irrigation works along the loop of
the two years of spectacular migration (1926-
the Yellow River were constructed as early
1928) in which the yearly immigration first
as 100 B.C. and a number of walled cities
showed a preponderance of settlers over sea-
were established there. Through the following
sonal laborers, the figure mounted to about
two thousand years of dynastic history, the
a million a year, with half a million permanent
area was essentially a fusion zone between
settlers.70 C. Walter Young maintained that
two different cultures and frequently was
during this period two-thirds of the immi-
under the threat of or occupied by the pastoral
grants to Manchuria went to northern Man-
horsemen. Many ancient water channels and
churia, the largest concentration settling in the
ditches eventually were abandoned. As pop-
Sungari valley and along the Chinese Eastern
ulation pressure mounted in the nineteenth
Railway.71 The Russo-Japanese War also af-
century, the network of irrigation canals along
fected the colonization of northern Manchuria.
the bend was gradually restored and a horde
During the two years from 1904 to 1905,
of poor peasants moved into the area. After
masses of settlers in southern Manchuria were
the Boxer Incident in 1900, the agricultural
69 Hsu Hsi, Tung-san-sheng chi-lieh (A Short His- achievements of this area caught the attention
tory of Manchuria), (Shanghai, 1915), pp. 38-60. of the court in Peking, and within two years
70 Owen Lattimore, "Chinese Colonization in Man- the area was under government control,
churia," Geographical Review, Vol. XII, No. 2 (April,
1932), pp. 177-95.
through the appointment of a superintendent
71 C. Walter Young, "Chinese Colonization in Man-
churia," Far Eastern Review, Vol. XXIV (1928), pp. 72 Adminisftrative Divisions of the Republic of
241-50. China, Interior Department, Shanghai, 1947.

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 142 SEN-DOU CHANG June

of agricultural colonization.73 The formation ber of walled cities created in Sinkiang has
of half a dozen hsien capitals along the left been larger than that created in any province
bank of the great river bend in Suiyuan prov- of China proper.
ince during this period reflects the signifi-
CONCLUSIONS
cance of the immigration. The rural popula-
tion density of Fung-cheng Hsien reached 199 Some general conditions under which cities
per square kilometer in 1943,74 almost com- spread over the face of China may be derived
parable to that of the middle Yangtze valley. from consideration of the spread-patterns of
Thus, the left bank of the loop in modern hsien capitals throughout the various periods
times constitutes a demographic island of of Chinese history.
dense rural population in the relatively The earliest Chinese cities, much like
sparsely populated upper Yellow River valley. ancient cities of other civilizations, originated
A number of hsien capitals were also added concomitantly with the beginnings of an agri-
in Sinkiang province during the last few de- cultural economy and resulted from amalgama-
cades, most of them scattered in the Dzun- tion and consolidation of various small villages.
garian basin, an area less arid than the Tarim These ancient cities, ostensibly the residences
basin to the south. The Sinkiang Gazetteer of the rulers of agricultural people, also func-
reported a population of 2,003,931 in the pe- tioned as sites for temples, storage of agri-
riod of 1882 to 1902.75 When plotted against cultural surpluses, and as fortresses against in-
the 1940 to 1941 population of 3,730,051, this cursions by surrounding pastoral peoples.
indicates an increase of 1,726,120 in a forty- The feudal period in China began in the
year period.6 Such an increase was partly tenth century B.C. North China was then
the result of natural growth but even more ruled by numerous petty nobilities, each lo-
of the immigration of Chinese. Population calized in a small territory. The capital of
growth in this arid region was made possible each domain functioned both as a defensible
mainly through the expansion of cultivated residence and as a central place for the
land by means of irrigation works which ob- domain. In Chou times the feudal organiza-
tained water from melting glaciers or snow. tion helped stimulate the regional develop-
Many irrigation schemes and programs for ment of North China and fostered the devel-
expanding cultivated lands were initiated by opment of many walled cities in that area.
semi-independent warlords who hoped to Military colonization, carried out by Chi-
strengthen their own political and economic nese bringing sedentary agricultural practices
power by attracting large numbers of immi- in the form of irrigation agriculture to pastoral
grants. Many walled cities created at the lands, was instrumental in the establishment
population centers of oases were also a result of walled communities in the frontier regions.
of a policy carried out by the central govern- The formation of permanent settlements there
ment, which was anxious to bring the border was usually followed by the establishment
territories under its direct control through the of walled cities for both defense and trade.
agency of governments centered on hsien cap- The boom in Han time of walled city con-
itals as a measure against Russian influence in struction along the great bend of the Yellow
Sinkiang. During the past hundred years no River and in the Kansu corridor, for example,
famine has occurred in Sinkiang; this may resulted primarily from military colonization.
also be responsible for the fact that the num- The later growth of these cities, however, was
neither entirely a function of the need of these
73Ku Chih-kang, "Wang T'ung-chun kai-fa ho-
local communities for larger administrative
t'ao" (The Role of Wang T'ung-chun in the Devel-
opment of the Yellow River Bend), Yu Kung (Evo- centers nor for larger regional trade centers
lution of Chinese Geography), Vol. II, No. 11 (Feb- but, rather, depended on trade carried on be-
ruary 16, 1935).
tween China and western Asian countries.
74 Census of the Interior Provinces, Interior De-
partment, Chungking, 1943. The uniform spacing and linear pattern of
75 Wang Shu-nan, Sinkiang Gazetteer, Chuan I, pp. walled cities in the Kansu corridor, for ex-
5-7. ample, reflect an important trade route con-
76 Chang Chi-yun, "Land Utilization and Settle-
necting Han China with the Roman world.
ment Possibilities in Sinkiang," Geographical Review,
Vol. XXXIX, No. 1 (January, 1949), pp. 58-75. Construction of walled cities in the northwest,

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1963 HISTORICAL TREND OF CHINESE URBANIZATION 143

following military pacification of Moslems, of the Great WAVall, for example, were not
resulting in permanent Chinese agricultural constructed until the Kitan people established
occupation of the area, occurred as recently the jurisdiction of their powerful Liao dynasty
as the mid-nineteenth century. in that area.
The walled city in China was a symbol of Migrations of Chinese because of invasion
sedentary agriculture. Not all walled cities, of non-Chinese from the north, internal dis-
however, were established by the Chinese. order, famine, flood, or drought have been
China proper, especially North China, had factors contributing to the spread of walled
been, at several periods, under the political cities in the Yangtze valley, South China,
control of non-Chinese pastoralists. Many of Manchuria, and Taiwan. The movement of
these assimilated Chinese culture and built Moslems to southwestern China during the
powerful dynasties in China, often using Chi- Mongol dynasty greatly increased the urban
nese administrative methods. Certain areas population of that area, and the emigration
of the frontier zone, suitable for cultivation of Chinese from the mainland, because of dis-
but not previously used by the Chinese for like of Manchu rule, contributed to the con-
that purpose, were settled for the first time struction of the first walled cities on Taiwan.
by these newly assimilated invaders. Walled The establishment of walled cities was, in
cities were erected, after the Chinese fashion, sum, a function of both military requirement
as a symbol of permanent military control and and economic need in all periods of Chinese
also for the more basic function of trade. history. Their distribution can best be inter-
Several walled cities along the eastern part preted in terms of these two factors.

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