History

Founded as a province in the Year of Kangxi in the Qing dynasty (1667), Anhui got its “An” and “Hui” respectively from the An Qing government and the Hui Zhou government. The current provincial capital is the city of Hefei. Anhui also got its short name “Wan” from the ancient Wan kingdom, Mt. Wan and the Wan river. It is one of the key places of prehistoric civilization in China. Relics of human activities tracing back to 2.5 million years are found in the Renzi cave in Fanchang county, and hominid relics up to 340,000 years old in Longtan cave in He county.

Gushouchun (now called Shou county) was once the capital of the Chu kingdom in the Spring and Autumn period (BC770-476). Daze village in Suzhou witnessed the first peasant uprising in Chinese feudal history. The Feishui battle (AD383) also happened in Bagong mountain in the Huainan region in the Eastern Tsin dynasty. Great poets during the Tang and Song dynasties, such as Libai, Dumu, Liu Yuxi and Ou Yangxiu,visited this region, leaving many unforgettable poems. Guo Zixing, Zhu Yuanzhang (later became the first emperor in Ming dynasty) revolted the Yuan dynasty in Haozhou (near Fengyang and Dingyuan city at present) and finally overthrown it by Ming dynasty(AC1364). Before the 1911 revolution, Anhui witnessed heroic movements against government oppressors, such as the assassination of Anhui governor Enming by Xu Xilin and the Mapaoying uprising by Xiong Chengji. In January 1941, there saw the Wannan event (At that period, the two parties united together to fight against Japanese invaders but Kuomingtang assassinated many communists in Wannan, violating the coalition) in Jin county (the headquarters of the New Fourth Army of Communist).

Culture

As an indispensable part of Chinese culture, Anhui culture distinguishes itself by the following features:

1. Rich and long history. During Western Zhou dynasty (BC11th-BC771), Huai minorities suffered many attacks by the central court. Only after the mid period of Spring and Autumn period, the minorities became stronger and gradually integrated with the neighborhood.

2. Many ancient writers, historians and philosophers came from Anhui, such as the three Cao poets (Caocao, Caopi and Caozhi, the father and two sons), Neo-Confucian developed by Cheng brothers and Zhuxi in Ming dynasty. Tongcheng literature and Xin’ an painting.

3. The culture and customs of Hui merchants. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Hui merchants made their business legend in Chinese history by their close bonds of religion and kinship. Their unique and systematic concepts of culture and management as well as their economic power have exerted widespread influence on the development of this region.(Need specific examples)

4. Numerous statesmen, strategists, scientists and artists were from Anhui, including Guan Zhong (statesman in the Spring and Autumn periods), Laozi (founder of Taoism in the Spring and Autumn periods), Zhuangzi (developer of Taoism), Caocao, Caopi, Caozhi (strategists and poets in the Three Kingdom period), Huatuo (a physician in the Three Kingdom period), Baozheng (an official in the Song dynasty), Mei Yaocheng (a realist poet in the Northern Song dynasty), Zhuxi (a philosopher and educator in the Northern Song dynasty), Chen Duxiu (advocator of the New Cultural Movement( to renew Chinese culture by modern Chinese and abandon some outdated traditions and thoughts. and a founder of the Chinese communist party), Hushi (a great scholar), Fen Yuxiang (a patriotic general in Kuomingtan, and Deng Jiaxiang a (nuclear and physical scientist).

Language

There are four main dialects from northern to southern Anhui. In the north, they are the Gan (Jiangxi province), the Wu (Zhejiang province) and the Hui dialects.

Ethnic Groups 

Fifty-two ethnic groups live in Anhui province.