Henan

/hue"nahn"/, n. Pinyin.

1. a province in E China. 50,320,000; 64,479 sq. mi. (167,000 sq. km). Cap.: Zhengzhou.

2. former name of Luoyang.

Also, Honan.

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or Ho-nan conventional Honan

Province (pop., 2000 est.: 92,560,000), east-central China.

It is bounded by Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, Hubei, and Shaanxi. It has an area of 64,500 sq mi (167,000 sq km), and its capital is Zhengzhou. An early civilization there gave rise to the Shang dynasty (18th–12th century BC), the first of several that ruled until с AD 936. Kaifeng became the capital under the Northern Song dynasty, which was overthrown by the Mongols in 1127; Zhengzhou then was made the capital. Henan's principal crop is wheat. Henan has large deposits of coal, petroleum, and natural gas, which fuel the economies of its major cities. It is also a railroad transportation hub.

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▪ province, China

Introduction

Wade-Giles romanization  Ho-nan , conventional  Honan 

 sheng (province) of north-central China. The province stretches some 300 miles (480 km) from north to south and 350 miles (560 km) east to west at its widest point. It is bounded to the north by the provinces of Shanxi (Shansi) and Hebei, to the east by Shandong (Shantung) and Anhui, to the west by Shaanxi (Shensi), and to the south by Hubei (Hupeh). The Huang He (Yellow River) divides the province into two unequal parts—one-sixth north and five-sixths south of the river—and thus to some extent belies the name Henan (“South of the River”). Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, lies in northern Henan at the point where the north-south Beijing-Guangzhou (Canton) railway crosses the Huang He and meets the Longhai line running from east to west; Kaifeng, the former capital, is located about 45 miles (75 km) to the east. Area 64,500 square miles (167,000 square km). Pop. (2007 est.) 93,920,000.

Land

Relief

      Henan can be divided topographically into two parts, the western highlands and the eastern plains. In the northwest the rugged Taihang (Taihang Mountains) and Zhongtiao mountains form the steep eastern edge of the Shanxi Plateau, rising in places above 5,000 feet (1,524 metres). They are part of the Taihang fold system of Permian times (i.e., about 250 to 300 million years ago), have a general northeast-to-southwest trend, and mark the northern border of the province.

      South of the Huang He there is a broad stretch of upland comprising a number of moderately high mountain basins, the main ranges being the Xiong'er and Funiu. These mountains, which have an east-west trend, are the eastern extension of the Qin (Tsinling) Mountain (Qin Mountains) axis that divides China geologically and geographically into North and South. The Tongbai and Dabie (Dabie Mountains) ranges form a further extension of this axis, running in a southeasterly direction and marking the border between Henan and Hubei. The Tongbai range is separated from the Funiu by a gap some 75 to 100 miles (120 to 160 km) wide cut by the Tang and Bai rivers, which are tributaries of the Han River. This gap gives easy access from the Henan Plain to the central basin of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), a route much used from Han times onward in Chinese expansion southward.

      To the east lie the plains. Until fairly recent geological times the mountains in the west formed the coast of a sea that, essentially, was the western extension of the present Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli) and Yellow Sea. That sea, now filled with silt brought down by the rivers and by the wind from the Loess Plateau, forms the North China Plain and the Huai River basin; it is estimated that the sediment of the plain is now some 2,800 feet (850 metres) deep in places. It is part of the great subduction zone (downwarping part of the Earth's crust) that extends from Heilongjiang to Jiangxi provinces. The floor of this zone is sinking at a rate equal to that of deposition.

Drainage

 Henan has three river systems: the Huang He in the north and northeast, the Huai River in the east and southeast, and the Tang and Bai rivers in the southwest. The latter two drain southward into Hubei, eventually joining the Han River (a major tributary of the Yangtze River [Chang Jiang]).

      The Huang He—known in Chinese literature simply as the He (“River”)—turns eastward (immediately after its confluence with the Wei River) just west of the junction of the borders of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan. From there it soon enters the Sanmen Gorge, flowing east-northeast for some 80 miles (130 km) between Shanxi and Henan before issuing onto the plain and flowing east directly across northern Henan. It is remarkable that from the confluence with the Wei to the sea, a distance of about 600 miles (1,000 km), the Huang He receives only two comparatively small tributaries: the right-bank Luo River, on which Luoyang stands, and the left-bank Qin River.

      The Huang He is subject to extreme changes in summer and winter flow. In time of maximum flow (summer) the river carries an enormous load of silt, gathered mainly in its course through the Loess Plateau of Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces. There is a Chinese saying that “if you fall into the Huang He, you never get clean again.” Prior to the damming of the river at Sanmen Gorge, the river was fast flowing through the gorge, and it was able to carry its load of silt until it issued onto the plain; at that point, its pace was checked, it could no longer carry the silt, and flooding occurred.

      Throughout historical times, this menace was met by building levees to contain the waters. Generally, these dikes were built 5 to 8 miles (8 to 13 km) apart, parallel to the river's banks, to give the river plenty of room to flow in time of spate (flooding), but instead the load of silt slowly spread within the confines of the dikes, building up the riverbed through the centuries, until today it lies above the surrounding countryside. Dikes have been built higher and higher, and when they failed to hold—as has happened in some part of the province almost every year—the river descended onto the plain, causing disastrous floods, the waters of which could not return to the high streambed when the river's flow slackened. The result was waterlogging of the soil, crop destruction, and famine.

      Because the watershed between the Huang and Huai rivers is almost imperceptible, the Huang He has radically changed its course several times in the last three millennia, flowing to the sea first south, then north of the Shandong Peninsula. The diversion has always been in northern Henan between Zhengzhou and Kaifeng. In 1938, in an attempt to arrest the advance of the invading Japanese Army, the Huang He was deliberately diverted to the south by blowing up the dikes near Zhengzhou and flooding 21,000 square miles (54,000 square km) of land, at an estimated cost of 900,000 lives. The river was restored to its former northern course in 1947.

      Under the People's Republic, work along the river has included continued strengthening of the dikes and construction of the 30-mile- (50-km-) long People's Victory Canal, which diverts Huang He water to the Wei River (of northeastern Henan). A dam near the city of Sanmenxia near the Shanxi border was begun in 1956 as part of an extensive flood-control and hydroelectric project. After completion of the dam in the 1970s, silt accumulation cut its generating capacity to a fraction of planned output, hampering much of the province's industrial development; however, the dam did help control the flood stages of the river.

      The Huai River itself and all its major left-bank tributaries have their sources in the mountains of southwestern Henan. They flow eastward onto the Anhui Plain, subjecting it to disastrous floods. In 1949 the Huai basin became the communist regime's first large water-conservancy program. Six dams were quickly built in the upper reaches of Huai tributaries in Henan. Since 1957 more than 20 large dams, including those at Xianghongdian, Meishan, and Foziling, have been built. Dikes were strengthened, with the result that no serious disaster has since occurred.

Soils

      Henan's soils are made up mainly of calcium carbonate (lime) in hardened layers of alluvium. Because of comparatively low precipitation levels, there is little leaching. The higher land of the west is mainly mountain yellow-brown earth, better drained than the plains. The more fertile areas fringing the plains were the sites of early civilization. Alluvium is spread throughout the plains; it is yellowish and gray, porous, granular, and poor in organic matter. Since the bed of the Huang He lies above the surrounding land, much of the low-lying land on either side is waterlogged. Consequently, soil salinity and alkalinity affect the whole area. There are large areas of bleak, white saline sands. Since 1949 there has been much experimentation aimed at bringing these alkaline lands into production. Between 1954 and 1964 one-fourth of the saline land between Kaifeng and Zhengzhou reportedly was transformed into fertile farmland; since then, efforts to reclaim saline and alkaline land have continued, though with limited or short-lived success.

Climate

      Henan lies in a transitional climatic zone between the North China Plain and the Yangtze valley. Although protected in some degree from the Mongolian winds by the Taihang Mountains, Henan has cold winters; summers are hot and humid. Average January temperature in the north is 28 °F (−2 °C) and in the south 36 °F (2 °C). Average July temperature over the lowlands is 82 °F (28 °C), while in the western mountains it is a degree or two lower. There are 180 frost-free days annually in the north and 240 in the south.

      Precipitation (nearly all of it rain) is distributed more evenly throughout the year than it is in the rest of North China, although there is a marked spring-summer maximum. Kaifeng has an average rainfall of 23 inches (580 mm), of which only 3 inches (75 mm) fall in the autumn and winter months. There is a steady decrease in total rainfall from southeast to northwest and a marked increase in variability. Henan is therefore more subject to years of alternating heavy rain and drought than the provinces of the Yangtze valley. In the past it had suffered from severe famine. It also experiences spring cloudbursts and occasional hailstorms, both of which can be highly destructive. In times of drought, summer dust storms are worse even than those of winter.

Plant and animal life

      The natural vegetation of Henan is deciduous forest and woodland over the plains, and deciduous and coniferous forest in the western highlands. Intensive settlement of the plains has long since led to the clearance of the trees to make way for cultivation. The mountains, however, retain some of their woodland. Since 1949 major efforts have been made in planting trees for shelter, timber, and other uses. More than 400 varieties of vertebrate land animals inhabit the province, most of them living in the upland forests. A number of species are endangered, including the serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), a type of mountain goat.

People

Population composition

      The vast majority of the people of Henan are Han (Chinese). There are no autonomous minority groups such as are found in the western provinces, the small number of Hui (Chinese Muslims) being integrated into the broader population. Earlier Mongol and Manchu invaders were absorbed and Sinicized. In the 12th century, when Kaifeng was the imperial capital of the Song dynasty, Jews originally from India or Persia became an important part of the community. The Kaifeng Jews (Kaifeng Jew) retained their identity until the late 19th century, after which they were absorbed.

Settlement patterns

      Henan became China's most populous province in the late 1990s, after Chongqing (Chungking) municipality was separated from Sichuan province. The majority of the population lives in rural areas, the greatest concentration being in the eastern plain. Densities nearly as great are found in the Yi and Luo river basins and in the plain around Nanyang in the southwest, but in the more mountainous west and south they are considerably less. On the eastern plain, villages are fairly close together, usually about 1 mile (1.6 km) apart. In the mountains they are smaller and more widely dispersed. Houses are made mainly of mud-plastered walls and thatched roofs.

      There was considerable movement of rural people of the plains to towns in the west in 1958–59, during agricultural collectivization and the Great Leap Forward. Rural-to-urban migration has continued since then, although the overall proportion classified as urban has remained small. Nonetheless, two cities—Zhengzhou and Luoyang—have a population greater than one million each, and Zhengzhou's urban area population exceeds 2.5 million.

Economy

Agriculture

      Henan's economy is essentially agricultural. Most of the total cultivated area lies in the plains to the east of the Beijing-Guangzhou railway. The only idle land is found in the mountains and in the saline lands of the northeast. Main food crops include winter wheat, millet, kaoliang (a variety of grain sorghum), soybeans, barley, corn (maize), sweet potatoes, rice, and green lentils. Wheat is by far the most important, in both acreage and production, Henan ranking at the top in output among the provinces. Rice occupies only a small percentage of the crop area; its yield per acre, however, is almost three times as great as that of wheat. Fruit growing has received considerable impetus in recent years, partly for its own sake and partly for soil conservation, particularly in the idle sandy lands of the northeast and on mountain slopes. Dates, persimmons, apples, and pears are the main fruits, with walnuts and chestnuts also grown. Henan produces draft animals of good quality, particularly yellow oxen and donkeys. Hogs are the most important food animals, and goats and sheep are mainly raised in the western mountains.

      The chief industrial crops are cotton, tobacco, vegetable oils, and silk. Cotton is widely grown on about half the acreage available for farming, with its main concentration north of the Huang He around Anyang and Xinxiang. Tobacco growing, introduced into Henan in 1916, increased enormously after 1949; Henan is now one of China's largest tobacco producers. Vegetable oils are important, with Henan one of China's largest producers of sesame, grown mainly in the east and south. Ramie, the most important of the leafy fibres, is grown in eastern Henan in the Huai River valley. Henan is one of the oldest centres of sericulture (silkworm raising) in China. The industry dates to the Dong (Eastern) Han dynasty (25–220 CE). Both mulberry leaf culture and oak tree culture for silkworms flourished between the two World Wars but suffered severely during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45). After 1949 there was a revival on the slopes of the Funiu Mountains, and the province became an important exporter of silk.

      Henan suffers severely at times from locusts, which winter in the arid, sandy, alkaline soils beside the Huang He. Extended and improved cultivation in these areas has helped control the pest.

Resources and power

      Henan is rich in a wide variety of minerals, and these have provided the base for developing the province's industries. Both bituminous and anthracite coal are found along the slopes of the Taihang Mountains, and big reserves of good coking coal in thick, easily mined seams are found in the Funiu Mountains between Huchang and Pingdingshan. Iron ore is found at Ruyang on the Ru River in the Xiong'er Mountains, as well as some pyrite, bauxite, and mica. Large coal mines at Jiaozuo supply the fast-growing industries of Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, and Xinxiang but are still inadequate. The vast coalfield at Pingdingshan in central Henan is one of the largest in China. In addition, large proven reserves of low-sulfur petroleum and natural gas are extracted at the Zhongyuan complex of oil fields in the northeast. There also are deposits of lead, molybdenum, gold, and silver.

      Henan is a significant producer of energy, with thermal plants in Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Xinxiang linked by a power line. An ultrahigh-voltage transmission system, one of the largest in China when it was completed in the early 1980s, transports electricity from the Pingdingshan area to Wuhan in Hubei province. Hydroelectricity is of growing importance. In addition to the Sanmen facility, there is the even larger Xiaolangdi station on the Huang He north of Luoyang.

Manufacturing

      Although before 1949 there was little industrial development in Henan, from 1950 industrialization was both rapid and extensive. Much of the early development tapped Henan's rich coal seams in the northwest. Subsequently, a comprehensive system of industrial production was enacted, with engineering, nonferrous metallurgical, and textile industries as its pillars. The province is a national leader in lead, aluminum, and glass production.

       Luoyang was chosen as the site for China's first tractor factory, opened in 1958. Since then its output has burgeoned, and Luoyang has become a heavy industry centre. Zhengzhou lies in the heart of the cotton-growing area and is now the centre of the textile industry. Kaifeng, imperial capital of the Song emperors, declined after the 11th century—especially when the Huang He dikes were broken by rebel forces and the region was flooded in 1642. Although it eventually was restored, it remained marginalized until large chemical-fertilizer works and a tractor-accessories plant led to its revival in the 20th century. Xinxiang, the most important city of northern Henan, is the hub of the region's railway network as well as a centre of diversified manufacturing.

      Emphasis has shifted over the years from heavy to light manufactures. There has been a growth in the production of consumer goods such as cigarettes, electronic products, bicycles, household appliances, textiles, and tableware. In addition, regional handicraft products—including lacquerware, jade carvings, tin pots, ink slabs, and tricolour glazed pottery horses (imitations of the ceramic horses produced during the Tang dynasty—are all well-known throughout the country.

Transportation

      Although the Huang He flows through northern Henan, it serves the province poorly as a line of communication. Within the province it was navigable only in the Sanmen Gorge until the construction of the dam there. Even now it is useful over the plain only for small rivercraft. The Huai and its tributaries flowing down from the western mountains are rapid in their upper courses and silted in their lower, so that they too serve only small craft. The Wei of northeastern Henan, flowing north into the Hai system, has been joined by the People's Victory Canal to the Huang He. In 1964–65 it was successfully dredged in an experiment aimed at deepening the riverbed and so increasing flow and reducing waterlogging.

      Zhengzhou is at the junction of China's two greatest trunk railways, the line running from Beijing to Guangzhou (Canton) and the Longhai line, which runs from the east coast to Xinjiang (Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region of), in the far northwest. Local railroads have also been developed, and most of the province's goods are now carried by rail.

      The first modern roads in Henan date from the famine of 1920–21, when the American Red Cross built earth tracks to bring relief to the stricken provinces. For years most road building was accomplished with little modern technology; however, the country's major north-south express highway between Beijing and Zhuhai (adjacent to Macau) now bisects central Henan, and another passing east-west through the northern part of the province connects Kaifeng to Zhengzhou and Luoyang. Some roads penetrate into the more remote mountain region (e.g., a road in the Taihang Mountains between Huixian and Lingquan), and most of the other highways now have all-weather surfaces. Air travel is centred on Zhengzhou.

Government and society

Constitutional framework

      On the victory of the communists in 1949, Henan, together with Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Guangxi, formed the Central South greater administrative region. Henan's provincial government was established in 1954. For local government purposes, Henan is now divided into 17 prefecture-level municipalities (dijishi). Below this level the province is divided into districts under the municipality (shixiaqu), counties (xian), and county-level municipalities (xianjishi).

      The province was badly affected by political conflict during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76). During much of that time it was governed by a provincial Revolutionary Committee. The Revolutionary Committee was replaced in 1980 by the People's Government, which is the administrative arm of the People's Congress. The People's Congress, acting largely through its Standing Committee, is an organ of the state, and its powers include enacting legislation, implementing state policies, and approving provincial economic plans and budgets. Its members are elected by the People's Congress at the next lower administrative level, and it in turn elects the members of the People's Government.

Health and welfare

      Modern Western medicine was introduced by Christian missions but made little impact on the vast area of Henan. On attaining power in 1949, the new national government concentrated attention on public hygiene and preventive medicine. A doctor's training was cut from six to three years, and teams were dispersed throughout the province to teach hygiene, vaccinate, inoculate, and advise. Although a doctor's training has now reverted to six years, emphasis has remained on midwives and health workers. With the great development of coal mining in Henan, attention has been focused on silicosis prevention, which is being achieved mainly by improving working conditions. Kala-azar, the debilitating disease carried by sand flies, is also receiving special attention. As elsewhere in the country, traditional Chinese medicine has gained status.

Education

      Since its imperial days Kaifeng has remained the cultural and educational centre of Henan, although it has come to share that role with Zhengzhou. The first impact of Western learning came, as in the rest of China, through the primary and middle schools of Christian missions. Little real progress was made in the turbulent years between 1911 and 1949, and the vast mass of the people remained illiterate. Successful efforts were made by the government in the first years after 1949 to overcome illiteracy, and a real attempt at universal primary education was launched. Education is now based on six years of primary schooling and six years of secondary schooling. Henan has more than 50 institutes of higher learning, including Henan University (1912) in Kaifeng and Zhengzhou University (1956).

Cultural life

      In an essentially agricultural province such as Henan, cultural life is centred in the rural community. While families for the most part live in their own homes, cultural life is focused in the community centre, with its reading room, library, and teahouses, in which the old tradition of storytelling has continued and is very popular. Loudspeaker radio is used to ensure communication. Traditional local music forms—such as the zhuizi ballad and yuju opera—are popular, as are the performances of the province's many art troupes.

      Henan is known as the cradle of the Chinese nation. Luoyang, Kaifeng, Anyang, Nanyang, Shangqiu, Zhengzhou, and Junxian are all specially noted by the national government for their historical and cultural importance. Tourism is of great economic importance in the province and is a major source of foreign exchange. Important national-level scenic spots include Mount Song (north-central), one of the five sacred mountains of China, and the Shaolin Temple on its slopes (noted as the birthplace of Chinese martial arts); Jigong (Rooster) Hill, a popular summer resort near Xinyang; and the Longmen cave complex (Longmen caves) near Luoyang, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. Other popular tourist destinations include the Temple of the Chancellor (Xiangguo Si) at Kaifeng, Baima (“White Horse”) Temple at Luoyang, and Yinxu (“Ruins of Yin”) at Anyang, site of the capital of the ancient Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and also a World Heritage site (designated 2006).

History

 Henan abounds in prehistorical and early historical interest. Some of the most important evidence of the Neolithic (Neolithic Period) beginnings of Chinese civilization has been found in the northern part of the province. It was at Yangshao in northern Henan that a Swedish geologist and archaeologist, Johan Gunnar Andersson (Andersson, Johan Gunnar), in 1921 discovered an assemblage of Neolithic painted pottery that, together with many later finds, marked the presence of a well-established ancient farming culture (subsequently called Yangshao). The early farmers occupied the lands at the confluence of the Huang, Wei, and Fen rivers, the cradle of Chinese civilization. The other main Henan sites of the culture are at Miaodigou and Linshanzhai. The early farmers, who were also part-time hunters and fishermen, lived in sunken circular or rectangular dwellings, sometimes of considerable dimensions. They grew foxtail millet, broomcorn millet, and kaoliang (a type of sorghum) and had domesticated dogs and pigs. Cultivation with their primitive stone tools was comparatively easy in the easily worked loess (wind-borne) soil.

      Immediately to the east, at Longshan (Longshan culture) in Shandong province, a different culture was discovered, known as the Black Pottery culture, as distinct from the slightly earlier Painted Pottery (Yangshao) culture. It was on these Yangshao-Longshan foundations that the early civilization of the Shang dynasty arose in northern and western Henan, southern Hebei, and western Shandong. Excavations in Henan near Anyang and Zhengzhou and in Hebei near Xingtai have revealed an advanced culture with a hierarchical class structure, advanced buildings, and elaborate rituals in which beautiful bronze vessels were used. Based on the dating of oracle bone inscriptions, the Shang king Pangeng moved his capital to a site near Anyang about1300 BCE.

      When the Shang kingdom fell to the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BCE), Anyang lost its status as a capital. After the Zhou capital, Hao (near present-day Xi'an in Shaanxi province), was destroyed in 771 BCE by western tribes, Luoyang (then known as Luoyi) took its place. During the period 771 BCE to 938 CE, the distinction of being the capital was shared alternately by Luoyang and Chang'an (now Xi'an). Luoyang was the capital during the following dynasties—the Dong (Eastern) Zhou (771–256 BCE), Dong Han (Han dynasty) (25–220 CE), Wei (Wei dynasty) (220–265/266), Xi (Western) Jin (Jin dynasty) (265–316/317), Bei (Northern) Wei (386–534/535; capital 495–535), and Hou (Later) Tang (923–936/937). With the fall of the Hou Tang dynasty, Kaifeng, then called Bian, became the national capital and remained so until the Bei Song (Song dynasty) dynasty was overthrown by Juchen invaders in 1126. After the sack of Kaifeng in 1127, the Henan region continued to be the chief source of grain for imperial storehouses. Both Luoyang and Kaifeng remained important because of their strategic locations in the gateway leading from the North China Plain into the Huai River basin, thence into the Yangtze basin. Zhengzhou became important in the early 20th century as a railway junction and was made the provincial capital in 1954.

Thomas R. Tregear Victor C. Falkenheim Ed.

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