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Liangguang
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Liangguang (traditional Chinese: 兩廣; simplified Chinese: 两广; pinyin: Liǎngguǎng; Cantonese Yale: Léuhng Gwóng; lit. 'the Two Expanses'; Postal romanization: Liangkwang) is a Chinese term for the province of Guangdong and the former province and present autonomous region of Guangxi, collectively. It particularly refers to the viceroyalty of Liangguang under the Qing dynasty, when the territory was considered to include Hainan and the colonies of British Hong Kong, the French Kouang-Tchéou-Wan and Portuguese Macau. The Viceroyalty of Liangguang existed from 1735 to 1911.
History
[edit]The area has been considered the southern expanse of China since the creation of Panyu in 226. Prior to that, the area was known as the Nanhai Commandery.
Guangxi autonomy
[edit]In the 1920s and 1930s, the areas of Guangxi dominated by the Zhuang people greatly aided the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War.[1] In 1952, the People's Republic of China created a Zhuang autonomous prefecture in the western half of Guangxi. However, some scholars of the Zhuang do not believe that this decision came out of genuine grassroots demands from that ethnic group,[2] who made up only 33% of the province's population,[3][4] which is contradictory to Chinese scholars that the Zhuang people clearly maintain their distinct culture and lifestyle (i.e. language, religion, etc.).[5][6] Scholars like George Moseley and Diana Lary instead argue that the conversion of Guangxi to a Zhuang autonomous region was designed to foil local sentiment against the Communist Party as well as to smash pan-Lingnan sentiment.[2] Shortly afterward, many Cantonese in the Guangxi government were replaced by Zhuangs and Guangxi annexed the Nanlu region of Guangdong in 1952, giving the formerly landlocked region access to the sea.[2] In 1958, the entire province was officially designated the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.[3]
Hainan separation
[edit]In 1988, Hainan was separated from Guangdong and established as a separate province.
European colonisation
[edit]Hong Kong
[edit]Hong Kong Island was ceded to the British Empire in 1842, followed by the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and the New Territories in 1898. They formed the single Crown colony of Hong Kong until the transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, when it was converted into a special administrative region.
Kouang-Tchéou-Wan
[edit]Kouang-Tchéou-Wan, also known as Zhanjiang, was leased to the French Third Republic in 1898 until the end of World War II in 1946.
Macau
[edit]Macau was granted to the Portuguese Empire in 1557 until the transfer of sovereignty over Macau in 1999, when it was converted into a special administrative region.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Olson, James Stuart (1998). "Zhuang". An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 393. ISBN 978-0-313-28853-1.
- ^ a b c Kaup, Katherine Palmer (2000). Creating the Zhuang: Ethnic Politics in China. Lynne Reinner Publishers. p. 52. doi:10.1515/9781626373228. ISBN 978-1-62637-322-8.
- ^ a b Hutchings, Graham (2003). "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region". Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change. Harvard University Press. p. 173.
- ^ Ramsey, Samuel Robert (1987). "Minority Languages of China". The Languages of China. Princeton University Press. pp. 234–235.
- ^ Li, Xulian; Huang, Quanxi (2004). "The Introduction and Development of the Zhuang Writing System". In Zhou, Minglang; Sun, Hongkai (eds.). Language Policy in the People's Republic of China: Theory and Practice Since 1949. Springer. p. 240.
- ^ Cen Xianan (2003). On research to Zhuang's Mo Religion Belief. "Economic and Social Development", no.12. p.23-26.(in Chinese)
Liangguang
View on GrokipediaEtymology and Definition
Origins of the Term
The term Liangguang (兩廣, Liǎngguǎng) derives from the combination of liǎng ("two") and guǎng ("vast" or "expansive"), denoting the paired provinces of Guangdong (廣東, "east of the vast expanse") and Guangxi (廣西, "west of the vast expanse"), which shared historical ties through their geography, ethnic compositions, and administrative needs in southern China.[3] This nomenclature reflected the expansive terrain of the region, originally inhabited by non-Han Baiyue peoples before Han Chinese migration and Sinicization intensified from the Tang dynasty onward. The provinces' names themselves trace to Han dynasty divisions of the Nanhai commandery, with "Guang" evoking the broad, frontier-like qualities of the Lingnan area.[4] The administrative term Liangguang first appeared in official Ming dynasty usage in 1452, during the third year of the Jingtai Emperor's reign, when Grand Secretary Yu Qian proposed establishing a dedicated viceroy to oversee military, grain, and civil affairs across the two Guang provinces amid border threats and internal rebellions. This initiative addressed the limitations of separate provincial governance, consolidating authority to enhance defense against potential invasions from Annam and to manage ethnic unrest among Yao and Zhuang groups. The position was formalized as a permanent office in 1470, the sixth year of the Chenghua Emperor, with its seat in Wuzhou (on the Guangdong-Guangxi border, now in Guangxi) and Han Yong appointed as the inaugural viceroy.[5][6] Under the Qing dynasty, the Liangguang viceroyalty was restructured in 1735, shifting the seat to Guangzhou and expanding oversight to include Hainan and parts of Guangdong's maritime defenses, but the term's core meaning retained its Ming-era roots in unified provincial administration rather than evolving from earlier Song or Yuan precedents.[7] This continuity underscores Liangguang as a pragmatic label for fiscal and military integration, not a cultural or ethnic invention, though it later influenced Republican-era warlord cliques and modern regional identities.[8]Scope and Administrative Meaning
Liangguang (兩廣), meaning "Two Guangs," refers to the historical region comprising the provinces of Guangdong (廣東) and Guangxi (廣西) in southern China, forming part of the broader Lingnan area. The scope encompassed the territories of present-day Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Hainan Province, with Hainan administered as Qiongzhou Prefecture under Guangdong jurisdiction during the imperial period.[1] Administratively, Liangguang denoted the viceroyalty under the Viceroy of Liangguang (兩廣總督), the highest regional official responsible for military, civil, fiscal, and grain supply affairs across these territories. Established in the Ming dynasty in 1452 as a temporary measure against Yao rebellions and formalized in 1465, the position continued into the Qing era, where the viceroy, typically based in Guangzhou, centralized control over this strategically vital southern frontier interfacing with maritime trade routes and neighboring regions.[1][9]Geography and Demographics
Physical Geography
The Liangguang region, comprising Guangdong and Guangxi, exhibits a varied topography dominated by hills and mountains in the interior and north, giving way to lowlands, basins, and coastal plains in the south. In Guangdong, the terrain slopes downward from northern highlands to southern deltas, with mountains occupying 31.7% of the land area, hilly regions 28.5%, terraced fields 16.1%, and plains 23.7%. [10] Guangxi features extensive karst landscapes covering approximately 40% of its territory, alongside rugged peaks, deep valleys, and a central basin of gentler hills and plains. [11] [12] Principal river systems, including the Xi Jiang (West River), Bei Jiang (North River), and Dong Jiang (East River), converge to form the Pearl River, which drains the majority of the region and empties into the South China Sea via a broad delta in Guangdong. [13] These waterways, intersecting hilly terrains and basins, support fertile alluvial soils in the lowlands while carving through upland areas. The combined coastline of the two provinces exceeds 5,800 kilometers, facilitating maritime influences. [14] [15] Climatically, Liangguang lies within a subtropical monsoon zone, characterized by high humidity, abundant rainfall, and warm temperatures year-round. Guangxi experiences annual precipitation ranging from 724 to 2,984 mm and mean temperatures of 17.6–23.8 °C, with similar patterns prevailing in Guangdong due to shared monsoon dynamics. [16] [17] This regime fosters dense vegetation but also contributes to frequent flooding in riverine and deltaic zones.Population and Ethnic Composition
The provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi, collectively referred to as Liangguang in historical contexts, have a combined permanent resident population exceeding 177 million. Guangdong reported 127.06 million residents at the end of 2023, reflecting steady urbanization and migration inflows despite low natural growth rates.[18] Guangxi's population stood at 50.27 million as of the same period, with a higher proportion of rural inhabitants and slower urban expansion compared to its eastern neighbor.[19] Ethnically, Liangguang is overwhelmingly Han Chinese, though Guangxi features a more diverse composition due to its autonomous status for the Zhuang people. In Guangdong, Han Chinese account for over 97% of the population, with the remaining 3% comprising minorities such as Zhuang (0.7%), Yao (0.2%), She, Hui, and Manchu groups; this homogeneity stems from historical Han migration and assimilation patterns.[18][20] Guangxi, by contrast, has Han Chinese at approximately 62%, with Zhuang forming 31.36%—the largest concentration of this Tai-Kadai ethnic group in China, totaling over 15 million individuals—and smaller shares of Yao, Miao, Dong, and others making up the balance.[21] These demographics highlight Guangxi's role as a multi-ethnic hub, where Zhuang customs and languages persist alongside Han dominance, while Guangdong's profile aligns more closely with coastal Han-majority provinces.[22]| Province | Total Population (end-2023) | Han Chinese (%) | Major Minorities (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guangdong | 127.06 million | ~97 | Zhuang (~0.7), Yao (~0.2), others |
| Guangxi | 50.27 million | ~62 | Zhuang (~31), Yao, Miao, Dong |
