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History of Anhui

Anhui was the first region of southern China settled by Han Chinese, who moved south in the 3rd century BC. Although rich in agricultural potential, Anhui was economically backward in the past because of frequent floods and droughts. History records 8,614 natural disasters from AD 960 to 1949, including flood, drought, insects, wind, frost, and hail.

Today Anhui is one of the most important agricultural provinces in China. The major staple crops are rice, wheat, beans, maize, sorghum and sweet potatoes. Cash crops include cotton, tobacco, peanuts, sesame, rapeseed, tea, hemp, silk, fruits, tung oil, and raw lacquer.

Anhui's industries have been built almost from scratch since the Communist revolution. From 1949 to 1980, the government reported an annual average growth in industrial output of 12.2 percent per year. Despite this growth, the industial base is considered weak because of the predominance of small-scale enterprises. The long-term plans for Anhui's industries emphasize development based on its mineral resources, along the lines of the Ruhr Valley in Germany.

Ironically, considering Anhui residents' reputation, Time magazine on April 11, 1994 reported that a 1993 anti-corruption campaign in Anhui found over 300,000 civil servants to be guilty of stealing about US$140 million in public funds. It required 10,000 inspectors to discover the wrong-doers, who used the money for such things as building private housing and paying for childrens' school fees. More than 90% of the misappropriated funds were returned, and many of the perpetrators returned to their jobs afterwards.

Language

Most natives of Anhui Province speak one of the Mandarin Chinese dialects. Inhabitants of extreme southeast Anhui and northwest Zhejiang Province speak Huizhou, previously considered to be part of the Lower Yangzi family of Mandarin dialects but now considered to be a separate major variety of Chinese. The dialects of Huizhou are said to differ greatly from each other.

Culture

The cultural traits of Anhui date back to the time of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), and are said to be marked by conservatism of language and art forms.

The Huizhou people of the mountains of southern Anhui are known for their commercial and clan traditions, and some linguists consider the Huizhou dialect to be a separate Chinese language, distinct from the Mandarin and Wu language spoken to the north and south.

Local specialties and handicrafts of the province include Gujinggong, Mingguang, and Suixi liquors, Xiaoxian wine, the "four treasures" of scholars (Anhui ink sticks, Shexian ink slabs, Xuan paper and Xuan brushes), as well as the wrought-iron pictures of Wuhu.

Two popular performing arts in Anhui are Huangmei Opera and Fengyang Flower Drum Opera, which originated in the folk traditions of the towns of Huangmei, Hubei Province, and Fengyang, Anhui Province, respectively.

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