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229
Events
- Foundation of Jiankang (Nanjing)
- Sun Quan formally declares himself Emperor of Wu
Births
Deaths
- Dio Cassius (approximate date)
Category:229
ko:229년
Nanjing
Nanjing (; Wade-Giles: Nan-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Nanking), is the capital of China's Jiangsu Province and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. It has served as the capital of China during several historical periods, and is listed as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Nanjing is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in China's administrative structure, enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province.
Located in the downstream Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Nanjing has always been one of China's most important cities. Apart from having been the capital of China for six dynasties and of the Republic of China, Nanjing has also served as a national hub of education, research, transportation and tourism throughout history. It is also the second largest commercial center in the East China region, behind only Shanghai.
Geography and climate
- 31°17' - 32°37' N 118°22' - 119°14' E
Nanjing, with a total area of 6,598 km², is situated in the largest economic zone of China, the Yangtze River Delta, which is part of the downstream Yangtze River drainage basin. Yangtze River flows past the west side of Nanjing City Proper, while the Ningzheng Ridge surrounds the north, east and south side of the city. The city is 300 km from Shanghai, 1200 km from Beijing, and 1400 km from Chongqing.
Nanjing has a sub-tropical climate, and is under the influence of East Asia Monsoon. Seasons are distinct in Nanjing, with usually hot summers and plenty of precipitation throughout the year. Along with Wuhan and Chongqing, Nanjing is often referred to as one of the "Three Furnaces" along the Yangtze River, due to the historically high temperature in summer. The average annual temperature is 15.7ºC, with the highest recorded temperature being 43ºC (July 13, 1934) and the lowest -16.9 ºC (Jan 6, 1955). On average it precipitates 117 days out of a year and the average annual precipitation is 1106.5 mm. From mid-June to end of July is the Meiyu season, during which the city experiences a period of mild rain and dampness. According to the city government's website, the best weather of the year occurs from September to November.
Nanjing is endowed with rich natural resources, which include more than 40 kinds of minerals. Among them, iron and sulfur reserves take 40% of those of Jiangsu province; its reserves of Strontium rank first in East Asia and the South East Asia region. Nanjing also possesses ample water resources, both from the Yangtze River and ground water, and it has several natural hot springs such as Tangshan Hot Spring in Jiangning and Tangquan Hot Spring in Pukou.
Surrounded by the Yangtze river and mountains, Nanjing also enjoys beautiful natural scenery. Natural lakes such as Xuanwu Lake and Mochou Lake are located in the center of the city and easily accessible to the public, while hills like Purple Mountain are covered with evergreens and host various historical and cultural sites. The famous strategist and politician in Three Kingdoms Period, Zhuge Liang, so pleased by Nanjing's geographic position, gave the following praise:
“With Purple Mountain as twining dragon and Stone Wall as crouching tiger, Jinling (old-name of Nanjing) is absolutely a home of emperors.” (钟山龙蟠，石头虎踞，真乃帝王之宅也)
History
Nanjing is one of the earliest established cities in the southern China area. According to the legend, Fu Chai, the Lord of the State of Wu, founded the first city, Yecheng (冶城) in today's Nanjing area in 495 BC. Later in 473 BC, The State of Yue conquered Wu and constructed the city of Yuecheng (越城) on the outskirt of the present day Zhonghua Gate. In 333 BC, after eliminating the State of Yue, the State of Chu built Jinling Yi (金陵邑) in the northwestern part of the present day Nanjing. Since then, the city has experienced numerous destructions and reconstructions.
Nanjing first became a capital in 229 AD, where Sun Quan of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms Period relocated its capital to Jianye (建邺), a city he extended on the basis of Jinling Yi in 211 AD. After the invasion of the Five Hu, the nobles and wealthies of Jin Dynasty escaped across the Yangtze River and established Nanjing as the capital, which was then called Jiankang (建康). Since then Jiankang remained as the capital of Southern China during the North-South Division period, until Sui Dynasty reunified China and destroyed the entire city, turning it into farmland.
The city was reconstructed during late Tang Dynasty and was again made the capital by the short-lived Southern Tang Kingdom (937 – 975). Jiankang's industry burgeoned and thrived during Song Dynasty, although it was constantly under threat from the northern foreign invasion. The Mongolians, after taking over China, further consolidated the city's status as a hub of the textile industry.
After successfully emerging as the winner during the warlords division period at the end of Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of Ming Dynasty, established the city again as the capital of China in 1368, for the first time adopting the modern name, Nanjing, for the city. He constructed what was the largest city in the world during that time, and it took 200,000 laborers 21 years to finish the project. The present day city wall of Nanjing was mainly built during that time, and it is the longest surviving city wall in the world.
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Nanjing area was known as Jiangning (江宁) and served as the seat of government for the Liangjiang Viceroy. Nanjing was the capital of the Taiping Kingdom in the mid-19th century, being renamed as Tianjing (天京) (lit. Heaven's Capital). As Qing general Zeng Guofan retook the city in 1864, massive slaughtering occurred in the city with over 100,000 committing suicide or fighting to the death.
In 1912, Dr. Sun Yat-sen led a successful democratic revolution to overthrow Qing Dynasty and founded the Republic of China, making Nanjing its capital. The capital was later moved to Beijing after Yuan Shi-kai taking over the presidency. Yet in 1928, the Kuomintang(KMT) under Chiang Kai-Shek again established Nanjing as the capital of China (Republic of China), as opposed to a government in Beijing led by northern warlords and an alternate government in Wuhan led by Wang Jingwei.
In 1937, the Japanese army invaded and occupied Nanjing, which was then the capital of China. Although fiercely debated, mostly by the people who are the Japanese equivalents of a Holocaust-deniers, it is commonly recognized that a systematic massacre was carried out by the occupying force in the city, with the estimated death toll varying greatly depending on the source. The official estimate made by the Chinese government holds the death toll at 300,000, but this figure does not include the slaughters carried out by Japanese troops just outside of Nanjing, which are approximated up to a million in total; even today, bodies are unearthed on rare occasions. During the Japanese occupation, a puppet government led by Wang Jingwei was established in Nanjing, and after World War II, the KMT relocated its central government to Nanjing. On April 23, 1949, The People's Liberation Army conquered Nanjing, officially ending the Republic of China's rule in the mainland. Nanjing has remained the provincial capital of Jiangsu until today.
Government and Administrative Division
The full name of the government of Nanjing is "People's Government of Nanjing City". The city is under the one-party ruling of CPC, with the CPC Nanjing Committee Secretary as the de facto governor of the city and the Mayor as the executive head of the government working under the secretary.
Nanjing is currently consisted of 13 county-level divisions, of which 12 are districts and 2 are counties. The districts are the urban area of Nanjing while the counties are the rural area governed by the city.
Districts:
- Xuanwu District (玄武区)
- Baixia District (白下区)
- Qinhuai District (秦淮区)
- Jianye District (建邺区)
- Gulou District (鼓楼区)
- Xiaguan District (下关区)
- Pukou District (浦口区)
- Luhe District (六合区) (Formerly Luhe County)
- Qixia District (栖霞区)
- Yuhuatai District (雨花台区)
- Jiangning District (江宁区) (Formerly Jiangning County)
Counties:
- Lishui County (溧水县)
- Gaochun County (高淳县)
Demographics
According to the Fifth China Census, the total population of the City of Nanjing reached 6.24 million in 2000. The statistic in 2004 estimated the total population to be 6.40 million, while the number of city residents is 5.836 million. The birth rate is 7.73‰ and the death rate is 5.44‰. 47,429 couples married in 2004, while 7036 pairs divorced. Among the newly-wed, 10,473 people are remarried.
As in most of eastern China The ethnic makeup of Nanjing is predominantly Han nationality (98.56%), with 50 other minority nationalities. In 1999, 77,394 residents belonged to minority nationalities, among which the vast majority (64,832) are Hui nationalities, contributing 83.76% to the minority population. The second and third largest minority groups are Man (2311) and Zhuang (533) nationalities. Most of the minority nationalities reside in Jianye District, comprising 9.13% of the district's population.
In 2003 the sex ratio of the city population is 106.49 males to 100 females.
In 2004 the city's GDP is RMB 191 million (3rd in Jiangsu), and GDP per capita is RMB 33,050, a 15% increase from 2003. The urban resident's disposable income is RMB 11,601; while the rural resident's net income is RMB 5,333. Urban unemployment rate is 4.03%, lower than the national average (4.2%).
Economy
unemployment rate
Early Development
Since Three Kingdoms period, Nanjing has become an industrial center for textile and mint due to its strategic geographic location and convenient transportation. During Ming Dynasty Nanjing's industry was further expanded, and the city became one of the most prosperous cities in China and even the world. It led in textile, mint, printing, shipbuilding and many other industries, and was the busiest business center in the Far East region.
Into the first half of the 20th century, Nanjing has gradually shifted from a production hub into a heavy consumption city, mainly because of the rapid expansion of wealthy population after Nanjing once again regained the political spotlight of China. A number of huge department stores such as Zhongyang Shangchang sprouted, attracting merchants all over China to sell their products in Nanjing. In 1933, the revenue generated by food and entertainment industry in the city has exceeded the sum of the output of manufacturing and agriculture industry. One third of the city population worked in the service industry, while sex, drug and gambling also thrived along.
In 1950s, the CPC invested heavily in Nanjing to build a series of state-owned heavy industries, as part of the national plan of rapid industrialization. Electrical, mechanical, chemical and steel factories were established successively, converting Nanjing into a heavy industry production center of East China. Over-enthusiastic in building a “world-class” industrial city, leaders of Nanjing also made many disastrous mistakes during the development, such as spending hundreds of millions of Yuan to mine for non-existing coal resource, resulting in the negative economic growth in the late 60s.
Today
The current industry of the city basically inherited the characteristics of the 60s of last century, with electronics, cars, petrochemical, iron and steel, and power as the "Five Pillar Industries". Some representive big state-owned firms are Panda Electronics, Jincheng Motors and Nanjing Steel. The tertiary industry also regained prominence, counting for 44% of the GDP of the city. The city is also vying for foreign investment against neighboring cities in Yangtze River Delta, and so far a number of famous multinational firms, such as Fiat, Iveco, A.O. Smith and Sharp, have established their lines there. After China's entry into WTO, Nanjing has received increasing attention from foreign investors, and on average, two new foreign firms establish offices in the city everyday.
The city government is further improving the investing desirability of the city by building large industrial parks, which now totals to five: Gaoxin, Xingang, Huagong and Jiangning. Despite the effort, Nanjing is still falling behind other neighboring cities such as Wuxi, Suzhou and Hangzhou, which have an edge in attracting foreign investment and local innovation. In addition, the traditional state-owned enterprises find themselves incapable of competing with efficient multinational firms, and hence are either mired in heavy debt or forced into bankruptcy or privatization. This resulted in large number of layoff workers who are technically not unemployed but effectively jobless.
Transportation
layoff workers
Nanjing is the transportation hub in eastern China and the downstream Yangtze River area. Different means of transportation constitute a three-dimensional transport system that includes land, water and air. As most other China cities, public transportation is the dominant mode of travel of the majority of the citizens.
Land
As a regional hub, Nanjing is well-connected by over 60 state and provincial highways to all parts of China. Express highways such as Hu-Ning, Ning-He, Ning-Hang enable commuters to travel to Shanghai, Hefei, Hangzhou, and other important cities fast and conveniently. Inside the city of Nanjing, there are 230 kilometers of highway, with a highway coverage density of 3.38 km per hundred square km; the total road coverage density of the city is 112.56 km per hundred square km.
As for the railway system, the Tianjin-Pukou, Shanghai-Nanjing and Nanjing-Wuhu Trunk Railways meet in Nanjing, which has become an important hub of railways linking north, east and central China.
Public Transportation
The city also boasts an efficient network of public transportation. The bus network, which is currently run by four companies (Nanjing Gongjiao, Zhongbei, Argos and Xincheng), provides more than 170 routes to all parts of the city and suburban areas. The city's first mass transit line, Metro Line No.1, started service on May 15, 2005, and Metro Line No. 2 will begin construction in November 2005. The city is planning to complete a 433-kilometer long Metro and light-rail system by 2050. The expansion of the Metro network will greatly facilitate the intra-city transportation and reduce the currently heavy traffic congestion.
Air
Nanjing's airport, Lukou International Airport, serves both national and international flights. The airport is ranked 15th among 126 civil airports in China in terms of yearly passenger transport, and 10th for yearly cargo transport. The airport currently has 85 routes to national and international destinations, which include Japan, Korea, Thailand and Singapore. The airport is connected by a 29-km highway directly to the city center, and is also linked to various inter-city highways, making it accessible to the passengers from the surrounding cities.
Water
Port of Nanjing is the largest inland port in China, yearly throughput reaching 66 million tons in 2003. The port area is 98 kilometres in full length and has 64 berths including 16 berths for ships with a tonnage of more than 10,000. Nanjing is also the biggest container port along Yangtze River; in March 2004, the one million container-capacity base, Longtan Containers Port Area opened, further consolidating Nanjing as the leading port in the region.
Culture and Art
Being one of the four ancient capitals of China, Nanjing has always been a cultural center attracting intellectuals from all over the country. In Tang - Song period, Nanjing was a place where poets gathered and composed poems reminiscence of its luxurious past; in Ming and Qing Dynasties, the city was the official imperial examination center for the Jiangnan region, again acting as a hub where different thoughts and opinions converged and thrived.
Today, with long cultural tradition and strong support from local educational institutions, Nanjing is commonly viewed as a “city of culture” and one of the more pleasant cities to live in China.
Art
Some of the leading art groups of China are based in Nanjing; they include: Qianxian Dance Company, Nanjing Dance Company, Jiangsu Peking Opera Institute, Nanjing Xiaohonghua Art Company and so on.
Jiangsu Province Kun Opera is one of the best theatres for Kunqu, China's oldest stage art. It is considered a conservative and traditional troupe. Nanjing also has professional opera troupes for the Yang, Yue (shaoxing), Xi and Jing (Chinese opera varieties) as well as Suzhou pingtan, spoken theatre, and puppet theatre.
Jiangsu Art Gallery is the largest gallery in Jiangsu Province, presenting some of the best traditional and contemporary art pieces of China; many other smaller-scale galleries, such as Red Chamber Art Garden and Jinling Stone Gallery, also have their own special exhibitions.
Festivals
Many traditional festivals and customs were being observed in the old times, which include climbing City Wall on January 16, bathing in Qing Xi on March 3, hill hiking on September 9 and others (the dates are in Chinese lunar calendar). Almost none of them, however, is still celebrated by modern Nanjingese.
Instead, Nanjing, as a popular tourist destination, hosts a series of government-organised events throughout the year. The annual International Plum Blossom Festival held in Plum Hill, the largest Plum collection in China, attracts thousands of tourists both domestically and internationally. Other events include Nanjing Baima Peach Blossom & Kite Festival, Jiangxin Zhou Fruit Festival and Linggu Temple Sweet Osmanthus Festival.
Libraries
Nanjing Library, founded in 1907, houses more than 7 million volumes of printed materials and is the 3rd largest library in China, after National Library in Beijing and Shanghai Library. Other libraries, such as city-owned Jinling Library and various district libraries, also provide considerable amount of information to the citizens. Nanjing University Library, owned by Nanjing University, with a collection of 4.2 million volumes, is also one of the leading university libraries in China.
Museums
Nanjing has some of the oldest and finest museums in China, among which include Nanjing Museum, City Museum of Nanjing, Taiping Kingdom History Museum, Nanjing Customs Museum and Nanjing City Wall Cultural Museum. Nanjing Museum, formerly known as National Central Museum under the KMT ruling, is the first modern museum and remains as one of leading museums in China.
Night Life
Traditionally Nanjing's nightlife was mostly centered around Fuzi Miao area along the Qinhuai River, where night markets, restaurants and pubs thrived, and boating at night on the river was a main attraction of the city. The area was also famous (or infamous) for the high concentration of upper-class prostitutes, many of them patronized by high-ranking government officials and wealthy businessmen. The prostitution was banned after CPC took over Nanjing.
In recent years, several commercial streets have been developed by the city and the night life has become more diverse: there are mega-shopping malls opening late in the Xinjiekou CBD and Hunan Road, and the newly-opened "Nanjing 1912" district hosts a wide variety of pastime facilities ranging from traditional restaurants to western pubs.
Theatre
Most of Nanjing's major theatres are multi-purposed, used as convention halls, cinemas, musical halls and theatres on different occasions. The major theatres include People's Convention Hall and Nanjing Arts and Culture Center.
Most of the city's cinemas are not well maintained due to lack of revenue and rampant movie piracy. Yet a new cinema, Nanjing Shangying-Warner Cinema Complex, was opened in 2004, as the first modern cinema complex in Nanjing and an effort to encourage more moviegoers.
Tourism
As a popular tourist destination, Nanjing is often cited as having a unique charm: with vast number of cultural sites and pleasant natural surroundings perfectly blending together, the ancient city enchants millions of tourists with a memorable experience.
Nanjing Shangying-Warner Cinema Complex
Buildings and monuments
Ancient period
- Beiji Ge
- Chaotian Palace (museum and Kun opera house)
- Fuzi Miao (Temple of Confucius) and Qinhuai River
- Gu Lou
- Jiangnan Gongyuan
- Jiming Temple
- Jinghai Temple
- Linggu Temple
- Ming Dynasty Palace Site
- Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum and its surrounding complex
- Nanjing Ming City Wall and Zhonghua Gate
- Qixia Temple
- South Tang Mausoleums
- Stone City
- The Porcelain Pagoda of Nanjing
- Yuejiang Lou
- Catholic Church at Shigu Road (112 Shigu Road)
- Central Hotel (237 E. Zhongshan Road)
- Central Stadium (present day Nanjing Physical Education Institute)
- China Bank of Communications Nanjing Branch (1 E. Zhongshan Road)
- Dahua Theatre (67 S. Zhongshan Road)
- Former Central Government Building Group along N. Zhongshan Road
- Former Foreign Embassies in Gu Lou Area
- Huiwen Institute Bell Tower (196 Zhongshan Road)
- Jiangsu Art Gallery (Former National Art Gallery)
- Lizhi She (307 E. Zhongshan Road)
- Macklin Hospital (321 Zhongshan Road, present day Gu Lou Hospital)
- Nanjing Museum Complex
- Officials Residence Cluster along Yihe Road
- Presidential Complex
- Purple Mountain Observatory
- St. Paul's Church (396 S. Taiping Road)
- The Complex of Former Academia Sinica (39 E. Beijing Road)
- The Complex of Former Central University
- The Complex of Former Jinling University
- Yangzi Hotel (2 Baoshan Road)
- Zhongshan Ling (Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum) and its surrounding area
Contemporary
- Jinling Hotel
- Jiangsu TV Tower
- Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
- River-crossing Victory Monument
Museums and galleries
See Culture and Art above.
Parks and gardens
- Bailu Zhou Park (White Aigret Islet Park)
- Baima Park (White Horse Park)
- Hongshan Zoological Park
- Jiuhua Hill
- Mochou Lake
- Purple Mountain Scenic Area
- Qingliang Hill
- Qixia Hill
- Xiuqiu Park
- Xu Garden
- Xuanwu Lake
- Ulong Tan Park (Black Dragon Pond)
- Yanzi Ji
- Yuhua Tai
- Zhan Garden
- Zhenzhu Spring Park (Pearl Spring Park)
- Zheng He Park
- Zhongshan Botanical Garden
Markets and Shopping Areas
- Fuzi Miao
- Hunan Road
- Xinjiekou
Other places of interests
- Tangshan Hot Spring
- Jiangxin Islet
- Yangshan Tomb Stone
Education
Nanjing has been the educational center in southern China for more than 1700 years. Presently, it boasts with some of the most prominent educational institutions in the region, which are listed as follows:
National
- Nanjing University (南京大学) (originated in 258, modern incarnation founded 1902)
- Southeast University (东南大学)
- HoHai University (河海大学)
- Nanjing Agricultural University (南京农业大学)
- China Pharmaceutical University (中国药科大学)
- Nanjing University of Science & Technology (南京理工大学)
- Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (南京航空航天大学)
Public
- Nanjing University of Technology (南京工业大学)
- Nanjing Forestry University (南京林业大学)
- Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine(南京中医药大学)
- Nanjing Normal University (南京师范大学)
- Nanjing University of Finance & Economics (南京财经大学)
- Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (南京邮电大学)
- Nanjing Institute of Meteorology (南京气象学院)
- Nanjing Institute of Physical Education (南京体育学院)
- Nanjing Arts Institute (南京艺术学院)
- Nanjing Audit University (南京审计学院)
- Nanjing Xiaozhuang College (南京晓庄学院)
- Jinling Institute of Technology (金陵科技学院)
Private
- Sanjiang University (三江学院)
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
The Nanjing Campus of Caulfield Grammar School, an independent secondary school in Australia, is located next to The Affiliated High School of Nanjing Normal University.
Nanjing City
Nanjing City (南京城) means the area surrounded by city wall, i.e., the ancient Nanjing city.
Nanjing city wall was designed by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang after he founded the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and established it as the capital 600 years ago. To consolidate his sovereignty and keep out invaders, he adopted the suggestions of advisor Zhu Sheng to building a higher city wall, collecting grains and postponing the coronation. Then, he started to build the city wall. It took 21 years for the project, which involved 200,000 laborers to move 7 million cubic meters of earth.
Different from ancient city walls in Beijing and Xi'an, its design and construction were unique and changed the old ways of equilibrium and symmetry. The construction concentrated on military defense because the city was at the foot of a mountain-- a natural barrier to controll the commanding elevation with the river as its natural city moat. Because of this, the 60-square-kilometer Nanjing city became strategically located and difficult to reach.
Nanjing's city wall belonged to a military defensive system too. The difference was that it adopted a winding, free style, based on the city's complicated topography. Construction of Beijing and Xi'an city walls was in the ancient style of square or rectangle. When it was built by the second son of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the dozen-kilometer long Xi'an city wall became the seat of local government. It could not match the scale of the capital Nanjing at that time.
Today the 600-year-old city wall of Nanjing still stands. Experts from Nanjing Cultural Relic Bureau say most of the foundations use granite, rectangle stones or limestone. The walls were packed layer by layer with broken bricks, gravel and yellow earth. All the brickwork joints were poured with mixed lime, water in which glutinous rice had been cooked and tong oil because the coagulated mixture was very strong. That is why the city wall has stood for a long time. On top of the outer wall were 13,616 crenels, or battlements, for defenders of the city to observe the enemy or dodge arrows. Opposite it was the parapet wall used as a balustrade to keep the defenders and horses safe. Standing on the wall, you will see tall ancient trees under your feet. Aside the top wall there are stone sluices to drain rain and near the wall's foundation there are further outlets. This, perhaps, is another reason for its powerful foundation and defense projects. The ancient city wall was listed as a key cultural relic under state protection in 1988.
Sister Cities
Nanjing currently has 15 sister cities (areas), namely:
- Alsace (France)
- Barranquilla (Colombia)
- Bloemfontein (South Africa)
- Eindhoven (Netherlands)
- Florence (Italy)
- Hauts-de-Seine (France)
- Houston (US)
- Leipzig (Germany)
- Limassol (Cyprus)
- London, Ontario (Canada),
- Mexicali (Mexico)
- Nagoya (Japan)
- Perth (Australia),
- St. Louis (US)
- Taejon (South Korea).
Astronomical phenomena
For the urban area of Nanjing, the next total solar eclipse will be solar eclipse of 2309-Jun-09 occurred on June 9 2309.
However, there will be an almost-total partial solar eclipse in near future, with a magnitude of 0.994 around 2009-Jul-22 01:34 UTC.
See also
- Treaty of Nanjing
- Nanjing Massacre
Reference
-
External links
- [http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/index.htm Chinese Bureau of Statistics]
- [http://www.nanjing.gov.cn Nanjing City Government]
- [http://www.jlonline.com Jinling Online], local Internet portal
- [http://www.ndy-vehicle.com Nanjing Dongyu Auto Group], Famous Enterprise
- [http://www.njnews.cn/jrsb Nanjing Business Today (今日商报)], One of the most well-known business newspaper
- [http://www.synotrip.com/nanjing/ Nanjing travel guide]
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Category:Cities in Jiangsu
Category:Subprovincial cities
ko:난징
ms:Nanjing
ja:南京
Sun Quan
Sun Quan (孫權 pinyin: Sūn Quán) (182 - 252), son of Sun Jian, courtesy name Zhongmou (仲謀), formally Emperor Da of (Eastern) Wu (東吳大帝, literally "the grand emperor") was the the founder of Eastern Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period, in China. He ruled from 200 to 222 as Wu Wang (King/Prince of Wu) and from 222 to 252 as Emperor of the Wu Dynasty. His temple name is Taizu (太祖).
In his youth Sun Quan spent time in his home county of Fuchun, and after his father's death in the early 190s, at various cities on the Lower Yangtze River. His elder brother Sun Ce carved out a warlord state in the region, based on his own followers and a number of local clan allegiances. When Sun Ce was assassinated by the retainers of Xu Gong, whom Sun Ce had killed in battle several years prior, in 200, the eighteen-year-old Sun Quan inherited the lands southeast of the Yangtze River from his brother. It was an achievement that his administration proved to be relatively stable in those early years. Sun Jian and Sun Ce's most senior officers, such as Zhou Yu, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, and Cheng Pu remained loyal; in fact it was mentioned in the novel that Sun Ce had at his deathbed reminded Sun Quan that "in internal matters, consult Zhang Zhao, in external matters, consult Zhou Yu." Thus throughout the 200s Sun Quan under the tutelage of his able advisors continued to build up his strength along the Yangtze River. In early 207, his forces finally won complete victory over Huang Zu, a military leader under Liu Biao, who dominated the Middle Yangtze.
In winter of that year, the northern warlord Cao Cao led an army of some 200,000 to conquer south to complete the reunification of China. Two distinct factions emerged at his court on how to handle the situation. One, led by Zhang Zhao, urged surrender whilst the other, led by Zhou Yu and the young diplomat Lu Su, opposed capitulation. In the finality, Sun Quan decided to oppose Cao Cao in the Middle Yangtze with his superior riverine forces. Allied with the refugee warlord Liu Bei and employing the combined strategies of Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, Huang Gai and Pang Tong, they defeated Cao Cao decisively at the Battle of Red Cliffs.
In 220, Cao Pi, son of Cao Cao, seized the throne and proclaimed himself to be the Emperor of China, ending the nominal rule of the Han dynasty. At first Sun Quan wanted to be a king serving the Wei dynasty under Cao Pi, but he failed to make a deal, and so in 222, he declared himself independent by changing era name. It was not until the year 229 that he formally declared himself to be emperor.
Because of his skill in gathering important, honourable men to his cause, Sun Quan was able to delegate authority to capable figures. This primary strength served him well in gaining the support of the common people and surrounding himself with capable generals.
Sun Quan died in 252 at the age of 71. He enjoyed the longest reign among all the founders of the Three Kingdoms. He was succeeded as Emperor of Wu by his son Sun Liang.
Early life
Sun Quan was born in 182, while his father Sun Jian was still an Eastern Han general. After his father's death in 191, he became the charge of his brother Sun Ce. As he grew up, he became an officer under his brother during his brother's conquest of the region south of the Yangtze River. He was made a county magistrate in 196, at age 14, and continued to rise through the ranks as his brother gave him more and more important tasks.
The Sanguo Zhi records that Sun Quan's father Sun Jian was a descendant of Sun Tzu, the great military strategist of the Warring States period. According to later tradition, Sun Quan was born on Sunzhou ("Sun Island", later Wangzhou - "King's Island"), an islet at the intersection of the Fuchun River and one of its tributaries. Local folklore relates a story about how Sun Quan's grandfather Sun Zhong was originally a melon farmer on the islet.
As warlord after Sun Ce's death
Prior to the Battle of Chibi
Sun Ce was assassinated in 200 during a hunt. On his deathbed, he knew that his son was still too young to be considered a realistic heir, so he entrusted the 18-year-old Sun Quan to his faithful subordinates. Initially, Sun Quan mourned so greatly that he could do nothing, but at Zhang Zhao's behest, he changed into a general's clothing and set out to visit the commanderies under his brother's control. Many of Sun Ce's subordinates thought that Sun Quan was too young to sustain Sun Ce's domain and wanted to leave, but Zhang and Zhou Yu saw special qualities in the young man and chose to stay to serve Sun Quan. Zhang Hong, whom Sun Ce had earlier sent as a liaison to the paramount warlord Cao Cao, also returned from Cao's domain to assist Sun Quan. (At Zhang Hong's request, Cao, in the name of Emperor Xian, commissioned Sun Quan as General Taolu (討虜將軍), a title that he would be known for for a long time.) He listened carefully to his mother Lady Wu's encouraging words, and greatly trusted Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong with regard to civilian affairs and Zhou, Cheng Pu, and Lü Fan with regard to military matters. He also sought out talented young men to serve as his personal advisors, and it was around this time that he befriended Lu Su and Zhuge Jin, who would later play prominent roles in his administration. Throughout this period and decades to come, Sun's leadership would be characterized by his ability to find men of character and entrust important matters to him, and his ability to react swiftly to events.
For the next several years, Sun was largely interested in first defending his realm against potential enemies, but he gradually sought to harass and weaken Liu Biao's key subordinate, Huang Zu (who controlled the northeastern region of Liu's domain) -- particularly because Huang had killed his father Sun Jian in battle. In 208, he was finally able to defeat Huang and kill him in battle. Soon after, Liu Biao himself died while Cao Cao was preparing a major campaign to subjugate both Liu and Sun under his control, precipitating a major confrontation.
Battle of Chibi
After Liu Biao's death, a succession struggle for his domain came into being, between his sons Liu Qi (劉琦) and younger son Liu Cong (劉琮), whom Liu Biao's second wife Lady Cai favored (because he had married her niece). After Huang's death, Liu Qi was therefore given Huang's post as the governor of Jiangxia Commandery (roughly modern Huanggang, Hubei). Liu Cong therefore succeeded Liu Biao after his death, and Liu Qi was displeased and considered, but did not carry out, an attack against his brother. Nevertheless, Liu Cong, in fear of having to fight Cao and his brother on two fronts, surrendered to Cao against the advice of Liu Biao's key ally Liu Bei. Liu Bei, unwilling to submit to Cao, fled south. Cao caught up to him and crushed his forces, but Liu Bei escaped with his life; he fled to Dangyang (當陽, in modern Yichang, Hubei). Cao took over most of Jing Province, and appeared set on finally unifying the empire.
Sun was well aware of Cao's intentions, and he quickly entered into an alliance with Liu Bei and Liu Qi to prepare for a Cao assault. Cao wrote Sun with a letter intending to intimidate, and in face of Cao's overwhelming force (estimated to be about 220,000 men, although Cao claimed 800,000, against Sun's own 30,000 and the Lius' combined force of 10,000), many of Sun's subordinates, even including the highly capable Zhang Zhao, advocated surrender. Sun refused, under advise from Zhou Yu and Lu Su (that Cao would surely not tolerate him even if he surrendered).
Sun put Zhou in charge of his 30,000 men, largely stationed on naval ships, and Zhou set up in a defense position in conjunction with Liu Bei, whose army was stationed on land. About this time, there was a plague developing in Cao's forces which significantly weakened it. Zhou set up a trap where he pretended to be punishing his subordinate Huang Gai, and Huang pretended to be in such fear that he was willing to surrender to Cao. Zhou then sent ships under Huang's command to pretend to surrender and, as Huang's ships approached Cao's fleet, they were lit on fire to assault Cao's fleet, and Cao's fleet was largely destroyed by fire. Cao led his forces to escape on land, but much of the force was destroyed by Sun's and Liu Bei's land forces. The death rate was said to be over 50%.
Uneasy alliance with Liu Bei
Immediately, after Cao withdrew, Sun took over the northern half of Jing Province. Liu Bei marched south and took over the southern half. The Sun-Liu alliance was further cemented by a marriage of Sun's sister to Liu. Zhou was suspicious of Liu's intentions, however, and suggested to Sun that Liu be seized and put under house arrest (albeit be very well-treated) and his forces be merged into Sun's; Sun, believing that Liu's forces would rebel if he did that, declined. Sun did agree to Zhou's plans to consider attacking Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu (who controlled the modern southern Shaanxi) to try to take over their territories, but after Zhou died in 210, the plans were abandoned. However, Sun was able to persuade the warlords in modern Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam to submit to him, and they became part of his domain. He then yielded northern Jing to Liu as well, agreeing with Liu that southern Jing was insufficient to supply his troops.
In 215, the Sun-Liu alliance appeared on the verge of break-up, because Sun demanded that Liu return Jing Province and Liu refused. Sun made an initial attack against Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, who was left in charge of Jing Province by Liu, and most of the eastern Jing Province (east of the Xiang River) quickly surrendered. However, after a face-to-face summit between Guan and Lu, the sides renewed their alliance, dividing Jing Province at the Xiang.
Breaking of alliance with Liu Bei
In 219, Guan Yu advanced north, attacking Fancheng (樊城, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), scoring a major victory over Cao's nephew Cao Ren . While Fancheng did not fall at this time, Guan put it under siege, and the situation was severe enough that Cao Cao considered moving the capital away from Xu. However, Sun, resentful of Guan's prior constant instigation of hostilities (including seizing Sun's food supplies to use for his campaign north), took the opportunity to attack Guan from the rear, and Guan's forces collapsed. Guan was captured and killed by Sun's general Lü Meng (呂蒙); Jing Province became Sun's once more, and the Sun-Liu alliance was over. Sun instead nominally submitted to Cao and, indeed, urged him to take the throne. Cao declined, but prepared for his son Cao Pi to do so.
After Cao Cao's death in 220, Cao Pi did indeed force Emperor Xian to yield the throne to him, ending the Han Dynasty and establishing Cao Wei. Sun did not immediately declare himself a Cao Wei subject or declare independence after Cao Pi's enthronement, but took a wait-and-see attitude; by contrast, in early 221, Liu Bei declared himself emperor, establishing Shu Han. Immediately, Liu planned a campaign against Sun to avenge Guan. After attempting to negotiate peace and receiving no positive response from Liu, fearing attack on both sides, Sun declared himself a Cao Wei subject. Cao's strategist Liu Ye (劉曄) suggested that Cao decline -- and in fact attack Sun on a second front, effectively partitioning Sun's domain with Shu Han, and then eventually seek to destroy Shu Han as well. Cao declined, in a fateful choice that most historians believe doomed his empire to ruling only the northern and central China -- and this chance would not come again. Indeed, against Liu Ye's advice, he created Sun the Prince of Wu and granted him the nine bestowments.
In 222, at the Battle of Xiaoting (猇亭, also known as the Battle of Yiling), Sun's general Lu Xun dealt Liu a major defeat, stopping the Shu Han offensive. Shu Han would not again pose a threat to Sun from that point on. Later that year, when Cao Pi demanded that Sun send his crown prince Sun Deng (孫登) to the Cao Wei capital Luoyang as a hostage (to guarantee his loyalty), Sun refused and declared independence (by changing era name), thus establishing Eastern Wu as an independent state. Cao Pi therefore launched a major attack on Eastern Wu, but after Cao Wei defeats in early 223, it became clear that Eastern Wu was secure. After Liu Bei's death later that year, Zhuge Jin's brother Zhuge Liang, the regent for Liu Bei's son and successor Liu Shan, reestablished the alliance with Sun Quan, and the two states would remain allies until Shu Han's eventual destruction in 263.
Reign as the monarch of Eastern Wu
Early reign
Early in Sun Quan's reign, the Eastern Wu administration was known for its efficiency, as Sun showed a knack for listening to correct advice and for delegating authorities to the proper individuals. For example, he correctly trusted the faithful Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin, so much so that he made a duplicate imperial seal and left it with Lu; whenever he would correspond with Shu Han's emperor Liu Shan or regent Zhuge Liang, he would deliver the letter to Lu first (as Lu's post was near the Shu Han border), and then if, in Lu's opinion, changes were needed, he would revise the letter and then restamp it with Sun's imperial seal. Further, Lu and Zhuge Jin were authorized to coordinate their actions with Shu Han without prior imperial approval. Sun treated his high level officials as friends and addressed them accordingly (with courtesy names), and in accordance they dedicated all effort to Eastern Wu's preservation. He also knew what were the proper roles for officials that he trusted; for example, in 225, when selecting a prime minister, while the key officials all respected Zhang Zhao greatly and wanted him to be prime minister, Sun declined -- reasoning that while he respected Zhang greatly, a prime minister needed to handle all affairs of state, and Zhang, while capable, had such strong opinions that he would surely be in conflict with Sun and other officials at all times. He also repeatedly promoted his official Lü Fan even though, while he was young, Lü had informed to Sun Ce about his improper spending habits, understanding that Lü did so only out of loyalty to Sun Ce.
In 224 and 225, Cao Pi again made attacks on Eastern Wu, but each time the Eastern Wu forces were able to repel Cao Wei's with fair ease -- so easily that Cao made the comment, "Heaven created the Yangtze to divide the north and south." However, Sun was himself equally unsuccessful in efforts to make major attacks on Cao Wei. After Cao Pi's death in 226, for example, Sun launched an attack on Cao Wei's Jiangxia Commandery (roughly modern Xiaogan, Hubei) but was forced to withdraw as soon as Cao Wei relief forces arrived despite Cao Pi's recent death. However, later that year, he was able to increase his effective control over Jiao Province (交州, modern northern Vietnam) when his general Lü Dai (呂岱) was able to defeat the warlord Shi Hui (士徽) and end the effective independence that the Shi clan had. In addition, the several indepedent kingdoms in modern Cambodia, Laos, and southern Vietnam all became Eastern Wu vassals as well.
The one major victory that Eastern Wu would have over Cao Wei during this period came in 228, when, with Sun's approval, his general Zhou Fang pretended to be surrendering to Cao Wei after pretending to have been punished repeatedly by Sun. This tricked the Cao Wei general Cao Xiu, who led a large army south to support Zhou. He walked into the trap set by Zhou and Lu Xun and suffered major losses, but was saved from total annihilation by Jia Kui.
In 229, Sun declared himself emperor, which almost damaged the alliance with Shu Han, as many Shu Han officials saw this as a sign of betrayal of the Han Dynasty -- which Shu Han claimed to be the legitimate successor to. However, Zhuge Liang opposed ending the alliance and in fact confirmed it with a formal treaty later that year, in which the two states pledged to support each other and divide Cao Wei equally if they could conquer it. Later that year, he moved his capital from Wuchang (武昌, in modern Ezhou, Hubei) to Jianye (建業, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu), leaving his crown prince Sun Deng, assisted by Lu Xun, in charge of the western empire.
Middle reign
In 230, however, the first sign of the deterioration of Sun Quan's reign occurred. That year, he sent his generals Wei Wun (衛溫) and Zhuge Zhi (諸葛直) with a navy of 10,000 into the East China Sea to seek the legendary islands of Yizhou (夷洲, may be modern Ryukyu Islands) and Danzhou (亶洲, may be modern Japan) to seek to conquer them, despite strenous opposition of Lu Xun and Quan Cong (全琮). The navy was not able to locate Danzhou but located Yizhou, and returned in 231 after capturing several thousand men -- but only after 80-90% of the navy had died of illnesses. Instead of seeing his own fault in this venture, Sun simply executed Wen and Zhuge. Perhaps concerned about this deterioration in Sun Quan's judgment, Sun Deng left the western empire in Lu's hands in 232 and returned in Jianye, and would remain at Jianye until his own death in 241.
In 232, Sun had another misadventure involving his navy -- as he sent his generals Zhou He (周賀) and Pei Qian (裴濳) to the nominal Cao Wei vassal Gongsun Yuan, in control of Liaodong Commandery (modern central Liaoning), to purchase horses, against the advice of Yu Fan (虞翻) -- and indeed, he exiled Yu to the desolate Cangwu Commandery (roughly modern Wuzhou, Guangxi) as punishment. Just as Yu predicted, however, the venture would end in failure -- as Zhou and Pei, on their way back, were intercepted by Cao Wei forces and killed. Regretting his actions, Sun tried to recall Yu back to Jianye, only to learn that Yu had died in exile.
The next year, however, Sun would have yet another misadventure in his dealings with Gongsun, as Gongsun sent messengers to him, offering to be his subject. Sun was ecstatic, and created Gongsun the Prince of Yan and granted him the nine bestowments, and further sent a detachment of 10,000 men by sea north to assist Gongsun in his campaign against Cao Wei, against the advice of nearly every single one of his high level officials, particularly Zhang Zhao. Once the army arrived, however, Gongsun betrayed them, killing Sun's officials Zhang Mi (張彌) and Xu Yan (許晏), whom Sun had sent to grant the bestowments and seized their troops. Once that happened, the enraged Sun wanted to personally head north with a fleet to attack Gongsun, and initially, not even Lu's opposition was able to stop him, although he eventually calmed down and did not follow through. To his credit, he also personally went to Zhang's house and apologized to Zhang. Further, despite the detrioration in his previous clear thinking, he was still capable of making proper decisions at times. For example, in 235, when, as a sign of contempt, Cao Wei's emperor Cao Rui offered horses to him in exchange for pearls, jade, and tortoise shells, Sun ignored the implicit insult and made the exchange, reasoning that his empire needed horses much more than pearls, jade, or tortoise shells.
In 234, in coordination with Zhuge Liang's final northern expedition against Cao Wei, Sun personally led a major attack against Cao Wei's border city Hefei (合肥, in modern Hefei, Anhui), while having Lu and Zhuge Jin attack Xiangyang (襄陽, in modern Xiangfan, Hubei), with the strategy of trying to attract Cao Wei relief forces and then attacking them. However, Cao Wei's generals correctly saw the situation and simply let Sun siege Hefei. Only after Sun's food supplies ran low did Cao Rui personally arrive with relief forces, and Sun withdrew, as did Lu and Zhuge. (This would prove to be the first of only two coordinated efforts made by allies Eastern Wu and Shu Han against Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.)
In 238, when Gongsun was under attack by Cao Wei's general Sima Yi, Sun, despite his prior rage against Gongsun, correctly judged the situation as one where he might be able to take advantage if Sima were initially unsuccessful, did not immediately refuse Gongsun's request for help. However, as Sima was able to conquer Gongsun quickly, Sun never launched the major attack that he considered if Sima got stuck in a stalemate with Gongsun. That year, he also recognized how his head secretary Lü Yi (呂壹) had been falsely accusing his officials, and had Lü executed; he then further confirmed his trust in the high level officials by personally writing an emotional letter to Zhuge Jin, Bu Zhi (步騭), Zhu Ran (朱然), and Lü Dai, blaming himself for the recent problems with his administration while urging them to speak out honestly whenever they saw faults in him.
In 241, Sun would launch the last major assault against Cao Wei of his reign, in light of Cao Rui's death in 239, but he rejected a strategy offered by Yin Zha (殷札) to attack Cao Wei in coordinated effort with Shu Han on four different fronts, and the campaign ended in failure as well.
Late reign
Later in 241, Crown Prince Deng died -- an event that left open the issue of succession and appeared to mark the start of a precipitous decline in Sun Quan's mental health. In 242, he created his son Sun He (孫和), by Consort Wang, crown prince. However, he also favored another son by Consort Wang, Sun Ba (孫霸) the Prince of Lu, and permitted Sun Ba to have the same staffing level as the crown prince -- a move that was objected to by a number of officials as encouraging Prince Ba to compete with Prince He, but Sun Quan did not listen to them. After 245, when Crown Prince He and Prince Ba began to have separate residences, their relationship detriorated further, and Prince Ba began to scheme at how to seize heir status from Prince He. Fanned by gossip from his daughter Sun Dahu (孫大虎), Sun Quan blamed the princes' mother Consort Wang for this -- and she died in fear. He also cut off Crown Prince He and Prince Ba's access to the officials who supported them in hopes of receiving future favors, but this could not stop Prince Ba's machinations. Indeed, when Lu Xun tried to intervene to protect Crown Prince He, Prince Ba falsely accused him of many crimes, and Sun Quan became provoked so much that he repeatedly rebuked Lu -- causing Lu to die in anger.
In 250, fed up with Prince Ba's constant attacks against Crown Prince He, Sun Quan carried out an inexplicable combination of actions -- he forced Prince Ba to commit suicide, while deposing Crown Prince He (who had not been shown to have committed any crimes), and instead creating his youngest son, Sun Liang, crown prince to replace Prince He. This move was opposed by his son-in-law Zhu Ju (朱據, the husband of Princess Xiaohu), but Zhu's pleas not only did not help Prince He, but also resulted in his own death, as Sun forced him to commit suicide. Many other officials who also opposed the move, as well as officials who had supported Prince Ba, were executed.
Around this time, Sun also had his generals destroy a number of levees near the border with Cao Wei, creating large areas of flooding, in order to obstruct potential attacks from Cao Wei.
In 251, Sun created the first empress of his reign -- Crown Prince Liang's mother Consort Pan. (Previously, he had a succession of wives, but never created any of them empresses, except that his favorite, Lady Bu, was created empress posthumously after her death in 238.) Later that year, however, he realized that Prince He was blameless and wanted to recall him from his exile, but was persuaded not to do so by his daughter Princess Dahu and Sun Jun, who had supported Crown Prince Liang's ascension. He realized that he was getting very old (69 by this point) and, at Sun Jun's recommendation, commissioned Zhuge Jin's son Zhuge Ke as the future regent for Crown Prince Liang -- even though he correctly had misgivings about how Zhuge Ke was arrogant and had overly high opinion of his own abilities -- because at that time, virtually the entire empire, awed by Zhuge's prior military victories, was convinced that Zhuge would be the correct choice for regent.
In 252, as Sun Quan neared death, Empress Pan was murdered -- but how she was murdered remains a controversy. Eastern Wu officials claimed that her servants, unable to stand her temper, strangled her while she was asleep, while a number of historians, including Hu Sansheng (胡三省), the commentator to Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian, believed that top Eastern Wu officials were complicit, as they feared that she would seize power as empress dowager after Sun's death. Later that year, Sun died at the age of 70, and Crown Prince Liang succeeded him.
Era names
- Huangwu (黃武 huáng wǔ) 222-229
- Huanglong (黃龍 huáng lóng) 229-231
- Jiahe (嘉禾 jiā hé) 232-238
- Chiwu (赤烏 chì wū) 238-251
- Taiyuan (太元 taì yuán) 251-252
- Shenfeng (神鳳 shén fèng) 252
Personal information
- Father
- Sun Jian
- Mother
- Lady Wu (吳夫人) (d. 202)
- Wives
- Lady Xie
- Lady Xu, adoptive mother of Crown Prince Deng
- Lady Bu (d. 238), posthumously honored as empress
- Empress Pan (created 251, d. 252), mother of Crown Prince Liang
- Major Concubines
- Consort Wang, mother of Crown Prince He and grandmother of Sun Hao, posthumously honored as Empress Dayi
- Consort Wang, mother of Sun Xiu (Emperor Jing), posthumously honored as Empress Jinghuai
- Consort Zhong, mother of Prince Fen
- Consort Yuan, daughter of Yuan Shu
- Children
- Sun Deng (孫登), the Crown Prince (created 221, d. 241)
- Sun Lü (孫慮), the Marquess of Jianchang (created 228, d. 232)
- Sun He (孫和), initially the Crown Prince (created 242, deposed 250), later the Prince of Nanyang (created 252, forced to commit suicide 253)
- Sun Ba (孫霸), the Prince of Lu (created 242, forced to commit suicide 250)
- Sun Fen (孫奮), the Prince of Qi (created 252, deposed 253), later the Marquess of Zhang'an (created 258, executed 270)
- Sun Xiu (孫休), the Prince of Langye (created 252), later Emperor Jing
- Sun Liang (孫亮), the Crown Prince (created 252), later emperor
- Sun Dahu (孫大虎), also known as Princess Quan
- Sun Xiaohu (孫小虎), also known as Princess Zhu
See also
- End of Han Dynasty
- Chinese history
- Chinese sovereign
- Romance of the Three Kingdoms
- Zhou Tai
- Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum
Category:182 births
Category:252 deaths
Category:People of the Three Kingdoms
Category:Eastern Wu emperors
zh-cn:孙权
ja:孫権
Dio CassiusDio Cassius Cocceianus (155–after 229), known in English as Dio Cassius or Cassius Dio, was a noted Roman historian and public servant.
The son of Cassius Apronianus, a Roman senator, he was born at Nicaea in Bithynia. His true name was Cassius, but he assumed the other two names, as his mother's father was Dio Chrysostom. Thus, though he was on his mother's side of Greek descent, and though, in his writings, he adopted the prevailing Greek language of his native province, he must be considered as a Roman.
Dio Cassius passed the greater part of his life in public service. He was a senator under Commodus and governor of Smyrna after the death of Septimius Severus; and afterwards suffect consul around 205, as also proconsul in Africa and Pannonia. Alexander Severus entertained the highest esteem for him, and made him consul for the second time, with himself in 229, though the Praetorian Guards, irritated against him on account of his severity, had demanded his life. Following his second consulship, being advanced in years, he returned to his native country, where he died.
Dio published a Roman history, in eighty books, the fruit of his researches and labours of twenty-two years. It embraced a period of 983 years, extending from the arrival of Aeneas in Italy, and the subsequent founding of Rome, to AD 229. Down to the time of Julius Caesar, he only gives a summary of events; after this, he enters somewhat more into details; and from the time of Commodus he is very circumspect in relating what passed under his own eyes.
We have fragments remaining of the first thirty-six books: but there is a considerable portion of the thirty-fifth book, on the war of Lucullus against Mithridates VI of Pontus, and of the thirty-sixth, on the war with the pirates and the expedition of Pompey against the king of Pontus. The books that follow, to the fifty-fourth inclusive, are nearly all complete: they cover the period from 65 BC to 12 BC, or from the eastern campaign of Pompey and the death of Mithridates to the death of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. The fifty-fifth book has a considerable gap in it. The fifty-sixth to the sixtieth, both included, which comprehend the period from AD 9 to 54, are complete, and contain the events from the defeat of Varus in Germany to the death of Claudius. Of the following twenty books, we have only fragments and the meagre abridgment of John Xiphilinus, a monk of the eleventh century. The eightieth or last book comprehends the period from 222 to 229, in the reign of Alexander Severus. The abridgment of Xiphilinus, as now extant, commences with the thirty-fifth and continues to the end of the eightieth book. It is a very indifferent performance, and was made by order of the emperor Michael VII Parapinaces.
The fragments of the first thirty-six books, as now collected, are of four kinds:
# Fragmenta Valesiana, such as were dispersed throughout various writers, scholiasts, grammarians, lexicographers, etc., and were collected by Henri de Valois.
# Fragmenta Peiresciana, comprising large extracts, found in the section entitled "Of Virtues and Vices", in the great collection or portative library compiled by order of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The manuscript of this belonged to Peiresc.
# The fragments of the first thirty-four books, preserved in the second section of the same work of Constantine's, entitled “Of Embassies.” These are known under the name of Fragmenta Ursiniana, because the manuscript containing them was found in Sicily by Fulvio Orsini.
# Excerpta Vaticana, by Mai, which contain fragments of books one to thirty-five, and sixty-one to eighty. To these are added the fragments of an unknown continuator of Dio, which go down to the time of Constantine. Other fragments from Dio belonging chiefly to the first thirty-five books were found by Mai in two Vatican MSS., which contain a collection made by Maximus Planudes. The annals of Joannes Zonaras also contain numerous extracts from Dio.
Dio has taken Thucydides for his model, but the imitator is not comparable with his original either in arrangement and the distribution of materials or in soundness of view and accurate reasoning. His style is generally clear, where there appears to be no corruption of the text, though full of Latinisms. His diligence is unquestionable, and, from his opportunities, he was well acquainted with the circumstances of the Empire during the period for which he is a contemporary authority.
This entry was based on H. T. Peck's Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898)
External links
- [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html Cassius Dio: History] (English translation)
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Category:155 births
Category:3rd century deaths
Category:Roman era historians
StieldrehungAls Stieldrehung bezeichnet man in der Medizin die Drehung eines gestielten Geschwulstes oder eines Tumors um die eigene Achse, wobei meist die im "Stiel" (d.h. die in der Verbindung zum Ursprungsorgan) verlaufenden Blutgefäße derart abgeschnürt werden, dass es zu einer Unterbrechung der Blutzufuhr kommt. Stieldrehungen kommen meist bei Eierstöcken vor, die durch Tumore vergrößert sind, und stellen eine gefürchtete Komplikation dar.
Kategorie:Gynäkologie
Kategorie:Viszeralchirurgie
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