Is it hard to distinguish Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guangzhou? Actually, these place names, which may seem similar, have deep historical origins.
The picture above shows an inscribed brick of "Yongjia" from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. This is the first time the word "Guangzhou" has appeared in the unearthed cultural relics. This inscribed brick indicates that during the Yongjia Rebellion, while the northern parts of China fell into chaos, Guangzhou remained stable due to its distance from the Central Plains. Furthermore, the migration of people from the north brought advanced production techniques, and cultural and academic advancements, which further promoted the development of the Guangzhou area.
The Jiaozhou and Guangzhou division map above shows the administrative evolution of the Guangdong and Guangxi regions from "Jiaozhou" to "Guangzhou". At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the local forces expanded, and the "zhou" (state) was upgraded from a supervisory area to a higher-level administrative area. In 217 AD, Jiaozhou was occupied by Sun Wu (or Eastern Wu, a dynastic state in China), and its administrative center was relocated from Guangxin (some say it was Wuzhou City, Guangxi, some say it was Fengkai County, Guangdong) to Panyu (today's Guangzhou), and in 226 AD, Jiaozhou was divided into two parts, and the name "Guangzhou" officially appeared for the first time. In the Tang and Song dynasties, Guangxin served as the boundary between "Lingnan East Road" and "Lingnan West Road", "Guangnan East Road" and "Guangnan West Road", and the names of "Guangdong" and "Guangxi" were derived from it. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the division of Guangdong and Guangxi became established.
The copperplate prints of Guangzhou from 1745 to 1747 vividly depict the bustling commercial scene of Guangzhou Prefecture during the Qianlong period (1736-1795 AD). In the Qing Dynasty, Guangdong Province governed several prefectures, and Guangzhou Prefecture held a prominent position in both the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, with a thriving economy and trade. It had a significant impact on the entire Lingnan region.
The picture above is a 19th-century papyrus watercolor painting of a boat. According to historical records, Guangdong, with its small geographical area, dense population, and food shortage, depended on Guangxi, Hunan, and Hubei for supplies. Due to their geographical proximity and convenient waterways, Guangdong merchants preferred to enter the hinterland of Guangxi for trade in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which promoted a close economic relationship between the two regions.
In conclusion, "Guang", derived from the ancient place name Guangxin, represents the benevolence and trust of the imperial court towards the border area. The emergence of "Guangzhou", "Guangdong", and "Guangxi" implies the process of administrative division and change in the Lingnan region.
Author: Armand (intern), Zhong Haiqiong
Editor: Will, Holly, James
Photo: Guangzhou Museum
