The ceiling of county-level cultural tourism: the past and present of Huizhou (Part 1)

The establishment of Anhui Province began with the division of Jiangnan in the 18th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty. After the Qing Dynasty conquered the Southern Ming Dynasty, the Jiangnan Provincial Administration was established on the basis of the Ming Dynasty's Southern Direct Administrative Commission. In the 18th year of Shunzhi, it was divided into the Jiangnan Left and Right Provincial Administration Commissions. Six years later, the two provincial governments were renamed Jiangsu Provincial Government and Anhui Provincial Government respectively. The word Jiangsu was taken from Jiangning and Suzhou, while Anhui came from Anqing and Huizhou prefectures. Anqing was the most powerful prefecture in Anhui Province and as a result was the capital of Anhui Province for more than two hundred years. And why is Huizhou associated with the name of the province? Although Huizhou, with one prefecture and six counties, is located in a remote corner of southeastern Anhui, it has existed stably in terms of geography and division for nearly 800 years. For this reason alone, it is unparalleled in Anhui. The first prefecture in Huizhou is Huizhou Prefecture, which was derived from Shezhou established in the ninth year of Kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty. Its earlier name was Xin'an. After the Pingfangla Uprising in the Northern Song Dynasty, Shezhou was renamed Huizhou. This was the beginning of Huizhou and continued until the early years of the Republic of China. During this period, it was only renamed Xing'an Prefecture for ten years at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The six counties of Huizhou refer to Shexian, Yixian, Xiuning, Qimen, Jixi and Wuyuan. In the 26th year of Emperor Qin Shihuang's reign, You and She counties were established, and You County was now Yi County; in the 13th year of Jian'an in the Han Dynasty, Xiuyang County was established by dividing the western part of She County. Later, Xiuyang was renamed Haiyang and Haining. In the Sui Dynasty, it was changed to Xiuning and has been used to this day; in the 28th year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty, Wuyuan was established by dividing the land of Xiuning and Leping counties; in the 2nd year of Yongtai in the Tang Dynasty, Qimen County was established by dividing Chishan Town of She County and part of Fuliang, and Jixi County was established by dividing Huayang Town of She County. The name Huizhou of Huizhou Prefecture was used for as long as 780 years, and the six counties under its jurisdiction remained almost unchanged for nearly 800 years. It not only gave birth to the world-famous Hui culture, but also gave birth to Hui merchants who were wealthy enough to rival a country. Hui culture is manifested in Huizhou architecture, embodied in the feng shui of the villages, and internalized in the diet and daily life of Huizhou people. It is melted into the paintings of the Xin'an School of Painting and in the Huizhou opera that gave rise to the Peking Opera. The Huizhou merchants, who emerged in the Song Dynasty and reached their peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, first started out by selling locally produced bamboo, wood, mulberry, tea and stone mines, and gradually developed into selling fine study products and famous teas. Finally, they monopolized the Jianghuai salt industry, entered the financial industry with pawnshops, and occupied important ports. Their influence spread to Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou and Xuzhou, as far as Youyan in the north, Fujian and Guangdong in the south, and Guanzhong in the west. They developed to a strength comparable to that of the arrogant Shanxi merchants at the time. Compared with other business groups in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Huizhou merchants were powerful in two ways: first, they used business to support literature, used literature to enter officialdom, and used officialdom to promote business, thus forming a virtuous circle. This virtuous cycle not only allowed the people of Huizhou to prosper in the officialdom and the business world, but also gave birth to powerful red-top businessmen like Hu Xueyan. Another point is that the wealth earned by Huizhou merchants throughout their lives was eventually invested in their hometowns, either to build houses or to donate money to establish schools. While bringing honor to their ancestors, it also laid the groundwork for expanding their wealth. In order to ensure that their family businesses are protected in the social order, the people of Huizhou took Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which has its roots in Huizhou, as their guiding principle. In Huizhou, where people of the same clan live together, the clan system becomes the principle of all actions, and the ancestral hall becomes a platform for handling affairs and resolving disputes.