This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

Coordinates: 23°24′N 113°30′E / 23.4°N 113.5°E / 23.4; 113.5

Guangdong Province
Chinese : 广东省 Guǎngdōng Shěng Cantonese Jyutping: Gwong2 Dung1 Saang2 Cantonese Yale: Gwóngdūng Sáang
Abbreviations: simplified Chinese: 粤; traditional Chinese: 粵  (pinyin: Yuè, Jyutping: Jyut6, Yale: Yuht)
Origin of name	广 guǎng - "Wide" 东 dōng- "East" Lit. "The Eastern Expanse"
Administration type	Province
Capital (and largest city)	Guangzhou
CPC Ctte Secretary	Wang Yang
Governor	Zhu Xiaodan
Area	177,900 km2 (68,700 sq mi) (15th)
- Latitude	20° 13' to 25° 31' N
- Longitude	109° 40' to 117° 20' E
Population (2010)  - Density	104,303,132 (1st) 536 /km2 (1,390 /sq mi) (7th)
GDP (2011)  - per capita	CNY 5.30 trillion US$ 838.60 billion[1] (1st) CNY 50,295 US$ 7,787 (8th)
HDI (2008)	0.844 (high) (4th)
Ethnic composition	Han - 99% Zhuang - 0.7% Yao - 0.2%
Languages and dialects	Cantonese Hakka Teochew Leizhou Putonghua
Prefectural level	21 divisions
County level	121 divisions
Township level*	1642 divisions
ISO 3166-2	CN-44
Official website http://www.gd.gov.cn (Simplified Chinese characters)
Source for population and GDP data: 《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005 ISBN 7503747382 Source for nationalities data: 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China ISBN 7105054255 *As at December 31, 2004
Template ■ Discussion ■ WikiProject China

Guangdong
Simplified Chinese	广东
Traditional Chinese	廣東
Cantonese Jyutping	Gwong2 Dung1
Cantonese Yale	Gwóngdūng
Hanyu Pinyin	Guǎngdōng
Transcriptions Hakka - Romanization Kóng-tûng [gong31 dung24] Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Guǎngdōng - Wade–Giles Kuang-tung  [Listen] (help·info) - IPA [kwɑ̀ŋtʊ́ŋ] - Postal Map Canton, Kwangtung Min - Hokkien POJ Kńg-tang - Min-dong BUC Guōng-dĕ̤ng Wu - Romanization kuaon tong Cantonese (Yue) - Jyutping Gwong2 Dung1 - Yale Romanization Gwóngdūng

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province. It surpassed Henan and Sichuan to become the most populous province in China in January 2005, registering 79 million permanent residents and 31 million migrants who lived in the province for at least six months of the year.^[2][3] The provincial capital Guangzhou and economic hub Shenzhen are amongst the most populous and important cities in China.

Since 1989 Guangdong has topped the total GDP rankings among all provincial-level divisions, with Jiangsu and Shandong second and third in rank. According to provincial annual preliminary statistics,^[4] Guangdong's GDP in 2010 reached CNY 4,550 billion, or USD 689.02 billion, making its economy roughly the same size as that of Turkey or Indonesia.^[5] Guangdong has the fourth highest GDP per capita among all provinces of mainland China, after Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Liaoning. The province contributes approximately 12% of the PRC's national economic output, and is home to the production facilities and offices of a wide-ranging set of multinational and Chinese corporations. Guangdong also hosts the largest Import and Export Fair in China called the Canton Fair in Guangdong's capital city Guangzhou.

Name[link]

"Guang" itself means "expanse" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. "Guangdong" and neighbouring Guangxi literally mean "expanse east" and "expanse west". Together, Guangdong and Guangxi are called the "Dual-Guangs" (兩廣 liăng guăng). During the Song dynasty, the two Guangs were formally separated as Guangnan Dong lu (廣南東路) and Guangnan Xi lu (廣南西路), which became abbreviated as Guangdong lu (廣東路) and Guangxi lu (廣西路). The modern abbreviation 粤/粵 (Yue) is a shortened form of Baiyue (百越), a collective name for various peoples that lived in southern China in ancient times.

Prior to the introduction of Hanyu Pinyin, the province was known as Kwangtung Province. One should note that Canton, though etymologically derived from a Portuguese transliteration of "Guangdong", refers only to the provincial capital instead of the whole province, as documented by authoritative English dictionaries. The local people of the city of Guangzhou (Canton) and their language are still commonly referred to as Cantonese in English. Because of the prestige of Canton and its accent, Cantonese sensu lato can also be used for the phylogenetically related residents and Chinese dialects outside the provincial capital.

History[link]

Guangdong was far away from the centre of ancient Chinese civilization in the north China plain. It was populated by peoples collectively known as the Baiyue, who may have spoken Tai–Kadai languages and been related to the Zhuang people in modern Guangxi.

Chinese administration in the region began with the Qin Dynasty. After establishing the first unified Chinese empire, the Qin expanded southwards and set up Nanhai Commandery at Panyu, near what is now part of Guangzhou. It used to be independent as Nanyue between the fall of Qin and the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. The Han Dynasty administered Guangdong, Guangxi, and northern Vietnam as Jiaozhi Province. Under the Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period, Guangdong was made its own province, the Guang Province, in 226.

As time passed, the demographics of what is now Guangdong slowly shifted to (Han) Chinese-dominance, especially during several periods of massive migration from the north during periods of political turmoil and/or nomadic incursions from the fall of the Han Dynasty onwards. For example, internal strife in northern China following the rebellion of An Lushan resulted in a 75% increase in the population of Guangzhou prefecture between 740s-750s and 800s-810s.^[6] As more migrants arrived, the local population was gradually assimilated to Han Chinese culture,^[7] or displaced. From the tenth to twelfth century, Persian women were to be found in Guangzhou (Canton), some of them in the tenth century like Mei Zhu in the harem of the Emperor Liu Chang, and in the twelfth century large numbers of Persian women lived there, noted for wearing mulitiple earrings and "quarrelsome dispositions".^[8][9] Multiple women originating from the Persian Gulf lived in Guangzhou's foreign quarter, they were all called "Persian women" (波斯婦 Po-ssu-fu or Bosifu).^[10]

Together with Guangxi, Guangdong was made part of Lingnan Circuit (political division Circuit), or Mountain-South Circuit, in 627 during the Tang Dynasty. The Guangdong part of Lingnan Circuit was renamed Guangnan East Circuit guǎng nán dōng lù in 971 during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). "Guangnan East" is the source of "Guangdong".

As Mongols from the north engaged in their conquest of China in the 13th century, the Southern Song Dynasty retreated southwards, eventually ending up in today's Guangdong. The Battle of Yamen 1279 in Guangdong marked the end of the Southern Song Dynasty (960-1279).

During the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, large part of current Guangdong belongs to Jiangxi Province.^[11] Its present name, "Guangdong Province" was given in early Ming Dynasty.

Since the 16th century, Guangdong has had extensive trade links with the rest of the world. European merchants coming northwards via the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea, particularly the Portuguese and British, traded extensively through Guangzhou. Macau, on the southern coast of Guangdong, was the first European settlement in 1557.

In the 19th century, the opium traded through Guangzhou triggered the First Opium War, opening an era of foreign incursion and intervention in China. In addition to Macau, which was then a Portuguese colony, Hong Kong was ceded to the British, and Kwang-Chou-Wan to the French.

Guangdong was also the major port of exit for labourers to Southeast Asia and the West in the 19th century, i.e. United States and Canada. As a result, many overseas Chinese communities have their origins in Guangdong. The Cantonese language therefore has proportionately more speakers among overseas Chinese people than mainland Chinese. In the US, there is a large number of Chinese who are descendants of immigrants from the city of Taishan (Toisan in Cantonese), who speak a distinctive dialect related to Cantonese called Taishanese (or Toishanese).

During the 1850s, the Taiping Rebellion, whose leader Hong Xiuquan was born in Guangdong and received a pamphlet from a Protestant Christian missionary in Guangdong, became a widespread civil war in southern China. Because of direct contact with the West, Guangdong was the center of anti-Manchu and anti-imperialist activity. The generally acknowledged founder of modern China, Sun Yat-sen, was also from Guangdong.

During the early 1920s of the Republic of China, Guangdong was the staging area for Kuomintang (KMT) to prepare for the Northern Expedition, an effort to bring the various warlords of China back under the central government. Whampoa Military Academy was built near Guangzhou to train military commanders.

In recent years, the province has seen extremely rapid economic growth, aided in part by its close trading links with Hong Kong, which borders it. It is now the province with the highest gross domestic product in China.

In 1952, a small section of Guangdong's coastline was given to Guangxi, giving it access to the sea. This was reversed in 1955, and then restored in 1965. Hainan Island was originally part of Guangdong but it was separated as its own province in 1988.

Geography[link]

Pearl River and Humen Bridge

Guangdong faces the South China Sea to the south and has a total of 4,300 km of coastline. Leizhou Peninsula is on the southwestern end of the province. There are a few inactive volcanoes on Leizhou Peninsula. The Pearl River Delta is the convergent point of three upstream rivers: the East River, North River, and West River. The river delta is filled with hundreds of small islands. The province is geographically separated from the north by a few mountain ranges collectively called the Southern Mountain Range (南岭). The highest peak in the province is Shikengkong 1,902 meters above sea level.

Guangdong borders Fujian province to the northeast, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces to the north, Guangxi autonomous region to the west, and Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions to the south. Hainan province is offshore across from the Leizhou Peninsula. Certain of the Pratas Islands which have traditionally been regarded as part of Guangdong Province are administered by the Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan.^[12]

Cities around the Pearl River Delta include Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Shunde, Taishan, Zhongshan and Zhuhai. Other cities in the province include Chaozhou, Chenghai, Kaiping, Nanhai, Shantou, Shaoguan, Xinhui, Zhanjiang, Zhaoqing, Yangjiang and Yunfu.

Guangdong has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa inland, Cwa along the coast), though nearing a tropical climate in the far south. Winters are short, mild, and relatively dry, while summers are long, hot, and very wet. Average daily highs in Guangzhou in January and July are 18 °C (64 °F) and 33 °C (91 °F) respectively, although the humidity makes it feel much hotter in summer. Frost is rare on the coast but may happen a few days each winter well inland.

Economy[link]

Shops in one of the streets of Guangzhou specialize in selling various electronic components, supplying the needs of local consumer electronics manufacturers. The shop in front is in the LED business.

This is a trend of official estimates of the gross domestic product of the Province of Guangdong with figures in millions of Chinese Yuan:

After the communist revolution and until the start of the Deng Xiaoping reforms in 1978, Guangdong was an economic backwater, although a large underground, service-based economy has always existed. Economic development policies encouraged industrial development in the interior provinces which were weakly joined to Guangdong via transportation links. The government policy of economic autarchy made Guangdong's access to the ocean irrelevant.^{[citation needed]}

Deng Xiaoping's open door policy radically changed the economy of the province as it was able to take advantage of its access to the ocean, proximity to Hong Kong, and historical links to overseas Chinese. In addition, until the 1990s when the Chinese taxation system was reformed, the province benefited from the relatively low rate of taxation placed on it by the central government due to its post-Liberation status of being economically backward.^{[citation needed]}

Guangdong's economic boom began with the early 1990s and has since spread to neighboring provinces, and also pulled their populations inward. The economic growth of Guangdong province owes much to the low-value added manufacturing which characterized (and in many ways still defines) the province's economy following Deng Xiaoping's reforms. Guangdong is not only China's largest exporter of goods, it is the country's largest importer as well.^[13]

The province is now one of the richest in the nation, with the most billionaires in mainland China, ^[14], the highest GDP among all the provinces, although wage growth has only recently begun to rise due to a large influx of migrant workers from neighboring provinces. In 2011, Guangdong's aggregate nominal GDP reached 5.30 trillion RMB (US$838.60 billion) with a per capita GDP of 47,689 RMB.^[15] By 2015, the local government of Guangdong hopes that the service industry will account for more than 50% of the provinces GDP and high-tech manufacturing another 20%.^[13]

In 2009, Guangdong's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 201 billion yuan, 1.93 trillion yuan, and 1.78 trillion yuan respectively.^[5] Its per capita GDP reached 40,748 yuan (about US$5,965).^[16] Guangdong contributes approximately 12% of the total national economic output.^[17] Now, it has three of the six Special Economic Zones: Shenzhen, Shantou and Zhuhai. The affluence of Guangdong, however, remains very much concentrated near the Pearl River Delta.

In 2008 its foreign trade also grew 7.8% from the previous year and is also by far the largest of all of China. By numbers, Guangdong's foreign trade accounts for more than a quarter of China's US$2.56 trillion foreign trade or roughly US$683 billion.^[18]

Economic and technological development zones[link]

• Foshan National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone^[19]
• Guangzhou Development District
• Guangzhou Export Processing Zone
• Guangzhou Free Trade Zone
• Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technical Development Zone
• Guangzhou Nanhu Lake Tourist Holiday Resort (Chinese Version)
• Guangzhou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
• Huizhou Dayawan Economic and Technological Development Zone
• Huizhou Export Processing Zone
• Huizhou Zhongkai Hi-Tech Development Zone
• Shantou Free Trade Zone
• Shatoujiao Free Trade Zone
• Shenzhen Export Processing Zone
• Shenzhen Futian Free Trade Zone^[20]
• Shenzhen Hi-Tech Industrial Park
• Yantian Port Free Trade Zone
• Zhanjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone (Chinese Version)
• Zhuhai National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
• Zhuhai Free Trade Zone
• Zhongshan Torch High-tech Industrial Development Zone

Demographics[link]

Guangdong officially became the most populous province in January 2005.^[2][3] Official statistics had traditionally placed Guangdong as the 4th most populous province of China with about 80 million people (also, Sichuan, traditionally the most populous province, was divided into Sichuan and Chongqing in 1997) but recently released information suggests that there are an additional 30 million migrants who reside in Guangdong for at least six months every year, making it the most populous province with a population of more than 110 million.^[21] The massive influx of migrants from other provinces, dubbed the "floating population", is due to Guangdong's booming economy and high demand for labor.

Guangdong is also the ancestral home of large numbers of overseas Chinese. Most of the railroad laborers in Canada, Western United States and Panama in the 19th century came from Guangdong. Many people from the region also travelled to the US / California during the gold rush of 1849, and also to Australia during its gold rush a decade or so later. Emigration in recent years has slowed with economic prosperity, but this province is still a major source of immigrants to North America and elsewhere in the world.

The majority of the province's population is Han Chinese. Within the Han Chinese, the largest subgroup in Guangdong are the Cantonese people. Two other major groups are the Teochew people in Chaoshan and the Hakka people in Huizhou, Meizhou, Heyuan, Shaoguan and Zhanjiang. There is a small Yao population in the north. Other smaller minority groups include She, Miao, Li, and Zhuang.

Guangdong has a highly unbalanced gender ratio that is among the highest of all provinces in China. According to a 2009 study published in the British Medical Journal, in the 1-4 age group, there are over 130 boys for every 100 girls.^[22]

Politics[link]

Guangdong is governed by a dual-party system like the rest of China. The premier is in charge of provincial affairs; however, the Party Secretary keeps things in check.

Relations with Hong Kong and Macau[link]

Hong Kong and Macau, while historically parts of Guangdong before becoming colonies of the United Kingdom and Portugal respectively, are special administrative regions (SARs). Furthermore, the Basic Laws of both SARs explicitly forbid provincial governments from intervening in local politics. As a result, many issues with Hong Kong and Macau, such as border policy and water rights, have been settled by negotiations between the SARs' governments and the Guangdong provincial government.

Media[link]

Guangdong and the greater Guangzhou area is served by several Radio Guangdong stations and Guangdong TV. There is an English programme produced by Radio Guangdong which broadcasts information about this region to the entire world through the WRN Broadcast.

Culture[link]

The central region, which is also the political and economic center, is populated predominantly by Cantonese speakers, though the influx in the last three decades of millions of Mandarin-speaking immigrants has diminished Cantonese linguistic dominance somewhat. This region is associated with Cantonese cuisine (simplified Chinese: 粤菜; traditional Chinese: 粵菜). Cantonese opera (simplified Chinese: 粤剧; traditional Chinese: 粵劇) is a form of Chinese opera popular in Cantonese speaking areas. Related Yue dialects are spoken in most of the western half of the province.

The area comprising the cities of Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang in coastal east Guangdong, known as Chaoshan, forms its own cultural sphere. The Teochew people here, alongside with Hailufeng people in Shanwei, speak Teochew (simplified Chinese: 潮语, traditional Chinese: 潮語), which is a Min dialect closely related to Min-nan and their cuisine is Teochew cuisine (simplified Chinese: 潮州菜; traditional Chinese: 潮州菜). Teochew opera (simplified Chinese: 潮剧, traditional Chinese: 潮劇) is also very famous with a unique form.

The Hakka people live in large areas of Guangdong, including Huizhou, Meizhou, Shenzhen, Heyuan, Shaoguan and other areas. Much of the Eastern part of Guangdong is populated by the Hakka people except for the Chaozhou and Hailufeng area. Hakka culture include Hakka cuisine (客家菜), Han opera (simplified Chinese: 汉剧; traditional Chinese: 漢劇), Hakka Hanyue and sixian (traditional instrumental music) and Hakka folk songs (客家山歌).

Zhanjiang area in southern Guangdong is populated by Hai'nan dialect (or Leizhou dialect as referred locally) speakers, Cantonese and Hakka are also spoken there.

Mandarin is the language used in education and government and in areas where there are migrants from other provinces, above all in Shenzhen. Cantonese maintains a strong position in common usage and media, even in eastern areas of the province where the local dialects are non-Yue ones.

Education[link]

Colleges and universities[link]

National[link]

• Jinan University (Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Shenzhen)
• Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou, Zhuhai)
• Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (廣東外語外貿大學)（since 1965）(Guangzhou)
• Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine
• South China Agricultural University (華南農業大學) (founded 1909) (Guangzhou)
• South China University of Technology (Guangzhou)

Provincial[link]

• Dongguan Institute of Technology
• Dongguan University of Technology (Dongguan)
• Foshan University (Guangzhou, Foshan)
• Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (廣州美術學院)
• Guangdong Ocean University (廣東海洋大學)
• Guangdong University of Business Studies (廣東商學院)
• Guangdong Institute of Science and Technology (廣東省科技干部學院)
• Guangzhou Medical College (廣州醫學院)
• Guangzhou Normal University
• Guangdong Pharmaceutical University (廣東藥學院)
• Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University (廣東技術師范學院)
• Guangzhou Sports University (廣州體育學院)
• Guangdong University of Technology (廣東工業大學)
• Guangzhou University (廣州大學)
• Hanshan Teachers College
• Huizhou University
• Guangdong Education and Research Network
• Guangzhou Education College
• Guangdong Institute of Education
• Guangdong Medical College
• Guangdong General Hospital
• Guangdong Petrochemical Academy
• Guangdong Radio & TV. University
• Panyu Polytechnic
• Shaoguan University
• Shenzhen Party School
• Shantou University (Shantou)
• Shenzhen University (Shenzhen)
• Shenzhen Polytechnic
• Shunde University (Shunde)
• South China Normal University (華南師范大學)
• Southern Medical University
• Xijiang University
• Xinghai Conservatory of Music (星海音樂學院)
• Zhanjiang Normal University
• Zhaoqing University (肇慶大學)
• Zhongkai Agrotechnical College (仲愷農業技術學院) (founded 1927)
• Wuyi University (五邑大學)

Sports[link]

List of current professional sports clubs based in Guangdong:

Tourism[link]

Notable attractions include Danxia Mountain, Yuexiu Hill in Guangzhou, Star Lake and the Seven Star Crags, Dinghu Mountain, and the Zhongshan Sun Wen Memorial Park for Sun Yat-sen in Zhongshan.

Administrative divisions[link]

Map	#	Name	Administrative Seat	Hanzi Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010)
	— Sub-provincial city —
	9	Guangzhou	Yuexiu District	广州市 Guǎngzhōu Shì	12,700,800
	21	Shenzhen	Futian District	深圳市 Shēnzhèn Shì	10,357,938
	— Prefecture-level city —
	1	Qingyuan	Qingcheng District	清远市 Qīngyuǎn Shì	3,698,394
	2	Shaoguan	Zhenjiang District	韶关市 Sháoguān Shì	2,826,612
	3	Heyuan	Yuancheng District	河源市 Héyuán Shì	2,953,019
	4	Meizhou	Meijiang District	梅州市 Méizhōu Shì	4,240,139
	5	Chaozhou	Fengxi District	潮州市 Cháozhōu Shì	2,669,844
	6	Zhaoqing	Duanzhou District	肇庆市 Zhàoqìng Shì	3,918,085
	7	Yunfu	Yuncheng District	云浮市 Yúnfú Shì	2,360,128
	8	Foshan	Chancheng District	佛山市 Fóshān Shì	7,194,311
	10	Dongguan	Dongguan (Nancheng District)	东莞市 Dōngguǎn Shì	8,220,237
	11	Huizhou	Huicheng District	惠州市 Hùizhōu Shì	4,597,002
	12	Shanwei	Chengqu District	汕尾市 Shànwěi Shì	2,935,717
	13	Jieyang	Rongcheng District	揭阳市 Jiēyáng Shì	5,877,025
	14	Shantou	Jinping District	汕头市 Shàntóu Shì	5,391,028
	15	Zhanjiang	Chikan District	湛江市 Zhànjiāng Shì	6,993,304
	16	Maoming	Maonan District	茂名市 Màomíng Shì	5,817,753
	17	Yangjiang	Jiangcheng District	阳江市 Yángjiāng Shì	2,421,812
	18	Jiangmen	Pengjiang District	江门市 Jiāngmén Shì	4,448,871
	19	Zhongshan	Zhongshan (Dongqu District)	中山市 Zhōngshān Shì	3,120,884
	20	Zhuhai	Xiangzhou District	珠海市 Zhūhǎi Shì	1,560,229

The above division govern, in total, 49 districts, 30 county-level cities, 42 counties, and three autonomous counties. For county-level divisions, see the list of administrative divisions of Guangdong.

See also[link]

People's Republic of China portal

• Governors of Guangdong
• GD Greenway
• Christianity in Guangdong

References[link]

Economic data

• Economic profile for Guangdong at HKTDC

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Guangdong

Look up guangdong in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Guangdong provincial government official website
• Guangdong Statistical Yearbook
• Guangdong travel guide from Wikitravel

	Hunan	Jiangxi	Fujian
	Guangxi		South China Sea
		Guangdong    East
	Gulf of Tonkin	South China Sea	Hong Kong Macau

v t e Provincial level divisions of the People's Republic of China Provinces Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang Autonomous regions Guangxi Inner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) Ningxia Tibet (Xizang) Xinjiang Municipalities Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin Special administrative regions Hong Kong Macau Territorial disputes Paracel, Spratly, Zhongsha Islands (see Paracels, Spratlys, & Zhongsha Iss. Authority) Pratas Islands Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku Islands) South Tibet Taiwan, Quemoy & Matsu (see Legal status of Taiwan)

Michael Jackson
Jackson at the White House in 1984
Background information
Birth name	Michael Joseph Jackson[1]
Also known as	King of Pop, MJ
Born	(1958-08-29)August 29, 1958 Gary, Indiana, U.S.
Died	June 25, 2009(2009-06-25) (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop, rock, soul, dance, funk, disco, new jack swing
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, dancer, choreographer, record producer, actor, businessman, philanthropist
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1964–2009
Labels	Motown, Epic, Legacy, MJJ Productions
Associated acts	The Jackson 5 Michael Jackson's Signature
Website	www.michaeljackson.com

Michael Joseph Jackson^[1] (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ,^[2] Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.^[3] He was also one of the world's most prominent humanitarians and philanthropists; personally, and through his Heal the World Foundation, he donated more than $300 million in charity, and held the Guinness World Record for having supported the most charities out of any pop star.^[4][5]

Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series titled This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a $250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.^[6]