Coordinates: 38°0′N 102°20′E / 38°N 102.333°E / 38; 102.333

Gansu Province
Chinese : 甘肃省 Gānsù Shěng
Abbreviations: 甘 or 陇/隴  (pinyin: Gān or Lǒng)
Origin of name	甘 gān - Ganzhou District, Zhangye 肃 sù - Suzhou District, Jiuquan
Administration type	Province
Capital (and largest city)	Lanzhou
CPC Ctte Secretary	Lu Hao
Governor	Liu Weiping
Area	454,000 km2 (175,000 sq mi) (7th)
- Latitude	32° 36' to 42° 48' N
- Longitude	092° 46' to 108° 43' E
Population (2010)  - Density	25,575,254 (22nd) 73 /km2 (190 /sq mi) (27th)
GDP (2011)  - per capita	CNY 502.0 billion US$ 79.6 billion (27th) CNY 16,113 US$ 2,380 (29th)
HDI (2008)	0.705 (medium) (29th)
Ethnic composition	Han - 91% Hui - 5% Dongxiang - 2% Tibetan - 2%
Languages and dialects	{{{Dialects}}}
Prefectural level	14 divisions
County level	86 divisions
Township level*	1344 divisions
ISO 3166-2	CN-62
Official website http://www.gansu.gov.cn (Simplified Chinese)
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
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 Gansu (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 甘肃; traditional Chinese: 甘肅; pinyin: Gānsù; Wade–Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.

It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province.

Gansu has a population of 26 million (2009) and has a large concentration of Hui Chinese, and the historical home, along with Shaanxi of the dialect of the Dungans, who are Hui who migrated to Central Asia. The southwestern corner of Gansu is home to a large Tibetan population. The capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province. Gansu is abbreviated as "甘" (Gān) or "陇" (Lǒng), and is also known as Long West or Long Right, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu.

History[link]

Jiayuguan Fort

Gansu is a compound name first used in Song Dynasty China, of two Sui and Tang Dynasty prefectures (州): Gan (around Zhangye) and Su (around Jiuquan).

The ruins of a Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) Chinese watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province, the eastern edge of the Silk Road

In prehistoric times, Gansu was host to a number of Neolithic cultures. The Dadiwan culture, from where numerous archaeologically significant artifacts have been excavated, flourished in the eastern end of Gansu from about 6000 BC to about 3000 BC .^[1] The Majiayao culture (馬家窯文化) and part of the Qijia culture (齊家文化) also took root in Gansu from 3100 BC to 2700 BC and 2400 BC to 1900 BC respectively.

The Yuezhi originally lived in this area until they were forced to emigrate by the Xiongnu around 177 BCE. The Qin state (秦), later to become the founding state of the Chinese empire, grew out from the southeastern part of Gansu, specifically the Tianshui (天水) area. The Qin name itself is believed to have originated, in part, from the area.^[2][3] Qin tombs and artifacts have been excavated from Fangmatan near Tianshui, including one 2200 year old map of Guixian County .^[4]

In imperial times, Gansu was an important strategic outpost and communications link for the Chinese empire, as the Hexi corridor (河西走廊) runs along the "neck" of the province. The Han dynasty extended the Great Wall across this corridor, also building the strategic Yumenguan (Jade Gate Pass, near Dunhuang) and Yangguan (阳关) fort towns along it. Remains of the wall and the towns can be found there to this date. The Ming dynasty also built the Jiayuguan outpost in Gansu. To the west of Yumenguan and the Qilian Mountains, at the northwestern end of the province, the Yuezhi, Wusun, and other nomadic tribes dwelt (Shiji 123), occasionally figuring in regional imperial Chinese geopolitics.

By the Qingshui treaty, concluded in 823 between the Tibetan Empire and the Tang Dynasty, China lost for a long while the whole Gansu province.^[5]

After the fall of the Uyghur Empire, an Uyghur state was established in Gansu that lasted from 848 to 1036 AD. During that time, many of Gansu's residents converted to Islam.

Situated along the Silk Road, Gansu was an economically important province, and a cultural transmission path as well. Temples and Buddhist grottoes ^[6] such as those at Mogao Caves ('Caves of the Thousand Buddhas') and Maijishan Caves contain artistically and historically revealing murals.^[7] An early form of paper inscribed with Chinese characters and dating to about 8 BC was discovered at the site of a Western Han garrison near the Yumen pass in August 2006 ^[8]

The province was also the origin of the Muslim Rebellion of 1862-77, which later spread to much of China and resulted in the deaths of upwards of twelve million Chinese Muslims^[9] in addition to the decimation of Chinese Muslim culture in Yunnan province, where over one million Muslims were killed by Qing forces.^[10] Among the Qing forces were Muslim Generals like Ma Zhan'ao and Ma Anliang who helped Qing crush the rebel Muslims. The Dungan revolt (1895–1896) spread into this province from Qinghai.

Its frequent earthquakes, droughts and famines have tended to slow its economic progress, until recently when based on its abundant mineral resources it has begun developing into a vital industrial center. An earthquake in Gansu at 8.6 on the Richter scale killed around 180,000 people in 1920, and another with a magnitude of 7.6 killed 275 in 1932.^[11]

Muslim General Ma Hongbin was acting Chairman of the province, and Muslim General Ma Buqing was in virtual control of Gansu in 1940. Liangzhou District in Wuwei was previously his headquarters in Gansu, where he controlled 15 million Muslims.^[12]

Geography[link]

Gansu province has an area of 454,000 km², and the majority of its land is more than 1 km above sea level. It lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Inner Mongolia, and the Loess Plateau, and borders Mongolia to the north-west. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province. The province contains the geographical centre of China, marked by the Center of the Country Monument at 35°50′40.9″N 103°27′7.5″E / 35.844694°N 103.452083°E / 35.844694; 103.452083 (Geographical centre of China).^[13]

Part of the Gobi Desert is located in Gansu, as well as small parts of the Badain Jaran Desert and Tengger Desert.

The Yellow River gets most of its water from Gansu province. The Yellow River also flows straight through Lanzhou. Area around Wuwei is part of Shiyang River Basin.^[14]

The landscape in Gansu is very mountainous in the south and flat in the north. The mountains in the south are part of the Qilian mountain range. At 5,547 meters high, Qilian Shan Mountain is Gansu’s highest elevation. It is located at latitude 39°N and longitude 99°E.

A natural land passage known as Hexi Corridor, stretching some 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from Lanzhou to the Jade Gate, is situated within Gansu province. It is bound from north by the Gobi Desert and Qilian Mountains from the south.

Gansu has a generally semi-arid to arid, continental climate, with warm summers and very cold winters. Most of the precipitation is concentrated in the summer months.

Neighboring provinces: Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Ningxia.

Panorama of the lower Daxia River valley in the northeast of the Linxia County, and the loess plateau flanking in, cut by a canyon

Administrative divisions[link]

There are fourteen administrative areas in Gansu immediately below the province level:

Map	#	Name	Administrative Seat	Hanzi Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010)
	— Prefecture-level city —
	1	Jiuquan	Suzhou District	酒泉市 Jiǔquán Shì	1,095,947
	2	Jiayuguan	Jiayuguan (Xiongguan District)	嘉峪关市 Jiāyùguān Shì	231,853
	3	Zhangye	Ganzhou District	张掖市 Zhāngyè Shì	1,199,515
	4	Jinchang	Jinchuan District	金昌市 Jīnchāng Shì	464,050
	5	Wuwei	Liangzhou District	武威市 Wǔwēi Shì	1,815,054
	6	Baiyin	Baiyin District	白银市 Báiyín Shì	1,708,751
	7	Lanzhou	Chengguan District	兰州市 Lánzhōu Shì	3,616,163
	10	Dingxi	Anding District	定西市 Dìngxī Shì	2,698,622
	11	Longnan	Wudu District	陇南市 Lǒngnán Shì	2,567,718
	12	Tianshui	Qinzhou District	天水市 Tiānshuǐ Shì	3,262,548
	13	Pingliang	Kongtong District	平凉市 Píngliàng Shì	2,068,033
	14	Qingyang	Xifeng District	庆阳市 Qìngyáng Shì	2,211,191
	— Autonomous prefecture —
	8	Linxia (for Hui)	Linxia	临夏回族自治州 Línxià Huízú Zìzhìzhōu	1,946,677
	9	Gannan (for Tibetan)	Hezuo	甘南藏族自治州 Gānnán Zāngzú Zìzhìzhōu	689,132

Anti-desertification project[link]

The Asian Development Bank is working with the State Forestry Administration of China on the Silk Road Ecosystem Restoration project, designed to prevent degradation and desertification in Gansu. It is estimated to cost up to US$150 million.

Politics[link]

Gates of a provincial government complex in Lanzhou

Secretaries of the CPC Gansu Committee: The Secretary of the CPC Gansu Committee is the highest ranking office within Gansu Province.^[15]

1. Zhang Desheng (张德生): 1949-1954
2. Zhang Zhongliang (张仲良): 1954-1961
3. Wang Feng^{[disambiguation needed ]} (汪锋): 1961-1966
4. Hu Jizong (胡继宗): 1966-1967
5. Xian Henghan (冼恒汉): 1970-1977
6. Song Ping (宋平): 1977-1981
7. Feng Jixin (冯纪新): 1981-1983
8. Li Ziqi (李子奇): 1983-1990
9. Gu Jinchi (顾金池): 1990-1993
10. Yan Haiwang (阎海旺): 1993-1998
11. Sun Ying (孙英): 1998-2001
12. Song Zhaosu (宋照肃): 2001-2003
13. Su Rong (苏荣): 2003-2007
14. Lu Hao (陆浩): April 2007^[15] - incumbent

Governors of Gansu: The Governorship of Gansu is the second highest ranking official within Gansu, behind the Secretary of the CPC Gansu Committee.^[15] The governor is responsible for all issues related to economics, personnel, political initiatives, the environment and the foreign affairs of the province.^[15] The Governor is appointed by the Gansu Provincial People's Congress, which is the province's legislative body.^[15]

1. Wang Shitai (王世泰): 1949-1950
2. Deng Baoshan (邓宝姗): 1950-1967
3. Xian Henghan (冼恒汉): 1967-1977
4. Song Ping (宋平): 1977-1979
5. Feng Jixin (冯纪新): 1979-1981
6. Li Dengying (李登瀛): 1981-1983
7. Chen Guangyi (陈光毅): 1983-1986
8. Jia Zhijie (贾志杰): 1986-1993
9. Yan Haiwang (阎海旺): 1993
10. Zhang Wule (张吾乐): 1993-1996
11. Sun Ying (孙英): 1996-1998
12. Song Zhaosu (宋照肃): 1998-2001
13. Lu Hao (陆浩): 2001-2006
14. Xu Shousheng (徐守盛): January 2007 - incumbent^[15]

Economy[link]

The Yellow River in Lanzhou seen from the park of the White Pagoda.

Agricultural production includes cotton, linseed oil, maize, melons (such as the honeydew melon, known locally as the Bailan melon or "Wallace" due to its introduction by US vice president Henry A. Wallace),^[16] millet, and wheat. Gansu is known as a source for wild medicinal herbs which are used in Chinese medicine.

However, most of Gansu's economy is based on mining and the extraction of minerals, especially rare earth elements. The province has significant deposits of antimony, chromium, coal, cobalt, copper, fluorite, gypsum, iridium, iron, lead, limestone, mercury, mirabilite, nickel, crude oil, platinum, troilite, tungsten, and zinc among others. The oil fields at Yumen and Changqing are considered significant.

Gansu has China's largest nickel deposits accounting for over 90% of China's total nickel reserves.^[17]

Industries other than mining include electricity generation, petrochemicals, oil exploration machinery, and building materials.

According to some sources, the province is also a center of China's nuclear industry.

Despite recent growth in Gansu and the booming economy in the rest of China, Gansu is still considered to be one of the poorest provinces in China. Its nominal GDP for 2011 was about 502.0 billion yuan (79.69 billion USD) and per capita of 12,836 RMB (1,879 USD). Tourism has been a bright spot in contributing to Gansu's overall economy. As mentioned below, Gansu offers a wide variety of choices for national and international tourists.

As stipulated in the country's 12th Five Year Plan, the local government of Gansu hopes to grow the provinces GDP by 10% annually by focusing investments on five pillar industries: renewable energy, coal, chemicals, nonferrous metals, pharmaceuticals and services.^[18]

Economic and technological development zones[link]

• Lanzhou National Economic and Technological Development Zone

Lanzhou Economic & Technology Development Zone was established in 1993, located in the center of Lanzhou Anning District. The zone has a planned area of 9.53 square kilometers. 17 colleges, 11 scientific research institutions, 21 large and medium-size companines and other 1735 enterprises have been set up in the zone. Main industries include textile mills, rubber, fertilizer plants, oil refinery, petrochemical, machinery, and metallurgical industry.^[19]

• Lanzhou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Lanzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, one of the first 27 national hi-tech industrial development zones, was established in 1998 covering more than 10 square kilometers. It is expected to expand another 19 square kilometers. The zone mainly focuses on Biotechnology, chemical industry, building decoration materials and information technology.^[20]

Major business enterprises[link]

Many new business enterprises have been started in Gansu. Among the largest is Yasheng Group, with over 15,000 employees.^[21][22]

Demographics[link]

On the streets of Linxia

Gansu province is home to 30,711,287 people. Most of the population, 73%, is still rural. Gansu is 92% Han and also has Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Tu, Manchu, Uyghur, Yugur, Bonan, Mongolian, Salar, and Kazakh minorities. Prior to the Panthay Rebellion (also Muslim Rebellion), Gansu province had a large community of Chinese Hui Muslims, which was almost completely decimated by Qing authorities.

Languages[link]

Most of the inhabitants of Gansu speak dialects of Northern Mandarin Chinese. On the border areas of Gansu one might encounter Tu, Amdo Tibetan, Mongolian, and the Kazakh language. Most of the minorities also speak Chinese.

Culture[link]

Sheep grazing beside a main road near Jiuquan

The cuisine of Gansu is based on the staple crops grown there: wheat, barley, millet, beans, and sweet potatoes. Within China, Gansu is known for its lamian (pulled noodles), and Muslim restaurants which feature authentic Gansu cuisine.

Religion[link]

Muslim restaurants are known as "qingzhen restaurants" ("pure truths (Islamic) restaurants"), and feature typical Chinese dishes, but without any pork products, and instead an emphasis on lamb and mutton. There was a Dungan revolt from 1895 to 1896. The Muslim Conflict in Gansu (1927–1930) was a conflict against the Guominjun. Kuomintang Islamic insurgency in China (1950–1958) was a prolongation of the Chinese Civil War. Gansu has many works of Buddhist art, including the Maijishan Grottoes. Dunhuang was a major centre of Buddhism in the Middle Ages. There is persecution of Christians in Gansu.^[23]

Tourism[link]

Silk Route Museum[link]

The Silk Route Museum is located in Gansu Province, and has over 100,000 square feet (9,300 m²) of exhibition space.

The Jiayuguan Pass of the Great Wall[link]

Jiayuguan Pass, in Jiayuguan city, is the largest and most intact pass, or entrance, of the Great Wall. Jiayuguan Pass was built in the early Ming dynasty, somewhere around the year 1372. It was built near an oasis that was then on the extreme western edge of China. Jiayuguan Pass was the first pass on the west end of the great wall so it earned the name “The First And Greatest Pass Under Heaven.”

An extra brick is said to rest on a ledge over one of the gates. One legend holds that the official in charge asked the designer to calculate how many bricks would be used. The designer gave him the number and when the project was finished, only one brick was left. It was put on the top of the pass as a symbol of commemoration. Another account holds that the building project was assigned to a military manager and an architect. The architect presented the manager with a requisition for the total number of bricks that he would need. When the manager found out that the architect had not asked for any extra bricks, he demanded that the architect make some provision for unforeseen circumstances. The architect, taking this as an insult to his planning ability, added a single extra brick to the request. When the gate was finished, the single extra brick was, in fact, extra and was left on the ledge over the gate.

Mogao Grottoes[link]

The Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang have a collection of Buddhist art. Originally there were a thousand grottoes, but now only 492 cave temples remain. Each temple has a large statue of a buddha or bodhisattva and paintings of religious scenes. In 336 AD, a monk named Le Zun (Lo-tsun) came near Echoing Sand Mountain, when he had a vision. He started to carve the first grotto. During the Five Dynasties period they ran out of room on the cliff and could not build any more grottoes.

Silk Road and Dunhuang City[link]

A terracotta warrior from Gansu, with traces of polychrome and gold, from the Tang Dynasty (618–907)

The historic Silk Road starts in Chang'an and goes to Constantinople. On the way merchants would go to Dunhuang in Gansu. In Dunhuang they would get fresh camels, food and guards for the journey around the dangerous Taklamakan Desert. Before departing Dunhuang they would pray to the Mogao Grottoes for a safe journey, if they came back alive they would thank the gods at the grottoes. Across the desert they would form a train of camels to protect themselves from thieving bandits. The next stop, Kashi (Kashgar), was a welcome sight to the merchants. At Kashi most would trade and go back and the ones who stayed would eat fruit and trade their Bactrian camels for single humped ones. After Kashi they would keep going until they reached their next destination.

Located about 5 km southwest of the city, the Crescent Lake or Yueyaquan is a oasis and popular spot for tourists seeking respite from the heat of the desert. Activities includes camel and 4x4 rides.

Bingling Temple[link]

Bingling Temple, or Bingling Grottoes, is a Buddhist cave complex in a canyon along the Yellow River. Begun in 420 AD during the Western Jin Dynasty, the site contains dozens of caves and caverns filled with outstanding examples of carvings, sculpture, and frescoes. The great Maitreya Buddha is more than 27 meters tall and is similar in style to the great Buddhas that once lined the cliffs of Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Access to the site is by boat from Yongjing in the summer or fall. There is no other access point.

Labrang Monastery[link]

Labrang Tashikyil Monastery is located in Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, located in the southern part of Gansu, and part of the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo. It is one of the six major monasteries of the Gelukpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet, and the most important one in Amdo. Built in 1710, it is headed by the Jamyang-zhaypa. It has 6 dratsang (colleges), and houses over sixty thousand religious texts and other works of literature as well as other cultural artifacts.

Space launch center[link]

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is located in the Gobi desert in Gansu Province.

Postage stamps[link]

In August 1949, the provincial government overprinted the nondenominated stamps "locomotive" and "airmail arrow" stamps issued by the central government. These overprints were made by handstamping in purple, and are quite rare, valued at over US$500 each. Counterfeits are known, and apparent examples should be expertized.

Education[link]

Colleges and universities[link]

• Gansu Agricultural University
• Gansu University of Technology
• Lanzhou Commercial College
• Lanzhou Jiaotong University
• Lanzhou Polytechnic College
• Lanzhou University (Lanzhou)
• Lanzhou University of Technology
• Northwest Minority University
• Northwest Normal University
• Northwest University of Nationalities
• Tianshui Normal College (Tianshui)

Natural resources[link]

Land[link]

• 166,400 km² grassland
• 46,700 km² mountain slopes suitable for livestock breeding
• 46,200 km² forests (standing timber reserves of 0.2 km³)
• 35,300 km² cultivated land (1,400 m² per capita)
• 66,600 km² wasteland suitable for forestation
• 10,000 km² wasteland suitable for farming
• 454,000 km² total area

Minerals[link]

Three thousand deposits of 145 different minerals. Ninety-four minerals have been found and ascertained, including nickel, cobalt, platinum, selenium, casting clay, finishing serpentine, and five other minerals whose reserves are the largest in China.^{[citation needed]} Gansu has advantages in getting nickel, zinc, cobalt, platinum, iridium, copper, barite, and baudisserite.

Energy[link]

Among Gansu’s most important sources of energy are its water resources: the Yellow River and other inland river drainage basins. Gansu is placed ninth among China’s provinces in annual hydropower potential and water discharge. Gansu produces 17.24 gigawatts of hydropower a year. Twenty-nine hydropower stations have been constructed in Gansu, each capable of generating 30 gigawatts. Gansu has an estimated coal reserve of 8.92 billion tons and petroleum reserve of 700 million tons. There is also good potential for wind and solar power development.

Flora and fauna[link]

Gansu has 659 species of wild animals.^[24] It has twenty-four rare animals which are under a state protection.

Gansu's mammals include some of the world's most charismatic: the Giant panda, Golden Monkeys, lynx, Snow leopards, Sika deer, musk deer, and the Bactrian camel.

Among zoologists who study moles, the Gansu Mole is of great interest. For a reason that can only be speculated, it is taxologically a New World Mole living among Old Word Moles; that is to say an American mole living in a sea of Euro-Asians.

Gansu is home to 441 species of birds; it is a center of endemism and home to many species and subspecies which occur nowhere else in the world.

Gansu is China's second-largest producer of medicinal plants and herbs, including some produced nowhere else, such as the hairy asiabell root, fritillary bulb, and Chinese caterpillar fungus.

See also[link]

• Duzhe
• Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gansu

• Gansu Government Website
• Gansu travel guide from Wikitravel

	Xinjiang	Govi-Altai Province, Mongolia	Inner Mongolia
	Qinghai		Ningxia
		Gansu    East
		Sichuan	Shaanxi

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)

Jiang Wei
Qing Dynasty illustration of Jiang Wei
Regent of Shu Han
Born	202
Died	264 (aged 62)
Names
Simplified Chinese	姜维
Traditional Chinese	姜維
Pinyin	Jiāng Wéi
Wade-Giles	Chiang Wei
Style name	Boyue (伯約)

Jiang Wei (202–264) was a military general and regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He originally served Shu's rival state, Cao Wei, as a middle-level military officer, but defected to the Shu strategist Zhuge Liang,^[1] leaving his mother in Wei. After that, Jiang Wei took part in military campaigns against his native state. He joined Zhuge's first Northern Expedition against Wei in 228, and was made an army commander. Zhuge Liang had always considered Jiang Wei a resourceful and capable general, and Jiang received light-speed promotions during the regencie of Zhuge Liang and of Zhuge Liang's successors Jiang Wan and Fei Yi to eventually become Fei Yi's chief assistant. After Fei Yi's death in 253, he succeeded to Fei Yi's position, but did not have the full power that Fei Yi had, as he was only charged with military matters—and therefore was arguably a regent.

Reviving Zhuge Liang's campaigns against Wei (which Jiang Wan and Fei Yi had largely abandoned), Jiang Wei made a number of incursions against Wei — one in coordination with Eastern Wu's regent Zhuge Ke -- but each had to be abandoned due to the inadequate food supplies or due to battlefield losses, and these campaigns greatly drained Shu's resources. In 263, a Wei army, led by Deng Ai and Zhong Hui, conquered Shu. Jiang Wei tried to restore Shu by persuading Zhong Hui to declare a rebellion against the de facto Wei ruler Sima Zhao, Zhong Hui agreed but after he did so, Zhong's own soldiers rebelled against him. Both Zhong and Jiang were killed in battle.

Biography[link]

Early life in Wei[link]

Jiang Wei was born during the late Han Dynasty and was from Tianshui Commandery in Gansu.^[2][3] His father Jiang Jiong (姜冏) was a military officer who was killed in battle during a Qiang rebellion, early in Jiang Wei's life. Because of what happened to his father, Jiang Wei became a military officer himself for the state of Cao Wei.

As a general of Shu[link]

When Liu Shan's regent Zhuge Liang had his first northern expedition in 228, Jiang Wei's commanding officer suspected him of secretly wishing to join Zhuge Liang, and once, when Jiang Wei was outside the city walls with his troops, they closed the city gates and would not allow Jiang Wei to re-enter. Jiang Wei was forced to indeed defect to Zhuge's army, leaving his mother in Wei territory. Even though Jiang Wei had not shown his military skills on the battlefield, he had already been praised by Zhuge Liang as a capable officer, and was quickly made Zhuge's leading officer at the age of 27, probably out of political consideration.

After Zhuge Liang's death in 234, Jiang Wan succeeded him as regent. He continued to value Jiang Wei's understanding of, and connections in Liang Province, and he commissioned Jiang Wei with the title of the governor of Liang Province (涼州; present-day Gansu), which Shu did not control, but effectively giving Jiang Wei the authority over the northwestern border. After Jiang Wan's death in 245, Fei Yi succeeded him and made Jiang Wei his chief assistant.

Jiang Wei had constantly desired to revive Zhuge Liang's strategy of actively waging wars against Wei, but Fei disagreed, because the resources put into large-scaled wars had already been too much. Instead, Fei Yi kept Jiang Wei on a short leash, and authorized the latter to lead a detachment of 10,000 troops to harass Wei's border. Jiang Wei appeared to be fairly effective under Fei Yi's command, and was successful in persuading a number of non-Han tribes to resist Wei.

As a paramountcy of military[link]

After Fei Yi's assassination in 253, Jiang Wei took over Fei's position, making him the head of the army — but unlike his deceased supervisor, his influence on domestic matters was limited, as those matters appeared to be dominated by Liu Shan's trusted eunuch Huang Hao, and Zhuge Liang's son, Zhuge Zhan. Jiang Wei, however, was the supreme authority in military matters. Jiang Wei attempted to weaken Wei, however, there was dissension within the highest ranked officials, because both Zhuge Zhan and Huang Hao feared Jiang Wei would use the military campaigns as a mean to increase his personal influence. Besides the political hinder, several generals also pointed out the strategic shortcomings of waging wars against a stronger state. Thus, Jiang Wei's northern expeditions faced opposition from within Shu.

Campaigns against Wei[link]

A statue of Jiang Wei in Zhuge Liang's temple in Chengdu. It was made in 1672.

Ignoring the oppositions, Jiang Wei immediately revived Zhuge Liang's northern strategy after he gained full control of the army, and in 253 he set up a coordinated effort with Wu's regent Zhuge Ke to attack Wei on two fronts — Shu on the west and Wu on the east. Jiang Wei attacked the border city of Didao (狄道; in present-day Dingxi, Gansu) as Zhuge Ke launched a massive attack on Hefei. Wei's regent Sima Shi correctly judged the Wu force to be the more serious threat and personally led the main Wei force to the eastern front while sending a smaller detachment to relieve Didao. As the first sign of what would eventually recur, Jiang, while sieging Didao, ran out of food supplies and had to withdraw. Eventually, Zhuge Ke's army suffered a great loss due to an unsuccessful long-term siege and plagues, leading to Zhuge Ke's downfall later that year.

In 254, Jiang Wei, after Li Jian (李簡), the county magistrate of Didao secretly declared that he would defect, again advanced on Didao and took the city, but was hindered from a local resistance force led by Xu Zhi (徐質). Jiang Wei kidnapped some local residents and returned to a stronghold in Longxi, before Guo Huai arrived the battlefield.

In the summer of 255, despite the opposition from Zhang Yi (under the rationale that Shu could not sustain continuous campaigns against Wei), Jiang Wei again attacked Didao, and was highly successful in his initial battles against Wei's Yong Province (雍州; present-day Shaanxi) governor Wang Jing (王經), nearly annihilating Wang's troops. Zhang Yi again tried to persuade Jiang Wei to stop his campaign at this point, but Jiang refused. Instead, he sieged Didao again and eventually was forced to lift the siege when additional Wei forces arrived under the command of Chen Tai. Jiang and Chen's forces remained in a stalemate throughout the entire winter. In the summer of 256, as Jiang Wei shifted his strategy to advance instead on Shanggui (上邽; in present-day Tianshui, Gansu), his move was anticipated by the Wei general Deng Ai, who intercepted him and dealt him a major loss—a loss that would cause the people of Shu to begin to resent Jiang.

In 257, when Cao Wei was dealing with the rebellion of Zhuge Dan (who had anticipated an usurpation by Sima Shi's brother and successor Sima Zhao and wanted to resist it), Jiang Wei again attacked, this time advancing all the way to Mangshui (芒水; in present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi), but could not induce Wei's forces, commanded by Deng Ai and Sima Wang, to engage him in battle. After Zhuge was defeated in 258, Jiang withdrew.

In 262, Jiang Wei, despite Liao Hua's opposition, again attacked Wei, targeting Taoyang (洮陽; in present-day Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Hezuo), Gansu), but was defeated by Deng Ai. He withdrew to Tazhong (沓中; also in present-day Gannan), and, apprehensive that Huang Hao might take this opportunity to damage him politically, did not dare to return to the Shu Han capital Chengdu, but remained at Tazhong, perhaps to carry out one strategy that Zhuge considered late in his campaigns — have soldiers grow wheat to use as next year's food supply. Why Jiang was particularly apprehensive of Huang at this point was that he had unsuccessfully tried to persuade Liu Shan to execute Huang Hao earlier that year, and Huang was trying to find an opportunity to replace Jiang Wei with his friend Yan Yu (閻宇).

Fall of Shu[link]

In 258, Jiang Wei had suggested the following strategic plan be drawn up in case of a major Wei attack — that the border cities do not try to resist, but instead have the main forces to withdraw to the mountain passes to wait for Wei forces to be worn out, and then close up their path of withdrawal. Liu Shan approved the strategy and made it the official plan to follow in case Wei attacked.

Late in 262, aggravated by Jiang's constant attacks, Sima Zhao considered hiring assassins to kill Jiang Wei. At his strategists' suggestion, he decided instead to try to wipe out Shu once and for all, and commissioned Deng Ai and Zhong Hui to lead the Wei forces against Shu. Jiang Wei quickly realized that Wei was about to attack and petitioned Liu Shan to send forces to block off the key passes, but Huang Hao, believing in fortunetellers, disagreed and persuaded Liu Shan to take no actions on Jiang Wei's petition.

In 263, while Jiang was still at Tazhong, the Wei attack was launched. Liu Shan ordered that Jiang Wei's plan from 258 be carried out — but much to Liu Shan's surprise, the Wei forces took no heed of Shu border cities at all and headed directly for the key passes. Jiang Wei quickly withdrew his forces to try to defend against the attack, and after some initial failures, was finally able to block off Zhong Hui's forces at Jiange (劍閣; in present-day Guangyuan, Sichuan). Zhong Hui considered retreating, but Deng Ai led a smaller detachment through a treacherous mountain pass descending on Jiangyou (江油; in present-day Mianyang, Sichuan), defeating Zhuge Liang's son Zhuge Zhan and heading directly for the Shu capital Chengdu. Surprised and believing that Chengdu was defenseless, Liu Shan surrendered and ordered Jiang Wei to surrender to Zhong Hui, even though Chengdu was still manned by hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Zhong Hui treated Jiang Wei with respect and quickly made him a key advisor.

Efforts to reestablish Shu and death[link]

Jiang Wei quickly saw that Zhong Hui had other ideas — Zhong considered his abilities superior to all Wei generals, even Sima Zhao, and wanted to overthrow Sima. Jiang Wei encouraged Zhong to rebel against Sima Zhao, and Zhong agreed. Zhong Hui first falsely reported to Sima Zhao that Deng Ai was planning a rebellion, and forged letters to and from Deng to increase the tension between Sima Zhao and Deng Ai. In early 264, Sima ordered that Zhong arrest Deng and seize his troops — but at the same time led a force personally, heading toward Chengdu from the Wei capital Luoyang. Zhong Hui, after seizing Deng Ai's troops, realized that Sima Zhao had seen through his intentions, and declared a rebellion.

Jiang Wei had other plans, however. He tried to persuade Zhong Hui to kill all of the high level Wei officers, with his own plan that after Zhong did so, he would kill Zhong Hui and then all of the Wei soldiers and redeclare Shu's independence. He wrote letters to Liu Shan explaining his actions. Zhong Hui tentatively agreed with Jiang Wei's suggestion to kill all of the key officers, but hesitated in carrying the plan out. The plan leaked, however, and Zhong's soldiers turned against him. Jiang Wei led Zhong's personal guards against the rebelling soldiers, but eventually Jiang, and then Zhong, were killed.

Appraisal[link]

Jiang Wei was one of the most controversial figures in Chinese history. In Bo Yang's Modern Chinese Edition of Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian, for example, Bo cited seven different and discordant views of Jiang's career — ranging from ringing endorsements of his recklessness and loyalty for the sake of Shu (Pei Songzhi (裴松之), commentator to the Records of Three Kingdoms) to criticism of his constant draining campaigns (Chen Shou, author of Records of Three Kingdoms) to outright condemnation (Sun Sheng (孫盛), author of the Spring and Autumn Annals of Jin), each of which could be considered a potentially valid view of his complicated character. (Bo himself declined comment, but later in an open letter to a reader suggested that all of the views were, indeed, correct — that Jiang's fatal errors were to drain the energy of his people, but that he was indeed a loyal man, willing to lay down his life in a futile attempt to reestablish Shu.)

Appointments and titles held[link]

The following appointments were held by Jiang Wei when he served the state of Wei in Tianshui Commandery

• Household Officer (中郎)
• Army Adviser (參軍事)

The following appointments and titles were held by Jiang Wei when he served the state of Shu

• Assistant Logistics Officer (倉曹掾)
• Central Army Inspector (中監軍)
• General Who Attacks the West (征西將軍)
• Right Inspector of the Army (右監軍)
• General Who Assists Han (輔漢將軍)
• Marquis of Pingxiang (平襄侯)
• Senior General Who Guards the West (鎮西大將軍)
• General of the Guards (衛將軍)
• Imperial Secretary (錄尚書事)
• General-in-Chief (大將軍)

Modern references[link]

Jiang Wei appears as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series, where he is portrayed as a handsome young man who is fiercely devoted to his mentor Zhuge Liang. He also appears in Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series.

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms
• List of Dynasty Warriors characters

References[link]

• Chen Shou. Records of Three Kingdoms, Volume 44, Biographies of Jiang Wan, Fei Yi, and Jiang Wei.
• Chen Shou. Records of Three Kingdoms, Volume 26, Biographies of Man, Tian, Qian, and Guo.
• Chen Shou. Records of Three Kingdoms, Volume 28, Biographies of Wang, Guanqiu, Zhuge, Deng and Zhong.

Li Meng (died 195)^[1] was a general serving under the warlord Dong Zhuo during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. After Dong Zhuo died by his own adoptive son Lü Bu in an assassination plot by Wang Yun, he went on to serve Wang Yun for a short time.

Later that same year (192), Dong Zhuo's loyalists led by Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, and Zhang Ji came to the city of Chang'an. Li Meng and his friend Wang Fang made a secret pact with the loyalists and opened Chang'an's gates together, allowing Dong Zhuo's loyalists into the city. Li Meng and Wang Fang then joined the loyalists against their new master Wang Yun. In the second lunar month of 195, Li Meng and Fan Chou were killed by Li Jue for reasons unstated, spreading panic and paranoia among the generals in the imperial capital.

In the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, two years after the loyalists took over Chang'an and the young Emperor Xian (195), an army from the west from Liang Province approached Chang'an led by Ma Teng and Han Sui. During the battle, Li Meng fought with Ma Teng's eldest son Ma Chao and lost. Li Meng was soon defeated again and tried to escape, but was caught and beheaded.

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms

Reference[link]