Qichun County has been a major historical center of traditional Chinese medicine.[1] It is known in China as the "Professor County" (Chinese: 教授县; pinyin: Jiàoshòu Xiàn), due to the high amount of professors and other academic experts hailing from the county.[1]
Toponymy
Qichun County is named after the abundant qicai (Chinese: 蕲菜; pinyin: qí cài), a variety of Chinese celery, in the area.[2]
History
Inkstone with three legs and a bird cover. Eastern Han Dynasty. Excavated at Ganyuzui tomb, Qichun.
The area of present-day Qichun County has been inhabited since the Neolithic age.[1]
In 224 BCE, Qin forces pursued the beaten and retreating Chu forces to Qinan (蕲南; northwest of present-day Qichun in Hubei) and general Xiang Yan, grandfather of future hegemonic king Xiang Yu, was either killed in the action or committed suicide following his defeat.[citation needed]
Qichun County was first established during the Western Han,[2] possibly as early as 201 BCE.[1] Due to its strategic location, in history Qichun was referred to as “The Key Point of Jingchu” (Jingchu is another name of the ancient state of Chu and the region belonged to it).[citation needed]
Three Kingdoms period
During the Three Kingdoms period, Qichun was made a commandery (Chinese: 郡; pinyin: Jùn).[2] In the summer of 223 CE, Eastern Wu general He Qiattacked and eliminated an outpost of Cao Wei in the new commandery territory of Qichun, on the southern slopes of the Dabie Shan mountains.[citation needed] But for the next twelve months the northern front remained quiet.[citation needed] The Grand Administrator of Qichun was Jin Zong, a former officer of Sun Quan who had deserted and joined Cao Wei.[citation needed] It appears he was given the commandery appointment at this time, in the hill country of the Dabie Shan on the border region between Lujiang and Jiangxia, so that he could disturb the communications routes along the Yangtze and across that river to the south.[citation needed]
There is evidence that the Qichun commandery had been established a few years earlier, evidently on the basis of the county of that name in Jiangxia Commandery of Later Han, but the territory had been abandoned by Cao Cao at the time of his withdrawal in 213 CE.[citation needed] From this time, after the defeat of Jin Zong's infiltration, the territory was held by Wu.[citation needed] One of the subordinate commanders in He Qi's attack on Qichun was Mi Fang, the erstwhile officer of Guan Yu who had surrendered Jiangling to Lü Meng in 219 AD.[citation needed] Qichun also was evidently a proving ground for renegades.[citation needed]
Qichun County is located in the east of Hubei, along the northern banks of the Yangtze, and at the southern foot of the Dabie Mountains.[1][3] To its east is the province of Anhui.[3] The county's government, seated in the town of Caohe [zh], is located 96 kilometres (60 mi) from the center of Huanggang, and 157 kilometres (98 mi) from the center of Wuhan.[3]
The total geographic area of Qichun County is 2,397.6 square kilometres (925.7 sq mi).[3] Of this, 560 kilometres (350 mi) are arable.[citation needed] Water covers 310 kilometres (190 mi) (there are hundreds of lakes in Qichun County, almost all used for aquaculture). Forested areas cover 1,040 kilometres (650 mi).[citation needed]
(Note: While not stated in government data, unless there is a statistical error, the remaining 490 square kilometres (190 sq mi) must be hills/mountains, in the northern part of the County, or simply unusable land).[citation needed]
Qichun County's area is topographically diverse, with mountains, hills, and plains.[3] The elevation decreases gradually from mountains of northeast to the lowlands of southwest.[3] The Mount Sanjiao Scenic Area [zh] is located within the county.[1]
Apart from the Yangtze, major bodies of water in Qichun County include the Qi River (Chinese: 蕲河; pinyin: Qí Hé), Lake Chidong [zh], and Lake Chixi [zh].[3]
Climate
The local climate is classed as "subtropical mainland monsoon," with distinct seasons and abundant rainfall (average 134 centimeters per year). When the Yangtze River floods, Qichun County also experiences some flooding.[citation needed]
Climate data for Qichun (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
The county's government is seated in the town of Caohe [zh].[3] The government buildings for the County and the Town are adjacent to each other.[citation needed]
Demographics
As of 2018, Qichun County has a population of about 1,011,100, residing in 321,400 households, giving the county an average household size of 3.15.[7]
A 2012 estimate approximated Qichun County's population at 1,030,000.[3]
A 1996 estimate put Qichun County's population at about 921,000.[2]
Qichun Town's population was 162,000,[clarification needed] of whom 71,000 were engaged in agriculture (fisheries, crops, and herbs are the main agricultural sectors) and the remainder non-agriculture (which includes minerals and manufacturing of various kinds). About 40% of all the farmers of Qichun County are engaged in growing herbs.[citation needed]
Culture
Qichun County is the birthplace of famous herbalist Li Shizhen, who was born and lived in Qizhou town, and has been a major historical center of traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years.[1]
Qichun County is often nicknamed "Professor County" (Chinese: 教授县; pinyin: Jiàoshòu Xiàn) due to the high amount of professors and other academic experts hailing from the county.[1]
Transportation
Qichun Motorbike Taxi
Qichun is reasonably well-served by rail, bus, and road transportation; there is no airport.[citation needed]
There is a local bus service and also frequent express buses into Wuhan via the new inter-provincial expressway running east–west across the province.[citation needed] A journey by express bus to Wuhan takes less than three hours; by car the journey is less than 2.5 hours.[citation needed]
Qichun County has long played an outsized role in traditional Chinese medicine, and was historically home to large markets for medicinal ingredients.[1] Medicinal markets remain central to Qichun County, which hosts the Hubei Lishizhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Professional Market (Chinese: 李时珍中药材专业市场; pinyin: Lǐ Shízhēn Zhōngyàocái Zhuānyè Shìchǎng).[1] The majority of the entries in the Bencao Gangmu, an encyclopedia of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients, can be found in Qichun County.[1] According to the county government, there is more than 200,000 mu of cropland devoted to growing medicinal ingredients.[1]
The herbal industry, centered on Qizhou, is the biggest component of the Qichun County economy.[citation needed] Some 200,000 herb farmers live in Qichun County.[citation needed] They produce more than 700 varieties.[citation needed] The local herb wholesale market is the third largest in China, with more than 800 million yuan (US$100 million, as of 2006) of annual trading volume.[citation needed]
There is only one hotel of any significance in Qichun.[citation needed] But it is a new hotel, built around 2001.[citation needed]
Social welfare
Qichun Social Welfare Institute, new building, 2005, with old building (white) behind it on the right.
Qichun County has its own Social Welfare Institute (SWI) to accommodate elderly people, handicapped persons, the homeless, and orphans.[citation needed] The Social Welfare Institute constructed a new building in 2004, designed mainly for the elderly and handicapped children and adults.[citation needed] Children which are abandoned or orphaned, and are awaiting adoption either domestically or internationally, are placed with local foster families.[citation needed] But they visit the SWI weekly for medical checks and group playtime activities.[citation needed] About 400 orphans have been adopted internationally from Qichun County SWI.[citation needed] These children now live with families all over the world: in Canada and the U.S.A., in Australasia, and in most countries of Western Europe.[citation needed]
Notable people
Qichun County was a historical center for education and traditional Chinese medicine, as well as an economic and cultural center within eastern Hubei.[1] The county has produced many important historical figures in this field, including herbalist Li Shizhen. Other notable figures from Qichun County during dynastic China include the following:
Gu Jingxing (1621–1687), a prolific author of hundreds of books, and an Imperial scholar from a long hereditary line of scholars going back several generations of the Gu family.[citation needed]
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw蕲春简介 [Qichun Introduction]. qichun.gov.cn (in Chinese). Qichun County People's Government. Archived from the original on 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
^ abcdefghijkl蕲春县历史沿革 [Qichun County Organizational History]. xzqh.org (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
^ abcdefghijklm蕲春县概况地图 [Qichun County Overview]. xzqh.org (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
^行政区划 [Administrative Divisions]. qichun.gov.cn (in Chinese). Qichun County People's Government. Archived from the original on 2020-04-25. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
^ abcd区位交通 [Area Transportation]. qichun.gov.cn (in Chinese). Qichun County People's Government. Archived from the original on 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
"Hubei Sheng: Qichun Xian difang zhibian zuan wei yuan hui bian zuan." ("History of Qichun County in Hubei Province" in Chinese), published at Wuhan, by "Hubei kexue jishu chuban she" in 1997. (ISBN C47267C56)
