History

Guangxi’s history runs parallel with that of the Zhuang people, the original inhabitants, who most likely migrated into the area over 3,000 years ago. The first written record of the Zhuang appears in a Tung Chou Dynasty (475-201 BC) reference to the aboriginal “Pai-Yueh”. Since then, Guangxi has ridden a road as rocky as its mountains to achieve autonomy.

The Han conquered eastern Guangxi in 214 BC under the Ch’in Dynasty, and brought reforms to the area including the construction of the Ling Canal linking the Hsiang and Kuei Rivers to form a north-south waterway and the establishment of an administration centre in Guilin. When the Ch’in fell, General Chao T’o set up an independent Nan Yueh state supported by the Zhuang. However, that crumbled in 111 BC, and the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) reduced it to a military outpost, while consolidating their position with garrisons at Kueilin, Wuchou, and Yulin.

In 42 AD, the Zhuang rebelled around the Gulf of Tonkin, but General Ma Yuan quickly suppressed them. However, rather than punish them, he reorganised the local administrative system, improved the infrastructure by digging canals and reclaimed land to increase production. General Ma Yuan’s initiatives modernised the region and are recognised to this day in temples built to his honour.

When the Han Dynasty withered in 220, the Yao migrated from Hunan to the increasingly chaotic area, and further destabilised the region as the group refused to assimilate. They settled in the Kuei-p’ing area of Guangxi, which eventually became a hotbed of revolution against Han rule.

The golden age of the T’ang Dynasty created Ling Nan Tao in 618, centred in Guangdong. Guangxi became part of Lingnan Tao along with Hainan, but displeased by Chinese expansion, the Zhuang started to support the Tai of Nan Chao in Yunnan. This led to Guangxi being divided into an area of Zhuang living west of Nanning and the Han in the east.

After the T’ang collapsed, the newly established Nan Han Kingdom replaced Ling Nan Tao, but exercised little control over the Zhuang. However, the Nan Han Kingdom was rattled by instability, leaving an opening for the Sung Dynasty, which annexed the unstable state in 971. They renamed it Guangnan and expanded it to Guangnanxi in the southwest, later shortening the name to Guangxi. The new landlords tried engaging the Zhuang with both appeasement and force, but failed.

The Yao continued waging war in the region, and the Zhuang sought help from the Sung, whose policy bounced between assistance and cruelty. The Zhuang under Nung Chih-kao revolted in 1052, founding an independent kingdom. However, the Sung moved in and toppled the fledgling new state. The Sung rule became even more brutal, which triggered a second revolt.

The Yuan Dynasty eventually conquered the Sung, and spent years pondering the “occupied territory”, finally deciding on full provincial status, though the Zhuang and Yao wanted independence. This also opened the door for an influx of Miao people from Kweichow and Hunan.

To quell ongoing disturbances in Guangxi, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) turned to deceit to take control. The Ming gave Zhuang leaders an army to attack the Yao. Once the Yao were defeated, the Ming turned their army against the Zhuang, and killed their leaders, leaving the defenceless Zhuang under Ming rule. This was the bloodiest period in the region’s history, highlighted by the battle of Rattan Gorge in 1465, in which 20,000 died.

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) didn’t fare much better, leaving the region in chaos, before entering in 1726 and imposing direct rule. However, this was met with a Yao revolution in 1831, and 20 years later the infamous Taiping Rebellion. The execution of a French Missionary led to a Second Opium War and the 1858 Sino-French War placing Vietnam under French control, and opening Guangxi to foreign encroachment.

When the Qing faded in the early 20th century, the Republic of China was born and together with neighbouring Guangdong, Guangxi fell under Sun Yat-sen’s nationalist revolution. The Zhuang sent representatives to the central government to campaign for autonomy, but years of diplomacy failed, prompting the “Guangxi Clique Revolt” in 1927.  Under Zhuang leaders, Li Tsung-jen and Le Chi-shen, Guangxi was modernised, but Chiang Kai-shek crushed the clique in 1929. However, he couldn’t control the Zhuang.

The Japanese invaded Guangxi’s coast in 1939, and the region remained a major target throughout World War II. The Japanese launched a major offensive the western Guangxi in 1944, but Zhuang guerrillas and the Chinese defeated them. The region remained in turmoil until 1950 and the rise of communism. In 1958, the Zhuang achieved autonomy with the creation of the Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi.