Guangdong Jiuzhang: What Did the Classics Say for Guangdong

Author: Huang Shusen (Editor-in-Chief)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Edited by Huang Shusen, Guangdong Nine Chapters—What the Great Minds Said About Guangdong, selects prose and illustrations about Guangdong, the people of Guangdong, and Guangdong-related topics, categorizing them into an organic whole. Each unit is preceded by an "Editor's Preface," expressing the editor's understanding and perspectives. Guangdong Nine Chapters—What the Great Minds Said About Guangdong aims to comprehensively present Guangdong, including its mountains, rivers, geography, ethnic groups, lineages, history, figures, beliefs, dialects, customs, cuisine, and clothing. The book is divided into nine chapters: "The Controversial Undercurrent," "The Unique Ecosystem," "The Cultural Genealogy," "The Trendsetting Compass," "The Dazzling Starlit Path," "The Stirring Ode to Integrity," "The Colorful Tapestry of Customs," "The Landscape Reflections," and "The Century's Catfish Journey."
Guangdong Phenomenon: A Historical Review and Real-World Positioning in the Globalization Perspective. Guangdong seems to always advance amid controversy, and it always leads the way through controversy. In the pre-modern era, to the Central Plains people, Guangdong was a wild and remote land. Yet, because of its distance and uniqueness, it became a topic of debate. Guangdong is rich in treasures. Many viewed it as a perilous land of miasma, yet others admired it and believed that anyone returning from Guangdong would carry rare treasures. For example, when Ma Yuan campaigned south and returned, he brought a bag of coix seeds, which everyone thought were pearls. Later, emperors even exiled some poor officials to Guangzhou, hoping they would make a fortune to improve their livelihoods. Guangdong became the preferred destination for Central Plains people to plunder treasures and wealth. Thus, the famous story of the "Greed Spring" emerged, as if the greed of officials who entered Guangdong was due to drinking from the spring. However, the people of Guangdong, who suffered greatly from plunder, were deprived of a voice and were instead seen as easily making money—even Su Dongpo held this view. Yes, the people of Guangdong had a strong merchant tradition early on, engaging in maritime trade with some Southeastern coastal countries as early as the Han Dynasty. But one must know that in ancient times, with underdeveloped shipbuilding and navigation technology, making a living at sea was no easy feat. Deprived of a voice, the people of Guangdong quietly built their homes with perseverance, diligence, and wisdom amid the controversies of the Central Plains people. Later, a large number of Central Plains migrants entered Guangdong, many of them remnants of the previous dynasty. They cleared wild mountains and wilderness, toiled hard, preserved their ancestral traditions, and though they did not seek fame, they were loyal, brave, and righteous, their virtues spreading far and wide. This migration tradition and spirit of pioneering also enabled the people of Guangdong to expand and migrate overseas early on. Therefore, when the modern maritime civilization and the "Maritime Century" arrived, Guangdong's economy and society led China, and its politics and culture also showed new trends. This is particularly evident in Guangdong gradually becoming the cradle of revolution while also becoming the center of outrage for conservative forces. While debates over the interior were unresolved, overseas discussions were about Guangdong's role in the global economic, political, and cultural landscape, with admiration and envy in their eyes. For example, the renowned historian Fernand Braudel, a representative of the French Annales School, exclaimed: "Perhaps no place in the world is more strategically advantageous in both near and far distances than Guangzhou." In China, a few great scholars like Chen Yinlo, with their sharp vision, predicted: "In the future, China may only have 'Southern Learning.' Jianghuai is already insignificant, let alone the Yellow River Basin." Perhaps amid all the controversies and the resistance they created, Guangdong lost the opportunity to become an early economic and cultural center of China. As a result, many reflections and criticisms arose about Guangdong, but within these reflections and criticisms were also trust and expectations. Circumstances are stronger than people—when the era of reform and opening-up arrived, Guangdong did not disappoint the world's trust and criticism. They seized the opportunity of the times, boarded the train of progress, and for over two decades, remained one of China's economic centers, striving to become a regional center in the global perspective. In many other aspects, they also strived to become centers at certain levels. This is the realistic positioning and pursuit of Guangdong in the context of globalization and its historical development trajectory.