|
|
|
|
|
|
TAISHAN
Taishan (台山; pinyin: Táishān; Cantonese: Toisan; local: Hoisan ) is a coastal county-level city in Guangdong Province, China. The city is located in the Pearl River Delta, southwest of Jiangmen (to which administratively belongs) and 140 kilometers west of Hong Kong, with a population of approximately 1 million. It also contains 95 islands and islets, including the largest island in Guangdong, Shangchuan Island.
Because it is estimated that over 75% of all overseas Chinese until the mid- to late-20th century claimed origin in Taishan, the city is also known as the "Home of Overseas Chinese."
Taishanese speak the Taishan dialect or sei yap (four counties), a dialect of the Yue usually considered to be similar to Standard Cantonese. Prior to the 1970s, Taishanese was the predominant Chinese language spoken throughout North America's Chinatowns.
History
On February 12, 1499 in the 12th year of the reign of the emperor Hongzhi during the Ming Dynasty, Taishan was founded as Xinning County (新寧縣) from land in the south-west of Xinhui County. Xinning has also been romanized as Sunning, Sinning, Hsinning and Hsînnîng.
From 1854 to 1867 a genocidal war broke out mainly in Taishan County between the Punti and Hakka people with disastrous results for all sides.
In 1914, Xinning was renamed Taishan to avoid confusion with the Xinnings of Hunan and Sichuan. Unfortunately it is now confused with Taishan Mountain in Shandong Province. On April 17, 1992, Taishan's status was upgraded from county to county-level city.
Administration
Taishan is under the jurisdiction of Jiangmen. In a jurisdiction of 3,286 km², Taishan contains twenty towns (鎮), which are subdivided into 503 village residential committees (村居委會) and 3655 natural villages (自然村).
These towns (鎮)are:
These "natural villages" (自然村) include:
Demographics
Since 1774, 1.3 million people living overseas trace their ancestry to Taishan, outnumbering those who live in Taishan.
Among these are:
See Also
Tai Shan
External links
|
|
|
|
|
|
|