The history of Hunan

DATE:20-05-2011

A large number of outstanding talents have emerged in the history of Hunan province, so Hunan enjoys the reputation of "The Kingdom of Chu, the unique home of talents people; The Province of Hunan, the very cradle of all". In 105 A.D., Cai Lun, who was from Leiyang of Hunan, improved papermaking technology and produced the first piece of paper from multiple plant fibers, which has been honored as one of “Four Great Inventions” in ancient China. Zhou Dunyi, the founder of the Confucian school of idealist philosophy in the Song and Ming Dynasties was from Yongzhou of Hunan. Wang Fuzhi, an outstanding thinker of 17th century in China, was from Hengyang of Hunan. During the 79 years from the Opium War to the May Fourth Movement, Hunan province witnessed the growth of many important figures in Modern Chinese history, such as Wei Yuan , Zeng Guofan, He Shaoji, Zuo Zongtang, Tan Sitong, Chen Tianhua, Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren. 83 people from Hunan in this period are listed in the Dictionary of Historical Celebrities in China, accounting for 10.9% of the total numbers of celebrities listed in the book. From May Fourth Movement to the New Democratic Revolution or even to the socialist revolution and construction period, a great number of Party leaders, government officials and military figures emerged from this province, the outstanding representatives of which are Mao Zedong, Cai Hesen, Ren Bishi, Liu Shaoqi, Peng Dehuai, He Long, and Luo Ronghuan. Meanwhile, a large group of geniuses of literature, arts, science and education came forth, such as Qi Baishi - the great master of Chinese painting, Tian Han - the playwright, Shen Congwen - the litterateur, Zhou Libo - the writer, and Chen Guoda - the founder of Diwa (Geodepression) Theory.