Jiangxi is centered on the
Gan River valley, which historically provided the main north–south transport route of south China. The corridor along the Gan River is one of the few easily traveled routes through the otherwise mountainous and rugged terrain of the south-eastern mountains. This open corridor was the primary route for trade and communication between the
North China Plain and the
Yangtze River valley in the north and the territory of modern
Guangdong province in the south. As a result, Jiangxi has been strategically important throughout much of China's history. Jiangxi was outside the sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the
Shang dynasty (16th to 11th centuries BC). It is likely that peoples collectively known as the
Baiyue inhabited the region. During the
Spring and Autumn period, the northern part of modern Jiangxi formed the western frontier of the state of
Wu. After Wu was conquered by the
state of Yue (a power based in modern northern
Zhejiang) in 473 BC, the state of
Chu (based in modern
Hubei) took over northern Jiangxi and there may have been some Yue influence in the south. Chu subjugated Yue in 333 BC. In 223 BC, when
Qin conquered Chu, a majority of the Jiangxi area was recorded to be put under Jiujiang Commandery situated in
Shouchun (). However the commandery was ineffective and ended shortly when Qin falls.
Yuzhang Commandery (, Gan: Ì-zong) was established in Jiangxi at the beginning of the
Han dynasty, possibly before the death of
Xiang Yu in 202 BC, and it was also the first commandery set up by Chinese dynasty in Jiangxi. It was named after the Yuzhang River (, Gan: Ì-zong Kong), the original name of Gan River. "Gan" has become the abbreviation of the province. In 201, eight counties were added to the original seven of Qin, and three more were established in later years. Throughout most of the Han dynasty the commandery's eighteen counties covered most of the modern province of Jiangxi. The county seats of Nanchang, Gan, Yudu, Luling among others were located at the sites of modern major cities. Other counties, however, have been moved or abolished in later centuries. Under the reign of
Emperor Wu of the
Han dynasty, Yuzhang Commandery was assigned to
Yangzhou Province, as part of a trend to establish provinces (
zhou) all across China. In 291 AD, during the
Western Jin dynasty, Jiangxi became its own
Zhou called Jiangzhou (, Gan: Kong-chiu). During the
Southern and Northern Dynasties, Jiangxi was under the control of the southern dynasties, and the number of
zhou slowly grew. During the
Sui dynasty, there were seven
commanderies and twenty-four counties in Jiangxi. During the
Tang dynasty, another commandery and fourteen counties were added. Commanderies were then abolished, becoming
zhou (henceforth translated as "prefectures" rather than "provinces").
Circuits were established during the
Tang dynasty as a new top-level administrative division. At first Jiangxi was part of the
Jiangnan Circuit (lit. "Circuit south of the Yangtze"). In 733, this circuit was divided into western and eastern halves. Jiangxi was found in the western half, which was called
Jiangnanxi Circuit (lit. "Western circuits south of the Yangtze"). This is the source of the modern name "Jiangxi". The
Tang dynasty collapsed in 907, heralding the division of the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Jiangxi first belonged to
Wu (, Gan: Ng), then to
Southern Tang (, Gan: Nām-thóng). Both states were based in modern-day
Nanjing, further down the
Yangtze River. After the ten Chinese kingdoms, Jiangnanxi Circuit was reestablished with nine prefectures and four army districts (with sixty-eight districts). Jiangxi was later divided into thirteen different circuits, and Jiangxi Province was established for the first time. This province also included the majority of modern
Guangdong. Jiangxi acquired (more or less) its modern borders. After the fall of the Qing regime, Jiangxi became one of the earliest bases for the
Communists and many peasants were recruited to join the growing people's revolution. The
Nanchang Uprising took place in Jiangxi on 1 August 1927, during the
Chinese Civil War. Later the Communist leadership hid in the mountains of southern and western Jiangxi, hiding from the Kuomintang's attempts to eradicate them. In 1931, the
Chinese Soviet Republic's government was established in
Ruijin, which is sometimes called the "Former Red Capital" (, Gan: Fūng-set Kū-tu), or just the "Red Capital". In 1935, after complete encirclement by the Nationalist forces, the Communists broke through and began the
Long March to
Yan'an. From 1930 to 1934, the National Government carried out five military campaigns against the Jiangxi Soviet area. Its brutal two-party battles and cleansing (including the internal cleansing of the Red Army and the cleaning of the post-war government) caused a large number of deaths or escapes, causing the population of Jiangxi to drop by 40%, until only 13.8 million people were left in 1936. In 1936, after the opening of the
Yuehan Railway in Hunan, Jiangxi lost its important position regarding north–south traffic. In 1937, the east-west Zhegan Railway was opened to traffic, which changed the original traffic patterns in Jiangxi to a large extent. The Jiujiang Port () began to decline in importance. Following the
Doolittle Raid during
World War II, most of the B-25 American crews that came down in China eventually made it to safety with the help of Jiangxi locals. The Gan who helped them, however, paid dearly for sheltering the Americans. The
Imperial Japanese Army began the
Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign to intimidate the Chinese from helping downed American airmen. At least 10,000 civilians died in Jiangxi while searching for Doolittle's men. Jiangxi came under the full control of the CCP upon the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The Republican provincial government was evacuated to
Taichung in
Taiwan Province before dissolving itself that same year. ==Geography==