Physiographic macroregions of China

Physiographic macroregions of China is a term suggested by an American anthropologist G. William Skinner as a subdivision of China Proper into nine areas according to the drainage basins of the major rivers and other travel-constraining geomorphological features. They are distinct in terms of environment, economic resources, culture and more or less interdependent histories with often unsynchronized developmental macrocycles.^[1] They were described in Skinner's landmark essays in The City in Late Imperial China.^[2]

19th century

Skinner and his school maintain that prior to modernization, transportation was largely constrained by terrain and the physiographic macroregions are a close approximation for the socioeconomic macroregions of 19th-century China. The macroregions are defined by Skinner as follows:^[3]

• 10 Northeast China, 东北区
• 20 North China, 华北区
• 30 Northwest China 西北区
  • Wei-Fen Basins 渭汾流域分区
  • Upper Yellow River Basin 黄河上游分区
  • Gansu Corridor 河西(甘肃)走廊分区
• 40 Upper Yangtze 长江上游区
• 50 Middle Yangtze 长江中游区
  • Middle Yangtze proper 长江中游分区
  • Gan Basin 赣江流域分区
  • Yuan Basin 沅江流域分区
  • Upper Han Basin 汉江上游分区
• 60 Lower Yangtze 长江下游区
• 70 Southeast Coast 东南沿海区 (approximately Fujian, eastern part of Guangdong, southern part of Zhejiang, and Taiwan)
  • Ou-Ling River Basins 瓯灵流域分区
  • Min River Basin 闽江流域分区
  • Zhang-Quan 漳泉分区 (Zhangzhou plus Quanzhou)
  • Han Basin 韩江流域分区
  • Taiwan 台湾分区
• 80 Lingnan 岭南区, which may be translated as "South of Mountains". It includes the Southern coast and nearly coincides with the two entities: province of Guangdong and Guangxi autonomous region, together traditionally called "Two Guang provinces", or Liangguang.^[4]
• 90 Yungui 云贵区; covers most of Yunnan Province and larger part of Guizhou Province and corresponds to the Yungui Plateau.

Modern provinces of Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai and a larger part of Inner Mongolia are not considered by Skinner's scheme.

20th century

According to Skinner's analysis, the 20th century China excluding Inner Asia has 9 socioeconomic macroregions with cores not changed from the physiographic ones of the 19th century, but with changed territorial extents.^[3]

See also

• Regions of China
• Administrative divisions of China
• Geography of China#History
• Regional Religious System - an approach to the study of Chinese religion based on Skinner's research

External links

• China Historical GIS Project
• GIS Shapefile format