Editing Wuhan (section)

===Imperial China===
[[File:武汉黄鹤楼.jpg|thumb|[[Yellow Crane Tower]]]]
During the [[Han dynasty]], Hanyang became a fairly busy port. The [[Battle of Xiakou]] in AD&nbsp;203 and [[Battle of Jiangxia]] five years later were fought in the region over control of [[Jiangxia Commandery]], territories of which included much of present-day eastern Hubei. In the winter of 208/9, one of the most famous battles in [[Chinese history]] and a central event in the ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]''—the [[Battle of Red Cliffs]]—took place near the [[Yangtze River]], with the cliffs near Wuhan identified as one of the potential locations.<ref name=":1">"The engagement at the Red Cliffs took place in the winter of the 13th year of Jian'an, probably about the end of 208."{{Harvcol|de Crespigny|1990|pp=264}}</ref> Around that time, walls were built to protect Hanyang (AD 206) and Wuchang (AD 223). The latter event marks the foundation of Wuhan. In AD 223, the [[Yellow Crane Tower]], one of the [[Four Great Towers of China]], was constructed on the Wuchang side of the Yangtze River by order of [[Sun Quan]], leader of the [[Eastern Wu]]. The tower became a sacred site of [[Taoism]].<ref>Images of the Immortal: The Cult of [[Lü Dongbin]] at the Palace of Eternal Joy by Paul R. Katz, University of Hawaii Press, 1999, p. 80</ref>

Due to tensions between the [[Eastern Wu]] and [[Cao Wei]] kingdoms, in the autumn of 228,{{efn|name=fn1|Man Chong's biography in the ''Sanguozhi'' mentioned that these events took place in the 3rd year of the Taihe era (227–233) of Cao Rui's reign, i.e., the year 229. This is a mistake. It was actually in the 2nd year of the Taihe era, i.e., the year 228, according to the ''Zizhi Tongjian''.<ref>''Zizhi Tongjian'' vol. 71.</ref>}} [[Cao Rui]], grandson of [[Cao Cao]] and the second emperor of the state of [[Cao Wei]], ordered the general [[Man Chong]] to lead troops to Xiakou ({{lang|zh-hant|夏口}}; in present-day Wuhan).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/chinesehistory/contents/06dat/geo.html#wuhan |title=Hanyang was founded during the Sui dynasty (581–618); and Hankou, then known as Hsia-k'ou, during the Song (Sung) dynasty (960–1279)| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408204923/http://www.ibiblio.org/chinesehistory/contents/06dat/geo.html#wuhan |archive-date=April 8, 2018 }}</ref><ref>({{lang|zh-Hant|秋，使曹休從廬江南入合肥，令寵向夏口。}}) ''Sanguozhi'' vol. 26.</ref> In 279, [[Wang Jun (Jin dynasty)|Wang Jun]] and his army conquered strategic locations in Wu territory such as [[Xiling District|Xiling]] (in present-day [[Yichang]], Hubei), Xiakou ({{lang|zh-hant|夏口}}; present-day Hankou) and Wuchang ({{lang|zh|武昌}}; present-day [[Ezhou]], Hubei).

During the [[Northern and Southern dynasties]] period, the Wuhan area was part of the successive Southern dynasty states [[Liu Song]] (420–479), [[Southern Qi]] (479–502), [[Liang dynasty|Liang]],{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} and [[Western Liang (555–587)|Western Liang]].{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

In fall 550, [[Hou Jing]] sent Ren Yue to attack both Xiao Daxin and Xiao Fan's son Xiao Si ({{lang|zh-hant|蕭嗣}}). Ren killed Xiao Si in battle, and Xiao Daxin, unable to resist, surrendered, allowing Hou to take his domain under control. Meanwhile, Xiao Guan, who had by now settled at Jiangxia ({{lang|zh-hant|江夏}}, in modern Wuhan), was planning to attack Hou, but this drew Xiao Yi's ire—believing that Xiao Guan was intending to contend for the throne—and he sent Wang to attack Xiao Guan. In summer 567, Chen Xu commissioned [[Wu Mingche]] as the governor of Xiang Province and had him command a major part of the troops against Hua, along with Chunyu Liang ({{lang|zh|淳于量}}). The opposing sides met at Zhuankou ({{lang|zh|沌口}}, in modern Wuhan).

The city has long been renowned as a center for the arts (especially poetry) and for intellectual studies. [[Cui Hao (poet)|Cui Hao]], a celebrated poet of the [[Tang dynasty]], visited the Yellow Crane Tower in the early 8th century; his poem made it the most celebrated building in southern China.<ref name="Wan1">Wan: p. 42.</ref>

In spring 877, [[Wang Xianzhi (rebel)|Wang Xianzhi]] captured E Prefecture ({{lang|zh-hant|鄂州}}, in modern Wuhan). He then returned north, joining forces with Huang again, and they surrounded Song Wei at Song Prefecture ({{lang|zh-hant|宋州}}, in modern [[Shangqiu]], [[Henan]]). In winter 877, [[Huang Chao]] pillaged Qi and Huang ({{lang|zh-hant|黃州}}, in modern Wuhan) Prefectures.

Before [[Kublai Khan]] arrived in 1259, word reached him that [[Möngke]] had died. Kublai decided to keep the death of his brother secret and continued the attack on the Wuhan area, near the [[Yangtze]]. The present-day [[Wuying Pagoda]] was constructed at the end of the [[Song dynasty]] between attacks by the Mongolian forces. Under the [[Mongol]] rulers ([[Yuan dynasty]]) (after 1301), the Wuchang [[prefecture]], headquartered in the town, became the capital of [[Hubei]] province. Hankou, from the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] to late [[Qing dynasty|Qing]], was under the administration of the local government in [[Hanyang District|Hanyang]], although it was already one of the four major national markets ({{lang-zh|labels=no|s={{ill|四大名镇|zh|vertical-align=sup}}}}) of the Ming dynasty.

Hanyang's [[Guiyuan Temple]] was completed in the 15th year of Shunzhi (1658).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guiyuanchansi.com.cn/list.php?fid=82 |script-title=zh:归元描述 – 归元禅寺 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203235744/http://www.guiyuanchansi.com.cn/list.php?fid=82 |archive-date=February 3, 2018 |quote={{lang|zh-Hans|归元禅寺位于武汉市汉阳区，东眺晴川阁、南滨鹦鹉洲、北邻古琴台，占地153亩，是湖北省重点文物保护单位。由浙江僧人白光、主峰于清顺治十五年（1658 年）依王氏葵园而创建。}}}}</ref>

By the dawn of the 18th century, Hankou had become one of China's top four [[trading]] centers. In the late 19th century, [[railroads]] were extended on a north–south axis through the city, making Wuhan an important [[transshipment]] point between rail and river traffic. Also during this period foreign powers extracted mercantile concessions, with the riverfront of Hankou being divided up into foreign-controlled merchant districts. These districts contained trading firm offices, warehouses, and docking facilities. The French had a [[concession (territory)|concession]] in Hankou.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=USFD_d-d7FhgC&dq=french+Guangzhouwan&pg=PA83 ''Greater France: A History of French Overseas Expansion'', Google Print, p. 83]{{Dead link|date=September 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Robert Aldrich, Palgrave Macmillan, 1996, {{ISBN|0-312-16000-3}}</ref> During the [[Taiping Heavenly Kingdom]], the Wuhan area was controlled for many years by rebel forces and the Yellow Crane Tower, [[Wuying Pagoda|Xingfu Temple]], [[Zhuodaoquan Temple]] and other buildings were repurposed or damaged. During the [[Second Opium War]] (known in the West as the Arrow War, 1856–1860), the government of the Qing dynasty was defeated by the western powers and signed the [[Treaties of Tianjin]] and the [[Convention of Peking]], which stipulated eleven cities or regions (including Hankou) as trading ports. In December 1858, [[James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin]], High Commissioner to China, led four warships up the [[Yangtze River]] in Wuhan to collect the information needed for opening the trading port in Wuhan.

In the spring of 1861, Counselor [[Harry Smith Parkes]] and Admiral Herbert were sent to Wuhan to open a trading port. On the basis of the [[Convention of Peking]], Parkes concluded the Hankou Lend-Lease Treaty with Guan Wen, the governor-general of Hunan and Hubei. It brought an area of {{convert|30.53|km2|sp=us}} along the Yangtze River (from latter-day Jianghan Road to Hezuo Road) to become a British Concession and permitted [[United Kingdom|Britain]] to set up its consulate in the concession.

In 1862, Russian tea merchants arrived in the treaty port of Hankou. Russians in Hankou established four factories using assembly lines and machinery to produce brick tea, and became the city's richest industrialists in what would become the Russian concession.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=The British Concession and the First Years of the Treaty Port · Hankou to Wuhan: Histories from China's Crossroads · Hankou to Wuhan |url=https://hankoutowuhan.org/s/hankou/page/the-british-concession-and-the-opening-of-hankou |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820185850/https://hankoutowuhan.org/s/hankou/page/the-british-concession-and-the-opening-of-hankou |url-status=usurped |archive-date=August 20, 2022 |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=hankoutowuhan.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Chinyun |date=2014 |title=From Kiachta to Vladivostok: Russian Merchants and the Tea Trade |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43737542 |journal=Region |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=195–218 |jstor=43737542 |issn=2166-4307}}</ref> Japanese immigrants, mainly traders, also started arriving in 1874.<ref name=":3" />

[[File:Wuhan 1864.jpg|thumb|left|Wuhan in 1864]]
[[File:Hankow Bund c. 1900.jpg|thumb|Foreign concessions along the [[Hankou]] Bund c. 1900.]]
In 1889, [[Zhang Zhidong]] was transferred from [[Viceroy of Liangguang]] ([[Guangdong]] and [[Guangxi]] provinces) to [[Viceroy of Huguang]] ([[Hunan]] and [[Hubei]] provinces). He governed the province for 18 years, until 1907. During this period, he elucidated the theory of "Chinese learning as the basis, Western learning for application," known as the ti-yong ideal. He set up many heavy industries, founded Hanyang Steel Plant, [[Huangshi|Daye]] Iron Mine, Pingxiang Coal Mine and Hubei Arsenal and set up local textile industries, boosting the flourishing modern industry in Wuhan. Meanwhile, he initiated education reform, opened dozens of modern educational organizations successively, such as Lianghu (Hunan and Hubei) Academy of Classical Learning, Civil General Institute, Military General Institute, Foreign Languages Institute and Lianghu (Hunan and Hubei) General Normal School, and selected a great many students for study overseas, which well promoted the development of China's modern education. Furthermore, he trained a modern military and organized a modern army including a ''zhen'' and a ''xie'' (both ''zhen'' and ''xie'' are military units in the Qing dynasty) in Hubei.

Originally known as the Hubei Arsenal, the [[Hanyang Arsenal]] was founded in 1891, with funds diverted from the [[Nanyang Fleet]] in [[Guangdong]] to build the arsenal. It cost about 250,000 pounds sterling and was built in 4 years.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V682XHpDLXoC&q=new+chinese+rifle+factory+han+yang&pg=PA414|title=The Chinese Recorder|author=Kathleen L Lodwick|year=2009|publisher=BiblioBazaar, LLC|page=414|isbn=978-1-115-48856-3|access-date=June 28, 2010}}</ref> On April 23, 1894, construction was completed and the arsenal, occupying some {{Convert|40|acre|m2}}, could start production of small-caliber cannons. It built magazine-fed rifles, Gruson quick fire guns, and cartridges.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-dlcXDzGf4EC&q=new+chinese+rifle+factory+han+yang&pg=PA386|title=Northern China, the Valley of the Blue River, Korea. 43 Maps and Plans|author=Anon|year=2009|publisher=Read Books |page=386|isbn=978-1-4446-7840-6|access-date=June 28, 2010}}</ref>

In 1896, the [[Russian Empire]] also acquired a concession in Hankou.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Crawford |first=Alan |title=Imagining the Russian Concession in Hankou |date=2018 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical-journal/article/abs/imagining-the-russian-concession-in-hankou/B05F01DBFA2130414CECC889D0A2052F |journal=The Historical Journal |language=en |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=969–989 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X17000528 |s2cid=159946531 |issn=0018-246X |access-date=April 3, 2023 |archive-date=April 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403005702/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical-journal/article/abs/imagining-the-russian-concession-in-hankou/B05F01DBFA2130414CECC889D0A2052F |url-status=live }}</ref>