The former leader of Northeast (1)

  Before we know it, 2014 has arrived and 2013 has quietly passed. The GDP reports for the past year have also been released for all 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government, and 2 Special Administrative Regions. Let's take a look (in RMB):

  1. Guangdong Province: 5,706.792 billion yuan

  2. Jiangsu Province: 5,405.822 billion yuan

  3. Shandong Province: 5,001.324 billion yuan

  04, Zhejiang Province: 3,460.63 billion yuan;

  05, Henan Province: 2,981.014 billion yuan;

  06, Taiwan Province: 2,933.044 billion yuan;

  07 Hebei Province: 2,657.501 billion yuan;

  08 Liaoning Province: 2,480.130 billion yuan;

  09 Sichuan Province: 2,384.980 billion yuan;

  10. Hubei Province: 2,225.016 billion yuan;

  11. Hunan Province: 2,215.423 billion yuan;

  12. Shanghai Municipality: 2,010.133 billion yuan;

  13. Fujian Province: 1.78 trillion yuan;

  14. Beijing Municipality: 1.780102 trillion yuan;

  15. Anhui Province: 1.721205 trillion yuan;

  16. Hong Kong: 1,659.8 billion yuan;

  17. Inner Mongolia: 1,598.834 billion yuan;

  18. Shaanxi Province: 1,445.118 billion yuan;

  19. Heilongjiang: 1,369,157 million yuan;

  20. Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: 1,303,104 million yuan;

  21. Jiangxi Province: 1,294,848 million yuan;

  22. Tianjin: 1,288.518 billion yuan;

  23. Shanxi Province: 1,211.281 billion yuan;

  24. Jilin Province: 1,193.782 billion yuan;

  25. Chongqing Municipality: 11,459 billion yuan;

  26. Yunnan Province: 10,309.8 billion yuan;

  27. Xinjiang Region: 7,466.32 billion yuan;

  28. Guizhou Province: 6802.20 billion yuan;

  29. Gansu Province: 5650.20 billion yuan;

  30. Hainan Province: 2855.26 billion yuan;

  31. Macau: 2753.00 billion yuan;

  32. Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region: 2326.64 billion yuan;

  33. Qinghai Province: 1884.54 billion yuan;

  Tibet Autonomous Region: 69.558 billion yuan.

  Based on the above data, it is not difficult to see that Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong are China's top three economic provinces, with absolute advantages ranking in the top three. Looking at the three northeastern provinces, Liaoning Province ranks eighth, Heilongjiang Province ranks nineteenth, Jilin Province ranks twenty-fourth, and the total GDP of the three northeastern provinces is 50,431 billion yuan, equivalent to Shandong Province; while the average GDP per province in the three northeastern provinces is 16,810 billion yuan, equivalent to Anhui Province, ranking fifteenth or sixteenth in the country. Therefore, to put it bluntly, the economic development of the Northeast is not very prominent and is only at a mid-level nationwide. When we mention China's developed regions, we will think of the Yangtze River Delta region centered on Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, as well as the Pearl River Delta region centered on Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau; while the Northeast is somewhat dull and even inconspicuous. However, who still remembers that during the Republic of China period, the Northeast was the richest, most developed and most prosperous region in China? Whether it was economy, people's livelihood, education, industry, agriculture or commerce, it had left the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions far behind, even surpassing the entire inland eighteen provinces of China. This is a sorrow for the Northeasterners, as well as a sorrow for all of China. When I was sorting out these materials, my mood could only be described with the word "heavy". Although I am from Jiangsu Province, I couldn't help but feel deep regret and sympathy for my fellow northeasterners. It is said that China's territory is like a rooster, and the Northeast is the "rooster head", but since "rooster head" doesn't sound good, let's call it "dragon head" instead! The Northeast is not only the "dragon head" of China in terms of geographical location, but also the "dragon head" of China's economy. Before this book officially begins, let us recall this piece of history and review the past glory of the Northeast.

  Northeast China is an inseparable territory of China, but it has never been part of the Central Plains since ancient times. It is separated from the North China Plain by the Shanhai Pass, so Northeast China is also known as Guanwai, Guandong, and Liaodong. In ancient China, Northeast China was always outside the control of the unified dynasties in the Central Plains or was a place where northern ethnic minorities lived and established independent countries. It was considered a cold and barren land beyond the Great Wall, with an economic level far lower than that of the Central Plains and Jiangnan. In fact, the scope of Northeast China is not limited to the three provinces of Northeast China today. During the early Qing dynasty, Northeast China also included the eastern part of the Mongolian Plateau, the southeastern part of Siberia, Sakhalin Island, and the Kuril Islands, with a vast territory. After a century of plunder by Russia, "Northeast China" shrank to its current size, including the three provinces in Northeast China and the eastern part of Inner Mongolia. Since the Manchu people rose to power in Northeast China, it is also known as Manchuria. The real development of Northeast China began at the end of the Qing dynasty. This situation was caused by the fact that after the Manchu people unified China from Northeast China, Northeast China was considered the "land of the dragon's rise." To maintain this so-called "ancestral land," the rulers of the Qing dynasty designated Northeast China as a special area and adopted a strict "closed-door policy," which did not allow development or migration of people from other parts of China. In the early Qing dynasty, the population of Northeast China was less than 500,000; by the time of the Opium War in 1840, the population of Northeast China was still only about 3 million, making it a "wasteland with thousands of miles of land but no people" until the end of the Qing dynasty. Later, from the Shunzhi period to the Republican era, due to the deteriorating living conditions of the people in the interior, large numbers of people from the North China Plain, mainly from Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi, and Henan provinces, began to migrate to and settle in Northeast China. This is known as the "Chuang Guandong" movement.

  The large number of immigrants from North China who came to Northeast China through the "Nian Guandong" movement not only accelerated the development and construction of Northeast China, but also greatly improved their own living standards. Due to the vast land and sparse population in Northeast China, as well as the fertile land everywhere, there was no problem of land competition among immigrants who came to Northeast China. At that time, the way people in Northeast China divided up land was like this: riding a horse, running wildly on uncultivated land, and the land within the circle they ran was all theirs. This is what Northeasterners called "running horses to occupy wasteland". The Northeastern reclamation troops adopted the policy of "assigning land according to household registration", so people in Northeast China could easily obtain land. In the TV series "Nian Guandong", the protagonist Zhu Kaishan's family was originally on the verge of starving to death in Shandong, but after coming to Northeast China, they had a table full of steaming hot dumplings and chicken, duck, and fish meat during their first New Year's celebration. These are all true historical examples. Another detail that illustrates the living standards of people in Northeast China is that after Zhu Kaishan became a landlord, his long-term workers went on strike one time, citing "it's been two days since we last ate meat". From this, it can be seen that during the rule of Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Xueliang, the basic living standards of ordinary people in Northeast China were relatively affluent compared to those in other parts of China.

  Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Xueliang were also descendants of the Shanhai Pass migrants, and their ancestral home was in Dacheng County, Hebei Province.

  Zhang Zuolin was a famous warlord in the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China, and a major military leader in Northeast China. After the Xinhai Revolution, the Qing court abdicated, and the Republic of China was established, but the ruling power of the new republic was seized by the Beiyang clique, which was originally a powerful faction within the Qing court consisting of Han Chinese. Yuan Shikai became the first president of the Republic of China. After Yuan's death, the Beiyang clique split into three major warlord factions: the Anhui clique led by Duan Qirui, the Zhili clique led by Feng Guozhang, and the Fengtian clique led by Zhang Zuolin. Objectively speaking, the Anhui and Zhili cliques were both direct branches of the Beiyang clique, while the Fengtian clique was a collateral branch. This is because Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang had followed Yuan Shikai from the beginning and were old members of the Beiyang clique, whereas Zhang Zuolin had risen to power independently in Northeast China before joining the Beiyang clique. The Anhui and Zhili cliques' territories were both located within the Great Wall, while the Fengtian clique's base was in Northeast China outside the Great Wall; it only crossed the Shanhai Pass into the Central Plains when its power grew strong enough to participate in the warlord wars over control of the region.

  During the Zhang Zuolin period, the Fengtian Army entered the pass three times. The first time was during the Zhili-Anhui War, when the Fengtian and Zhili factions jointly eliminated the Anhui warlord; the second time was during the First Zhili-Fengtian War, because after the Fengtian and Zhili factions jointly defeated the Anhui faction, they disagreed on the division of spoils and fought again, resulting in the defeat of the Fengtian faction and their retreat back to outside the pass. The third time was during the Second Zhili-Fengtian War, when the Fengtian faction, after a period of recuperation and reorganization, defeated the Zhili faction and absorbed most of its territory, expanding its influence from Northeast China to North China and Jiangnan. This was the peak of the Fengtian faction's power during Zhang Zuolin's time.

  However, soon afterwards, the Nationalist Party launched the Northern Expedition. At that time, the Beiyang warlords still had three major factions: Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian faction, which dominated Northeast China and North China; Wu Peifu, who inherited the Zhili faction and occupied the Central Plains region; and Sun Chuanfang, who split from the Zhili faction and controlled Southeast China. The Nationalist Party's Northern Expedition army marched northward, defeating Wu Peifu and Sun Chuanfang one after another. The remnants of Wu and Sun's forces surrendered to Zhang Zuolin, who became the core leader of an alliance of Beiyang warlord factions opposing the Nationalist Party in South China. This was also the last government of the Beiyang clique, with Zhang Zuolin as its last national leader, known as the "Grand Marshal of the Land and Naval Forces of the Republic of China".

  The Japanese government naturally did not want to see China unified, so they sent people to contact Zhang Zuolin, claiming that Japan could help the Beiyang government resist the Nationalist government in South China, but asking Zhang to sign some treasonous treaties. Zhang Zuolin flatly refused. This was a very valuable point about Zhang Zuolin: although he was a warlord and relied heavily on Japanese support, he basically did not sign any humiliating or traitorous treaties with Japan.

  After being rejected by Zhang Zuolin, some radical officers within the Japanese Kwantung Army assassinated him in the Huanggutun Incident. Zhang Zuolin's son, Zhang Xueliang, also known as the "Young Marshal", succeeded his father. However, instead of continuing to resist the Nationalist government, Zhang Xueliang declared his allegiance to the Nationalist Party in 1928 and dissolved the Beiyang government, leading the remaining forces of the Northeast and North China warlords to surrender to the Nationalist government and assist Chiang Kai-shek in completing the nominal unification of China. Zhang Xueliang became the new "King of the Northeast", controlling four provinces: Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Rehe (which included present-day Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces, as well as parts of Inner Mongolia and northern Hebei province).

  Three years later, in 1931, the Mukden Incident broke out, and Zhang Xueliang and the Northeastern Army basically did not resist, allowing Japan to occupy the Northeast. The Japanese established a puppet state called Manchukuo, which ruled the Northeast for fourteen years until Japan's defeat in 1945, when the region was returned to Chinese control.

  Modern Northeast China can be divided into four periods:

  Period of warlord rule by the Northern cliques (1911-1931)

  2. During the period of Japanese rule (1931-1945)

  3. The period of Liberation War (1945-1949)

  4. The period of reconstruction after the founding of the country (1949-present).

  From the founding of the Republic in 1912 to Japan's surrender in 1945, for more than thirty years, Zhang Zuolin, Zhang Xueliang and the Japanese took turns ruling Northeast China. Objectively speaking, the Fengtian warlords and Japanese rulers did indeed oppress and enslave Northeast China, but another side of history cannot be ignored. That is: during these thirty-odd years, the level of prosperity and development in Northeast China ranked first in China, even in Asia and among the world's top. If we take Shanhai Pass as the boundary, the area of Northeast China is approximately 1.25 million square kilometers. The population of Northeast China was over 30 million in 1929, over 42 million in 1940, and over 45 million in 1945. Let us now analyze from various aspects the level of development of Northeast China during the period when Zhang Zuolin and his son ruled, as well as during the period of the puppet state of Manchukuo.

  Northeast China has extremely superior natural conditions, making it a rare and precious land. The Japanese have explicitly stated that "Manchuria is Japan's lifeline" and that "Japan needs Manchuria more than China does." Northeast China is known as the "Black Water and White Mountains" (Heilongjiang River and Changbai Mountains), with its unique geography of surrounding waters and mountains, and fertile land stretching for thousands of miles. The region's southern border faces the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, while its eastern and northern borders are surrounded by major rivers such as the Yalu River, Tumen River, Ussuri River, and Heilongjiang River. The interior of Northeast China features high mountains, middle mountains, low mountains, and hills, including the Greater Xing'an Mountains and Changbai Mountain Range. The central region is home to the vast Songliao Plain and Bohai Bay depression.

  Northeast China's plain area accounts for a significantly higher proportion than the national average, with the total area of the Songliao Plain, Sanjiang Plain, Hulunbuir High Plain, and mountainous plains almost equaling the region's mountainous area. The region's arable land covers 300 million mu (approximately 20 million hectares), with an additional 100 million mu (approximately 6.7 million hectares) of undeveloped land available for cultivation. Both the size and potential of this land are rare in China, where the total arable land is approximately 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares).

  Northeast China's vast mountainous regions also boast rich forest resources, with its forest area accounting for one-third of the national total and timber production accounting for two-fifths of the national total. The region's superior natural conditions make it one of the top two in China and among the best in the world.

  China has three major plains: Northeast Plain, North China Plain, and Yangtze River Delta Plain. Among these, the Northeast Plain is the largest, covering an area of 350,000 square kilometers (approximately 135,000 square miles), equivalent to three and a half times the size of Jiangsu Province. The region's land is also home to some of the most fertile black soil in the world, found only in three places: Northeast China, Ukraine, and the Mississippi River basin in North America. These regions are renowned for their grain production and serve as national-level granaries, with Ukraine being called the "granary of Europe" and "Soviet granary".

  Northeast China's vast plains, fertile land, and extensive water network make it extremely suitable for agricultural production. The region's southern part can cultivate winter wheat, cotton, and warm-temperate fruits; its central part can grow spring wheat, soybeans, corn, sorghum, rice, sugar beets, sunflowers, and flax; and its northern part can plant potatoes and soybeans.

  These unique conditions have made Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces major agricultural producers. Heilongjiang Province has consistently been China's top grain-producing province, while Jilin Province is home to one of the world's three major golden corn belts, making it the country's leading producer in terms of grain yield per unit area. The region's corn production is particularly impressive.

  Whether in terms of planting area or output, Northeast China ranks among the top in the country for crops such as soybeans, wheat, sorghum, corn, and rice. Its soybean production even leads the world. It can be said that Northeast China, once known as a "barren and cold land," has become one of the most developed regions in terms of agriculture, rivaling provinces like Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Sichuan.

  In addition to its agricultural resources, Northeast China is also rich in water resources. The region's surface runoff totals approximately 150 billion cubic meters (5.3 trillion gallons), with a coastal fishing area of 56,000 square kilometers (21,600 square miles). Its lakes, reservoirs, and other freshwater areas cover an area of 13.58 million mu (approximately 900,000 hectares). The region's western part also features vast grasslands due to its proximity to the Mongolian Plateau.

  Northeast China is not only a major grain-producing base but also a forestry base, animal husbandry base, and fishery base.

  Northeast China's industrial energy and mineral resources, whether in terms of reserves or production, are among the highest in the country. Coal, iron ore, oil... Northeast China has them all, with extremely large reserves. The Daqing Oilfield alone, with a reserve of 5.7 billion tons and an annual output of 50 million tons, ranking first in China and among the top in the world, has established Northeast China as China's petroleum base and energy base. The mineral resources in Northeast China are very rich and diverse, including metallic minerals such as iron, manganese, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, gold, and other rare elements; non-metallic minerals include coal, oil, shale oil, graphite, magnesite, talc, asbestos, and others. The iron ore reserves in Northeast China are approximately 13 billion tons, ranking first in the country, with 11 billion tons located in Liaoning Province. The iron ore deposits in Anshan and Benxi alone account for one-quarter of the country's total iron ore reserves, and the Benxi iron ore deposit has a reserve of 3 billion tons, making it the largest iron ore deposit in Asia. The Daqing Oilfield is China's largest oilfield, the Liaohe Oilfield is China's fourth-largest oilfield, and there are also other oilfields such as Jilin Oilfield. The petroleum resources buried underground in the Songliao Plain of Northeast China alone account for more than 50% of the country's total proven reserves. The coal reserves in Northeast China are approximately 72.3 billion tons, which is comparable to those of Shanxi Province, a traditional "coal province".

  To sum up, Northeast China not only has extremely superior agricultural conditions but also extremely rich industrial resources. Within the region, there are fertile plains and high mountains, forests and large rivers, almost all of which have natural advantages. Such regions are rare in the world and are the most suitable places for developing highly advanced agriculture and fully achieving industrialization in Asia.