Puning

Before its founding

The habitation of humans in the territory of Puning dates back to the New Stone Age, evident in archaeological findings, such as the Hutou Pu Old Kilns Site (虎头埔古窑址) in Mianyuan Village, Guangtai Town, discovered in 1982. The tomb of a Sinicised Baiyue person, discovered in Songbaiwei Village, Lihu Town, illustrates that by the end of the Eastern Han period, Central Plains (Zhongyuan) culture had been introduced into Puning.^{[ref 15]}

During the Pre-Qin era, the succeeding political regimes on Zhongyuan did not have any de facto administration of Puning and its surrounding regions. It was incorporated into Zhongyuan territories during the Qin and Han dynasties, but there had never been any clear administrative borders in the regions.

Ming and Qing

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In 1558, Zhang Lian started a rebellion in Raoping and Dabu of eastern Chaozhou (Teochew) Prefecture and subsequently declared himself Emperor of the Feilong Empire. It was suppressed by the Ming Government in 1562.

During the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty, as population increased and land was further developed, the three du (都, du is a sub‑county unit) of Yangwu (洋烏), Zhenshui (𣴛水), and Huangken (黃坑) in the western part of Chaoyang County, Chaozhou Prefecture, gradually became prosperous.^[2][3] Yet these three du lay more than 170 miles from the county seat, making “distant administration difficult, and the region was repeatedly harassed by mountain bandits.” The Censor Chen Lianfang (陳聯芳) and the Governor-General Zhang Nie (張臬) submitted memorials stating that “it would be appropriate to carve out the three du and establish a county seat to facilitate governance, and name it Puning."^[4] In the dingwei day of the first month of the forty‑second year of Jiajing (20 February 1563), the Ming court approved the separation of Yangwu, Zhenshui, and Huangken from western Chaoyang and established Puning County, taking the name from the idea of “universal peace and tranquility” (普遍寧謐).^[3]

In the forty‑fourth year of Jiajing (嘉靖四十四年, 1565 AD), Zhao Yue (趙鉞), the first magistrate (知縣) of Puning, assumed office. The initial county yamen was set at Guiyu Village in Zhenshui du, where walls were joined to form a temporary fortified town. Six gates, including Jinxian Gate (進賢門) and Water Gate (水門), were opened, and the place became known as "Guiyu City" (貴嶼城).^[5] However, after the county's establishment, corvée labor and various levies increased sharply, and the court provided no further financial support for the new county administration. As a result, construction of a proper county city could not proceed.^[6] In the sixth year of Longqing (隆慶六年, 1572 AD), the Guangdong Censor (巡按) Yang Yigui (楊一桂) memorialized the throne, requesting that “forty to fifty thousand taels from the imperial treasury” (捐內帑四五萬金) be allocated to resolve the financial difficulties of newly established counties such as Puning. The reply, however, stated that “city construction shall not use treasury funds” (修城不用帑金).^[7] During the Longqing era, some proposed relocating the Puning county seat to Qianqiu Town (千秋鎮), the former site of Haining (海寧故城), but the plan failed.^[8]

In the third year of Wanli (萬曆三年, 1575 AD), the Fang and Li clans jointly petitioned to move the county seat to the Houyu area of Huangken du, declaring that they were “willing to donate land for the county site” and “cede residential plots for official buildings.”^[9] Due to financial constraints, Magistrate Liu Dun abandoned the temporary county seat at Guiyu in Zhenshui du and instead built city walls at Houyu. Because the site lay south of Hongshan (洪山), it was also called "Hongyang City" (洪陽城).^[10] In the thirteenth year of Wanli (1585 AD), the Chaozhou Prefect (知府) Guo Zizhang (郭子章) observed that the new city at Houyu "overflowed and flooded severely whenever heavy rains came" (遇水潦則泛溢成巨浸). He accepted the proposal that "Houyu must be relocated," selecting Anren Village to the northwest (today northeast of Meitang) as the new county site.^[11] Construction was overseen by Ruan Yilin.^[12] Because the chosen location was "broad, level, and elevated," it became known in historical records as "Dapu City" (大埔城),^[13] though it was never completed.^[14] In the fourteenth year of Wanli (1586 AD), the county seat was moved to Hongyang City (洪陽城) at Houyu Village (厚嶼村) in Huangken du (黃坑都).^[10]

Republic of China

In the 1860s, many Southern Chinese were caught up in the various Internal conflicts and later in the Foreign conflicts. Later, many Families ended up in Hawaii, the Philippines, Hong Kong and even in Thailand and Cambodia. Some of the educated classes married into Japanese Society. Other fled seeking Gold in USA and Australia and others became Traders across Asia.

Beijing Government

Xinhai Revolution and Constitutional Protection War

In October 1911, the National Revolution Army (NRA) started a rebellion in Wuchang, while Fang Cishi (1887–1915) of the Tongmenghui dispatched troops in Puning. Guangdong declared its independence from the Qing Empire the following month and abolished the Chaozhou Prefecture, rendering counties such as Puning under the control of the Governor of Guangdong. Liu Renchen from the Tongmenghui also led his troops into Puning's city area. As a result, there were 13 different rival commanding officers in the Chaoshan region, all from different factions of the NRA. Meanwhile, influential figures in the county Puning supported Fang Zhiting as the county chief,^{[ref 16]} while Zhao Diyun was, on the other hand, appointed Chief of Civil Affairs by Fang Cishi under the name of the Chaoshan Military Government. However, Zhao's appointment was short-lived as he was hindered by local officials and influential figures.^{[ref 16]} In April 1912, the Deputy Governor of Guangdong, Chen Jiongming, sent his trusted aide, Chen Juemin, as the Civil Affairs Chief. The administrative division of Chaodun Circuit was established in 1914 and Puning was drawn into it; the Circuit was abolished in 1920.

In 1917, Duan Qirui led his troops to attack southern China after he abolished the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China, while Sun Yat-sen established the Constitutional Protection Junta in Guangzhou, sparking the Constitutional Protection Movement. Both armies fought outside the city walls of Puning, in the villages of Wuli and Minggang.^{[ref 17]} On 25 May 1921, Puning was brought under the control of Chen Jiongming's forces once again.

National Revolution

On 12 March 1925, Chiang Kai-shek, He Yingqin, and Zhou Enlai led the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) to defeat Chen's forces in Lihu of eastern Puning. On 2 November 1925, the NRA arrived in the city area of Puning, and Zhou made speeches there to raise funds for the army. On the same year, the Government of the Republic of China in Guangzhou announced that the Chaozhou (Teochew) and Meizhou regions came under the rule of the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang; KMT). Fang Zhiting was appointed the chief of Puning while Fang Zhanying became the acting Prosecutor.

The Puning Farmers' Association established the Farmers' Free City under the Peifeng Tower located in the suburb in February 1926, and founded the Farmers' Self-Defence Army in December of the same year, attacking the city twice.

The Shanghai massacre in April 1927 had a repercussion on the county of Puning. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Puning branch joined forces with left-wing KMT members to stage an armed riot on 23 April, and subsequently set up the first county-level revolutionary regime led by the CCP through armed conflict three days later at the Chen (Tan) clan ancestral shrine in Jiujiang, Daba. The CCP declared war against Chiang Kai-shek in a public address to the Chinese nation.^{[ref 18]} However, the Farmers' Free City regime and the CCP's Provisional People's Government regime ceased their activities as they lost their battle to the KMT.

Nanjing Government

Civil war and infrastructure development

In October 1927, the Nanchang Uprising forces retreated to Liusha and conducted a military conference in Liusha Christian Church on 3 October. The uprising forces were attacked and defeated by Chen Jitang's forces.

In 1928, Peng Pai led the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army into Puning and met up with remnant forces of the Nanchang Uprising, to discuss setting up a revolutionary base in the Dananshan Mountain area.

War against Japanese Army

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Resumption of civil war and communist takeover

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People's Republic of China

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Climate

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Architecture

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Literature

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