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D.L. MICHALK
Annexation and subjugation of Hainan
Although some ancient sources refer vaguely to the existence of Hainan, it was the act of annexation of the island in 111 BC during the reign of Wu Ti, the Han Emperor, that marks the start of Hainan's recorded history (Schafer, 1969). Of the condition of Hainan when invaded by the Han armies, little is known, except that the island was in the possession of unorganized aborigines called Li, who today number 700,000 and rank as the largest minority group in the island's 5.6 million people. The Chinese invaders had no conception of the size of the island, and for more than seven hundred years of occupation, Hainan was depicted on maps as little more than a wavering coastal strip with occasional southward bulges.
The lack of thorough exploration was due first to a pre-occupation with exploitation of the island's northern pearl beds, rumours of which initially lured the Chinese to this “treasure island” (Schafer, 1969), and second to the strength of the Li people in the hinterland which confined the Han invaders to the coastline. Two administrative areas were established by the Han government to subjugate the "savage Li" and thereby hopefully sap the untouched treasures from the island's interior: drugs, incenses, precious metals, pearls, tortoise shell, ivory and coloured, scented cabinet timbers (Mayers, 1872), all luxury goods prized by the Chinese Court.
The southern and larger half, including those wild and inaccessible areas which were the principal centres of the Li population, was called the Prefecture of Tan-erh (literally Drooping Ear), a name used to describe the Li whose ornament-weighted ear-lobes hung down to their shoulders (Savina, 1929) as photographed by Clark (1938). The northern and smaller division of the island was known as Chu-yai, signifying the Shore of Pearls after the lustrous gems produced in the mussel beds adjacent to the Straits of Qiongzhou.
Pearl gathering became an important industry as the demand for personal adornment increased at Court, and the Hainan pearls were particularly prized for their lustre. Rapid colonization followed.