118
D.L. MICHALK
Hai-pei Hainan Tao, i.e., the “Circuit or Intendantship of North of the Sea (straits) and South of the Sea” (Mayers, 1872). Since Hai-pei was already used to describe coastal Guangdong, the practice arose of referring to the island south of the sea as Hainan (Schafer, 1969), although it was not until 1921 that it became the official name of the island (Liu, 1938).
This new administrative footing established by the Mongols paved the way for the constitution of the island in 1370 as the Prefecture of K’iungchou Fu, named after the major city of the island (near present-day Haikou) which was first settled in 631 A.D. (K'iungchou fu chih, 1920 edition). The new prefecture was placed under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province, an arrangement which has continued to the present. This new status marked the promotion of the island from remote dependency to an integral part of the imperial realm.
Rebellion, taxes, piracy and trade
Undoubtedly, this integration was stimulated by the emergence of a flourishing commercial sector which had begun with limited trade in the Tang-Sung period (618-1280) when Hainanese cotton and incense aloeswood were exchanged by the Li for axes, salt, and cattle for their ceremonial rites (Savina, 1929). Through the increase in communication necessary for trade, and intermarriage between settlers and the Li aboriginals, an intermediate community emerged which accepted the supremacy of Chinese rule and adopted their customs and life-style. Known as Shu Li (literally tamed or civilized Li), this group served Chinese masters by tending livestock and tilling fields (Swinhoe, 1872a) in the buffer zone between the Chinese settlements on the coast and the unconquered mountain strongholds of the Sheng Li (literally wild or savage Li) in the island's interior. As their numbers increased, however, the Shu Li caused more anxiety to the Chinese Government by constant rebellion than the wild mountaineers, although most uprisings were self-inflicted by the rapacity of Chinese merchants and injustices meted out by government officials. Only when the Chinese garrisons were known to be weak did the Sheng Li sally forth from their impenetrable mountains and wreak devastation in the settled plains.
Page 135
Page 136
118
D.L. MICHALK
Hai-pei Hainan Tao, i.e., the “Circuit or Intendantship of North of the Sea (straits) and South of the Sea” (Mayers, 1872). Since Hai-pei was already used to describe coastal Guangdong, the prac- tice arose of referring to the island south of the sea as Hainan (Schafer, 1969), although it was not until 1921 that it became the official name of the island (Liu, 1938).
This new administrative footing established by the Mongols paved the way for the constitution of the island in 1370 as the Prefecture of K’iungchou Fu, named after the major city of the island (near present-day Haikou) which was first settled in 631 A.D. (K'iungchou fu chih, 1920 edition). The new prefecture was placed under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province, an arrange- ment which has continued to the present. This new status marked the promotion of the island from remote dependency to an inte- gral part of the imperial realm.
Rebellion, taxes, piracy and trade
Undoubtedly, this integration was stimulated by the emergence of a flourishing commercial sector which had begun with limited trade in the Tang-Sung period (618-1280) when Hainanese cotton and incense aloeswood were exchanged by the Li for axes, salt, and cattle for their ceremonial rites (Savina, 1929). Through the in- crease in communication necessary for trade, and intermarriage between settlers and the Li aboriginals, an intermediate commu- nity emerged which accepted the supremacy of Chinese rule and adopted their customs and life-style. Known as Shu Li (literally tamed or civilized Li), this group served Chinese masters by tend- ing livestock and tilling fields (Swinhoe, 1872a) in the buffer zone between the Chinese settlements on the coast and the uncon- quered mountain strongholds of the Sheng Li (literally wild or savage Li) in the island's interior. As their numbers increased, however, the Shu Li caused more anxiety to the Chinese Govern- ment by constant rebellion than the wild mountaineers, although most uprisings were self-inflicted by the rapacity of Chinese mer- chants and injustices meted out by government officials. Only when the Chinese garrisons were known to be weak did the Sheng Li sally forth from their impenetrable mountains and reek devas- tation in the settled plains.
Page 135Page 136
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