Xikang (also Sikang or Hsikang) was a nominal province[1] formed by the Republic of China in 1939 on the initiative of prominent Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui[2] and continued by the early People's Republic of China. The idea was to form a single unified province for the entire Kham region under direct Chinese administration, in effect annexing the western Kham region that was then under Tibetan control. Kham was entirely populated by Tibetan people called Khampas. The then independent Tibet controlled the portion of Kham west of the Upper Yangtze River.[3] The nominal Xikang province also included in the south the Assam Himalayan region (Arunachal Pradesh) that Tibet had recognised as a part of British India by the 1914 McMahon Line agreement.[4] The eastern part of the province was inhabited by a number of different ethnic groups, such as Han Chinese, Yi, Qiang people and Tibetan, then known as Chuanbian (川邊), a special administrative region of the Republic of China. In 1939, it became the new Xikang province with the additional territories belonging to Tibetan and British control added in. After the People's Republic of China invaded and occupied Tibet, the earlier nationalist imagination of Xikang came to fruition.
The Xikang province sketched in a 1950 map by CIA. Borders shown in dark green lines.The Chinese control of the southeastern Tibet shown along with the proposed Simla Convention frontier of 1914.
In 1910, general Zhao Erfang occupied Kham region, destroyed a few monasteries and killed over 1000 lamas. Later on, he proclaimed this territory as a new Chinese province subsequently known as Xikang.
Following the Wuchang Uprising in October 1911 which led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty, this region[which?] was established as the Chuanbian Special Administrative District (川邊特別行政區) by the newly founded Republic of China.
In June 1930 this region[which?] was invaded by the army of Tibet, precipitating the Sino-Tibetan War. With the district locked in internal struggles, no reinforcements were sent to support the Sichuanese troops stationed here. As a result, the Tibetan army captured, without encountering much resistance, Garze and Xinlong Counties. When a negotiated ceasefire failed, Tibetan forces expanded the war attempting to capture parts of southern Qinghai province. In March 1932 their force invaded Qinghai but was defeated by the local Hui warlord Ma Bufang in July, routing the Tibetan army and driving it back to this district.
The Hui army captured counties that had fallen into the hands of the Tibetan army since 1919. Their victories threatened the supply lines to the Tibetan forces in Garze and Xinlong. As a result, part of the Tibetan army was forced to withdraw.
In 1932 Liu Wenhui in cooperation with the Qinghai army, sent out a brigade to attack the Tibetan troops in Garze and Xinlong, eventually occupying them, Dêgê and other counties east of the Jinshajiang River. The 1934 Khamba Rebellion led by the Pandatsang family broke out against the Tibetan government in Lhasa. The Khampa revolutionary leader Pandatsang Rapga was involved.
In January 1939, the Chuanbian Special Administrative District officially became a province of the Republic, the Hsikang Province. Kesang Tsering was sent by the Chinese to Batang to take control of Sikang, where he formed a local government. He was sent there for the purpose of propagating the Three Principles of the People to the Khampa.[6]
^Lin, Boundary, sovereignty and imagination (2004), p. 30: "Despite its almost entirely illusory nature, the so-called Xikang province was officially sketched out by Chinese map-makers, from whom it came to be known nation-wide.
^Yajun Mo, "The New Frontier: Zhuang Xueben and Xikang Province", in "Chinese History in Geographical Perspective", edited by Yongtao Du and Jeff Kyong-McClain, p. 124, Lexington Books, 2013
^Lin, Boundary, sovereignty and imagination (2004), p. 29: "According to the Kuomintang, the boundary of this new Xikang province encompassed, not only part of the southwestern province of Sichuan that was then dominated by the Han Chinese warlord Liu Wenhui, but also a huge portion of the ethnographic Tibetan area west of the Upper Yangtze River that was then effectively administered by the autonomous Tibetan government."
^Lin, Boundary, sovereignty and imagination (2004), p. 29: "In addition, the newly carved provincial boundary also extended deep into the Tibetan-Assam tribal territory, including areas south of the theoretically existing McMahon Line that had been signed away to British India by Lhasa in 1914."
^. Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
^Hsiao-ting Lin (2010). Modern China's ethnic frontiers: a journey to the west. Vol. 67 of Routledge studies in the modern history of Asia (illustrated ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 27. ISBN978-0-415-58264-3. Retrieved 2011-12-27. area and spreading Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principle among the Tibetan and Khampa minorities, Kesang Tsering set up a field headquarters in Batang (Pa'an). There he appointed his own Xikang provincial government staff and issued an
BibliographyEdit
Lin, Hsiao-ting (2004), "Boundary, sovereignty, and imagination: Reconsidering the frontier disputes between British India and Republican China, 1914–47", The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 32 (3): 25–47, doi:10.1080/0308653042000279650, S2CID 159560382
Lin, Hsiao-ting (2010). Modern China's Ethnic Frontiers: A journey to the west. Taylor & Francis. ISBN978-0-415-58264-3.
October 21, 2023
xikang, also, sikang, hsikang, nominal, province, formed, republic, china, 1939, initiative, prominent, sichuan, warlord, wenhui, continued, early, people, republic, china, idea, form, single, unified, province, entire, kham, region, under, direct, chinese, ad. Xikang also Sikang or Hsikang was a nominal province 1 formed by the Republic of China in 1939 on the initiative of prominent Sichuan warlord Liu Wenhui 2 and continued by the early People s Republic of China The idea was to form a single unified province for the entire Kham region under direct Chinese administration in effect annexing the western Kham region that was then under Tibetan control Kham was entirely populated by Tibetan people called Khampas The then independent Tibet controlled the portion of Kham west of the Upper Yangtze River 3 The nominal Xikang province also included in the south the Assam Himalayan region Arunachal Pradesh that Tibet had recognised as a part of British India by the 1914 McMahon Line agreement 4 The eastern part of the province was inhabited by a number of different ethnic groups such as Han Chinese Yi Qiang people and Tibetan then known as Chuanbian 川邊 a special administrative region of the Republic of China In 1939 it became the new Xikang province with the additional territories belonging to Tibetan and British control added in After the People s Republic of China invaded and occupied Tibet the earlier nationalist imagination of Xikang came to fruition Xikang Province西康省Province of the Republic of China 1939 1950 1939 1950Xikang Province in the Republic of China light blue under control of Chinese warlordCapitalKangding 1912 1931 Ba an 1931 1935 Ya an 1935 1936 Kangding 1935 1949 Xichang 1949 1950 Area Estimate451 521 km2 174 333 sq mi Population Estimate1 748 458HistoryHistorical era20th century Established1939 Fall of Xichang27 March 1950 Disestablished1950Preceded by Succeeded byChuanbian Special Region XikangChamdo RegionToday part ofChinaIndiaXikang Province西康省Province of the People s Republic of China 1950 1955 1950 1955Xikang Province orange in the People s Republic of ChinaCapitalKangding 1950 1951 Ya an 1951 1955 Area 1953451 521 km2 174 333 sq mi Population 19533 381 064HistoryHistorical era20th century Established1950 Disestablished1955Preceded by Succeeded byXikang SichuanTibet Autonomous RegionToday part ofChinaIndiaThe provincial capital of Xikang was Kangding from 1939 to 1951 and Ya an from 1951 to 1955 The province had a population of 3 4 million in 1954 5 Contents 1 History 2 Administrative divisions 2 1 1939 1950 2 2 1950 1955 3 List of governors 3 1 Chairperson of the Provincial Government 3 2 Xikang CPC Party Committee Secretary 3 3 Xikang People s Government Chairperson Governor after January 1955 4 See also 5 References 6 BibliographyHistory EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp The Xikang province sketched in a 1950 map by CIA Borders shown in dark green lines nbsp The Chinese control of the southeastern Tibet shown along with the proposed Simla Convention frontier of 1914 In 1910 general Zhao Erfang occupied Kham region destroyed a few monasteries and killed over 1000 lamas Later on he proclaimed this territory as a new Chinese province subsequently known as Xikang Following the Wuchang Uprising in October 1911 which led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty this region which was established as the Chuanbian Special Administrative District 川邊特別行政區 by the newly founded Republic of China In June 1930 this region which was invaded by the army of Tibet precipitating the Sino Tibetan War With the district locked in internal struggles no reinforcements were sent to support the Sichuanese troops stationed here As a result the Tibetan army captured without encountering much resistance Garze and Xinlong Counties When a negotiated ceasefire failed Tibetan forces expanded the war attempting to capture parts of southern Qinghai province In March 1932 their force invaded Qinghai but was defeated by the local Hui warlord Ma Bufang in July routing the Tibetan army and driving it back to this district The Hui army captured counties that had fallen into the hands of the Tibetan army since 1919 Their victories threatened the supply lines to the Tibetan forces in Garze and Xinlong As a result part of the Tibetan army was forced to withdraw In 1932 Liu Wenhui in cooperation with the Qinghai army sent out a brigade to attack the Tibetan troops in Garze and Xinlong eventually occupying them Dege and other counties east of the Jinshajiang River The 1934 Khamba Rebellion led by the Pandatsang family broke out against the Tibetan government in Lhasa The Khampa revolutionary leader Pandatsang Rapga was involved In January 1939 the Chuanbian Special Administrative District officially became a province of the Republic the Hsikang Province Kesang Tsering was sent by the Chinese to Batang to take control of Sikang where he formed a local government He was sent there for the purpose of propagating the Three Principles of the People to the Khampa 6 In 1950 following the defeat of the Kuomintang by the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War Xikang was split along the Yangtze into Sikang to the east and a separate Chamdo Territory 昌都地区 to the west Chamdo was merged into Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965 The rest of Hsikang was merged into Sichuan in 1955 Administrative divisions Edit1939 1950 Edit Name Administrative Seat Traditional Chinese Subdivisions CommentsFirst Administrative Circuit Kangding County 第一行政督察區 4 counties 1 bureau Later the Xikang Province Tibetan Autonomous RegionSecond Administrative Circuit Yingjing County 第二行政督察區 7 counties Later the Ya an DivisionThird Administrative Circuit Xichang County 第三行政督察區 9 counties 3 bureaus Later the XIchang DivisionFourth Administrative Circuit Garze County 第四行政督察區 15 counties Later the Xikang Province Tibetan Autonomous RegionFifth Administrative Circuit 第五行政督察區 13 counties Chamdo Region de facto controlled by Tibet1950 1955 Edit Name Simplified Chinese Hanyu Pinyin SubdivisionsYa an 1951 1955 雅安市 Yǎ an shi 1 cityYa anYa an Division 雅安专区 Yǎ an Zhuanqu 8 countiesYa an 1950 1951 Baoxing Lushan Tianquan Yingjing Hanyuan Mingshan 1951 1955 Shimian 1951 1955 Xichang Division 西昌专区 Xichang Zhuanqu 13 countiesXichang Yanyuan Yanbian Huili Ningnan Dechang Zhaojue 1950 1952 Yuexi Mianning Jinkang 1952 1955 Muli 1952 1955 Miyi 1952 1955 Huidong3 bureausPuge 1950 1952 Ningdong 1950 1952 Luoning 1950 1952 Xikang Province Tibetan Autonomous Region 西康省藏族自治区 Xikang Sheng Zangzu Zizhiqu 20 countiesdirect controlledKangding Danba Qianning Yajiang Luding Jiulong1 bureauJintang Ganzi Regional Office 1951 1955 Ganzi Shiqi Dengke Dege Baiyu Zhanghua Xinlong Luhuo Daofu Litang Regional Office 1951 1955 Litang Batang Derong Dingxiang Xiangcheng Daocheng YidunLiangshan Yi Autonomous Region 1952 1955 凉山彝族自治区 Liangshan Yizu Zizhiqu 8 countiesZhaojue Puge Ningdong Xide Butuo Jinyang Meigu PuxiongList of governors Edit Kuomintang Nationalist Chinese Communist Party Chairperson of the Provincial Government Edit No Portrait Name Birth Death Term of office Political party1 nbsp Liu Wenhui劉文輝 Liu Wenhui 1895 1976 1 January 1939 9 December 1949 KuomintangDefected to the Communists 2 nbsp Ho Kuo kuang賀國光 He Guoguang 1885 1969 25 December 1949 March 1950 KuomintangFled to Taiwan via Haikou after fall of Xichang Xikang CPC Party Committee Secretary Edit No Portrait Name Birth Death Term of office Political party1 Liao Zhigao廖志高 Liao Zhigao 1913 2000 1950 1955 Chinese Communist PartyProvince abolished Xikang People s Government Chairperson Governor after January 1955 Edit No Portrait Name Birth Death Term of office Political party1 Liao Zhigao廖志高 Liao Zhigao 1913 2000 26 April 1950 September 1955 Chinese Communist PartyProvince abolished See also EditChinese irredentism Taiwan KhamReferences Edit Lin Boundary sovereignty and imagination 2004 p 30 Despite its almost entirely illusory nature the so called Xikang province was officially sketched out by Chinese map makers from whom it came to be known nation wide Yajun Mo The New Frontier Zhuang Xueben and Xikang Province in Chinese History in Geographical Perspective edited by Yongtao Du and Jeff Kyong McClain p 124 Lexington Books 2013 Lin Boundary sovereignty and imagination 2004 p 29 According to the Kuomintang the boundary of this new Xikang province encompassed not only part of the southwestern province of Sichuan that was then dominated by the Han Chinese warlord Liu Wenhui but also a huge portion of the ethnographic Tibetan area west of the Upper Yangtze River that was then effectively administered by the autonomous Tibetan government Lin Boundary sovereignty and imagination 2004 p 29 In addition the newly carved provincial boundary also extended deep into the Tibetan Assam tribal territory including areas south of the theoretically existing McMahon Line that had been signed away to British India by Lhasa in 1914 第一次全国人口普查公报 Archived from the original on August 5 2009 Retrieved November 17 2009 Hsiao ting Lin 2010 Modern China s ethnic frontiers a journey to the west Vol 67 of Routledge studies in the modern history of Asia illustrated ed Taylor amp Francis p 27 ISBN 978 0 415 58264 3 Retrieved 2011 12 27 area and spreading Sun Yat sen s Three People s Principle among the Tibetan and Khampa minorities Kesang Tsering set up a field headquarters in Batang Pa an There he appointed his own Xikang provincial government staff and issued anBibliography EditLin Hsiao ting 2004 Boundary sovereignty and imagination Reconsidering the frontier disputes between British India and Republican China 1914 47 The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 32 3 25 47 doi 10 1080 0308653042000279650 S2CID 159560382 Lin Hsiao ting 2010 Modern China s Ethnic Frontiers A journey to the west Taylor amp Francis ISBN 978 0 415 58264 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Xikang amp oldid 1152614377, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
