Pre-Qin dynasty (before 220 BC)

There are few references to Hanzhong before the Qin dynasty's unification of China in 221 BC. The Book of Documents refers to an area called Liangzhou (梁州), while Sima Qian's book Records of the Grand Historian speaks of a "Bao state" (褒國, where the ancient beauty Bao Si came from), both of which are believed to refer to the area now called Hanzhong.

From 900 BC, the area has been called Nanzheng (Chinese: 南鄭; lit. 'southern Zheng'). The ancient geographical treatise entitled Shui Jing Zhu records that Duke Huan of Zheng, a vassal lord from the Western Zhou dynasty, was slain in a battle with the nomadic Quanrong people, and some of the Zheng citizens fled the capital to establish a new settlement to the south, giving rise to the area's name.^[2] However, the veracity of this story is controversial.^[3]

Qin and Han dynasties (220 BC - 200 AD)

Gilded Bronze Ruler - 1 chi = 231 cm. Western Han (206 BCE - CE 8), Hanzhong

In the Qin dynasty the area was governed as the Hanzhong Commandery, whose seat was in current day Nanzheng County, south of the Hanzhong urban area.^[4] In 207 BC, the Qin dynasty collapsed. Liu Bang, who would later become the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, was made lord of Hanzhong. He spent several years there before raising an army to challenge his arch-rival, Xiang Yu, during the Chu–Han Contention. In 206 BC, after the victory at Gaixia, Liu Bang named his imperial dynasty after his native district, as was customary. However, he chose Hanzhong rather than his birthplace Pei County (present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province).^[5] Thus, Hanzhong gave its name to the Han dynasty.

In the second century AD, the Eastern Han dynasty gradually weakened. Outsiders from the Ba region attacked the Hanzhong area, as they had in the past. The Han dynasty lost power. Zhang Lu, supported by followers of a Taoist sect, Way of the Celestial Masters, led an independent theocratic government in Hanzhong.^[6] Thirty years later, after the Battle of Yangping, Zhang Lu surrendered Hanzhong to the warlord, Cao Cao.

Prior to and during the Three Kingdoms period, Hanzhong was a militarily strategically important site. It is located at a critical point along the route an army would take from the Central Plain to the Sichuan Basin. At this time, Cao Cao lost control of Hanzhong to Liu Bei, who assumed the title of King of Hanzhong. Ruins and landmarks of the Three Kingdoms era remaining in Hanzhong include the tomb of the Shu Han chancellor Zhuge Liang. Much of this period of Hanzhong's history is retold in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties (618-1368)

In Hanzhong, between the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of the Tang dynasty there was political turmoil. In 784, when the capital, Chang'an (modern Xi'an) was captured, the Emperor Dezong of Tang fled to Hanzhong. During the Northern Song dynasty (960 - 1127), however, Hanzhong became economically wealthy with city tax revenue just behind that of regional capitals such as Kaifeng and Chengdu.

Ming and Qing dynasties, and the present (1368-present)

In 1331, during the Ming dynasty in the reign of the Hongwu Emperor, extensive renovations were made to Hanzhong's infrastructure. This work brought Hanzhong to its present layout and form.

The Wanli Emperor (r. 1572-1620) installed his fifth son, Zhu Changhao (Chinese: 朱常浩), as king of Hanzhong. Changhao built a large, luxurious palace in what is now the Children's Park.^[7] The palace's Radiant Glass Wall (Chinese: 玻璃照壁) was demolished during road construction in 1935. Since then, a 13.6 m section has been rebuilt on the eastern end of Sanpu Street (Chinese: 伞铺街; pinyin: Sǎnpù Jīe).

In 1643, Zhu Changhao fled south to Sichuan ahead of Li Zicheng's rebel army. As he departed, his Hanzhong palace was looted. Qing dynasty historians remembered the massive but empty palace.

In December 1949, in the Chinese Civil War, Hanzhong was captured by the People's Liberation Army as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expelled the Kuomintang.

Military industry

The 012 base was established in Hanzhong in the 1960s. It is responsible for military transport aircraft and Air-to-air missiles in Yangxian County.

Climate

Hanzhong has a temperate and humid climate. It is classified as humid subtropical (Köppen Cwa), with cool, damp winters and hot, humid summers.

The Qin Mountains to the north help shield the city from cold Siberian winds in the winter. Hence, the winter in Hanzhong is warmer than that at similar latitudes east of Shannan. This is despite Hanzhong's elevation and inland location.

In contrast, because of its elevation, Hanzhong summers are temperate, with average highs in July and August about 30 °C (86 °F). The area is far more humid than central and northern Shaanxi. In Hanzhong, there is 853 mm (33.6 in) precipitation annually, as compared to 553 mm (21.8 in) in Xi'an, the provincial capital.^[13] The chance of sunshine days per month varies from twenty-six percent in November and December to fifty percent in August. Hanzhong receives 1,569 hours of bright sunshine each year. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from 2.8 °C (37.0 °F) in January to 25.6 °C (78.1 °F) in July. The annual mean is 14.67 °C (58.4 °F).

Cityscape

Panorama of southeastern Hanzhong.

Panorama of northern Hanzhong.