The Wu Chinese people, also known as Wuyue people (,

Shanghainese The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan langua ...

: ), Jiang-Zhe people () or San Kiang (), are a major

subgroup In group theory, a branch of mathematics, given a group ''G'' under a binary operation ∗, a subset ''H'' of ''G'' is called a subgroup of ''G'' if ''H'' also forms a group under the operation ∗. More precisely, ''H'' is a subgroup ...

of the

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

. They are a

Wu Chinese The Wu languages (; Wu romanization and IPA: ''wu6 gniu6'' [] ( Shanghainese), ''ng2 gniu6'' [] (Suzhounese), Mandarin pinyin and IPA: ''Wúyǔ'' []) is a major group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Zhejiang Provin ...

-speaking people who hail from Southern

Jiangsu Province Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

, the entirety of the city of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

and all of

Zhejiang Province Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

, as well as smaller populations in

Xuancheng Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal administration since the Qin dynasty. Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage ...

prefecture-level city in Southern

Anhui Province Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

Shangrao Shangrao () is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. The city borders the province of Anhui to the north, the province of Zhejiang to the east, and the province of Fujian t ...

, Guangfeng and Yushan counties of Northeastern

Jiangxi Province Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into h ...

and some parts of Pucheng County in Northern

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

History

Origins

For much of its history and prehistory, the Wuyue region has been home to several neolithic cultures such as the

Hemudu culture The Hemudu culture (5500 BC to 3300 BC) was a Neolithic culture that flourished just south of the Hangzhou Bay in Jiangnan in modern Yuyao, Zhejiang, China. The culture may be divided into early and late phases, before and after 4000 BC respec ...

Majiabang culture The Majiabang culture, also named Ma-chia-pang culture, was a Chinese Neolithic culture that existed at the mouth of the Yangtze River, primarily around Lake Tai near Shanghai and north of Hangzhou Bay. The culture spread throughout southern Jian ...

and the

Liangzhu culture The Liangzhu culture (; 3300–2300 BC) was the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery ...

. Both Wu and Yue were two kingdoms during the

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...

and many such allusions to those kingdoms were attributed in the

Spring and Autumn Annals The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The '' Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...

, the Zuo Zhuan and the Guoyu. Later, after years of fighting and conflict, the two cultures of Wu and Yue became one culture through mutual contact and cultural diffusion. The

Chu state Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou ...

from the west (in

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

) expanded into this area and defeated the Yue state. After Chu was conquered by Qin, China was unified. It was not until the fall of

Western Jin Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

during the early 4th century AD that northern Chinese moved to Jiangnan in significant numbers. The Yellow River valley was becoming barren due to flooding, lack of trees after intensive logging to create farmland and constant harassment and invasion by the Wu Hu nomads. In the 10th century,

Wuyue (Ten Kingdoms) Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in th ...

was a small coastal kingdom founded by

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

who made a lasting cultural impact on Jiangnan and its people to this day. The cultural distinctiveness that began developing over this period persists to this day as the Wuyue region speaks a branch of the

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...

called Wu (the most famous dialect of which is Shanghainese), has distinctive cuisine and other cultural traits. There have been many periods of mass-migrations to Wuyue areas from

Northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions is not precisely defined and only serve to depict where there appears to be regional differences between the climate ...

, sometimes overtaking the local Wuyue population. One notable example of this was when the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

fell in the north, large numbers of northern refugees flooded into the relocated capital

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

mainly from the areas that are currently under the administration of modern-day

Henan Province Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

. Within just 30 years, contemporary accounts record that these Northern immigrants outnumbered the Wu natives of Hangzhou, altering the city's spoken dialect and culture.

Subgroups

Shanghainese people Shanghainese people (; Shanghainese: ''Zaanhe-nyin'' ) are people of Shanghai Hukou or people who have ancestral roots from Shanghai. Most Shanghainese are descended from immigrants from nearby provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu. According to ...

Wenzhou people Wenzhou people or Wenzhounese people is a subgroup of Oujiang Wu Chinese speaking peoples, who live primarily in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. Wenzhou people are known for their business and money-making skills. The area also has a large diaspo ...

Culture

The Pagoda in Changqing Temple 02 2014-11

Education

Traditionally, in the past, Wuyue people dominated the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

s and were often ranked first in the imperial examinations as

Zhuangyuan ''Zhuangyuan'', or ''trạng nguyên'' in Vietnamese, variously translated into English as principal graduate, primus, or optimus, was the title given to the scholar who achieved the highest score on highest level of the Imperial examination, (i ...

(), or in other positions of the Jinshi () degree. The Wu speaking region produced 59 out of 114 Zhuangyuan scholars during the Ming and Qing dynasty, and 10427 out of 51444 Jinshi scholars, despite currently only constituting 6% of China's population. Amongst the 2331 scholars promoted to the

Chinese Academy of Science The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republ ...

and

Chinese Academy of Engineering The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...

since the institutions' establishment from 1955, over 30% are Wuyue people, with 450 are from Jiangsu, 375 are from Zhejiang, 84 are from Shanghai. In addition, 5 out of 12 Nobel laureates who are of Chinese descent are Wuyue people, including Tsung Dao Lee,

Charles Kao Sir Charles Kao Kuen Charles K. Kao was elected in 1990
as a memb ...

Steven Chu Steven ChuRoger Tsien Roger Yonchien Tsien (pronounced , "'' CHEN''"'';'' February 1, 1952 – August 24, 2016) was an American biochemist. He was a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego and was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

and Youyou Tu.

Languages

Changzhou dialect The Changzhou dialect ( Simplified Chinese: 常州话; Traditional Chinese: 常州話; IPA: ̥ɑŋ.tsei.ɦu(pronunciation in the Changzhou dialect)), sometimes called ''Changzhounese'', is a dialect of Wu, a Sino-Tibetan language family, and be ...

* Hangzhou dialect *

Huzhou dialect Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to ...

Jinhua dialect The Jinhua dialect () is a dialect of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Jinhua, China and the surrounding region in central Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republi ...

Ningbo dialect The Ningbo dialect () is a dialect of Wu Chinese, one subdivision of Chinese language. Ningbo dialect is spoken throughout Ningbo and Zhoushan prefectures, in Zhejiang province. Intelligibility Ningbo dialect native speakers generally understan ...

Shanghainese dialect The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the central districts of the City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as part of the Sino-Tibetan languag ...

Shaoxing dialect The Shaoxing dialect () is a Wu dialect spoken in the city of Shaoxing more specifically in the city center of Yuecheng and its surrounding areas. It is a representative Wu dialect with a tripartite distinction on voiced stop initials and a textbo ...

Suzhou dialect Suzhounese (; Suzhounese: ''sou1 tseu1 ghe2 gho6'' [] ), also known as the Suzhou dialect, is the Varieties of Chinese, variety of Chinese traditionally spoken in the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu, Jiangsu Province, China. Suzhounese is a varie ...

* Wenzhounese dialect *

Wuxi dialect The Wuxi dialect ( Simplified Chinese: 无锡话; Traditional Chinese: 無錫話; Pinyin: Wúxīhuà, Wu : mu1 sik1 wo3 , Wuxi dialect : u˨˨˧ siɪʔ˦ ɦu˨ is a dialect of Wu. It is spoken in the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu province, China. ...

Music

* Jiangnan sizhu * Suzhou Pingtan (originated from Suzhou)

Opera

Kunqu Kunqu (), also known as Kunju (), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. Kunqu is one of the oldest traditional operas of the Han nationality, and is also a treasure of Chinese traditional cult ...

and

Yue opera Yue opera, also known as Shaoxing opera, is the Chinese opera genre. Only Peking opera is more popular nationwide. Originating in Shengzhou, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province in 1906, Yue opera features actresses in male roles as well as femininity ...

are amongst the most popular form of traditional opera in China, second to

Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

only. *

Shanghai opera Shanghai opera (), formerly known as Shenqu (), is a variety of Chinese opera from Shanghai typically sung in Shanghainese. It is unique in Chinese opera in that virtually all dramas in its repertoire today are set in the modern era (20th and 21 ...

*Yongju, or Ningbo opera

Literature

* Wo Bau-Sae *

Butterfly Lovers The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story of a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo () and Zhu Yingtai (), whose names form the title of the story. The title is often abbreviated to Liang Zhu (). The story was selected as one o ...

() *

Legend of the White Snake The Legend of the White Snake is a Chinese legend. It has since been presented in a number of major Chinese operas, films, and television series. The earliest attempt to fictionalize the story in printed form appears to be ''The White Maiden ...

() *

Dream of the Red Chamber ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known fo ...

Philosophy and Religion

* Yangming school of

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) ...

Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the '' Lotus Sutra's'' doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (''Ekayāna'') as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy ...

school of

Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

Architecture Heritage Sites

Tianyi Chamber The Tianyi Ge (), translated as Tianyi Pavilion or Tianyi Chamber, is a library and garden located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. Founded in 1561 by Fan Qin during the Ming dynasty, it is the oldest existing private library in China. At i ...

* The Classical Gardens in Suzhou

Cultural Items

Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

is the largest silk-producing region in China.

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provin ...

is known for its fine silk. * Tea (''

Camellia sinensis ''Camellia sinensis'' is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves and leaf buds are used to produce the popular beverage, tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree (not t ...

''),

is known for its

Longjing tea Longjing tea (; Standard Chinese pronunciation ), sometimes called by its literal translated name Dragon Well tea, is a variety of pan-roasted green tea from the area of Longjing Village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. It is produced ...

, and the rest of Jiangnan has their own unique tea varieties. *

Suzhou embroidery Chinese embroidery refers to embroidery created by any of the cultures located in the area that makes up modern China. It is some of the oldest extant needlework. The four major regional styles of Chinese embroidery are Suzhou embroidery (Su Xiu ...

Shaoxing wine Shaoxing wine (''Shaohsing'', ''Hsiaohsing'', ''Shaoshing''), also called "yellow wine", is a traditional Chinese wine made by fermenting glutinous rice, water and wheat-based yeast. It must be produced in Shaoxing, in the Zhejiang province of ...

DNA Analysis

The HLA-DRB1 distribution of Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai Han population does share genetic characteristics with other Han Chinese populations, but it also exhibits its own characteristics distinct from that of other Han Chinese populations. This study also suggests that Wu-speaking peoples genetically, bridge the gap between Northern Han and Southern Han populations and thus are an intermediate between both populations. Even though Wu-speaking peoples form a genetic cluster, DNA analyses also show that Wu-speaking peoples are genetically coherent with other Han Chinese populations.

Notable Wu Chinese speakers

Scientists and inventors

File:Shen_Kua_sketch.jpg,

Shen Kuo Shen Kuo (; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁),Yao (2003), 544. was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Shen wa ...

, a brilliant polymathic scientist and mathematician of the

. File:Tsien_Hsue-shen.jpg,

Qian Xuesen Qian Xuesen, or Hsue-Shen Tsien (; 11 December 1911 – 31 October 2009), was a Chinese mathematician, cyberneticist, aerospace engineer, and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineering ...

, the father of

Chinese space program The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). China's space program has overseen the development and launch of ballistic missiles, thousands of artificial satellites, manned ...

. File:TD_Lee.jpg,

Tsung-Dao Lee Tsung-Dao Lee (; born November 24, 1926) is a Chinese-American physicist, known for his work on parity violation, the Lee–Yang theorem, particle physics, relativistic heavy ion (RHIC) physics, nontopological solitons, and soliton stars ...

, one of the first two Chinese Nobel prize laureates in Physics. Chien-Shiung_Wu_(1912-1997)_in_1958.jpg,

Chien-Shiung Wu ) , spouse = , residence = , nationality = ChineseAmerican , field = Physics , work_institutions = Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica University of California at Berkeley Smith College Princeton University Columbia UniversityZhejiang ...

, the first recipient of the

Wolf Prize in Physics The Wolf Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine and Arts ...

. Tu_Youyou_5012-1-2015.jpg,

Tu Youyou Tu Youyou (; born 30 December 1930) is a Chinese pharmaceutical chemist and malariologist. She discovered artemisinin (also known as , ) and dihydroartemisinin, used to treat malaria, a breakthrough in twentieth-century tropical medicine, sa ...

, the first Chinese Nobel prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine. *

(1031–1095), a brilliant

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

ic scientist and mathematician of the

. *

Xu Guangqi Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborato ...

(1562–1633), Chinese mathematician, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and scholar-bureaucrat under the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. *

Wang Ganchang Wang Ganchang (; May 28, 1907 – December 10, 1998) was a Chinese nuclear physicist. He was one of the founding fathers of Chinese nuclear physics, cosmic rays and particle physics. Wang was also a leader in the fields of detonation phys ...

(1907–1998), one of the founding fathers of Chinese

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies t ...

cosmic rays Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our ...

and

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

. *

Tan Jiazhen Tan Jiazhen (15 September 1909 – 1 November 2008), also known as C. C. Tan, was a Chinese geneticist. He was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a foreign member of United States National Academy of Sciences. Tan was a main ...

(1909–2008), Chinese geneticist and the main founder of modern Chinese genetics. *

(1911–2009), the father of

, Qian was praised by

Theodore von Kármán Theodore von Kármán ( hu, ( szőllőskislaki) Kármán Tódor ; born Tivadar Mihály Kármán; 11 May 18816 May 1963) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer, and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronaut ...

who said that Qian "answered my questions with unusual precision. I was immediately impressed with the keenness and quickness of his (Qian's) mind." *

(1912–1997), an

experimental physicist Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and ...

, she was known as "the First Lady of Physics" for her contributions to

and was the first recipient of the

. *

Chien Wei-zang Qian Weichang or Chien Wei-zang (; 9 October 1912 – 30 July 2010) was a Chinese physicist and applied mathematician, as well as academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He served as President of Shanghai University. Career Qian was b ...

(1912–2010), an

applied mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

. *

He Zehui Professor He Zehui or Ho Zah-wei (; March 5, 1914 – June 20, 2011) was a Chinese nuclear physicist who worked to develop and exploit nuclear physics in Germany and China. Early life and education He Zehui was born in Suzhou in 1914. She att ...

(1914–2011), a Chinese nuclear physicist who worked to develop and exploit nuclear physics in China. *

Shao Xianghua Shao Xianghua, (; February 22, 1913 – March 21, 2012) was a Chinese materials engineer and metallurgist. He was considered as a pioneer of modern Chinese metallurgical engineering. Career Shao was born on February 22, 1913, in Hangzhou, Zhejia ...

(1913–2012), Chinese scientist and metallurgical engineer. He was considered as a pioneer of modern Chinese

metallurgical engineering Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

(1926–), Nobel prize laureate in Physics (1956). *

Li Zhijian Li Zhijian (; 1928–2011) was a Chinese physicist. He was a pioneer of Chinese microelectronics. He was former Chief Director of the Institute of Microelectronics, Tsinghua University; and the ex-Chairman of the Academic Committee, School of I ...

(1928–2011), the pioneer of Chinese

microelectronics Microelectronics is a subfield of electronics. As the name suggests, microelectronics relates to the study and manufacture (or microfabrication) of very small electronic designs and components. Usually, but not always, this means micrometre-s ...

(1930–), Nobel prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine (2015). Nobel_prize_medal

Charles K. Kao Sir Charles Kao Kuen Charles K. Kao was elected in 1990
as a memb ...

(1933–), Nobel prize laureate in Physics (2009). * Ni Guangjiong (1934–), Chinese physicist and science writer. * Gu Leguan (1935–2001), a Chinese physicist and educator, he was also the former president of

Chongqing University Chongqing University (CQU; , colloquially abbreviated as ChóngDà) is a public research university located in Chongqing, China. It is a National Key University directly funded by the central government of China as part of the Double First Class ...

. * Li Sanli (1935–), one of China's pioneers in computer science and engineering. He has won many domestic awards for research in the fields of computer architecture and organization. * Zhou Chaochen (1937–), Chinese computer scientist and inventor of the

Duration calculus Duration calculus (DC) is an interval logic for real-time systems. It was originally developed by Zhou Chaochen with the help of Anders P. Ravn and C. A. R. Hoare on the European ESPRIT Basic Research Action (BRA) ''ProCoS'' project on ''Provably ...

. *

Andrew Yao Andrew Chi-Chih Yao (; born December 24, 1946) is a Chinese computer scientist and computational theorist. He is currently a professor and the dean of Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences (IIIS) at Tsinghua University. Yao use ...

(1946–), a Chinese computer scientist and computational theorist. His contributions include proving what is now known as Yao's Principle. *

Ho-Kwang Mao Ho-Kwang (Dave) Mao (; born June 18, 1941) is a Chinese-American geologist. He is the director of the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in Shanghai, China. He was a staff scientist at Geophysical Laboratory of the ...

(1947–), an eminent scientist and geologist in America. * Jiawei Han, (1949–), Chinese computer scientist and Abel Bliss Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

at Urbana-Champaign. Nobel_prize_medal

Roger Y. Tsien (1952–2016), Nobel prize laureate in Chemistry (2009), Tsien was praised for being immensely intelligent by Herman Quirmbach who said "It's probably not an exaggeration to say he(Roger Y. Tsien)'s the smartest person I ever met... d I have met a lot of brilliant people". *

Junying Yu Junying Yu (born 1975) is a Chinese stem cell biologist. She is a researcher at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Biography Yu was born in 1975 in Zhejiang, China. In 1997, Yu graduated from the Department of Biology of Peking University ...

(1975–), is a stem cell

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and researcher at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Mathematicians

Li_Shanlan.jpg,

Li Shanlan Li Shanlan (李善蘭, courtesy name: Renshu 壬叔, art name: Qiuren 秋紉) (1810 – 1882) was a Chinese mathematician of the Qing Dynasty. A native of Haining, Zhejiang, he was fascinated by mathematics since childhood, beginning with the '' ...

, 19th century Chinese mathematician, Li invented the Li Shanlan's Summation Formulae. File:%E6%BD%98%E8%80%92.jpg, Pan Lei, QIng era scholar involved in the study of mathematics. File:許寶騄.jpg, Pao-Lu Hsu, famous world class statistician and the father of

probability Probability is the branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an event is to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1, where, roughly speakin ...

and statistics in China. File:Shiing-Shen_Chern.jpg,

Shiing-Shen Chern Shiing-Shen Chern (; , ; October 28, 1911 – December 3, 2004) was a Chinese-American mathematician and poet. He made fundamental contributions to differential geometry and topology. He has been called the "father of modern differential geome ...

, considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century and a leader in

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ...

. *

(1031–1095), a brilliant polymathic mathematician and scientist of the Song dynasty, he created an approximation of the arc of a circle ''s'' by ''s'' = ''c'' + 2''v''²/''d'', where d is the diameter, v is the versine, c is the length of the chord c subtending the arc. *

(1562–1633), Chinese mathematician, agricultural scientist, astronomer and scholar-bureaucrat under the Ming dynasty. * Pan Lei (1646 – 1708) was a

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

scholar and mathematician. * Li Rui (1768–1817), independently invented

Descartes' rule of signs In mathematics, Descartes' rule of signs, first described by René Descartes in his work ''La Géométrie'', is a technique for getting information on the number of positive real roots of a polynomial. It asserts that the number of positive roots i ...

during the Qing dynasty. *

(1810 – 1882), invented the Li Shanlan's Summation Formulae, he also coined a great number of mathematical terms used in Chinese today. *

Hu Dunfu Hu Dunfu (; 1886 – December 1, 1978) was a Chinese mathematician and pioneer in higher education. He won a Qing government scholarship to study at Cornell University, and became the first dean of Tsinghua University at the age of 25. He was th ...

(1886–1978), Chinese mathematician and pioneer in higher education, he was the first dean of

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

. *

Jiang Lifu Jiang Lifu (4 July 1890 – 3 February 1978) was a Chinese mathematician and educator widely regarded as the Father of modern Chinese mathematics. His main research areas are the theory of syringine geometry and Matrix (mathematics), matrix. Li ...

(1890–1978), father of modern Chinese mathematics and the first president of Academia Sinica of Mathematics. *

Chen Jiangong Chen Jiangong (; 1893–1971), or Jian-gong Chen, was a Chinese mathematician. He was a pioneer of modern Chinese mathematics.Pao-Lu Hsu (1910–1970), a famed mathematician for being the father of

and statistics in China. *

Hua Luogeng Hua Luogeng or Hua Loo-Keng (; 12 November 1910 – 12 June 1985) was a Chinese mathematician and politician famous for his important contributions to number theory and for his role as the leader of mathematics research and education in the Peop ...

(1910–1985), famous for his important contributions to

number theory Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Mat ...

and for his role as the leader of mathematics research and education in the People's Republic of China. *

(1911–2004), one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century and widely regarded as a leader in

and winning many prizes for his immense number of contributions to mathematics. *

Ky Fan Ky Fan (樊𰋀, , September 19, 1914 – March 22, 2010) was a Chinese-born American mathematician. He was a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Biography Fan was born in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejian ...

(1914–2010), famous mathematician who invented many new mathematical equations and theories. *

Wu Wenjun Wu Wenjun ( zh, s=吴文俊; 12 May 1919 – 7 May 2017), also commonly known as Wu Wen-tsün, was a Chinese mathematician, historian, and writer. He was an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), best known for the Wu's method o ...

(1919–2017), Chinese mathematician. * Wang Yuan (mathematician) (1930–), head of the Institute of Mathematics,

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

.. *

Pan Chengdong Pan Chengdong ( zh, c=潘承洞, p=Pān Chéngdòng; 26 May 1934 – 27 December 1997) was a Chinese mathematician who made numerous contributions to number theory Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a br ...

(1934–1997), mathematician and vice president of

Shandong University Shandong University (, abbreviated as Shanda, , English abbreviation SDU) is a public research comprehensive university in Jinan, Shandong with one campus in Weihai, Shandong and one campus in Qingdao, Shandong and is supported directly by ...

. * Weinan E (1963–), applied mathematician who made many achievements in mathematics by contributing new equations into homogenization theory, theoretical models of turbulence, electronic structure analysis, multiscale methods, computational fluid dynamics, and weak KAM theory. * Zhiwei Yun (1982–), received a gold medal with a perfect score on his first time participating, and was awarded the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize in 2012 for his "fundamental contributions to several areas that lie at the interface of representation theory, algebraic geometry and number theory".

Philosophers

File:Wang-yang-ming.jpg,

Wang Yangming Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese calligrapher, general, philosopher, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty ...

, considered to be one of the greatest Confucian philosophers in history. File:Zhu_xi.jpg,

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...

, regarded as one of the most influential Confucian philosophers in history and the founder of

. File:Huang_Zong-Xi.jpg,

Huang Zongxi Huang Zongxi (; September 24, 1610 – August 12, 1695), courtesy name Taichong (), was a Chinese naturalist, political theorist, philosopher, and soldier during the latter part of the Ming dynasty into the early part of the Qing. Biography Huan ...

, naturalist and political theorist, he advocated the belief that ministers should be openly critical of their emperor. File:Qian_Mu.jpg,

Ch'ien Mu Ch'ien Mu or Qian Mu (; 30 July 1895 – 30 August 1990) was a Chinese historian, philosopher and writer. He is considered to be one of the greatest historians and philosophers of 20th-century China. Ch'ien, together with Lü Simian, Chen Yink ...

, Chinese philosopher, historian, educator and Confucian. *

Wang Chong Wang Chong (; 27 – c. 97 AD), courtesy name Zhongren (仲任), was a Chinese astronomer, meteorologist, naturalist, philosopher, and writer active during the Han Dynasty. He developed a rational, secular, naturalistic and mechanistic account ...

(Shaoxing),

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

philosopher. *

(Huizhou region), founder of

philosopher. *

(Ningbo), regarded as one of the four greatest Confucianist philosophers. * Qian Dehong (Ningbo), philosopher, writer, and educator during the mid-late

. *

Pan Pingge Pan Pingge (; 1610–1677), was a notable Chinese philosopher during the late-Ming and early- Qing period. Biography Pan was born in Cixi City, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province in late Ming Dynasty in 1610. His courtesy name was Yongwei (用微). Durin ...

(Ningbo), Ming era critic of Neo-Confucianism. *

(Ningbo), naturalist and political theorist, he advocated the belief that ministers should be openly critical of their emperor. * Wang Maozu (Suzhou), Republic era philosopher and educationalist. *

(Wuxi), Chinese philosopher, historian, educator and Confucian. He was honored as one of the "Four Greatest Historians" of Modern China.

Writers

File:LuXun1930.jpg,

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. ...

, praised as "The greatest writer Asia produced in the twentieth century" by Nobel prize laureate Kenzaburō Ōe. File:Ai_Qing_1929.jpg,

Ai Qing Aì Qīng (, March 27, 1910 – May 5, 1996), born Jiang Zhenghan () and styled Jiang Haicheng (), is regarded by some as one of the finest modern Chinese poets. He was known under his pen names Linbi (), Ke'a () and Ejia (). Life Ai Qing was ...

, one of the most outstanding poets in Modern China. File:Zhang_Ailing_1954.jpg,

Eileen Chang Eileen Chang ( zh, t=張愛玲, s=张爱玲, first=t, w=Chang1 Ai4-ling2, p=Zhāng Àilíng；September 30, 1920 – September 8, 1995), also known as Chang Ai-ling or Zhang Ailing, or by her pen name Liang Jing (梁京), was a Chinese-born A ...

, a highly influential modern Chinese writer. File:Gao_Xingjian_Galerie_Simoncini_Luxembourg.jpg,

Gao Xingjian Gao Xingjian (高行健 in Chinese - born January 4, 1940) is a Chinese émigré and later French naturalized novelist, playwright, critic, painter, photographer, film director, and translator who in 2000 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature " ...

, Nobel prize laureate for Literature in 2000. File:Wu_Weiye.jpg,

Wu Weiye Wu Weiye (; 1609–1671) was a Chinese poet and politician. He was a poet in Classical Chinese poetry. He lived during the difficult times of the Ming-Qing transition. Along with Gong Dingzi and Qian Qianyi Qian Qianyi (; Suzhou dialect: ; ...

, one of the

Three Masters of Jiangdong The Three Masters of Jiangdong () were a group of Chinese literati who lived and wrote during the Manchu conquest of China, Ming-Qing transition. They were Gong Dingzi, Wu Weiye, Qian Qianyi.Zhang, 71 They are partly famous for reviving the ''Ci (po ...

. * Zhang Rong (443–497) was a Chinese official and poet during the period of the

Southern and Northern Dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

. *

Lu Guimeng Lu Guimeng (; died 881), courtesy name Luwang (), was a recluse Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. He lived in seclusion at Puli near Suzhou. His pseudonyms included Mr. Puli (), Tiansuizhi (), and Jianghu Sanren (). He and his friend, the fell ...

(before 836–881),

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

Chinese poet. *

Lu You Lu You (; 1125–1210) was a Chinese historian and poet of the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋). Career Early life and marriage Lu You was born on a boat floating in the Wei River early on a rainy morning, November 13, 1125. At the time of his ...

(1125–1209), patriotic poet of the Southern

. *

Shi Nai'an Shi Nai'an (, ca. 1296–1372) was a Chinese writer from the Yuan and early Ming periods. ''Shuihu zhuan'' (''Water Margin''), one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, is traditionally attributed to him. There are few re ...

(1296–1372), author of the

Water Margin ''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''. The story, which is ...

, one of the

Four Great Classical Novels Classic Chinese Novels () are the best-known novels of pre-modern Chinese literature. These are among the world's longest and oldest novels. They represented a new complexity in structure and sophistication in language that helped to establish ...

. *

Qian Qianyi Qian Qianyi (; Suzhou dialect: ; 1582–1664) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician during the late Ming dynasty.Cihai: Page 1704. Qian was a famous author and poet; and along with Gong Dingzi and Wu Weiye was known as one of the Three ...

(1582–1664), a Chinese official, scholar and social historian of the late Ming dynasty. *

Shao Mi Shao Mi (Shao Mi, traditional: 邵彌, simplified: 邵弥); ca. 1592-1642 was a Chinese landscape painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Shao was born in Changzhou County (長洲縣, not Changzhou) (now part of ...

(1592-1642) a Chinese landscape painter, calligrapher, and poet during the

. * Zhang Dai (1597–1679), Ming writer, historian and biographer. *

(1609–1671) was an author and poet in Classical Chinese poetry. *

(1881–1936), a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. * Liu Bannong (1891–1934), a Chinese linguist and poet. *

Gu Jiegang Gu Jiegang (8 May 189325 December 1980) was a Chinese historian best known for his seven-volume work '' Gushi Bian'' (, or ''Debates on Ancient History''). He was a co-founder and the leading force of the Doubting Antiquity School, and was hig ...

(1893–1980), a Chinese historian best known for his seven-volume work Gushi Bian (古史辨, or Debates on Ancient History). He was a co-founder and the leading force of the

Doubting Antiquity School The Doubting Antiquity School or Yigupai ( Wilkinson, Endymion (2000). ''Chinese History: A Manual''. Harvard Univ Asia Center. . Page 345, see/ref>Loewe, Michael and Edward L. Shaughnessy (1999). ''The Cambridge History of Ancient China'' Cambridg ...

, and was highly influential in the 20th century development of Chinese history. *

(1910–1996), regarded as one of the finest modern Chinese poets. *

Fei Xiaotong Fei Xiaotong or Fei Hsiao-tung (November 2, 1910 – April 24, 2005) was a Chinese anthropologist and sociologist. He was a pioneering researcher and professor of sociology and anthropology; he was also noted for his studies in the study o ...

(1910–2005), a pioneering Chinese researcher and professor of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

. *

Qian Zhongshu Qian Zhongshu (November 21, 1910 – December 19, 1998), also transliterated as Ch'ien Chung-shu or Dzien Tsoong-su, was a renowned 20th century Chinese literary scholar and writer, known for his wit and erudition. He is best known for his sati ...

(1910–1998), a Chinese literary scholar and writer, known for his wit and erudition. *

(1920–1995), one of the most influential modern Chinese writers, it was stated by poet and

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

professor Dominic Cheung that "had it not been for the political division between the Nationalist and Communist Chinese, she (Eileen Chang) would have almost certainly won a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

(1940–), novelist, playwright, critic and the Nobel prize laureate for Literature of 2000. * Ye Wenling (1942–), Chinese novelist and politician. *

Xiaolu Guo Xiaolu Guo FRSL () born 20 November 1973) is a Chinese-born British novelist, memoirist and film-maker, who explores migration, alienation, memory, personal journeys, feminism, translation and transnational identities. Guo has directed a do ...

(1973–), novelist and filmmaker, her novels have been translated into 27 languages. In 2013 she was named as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists, a list drawn up once a decade.

Kings and politicians

File:QIAN_Liu_(aka_TSIEN_Liu)%2C_King_of_Wuyue.jpg,

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

, the first ruler of Wuyue kingdom. File:Sun_Baoqi4.jpg, Sun Baoqi, a government official, foreign minister and the premier of the Republic of China. *

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

(852–932), founder and first king of Wuyue. *

Qian Yuanguan Qian Yuanguan (錢元瓘) (November 30, 887 – September 17, 941''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 282.), born Qian Chuanguan (錢傳瓘), formally King Wenmu of Wuyue (吳越文穆王), courtesy name Mingbao (明寶), was the second king of the state of ...

(887–941), second king of Wuyue. * Sun Baoqi (1867–1931), the Qing governor of Shandong Province and the premier of the Republic of China. * Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975), President of the Republic of China in China and Taiwan. *

Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...

(1910–1988), President of Republic of China (

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

). * Sang Guowei (1941–), former chairman of the Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party.

References

External links

wenlian.xiaoshan.gov.cn
{{Han subgroups Subgroups of the Han Chinese Wu (region)

History

Origins

Subgroups

Culture

Education

Languages

Music

Opera

Literature

Philosophy and Religion

Architecture Heritage Sites

Cultural Items

DNA Analysis

Notable Wu Chinese speakers

Scientists and inventors

Mathematicians

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Writers

Kings and politicians

See also

References

External links