Jiexiu is a county-level city in the central part of Shanxi Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jinzhong and is located in the latter's western confines. Notable sites in and around Jiexiu include Mount Mian, Zhangbi Fortress, Houtu Temple and Xianshenlou.

Jiexiu
介休市
Kiehsiu
Xianshenlou
Jiexiu in Jinzhong
Jiexiu in Jinzhong
Jiexiu is located in Shanxi
Jiexiu
Jiexiu
Location in Shanxi
Coordinates: 37°01′37″N 111°55′01″E / 37.027°N 111.917°E / 37.027; 111.917
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceShanxi
Prefecture-level cityJinzhong
Area
 • County-level city743.7 km2 (287.1 sq mi)
 • Urban
42.00 km2 (16.22 sq mi)
Elevation
756 m (2,480 ft)
Population
 (2017)
 • County-level city437,000
 • Urban222,100
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
032000
Area code0354
Websitehttp://en.cnsanjia.com/
Jiexiu
Chinese介休
Literal meaningCity of Jie Zitui's Eternal Rest
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJièxiūshi
Wade–GilesChieh-hsiu Shih
Former names
Mianshang
Traditional Chinese綿
Simplified Chinese
Literal meaningDowny[a] Heights
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinMiánshǎng
Wade–GilesMien-shang
Pingchang
Chinese
Literal meaningPeaceful-&-Prosperous
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinPíngchāng
Wade–GilesP‘ing-ch‘ang
Jiezhou
Chinese
Literal meaningJie Prefecture
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJièzhōu
Wade–GilesChieh-chou

Names

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The territory around Mt Mian was known as Mianshang under the Zhou.[2] By the Jin, the territory was known as Dingyang and the settlement at Jiexiu proper as Pingchang.[3] Under the Northern Wei (4th–5th century), both became known as Jiexiu Commandery.[3] Under the Tang, this was renamed Jiezhou AD 618–627.[3]

History

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Mianshang was supposedly set apart by Duke Chong'er to endow sacrifices for his retainer Jie Zhitui c. 636 BC. The early histories state that Jie had loyally followed Chong'er in exile around China for 19 years but, when Chong'er was installed as duke of Jin by a Qin army, Jie had chosen to retire as a hermit rather than debase himself by asking for favors.[4][5][6][7][8] In time, this caused him to be seen as a Taoist immortal.[9] Later legend embellished the tale, having Jie save Chong'er from starvation[citation needed] by cooking a soup made from meat from his own thigh[10][11] only to be killed when Chong'er listened to advice from Jin courtiers that the way to drive him out of the mountains was to light a forest fire.[12] The idea was that Jie's duty to his mother would overcome his pride and they would flee together;[13] instead, their corpses were found days later beneath a willow.[13][12] Temples were erected in Jie's honor[citation needed] and, by the Han, the people of Shanxi tried to curry favor with his spirit by observing a Cold Food Festival in the dead of winter.[14][15][16] They ignored repeated attempts to ban it[15][17][18][19][20] although, as it moved to spring[21] and spread throughout China,[22][23] it eventually developed into the present-day Tomb-Sweeping Festival.[24][25]

During the Warring States Period, the area of Jiexiu was held by Zhao before its conquest by Qin.[26] Under the Han, it was part of Dingyang County (t , s , Dìngyáng Xiàn) in Shang Commandery.[27] Jiexiu County was created under the Jin, but with its seat southeast of the current town.[3] The Northern Wei moved to the present location—then known as Pingchang—around AD 484 and made it the seat of a commandery.[3] This was made a county again by the Sui in 598, restored by the Tang in 617, and changed to a prefecture the next year.[3]

Climate

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Jiexiu experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk). Spring is dry, with frequent dust storms, followed by early summer heat waves. Summer tends to be warm to hot with most of the year's rainfall concentrated in July and August. Winter is long and cold, but dry and sunny. Because of the aridity, there tends to be considerable diurnal variation in temperature, except during the summer. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −4.0 °C (24.8 °F) in January to 24.6 °C (76.3 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 11.18 °C (52.1 °F). With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 49% in July to 60% in May, the city receives 2,425 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Climate data for Jiexiu, elevation 746 m (2,448 ft), (1991–2020 normals)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.0
(57.2)
22.9
(73.2)
30.2
(86.4)
36.3
(97.3)
35.1
(95.2)
40.6
(105.1)
38.7
(101.7)
38.4
(101.1)
36.8
(98.2)
29.2
(84.6)
25.4
(77.7)
17.7
(63.9)
40.6
(105.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 3.0
(37.4)
7.5
(45.5)
14.1
(57.4)
21.1
(70.0)
26.3
(79.3)
30.3
(86.5)
30.9
(87.6)
28.8
(83.8)
24.4
(75.9)
18.6
(65.5)
10.9
(51.6)
4.3
(39.7)
18.4
(65.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3.6
(25.5)
0.3
(32.5)
6.8
(44.2)
13.7
(56.7)
19.2
(66.6)
23.1
(73.6)
24.7
(76.5)
22.6
(72.7)
17.6
(63.7)
11.5
(52.7)
4.2
(39.6)
−1.8
(28.8)
11.5
(52.8)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −9.1
(15.6)
−5.5
(22.1)
0.3
(32.5)
6.3
(43.3)
11.5
(52.7)
15.8
(60.4)
19.1
(66.4)
17.5
(63.5)
12.0
(53.6)
5.5
(41.9)
−1.1
(30.0)
−6.7
(19.9)
5.5
(41.8)
Record low °C (°F) −21.0
(−5.8)
−22.6
(−8.7)
−10.0
(14.0)
−5.7
(21.7)
−1.3
(29.7)
4.7
(40.5)
10.4
(50.7)
9.1
(48.4)
−0.5
(31.1)
−6.5
(20.3)
−17.0
(1.4)
−21.9
(−7.4)
−22.6
(−8.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 3.4
(0.13)
6.2
(0.24)
10.4
(0.41)
29.2
(1.15)
31.0
(1.22)
43.0
(1.69)
102.7
(4.04)
102.1
(4.02)
61.8
(2.43)
35.4
(1.39)
12.7
(0.50)
3.3
(0.13)
441.2
(17.35)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 2.4 3.0 3.8 5.9 6.6 8.5 11.4 10.4 8.5 6.5 3.7 1.9 72.6
Average snowy days 3.1 3.7 2.1 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 2.0 2.4 13.9
Average relative humidity (%) 52 50 46 47 49 57 70 75 73 66 60 53 58
Mean monthly sunshine hours 144.4 158.5 195.6 220.2 238.7 198.9 172.0 168.3 150.5 159.1 148.0 143.1 2,097.3
Percent possible sunshine 47 51 52 55 54 45 39 41 41 46 49 48 47
Source: China Meteorological Administration[28][29][30]

Government

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Jiexiu administers an area divided into five subdistricts, seven towns, and three townships:

Subdistricts
Name Simp. Trad. Pinyin
Beiguan 北关街道 北關街道 Běiguān Jiēdào
Xiguan 西关街道 西關街道 Xīguān Jiēdào
Dongnan 东南街道 東南街道 Dōngnán Jiēdào
Xinan 西南街道 Xīnán Jiēdào
Beitan 北坛街道 北關街道 Běitán Jiēdào
Towns
Yi'an 义安镇 義安鎮 Yì'ān Zhèn
Zhanglan 张兰镇 張蘭鎮 Zhānglán Zhèn
Lianfu 连福镇 連福鎮 Liánfú Zhèn
Hongshan 洪山镇 洪山鎮 Hóngshān Zhèn
Longfeng 龙凤镇 龍鳳鎮 Lóngfèng Zhèn
Mianshan 绵山镇 綿山鎮 Miánshān Zhèn
Yitang 义棠镇 義棠鎮 Yìtáng Zhèn
Townships
Chengguan 城关乡 城關鄉 Chéngguān Xiāng
Songgu 宋古乡 宋古鄉 Sònggǔ Xiāng
Sanjia 三佳乡 三佳鄉 Sānjiā Xiāng

Transport

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Notes

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  1. ^ 綿 anciently referred to silk floss and by extension "weak", "soft", "downy", although in modern Chinese it more often refers to cotton.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, ed. (2019). China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2017. Beijing: China Statistics Press. p. 46. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  2. ^ Xiao & al. (1996), p. 274.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Xiong (2016).
  4. ^ Legge (1872), p. 191–2.
  5. ^ Lü Buwei & al., "An Account of Jie", 《呂氏春秋》 [Master Lü's Spring & Autumn Annals]. (in Chinese)
  6. ^ Knoblock & al. (2000), p. 263–4.
  7. ^ Nienhauser & al. (2006), pp. 331–5.
  8. ^ Sima Qian & al., "The Dynasty of Jin", 《史記》 [Records of the Grand Historian], vol. 39. (in Chinese).
  9. ^ Pseudo-Liu Xiang (ed.), "Jiezi Tui", 《列仙傳》 [Collected Biographies of the Immortals]. (in Chinese)
  10. ^ Liao (1959), Bk. VIII, Ch. xxvii.
  11. ^ Legge & al. (1891), Bk. XXIX, §10.
  12. ^ a b Huang & al. (2016), p. 82–3.
  13. ^ a b Lan & al. (1996).
  14. ^ Pokora (1975), pp. 122 & 136–7.
  15. ^ a b Fan Ye, 《後漢書》 [Book of the Later Han], vol. Vol. 61, §2024. (in Chinese)
  16. ^ Holzman (1986), p. 52–4.
  17. ^ Li Fang, 《太平御覽》 [Imperial Reader of the Taiping Era], Vol. 28, §8a; Vol. 30, §6a–b; Vol. 869, §7b. (in Chinese)
  18. ^ Fang Xuanling, 《晉書》 [Book of Jin], vol. Vol. 105, §2749–50. (in Chinese)
  19. ^ Wei Shou, 《魏書》 [Book of Wei], Vol. 7A, §140, & Vol. 7B, §179. (in Chinese)
  20. ^ Holzman (1986), pp. 54–9.
  21. ^ Holzman (1986), p. 69.
  22. ^ 《齊民要術》 [Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People] (in Chinese), vol. Vol. 9, §521
  23. ^ Holzman (1986), pp. 60–1.
  24. ^ Zhang (2017).
  25. ^ Wu (2014), p. 126
  26. ^ Barbieri-Low & al. (2015), p. 1021.
  27. ^ Barbieri-Low & al. (2015), pp. lvi, lxvi, & 1021.
  28. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  29. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  30. ^ 中国地面国际交换站气候标准值月值数据集(1971-2000年). China Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2010-05-25.

Bibliography

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