1918 East China - SHENSI PROVINCE EXPLORED - Color Map

Excerpt from the text: "The Ch'inling Shan, or Nan Shan, which consist of a series of precipitous parallel ranges trending across the path of any one travelling between south and north, have always proved an extraordinarily effective barrier to communication between the han and Wei valleys, especially south of Hsian Fu. It was this barrier which prevented the T'aip'ing rebellion from spreading north of the han basin, and the Mohammedan rebellion from spreading south of the Wei valley; and in modern times it has kept the upper Han valley comparatively peaceful while revolution, rebellion, and brigandage succeed one another in the Wei valley and northern Shensi..." End Excerpt.

Shaanxi or Shensi province is situated in Northern central China. Xi'an is the capital. From north to south Shaanxi has four main regions: the loess plateau; the Wei River valley; the Qinling divide; and the upper Han River valley. Shaanxi, especially the Wei River valley, was one of the early major political and cultural centers of Northern China. The founders of the Chou, Ch'in, and T'ang dynasties built their power there, and the Manchus gave the province its present boundaries. There was a widespread Muslim rebellion in Shaanxi in the 1860s. In 1935 the Communist army came to Yan'an in Shaanxi on its 'long march,' and from 1935 until the assumption of power in 1949, Shaanxi was the seat of the Chinese Communists.

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