History of Fuzhou

As the capital city of Fujian province in southeast China, Fuzhou boasts a history of around 2,000 years.

Fuzhou was founded as the name of Yecheng, meaning “the beautiful” 202BC. And got the name Fuzhou which means the land of happiness. In 908, Fuzhou was expanded. This expansion included Mt. Yu, Mt. Wu and Mt. Ping within its jurisdiction, and that is why it got another name Sanshan (Three Mounts) . 

In its long history, Fuzhou has been called many other different names along the way. Such as Minzhong County in Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC) , Jian’an County, Jin’an County Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD) , Jinping County, Minzhou State, Fengzhou State Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589) , Quanzhou State Sui Dynasty, Changle County Tang Dynasty(618-907) , Fu’an State Song Dynasty (960-1279), etc.

Fuzhou became temporary capital for two times. In 1276, the end of Song Dynasty, Lin’an (Hangzhou) was invaded by the army of Yen, after former emperor Gongdi was prisoned, Emperor Duanzong took the throne in Fuzhou. And in 1645, Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yujian became Emperor Longwu of South Ming Dynasty and set up his capital in Fuzhou.

Between 1405 and 1433 AD, a fleet of the Ming Imperial navy under Admiral Zheng He sailed from Fuzhou to the Indian Ocean seven times; on three occasions the fleet landed on the east coast of Africa. Before the last sailing, Zheng erected a stele dedicated to the goddess Tian-Fei (Matsu) near the seaport. Galeote Pereira, a Portuguese soldier and trader, was taken prisoner during the pirate extermination campaign of 1549 and imprisoned in Fuzhou. Later transferred to a form of internal exile elsewhere in the province, Pereira escaped to Macau in 1553. The record of his experiences in the Ming Empire, logged by the Jesuits at Goa in 1561, was the first non-clerical account of China to reach the West since Polo’s. 

The city is also prosperous in culture, from the Tang through to the Qing Dynasty (1636-1911) , there were thousands of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) from Fuzhou which has been enjoying the honor of “Home to Talents” . Many celebrated figures from Chinese history also hailed from this land, and thus, the birth of heroes also brings glory to such a place.