Wuchang (Chinese: 武昌; pinyin: Wǔchāng) is one of the three towns, together with Hankou and Hanyang, which are included in modern day Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, in China. Along with the other two sister towns, it stands at the mouth of the Han River, and is situated on the right bank of the Yangtze River. The Wuchang fish (Megalobrama amblycephala; Chinese: 武昌鱼; pinyin: Wǔchāng yú) is named for the town.

History

The old Wuchang county

See also: Ezhou

In 221, warlord Sun Quan moved the capital of Eastern Wu from Gong'an county, Jingzhou (northwest of present day Gong'an county, Hubei) to È county (in present day Ezhou City), and renamed È to Wuchang (literally prospering from military, regarding its logistics role of the military bases established before the Battle of Red Cliffs). Later in the year Cao Pi proclaimed himself the emperor of Cao Wei. Sun Quan declared independence in the following year, and started to build forts and palaces in Wuchang. Sun Quan proclaimed himself the emperor of Eastern Wu in 229, and moved the capital to Jianye. Sun Hao, the emperor of Eastern Wu between 264 and 280, moved the capital back to Wuchang in 265. In 589, the Wuchang commandery was abolished and the Wuchang county was transferred to a new commandery named Ezhou (headquartered in present day Wuchang District), and remained in the administration since then.

The present day Wuchang town

The Wuchang commandery was setup when È was renamed to Wuchang, and included six counties. In 223 the commandery was renamed to Jiangxia, and the capital of the commandery moved to Xiakou (in present day Wuchang town). The name of the town was switched back and forth between Wuchang and Jiangxia several times in the following centuries. After 1301, the Wuchang prefecture, headquartered in the town, became the capital of the Hubei province.

At the end of the Qing Empire, the Wuchang prefecture was the capital of the combined provinces of Hubei and Hunan, called the 'two Hu' or Huguang. It was the seat of the provincial government of Huguang, at the head of which was a viceroy. Next to Nanjing and Guangzhou, it was one of the most important vice-royalties in the empire.

It possessed an arsenal and a mint. The provincial government established ironworks for the manufacture of rails and other railway material. As the works did not pay under official management, they were transferred to the director-general of railways. Wuchang was not open to foreign trade and residence, but a considerable number of missionaries, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, lived within the walls. The native population was estimated at 800,000 around 1911, including cities on both banks. At that time, Wuchang was an important junction on the trunk railway from Beijing to Guangzhou; and was on the route of the Sichuan railway.

In Wuchang on October 10, 1911, a revolt broke out against the Qing Dynasty. This event, now called the Wuchang Uprising, led to the development of the Republic of China.

In 1912, the Wuchang prefecture was abolished and a new Wuchang county (just next to the Wuchang county in the EZhou city) was created. In 1926 the Wuchang town was promoted to a city, and merged with Hankou to form a new city named Wuhan. After 1949, part of the Wuchang county was absorbed into the new Wuhan city and was named Wuchang, Qingshan and Hongshan districts, while the remain part still named the Wuchang county. In 1995, the Wuchang county became the Jiangxia district of Wuhan.