The Concept of "Southwest China" and Its Changes in History

Southwest as a spatial concept is a dynamic and complicated concept in history.The West Han Dynasty saw the territorial scope of Southwest where the ethnic groups of Southwest lived with Sichuan,Yunnan and Guizhou as the core region.In the Ming dynasty,Guangxi emerged to be part of Southwest China.In the early modern times,some people included Hunan,Guangdong and even Hubei in Southwest China.In the early period of the Republic of China and due to the regional and political influence,the dominant idea was that Southwest included Sichuan,Yunnan,Guizhou,Guangxi,Guangdong and Hunan provinces.