The Chinese Historical Geography No.1, 2020ABSTRACTS

StudiesandWritingsontheHistoryandGeographyofNorthwestChinabyQingScholars

ShiNianhai1(posthumouslyeditedbyWangShuanghuai2) (1)

(1.Northwest Institute of Historical Environment and Socio-Economic Development, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China; 2.School of History and Civilization, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China)

Abstract: After the outbreak of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1937, borderland issues became increasingly serious.Shi Nianhai and his tutor Gu Jiegang were concerned with the historical material of China’s borderland issues, especially those of northwest China.They examined voluminous historical materials to write this article, so as to reveal the process of formation and historical variations of China’s frontier, and to bolster the national spirit against Japanese aggression.Shi thought that as early as the period of Qianlong and Jiaqing of the Qing dynasty, scholars had studied the history and geography of northwest China.After that period, instability of the northeast borderland attracted the attention of even more scholars.They collected documents, wrote monographs, and recorded the imperial court’s military attainments in the northwest as well as its conducts in frontier affairs with Russia.Their works are still of great value.

Keywords: Qing scholars; history and geography of northwest China; research achievements

AGeographicStudyofEpidemicDisastersintheJiangnanAreainChina(1912-1949)

GongShengsheng1,2,ShiGuoning1,2,LiZimo3(18)

(1.College of Urban and Environmental Science, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China; 2.Research Institute of Sustainable Development, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China; 3.College of Tourism and Economic Management, Nanchang Normal University, Nanchang 330032, China)

Abstract: Epidemics have always been a great threat to people’s health and life security throughout history.To analyze the temporal and spatial variation of epidemic disasters that occurred in the Jiangnan area during 1912-1949, we compiled a list of the epidemic data, and made use of different methods such as historical document review, mathematical statistics and GIS spatial analysis.The results show that： (1)The incidence rate of epidemics was 100% annually and 94.70% quarterly in the time interval.Autumn, summer and spring were usually epidemic seasons, especially in the autumn and summer time.The affected area enlarged year by year, but the fluctuation curve reflected that there were 6 peaks in 38 years.Considering a longer period, i.e.from the Ming Dynasty to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (582 years in total), the return period of epidemic disasters gradually shortened and the number of affected counties increased.It indicates that the epidemic severity in the study period was the highest in the Jiangnan’s history.(2)The affected area of epidemics basically spreaded along the Grand Canal and the Nanjing-Shanghai-Hangzhou railway, and the area to their east.Suzhou-Wuxi area and a section of Shanghai adjacent to Suzhou were the hot spots of epidemic disasters, while the mountainous area of Western Zhejiang Province was rarely affected.(3)The general characteristics of epidemic disaster’s distributions during 1912-1949 in the Jiangnan area indicate that the hot spots were usually the regions along transportation lines, with a higher population density, or lately suffered severe floods or droughts.Moreover, epidemics spread in plain areas more often and severe than in mountainous areas.

Keywords: epidemic disaster; temporal and spatial distribution; Jiangnan Area; 1912-1949; historical medical geography

DialecticalFeedbacksofDisaster,Environment,andCharity：CaseStudyofRuralSocialSecuritySystemEstablishmentinZhiliProvinceDuringtheReignofEmperorQianlong

WangDaxue(31)

(Center for Historical Geographical Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China)

Abstract: The reason caused Emperor Qianlong to establish a system of local public welfare granary was the failure of his grain policy.Unsatisfied with the Ever-Normal Granary System or the Community Granary System, he wanted to set up a Public Granary System to attract local storage of grain.The transition from dependence upon official granaries to civil granaries reflected Emperor Qianlong’s policy being tightened.His method was to educate people rather than nourish people.Stability of the Zhili (the area surrounding the capital) Province was the priority to Emperor Qianlong and the Public Granary System brought out a good match between relief and regulation for him.Under the broader background of abolishing the Liuyang Zisong policy, the Public Granary System could bring a stable environment because it would reduce the number of refugees staying in the capital city.The setup of Liuyang Ju System meant a compromise and concession to reality for Emperor Qianlong.The distribution of Liuyang Ju was determined by accessibility and physical environment conditions.Overall, the scenario of policy shifts in the 13th year of Qianlong’s reign and the establishment of the Public Granary System and the Liuyang Ju System in Zhili Province were the dialectical effects of disaster, environment, and charity taken together.

Keywords: disaster; environment; charity; Zhili Province; Emperor Qianlong’s reign

AResearchontheMountainsandRiversofHe-LuoRegionintheChapterZhongshanJingofShanHaiJing

YangXiaoyang(44)

(Centre for Historical Geography Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China)

Abstract: The chapterZhongshanJing(ClassicoftheMountains：Central) ofShanHaiJing(ClassicofMountainsandSeas) presented the mountains and rivers ofHe-LuoRegion in detail, basically from the middle reaches of the Yellow River to the Luo River and the Yi River.The earliest pieces ofShanHaiJingwere thought to have appeared since as early as the pre-Qin period, and many placenames had been lost in Han and Wei dynasties.Generations of scholars consecutively studied the geography and toponomy of these areas, but the results were barely precise or satisfying.Usually, an incorrect location assigned to a mountain or a river would mislead the naming of its surrounding areas.On the basis of previous work and documents, this article presents seven explanations of mountain and river positions in theHe-Luoarea and discusses the environmental consciousness of people in the time ofShanHaiJing.

Keywords:ShanHaiJing; middle reaches of Yellow River; Luo River; mountain range; river system

OnHuairuiandYuzhang:ReconstructingtheGeographyoftheBattleofWuConquestofYing

LeiChinhau(63)

(Department of Literature and Cultural Studies, Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

Abstract: Three contradictory theories have been proposed so far about the geography of the Battle of Wu Conquest of Ying in 506 BC.Combining paleographical sources, transmitted classics, and data collected from field trips, this article argues for a reinvestigation of this issue.Firstly, it probes into Huairei and Yuzhang, two controversial place names recorded in classical texts crucial for locating the war.Based on a precise understanding of place names, it reconstructs the geography of the battle by contextualizing it into the land and water transportation network in Central China.The result is explicit.The Wu State maneuvered its troops through the waterway of the Huai River during advancement and retreat, while land combats took place back and forth in the Suizao Corridor.As opposed to previous theories, this reconstruction of the war is not only textually solid but also topographically interconnected.

Keywords: The Wu Conquest of Ying; Rui; Yuzhang; water transport; military geography

ResearchonWhethertheFeishuiWatershedandtheChaohuWatershedwereConnectedtoEachOtherfromtheWeitotheSouthernandNorthernDynasties

RenChaoyi(83)

(Department of history, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

Abstract: Whether there was a water that connects the Feishui watershed with the Chaohu watershed during the period from the Wei to the Southern and Northern dynasties is a contentious question.ShuiJingZhurecorded that more than one channel existed between the two watersheds, which seemed highly convincing.For centuries people believed in that description without carefully inspecting the source material.After literature reviews and analyses on official histories, geographical classics, ancient maps, and local chronicles, as well as field studies, I refute the idea fromShuiJingZhuand argue that the Feishui watershed and the Chaohu watershed were totally separated from each other in this period.

Keywords: Feishui; Chaohu; Shishui; Jiangjunling

MultiplePerspectivesonDocumentandFieldwork：StudiesontheInvestigationoftheLocationofCountiesintheMiddleAgesUsingChangzhouandJingnanasExamples

LanYong(96)

(Southwest Center for Historical Geography Studies, Southwest University, Chongqing 400100, China)

Abstract: Taking the change of location of the capital of Changzhou prefecture and administrative area of the Jingnan county in Tang dynasty as examples, this study points out that researchers should make use of historical documents from multiple perspectives in locating counties in the Middle Ages.We find that the position of Jingnan county in Tang dynasty is at the Taihe dam of Zhangjia dam, in Gaosheng town of Dazu county, which was called Jingnan dam and 50 miles west of Dazu county, other than Longshui town or Sanxi town in Dazu counry.The capital of Changzhou prefecture was firstly set in Changyuan county in 758, and then to Rongchang county in 769, and eventually in Jingnan county in 892.We also find that in order to ensure the reliability of research, one must make use of local historical memory, actual geographical situation and cultural relics to correct historical documents, because historical researches are prone to four types of inaccuracies, namely the sensibility of mileage calculation, the rigidity of azimuth coordinates, the fuzziness of azimuth direction and the obvious simplification and derivation in geographical cognition of historical documents.

Keywords: resident station of Changzhou state; Jingnan county; historical documents; Multiple perspectives

AStudyontheWaterManagementOfficialsintheTangandFiveDynastiesasSeenintheDunhuangManuscripts

LiBingcheng(109)

(Institute of Dunhuang-ology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

Abstract: Many records are preserved in the Dunhuang Manuscripts concerning the hierarchy of officials in local water resources departments and their duties in the Tang and Five Dynasties.The Highest-ranking official wasDushuilingin Early Tang dynasty, whose job was to manage all the irrigation canals in Dunhuang.Shuiguanand Irrigation Supervisory Institutions were set up during the period of Tubo domination.By the time of Guiyi Troop in Late Tang and Five Dynasties, the irrigation organization was established.The senior official was calledDuquboshi, who has several subordinates namedShuiguan.On the edges of Dunhuang Oasis and in the irrigation area of Shouchang, many positions were set forPingshui, and their job was to fairly allocate water resource for the people.There were alsoQutou(Ditch officers)appointed for each irrigation canal andDoumenzhangfor each sluice gate.Different ranks of officials in this water resources system coordinated and collaborated with each other to guarantee smooth operation of the farmland irrigating work.At the same time, civil organizations such as the Quren Community were formed, which served as a useful supplement to the irrigation management system in Dunhuang.Study on this water management system in the history is enlightening for governing and managing the rivers and lakes today as it provides a reference for today’s River Chief System.

Keywords: Dunhuang Manuscripts; Tang and Five Dynasties; river officials system; cooperatives of irrigation canal

AStudyonCuttingandMergingofadministrativeUnitsinLateQingandEarlyRepublicofChina

GaoMaobing(120)

(School of Marxism, Yulin Normal University, Yulin 537000, China)

Abstract: In late Qing Dynasty, different levels of judicial bureaus were founded throughout China.To avoid duty conflict and to raise required funds, Jiangsu Province took the lead in cutting and merging administrative units at the level of Zhou (prefecture) and Xian (county).The saved funds and redundant government officers were utilized to set up judicial bureaus elsewhere.There was another administrative level called Fu, which was comparable to Zhou and one level higher than Xian.In most cases, the Xian administration was cancelled and merged with that of the Fu, or merged into another same-level Xian.After the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, the measure continued in the southern provinces, but the methods changed.AfterHuaYiLingwas promulgated, the Fu was either downgraded to Xian or cancelled while its subsidiary Xian remained.Measures were also taken to set both Zhou/Fu and Xian governments in a same city.From late Qing Dynasty to early Republic of China, the scale and range of such adjustments for local governments kept expanding and were extended beyond Jiangsu Province to the whole country.

Keywords: late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China; different-level administrative units in a same city; Fuguoxian; local autonomy

AStudyontheTraditionalChineseMedicineTradingNetwork(1884-1939)

MaHuan(137)

(Centre for Historical Geography Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China)

Abstract: During modern period, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a remarkable commodity in the trading pattern of modern Chinese history, played a critical role in the economic interaction between the port foreland and hinterland.The TCM trading network is important for understanding the circulation history, but all-around knowledge of the flow of TCM in the treaty ports has been hindered due to the lack of data for a long period.This paper sees TCM as a unique case to illustrate how the TCM trading network were constructed during the modern China period to meet the mandate of economic systems by looking at various imports and exports data in the List of Chinese Medicines and others’.It shows that the evolution of the inter-port trade pattern of TCM is closely related to the change in the spatial process of opening ports in commercial ports.From the end of the 19th century to the 1920s, the inter-port trade network of the TCM showed a gradually intensifying situation.The TCM trading network was severely destroyed after 1927 due to the civil war.On the other hand, in the international trade of TCM, trading networks extended to Europe and the U.S.A.

Keywords: modern China; traditional Chinese medicine (TCM); treaty ports trade; international ports trade

CorrespondingCitiesandPlaceNameswithSaltResourcesinTangDynastyWhichRecordedinTheResourcesoftheWorld(HududAl-Alam)asBughshur

WangChangming(145)

(Center for Research on Ancient Chinese History, History Department, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

Keywords: Bughshur;TheRegionsoftheWorld; Hezhong prefecture; rusa; Li Jingshen