Rivers and Mountains of China (A, B)

Shi Nianhai

Shi Nianhai， a native of Pinglu， Shanxi， is the main founder and pioneer of modern Chinese historical geography. In 1937， he co-authored The History of China’s Territory jointly with Gu Jiegang. In the 1950s， The Outline of Chinese Historical Geography was finished， which marked the basic establishment of the discipline system of modern Chinese historical geography. His masterpieces also include A Collection of Rivers and Mountains （1–9） and Canals in China. He also published Collected Works of Shi Nianhai.

This book includes more than 20 masterpieces of Mr. Shi Nianhai， which have been published in A Collection of Rivers and Mountains （1–9）， Collections of Essays on Chinese Historical Geography and other important academic monographs and journals. Volume A mainly introduces the mountains， rivers， landscapes， passes， and cities in China. Volume B mainly describes the roads， traffic， and military geography in China. This book contains more than 2，600 annotations， which are detailed and comprehensive. It retains and refines more than 60 illustrations in their original work.

Rivers and Mountains

of China （A， B）

Shi Nianhai

Shaanxi Normal University General Publishing House

February 2022

128.00 （CNY）

Hanzhong Prefecture， established by the Qin State， had its capital in Nanzheng County， which lay in the upper reaches of the Hanshui River. It seems that the name “Hanzhong” doesn’t match its location in the upper reaches of the Hanshui River.

In general， there are rules for naming cities or places. A place at the foot of a mountain or at the riverside is always named after the mountain or the river. For example， Jingyang County， Shaanxi Province， is on the north bank of the Jingshui River; Huayin County is on the north foot of the Huashan Mountain; Jiyuan County， Henan Province， was named for the origin of the Jishui River; Weiyuan County， Gansu Province， was also named after Weishui River. The name Hanzhong is naturally related to the Hanshui River. Hanzhong is not far from the origin of the Hanshui River. It doesn’t matter that it’s not called Hanyuan. But why is it called Hanzhong？ In the Chinese language， Hanzhong means the middle reaches of the Hanshui River. However， Hanzhong is too far away from the middle reaches of the Hanshui River. It seems that the Qin State didn’t take this into account when it named the prefecture.

In fact， the name “Hanzhong” came from its location in the middle reaches of the Hanshui River. However， the original Hanzhong Prefecture was neither the present Hanzheng County nor the territory of the Qin State. Records of the Historian： Biographies of Qin says that in the thirteenth year of King Huiwen’s reign， Qin attacked Hanzhong， Chu State. It occupied 600 li of land and built Hanzhong Prefecture. This incident is also recorded in Records of the Historian： Records of Chu.

Additionally， Records of Chu highlights that the place was originally Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State. This makes it clear that Hanzhong Prefecture originally belonged to the Chu State. After the Qin State occupied it， the original name was not changed.

Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State matches its name. During the period of King Huiwen’s reign， Qin and Chu fought “on the north bank of Danshui River”. After that war， the Qin State occupied Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State. This indicates that Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State included the north bank of the Danshui River. The north bank of the Danshui River is located roughly to the west of Danjiangkou Reservoir in Hubei Province and is located just to the north of the middle reaches of Hanshui River. Before that war， Su Qin， a famous political strategist， used to say to the King of Chu that the Chu State reached as far as Xunyang. Xunyang is today’s Xunyang County to the east of Ankang County. It lies on the north bank of the Hanshui River and is a long way from today’s Nanzheng County. After that war， the Qin State planned to give half of the original Hanzhong Prefecture to the Chu State， in order to lure the Chu State to reconcile with it. Specifically， this part of land covered six counties including Shangyong. Shangyong is located to the southwest of today’s Danjiangkou， or in the northwest of Hubei Province. Accordingly， Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State ranged from today’s Xunyang County in the west to the vicinity of Danjiangkou in the east. That was just the middle reaches of the Hanshui River. The name Hanzhong given by the Chu State was most appropriate. Other records say that the territory of the Chu State once reached the vicinity of Nanzheng County and Baocheng County. Therefore， the 600 li land of Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State occupied by Qin should also include the vicinity of Nanzheng. It means that Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State reached the upper reaches of the Hanshui River， and the name Hanzhong was not appropriate for the Chu State.

After verification， the name Hanzhong should not be regarded as wrong， but the records are not reliable. Four years before the War of Danyang between Qin and Chu， Qin eliminated the Shu State and reoccupied Nanzheng and its vicinity. If the Chu State had reached the upper reaches of the Hanshui River， how could the Qin State have crossed the Chu State and attacked the further off Shu State？ Moreover， the relations between Qin and Chu were not harmonious in those years. To unite with the Chu State， Qin had planned to give 600 li land of Shangyu Prefecture to the Chu State. Shangyu Prefecture was in the middle reaches of the Hanshui River， just near Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State. Under such circumstances， how could the Qin State cast its eyes on the Chu State？ Obviously， this was recorded before figuring out the situation at that time. It gives strained interpretations and draws farfetched analogies because Qin and Chu used the name Hanzhong Prefecture in succession. Afterward， Hanzhong Prefecture of the Qin State was located in Nanzheng County.

Since the Qin State followed the old rules of the Chu State， why did it set Hanzhong Prefecture in Nanzheng County？ The reason was that the land of the Qin State to the south of Qinling Mountains only covered the west of Xunyang， including Nanzheng， in the upper reaches of the Hanshui River. Since the land of the Chu State was occupied， it was necessary to combine the upper and middle reaches. We are not clear how big Hanzhong Prefecture of the Qin State was， but the Han Dynasty followed some old institutions and dimensions of the Qin State. In the Han Dynasty， the jurisdiction of Hanzhong Prefecture ranged from the upper reaches of the Hanshui River to Shangyong， Fangling， and other counties. Fangling， adjacent to Shangyong， is located in the northwestern part of today’s Hubei Province. It retained the size of Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State. This means that the original division of the Qin State was not changed. In other words， Hanzhong Prefecture of the Qin State was established by merging the original land in the upper reaches of the Hanshui River of the Qin State and Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State. In fact， the Qin State built its own Hanzhong Prefecture after occupying Hanzhong Prefecture of the Chu State. After the two places were merged， it was suitable for Qin’s situation that the capital of the new Hanzhong Prefecture be located in Nanzheng County. Because the Qin State should not only deal with the Chu State， but also rule Bashu， which is today’s Sichuan Province. Nanzheng County could take account of the two aspects.

After Nanzheng County became the capital of Hanzhong Prefecture， people often used the name Hanzhong instead of Nanzheng. Hanzhong Prefecture was large. Afterward， its scope was gradually reduced， but its name was still kept by many dynasties. In these eras， Nanzheng County remained the capital. After the establishment of Hanzhong Prefecture was canceled， Nanzheng， the capital of Hanzhong Prefecture， was still called Hanzhong by ordinary people. Was that because they had used the name Hanzhong for a long time or got used to it？ Until the Ming and Qing dynasties， this place was established as Hanzhong Fu. Even nowadays， Hanzhong City was established on the basis of the old Nanzheng County. Nanzheng County and its neighboring counties were included into Hanzhong Area. At first glance， the name doesn’t agree with the facts. However， the name has its origin.