The Yangtze River on the Loess Plateau--The Key to the Rise of the Qin State and the Fall of Shu Han

This book takes the Three Kingdoms period from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty as its starting point， closely combines geography and history， and interprets this history from the perspective of “geography”， which explores the way people interact with the environment. The author shows the natural geographical environment and strategic significance of each administrative region of China at that time， as well as related historical figures and stories.

For any nation to succeed， the right timing， geographical advantage， and unity of people are essential， and the Qin State’s rise to power was no exception. Speaking of geographical advantages， the Qin people occupied the fertile “800-li Qin Plain” of Guanzhong， also known as the Central Shaanxi Plain. The establishment of the Zhou Dynasty and the later Han and Tang dynasties further confirmed that this land had the potential to cultivate powerful kingdoms.

Fast-forward to the era of the Three Kingdoms， and we see that after Shu Han lost Jingzhou， Zhuge Liang’s repeated northern campaigns aimed to replicate Qin’s successful model， hoping to leverage the Guanzhong region to offset Shu Han’s geographical disadvantage against Cao Wei.

In unchanging geographical environments， human choices tend to remain consistent. Qin was able to seize the realm by securing all the major geographic regions on China’s second terrain level before launching a final offensive， including the Guanzhong Plain， Longyou Plateau， Hanzhong， and Bashu. This allowed Qin to dominate the river flows of both the Yellow River in the north and the Yangtze River in the south.

During Zhuge Liang’s northern expeditions， Liu Bei left him a strong base in Bashu （the Sichuan region） and won the Battle of Hanzhong against Cao Cao， securing the Hanzhong Basin south of the Qinling Mountains. This area， positioned between the Guanzhong and Sichuan basins， fits Sun Tzu’s concept of “contested ground，” or a critical area both sides must vie for. Sun Tzu’s philosophy here is “on contested ground， avoid attack，” meaning that this critical territory must be secured before the enemy， and if already occupied by the enemy， should not be attacked recklessly.

With Hanzhong as contested ground， Zhuge Liang could choose to either cross the Qinling Mountains through the difficult， plank-road trails to directly reach Guanzhong or bypass the Qinling Mountains to secure Longyou， a territory west of Guanzhong under Liangzhou’s control， and then proceed gradually to Guanzhong. Given Ma Chao’s influence among the Di and Qiang peoples of Liangzhou and the difficulty of Qinling’s plank roads， the cautious Zhuge Liang undoubtedly favored securing Longyou first. To make Hanzhong a launching point for capturing Longyou， however， Zhuge Liang would need to take Qishan， a critical point.

Though Zhuge Liang did not always take the Qishan route in his campaigns， his meticulously planned first northern expedition was indeed structured around this strategy. If not for Ma Su’s negligence at Jieting， which allowed Zhang He’s reinforcements to break into Longyou before Shu’s army could stabilize its position， Zhuge Liang might have succeeded in his initial campaign to “first take Longyou， then target Guanzhong.”

Exploring the Qin State’s rise and Shu Han’s failure from a geographical perspective reveals how both their fates hinged on a unique landmark referred to in the article title as the “Yangtze River on the Loess Plateau.” However， while this landmark represented the ancestral territory known as “Xichui” in Qin’s history， in the history of the Three Kingdoms， this same ancestral land of the Qin people became what we now refer to as “Qishan.”

How the Early Qin People Reached “Xichui”

Since Zhuge Liang aimed to replicate the Qin people’s success， it’s worth revisiting the Qin’s rise to examine if the chancellor’s geopolitical strategy had any chance of success.

The ancestors of the Qin people originally belonged to the Dongyi tribe， part of the Eastern Yi. Ancient Chinese culture held symmetry in high regard; even in a game of mahjong， they would include “east， south， west， north， and center” as directional elements. Besides calling themselves Huaxia， the central Chinese dynasties categorized surrounding tribes with different cultures into four directions： Yi （East）， Rong （West）， Man （South）， and Di （North）， collectively known as the “Four Barbarians.” Mencius says， “Ruling the Central Plains while pacifying the Four Barbarians，” implying a governance over the central region and diplomatic relations with peripheral tribes.

During the Shang Dynasty， the concept of “Central Nation” corresponded only to the central plains， with present-day Shandong Province as the stronghold of the Eastern Yi. The ancestors of the Qin people lived in this area， but soon after the Zhou dynasty was established， they were displaced.

The story is a tale well-known in Chinese history. King Wu of Zhou led a coalition to overthrow the Shang. Even if one isn’t a history buff， the legend of the Investiture of the Gods （Fengshen Bang） might be familiar. However， Fengshen Bang ends with a successful conquest， where generals from both sides are canonized as gods. Relying solely on Fengshen Bang for historical knowledge means missing out on what came afterward. In reality， just over two years after the fall of Shang， King Wu of Zhou died from illness. At the age of thirteen， his successor， King Cheng， was too young to rule， so regency fell to his uncle， Duke Dan of Zhou （King Wu’s younger brother）.

During Duke Zhou’s regency， a significant rebellion broke out in the central plains and Eastern Yi regions， led by King Wu’s three other younger brothers and members of the former Shang royal family， a conflict later known as the Rebellion of the Three Overseers. Duke Zhou spent three years suppressing this rebellion. To prevent future uprisings， he relocated the rebellious Eastern Yi tribes， including the ancestors of the Qin.

This migration was truly epic， spanning over 3，000 li from Shandong westward through Henan and Shaanxi to eastern Gansu， known as “Xichui.” At the time， eastern Gansu was dominated by the Western Rong. Thus， the ancestors of the Qin， once part of the Eastern Yi in Shandong under the Shang， were reclassified as “Rong” in the Zhou Dynasty’s early years.

As Qin expanded its influence on the Loess Plateau， the people within its territory， including subdued Rong， became collectively known as Qin people. To distinguish， we can adopt a term from the TV drama The Qin Empire and refer to these eastward-originating ancestors as the “Old Qin People.”

The relocation of the Old Qin People served more than just as punishment for their rebellion. The term “Xichui” means “western frontier，” and the Zhou Dynasty placed the Old Qin People there to guard their western border. However， there’s a stark difference between guarding an inner region， like Guanzhong， where the most trusted Ji-surname vassals were stationed， and the outer region of Longyou. The Old Qin People had to defend their territory by the method of “restraining barbarians with barbarians.” To survive， they had to compete for land with unrelated Rong tribes. Whoever prevailed， the result would ultimately benefit the Zhou Dynasty.

Now， let’s address the Zhou Dynasty’s strategic considerations for guarding this “western gateway.” This hinges on two key geographical areas： the Guanzhong Plain and the Longxi Plateau， both part of the Loess Plateau. The Guanzhong Plain is in modern-day Shaanxi， while Longxi belongs to Gansu， separated by the Long Mountains. At that time， Guanzhong was the core area of the Zhou Dynasty， while Longxi was the territory of the Western Rong. The Long Mountains served as the western gateway to the Zhou Dynasty.

The Guanzhong Plain， lying at the base of the Guanzhong Basin， is the largest plain on the Loess Plateau. The early Zhou people lived at its western reaches， at the foot of Qishan Mountain， in a place called “Zhouyuan.” During King Wen’s reign， they conquered the entire Guanzhong Plain， establishing two cities， Feng and Hao， in its center as capitals. These cities later evolved into Chang’an （today’s Xi’an）. The rise to supremacy was solidified with King Wu’s conquest.

The Loess Plateau became the cradle of Huaxia civilization due in large part to its unique， porous soil. It was easy to cultivate with primitive tools， and when watered， nutrients from deeper layers naturally rose to the surface， nourishing crops. This meant that on this land， watering was equal to fertilizing （this is called “self-fertilization” of soil）.

In sum， with the agricultural tools available at the time， the Loess Plateau was the best place to grow food， and whoever controlled the expansive Guanzhong Plain gained a significant population advantage， positioning them to vie for dominance in the Central Plains. This pattern—“securing Guanzhong first， then moving to conquer the Central Plains”—was later followed by the Qin， Han， Sui， and Tang dynasties.

The Zhou people who guarded this fertile land in Guanzhong led a disturbing life and were always coveted by the Rong tribes from the west and north. Therefore， Zhou placed the Old Qin People outside the gate in Longxi to “restrain the barbarians with barbarians.” However， what no one foresaw was that not only would the Old Qin survive in Longxi， but their descendants would one day unite the entire realm eight centuries later.

Of course， no one at the time anticipated Qin’s rise. For the Qin people， this was a poignant tale of survival against all odds， turning their isolated struggle into a story of resilience.