The Four Seas () were four

bodies of water A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as p ...

that metaphorically made up the boundaries of

ancient China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

. There is a sea for each for the four cardinal directions. The West Sea is Qinghai Lake, the East Sea is the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

, the North Sea is

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

, and the South Sea is the South China Sea. Two of the seas were symbolic until they were tied to genuine locations during the Han dynasty's wars with the Xiongnu. The lands "within the Four Seas", a literary name for China, are alluded to in Chinese literature and poetry.

History

The original Four Seas were a metaphor for the borders of pre- Han dynasty China. Only two of the Four Seas were tied to real locations, the East Sea with the

and the South Sea with the South China Sea. During the Han dynasty, wars with the Xiongnu brought them north to

. They recorded that the lake was a "huge sea" (hanhai) and designated it the mythical North Sea. They also encountered Qinghai Lake, which they called the West Sea, and the lakes

Lop Nur Lop Nur or Lop Nor (from a Mongolian name meaning "Lop Lake", where "Lop" is a toponym of unknown origin) is a former salt lake, now largely dried up, located in the eastern fringe of the Tarim Basin, between the Taklamakan and Kumtag deserts ...

and

Bostang Bosten Lake (, Uyghur: / / ''Baghrash Köli / Baƣrax Kɵli'', Chagatai: ''Bostang'') is a freshwater lake on the northeastern rim of the Tarim Basin, about east of Yanqi and northeast of Korla, Xinjiang, China in the Bayin'gholin Mongol Aut ...

in Xinjiang. The Han dynasty expanded beyond the traditional West Sea and reached Lake Balkhash, the westernmost boundary of the empire and the new West Sea of the dynasty. Expeditions were sent to explore the Persian Gulf, but went no further. Chinese writers and artists often alluded to the Four Seas. Jia Yi, in an essay that summarized the collapse of Qin dynasty, wrote that while the

state of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted ex ...

has succeeded in "pocketing all within the Four Seas, and swallowing up everything in all Eight Directions", its ruler "lacked humaneness and rightness; because preserving power differs fundamentally from seizing power". The metaphor is also referenced in the Chinese adage "we are all brothers of the Four Seas", a proverb with utopian undercurrents. The lyrics of a popular Han dynasty folk song extol that "within the Four Seas, we are all brothers, and none be taken as strangers!"

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{Portal bar, China, History

Seas This is a list of seas of the World Ocean, including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits. Terminology * Ocean – the four to seven largest named bodies of water in the World Ocean, all of which have "Ocean ...

Asia in mythology Chinese literature History of China Literary terminology Names of China Seas Locations in Chinese mythology

History

See also

References

Citations

Sources