Hangu Pass or Hanguguan is a

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...

separating the upper

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

and Wei valleys—the cradle of Chinese civilization and seat of its longtime capital

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

—from the fertile North China Plain. It lies on the south bank of the

just east of its eastward bend out of the Ordos Loop at

Tong Pass Tongguan or Tong Pass, was a former mountain pass and fortress located south of the confluence of the Wei and Yellow Rivers, in today's Tongguan County, Shaanxi, China. It was an important chokepoint, protecting Xi'an and the surrounding Guanzho ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

. It was the site of many battles during the Warring States and early imperial eras, when it was the chokepoint shielding

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

, Guanzhong, or

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...

from outside attack. The term Hangu Pass refers to two locations: the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

Hangu Pass in Hanguguan Town, Lingbao county, Sanmenxia city,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

and secondly, the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

Hangu Pass in Xin’an county, Luoyang city, Henan. In 2014, the archeological site was recognized by UNESCO as part of the “ Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor”

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

History

Chinese legend Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Much of t ...

states that

Lao-tzu Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state of ...

wrote his ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...

'' at the insistence of

Yinxi Yinxi, formerly romanized as Yin-hsi (), was a legendary figure of Zhou China. He was said to have been a guard at the western gate of the Zhou capital Chengzhou (present-day Luoyang) or, alternatively, at the western pass out of the Luo– ...

, an astrologer and the guard at Hangu Pass, before leaving for the west. The state of Qin fortified the pass in 361BC as its eastern border, protecting access to their homeland from the armies of the other

Warring States The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

competing to succeed the Zhou. It continued to protect the Guanzhong area of the

and

Western Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

empires. Under the

Eastern Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

that succeeded

Wang Mang Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the thron ...

's "

Xin dynasty The Xin dynasty (; ), also known as Xin Mang () in Chinese historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty which lasted from 9 to 23 AD, established by the Han dynasty consort kin Wang Mang, who usurped the throne of the Emperor Pin ...

", its fortifications protected the capital

in the other direction, staving off attacks coming from the west and northwest. After the fall of the Han and rise of the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

, the Hangu Pass lost most of its importance as the primary fortifications moved a little west to

Discovery of Han dynasty Hangu Pass site

Between 2012 and 2013 a team from the Luoyang Cultural Relics and Archaeological Institution conducted an archaeological excavation at the site in Xin'an, Luoyang, on an area of more than 3,000 square meters. This excavation brought several roads, platforms and walls to light. Today, the archaeological site of the Hangu Pass in Xin’an is a museum park.

Hangu Pass in fiction

In Kingdom manga and anime, this pass was the last chokepoint that Li Mu and his 5 allied Coalition Army needed to overcome in order to defeat Qin. Their attacks were repelled with great losses, forcing Li Mu to make a decision of attacking

Xianyang Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...

via Zui.

References

Mountain passes of China Landforms of Henan {{Henan-geo-stub

History

Discovery of Han dynasty Hangu Pass site

Hangu Pass in fiction

See also

References