Liangzhe Circuit (997–1160s) was one of the major circuits during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(960–1279). Its administrative area corresponds roughly to modern

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, and southern

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

(the portion east of

Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...

, between

Lake Tai Taihu (), also known as Lake Tai or Lake Taihu, is a lake in the Yangtze Delta and one of the largest freshwater lakes in China. The lake is in Jiangsu province and a significant part of its southern shore forms its border with Zhejiang. With ...

and the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

). The fertile

Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...

lay within Liangzhe Circuit, as did Lake Tai. Liangzhe was the wealthiest circuit in Song. The capital of Liangzhe Circuit was

Hang Prefecture Hangzhou or Hang Prefecture (589–1129) was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in imperial 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 ...

(renamed

Lin'an Prefecture Lin'an Prefecture (1129–1277) was after 1138 the capital of the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). With over one million people by 1276, it was the most populous city in the world. Lin'an Prefecture was located in modern northern Zhejiang aroun ...

in 1129, when it became the Song capital).

History

Liangzhe Circuit was created in 997, about 19 years after the

Wuyue Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...

(907–978) king

Qian Chu Qian Chu (September 29, 929 – October 7, 988, courtesy name Wende), known as Qian Hongchu before 960, was the last king of Wuyue, reigning from 947 until 978 when he surrendered his kingdom to the Song dynasty. Life Qian Chu came to power aft ...

surrendered his kingdom to the

. The name Liangzhe (兩浙; "Two Zhe's") had been in use to refer to the two

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

(618–907) circuits Zhejiang East Circuit and Zhejiang West Circuit, both created in 758 and later controlled by Wuyue. Liangzhe Circuit was not identical to Wuyue territory: it included former

Southern Tang Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu Province ...

prefectures like Chang Prefecture and

Run Prefecture Runzhou or Run Prefecture was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in imperial China in modern Jiangsu, China, seated in modern Zhenjiang. It existed (intermittently) from 595 to 1113, when it became Zhenjiang Prefecture. Geography The administrative region ...

, but not Fu Prefecture. In 1074, Liangzhe Circuit was divided into 2 circuits:

Liangzhe East Circuit Liangzhe Circuit (997–1160s) was one of the major circuits during the Song dynasty (960–1279). Its administrative area corresponds roughly to modern Zhejiang, Shanghai, and southern Jiangsu (the portion east of Changzhou, between Lake Tai and ...

and

Liangzhe West Circuit Liangzhe Circuit (997–1160s) was one of the major circuits during the Song dynasty (960–1279). Its administrative area corresponds roughly to modern Zhejiang, Shanghai, and southern Jiangsu (the portion east of Changzhou, between Lake Tai and ...

, but quickly recombined. After another brief split between 1076 and 1077, Liangzhe Circuit was permanently split in two in the 1160s. (In 1127, following the Jingkang incident,

Zhao Gou Emperor Gaozong of Song (12 June 1107 – 9 November 1187), personal name Zhao Gou, courtesy name Deji, was the tenth emperor of the Song dynasty and the first of the Southern Song period, ruling between 1127 and 1162 and retaining power as ret ...

(Emperor Gaozong) reestablished the Song dynasty in

, which he renamed to

in 1129.)

References

* Circuits of the Song dynasty 997 establishments 10th-century establishments in China History of Zhejiang History of Shanghai History of Jiangsu {{China-hist-stub