The Taizi River () is a major river in the

Liaoning province Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

Northeastern China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

. The river was historically also known as Yan River (衍水) or Liang River (梁水). It was originally the third largest

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Liao River The Liao River () is the principal river in southern Northeast China, and one of the seven main river systems in China. Its name derived from the Liao region, a historical name for southern Manchuria, from which the Liaoning province, Liaodong ...

, southern Northeast's principal river, draining with the neighboring Hun River into a

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

known as "Trident River" near Haicheng, until a

river engineering River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and be ...

project in 1958 cut off the eastern

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

of the

river delta A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rare ...

from the Liao River's main course, making the Hun River and Taizi Rivers a separate system that drains into the

Bohai Bay Bohai Bay () is one of the three major bays of the Bohai Sea, the northwestern and innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. It is bounded by the coastlines of eastern Hebei province (Tangshan and Cangzhou), Tianjin municipality and northern Shand ...

independently from the Liao River. However, both sister rivers are still usually considered a part of the Liao River system because they are both within the historical Liao River drainage basin.

Name

The name ''Taizi'' literally means "crowned prince". During the late

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 ...

period,

Jing Ke Jing Ke (died 227 BC) was a ''youxia'' during the late Warring States period of Ancient China. As a retainer of Crown Prince Dan of the Yan state, he was infamous for his failed assassination attempt on King Zheng of the Qin state, who later beca ...

, an assassin sent by Crown Prince Dan of Yan for a mission of killing King Zheng of Qin, failed in the attempt. The

Qin state 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 ...

retaliated with a massive invasion to conquer the Yan state. After the Yan state fell, Crown Prince Dan fled far into the

Liaodong The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River (the ...

region, and was eventually tracked down and slain by the pursuing Qin forces. According to the legend, the prince's last site of refuge was at the bank of this river, hence the name.

Geography

The Taizi was formally the third largest tributary of the Liao River. The river runs 413 kilometres (257 mi) and drains a basin of 13,900 square kilometres (5,400 sq mi). The Taizi River, like the Hun River running parallel north of it, flows through some of the most important agricultural and industrial regions of southern Liaoning, including the cities of Benxi, Anshan and Liaoyang. Like its sister river, the Hun River, the Taizi River has numerous tributaries, including two largest ones of which it is formed from the confluence. The Taizi"s headwaters arise from hill regions between Benxi and Fushun, and contain the famous Benxi Water Caves. Like the Hun River, the Taizi River is no longer a tributary of the Liao River since the obliteration of the Wailiao River in 1958. Rivers of Liaoning Rivers of China {{China-river-stub