Yangzhou (ancient China)

Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''.

Name

There are four different theories regarding the origin of the name "Yangzhou":

* Yangzhou's etymological root is related to trees. The ''Chunqiu Yuan Ming Bao'' recorded, "The soil is damp and moist, poplars and willows thrive there, that is how the name originated." Shen Kuo (1031–1095) wrote that "Yangzhou is suitable for poplars (楊; ''yang'') and Jingzhou is suitable for brambles (荊; ''jing'')." Li Dou (fl. 18th century) wrote that "Yangzhou is suitable for poplars (楊; ''yang'') and those growing on dykes are even larger. There is one (poplar tree) every five steps and two every ten steps, in pairs and threes they stand in gardens." Yangzhou is also sometimes written in Chinese as 楊州 instead of 揚州; 楊 means "poplar".
* The origin of the name "Yangzhou" has something to do with water. The Chinese dictionary '' Shiming'', which dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 CE), states, "There are waters everywhere on Yangzhou's borders, the waters form waves." A commentary to the ''Classic of Poetry'' states, "''Yang'' (揚; lit. "rise / scatter"), like the Chinese character for it, gives people an arousing sensation."
* The name "Yangzhou" derives from climate and human nature. Guo Pu (276–324) mentioned that the Jiangnan region had a warm and wet climate, its vegetation was dense and there were flowing waters in rivers and lakes, which gave people a feeling that the area was full of vigour and life, therefore it was called Yangzhou.
* "Yangzhou" originated from "Yue" (越; a term for the area in southeastern China around modern Zhejiang province). Sun Yirang (1848–1908) wrote, "This land was inhabited by the Baiyue. "Yang" (揚) and "Yue" (越) have the same meaning, so Yangzhou could have gotten its name from " Yangyue", just as " Jingzhou" and "Jingchu" have the same meaning."

Before the Sui dynasty (581–618) conquered the Chen dynasty (557–589) in 589, the Chinese terms 揚州 and 楊州 were used interchangeably when referring to "Yangzhou".

Geographical location

According to legend, when Yu the Great (c. 2200–2100 BCE) tamed the flood, he divided the land of China into the Nine Provinces, of which Yangzhou was one. Pre-Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'', ''Rites of Zhou'' and '' Lüshi Chunqiu'' all mention the Nine Provinces. Yangzhou appears in all these texts even though they provide different names for the Nine Provinces. However, there are three different accounts of the geographical location of Yangzhou.

''Tribute of Yu'' account

The ''Tribute of Yu'' records that Yangzhou was located between Huai and the Sea. Kong Anguo (fl. 2nd century BCE) explained in ''Shangshu Zhuan'' (尚書傳) that the text meant that Yangzhou was bordered by the Huai River in the north and the South China Sea in the south. In modern China, the area covered by the ancient Yangzhou corresponds to Jiangsu, Anhui (the region south of the Huai River), Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and parts of Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong. The modern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu is within the ancient Yangzhou's boundaries. However, in later dynasties, the ''Shangshu Zhuan'' was proven to be not written by Kong Anguo, hence the book's credibility was largely reduced.

''Erya'' account

The ancient Chinese encyclopaedia ''Erya'' states that Jiangnan was Yangzhou, with the "jiang" (lit. "river") referring to the Yangtze River. Guo Pu (276–324) mentioned in his annotations to the ''Erya'' that Yangzhou was defined as the region between south of the Yangtze to the Sea. This area in modern China covers roughly parts of Jiangsu and Anhui that are located south of the Yangtze, as well as Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, and parts of Jiangxi and Guangdong. However, the modern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu is not within these boundaries, because it is situated north of the Yangtze. Xing Bing (邢昺; 931–1010) wrote in ''Erya Shu'' (爾雅疏; Sub-commentary to the ''Erya'') that Jiangnan was a large portion of the ancient Yangzhou, and the lands covered by the ancient Yangzhou was not only limited to Jiangnan. Going by this account, the modern city of Yangzhou was therefore within the ancient Yangzhou. However, as Xing Bing's ''Erya Shu'' makes references to Kong Anguo's ''Shangshu Zhuan'', which was verified to be not written by Kong, the ''Erya Shus credibility is also disputed.

''Rites of Zhou'' and ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' accounts

The ''Rites of Zhou'' records, "The southeast is called Yangzhou." By this saying, the ancient Yangzhou would then cover the entire southeastern China, an area larger than the Yangzhou defined in the ''Tribute of Yu'' and ''Erya''. This definition is even more sketchy than the above two, because it is unclear whether the modern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu could be within the ancient Yangzhou or not. The accuracy of the ''Rites of Zhou'' itself is also in question. The '' Lüshi Chunqiu'' similarly mentioned that "the southeast is Yangzhou."(東南為揚州) ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' vol. 13.

History

Han dynasty

In 106 BCE, during the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE) in the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE – 9 CE), China was divided into 13 administrative divisions or provinces (excluding the capital Chang'an and seven commanderies in its vicinity), each governed by a ''cishi'' (刺史; Inspector). 11 of them were named after the Nine Provinces mentioned in the historical texts ''Classic of History'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Yangzhou was one of the 11, and it covered parts of modern Anhui (south of the Huai River) and Jiangsu (south of the Yangtze River), as well as Shanghai, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, and parts of Hubei and Hunan. The modern city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu was not within the ancient province of Yangzhou; it was in another administrative division called Xuzhou.

Initially, the 13 administrative divisions were known as ''cishi bu'' (刺史部; inspectorates) and were not under direct administration by the central government, and did not have any capitals. Instead, commanderies (郡; ''jun''), which were nominally under the jurisdiction of inspectorates, were directly controlled by the central government, hence an Administrator (太守; ''taishou'', an official in charge of a commandery) wielded more power than an Inspector even though the latter held a higher rank. In 8 BCE, during the reign of Emperor Cheng (r. 33–7 BCE), the post of ''cishi'' was replaced by ''zhoumu'' (州牧; Governor), and the administrative divisions were officially called ''zhou''s (州; provinces), and each had its own capital. The original ''cishi''s were renamed ''zhoucishi''s (州刺史; Provincial Inspector) to reflect the new changes. Despite so, the provinces were still not under direct administration by the central government.

During the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE), Yangzhou's provincial capital was designated in Liyang (歷陽; present-day He County, Anhui). In 188, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion (184-205) was mostly pacified, Emperor Ling (r. 168–189) promoted many Provincial Inspectors to Governors and granted them autonomy in the administration of civil and military affairs in their respective provinces. This helped to facilitate the Governors in suppressing revolts, but also empowered them with greater authority, as the provinces were now directly administered by the central government.

Towards the end of the Han dynasty, the warlord Cao Cao rose to power and took control of the central government. He moved Yangzhou's capital to Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui) and later to Hefei (合肥; northwest of present-day Hefei, Anhui). However, most of Yangzhou (south of the Yangtze River) was independent of the Han central government's control, as it was ruled by the warlord Sun Quan. Sun Quan's capital was initially in Wu County, Wu Commandery (around present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu), but was later moved to Jingkou (京口; present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu) and eventually to Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu). Yangzhou was effectively divided between the domains of the warlords Cao Cao and Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty, and later between the states of Cao Wei (229–280) in the Three Kingdoms period (220–280).

Three Kingdoms period

In 220, Cao Pi ended the Han dynasty and established the state of Cao Wei period (220–280). A year later, in 221, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor of the state of Shu Han

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases