Yangzhou (ancient China)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the ancient Chinese territory. For the modern city in Jiangsu province, see Yangzhou.
Not to be confused with Yanzhou (ancient China).
Yangzhou
Hanyu Pinyin
Yángzhōu

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":

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

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.[8] 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

Yangtze River.[9] 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 Shu's credibility is also disputed.

Rites of Zhou and Lüshi Chunqiu accounts

The Rites of Zhou records, "The southeast is called Yangzhou."[10] 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."[11]

History

Han dynasty

Chinese provinces in the late Eastern Han dynasty period, 189 CE.

In 106 BCE, during the reign of

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 zhous (州; provinces), and each had its own capital. The original cishis were renamed zhoucishis (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

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 (220–265) and Eastern Wu (229–280) in the Three Kingdoms
period (220–280).

Three Kingdoms period

A turtle-shaped gold seal of the Prince of Guangling in the Han dynasty. Excavated in Ganquan Town, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou in 1980, it is now on display in the Han Guangling Royal Tomb Museum in Yangzhou.

In 220, Cao Pi ended the Han dynasty and established the state of Cao Wei, marking the start of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). A year later, in 221, Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor of the state of Shu Han. In 222, Sun Quan received the title of "King of Wu" and became a vassal under Cao Wei, but later declared himself emperor of Eastern Wu in 229.

Yangzhou was divided between Wei and Wu: Wei controlled only a small part of Yangzhou and its provincial capital was at Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui); Wu occupied most of Yangzhou, and its provincial capital, which was also the state capital, was at Jianye (建業; present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu). Yangzhou served as the foundation of Wu, so the situation in the Wu-controlled Yangzhou was rather stable. On the other hand, the Wei-controlled portion of Yangzhou was located at the border between Wei and Wu, with many battles between the two states taking place in that region, including the Three Rebellions in Shouchun (251–258). The modern city of Yangzhou was part of Guangling Commandery (廣陵郡) in Xuzhou (徐州) at the time, with Wei and Wu taking turns to occupy that area throughout the Three Kingdoms period.

Jin dynasty, and Southern and Northern Dynasties period

In 265,

Western Jin dynasty (265–316). However, even then, Yangzhou was still divided between Jin and Eastern Wu. In 280, Jin forces invaded Wu's capital Jianye and conquered Wu after the last Wu emperor, Sun Hao, surrendered to Jin. After the fall of Wu, the Jin dynasty reunified Yangzhou and set up its provincial capital at Jianye, which was renamed to "Jianye" (建鄴; same pronunciation as the old name, but written differently in Chinese), and later to "Jiankang
" (建康).

When the

Southern and Northern Dynasties
period (420–589).

Sui dynasty

In 589, during the reign of Emperor Wen (r. 581–604) in the Sui dynasty (557–589), Sui forces conquered Jiankang (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu), the capital of the Chen dynasty (557–589) and unified China under Sui rule. The Sui government renamed Yangzhou to "Jiangzhou" (蔣州), and Wuzhou (吳州; capital at present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu) to "Yangzhou" (揚州). Since then, a link was established between the historical Yangzhou (Yang Province) and the modern city of Yangzhou.

In 605, Emperor Wen's successor, Emperor Yang (r. 604–618), reduced provinces to prefectures (or commanderies). Yangzhou was renamed "Jiangdu Prefecture" (江都郡).

Tang dynasty and after

In 620, during the reign of

modern city of the same name in Shandong) while Jiangning County (江寧縣; present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) in Runzhou (潤州) was renamed "Yangzhou". Three years later, Yanzhou (兗州) was renamed "Hanzhou" (邗州). Traces of the name "Hanzhou" can still be found in the name of Hanjiang District
of the modern Yangzhou city.

After the Xuanwu Gate Incident in 626, Emperor Taizong (r. 626–649) ascended the throne and made the following changes: Yangzhou (the original Jiangning County) was merged into Runzhou (潤州; capital at present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu); Hanzhou (邗州) was renamed back to "Yangzhou" (揚州). Only since then was the modern city of Yangzhou officially named "Yangzhou".

In 742, during the reign of

Guangling District
, which includes Yangzhou's historic centre.

Since then, the name "Yangzhou" has been more or less fixed to that particular location. During the

Jiangdu District
in Yangzhou's eastern suburbs.

References

  1. ^ (厥土下濕而多生楊柳，以為名) Chunqiu Yuan Ming Bao.
  2. ^ (揚州宜楊，荊州宜荊) Mengxi Bitan.
  3. ^ (揚州宜楊，在堤上者更大。……或五步一株，十步雙樹，三三兩兩，立園中) Yangzhou Huafang Lu.
  4. ^ (揚州州界多水，水波揚也。) Shiming.
  5. ^ (揚，如字，激揚也) Commentary on the Shijing.
  6. ^ (江南其氣躁勁，厥性輕揚，故曰楊。楊，揚也。) Erya Zhu.
  7. ^ (此州地苞百越，揚、越聲轉，義亦同，揚州當因揚越得名，猶荊州之與荊楚義亦相因矣) Zhouli Zhengyi.
  8. ^ (淮、海惟揚州。) Shangshu ch. 6.
  9. ^ (江南曰楊州) Erya ch. 9.
  10. ^ (東南曰揚州) Zhouli ch. 4.
  11. ^ (東南為揚州) Lüshi Chunqiu vol. 13.

External links

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