China is one of the countries with the most rivers in the world. China has many great rivers with a long history. Among them, there are more than 1,500 rivers with a drainage area of more than 1,000 square kilometers.
big river trickles
Because China's terrain is high in the west and high in the east, most rivers originate from the alpine grasslands in the west and flow into the sea in the east.
The earth is like a body, supporting the people living on this land, and the river is like blood, which makes this body full of vitality. If there is no river, people will eventually become dry and bored like the mummies of the Egyptian pyramids.
Because there are too many rivers in China, we can only introduce a few important rivers in Chinese history from south to north. The main people gathered on both sides of these rivers, and they also multiplied, fought, and reconciled by the rivers.
Heilongjiang
A large river flows through Mongolia, China, and Russia, located in northeast Asia. In ancient China, it was called Yushui, Heishui, Yushui, Wangjian River, Shilihanshui, etc., with a total length of 4440 kilometers.
source of Heilongjiang
It is the northernmost waterway in China, including the area outside the border, with a drainage area of 1.85 million square kilometers. There are six months of ice in a year, and the river is frozen like a rock, and heavy trucks can easily run over it. However, it did not have a particularly important position in the history of ancient China. It was not until the 14th century that it came into contact with China. In the 17th century, with the Qing Dynasty established by the Manchus, it entered China and was incorporated into Chinese territory like a dowry.
Its largest tributary, the Songhua River, has a total length of 1,840 kilometers. It was called the Huntong River in the tenth century. It was the main fishing and hunting channel of the Liao Empire established by the Khitan people and the Khitan people. Another tributary, the Ussuri River, is 890 kilometers long. In the 1960s, it became famous because of the "Ussuri Boat Song", which was mainly adapted from the folk songs of a minority Hezhen who lived here. There are still 5373 people in the population, which is as rare as giant pandas.
Heilongjiang
Liaohe
The Liaohe River originates from the Inner Mongolia Plateau. It winds for 1,390 kilometers from west to east and then to southwest. After flowing through the four provinces of Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, and Liaoning, it flows into the Bohai Sea in Panjin City, Liaoning Province.
There is a passage in the "Lushi Chunqiu" compiled more than 2,200 years ago: "What are the six rivers, the river, the Chishui, the Liaoshui, the Heishui, and the Jiangshui." The "Liaoshui" mentioned here refers to the Liaohe. Gao You of the Eastern Han Dynasty said in "Lu Shi Chunqiu Notes": "The Liaoshui flows out of the Stone Mountain, flows eastward from the north of the Great Wall, and flows into the sea in the southwest of Liaodong."
Liaohe
In a valley called Baicaogou in Hexigten Banner, Inner Mongolia, spring water is like a newborn baby, it slowly seeps out of the ground, crystal clear and bright, and the constantly overflowing water gradually merges into its limbs and torso, in the sunshine, trickling, gurgling southward.
This is the best source of the Liaohe River - Xilamulun. Xilamulun is the transliteration of "Yellow River" in Mongolian, and it was called Huangshui in ancient times.
Another source of the Liaohe River is the Laoha River, which originates from Mayu Mountain in Pingquan County, Hebei Province. A spring gushes out from among the rocks, and then it enters an underground river. When it flowed out of the ground again and went down the mountain, although it is still impossible to judge that it will be able to walk out of the deep mountains and valleys in the future, an unstoppable momentum has already formed.
After the confluence of Laoha River and Xilamulun in Zhelimu League, Inner Mongolia, the river channel suddenly opened up, and the water momentum was like thousands of horses galloping on the grassland. After the two rivers converged, they were called Xiliao River. On both sides of the river are vast grasslands, where the sky is vast and wild, the wind is blowing and the grass is low, and cattle and sheep can be seen.
Source of Liaohe River
sea river
The largest water system in North China. The Haihe River system was collectively called "Jiuhe" in ancient times. In the Song Dynasty, the mainstream of the Haihe River was the lower part of the Jiehe River. In the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, it was renamed the Zhigu River and the Dagu River. The name Haihe first appeared in the late Ming Dynasty. Until the Qing Dynasty, Zhigu River, etc. The name was gradually replaced by the name Haihe.
The Haihe River system is composed of five major tributaries including the mainstream of the Haihe River and the upstream North Canal. With the Wei River as the source, it originates in Lingchuan County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province, with a total length of 1,050 kilometers; with the Zhang River as the source, it originates in Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, with a total length of 1,031 kilometers. The total area of the basin is 317,753 square kilometers
sea river
Yellow River
The Yellow River has a total length of about 5,464 kilometers and a drainage area of 750,000 square kilometers. It is the most important river in Chinese history. The ancient Chinese civilization took place and grew up in this basin, and most of its history was performed in this basin.
Yellow River
This second-largest river in China originates from the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai, and flows east into the Bohai Sea in the shape of a "ji". Almost all rivers have certain benefits, such as navigation, fishing, and irrigation. Only the Yellow River has done little help but great harm to the inhabitants on its banks.
Its role in history is that of a moody dragon, billowing and galloping, dedicated to wreaking havoc. From the 23rd century B.C. to the beginning of the 20th century A.D., there were more than 1,500 small breaches, seven major breaches, and eight major diversions in more than four thousand years, forming the old course of the Yellow River.
The term "Yellow River" first appeared in the interpretation of "Changshan County Yuanshi County" in Ban Gu's "Hanshu Geographical Records" in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The word "yellow" in the Yellow River is used to describe the turbidity of the river, which has long been recorded in ancient books: "The Eighth Years of Zuo Zhuan Xianggong" in the Warring States Period, Zi Si of Zheng State quoted "Yi Zhou Poems" as saying "The clearness of the river, Life geometry!"; "Erya Shishui" records that "the river flows out of Kunlun, its color is white, and all the canals are combined with thousands of seven hundred and one rivers, its color is yellow."
Yellow River Hukou Waterfall
Every diversion of the Yellow River is a horrible massacre. And the minor floods, second only to the diversion catastrophe, have caused horrific human and animal casualties every time. Therefore, the Yellow River is also the river that engulfs the most lives and property in the world. More than half of it passes through the Loess Plateau, and the washed-down loess and dust from the northern deserts make it very turbid upstream.
Below the Sanmen Gorge in Henan, it suddenly enters a plain with a very small slope between the two mountains. The river widens and the speed of the water slows down. More than 60% of the large amount of sediment carried by it begins to settle. The more than 800-kilometer-long riverbed from Luoyang to the Bohai Sea gradually rises, and finally exceeds the ground, and it is entirely restrained by artificial embankments. A resident who lives on the 20th floor of Kaifeng, if he opens a window and looks north, he will be shocked to find that the Yellow River is flowing eastward at a height of tens of meters above his head.
Every year when the ice melts in spring and the rainfall is abundant at the turn of summer and autumn, it is a dangerous season for breaches. In winter, the surface of the river, which is only a few hundred meters long, will expand steeply, and the north bank cannot be seen from the south bank, only the endless raging yellow waves. If the embankment cannot withstand the sharp impact, it will burst, and a great tragedy will happen. The Yellow River is condescending, and its breach is like a giant dike suddenly bursting, and the loud noise of galloping horses can be heard ten kilometers away. Countless people on the new river channel at the breach woke up from their dreams. Unless they were very lucky, they were rarely engulfed by the flood like the ants filling their nests.
Yellow River
Several major dynasties in history have set up special personnel and specialized agencies to be responsible for embankment protection and construction. However, if politics is not cleared up, such specialized institutions will instead become places of the greatest waste and corruption. As for the Yellow River, until the twentieth century, the Chinese made great efforts to control it. After the flooding of the Nile River, fertile soil is left behind. In Chinese history, human civilization along the Yellow River has had a great impact. It is one of the most important birthplaces of the Chinese nation and is called the "Mother River". About 1.6 billion tons of sediment are produced every year, of which 1.2 billion tons flow into the sea, and the remaining 400 million tons stay in the lower reaches of the Yellow River for many years, forming alluvial plains that are conducive to planting.
Yangtze
Originated from the "roof of the world" - the southwest side of Geladandong Peak in the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The main stream flows through 11 provincial-level administrative regions, and flows into the East China Sea east of Chongming Island, with a total length of 6,363 kilometers. Among the world's largest rivers, the length is second only to the Nile River in Africa and the Amazon River in South America, ranking third in the world.
Yangtze
Contrary to the Yellow River, the Yangtze River is a happy and compassionate river. It has all the benefits that a river should have, but it appeared later in history. When the Yellow River Basin reached a fairly high level of civilization, the Yangtze River Basin was still barren. The geographical background of the Yangtze River is more suitable for the production of civilization than the Yellow River, and the two giant rivers are very close to each other. We do not know what opportunity caused Chinese civilization to occur in the Yellow River and not in the Yangtze River. This is probably the biggest puzzle in the history of human evolution. one.
But once the Yangtze River appears in Chinese history, it will easily cut off China's territory. In the third century, Cao Pi, an emperor of the Wei Kingdom who was also a writer, once said: "God created the Yangtze River to divide China into north and south." It is customary to call the north of the Yangtze River North, North China, or North China; the south of the Yangtze River is called North China. South, Jiangnan, South China, or South China.
Many dynasties with their capitals in the north, were once attacked by nomads in the northern desert and failed to resist, they often fled to the south and lingered under the protection of the Yangtze River, such as the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Song Dynasty. Although the nomads are good at riding horses, they are helpless with ships. The situation that they cannot cross the vast Yangtze River, they have to admit the confrontation between the North and the South.
Yangtze
However, none of the remnants of the regime that fled to the south of the Yangtze River was able to fight back vigorously, so they had to accept the fact that half of the country was in the way. The famous three-hundred-year period of great division and the more than one-hundred-year confrontation between the two great empires of Song and Jin were formed by the stalemate caused by the turbulent waves of the Yangtze River.
Zu Ti, who heard the chicken dancing, and Yue Fei, who served the country faithfully, became the most representative tragic heroes of these two eras. When the generals who resisted bravely and the emperor who indulged in enjoyment disagreed, the heroes became victims, but left a soul-stirring story.
Pearl River
In fact, it is only 96 kilometers long, but it has three tributaries, Xijiang, Dongjiang, and Beijing. With Xijiang as the backbone, it has a total length of 2,320 kilometers, making it the third-largest river in China, with a drainage area of 450,000 square kilometers. It appeared the latest in Chinese history, and most of it flows through wild areas where political and economic influence cannot occur. Its importance only became apparent after the Opium Wars in the nineteenth century.
Pearl River
In addition to the five major rivers, there are a number of other smaller rivers that have played an important role in history. such as:
Fenshui
With a total length of 716 kilometers, it originated from Guancen Mountain, which is full of myths in the southwest of Ningwu, Shanxi. Longitudinal through the Shanxi Plateau and pouring into the Yellow River to the southwest, its downstream is one of the important birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization. Several ancient capitals before BC stand on both sides of the river. The capitals of Yao Emperor Yi Qi Fangxun and Shun Emperor Yao Chonghua, who was sung by the Confucian school as the holiest and sage, were built on the banks of Fenshui. It maintained a high historical status until the nineteenth century.
Fenhe
sang gan he
It is said that the river dries up every year when the mulberries are ripe, with a total length of 506 kilometers. It also originates from Guancen Mountain, but it flows eastward. After the middle reaches, its sediment concentration is as high as 38%, and the river bed is 23 meters above the ground, so it keeps breaking and diverting just like the Yellow River. The Chinese sadly call it the Little Yellow River, also known as the Yellow River. It is Wuding River.
In the eighth century, this area was close to the frontier, and wars broke out constantly. A poet of the Tang Dynasty once wrote a sad poem: "Poor Wuding Riverside bones, still like people in the spring girl's dream." Mourning the heroic soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country. In the 18th century, Emperor Xuanye (Kangxi Emperor) of the Qing Dynasty ordered to change of the name to Yongding River, hoping that it would never happen again. When it flows through the south of the ancient capital Beijing, it is also called Lugou because of the reeds growing in the river.
In the 12th century, the Jin Empire built a bridge on it, the famous Marco Polo Bridge where the eight-year bloody war against the Japanese Empire broke out 800 years later. It then flows to Tianjin, where it joins several other rivers and is called the Haihe River, which flows from Tianjin to the Bohai Sea through Dagukou.
sang gan he
Wei River
With a total length of 818 kilometers, it originates from Niaoshu Mountain in the southwest of Weiyuan, Gansu, and flows eastward into the Yellow River. Its downstream is the fertile Guanzhong Basin, one of the important growth places of ancient Chinese civilization. The four most glorious dynasties in China——Zhou, Qin, Western Han, and Tang, all established their capitals in Chang'an (Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) on the banks of the Wei River for about two thousand years.
One of the tributaries of the Wei River, the Jing River, originates from the Liupan Mountains in the north of Longde, Ningxia. Its sediment concentration is as high as 50%. The Yellow River has such a tributary that is half water and half sand. No wonder it can't get rid of people's desire curse. The Jing and Wei rivers converge in the northeast of Xi'an. After the confluence, a strange phenomenon occurs, that is, the water of the river is divided, and the speed of the Jing River is relatively fast. Its water gallops down along the north bank and suddenly enters the plain, but it is relatively clear; The Weihe River, which has the same amount of sediment, runs along the south bank, and because of its slower speed, it is turbid. There is a Chinese proverb that says "the difference between Wei and Wei is clear", which means that two completely different things, although mixed together, still maintain their characteristics.
Wei River
Huai River
With a total length of 1,000 kilometers, it originates from Tongbai Mountain in the northwest of Tongbai, Henan, and flows eastward into the East China Sea. In the twelfth century, the Yellow River changed its course for the fifth time and was divided into two branches, the north, and the south, of which the south branch flowed into the Huaihe River. In the thirteenth century, the Yellow River diverted its course for the sixth time, and both the northern and southern branches flowed into the Huaihe River, and of course, its sediment also flowed in at the same time.
In the 19th century, the Yellow River changed its course for the seventh time, abandoning the Huaihe River and flowing north into the Bohai Sea. However, the river bed in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River was silted up and unable to wash away, so it had to divert from the Grand Canal to the Yangtze River. This independent river, which has been repeatedly ravaged by its powerful neighbors, is like an angry boa constrictor. Whenever there is a little more rainfall upstream, it will roll and jump, drowning the surrounding fields. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Yellow River changed its course for the eighth time, and once again poured into the Huaihe River together with sediment, causing the flood to become even more serious.
Together with the flooding of the Yellow River and Yongding River, they are called three natural disasters in Chinese history. The Huaihe River and the Qinling Mountains to the west of it form an economic north-south dividing line in China, while the Yangtze River's dividing line is political. In the north of the Huaihe River, wheat and miscellaneous grains are the staple food, and in the south of the Huaihe River, rice is the staple food. There is a fable that illustrates this division: the orange trees that grow south of the Huaihe River, then moved to the north of the Huaihe River, will produce bitter oranges.
Huai River
Qiantang River
With a total length of 494 kilometers, it presents a huge trumpet shape when it enters the sea, and is famous for the "Qiantang Tide". Generally, the Fuyang section in Zhejiang is called Fuchun River, and the Hangzhou section in the lower reaches of Zhejiang is called Qiantang River. The Qiantang River was first named in the "Shan Hai Jing". It got its name because it flowed through ancient Qiantang County (now Hangzhou). It is one of the main birthplaces of Wuyue culture.
The Qiantang River, the largest river in Zhejiang Province, was the source of the naming of Liangzhe Road in the Song Dynasty and the source of the provincial name when Zhejiang Province was established in the early Ming Dynasty. Calculated from Xin'an River in the north, the river is 588 kilometers long; calculated from Majinxi in the upper reaches of Qujiang River in the south, the river is 522.22 kilometers long. From the source, it flows through the southern part of Anhui Province and Zhejiang Province, with a drainage area of 55,058 square kilometers, and flows into the East China Sea through Hangzhou Bay.
The Qiantang River Tide is known as "the world's first tide" and is a natural wonder in the world. It is a super-large tide caused by the centrifugal force of celestial gravity and the earth's rotation, coupled with the special topography of the bell mouth of Hangzhou Bay.
The fighting between the river water and the seawater poured into the river mouth due to the tide, together with other strange reasons that have not been understood so far, made the river tide tower high into the sky and make a loud sound of heaven and earth cracking. Especially around the 18th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, it is the most spectacular, often attracting hundreds of thousands of people watching the tide, thrilling on the shore.
Qiantang River
North-South Grand Canal
With a total length of 1797 kilometers, it is the longest canal in the world and one of the oldest canals. Together with the Great Wall and Karez, it is called the three great projects of ancient China. Starting from the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, until Beijing, it runs through the heart of China.
Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal
It is the only river in China that runs through the north and the south, and grain from the south of the Yangtze River is mainly exported to Beijing through it. Among them, the section from the Yangtze River to the Huaihe River was excavated at the earliest time. In the fifth century BC, it was excavated by Wu Fucha, the husband of the king of Xishi, one of the beauties in Chinese history, and it was called Hangou at that time. The section from the Yangtze River to the Qiantang River in Hangzhou was excavated in the seventh century by Yang Guang, the emperor of the Sui Dynasty who suffered from mania. The section from the Huaihe River to Beijing was excavated by the Mongols in the 13th century.
Still in use today, it is a great project created by the working people in ancient China and one of the symbols of China's cultural status.
