What areas does Jiangnan include?

Historically, Jiangnan is not only a natural geographical area, but also a social and political area. There are three meanings: first, Jiangnan in natural geography, that is, south of the Yangtze River; Second, the administrative geography of Jiangnan, Jiangnan Road was set up in Tang Dynasty, Jiangnan East Road and Jiangnan West Road were set up in Song Dynasty, and jiangnan province was set up in Qing Dynasty. The concept of Jiangnan has been passed down from generation to generation. Third, cultural Jiangnan, before modern times, was basically consistent with the concept of Jiangnan road in Tang Dynasty. Jiangnan now means the combination of nature and humanity.

In ancient times, Jiangnan was once called "YueYang" and "Nanman" by the Central Plains. Later, with the southward migration of the Han nationality in the Central Plains, Jiangnan became a beautiful and rich area. In ancient times, Jiangnan often represented a prosperous and developed culture and education and a beautiful and rich southern water town, and the region was roughly divided into the south bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The meaning of "Jiangnan" in ancient literature is varied. It is often a word juxtaposed with regional concepts such as "Central Plains" and "Frontier", and it is ambiguous. Historically, Jiangnan is not only a natural geographical area, but also a social and political area.

There was a saying of Jiangnan in the pre-Qin period. "Historical Records of Qin Benji" also contains: "In the 30 th year of Qin Dynasty, Shu defended Ruochu and took Wujun, and Jiangnan was the county in central Guizhou." The early appearance of Jiangnan refers to the whole of Hunan and part of southern Hubei. Wang Mang once changed Yidu County to Jiangnan County, which is the Yidu area in Hubei today. "The Biography of Liu Biao in the Later Han Dynasty" records that "Jiangnan thieves flourished ... only Jiangxia thieves Zhang Zhuang and Chen Zuo supported troops according to Xiangyang City, indicating that Yue and Pang Ji were better than each other. Jiangnan Xiping. " Until the Sui Dynasty, Jiangnan in that period often referred to Hunan and Hubei.

In the first year of Zhenguan reign of Emperor Taizong (627), Jiangnan Road was established, covering areas south of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in Jiangxi and Hunan.

In the 21st year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (733), Jiangnan Road was subdivided into Jiangnan East Road and Jiangnan West Road.

Since the Yuan Dynasty, the word "Jiangnan" has been used for administrative divisions in official geographical records. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, jiangnan province was now the general name of Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province, and the Governor of Liangjiang referred to jiangnan province and Jiangxi Province. However, the cultural meaning of "Little Jiangnan" more and more clearly refers to traditional areas such as Jiangdong, Wu or Sanwu.

Modern Jiangnan

Jiangnan has a vast territory, in a narrow sense, it refers to the south bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. At present, Nanjing, Suzhou, Zhenjiang, Changzhou and Wuxi in Jiangsu, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Huzhou and Shaoxing in Zhejiang and Shanghai, Xuancheng, Wuhu, Huizhou, Jingzhou, Ezhou and Wuhan in Anhui and Hubei, Nanchang, Yueyang, Changsha, Jiujiang, Shangrao, Jingdezhen, Yiyang and Changde in Hunan and Jiangxi in the north.

Jiangnan in a broad sense includes Shanghai, Jiangxi, Hunan and Zhejiang, as well as areas south of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei provinces. Compared with Jiangnan Road in Tang Dynasty, there are fewer parts involving Guizhou Province. Northern Fujian is sometimes called Jiangnan. In a broad sense, Jiangnan has a vast territory and diverse landforms, so it is often regarded as "Great Jiangnan", which is roughly consistent with the meteorological scope of Jiangnan. The three famous buildings in the south of the Yangtze River are all within the scope of the south of the Yangtze River. This area includes three famous mountains, three rivers and three lakes-Qiantang River and Taihu Lake in Huangshan, Ganjiang River and Poyang Lake in Lushan, Xiangjiang River and Dongting Lake in Hengshan. These three rivers and lakes are the cradles of Wuyue culture, Ganpo culture and Huxiang culture respectively.

The word "Jiangnan" has also been used for administrative divisions in official geographical records since the Yuan Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, jiangnan province, now Jiangsu Province and Anhui Province, was collectively called Jiangnan (the whole territory of Jiangsu and Anhui), and Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou were also the most representative administrative places in the Qing Dynasty.