The origin of "Central Plains"

The Yellow Emperor was smart and eager to learn since he was a child, and worshipped Huawei as a teacher. Learn the general plan of governing the country and the knowledge of military geography, and aspire to unify the tribes and establish a complete home. When he grew up, he was driven to be a tribal leader, leading tribal members to crusade in the east and fight in the west to ensure the security of the territory.

As the leader of another tribe, Yan Di, who was good at production and technology, was not good at leading troops to fight, so he took the initiative to form an alliance with the Yellow Emperor, known as the Emperor Yan and Huang in history. After the alliance, Yan Di and Huangdi each had their own division of labor, with Yan Di in charge of the rear production and Huangdi in charge of the front battle. At that time, the Chiyou tribe in Shaanxi developed rapidly, was good at smelting and manufacturing weapons, and often harassed the Yanhuang tribe. The Yellow Emperor was determined to destroy Chiyou and unify the whole country, but relying on excellent weapons and witchcraft, Chiyou could not win the battle for a long time. Later, under the guidance of his teacher Gai Hua, the Yellow Emperor went to Qionglintai, the main peak of the King of Wu, to set up an altar to worship heaven (Qionglintai was renamed the Temple of Heaven because of the worship of the Yellow Emperor here), and was moved by the mother of the Western Heavenly King and sent Xuan Nv to teach art books such as Yin Fu for nine days. Defeat Chiyou, unify the world, expand the tribe and lay the foundation for the country. After the establishment of the first dynasty, it was called Xia Dynasty. To commemorate the great achievements of Gai Hua, the teacher of the Yellow Emperor, people also called the territory of this dynasty "Shenzhou", and the peak of Wuwangshan where Gai Hua lived was called "Gaihuafeng". After the Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou, the world was divided into Kyushu, and the former capital of Xia Dynasty (now Jiyuan North) was under the jurisdiction of Jizhou. Jizhou is in Kyushu, also known as "Zhongzhou", and the original city is in Jizhou, so it is called "Central Plains". Because the "original city" is the capital of China, it is also called "China" in the world. This is the origin of Yanhuang, Huaxia, Zhonghua, Zhongzhou and Zhongyuan.

The formation of the concept of Central Plains has gone through a long period. In this development process, the word "Central Plains" changed from the meaning of Yuan Ye, which had no special meaning in the past, to a section in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. When did the word "Central Plains" appear? Refers to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. According to the existing historical data, it was probably in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. After the development of the Han Dynasty, the word "Central Plains" became a special regional term in the Six Dynasties. Because it can be found from the relevant history books that the word "Central Plains" began at this time, sometimes referring to Yuanye, sometimes referring to the Central Plains, and has been specifically referring to the Central Plains in the later period.

Let's first look at the word "Zhongyuan" in the concept of non-region in ancient books of pre-Qin dynasty. The Book of Songs Xiaoya Jiri says: "Looking at the Central Plains, there is uniformity and holes." The "Central Plains" here refers to the "former China", and the author here describes the number of wild animals in Yuan Ye. The Book of Songs Xiaoya Xiaowan says: "There are cymbals in the Central Plains, and Shu Ren adopted them." It's about bean pickers in vilen. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the word Zhongyuan also had the meaning of Yuan Ye. After the siege of Huiji was lifted, Gou Jian, the king of Yue, apologized to the people and said, "I don't know that my strength is insufficient, but I am guilty of fighting a big country and exposing the bones of the people in the Central Plains. Please be more careful. " (On Mandarin and Vietnamese) It is said that because of the war, people's bones are exposed in Yuanye after death. After decades of rest and recuperation, Yue gradually became stronger. When attacking the State of Wu, facing the challenge of Wu Jun five times a day, when the King of Yue was ready to agree, Fan Li remonstrated: "All the corridors and temples planned by Master have been lost to the Central Plains. How could it be?" No, Aunt Wang. The meaning of "Central Plains" is still wild here. At the end of the Warring States Period, Xun Kuang, a representative of Confucianism, wrote in Xunzi Wang Zhi that "those who change their tools will expose the original day by day, and I will change them today, conform to them and build them in the library". Although this is to teach rulers how to govern the country, the "Central Plains" mentioned by the author is obviously vilen's idea here. "Sun Tzu's Art of War strategizing" says: "If the country's poor teachers are far away, if the people are poor, they will be far away; Those who are close to teachers are expensive to sell. If you sell them, the people will have no money. If they have no money, they will be eager to serve in the mountains. Strength bends money, and the Central Plains is empty at home. The cost of people is ten to seven; The expenses of public vehicles, broken vehicles, horses, armour, crossbows, halberds and vehicles shall be reduced to six. "The Central Plains here does not refer to the Central Plains, but the meaning of the center. It originally refers to Yuan Ye and generally refers to the central region with developed agriculture in China." Lu's "Spring and Autumn Meng Dongji An Die" says: "Collecting it with precious stones is still like a violent skeleton in the Central Plains. "It means burying the dead with Baoyu after death, just like exposing the body to Yuan Ye. There is a saying in "Song of Mourning for the Chaos in the South", which refers to the wild gardens.

That is, in the Spring and Autumn Period, the word Zhongyuan began to have the meaning of Zhongyuan. According to the twenty-third year of Zuo Zhuan Gong, the son of the State of Jin was exiled to the State of Chu and was well treated by King Chu. When asked how to repay Chu, Zhong Er replied: "If you use the spirit of the monarch, you will win the battle with the State of Jin. When you meet the Central Plains, you will have three houses for your monarch. Don't die, I will slap you with my left hand and hit you with my right hand to deal with you. " The Central Plains here has a regional meaning. "Guoyu III" records that on the question of whether to accept Jin Jun, some people advocated killing him. The public said, "No, a man who humiliated a great country was in the Central Plains, and he killed his monarch to pay more attention to it. My son wants to avenge his father, and my minister wants to avenge your monarch. Although it is slightly Qin, what is the problem in the world? " The Central Plains here refers to the vassal states of the Central Plains. In 482 AD, after Fu Cha, the king of Wu, and Jin, Lu, and Zhou were in the Huangchi League, the king gained the hegemony of the vassal state, and the king ordered that "the king's son and dog should complain to Zhou", including the saying that "the former Chu people were wrong and did not undertake the king's affairs". Away from my brotherly country. My late king couldn't bear to close the door, so he took a sword with him, and he was quite arrogant, in order to drive drugs in the Central Plains with King Zhao Chu. God's will has died, and the king of Qi returned to China after his defeat. As for Ying. "Tracing back to the Central Plains mentioned in the deeds of ancestors is a concept in the geographical sense.

Regarding the Han Dynasty, the word Zhongyuan refers to the Central Plains area. In the chaos of the Seven Kingdoms that occurred during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, Zhu commented: "However, you can't be a bird in the original Chinese book because' the virtue of the previous dynasty has not failed, and the people who are happy have no foreign aid'. (Records of the Historian and Biographies of the Later Rulers of Ping Jin, Volume 112) The Central Plains here refers to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. When Xu Le wrote to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he mentioned the Central Plains when explaining "disintegration." What is disintegration? Wu, Chu, Qi and Zhao are also. The Seven Kingdoms conspire against the Great Rebellion, all of which are called Wan Cheng Wang and A few hundred thousand. Prestige is enough to strictly control its territory, and wealth is enough to convince its gentry. However, it is impossible to rush headlong into action. As a bird of the Central Plains, what is the reason? Non-forces are lighter than ordinary people, and soldiers are weaker than Chen She. At that time, the virtue of the first emperor was not declining, and he lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the princes were helpless. This is called disintegration. Therefore, the suffering of the world has not collapsed. "("Hanshu "volume sixty-four, biography) According to legend, the kings of Wu Chu were captured in the Central Plains.

Of course, in the Han Dynasty and beyond, the word "Central Plains" still exists in vilen's history books. For example, when Sima Xiangru was sent to the southwest, he said, "In order to spread the land to future generations and make future generations famous in the world, it was the wise men who painted the Central Plains with their livers and brains and did not hesitate to moisten weeds with ointment." (Historical Records, Volume 117, Biography of Sima Xiangru) Before the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attacked South Vietnam, he advised Yan: "There are no dogs barking here, killing your majesty's soldiers, exposing the Central Plains, dyeing the valley, and the people at the border customs collected it early, but I stole it too late." (Hanshu Volume 64 Yan Chuan) In the last years of Xin Mang, Wang Mang ordered Lian Po to attack the Red Eyebrow Army in Shandong. When Lian Dan asked Yan Feng for advice, Yan Feng asked him to wait and see, and advised him, "Why did you lead an army to build the Central Plains, paste yourself on the grass, and be ashamed of your ancestors?" (Book of the Later Han Dynasty Volume 28 Biography of Feng Yanchuan) The Central Plains mentioned in Book of the Later Han Dynasty Volume 60 Biography of Ma Rong Volume 65 Biography of Huangfugui. Still retains the original meaning.

Zhuge Liang said in the "Teacher's Watch": "Today, the south has been decided and the armor is sufficient. The three armies granted it, and the north settled in the Central Plains, and the turbidity was exhausted, and the Han Dynasty was revived, still in the old capital. " The Central Plains here refers to the Central Plains region. When Sun Quan told Shu Han his title, some people thought he should break up with him. Zhuge Liang thought that "if you show off today, you will be deeply impressed, so it is easy to move your troops to the east, wrestle with them, and cooperate with the Central Plains." ("Hanshu Jin Chunqiu") Chen Shou commented on Zhuge Liang: "The bright element of ambition is to enter the dragon, to win the world, to retreat across the border, and to shock the universe. If you think that there is no body, you can't go to the Central Plains and compete with the country for profit, so you use soldiers instead of fighting. " (The History of the Three Kingdoms, Volume 35, Biography of Shu Shu and Zhuge Liang) In the summer of two years in Baoding, Sun Hao built a palace to "save agriculture and waste it". Hua Tuo advised him: "Today, when wrestling with the Central Plains to determine the strength, it is an international meeting, which will benefit me and harm me. This is why men and wise men are deeply worried. " (The History of the Three Kingdoms, Volume 65, Biography of Wu Shu and Hua Tuo) In the Jin Dynasty, especially in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Central Plains began to be widely accepted as a geographical concept. According to incomplete statistics, the word "Central Plains" appeared 92 times in the 55 volumes of the Book of Jin, including 2 times in Ji, 0/2 times in Zhi/Kloc, 30 times in Zai Ji and 48 times in Zhuan. The most frequent occurrence was in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and most of them recovered the Central Plains with rulers and ministers of the Jin Dynasty. The words in the Book of Jin, such as "the Central Plains lost", "the Central Plains was barren", "the Central Plains perished", "the Central Plains lost", "the Central Plains lost", "the Central Plains recovered" and "the Central Plains lost", not only reveal the Central Plains complex of the Eastern Jin people, but also reflect the Central Plains complex of the Eastern Jin people. Later, the Song, Qi, Liang and Chen dynasties living in the south of the Yangtze River all followed the geographical concept of the Central Plains since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, which naturally contained a strong Central Plains complex.

Even the Northern Wei Dynasty, which rose from the northern desert area at that time, still inherited the concept of the Central Plains, calling the middle reaches of the Yellow River the Central Plains, which was recorded repeatedly in Shu Wei. Shu Wei, Volume I, Preface to Wenping Wendi, records that Wendi heard that Liu Yao had killed the Jin Emperor and said to his subordinates, "Is it natural for me that there is no owner in the Central Plains today?" Daowudi widely absorbed Han people into the ruling group. The history books say that "the emperor first expanded the Central Plains, paying attention to ease and comfort. All scholars who are interested in the military door all lead the ceremony, keep asking questions and learn the week, and people have to commit suicide. If they have micro abilities, they can use them. " ("Wei Shu Mao Ji", Volume II) Emperor Xiaowen issued a decree in December of the seventh year prohibiting intermarriage with the same surname. He summed up the reasons why emperors of past dynasties did not prohibit this phenomenon, saying: "The first emperor, the Central Plains was not mixed, and the economy was chaotic, and he gave it every day. Antique remained simple and unchangeable, and then he followed suit. It has not changed so far. " When the salary system was implemented in the class in June of the eighth year of Taihe, he summed up that the social situation in the Northern Wei Dynasty was "since the chaos in the Central Plains, this system was extinct, and the first dynasty followed suit and did not change." (Book of Wei, Volume 7, On the Great Emperor) Emperor Xiaoming wrote in November of the second year of Xiaochang: "Old Beijing has been abolished, and the Central Plains is in chaos. The children of the imperial clan belong to the seven halls and are detained and humiliated by miscellaneous households. " (Shu Wei, Volume 8, Su Zongji) These materials show that the rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty had a very clear understanding of the Central Plains as a region. In Shu Wei Zhuan, there are many occurrences, such as the collapse of the Central Plains, the chaos of the Central Plains, the chaos of the Central Plains, the battlefield of the Central Plains, the ownerless Central Plains and the leveled Central Plains, the determination of the Central Plains, the levy of the Central Plains, the leveling of the Central Plains, the slight determination of the Central Plains. In Zhou Shu and Bei Shu Qi, the Central Plains is also regarded as a region.

The above argument shows that since the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Central Plains region has appeared in people's field of vision as a relatively complete geographical concept, and all subsequent dynasties have followed the geographical category of the Central Plains region. For example, Lu You's famous sentence "Wang Shibei will celebrate the Central Plains, don't forget to tell me about family sacrifices" in the Song Dynasty, which contains the unforgettable complex of people in the Southern Song Dynasty and can be compared with people in the Six Dynasties. Zhonghua Book Company photocopied 1936 version of Cihai to explain the word "Central Plains": "Henan and its nearby areas were called Central Plains in ancient times, and some people also called the lower reaches of the Yellow River Central Plains in the Eastern Jin and Southern Song Dynasties." (P84) It may be based on the above historical facts. Ci Yuan explains the cloud of Central Plains: "The narrow sense of Central Plains refers to the present Henan area. The Central Plains in a broad sense refers to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River or the entire Yellow River basin. "

To sum up, we believe that the Central Plains, as a geographical concept, was put forward and finally accepted by people, which went through a long historical stage. As a geographical concept, it began to appear in the Spring and Autumn Period, but it was not accepted by people. After the development of Han Dynasty, the word "Central Plains" is still the mutual appearance of Yuanye and geographical concepts, which is also the reason why the word "Central Plains" in Han Dynasty history books can not completely refer to the Central Plains. During the Six Dynasties, due to the collapse of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Yellow River basin was occupied by ethnic minorities, and a large number of residents moved south. Although these people who have left their homes are wandering in a foreign land, they still cling to their homeland, so the "Central Plains" that was not mentioned or valued by people in the past began to appear frequently as a region.