Readings from Yue Man Tang (1-6)

Author: Li Cimeng / Country:
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-02-01
Features: In the third paragraph of the excerpt, the four "" are on the left with "" (moon) and on the right with "" (to go out). In the ninth paragraph of the excerpt, all the "" are on the left with "" (country) and on the right with "" (a character). Read the annotations to the "Notes on the Tribute of Yu." The changes in the landscape have been inconsistent since ancient times. During Yu's time, the nine rivers flowed through the land, but by the Zhou Dynasty, only the Tu Hai River remained. During Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, only the remains of the three rivers could be traced, and other large marshes like Daoye and Mengzhou had long been submerged. The Black River, considered the pride of the Yong and Liang prefectures, is now completely untraceable. Then how can the so-called "Nine Rivers and Three Rivers" be arbitrarily divided or combined? The disputes throughout history have been confusing and unresolved, as if they had personally witnessed the planning of the time, which is unnecessary. The theory of the "Three Rivers" has the most reasonable compromise, such as Guo Pu's argument about the Min River, Song River, and Zhejiang River. Li Daoyuan's annotations to the "Water Classics" followed this theory, but he insisted on forcing the meaning of the "Tribute of Yu" that one river divides into three, claiming that the Min River flows east into Juqu and then becomes the Song River; another flows east to Wuxi and Yuyao and enters the sea; and the twists and turns are inconsistent with geography. Cai Shen's "Commentary on the Book" also supported Guo's theory but argued that the "Three Rivers" did not necessarily involve the text of the East River or the Middle River, but only focused on the benefits and drawbacks in the region of Yangzhou. Among the three rivers, the largest are the Yangtze River, Song River, and Zhejiang River. This statement is quite appropriate. During the current dynasty, Quan Zuowang followed this view. Wang Mingsheng's "Post-An Analysis of the Book of Documents" rigidly adhered to the text that the east is the North River, which is tied to the passage below "Yan Yang," describing the entry of the Han River into the sea. The following passage further states that the Min Mountain guides the river, and then mentions that the east flows north to meet the East River, which is described as the Middle River, tied to the passage below "guiding the river," which describes the river entering the sea. These are clearly unrelated. Moreover, the phrase "the east flows north to meet the East River" does not mention the so-called South River in the text. Zheng Kangcheng immediately notes that "the east flows north" is the South River, merely because the text above mentions "the east is the North River" and the text below mentions "the east is the Middle River," he arbitrarily concludes it as the South River. However, upon careful study of the text, Yang and Jiang have different sources; the Han River originates from Yang, flows east to form Pengli, and then enters the sea as the North River, which is distinct from the Jiang River. Even according to Zheng's theory, it cannot be said that one river divides into three. Only Yu Chanshan, Li Daoyuan, Lu Deming, and Zhang Shoujie spoke of the Song River, Lou River, and East River (also known as Shang River, located in Baize Lake of Wujiang County today). These three rivers in Wu during the Six Dynasties were definitely not the "Three Rivers" mentioned in the "Tribute of Yu." Zhao Bao considered the Zhejiang River, Pujiang River, and Shanjiang River as the "Three Rivers," which were the "Three Rivers" mentioned in the "National Language of Wu" and the "Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue," not those mentioned in the "Tribute of Yu." Wang's "Post-An Analysis" states that Wei Zhao's annotations to the "National Language of Wu" consider the "Three Rivers" as the Song River, Qiantang River, and Pu'an River, which can explain the "National Language of Wu" but not the "Tribute of Yu." The Zhejiang River is called Qiantang when speaking from Hangzhou and Pu'an when speaking from Yue, so one river has two names. After the Tang Dynasty, Wu and Yue became the center of fiscal revenue, and the mouth of the Song River into the sea also gradually silted up. During the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan, Jia Shan, and Shan Jie all discussed the water conservancy in Wu, suggesting that the Song River should be opened to return to the sea, stabilizing the Zhenze Lake. The "Three Rivers" of the Song River and others are the key to the benefits and drawbacks of the Zhenze Lake, which is also the key to water conservancy in Wu. However, during Yu's time, the land in Wu was vast and sparsely populated, and the areas where the Zhenze Lake entered the sea must have been deep and wide, making this a secondary concern. It is unwise to use later events to interpret the classics. This argument is indeed correct. However, those who support Zheng's "Three Rivers" theory are not as convincing as Guo's. I have read the "Tribute of Yu" and argued as follows.
The author: Li Cimeng / Country:
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-02-01
Features: In the third paragraph of the excerpt, the four "" are on the left with "" (moon) and on the right with "" (to go out). In the ninth paragraph of the excerpt, all the "" are on the left with "" (country) and on the right with "" (a character). Read the annotations to the "Notes on the Tribute of Yu." The changes in the landscape have been inconsistent since ancient times. During Yu's time, the nine rivers flowed through the land, but by the Zhou Dynasty, only the Tu Hai River remained. During Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, only the remains of the three rivers could be traced, and other large marshes like Daoye and Mengzhou had long been submerged. The Black River, considered the pride of the Yong and Liang prefectures, is now completely untraceable. Then how can the so-called "Nine Rivers and Three Rivers" be arbitrarily divided or combined? The disputes throughout history have been confusing and unresolved, as if they had personally witnessed the planning of the time, which is unnecessary. The theory of the "Three Rivers" has the most reasonable compromise, such as Guo Pu's argument about the Min River, Song River, and Zhejiang River. Li Daoyuan's annotations to the "Water Classics" followed this theory, but he insisted on forcing the meaning of the "Tribute of Yu" that one river divides into three, claiming that the Min River flows east into Juqu and then becomes the Song River; another flows east to Wuxi and Yuyao and enters the sea; and the twists and turns are inconsistent with geography. Cai Shen's "Commentary on the Book" also supported Guo's theory but argued that the "Three Rivers" did not necessarily involve the text of the East River or the Middle River, but only focused on the benefits and drawbacks in the region of Yangzhou. Among the three rivers, the largest are the Yangtze River, Song River, and Zhejiang River. This statement is quite appropriate. During the current dynasty, Quan Zuowang followed this view. Wang Mingsheng's "Post-An Analysis of the Book of Documents" rigidly adhered to the text that the east is the North River, which is tied to the passage below "Yan Yang," describing the entry of the Han River into the sea. The following passage further states that the Min Mountain guides the river, and then mentions that the east flows north to meet the East River, which is described as the Middle River, tied to the passage below "guiding the river," which describes the river entering the sea. These are clearly unrelated. Moreover, the phrase "the east flows north to meet the East River" does not mention the so-called South River in the text. Zheng Kangcheng immediately notes that "the east flows north" is the South River, merely because the text above mentions "the east is the North River" and the text below mentions "the east is the Middle River," he arbitrarily concludes it as the South River. However, upon careful study of the text, Yang and Jiang have different sources; the Han River originates from Yang, flows east to form Pengli, and then enters the sea as the North River, which is distinct from the Jiang River. Even according to Zheng's theory, it cannot be said that one river divides into three. Only Yu Chanshan, Li Daoyuan, Lu Deming, and Zhang Shoujie spoke of the Song River, Lou River, and East River (also known as Shang River, located in Baize Lake of Wujiang County today). These three rivers in Wu during the Six Dynasties were definitely not the "Three Rivers" mentioned in the "Tribute of Yu." Zhao Bao considered the Zhejiang River, Pujiang River, and Shanjiang River as the "Three Rivers," which were the "Three Rivers" mentioned in the "National Language of Wu" and the "Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue," not those mentioned in the "Tribute of Yu." Wang's "Post-An Analysis" states that Wei Zhao's annotations to the "National Language of Wu" consider the "Three Rivers" as the Song River, Qiantang River, and Pu'an River, which can explain the "National Language of Wu" but not the "Tribute of Yu." The Zhejiang River is called Qiantang when speaking from Hangzhou and Pu'an when speaking from Yue, so one river has two names. After the Tang Dynasty, Wu and Yue became the center of fiscal revenue, and the mouth of the Song River into the sea also gradually silted up. During the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan, Jia Shan, and Shan Jie all discussed the water conservancy in Wu, suggesting that the Song River should be opened to return to the sea, stabilizing the Zhenze Lake. The "Three Rivers" of the Song River and others are the key to the benefits and drawbacks of the Zhenze Lake, which is also the key to water conservancy in Wu. However, during Yu's time, the land in Wu was vast and sparsely populated, and the areas where the Zhenze Lake entered the sea must have been deep and wide, making this a secondary concern. It is unwise to use later events to interpret the classics. This argument is indeed correct. However, those who support Zheng's "Three Rivers" theory are not as convincing as Guo's. I have read the "Tribute of Yu" and argued as follows.