In the Central Plains, there is a distinction between a broad and a narrow sense. "Zhongyuan" in a broad sense refers to the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, including most of Henan Province and the southern part of Hebei Province, southern Shanxi Province, eastern Shaanxi Province and western parts of Shandong Province, which is the birthplace of Chinese civilization and the cradle of the Chinese nation. "Zhongyuan" in the narrow sense refers specifically to Henan. The so-called "Zhongyuan" refers to the narrow sense of "Zhongyuan", that is, it refers to Henan. Because Henan is not only the ancestral home of most Chinese, but also the political, economic and cultural center of Most of China's history has been in Henan.
The Central Plains region is the most important birthplace of the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization. Since ancient times, the Central Plains have been a place of contention for generations of warriors. In ancient Times, the land of the Central Plains was divided into nine states, and Yuzhou was at both ends, which was called "the middle of the world" by the Zhou Gong, so the ancient Henan region was also called "Zhongzhou". Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor once built the capital of the ancient city of Xinzheng near the left of Zhengzhou, and erected a stone pillar there, and carved the words "Tianxin Stone" on the top of the pillar, indicating that this is the center of heaven and earth. Since then, Chinese civilizations from the Five Emperors to the Xia Shang Zhou have most developed in the Yellow River Basin. Most importantly, in ancient times, the population and economy of the Central Plains were more concentrated, and once they occupied the Central Plains, they had more resources and advantages. It is roughly divided into the following points:
Geographically, the Central Plains region is in the middle of the world, Henan is located in the geographical center of Chinese mainland, north of Saiwai, south of Jingxiang, west of Qinlong, east of Wuhui; although Bashu is far away, DushangZhou can also be seen. The place of victory is self-evident. Based on the fertile wilderness, backed by the Qinling Mountains and Taihang, bordered by the Yellow River, accessible in all directions, the civilizations of the east, west, south and north meet here, and the merchants of the South China Sea and the North of the South China Sea communicate here, and it is precisely because of the prominence of its status that whenever there is war, it must be a place where soldiers must fight.
Politically, the capital was established here from the Xia Dynasty, followed by the Shang Dynasty, Western Zhou, Eastern Zhou, Xuan Han, Eastern Han, Cao Wei, Bai Western Jin, Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Wu Zhou, Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, Later Zhou, Northern Song, Southern Song, Jin Dynasty and so on. With more than 5,000 years of civilization history, 4,000 years of city building history and more than 1,500 years of capital construction history, the Central Plains region is the earliest city in China and the city with the longest number of years of capital construction. There have been 105 emperors who have set up capital here. Four of China's eight ancient capitals (Zhengzhou, Anyang, Luoyang, kaifeng) are in Henan, which can be said to account for half of the country. In the past dynasties, these places in Henan have been the longest as the ancient capital, and the number of dynasties that built the capital here is also the largest, Luoyang was once the ancient capital of the thirteen dynasties, Kaifeng was the ancient capital of the seven dynasties, and Zhengzhou and Anyang were the capitals of the earliest dynasties and Shang in China's history, all of which show the world the important position of Henan in ancient Chinese history.
Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has been based on agricultural civilization for a very long time, and soil and water sources are the most important resources as an agrarian society, and they are the objects pursued by the most Chinese ancestors. The legendary Emperor Huan, Emperor Zhao, and Yellow Emperor were all built in Henan, and Dayu once treated water in the Longmen area. Yishui and Luoshui meet here, and the Yiluo civilization formed here is very important in the development of the Chinese nation, just as Western historians say, the Yiluo civilization is "the two-river civilization of the East". Of course, the Yellow River, known as the mother river of the Chinese nation, also flows from Luoyang, Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, which is mainly a plain area, with fertile land, sufficient water sources and a suitable climate, which is an excellent place for farming.
It was from here that the ancestors of China multiplied and developed. Yin Shang extinguished, Western Zhou Jian. On the one hand, the Zhou Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang in order to avoid the harassment of the frontier nomads, and on the other hand, in order to better control the territory of the dynasty. Henan as the land of the Central Plains, for a dynasty in its heyday, choosing a place in the Central Plains as a capital city can radiate in all directions and control the territory of the dynasty more effectively, which is also an important reason why the royal families of successive dynasties have favored these places in Henan.
He who wins the population wins the world
In a broad sense, the North China Plain of the Central Plains is still the most populous of the four plains. Henan, Hebei and Shandong have a population of nearly 300 million. If such a large number of people are ruled by the law, their strength is so great that in wartime they can summon countless young and strong soldiers, enlist millions of male divisions, and have no worries about the barren fields, women and children; so once the conquerors in history have occupied the Central Plains, the most important work is to recruit a large number of people to wage war in the Central Plains. Usually, it can produce tens of thousands of cartons of fine grain and grass, not to mention the people who are full of learning, the craftsmen, the rich merchants, all out of the people. Borrowing from the theory of statistics, Gein's base is large, the same probability event, the frequency is also higher. Borrowing from the theory of market economy, the population is both labor force and market, and if the population is large, the market is vast and the labor force is abundant, so that the economy is active and the country is prosperous. Today's North China has a temperate monsoon climate, and its natural conditions are insufficient compared with Jiangnan. However, before the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the boundaries of the natural belt had not yet moved significantly south, and the fertility of the Central Plains was far better than today, which can be described as "a fertile field for thousands of miles, the land of the Heavenly Palace", the wealth of food and grain, and the abundance of the world.
Li Zicheng's important strategist Li Yan suggested that Henan be appeased and killed, which has become one of the historical reasons for Li Zicheng's failure, and When Li Shimin, Cao Cao, and others occupied the Central Plains, they occupied the world, so the most important thing to get the Central Plains was to get these war resources, and only with it could they win the world, which was the best war resource in China's territory. Therefore, it is said that those who have won the Central Plains will win the world.