In the last years of the Qin Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the flocks of heroes chased deer, and finally Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu in the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony, seized the world, and established the Han Dynasty with Chang'an as the capital, known as the Western Han Dynasty. Coupled with the later Eastern Han Dynasty, the two Han Dynasties, which lasted for more than four hundred years, were the most advanced civilizations in the world at that time, leaving behind such a sonorous and powerful oath that "those who commit strong Han crimes will be punished from afar". The influence of the Han Dynasty on China's history and people is extremely far-reaching, and the Han people are also derived from it. When Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty, why did he choose the word "Han" as the name of the country?
The harsh criminal law and heavy servitude of the Qin Dynasty forced the common people to be cornered, and with the roar of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, they all rose up. All kinds of rebel armies surged up, and Qin Shi Huang's world was difficult to unify, and soon fell apart. King Huai of Chu had made an agreement that whoever laid down Guanzhong first would be the King of Guanzhong. When Xiang Yu went north to break Qin, Liu Bang took the lead in taking Guanzhong from the western front. However, Xiang Yu's military strength was stronger, and his fists were hard enough, so he did not follow the agreement of King Huai of Chu at all.
In that case at that time, whoever had a hard fist was the boss, compared to Xiang Yu, Liu Bang was a weak person, and naturally there was no way, so he had to listen to the seal. In order to suppress Liu Bang, Xiang Yu divided him into Bashu in Hanzhong (then known as Southern Zheng), which was relatively remote and difficult to enter and exit at that time, but he did not expect that in the end, Liu Bang overturned from Hanzhong.
Hanzhong, known as Nanzheng in ancient times, is located in the Hanzhong Basin in the south of Shaanxi Province, north of the Qinling Mountains, South Pingba Mountain, the largest tributary of the Yangtze River Han River through the border, Hanzhong is named after the Han River. Hanshui is now the Han River, often together with the Yangtze River, HuaiHe, Yellow River collectively known as "Jianghuai River Han", is a very important river in China's history. The Han River originates in the southern foothills of the Qinling Mountains, and has three sources, the North Source Depression Water, the Middle Source YangShui, and the South Source Yudai River, with the Zhongyuan YangShui originating from the North Ridge Mountain in Ningqiang County, Shaanxi Province. The Han River flows east through Shaanxi and Hubei provinces, and finally joins the Yangtze River at the Hankou Dragon King Temple in Wuhan, with a total length of 1577 kilometers.
This is the Han River today, but the ancient Han River is longer than this. The Jialing River has a source called the Western Han River, which flows southeast from the Qishou Mountains in Tianshui, Gansu, and joins the Jialing River in Luoyang County, Hanzhong, Shaanxi. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty (186 BC), the Wudu earthquake occurred in the area of present-day Luoyang and Ningqiang in Shaanxi, and after the earthquake, the ancient Han River was blocked, and the upper reaches of the Han River were interrupted and overflowed to the Jialing River, which was called "Jialing To seize the Han". Before the Wudu earthquake, Hanzhong was located in the upper reaches of the Han River, hence the name. After Jialing captured Han, Hanzhong became the upper reaches of the Han River.
On the banks of the Han River, Xiao Heyue chased after Han Xin and worshiped the three armies in a panic. Han Xinming repaired the boardwalk, secretly crossed Chen Cang, came out of Hanzhong to help Liu Bang fix the world, and established the Han Dynasty, so Hanzhong was known as the "hometown of the Han people". Liu Bang used the channel of the ancient Han River to trace the river up to Chen Cang (present-day Baoji, Shaanxi), and the water transportation of the ancient Han Water provided a great boost to the logistics of the army. Hundreds of years later, Liu Bei became king of Hanzhong, intending to emulate Liu Bang, achieve hegemony, and restore the Han Dynasty, but he failed. It is not that Liu Bei did not work hard, nor was it that he did not have good generals, but a large reason is that the Han River has changed after the Wudu earthquake, and the Western Han River can no longer provide water transportation facilities for the logistics of the army.
Hanzhong's geographical position is superior, it is on the main road between Guanzhong (Central Plains) and Bashu, and it is necessary to pass through Hanzhong to exit Qin and enter Shu. The Shu Road is difficult, it is difficult to go to the qingtian, and Hanzhong has the blessing of lofty mountains and mountains, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The fertile land and abundant products in Hanzhong allowed Liu Bang to cultivate and live, and his strength increased greatly, so that he could have the capital to go out and compete with Xiang Yu to dominate the world.
Therefore, the fate of the Han Dynasty and Hanzhong and Hanshui is extraordinary, without Hanshui, there would be no Hanzhong; without Hanzhong and Hanshui, there may not have been the Han Dynasty established by Liu Bang and influencing China's two-thousand-year history.