Temperate plains can be said to be the most suitable place for human habitation. In the agricultural era, the fertile plains are suitable for concentrated agricultural production, if it is in the temperate zone, there is enough light and heat, and next to the river, it will form villages, market towns and cities, and give birth to a prosperous culture.
China's vast territory and rich regional culture are mostly based on different plains, such as the Pearl River Delta Plain as the core gave birth to the Cantonese culture, the Sichuan Basin as the core gave birth to the Shangjiang (Bashu) culture, and the richest middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain gave birth to the most beautiful humanistic mood in the hearts of Chinese - Jiangnan.
The Right Plate of the Jiangsu River, which is a little westerly in the south of the Jiangnan Province, which is now inconspicuous and does not leak, also has an important position in Chinese history, and the Song and Yuan Dynasties can be described as the heyday of Jiangxi. Of course, this is also related to the large-scale development of the plains in Jiangxi, the largest plain in Jiangxi, needless to say, is the Poyang Lake Plain centered on Nanchang, with an area of 38,000 square kilometers, sufficient water sources and sufficient light, which can be described as a rich place under the world. It is precisely for this reason that it has been the core plate of Jiangxi right for more than 2,000 years of history, and it is still the political, economic and cultural center of Jiangxi.
However, there is more than one slightly larger plain in Jiangxi, and the Poyang Lake plate flows south along the Ganjiang River, and before it reaches the Gannan Basin, there is the second largest plain in Jiangxi, the Jitai Plain.
Jitai Plain (basin), that is, Ji'an - Taihe Plain, Ji'an is a very ordinary prefecture-level city in Jiangxi, in the case of a sense of existence in the province is not high, Ji'an's popularity is naturally very low, it is estimated that it is far less than the JinggangShan in its territory; as for Taihe County under the jurisdiction of Ji'an, there are naturally fewer people who know, and may not be as good as the people who know Taihe Wuji.
However, Ji'an has a very high status in Chinese history, Luling culture is one of the most important cultural components of Jiangxi, especially in the style of keju, Ji'an has a very high status, and even has the name of "Luling Half Suzhou", and even this is still a small view of Ji'an. In fact, since the era of the imperial examination, nearly 3,000 jinshi have been admitted in the Luling area, while only 1,771 people have been enrolled in suzhou, which is culturally developed. There are 1397 authors in the "All Song Ci", of which 174 are in Jiangxi, accounting for 12.5%, ranking second in the country; Ji'an has 52 people, accounting for 3.7% of the country. The "Dictionary of Philosophy" collected 50 philosophers from the Song and Ming dynasties in Jiangxi, including more than 10 in Ji'an. The flourishing civilization of Ji'an is related to the development of the Jitai Plain.
Ouyang Xiu represents the highest achievement of the Ji'an people in humanities
The Jitai Plain (basin) covers an area of 18,700 square kilometers, including 10 districts and counties under the jurisdiction of Ji'an City, including Jizhou District, Qingyuan District, Taihe County, Jishui County, Ji'an County, Yongfeng County, Xingan County, Xiajiang County, Anfu County, and Wan'an County. The climate in this area is mild and humid, with plenty of sunshine and abundant rainfall. It is precisely for this reason that during the Western Han Dynasty, when Jiangxi was just developing to a certain extent, Luling County was established here, and this county gradually became the auxiliary county of Jizhou and Ji'an Province. Later, from Jin to Tang, it was gradually developed, and Ji'an was located in the middle reaches of the Ganzhou waterway, with convenient transportation, developed commerce and trade, and extreme prosperity in industry and commerce, so the prefecture and population gradually increased, becoming one of the richest areas in Jiangnan. During the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty, the total population of Jiangxi Province was 3221538 people, and the population of Jizhou was 957256, accounting for 30% of the province. By the Yuan dynasty and Ming Dynasty, Ji'an's population still ranked first in the province.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, There were thirteen provinces and one prefecture in Jiangxi, and Ji'an was the largest capital in Jiangxi
"From the yi and the suburbs, from the suburbs and the wilderness, the rocks and valleys, the footprints of the past have not been reached, and now they are all anointed soils" - "He Spectrum"
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Jizhou supplied nearly 400,000 stones (120 catties per stone), accounting for 30% of Jiangxi Province and 7% of the country; by the Southern Song Dynasty, Jizhou's supply of grain to the country increased to 600,000 stones, still accounting for 30% of Jiangxi Province and nearly 10% of the country.
In the third generation of the Song Dynasty, Yuanming, the dazzling Luling culture was bred here. It has also become the second largest center of the Ganmin system from the Poyang Lake Plain. There are a large number of Ganpai buildings in the ancient villages of Yuyuan, Yipi, Yanfang, jiangpan, etc. in Futian Ancient Town; the Bailuzhou Academy in the middle of the Ganjiang River has become an important university in Jiangxi; religious cultures such as Buddhism and Taoism have also sprouted in the Ji'an landscape, and famous Taoist temples and Buddhist temples such as Chongdaoguan, Meixiguan, Chongxuguan, and Jingju Temple have also appeared, which are still important scenic spots and monuments; in terms of handicraft industry, Jizhou kilns are extremely prosperous during the Song Dynasty and enjoyed a reputation at home and abroad, in addition to papermaking, textile, construction, shipbuilding industry, Jizhou bamboo paper, Yongfeng jade buckle paper, Luling snail ware has become a famous handicraft.
Ganpai village
Although the Jitai Plain and the Poyang Lake Plain are differentiated, they are not separated by tall mountains, so the humanities of the two places can be described as the same vein, and together they constitute the core plate of Jiangxi - and also become the homeland of the Jiangyoumin family.
The Nanchang Basin (Poyang Lake Plain) and the Jitai Basin are actually connected by mountains and rivers
Unfortunately, however, since the Qing Dynasty, Jiangxi has gradually declined, especially in the taiping rebellion at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the decline of the Ganjiang-Guangdong waterway, which has caused Jiangxi's strength to decline rapidly, while the closed Ji'an area has slid down faster, and Nanchang, Jiujiang, Ganzhou, Shangrao and other places have risen rapidly, surpassing the inaccessible Ji'an.
Then, although the glorious millennium Luling culture has become history, the gifts of the Jitai Plain to Jiangxi still exist, and the Jitai Basin is still the second largest commercial grain base and the largest citrus production base in Jiangxi Province after the Poyang Lake Plain, as well as the main production area of cash crops such as cotton and hemp.
Author: Yun Fan