Foreword: Where is the Central Plains? What is Central Plains Culture? Through this article, the connotation of "Central Plains" is fully interpreted from the perspective of geography, history and culture. Although the concept of the Central Plains has a process of development and evolution, it is the core of guanzhong from beginning to end that is immutable.
History is the most precious cultural memory of a nation, and it cannot be vain.
The Fenwei Plain, where the Central Plains are located, and the North China Plain east of Luoyang are different geographical concepts, and they are also different in archaeological culture.
Since the establishment of "Zhongyuan District" in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province in the 1980s, the name of "Zhongyuan" has emerged in Henan, such as: Zhongyuan Road, Zhongyuan Bank, Zhongyuan Opera, Zhongyuan Futa, Zhongyuan Giant Buddha, Zhongyuan Talent Network, Central Plains International Bicycle Race, etc., until the later "Central Plains City Cluster" and the latest "Central Plains Science and Technology City". With the large number of media spread, we ordinary Chinese feel that Henan seems to be equated with the Central Plains, Henan is the Central Plains, and the Central Plains are Henan. Henan has never regarded itself as an outsider in the expression of "Zhongyuan", often regarded itself as "Zhongyuan Dadi", and regarded itself as a representative of "Zhongyuan Culture", and "Zhongyuan" has become synonymous with "Henan", including Baidu Encyclopedia and some dictionaries. Is that really the case? Can Henan represent the Central Plains? Can Henan culture represent the culture of the Central Plains?
The answer is no.
The Fenwei Plain is the earliest reference to China, the Central Plains, The Middle States, and Middle Earth.
"Zhongyuan" is an important basic term for the study of philosophy and social sciences, involving geography, history, culture and other aspects. Since ancient times, Guanzhong has been the birthplace and cultural center of the geographical concept of the Central Plains, whether from the macroscopic history, archaeology, geography or culture, the Central Plains are built with Guanzhong as the center, corresponding to the five Central Plains dynasties of the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties. Through the study of historical books, we can clearly know that the center of the Central Plains is in Guanzhong, in the ancient capital of Chang'an, Chang'an is the representative and logo of the Central Plains culture, without Chang'an, how can we talk about the Central Plains? The concept of "yuan" is mainly concentrated in Guanzhong, such as: Bailuyuan, Zhouyuan, Xianyangyuan, Wuzhangyuan, etc., there are hundreds, except for a small number of "yuan" titles in western Henan and southern Jin, there is no such title in other regions. "Zhongyuan", "Yuanzhong" also, yuantong "Yuan", originally refers to the flat land above the high platform, the middle original refers to the plain in the middle of the four sai land, "Zhongyuan" must have a "central point", must have "mountains embracing", similar to the geographical characteristics of the Guanzhong Plain, the Fenhe Plain and the Yiluo Plain. The southern part of the river east of Luoyang belongs to the North China Plain, which has been a flooded swampland in prehistory, a paradise for elephants and rhinos; neither geography nor culture is the concept of "Central Plains".
In terms of archaeology, the Central Plains are centered on Guanzhong, Southern Jin, and Western Henan.
Zhongyuan refers to the Shaanxi, Jinnan and western Henan regions centered on Guanzhong, and the east of Luoyang does not belong to the Central Plains in the historical sense, which is a basic ancient geographical concept, in fact, it is also a common sense of historiography. "Zhongyuan" mainly refers to the "Fenwei Plain" connection, including the Guanzhong Plain, the Fenhe Plain, the Lingbao Basin and the Yiluo Basin. This area has always been the most concentrated area of Prehistoric China, the center of Yangshao culture, the famous Loess Plateau area and cave culture area, and the core birthplace of Chinese civilization.
Guanzhong Plain has been known as the "Central Plains" since ancient times, and when the ancients mentioned the Central Plains, the first thing that came to mind was Guanzhong, which was the ancient capital of Chang'an.
Ming Miao Xiyong said in the "Burial Wing": "Guanzhong, the ridge of the world, the dragon head of the Central Plains".
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms": "The Shu soldiers have arrived at Qishan, entered the Central Plains, and Qing An can't bear to sit and watch"? (Qishan is located in the area of Longnan and Tianshui in Gansu Province, and the presence of soldiers on Qishan means invading the Central Plains.)
Zhuge Liang's "Table of Teachers": "Beiding Zhongyuan, still in the old capital". (The State of Shu is located in the south of the Qinling Mountains, where "Zhongyuan" refers to Guanzhong, and the old capital refers to Chang'an, the capital of the Western Han Dynasty.)
Sui Wang Tong's "Zhongshu": "Xia Du An Yi, Tang Du Bo, Zhou Du Yong Luo, all zhongyuan Wangye". ("Zhou Duyong" is the Zhou Jiandu Yongzhou, Yong is the old name of Shaanxi)
Song Xie Caibo's "Notes on Secret Zhai": "Guanzhong, a great victory place in the Central Plains".
Song Xue Jixuan's "Collection of LangYu": "On the situation in the Central Plains, Guanzhong is often the head of the Xia Dynasty."
Song Luyou: "The Central Plains will begin in Chang'an."
Yuan Fanghui's "Yingkui Law Essence": "Jinling can look north to Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains, so Taibai is covered by floating clouds, and it is sad not to see Chang'an."
Qing Wang Youding's "Four Zhaotang Poetry Collection": "To Tongcao Shi Guanzhong, as the first of the manager Zhongyuan".
"Shijing • Xiao ya": "The descent of lacquer depression, the place of the Son of Heaven." Zhan Pi Zhongyuan, its Qi Kong has". This is the earliest record of the term "Zhongyuan", referring to the "wilderness of the Guanzhong Plain". The commentary on the Central Plains in the Cihai refers to the "Han settlement in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River", which is also referred to by the "Great Central Plains", which is a concept of the Central Plains that has been generalized. By this time, Beijing and Zhengzhou had been included in the central plains. Since ancient times, "Zhongyuan" has been centered on Guanzhong, and there has never been any "broad and narrow sense" centered on Henan, and all Chinese historical records have never referred to "Zhongyuan" specifically to "Henan". In modern times, the term "Zhongyuan" has been given cultural connotations, and it also refers to the "Eighteen Provinces of Han China" or the whole of "China", which is "the Central Plains in a broad sense". At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchus crossed the Shanhaiguan to "enter the Central Plains", and the Central Plains here refer to the vast number of Han Chinese living places. In fact, if we look at more ancient books, we will clearly know that Henan cannot represent the Central Plains, Henan culture cannot represent the Central Plains culture, Henan people cannot represent the Central Plains people, and Henan dialect cannot represent the Central Plains official dialect, which is the truth of history.
Strictly speaking Henan dialect does not belong to the category of Central Plains dialect, and the east of Luoyang no longer belongs to the Central Plains dialect.
The cultural fauna type says that the Central Plains are centered on Shaanxi, Southern Jin, and Western Henan, which is a basic understanding in archaeology.
Shaanxi is the only province in China that is covered by the entire basin of yangshao cultural sites.
The earliest Huaxia was born in the Guanzhong Plain
The Fenwei Plain contiguous includes the Guanzhong Plain, the Fenhe Plain, the Lingbao Basin and the Luoyang Basin, which are the real Central Plains, and other areas cannot be called "Central Plains"
The Central Plains delineated by the famous archaeologist Mr. Su Bingqi from the perspective of archaeology only includes Guanzhong (Shaanxi), Jinnan and Western Henan, which is also the geographical scope of "Central Plains" in the general historical sense, and Professor Zhou Tianyou, a famous contemporary expert in the history of the Qin and Han Dynasties, has also described it. The "Battle of Mt. Nakajō" during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is also known as the "Battle of the Central Plains" in the accounts of Japanese scholars.
Central Plains culture is a general term for culture derived from the long historical process of the vast Central Plains region with Chang'an as the center, the five Central Plains dynasties of Zhou, Qin, Sui, Han, and Tang as the main axis, Confucianism as the orthodoxy, and the Fenwei Plain as the core.
Historically, there has never been a "Henan also known as the Central Plains and Zhongzhou", and now Henan is engaged in what "Central Plains Urban Agglomeration" centered on Zhengzhou actually lacks historical support, because historically speaking, Zhengzhou does not belong to the Central Plains, and geographically speaking, it does not belong to the Yellow River Basin but belongs to the Huai River Basin, and it is more appropriate to change the name to "Yuzhou Urban Agglomeration". Of course, the "Zhongyuan District" established in Zhengzhou in the 1980s also violates the relevant regulations on the management of the names of county-level state organs, because the meaning of "Zhongyuan" is too large, and a prefecture-level city in Zhengzhou cannot accommodate it, just like Xi'an cannot establish a "Xi'an China District".
Yanhuang hometown, the great beauty of Shaanxi. Shaanxi is the source of Chinese civilization and the root of the Chinese nation. Guanzhong has been the capital of ancient emperors since ancient times, and Chang'an has been the capital of ancient emperors, and the Weishui River Basin is the core birthplace of Chinese civilization. Guanzhong is the root of the Central Plains culture, and Chang'an is the soul of the Central Plains culture. Guanzhong is the authenticity of the Central Plains and the core of the Central Plains culture, which is beyond doubt. Henan, from the government to the people, yearns for the "Central Plains culture", has been encroaching on the concept of "Central Plains", has been impersonating the name of "Central Plains" to hype "Luoyang to Kaifeng is the core area of the Central Plains", "the Central Plains are centered on Songshan Mountain", which not only violates the common sense of history, but also misleads the public, misleads the country, and divides history, which can be described as endless damage.
The famous thinker Montesquieu
The great French Enlightenment thinker Montesquieu said that one of the "ten things that destroyed mankind" was: "There is no real history." Finally, I would like to say that relying on propaganda to rob historical and cultural heritage is extremely harmful, and Henan's long-term false propaganda under the pseudonym "Central Plains" needs to arouse the high vigilance of the whole society.