There are many cities with the "surname Zhang" in China, such as Zhangjiajie in Hunan, Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu (Suzhou), Zhangjiakou in Hebei, and Zhangjiachuan in Gansu (Tianshui). Some people also say that Zhangye in Gansu is also "surnamed Zhang", which is actually a misunderstanding. The origin of the place names of the above four cities is related to the surname Zhang, but Zhangye does not.
Let's look at the map of Gansu Province, the shape is like a barbell, the two ends are wide and narrow in the middle, and Zhangye is located in this middle position. The southern part of Zhangye is the Qilian Mountains on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the northern part of Zhangye is separated by the Taili Mountain and the Longfu Mountain is the Badain Jaran Desert, which can be said that Zhangye is a buffer zone between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Inner Mongolia Plateau. Administratively, Zhangye is between Qinghai Province and Inner Mongolia, bordering Jiuquan City, the largest city in Gansu Province, to the northwest, and Jinchang City and Wuwei City in Gansu Province to the southeast.
Zhangye has a famous nickname - Jin Zhangye, because Zhangye's geographical location is really too special. The Xiongnu were a major problem for the Western Han Dynasty, and if Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty wanted to solve the Xiongnu problem, he had to get in touch with the countries in the Western Regions to suppress the Xiongnu. If this is to be achieved, the Hexi Corridor must be seized. After Huo's department broke the Xiongnu to seize the Hexi Corridor, the Han Dynasty set up four counties here: Jiuquan, Dunhuang, Zhangye, and Wuwei.
If the territory of the Han Dynasty (including the Eastern Han Dynasty) is likened to a person, the Central Plains is the person's body, the Western Regions are the fists, and the four counties of Hexi are the arms that connect the body and the fists. Zhangye, on the other hand, is quite an elbow. Among the four counties of Hexi, Wuwei in the southeast is directly connected to the Central Plains, Jiuquan and Dunhuang Counties in the northwest are directly connected to the Western Regions, and Zhangye is in the narrowest position of the Han Dynasty, and it is also the only place to connect the Western Regions (Jiuquan and Dunhuang Counties) and the Central Plains (Wuwei). The ancients called Zhangye "the key to the Han Dynasty, the throat of the West of the Stranglehold River, and the tang pond of the Golden City." ”
Why is Zhangye called Zhangye? This really has nothing to do with the surname Zhang, and this place name was given by Emperor Wu of Han. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty believed that this place connected the Central Plains with the Western Regions, "Zhang Guo's arm was tucked in order to pass through the Western Regions." So it was named Zhangye, and the "Zhang" here means to stretch out.
Since the Han Dynasty, the territorial shape of each large dynasty is similar to that of the Han Dynasty, especially the Tang Dynasty, which is almost a replica of the Han Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty attached great importance to the Western Regions, and it was almost impossible to control the Western Regions without taking Zhangye. The Tang Dynasty was a little different from the Han Dynasty, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the Han Dynasty did not have a strong force, but the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the Tang Dynasty had a powerful Tubo, which created great pressure on the Tang Dynasty to control the western region. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty's emphasis and control over Zhangye may be slightly stronger than that of the Han Dynasty to some extent.
Zhangye was known as Ganzhou in the Tang Dynasty. Do you think that the word "Gan" is very familiar, which is directly related to Gansu Province. Gansu is the combined name of Ganzhou and Suzhou, Suzhou is now Jiuquan, and Ganzhou is Zhangye. Zhangye claimed that Ganzhou was not in the Tang Dynasty, but in the Western Wei Dynasty in the late Southern and Northern Dynasties. The reason why Gansu Province is referred to as Gan is related to the fact that Zhangye (Ganzhou) was the capital of Gansu Province in the Yuan Dynasty.
The reason why it is called Ganzhou is also a source. Zhangye County has a spring water, its taste is very sweet, people after drinking the water, feel that Zhangye renamed Ganzhou is very necessary. In 554, Yuwen Tai, who controlled Western Wei, ordered that Zhangye County be renamed Ganzhou. There is a famous word in the Song Ci called "Eight Voices of Ganzhou", referred to as "Ganzhou", which originated from Zhangye. The most famous word in "Eight Voices of Ganzhou" is the one of Liu Yong of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the words are slightly cloudy: "To Xiao Xiao's twilight rain sprinkled on the river sky, a wash of autumn." ...... It is a place where the red decays and the green is reduced, and the radial things are rested. Only the water of the Yangtze River flows in the east without words. ...... I can't bear to climb high and go far, look at my hometown, and it is difficult to return to my hometown. ...... Knowing me, leaning on the railing, I am frowning! The impact of this word is so great that it needs not be said.
Because it is located in a necessary place for communication between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, Zhangye is not only a military town, but also a major commercial and trade town. Here we need to mention one person, that is, Yang Guang, the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. Some people have commented that Yang Guang's crime is in the contemporary era, and his merits are in the thousands of autumns, which actually has a certain truth, such as Yang Guang's construction of the Grand Canal. In fact, Yang Guang once came to Zhangye. Yang Guang had ambitions and wanted to emulate Emperor Wu of Han in opening up the Western Regions. In order to achieve this goal, Yang Guang decided to tour the west in March of the fifth year of Daye (609 AD). Yang Guangguang drove west to Zhangye and stayed in Zhangye for six days. Subsequently, Yang Guang held the "Congress of All Nations" at the foot of Yanzhi Mountain near Zhangye, which is equivalent to the Canton Fair. Merchants from the Central Plains and the Western Regions and other places came here to communicate with each other.
Photo - Aerial photo of Lushui Bay in Zhangye Wetland Park
In this "Congress of Nations", the Sui Dynasty opened up thousands of miles of territory, all of which were donated by the countries of the Western Regions, and the Sui Dynasty set up Xihai County, Heyuan and other counties, near the present-day Qinghai Lake. Through this congress held near Zhangye, the Sui Dynasty reached its peak in international reputation, which can be called the coming of all nations. It is a pity that Yang Guang's stall was too large, and eventually the country was destroyed and the family died. However, this meeting of Zhangye has made Zhangye famous in the world, which is of great benefit to Zhangye's future development.