The Huai River is one of the major rivers in China, and its main course is documented in Volume 30 of Commentary on the Waterways Classic (Shuijing Zhu), the Chapter Describing the Huai River, which holds significant historical value. Although existing studies have frequently referenced the Chapter Describing the Huai River, a systematic discussion of its text remains rare. Given this, there is an urgent need for a multidimensional and in-depth investigation of the Chapter Describing the Huai River, which pertains to the segment from the source of the Huai River to Xinxi (新息) County, from perspectives such as textual collation, exploration of historical sources, geographical verification, and map interpretation. Besides, the focus should be on providing reasonable explanations for key issues such as the source of the Huai River, the changes in the administrative center of Yiyang (义阳) Prefecture, and the reconstruction of Hongxi Pond, and depicting scientifically accurate maps of Chapter Describing the Huai River through a comparative analysis of historical and contemporary data. This will advance the study of Commentary on the Waterways Classic and provide essential academic support for related fields.
The Yongshun Tusi (永顺土司) in Huguang (湖广) region was firstly established during the Yuan Dynasty and was subsequently granted titles such as Anfusi (Pacification Commissioner), Xuanfusi (Consolation Commissioner), and Xuanweishisi (Consolation and Pacification Commissioner). It was eventually replaced by the bureaucratization of native officers during the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty. Historically, this was one of the principal Tusi in the Huguang region, and then was successively subordinate to the Sichuan Provincial Administration, the Huguang Provincial Administration, and the Huguang Military Commission. It governed multiple Zhangguansi (native offices) and Tuzhou (native prefectures). The changes in its rank, office location, and jurisdiction reflect the ebb and flow of its power. This paper takes Yongshun Tusi as the research object. Utilizing a variety of sources, including archives, historical records, official histories, local chronicles, genealogies, ancient maps, inscriptions, archaeological reports, and other materials, it clarifies the geographical evolution of Yongshun Tusi, as well as its administrative subordination, location, and jurisdiction, and provides a detailed and in-depth portrayal of its historical evolution.
Putianze (圃田泽), an ancient lake in the Yellow River Basin, serves as an ideal subject for exploring the evolutionary patterns of lakes and swamps on the alluvial plains of the Yellow River’s lower reaches. Based on the historical geographical reconstruction methods, this study delineates the process of Putianze’s silting and disappearance during the Ming and Qing dynasties and analyzes the driving factors behind the background. According to the study, it reveals that the rapid disappearance of Putianze was the result of the long-term cumulative effects of sediment deposition and lake water drainage. This process is characterized by ‘lake silting and human encroachment’, ultimately leading to its transformation into land between the Qianlong and Tongzhi reigns of Qing Dynasty. The direct cause of Putianze’s disappearance was sediment deposition following Yellow River breaches, while long-term human intervention accelerated this process.
In the late Ming Dynasty, the government began constructing specialized watercourses to drain water from the Huaiyang Canal and the lakes on its western side into the Yangtze River. During the Qing Dynasty, as the main channel of the Huai River shifted southward, investment in water management projects increased significantly. To the east of the Huaiyang Canal and south of Jinjiawan (金家湾), a water transport and drainage hub system gradually emerged, centered around a cluster of watercourses, gates, and dams. This system became known as the ‘Guijiang Water Network’ (water network from the lower reaches of the Huai River to the Yangtze River, 归江水网). During its development, the Guijiang Water Network evolved numerous subsidiary watercourses, Guijiang dams, and overflow channels, which disrupted the navigation environment of the Huaiyang Canal and the Salt Transportation Canal. In response, officials gradually understood the hydrological connections between the Guijiang Water Network and the upstream rivers and lakes, and established the ‘Tenghu System’ (腾湖制度). This system coordinated water storage and discharge between the water network and the upstream areas, while also diverting salt transportation, grain transport, and flood discharge. This fully reflected the ecological governance wisdom of Qing Dynasty water officials in adapting to the southward shift of the Huai River’s main flow and the changes in the water environment.
The development of modern China’s mechanized flour milling industry can be broadly divided into four stages, yet the development across different regions was highly uneven. The establishment and location selection of typical factories reveal that the site choices for mechanized flour milling were the result of a combination of natural resource endowment, regional economic and cultural environments, and the personal concepts of entrepreneurs. Unlike Western flour industries, which were largely influenced by natural factors, the location selection of modern China’s mechanized flour milling industry was more significantly affected by regional economic factors such as transportation, capital, and sales markets. The locational evolution of the national capital mechanized flour milling industry in modern China conforms to the ‘port-hinterland’ model, with industrial development levels exhibiting a gradient decrease from the coastal areas to the inland regions.
The prairie wolf, the Mongolian gazelle (yellow sheep), and various rodents are integral components of the livestock environment in Inner Mongolia, significantly influencing the development of livestock production. These wild animals coexist and compete with the ‘Mongolian five livestock’ within the grassland ecosystem, while also interacting closely with humans through livestock production. During the Republic of China era, the traditional nomadic production system gradually collapsed, and modern Western concepts and technologies of animal husbandry were introduced. At the same time, animal products became increasingly integrated into domestic and international markets. As a result, herders intensified their intervention in the interactions between livestock and wild animals. Additionally, the traditional utilization of wild animals, which was primarily driven by subsistence needs, gradually shifted toward hunting motivated by commercial demands. While these changes increased economic income, ensured livestock safety, and alleviated competition for forage, the reduction of wild animal populations through human intervention was detrimental to the stability of the grassland ecosystem. This, in turn, negatively impacted the long⁃term development of livestock production.
This article examines the process of three longitude and latitude measurement activities conducted in the Shanxi and Shaanxi regions during the Kangxi period and analyzes the sources and complexity of the data in the longitude and latitude tables appended to the Description of China (《中华帝国全志》). Firstly, it reviews the courses of the three measurements carried out in 1697, 1708, and 1712-1713, and reconstructs parts of the measurement routes. Secondly, it outlines the compilation process and different versions of the longitude and latitude tables in the Description of China. Finally, by comparing the similarities and differences between the tables in the Description of China and the results of the three measurements, it reveals the complexity of the data sources for these tables.
From the perspective of water conservancy history, this paper elucidates the historical and cultural significance of water conservancy, as well as its interactions and constraints with politics, economy, and the natural environment, through milestone events in water conservancy and ancient water conservancy projects that have continued to the present day. The origin, development, or decline of water conservancy depends on the political and economic environment of the region in the corresponding period. However, the creation, inheritance, management, and decline of water conservancy projects are based on deep interactions with politics, economy, and science and technology. The construction and operation of water conservancy projects will reshape the natural environment for decades or even centuries. Culture, in this interplay and mutual constraint, also determines the values of water resource utilization, the ideas of water control, and the direction of technological development in different historical periods.
The Yugong is a seminal classical text in ancient China that systematically expounds the cosmological and geopolitical framework of the world order. From the perspective of a tributary state, the Vietnamese scholar Lê Quý Tôn of the Later Lê Dynasty analyzed the tribute-taxation system and the Five Zones (Wu Fu) system in the Yugong. He elaborated on the distinctions between ‘tribute’ (gong) and ‘tax’ (fu), including their differing purposes and contents of collection, while emphasizing the dual nature of tributary states as external vassals with economic and military autonomy. Critiquing the Five Zones system, Lê restructured the ‘Nine Provinces and Four Seas’ into a dual structure of the world order, drawing analogies from the Ming-Qing tributary relations. Furthermore, he proposed three operational principles for this order:‘not neglecting the distant nor abandoning the strategic yet desolate frontiers’ as a tributary philosophy, ‘peaceful coexistence through military preparedness’ as a diplomatic strategy, and ‘maintaining order by legal governance over distant territories’ as a regulatory norm. During the Ming and Qing periods, Vietnam existed within the Sinocentric political order. Lê’s interpretation of the Yugong reflects his theoretical endeavor to assert Vietnam’s legitimacy within the Chinese political discourse while negotiating its autonomy.
The location of the Tang Dynasty’s Heishui Protectorate (黑水都督府) is an important geographical reference for identifying the location of its neighboring ‘Simu Group’ (思慕部). There are various opinions regarding the location of the ‘Simu Group’. Recent research has identified the Simu Group as being near Birobidzhan in Russia. Through on-site surveys of the Mohe (靺鞨) ancient city ruins on both banks of the Heilongjiang (in China and Russia, 黑龙江), as well as by reviewing historical documents and previous studies, it has been determined that the Jiang’an Ancient City (江岸古城) on the right bank of the middle reaches of the Heilongjiang, within Luobei County (萝北县), is the site of the Tang Dynasty’s Heishui Protectorate. Based on this, it is inferred that the ‘Simu Group’ should be located at the Hexi Ancient City (河西古城) site, 260 kilometers northwest of Luobei County, within Sunke County (逊克县), Heilongjiang Province.
