What is the relationship between Qiantang River and Zhejiang?

Qiantang River is famous for its tidal wonders known as "the best tide in the world". When the tide comes in, it is turbulent and powerful. Every year around the Mid-Autumn Festival, countless tourists from all over the country flock to Zhejiang to see the wonders of the Qiantang River tide and feel the momentum of "the turbid waves are emptying, turning the river and the sea upside down and the mountains can be destroyed".

The Qiantang River tide watching has a long history, as early as the Han and Wei dynasties. The tide watching trend was very popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. An ancient poet described the spectacular scene of the Qiantang River tide in a poem: "The sudden thunder was suspected to be rain, and suddenly the sea seemed to be floating. Tens of thousands of people retreated like a defeated army, and the turbid waves were higher than the viewing platform."

Zhejiang Province is located in the south of the economically developed Yangtze River Delta, bordering the East China Sea to the east, Fujian to the south, Anhui and Jiangxi to the west, and Shanghai and Jiangsu to the north. Zhejiang is not large in area, with a land area of ​​105,500 square kilometers. The landforms are mainly mountains and hills, supplemented by plains and basins. Mountains and hills account for about 75% of the total area. There is a saying that "seven mountains, one water and two parts of farmland". Zhejiang has beautiful mountains and clear waters, with the famous Yandang Mountain (one of the ten famous mountains in China), Tianmu Mountain, Qiantang River, Oujiang River, etc.

Zhejiang has a long history. Let's not talk about other things for now. The Liangzhu Ancient City discovered in Pingyao Town, Yuhang District, Hangzhou City has a history of at least 5,000 years and can be called "China's First City". The discovery of the Liangzhu Ancient City is of great significance. Its inclusion in the World Heritage List not only means that the Liangzhu culture has been internationally recognized, but also provides strong evidence for China's 5,000-year history of civilization.

What is the relationship between Qiantang River and Zhejiang? Qiantang River is the largest river in Zhejiang Province, with a total length of 588.73 kilometers. It has two sources, the southern source is Majinxi, the upper reaches of Qujiang River, and the northern source is Xin'an River, which originates from Liugujian, the main peak of Huaiyu Mountain in Xiuning County, Anhui Province. Qiantang River has a very fierce nickname called Luosha River. It is said that there are stones in the river, and commercial ships that come here are often overturned by wind and waves, hence the name. The name was also mentioned in the "Qiantang River Tide" by Tang Dynasty poet Luo Yin: "The roar is fierce and the momentum is long, and the land beside Luosha River is about to float."

There is another small story related to Luosha River. In the Yuan Dynasty (1335), the question for the imperial examination in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province was "Ode to Luosha River", which stumped more than 3,000 candidates because no one knew the origin of Luosha River. Only Qian Weishan quoted Mei Cheng's "Seven Hairs" and pointed out that Luosha River was Qiantang River.

Simply put, Qiantang River is a river that flows through Zhejiang Province and flows into the sea at Hangzhou Bay. If you dig deeper, the relationship between the two is not that simple. In addition to the nickname Luosha River, Qiantang River has another name - Zhejiang. In other words, Zhejiang is the name of a province today, but in ancient times it was the name of a river, and this river was Qiantang River. There is another province in my country that is similar to Zhejiang, namely Heilongjiang Province in the northeast, which is named after Heilongjiang (river).

Now you may ask, why was the Qiantang River called Zhejiang in ancient times? Looking at the Qiantang River on the map, there is a big turn near Hangzhou. Together with the West Lake, it looks like a reversed “Zhi”, so the Qiantang River is also called “Zhi River”.

The Shuowen Jiezi explains the word "Zhe" as follows: "The river flows east to Shanyin in Kuaiji, and is called Zhejiang. It is derived from the sound of water." There is also a related record in the "Records of the Grand Historian: The First Emperor of Qin": "In the 37th year, on the 10th month of the year Guichou, the First Emperor went on a trip... passed Danyang, arrived at Qiantang, and came to Zhejiang. The waves were rough..." The "Notes" say that Zhejiang means "zhe". It is probably because the tide goes out to the sea, twists and turns and flows backwards. Zhejiang, as the ancient name of Qiantang River, means the twists and turns of the river.

The word "Zhe" was first used in the place names of this region in the Tang Dynasty. The Zhejiang East Observation Commissioner and the Zhejiang West Observation Commissioner were set up in the Jiangnan East Road. The name changed during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, but "Zhe" was always included, such as Liangzhe East Road, Jiangnan Zhejiang West Road, etc. In the Ming Dynasty, the Zhejiang Provincial Administration was officially established, and the name was changed to Zhejiang Province in the Qing Dynasty, which has been used ever since.

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