The Jing River and the Wei River are clearly separated, which one is clear?

From today's aerial photos, we can see that the Jing River flows into the Wei River, the Jing River is clear and the Wei River is turbid, and the Jing and Wei Rivers are clearly separated. Has it always been like this in history? Li Bai and Du Fu said no.

The Wei River originates from Niaoshu Mountain in Weiyuan County, Gansu Province. The main stream flows from west to east, passing through Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, and merges into the Yellow River in Tongguan County, Weinan City. It is 818 kilometers long and is the longest tributary of the Yellow River.

To the south of the Wei River is the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains, and to the north is the Loess Plateau. The Wei River basin can be divided into two parts, east and west. The west is the Loess hilly and gully area, and the east is the Guanzhong Plain (Wei River Plain).

【Guanzhong, the Capital of Emperors】

Guanzhong stretches from Baoji in the west to Sanmenxia in the east, bordering the Qinling Mountains in the south and the Loess Plateau in the north, with a length of 300 kilometers from east to west. The hinterland of Guanzhong is an alluvial plain formed by the Weihe River, Jinghe River and Beiluo River, known as the "800-li Qinchuan". The three rivers and their tributaries are distributed vertically and horizontally, the land is fertile, irrigation is convenient, and agriculture is developed.

The Banpo site of the Yangshao culture in the Guanzhong Plain in the middle and lower reaches of the Weihe River is located in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. At that time, it was a matriarchal society, with women as the core of the family and living in semi-underground houses. The Banpo people hunted, fished, reclaimed farmland, planted vegetables, raised livestock, burned paper and pottery, worked together and shared the fruits of their labor.

Duke Zhou of Zhou commented on Guanzhong: "It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with fertile fields stretching for thousands of miles. There is no place in the world more beautiful than this."

During the Warring States Period, the strategist Su Qin commented on Guanzhong to King Huiwen of Qin: "Qin is a country surrounded by mountains and the Wei River. With the number of Qin soldiers and people and the teachings of military tactics, it can conquer the world and rule as an emperor."

During the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Fan Ju's evaluation of Guanzhong was more direct: "If it is advantageous, we should attack; if it is not advantageous, we should defend. This is the land of the king."

During the Qin and Han dynasties, after Xiang Yu destroyed the Qin Dynasty, his counselor Han Sheng suggested to Xiang Yu: "Guanzhong is a place surrounded by mountains and rivers, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and has fertile land. It can be used as a base to dominate the world."

When Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu, Zhang Liang analyzed: "Guanzhong is blocked on three sides and guarded, and only one side is used to control the princes in the east; if the princes change, they can go downstream and surrender. This is what is called a golden city of a thousand miles and a land of abundance."

Sima Qian wrote in the "Records of the Grand Historian": "Those who do things must go to the southeast, and those who reap the fruits of their labor usually go to the northwest."

Before the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin suggested that Li Yuan first attack Guanzhong: "The heroes in Guanzhong have risen together, and it is unknown where they will allegiance to. If you march westward and conquer them, it will be as easy as taking something out of a bag.

Before the Song Dynasty, Guanzhong had always been the imperial capital and the political, economic and cultural center of China.

Once I climbed the high city wall, I felt a thousand miles of sorrow. The mountain rain was about to come and the wind was blowing in the building. Travelers should not ask about the past events. The Wei River flows eastward to my homeland.

[The Jing River is clear and the Wei River is turbid]

The Jing River is the longest tributary of the Wei River. It runs from northwest to southeast through the Loess Plateau and merges into the Wei River in the middle of the Guanzhong Plain. The Jing River cuts through the loess layer like a knife, reaching deep into the hard bedrock beneath the loess. Most of the river sections have a stone riverbed. Now, "Jing and Wei are clearly separated" means that the water of the Jing River is clear, while the water of the Wei River is turbid. When the water of the Jing River flows into the Wei River, the clear and turbid waters do not mix.

In summer, the upper reaches of the Wei River enter the rainy season earlier, and the increased runoff brings more sediment, making the Jing River clear and the Wei River turbid. When the upper reaches of the Jing River also enter the rainy season, both rivers are turbid, but the upper reaches of the Wei River have more precipitation, more sediment, and the water is more turbid.

In winter, both rivers enter the dry season. The Jing River has a long geological age, and the riverbed cuts down to the bedrock. There is little bottom sediment rolled up when the river flows, so the Jing River is still clear and the Wei River is turbid.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Book of Songs sang: "The Jing River is turbid with the Wei River, and the water is clear." There are two completely different views in the academic community as to whether it refers to the turbid Jing River or the Wei River. The author specifically consulted two writers, Jiang Lang and Feng Changyanliang, and the answers were completely opposite. Jiang Lang said "The Jing River is turbid with the Wei River, and the water is clear" means that the Jing River is more turbid than the Wei River, but it can also become clear when the Jing River flows slowly, which describes a person's mentality of being able to move freely. Feng Changyanliang believes that "The Jing River is turbid with the Wei River, and the water is clear" means that it is out of the mud but not stained. The Jing River is a clear stream. It does not immediately become turbid when it flows into the Wei River, but is clearly separated from the Jing River and the Wei River. Who is more reliable? You can leave a message to discuss.

At the end of the Warring States Period, the Qin State built the Zhengguo Canal to divert the Jing River into the Beiluo River for irrigation. At this time, the water of the Jing River should be clear and of good quality, otherwise it would not have much irrigation value and would make the Beiluo River turbid.

[The Jing River is turbid, the Wei River is clear]

During the Han Dynasty, the Book of Han recorded: "One shi of Jing River contains several dou of mud." This means that the Jing River was turbid, and one shi is 10 dou. There were several dou of mud and sand. It can be seen that the Jing River suddenly became very muddy. What happened?

In the winter of 166 BC, during the middle period of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu Laoshang Chanyu personally led 140,000 cavalrymen from the Hetao area to attack Beidi County, successively breaking through Xiaoguan and Chaona City, killing Beidi Duwei Ang, and looting a large number of people and livestock. Xiaoguan was one of the four passes in Guanzhong. The Xiongnu's capture of Xiaoguan shook Guanzhong.

The Xiongnu troops then split into two groups. One group marched southward along the majestic Liupan Mountain and Long Mountain, captured the Huizhong Palace, and set it on fire. The second group looted in the upper reaches of the Jing River, and the cavalry scouts arrived near the Ganquan Palace. Smoke rose everywhere, and the Han cavalry scouts sent emergency messages back and forth, with alarms sounded dozens of times a day.

Although the Han Dynasty managed to drive the Huns away in this war, its cavalry's disadvantage was obvious. Emperor Wen of Han decided to build a horse farm and develop animal husbandry on a large scale.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, 36 horse farms were built and 30,000 people were employed to raise horses. By the time Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to power, there were more than 400,000 horses in the 36 horse farms. There were many horse farms in the upper reaches of the Jing River, which was one of the main horse breeding areas at that time, and there were millions of cattle and sheep. Such a large-scale animal husbandry quickly overdrew the aquatic vegetation, and the sediment in the upper reaches of the Jing River suddenly increased.

During the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai wrote: "The Wei River is as clear as the Milky Way, flowing endlessly across the sky." The water of the Wei River is clear and bright, flowing endlessly. At this time, the Wei River was still clear, while the Jing River should be turbid.

Du Fu said: "The leaving horses and coming cows are no longer distinguishable, how can the muddy Jing River and the clear Wei River be separated?" It is clearly recorded that at that time the Jing River was muddy and the Wei River was clear.

From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the upper reaches of the Jing River have always been a horse grazing area and even a place where wars broke out. During the Song Dynasty, the upper reaches of the Jing River were also the frontier between the Song and Western Xia. Due to excessive reclamation and deforestation, the water in the Jing River could not be clear.

For the needs of development, humans have developed the upper reaches of the Weihe River and the Jinghe River in different periods. The degree of development will lead to the amount of sediment in the Weihe River and the Jinghe River. In recent years, with the orderly implementation of afforestation and returning farmland to forest projects on the Loess Plateau, the natural environment of the upper reaches of the Jinghe River and the Weihe River has improved, especially the upper reaches of the Jinghe River have become beautiful, so today's aerial photography shows that the water of the Jinghe River is clear and the water of the Weihe River is turbid. The most ideal state is that the water of the Jinghe River and the Weihe River are both clear.

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