WeTalk Fun Geography lesson

Only by understanding geography can we better understand history
 

The education of the future is to give children the opportunity to fully understand and face the world. Geographical practical ability has been proposed as a key topic of core literacy. WeTalk online lessons help children better understand the coping methods of geographical strategies in national unity through the interpretation of Qin and Han knowledge cases.
 

Educational goal

Man-earth harmony view

Through the creation of the question and the case of the unification of the Qin and Han dynasties, it explains the geographical particularity of the Guanzhong area and the significance of the historical development process of our country;

Comprehensive thinking

Using map interpretation to analyze the flow phenomenon of the territory of Guanzhong geography, and summarize the development law of geographical science;

Regional cognition

The scientific law of historical restriction is analyzed from China's regional balance and temperature (schematic diagram).

Geographical practical power

Discuss what you think is the decisive "advantage" of the Guanzhong zone?

From Qin and Han dynasties in the early period of China to Sui and Tang dynasties in the peak of the Middle Ages, all started from Guanzhong area, so there is a saying that "he who wins Guanzhong wins the world". Jia Yi's "On the Qin Dynasty" said: "Qin Xiao Gong according to the mouth letter solid, the land of Yongzhou..." The opening points to geography, and Yongzhou is Guanzhong. In the grand strategy of Qin unification, geography was not only where the mountains and water were, but almost became a key factor in determining the unification process.

Then, why is the terrain of Guanzhong the geographical basis of the great unification in the Qin and Han dynasties?

When Qin was weak, it centered on the northern Shaanxi Plateau, connected to the Luliang Mountains and the Shanxi Highlands in the northeast, and the Yellow River became a natural barrier. Its west is Longshan Mountain, east is Huashan Mountain, north, south and Bashu border. The Bashu area is densely jungle and mostly high mountains, while the Sichuan basin, surrounded by mountains and complex terrain, is a place with great strategic advantages.

Qin annihilated the six countries and unified the national situation

"Qin four fortress country, by the mountains Wei, the east has the Guanhe, the west has the Hanzhong, the south has the Bashu, the north has the horse, this Tianfu also". In this geographical environment, about six states of Su and Qin jointly attacked Qin, and King Huai of Chu was the leader. When they reached the Hangu Pass, the Qin army dispatched six armies and all the six armies were gone, leaving only the state of Qi. Looking at the foreign wars of Qin, in addition to the war with Rong Di, the war with other countries, especially the six kingdoms of Guandong, the most of the battles, mostly occurred in Guandong. For example, in the battle of Zhao Changping in Qin, the state of Zhao was far away from the state of Qin, which caused great losses to Zhao, and therefore Zhao lost its main force against Qin. In the territory of Qin, such as the battle of Chuisha, the battle of Yique, the battle of Yanying, etc., were not launched in the territory of the Central Plains, and under the attack of the war for years, it was even more terrible.

The six kingdoms of Kanto adopted different strategies to attack Qin with the increasing strength of Qin. In such a situation, the State of Qin took advantage of the geographical position to guard the border and firmly locked the gateway to Guanzhong. The geographical advantages of Qin made the land of Qin immune to war, and at the same time provided relatively stable social conditions for its economic development.

During the Warring States period and the Qin and Han Dynasties, Guanzhong had gradually become the richest region in the world. Sima Qian said that the land of Guanzhong accounted for one-third of the world, and the population accounted for three tenths. The situation in Guanzhong area is very dangerous. Agriculture, sideline industry and animal husbandry are all very developed. After Shang Yang's Reform, a militaristic system with strong mobilization force was formed. Compared with other places in Kanto, Guanzhong does have certain advantages. Han and Chu had been together at Rongyang for many years, and the army was short of food, so Xiao He repeatedly transferred food and wages from Guan Zhong to save Liu Bang from exhaustion. Although Liu Bang lost Shandong several times, Xiao He kept Guanzhong safe for Liu Bang's return. In the struggle between Chu and Han, Xiao He successfully demonstrated his ability to govern the country by helping the needy, but the terrain of Guanzhong, which was "a country of four fortress, easy to defend but difficult to attack", and the material support of "a country of abundance and abundant resources", were the geographical basis for Xiao He to display his ability.

Left: Topographic map of Warring States period Right: peasant war situation at the end of Qin Dynasty

# Three phenomena in Guanzhong

01 Geopolitics

The reason why Qin was able to unify the six countries, in addition to the reform of legalists, the most important thing is to give full play to the advantages of "geopolitics"; In contrast, the other six countries focused more on "blood politics" and relied largely on aristocrats (rather than legalists) to govern.

02 Regional Checks and Balances

When Chu and Han fought for hegemony, some people advised Xiang Yu to become king in Guanzhong, "Guanzhong blocked the mountains and rivers four times, and the land was fat and rich, but all of them were hegemonic." But Xiang Yu just wanted to go back to his hometown, "wealth does not return to his hometown, such as wearing Jin night, who knows." As a result, Liu Bang took possession of Guanzhong, "transferred the grain to Guanzhong, there was no shortage of food", and finally defeated Xiang Yu. Later, Sima Qian summarized the reasons for Xiang Yu's failure, and the first one was "back pass (middle) Huai Chu".

From a functional point of view, the four plugs of Guanzhong played the role of walls, and with these natural walls, a lot of military power could be saved. Without such a geographical environment, it is necessary to support a large number of soldiers, which may bring down the government finances.

03 Temperature change

In addition to geographical location, the geographical characteristics of Guanzhong are also related to the temperature. When the temperature drops, the rainfall line will shift to the south, and the winter time in the northern nomadic areas will be extended, the temperature will be lower than normal temperature, and a large number of livestock will die. In order to survive, the nomads have to move to the south on a large scale, causing the turmoil of the Central Plains Dynasty.

The Yellow River basin and the Yangtze River basin in the eastern monsoon region are the main areas for the survival and development of the Chinese nation. Although the economic center of gravity has shifted to the south, political rule has always been dominated by the north, and the south has been difficult to achieve.

Photo: | Huanyong Hu Line (Photo No. GS(2019)1870) · Geography Textbook for Senior High School (Compulsory Volume 2)

Philosophical telescope

As the ancients said, the sky falls to the northwest and the earth sinks to the southeast. China is high in the northwest and low in the southeast. Since ancient times, living in the north can control the south, living in the west can control the east, living in the upstream can control the downstream. Historically, all regimes have unified the North with the South, and a few southern regimes are biased and inevitably unified by the North.

From the perspective of China's geographical situation and strategy, the Yellow River basin and the Yangtze River basin in the eastern monsoon region are the main areas for the survival and development of the Chinese nation. Although the economic center of gravity has shifted to the south, political rule has always been dominated by the north, and the south has been difficult to achieve.

If China's successive dynasties are reincarnation, then the successive wars are more similar, as if using the same script. The reason for this is very simple, that is, all wars occur in a specific time and space, the so-called good time, geographical location, and people; What changes is time and people, and geography is always constant.

The unique topography of China determines the occurrence pattern and development law of China's wars. Most decisive battles took place around the "Hu Huanyong Line" (note), the so-called "contested land", and the law of war was generally to fight east from the west and south from the north.

From the Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the Great Wall disappeared as a national border, and the "Hu Huanyong Line" was only left as a climatic and geographical dividing line.
 

Rainfall Distribution Map of China and Hu Huanyong Line

Note: The "Hu Huanyong Line" is also called the Aihui - Tengchong Line, and the two ends of the line correspond to Aihui (today's Heihe City) in Heilongjiang Province and Tengchong in Yunnan Province respectively. The southeast of this line accounts for 43.8% of China's land area, but 94.1% of the population lives. The economic production here is based on farming. The population density is extremely low in the northwest of the line, 56.2% of the land, the population only accounts for 5.9% of the country, nomadic life is the main theme here.