An Archaeological Perspective on Changes in the Course of the Yellow River and Changes in Civilization

The Yellow River has always been known for "easily silting up, easily bursting its banks, and easily shifting course" and its course has indeed changed many times. It did not undergo any large-scale course changes during the pre-Qin period, but instead followed the course given in the &quo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in中国社会科学：英文版 Vol. 42; no. 4; pp. 114 - 133
Main Author Yuan Guangkuo
Format Journal Article
LanguageChinese
Published 中国社会科学院 01.11.2021
Subjects
Hanzhi river
Pre-Qin period
river course change
Yugong river
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ISSN0252-9203

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Summary:The Yellow River has always been known for "easily silting up, easily bursting its banks, and easily shifting course" and its course has indeed changed many times. It did not undergo any large-scale course changes during the pre-Qin period, but instead followed the course given in the "Hanzhi汉志 (Treatises in the Book of Han)." The river recorded in the Yugong禹贡 (Tribute of Yu) is actually the Hanzhi river, and the he (river) recorded in the Yugong that passed through the counties of Xunxian and Neihuang actually followed the former course of the Qi River. The Yellow River's large-scale course changes began in the Han dynasty. After two thousand years of frequent changes, a 6-15 meters thick layer of sediment formed in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, completely altering the natural landscape of hills, rivers and lakes that had existed in the pre-Qin lower Yellow River, and finally shaping today's landscape of an endless plain. The course changes brought about a rupture in the development of civilization
ISSN:0252-9203