The reason is related to the "rivers and lakes" in Wuhan.
There are many lakes and waters in Wu Hanyou. There are about 160 lakes in the city, which is called "the city of 100 lakes". The Yangtze River and Hanshui River meet here, so the transportation advantage of Wuhan extending in all directions has existed since ancient times. However, Wuhan was not chosen as the capital by the dynasties, and it was also related to "water".
There are not only many lakes in Wuhan, but also much rain. Therefore, there is a big hidden danger of "flood" in Wuhan. At the same time, the rivers and lakes extending in all directions made Wuhan's transportation convenient, which once put Wuhan in a position of "between Scylla and Charybdis" in ancient wars. Therefore, it is reasonable for Wuhan to become the capital of different dynasties.
Therefore, from this point of view, Wuhan does have some meaning of "success is also a river's lake, and defeat is also a river's lake."
1, Wuhan's previous life talked about Wuhan because it is rich in soil and water, and the civilization on this land is relatively splendid. According to archaeological achievements, human civilization in Wuhan can be traced back to the early Neolithic period, that is, about 8000 years ago.
The local organizational system in Wuhan can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty.
At that time, there was no "Wuhan" in people's concept, only "Shaxian County, Jiangxia County".
It is worth mentioning that the famous Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan was originally a watchtower built by Wu, and Wuchang, as one of the three towns in Wuhan, was named after the capital of Ezhou by Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms, which means "prospering the city with Wu".
Later, during the reign of Zhu Jianshen in the Ming Dynasty, the Hanshui River was diverted, and Hanshui Town was born on the north bank of the new Hanshui River during Jiajing period. This is the early formation of "three towns in Wuhan" in geography.
In the late Qing Dynasty, Hankou became a trading port because of the signing of Tianjin Treaty. In the 25th year of Guangxu, the northern part of Hanshui River was called Xiakou Hall, which is now Hankou. Hanyang is "Hanyang County" and belongs to Hankou. After the Revolution of 1911, the government of the Republic of China merged Hankou, which governs Hanyang County, Wuchang and Hankou into three towns, named "Wuhan", which basically took shape.
2, Wuhan "Chengye Jianghu" From the previous lives of Wuhan, we can know that the initial formation of the three towns in Wuhan was related to "water", and the development of Wuhan from ancient times to the present mostly benefited from the gift of "water".
Why do you say that?
We can know that in ancient China, one of the main modes of transportation was water transport, and there were hundreds of lakes, large and small, in Wuhan since ancient times. The Hanshui River and the Yangtze River not only water this land, but also connect this land with the outside world.
In other words, criss-crossing waterways mean that Wuhan has been an important transportation hub since ancient times.
Observing the "family history" of Wuhan, we can see that the "Jiangcheng" in Li Bai's poem "Plum Blossoms Fall into the River in May" is due to the "Wuhan" in the Tang Dynasty. At that time, thanks to the opening-up and multicultural tolerance of the Tang Dynasty, Jiangcheng (Wuhan) gradually prospered and became a commercial center with concentrated economy and culture. This "advantage" has been maintained to this day.
During the Ming Dynasty, Wuhan became "the most prosperous place in Chu" because of its extensive waterways and land routes.
In other words, the criss-crossing "rivers and lakes" of Wuhan's three towns have made it extremely rich since ancient times.
But everything has two sides, and Wuhan got lost in the "road to Beijing".
3, Wuhan "defeated rivers and lakes" Wuhan has been a region with many lakes since ancient times, and Wuhan has abundant summer rain. Here, Wuhan has also been a place with relatively more "floods" since ancient times.
In ancient books, the first recorded flood in Wuhan was in 185 BC, as follows:
"In summer, rivers flood and there are more than 4,000 refugees."
From the records, we can see that the floods in BC displaced thousands of people.
Many detailed flood records in Wuhan can also be found in Wuhan local chronicles. For example, from the twenty-third year of Ming Hongwu, basically every two or three years, there are the following records:
The heavy rain flooded countless people and animals.
"It rained continuously for several days, and people and animals in the deer house were flooded."
"Rainstorm all day long, the river overflowed, flooded thousands of hectares of fields and drowned people and animals. In the second year, there was another flood. "
......
During the Republic of China, serious floods also occurred in Wuhan, and the relevant records are as follows:
"Jute rainstorm, flash floods, flooded dikes, flooded fields, flooded disasters, the river surged, the water level of the Yangtze River reached 27.86 meters, the fields were flooded and houses collapsed."
The flood brought great losses to Wuhan, and almost all three towns in Wuhan were attacked by the flood. At the same time, the situation was turbulent during the Republic of China. At that time, Wuhan did not do well in disaster relief or post-disaster recovery. Many people drowned in the flood, and some people died of diseases after the flood.
Wuhan people, including those who have lived in Wuhan for a period of time, are probably not too unfamiliar with the heavy rain in the rainy season in Wuhan, or even the once-in-a-few-year "flood".
As a native of Wuhan, Yan Xiaoer will "watch the sea once" at home every few years, and the dog at the door is deep enough to "go swimming" several times. At the same time, every rainy season, large shopping malls with relatively low terrain often prepare "sandbags" to cope with the "big water" in the rainy season. People who have lived in Wuhan for a period of time should know this.
Having said that, it is much simpler to talk about the reason why there were no orthodox emperors in the past dynasties who made Wuhan their capital.
In other words, although Wuhan has money, rivers and lakes and developed transportation, there is too much rain.
Originally, there was a lot of "water" on land, and a lot of water fell in the rainy season. So floods have been a problem in Wuhan since ancient times.
Imagine that the vast dynasty country was flooded every few years. Is this still there? Moreover, after the flood, if it is not handled in time, it may also cause some infectious diseases. This is a very difficult problem for ancient times when medical care was underdeveloped.
In this regard, we can think that the reason why Wuhan is difficult to be elected as the capital by the kings of ancient orthodox dynasties is mainly because of the problem of "flooding".
In addition, the waterways extending in all directions are good for traffic and easy to be attacked between Scylla and Charybdis. At the same time, Wuhan gradually became rich because of convenient transportation since the Tang Dynasty. After all, Wuhan (called Jiangcheng in the Tang Dynasty) was criss-crossed, and wealth and culture could meet here through the "waterway".
But "all roads lead to Rome" is convenient, but it also means that if the core power is placed in this convenient "place" and the core power is not so powerful and threatened, it is very easy to form a situation of "being attacked on both sides" After all, the "waterway" can go by itself, and so can the "enemy".
Therefore, we can basically draw a conclusion that the reason why Wuhan is difficult to be designated as the capital by orthodox kings in previous dynasties is related to its criss-crossing rivers and lakes. Of course, this is not the only answer. You are welcome to put forward different opinions.
References:
Wuhan: a hundred years of flood memory, Wuhan local chronicles, etc.
Note: This article is the original and exclusive release of Yan Xiaoer's philosophical works. If there is any infringement such as handling or plagiarism, the responsibility will be investigated once found. The pictures in this paper come from the Internet, and some materials come from the Internet. They were hacked and deleted (within two weeks). Please enjoy this series.