The word "five waters" is common in all kinds of historical books and texts, and it first appeared in books such as Cosmic Tale and Xiangfujing in Song Dynasty. There is a saying in the book that "Wuyuan is surrounded by the city on three sides", which explains the origin of Wuyuan county name. Although this explanation is not exact, it at least shows that the name "dancing water" existed as early as the Song Dynasty. We can also see a more complete and detailed description of "Five Waters" in many historical books, such as Huizhou Fuzhi by Ming Hongzhi, Wuyuan Geography Textbook by Qing Guangxu, and Wuyuan County Records by Geng Shen in the Republic of China. "Wuyuan Geography Textbook" published in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty describes "Wushui" in this way: "Wushui originates between Daguan and Daguang, flows 25 miles southeast ... west to Heyueling water in Tsinghua, east to Zhejiang and Tuoshui ... the intersection of Huidong and Wangkou in Wuxi ... passes through Shimentan and Yicheng, and west to Fuyu. People who have a little knowledge of Wuyuan's geography should immediately understand what "Wushui" is, and it is the main river in the county-Xingjiang. It should be noted that for various reasons, some people in Wuyuan only know that there is a "Xingjiang" and don't know that there is a "Wushui". I don't think this is surprising. Here is a question of customary address. For example, the Yangtze River is the largest river in China, but it is called Jinsha River, Jingjiang River and Yang Zijiang in different river basins. In the same way, "Xingjiang" or "dancing water" are called differently and refer to the same river. Understand the existence of "Wuyuan", then the problem of Wuyuan county name can be solved. Here, the author makes the following statement: In the 28th year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty (AD 740), Wuyuan County was established, with Tsinghua in the county. There is a big river next to the county government, which merges with other streams in the county to form a big river that commands the county's water system. This is the main river in the county, "dancing water".

At that time, according to the naming principle of "from water" and taking the meaning of "treating water source", the county was named "Wuyuan". The author's statement is supported by evidence. The old Xin 'an Annals said: "Wuyuan Wang Xian ... governs the town of Qinghua (Tsinghua) today, taking the name of the five rivers next to the county (governance)". The article "Wuyuan County" in Cihai 1936 edition says: "The land is close to Wushui, hence the name". To sum up, the author thinks that "the source of water in Wuzhou" and "the source of water in Wushan" are two completely different views on the origin of county names, although there is only one word difference. Comparing the two, the theory of five water sources is more convincing.

Reference link: Wuyuan County Records _ Baidu Encyclopedia

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