found necessary, as we have seen, to teach the Wu folk the use
of war-chariots and bows and arrows: this important statement
points distinctly to the previous utter isolation of Wu from the
pale of Chinese civilization. In the year 502 Ts'i sent a princess
as hostage to Wu, and ended by giving her in marriage to the Wu
heir: (we have seen how Tsin anticipated Ts'i by twenty-five years
in conferring a similar honour upon Ts'u). A century or more
later, when Mencius was advising the bellicose court of Ts'i, he
alluded with indignation to this "barbarous" act. In 544 the Wu
prince Ki-chah had visited Lu and other orthodox states.
[Illustration: Map of the Hwai system and Valley
1. The two lines indicated by...............to the north are (1)
the River Sz (now Grand Canal), from Confucius' birthplace, and
(2) the River I (from modern I-shui city south of the German
colony). After receiving the I, the Sz entered the Hwai as it
emerged from Lake Hung-t&h; but this Hwai mouth no longer exists;
the waters are dissipated in canals.
The Wu fleets coasting up to the Hwai, were thus able to creep
into the heart of Shan Tung province, east and west.
2. The Yang-tsz had three branches: (1) northern, much as now; (2)
middle, branching at modern Wuhu, crossing the T'ai-hu Lake, and
following the Soochow Creek and Wusung River past Shanghai; (3)
southern, carrying part of the Tai-hu waters by a forgotten route
(probably the modern Grand Canal), to near Hangchow.
3. The three crosses [Image: Circle with an 'X' in it] mark the
capitals of Wu (respectively near Wu-sih and Soochow) and Yiieh
(near Shao-hing). The modern canal from Hangchow to Shan Tung is
clearly indicated. Orthodox China knew absolutely nothing of Cheh
Kiang, Fuh Kien, or Kiang Si provinces south of lat. 300.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account