历史文献中所见之滆湖

Gehu Lake Seen in Historical Documents

滆湖是历史上“五湖”之一,滆湖之名距今至少有一千八百年历史,众多历史文献完全可以证明。滆湖自隋末江南运河开通,迅速成为江南运河水源补给湖泊和漕运枢纽。直至明清时期,滆湖仍是江南运河最为重要的水路要冲之一,发挥漕运枢纽、运河水源补给、农业灌溉和泄洪功能。滆湖之名,或与上古时期南迁的有鬲氏在此湖渔猎及湖域形状有关。滆湖虽是太湖流域的湖泊,但在历史上从未被冠以“西太湖”之名。所谓西太湖,是指太湖洞庭山以西水域,与滆湖毫无关系,二者不应混为一谈。

Gehu Lake is one of the five lakes in history.Many historical documents can prove that the name of Gehu Lake has a history of at least 1800 years.Since the opening of the Jiangnan canal in the late Sui Dynasty,Gehu Lake has rapidly become a water supply lake and water transport hub of the Jiangnan canal.Until the Ming and Qing Dynasties,Gehu Lake was still one of the most important waterways of the Jiangnan canal,performing the functions of water transport hub,canal water supply,agricultural irrigation and flood discharge.The name of Gehu Lake may be related to the youge family who moved south in ancient times,fishing and hunting in the lake or the shape of the lake area.Although Gehu Lake is a lake in the Taihu Lake Basin,it has never been named West Taihu Lake in history.The so-called West Taihu Lake refers to the water area west of Dongting mountain in Taihu Lake,which has nothing to do with Gehu Lake.The two should not be confused.