区域历史研究中的太湖流域:“江南”还是“浙西”

The Taihu Lake Basin in the Regional History Study: “Jiangnan”or“West Zhejiang”

太湖流域是一个地理概念,它是由以太湖为中心的各水系河流湖泊所组成的一个碟形洼地区域。该区域内部社会文化相近,社会经济连成一体,行政沿革上也有着共同的历史渊源,因此在区域研究中往往被视为一个整体对象。但是在江南社会经济史研究领域,学者习惯以"江南"等同于太湖流域的概念,诚不甚允当。作为地理和历史概念的"江南",自秦汉以来从未真正与太湖流域相重合,与太湖流域等同的"江南",其实是一个文化心理上的概念,且开始于近代。以"江南"为名开展研究,容易造成研究范围的混乱。相比之下,"浙西"作为历史上存在过的行政概念,区划范围上承东汉吴郡,与太湖流域高度一致,迄明初乃分属直、浙,时逾1200余年,而传统的"浙西"概念在明清时期仍然有其影响力。从"浙西"入手本地区的区域历史研究,更有利于增强学术的严谨性。为使这一观点立足于更为坚实的基础上,有必要对"浙西"的历史作一番详细的梳理。

The Taihu Lake Basin is a geographical concept;it is a dish-shaped depression consisted of river systems centered on the Taihu Lake.Within this region,there are similar socio-culture,united socio-economy,and a common historical origin both on administration and culture,so historians have tended to see it as an overall regional in their research.But in the research on social and economic history,scholars used to the “Jiangnan”and Taihu Lake Basin as the same concept,which is inappropriate.“Jiangnan”,as a geographical and historical concept,their scopes has never really consistent with the Taihu Lake Basin.The so-called regional of“Jiangnan”,whose consistent with the Taihu Lake Basin is actually a cultural psychological concept from the beginning of modern times.Research under the title of“Jiangnan”is easy to cause confusion among the research objects.By contrast,“West Zhejiang”,as an existed administrative concept in the history,the scope of its area which inherited from the eastern Han dynasty’s Wu Prefecture,was highly consistent with the Taihu Lake Basin,until its division in the early years of the Ming dynasty.It’s a history of more than one thousand two hundred years,and the traditional“West Zhejiang”concept still had its influence in the Ming and Qing dynasties.The work we have done suggests that conducted regional history research from the perspective of“West Zhejiang”should be more conducive to enhance academic rigor.In order to support this view,it is necessary to clear the history of“West Zhejiang”.