北宋“瀚海”新考——兼论唐宋时期灵州地理环境的变迁

A New Examination of Han Hai(瀚海) in the North Song Dynasty——Together with A Discussion of the Geographical Environment Change in Lingzhou(灵州) during the Tang and Song Periods

"瀚海"词义在唐宋之际发生了明显变化,由汉唐时期主要表示贝加尔湖、呼伦贝尔湖群等大型水体转而指代宋初灵州以南的沙碛。文献表明,"瀚海"原本作"旱海",宋人对其的区分起初是较为明确的,后世传写讹误导致"旱海"误作"瀚海"。鉴于"旱海"目前最早见于五代历史文献中,结合考察此一时期当地植物分布、环境干湿状况变化趋势以及相关考古发现中的地层结构信息,可认为唐宋时期灵州地理环境发生了明显变化,并极大地影响到西北地区经济发展与政治形势。从这一角度入手,当可丰富对唐宋之际历史发展的认知。

Han Hai,a term that was used to refer to some expansive waters such as the Lake Baikal( 贝加尔湖) and the Lake Region of Hulun Buir( 呼伦贝尔湖) from the Han to Tang Dynasty,had gradually changed to denominate the desert in south of Lingzhou in the North Song period. Historical literatures showed that "瀚海 " was also called "旱海 "( Dry Sea),and these two words were factually differentiated by the Song scholars in the beginning, and in later ages "旱海 " was mistaken for "瀚海 " in manuscripts. The first appearance of "旱海 " was in the documents concerning Five-Kingdoms period, which might reflect the geographical environment change in Lingzhou during the Tang-Song Periods. Analyzing Lingzhou 's local vegetation,the environmental dry and wet change,and the stratigraphic structure obtained from archaeological excavations,it can be thought that the obvious geographical environmental change happened in Lingzhou during these periods,and the change had heavily affected the economic and political development in northwest China at that time. From this perspective,cognition can be enriched concerning the history from the end of Tang dynasty to the early years of Song period.