“三湘”考

A discrimination on Sanxiang

"三湘"这一名称出现于晋宋之际。唐宋人在考释其得名之缘的时候,往往根据当时的地理和政区情况,以今测古,作出一些不合事实的解说。后人或踵袭前人之非,或变造新说,总不能得其实。今既辨正旧说,揭示其谬,更考史溯源,认为"三湘"之实源自湘水流域在两汉时期延续四百年的长沙、桂阳、零陵三郡,而其名则当在晋怀帝设"湘州"之后正式出现。

Sanxiang, as a name, appeared in the Jin and Song dynasties. When scholars in the Tang and Song dynasties examined the origins of the name, they often offered explanations based on their own geography and political situation, and made some untrue facts. Later scholars either inherited previous mistakes or made some new mistakes. Now it is time to reveal the old mistakes, and to find the fact. It is believed that "Sanxiang" originates from the three prefectures of Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling, which continued for four hundred years in the Xiangshui River Basin during the Han dynasties. After Jin Huai Di established "Xiangzhou", it officially appeared.