何以八陉——“太行八陉”概念的形成与反思

Why Eight Xings:Rethink on the Formation of Concept of Taihang Eight Xings

“太行八陉”是有关太行山古代交通与战略最著名的一组地理概念。前人在使用或评价这一地理概念时存在简单化、绝对化的倾向,对“八陉”的形成背景缺乏必要探讨。唯有厘清初始含义、回归历史情境,才能合理地回应若干疑问,评价“八陉”的历史定位。“陉”的本义是指山口或横谷地貌,是山路经行的某一节点或路段,不应完全等同于道路。“八陉”概念的出现与东晋末年刘裕的北伐计划有关,陉口的选择与命名皆由晋宋之际的战略形势决定。“太行八陉”属于特定时代背景下的产物,若用于概括历代太行山交通格局必然存在局限。

The Taihang Eight Xings(太行八陉)is one of the most famous geographical concept about the ancient traffic routes in the Taihang Mountains.This concept was used or evaluated simply and absolutely by people due to lack necessary discussion of the formation of the Eight Xings concept.Only by clarifying the initial meaning and returning to the historical situation can we reasonably respond to a number of questions and evaluate the historical positions of the Eight Xings.On the one hand,the original meaning of Xing refers to the mountain pass and the cluse landform,which should not be completely equated with the road.On the other hand,the emergency of the concept of Eight Xings was related to Liu Yu’s(刘裕)Northern Expedition plan at the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty,and the choice and naming of the Xing are determined by the strategic situation in the term of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Liu Song Dynasty.Therefore,Taihang Eight Xings belongs to the military geography concept in a specific period,and there will inevitably be limitations in summarizing the traffic pattern of the Taihang Mountains.