唐代的“交河”与“西州”

Jiaohe and Xizhou in the Tang Dynasty

唐代的“交河”与“西州”既是真实存在的州县名,又是具有特殊地域含义的文学意象。唐贞观年间设立的西州都督府与交河县,是位于唐朝疆域最西端的州县,都是非常确定的地名,但在唐人的诗文与碑铭中,“交河”与“西州”作为描述西部边疆的语汇实际上是具有超越固定地名的更为宽泛的含义。“交河”更多的是代指西北边塞,而虚化了具体地理指向,这大致是沿袭了南朝以来的文学传统。“西州”则是代表着西土,随着汉代以来疆域的变迁,“西州”所指地域也发生着变化,唐代的“西州”除了传统的河西意象外,甚至可以指代安西、北庭或更远的西域。这一组语汇的虚实交映,折射出唐人边疆观念的多样性。

Jiaohe and Xizhou in the Tang dynasty are not only real names of prefectures and counties,but also literary images with special regional meanings.Xizhou Area Command and Jiaohe County established during the reign of Zhenguan were the westernmost prefectures and counties in the Tang dynasty,and they were both very definite place names.However,in the poems and inscriptions of the Tang people,Jiaohe and Xizhou,as the words used to describe the western frontier,have a broader meaning than the fixed place names.Jiaohe more refers to the northwest frontier,but blurs the specific geographical direction.This roughly followed the literary tradition since the Southern dynasties.Xizhou represents the western land.With the change of the territory since the Han dynasty,the area referred to by Xizhou has also changed.In addition to the traditional image of Hexi,Xizhou in the Tang dynasty can even refer to Anxi,Beiting,or further to the Western Regions.This set of vocabulary,which is mixed with reality and reality,reflects the diversity of frontier concepts in the Tang dynasty.