The Xiang River is the chief river of the Lake Dongting drainage system of the middle Yangtze , the largest river in Hunan Province , China . It is the second-largest tributary (after the Min River ) in terms of surface runoff , the fifth-largest tributary by drainage area of the Yangtze tributaries. The river flows generally northeast through the provinces of Guangxi and Hunan, its tributaries reaching into Jiangxi and Guangdong .
28-809: Traditionally, it was regarded that the West (left) Branch is the Main Stream of the Upper Xiang, which rises in the Haiyang Mountains between Xing'an and Lingchuan counties of Guangxi. In the 1st national water census of China in 2011, the East Branch Xiao River , was identified as the Main Stem of the Upper Xiang. The Ping Island of Yongzhou is the meeting of the two streams, the West source originating from Guangxi and
56-497: A magically antidotal bath which foiled a plot to get him drunk and murder him. There are many versions of this story and some of them omit the wives Ehuang and Nuying. In any case, Yao was well pleased with Shun's observed behavior, who maintained his filial piety while preserving his own interests as well, and so he promoted Shun into his civil service (which also allowed, or obligated, Shun together with Ehuang and Nuying to leave his home and murderous family behind). Later on, after Shun
84-750: A mountain range in the northeastern Guangxi separating West River drainage basin of the Xi River from the Xiang River drainage basin of the Yangtze River . The mountain range is located between Yuecheng Mountains and Dupang Mountains of Nanling Mountain Range , it is a major mountain range in Guilin , Guanxi , China . It runs south to north through Guanyang , Quanzhou , Xing'an , Lingchuan , Gongcheng and Yangshuo six counties. With
112-405: A part of the marriage, and his half brother Xiang just wanted to kill him and take his wives and some of his other possessions for himself. Shun's father, stepmother, and half brother decided to murder Shun. One day Shun's father, Gu, asked him to repair the roof of a barn, which Shun mentioned to his wives. Ehuang and Nuying warned him of the murder attempt and gave him a magical bird coat. Once Shun
140-472: A sort of test of his administrative abilities: then, later, they became goddesses, after the death of their husband. According to the mythological Ehuang-Nuying version, sometime in the twenty-third century BCE, before becoming divine goddesses, these two daughters of Emperor Yao were married to Shun at the planning of their father. Although later destined to be emperor and exemplar of all the virtues desirable in an emperor and exemplar for all future ages, before
168-487: A width of 35 kilometres (22 mi) to 40 kilometres (25 mi), the Haiyang Mountains stretch more than 97 kilometres (60 mi) from Yangshuo to Quanzhou . The highest peak is Baogai Hill (宝界岭) with an elevation of 1,935.8 metres (6,351 ft). The Xianggui Corridor situated between Yuecheng and Haiyang Mountains has since always been the most important route from Central China to Guangxi, It
196-703: Is a valley which is high about 200 metres (660 ft) to 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level. Cutting through the Nanling Mountains , the Xianggui Corridor is the upper reaches of the Xiang and Li Rivers . The Left Branch of the upper Xiang River rises in the southwest of the Haiyang Mountains. This Guangxi -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ehuang The Xiangshuishen or Xiang River Goddesses are goddesses (or spirits and sometimes gods) of
224-715: Is actually founded. According to the 2011 national Water Census of China , it is the East Branch, not the West, that should be regarded as the main stream of the Xiang. This is because it is both longer and contributes a greater volume of water than the western branch. The east branch retains the name of Xiao River , and it rises in Yegou Mountain (野狗岭) of Xiangjiangyuan Township (湘江源瑶族乡) in Lanshan County , Hunan. The two branches converge at Ping Island to form
252-657: Is the East Branch of the upper course. As of 2011 Water Census of China, it may be regarded as the Main Stream of the upper Xiang River. Xiao rises in Xiangjiangyuan Township of Lanshan County , from the headwaters to Ping Island at the confluence with the West Branch (Left Branch) from Guangxi, it runs 365 kilometres (227 mi). With the tributaries, the Xiao River has a drainage basin area of 12,094 square kilometres (4,670 sq mi). In
280-465: The Chinese folk religion , the river is protected by the " Xiang River goddesses " or "Xiang Consorts" Ehuang and Nüying . They are said to have been the daughters of the legendary ruler Yao and the wives of his successor Shun . Unable to bear the pain of their husband's death, they committed suicide in this river. An etiological myth relates the spots on the spotted bamboo ( 斑竹 ), also known as
308-698: The First Qin Emperor "), in the 28th year of his reign (219 BCE), the Qin Emperor went on an excursion, wishing to visit the holy mountain of Heng (the southernmost of the Five Sacred Mountains of China , in present-day in Hunan). However, while attempting to travel there by boat, the emperor suddenly encountered a great wind which nearly prevented his safely reaching land (much less reaching his destination). The incident took place near
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#1732764752130336-785: The Xiang River in Chinese folk religion . The Xiang flowed into Dongting Lake through the ancient kingdom of Chu , whose songs in their worship have been recorded in a work attributed to Qu Yuan . According to the Shanhaijing , the Xiang River deities were daughters of the supreme deity, Di . According to a somewhat later tradition, the Xiang goddesses were daughters of Emperor Yao , who were named Ehuang ( Chinese : 娥皇 ; pinyin : É Huáng ; Fairy Radiance) and Nüying ( Chinese : 女英 ; pinyin : Nǚ Yīng ; Maiden Bloom) who were said to have been married by him to his chosen successor, and eventually emperor, Shun , as
364-587: The headwaters at Xing'an County , Guangxi , the West Branch flows approximately 261 kilometres (162 mi) to Ping Island of Yongzhou , where it is joined by the Xiao River to form the middle Xiang River. Historically it was recognized that the headwaters of the Xiang rise in Haiyang Mountains . People say the Xiang and the Li Rivers share the same origin, because the upper reaches of
392-586: The imperial examinations in Chinese mythology , Yao decided to test the merit of Shun. According to Zhou Dunyi and others, as a test for Shun, Yao married his two daughters Ehuang and Nuying to him and Shun took home his brides. The arrival of the future Xiang River goddesses, Ehuang and Nuying provoked numerous problems: Shun's father had little or no liking for him, his step mother had no love for him, both wanted to seize his dowry of flocks of sheep and other cattle and huge measures of grains which he had received as
420-523: The "Wilderness of Cangwu ", near the headwaters of the Xiang River in the Jiuyi Mountains (sometimes translated as Doubting Mountain), both of his wives rushed from home to his body (or, in another version, to look for it, but were unable to find it), and then they wept by the river for days: their copious tears falling upon the bamboos by the river, stained them permanently with their spots. According to Sima Qian 's History (Ch.6, "Annals of
448-452: The East source of the Xiao River originating from Lanshan County of Hunan. With the tributaries, the Xiang has a river basin area of 94,721 square kilometres (36,572 sq mi), of which Hunan has an area of 85,383 square kilometres (32,967 sq mi). In a situation of Guangxi source, the Xiang has a length of 844 kilometres (524 mi); In another situation of Xiao River as
476-606: The Main Stem of the Xiang. The Main Stem is located in the eastern part of Hunan. The Xiang generally flows southwest to northeast from Lingling District of Yongzhou to Xiangyin County , and empties into the Yangtze River via Lake Dongting . The Left Branch, also known as the West Branch of the upper course is traditionally known the upper Xiang River, the portion of the Xiang River upstream called Xiangshui River (湘水). From
504-480: The Xiang bamboo ( 湘竹 or 湘江竹 ), Xiang Consort bamboo ( 湘妃竹 ), and teardrop bamboo ( 淚竹 ), to the tears of the weeping consorts. They were worshipped in some form by the people of Chu during the Warring States and its poet Qu Yuan is credited with writing the "Ladies Xiang" ( 湘夫人 ) to document the ritual songs in their honor. The late Tang Dynasty poet Yu Wuling is supposed to have been fond of
532-573: The entire mountain red. Part of the reason for the Qin emperor's fury was that the Xiang goddess(es) were patron deities of his old enemies of the Kingdom of Chu ; the color red was intended to symbolize the color of the clothing mandated for convicted criminals. The Xiang River goddesses (or deities) have been referenced in Classical Chinese poetry as far back as the early southern anthology
560-460: The farmer was the son of Gu (also known as Gusou): a mean, violent, stupid, and difficult man (also old and blind optically and morally); that Shun lived with him and his proudful and abusive stepmother; and, a half brother, Xiang (who was evil) -- but nevertheless, due to the young (early thirties, but old to be unmarried) Shun's great filial piety the inherent wickedness of the family was kept in-check and outright evil avoided. In an early example of
588-409: The main source stream, the Xiang has a length of 948 kilometres (589 mi). The Upper Xiang River has two large Branches, the West (left) and East (right). The West Branch is traditionally known as the main stream, originating from the Haiyang Mountains in Guilin of Guangxi . In Hunan , there had been debate on whether or not this tradition of regarding the West Branch as the main stream
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#1732764752130616-437: The marriage Shun was a simple farmer. Yao, however, was attempting to recruit worthy persons into the service of his government, the main reason being to solve the problem of the ongoing Great Flood that was devastating China. One suggestion from Yao's advisors ( Four Mountains ) was Shun. Yao inquired what sort of a person Shun was and decided to try him upon being told that (although a direct lineal descendant of Zhuanxu ) Shun
644-746: The scenery along the Xiang River. The classic Chinese novel The Dream of the Red Chamber includes a character Shi Xiangyun who takes one of the characters of her name from the river. Mao Zedong 's Shian Kian Weekly Review , founded on 14 June 1919, publicized Marxism in Changsha . 29°26′N 113°8′E / 29.433°N 113.133°E / 29.433; 113.133 Haiyang Mountains The Haiyang Mountains ( Chinese : 海洋山 or 海阳山 ; pinyin : hǎiyáng shān ), in ancient times known as " Yanghai Mountains " ( Chinese : 阳海山 ; pinyin : yánghǎi shān ) form
672-482: The shrine of Xiang Jun (on Xiangshan , now an island in Dongting Lake ). Upon inquiring about identity of Xiang Jun, the emperor learned that the name referred to the daughters of Yao and the wives of Shun who were buried at this location. Before returning home (by the different Wu Pass land route), the enraged emperor ordered 3000 convict laborers to cut down all of the trees on this mountain, and then to paint
700-494: The two Xiang River goddesses, mourning the disappearance and presumed death of their beloved husband, the Emperor and hero Shun. There are various versions of this mythological story, but, according to one version, in the last year of his reign Shun decided to tour the country of the Xiang River area. According to another version he was engaged in a military expedition versus the " Miao ". Upon his sudden death during this journey, in
728-752: The two rivers are connected by the ancient Lingqu Canal , which is located in Xing'an County , Guangxi . According to a traditional saying, 70% of the water in Lingqu flows into the Xiang and 30% flows into the Li River. In the past, the canal, along with the Xiang River and the Gui River provided an important waterway connecting the Yangtze River with the Pearl River Delta . The Xiao River
756-400: Was promoted to emperor, Ehuang and Nuying were said to continue to provide Shun with invaluable advice contributing to his great success. (Murck 2000, 8-9; Wu 1982, 70-71; Yang and others 2005, 202-204). The spots that appear on the stems of certain bamboos legendarily first appeared on the bamboo growing by the Xiang River , caused by the tears which fell upon them, shed by Ehuang and Nuying,
784-466: Was up on the barn roof, his father, old Gu, set the barn on fire and took away the ladder; however, with the aid of the magical bird coat Shun flew to safety. Next, they tried to murder him in a well, but again Ehuang and Nuying had prepared him for survival with a magical dragon coat which allowed him to swim out through a tunnel. Again, Ehuang and Nuying saved Shun from his murderous relatives by giving him
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