This book is one of the representative works of the historical military geographer Song Jie. It is an extension of "The Geographic Hub of Ancient Chinese Wars" and presents in depth the "Hedong geographical hub" in the struggle for hegemony between the two Wei, Zhou and Qi. The author first sorted out the evolution of the Hedong administrative region during the Qin, Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, clarified the scope of the geographical concept of "Hedong", and discussed the regional characteristics of Hedong (today's Yuncheng area) in terms of economy, topography, hydrology, transportation and other aspects. On this basis, the author systematically examines the evolution, ups and downs of counties and city garrison in the Hedong administrative region; analyzes the political situation when the Eastern and Western Wei Dynasties split from the perspective of strategic geographical research, and focuses on the military competition in Hedong to sort out the war course of the East-West confrontation in the late Northern Dynasties. During this period, the king and his ministers battled wits and courage with each other, making endless plans and feats. There are excellent analyzes of the counterattacks of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi against the Fenbei area in Hedong after the Battle of Shayuan, the characteristics and adjustments of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou's Eastern Expedition strategies, the process of Emperor Wu of Zhou's Pingqi campaign and the reasons for its victory, etc.
The two Wei, Zhou and Qi regimes faced each other across the Yellow River. Hedong was the central stage for both sides to display their strategies. For the Yuwen family and the Gao family, the ownership of Hedong and the degree of military utilization directly affected the fate of the two regimes. This book is an excellent work to understand the history of the late Northern Dynasties from the "Hedong perspective".
Reader comments
This book is very interesting! I remembered that I have a relative who is from Yuncheng. He told me about the history there. The content in this book is quite consistent with what he said. And I especially like the part about war in the book. I feel that the monarchs, ministers and generals are so powerful, especially the Yuwen family and the Gao family. Their resourcefulness and courage are really admirable. But what I hate most are those treacherous ministers who always want to ruin other people's plans. It's so abominable! Overall, this book is well worth reading and gave me a deeper understanding of the history of the Hedong region.
This book is very interesting! I remembered that I have a relative who is from Yuncheng. He told me about the history there. The content in this book is quite consistent with what he said. And I especially like the part about war in the book. I feel that the monarchs, ministers and generals are so powerful, especially the Yuwen family and the Gao family. Their resourcefulness and courage are really admirable. But what I hate most are those treacherous ministers who always want to ruin other people's plans. It's so abominable! Overall, this book is well worth reading and gave me a deeper understanding of the history of the Hedong region.