Han Dynasty Henan County Military Geography

From the rebellion in the end of the Qin Dynasty to the reign of the Emperor Wudi, the political and military pattern of the main land of China was the recurrence of the Warring States to some degree, the situation of which was the east-west confrontation. This period could be called the "Post-Warring States Period". During this period, the prefecture of Henan, depending on its advantage in military geography, played a very important part in the confrontation between the east and the west. This thesis, by the analysis and research of the military geography of the prefecture of Henan, aims to explain the deep meaning of military and political issues and further more to understand the political pattern and its change of the empire during this period.This thesis is divided into two parts. Part one firstly gives an introduction of the physical geography and administrative evolution in the prefecture of Henan generally. And then, the function of the prefecture of Henan as a whole part is argued in the political and military pattern of the empire. From Liu Bang taking part in the uprising to the time of the Emperor Wudi, the prefecture of Henan was always located in the center, no matter of the geographic position or the political pattern. The superior position of the prefecture, which involved two kinds of land features, could be taken advantage of to suppress the east from the west. Besides, the foreign policy was defense before the period of the Emperor Wudi and the domestic one was to solve the problem of kingdoms in the east, which helped the prefecture of Henan to bring its geographic features into full play. Part two puts emphasis on the city of Luoyang and the defense system in the eastern part of the prefecture of Henan. The function of Luoyang was mainly reflected during the "Liu Bang's Period", and its political influence was more important than the military one. The eastern defense system was the main part of the prefecture to confront enemies from the east. The system consisted of Xingyang, Chenggao, Gong, Huangyuan, Aocang and ferries in the banks of Yellow River. All these elements inside the system, taking Xingyang as the core, interacted with each other and played significant roles in the military struggles during the former period of the West Han Dynasty.In the conclusion, the thesis considers that the function of the prefecture of Henan was the result of this special period. As the resolution of the problem of kingdoms, the political pattern of east-west confrontation got removed. As a result, the advantage in military geography of the prefecture of Henan turned into less outstanding.