Today, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces are located in the northeast of the motherland. Since ancient times, it was generally called "Northeast", and later it was commonly called "Kanto", which is still popular among the people. Historically, Northeast China has different administrative divisions and names, but after thousands of years of development, it has formed a unique regional culture and eventually became an inseparable part of Chinese national culture.
History is the most reliable witness. Let's talk about the source of history first.
Northeast China, as a region, has been recorded in ancient books since its own writing. Northeast China was first recorded in ancient books, and ancient China was divided into "Kyushu" according to Shangshu Gong Yu, among which "Jizhou" has covered western Liaoning. "Qingzhou" put southern Liaoning, mainly Liaodong Peninsula, under the jurisdiction of the state. According to legend, "Kyushu" was set up after Yu's flood control, and Shun analyzed "Kyushu" as "Twelve States", among which "Northeast" of Jizhou is Youzhou, that is, the area west of Beizhen, Liaoning, which is called western Liaoning for short; Qingzhou "Northeast" is divided into Yingzhou, that is, the area east of Beizhen today is called Liaodong. The boundary between western Liaoning and Liaodong is generally defined by the present Liaohe River. Besides Yu Gong, there are similar records in Erya Dish, Zhou Li Paper Workshop, and Lv's Spring and Autumn Tour. In fact, the so-called "Kyushu" and "Twelve States" are just the idealization of ancient times by intellectuals during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period or later, reflecting people's geographical concepts at that time. Because the three generations of Yao, Shun and Yu did not have the conditions to form a country, there was naturally no administrative division and setting of "Zhou". Nevertheless, at least in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in people's geographical survey, Liaoning Province has been summarized in the jurisdiction of Jizhou, Qingzhou, Youzhou and Yingzhou respectively. The establishment of these four States does not include the land in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, but only refers to the land in Liaoning Province in the "Northeast" direction.
Before the Spring and Autumn Period, there was no historical research in Northeast China, and only the tribute of ethnic minorities was used to confirm the political affiliation between their land and residents and the Central Plains Dynasty. According to the Records of Five Emperors, as early as Shun Dynasty, the tributary nationalities in the north included Shanrong, Beifa and Shen Xi. Caution is caution. In the Yao and Shun era, they lived between the white mountains and the black waters. Therefore, Zhou inherited Yao Shun's legacy and said, "Yan and Hao, I am from the north." In the Zhou Dynasty, Su Shen continued to pay tribute. Confucius once saw his tribute "The Scholar" with his own eyes, and made an evaluation of Chen Huigong. There are also records of lodging gods in Shan Hai Jing and Beidahuang Jing. Beyond the Northeast China Sea, in the vast wilderness, there is a mountain called Buxian and a country called Sushen. "Not salty is today's Changbai Mountain, and it has been confirmed that the man of God lived in Changbai Mountain.
The above evidence has gone beyond the geographical concept of Jizhou and other four States and extended to Baishan Heishui, which is equivalent to Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces today. At this time, because there is no clear administrative division, the local area is still called in the direction of "Northeast", and at the same time, the nationality is used as the name of the area.
Northeast China officially had the name of this area, which was associated with the county established by Yan State in the Warring States Period. Yan is located in the north, and is often invaded by its strong enemy Donghu. When Zhao was king, the Great Wall was built, and almost the whole of Liaoning Province was included in the Great Wall, and a county was set up to govern its land. According to the biography of Xiongnu, it is very clear: from Yangyang to Xiangping, set up ancient, Yuyang, Youbeiping, western Liaoning and Liaodong counties to avoid Hu. Two counties in western Liaoning, Liaodong and a part of Youbeiping County are all in today's Liaoning Province. Xiangping, now Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, was then the capital of Liaodong County. This is the first time that a county has been established in Liaoning history, and it is also the first time that a county has been established in Northeast China. From then on, Liao became the contemporary name of Liaoning area, which remained unchanged from generation to generation. Sometimes, Liaoning is generally called the Northeast, but its real meaning is still limited to Liaoning.
Qin ended the long-term disputes in the Warring States and achieved great reunification for the first time. In order to resist the Huns, the Yanzhao Great Wall was integrated, and the sections of the Great Wall were connected into a whole. For example, "Biography of Historical Records and Meng Tian" said: "Because of the dangerous terrain, the traffic jam treatment started in Lintao and extended to Liaodong for more than 10,000 miles." The Liaodong section of the Great Wall basically follows the trend of Yan Great Wall, while most of Liaoning is still included in the wall of the Great Wall. Liaodong, Liaoxi and Youbeiping are the inheritance and further improvement of Yan system.
The Yuan Dynasty not only recognized the concept of northeast region of Liao and Jin people, but also further consolidated this concept. For example, "Dayuan Unified Record" said: "Kaiyuan Road has white mountains in the south, the sea of whale river in the north, Mitsui's old country, the old city of five countries, and it is also a metropolis in Northeast China. The "Northeast" mentioned here comes from a large area of Northeast China today. Therefore, the concept of "Northeast" refers to both orientation and region.
As the late Jin Yufu, the pioneer of the study of Northeast history, pointed out, "Orientation is the so-called", and all the original dishes are more accurate for officials and administrators. "The significance of geography, first of all, is to determine the location, which has already become the common sense of people's lives. It is said that "Northeast China" is one of the eight directions for offering sacrifices to gossip. Zhou Li, who was quoted earlier, referred to Beizhen and Yiwulu Mountain in the eastern part of Liaoning Province as "Northeast" at that time. Later, with the expansion and development of the territory, the coverage of "Northeast" became wider and wider, and finally Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces were all summarized in the scope of "Northeast". However, with the succession and continuous improvement of the official system of various dynasties before the Yuan Dynasty, people's understanding of this area has been greatly enriched. Since Liao Dynasty, the original name of geographical orientation is generally called regional name.
Since the Ming Dynasty, northeast China has a new name, called "Kanto". This word means the place east of Shanhaiguan, standing at the junction of Hebei and Liaoning, including Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, commonly known as Kanto. It is also separated by Shanhaiguan, so it is another name for the inside (inside) and outside the customs. The formation of the concept of Guandong has experienced thousands of years of historical evolution, which is closely related to the Great Wall, especially the slender Shanhaiguan.
In order to find out the origin of the name Guandong, we must first review the history of the Great Wall itself.
As early as the Warring States period, the Yan State in the north built the Great Wall to defend against the invasion of "Donghu". At that time, the Great Wall of Zhao Xiujian was also for its own safety. But directly related to the northeast is the Yan Great Wall. According to archaeologists' determination, this section of the Great Wall built by Yan started from today's Zhangjiakou, headed northeast, passed through Duolun, Inner Mongolia and Weichang County, Hebei Province, entered today's Liaoning Province, passed through Jianping, Beipiao, Fuxin, Zhangwu, Faku and Kaiyuan, crossed the Liaohe River, then turned southeast, passed through Xinbin and Kuandian, and reached the Yalu River eastward. As soon as Qin Shihuang unified the world, he combined the achievements of Yan, Zhao and other countries to connect the sections of the Great Wall into thousands of miles. For example, "Biography of Historical Records and Meng Tian" said, "Because of the terrain, the traffic jam stopped and the lights were brightly lit, reaching Liaodong for thousands of miles." Among them, Liaodong Great Wall basically followed the trend of Yan Great Wall. Qin Shihuang's subjective intention to build the Great Wall, like Yan and Zhao, was to resist the constant invasion of Xiongnu, the northern enemy. Liaodong is within the Great Wall, both inside and outside.
Since the Han Dynasty, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Northern Song Dynasty, Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties all belong to it, except Tang, Yuan and the Great Wall, and there is no need to build it. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the north, mainly the northeast, was occupied by Liao and Jin, and the Great Wall was unconditionally built. The other generations continued to build the Great Wall as a guarantee, but on the basis of Qin Changcheng, the overall pattern remained unchanged. It is worth noting that during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, in the third year of Tianbao in the Northern Qi Dynasty (552), the Great Wall was built from Qin Shu, the general manager of Xihe (northwest of Datong), to the Bohai Sea in the east, which is now the location of Shanhaiguan. This is a new section of the Great Wall route, which laid the foundation for building Shanhaiguan here in the future. It should be pointed out that this section of the Great Wall built in the Northern Qi Dynasty separated Liaodong's hometown from the mainland for the first time, and became a place "beyond the Great Wall", which was in the same position as Heilongjiang Province, the farther territory of Jilin.
Building the Great Wall and Shanhaiguan in the Ming Dynasty had a far-reaching historical impact on the development of Northeast China, especially giving it a new name.
After the Ming dynasty unified the whole country, it met two great enemies, which posed a serious threat to it: one was Mongolia in the north, that is, the remnants of the Yuan dynasty and their descendants. Yuan was expelled from Beijing and moved north from the Great Wall, and he is still scattered in a vast area north of the Great Wall. He is still in a state of confrontation with the Ming Dynasty. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the two sides had been fighting and making peace alternately, which was the main reason why northern Xinjiang could not maintain long-term stability in the Ming Dynasty. Secondly, Jurchen was scattered in the northeast, which was fairly stable in the early Ming Dynasty. The ruling clique of the Ming Dynasty regarded Mongolia as its main enemy and implemented the national policy of "controlling foreigners with foreigners", that is, using jurchen to deal with Mongolians. However, in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, after the demise of the Jin Dynasty, after more than 200 years of silence, Jurchen rose again, constantly "entering the customs" to harass, which triggered the struggle between Yu nationalities until wars of different scales. In the late Ming Dynasty, Jurchen became more powerful. After Nurhachi unified the ministries, he openly confronted each other by force, and finally the relationship broke down and the two sides began to confront each other for a long time. The two rivals of the Ming Dynasty were mainly concentrated in Liaodong, the west and its western and northwestern regions, while a considerable part of Mongolia was active in the northern and northwestern provinces of the Great Wall. I majored in the Great Wall at the beginning of Ming Dynasty, mainly defending the defense line of Mongolia. When the Liaodong area was invaded by Jurchen, the Ming Dynasty built and strengthened the Great Wall of Liaodong, built castles and cities to prevent Jurchen from being artificial.
Before the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Great Wall waited for a ship in the Bohai Sea, and Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Emperor, made a decision. On the basis of this section of the Great Wall, it was not only rebuilt, but also a new city was built here to strengthen the defense capability of the Great Wall. This is the fourteenth year of Hongwu (138 1). Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Wang Wei Xu Da to preside over the creation of Guancheng, which is now Shanhaiguan. Guancheng was built, Shanhaiguan was established and heavily stationed. The difference between Shanhaiguan and general urban construction is that it connects a city with the Great Wall of Yuri, which embodies a new defense system idea. Guancheng is backed by the majestic Yanshan Mountains and faces the blue Bohai Sea. The so-called "golden lotus pillow green hills in the sea" is derived from the name of Shanhaiguan.
Once Shanhaiguan was completed, it soon showed its strategic position in politics, especially in military affairs. Shanhaiguan is located in the throat of Hexi Corridor. From then on, Jinzhou, Liaoning Province reached Shanhaiguan directly, about 400 miles long, backed by Yiwulu Mountain, with Bohai Bay in front, and only a thin line between mountains and seas. This narrow strip is located in the west of Liaohe River, so it is called Hexi Corridor. Shanhaiguan is like a big lock, firmly locking the land passage from northeast to north China. In the three generations with underdeveloped military technology and communication tools, it is indeed an insurmountable barrier. Later facts fully proved that the great role of this great pass was irreplaceable. As talented as Nurhachi and Huang Taiji, as brave and good at fighting as the Eight Banners Army of the Qing Dynasty (later Jin Dynasty), he has been wandering in western Liaoning for more than 20 years. For two generations, they have been unable to break through the defense of this great pass, and they can only look and sigh, stop and go, and come back several times in vain. No wonder the ancients claimed to announce: "The key to the two capitals is unparalleled, and the Great Wall of Wan Li is the first pass." The Ming Dynasty regarded Shanhaiguan as the department of destiny, just as some military strategists in the Ming Dynasty said: Shanhaiguan "arched its inner holy capital to defend against foreign invasion, and the most stringent place" holy capital "refers to the capital Beijing. Yi refers to the Nuzhen in the northeast, and Lu refers to the Mongols in the north. In the Ming Dynasty, Shanhaiguan was used to defend the peace and rule of Beijing. This shows how important Shanhaiguan is in the hearts of Ming people!
The appearance of Shanhaiguan separated North China and Northeast China for the first time, and has since become the natural dividing line between the two regions. So far, the border between Liaoning Province and Hebei Province is still roughly based on Guancheng and its connected section of the Great Wall. To be exact, Shanhaiguan is included in Hebei Province, and its provincial boundary extends to about 30 Li east of Shanhaiguan. A Guancheng has become the general dividing line between North China and Northeast China, Liaoning and Hebei, which is probably unexpected by Zhu and his subordinates Xu Da!
In fact, when Shanhaiguan and the Great Wall were built in the early Ming Dynasty, people had a new geographical concept: the eastern part of Liaoning Province to the east of Shanhaiguan was collectively called "outside Shanhaiguan", while the western part of Shanhaiguan to the inside of the Great Wall was collectively called "inside Shanhaiguan" and later gradually called "inside Shanhaiguan". In the official documents and books of the Ming Dynasty, such as Records of the Ming Dynasty, the Commissioner is also called "Jidong" and "JD". COM "means the same as" Commissioner ".
In the Ming Dynasty, the administrative system in Northeast China was actually divided into two administrative regions: North and South. Southern administrative region, from Kaiyuan (now kaiyuan city, Liaoning Province) in the north to Lushun in the south; From Shanhaiguan in the west to Yalu River in the east, it is equivalent to the territory of Liaoning Province today. This area, called Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, is a traditional name evolved from history, and it is also called "Liaozuo" alone. Because it is located on the left side of the capital, it is regarded as a person's left arm and indispensable. In order to defend Mongolia in the Ming Dynasty, nine military towns were set up along the Great Wall, and Liaodong was listed as the first of the "Nine Borders" towns. The system of health care is implemented here, and the big one is health care, and the small effort belongs to health care. The highest military and political institution under the general's jurisdiction in this area, called "Commander Liaodong", is located in Liaoyang. There are 25 guards in the whole area, and various troops are stationed. Liaodong is a military town, so its administrative facilities have the nature of military control. Compared with the mainland, it is like a military "special zone".
North to Kaiyuan, east to the banks of Heilongjiang, east to the sea east of Wusuli River, and north to Xing 'anling, this large area is under the jurisdiction of Nurgandus in Telin, the lower reaches of Heilongjiang, with more than 400 guards. Different from Liaodong, Chaoyan did not send officials, but the leaders of local ethnic minorities were all managed by officials such as the Guards Commander. They paid tribute to Chao Yan regularly and maintained a political affiliation with the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, it is just an attempt to win the health center in this area. In other words, Ming implemented the policy of "controlling foreigners with foreigners" and ruled indirectly. In this way, in the whole northeast region, the two major capitals were divided into north and south, which constituted the political and military system of Ming ruling the northeast. Judging from the division of the two capitals and their jurisdictions, the fundamental division between ethnic groups is clearly reflected. The area under the jurisdiction of Dusi in Liaodong is inhabited by Han people, and the area north of Kaiyuan is inhabited by ethnic minorities. This division in the Ming Dynasty most vividly embodies the traditional thought of "distinguishing between Chinese and foreigners". Because Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces to the north of Kaiyuan were not directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, "east of Guanzhi" and "outside Guanwai" at that time generally referred to the Liaodong area under the jurisdiction of Liaodong Dusi. It goes without saying that the name "Kanto" was once very limited in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming Dynasty, it is natural that the northeast has different administrative divisions, different institutions and different names. There are many differences between the Ming dynasty and the former dynasty, mainly reflected in the strict internal and external boundaries. It keeps the Mongols on high alert and nuzhen on alert, strictly restricts their entry into Liaodong area, and only sets up three passes as their tribute road. These three passes are: Guang Shun Pass in the southeast, also known as Nanguan; Beiguan, a town north of Kaiyuan, is called Beiguan; Xin 'an Pass in Kaiyuan West. The first two passes are the way for Nvzhen in Haixi to pay tribute, and the last pass is the way for Sanwei in Wuliangha, Mongolia to pay tribute. The imperial edicts issued to them in the Ming dynasty were limited, and only those who held them were allowed to enter the customs to pay tribute. Other jurchen or Mongols are not allowed to enter Liaodong at will. If you enter Liaodong, you can only enter from the above three levels. In addition to this strict restriction, in the border areas of Liaodong, such as Guangning (a town in northern Liaoning), Kaiyuan, Fushun and Qingyun (a town in western Kaiyuan), horse markets or farming and animal husbandry markets have been set up to allow ethnic minorities to come here to trade with the Han people. There is a time limit for opening and closing the market. When the market is over, they must go back to their own places and can't stay in Liaodong. This policy has caused the long-term isolation of ethnic minorities in Northeast China from the Han nationality, which has affected the overall development of the whole region, especially the long-term isolation of ethnic minorities, and affected the overall development of the whole region, especially the long-term isolation of ethnic minorities in specific areas, which has hindered their economic and cultural development. Compared with the opening of the Tang Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, it was unrestricted, and the policy of the Ming Dynasty was retrogressive.
In the 28 years before entering the customs (16 16- 1644), the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty fought fiercely for the Northeast, and finally completely destroyed the Ming Dynasty's rule over the Northeast. 1644, taking advantage of the opportunity of Li Zicheng peasant army to overthrow the Ming regime, it marched into Shanhaiguan and occupied Beijing. After nearly 20 years of war, he completely defeated the Nanming regime and reunified the country.
Qing Dynasty was a feudal dynasty established by Manchu nobles. According to their own wishes, a political system with Manchu cultural characteristics was established throughout the country. Northeast China is its hometown, which was honored by the rulers of Qing Dynasty as "the land of prosperity", so it received special attention, and soon established the official system and gradually improved it. After the Qing Dynasty decided to make Beijing its capital, it took Shengjing (Shenyang) as its capital, and the minister of civil and military affairs "from Shanhaiguan to the east of the capital" to unify the three generals Shengjing, Jilin and Heilongjiang. This was the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, when the capital was in charge of all military and political affairs in the three provinces. Shunzhi three years (1646), changed to Fengtian Angbang Zhang Jing, in charge of three provinces. In the future, the three provinces will be divided into two parts, each with its own independent administrative mechanism. At the beginning of the tenth year of Shunzhi (1653), Jilin Province was established, called Ningguta Angbang Zhang Jing, and also governed Heilongjiang, that is, the two provinces were under the jurisdiction of one institution, and the governance office was located in Ningguta (Ning 'an, Heilongjiang). In the 15th year of Kangxi (1676), the office was moved to Wula City (now Jilin City). Qianlong twenty-two years (1757), renamed as "local general guarding Jilin and other places", referred to as Jilin General. In the 12th year of Qianlong (1747), Liaoning province was renamed as "the general guarding Shengjing and other places". The establishment of Heilongjiang Province was formally established before the counterattack against Russia in the 22nd year of Kangxi (1683), with the name "General guarding Heilongjiang and other places", referred to as General Heilongjiang for short. The office was originally located in Aihui City (old Aihui). In the 29th year of Kangxi (1690), he moved to Mo Ergen (now Nenjiang County) and moved to Qiqihar in the 38th year, where he was the permanent residence of the General's yamen.
This is the origin of the three northeast generals in Qing Dynasty. Although the "three generals" are not the names of provinces, they are actually three provinces, which are different from the governors and governors established in the mainland and have the nature of military jurisdiction. In the Qing Dynasty, only the generals' yamen system was set up in the northeast, north and northwest regions, which highlighted the important military position of the border areas. It must also be pointed out that the areas and names under the jurisdiction of the three generals are the same as those of Jilin, Heilongjiang and Liaoning today, but their respective jurisdictions, territories and sizes are indeed very different. For example, in the Qing Dynasty, the territory of Jilin was long from north to south and narrow from east to west. East to the Sea of Japan, northeast to Sakhalin Island, south to Changbai Mountain, west to Weiyuanbao and southwest to Yingemen. The territory of the whole province is much larger than that of Jilin today. Nevertheless, the three northeastern provinces were formally established with a complete system, which laid the territory of the contemporary three northeastern provinces.
The Qing Dynasty was a political power, which opposed the "discrimination between Chinese and foreigners" and advocated "integration of Chinese and foreign countries" and "integration of Manchu and Chinese". Under the unified governance of a political power, there is no distinction between inside and outside, so the Great Wall was not built after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs. In the thirty-ninth year of Kangxi (1700), the holy father wrote a letter not to repair the Great Wall. This Vandory-long artificial defense project, which was built by Qin Shihuang, has been maintained for 2000 years, and now it has been officially abolished. This is not only a complete change in the concept of national defense in the Qing Dynasty, but more importantly, it marks the complete realization of the unprecedented "great unification" in the Qing Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty abolished the Great Wall, but did not abolish Shanhaiguan. This great pass is still of great significance to the Qing Dynasty. It retains Shanhaiguan. First, inspecting business trips and collecting taxes will help the state protect its "land of Longxing" and prohibit mainlanders from entering the northeast through Shanhaiguan, so as not to destroy its "Long Mai". It has been banned since Kangxi, and it has been strictly forbidden for about 200 years for future generations to follow suit. Shanhaiguan became an insurmountable barrier for the Qing Dynasty to ban Northeast China. Obviously, in the absence of great wall people, only Shanhaiguan and its adjacent section of the Great Wall are playing a unique role in the new period. In other words, Shanhaiguan is still a landmark inside and outside the barrier. Shengjing, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces were strictly protected as the political and economic "special zones" of the Qing Dynasty.
As mentioned above, the concept of "Kanto" formed in Ming Dynasty mainly refers to Liaodong area under its direct jurisdiction. By the Qing Dynasty, the name of Kanto had been expanded, that is to say, it had gone far beyond the scope of Kanto, namely Shengjing, including Jilin and Heilongjiang.
As early as in the process of Nuerhachi's revenge, he first unified the Jurchen of Jianzhou. Followed by Hercynian Jurchen and Donghai Jurchen. Before and after the founding of the State of Jin, most of the Jurchen people scattered outside Liaodong were unified. When entering the Liaodong area, the vast number of Han people living here were also brought under the rule of the post-Jin regime. After his son Huang taiji succeeded to the throne, he made many expeditions to Huerha and Soren in the middle and upper reaches of Heilongjiang (actually, they are also different tribes of Jurchen). These tribes later developed into Ewenki, Daur and Oroqen. By the end of 1635, Huang taiji announced the abolition of the clan name of Shen Zhu and renamed it "Manchuria", which marked the final formation of a new nation-modern Manchu.
Manchu stepped onto the historical stage and entered the ranks of the Chinese nation, which completely changed the dispersed state of Nuzhen in Northeast China, Nuzhen in Haixi and Nuzhen in Ming Dynasty and formed a complete nation. Moreover, the Han people and the Mongols lived in the same regime, which broke the policy of strictly separating the Han people and ethnic minorities in politics in the Ming Dynasty and integrated them. The great change in regional relations caused by this is the complete abolition of the Liaodong side wall built in the Ming Dynasty and the barrier to open the three customs. Regardless of the inside and outside, the whole northeast region is politically and ethnically connected. In the eyes of Qing people, Shengjing, Jilin and Heilongjiang were regarded as her birthplaces. Because their ancestors really originated in the Heilongjiang River Basin, they went south from their native land, passed through Jilin, entered northern Korea, and finally moved back to Liaoning Province and settled in Hetuala (now called Yongling Township) in Xinbin. When Huang and his son edited the Records of Emperor Taizu, they made it clear that Changbai Mountain, a famous mountain in the northeast, was the birthplace of their ancestors. Therefore, Changbai Mountain is as important as Hetuala initiated by Nurhachi. In other words, in the regional concept of the Qing Dynasty, the vast northeast has been regarded as a complete region without distinction. In the early Qing Dynasty, Minister Shengjing was in charge of the whole region, which was the concrete embodiment of this regional concept. After that, it was not convenient to manage the vast territory of Northeast China, and then the whole area was folded into "three generals". But on the whole, the Qing dynasty listed the three provinces as "forbidden" areas and received special protection. This makes Northeast China in a special position among all water pipe stations in China. We say that it is a political and economic "special zone" of the Qing Dynasty, which is in line with historical reality.
After a long historical evolution, Liaodong was called Guandong from the Ming Dynasty, but after the Qing Dynasty, the name of the region expanded, and Guandong no longer referred to Liaodong, but generally referred to three provinces and regions. From about Kangxi, the official officially used the name Kanto, leaving a clear record in the literature of the Qing Dynasty. Records of the Qing Dynasty is the largest book in the Qing Dynasty. According to this book, in the sixty-first year of Kangxi (1December 722), Sejong Yin Zhen just acceded to the throne. When handling a case, he said that Chen had participated in the rebellion of King Geng of Jingnan and should have been put to death, so he was released as a sign of Kanto. In April of the third year of Yongzheng (1725), Sejong pointed out when commenting on the growing bad habits in Shengjing: local officials are not doing their business properly, and all the people sitting on the stage guarding the border are Kanto people. This shows that as early as the Kang Yong era, the official has officially used the name Kanto. To say the least, it has become a habit to use the name Guandong since the early construction of Shanhaiguan in the Ming Dynasty. In other words, people have given new names to today's three provinces and regions, both folk and official, and have become accustomed to calling today's northeast "Kanto". The later, the more commonly used. For example, Biography of the History of Qing Dynasty, which involves historical figures in Northeast China, is often titled as "Kanto" to distinguish it from other regions. Among them, Biography of Li Jinyong called him "Xunzi in Guandong". Li Jinyong, a native of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, transferred Jilin to deal with reclamation in Hunchun in the seventh year of Tongzhi (1868). Later, I surveyed the east bank of Heilongjiang, that is, the Forty-eight Banner of the Amazing River in Russia today, and handled the Mohe gold mine affairs. Eventually, he broke down from overwork and died in Mohe. Li Jinyong served as an official in Jilin and Heilongjiang successively, and was called "Guandong official", which was named as a famous honest official in Northeast China. It is obvious that the name Kanto has covered the whole northeast region.
Facts have proved that "Kanto", as a regional concept, originated after the construction of Shanhaiguan in the early Ming Dynasty and prevailed in the Qing Dynasty, marking the formal formation of the unified regional concept, becoming an officially recognized common name and synonymous with the three provinces. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, with the cancellation of the ban policy, a large number of immigrants from Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi and other places as far away as the north and south of the river entered the Northeast, injecting folk consciousness more widely. The so-called "going to the East" has become the lingua franca of immigrants at that time. It should be pointed out that during the Guangxu period, after the abolition of the "three generals" in Northeast China and the change of the names of provinces, there were also "three provinces in East China" or "eastern provinces", which generally referred to the Northeast. This generation of names shows that there is a unified name in Northeast China, with different names and no difference in connotation.
After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), the three-province system was still established, and the Northeast Bureau was always set up to govern the three provinces, which was divided into a large administrative region, and the name of "Northeast" was unified, while "Kanto" gradually faded, but it was still popular among the people and often called "Shanhaiguan" by people in Shanhaiguan.