Jīnshājiāng

Here the Jinsha River belongs to the country around Beisheng, near present-day Yongsheng, rather than representing the entire upper Yangtze. Gu Zuyu’s geographical history describes the river passing the districts of Lijiang and Heqing before bending around Beisheng. In 1383, the Ming commander Fu Youde crossed the Jinsha from the Dengchuan direction, attacked Beisheng and captured Gao Sheng. River crossings therefore mattered to the conquest and administration of this upland frontier. Ming arrangements linked Beisheng successively with Heqing and the Lancang military guard. A stone wall and water-filled moat were built around the town in 1396; earthquake damage led to rebuilding during the Zhengde reign. The same account records irrigation springs near the town and pastures farther north. These details place the river within a landscape of garrisons, cultivated pockets and upland grazing, without implying uninterrupted navigation along its length.