Shàoxīng

Shaoxing stands in the old country of Yue, between the Kuaiji Mountains and the lakes and canals of the coastal plain. King Goujian had built a fortress here in the 5th century BC, and the town took its present name in 1131, when Emperor Gaozong of Song, rallying his dynasty in the south, raised Yuezhou to Shaoxing Prefecture, named for his reign period. Jian Lake, made in the Han to collect mountain streams for irrigation, gave its water to the rice wine that Shaoxing is known for.

Under the Yuan the town was the seat of Shaoxing Circuit, and under the Ming and Qing it governed a prefecture of eight counties, two of which, Shanyin and Kuaiji, shared the city itself. Keeping the tidal waters of the Qiantang out of the fields was a standing task: in 1536 the prefect Tang Shaoen built the Sanjiang sluice to hold back the sea and keep fresh water in the inland channels. The prefecture also became known for its sons in government offices, from clerks to the private legal secretaries who served magistrates across the empire. In the 1520s the philosopher Wang Yangming lectured to his disciples here.