Gaochun County Detached from Lishui in 1491

Background

The gazetteer gives the detachment in a single sentence and no reason for it. The only Hongzhi entry before it records a severe drought in 1488, and the gazetteer does not connect the two. The motive must be sought in other sources; this entry does not speculate.

Time and place

The detachment took place in 1491. What was detached was the southwestern part of Lishui, and the new county was named Gaochun.

四年辛亥，析溧水西南境置高淳县。 — Kangxi Lishui County Gazetteer, 卷之一·邑纪·四年辛亥

Translated: In the fourth year, the southwestern part of Lishui was detached to form Gaochun County.

Consequences

After the division Gaochun and Lishui were separate counties, Lishui's territory shrank, and the lakeside land in the southwest no longer belonged to it. The two counties long stood side by side, as appears from the gazetteer's entry for 1600: the Lishui residents Zhang Xiao, Xiong Zicheng and others petitioned the throne, saying that the dam at Guangtong had left the upper waters without an outlet, that more than 80,000 mu of fertile lakeside fields had been destroyed and the quota tax apportioned among the remaining households, and asking with tears for the commutation of grain tax "on the Gaochun precedent". In 1622 the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, Xu Bida, and others jointly memorialised, and perpetual commutation of Lishui's grain tax was granted.

Uncertainties

First, the gazetteer gives no reason for the detachment, no boundary, and no figures for households or land; nor does it explain the name Gaochun.

Second, it does not say when Gaochun began to commute its grain tax, referring only to "the Gaochun precedent".

Third, the extent of Lishui after the division is not recorded, and no boundary is drawn here.