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36-480: The name Guanzhong means "within the passes", referring to the four major mountain pass fortresses historically defending the region. The region was the traditional heartland of Qin state during Zhou dynasty and thus often nicknamed the " 800 li of Qin land ". The Yellow River , Lüliang Mountains and the eastern end of the Qinling separate the region from the (then) politically orthodox Central Plain , which

72-452: A mountain range or over a ridge . Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migration throughout history. At lower elevations it may be called a hill pass . A mountain pass is typically formed between two volcanic peaks or created by erosion from water or wind. Mountain passes make use of a gap , saddle , col or notch . A topographic saddle

108-441: A "formal colony" or "junior ally" might also be regarded as a vassal state in terms of international relations, analogous to a domestic "fief-holder" or "trustee". The concept of a vassal state uses the concept of personal vassalry to theorize formally hegemonic relationships between states – even those using non-personal forms of rule. Imperial states to which this terminology has been applied include, for instance: Ancient Rome ,

144-551: A monarch. In fully developed vassalage, the lord and the vassal would take part in a commendation ceremony composed of two parts, the homage and the fealty , including the use of Christian sacraments to show its sacred importance. According to Eginhard 's brief description, the commendatio made to Pippin the Younger in 757 by Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria , involved the relics of Saints Denis, Rusticus, Éleuthère , Martin , and Germain – apparently assembled at Compiegne for

180-518: A nearby mountainside, as with the Eisenhower Tunnel bypassing Loveland Pass in the Rockies, to allow faster traffic flow throughout the year. The top of a pass is frequently the only flat ground in the area, and may be a high vantage point. In some cases this makes it a preferred site for buildings. If a national border follows the ridge of a mountain range, a pass over the mountains is typically on

216-756: A style of street racing which may take place on these roads. There are thousands of named passes around the world, some of which are well-known, such as the Khyber Pass close to the present-day Afghanistan-Pakistan border on the ancient Silk Road , the Great St. Bernard Pass at 2,473 metres (8,114 ft) in the Alps , the Chang La at 5,360 metres (17,590 ft), the Khardung La at 5,359 metres (17,582 ft) in Ladakh , India and

252-410: A subordinate state (such as a dependency , residency , client state or protectorate ) has retained internal autonomy, but has lost independence in foreign policy, while also, in many instances, paying formal tribute , or providing troops when requested. This is a similar relationship to vassals, but vassals hold fiefdoms which are present in the actual territory of the monarch. In this framework,

288-413: A vassal are called vassalage , while the rights and obligations of a suzerain are called suzerainty . The obligations of a vassal often included military support by knights in exchange for certain privileges, usually including land held as a tenant or fief . The term is also applied to similar arrangements in other feudal societies. In contrast, fealty ( fidelitas ) was sworn, unconditional loyalty to

324-846: Is also used, particularly in Europe. In the highest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas, passes are denoted by the suffix "La" in Tibetan, Ladhakhi, and several other regional languages. Examples are the Taglang La at 5,328 m (17,480 ft) on the Leh-Manali highway , and the Sia La at 5,589 m (18,337 ft) in the Eastern Karakoram range. Scotland has the Gaelic term bealach (anglicised "balloch"), while Wales has

360-413: Is analogous to the mathematical concept of a saddle surface , with a saddle point marking the minimum high point between two valleys and the lowest point along a ridge. On a topographic map , passes can be identified by contour lines with an hourglass shape, which indicates a low spot between two higher points. In the high mountains, a difference of 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) between the summit and

396-430: Is around 13 °C (55 °F), and the annual rainfall ranges from 400 to 900 mm (16 to 35 in), averaging around 600 mm. Because some years have low precipitation and evaporation rates are high, the region's natural vegetation is a mix between forests and steppes . Before human settlements converted the plains for agriculture , it was home to a diverse range of wildlife . The Guanzhong region became

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432-576: Is located at the center of the region, mostly south of the Wei River. Other major prefectural cities in the Guanzhong region include (from west to east) Baoji , Xianyang , Tongchuan and Weinan . The four major historic fortifications that enclose Guanzhong region are: Two more passes were later added, namely: Historically the most important fortress of the above passes was the Hangu Pass, which commanded

468-621: Is located east of the strategic Hangu Pass and therefore was historically referred as the Guandong ("east of the pass") region by the Qin people, who later conquered the eastern states and unified China as a centralized empire — the Qin dynasty — for the first time during the 3rd century BC . Afterwards, subsequent prominent dynasties such as the Han and Tang (both considered China's historical golden ages ) also had

504-747: Is the Brenner pass in the Alps . Some mountain passes above the tree line have problems with snow drift in the winter. This might be alleviated by building the road a few meters above the ground, which will make snow blow off the road. There are many words for pass in the English-speaking world. In the United States, pass is very common in the West , the word gap is common in the southern Appalachians , notch in parts of New England , and saddle in northern Idaho . The term col , derived from Old French,

540-583: The Palakkad Gap at 140 metres (460 ft) in Palakkad , Kerala , India . The roads at Mana Pass at 5,610 metres (18,410 ft) and Marsimik La at 5,582 metres (18,314 ft), on and near the China–India border respectively, appear to be world's two highest motorable passes. Khunjerab Pass between Pakistan and China at 4,693 metres (15,397 ft) is also a high-altitude motorable mountain pass. One of

576-528: The Wei River from the ruined old Zhou capital of Fenghao . Four passes were then built to defend this new heartland against hostile attacks from both the east and the west. During the Warring States period , Qin grew powerful under Shang Yang 's legalist reforms, and militarily became increasingly more successful, and its rivals to the east claimed that the Qin army was a "troop of tigers and wolves", and it

612-462: The chokepoint on a narrow land corridor along the south bank of Yellow River and what was then the only traversable passage into the Guanzhong region from the North China Plain . The formidable resilience of the Hangu Pass was what enabled the Qin state to defeat numerous anti-Qin alliances formed by its eastern enemy states during the Warring States period . The average annual temperature

648-483: The crownland established in the Guanzhong region. The Guanzhong Plain traditionally includes the central part of modern Shaanxi province and the extreme northwestern tip of Henan province (the western half of Sanmenxia ). The average altitude of the region ranges from 300 to 700 m (980 to 2,300 ft) above sea level . Xi'an , the provincial capital of Shaanxi and the largest city in Northwest China ,

684-480: The Guanzhong region, and used it as his base to eventually defeat Xiang Yu in the subsequent civil war . After establishing the Han dynasty , Liu Bang created a new capital named Chang'an , which is just across the Wei River from the ruined Qin capital Xianyang. Since the Western Zhou dynasty, the area was the capital region of China for a total of 12 dynasties including the Qin, Western Han , Sui , and Tang . By

720-462: The Qin dynasty soon fell into chaos due to the corrupt rule of Qin Er Shi and Zhao Gao , and various rebellions broke out. In 206 BC , the rebel leader Liu Bang successfully invaded Guanzhong and forced the last Qin ruler, Ziying , to surrender the capital Xianyang, ending the Qin dynasty. Liu Bang entered the capital peacefully, and issued strict orders forbidding his troops from looting and harming

756-559: The Tang dynasty the economic center of China had shifted south to the Yangtze basin and Guanzhong became increasingly dependent on supplies transported via the Grand Canal . After the destruction of Chang'an in the last years of the Tang, Guanzhong became less significant politically as well as economically in later dynasties. Mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through

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792-766: The Zhou capital Haojing in 771 BC , the Western Zhou dynasty collapsed and the surviving Zhou court fled east to Luoyi . The Yíng clan , then a minor marcher vassal based in the Longxi Basin as a buffer state on the western frontier of the Chinese civilization, sent troops to escort King Ping of Zhou along the journey. In gratitude, King Ping granted a mid-level nobility to the Yíng leader, Count Xiang , and promised him authority to permanently claim any lands his clan can recapture from

828-454: The border, and there may be a border control or customs station, and possibly a military post. For instance, Argentina and Chile share the world's third-longest international border , 5,300 kilometres (3,300 mi) long, which runs north–south along the Andes mountains and includes 42 mountain passes. On a road over a pass, it is customary to have a small roadside sign giving the name of

864-482: The event. Such refinements were not included from the outset when it was time of crisis, war, hunger, etc. Feudal society was increasingly based on the concept of "lordship" (French seigneur ), which was one of the distinguishing features of the Early Middle Ages and had evolved from times of Late Antiquity . In the time of Charlemagne (ruled 768–814), the connection slowly developed between vassalage and

900-511: The famous but non-motorable mountain passes is Thorong La at 5,416 metres (17,769 ft) in Annapurna Conservation Area , Nepal. Vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch , in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe . While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain . The rights and obligations of

936-424: The grant of land, the main form of wealth at that time. Contemporaneous social developments included agricultural " manorialism " and the social and legal structures labelled — but only since the 18th century — " feudalism ". These developments proceeded at different rates in various regions. In Merovingian times (5th century to 752), monarchs would reward only the greatest and most trusted vassals with lands. Even at

972-606: The heartland of the Zhou after Jī clan leader Gugong Danfu relocated his people south from Bin (modern day Binzhou, Shaanxi ) to evade the violent raidings by Xunyu , Xianyun and Di nomads. It is from Guanzhong region that the Zhou state prospered and eventually conquered the Shang dynasty to establish the Zhou dynasty in 1046 BC. After the Quanrong nomads, with collaboration from Marquess of Shen , killed King You of Zhou and sacked

1008-408: The inheritance of their benefice to the heirs of their family. A "lower" group consisted of landless knights attached to a count or duke . This social settling process also received impetus in fundamental changes in the conduct of warfare. As co-ordinated cavalry superseded disorganized infantry , armies became more expensive to maintain. A vassal needed economic resources to equip the cavalry he

1044-419: The locals. However, he was forced to hand control over to another more powerful rebel leader Xiang Yu , who sacked, pillaged and torched Xianyang before enfeoffing the Guanzhong region to three surrendered Qin generals Zhang Han , Sima Xin and Dong Yi , collectively known as the " Three Qins ". However, merely four months later, Liu Bang returned with his newly appointed generalissimo Han Xin and reconquered

1080-410: The most extreme devolution of any remnants of central power, in 10th-century France, the majority of vassals still had no fixed estates. The stratification of a fighting band of vassals into distinct groups might roughly correlate with the new term " fief " that had started to supersede "benefice" in the 9th century. An "upper" group comprised great territorial magnates, who were strong enough to ensure

1116-434: The mountain is defined as a mountain pass. Passes are often found just above the source of a river , constituting a drainage divide . A pass may be very short, consisting of steep slopes to the top of the pass, or a valley many kilometers long, whose highest point might only be identifiable by surveying . Roads and railways have long been built through passes. Some high and rugged passes may have tunnels bored underneath

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1152-587: The nomads. The resultant Qin state then spent the next few centuries fighting off various nomads to its north and west and eventually consolidated its base in the Guanzhong Plain and the Loess Plateau . The Qin capital then relocated progressively east from Qinyi (in modern Qingshui County , Gansu ) to Yong (in modern Fengxiang County , Shaanxi ), then to Yueyang (in modern Yanliang District of Xi'an , Shaanxi), and eventually to Xianyang northeast across

1188-479: The pass and its elevation above mean sea level . Apart from offering relatively easy travel between valleys, passes also provide a route between two mountain tops with a minimum of descent. As a result, it is common for tracks to meet at a pass; this often makes them convenient routes even when travelling between a summit and the valley floor. Passes traditionally were places for trade routes, communications, cultural exchange, military expeditions etc. A typical example

1224-684: The similar bwlch (both being insular Celtic languages). In the Lake District of north-west England, the term hause is often used, although the term pass is also common—one distinction is that a pass can refer to a route, as well as the highest part thereof, while a hause is simply that highest part, often flattened somewhat into a high-level plateau. In Japan they are known as tōge , which means "pass" in Japanese. The word can also refer to narrow, winding roads that can be found in and around mountains and geographically similar areas, or specifically to

1260-410: Was bound to contribute to his lord to fight his frequent wars. Such resources, in the absence of a money economy, came only from land and its associated assets, which included peasants as well as wood and water. Many empires have set up vassal states , based on tribes, kingdoms, or city-states, the subjects of which they wish to control without having to conquer or directly govern them. In these cases

1296-450: Was often said that "Guanzhong produces generals; Guandong produces ministers". After constructing irrigation systems such as Zhengguo Canal , the already fertile Guanzhong region became extremely productive, allowing Qin state to become the preeminent power, repeatedly defeating and seizing more territory from its rivals to the east, and eventually unified China and established the Qin dynasty in 221 BC . After First Emperor 's death,

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