A BRIEF DISCUSSION ON THE EIGHT TAIHANG PASSAGES AND THEIR VICISSITUDES IN THE HISTORY
刍议太行八陉及其历史变迁

The eight Taihang Passages are natural passages through Taihang Mountains. From south to north , they are in the order of Zhiguan Passage , Taihang Passage , White Passage , Fukou Passage , Jing Passage , Feigu Passage , Puyin Passage , and Jundu Passage successively. In the history , the eight Taihang passages played an improtant role bacause of their special geographical positions and tenable defence positions. From the pre-Qin days to Qing Dynasty , wars broke out constantly here. Although the dynasties shifted rapidly , it was always a anational policy to stabilize the state by rely- ing on the strategical positions of Taihang Mountains and building passes there , According to their locations , the eight Taihang Passages were divided into two groups-four passage. in the north and another four in the south. Before the Song Dynasty , the country 's political centers were distributed in Changan , Luoyang , Kaifeng , and Ye , and at that time occupying the four passages in the south was believed to help " uniting the states" . Since the Song Dynasty , the politcal center was moved to Beijing and holding another four passages in the north would " stabilizing the country ". The eight Taihang passages had a prize in ancient wars , and in turn the wars promoted the development of transportation. Therefore , the eight Taihang Passages , the passes and post stations in old days , were changed into today' s main lines of transportation , or even highways. Moreover , the eight Tai- hang Passages are also natural sightes given birth to by their landforms and endowed with human characters. These sights . together with a hundred or so historic sites developed in this area , have become the highly valuable resources of tourism t admiration and recuperation. It is clear that the planning and developing of these resources are of great improtance.