Fen
Fen is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 36.98°, 111.80°
About Fen
The Fen River drains the center of Shanxi Province, China. It originates in the Guancen Mountains of Ningwu County in northeast Shanxi, flows southeast into the basin of Taiyuan, and then south through the central valley of Shanxi before turning west to join the Yellow River west of Hejin. The Fen and the Wei Rivers are the two largest tributaries of the Yellow River. The river is 694 kilometers (431 mi) long and drains an area of 39,417 km2 (15,219 sq mi), 25.3% of Shanxi's area. The Fen River is the longest in Shanxi. It is also the second-longest tributary of the Yellow River. Within Taiyuan, the Fen runs from north to south; the prefecture includes one-seventh of the river's course.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Fen River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Fen in Depth
History
The Fen is usually identified with the Ji River said by Sima Qian and others to have flowed beside the home of the Yellow Emperor. The Discourses of the States states that the Ji was the home of the Yellow Emperor's clan before he fought the clan of Yandi (the "Flame Emperor"). Its name is identical with the surname of the royal family under the Zhou. Pulleyblank argues, however, that the supposed "Ji River" could be a later invention as "there seems to be no record of a Ji River outside the myth" of the Yellow Emperor.
The lower Fen was part of the core area of ancient China (aka Central Plain) and held the capital of the state of Jin near today Houma. The river nurtured the 2500-year-old Sanjin Civilization and has since been called the "Mother River of People" in Shanxi.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Fen River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Fen: Key Facts
| Length | 694 km |
|---|---|
| Drainage basin | 39,417 km² |
| Source | Guancen Mountains |
| Mouth | Yellow River |
| Drainage system | Yellow River Basin |
Facts from Wikidata Q1154778 (CC0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Fen: Quick Answers
- Where is Fen?
- Fen is located in China, at 36.9805° N, 111.7950° E.
- Are there dams on the Fen?
- No dam on the Fen is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.