Tongguan County (alternately romanized as Tungkwan) is a county in the east of Shaanxi province, China, administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Weinan. It is named after the Tong Pass, a historical fortress located south of the confluence of the Wei and Yellow Rivers. It is the southeastern corner of the Ordos Loop, the point at which the Qin Mountains turn the Yellow River sharply eastward, forcing it into the North China Plain, and borders the provinces of Shanxi to the north and Henan to the east.
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Tongguan County in the context of Wei River
The Wei River (Chinese: 渭河; pinyin: Wèi Hé; Wade–Giles: Wei Ho) is a major river in west-central China's Gansu and Shaanxi provinces. It is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and very important in the early development of Chinese civilization. In ancient times, such as in the Records of the Grand Historian, the river was called Wei Shui (渭水; Wèishuǐ; 'Wei water').
The total length of the Wei River is 818 km (508 mi), covering a drainage area of 135,000 km (52,000 sq mi). Some of the major tributaries include the Luo River, Jing River, Niutou River, Feng River and the Chishui River. In a direct line, it travels due east for 700 km (430 mi) before draining into the Yellow River at Tongguan County near the tri-provincial boundary between Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan provinces, with a series of major cities along its course including Tianshui, Baoji, Xianyang, Xi'an and Weinan.
Tongguan County in the context of Lüliang Mountains
The Lüliang Mountains are a mountain range in central China, dividing Shanxi's Fen River valley from the Yellow River. The range forces the Yellow River southwards on the eastern side of the Ordos Loop but tapers off to the south, where the Fen turns west to join the Yellow River before the Qin Mountains turn the combined river sharply eastward at its confluence with the Wei at Tongguan in Shaanxi.
Tongguan County in the context of Geshu Han
Geshu Han (Chinese: 哥舒翰; pinyin: Gēshū Hàn; died December 1, 757), formally Prince Wumin of Xiping (西平武愍王), was a general of Tang China who was of Turgesh extraction. A veteran of many battles, he became a powerful general late in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and in 756 became responsible for defending Tong Pass against the rebel forces of An Lushan.
After being forced by the Chancellor Yang Guozhong to engage An Lushan's forces, he was defeated and subsequently kidnapped by his own subordinate, Huoba Guiren (火拔歸仁), to An Lushan's camp. An Lushan tried to use him to get his subordinate generals Li Guangbi, Lai Tian (來瑱), and Lu Gui (魯炅) to surrender as well, but when those generals refused to do so, put him under house arrest in Luoyang, the capital of An's newly established state of Great Yan.