The Cao'e River () is one of the largest rivers in

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

Province of

East China East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China. A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Governme ...

, named after

Cao E Cao E (Chinese: 曹娥, pinyin: Cáo É) (130–143), was a young girl from Shangyu District, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province in China. She was the daughter of the shaman Cao Xu. The girl died in the year 143 while trying to save her father ...

, a

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

girl venerated for her

filial piety In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào'') (Latin: pietas) is a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors. The Confucian '' Classic of Filial Piety'', thought to be written around the lat ...

. Its main source is in

Pan'an County Pan'an County () is a county of central Zhejiang province, China. It is under the administration of the Jinhua city. Administrative divisions Towns: * Anwen (安文镇), Shanghu (尚湖镇), Fangqian (方前镇), Xinwo (新渥镇), Jiansha ...

in the Dapan Mountains, and the river empties into the

Hangzhou Bay Hangzhou Bay, or the Bay of Hangzhou (), is a funnel-shaped inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai, which lies north of the Bay. The Bay extends from the East China Sea to its head ...

near the

Qiantang River The Qiantang River, formerly known as the Hangchow River and alternatively romanised as the Tsientang River, is a river in East China. An important commercial artery, it runs for through Zhejiang, passing through the provincial capital Hangz ...

estuary. It has a total length of , and a basin area of .

Names

The Cao'e River is named after

(130–143 AD), a

girl who drowned herself in the river after her father had drowned and his body was lost. She came to be venerated as an exemplar of

. In ancient times, the river was called the Shun River (舜江), after the legendary

Emperor Shun Emperor Shun () was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC. Tradition a ...

, and its estuary was called Dong Xiao Jiang (东小江, East Small River). Its upper stretch is called the Chengtan River (澄潭江), and the river is also called Shanxi or Shan Creek (剡溪) near

Shengzhou Shengzhou (), formerly Shengxian or Sheng County, is a county-level city in central Zhejiang, south of the Hangzhou Bay, and is the south-eastern part of the prefecture-level city of Shaoxing. It is about 1.5 hours drive from the provincial ca ...

, and Shangyu River in

Shangyu District Shangyu District () is a district of the prefecture-level city of Shaoxing in the northeast of Zhejiang province, China. At the 2010 census, its population in the built-up (''or metro'') area was 779,412, up from 722,523 in the 2000 census. Shang ...

Course

The Cao'e River begins from the Jiangongling Mountain (尖公岭, elevation 870 meters) of the Dapan Mountains (大盘山脉). Its source, Tengxi or Teng Creek (藤溪), is located in Wangcun Village, Shanghu Town,

. The upper stretch is called the Chengtan River, which flows northeast through Jingling Town, Chengtan Town, and southern

, for 91 kilometres. The Chengtan River is joined by the Xinchang River in Shengzhou. After the confluence the river is called Cao'e, and is then joined by the Changle River on the left, and the Huangze River on the right. After it enters Shangyu District, the Cao'e River is joined by the Xiaguan Creek (下管溪) in Zhangzhen, and then the Xiaoshun River in Shangpu (上浦). It is then crossed by several canals including the Zhedong (East Zhejiang) Canal, before emptying into the

. It has a total length of , and a basin area of .

Main tributaries

The Chengtan River, the main source of Cao'e, is often considered a tributary. It is long and has a basin area of . The Xinchang River is long and has a basin area of . It originates in

Tiantai County Tiantai County ( Tai-chow dialect: T'in-t'e yön; ) is located in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China. Residents mainly speak the Tiantai dialect. The county is noted for its scenic Mount Tiantai, which is also an important ...

. The Changle River is long and has a basin area of . It originates in

Dongyang () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Jinhua in Central Zhejiang Province, China. It covers an area of and administers eleven towns, one township, and six subdistricts. It is part of the Yangtze River Delta Economic Region. A ...

and joins the Cao'e River in downtown Shengzhou. The Huangze River is long and has a basin area of . It originates from the Xiabo Peak on the border of

Ninghai Ninghai County () is a county under the administration of Ningbo, in the east of Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It covers a land area of and a sea area of and has a coastline. It has four sub-districts, 11 towns, three townsh ...

and Xinchang counties. The Xiaoshun River is long and has a basin area of . Its two main sources, South Creek and North Creek, are in Shengzhou and

Shaoxing County Keqiao District (), formerly Shaoxing County, is a district of the city of Shaoxing in Zhejiang province, China. The Keqiao section of the Eastern Zhejiang Canal is one of the best preserved, having historic bridges of the ancient towpath. Geogr ...

, respectively.

Tourism

A area of the Cao'e River basin in Shangyu is a provincial scenic area of Zhejiang. It was a popular destination for travelling poets during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. A major attraction is the Cao'e Temple, built in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

(960–1279) to commemorate the filial daughter. It has many historical carvings and boards inscribed with

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined ...

from famous people. It has been called the "No. 1 temple of

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

". Other sights include the hometown of Zhu Yingtai and the hermitage of the renowned

Eastern Jin Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

Prime Minister

Xie An Xie An (謝安) (320 – 12 October 385), courtesy name Anshi (安石), formally Duke Wenjing of Luling (廬陵文靖公), also known as "Xie Dongshan" (谢东山, "dongshan" literally 'East mount'), was a Chinese politician of the Eastern Jin d ...

References

External links

Cao'e River
on

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{{Authority control Rivers of Zhejiang Shaoxing Jinhua Shangyu