Liú Bāng bèi fēng wéi Hànwáng, fēngdì zài Hànshuǐ shàngyóu de Hànzhōng, hòulái tā jiànlì de cháodài yě jiào Hàn.
Liu Bang was made King of Han, with lands in Hanzhong on the upper Han River, and the dynasty he later founded was called Han too.
Tips
usage
汉水 is the classical name, the one in old texts and poems; maps today call the river 汉江. Through Liu Bang's dynasty the river's name became the name of the Chinese people, their language and their writing: 汉族, 汉语, 汉字.
history
Wuhan's 汉口 is 'the mouth of the Han'. 汉阳 was named when it lay north of the river (阳 in a place name means north of a river); in the 15th century the Han moved its mouth, and Hanyang has stood on its south bank ever since.
