郴州古代之人文地舆考识

摘要

据湘西里耶秦简、新蔡葛陵楚简、郴州出土简牍和其他古籍，可知郴县并非在秦始皇始置，它至迟在战国已是楚国之县。“郴”字有不同的早期字形，分别具有不同的人文意义；郴州在上古有丰富的药材、香料、染料等出产。传说人物“郴夭”，应是神农尝百草过程中涉险共进的同伴。%As the consequence of several well-recognized practical causes, ranging from the lack of distinction and related researches, to the infamous burning book act of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the origin and the vast cultural background of the Chinese character “Chen” had not yet been discovered. This paper explores the definition of the character“Chen”, and systematically discusses a totally new derivation and correlated cultural foundation of it, which includes relevant Chinese traditional medicines, family names, and relevant ancient kingdoms, and rediscovers its cultural heritage value regarding primitive Chinese medicine and agriculture.