or Hsiang River conventional Siang River River, Hunan province, southeastern China. One of the principal tributaries of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), it flows 500 mi (800 km) from the mountains in northern Guangxi autonomous region, through Hunan province, into Dongting Lake, and then into the Yangtze. Large vessels from the Yangtze can reach as far as Changsha via the Xiang. The river has been a north-south trade route for centuries
or Hsiang Yü born 232 BC, state of Chu, China died 202 BC, Anhui province Chinese aristocratic general and cultural hero. He overthrew the Qin dynasty and tried to return China to a pre-Qin ruling system. His forces were overwhelmed by Liu Bang (Gaozu), founder of the Han dynasty, and Xiang Yu chose suicide over capture. His heroism has been glorified in Chinese stories and poetry
or Kuo Hsiang died 312, China Chinese Neo-Daoist philosopher. He was a high government official who adapted and completed another philosopher's unfinished commentary on the writings of Zhuangzi. Interpreting dao ("the way") as nothingness, he argued that it cannot produce being and cannot be a first cause. He concluded that there is no agent of causality in the universe; all things spontaneously produce themselves, and everything has its own nature. Happiness comes from following that distinctive nature, and dissatisfaction and regret come from failing to follow it. He also interpreted Daoist "nonaction" to mean spontaneous action rather than sitting still, a deviation from original Daoism that agreed with Zhuangzi's thought