Jiangnan is south of the Yangtze River, right?

Jiangnan doesn't mean south of the Yangtze River! Jiangnan in a broad sense: refers to the whole area south of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, that is, the areas south of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan and Hubei. Some areas in Fujian are sometimes called Jiangnan. The broad definition of Jiangnan begins with Gusi (Jiangnan Road) and is often described in literary works. For example, Du Fu's Random Encounter Li Guinian was written in Changsha. The Jiangnan referred to in the weather forecast is roughly the Jiangnan zone in a broad sense. Three famous buildings in the south of the Yangtze River (Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Yueyang Tower in Yueyang and Wangtengting Pavilion in Nanchang) are all located in the south of the Yangtze River.

Jiangnan in a narrow sense generally refers to southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang, but the specific scope is not very clear. This concept probably began in the late Tang Dynasty and took shape in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The most definite core area in Jiangnan only includes several cities around Taihu Lake, such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Huzhou and Jiaxing. This is the six traditional houses in the south of the Yangtze River. Nanjing is also located in the core area of the south of the Yangtze River, but because the language of Nanjing has gradually become Mandarin (Jianghuai Mandarin) in the changes of the times, the recognition of Nanjing in Wu dialect area is not high. Shanghai's administrative history is relatively short, but because of its important economic status, it has basically been included in the modern concept of "Little Jiangnan".

However, it is not the Yangtze River basin, and it is considered to be some areas south of Taihu Lake or even south of Qiantang River, such as Shaoxing and Ningbo. Some areas north of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, such as Yangzhou, are located in the north of the Yangtze River, but their economy and culture are similar to those of Jiangnan, and sometimes they are regarded as a part of Jiangnan in the cultural sense. Similarly, because of Jiangbei dialect, the narrow sense of Jiangnan does not necessarily include Yangzhou and Zhenjiang.

Because it is not only Jiangnan in a narrow sense, but also Jiangnan in a broad sense often appears and praises in historical documents. For example, the three famous buildings in Jiangnan have famous inscriptions by poets, such as The Story of Yueyang Tower and Preface to Wang Tengting. It is uncertain when the narrow definition of Jiangnan was formed, but it can only be proved that it evolved gradually at the end of Tang Dynasty.