Because Hunan cuisine is a local cuisine in Hunan, Hunan is called "Xiang" for short. There are three theories of "Xiang":

One theory is that the Xiang River originates from Xing'an in Guilin, Guangxi. County, there is Ling Canal connected with Li River, which is called "Lixiang"; Xiang River flows northeast to Yongzhou Beipingkou and merges with Xiao River, called "Xiaoxiang"; then flows northeast through Hengyang North and merges with Zhanshui River, called "Xiaoxiang" "Steaming Hunan". Therefore, they are collectively called "Sanxiang". Since Guilin's human geography, language and customs are the same as those of Yongzhou, it belonged to Lingling County in ancient times and was customarily classified as Sanxiang.

One theory is that it is the collective name of Xiaoxiang, Zixiang and Yuanxiang. Because the Li River flows into the Pearl River from the south and does not belong to the Xiangjiang River system; the Zhan River is too short, so the two names Li and Zhan were removed. The Xiang River flows north to Linzikou in the north of Xiangyin and merges into Zishui, which is called Zixiang; it flows north to Xizhongzhou in Yueyang County and merges into the main flood channel of Yuanjiang River, which is called Yuanxiang. Zishui and Yuanshui are the four major water systems in Hunan, and the area they pass through accounts for 2/3 of the province. Therefore, "Sanxiang" is used to refer to the entire territory of Hunan.

There are also people who refer to Xiangxiang, Xiangtan and Xiangyin as the three Xiangs. The reason is that during the Tong (zhi) and Guang (xu) years of the Qing Dynasty, there were many Xiang people in the three counties headed by Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, etc. Famous military generals and famous officials. However, the history of these modern figures cannot be compared with the history of Hunan, let alone the concept of Hunan as a whole.

Although the terms "Three Hunan" are not necessarily the same, they are all based on Hunan. But why is Hunan abbreviated as "Xiang" and what is its significance? Experts tell us that "Xiang" does not come from "Sanxiang".

According to "The Theory of the Two Waters of Hunan and Li" written by Liu Kai of the Song Dynasty: "The two waters are originally one water,... the people who built it called the two waters separated from each other, so they called them Xiang and Li. Later generations added water. Cloud." This means that the Xiang River and the Li River were named Xiang and Li because the water from the same source was divided from north to south. Later, water was added next to the two words Xiang and Li, and they became today's Xiang and Li. The Xiangjiang River Basin is the area with the most extensive influence, the most dense population, and the earliest development in Hunan Province. Therefore, Xiang became the representative name of Hunan Province, and Hunan Province was also referred to as "Xiang".

However, field investigations by many historical and geographical experts have confirmed that the Hunan and Li rivers are not from the same source. The Xiang River originates from the south of Qiling in Donghaiyang Township, Lingchuan County, Guangxi. The ancient name of the Lishui River is Guijiang River, which originates from the Miao'er Mountain in the northwest of Xing'an County on the border with Ziyu County. Therefore, the theory that "the two waters are separated from each other, so they are called Xiang and Li" has no real research evidence and cannot be followed.

In fact, the origin of the place name of Xiangshui River is very ancient. The word "Xiang" first appeared in "Chu Ci", and in "Historical Records" there are sentences such as "the fish that eats Xiangbo" and "the vast Yuanxiang Xi". The character Xiang was originally developed from the character Xiang, which is more well-founded. The meaning of "Xiang" is to look after and help, and various exegesis and rhetoric studies often give this explanation. In the Shang Dynasty, Wu Ding had a son named Xiang, and the Northern Wei Dynasty established Xiangzhou here, which is now west of Linzhang County, Hebei Province. During the war in the Zhou Dynasty, some Xiang people fled south to Henan, Hunan and other places, so the Xiangshui River appeared in Shangcai, Henan and Hunan, which also brought the place names of Xiangxue to Hunan - Xiangjun and Hushan - Zhou Dynasty Posthumous name. Xiangren later integrated into the Tujia people and changed his surname to Xiang.

Precisely because in the twenty-sixth year of the First Emperor of Qin (221 BC), Xiang County was established in present-day Changsha City. In the fifth year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (202 BC), it was changed to Linxiang County because it was close to the Xiang River. name. In August of the first year of Yongjia (307) of Emperor Huai of Jin Dynasty, Xiangzhou was established here. From then on, it became the equivalent of a first-level provincial government in the province. To this day, Changsha, where Xiangzhou is located, is still the political, economic and cultural center of Hunan. Moreover, the adjacent Xiangjiang River is the largest river in the province, and its drainage area accounts for 1/3 of the province's total. Therefore, Hunan has always been referred to as "Hunan". When the place "Hunan" was first called, it was also the source of the history of Hunan cuisine!