Generally speaking, the larger waterway is called "river", followed by "river" (mostly in the north) or "water" (mostly in the south), and the smallest is called "stream".
Extended data:
Although the rivers in the south are often called "Jiang", such as Xiangjiang River, Lijiang River and Jialing River, they are all influenced by the original meaning of the word "Jiang". That is to say, apart from the special words associated with the word "Jiang" in ancient literature, a single word "Jiang" represents the Yangtze River.
This view is reflected in Ci Hai and other works, and it has become common sense for people to read classical Chinese. As early as the early years of the Qing Dynasty, Hu Wei wrote in Yu Gong's Cone Finger? As for the special meaning of the word "Jiang", it has been pointed out: "Southerners who get water are all called Jiang; Northerners take water and call it a river.
Therefore, the Minjiang River is called the Great River, and the Yellow River is called the Great River. This is a local custom of later generations, and it is not ancient ... It is true that the rest of the country is named mountains and rivers. Naturally, he named names, but the wars of Jiang, Huai and Ji were not his gains and risks on the water ... The title of Shui Jing Zhu, almost a water word, has never been borrowed, and it has won the meaning of "Gong Yu". "
Recently, in the Preliminary Study on the Yangtze River and the Names of the Yangtze River, a comprehensive textual research was made on the name changes of the Yangtze River in various periods in China, emphasizing that the word "Jiang" in ancient documents refers to the Yangtze River.
This paper holds that the word "Jiang" seen in the literature existed on weapons in the Spring and Autumn Period. For example, the bronze sword of the prince of Wu is engraved with the inscription "Chu Jiangyang". The earliest description of the Yangtze River in pre-Qin ancient books is Shan Hai Jing. Southeast flow, note on the river ","erya? Release water, Four Disgraces of Rivers and Huaihe River, Shangshu? Yugong ""Minshan leads the river, but the East is different ... Jianghan Dynasty lived in the sea ".
After the Han Dynasty, people began to call the Yangtze River "Great River". The name "Yangtze River" did not appear until after the Six Dynasties, but it only appeared and was used during the great cause of the Sui Dynasty.