Let's talk about the water system in Shanghai, and why is Shanghai abbreviated as 'Hù' and 'Shēn'?

Wusong River, before the Tang and Song dynasties, was the main channel for discharging floods from Tai Lake, and its downstream river channel that flows into the sea was called by the ancients 'Hù Dú'. The so-called Hù was a type of fishing gear widely spread in the waters of Songjiang, and Shanghai's abbreviation 'Hù' comes from this. Huangpu is a tributary of the Wusong River. During the Warring States period, Lord Chunshen of the Chu state, Huang Xie, was enfeoffed here, and later generations associated Huangpu with his excavation, hence Shanghai's other name 'Shēn' is also derived from this. In the seventh year of the Qiandao era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1171), Qiu Chun, the magistrate of Huating County, mentioned in the water conservancy records that there was a Huangpu Pond to the northeast of Huating County, marking the first appearance of the name Huangpu. The upper reaches of Huangpu were originally called Hengli Stream, mainly receiving water from Dianshan Lake. The water system of Shanghai originates from the three rivers of Tai Lake, namely the Lou River, Songjiang, and Dongjiang. Songjiang, which is today's Wusong River, is also known as Songling and Lizhe. At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, Songjiang changed its course to connect with the Huangpu River, and since then, the water system of Shanghai with the Huangpu River as the main and Wusong River as the auxiliary has remained stable to this day. Ren Renfa, a water conservancy expert of the Yuan dynasty, dredged the Wusong River twice. At the beginning of the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty, the court adopted the proposal of the scholar Ye Zonghang to implement the 'Jiang-Pu Confluence' project.