What is the difference between the terms "江" and "河" in ancient Chinese? [^3^]内容如下：

The terms "江" and "河" both mean "river" in Chinese, but they have different origins and usages. According to some sources[^1^] [^2^], in ancient China, "河" only referred to the Yellow River (黄河), while "江" only referred to the Yangtze River (长江). The other rivers were called "水" (water). Later, the meanings of "河" and "江" expanded to include other rivers, but with some regional and scale preferences. Generally, "江" is more common for large rivers and rivers in south China, while "河" is more common for small rivers and rivers in north or outside China[^1^]. For example, the Pearl River (珠江) and the Mekong River (湄公河) are both "江", while the Nile River (尼罗河) and the Thames River (泰晤士河) are both "河". There are also some exceptions, such as the Han River (漢江) in South Korea and the Shinano River (信濃川) in Japan, which use different characters for "river" in their names[^2^].