Qianjiang, located in the southeast of Chongqing, in the hinterland of the Wuling Mountains, is a node city of Border Trade between Chongqing and Hubei. Here Qin was the seat of Yu County, Ba County, Fuling County (present-day Pengshui Yushan Town) in the Western Han Dynasty, and Danxing County (Zhinan Muping, present-day Nanhaicheng Community, Qianjiang Chengdong Subdistrict) in the sixth year of the Eastern Han Dynasty (201 AD). The Eastern Jin Dynasty Chang Xuan's "Huayang Guozhi Bazhi" records: "Danxing County, Shushi Province, the mountain is famous Dan" (that is, 'Dansha'), "Danxing" is the beginning of the qianjiang political district. Danxing County in the Western Jin Dynasty was abolished, and the province under its jurisdiction was divided into Fuling and Hanfu (hongdu town, Yanhe County, Guizhou). At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, due to wars and conquests, barbarians stood on their own, and there were no fixed counties to establish in their territory. In the fifth year of the Sui Dynasty (585 AD), the "Shicheng County" was newly established in the former Danxing County, and at the same time, "Yongzhou" was also established, and the county dam (present-day Zhoubai Street County Dam Community) was established. In the third year of the Sui Dynasty (607 AD), Yong Prefecture was abolished, and Shicheng County was incorporated into Pengshui County, Qian'an County. In the first year of wude in the Tang Dynasty (618 AD), Qian'an County was changed to Qianzhou (later changed to 'Qianzhong County'), and Shicheng County was restored to it, and the seat of government was stationed in Wucicheng (present-day Laoyingguan, Zhoubai Subdistrict). In the fourth year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (630 AD), Shicheng County was relocated to the present site of Nanmuping. In the first year of Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty (742 AD), Shicheng County was changed to Qianjiang County, and the proper name lasted for a thousand years. According to the Ming Dynasty Guo Zizhang's "Interpretation of the Names of Counties and Counties", Qianjiang County "has a Qianjiang River, which originated from Sizhou, and is more than 500 miles away, and the Minjiang River will meet in the east of Fuzhou." The water is often thorough, and it originates from Qianzhou, called Qianjiang, and the county is named after it."
Pu Xiaorong edited the book "The History of Sichuan Political Districts and the Present Interpretation of the Governance of the Land", which recorded the new entries "Yongzhou" and "Shicheng County" in the old Danxing County in the early years of the Sui Dynasty.
In the subsequent dynasties, the political history and ownership of Qianjiang have been changed and changed many times, but the county still maintains the overall framework. From 1988 to 1997, it was upgraded to Qianjiang District (prefecture level) in Sichuan Province, with five counties under its jurisdiction: Qianjiang, Pengshui, Youyang, Xiushan and Shizhu. In 1997, all the former old areas were included in Chongqing Municipality (as early as the fourteenth year of Hongwu in the early Ming Dynasty, Qianjiang was subordinate to Chongqing Prefecture, counting the restoration after 600 years). Because it is located in the southeast of Chongqing, it is called this domain by "southeast of Chongqing". Qianjiang is bordered by the three counties of Pengshui, Youyang and Shizhu in the city, and the cross-city is bordered by Lichuan and Xianfeng in Hubei. The place of this visit is the "Shimenkan" located at the junction of the Qianjiang River and Xianfeng, which is also the main passage from the Qianjiang River to Hubei.
Ren Naiqiang and Ren Jianxin edited the book "Illustration of the History of the Establishment of Sichuan Prefecture And Counties", which recorded in the form of a list the brief situation of the establishment of "Shicheng County" in the Sui Dynasty and the dam in Zhuzhi County. In the table, for Yongzhou, the author put a question mark to indicate that there are still doubts about this. Because from some of the information consulted, the year set by Yongzhou has two theories: Northern Zhou and Sui Dynasty, and the author has also done relevant research on this year, and there is no conclusion. It seems that this problem must continue to use literature, archaeology and other information resources to dig deeper.
Map of the Territory of Qianjiang County in the 20th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1894 AD). The Qianjiang River and Xianfeng (public opinion icon shown as 'Yi', which refers to the city) are naturally demarcated by peaks such as "Stone Drum Shed and Lao Gai" in the Wuling Mountains. The Wujiang Tributary, the Apeng River (known as the Tangya River in Hubei), originates from Lichuan City, Enshi Prefecture, and flows northeast-southwest into Chongqing. In the figure, the Sui and Tang Dynasty Shicheng County Guzhi-County Dam is also clearly marked. Located at the confluence of the Duanxi River and the Apeng River, the county dam was originally an administrative village, but because of its proximity to Zhoubai New District, as a reserve area for urban expansion, it has now been changed into a community under the jurisdiction of Zhoubai Subdistrict. The road from Qianjiang to Xianfeng (formerly Provincial Highway 202, now National Highway 353) passes through here.
Zhang Zi and Zhang Guangjie wrote the fourth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1865 AD) edition of the Xianfeng County Chronicle. Volume I. Territory", a written description of the junction of Xianfeng and Qianjiang counties. Shuijingtang is now the seat of Chaoyang Temple Town in Xianfeng County.
From Qianjiang District to this border point, you can take the No. 304 bus (Xiaoqiao - Shuijingtang) or Qianjiang to Xianfeng to take the national highway and get off at Shimenkan. Here is a slope section, Hubei terrain is slightly higher than Chongqing, so the road is undulating coiled. Through the geographical name information in Chongqing, it can also be seen that the nearby terrain is low, such as "county dam". Qianjiang's urban propaganda advertisement - "China Canyon City, Wuling Parlor", with a railing frame across the middle of the road, the information direction is very eye-catching.
The northeast end of the Shimenkan boundary point (Xianfeng) direction. The road on the left leads to a small village called "Aijiatuo" in Xianfeng County. Originally a machine-tillaged dirt road, cement has been hardened in recent years, making it easier for villagers to travel.
The southwest end of the Shimenkan boundary point (Qianjiang River) direction. The road sign on the right is marked with Qianjiang District and traffic window places such as railway stations, airports, and highway intersections. The highway management and protection bulletin board on the left provides information on the starting and ending points of National Highway 353 (Ningde, Fujian - Fugong, Yunnan), a new east-west artery that was upgraded in 2013 from the coast of the East China Sea to Gaoligong Mountain.
The 2018 edition of the Chongqing Atlas indicates the information at the boundary point between the Qianjiang River and Xianfeng, and specifically mentions Shimenkan. According to the map navigation, it is about 18 kilometers from the old town of Qianjiang to the border point of Shimenkan.
First go to the old site of "Shimenkan" at the intersection of Aijiatuo Road, 50 meters away. Shimenkan belongs to Xianfeng County, and this family's surname is Liu, which is a large family. In the summer of 2020, they built a new two-story Western-style building on the Shimenkan platform, and most of the members of the family are currently out to earn a living, and only one elder sister stays here. The red circle in the picture is not an underground storage room, but the original site of the stone gate. According to this eldest sister, when the ancient road from Qianjiang to Xianfeng passed through here, there was a small brick and stone gate opening, which crossed the boundary, hence its name. However, the door has long since collapsed. When the Liu family built a new house last year, they used the courtyard dam platform to rebuild a "fake stone door" and set up a door lock (the inside is a solid structure). Many people will see it as a storage room, but it is only a "stone door imitation" and has no effect. The vegetable field next to the "fake stone gate" where sweet potatoes are planted is also the cadastral of Chongqing's flower arrangement in Hubei.
At the same time that the Liu family built the house, this inscription was also erected on the old site of Shimenkan. In the style of storytelling, the inscription makes an interpretation of the formation of the ancient Border between Qianjiang and Xianfeng, the content is funny and humorous, and the "back stone meeting boundary" adopted by the two sides has also been passed down at other similar boundary points. Although it is based on allusions and legends in genealogies or local literature and history books, it has a strong sense of local readability. The inscription finally extends the scope to the adjacent large area of Wuling Mountain (Yu'exiang) in the description of the orientation of The Gate Pass, highlighting the core accessibility and bonding effect here.
Behind the inscription is a schematic map of the geographical location of Shimenkan - "west/south into Bashu, east/north through Jinghu, spoke Wuling Mountain", which shows that the pattern of the Liu family is still quite large.
About 30 meters away from the Liu family's bungalow, there is still a small section of stone slabs of the Qianxian Ancient Road, but the weeds around it are reborn and can no longer be passed, only a few records are made.
From the old site of Shimenkan, he returned to the national highway and photographed the 25th inter-provincial boundary pile between Yu and Hubei. Among the five provinces adjacent to Chongqing, the Boundary Line of Chongqing and Hubei ranks third, so the number of boundary piles is also set larger.
The boundary pile at the end of the Qianjiang River is Zhoubai Subdistrict, and the Xianfeng end is Chaoyang Temple Town (this is only 3 kilometers away from the boundary point of Yu'e).
In the 1990 edition of the Chongqing Atlas, the boundary between Qianxian and Chongqing (then known as Chuan'e) was marked, and there was no information about "Shimenkan" here.
Finally, take a van at Shimenkan to Chaoyang Temple. Chaoyang Temple got its name because there was a temple nearby called "Chaoyang" during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. Chaoyang Temple originally belonged to Yangdong District, Xianfeng County, and was established as Chaoyang Township in 1984 and Chaoyang Temple Town in 1994. The town station is called "Well Trough", so the place name plate on the national highway is still marked according to the old name. Right next to this is the water service center managed by the local water department, and there is a "rural water users association" (is this a civil society?). ）。 Water agencies correspond to water characters and place names, which really have a sense of background.
Leave Chaoyangsi Town, take a shuttle bus to Xianfeng County, and after a short stop, go to another junction with the Qianjiang River - The Sand Field of Lin'e Town. The next issue of graphics continues...