One side of the water and soil, give birth to a place name; a place name, carrying a party culture.
From the desert of northern Saibei to the smoke and rain in the south of the Jiangnan, from the bustling cities to the countryside of Quemo, the place names condense the cultural memory of the Chinese nation for thousands of years, marking the long road and guiding the way forward.
A few days ago, the State Council promulgated the revised Regulations on the Administration of Geographical Names. The newly revised regulations establish a special chapter on the protection of geographical names and culture, which clearly stipulates the requirements for strengthening the protection of geographical names and cultural heritage and encouraging social participation.
Where did the place name come from, and how many memories and changes are there? When fingertips touch the map, the long or short name contains the code of "Why China"; behind each place name is a blood song that allows us to read China.
Exploring the "Source" and the "Edge"
What is the name of your hometown?
Experts believe that the origin and meaning of geographical names are very complex, and can be roughly divided into two categories: natural environmental factors and social and historical factors.
From the perspective of natural environmental factors, many urban settlements are surrounded by mountains and rivers, coastal lakes, and many place names originate from the relative location of these features. The name of Hengyang in Hunan is derived from its location in the south of Hengshan Mountain, the name of Huayin in Shaanxi is because it is located on the north side of Huashan Mountain; Haimen in Jiangsu is named because it is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River; and the mouth of Jiangxi Lake is named after the confluence of the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake.
The Yangtze River and Poyang Lake meet near Shizhongshan in Hukou County, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province, creating a beautiful view of the rivers and lakes (drone photo taken on August 5, 2018). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jin Liwang
From the perspective of socio-historical factors, some places are named after local tribes or ethnic groups. Experts pointed out that The distribution and migration of the Lai people in Penglai, Laiyang and Laiwu in Shandong are related to the distribution and migration of the Lai people in the Spring and Autumn Period, bazhong in Sichuan and badong in hubei are generally pre-Qin ba inhabited areas, and the names of qionglai and other places in Sichuan have left traces of the existence of the ancient Qiong people.
Some place names convey people's life aspirations and value pursuits. Place names with the character "An" in Jiangsu, Huai'an in Shandong, Ya'an in Sichuan, and Xi'an in Shaanxi contain people's prayers for a stable life; place names such as Zhenhai in Zhejiang, Zhenjiang in Jiangsu, and Nanning in Guangxi are full of people's desire to calm down the disaster. Confucian symbols such as filial piety and loyalty are often reflected in mainland place names, such as Xiaogan in Hubei, Yiwu in Zhejiang, and Xinyang in Henan.
With a few words, the name of the place exhausts all kinds of relationships between the earth and people, the earth and things, and the earth and things. Every exploration of the origin and meaning of a place name is like an indulgent tour of great American China.
Feeling "Extension" and "Transmission"
Mr. Tan Qijun, a famous historical geographer, commented on the value of place names: Place names are a "living fossil" of human history, and they are a kind of visible nostalgia.
The passage of time, the vicissitudes of the sea, the change of dynasties, the change of territory. Among the white clouds and dogs, many place names are still handed down.
As Liu Lian'an, deputy director of the Institute of Geographical Names of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, pointed out, due to the good stability and inheritance of geographical names, many social concepts, geographical characteristics and language habits that have been difficult to trace in other fields of society are precipitated in place names. Old place names give people today a channel to touch the colorful natural and cultural phenomena in history. For example, the name of Qingdao in Shandong Province lets us know that the vegetation was once dense, and the name of Henan Hebi tells us that there were cranes living here.
In the "Left Biography", there is a record that "the princes of Yuhe are in Tushan, and the rulers of the jade are all nations". The place name of Yuhui Village in Bengbu, Anhui Province, tells the story of "Tushan Hui", a landmark event established by the Xia Dynasty.
The core area of the ruins of Yuhui Village in Bengbu, Anhui Province (photographed on October 29, 2009). Xinhua Photo
Place names condense history, but also carry the collective memory and local feelings of the people.
Yanqiao Road in Hefei, Anhui Province, commemorates the revolutionary martyrs Chen Yannian and Chen Qiaonian with the name of the road. Just three words, like a bridge, spanning nearly a hundred years of time, to achieve the intersection of ideas and emotional resonance of the two generations.
In order to commemorate the zuoquan generals who died on the anti-Japanese battlefield, Shanxi Liao County was renamed Zuoquan County; Shangzhi City in Heilongjiang and Jingyu County in Jilin were named after the anti-coalition heroes Zhao Shangzhi and Yang Jingyu. Decades ago, the great struggle of "sacrificing one's body to go to the country and seeing death as a sudden return" was frozen in place names and became an important way for future generations to remember heroes.
There are also many place names that have been soaked with pyrotechnics due to age. The verse "Living together in Changganli, two small guesses" gives the Changgan in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, the image of "green plum bamboo horse"; the verse "Nine days open a Chengdu, thousands of households into the picture", which freezes the prosperity and splendid embroidery of Chengdu.
In the thousands of years of continuation and inheritance, place names have been given more meanings, becoming a unique carrier of Chinese civilization, containing a kind of nostalgia, a memory, and a love affair.
Guarding the "Roots" and "Dreams"
The place names contain the "roots" and "souls" of the Chinese nation, and the "feelings" and "dreams" of the sons and daughters of China, which are worthy of the joint protection of the sons and daughters of China.
The newly revised regulations make a multi-faceted top-level design for the protection of geographical names and culture. The regulations stipulate that "geographical names with important historical and cultural value and embody the historical context of China shall generally not be renamed", and also require that "people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the protection of geographical names and cultural heritage, and include qualified geographical names and cultural heritage in the scope of protection of intangible cultural heritage in accordance with the law".
As early as a few years ago, the mainland has carried out various forms of protection of geographical names and cultural heritage.
Quwo, Shanxi, named after the Western Zhou Dynasty, was once the key to "Wu Gong's rule to xingjin, and Wen Gong to dominate according to it"; the place name of Gaomi in Shandong is rumored to be the same as the character of Dayu... As cultural heritage of Chinese geographical names, these geographical names have been valued and protected by governments at all levels and the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other departments.
Water cube in Jinyuan, Quwo Dongcheng New District, July 26, 2018. Photo by Yang Chenguang, Xinhua News Agency
The culture of protecting geographical names should not only protect old geographical names, but also regulate new geographical names.
In recent years, with the continuous acceleration of the process of urbanization on the mainland, new geographical names will inevitably appear due to factors such as regional changes and population migration.
Tingbo Lane, Guanlan Road, Yanwu Hall Lane... In 2021, 362 place names in Beijing's urban sub-center will be announced to the public. Every area, one road after another, and one park green space after another show distinct regional cultural characteristics because of the strong canal cultural flavor and place name.
The newly revised regulations stipulate the procedures for naming and renaming administrative divisions and other geographical names, and require the solicitation of opinions from experts and the public. Liu Lian'an believes that these regulations make the process of naming and renaming geographical names a process of gathering wisdom and consolidating consensus, which is conducive to preventing the naming and renaming from being "willful".
Although the place name is small, but it is connected one by one, it is your home country. When we chant those beautiful place names in our mouths and hearts, and our chests rise up, it is the fiery feelings of home and country and firm cultural self-confidence.
Reporter: Gao Lei
Editor: Leng Yanyan
Produced by Xinhua News Agency