▲ Video: A book covering all the iconic cities on both sides of the Grand Canal
Meandering thousands of miles of Raitong waves
- "Twenty-one Cities of six thousand miles of canals" reading
Rivers and cities, most of them complement each other, achieve each other, complement each other, few famous cities and rivers are not related, it is difficult to imagine a city can prosper without the help of fresh water. When we think of London, we naturally think of the River Thames; New York is not only on the Atlantic side, but also the sparkling waters of the Hudson River; as for the charm of Paris, how can we get away from the lights of the Seine? Because of water, it is natural to live by the water and multiply; of course, it can also be based on the shape of the situation, even dare to think and dare to do, bold, let the water be used by people, serve people, driven by people, which has the emergence of artificial rivers, the second stage. Since its birth, the canal has experienced thousands of years of ups and downs, whether ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign, it has many causes, many stories, and many experiences and lessons. After the opening of the Suez Canal, it brought convenience of transportation, geopolitical changes, and also gave birth to the hustle and bustle of the city, and the Panama Canal became a country. At that time, the Soviet Union also mobilized and organized a large number of manpower and material resources to build canals, and there was a novel "Donbass", of course, and Gorky, which is described. China's canals, not only the Grand Canal, in recent years, Duncheng Xianxue, a variety of research, narrative text like sweat cattle, pouring in. Professor Liu Shilin led his team to sort out and interpret the connection between the canal and the city, with clear eyebrows and clear organization, which made people feel quite amazed.
▲Schematic diagram of the canal
"Twenty-one Cities of six thousand miles of canal" takes the cities on both sides of the canal to trace the interconnection between the river and the city, the atmosphere is magnificent, the overall linkage, giving people a sense of overlooking the mountains and small. There are many literature on the canal, many research angles on the canal, military considerations, economic interconnection, political games, difficulties in controlling water and dredging, joints in water transportation, and many people have been involved in all these things. Because the canal meanders, spanning north and south or east and west, there are also many texts that are confined to the shape of the grid, mostly focusing on the performance of the local canal, writing in sections, and there are many regrets. From Beijing to Hangzhou, the book covers almost all the iconic cities on both sides of the Grand Canal, with two in Zhejiang, four in Shandong, one cangzhou in Hebei, eight in Jiangsu, and of course, Tianjin, the gateway to Gyeonggi, which is now a municipality directly under the central government, which was once called "Little Yangzhou". Many people may be surprised that the so-called Zheng Biluo is actually related to the canal because today's Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has less to do with the Mangyang Central Plains. But whether it is Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Shangqiu, it is indeed a famous city on the bank of the canal, which was once busy with boats and sails. Liu Shilin's inclusion of these cities is a kind of original source and an important reminder.
▲ "Prosperous Breeding Map" (also known as "Gusu Prosperous Map", partial, now in the Liaoning Provincial Museum)
"Twenty-one Cities of Six Thousand Miles canals" tells that the canal city is not just a flat layout of the data of a city, but also closely follows the past and present lives of the city and the river, deletes the complicated and simplifies, tells the story, and is fresh and easy to read. Probably because after the publication of the "Biography of London", the urban biographies with the city as the object of writing have sprung up and come out one after another. Among them, there is naturally no shortage of wonderful works, wonderful and solid works, but there are indeed many materials that are nothing more than the data to piece together new bottles of old wine, nothing more than the self-intoxication of the knowledge of no disease and groaning and zombie in the paper pile, it is difficult to see the author's observation and examination, let alone the blood and soul of the city. This book involves twenty-one cities, with huge differences, very different statuses, and very different topics, but it can all closely focus on the city and the canal to peel back the cocoon, to soothe and take stock one by one, and such inventory and combing is not clichés and eclectic, mostly with fresh and elegant words, specific and reliable literature, showing a city's water charm and style, fascinating, different customs.
▲ "Luhe Supervision and Transportation Map" (partial, now in the National Museum)
"Twenty-one Cities of Six Thousand Miles Canal" focuses on the historical changes of the city and the river, and focuses on how to live harmoniously and co-exist between the rivers and the city today and the future, and puts forward a series of targeted operational concepts. The function of the canal changes from time to time, it is political, military, economic, and today's south-to-north water diversion is more strategic, people's livelihood, and of course, cultural. At that time, the transportation function of the canal was constantly iterated with the rise of other modes of transportation, and naturally faced a huge challenge to the dilemma of nirvana. Even in the late Qing Dynasty, the governor of river transport and the governor of Caoyun had to conform to the trend of the times and be abolished, and shipping had begun to emerge, and the style and splendor of Yangzhou gave way to the neon flickering of Shanghai, was not it also an inevitable era? In addition to combing through the cases of twenty-one cities, on this basis, this book summarizes and refines, conducts an in-depth and meticulous interpretation of the current national strategy, specific measures, and different cities in various places, and puts forward its own countermeasures and suggestions, such suggestions are not empty self-talk and closed doors, but come from the author's in-depth research on this problem for many years, rather than the in-depth study of this problem, and from the deep consideration of many years of immersion in its center.
Canals, flowing endlessly. The city on the banks of the canal is like a star. The coexistence of canals and cities is an eternal issue and an urgent practical need. Pray for the rivers and cities on the ancient earth, the key is that the people on which the rivers and cities live, live in harmony, and everything is good.
(The author of this article is the deputy editor-in-chief of Phoenix Publishing and Media Group)
▲ "Twenty-one Cities of Six Thousand Miles Canal", by Liu Shilin, published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press in March 2022
The history of China's Grand Canal is a history of the development of Chinese civilization, but also a history of the development of canal cities. The canal city not only plays an important role in promoting the development of ancient Chinese society to a higher level, but also accumulates into precious cultural resources and civilization heritage in the vicissitudes of the years.
With 21 important cities on both sides of the canal as the center, this book digs deep into its historical and cultural resources, systematically organizes its cultural assets and lifestyles, integrates vivid materials from local history, literature and art, folklore, etc., conducts a comprehensive study of the cultural form and spiritual value of the canal, and focuses on expounding its important connotation as the spiritual root of the Chinese nation.
The author of this book, Liu Shilin, is the dean, professor and doctoral supervisor of the Institute of Urban Sciences of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the chief expert of the Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation "Research on the Cultural Construction of the Grand Canal".
This book is a key book in Shanghai and has been funded by the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Development Fund.
Author: Wang Zhenyu
Editor: Xue Weiping
Editor-in-Charge: Zhu Zifen