The meaning and cultural memory of the name of the county "Danqu".
Liu Qu
Ba County Danqu County, Qin and Bashu during the Warring States Period and the county (314 B.C.), has been more than 2,300 years ago. As a historical place name entry, Baidu, Sogou Encyclopedia or Dictionary Online has its own originating time, and the definition of the county name is vague. In the elaboration of regional culture, it is necessary to re-examine and define it to convey accurate and clear historical and cultural information to readers.
Toponyms are a special cultural resource
Toponyms are expressed as a form of cultural memory. As a special cultural resource, the concept of place names is a short summary of the text, but the cultural content is quite rich. Geographical names have inheritance, iteration and differences in records. To a certain extent, it contains the roots of local culture, attaches certain historical information, confirms the changes of the times, condenses the customs and customs, and engraves a strong nostalgia. From the perspective of objective needs such as local historical and cultural publicity, cultural brand building, and promoting the integrated development of culture and tourism, place names have a unique cultural status. The cultural resources of place names should not only be excavated deeply, but also the cultural meaning of place names should be accurately interpreted and elaborated in order to be better developed and utilized.
Overlook of the ruins of the Chengba in Quxian County (photo by Wan Shaorong)
Tracing the history of civilization in the Qujiang River Basin, examining the ancestors of the basin and their civilization process and development achievements, often involving ancient place names, property names and some other titles; It is also necessary to investigate the historical background and cultural factors of the initial naming according to the political district setting, and identify the similarities and differences of the name and the reasons for change.
Taking the name of the county of "Danqu County" as an example, the 1992 edition of the "Chronicles of Qu County" describes the history of the establishment of the political district, which is limited to the length of the volume, and the interpretation of the county name is a paragraph. The Chronicles of Dazhou City (1911-2003) gives an explanation for the name of the county "Danqu": "Qin ...... In the hometown of the country, it is located in the county of the ditch, and it is named after the water of the ditch. Friends in the cultural and historical circle of Kequ County do not agree, because the issue of which comes first and which comes after the name of the political district and the name of the landscape is not clear. Judging from the frequency of cultural propaganda and use in Quxian County, "water passing through stones is a down, and water is stored as a canal" is quoted a lot, but it cannot withstand questioning.
Nowadays, there are different opinions on the interpretation of the name of "Danqu" county, or it is biased towards the elegance of the literati, or the meaning of the word is too far-fetched, or it is difficult to be logically embarrassed by the mutual evidence of the names of mountains and rivers, which seems to be unreliable. If we are always unclear about the origin of the name of our homeland, and we are at a loss for what we say, how can we be embarrassed by the scholars?
The paraphrasing of county names is a cultural expression
The release of county names is related to the historical and cultural origins of the place, and of course it is valued. Chinese people have always been worried about the name and the truth, and the so-called "name is not right and unsatisfactory" must not be ignored. At present, literary and historical workers or local propaganda often quote the meaning of "ditch" as "water passing through stones for down, and water storage for canals", which is said to be the explanation of "Etymology". It seems that the meaning is related to "ditch water". This theory may be based on the Qing Dynasty's "Tongzhiqu County Chronicles", and the chronicle pretends to be in the name of Ying Shao as "the stone passes through the water for the down, and the water is stored for the canal". Although this statement is straightforward in the literal sense, although it is concise and intuitive, the connotation of the word "ditch" is still unclear, and it is really not the point, and it is expected to be suspicious of the meaning of the text. The author thinks this is tantamount to not saying. Cha Yingshao's "Customs and Customs", canal: "water dwells also", which is consistent with the mainstream saying at that time. The original intention was changed in the county chronicles, and the injustice of the quotation was self-defeating.
The research of ancient place names is like a journey to find the roots, and accurate interpretation can become the cultural expression of the essential classics.
Several interpretations of "ditch".
"Ditch" was first seen in the Hanshu Geographical Chronicles, one of the counties of Ba County. Qinhan Danqu County basically covers the entire Qujiang River Basin, with a total area of about 40,000 square kilometers. By the Tang Dynasty, many scholars may not be able to figure out where this ditch is. Li Xian et al. annotated the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, with at least three annotations. "The Biography of Wu Han" "Danqu" bets: "The name of the mountain is because of the name of the county". This is one of the earliest theories. There are also theories named after water, ancient commentaries, and so on.
First, the naming of mountains and rivers says. There are mountains and rivers in the city of Danqu County, namely Huaying Mountain and Qujiang, which run through the center of the county.
Huaying Mountain runs north-south, and its southern end still has "Tongliang County" (during the Warring States Period, the King of Chuwei destroyed Ba, and sealed the concubine in the south of the Pujiang River, called "Tongliang Hou"). In fact, Danqu Mountain was not well known before Danqu was established as a county. Yangxiong's "Shu Du Fu": "Tongliang Jintang, Huojing Longyu." Song Dynasty Zhangqiao note: "Tongliang Mountain is in Danqu County. Zuo Si "Shu Du Fu": "Bearing the copper beam in the ditch". That is to say, the prehistoric Danqu Mountain may have the common name of "Tongliang" because of the production of copper. After the county was established, it gradually took the name of Danqu Mountain. The Tang and Song Dynasty geographies have a specific description of the Danqu Mountain in Quzhou. The Warring States period map of the "Historical Atlas of China" compiled by the famous historical geographer Tan Qixiang is marked with "Danqu County" and "Danqu Mountain", but in the Spring and Autumn Period, there was neither Danqu County nor Danqu Mountain. It is not difficult to see that there is the name of Danqu County first, and then the mountain that runs through the county is called Danqu Mountain.
The Qujiang River, which originates from the Rice Cang Mountain, was called diving in ancient times. "Water Jing Note" diving: "Out of Danqu County, Ba County, diving Gaihan Water (author's note: refers to the Western Han River, now Jialing River) ridge diving, so it is called the ear. It can be seen that just as Danqu Mountain was named after the establishment of Danqu County, the Danqu water was also directly named after diving through Danqu County. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, because of the "Quzhou", the water in the Northern Song Dynasty had the name of "Qujiang", which is still used today.
There has been a situation where the names of mountains and rivers and the names of political districts are mutually corroborated in a circular manner, which does not make logical sense. In fact, after the establishment of the county, the ancients had the reason for geographical reference from the consideration of the location expression, and began to give names to the mountains and rivers that run through the county. That is to say, there is the name of Danqu County first, and then Tongliang (Huaying Mountain) is called Danqu Mountain, and diving (Qujiang) is renamed Danqu Water.
Second, it is directly explained according to the text. "Tongzhiqu County Chronicle" said that "the water is stored as a canal", when the water accumulates into Ze, there is a little ancient meaning. However, there has always been no meaning in dictionaries to store water as a drain. "Ditch" is a historical place name, if a single word is directly interpreted, that is, or there is no mistake, the superposition of the two words may not be able to explain anything. Artificially constructed canals mean transportation channels, such as Zhengguo Canal, Ling Canal, etc. "Shangshu" records that Dayu controls the water, since "Tuo Qian is both the road (guide)", there is no dammed lake, the ancients lake, Ze, pool, weir do not table, but to "ditch" life as the name of the county. It can be seen that the "canal" here does not have the meaning of "water accumulation", and the water stored is not a canal.
Third, the ancient text commentaries say. Wei Zhao notes the sentence "Jianfei Hu, Fengwen Xi Zhi Qu" in Chinese Wu Yu: Wen Xi Zhi Qu, which is called Yu Ye. This sentence means "building a banner and holding a plaque with a fierce beast pattern", which is a narrative sentence with the context. Some people separately took out the annotations and gradually extended them: the ditch is the ban, the banyu is the ban, and the banyu refers to the ban. Then the name of the ditch is related to the banyuman. In fact, the original text says that King Wu is in array, and all kinds of banners are hunting and hunting. Later, there was the idiom "in full swing". Besides, how can the shield of Wu language be the so-called "banqiao" in the Central Plains? It reluctantly sets up the preset concept and makes an excessive interpretation, and the meaning of the word is very far-fetched. Although Danqu County is indeed related to Ban Yuman, it has nothing to do with the text of Wei Zhao's commentary. The reversal of cause and effect in historical facts does not make sense.
So, what is the meaning of "ditch" as a historical geographical name, and how did it get its name?
"Ditch" is the dwelling style of the ancestors
Based on our investigation of the origin and ethnic nature of the Aboriginal Snake Species or the Eda people in Daba Mountain, we know that the "Danqu" has a long relationship with the historical origin of the ancestors in the Qujiang River Basin.
The canal where "Shuowen Jie Zi" was written (Source: Dictionary Network)
The term "ditch" is not recorded in the documents of the middle Warring States period and before. As the name of the political district of the pre-Qin county, the annotation to this has gone in the Tang Dynasty. It shows that this term is both "cold" and "few", and the frequency of quotation before the Tang Dynasty was very low, and no one has studied it. Check the reference book, and generally quote "Shuo Wen Jie Zi":
"Down, too; A cave house. Cong 宀" (the meaning does not belong to the stone and the like);
"Canal, water dwells" (Ying Shao's "Customs and Customs" also says).
Both words have the meaning of dwelling. The word "ditch" should be understood according to the idea of residence, just like the legendary "Youchao". Before human beings entered the civilized society, the memories of cave dwellings, nesting trees, and building tents by the water are profound. The author once wondered why the meaning of the name of the county was so profound? During the TV broadcast of the "Hemudu Culture" scenario simulation, the people built thatched huts by the lake and built a wooden platform near the water for entering and exiting, tying up rafts, and activity sites, which is exactly a style of "water dwelling."
The ditch named after the political district must have its meaning and reference. Throughout the ages, almost all different ethnic groups have their own specific forms of residence, or have formed their own national styles of architectural art, such as Miao Village, Tujia Stilted Building, etc., which have been inherited to this day. The living style of a nation is an important part of historical research. "Ditch" should be the earliest form of residence of the ancestors, that is, living in natural caves and riverside houses, which is suitable for the ancestors' way of life of gathering, fishing and hunting. With the evolution of the race, agriculture made it possible to settle, and then gradually and widely spread to areas suitable for agriculture to form natural villages. Judging from the landform of Daba Mountain and Huaying Mountain, the lava caves are widely distributed, coupled with the developed water system, the most convenient for the ancestors may be to use local materials and adapt measures to local conditions. Then the life of gathering, fishing and hunting has actual and permissible objective material conditions for the "ditch dwelling style". The snake people (賨人) call this kind of cave house and water house (thatched hut) "ditch". This kind of "ditch" dwelling style is by no means short-lived, and it is only natural that the civilization progress of the Sheba people is passed down from mouth to mouth. This has a common meaning with the narration of "Huayang Guozhi Ba Zhi" "The elder said, the ditch cover is the old country".
The configuration of the word "canal", the technique of understanding, pictogram and onomatopoeia is complete, and the image of the seal script is seen on the left side of the word next to the water, the right side is like a shed cover, and the following is supported by a wooden stake. Dense wooden piles were found under the sealed soil of the Hemudu site, and the archaeological evidence of the waterside shack structure is nothing more than that. This is in line with the geographical environment and the lifestyles of the ancestors in gathering, fishing and hunting, thus reflecting the long-term connection with the ancestors of the river basin. It should be the meaning and origin of the name of "ditch". This extended the historical sites of the ancestors to the Stone Age, and the ditch culture began from this.
"And the seven kingdoms are kings, and Ba is king." The Warring States period was turbulent, and the history of China was constantly refreshed and rewritten. Qin merged with Bashu, and the fall of the old country was only between the ten months. The establishment of counties was the first move of the Qin State to implement the new policy. Danqu County basically covers the entire Qujiang River Basin, which is the original territory and ethnic distribution area of the snake Ba people. "The elder said that the ditch cover is the old country. "Danqu" is used to name the county, which is already their remembrance and nostalgia for the era of the ancestors of the Ba people, which is reasonable, and the righteousness is really rooted.
In 2017, the "ditch" pottery tile unearthed at the dam site of Quxian County (courtesy of Liu Qu)
On December 20, 2022, Chen Weidong, leader and research librarian of the Chengba archaeological team of the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, gave an academic speech at the "Celebrity Lecture Hall" in Qu County.
The Qujiang River basin has a cultural history of 10,000 years and a civilization history of 5,000 years.
If the definition of "ditch" is correct, then it is tangential to this. The "canal" living by the water is a product of the early and middle Neolithic period, which is deeply rooted in the collective memory of the ethnic group. It is also about the prototype of the Ganlan type building that appeared in large numbers later in Badi, and it is its originator.
The ancestral ethnic group in the Qujiang River Basin is the Ba people, who have lived and multiplied in Zizi since ancient times, and are the Ba people who worship the big snake totem (the so-called "snake Ba people"), and are the ethnic groups that have developed independently in the Daba Mountain and Qujiang River Basin. "Ba" is a pictogram, which is the meaning of totemic sound, and it is also the voice they call themselves. In ancient times, there was a legend that "Hou Yi slaughtered and repaired the snake, and its bones were like a tomb", and "the snake ate elephants, and its bones came out at the age of three". And Daba Mountain, in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas, Zhongshan Classic" is called "Snake Mountain", because of its mountain and many snakes. The ancestors went through the so-called "cognitive revolution" and "agricultural revolution", and it was they who developed this land and created and developed the agricultural civilization in the Qujiang River Valley. Qin merged with Bashu, opened counties, and had a new policy of paying taxes to the imperial court. His people are called "people" because they call taxes: "The people of Ba call them "money", because they call it "money." ”
Around the Qujiang River basin and its vicinity, "Danqu" has a history of more than 1,000 years for the naming of political districts, which is actually a wonder of the history of place names, all of which are related to the history of the people. The people died out, and the ditch was no longer the name of the county. The Qujiang River has a long history and contains ancient meanings. The construction of the administrative region of the Qujiang River Basin has successively divided the political districts of Tangqu, Quzhou and Qu County, and the word "Qu" is the name of the state, county and county, and the cultural context is inherited from each other. It can be seen that the meaning of the word "canal" is very profound. "Tangqu" is not only a historical place name, but also a cultural category.
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Source: Sichuan Provincial Office of Local Chronicles
Author: Liu Qu (staff of Qu County Party History Research and Local Chronicles Compilation Center, former distinguished expert of Dazhou Ba Culture Research Institute)