In the past, Chentangguan
Today Chentangzhuang
Different from the embryonic spring scenery in March and April,
May is more leafy and the weather is more pleasant.
Such a comfortable good time, instead of taking advantage of the May Day holiday to go out to "special forces" and "people follow the crowd", it is better to take the subway to Nezha's noisy land at the door of your home, and go to the Nezha town that is about to open to pursue the stories of history and legends.
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The design of Nezha Town
Wait a minute!
Why was this Nezha town built here?
Could it be that Nezha is really a "Tianjin person"?
But Nezha is making trouble, isn't that the East China Sea?!
Oh, yes!
This has to be from the Chentang Pass guarded by Li Jing,
In fact, it is today's Chentangzhuang......
As we all know, the "important town in the East China Sea" guarded by Nezha's father Li Jing in "Romance of the Gods" is called Chentangguan. In the Ming Dynasty, during the Apocalypse, the map of "Tianjin Weitun Reclamation Clause" appeared for the first time on the map of "Chentangzhuang", and the "Jinmen Baojia Diagram" drawn during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty recorded that the place said: Chentangzhuang. Isn't that a coincidence?
Qing Dynasty Daoguang period "Jinmen Baojia Diagram"
"Chentangzhuang" marked at the bottom left of the map
Then why did the Bohai Sea become the East China Sea?
In fact, the East China Sea mentioned in "Journey to the West" and "Romance of the Gods" is the current Bohai Sea. At that time, the economic center was on the Loess Plateau and the North China Plain, adjacent to the Bohai Sea, and the largest sea that people often saw was the Bohai Sea, which was called the "East China Sea" because it was in the east.
In ancient times, a large part of the Tianjin area was the ocean, more than 2,000 years ago, Chentang Pass 5,000 meters away is the ancient estuary, Nezha stepped on the hot wheels and flew over, this distance is not a matter of minutes!
So,
This Chentangzhuang is a veritable "East Sea Mouth".
In addition, the 12th chapter of "Romance of the Gods" wrote that Nezha was born in Chentangguan, and mentioned: "I don't know that this river is the Jiuwan River, but it is on the mouth of the East China Sea." Tianjin Wei is located at the lower end of the Jiuhe River, the Haihe River bends and turns, and it is connected to the "East Haikou", which is very similar to the "Jiuwan River" mentioned in the book.
If it is the tide of the "East China Sea", the monstrous waves roll into the "Jiuwan River", stirring up the mist in the sky, looking at the "East China Sea" from afar, the sky is like a bow, and the white waves are like arrows. This magnificent spectacle is evidenced by a poem: "The arc of the sky shoots into the sea and the sea produces smoke, and the sea and the sky are connected up and down." It is called "the tide of the sea" by the old Tianjin guards, that is, the frenzied waves set off by the "Nezha and the sea".
In the 38th year of Qianlong, in order to watch the grand scene of "the tide of the sea", the people of Tianjin also specially built a "Haihe Tower"! In 2012, "The Legend of Nezha and the Sea" was successfully selected into the list of intangible cultural heritage of Hexi District of Tianjin.
Comparison map of ancient and modern Chentangzhuang area
It is also this "troubled sea", the dragon king of the four seas laid out four large arrays in the sea, the shrimp soldiers and crabs of the four seas, and the clam essence of the mountains formed four lines of defense, wanting to prevent Nezha from returning to Chentangguan to save his parents and people, but was beaten by Nezha and fell apart, becoming four "dead clam dams", that is, the four famous "shell embankments" in Tianjin, commonly known as "retreating from Haiti".
According to science, the formation of the alluvial plain of the Bohai Sea in Tianjin has undergone four advances and retreats of the Bohai Sea (the scientific name is "sea immersion"). One of them is 5.1 kilometers away from Chentangzhuang, and the formation time node is about 3500-2700 years ago, which was the Yin Shang period on the mainland. And "The Romance of the Gods" also describes the story of the Shang and Zhou Wars, that is, around the 11th century BC, which can be described as "no coincidence is not a book".
Now the vicissitudes of life, but the old people in the area of Chentangzhuang still have a different view of "retreating from Haiti": "In the past, this boundary was all 'retreating from Haiti', and it was Nezha who forced the Dragon King to retreat. Further east from Chentangzhuang Street, close to Donghai Street, used to be called 'Little Haiti', and it was also a piece of retreat from Haiti earlier. Speaking of 'Nezha and the sea', if it's not here, where else can it be?"
Although this Nezha is only a character in a mythological story, the author who describes this artistic image in the book is indeed very likely to use the landform of Tianjin as the prototype to create it. Why? Let me tell you more about it.
Although the image of Nezha has appeared in the Tang and Song dynasties, it was not until the "Journey to the West" and "Romance of the Gods" period of the Ming Dynasty that there was a more complete story description of Nezha, and at this time it was also the period when the legend of "Nezha in the sea" was popular in Tianjin.
Among them, Wu Chengen, the author of "Journey to the West", passed through Tianjin when he entered Beijing during the Jiajing period, and his two poems, "Reminiscences of the Past" and "Bo Yang Liuqing", both describe what he saw and thought when he visited Tianjin. What's more, don't you think that the portrayal of Nezha's image in the book "Journey to the West" is very similar to the image of the "fat doll" in the Tianjin Yangliu Youth Painting!
Besides, the author of "The Romance of the Gods", we don't know whether it is Xu Zhonglin or Lu Xixing, but some scholars compare Lu Xixing's Taoist thoughts with the religious ideas preached in "The Romance of the Gods", and it is presumed that the author should be Lu Xixing's face.
Although Lu Xixing has never been to Tianjin, he and Wu Chengen are literary friends, and some characters in "Romance of the Gods" and "Journey to the West" have the same name, and the plot is similar. It's too normal to meet friends in writing, tell Chen what he has seen and heard, and tell about the customs and customs.
Left: Wu Chengen Right: Lu Xixing
Based on historical facts, let's look for some clues to prove that Xiao Nezha is our "Tianjin fellow", and Chentangguan is called Chentangzhuang.
First of all, let's talk about the upper and lower river circles~
These two villages on the shore of a large bay corner of the Laohai River are the same high platform, the same size, and both are round, don't you think it's strange?
But
There is indeed a folk tale in the area.
It is said that Nezha "cut the flesh and return the mother, remove the bones and return the father", the common people built a temple in Cuiping Mountain (located in today's Jizhou District) and sculpted the statue of Nezha, so Nezha's soul temporarily lived here, and then somehow Li Jing knew, so he burned the temple with a fire.
How can the knot of revenge be solved this time?
After Nezha was reborn, he took the fire-tipped spear, Hot Wheels and other treasures sent by his master to seek revenge on Li Jing. This Li Jing couldn't beat it, so he could only be driven home, and when he was about to reach the edge of the city, he met the person who burned the lamp, and it was he who used the Linglong Pagoda to smelt Xiao Nezha. At that time, the Hot Wheels fell and landed on the Jiuwan River, gathering two high earthen platforms, which became the two villages of the upper and lower river circles later.
From Chentangzhuang to the east, through the willow forest with lush branches and leaves on the riverside of the upper and lower river circles, the eyes suddenly open up, only to see the green lotus leaves, the budding Hanlian, don't be a scene, this is the famous "Huide Town" 800 miles of lotus pond in Tianjin, that is, everyone often says "ash heap" now.
In "The Romance of the Gods", it is said that "Nezha incarnation" uses "lotus, branches and leaves, and fresh lotus roots in the five lotus ponds of Jinguang Cave". Tianjin people said: It was picked in "Huide Town".
How so?
When the sun rose in the East China Sea, the first time the light shone on this land, and the ten thousand golden lights were not a proper "golden light cave". The ancestors of Tianjin are grateful for the glorious virtue of the sun, so they named this place "Huide Town", which is full of vitality, gathering natural treasures, and humanistic features, and will inevitably deduce some magical folk tales or myths and legends.
Let's go back to the willow forest mentioned earlier,
In fact, it is now the coastal river of Chentangzhuang
To the east, the "Willow Forest Scenic Area".
In the twelfth chapter of "The Romance of the Gods", it is written: Nezha's family will come out, and it is the weather in May, so it is really hot" "Nezha is sweating all over his face, but he is calling the general: 'Look at the shade of the tree in front of you, can you enjoy the coolness?' The family will come to the green willow shade, only to see the wind swinging, and the troubles are solved. hurriedly walked back and said to Nezha: "Yu Gongzi, in the shade of the willows in front, it is very cool, and you can escape the heat." When Nezha heard this, he was overjoyed, so he went into the forest, untied his clothes, and relaxed his bosom, and was very happy. ”
Those who have been to Tianjin know that the spring here is particularly short, and the fifth month of the lunar calendar is already dry and hot, but this "Jiuwan Riverside, weeping willows rippling, young leaves blowing water, green willows in the shade, smoky wind, Hanoi clear waves rolling, green water surging", it is really a summer resort is really not false at all.
Little Nezha came to this willow forest to play if he had nothing to do, which means that the family must not be far away.
According to Chen Baoguo, a descendant of the Chen family who first settled in Chentangzhuang, the Chentangzhuang area, including the original Little Haiti and the current Liulin area, used to have "Nezha Ancient Temple", "Nezha Palace", and "Li Jing's official residence" three "historic sites" related to "Nezha and the sea".
Let's talk about this "Nezha Ancient Temple" first
According to the old people, it was built to commemorate the "Nezha Sea Fighting Dragon King", and the location is on the high ground of Chenjiataier, which is now the courtyard of the White Swan Building. Because it is located on the west side of Chentangzhuang, it is commonly known as "West Temple", and folk memory legends have been in the Ming Dynasty.
Now the statue of Nezha in the white marble in the Tianjin Cadres Club
At that time, the incense was very prosperous here,
When the temple fair is ten miles and eight towns,
In particular, fishermen and villagers under the sea gather here to worship and make vows.
But it's also very lively.
There is also an ancient well in this "Nezha Ancient Temple", which is said to be the eye of the sea, leading to the Dragon Palace. Sun Wenqi, an old resident of Chentangzhuang, the head of the Tongyin Stilt Club and the head of the Hexi Folk Art Troupe, said: "When I was a child, I always went to the temple to play, this well is old and deep, and I can't hear the sound of falling water when I throw a brick, but you have to put your ears on the mouth of the well to hear the sound of running water, but we haven't gone down, the old man said that it is the eye of the sea, through the Dragon Palace!"
"Nezha Palace" is built by the people of the two villages of Shanghe and Xiahequan, slightly later than the "Nezha Ancient Temple", located in the south vegetable field of Shanghequan Village (now in the courtyard of the International Tire Factory), respectively, enshrine the statues of Nezha and Tota King Li Jing, and some gods will accompany them. There is a small white delicate pagoda in front of the main hall, and the tower is carved with a Buddha statue.
Let's talk about this Li Jing
Even if he is the father of Nezha and the general soldier, he naturally has to "live in a fixed place", so the people of Tianjin have the saying of "Li Jing's official residence" and "Li Jing's palace", which is located in the "small Guandong" of Chentangguan, that is, the southeast side of the ancient Chentangzhuang Village, five or six hundred meters southeast of today's Dongting Road Park.
This is similar to "Nezha listened to his mother's orders and went straight to the back garden" in "Romance of the Gods". After sitting for a while, I felt bored in my heart, but I went out of the back garden gate, and went up to the city tower of Chentangguan to enjoy the coolness", which is highly consistent again in terms of geographical and spatial location, and it seems that this Chentangguan must be the Chentangzhuang of today.
Of course, Chentangguan is only a place name in myths and legends, but even so, it is not difficult for us to see the historical traces in it, and it can be said that it is a beautiful thing to continue the cultural tradition and protect the folk customs on this basis.
Nowadays, the times have changed, whether it is folklore, cultural relics and monuments, they have gradually faded out of people's field of vision for various reasons. Chentangzhuang is no longer a small village that once was, and now it is crisscrossed by traffic arteries, and industrial and business districts are booming, remembering the past and embracing new possibilities.
This year, relying on thousands of years of myths, legends and historical tracks, Hexi District has created the "first mythological theme park in Tianjin" and "the first immersive makeup park in Tianjin" Nezha Town in Chentangzhuang, the birthplace of Nezha culture. By inheriting the thousand-year-old historical context and integrating the Fengshen culture, the ancient street scene of Chentang is carefully created, with a large number of immersive experience settings, and at the same time integrates the elements of modern and trendy commercial blocks to create a "time and space tunnel" where the ancient and modern are intertwined, reshaping the legendary Chentang Pass, and letting the Nezha in the memory of Tianjin people come into reality.
Originated from Chentang
哪吒初生
May 1
The first street of Nezha Town was unveiled, and the open area includes the North Square, Time Tunnel, Fulong Lane, Donghai Square, Auditorium, Comprehensive Office Building and West Square. At that time, eight scenes such as the parade of Chentangzhuang and Guochao Fulong Lane will meet with you, so stay tuned~
Let's go back to the old Chentangguan
Let's look at today's Chentangzhuang