The ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River are like pearls scattered in the land of water towns. A river passes through the town, which is the pattern of the ancient town; One town spans two counties, which is the collective memory of many ancient towns.
Zhou Zhuang
Zhouzhuang has the reputation of China's first water town, and now belongs to Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province. However, before 1950, Zhouzhuang was under the jurisdiction of Wu County and Wujiang County, which can be described as a town spanning two counties. The old name of Zhouzhuang was Zhenfengli. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhou Di Gonglang harvested and set up a village here, and Zhouzhuang got its name from this.
In the Yuan Dynasty, Zhouzhuang belonged to Changzhou County, Suzhou Prefecture. In the middle and late Yuan Dynasty, Shen Wansan migrated to Zhouzhuang with his father, and became the richest man in the south of the Yangtze River because of business. In the early years of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, it was renamed Zhouzhuang Town. In the second year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1724), the southeast of Changzhou County was placed in Yuanhe County. Zhouzhuang Town is thus divided into two, the town area is bounded by Siqian Port and Youcheyang, and the two counties are divided and ruled, four-fifths of the east bank of Siqian Port belongs to Zhenfengli, Sutai Township, Yuanhe County, and one-fifth of the west bank belongs to Tongxiuli, Jiuyong Township, Wujiang County.
During the Republic of China, Zhouzhuang under the jurisdiction of Wujiang was successively Zhouzhuang Township, Zhouzhuang Town of the Sixth District, and Zhouzhuang Township. After Yuanhe County was merged into Wu County, Zhouzhuang belonged to Wu County, and was successively Zhouzhuang Township and Zhouzhuang Town of the 11th District.
The 1994 edition of "Wu County Chronicles" contains the "Map of Wu County City and Township in the First Year of the Republic of China", marked with "Zhouzhuang Town" and "Chen Tomb Town"
In May 1949, Zhouzhuang established the people's power. Zhouzhuang Township in Wujiang belongs to Luxu District, and Zhouzhuang in Wuxian County belongs to Songnan District. In 1950, the west of Zhouzhuang Town, which originally belonged to Wujiang, was assigned to Luzhi District of Wu County, ending the division of the two counties. After 1952, Zhouzhuang Town was under the jurisdiction of Kunshan County (now Kunshan City).
Jinxi
Jinxi, once known as Chen Tomb, now belongs to Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province. A stream passes through the town, the peach and plum on the bank are draped, the morning glow and the sunset, sprinkle the river surface, bright like a brocade belt, so it is called Jinxi. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Song Xiaozong chose a water mound to bury Concubine Chen in Wubao Lake, renamed Chen Tomb, and in 1992, renamed Jinxi.
Jinxi Xuanjuan performance
In the Song Dynasty, Chen's tomb was bounded by the Pu River in the town area, Hexi (Shangtang) belonged to Changzhou County, commonly known as "Shang County", and Hedong (Xia Tang) belonged to Kunshan County, commonly known as "Xia County". During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the Chen tomb east of the Jiepu River belonged to Quanwu Township, Kunshan County, and the Chen tomb west of the Jiepu River belonged to Wugong Township, Yuanhe County. During the period of the Republic of China, the Chen tombs under the jurisdiction of Kunshan were Chen Tomb Township, Chen Tomb Township of the Sixth District, and Chen Tomb Town of Zhangpu District, and the Chen Tomb Township under the jurisdiction of Wu County were Chen Tomb Township, Chen Tomb Town of the 11th District, and Chen Tomb Township of Wusong District.
Partial map of Yuanhe County of the Republic of China "Jiangsu Province General Chronicles, Fangyu Chronicles" (including the location of Chen Tomb Town)
After the establishment of the people's political power in May 1949, the Chen Tomb under the jurisdiction of Kunshan was successively Chen Tomb Township of Zhangpu District and Chen Tomb Township of Dianxi District, and the Chen Tomb under the jurisdiction of Wu County was Chen Tomb Township of Songnan District and Chen Tomb Town of Luzhi District. In September 1952, 6 townships including Chen Tomb, Zhouzhuang 2 Towns and Mingjing, which were under the jurisdiction of Luzhi District of Wu County, were included in Dianxi District of Kunshan County, and Chen Tomb was all under the jurisdiction of Kunshan.
Nao Nei
Luzhi, also known as Fuli, now belongs to Wuzhong District, Suzhou City. After the Qin Dynasty established the county, its territory was divided into Wu County and Lou County. In the Tang Dynasty, it belonged to Changzhou County and Kunshan County.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Luzhi realm was divided into Renyili, Yiren Township, Changzhou County, Wugong Township, and the Fifth Bao of Quanwu Township, Kunshan County. During the Ming Dynasty, Luzhi had become a big town. With Dongmei Bridge, Jiepu and Beigang as the boundary, Zhongshi, Xizha and Nanzha to the west belong to Changzhou County, called Fuli Town, accounting for most of the town; The east gate to the east belongs to Kunshan County, and is called Liuzhi (with straight) town. In 1912, Changzhou County was merged into Wu County, and Luzhi was successively Luzhi Township, Luzhi Township of the 10th District, Luzhi Town of the 10th District, and Fuli Town of Songnan District. During the same period, Kunzhi Luzhi was successively Luzhi Township, Luzhi Township in the seventh district, and Luzhi Town in the sixth district.
The 1990 edition of "Kunshan County Chronicles" contains the "Thirty-one Year of the Republic of China, Kunshan County Township Zoning Map", marked with "Luzhi Town" and "Jingting Township"
After the establishment of the people's power in 1949, Wu County was under the jurisdiction of Fuli Township, Songnan District, and Luzhi Township, Zhangpu District, under the jurisdiction of Kunshan. In September 1952, Luzhi Township, Zhangpu District, Kunshan County was included in Luzhi Town, Luzhi District, Wu County.
Zhujiajiao
Zhujiajiao Town now belongs to Qingpu District, Shanghai, and there was a saying that "Sanjing (Zhujing, Fengjing, Sijing) is not as good as a corner (Zhujiajiao)".
Before July 1949, the town was bounded by Caogang and Fangsheng Bridge in the north, and the north of the river and bridge was called Jingtinggang Town, which belonged to Kunshan County; The south of the river bridge is called Zhujiajiao Town, which belongs to Qingpu County. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Zhujiajiao Town belonged to Kunshan County. In the tenth year of Tang Tianbao (751), Huating County was established, which belonged to Huating County and Kunshan County. In the twenty-first year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1542), Qingpu County was established, and Zhujiajiao belonged to Qingpu County and Kunshan County. Zhujiajiao became a big town in the Ming Dynasty, and the town was named Zhujie Pavilion during the Wanli period, commonly known as Jiaoli. Kunshan County is called Jingting, and it belonged to Sichuan Township before the Qing Dynasty. In the second year of Xuantong (1910), local autonomy was implemented, and Jingting was one of the 17 townships in Kunshan. During the period of the Republic of China, it was successively Jingting Township, Jingting Township of the Fifth District, Jingting Town of the Fifth District, Jingting Town of Yangxiang District, etc. Zhujiajiao, which was under the jurisdiction of Qingpu, was renamed Zhufeng Autonomous Region in the second year of Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty. In 1935, Zhujiajiao market town was divided into three towns: Zhudong, Zhuxi and Zhubei. In 1946, the three towns and Zhangding Township were merged into Zhuxi Town.
"Zhuli Xiaozhi" contains "Zhujiajiao Town District Map"
In May 1949, Zhujiajiao established the people's political power, and Zhujiajiao Town was established in the market town area, and the three streets of Dongjingting, Zhongjingting and Xijingting, which originally belonged to Kunshan County, were assigned to Zhujiajiao Town, ending the division of the two counties for more than 1,000 years.
Liantang
Liantang Town now belongs to Qingpu District, Shanghai. Liantang Town, formerly known as Zhang Liantang, belonged to Changzhou County in the Tang Dynasty. Since the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the water surface in this area has been reclaimed in a large area, and the surrounding counties, including Wujiang, have been reclaimed to form their own territories.
In the Song and Yuan dynasties, they belonged to Changzhou and Wujiang counties. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Liantang was lined with shops and formed a town. The town is divided into East City and West City, East City belongs to the 28 capitals of Yan'anli, Dongwuxia Township, Changzhou County, and West City belongs to the 29 capitals of Jiuyong Township, Wujiang County. The two cities are "limited to the upper pond boundary bridge and the lower pond boundary lane", and most of the towns belong to Changzhou County. In the second year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1724), Zhangliantang was under the joint jurisdiction of Wujiang, Yuanhe and Qingpu counties of Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture. Qianlong's "Wujiang County Chronicles" said: "Zhuang Liantang Town, in the twenty-nine capitals, goes to the county to govern the east of ninety miles, and Changzhou and Qingpu are under the joint jurisdiction, the people are densely populated, and the department stores are available, and there are thousands of people living in Wujiang today. In the first year of Xuantong (1909), the Qing government promulgated the "New System of Local Autonomy in Prefectures, Prefectures and Counties", and there were provisions for correcting flower arrangement. Zou Quan, a native of Zhang Liantang Township, submitted a letter to the Jiangsu Provincial Preparatory Office for Local Autonomy, requesting that the "enclaves" of Yuanhe and Wujiang counties be merged into Qingpu County.
Qing Tongzhi "Suzhou Prefecture Chronicles" "Wujiang Zhenze two counties map part (including Zhangliantang Town and Yuanjiang Qingshan County)
After the survey of the three counties, in the second year of Xuantong, the 11 maps of the 28 capitals of Yuanhe County, 1 map of the 12 capitals of Wujiang County, and 2 maps of the 29 capitals were cut and subordinated to Qingpu County. During the Republic of China, it was renamed Liantang Town.
Fengjing
Fengjing Town is now part of Jinshan District, Shanghai. Fengjing Town became a city in the Song Dynasty, and was originally named Bainiu City, which was named after Chen Shunyu, a white cow monk in the Song Dynasty.
From the Yuan Dynasty to the twelfth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1275), the town was built, called Bainiu Town. In the Ming Dynasty, because it belonged to Fengjing Township, it was renamed Fengjing Town. With the change of administrative divisions, from the fifth year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty (1430), Fengjing Town was divided into north and south, bounded by the boundary river in the town, Jiaxing, Zhejiang in the south, and Songjiang in Jiangsu in the north. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the south town belonged to Jiashan County, and the north town belonged to Lou County.
Map of Fengjing Town, 1915
After the division of provinces, because Fengjing Town is located at the junction of the two provinces, the main book of Jiashan County and the inspection department of Lou County are here, and it has become the transportation hub and throat of the two provinces, two prefectures and two counties, so it is called "the head of Jiangsu and Zhejiang". In the second year of Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty (1910), the north and south towns set up autonomous offices respectively, and the scope of their jurisdiction remained unchanged. During the Republic of China, the administrative divisions of the north and south towns followed the old system.
Fengjing Town north and south boundary river
In March 1951, with the approval of the East China Military and Political Commission, Nanzhen was merged into Beizhen, and Fengjing Town was under the jurisdiction of Songjiang County, ending the history of partition.
Wuzhen
Wuzhen is located in Tongxiang City, Zhejiang Province, formerly known as Wushu, Wudun, Qingdun, and later known as Wuzhen and Qingzhen. Wuzhen was originally bounded by Chexi (now Shihe), divided into two towns of Wuqing, and Wuzhen in the west of the river, which belonged to Wucheng County, the capital of Huzhou; The east of the river is Qingzhen, which belongs to Tongxiang County, Jiaxing Prefecture.
In the Qin Dynasty, the Wuzhen area was under the jurisdiction of Huiji County and was governed separately. According to the Northern Song Dynasty's "Yuanfeng Nine Domains Chronicles", there is Wudun Town in Wucheng County, Huzhou, and Qingdun Town in Chongde County, Xiuzhou. Since then, Wuzhen has belonged to Wucheng County and Wuxing County in Huzhou; Qingzhen belongs to Chongde County, Xiuzhou, and Tongxiang County, Jiaxing.
After the Ming Dynasty, Wuzhen and Qingzhen entered an era of prosperity, although the two towns were separated by political districts, but the locals were accustomed to calling Wuqing Town. In the Song Dynasty, there were "Wuqing Records" and "Wuqing Collections", and there were "Wuqing Documents" and other chronicles during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, and "Wuqing Town Chronicles" were compiled in the Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.
Republic of China "Wuqing Town Chronicles"
In May 1950, 9 administrative villages (including 4 townships) in Wuzhen County, Wuxing County, were transferred to Tongxiang County and merged with Qingzhen, collectively referred to as Wuzhen to the present.
1916 topographical map of the Republic of China Wuqing Town
In addition, the ancient towns that were divided into two counties in history include Tangqi in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and Gaoqiao in Pudong, Shanghai.
So, how can there be such a phenomenon that one town spans two counties?
Because the town, as an administrative concept, only appeared after the urban and rural autonomy in the late Qing Dynasty, the former towns belonged to economic entities. Most of the towns in the south of the Yangtze River are located along the river, with commodities distributed on both sides of the river, residential shops built along the river, and the river often becomes the boundary line of the administrative division, and it is normal and common for the two sides of the market town area to belong to different counties. The disadvantages of one town spanning two counties are also obvious, which is manifested in the difference between taxation and Kedi, especially the difficulty of public security management. In the past, there was an ancient saying in Wuzhen, called "Wuzhen North Gate, there is a day and the sun", saying that people go to the North Gate, no one can care, once they step out of the county and provincial borders, even if they are traitors, the government has nothing to do with him.
Due to the expansion of Wuqing Town and its location at the junction of two provinces (Jiangsu and Zhejiang) (Huzhou, Jiaxing and Suzhou), law and order management has always been a problem. During the reign of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, some officials proposed to set up a county government in Wuqing Town, but it was unsuccessful. After that, the imperial court set up a pavilion in Wuzhen to add the general judgment and the official office of the six products of Tongzhizheng, and later added the general arrest of Tongzhi. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the institution of the Zhejiang Branch Office of the Ming Dynasty was restored, also known as the "Jiangsu and Zhejiang Branch (Administration)". These are all institutions specially set up to strengthen the management of Wuqing Town.
The former site of Wuzhen Jiangsu and Zhejiang Branch
Zhangliantang Market Town is jointly managed by Yuanhe and Wujiang counties, but the surrounding area of the town belongs to Qingpu County. The political and religious decrees of Yuanhe and Wujiang counties could not be implemented well. In the twenty-seventh year of Daoguang (1847), three counties of Yuan, Jiang and Qing were set up in Zhangliantang to strengthen public security management, grain tax collection and public utilities construction.
In the first year of Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing government implemented the "New Deal" and implemented regional autonomy, which was originally a good opportunity to solve the division of the two counties, but except for Zhangliantang Town, the other towns were not merged. For example, in Zhouzhuang Town, Zhouzhuang under Yuanhe County wanted to maintain the status of Zhouzhuang Town, Tao Weikun wrote to the Preparatory Office for Local Autonomy of Jiangsu Province, requesting that Zhouzhuang under the jurisdiction of Wujiang County be merged into Zhouzhuang under the jurisdiction of Yuanhe and implement "joint autonomy".
However, Wujiang believes that Zhouzhuang, which is under the jurisdiction of Wujiang, "has an independent office and has nothing to do with Yuanyi". The Charter of Local Autonomy in Cities and Towns also clearly stipulates that autonomous areas shall be subject to the inherent boundaries of their own localities. Due to the large number of towns under the "two counties" and the "joint autonomy" brought about a series of follow-up problems, the Preparatory Office for Local Autonomy under the Soviet Union shifted from advocating "joint autonomy" to supporting Wujiang's demand for "separate autonomy".
It was not until the establishment of people's power in various localities that the boundaries of administrative regions were sorted out, and the history of one town spanning two counties came to an end.
About author:Wang Lindi, second-level chief staff member of the Wujiang District Archives (Fang Zhi Office) of Suzhou City, director of the Suzhou History and Culture Research Association, and special author of Wujiang District CPPCC "Wujiang Cultural and Historical Materials".