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Recently, Tianjin's new landmark buildings have caught fire again. The Tianjin CTF Financial Center, which stands in Binhai New Area, not only won the first place in the north and the fourth highest in China with its height of 530 meters, but also won the Emporis Skyscraper Award, and has a rather domineering name - Jingu Stick.
It is said that this is the result of the selection of more than 600 nicknames, which sounds like a "golden hoop stick", resembling "Dinghai God Needle", "Jingu", and properly illuminating the cultural essence of this coastal city.
Tsugu stick. Photography / Su Shaohuan, source / figure worm creative
It is said that "seventy-two gu flowers share water, the general flavor of small Jiangnan". Tianjin seems to have had an inexhaustible fate with "Gu" since its birth, and there is even a saying that the Haihe River is seventy-two bends, and Tianjin is seventy-two gu.
What's going on here?
Naogu: Memories of Tsu castle's past
The word "gu" was planted in the genes of Tianjin very early.
"Gu" means water, "out of the fishing yang plug, east into the sea." ”
Gu, is an ancient river name, the river is east of Tongzhou, divided into Donggu River and Xigu River (also known as North Canal, Haihe), many villages along the Gu River are named "Gu". At the confluence of the Lu River (North Canal) and the Wei River (South Canal), there are three forks of the river, where the two rivers meet, and then go southeast to the Bohai Sea, which is called Zhigu. Historians believe that this is the origin of the Tianjin settlement and the real starting point of memory of this coastal town.
Map of the Gu River system. Source/Network
Born on the waterfront, Naogu ushered in a turning point in its fortunes in 1153.
In 1127, under the onslaught of the Jin Dynasty, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Tokyo, fell, Emperor Huizong of Song and Emperor Qinzong of Song were taken prisoner, and King Zhao of Kang succeeded to the throne at Lin'an (present-day Hangzhou), and the Southern Song Dynasty began. More than twenty years later, the Jin Emperor Finished Yan Liang and was tired of shangjing, and in 1153, Yan Liang officially issued an edict to move the capital south, and Yanjing (present-day Beijing) became a new stronghold of the Jin Dynasty.
This change, like a command, awakened the northern towns. After the relocation of the capital, the grain, salt and other materials needed by Yanjing had to be supplied by Hebei, Shandong, Henan and other regions, and the boats full of goods went north along the South Canal, and had to assemble at Zhigu first, and then sail through the North Canal to Tongzhou, and finally reach the Beijing Division. With the coming and going of ships and the import and delivery of materials, The direct sale along the river has gradually grown into an important dock for inland shipping. Decades later, the Yuan Dynasty was formally established, "Caoyun grain reserves and all things from the south, Merchants and Boats, all from Zhigu to Tonghui River", as a key dock, Zhigu was so diligent and earnest, day and night successively connected the north and south, carrying the caoyun, like an arterial vessel to nourish the huge dynasty.
The hard work and dedication of Zhigu were seen by many literati at that time and recorded in the poems. Zhang Yi's "Xiao ri san fenkou, lianshu collection of ten thousand ships", Wang Maode's "extreme eyes soaked in the blue sky, Penglai pavilion is far connected." Dongwu turned to the sea to transport Hangzhou rice, and the tide came to collect thousands of ships overnight", which refers to the scene of the boats coming and going, bustling and busy. At that time, there was also a "Straight Selling Ballad".
After nearly two hundred years of conscientious duty, the fate of Zhigu has been rewritten again.
Wolf smoke rose again, war horses roared, and the Central Plains land broke away from the rule of Jin Yuan and changed its name and surname. In 1399, zhu Di, the King of Yan of the Ming Dynasty, led an army south to cross the river from Sanchakou to take Cangzhou, in 1402, the army invaded the capital Nanjing, Emperor Jianwen disappeared, and soon after, the 42-year-old King of Yan, Zhu Di, successfully ascended the throne and became the third king of the Ming Dynasty under the gaze of hundreds of officials. After ascending the throne, Zhu Di resumed his struggle, suddenly remembered the mouth of the Sancha River he passed, felt that this was a treasure of feng shui, and waved a big hand, so that everyone could think of a suitable and appropriate name together. In this way, among the piles of names handed by the courtiers, the word "Tianjin" successfully entered the emperor's vision, Tianjin Tianjin, is not the land where the son of heaven crosses Tianjin? The emperor was very satisfied, and this important place of caoyun on the map officially had its own new name - Tianjin.
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di. Source/Network
In the second year of Yongle (1404), Zhu Di set up a guard in Tianjin, which was a military establishment at that time. According to research, at that time, Tianjin had a total of five guards, garrison more than 10,000 people, along with the birth of the "Tianjin Wei" saying, Tianjin officially had the name of the city, and gradually grew into a military town, a stroke and a painting, the shore of the Bohai Sea, with the story of Tianjin.
Seventy-Two Gu: Bizarre Legends and Romantic Rhetoric
There is an old saying in Tianjin, haihe seventy-two bends, Tianjin seventy-two gu.
Listening to it makes people call out good guys - this sell, that sell, what kind of story is this?
Legend has it that during the Han Dynasty, there was a salt official who had a bad heart and was violent and misbehaving in the local area. Soon after, the salt officer suddenly had a bad sore on his back, and he still saw the god man in his dream, and almost lost his head because of the god man's sin. When the dream woke up, the salt officer was not lightly frightened, and quickly asked the warlock to save his life. The warlock thought of a trick, the ancient water is sold, simply all the villages on both sides of the water sold in the name of gu, all exempt from taxation and service, this may help the salt officials to reduce disasters. In this way, as soon as the notice came out, the villages began to change their names and surnames, taking the name of "gu", and gradually there was a saying of seventy-two gu.
A map of the Luhe River governor of the Qing Dynasty reflecting the grandeur of Jingu. Source/Network
However, the legends are mostly fabricated. According to research, it was Zhang Tao, a Qing dynastyman, who officially mentioned this statement. In the "Miscellaneous Records of Jinmen" written by him, there is a special section of "Seventy-Two Gu Sayings"——
Tianjin has seventy-two gu, but it is only twenty-one gu. Day: Ding Zi Gu, Xi Gu, Dong Gu, San Fen Gu, Xiao Zhi Gu, Da Zhi Gu, Jia Jia Gu, Xing Jia Gu, Xian Shui Gu, Ge Gu, Tang Gu, Caotou Gu, Taoyuan Gu, Pan Gu, Sili Gu, Deng Shangu, Hao Jia Gu, Dong Ni Gu, Zhong Ni Gu, West Ni Gu, Da Gu. This thought is a gu from the name of the Xilu River also. Yu is in Baodi and Ninghe counties.
According to this meaning, there are indeed many "gu" in Tianjin, but it is far from seventy-two. Since then, in the face of the problem of "how much is sold in Tianjin", people are curious not to say, and many scholars are not idle. The "New Tianjin Guide" published in 1927 had carefully studied this problem, and when it was listed, it was found that there were more than 100 place names with "Gu" around Tianjin. In 1984, the Tianjin Municipal Research Museum of Culture and History also carefully counted the "gu" in Tianjin according to the modern administrative division, and after calculation, there were twenty-two gu in the suburbs of Tianjin, Ninghe County, and Baodi County, and five gu in Yutian County, plus Yutian County and Fengrun County, for a total of eighty gu.
What should be the interpretation of the "seventy-two" saying that has a nose and an eye?
In a discussion, there are two kinds of people who are more recognized: First, seventy-two can not be seen as a real number, nor is it casually said, Tianjin's low-lying terrain, developed water system, not to say, Diantang is even more than a number can not be counted, have to say clearly, always have to find a number, both can almost express this meaning, but also have to line up with Tianjin, "seventy-two" is just right. In the traditional concept, "three" has most of the flavor, if three is not enough, change to nine, nine if it is almost meaning, simply become eighteen, what eighteen martial arts, eighteen arhats, and then up is thirty-six, to add another fire, it just becomes seventy-two. Isn't this also the case with the seventy-two changes of Sun Xinger?
Again, the saying of "seventy-two" really brings a bit of smoke and rain to the coastal Jincheng. Studies have found that the ancient literati quite liked the expression "seventy-two", such as "seventy-two beach spring". The saying "Seventy-two Gu" is quite widely circulated, and the most used is still the literati inker, a sentence "Seventy-two Gu Spring Water Live, the Sound of Wild Peaches In the Noon Scene", a stroke of "Seventy-two Gu Autumn Night Moon, Recruiting People Where to Look at the River Township", a sound "Seventy-two Gu Autumn Colors Are Full, Can't Bear the Half Beard Dust", this city that is born by the water and thrives on the water also has its own style and taste.
So far, how many "gu" there are in Tianjin seems to be a mystery. However, the saying of the Seventy-Two Gu still remains in the ancient books of poetry, spread in the streets and alleys of old Tianjin, hidden in the words of the locals, and grown in the old dreams of the city.
Gu and Jin: The testimony and companionship of the years
When calling out the simple atmosphere of "Jingu Stick", if we remove the clouds of history and look back at the past, we may find that "Gu" accompanies the growth and prosperity of Tianjin, and also witnesses the years carved into the bones and blood of China.
Tianjin's new landmark "Jingu Stick". Photography / Wang Yunjiang, source / figure worm creative
A picture has recorded these past events. This is a military map drawn during the Guangxu period, called "Dagu Haikou Yingpan Complete Map". Li Hongzhang, who was then the governor directly subordinate to him, in order to guard the gateway to Tianjin, was ordered to rectify the Dagukou Fort, and under the construction of a series of buildings, it was not only equipped with various land cannons, built a hard wall, and even opened a telegraph line, and with the praise of "passing orders to communicate, it is not convenient", becoming the first military base defense camp in the Qing Dynasty to realize the modernization of communications and information.
"Dagu Haikou Camp Pan Full Map". Source/ Yin Xuemei, Wang Huijuan: "Qing Dynasty Tianjin Dagukou Yingpan Tu kao", Cultural Relics Spring and Autumn, No. 3, 2016
The Taku experiences and records more than that.
Dagukou is located at the mouth of the Haihe River, 50 kilometers southeast of today's Tianjin, 170 kilometers northwest of Beijing, bordering the Bohai Sea in the east and the Haihe Plain in the west, across the river from Tanggu. Because of the choking of the throat of the sea and land, in modern times, Dagukou was given the heavy responsibility of guarding the Jinmen Gate and defending the Beijing Division, and was known as "the world's first coastal defense". In 1817, the Qing government built one fort on each side of the north and south banks of Dagukou, and in 1841 added three more forts, five forts were named "Wei", "Earthquake", "Sea", "Gate" and "Gao", incarnated as coastal giants to guard China's coastal defense.
Since the landing of the British and French forces at Taku pass in 1858, the flames of war have been ignited at taku pass for three times. The First Battle of Dagukou ended in a crushing defeat for the Qing army, and the Treaty of Tianjin, which had lost power and humiliated the country, was thrown on the land of China. Soon after, the invaders made a comeback, this time, the Chinese military and civilians and the British and French allied forces launched a deadly struggle, under the layers of reinforced Dagukou fort, the Mongol prince SangGelinqin led the Qing army to defend the country, achieving the first victory of the Qing government in the war against foreign invaders since the first Opium War.
Scenes from the Second Opium War at Takukou War. Source/Network
In 1860, the British and French forces once again invaded China, sending more than 20,000 people to attack Dagukou. This time, Felice Bitto, an Italian-British man, came with the army as a reporter, and his footage recorded the fierce fighting. In the artillery fire, the fortifications were destroyed; on the base, officers and men fought in bloody battles, going forward and sacrificing their lives for the country.
A battery under the lens of Felice Bitto. Source/Network
The fierceness of the great powers burned the Dagu Fort over and over again, but the Dagu Fort was renovated many times and stood tall for many years. In 1901, the "Xinu Treaty" was born, the Dagu Fort was forced to be demolished, but the Chinese military and civilians never fell, and under the witness of Jingu, they continued to glare at the evil deeds of the invaders, writing stubbornness and resistance with flesh and blood.
This time, the story takes place in Tanggu, which is across the river from Tagu.
In 1933, the Japanese army invaded Rehe in three ways, and soon after Rehe was occupied, the whole territory of the northeast fell. Rikou continued to go deeper, extending its claws to Beiping. In late May, when Pingjin and North China were in a hurry, the Nanjing government held Talks with the Japanese Kwantung Army in Tanggu, and on behalf of Xiong Bin signed a proposal by the Japanese side that could not be amended in one word, known in history as the Tanggu Agreement. According to the agreement, the Nanjing government completely abandoned resistance, the area north of the Great Wall was brought under the rule of puppet Manchukuo, and the Japanese Kou iron hooves completely trampled on the north of our country.
Schematic diagram of the delimitation of the Tanggu Agreement. Source/Atlas of The Japanese Invasion of China
As soon as the treaty was signed, the loss of power and humiliation of the country also brought "disasters of destruction" to the Chinese military and people who bravely resisted.
The Northeast Volunteer Army is one of them. This is an anti-Japanese armed force jointly organized by the people of northeast China and some patriotic officers and soldiers since the 918 Incident, with a maximum number of 500,000 people, and its activities have spread throughout the whole territory of northeast China, vowing to fight with the Japanese and the Japanese to the death, regardless of sacrifice, "The only purpose of which is to beat the Japanese imperialists out of China." ”
After the signing of the Tanggu Agreement, the Nanjing government gave up resistance, and the Northeast Volunteer Army was forced to accept the reorganization. The barbaric provisions in the agreement allowed the Japanese army to find the "best excuse" to hang the Northeast Volunteer Army. In the following period, the volunteer army was hunted down by the enemy and brutally slaughtered, and the Japanese army launched a devastating massacre such as the "Xiawujiazi Massacre" in an attempt to crush all the possibilities of resistance of the Chinese military and people.
Groups of warriors died under the bayonets of the enemy, but the Chinese soldiers and civilians never bowed their heads.
On the occasion of the agreement of the Tanggu Agreement, in May, Feng Yuxiang, Ji Hongchang and other patriotic generals established the Chahar People's Anti-Japanese Allied Army in Zhangjiakou, setting off a new round of people's anti-Japanese struggle. Some of the volunteer troops who had retreated from the northeast and Rehe resolutely turned to Cha territory and continued to arm the anti-Japanese resistance.
Feng Yuxiang (left) and Ji Hongchang (right). Source/Network
In records such as the "War of Resistance Against the Great Wall chabei" and "The Biography of Feng Yuxiang", the scene at that time was described like this:
After the signing of the Tanggu Agreement, their entire hopes were shattered by the recovery of the countryside they had hoped for, and they were still in a very slim future... In addition to disappointment, seeing a group of people who automatically resist the enemy, their excitement and happiness are naturally indescribable...
Wang Xiaorong, "The Signing of the Tanggu Agreement and Feng Yuxiang's Formation of the Anti-Japanese Allied Army"
In this way, the new battle flag stood tall, and the Chinese military and people took up arms, with indomitability in their bones, and with the belief of swearing to die, they once again wrote down the magnificent song of rising up for royal insults.
In 1949, the Fourth Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army braved the rain of bullets and bullets to tear open the bloody road, successfully dispersing the dark clouds of the past and liberating Tanggu. In this battle, 455 martyrs were buried.
These years, which were stained with blood and perseverance, were integrated into the memory of Jingu in the sound of the waves on the coast, and were also written into the blood of Huaxia.
Tianjin Binhai CBD. Photography / Deng Lai, Source / Figureworm Creative
(National Humanities and History Science Popularization China)