The world-famous Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal not only feeds the economically prosperous urban belt along the river, but also forms a unique canal culture. The names of many streets, alleys and villages in the towns along the canal were born from the canal, which marked the distinctive brand of canal culture. Combing the place names of the Jining Canal Area in Shandong Province, we can analyze the long-standing culture of the Caoyun Official Office, the prosperous industrial and commercial culture and the colorful town culture, and appreciate the rich connotation of the canal culture.
First, the cultural connotation of the Caoyun Official's Office of Jining place names
During the Qin and Han dynasties, the government transferred a large amount of grain from Shandong and Henan to Beijing every year through the Yellow River and other rivers, so there was a water transport system. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, millions of quintals of grain were transported from the canal to the capital every year, and caoyun was regarded as the "lifeblood of the country". In order to ensure the safety of water transport, the Ming and Qing Dynasties set up management agencies in Jining, such as the River Governor Weimen and the River Du cha yuan, specializing in canal embankments and supervising water transport affairs. A significant feature of the names of the streets and alleys of canal towns is that they are named after the yamen of the Caoyun Official's Office, such as Chayuan Street and Tingxi Street in Jining, which reflect the situation of the officials and the situation at that time, and also confirm the important position of Jining in the affairs of Caoyun.
As the central hub of the Grand Canal, the three dynasties of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all set up high-ranking officials in Jining to supervise the canal and river affairs and the highest trough river management agency "Canal Governor River Courtyard Office", and the courtyard gate street, courtyard front street and courtyard back street in Jining City were all named after the Qing Dynasty Governor River Courtyard Office. The sub-agency for the administration of transportation under the Governor's River Office is the Canal Road Office, referred to as the Canal Road. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Jining had two roads, namely Jining Road and Yizhou Road. Daomen Street is named after the Canal Road Office. Under the two military roads in Jining, there are the Cloth Administration Division and the Press Inspection Division, also known as the Second Division Yamen, each with an official and a member, who acts on behalf of the river. Chayuan Street, according to the "Jining County Chronicle", Ming Hongwu's seven-year "Fu press Chayuan" was stationed in the north of benjie Road, so it was named Chayuan Street. Nanchayuan Street, the old North and South Second Street, North Street is the Ming Dynasty Chayuan Street, and the South Chayuan Street is the Qing Dynasty River Road Duchayuan Station. The Canal Hall is one of the branches of the Shandong Canal Road, and in the first year of Xuande (1426), the Jining Pipe Gate was set up. Located in the middle of Jining City, Tingmen Street and Tingxi Street are named after the canal office. There is an official office with guards, and there is a street in Jining City called Drummer Camp Street, which is named after the official band set up in the Canal Courtyard and the River Channel Bureau in the Qing Dynasty.
"Military affairs, water transport first", the feudal dynasty regarded the canal as the lifeline, and set up many official offices in Jining to manage the canal and the embankment, "the office agency is more than other counties", known as 72 yamen. Most of the streets and alleys named after the official offices are distributed in the center of the old city, which shows the situation of many gates and crowns and the momentum of being a political center, and it is enough to prove that Jining is a veritable canal capital.
Second, the commercial and cultural connotation of Jining place names
The smooth flow of the ancient canal has brought prosperity to Jining's commerce, making Jining a large commercial capital city with "department stores gathering" and "10,000 households". Kyoto's famous Yutang Sauce Garden, the famous fur industry, bamboo industry, ceramics industry, silk cloth industry, etc. have all developed with the prosperity of canal shipping. The prosperity of commerce has made Jining urban area continue to develop, because some industry markets are concentrated on one street, naming place names after industry markets is a significant feature of Jining street and lane place names.
The most famous is bamboo pole alley, which is named for weaving and selling bamboo utensils and bamboo goods. Bamboo Pole Lane, on the south bank of the old canal in Jining City, was the largest bamboo market in Shandong at that time. Jining does not produce moso bamboo, why is the bamboo industry so prosperous? Because in order to prevent the ships from colliding with each other through the locks and increasing the buoyancy of the ships, the moso bamboo was tied to the ship, and after arriving in Jining, a large number of moso bamboo was unloaded on the bank of the canal, piling up like a mountain, so it gradually formed a bamboo processing street, named Bamboo Pole Alley.
Other characteristic streets and alleys include Jiangdian Street, named after the yellow ginger trader's shop; Steamed Bun Hutong, named after the fried steamed buns; Guozi Lane, named after the sale of dried and fresh fruit mountain goods; Jishikou Street, named after the chicken and duck market, and later transformed into Jishikou Street; Donkey Market Kou Street, named after the livestock trading market; Caishikou Street, named after the sale of vegetables; Chai HeShi Street, named after the market for buying and selling firewood; Porcelain Alley, named after the sale of porcelain; Furnace House Street, named after the iron stove and silver furnace workshop; Paper Fang Street, named after the papermaking workshop Sugar Mill Street, named after the sugar workshop; PiFang Street, named after the cooked leather tanning and leather goods plus workshop; Da Rope Alley, named after the rope workshop; Playing Copper Alley, named after the copper tin plus workshop; Big Oil Basket Alley, named after the production of different types of oil baskets.
Third, the cultural connotation of the water town of Jining place name
The agricultural civilization nurtured by the Yellow River and the commercial civilization nourished by the canal meet in the canal towns, giving birth to a colorful canal town culture, and the place names of Jining have the characteristics of typical water town culture.
1． There are many bridges, many bridge names.
If there is water, there must be a bridge, and if there is a bridge, it must be famous, and the old canal, Yue River, Fu River, and Huan River in Jining City cross and intertwine, and the long bridges on the water are lying waves, with different forms. There is a local "Bridge Song" that says, "... Pink Lotus Bridge, Jiyang Bridge, Huancui Bridge, Huicui Bridge, Tree-lined Stacked Cui Bridge, Taihe Bridge of The Vicissitudes of The Years, Traffic and Water Malong Construction Bridge, Bustling South Gate Bridge, Jiefang Junction Jiefang Bridge, Qingping Lane North Victory Bridge, Ji'an Bridge guarding Jining, Weir Water Bridge that regulates water volume, Storytelling And Listening To Theahike Bridge, Bathing Salon Longxing Bridge, Two Bridges Lying Double Dragon Bridge, Chaoyang Breeze Morning Light Bridge...". The ballad brings together the names of more than fifty bridges, but the total number of bridges in Jining is far more than that. Although some bridges have disappeared, such as Hanshi Bridge, Xinglong Bridge and Red Bridge, the name of the bridge has been preserved to this day.
2． There are many place names with the word "mouth".
As a common name, the word "mouth" can be used as an import and export channel for ports and wharves, and can also be used as the name of estuaries, waterways and harbors, mainly distributed in coastal or water towns. Jining is bordering the canal, with the characteristics of a water town, there are many place names with the word "mouth" in the place name, as a gateway to the canal, the word "mouth" has extended a wide range of meanings, so it is fixed as a place name. For example: Caoqiaokou, Fuqiaokou, Bakou, Erbakou, Xuemen, Liuxiangkou, South Gate, Longmenmen, Weimen, Shenjiakou, Daijiakou, etc.
3． There are many streets and alleys named after canals or locks and dams.
There are many place names in Jining City that are directly named after canals or locks and dams, such as: Bakou Street, Hewan Street, Dazhakou, Xiaozhakou, Shunhemenwai Street, Dazhakou Henan Street, Yuehe Street, South Bank Street, etc.
Hundreds of years of gushing canal water, flowing out of the prosperity of canal towns, but also out of the development of canal culture. Looking at the canal place names, their origin and evolution are closely related to the Grand Canal, and by tasting these place names, you can feel the inexhaustible canal culture contained in them, and appreciate a picture of the Grand Canal feeding the towns along the river.
Author: Liu Xiaoling
Source: Shandong Archives, No. 4, 2021
Draft: Geng Yao
Editor: Yuan Yun
Proofreader: Geng Yao
Approved: Hong Shan
Editor-in-charge: Wang Chenyun
(The layout is limited, please refer to the original text for specific comments)
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