Wendeqiao Wende points to November of the lunar calendar.
Qinhuai River, Nanjing Confucius Temple, was nominated in the ongoing selection of the most beautiful place to enjoy the moon by CCTV. Wende Bridge on Qinhuai River is an out-and-out moon-watching bridge. People who don't know the month of Wende are hardly from Nanjing. However, unlike the current saying that "two and a half months can be seen on both sides of Wende Bridge in the Mid-Autumn Festival", in fact, the allusion of Wende's month is the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar. Historically, Wende Bridge was located on the meridian of the sundial because of its special position and structure. It is said that on the fifteenth midnight of the lunar calendar 12, the full moon is just on the top of Wende Bridge. If you stand on Wende Bridge, you can see that there are half moons in the river on both sides of the bridge. This is the origin of "Wendeqiao Half Moon".
The spectacle of "Wende dividing the moon" once attracted a large number of ancient people to enjoy the moon, making Wende Bridge famous, and even the story of "Li Bai fishing for the moon" came from here. Now, Wende Bridge in Yangzhou, Wu Ting Bridge in Slender West Lake and Santan Yin Yue in Hangzhou West Lake are also called the three places to enjoy the moon in the south of the Yangtze River.
"Best Popularity Award" for Moon Bridge Appreciation in Ming Dynasty
The Mid-Autumn Festival is full of people enjoying the moon, but the elegant Nanjing people have been "playing with the moon" since ancient times.
People in Nanjing have been playing with the moon for a long time. Nobles in the Eastern Jin Dynasty were still boating on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, reciting poems and enjoying the moon, leaving a story of "Niuzhu playing on the moon". Niuzhu is today's quarry. As early as 1600 years ago, the Eastern Jin Dynasty established its capital in Nanjing (Jianye), and Xie Shang, who was guarding Niuzhu, went boating on the Niuzhu River on a moonlit night. When he heard someone satirizing his poem "Ode to an Epic" on the chartering boat, he was greatly appreciated, so he invited the boat. This man is Justin. It hit it off and recited the poem until dawn. Justin was praised by Xie Shang and became famous from then on.
When it comes to playing with the moon, we must mention the Moon Bridge in Nanjing. If you want to ask the most popular place to enjoy the moon in Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, it must be to play the Moon Bridge. "Xiyue Bridge" is located in the Confucius Temple south of Qinhuai River, next to the former residence of Ma Xianglan, one of the eight beauties in Qinhuai. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, many romantic gentlemen who worship Ma Xianglan gather on the Moon Bridge for their unique PK, so this bridge is called the Moon Bridge.
The original Moon-Watching Bridge extends from the present Jiangnan Gongyuan to the north gate of Bailuzhou Park. During the Kangxi period, the bridge was destroyed. Now there is a rebuilt moon-watching bridge in Bailuzhou Park. You might as well reminisce about the past and present on the Mid-Autumn Festival night.
According to legend, throwing a crock under the Jianzi Bridge can help children.
Compared with Wende Bridge and Yueyue Bridge, the reputation of Jianzi Bridge is much worse, but in ancient times, this Nanjing bridge had extraordinary significance in the Mid-Autumn Festival.
This is because the ancient custom of walking on the moon was mostly aimed at women. In ancient times, women could not go out to make public appearances, but just like the Lantern Festival, women could also go out to play on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The women's night tour market is called "Walking on the Moon". And married women have an important place to go, which is the top bridge.
"Records of Chinese National Customs" records: "After visiting the Confucius Temple, those who look forward to children will get children when they cross the bridge." It's about the Jianzi Bridge on Yaowan Street outside Zhonghua Gate, because the Jianzi Bridge is homophonic "Jianzi Bridge". On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, childless women will walk under the bridge and throw crocodiles under it. It is said that they can get children in this way, so over time, this bridge was later mistakenly called "Top Bridge".
What is rare is that this ancient bridge still exists today and was not revealed until last year. In fact, the name "Top Bridge" doesn't come from "Top Bridge", but because the water surface was very narrow in the Ming Dynasty, riding a horse could easily jump over this stream, so it was called Top Bridge.