Of the nine ancient gates in Wuchang, only Qiyimen is still visible, which was rebuilt to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Wuchang Shouyi.
1926 10, the "Demolition Order" of Wuchang Ancient City Wall was issued; In the past 80 years, only written symbols have been left at the entrance of the old city.
Historically, most cities in China were formed by political centers set up by the government, and the city walls (and gates) with military defense functions became the main symbols of those China cities with a long history. So, what changes have taken place in the once famous old Wuhan city wall? How did the old gate of Wuhan fade out of people's sight?
Wuchang city was once an important city wall in the south.
Many cities in China are built along rivers, lakes and oceans, and the city walls also shoulder a special function-flood control. These three towns in Wuhan stand still, sandwiched between the Yangtze River and the Han River, and are most vulnerable to the floods of the two rivers. The walls of these three towns were built in different times, but they all have flood control functions. There are few gates in the riverside area in the northwest of Wuchang city, which is due to flood control considerations.
Looking through historical books, Wuchang City, the oldest ancient city among the three towns in Wuhan, has experienced the vicissitudes of 1700 years, and its past is vivid.
Wuchang has a city, which began in the Three Kingdoms period in 223 AD. At that time, Sun Quan, the Lord of the State of Wu, built Xiakou City in the northeast of Jiangxia Mountain (now Snake Mountain). This is a dangerous military fortress. Fiona Fang is only two or three miles away.
In 454, Emperor Xiaowu of the Southern Dynasties established Yingzhou in Xiakou City, so Wuchang was also called Ying Zheng at that time. At that time, Liang asked Cao to build Shicheng as a military fortress in the north of Zijin Mountain and Xiaogui Mountain, with Husha Lake and Yujia Lake in the north and Yingcheng about two miles in the south. Since then, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty abandoned Jiangxia County to set up Ezhou in 589 and changed runan county to Jiangxia County. Counties are located in the city, so Wuchang was also called Ezhou and Jiangxia County in ancient times. Later, in the Tang Dynasty, cattle, monks and children were stationed in Ezhou to rebuild Ezhou City, which not only expanded the scope of the city, but also surrounded the city with pottery and porcelain, and Wuchang had a brick city from then on.
Wuchangcheng basically took shape in the Ming Dynasty. 137 1 year, Zhu Yuanzhang's generals Jiang Xiahou and Zhou Dexing expanded Wuchang Fucheng, extending the urban area to the south of Huanggu Mountain (now Snake Mountain), with a circumference of about 20 miles. The city wall is made of ceramic tiles, 2-3 feet high, and a moat has been dug around the city, with a water depth exceeding 1 foot, and there are 9 gates: in 1535, Du Yushu Gu Phosphorus changed the Dadong Gate to Binyang Gate, the new South Gate to Zhonghe Gate (changed to Qiyimen after the Revolution of 1911), the Wangzemen Gate to Wangshan Gate and the Zhuimen to Wenchang Men Site Site.
Where are these doors now? Professor Zhang, an "old Wuhan" who is over 70 years old and a well-known person in Wuhan literature and history, talked about this matter.
1920s At the beginning, a Shanghai photographer took photos of a city gate in Wuhan at that time during the tour. The words above the door are: pedestrians drive on the left, vehicles drive slowly, don't be crowded, don't stay. (data picture)
The loyalty and filial piety gate in the northeast is now the small east gate; Binyangmen is in the east of the ancient city, located at today's Dadongmen overpass; Qiyimen in the southeast is located in Shouyi Road today; Bao 'anmen is due south of the ancient city, near Bao 'an Street today; Wangshanmen is also in the south of the ancient city, at the southern end of Jiefang Road today, near the east gate of Wuchang Shipyard. Wenchang Men Site site is located in the southwest of the ancient city, near the north gate of Wuchang Shipyard today; Pinghu Gate is the west gate of the ancient city, near today's Pinghu Gate Water Plant; Hanyangmen is in the northwest of the ancient city, near Zengjia Lane in Wuchang. Vu Thang Gate is the north gate of the ancient city, at the corner of Victory Bridge of Yuji Bridge; Tongxiangmen, the station outside the gate passes through Hunan, so the address is at the eastern end of Ziyang Road today, near Wuchang Railway Station.
In the Ming Dynasty, Wuchang City was the political center and important city wall of the south at that time. There are many cultural buildings, such as Fu Xue, Gongyuan and Confucian Temple.
Hanyang city was destroyed by wars and floods many times.
Hanyang is a veritable ancient name, which has been used for 1400 years. In the second year of the Great Cause of Sui Dynasty (AD 606), because the ancient city of Hanjin was located in the north of Hanshui River, it was renamed as "Hanyang" according to the principle of naming places in China since ancient times.
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan made some subtle changes to Wuhan's administrative system on the basis of the Sui Dynasty: the original Jiangxia County was changed to Ezhou, and the state was located in Jiangxia County (now Wuchang District of Wuhan City), which governed five counties; Mianzhou was established in the north of the Yangtze River, covering Hanyang and Hanchuan counties. Mianzhou originally belonged to Hanyang County (now Hanyang District, Wuhan City), and the administrative agencies of Hanyang County and Mianzhou moved from Linyi Mountain in Caidian to Fenghuang Mountain (also known as Fengqi Mountain) at the southern foot of Guishan Mountain.
At the same time, local officials began to build Hanyang City in the Tang Dynasty. Its city site is adjacent to the Yangtze River in the east, Phoenix Mountain in the north, Nautilus Island in the south and Hanshui River in the west. Hanyang City has a circumference of 65,438+0,072 feet (about 3.6 kilometers) and eight gates, namely Yingchun Gate in the east, Shazhou Gate in the south, Xiaogan Gate in the west, Hanguang Gate in the north, Chaotianmen Gate in the southeast, Hannan Gate in the southwest, Xiacha Gate in the northwest and Celebration Gate in the northeast. This urban construction pattern has far-reaching influence. Until today, Hanyang takes Xianzheng Street as its east-west axis, its eastern end is customarily called East Gate and Gu Lou East, and its hatchback is called Chengnan and Beicheng.
During the Northern Song Dynasty (1 122), rivers flooded and Hanyang City was destroyed by floods. Until the end of Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Dynasty, there was no wall in Hanyang.
After Zhu Yuanzhang pacified Chu in the early Ming Dynasty, Cheng Rui, the magistrate of Hanyang, rebuilt Hanyang City, and its geographical position still showed the trend of "facing the river in the southeast and crossing the phoenix habitat in the northwest". In the third year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty, Hanyang City was about 2.5 kilometers in circumference and had four gates, namely Chaozong, Fengshan, Nanji and Yuan Chao. The main streets and lanes in the city are criss-crossed, the land and water outside the city are connected, and the transportation is convenient, which laid the foundation for the economic development of Hanyang in Ming Dynasty.
Since then, Hanyang City has been destroyed by war twice. In the 16th year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty, Zhang, Li Zicheng and other peasant rebels successively entered Wuchang, Hanyang and Hanyang City was destroyed. In the 18th year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty, Qu Shengning, the magistrate of a county, and Dong, the garrison, respectively restored Hanyang, increased the original wall by several feet, and rebuilt the towers in Chengnan and Xicheng. During the Xianfeng period, three towns in Wuhan became the battlefields of Taiping and Qing armies. The Taiping Army used to have four grams of Hanyang. At this time, not only Hanyang City was destroyed, but also Guiyuan Temple, Daxiong Hall, Luohantang and other buildings not far from Xicheng were destroyed.
In the sixth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, Hanyang City was rebuilt with a circumference of more than 2 kilometers. There are Chaozongmen, Nanjimen and Fengshanmen in the southeast and west of the city, the natural barrier of Phoenix Mountain in the north, and a famous temple, xingguo temple, which was built in the Song Dynasty. From Fengshanmen to Chaozongmen, one of the passages is Zheng Jie, which is today's Xianzheng Street.
In the thirty-second year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1906), Yan Fang, the magistrate of Hanyang, and Lin Ruizhi, the magistrate of a county, presided over the renovation project of Hanyang City, and changed Dongjiao Building into Hanjiang Building, which made people climb the building and overlook the Yangtze River.
The final regulation of Hanyang City is that the perimeter is less than 3 kilometers, and there are three gates, namely, Zongmen in the Eastern Dynasty, Nannanmen and Xifeng Mountain Gate. Each of the three gates has a watchtower, a river and a sluice in the southeast, and Phoenix Mountain in the north. Hankou city set up a fortress to stop the Taiping rebels.
Among the three towns in Wuhan, Hankou is the most prosperous city, and most of the most modern buildings are in Hankou. However, in history, Hankou today is Hanyang's territory. Even after the diversion of Hanshui River in Chenghua period of Ming Dynasty, Hankou and Hanyang were still under the jurisdiction of Hanyang. Until 1889, the Qing government set up Xiakou Guild Hall in Hankou, and Hankou was divided from Hanyang.
"Five hundred years ago, a barren continent, five hundred years later, outside the building." This folk proverb aptly describes the history of Hankou. Compared with Wuchang and Hanyang, which have thousands of years of history, Hankou, which has a history of more than 500 years, is a rising star in Ran Ran.
Hankou was formed when the Han River was diverted in the Ming Dynasty, facing Wuchang across the river and connected with Hanyang, and it was still a barren land. During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, a dike was dug from Qiaokou to Yiyuan Road to prevent the back lake from flooding. After digging the dam, a deep ditch was formed behind the dam, which was named Dai Yuhe. During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Army galloped between Jianghan, and the Qing soldiers were very afraid, so they built the Hankou Fort on the river bank. The project started today on the first line of Zhongshan Avenue. A trench was dug outside the fort, and seven gates including Daiyu Gate, Juren Gate, Lixun Gate, Dazhimen Gate and Tongji Gate were opened.
1905, Hankou started the construction of Zhang Gongdi, starting from Hankou Dijiao in the east and ending at Rudder Landing in the west. Since its completion, more than 10,000 mu of low-lying land in Houhu10000 has been raised into land, which makes Hankou Castle lose its waterproof function. Later, Dai Yuhe gradually silted up. In the late Qing Dynasty, Hankou Fort was demolished and rebuilt into the main road, which is today's Zhongshan Avenue. Today, the prototype of Hankou has gradually taken shape.
Demolition of Wuchang and Hanyang Ancient Cities
The motion to demolish the ancient city wall of Wuchang originated from the construction of the Guangdong-Han Railway. 1890, the Qing government decided to build the Guangdong-Han railway, and the suggestion of removing the ancient city wall of Wuchang, which affected the railway construction, followed. After the construction of Guangdong-Han railway was put on hold due to financial problems, the demolition motion was also revoked.
19 19, 62 gentlemen, including Chen Shiying, a native of Hubei, signed a letter again, proposing to demolish the ancient city wall of Wuchang and connect the inner city and the outer city by tearing down the city to build roads, so as to develop Wuchang economy and solve the economic difficulties at that time. They put forward five "disadvantages" of the city wall: blocking traffic; The inspection is cumbersome and it is inconvenient for people to travel; Internal and external barriers hinder public safety; The air is blocked, which is prone to plague; Affect business in the city. However, due to the huge demolition project and the extremely turbulent situation in the early years of the Republic of China, most members disagreed with Chen Shiying and others, while some members responded sharply: "If the city is not demolished, it will not be easy to disperse, which will close people up." After many discussions, the authorities failed to study many times, so that the discussion of demolishing the city was shelved.
1926, the National Revolutionary Army made a northern expedition, and Changsha, Yueyang and Heshengqiao were successively conquered, and the enemy came to Wuchang at the gates. However, the warlord Wu Fupei relied on the incomparably strong Wuchang city wall to resist. The Northern Expeditionary Army suffered heavy casualties and eventually failed. He had to change his siege plan and adopt circuitous tactics. After conquering Hanyang and Hankou successively, it conquered Wushengguan at the border of Hubei and Henan on September 16, making Wuchang an isolated city. Most of Wu's troops withdrew to Xinyang, Henan. Under the long-term blockade, Wuchang defenders ran out of ammunition and finally surrendered. After more than 40 days of bloody fighting, the Northern Expeditionary Army entered the city on June 10.
At a meeting after the victory, Guo Moruo and others, who witnessed the difficulty of siege, once again put forward the suggestion of dismantling the "feudal fortress" of Wuchang city wall. And won the support of many people. Although a group of people from Hubei don't agree, the pain of besieged city is still fresh in my memory, so it's hard to say more.
On the landscape wall more than 200 meters from Pinghu Gate to Huadi Street in Wuchang, nine oil paintings are about the nine gates of Wuchang in Qing Dynasty, which adds a bit of simplicity and remoteness to this place. The picture shows the teacher of Hubei Academy of Fine Arts painting on the wall.
1926 10, the Hubei Provincial Government Affairs Committee made a decision to demolish the Wuchang City Wall, appointed Wan Shengyang as the director of the demolition committee, and established the Wuchang City Demolition Office. The whole demolition project is undertaken by the government. However, when government officials went to various parts of the city wall to conduct on-the-spot investigations, some old people in Xinhai put forward suggestions for protecting important cultural relics. When inspecting the July 1st Gate, Zhang Nanxian and others said excitedly: "Moving this gate is to make the Beiyang warlords open their eyes and hate the Revolution of 1911!" The entourage was embarrassed. When visiting the Orleans Building, Ying Shi and others said: This is the site of the Yuan Dynasty and cannot be demolished! Zhang and Shi were highly respected, and the government departments did not dare to fight hard, so these two places were finally preserved.
With the change of the present situation, the process of urban demolition is intermittent. Until 1929, Wuchang city wall was completely demolished and the moat was filled. Except for the main road, the demolished urban foundation was reserved for road construction, and other places were purchased and built by the gentry at that time. The city bricks were taken away by people. Since then, Wuchang City has only the name of the city gate for future generations to mourn.
That is, in 1928, due to the large-scale reconstruction of Wuhan, most of the walls of Hanyang ancient city were also demolished, and the remaining west gate and a section of the walls on both sides were also demolished in 1950. Now, the East Gate, the West Gate and the South Gate are only remembered as place names.
Leaving only place names to continue the cultural blood.
After the demolition of Hankou, Wuchang and Hanyang ancient towns, place names have taken on the mission of continuing the cultural blood.
In Wuchang, during the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty, large-scale buildings, factories and roads were built, which greatly changed the appearance of the city. In the past half century, the changes have been greater, so the pace of new place names has been accelerating. However, if we carefully observe the map of Wuchang, the ancient city of Wuchang is still vaguely "preserved". For example, Zhongshan Road in Wuchang today is basically built along the basement of the wall of the ancient city of Wuchang, and there are still some place names related to the ancient city, such as Xiaodongmen, Dadongmen, Hanyangmen, Qiyimen, Pinghu Gate, Baoan Street, Xunsi River and Xinqiao. Nowadays, when we walk on this broad road and see the high-rise buildings and bustling scenes on both sides, we deeply feel that the pace of the times is advancing rapidly.
1928 After the demolition of Hanyang City, 193 1 Wuhan was flooded, and Hanyang City was flooded 1 m. However, Xianzheng Street, which once ran through the east and west of Hanyang city wall, is still the main road for businessmen to communicate with each other. Dongmen Main Street (now Lanjiang Road) and Ximen Main Street (now Parrot Avenue) perpendicular to Xianzheng Street have become the prosperous business districts of Hanyang.
Despite this, the demolition of the ancient city wall still makes countless "old Wuhan" regret.
Professor Zhang said that the scope of the city wall is fixed, but the city is constantly developing. There is bound to be a contradiction between the two, and the city wall has indeed delayed the development of the city. Because of this, with the development of urban economy, it is an inevitable trend to either open more city gates or tear down city walls to create conditions for urban development. However, blind and disorderly demolition has destroyed cultural relics and historic sites, and the consequences are also very serious. The city wall was built by working people, showing high architectural art and high historical value. Some of them have existed for hundreds or even thousands of years, representing the level of architectural engineering in various eras, and can serve the development of tourism and the research of engineering technology.
Preserving valuable city walls will inevitably affect the development of the city, so we have to open more city gates and develop to the suburbs, or simply open up new areas nearby to solve the contradiction between urban development and protecting city walls. Xi 'an did this, not only protecting the ancient city, but also opening up the new city, making the ancient city and the new city develop in harmony and complement each other.
"One brick and one tile, one temple and one courtyard, one street and one lane, one song and one chant, one poem and one painting, these cultural heritages that have been passed down through historical storms, inhabit the historical soul of our nation, inherit the spirit of our nation, and condense the emotional temperament of our nation. They are the internal driving force for our nation's endless blood, and also the' soft power' for us to move towards the future and achieve rejuvenation." Professor Zhang said.