Brush Spring and Autumn: Famous Maps of Yangzhou

Author: Wei Minghua / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features:
1. The map of the large city of Yangzhou in the Song Dynasty can be found in the Ming Jiajing edition of Weiyang Zhi. During the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, Yangzhou City was abandoned due to wars. In the fifth year of the Xian period of the Later Zhou (958), Emperor Shizong rebuilt a small city in the southeastern corner of the old city, naming it "Zhou Xiaocheng," which became the precursor of the Song Dynasty Yangzhou City. Together with the (Baocheng) and (Jiacheng) built during the Song Dynasty, it was collectively known as the "Three Cities of Yangzhou in the Song Dynasty." Compared to Baocheng and Jiacheng, Zhou Xiaocheng was larger in scale. After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, it was referred to as "Song Dacheng," but its size was only slightly more than a quarter of the Tang Dynasty Yangzhou City. According to the Song Huaye (Records of the Song Dynasty), the circumference of Song Dacheng was "seventeen li, one hundred seventy-two bu, totaling three thousand one hundred forty-six zhang." Baocheng, also known as "Baoyou City," was located on Shugang (the Shu Mountain) to the north of the large city, as recorded in Volume 1 of Weiyang Zhi under the section "Map of the Three Cities of the Song Dynasty." Its scale was smaller than that of the large city, with its original site being the Sui Dynasty Jiangdu Palace and the Tang Dynasty Yangzhou Government Office. Jiacheng was situated between Song Dacheng and Baoyou City and was the smallest in scale. The three cities were independent yet interconnected. During the Song Dynasty, Yangzhou was a hub of trade and commerce, with merchants gathering from all directions. Qin Guan's poem Wanghai Chao (Ode to the Sea) describes:
"The stars are divided into the Ox and Taurus constellations, and the borders extend to the Huaihai Sea. Yangzhou, with ten thousand markets under its jurisdiction, is fragrant with blooming flowers and filled with the sound of orioles singing as people rise. Ten miles of pearl curtains flutter in the east wind."
From the poet's vivid brushwork, one can see the prosperity of Yangzhou at the time. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the region between Jianghuai was a military frontier between the Song Dynasty and the Jin and Yuan dynasties. As the gateway to Jianghuai, Yangzhou was even more critical to the Southern Song Dynasty. In the late Southern Song Dynasty, when Lin'an fell, Li Tingzhi still held Yangzhou firmly, which was no doubt related to the strength of the Song Dynasty Yangzhou City. Li Dou's Yangzhou Huafang Lu (Record of Yangzhou's Boats and Wharfs), Volume 1, states:
"According to the maps of the Three Cities of the Song Dynasty, Song Dacheng, and the City God of Yangzhou Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty in the Jiajing edition of Weiyang Zhi, all show Ying'en Bridge. In the map of the Three Cities of the Song Dynasty, the bridge is located below Kaiming Bridge and above Xiaoshi Bridge. Crossing Xiaoshi Bridge and exiting the northern gate leads to Jiacheng, and exiting Jiacheng leads to Baoyou City. Today, Xiaoshi Bridge is below Ye Gong Bridge, indicating that the ancient Ying'en Bridge must have been located around Ye Gong Bridge. Furthermore, the map of Song Dacheng shows that to the east of Ying'en and Xiaoshi Bridges lies Shouning Street, with Zhangwu Palace to the north of it. Shouning Street is today's Houting Street, and Zhangwu Palace is located within the Jianlong Temple. Based on these two points, it is clear that today's Xiaoshi Bridge is in the same location as the ancient Xiaoshi Bridge, and the ancient Ying'en Bridge must have been around today's Ye Gong Bridge, beyond doubt. Additionally, from south to north, Song Dacheng had five bridges: Taiping, Tongsi, Kaoming, Ying'en, and Xiaoshi. The Ming Dynasty city also had five bridges from south to north: Xin Bridge, Taiping, Tongsi, Wenjin, and Kaoming. Comparing these with the Song Dynasty, it is evident that the city had already shifted southward."
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