Brush Spring and Autumn (Yangzhou Famous Map)

Author: Wei Minghua (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features:
1. The map of the large city of Yangzhou during the Song Dynasty can be found in the Ming Jiajing edition of Weiyang Zhi. During the late Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties period, Yangzhou was abandoned due to warfare. 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 the Baocheng and Jiacheng, "Zhou Xiaocheng" was larger in scale. After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, it was referred to as the "Song Dacheng," but its scale was only slightly more than a quarter of the Tang Dynasty Yangzhou city. According to Song Huaye, the circumference of the Song Dacheng was "seventeen li, one hundred and seventy-two bu, totaling three thousand and one hundred and forty-six zhang." The Baocheng, also known as "Baoyucheng," was located on Shugang in the north of the Dachen, smaller in scale than the Dachen, with its original site being the Sui Dynasty Jiangdu Palace and the Tang Dynasty Yangzhou government office. The Jiacheng was situated between the Dachen and the Baoyucheng, 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 describes: "The stars divide into the Ox and Taurus constellations, the borders connect to the Huaihai, Yangzhou's ten thousand markets are bounded. Flowers bloom, the road is fragrant, orioles chirp, people rise, with ten miles of pearl curtains fluttering in the east wind." Through the poet's exquisite brushwork, one can see the prosperity of Yangzhou at the time. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the region between Jianghuai was a military confrontation zone between the Song 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 Wharves), Volume 1, states: "According to the Weiyang Zhi of the Jiajing era, the three maps—Song Sancheng, Song Dacheng, and Ming Yangzhou Fu Chenghuang—all show Ying'en Bridge. In the Song Sancheng map, the bridge is below the Kaiming Bridge and above the Xiaoshi Bridge. Crossing Xiaoshi Bridge and exiting the northern gate leads to the Jiacheng, and exiting the Jiacheng leads to the Baoyucheng. Today, Xiaoshi Bridge is below Ye Gong Bridge, indicating that the ancient Ying'en Bridge must have been around Ye Gong Bridge. Furthermore, the Song Dacheng map shows that 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 today's 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, leaving no doubt. Moreover, from south to north, the Song Dacheng had five bridges: Taiping, Tongsi, Kaoming, Ying'en, and Xiaoshi. The Ming city also had five bridges from south to north: Xin Bridge, Taiping, Tongsi, Wenjin, and Kaoming. Examining this against the Song Dynasty reveals that the city had already moved southward." P3