In the water towns of the south of the Yangtze River, where the river network is dense, the bridge is an indispensable transition.
The four ancient bridges in the last issue of the "Bridge Through Time" column evoked distant memories and thoughts in the hearts of many citizens.
It is:Famous bridge
Famous bridge
Located on the Liangtang River, next to Jialan Temple, Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.
Founded in the Ming Dynasty, three-hole stone arch bridge, the bridge body is made of granite masonry, the bridge is 42 meters long and 3 meters wide4 meters.
The arch coupon is a longitudinal sectional parallel type, the bridge deck is trapezoidal, and the steps are laid with stones.
If there is a ranking of "ancient bridges delayed by names", then Yangming Bridge will definitely be on the list. Because of the word "Yangming", it is often considered to be a bridge in Yangming Street in Liangxi District, and it is also taken for granted that it is a modern bridge because the name is too modern.
In fact, in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the scope of Dongjiang is the area under the jurisdiction of Yangming Township, so it is called Yangming Bridge, and later in the process of reform and opening up, Yangming Township no longer exists, and the bridge retains the word Yangming.
Although it is named, Yangming Bridge is actually located in "Taihu Street, Economic Development Zone", and has a deep relationship with the rise of Wuxi's national industry and commerce. This "modern" name has also been recorded in many ancient books, and it is a "ancient bridge" that is like a fake.
Yangming Bridge, formerly known asBridge。In ancient times, it was extremely rare for the name of the local bridge to be crowned with the word "big", which shows that it was already a large bridge in Wuxi Township at that time.
Qing Kangxi's "Wuxi Jinkui County Chronicles" recorded: "The bridge, across the Xingtang, was built in the second year of Tomorrow Shun (1458), commonly known as the Yangming Bridge. However, Ming Hongzhi's "Rebuilding Wuxi County Chronicles" volume 3 recorded: "The stone beam was rebuilt in the second year of Tianshun in the national dynasty", so the bridge may have existed before the second year of Tianshun.
Historical records——
During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty
Yangming Bridge reconstruction;
The fifth year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1740).
Because of the wealth at that time, it was rebuilt as a three-ring bridge;
Xianfeng 10 years (1860).
The bridge was burned down during the Taiping War, so for a considerable period of time, the two sides of the bridge were cut off;
In the eighth year of Tongzhi (1869).
In the ninth year after the collapse of the bridge, the war subsided, and in order to solve the traffic problem, Ding Mingkui, a wealthy local businessman who started a business in Shanghai, and other local enthusiasts advocated a collective discussion to rebuild the Yangming Bridge.
1958 year
The Wuxi County Transportation Bureau carried out a large-scale repair of the bridge.
Speaking of which, we have to mention the three "famous" places of Yangming Bridge.
Origin of Dongjiang
The bridge was originally the only way to Wuxi City from the townships of Xinan, and it was the main road to enter the south gate and the towns to the south, and it was the "official road" of the South Township of Wuxi in the old days.
As a result, the riverside became lively, and people moved in one after another and gradually became a village, which was the original form of "Dongjiang".
Ding Mingkui, a coal and iron tycoon
The person who funded the bridge construction of Yangming Bridge was Ding Mingkui, a Shanghai coal and iron tycoon, and the first generation of Chinese national capitalists who went out from Wuxi.
At the beginning of Xianfeng, Ding Mingkui opened the Lichang Coal and Iron No. in Shanghai, and the business was prosperous and famous, and he was known as the "Coal and Iron King Ding Million". After making a fortune, Ding Mingkui did not forget his hometown fathers, and often opened warehouses in his hometown to release grain, donate silver to help the poor, and was widely praised among the people.
In the eighth year of Tongzhi, he proposed to raise funds to rebuild the Yangming Bridge, and contributed money, which greatly facilitated pedestrians from south to north after the completion of the bridge. As a result, the nearby people suggested that the name of the bridge be changed to "Mingkui Bridge", but Ding Mingkui acted in a low-key manner and only agreed to add a "big" word, and later people called the bridge "Yangming Bridge".
Zhou Shunqing and Zhou Xinzhen
It is the fine tradition of Wuxi's national capitalists to not forget to repay the villagers and promote the villagers. In addition to rebuilding the Yangming Bridge, Ding Mingkui also brought out a famous apprentice - Zhou Shunqing.
Zhou Shunqing inherited the entrepreneurial spirit of **, with extraordinary talent and amazing diligence, became the leading wealthy businessman in Shanghai, and then returned to his hometown to help the poor and neighbors, and built Zhouxin Town in the south of Yangming Bridge. Zhou Shunqing's efforts met the changes at that time, and in just a few years, the once little-known small village was transformed into a modern industrial and commercial town that was in the limelight.
Rice shops, teahouses, trough shops, pawnshops, shop numbers, population gathering, the first mechanical silk reeling factory in the history of Wuxi was born here. By the time of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhouxinzhen had 5 factories and more than 70 shops.
Shanghai's "Declaration" also reported: "This town was very desolate five years ago, and was created by the gentry Zhou Shunqing to observe and build alone, and now the silk factory, school and a city house are built neatly, and there are no less than 1,000 smokers, and it has become a unique town!" ”
With a flick of a finger, a hundred years of prosperity are like a glimpse of light.
Now, if you are lucky enough to meet the villagers who used to live in the polder, do they still remember the past and legends about the bridge? Perhaps, they will also talk about Ding Mingkui, who donated money to build the bridge, maybe Zhou Shunqing who served Sangzi, or maybe the story of every struggler who grew up in this land......
Later, the city road developed, the mission of the bridge was slowly diluted, for the famous bridge, I have seen the prosperity, but also was "left out", everything, a sentence "the light boat has crossed the ten thousand mountains" is enough to summarize.
In the process of urban renewal, there will be new stories about Yangming Bridge
Last year, the construction of the Liangtang River Wetland Park began, and the "Yangming Bridge Theme Vegetation Habitat Island" was integrated into it as part of the city's memory, rebuilding and restoring it to express reverence for Yangming's culture and history, and also to create a nostalgic resonance for citizens.
Let's look forward to its butterfly rebirth.
Looking back on the past
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