Handan (Handan toddler)
On the Place Names of China
From apes to humans, from barbarism to civilization, it created the human nature of naming things by words and characters. Let's take a look: Nothing in the world seems to be known by human beings without a name. Even the moon that was impossible to set foot on in ancient times was created into the "Guanghan Palace" by imaginative China people.
Humans mark many geographical entities as place names to identify symbols in different regions. It is a tool for people to engage in social activities and exchanges, and it is also a cultural treasure of social development and human progress. However, China has a large number of ancient place names and places with rich cultural connotations. They are distributed in mountains, streams, lakes, scenic spots, cultural relics, memorial sites, ancient sites, ancient buildings and streets. It is a geographical symbol and vivid portrayal of China's long history, splendid culture and many celebrities. Although some ancient relics were lost in the vicissitudes of history, only names were left, but later generations can use these names to evoke historical memories and find their traces. This is an ancient geographical coordinate. The existence of a large number of ancient place names dissects the cultural features of China in different time and space. It is a long scroll showing the history of China and a picture of people's life in time and space, which should be protected as a valuable cultural heritage of our country. "Geographical names are national cultural heritage", which is the orientation of the material, social and cultural significance of geographical names in the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.
China has a vast territory, a long history and many ethnic groups. It is not only the country with the largest number of place names in the world, but also its profound cultural heritage is not comparable to that of ordinary countries. It is a "rich mine" of geographical names and cultural resources. The basic structure of culture can be divided into four levels: first, material culture, including production and living tools and related technologies processed and manufactured by human beings; Second, spiritual culture, including people's thoughts, beliefs, values and mentality; The third is behavior culture, which refers to the conventional writing mode of people who are bored in social communication; The fourth is institutional culture, which is manifested in social norms established by people in social practice. The origin and classification of place names are generally discussed from these four aspects.
Classification and origin of place names
There are many kinds of place names with different meanings. Only some common types can be listed here. Moreover, the classification boundaries of some place names are vague, which can be said to be divided by surnames or landforms, so this paper will not delve into their categories.
First, named after the geomorphological features or features.
Such as Heilongjiang, Dahenggou, Qingyatou, Shiyazhi, Yaozimen, Zhongchakou, Lingdi, Potou, Sha 'ao, Hongtupo, Dianchi, Hongyadi, Narrow Gate, Carriage, Magnetic Basin Water, Kuanping, Baishi, Heishiyao, Huanglongtou and Cenfeng. The typical "Silong Village" is named Huanglongtou (Longwangtou), Huanglong 'ao, Longchaowan and Qinglongpo, which is based on the terrain where a mountain and village like a dragon runs north and south. There are also Elephant Trunk Mountain in Guilin and so on.
There is also a format, which is a combination of surnames and place names, and is a comprehensive part of the first and second formats. In densely populated places with different landforms, such names are too numerous to mention. For example, the first * is the surname, and the second * is the landform, such as ditch, beam, valley, mausoleum, mound, mound, pier, township, pavilion, dock, wall, foundation, garrison, fort, town, shop, city and field. Such as Kangjiagou, Qijiazhuang, Majialian, Xiaojiahui, Liangjiazhai, Caijiaping, Guocun, Hecun, Lujiacun, Niujiacun, Fujianao, Zhengjiagou, Liujiapo, Zhaojiacha, Sujialing, Yuanjialiang and Wang.
Among them, the name "Yuegezhuang" evolved due to the change of pronunciation. Yuegezhuang is actually just Yue Jiazhuang, which is due to the development and change of Chinese pronunciation.
During the pre-Qin period, many place names named after "Qiu", "Ling" and "Fu" appeared in the North China Plain, which reflected the geographical environment at that time-undulating terrain. In order to avoid floods, people chose higher places to live. The disappearance of "autumn" indicates that they will be silted up by the flood of rivers such as the Yellow River in the future. Place names in Han Dynasty were named after "Xiang", "Ting" and "Ji", which showed the local administrative system at that time. Six Dynasties; The appearance of characters used in place names such as dock, wall, fort, garrison, fort, etc. should be related to the great land ownership of the Hao nationality at that time and the need to defend against social unrest; After the middle Tang Dynasty, the towns, markets and markets in the mainland reflected the rise of small commercial cities, while the markets and service industries represented the development of government-run handicrafts. Coastal place names such as "Buer", "Buye" and "Buqi" often have the word "No", which can be thought to be caused by the pronunciation of this ancient coastal nation in Northeast China. These place names condense ethnic and linguistic historical materials, which is of great help to understand the migration of ancient tribes. Some are in the form of surname+landform+son, such as Niuzhaizi and Haoyaozi. There are also place names in the format of Eight Kings Tomb and Princess Tomb. There are many kinds of place names related to landforms and surnames, and the most common ones are not listed here.
Handan City, Hebei Province is a national historical and cultural city. Its name first appeared in the ancient version of bamboo annals. The origin of the place names of Handan is generally based on the annotation of wei ren Zhang Yan in the Three Kingdoms period in the Geography of Han Dynasty: "Handan Mountain, under the eastern city, is single and exhausted, and the city walls follow the city, so a cloud is added." It means that the place name of Handan originated from Handan Mountain. Below the east of Handan, there is a mountain called Hanshan, which is the end of the mountain range. Hanshan stops here, hence the name Handan. Because the city wall comes from the city, adding a city (Lu) makes Handan. As a place name, Handan remains unchanged for three thousand years, which is a special case of China's place name culture.
Many place names in China have the word "continent" or "state", so it is necessary to explain here.
On the basis of creating the word "Chuan", the ancients created the word "Zhou" to represent the island in "Chuan". The original meaning of "state" is an island (or sandbar) in the river and land in the water. China's earliest poem "The Book of Songs Nan Zhou Guanju" contains the phrase "Guan Guanju's dove is in Hezhou". Shuowen Jiezi: "Zhou, you can live in the water of Yuezhou. Go around. From Chongchuan. Yao was flooded that year, and the cement and soil in the community were high. Still Kyushu. " In ancient times, people had not established the concept and unit of administrative division. Emperor Yao once divided "high soil over water" and "state" into nine districts (Kyushu) for management. This is the prototype that later generations regard "state" as administrative division. Before Qin and Han Dynasties, the range of "states" was very uncertain, including "Kyushu", "Twelve States" and "Great Kyushu". The legendary local administrative division system does not actually exist. In order to strengthen centralization, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty divided the territory into thirteen monitoring areas from outside the capital, called thirteen states, and set up a secretariat to monitor the territory. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, "Zhou" became an administrative division at or above the county level. As an administrative division, the "Zhou" of later generations is either preserved or abolished, and the scope is large or small, but it is still in use today. When "Zhou" is used as the name of administrative division to represent "Shenzhou in Chixian County", it seems inappropriate to use it to represent "land in the water", so ancient literati added the root "ju" before the word "Zhou" and replaced it with "Zhou", so "Zhou" has its original meaning. Among the city names above the county level in China, except "Zhuzhou City" and "Zhou"
Second, it is named after the family or national surname.
China's ancient social structure model is a patriarchal clan system with blood relationship as the link. This is the social foundation of China's traditional culture, which determines China's social and political structure and ideology. Mencius once said: "The foundation of the world is in the country, and the foundation of the country is at home." Therefore, villages or cities named after surnames or ethnic surnames are the most common place names in China. Birds of a feather flock together. People in patriarchal society often live together with surnames, and surnames have become the most distinctive highlight of place names. Its format is generally * village (township, county). Such as Lushi County, Henan Province, and some village names such as Jiangjia, Hanjia, Mijia and Licun. In addition, there are formats of village names, such as Liu Jia in Qincun and Zhang's in Qindian.
However, in some places, surnames are reversed. For example, doctors in Qi Huangong live in East China, South China, West China and North China respectively, and these four countries become surnames.
Third, name it after the place.
Such as Beipo, Beishe, Beilou, Beigou and Beiyawan; Dongzhai, Dongnao, Dongping, Dongyuan, Dongpo, Dongshan and Donglan; Nancun, Nangou, Nanhe, Nanling, Nanshe, Nanliu, Nanyu, Nanzui and Nanbeizi; Xicun, Xi Du, Xishe, Xiwan, Xiyu, Xizhang, Xipo, Xinao and Xishantou; Zhonglan, Zhongzhuang, Zhongshe, Zhongxing Road, Central Beam, etc. Location is often combined with surname, as mentioned earlier.
Like Zhou, Yin and Yang often appear in place names. In middle school Chinese textbooks, we all know that "the water in the north of Nanshan is Yang, and the water in the south of Beishan is Yin". In ancient China, Feng Shui originated from the Book of Changes was very particular (not completely superstitious, see the first issue of chinese national geography in 2006). Therefore, the ups and downs of the terrain are described by yin and yang and five elements.
Therefore, the south of the mountain is called Yang because it can shine on the sun, and the north of the mountain is called Yin. On the contrary, water (river) is yang in the north and yin in the south. However, there are exceptions. Hanyang County, Hubei Province is located in the south of Hanjiang River. The reason is that the Hanshui River diverged from the south of Hanyang to the north in history, and the name of the city has not changed, thus forming a special case.
Fourth, named after plants.
Such as Apple Orchard, Zaolingou, Yulin Temple, Madigou, Yanglinyao, Xiangcaoping, Cypress, Luyagou, Toona sinensis, Tanshangou and Qiu Shu Slope.
Five, named after animals.
There are Lu Yu, Maxiang, Xiong Ping, Heshan, Maopu, Baochuan, Yangquan, Aotou, Camel Road, Zhangerping, Yangpo, Frog Dragon and Shiziping.
Sixth, named after myths.
There are immortals, divine springs, stone buddhas, Pu Xian, Temple Ping, meditation rooms, Buddhist temples, Nihe, Shi Niu, Shentou, Kannonji, Luohantang, Xiangxiangping, Lion Gods, Old Stone Gods, Jade Mountain and Wangfutai. The origin of these place names is related to an old legend, such as:
Shenchi County, Shanxi Province-Because there were bunkers in the Ming Dynasty and pool water outside the west gate of the bunker, it was said that its water was "passive, untraceable, dry and rainy." It's called Shenchi.
Fengxiang, Shaanxi-Nong Yu, the daughter of legend, is good at playing the flute, which attracted a Huashan hermit who is good at playing the hairpin, met her bosom friend and finally got married. Later, she flew away by phoenix, which was renamed Fengxiang in the Tang Dynasty.
Lion God Village-Legend has it that a girl met a tiger when passing by and called for help. Suddenly, she jumped out of the lion and killed the tiger. The girl was saved and the lion disappeared. The villagers built a lion temple to offer sacrifices, and Yicun was named Lion God Village.
Xidi Village-In the past, there was no water here. One day, I suddenly saw a white deer digging a stone, and the spring water gushed out. Therefore, the village is called Shenquan Village. Because the village is located under the "Dangli Temple" in Beizhaipo, it is commonly known as "Sidi Village".
Luohantang Village-It is said that Wutai Mountain manjusri temple shipped 100 pieces of iron arhats, one of which was lost, and the people did not stay overnight. The villagers built a cliff hall to worship, and later it was renamed Luohantang Village.
7. Place names originate from historical figures or events.
That is, place names generated with historical figures or related historical activities as the background and place names formed with certain historical events and facts as the background. Such as: Changxianmen, Tongyuanmen and Yingenmen.
Qixian County was named after Qi, a doctor of Jin State in the Spring and Autumn Period.
Jiexiu (City) is said to have died in Mianshan, Jin, because it is said that in the Spring and Autumn Period, the noble meson of Jin pushed Tian Kai to live in seclusion.
Jishan (county), according to legend, Hou Ji once taught people about crops on the mountain south of the county. Later, he called this mountain Wangji Mountain, and this place was named Jishan because of its mountain.
Zuo Quan (county), formerly known as Liaoyang, has been renamed several times. 1September, 942, to commemorate the martyrdom of General Zuo Quan here, it was renamed Zuoquan County.
Wenxi county is located in the southwest of Shaanxi Province, formerly known as Zuo Yi County. Because in the sixth year of Ding Yuan in the Western Han Dynasty (1 1 1), Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, heard the good news that the imperial army had broken South Guangdong (now Guangdong), so he changed the county to Wenxi.
Lingshi (county) was named after the ancient meteorite discovered by Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty when he dug a river for ten years.
Eight, meaningful names.
These place names are either recorded in historical materials or sometimes named after poems. Generally speaking, it is the name of the city. There is a Fan Shi (county) in Shanxi, which is named after "the city is at the foot of the mountain, surrounded by mountains and archways". Therefore, "Fan Shi" is actually a general description of the terrain features surrounded by mountains in the county.
For example:
Chengdu: The earliest explanation of the word Chengdu is The Jade Ring of Taiping (Volume 72) in the history of Song people's music. Music history thinks that the name of Chengdu is "the week ends in Liangshan, and it becomes a city in one year and Chengdu in two years, hence the name" Chengdu ". Yu Fang Sheng Lan, a famous article in Song Dynasty, holds that "the so-called three-year Chengdu intention of historical records" is widely spread and has great influence. There is also a saying that Wang Di Emperor Du Yuxin once lived in Chengdu, so the name "Chengdu" means success, achievement and completion. Furthermore, according to the written records in The Classic of Mountains and Seas, Chengdu is a mountain that holds the sky, and when it becomes a mountain, it becomes a mountain. It is considered that Chengdu's "Cheng" is the name of an ancient clan or country, and its glyph is the combination of E and Ding, and E is the image of an axe, and Ding Xiang's arrow or arrow hits the target. Cheng Hou regarded this word as a symbol of the power of tribal chiefs. The word "Du" in Tibetan refers to the intersection of two rivers. According to this interpretation, the meaning of the word Chengdu should be the place where Cheng Hou lived (the intersection of the two rivers). Some people also think that the word "Chengdu" is only a translation of the two sounds of "Chengdu" in Shu language with Huaxia characters in the Central Plains. This place name with disputed origin is also quite common in China.
Changchun: According to some geographical records, there are the following statements about the origin of Changchun place names: First, the name of Changchun is named after Catharanthus roseus. This statement is slightly mentioned in the investigation of Manchu place names: that is, "the meaning of Changchun is synonymous with rose"; 2. It is said that according to the Records of Changchun County, Changchun Hall was originally located several miles east of Changchun Fort, hence its name. And the place where it was built, on the day when the natives changed their names, the new village became a cloud. "It is inferred that Changchun is named because the guild hall is located near Changchun Fort. But where did the name Changchun Castle come from? 1982 According to the data in Changchun Place Names, Changchun Castle was named by the Han people who moved here recently, which means good luck. On the other hand, Changchun Fort was the old name of Changchun House in Liao and Jin Dynasties, so the land was originally under the jurisdiction of Changchun House. Thirdly, when Qianlong visited Changbai Mountain several times in summer to worship his ancestors, he found that the climate here was much cooler than Shengjing and the scenery was pleasant, so he blurted out the poem "It is always spring in Changbai Mountain, and everyone loves Yitong River". So in the fifth year of Jiaqing (1800), he began to establish a local administrative organization here, with the two words in the first sentence as "Changchun Hall".
Wuxi: There are two opinions about the origin of the place name "Wuxi". A popular view now is that tin was produced in Xishan during the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, but it was exhausted in the Han Dynasty, hence the name "Wuxi". Another view is that Wuxi is one of the ancient place names in Vietnam. "Wu" is a phrase word with no real meaning, and the original meaning of "Xi" has long been lost because of the ancient Vietnamese language, so it is impossible to verify it. Some people think that "Wuxi" is the same as many other place names in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, such as Fujiao, Yuhang, Jurong and Gusu. , all belong to the same place name. Although the prefix is written in different ways, the ancient sounds are the same or similar, and they are all words in the ancient Vietnamese language, which has no practical significance. With the migration, dispersion and integration of clans in ancient wuyue with the Huaxia nationality, the original meanings of these place names have been gradually forgotten, but some of them have been preserved because they recorded the same sounds in Chinese characters, and later generations do not know the source, so it is often futile to try to interpret them. Some scholars believe that "Wuxi" is named because an ancient Yue tribe living in Wuxi takes a kind of "bird tube" as its totem, and its original meaning should be "god".
Gansu: It is named after Ganzhou and Suzhou. Tang belongs to Guannei Road and Longyou Road; In the Song Dynasty, the east belonged to Qingfeng Road and the west belonged to Xixia. Jinfen Qin Feng Road is Qin Feng Road, Lintao Road and Qingyuan Road; At the beginning of Yuan Dynasty, Gansu Road was located in Ganzhou (it was later changed to Ganzhou Road), which was the beginning of Gansu's name. Later, Ningxia Province was changed to Gansu Province. Ming is the capital of Shaanxi; Shaanxi province was divided, Gansu province was restored, and the name of the province has not changed so far.
Shanxi: It is famous for visiting the west of Taihang Mountain. Most of the Tang Dynasty belonged to Hedong Road; Hedong Road in Song Dynasty; Northeast and south roads of Jinfen River; Yuan set up Hedong Road in Shanxi, which was the beginning of Shanxi's name. Shanxi Province was established in Ming Dynasty and later changed to Shanxi Ministry of Foreign Affairs; The name of Shanxi Province has not changed since the Qing Dynasty.
Hunan: It is named because it is located in the south of Dongting Lake. Tang belongs to Jiangnan West Road and Guizhou Middle Road, with Hunan observers behind it, which is the beginning of Hunan's name; Song called Hunan Road; Yuansheling North Hunan Road; Ming belongs to Huguang Province, later changed to Huguang Bureau; Hunan province is classified as Huguang province, and the name of the province has not changed so far.
Nine, the merger or change of place names.
Mainly refers to the new place name formed by the merger of two place names in the organizational change. For example:
Linyi (County), Shanxi: Linyi (County) was named after 1954, when the original two counties, Linjin and Linyi, merged.
Shaanxi Liquan (County): Named after Liquan with sweet spring water, it shows that the county is rich in high-quality mineral water resources. 1964 simplified the word "Yi" and changed it to "Liquan".
Wuhai City, Inner Mongolia: Uda City and Haibowan City merged.
Zibo City, Shandong Province: Zichuan County and Boshan County are collectively called a district, and then a special zone is set up to govern two counties; The name of the post-establishment system has been changed repeatedly, and finally the prefecture-level Zibo.
Panjin City, Liaoning Province: Panshan County, Jinzhou City was upgraded, and Panshan and Jinzhou each took one.
Through the study of the origin of place names, we can understand the history, culture, folk customs and characteristics of this place. There is a "reclining Buddha ditch" in Anle County, Sichuan Province. Along this intriguing place name, people did find a huge stone Buddha and a rock sculpture of Sakyamuni's nirvana in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and also found more than 400,000 words of Buddhist scriptures buried by the ancients, which provided new information for studying Buddhism and exploring Tang Wenhua. Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties were three successive dynasties in ancient China, but there was no physical evidence of Xia Dynasty for a long time. 1977, archaeologists took an ancient place name named "Wang Chenggang" in Dengfeng County, Henan Province as a clue, and excavated the foundation trench of the city wall there, which was confirmed as the site of Xia Dynasty by C- 14.
Short name of place name
With the increasing richness of Chinese vocabulary, a large number of phrases with complex meanings expressed by several words have appeared, which has affected the convenience of people's writing and dictation, so many abbreviations of place names have appeared. ...
Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Kyrgyzstan, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Qiong, Chongqing, Sichuan or Shu, Guangxi or Guizhou, Yun or Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi or Qin, Gan or Long, Qing, Qin. Among them, Hebei, Shanxi, Shanghai, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Qiong, Chongqing, etc. 14 can only be regarded as "nicknames" because it is not within the full name of its administrative region. Some large and medium-sized cities also have their own abbreviations or nicknames. Nanjing ~ Ning, Guangzhou ~ Sui, Ningbo ~ Yong, Fuzhou ~ Rong, Chengdu ~ Rong, Taiyuan ~ Bing Zhou, Kaifeng ~ Bian, Jiujiang ~ Xun.
Hard-to-read and easy-to-read place names
It is said that 80 years ago, when one of Feng Yuxiang's staff was writing an operational order, he casually wrote Qinyang, the place where the troops assembled, as Biyang. Qinyang is in Jiaozuo, northern Henan, and Biyang is in Zhumadian, southern Henan. Only one more sum, the troops ran hundreds of kilometers, and the whole campaign was a complete failure.
There are many wrong and unforgettable place names in our country. For example, Xiamen, Fujian, Panyu, Guangdong and Bengbu, Anhui have homophones, but because of their high popularity, the chances of being misunderstood are relatively low.
There are fewer mistakes in reading Dong 'e in Shandong, thanks to the advertisement about Ejiao; Fuling is less wrong, thanks to Fuling mustard tuber; There are also fewer people in Shanxi who mispronounce Hongdong, mainly because the sentence "Su San left Hongdong County" has an indelible contribution.
Lishui (Lí li) in Zhejiang Province is misunderstood as Li (Li) water, and Taizhou (Tāi) is misunderstood as Taiwan Province (Tái) state;
Almost all Bo (Bó barge) states in Anhui are pronounced as extra ten cents (Háo) states;
Hubei Jianli (see Jiàn) is misunderstood as Jianli (Jiān tip);
Xun county, Henan province (Xùn Xun) is misunderstood as Xun county (Jù n Jun);
Leiyang (Lěi base) in Hunan Province is misunderstood as Laiyang, but the real Laiyang is in Shandong.
Chenzhou (Chēn ē) is mistaken for Bin Song (B ē n bin);
The word "stare blankly" in Xinjiang is misunderstood as "stare blankly"
Bayannur, Inner Mongolia is misread as Zhuó.
Yuxian county, Hebei province, the correct pronunciation is jade (jade);
Shexian County, Anhui Province, the correct pronunciation is Shè (she); Lu 'an, the correct pronunciation is Lu (Road);
Shaanxi, the correct pronunciation is "yes"; Zhangzi county, the correct pronunciation is zh m ng (palm);
Shēn Shen Xin County, Shandong Province, students generally study well because there is a saying about students; But there is a Xinzhuang in Shanghai.
The misreading rate of lead mountain (Yán salt) in Jiangxi Province is very high. "Lead" is a polyphonic word and a special pronunciation of place names.
There are many difficult to read place names:
Shanxi Xixian County (Xí), Shandong Juxian County (J incarnation) and Qinpi County (Chí), Hebei Jingxing County (Xíng) and Lixian County (Lǐ), Zhejiang Pixian County (Pí) and Gongxian County (G Yin County (Yín),
Ba bàn, which means "mud" in dialect, is named after Yuanba Township, Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province, because of its mud fields in the mountains;
The name of Yaoxi Township in Dongkou County, Hunan Province comes from Lu, which means "thatch" in Yao language. According to legend, in the Ming Dynasty, Yao people built thatched cottages by the stream.
There are also self-made words with specific meanings. For example, Catfish chí was used in Catfish Township, Yongjia County, Zhejiang Province. It is said that the hunter found five beautiful waterfowl by the water? Black (xěchì), later generations named this place five "catfish"-because? The word "bi" is more complicated to write, and each word is composed of one part. Shitai tài, a folk name of yingde city, Guangdong Province, refers to a rocky mountain with one side high and one side low. The high place is called Shangshitai, and Xiashitai Town is low-lying, hence the name. Mr. Jin Zumeng, who has made great achievements in exploring China's ancient toponymy theory, said: "The oldest place names in China often include proper names and generic names, such as the word' Song', with the upper part of the word' Mountain' as the generic name and the lower part of the word' Gao' as the generic name; The word' fen', the word' water' on the left is a generic name, and the word' fen' on the right is a proper name; The word' Mei' on the left is a proper name, and the word' Yi' on the right is a generic name. In addition, such as Qi, Ge, Dai, Bo, Min, Bo, Bo, You, Jiang, Wen, Qin, Yi, Yuan, He, Bi, Shu, Si, Luo, Zhu, Yi, Zhe and Yuan. The appearance of this ancient place name is not only named after words, but also named after words. "
O Miaoquan Town, Changshu City, Jiangsu Province, which describes water, is famous for its criss-crossing rivers and dense water networks, but its regular script word "Miao" has a slight meaning; Zhèn, "The roots under the mountain are influenced by the flowing water on the mountain" ("Interpreting the Name and Interpreting the Mountain"), Shenjia Town, Ninghai County, Zhejiang Province, was named in the Song Dynasty thousands of years ago. "Tuo" was originally a word, and now the orthographic word "Town" is written in Lingnan folklore; Tún, with the same pronunciation as "An" and "Tun", means stockade. In Jiaozhen, Xingren County, Guizhou Province, it vividly shows its regional characteristics of "building villages on terraces".
Of course, language is fluid and liquid, and some mistakes today may become the correct pronunciation tomorrow. All this is gradually created by people, and dictionaries are only the phonetic norms of a specific era. However, reading the place name of a place is the minimum respect for others.
A Wonderful Flower in Place Name Culture —— Beijing Hutong Culture
Among the place names in China, the most distinctive one is Beijing Hutong. The place names in Beijing are mostly hutongs, and they are mostly concentrated in urban areas, and the number of suburbs is small. It can be said that Hutong is the most distinctive place name in Beijing, and it is also the most representative regional landscape and human landscape. Old Beijing is made up of hutongs, which are the essence of Beijing. Therefore, the study of hutong has become one of the main contents of the study of place names in Beijing. For hundreds of years, there have been countless writings about hutongs. The origin, formation, naming, change and cultural connotation of hutong were deeply studied from different angles, and the unique "Hutong Culture" in Beijing was gradually formed.
There are six main theories about the origin of the place name "Hutong".
The first statement, which is also the most common statement, is that the word "Hutong" originally means "water well" in Mongolian, and its initial pronunciation is "protruding hole". At present, many places in Inner Mongolia use "well" as place names, such as "Sain Hudong" (a good well) and "Haye Hudong" (a double well). Because the survival of urban residents cannot be separated from wells, there must be wells where people live, so "wells" have become synonymous with people living. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols also brought this language into the Central Plains, so people gradually homonymized "Hudong" as "Hutong".
The second argument is that the original meaning of "Hutong" is "Haute". In Mongolian, the town is called "Haote". After the Mongols entered the Central Plains, they regarded Beijing as the capital, so according to their habits, they also called the streets and alleys of the Central Plains towns "Haote", which was later misrepresented as "Hutong" by the Han people in Beijing.
The third argument is that during the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, the Han people in the Central Plains called the northern minorities "Hu people". After the Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people in Beijing still privately called them "Ren Hu" and called their place "Hutong", which means "Datong in Ren Hu".
The fourth statement is completely different from the first statement, arguing that the origin of the word "Hutong" has nothing to do with wells, but has a close relationship with fire, that is, it has a direct relationship with the "fire Hutong" in Chinese. This kind of "fire lane" is the fire isolation belt set up in the city during the Southern Song Dynasty. Due to the dense population, row upon row of houses and lack of water, once a fire breaks out, it will affect hundreds of families. In order to prevent the fire from spreading, a fire isolation belt-"fire lane" was set up. The word "fire lane" was originally Chinese, but when it was read from the Mongolian population and translated into Chinese according to its pronunciation, it became an "alley".
The fifth statement is that the orthography of the word "Hutong" is "Hutong", which comes from Mongolian. Among Mongolian folk houses, the tribe slightly larger than the village is called Hutong. When the Yuan Dynasty was building a metropolis, it initially built residential areas one by one, each of which was a residential settlement smaller than a village, so it was called "Hutong" according to Mongolian custom. Because the writing of "Hutong" is complicated, it is called "Hutong" for short.
The sixth argument is that in the early Yuan Dynasty, Mongols began to build the Yuandadu. At that time, the houses of urban residents were all built one by one, with passages in the middle. This passage is pronounced as "fire group" in Mongolian. Later, Beijingers called those interconnected small passages, small aisles, crosswalks and alleys "gangs", and later homophoned "hutongs".
There are more than 7,000 hutongs scattered all over Beijing, and each hutong has an anecdote. The names of hutongs are varied, and some are named after characters, such as Wen Prime Minister Hutong; Some are named after markets and commodities, such as Goldfish Hutong; Some of them are named in Beijing dialect, such as Huluguan Hutong. For example, Silijian Hutong, Gong Jianhu Hutong (from the change of Neigong's sound supervision), Weaving and Dyeing Bureau Hutong, Wine and Vinegar Bureau Hutong, Zhonggusi Hutong, Xiexin Temple Hutong, Wadian Hutong and Porcelain Shop Hutong. It is the location of all the eunuchs' prisons, bureaus, divisions, warehouses and yamen in the inner government that shows the scope of the imperial city at that time. In the past, many yamen also left many hutong names. Dongchang Hutong, for example, is the location of the famous Royal Guards in the Ming Dynasty, where eunuchs killed Zhongliang. South and North Taichang Hutong are named after Taichang Temple. Gong Yuan Hutong was the examination room of Ming and Qing Dynasties. The first residences of many dignitaries have also become the names of hutongs, such as Li Ge Old Hutong. Hakka in Chang 'an said that Li Dongyang lived in Houhutong, Wuding, and was the residence of Guo Ying, a hero in Yongle period. Wang Jiahu lived in the same place as Wang Youguo, the favorite of Yongzheng and Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. At the same time, skilled craftsmen and traders in the market became familiar with their homes and gradually formed hutongs. Such as Liu Lansu Hutong, Modaoer Hutong, Fenfang Hutong, Tofu Chen Hutong, Shaguo Hutong and so on. Even the names of ordinary people have become the names of hutongs, such as Wanglao Hutong, Shilaoniang Hutong, Songguniang Hutong and so on. It is said that these hutongs named after the poor are much more than those named after the powerful, which is a commendable place for the names of Beijing hutongs.
Place name culture has a long history.
The profound Chinese culture embodies the spirit and emotion, ideology and morality, wisdom and value of the Chinese nation, permeating every level of social life, and place names are a unique level. Place names are the products of human activities in various historical periods. It records the glory of human exploration of the world and self, wars, diseases, disasters and tribulations, the changes and integration of nationalities, and the changes of natural environment. It has rich scientific connotations such as history, geography, language, economy, nationality and society. It is a special cultural phenomenon and a living fossil of human history. As a member of the Chinese nation, we should not only understand the profound historical and cultural heritage of the motherland, but also protect some disappearing place names, so as to better inherit and carry forward our traditional culture. In order to make the ancient place names serve the present and future generations better, we must strengthen the consciousness of protecting the cultural resources of place names, starting from us. ...