Chang men fu Wen

"Wu has his own history, please start from Nagato." This is the first sentence that Lu Ji mentioned Suzhou in Wu Chuxing. Wu Zixu began to build a martial capital like heaven and earth, and Nagato was the first gate of the city, which witnessed the vicissitudes of Suzhou for more than 2,500 years. In the near future, a brand-new Suzhou prosperity will be presented to the world.

Can the newly restored Nagato truly restore its historical features? What is the significance of such a large-scale restoration project in this era when the gates and city walls are no longer used as passes? This can't help but cause us to think more deeply about modernity and tradition, protection and development, history and future. On the east side of the suspension bridge, there is only a small part of the moon-shaped gate, and the ruins are overgrown with weeds. When the weather is fine, there are often some white-haired old people sitting lazily under the city roots in the sun. In Suzhou, if you want to ask where Nagato is, Suzhou people will often tell you whether it is the "new gate" or the "old gate". Xinchangmen has almost become synonymous with Shilu business circle, but what about "Laochangmen"? It's right here, the original bus No.4 terminal.

It is called "Lao" because the site of Gu Men is here. In the long river of the past years, the gatehouse has been built and destroyed here, destroyed and built, and has undergone several changes. The wreckage in front of us is from the 1930s. Compared with the history of Nagato in 2500 years, it is not ancient, but it has left us the last vestige. At the same time, it also left a bitter and ignorant history.

1934, in order to improve traffic, the authorities demolished the gatehouse left over from the Qing Dynasty and rebuilt it in the Roman style of Kinmen. 1936 The completed Nagato has a driveway in the middle, and a side door with a width of more than 2 meters is added on both sides of the middle door as a sidewalk. Soon after, War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression broke out and Suzhou fell. In the album Old Suzhou, there is an old photo that records the situation in Nagato at that time. Under the huge advertisement of "Lao Du Eye Drops" at the city gate, there stood a Japanese sentry with live ammunition. The whole picture is full of terror and humiliation.

Until the early 1950s, the walls of Suzhou were basically connected. Starting from the stone steps on the north side of Lumen Gate in Nagato, you can go straight to Pingmen in the north, cross the Golden Gate Tower in the south, and then walk to Xumen. From 65438 to 0958, the "Great Leap Forward" movement was launched nationwide, and the ancient city of Suzhou was doomed. All the water and land gates in Nagato were destroyed, and all the mud bricks in the city were dug down to build a small blast furnace for steelmaking. The reason is ridiculous. It is said that the bricks in the ancient city are extremely resistant to high temperature, and it is useless to keep the city walls that no longer assume defensive functions.

Decades later, we re-planned the restoration of the city gate, and the past was unbearable.

History is connected, and life goes on. What is Nagato planned for today? How can it be associated with that broken wall? Suzhou ancient city landscape protection engineering headquarters gave the answer.

Suzhou Garden Design Institute undertakes the design of the restoration scheme of Nagato city gate and city wall. In 2002, entrusted by Suzhou Planning Bureau, they began to work out the planning of the western section of the protection project around the ancient city, and the Nagato node is the key section of the planning and design of the western section. In May, 2003, the hospital made a further restoration design for Nagato. According to the archaeological data provided by the cultural relics protection department, they borrowed from ancient paintings such as "The Breeding Map of the Prosperous Age" and "360 Lines" in the Qing Dynasty. Finally, after public voting, the design scheme of "highlighting the shape of the city gate in the early Ming and Qing Dynasties and repairing the double-urn city wall" was selected.

In order to convey the historical information of Nagato as much as possible and meet the design requirements of "the repair of missing parts must be coordinated with the whole, but at the same time different from the original", the repair work follows the principle of "repairing the old as the old". The relevant departments specially collected some old city bricks, specially produced a large number of original specifications of city bricks, and repaired the walls by stealing bricks. In the connection between the new city gate and the old city gate, the new city wall surrounded the original remaining gate of the Republic of China, without destroying its original appearance, and the historical sites were well preserved. Suzhou is a famous historical and cultural city with developed economy and dense population. Nagato is located in the center of the city, and it is bound to face many problems when starting construction here. A series of contradictions need to be solved as a whole, such as the protection of cultural relics, traffic guidance, the distribution of scenic spots, the relocation of shops and the resettlement of residents. Scientific decision-making and prudent attitude are particularly important.

According to the overall restoration plan of the city gate and Nagato city wall, the winding outer ring urn will surround the inner ring urn and the main entrance from the north, west and south directions, with a length of about120m from north to south, a width of about 90m from east to west, and an inner ring urn of about 45m square. The height of the urn is more than seven meters. The enemy tower and the tower were built on the inner and outer underground doors respectively. The tower is five rooms wide and four steps deep, basically referring to the Panmen Tower, but it is more magnificent. In addition, a group of ancient buildings facing the river are arranged at the water gate of the Golden Pagoda, which enriches the spatial level of the Golden Pagoda.

However, considering the road traffic and other factors, the expert group decided to repair the east wall of Luchengmen first. The restoration of Wengcheng, watchtower and watchtower will be taken as a long-term plan and implemented step by step when the time is ripe.

There are also new situations in the repair and construction of Shuicheng Gate. At the beginning of March this year, the engineering team found several rows of paved stone slabs and dozens of wooden stakes with thick bowls when cleaning up the silt at the bottom of the river in Xiatang, Changmen. According to the old man who lives nearby, he saw these wooden stakes exposed with his own eyes during the drought in Suzhou decades ago. Is this the foundation of ancient Shuicheng Gate? 1980, Xiangmen discovered Shuichengmen site in Han Dynasty. Suzhou cultural relics department immediately organized an archaeological investigation team to station at the scene. Until the appraisal results of the cultural relics department come out, the restoration project in Nagato can only be suspended.

Seven days later, the Archaeological Department of Suzhou Museum completed the rescue archaeological investigation of Nagato site. In the investigation, no relics of the city wall earlier than the Han Dynasty were found, and a large number of glazed pottery pieces and brick-gravel tiles from the Han and Tang Dynasties were excavated, and no relics earlier than the Han Dynasty were found. Through the analysis and textual research of wooden stakes, rammed loess profiles and purchased city bricks, it is confirmed that these are the remains of Nagato brick towers in the Five Dynasties. Five Dynasties ago, the walls of Suzhou were all earthen cities, and Qian Liu, king of wuyue, began to build Suzhou walls with bricks. At that time, when the gate was long and slender, wooden stakes were laid in the ancient river, then gravel, glazed pottery pieces and soil were filled between the wooden stakes, and then rammed. Finally, the city bricks were wrapped around the compacted soil, forming a square brick tower with an area of 65,438+00 meters. From this point of view, in the Five Dynasties, Nagato Shuicheng Gate was in the middle of the tower north wall. With the reconstruction and reconstruction of the past dynasties, the position of Shuicheng Gate gradually moved northward.

Nagato site has changed greatly in the past dynasties, and the existing remains are not only late, but also seriously damaged. In view of this situation, the cultural relics department proposed that the restoration of Nagato should maximize the preservation of the original features of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Retain the Qing dynasty relics under the existing Shuichengmen sluice as they are, and then repair the retaining wall with the Qing dynasty granite heightening sluice; Retain the stone walls on both sides of Shuicheng Gate on the south bank of the river, and repair and restore the damaged parts with bluestone in Ming Dynasty; Demolish the widened cement part of Shuiguan Bridge after liberation and restore it to its original size and shape, so as to make it consistent with the style of Shuicheng Gate. ...

The restoration project is a complex and comprehensive project, which should bear the responsibility of history and culture, and should not be impatient or sloppy. It is in the case that such problems are constantly appearing and being solved that the planning blueprint becomes a reality step by step. It is expected that by the end of the year, we can see the basic features of the land and water gates in Nagato. From the Garden Design Institute to the Archaeological Department of the Museum, from the blueprint for restoring Changmen to the glazed pottery and carbonized piles in the Han and Tang Dynasties under the surface, from the prosperous dream of "the first rich and romantic place in the world of mortals" to the gradual implementation of the landscape protection project around the ancient city, we deeply feel the long history and profound cultural accumulation of this city. But on the other hand, it has also caused great pressure, which at least makes us need to weigh more things, and sometimes it is even difficult to choose.

Some experts also questioned the restoration of Nagato. According to the provisions of the National Law on the Protection of Cultural Relics, the principle of protecting cultural sites is to "repair the old as the old" and do not advocate the reconstruction of things that no longer exist. The city wall was rebuilt in ancient times because of its defensive function and practical value. What is the value of modern restoration if it is simply retro?

However, many experts insist that Nagato is a symbol of old Suzhou, and restoration is a historical responsibility and a continuation of the life of cultural relics. For example, the Wang Teng Pavilion was rebuilt 28 times in 1300 years. What's more, the foundation of Nagato City Wall is still there, and its internal blood has never been interrupted for 2,500 years. This kind of repair itself has far-reaching significance.

This controversy has been going on for many years, and I am afraid it will continue in the future. Different values will inevitably lead to contradictions when dealing with specific issues of protection and development.

On the new map of Suzhou, the ancient city occupies a central position, but in terms of overall proportion, it is very small. Outer city river, ring road and central city line are surrounded by layers. Further, it is surrounded by industrial parks, high-tech zones, huqiu district, Wuzhong District and Xiangcheng District. If you look at it this way, then some opinions will be easy to communicate. An unguarded city gate may only be regarded as a landscape.

Speaking of undefended, in the history of Nagato, for a period of time, Mongolians fought for the Central Plains in the late Southern Song Dynasty and regarded their iron hoofs as Ma Pingchuan's pasture. In order to weaken the defense ability of the newly conquered areas, the Yuan army ordered the demolition of the city walls and banned the repair forever. Once there is a riot, they can immediately go to town to suppress it. There was no wall in Suzhou for decades, and it was not until the eleventh year of Yuan Dynasty (135 1) that the reconstruction began again. At that time, the offensive and defensive situation had changed, and a city without walls could not resist the rebel attack at all. Soon, this episode of "Mongols" turned over in the history of China. Then, according to Su, Zhang Shicheng was king, not only strengthening the city walls and digging deep cities, but also adding a moon city at the gate and an altar for Tibetan soldiers to guard. Seemingly impregnable, Zhu Yuanzhang finally captured it. ...

There is no indestructible city in the world. The ultimate conquest is not by force, but by civilization.

Today, we rebuilt an unguarded city gate to commemorate history and civilization. The slender door is not so much to restore the face of a period of history as to say that Suzhou people have woven the dream of an era and yearned for and pursued a prosperous, peaceful and peaceful paradise on earth.

Jinchang is prosperous, and there are many geisha in past dynasties. Zhang Jihe in Tang Dynasty and Tang Yin in Ming Dynasty wrote many poems about Changmen. Suzhou people seem to particularly like Tang Yin's "Nagato is the Thing", which is still widely circulated today. "The paradise on earth is Wuzhong, where there is a door and a good man. Cui Sleeve is 3,000 yuan upstairs and downstairs, and millions of dollars are in the west and east. Even in Wugeng, He Jia never said anything, and the words from four distant places are always different. If a painter paints, the painter should know that painting is difficult. " It is very clever for the painter to write like this, because he missed the space of imagination. Even Tang Bohu lamented that he was clumsy with his pen and dared not describe it. How could he not arouse the endless reverie of future generations?

There are always painters who dare to make pens. In Xu Yang's "The Birth of Prosperity" in Qing Dynasty, we finally saw the door of a businessman and a department store. We might as well check some historical records and visit the prosperity of the past.

In the Qing Dynasty, Sun Jiagan mentioned Suzhou Nagato in his "Journey to the South", which was described as follows: "There are a lot of goods, pedestrians are flowing, and signboards are everywhere." During the reign of the Gan family, there were tens of thousands of shops in Shili Jinchang, including silk, dyeing and weaving, tobacco, rice, groceries, medicinal materials, jewelry, antiques, teahouses, restaurants, theaters, brothels and so on, and all walks of life had everything. Houses, guilds, offices, gangs, and chambers of commerce are adjacent to each other, and Nagato is really a five-party miscellaneous place. Without certain strength, it's difficult to gain a foothold in Nagato. But this fierce commercial competition has also spawned a number of century-old stores, which is another story.

The prosperity of commerce in Nagato in Ming and Qing Dynasties mainly benefited from convenient transportation, especially water transportation. Suzhou is densely covered with water networks, criss-crossing rivers, and connected with the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. The water transportation environment is unique. Nagato is also located at the crossroads of land and water transportation, and there are many transportation hubs along Hecheng River. "Ships from north and south and foreign businessmen gathered here", which became the largest cargo distribution center and commercial center in Suzhou at that time. Not only that, it is also a port for Suzhou's foreign trade. The proprietary Chinese medicines of Lei and Mu Taishan are exported overseas from here, and some imported products can also be bought here, such as turtle shells in Nanyang, lacquerware in Japan and folding fans in North Korea. ...

After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Foreign Affairs Bureau of the Qing government set up a commercial port outside Nagato and opened up a stone road, which further promoted the development of commerce and finance in Nagato. 1908, there were 24 money houses in Suzhou City, 20 of which gathered in Nagato Street, which is now Xizhongcheng. In the early years of the Republic of China, the first three banks to enter Suzhou (Bank of China, Bank of Communications and Shanghai Commercial Savings Bank) and later branches of Suzhou Banking Association were all located near Xizhongcheng. Until 1930s, with the change of urban construction pattern, the commercial center of Suzhou gradually came into people's sight.

Times have changed. Du Sanzhen deli, Mu Taishan Tang drugstore, Yichangfu restaurant, Zhao Tianlu candy store, Shuitai noodle shop ... because it is closely related to the daily life of ordinary people.

In the newly restored Nagato, in order to restore the Ming and Qing styles, I think the word "Shang" is still the main word. The planning and design of Nagato node strives to highlight commercial characteristics. There are many shops inside and outside Lucheng Gate, and the moat coast is no longer dominated by greening, but is positioned as a business and service industry, which conforms to the historical features of Nagato. Mr. Lu is an old man. He has lived near Nagato since his great-grandfather. He was very happy to learn that the city gate had to be repaired again. But the suspension bridge was demolished in the previous stage, and he felt a little lost. "I used to walk through the suspension bridge every day when I went to work. Now I have to make a detour and feel inconvenient. That bridge existed in the Yuan Dynasty, but it's a pity to tear it down ... "I told him that the new suspension bridge would be built soon, and it was even better than the original one.

Suspension bridge, also called fishing bridge. It crosses the Outer Urban River and directly connects the inside and outside of Nagato. It is one of the main bridges in Suzhou. As the name implies, the suspension bridge may be the movable trestle under the city gate at the earliest, which can be removed at any time to block traffic. The suspension bridge in the Yuan Dynasty has long since ceased to exist, and it has been rebuilt and rebuilt many times. The suspension bridge where Mr. Lu commutes to work every day was rebuilt by 1934. This is a stone arch bridge with reinforced concrete deck. In order to meet the traffic needs, the bridge deck was widened after liberation.

The appearance of the new suspension bridge is not much different from that of Ren Minqiao, but the specifications are smaller. This classically simple covered bridge not only meets the needs of modern transportation, but also harmonizes with the overall style of Nagato. In addition to suspension bridges, Dusheng Bridge and Shantang Bridge will also be rebuilt with the gradual implementation of Nagato node planning. The low-lying land on the east side of Beihaolong will be rebuilt, and a five-arch pedestrian stone bridge-Wulong Bridge will be built between Baijialou and Wujing Temple, spanning the east and west banks of the moat.

The long-term planning goal of Nagato node is to realize walking, and take Nagato area as an important hub connecting the historical area in the northwest of Suzhou ancient city. To achieve this goal, we must first solve the traffic problem. In order to divert car dealers from the periphery of Nagato, a number of municipal road construction projects have also kept pace. Nagato West Street and Zhongjie Road open northward to Huancheng North Road, Zhuxiang widens to Jingde Road, and Taohuawu Street opens westward to cross the river and connect with Guangji Road. ...

Wulong Huichang Scenic Area is another important part of Nagato node planning. The so-called "Wulong Luo Hui" is a unique waterscape in Nagato, where the Outer City River, Inner City River, Shangtang River and Shantang River converge from five directions respectively. The scenic spot is designed around the theme of commemorating Bai Juyi, and consists of Bai Juyi Temple, Lotte Square and supporting tourism service facilities. Baijuyi Temple, located in the center of the scenic spot, adopts a relatively free Suzhou residential pattern and consists of three groups of courtyards with their own characteristics. The main courtyard is Yishui courtyard, with neat layout. The gate, stele pavilion and Lotte Temple are arranged in sequence along the axis, with stone corridors on both sides, living quarters in the south courtyard and back garden in the north courtyard. Lotte Square is located in the north of Bai Juyi Temple and the entrance of Wuchang Scenic Area in Wulong. There is a statue of Bai Juyi in the center of the square. On the east side of Baijuyi Temple, a sunken pedestrian street is arranged by using the height difference of the terrain, and a hydrophilic observation deck is set at its southeast corner, where you can see the whole picture of Nagato.

Nagato also has a name in history-"Breaking Truman"; "Wu Yue Chun Qiu": "Those who set up city gates, such as Tianmen, are connected with the wind. He Lv wants to break Chu in the west and Chu in the northwest. Therefore, it is necessary to set up a door to pass the weather, and break the Chumen because of its name. " . Because it is located in the northwest, it is named because it thinks it is connected with the wind. In the spring, when Shen Jun applied to Huang Xie, he changed his mind for fear of "breaking Chu". It was from this gate that Wu's army came out and marched westward to attack Chu. This is the most kingly time in Suzhou history. Courage and pioneering spirit are also needed in Suzhou today.