Text and pictures/Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Deng Qiong (except for another signature) Video/Yangcheng Evening News All-Media Reporter Deng Qiong Literature and Art Cinema
When the phrase “Kaifeng Zhou Bridge and Bian River Site” suddenly appeared at the press conference of the “Archaeological China” major project of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage on September 28, people did not realize it for a moment:
A appeared more than a dozen times in “Water Margin”, and Meng Yuanlao’s “Tokyo Dream Hualu” describes a special chapter in the poems of Wang Anshi, Fan Chengda, Mei Yaochen and other sages, the prefecture bridge in Tokyo City, the Northern Song Dynasty, has seen the light of day again.
Ming Dynasty Zhouqiao Restored Picture Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism Li Chen Hand-painted
In fact, even in the 4,400 square meters of exploration site at the intersection of Zhongshan Road and Liberation Road in Kaifeng City today, the archaeologists in Henan who had been digging for several years were not until the winter in December 2021, carefully, shoveled and chiseled, and excavated the giant seahorse and beast stone wall relief from both sides of the Bian River, and realized that a classic archaeological example of “mutual verification of culture and objects” was born from them.
The sixth phase of the main body excavation of the Zhouqiao Main Body (from east to west) Photo provided by Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism
The results of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage pointed out that the discovery of the Kaifeng Zhou Bridge and the Bian River site in Henan Province has outstanding universal value for studying the structural layout of the Tokyo City in the Northern Song Dynasty and the history and culture of the Grand Canal, and has great practical significance for protecting and inheriting the Yellow River culture and promoting the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt.
Sometimes, a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News walked into this latest major archaeological site and intuitively felt a search process that wiped away the smoke and dust of history and reproduced the prosperity of thousands of years.
1. Bianhe Prefecture Bridge, a country that has been known for thousands of years. Why is Cinema so important?
“Standing on the state bridge is truly a thousand years old.” Wei Peishi, director of Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism, was very contagious. Zhouqiao was built in the middle age of the Tang Dynasty.During the period of ef=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Komiks (780-783), it developed into the transportation hub and urban coordinates of the capital Bianliang (now Kaifeng) by the Northern Song Dynasty.
The bright moon of Zhouqiao was once the “Eight Scenerys of Bianjing” Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism Li Chen Hand-painted
“Zhouqiao” is a common name for all the people throughout the ages. It was named “Tianhan Bridge” in the Song Dynasty because it faced Danei Yu Street, also known as “Yuqiao”. This important bridge across the Bian section of the Grand Canal was not only frequently seen in various documents and literary works of the Song Dynasty, but has been used throughout the ages until the end of the Ming Dynasty and was buried underground. Although the bridge is gone, “Zhouqiao Hu La Soup” and “Zhouqiao Snacks” have always been vividly left in the lives of Kaifeng people.
Archaeological site at the Zhouqiao site
On the huge archaeological site in front of you, between the exploration sites, walls and gullies that are excavated and protected in stages, it is no longer easy for viewers to judge the direction of the bridge deck and river. Wang Sanying, deputy director of Kaifeng Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute, patiently pointed out for us, “The bridge spans north and south, and the river flows from west to east.” According to historical records, the Zhou Bridge is located on the Yu Street in the central axis of the Northern Song Dynasty capital. It crosses the Bian River (i.e. the Kaifeng section of the Grand Canal). To the north is Xuande Gate, the majestic imperial city, looking northward, and there are many government offices; to the south is Zhuque Gate, the south gate of the bustling inner city, with merchants gathering; the Bian River, which undertakes important functions such as canal transportation and transportation, flows through the bridge. Historians have long proved that the population of Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty exceeded one million, and it was the largest city in the world at that time. Zhouqiao uniquely connects the three functional areas of politics, business, and residence, which shows its advanced and Changhua in the history of urban civilization development.
It is not difficult for us to understand from this, in the Northern Song Dynasty,Why did the famous book “Water Margin” with an important time and space background appear in the Zhouqiao dozens of times: the hero Yang Zhi was guided by someone and went to the Zhouqiao to sell his swords; Lu Zhishen asked for directions to find Daxiangguo Temple, and the neighbors pointed out that it was not far from the Zhouqiao; Song Jiang, Lin Chong, Yang Xiong, and Shi Xiu, one of them all went to the restaurant beside the Zhouqiao…
In Meng Yuanlao’s “Dream of Tokyo”, the Zhouqiao not only became an important coordinate for positioning urban scenery, but also included a section called “Zhouqiao Night Market”, which was troubled by the summer and winter months, and listed more than 60 attractive food and snacks, saying that it was open all night and was not abandoned.
People can therefore better understand why Wang Anshi, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, wanted to write a poem to recall: “The Zhouqiao stepped on the moon and thought about the mountain pepper, but looked back at the sorrow and not felt the distance. I heard the old sob again tonight, but I looked at the mountain moon and talked about the Zhouqiao”;
The Southern Song poet Fan Chengda went to the Jin Dynasty and passed through the former capital Bianjing, why did the “Zhouqiao is the street in the north and south, and the elders waited for the year to return every year. I endured my tears and asked the envoys, when will the six armies really come?”… The thought of family and country supported by famous quotes has made the Zhouqiao sound for thousands of years.
Judging from the current excavation situation, the river channel from Bian River is narrower, so the north-south length of the Zhou Bridge is only about 26 meters, but the width of the east-west bridge is more than 30 meters because it must match the width of the Yujie Street at both ends. Such a unique shape with a width greater than a length is very rare in the history of ancient Chinese bridge construction, and it can also vaguely see the prosperity of the “Bridge City” back then.
2. For more than thirty years, the remains gradually appearing in the light of day
Where is the Zhouqiao? Archaeologists actually knew for a long time that it may still be preserved below the ground of today’s Zhongshan Road, the central axis of Kaifeng, which has not changed for thousands of years.
Kaifeng was the imperial capital of all dynasties, but due to the redirection of the Yellow River, the city encountered more than once a “destroyment” of floods. The six cities of Kaifeng in the Qing Dynasty, Kaifeng in the Ming Dynasty, Bianjing in the Jin Dynasty, Dongjing in the Northern Song Dynasty, Bianzhou in the Tang Dynasty, and Daliang in the Wei capital of the Warring States Period. Komiks are stacked from top to bottom, buried about 3 to 14 meters below the ground today – this is Kaifeng’s unique “city-crossing city” phenomenon.
In addition to the high urban groundwater level, this ancient capital guards such a “cultural rich mine”, but it has been difficult to carry out large-scale urban archaeology for a long time.
In 1984, when Kaifeng built a large sewer pipe in the middle section of Zhongshan Road, it was found that=”https://funnybookish.com/”>CinemaThe bridge decks of some state bridges were found. Archaeologists went down to the bridge hole to inspect the existence of the state bridge and confirmed the location recorded in historical records. But at that time, the conditions for excavation were not met, and the groundwater level was too high, so the ruins could only be backfilled for future generations.
The Qing brick bridge deck of the Ming Dynasty Zhouqiao excavated today is a shocking glance, but also a discovery: Qiu Gang, who was once the captain of the Kaifeng Cultural Relics and Archaeology Team, once wrote an article in the 1990s that the wooden base found at the bottom of the Zhouqiao was earlier than the Southern Song Dynasty’s designs discovered on the Jinji Bridge in Quanzhou, Fujian, which led to the use of this technology in ancient my country to the Northern Song Dynasty.
In 2014, the Grand Canal of Sui and Tang Dynasties in China was successfully applied for World Heritage. Although Kaifeng is at an important node of the Grand Canal, no visible sites can be included. Driven by the construction of the National Grand Canal Cultural Belt, the excavation of the Bian River site has been put on the agenda.
Since 2018, the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Kaifeng Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute have carried out continuous archaeological excavations of the Bian River and Zhouqiao sites.
The archaeological team members first started the exploration on the east side to reveal the Bian River in Kaifeng City layer by layer in the section; in March 2020, excavation work on the west side of the Zhouqiao Bridge began, and even more amazing discoveries were waiting for them. 
Wei Peishi (left), Wang Sanying (right) and others inspected the porcelain pieces unearthed from the Zhouqiao site
3. Work tirelessly and explore the style of the “Great Song Dynasty”
Can the Zhouqiao discovery can only stop at the remains of the Ming Dynasty?
Standing on the Zhouqiao Bridge deck at the archaeological site, you can clearly see the blue bricks, ruts, etc. preserved from the original traces. Wang Sanying introduced that the structure and bridge body of this Ming Dynasty prefecture bridge are basically complete, with bluestone paved bridge decks and brick arches. The geese wings extending to both sides are also brick and stone structures.
The remains of the Four Kings of the Golden Dragon from the late Ming Dynasty were also found on the bridge, which was related to the sacrifice of the River God, and three exquisite gold-plated bronze statues were unearthed. The temple has occupied a considerable part of the bridge deck on the east side of the bridge, which shows the change in the appearance of the Ming Dynasty’s Bridge, but it is still a prosperous city here.
Ming Dynasty Prefecture Bridge Restoration Picture Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism Li Chen Hand-painted
After that the media released a photo of the state bridge with a bridge hole, it caused questions. Because Meng Yuanlao recorded in “Dream of Tokyo” that the Northern Song Dynasty Bridge was not an arch bridge, but a flat bridge with “stone columns under the bridge” and was flat and not a boat, but a convenient driving of the emperor’s car on the bridge.
For this reason, Wang Sanying specially led the reporter to the underpass and explained that the small bridge hole seen from the outside is actually the foundation of the Four Kings Temples of Jinlong, and the taller bridge hole inside belongs to the Ming Dynasty.
The arch under the body of the Zhouqiao Bridge in Ming Dynasty
In order to allow the large canal ship to pass through, the Zhouqiao Bridge was converted into an arch bridge in the Ming Dynasty. The bridge cave was tall, with a distance of more than 6.5 meters from the top of the cave to the bottom of the river, which is in line with the description of the Zhouqiao Bridge in the historical records of the Ming Dynasty that the water depth of the Zhouqiao Bridge was high and the water depth of the boat was “no masts when you pass by the boat”. However, the Zhouqiao was not moved, but used the bridge foundation of the Song Dynasty.
Although it is undoubtedly a Zhouqiao bridge, since the archaeological excavation began in 2018, the “Great Song Dynasty” style that people hoped for is only a glimpse, which disappointed the archaeological team. Because the most important mission of Kaifeng City archaeology is to find the original remains of the Song Dynasty and restore the scene of the imperial capital. For this reason, they worked tirelessly in the prosperous city center, hoping to find “empirical”.
4. Stone carvings and murals, empirizing the “Menghualu” Zhouqiao
Until 2021<a In December 2019, Cinema, the coldest season, the archaeology of the Zhouqiao site was almost over, and a huge turnaround came. At that time, the archaeological team members were planning to explore the strata from the east side of the Zhouqiao Bridge and then along the north bank of the river, but unexpectedly found traces of the stone wall from the unusual crack. The further down, the more they were surprised.
Site of the stone wall on the north bank of Zhouqiao
Ming Dynasty brick-filled and peony carvingFlowers, curly grass patterns, then auspicious clouds, cranes, auspicious beasts with unicorns… This is very consistent with Meng Yuanlao’s description of the Northern Songzhou Bridge – “The pillars are all made of bluestone, stone beams, stalagmites, railings, and stone walls near both sides of the bridge, and are engraved with seahors, water beasts, and flying clouds. The stone pillars are densely arranged under the bridge” – they have long been able to recite them.
So, starting from the northeastward extension of the geese wings closest to the bridge, the archaeological team advanced east along the river bank and found a giant stone mural with a well-preserved length of more than 21 meters and a height of about 3.3 meters. Then, at the corresponding position on the southern bank of the river, a “same style” stone mural with a length of more than 23 meters was found.
These rare treasures, which brought Shouze, a craftsman of the Song Dynasty, finally confirmed the existence of the Northern Song Dynasty Zhouqiao with cultural relics.
Some parts of the stone walls on the south bank of Zhouqiao
The murals of Zhouqiao currently discovered are concentrated on the east side of the excavated bridge, embedded in the embankments on both sides, each made of hundreds of stone slabs. Each stone slab is carved toward the facade of the river, and the whole is stacked like a puzzle, forming a graceful relief mural that can be seen on the bridge and in the river.
The murals on both sides of the strait have three groups of patterns, each group consisting of a sturdy and spiraling unicorn “sea horse” and a crane and auspicious clouds that surround you, and go up against the current. Two horses, one in front and one behind, galloped forward with their heads raised, their manes fluttering, and the horse in the middle looked back and looked at them, and their eyes followed.
The “sea horse” auspicious beast on the stone wall of the south bank of the Zhou Bridge still flows in gas. The white mark on its body is caused by the modern building above the original site rubbing the stone wall during construction and pile driving. The archaeological team members speculated based on this that there should be murals of the same size on both sides of the west bank of the Zhou Bridge. The two sides add up, and then the bridge body of the Zhou Bridge itself will reach about 100 meters in total, which can match the width of the Yu Street at both ends.
Students Babaylan then found another document to prove the origin of the stone wall of the Zhouqiao. According to Zhang Zhifu of the Song DynastyThe notes of “Ke Shu” record that during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song Dynasty, Prime Minister Zhang Dun appointed Jia Zhongmin to repair the prefecture bridge. Jia first changed the bridge to a stone bank, but was laughed at by an official who was good at controlling water, saying, “The stone bank is very unique, but it is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom!” Jia hurriedly asked for advice, and Song suggested, “Please be a sea horse to expand the bottom.” Jia then did as he did.
Looking back to the past, the Zhou Bridge was between the bright moon and the clear waves, with auspicious animals rushing on both sides of the shore, connecting the rivers and the seas. What a vast and graceful imperial capital atmosphere!
Auspicious clouds and cranes on the stone wall
5. A rare treasure, which can be updated with art history
At present, archaeological operations are still continuing, and the lower edge of the stone wall on the south bank has been pushed to the cleaning of the “sky” layer. At the same time, the special protection plan for stone carvings and murals is also constantly being improved and unfolded.
Wang Sanying pointed out a detail: these carved stone slabs are obviously made and numbered separately, and then “assembled” into an overall pattern in sequence. Each stone slab is engraved with numbers in the empty space where the carvings are not affected. For example, the reporter randomly identified the words “Sitting Twelve”, “Shipping Sixteen”, “Shew Twenty-Seven” and other words on the spot.
The code “27th of desolate” visible on the stone wall on the south bank. Photo provided by Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism
The vertical serial number from bottom to top. The north wall takes the character from the Song Dynasty from the Meng Book of calligraphy. “The supreme scholar is from the mountains and rivers, the middle man sits on the bamboo forest. The king has his own nature. Pingzi is paying attention to it.” The south wall uses the “Heaven and Earth are mysterious and yellow, the universe is vast and vast, the sun and the moon are full of, and the Chen is surrounded by Zhang” in the “Thousand Characters Text”;
From west to east, then Komiks according to the superposition of the two groups of one, two, three… counted in China, it is not messy at all, and it is of a unique interest.
On the construction site, some technicians jokingly call these murals “big treasures”. They are currently under appearance shielding and are only available for public visits for about two hours a day.
The mural pattern on the north bank is more complete, but because it faces sunny and has a slightly heavier weathering, the patterns are not as concave and convex as in the south bank.The murals on the south bank are clear; while the murals on the south bank are beautifully undulating, but there are some traces of destruction and disturbance in later generations on the upper edge, and some are carved with peonies and curly grass patterns, which no longer seem to be in place… Even Cinema and there are several traces of modern engineering pile driving, which are very “approaching” the stone reliefs, which make people feel a sense of “remaining after the disaster”.
The full view of the huge stone carving and auspicious mural in the south wall. Photo provided by Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Tourism and Tourism. Liu Haiwang, director of Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, mentioned in his report to the State Administration of Cultural Relics that the main body of the ZhouqiaoBabaylan now discovers the current binding agent using lime-based adhesive, which is in line with the characteristics of the Ming DynastyBabaylan href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Komiks; while the adhesive on the rock wall on the river bank is mainly sandy and soil, which is in line with the characteristics of the Tang and Song dynasties.
In addition, according to the detection of X-fluorescence spectrometer and X-ray diffractometer, the oxide composition, phase composition and content of the stone walls on both sides of the shore are very close to the stones in the valley river area of Xingyang Section, Henan.
At the expert discussion meeting held in September this year, Professor Zheng Yan of Peking University School of Art believes that the discovery of the giant stone carving murals of Zhouqiao can be written into Chinese art history textbooks, and its format and quality can basically represent the highest specifications of the stone work system in the Northern Song Dynasty and the highest level of carving technology; and in addition, many of the contents in the Northern Song Dynasty classic “Creation of the French” can be understood in combination with the stone carvings of seahors, auspicious beasts, birds, cranes and auspicious clouds discovered this time. This is also very important. Babaylan
Stone wall on the north bank of Zhouqiao – Post-production gold-tracing line version Photo provided by Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Tourism and Tourism
6. Deep archaeology research, connects history and reflects reality
At present, with the popularity of TV series such as “Menghualu”, “Qing Pingle”, and “Da Song Palace Ci”,The culture triggered by Song Feng and Song Yun is no different.
The archaeological achievements of Kaifeng Zhou Bridge and Bian River ruins, especially the huge stone murals of Zhou Bridge, are re-expected. They mark the astonishing height of Chinese civilization a thousand years ago in the form of “mutual verification of culture and objects”, and tell a contemporary archaeological story with “Chinese style”.
The greatest charm of archaeology lies in connecting history, reality and the future.
Northern Song Dynasty porcelain unearthed from the Zhouqiao site Photo provided by Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism
At present, scholars represented by Liu Qingzhu, former director of the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, are advocating in-depth research on Zhouqiao and the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty to explain the value of the national political etiquette and the form of Chinese civilization, connecting the dual historical veins of Yellow River culture and Grand Canal culture;
The Northern Song Dynasty ship lamp unearthed from the Zhouqiao site Photo provided by Kaifeng Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism
The leaders of archaeological work such as Liu Haiwang and Wang Sanying hope to achieve a new breakthrough in archaeology in the Northern Song Dynasty through the excavation of the Zhou Bridge; Wei Peishi is busy taking into account the “excavation, protection, planning, and display” and is running for the next step of building a national-level large ruins park integrating archaeological sites, archaeological museums, and cultural parks…
Citizens and tourists came to appreciate the Zhou Bridge, look at the murals, and send children to the newly established “public archaeological study demonstration base”, experience the simulation exploration method, enhance cultural confidence, and touch the history and culture of our nation with your own hands.
(For more news, please follow Yangcheng Pai pai.ycwb.com)
The original article was published in the A03 edition of “Yangcheng Evening News” November 1, 2022Cinema
Source | Yangcheng Evening News·Yangcheng School Editor | Lu Dejie Editor | Zhou Xinyi Proofreading | Gui Qing