When talking about covered bridges, people often think of the American movie "Covered Bridge" and the famous Madison County covered bridge "Pig's Back Bridge" in the movie. Indeed, this movie calls people's attention and love for the art of bridge architecture called "covered bridges". Since ancient times, "covered bridges" have a very long history and are widely used in the history of Chinese and foreign architecture and garden landscape design. Especially in our country, it has a history of about 2,000 years, and there are records of "covered bridges" as early as the Han Dynasty. Taishun, Zhejiang Province is also known as the "Hometown of Covered Bridges", with more than 200 ancient covered bridges existing. Taishun is a mountainous county in southern Zhejiang Province. In history, many celebrities and wise men migrated to Taishun, a "paradise" with undulating hills and inaccessible people, to avoid disasters. They created a local civilization with mountain pastoral characteristics and left behind incomparable legacy. Precious historical and cultural heritage. Taishun Covered Bridge is the most outstanding representative among them.
1. Overview of Taishun Covered Bridges
There are many private bridges in Taishun with various structural types. According to the "Taishun Traffic Chronicle", by the end of 1987, there were a total of 958 existing bridges in the county, with a total length of 16,829 meters, of which 476 were built before liberation and were 7,923 meters long. There are more than 30 covered bridges in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including wooden arcade bridges, wooden flat covered bridges and stone arcade bridges. Among them, there are 6 wooden arch bridges that occupy an important position in the history of world bridges, namely Sixi Sisters Bridge, Sankui Xuezhai Bridge, Xianju Bridge, Xiaocun Wenxing Bridge and Santiao Bridge.
The wooden arch bridge is made of shorter timbers that intersect vertically and horizontally, like a rainbow flying over a wide water surface. Its ingenious structure is amazing! In the 1970s, Mr. Mao Yisheng, a well-known bridge expert, organized scientists to conduct field inspections and comparative studies on laminated wooden arch bridges in southern Zhejiang. He determined that a large number of laminated wooden arch bridges remaining in the mountainous areas of southern Zhejiang were the Hongqiao structures that were popular in the Central Plains during the Northern Song Dynasty. The book "History of Ancient Bridge Technology in China" edited by Mao Yisheng records four wooden arch bridges in Taishun. Taishun Covered Bridge is world-famous because its structure is very similar to the Hong Bridge in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" painted by Zhang Zeduan in the Northern Song Dynasty. It uses beams interspersed and pressed to form an arch bridge, which looks like a rainbow, so it is named Hong Bridge. In the history of Chinese bridges, it has a very high status. It is one of the four ancient bridges in China along with Anji Bridge (Zhaozhou Bridge) in Zhao County, Hebei, Wan'an Bridge in Quanzhou, and Guangji Bridge in Haiyang County, Chaozhou. Three of the bridges are still preserved in the world, but the Bianshui Hong Bridge only remains in paintings. Now a covered bridge with a similar structure to the Hong Bridge has been discovered in Taishun, which has attracted worldwide attention.
2. Representatives of Taishun covered bridges
1. Beijian Bridge
Beijian Bridge, a stacked-beam wooden arch bridge, is located at Xiaqiao, Sixi Town village. It was first built in the 13th year of Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1674), built in the 8th year of Jiaqing reign (1803), and rebuilt in the 29th year of Daoguang reign (1849). The bridge is 51.7 meters long, 5.37 meters wide, and has a clear span of 29 meters. The Beijian Bridge across the Bei River has a reasonable overall structure and is as powerful as a rainbow. The bridge house has gray tiles and a red body, with flying eaves and animals. The ancient trees beside the bridge are shaded, and the two rivers meet under the bridge. Green mountains, clear water, rainbow bridges and ancient trees complement each other to form a charming landscape.
There are many commercial shops at Beijian Qiaotou, which is the business place for villagers. There used to be a stage on the east side of the bridge. According to local customs, at the beginning of the year, villagers go to Linshui Temple and Chen Daweng Palace to make wishes and pray to the gods for a good harvest and family reunion. At the end of the year, the vows were fulfilled, and the statues of Chen Shishi and Chen Dawen were carried to the stage at Beijian Bridge to watch the play. This event lasted four days.
The Beijian Bridge, which adopts a braided beam structure, is as majestic as a rainbow. The bridge house is also an important part carefully constructed by the covered bridge craftsmen. Building gallery houses on the arches functionally increases the pressure on the bridge arches and makes them more stable; it also plays a role in protecting against wind and rain. At the same time, the artistic treatment of various parts of the bridge house, such as the diversification of eaves forms and roof ridge decoration, increases the overall aesthetic effect of the bridge.
2. Xidong Bridge
Xidong Bridge, a stacked-beam wooden arch bridge, is located in Xiaqiao Village, Sixi Town. It was first built in the fourth year of Longqing's reign in the Ming Dynasty (1570). In the 10th year of Qianlong reign of Qing Dynasty (1745), the list was relisted. It was rebuilt in the seventh year of Daoguang reign (1827). The bridge is 41.7 meters long, 4.86 meters wide, and has a clear span of 25.7 meters. Xidong Bridge, which is in the Feng Shui mode of "general playing with lions", has "rainbow energy coming to the sky, shadows shaking the moon". There are 15 corridor houses built on the bridge arch, several of which are elevated into pavilions. The eaves and wings are flying, and the green dragon on the roof is circling around the ridge, which looks like it is swallowing clouds and spitting out mist.
Xidong Bridge is about one mile away from Beijian Bridge and is named after it crosses Dongxi River.
On the other side of the bridge is a distant mountain, and nearby are two higher peaks, one is Lion Peak and the other is General Peak. According to local people, the bridge and its surrounding environment are in the Feng Shui mode of "general amusing lions". Against the background of the distant mountains, Xidong Bridge is even more beautiful and light.
3. Santiao Bridge
Santiao Bridge is located on the junction stream of Zhouling Township and Longxi Township. It was named after the original three giant trees crossing the river. It was built on September 13th, the seventh year of Shaoxing (1137) in the Song Dynasty, and rebuilt in the 23rd year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty (1843). It is a stacked beam arch wooden corridor. bridge. It is 26.63 meters long, 4 meters wide, and 10 meters high from the water. It has 11 bridge houses, five pillars and beams in the open room, and butterfly-shaped lotus petal head arches on the capitals. The bridge has an earlier origin. According to Taishun's "Fenjiang Lu", old "Zhenguan" tiles from the Tang Dynasty were discovered during Daoguangjian's construction. It is the earliest bridge recorded in the county's literature. The bridge is exquisite, beautiful and has a long history. It was included in the "Achievements of Science and Technology in Ancient China" and promoted as a series of hundreds of patriotism education, showing the ingenuity of the working people of our county and the brilliant achievements of ancient bridge construction. In 1982, it was listed as the first batch of cultural relics protection units in Taishun County.
4. Xuezhai Bridge
Xuezhai Bridge, Sankui Town, is located in Xuenei Village, Sankui Town. It was built in the sixth year of Xianfeng (1856). It is a stacked beam arch wooden corridor bridge with a total length of 51 meters. meters, 5.1 meters wide, 29 meters in single span, 10.5 meters high from the water, with fifteen bridge houses built, a bridge head slope of 30 meters, a large arch slope, simple and unique shape, and majestic momentum. It is recorded in the "History of Chinese Bridges". In 1986, the Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau appropriated funds and raised funds from the public for reconstruction. In 1988, it was listed as the third batch of cultural relics protection units in Taishun County.
5. Yongqing Bridge
The Yongqing Bridge in Xiaxiping Village, Zhanzhou, Sankui Town, was built in the second year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1797), with a total length of 33 meters and a width of 33 meters. 4.5 meters high and 8 meters high from the water. It is an outrigger wooden covered bridge with bluestone masonry piers and two floors of cantilever beams that intersect at right angles. It is paved with sidewalk bridge boards and has 12 gallery houses. The open room is a two-story heavy bridge. The eaves pavilion has escalators inside, the roof has high wing angles, and the shape is elegant and simple. It is a beautiful ancient wooden corridor flat bridge in the county. In 1994, it was listed as the fourth batch of cultural relics protection units in Taishun County.
3. Development History of Taishun Corridor Bridge
Where did the Taishun braided beam wooden arcade bridge originate? For a long time, people have believed that China's braided-beam wooden arcade bridge originated from the Song Dynasty, so it seems natural to think of the Central Plains culture brought with it when a large number of people moved to Taishun during the Song Dynasty's migration to the south. In other words, the plaited-beam wooden arcade bridge appeared in Taishun after the Song Dynasty's Nandu craftsmen entered the mountains. This was a view that no one seemed to doubt for a long time. Is the development of Taishun Covered Bridge as inferred?
When studying Taishun Wooden Arcade Bridge, Santiao Bridge should not be forgotten. When Xia Suixiang, the former director of the Taishun Cultural Museum, was consulting the "Records of Fenjiang" more than ten years ago, he found records that Tang tiles were found when Santiao Bridge was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. Later, on the eaves of Santiao Bridge, Tang tiles dating from the "Shaoxing" period of the Song Dynasty were found. of tiles. The records of Tang tiles and the discovery of Song tiles provide valuable physical basis for studying the development history of Santiao Bridge.
If it is certain that "the history of Santiao Bridge originated in the Tang Dynasty", then was the Santiao Bridge in the Tang Dynasty a braided-beam wooden arcade bridge? Obviously, this cannot be answered in the affirmative. Zhang Jun, the current director of Taishun Cultural Museum, has been engaged in research on wooden arcade bridges for many years. Zhang Jun holds a completely different view on the idea that "southern braided-beam wooden arcade bridges were introduced from the north." Zhang Jun believes that the historical development of Taishun Wooden Arcade Bridge has a distinct history. When the Santiao Bridge was rebuilt during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, tiles bearing the Zhenguan reign name of the Tang Dynasty were found. In recent years, after on-the-spot investigation, tiles inscribed with the seventh year of Shaoxing in the Song Dynasty (1137) were discovered on the bridge. The ruins of the old bridge from the Tang and Song Dynasties were also discovered on the stone wall more than 10 meters upstream. Judging from the column hole structure of the site, it is similar to the wooden arch bridge structure of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Since last year, Shanghai Jiao Tong University mechanics expert Shen Weiping and Shanghai Jiao Tong University associate professor Liu Jie, who has been associated with Taishun in his early years, have made many in-depth inspections of Taishun. It was through their inspection of covered bridges with different structures that Investigate and look for the development context of Taishun Covered Bridge. After on-the-spot investigation and extensive verification, they believed that the Taishun wooden arcade bridge was not introduced from the north, but was a local product and the creation of local ancestors. Because at least in Taishun, there is a complete set of bridge types that have developed from beam bridges to wooden arcade bridges, and there is a complete development system, but such a complete development system is not found in the north. CCTV's "Discovery" column also traced the origin of the Taishun Wooden Arcade Bridge.
In October 2001, when the CCTV Science and Education Channel went to Taishun to film the feature film "Hongqiao Traces", they conducted a "root search" on the main surnames in Taishun. It was found that none of the surnames were moved from the northern Central Plains to Taishun when the Song Dynasty moved south. However, this is only the situation in Taishun, and it is not ruled out that other areas with wooden arcade bridges may have had northerners move in when the Song Dynasty moved south. Therefore, the statement that "Taishun's wooden arcade bridge was introduced from the north" is just a guess, while the assertion that "Taishun's wooden arcade bridge was created by local ancestors" has solid research basis. At the same time, bridge experts believe that due to frequent flash floods in the Taishun mountainous area, bridges with simple structures are easily washed away by water. The accumulation of long-term bridge building experience may also prompt local craftsmen to invent the Hongqiao structure. In addition, according to the investigation and research of experts, the Taishun Wooden Arcade Bridge is not a reproduction of the Bianshui Hong Bridge. As early as when Hongqiao appeared on the busy Bian River in Zhouji, the Taishun wooden arcade bridge like "Crescent Moon" may have been born for hundreds of years or even longer.
4. Taishun Covered Bridge Culture
The Taishun Covered Bridge has a long history. It embodies the hard work and sweat of the ancient working people, and also shines with the people's wisdom and creativity. The Taishun Covered Bridge is first-rate from both a scientific and artistic perspective. Its solidity has allowed it to remain firmly on the river for hundreds of years, and its beauty has fascinated countless tourists.
Take the famous Sixi Sister Bridge as an example. Xidong Bridge was built 434 years ago, and Beijian Bridge was built 329 years ago. The distance between the two bridges is only one mile. Although there is a difference of hundreds of years, it is said that both were built by masters and apprentices of Shangbiao Zhang in Jingning County. Both bridges use two-layer arch frames, (the upper arch frame uses "square-section arch bones, and the lower level uses circular nine-section arch bones). It is constructed with the mechanical principles of penetration, overlay, separation, support, support, and compression to form a stable structure. The arch toes at both ends of the bridge are respectively supported on the abutments on both sides. The abutments are stacked on the cliffs on both sides with granite. The arches at both ends of the bridge are also supported by triangular wooden frames to strengthen the lateral force. Weathered by wind and rain, both sides of the bridge were covered with red-painted wooden boards. This extremely delicate and ingenious structure made bridge experts believe that there was not even a single dummy wood among the many wooden beams. Each one had its own function. . The ancients used this principle of trigonometric mechanics to build covered bridges, so the main part did not require nails or tenon rivets. It seems very simple, but they have withstood the test of typhoons and flash floods for three to four hundred years and are still safe. This is where the greatest science lies. In addition, when the water is dry, the water averages of the two bridges are only a few meters apart. When flash floods occur, the three streams in the east, south and north converge in the middle of "Shangjiangyang". At this time, the water level is flat. It offsets the momentum of the flowing water, thus greatly reducing the risk of the bridge collapsing. This is also a reflection of the wisdom of the ancients. In terms of appearance, the Beijian Bridge is as imposing as a rainbow, with gray tiles and red body, flying eaves and animals. The ancient trees beside it and the two rivers meet under the bridge, and the green mountains, clear water, rainbow bridge and ancient trees complement each other, forming a charming landscape painting. There are 15 corridor houses, some of which are raised up into pavilions. The eaves and wings are flying, and the green dragons around the roof have the tendency of swallowing clouds and spitting mist. This magnificent momentum is a model of our Chinese national culture and is similar to that of the West. The covered bridges are completely different.
In addition, the culture of Taishun covered bridges is also reflected in its simple folk customs, such as Beijian Bridge. The evenly divided stalls can be imagined as a prosperous scene like Wuma Street in Wenzhou. A small shop street was formed at the end of the bridge. The ground floor was used as a shop and the second floor was for the owner to live. According to the local area, the rent was the most expensive. An old man said that puppet shows used to be performed at the bridge head of Beijian Bridge, while thousands of spectators gathered at the other end. There were usually shrines for villagers to worship in the covered bridges, and some were not located in the bridge houses, but on the side. Or facing Qiaotou Road. The objects of sacrifice include Buddhist missionaries such as Guanyin Bodhisattva, the door gods Shen Tu and Yu Lei, Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong, as well as the Heavenly Emperor Yi Bo Yuntian, and Emperor Wenchang and Bang who can bring good luck to scholars. Zhao Gongming, the God of Wealth who makes people rich, and some well-known local figures, such as Mrs. Chen Shisi, Ma Xiangu, King Zhonglie, etc. are also worshiped in the legend. Sacrifices can be performed on the first and fifteenth day of the month. The first month of each year is the most solemn time for sacrifices. Villagers gather from all over the bridge to pray, place a whole pig's head, add two plates of seasonal fruits, put in a few sticks of incense, and kowtow. Pray for blessings.
5. The status of Taishun covered bridge
The covered bridge is characterized by its practicality, appreciation and artistry. It not only functions as a river crossing, but also provides many Other functions include setting scenery, sightseeing, shelter from rain, enjoying the cool air, etc. There are also many uses and references for this in my country's classical garden design, such as the waterscape construction of many classical private gardens in the south of the Yangtze River. It gives us more enjoyment of beauty. It is no exaggeration to say that "Covered Bridge" is a treasure in the history of ancient architectural landscape design. Taishun is hailed as the "Hometown of Covered Bridges in the World" by world bridge experts because the ancient covered bridges here are among the best in the world in terms of quantity, preservation quality, construction history, and artistic value.
Taishun Covered Bridge has a long history and profound cultural heritage. Taishun’s ancient covered bridge craftsmen, who “cut huge trees on the mountain and built covered bridges at the foot of the mountain”, used rigorous craftsmanship and extraordinary wisdom to make bold innovations. Through continuous exploration and practice, we finally created a braided-beam wooden arch bridge with flying bridge and no columns, which changed the dilemma of "Linchuan disease" and gave people a sense of calmness and calmness when crossing the river.
References
"Covered Bridges in Wind and Rain"
"Special Topic of Covered Bridges - Overview of Covered Bridges"
"Mountain Cutting down huge trees to build a covered bridge under the mountain - the development trend of Taishun Covered Bridge"
"Don't let the covered bridge become a "wet dream""
"The world's unique Sixi Sisters Bridge" < /p>
"Exploring the Origin of the Development of Taishun Corridor Bridge"
"Taishun Wooden Arch Bridge: A Collection of Ten Thousand Customs"