Two rivers meet, and three towns stand side by side.
This is the Feng Shui of Wuhan. The confluence of the Yangtze River and the Han River washed out thousands of miles of fertile land in the Jianghan Plain, which became the cornerstone of the prosperity of the Chu State.
The three towns of Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang are like three beasts, with tigers and dragons sitting on the banks of the river, sitting back and watching the river go eastward.
Who is the leader among the three towns?
The first one to rise was Wuchang, the boss.
Why? Because Wuchang was of the noblest origin and once served as the imperial capital. Yes, you read that right, it is indeed the imperial capital.
In the Han Dynasty, this was the fiefdom of Fan Kuai, the fierce dog-slaughter general of Wuyang. With its geographical location on the thoroughfare, it gradually developed into a commercial center. At the end of the Han Dynasty, the heroes were divided, Wuchang was occupied by Sun Wu, and the late Emperor Wu Sun Hao moved the capital of Wu State from Jianye (Nanjing) to Wuchang.
As a result, the residents of the old imperial capital did not buy it and spread rumors one after another: "I would rather drink Jianye water than eat Wuchang fish; I would rather return to Jianye and die than live in Wuchang."
《 After "The Capital was Moved to Wuchang" recorded in "The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms: Wu Shu", scholar-bureaucrats also wrote letters one after another saying: "The land of Wuchang is really dangerous, and it is not a place where the royal capital can secure the country and raise the people. The boats will sink and drift, and the mausoleums will be dangerous. ”
Actually, these are all alarmist claims.
Wuchang also rose first because of its political and military status. The situation in Wuchang is dangerous, easy to defend but difficult to attack. If Wu State continues to insist on making Wuchang its capital, it may not be so easy to perish.
Because of this period of history, "not eating Wuchang fish" has become famous all over the world as a moral integrity. However, the reputation of Wuchang fish has also spread. "Wuchang County Chronicles" records: "The water is swirling in this place, and there is no deep pool." At the bottom, fishermen set up a fishing reel to catch it, and the fish tastes delicious. "This fish likes to swim against the current, so the meat is delicious.
The second one to rise is the second brother Hanyang.
"The Qingchuan is full of Hanyang trees, and the fragrant grass is luxuriant and the Parrot Island" is a familiar Tang poem that describes the scenery of Hanyang.
Hanyang also rose to prominence during the Tang Dynasty. With the reunification of the north and the south, the trade between Jiangnan and Sichuan became increasingly close. Hanyang gradually surpassed Wuchang economically because of its port location "on the right bank of the river, with the ship Guan Pu".
Li Bai's "Gift to the Governor Wei of Jiangxia" "Ten thousand ships came here and even sailed across Yangzhou". Countless merchant ships passed by here, heading east to Yangzhou. Luo Yin's poem "Recalling Xiakou" said: "Under the Hanyang City "Many restaurants." led to the prosperity of Hanyang's business.
In the Song Dynasty, Lu You set out from Hangzhou and went up the Yangtze River to Chengdu, passing by Hanyang. He recorded that "the cities and towns here are prosperous and complex, and there are many cities outside the city. If you can't pass it, it will be a big city" ("Entering Shu"). It is said that this place is more prosperous than the capitals of the Song Dynasty, Hangzhou and Nanjing. This is not just a first-tier city, it can be called the first city in the Song Dynasty.
Until the Yuan Dynasty, Hanyang was still the leader of the three towns in Wuhan. Yu Que's "Ascend the Taiping Temple" still said that "Jia Ke sailed out of Hanyang".
The third one to rise is the younger brother Hankou!
Hankou has been waiting for too long!
A flood in the Ming Dynasty caused Hankou to counterattack.
The "General Chronicles of Huguang" of the Ming Dynasty recorded: "At the beginning of Chenghua, the Han River suddenly opened directly under the discharge of the sand and above the Guoshikou, about ten miles long. The path of the Han River came down from here, and the ancient road became silted up. ”
During the Chenghua period, the Han River suddenly changed its course and merged into the Yangtze River from Hankou. The old river channel was blocked. Therefore, Hankou naturally became a new power.
From then on, Hankou faces the Yangtze River in the east, goes directly to Wuyue in the south of the Yangtze River in the east, connects to the Han River in the south, goes to Dongting and Lian Xiaoxiang in the south, sails to the west, goes to Shu via the Three Gorges, and goes north to the Central Plains. , thus becoming the largest water transport hub in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
Hankou also became one of the first-tier cities in the Ming Dynasty, and the people of Hankou even believed that they were the best in the world. "Today's prosperity is in the world. Fuhan Town is neither a city nor a county, but has a population of tens of miles, thousands of businesses, dozens of shops, tens of millions of ships, and all the famous towns in Kyushu have concessions Yan." ("Hanyang Prefecture Chronicles")
It means that Hankou is not the capital or a grand event, but it is the number one economically. All major cities in the country are not as developed as us.
Isn’t this the spicy taste of Hankou duck neck?
It is said that until the Qing Dynasty, foreign businessmen still called Hankou "Oriental Chicago".
This is the history of the three towns in Wuhan. One after another, it lasts for thousands of years.
Mr. Yi Zhongtian commented in "City Reading": "The people of Wuhan also have the best qualities of east, west, north and south in terms of physique and character. They are taller than people from the south, smaller than people from the north, tougher than people from Chengdu, and more powerful than people from Chengdu. People from Shanghai are more upright, better at being an official than people from Guangdong, better at doing business than people from Shandong, better at writing than people from Hebei, and better at fighting than people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. A person is nourished by the soil and water. This may be related to the history of the three towns in Wuhan.