Luoyang Bridge, formerly known as "Wan 'an Bridge". Cai Xiang, a native of Putian, Quanzhou, presided over the bridge construction project in the Northern Song Dynasty. From the fifth year of Emperor Yangdi (A.D. 1053) to the fourth year of Jiayou (A.D. 1059), it took seven years before and after, and it cost14 million yuan to build this big stone bridge across the river and the sea. According to historical records, when the bridge was first built, it was 360 feet long and 10 feet wide, with samurai statues separated on both sides. The bridge construction project is famous for its huge scale and superb structural technology. Luoyang bridge map
Since the bridge was built more than 900 years ago, it has been repaired 17 times. Overhauls included the eighth year of Song Shaoxing (A.D. 1 138), hurricanes and bridge failures. Keep Zhao Sicheng less; In the Ming Dynasty, the site of Xuande Bridge (Fair 1426- 1435) sank, the tide came and the bridge disappeared. Feng Ke, the magistrate, ordered Li Junyu (Wu Li) of the county to raise Zheng Chun by three feet; In the thirty-second year of Wanli (AD 1597), a major earthquake occurred, the bridge collapsed, the foundation site was sunken, and the magistrate Jiang Zhili repaired it; In the autumn of the eighth year of Yongzheng in Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1730), the bridge collapsed and was restored by Gong Zhiqi. In the 20th year of the Republic of China (A.D. 1932), Commander Cai Tingkai rebuilt it as a reinforced concrete highway bridge, and the bridge deck was 2 meters higher. War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period was severely damaged; From March 1993 to June 1996, the state allocated more than 6 million yuan for the protection and restoration of Luoyang Bridge. At present, the bridge is 742.29 meters long, 4.5 meters wide and 7.3 meters high, with 44 piers, 645 handrails, 104 stone lions, 1 stone pavilion and 7 stone pagodas.
There are many stone carvings in the past dynasties near Qiaozhongting, including those in the Song Dynasty such as An Lan through the ages. There are Zhao Hui Temple and Town Temple in the north of the bridge; There is Caixiang Temple in the south of the bridge, and the famous Song tablet of Caixiang Wan 'an Bridge stands in the temple, which is known as the "three wonders" of calligraphy, writing and sculpture.
The construction of Luoyang Bridge is a great contribution to bridge science in the world. At that time, the Luoyang River was turbulent, "five miles wide" and "unfathomable", and the bridge foundation was destroyed. Bridge builders created a new type of bridge foundation-mat foundation, which was not known until modern times. It is to throw man-made stones along the central axis of the bridge to form a low stone embankment connecting the bottom of the river, and then build boat-shaped piers on it. At the same time, the wonderful method of "breaking the waves and lifting the beam" was adopted to frame the slate weighing several tons on the bridge deck. They also cultivated a large number of oysters under the bridge, and glued the foundation stone and pier stone into a solid whole. This is the most ingenious method of "planting oysters to consolidate the foundation" in the history of bridge building, and it is also the pioneering work of applying biology to bridge engineering in the world. The completion of Luoyang Bridge not only turned the natural moat of Luoyang River into a thoroughfare, but also played a great role in the communication between the north and the south and the development of overseas traffic in Quanzhou, greatly accelerating the development of Quanzhou.
Quanzhou is a famous historical and cultural city with a history of 1700 years. As early as the Tang and Song Dynasties, Quanzhou was known as an important trading port in the East. Businessmen, scholars and missionaries from all over the world flocked to Quanzhou, leaving many extremely precious historical and religious relics and classical buildings. There are seven religions in Quanzhou, namely Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, Brahmanism and Manichaeism, which are extremely rare in the world. Therefore, Quanzhou is known as a religious museum, and Quanzhou is also the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, which proves the economic development and social prosperity of Quanzhou Port at that time.
Brief introduction of Luoyang Bridge, a great ancient building in Quanzhou;
Luoyang Bridge Luoyang Bridge is located in the east of Quanzhou, 13 km, and is a national key cultural relics protection unit. It, together with Lugou Bridge in Beijing, Zhao Zhouqiao Bridge in Hebei and Guangji Bridge in Guangdong, is called the four famous bridges in ancient China. It was the only way for Guangdong and Fujian to enter Beijing at that time. Luoyang Bridge should be in Luoyang, Henan. Why is this bridge called Luoyang Bridge? According to relevant records, as early as before the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were Yue people living in Quanzhou. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, due to social unrest, wars broke out from time to time, which led to a large number of Central Plains people moving south. Many people moved to Quanzhou and Minnan, including Henan people, Hehe people and Luoshui people. Now the language family used in Quanzhou and even the whole southern Fujian is called Heluo, and now it is called Minnan. These Zhongyuan people, who brought advanced and developed agricultural technology and experience from the Central Plains, guided the local people in reclamation and development. They came to Quanzhou and saw that the mountains and rivers here were very similar to the ancient capital Luoyang, so they named this place Luoyang, hence the name of this bridge.
At that time, Luoyang River was "five miles wide and the waves were rolling". People can only make the transition by ferry. Whenever there are strong winds and tides, people and ships often fall into the river. Therefore, in order to pray for a safe transition, the shipowner called this ferry "Wan 'an Ferry" and the bridge "Wan 'an Bridge". According to "Quanzhou County Records", Laowan 'an Ferry was a pontoon bridge built by Li Chong, a magistrate of a county in the early Northern Song Dynasty, and was later converted into a stone bridge by Cai Xiang, a magistrate of a county. Luoyang Bridge was built in April of the fifth year of Northern Song Dynasty to December of the fourth year of Jiayou, that is, 1053 to 1059. It took six years and eight months and cost more than 14 thousand taels of silver. Luoyang Bridge is 1.200m long and 5m wide, with 46 piers, 28 stone lions supported by 500 stone carvings on both sides, and 7 pavilions and 9 towers dotted among them. Samurai statues are separated at both ends, and 700 pine trees are planted on the north and south sides of the bridge. The pine tree behind us was left over from that year and has a history of more than 900 years.
Cai Xiang, a native of Putian, Quanzhou, presided over the construction of Luoyang Bridge. According to legend, Cai Xiang is satellites. He was smart and knowledgeable since he was a child, and he was the top student in high school at the age of eighteen. So he was an official in this dynasty, but he was taught by his mother to build bridges for the county people and solve problems for the people. Therefore, he quickly applied to return to the government and served as an official in the court. He was the chief of Spring. After he returned to Quanzhou, he worried about the deep waves of Luoyang River and the difficulties in building the bridge foundation day and night. One day, he suddenly dreamed that Master Guanyin instructed him to send someone to the Sea Dragon King for help. Cai Xiang was very surprised when he woke up, so he wrote a letter of help to Poseidon and asked his officials, "Who went to sea?" An official immediately replied: "Young Xia Dehai!" It turned out that this man's surname was Xia Dehai, and he mistakenly thought that his master called him and answered it casually. So he sent him to Poseidon to deliver official documents. Xia Dehai knew that there was no return, so he said goodbye to his wife, bought a pot of wine, and lay on the beach drunk, hoping that the tide would take it away. But when he woke up, the yellow briefcase turned red. He hurried back to Cai Xiang, opened it and saw a word "vinegar" written on it. Cai Xiang thought hard, finally realized the inspiration of the Sea Dragon King, and started construction on the 21st of that month. Sure enough, the tide ebbed at this time, and there was no high tide for three days and three nights, and the bridge foundation was finally successfully built. However, due to the limited funds at that time, the height of the bridge was not enough, and the bridge deck was often flooded during floods. Therefore, it was later said that Wu Li, a wealthy businessman of quanzhou county People's Congress, donated three feet for the bridge. Wu Li, a wealthy businessman in Quanzhou, was falsely accused by a villain for extravagance and was arrested in Beijing for no reason. When his prison car crossed Luoyang Bridge, the road was flooded. He finally crossed the bridge, so he swore to heaven that if he could return to his hometown safely, he must raise Luoyang Bridge by three feet. Sure enough, three years later, he went home smoothly, so he invested to raise the bridge by three feet. Of course, the Luoyang Bridge we see now has been repaired. The last repair was 1938, when Cai Tingkai led the 19th Route Army through Quanzhou.
Let's introduce the architectural features of Luoyang Bridge. As early as the Northern Song Dynasty, our ancestors created a new bridge foundation-mat foundation with amazing perseverance and infinite wisdom, which was not known until modern times. The so-called raft foundation is to throw a large number of stones along the underwater bottom of the bridge axis to form a low stone embankment connecting the river bottom as the bridge foundation, and then build piers on it. This construction method is a great contribution to bridge-building science in China and even the world. In order to strengthen the bridge foundation, a large number of oysters are cultivated under the bridge, and the characteristics of strong adhesion and rapid reproduction of oyster shells are skillfully used to firmly bond the bridge foundation and pier into a whole. This is an ingenious "oyster planting method" in the history of bridge building in the world, and it is also the first precedent for applying biology to bridge engineering in the world. At that time, there was no modern lifting equipment, so the "floating beam erection method" was adopted, and the big slab of the bridge deck was erected by the ups and downs of the sea, which showed the extraordinary wisdom of our ancestors in bridge building. The boat-shaped wharf is also quite distinctive, which is conducive to water diversion. Luoyang Bridge successfully built the first large stone bridge in China, which is a great pioneering work in the history of ancient bridge construction in China. Professor Mao Yisheng, a famous bridge expert in China, praised it as "Luoyang Bridge is the first bridge in Fujian".
Caixiang Temple: It was built in the Song Dynasty and has been repaired in all previous dynasties. The existing buildings were built in the Qing Dynasty. In the center of the ancestral hall is the statue of Cai Xiang, and in the pavilion is the inscription "Wan 'an Bridge", which is called the "Three Musts" monument. The article is concise, with the words 153, it records the time, year, length and width of the bridge, the amount spent and the people involved. Beautiful calligraphy and exquisite carving. This monument adds a lot of luster to Luoyang Bridge. This inscription was written by Cai Xiang from a book. Cai Xiang, named Mo Jun, was a wandering fairy, who served as the prefecture magistrate twice. He was one of the "Four Great Calligraphers" in Song Dynasty. His life left many outstanding works for later generations, except the famous Wan 'an Bridge and Zhou Jintang, which was hidden in Gong Wei Temple in Anyang, Henan. Fuzhou Gushan "Forget the Old Stone" and other inscriptions. In addition, he has a large number of paper books in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. These works all reflect his absorption of the essence of excellent calligraphy in the past. An ancient book, Storytelling, said, "Those who catch up with their predecessors are ignorant of books." High talent, deep knowledge, heart-to-heart correspondence, endless changes, so it is the first of its kind. Cai Xiang's calligraphy is full of artistic power because it has widely accepted the advantages of predecessors.
Cai Xiang's calligraphy works show an atmosphere of literati at that time. He followed the example of Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing and others, and pursued the perfect realm of taking the law, detachment and refinement, reaching the realm of appealing to both refined and popular tastes. This kind of state can often arouse readers' * *, and get promoted while enjoying it. Cai Xiang's calligraphy is created on the basis of inheriting predecessors, not repeating, thus forming a new calligraphy pattern. Learning from the ancients and inheriting the predecessors, Cai Shu has a new aesthetic value, and his calligraphy works will remain in the history of calligraphy forever.