It can be seen from the records in the book that Slender West Lake got its name in the early Qing Dynasty. It probably means that because its waterway is long and winding and it is located in the northwest of Yangzhou City, it is called "Slender West Lake".
In the first year of Qianlong's reign (1736), Wang Hang, a poet from Qiantang (Hangzhou), came to Yangzhou in admiration. After enjoying the beautiful scenery here, he compared it with the West Lake in his hometown and wrote a poem: "The weeping poplars are constantly falling." Connecting Canwu, the Yanzhihong Bridge is like a painting, so it should be called Slender West Lake."
The poem describes the scenery and prosperity of Slender West Lake. In the eyes of the poet, Yangzhou and Hangzhou. Similarly, the market is prosperous, so it is called "Golden Pot". By comparing it with Hangzhou West Lake, I believe that the name of Slender West Lake is indeed vivid and appropriate.
Extended information:
The story of Slender West Lake
Yangzhou Slender West Lake, formerly known as Baoan Lake. It is said that during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the salt industry in Yangzhou flourished. Due to the age of Slender West Lake, the center of the lake was silted up. Salt merchants invested in dredging and built many pavilions on the east and west banks. As a result, the scenery on the lake became Extraordinarily beautiful.
At that time, there were three richest salt merchants. They were arty and often went to the lake to play and entertain guests. In spring and February of this year, three salt merchants came to the lake for a small banquet at Fu Village. They drank while admiring the scenery of the lake. The big salt merchant was the oldest and had a lot of experience. He regarded himself as his eldest brother. After drinking a few glasses of wine, he said: "Our Baoan Lake is so beautiful. It is no worse than the West Lake in Hangzhou." , but it's a bit inappropriate to call it Bao'an Lake." The second salt merchant was accustomed to adapting to the wind. When the big salt merchant made this comment, he immediately joked: "Good advice, good advice, but there are many literati in Yangzhou. It's really a pity that people care about this matter."
The third salt merchant is a self-righteous person. He went on to say: "You need to give a name to a scholar? I think it will only make other people's ambitions worse. "Prestige. Come on, let the three of us think about it. If you don't believe it, we can't think of a good name."
The three of them stopped drinking and were all bowing their heads in thought. After a while, the big salt merchant spoke first. , he said: "Our Baoan Lake is to the west of Yangzhou City, why not call it 'West Lake', what do you two think?" The second salt merchant immediately agreed: "Wonderful, wonderful, change Baoan Lake to West Lake, that would be too Okay, great."
The third salt merchant glanced at the second salt merchant and said disapprovingly: "Both of you have been to Hangzhou. How big is the West Lake in Hangzhou! How can our lake be called this? What about West Lake? In my opinion, it’s better to call it ‘Little West Lake’.”
The big salt merchant shook his head and thought: The word “small” is half shorter than others, which is inappropriate. It was inappropriate, but he couldn't think of a good name, so he said: "'Little West Lake' needs to be considered. I think 'West Lake' can be used, as long as a suitable word is added in front of it."< /p>
On this word, the three of them were thinking hard again. After a while, the second salt merchant spoke. He said: "Although our West Lake is not as big as the West Lake in Hangzhou, it is also Its characteristic is that the lake is twists and turns and is more than 20 miles long. I think it is better to call it "Long West Lake".
The big and three salt merchants shook their heads and disagreed. There were a lot of names, such as "Golden West Lake", "Silver West Lake", "Green West Lake", "Blue West Lake", "Mei West Lake", etc., but none of them liked it. Only then did they feel that they had chosen the lake. A name is not that easy.
Coincidentally, there was a scholar sitting next to him who had been listening to their argument with interest, but just smiled and said nothing. When the big salt merchant saw it, he said: "Then. The person looking at us smiling is a scholar, why don't we ask him to give us a name. "
The scholar did not come over. He stood up and said: "I have heard all the three people's comments. I think this lake in Yangzhou is comparable to the West Lake in Hangzhou, but it is thin. In my opinion, it can be called 'Slender West Lake'. "
As soon as the three words "Slender West Lake" were uttered, the three salt merchants were so impressed that they repeatedly invited the scholar to sit down and drink. However, the scholar drifted away. From then on, the name of "Slender West Lake" The reputation spread.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Slender West Lake