The origin of several alleys in Anding District of Dingxi
Dingxicheng is located on the western border of Yugong, Jiuzhou and Yongzhou. It was a military land in ancient times, so it was opened relatively late. By the fifth year of Xining, Shenzong of the Song Dynasty (1072), because this generation was on the edge of the Song Dynasty and Xixia, and was often harassed by the Xixia people, the Tongyuan Army was established and Nuzha Fort was used as the western city to prevent Xixia invasion.
In the fifth year of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty (1082), Li Xian, the commander-in-chief of the Seventh Army of Xihe Dajing, requested that the west of Nuzha Fort belong to the Tongyuan Army. Li Xian built it for military needs. Nuzha Fort, this is now Dingxi City. Dingxicheng is located at the intersection of the East and West rivers, at the intersection of the East, West and North roads. It rose because of its military, political and geographical advantages. In ancient times, Xicheng was divided into two parts: Song City and Ming City. Song City was called Dacheng; Ming City was called Guancheng. Combined with the inner and outer cities, it looks like a phoenix spreading its wings, so Dingxi City is also called Phoenix City.
Dingxi, Longzhong, is an ancient city with a long history. In the Western Xia Dynasty, it was called Xicheng. In August Ding Chou (23rd) of the fourth year of Yuanfeng in the Song Dynasty, Li Xian took charge of the seven armies to recover. In October of the same year, Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty named him Dingxi. It has a history of probably more than a thousand years.
In this small town on the important passage of the Silk Road, the lanes named after them include Datong Lane, Wenchang Lane, Zhonghe Lane, Shuimen Lane, Shitou Lane, Xu Gong Lane, Baiye Lane, and Yanshou Lane. There are several place names such as Nancang Lane, Chongfu Lane and so on. Most of them have an extraordinary ancient historical origin.
Datong Lane, located on the east side of today's Xiguan Primary School in Anding District, runs north-south and is about 200 meters long. It is also called Huihuixiang, named after the place where the Hui people lived before Tongzhi seven years ago in the Qing Dynasty. According to Wang Futang's "Anding County Local Chronicles": "There are fifty Hui households living outside the west gate of this city." Treat the obstruction in this lane together. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, business travelers traveling from south to north did not enter the county town. They went directly to Lanzhou via the south gate and Huihui Lane from Fendaokou. The road was smooth and unobstructed, so it was named Datong. Also taken from the "Book of Rites: Liyun" preached by Confucianism: "In the journey of the great road, the world is for the common good. ... The old will have their end, the strong will have their uses, the young will have their own growth, the few, the lonely, the disabled and the sick will all have their support. ...It’s called Datong.”
Wenchang Lane, on the north side of East Street. It runs east-west and is connected to Shuimen Lane in the east, Shitou Lane in the south, and the west entrance leads to North Street. Wang Zuoshu in the lane became a Jinshi in Tongzhi Jiaxu (1874) of the Qing Dynasty, and his son Wang Futang was a tribute in Guangxu Dingyou (1897). He was named because of his prosperous literary style.
Zhonghe Lane was originally located in Shaojiakeng and is now O'Kang Homestead. Decades ago, there was a road at the original west end that could still lead to South Street. It was called Zhonghe Street in the Ming Dynasty. As the name suggests, Shuimen Lane is named after the shallow drainage gate in the nearby lane. When Du Rang, the orthodox magistrate of Zhongxian County in the Ming Dynasty, expanded the county seat, he dug a square water gate hole under the city wall about 70 to 80 meters west of the east city gate for drainage in the city during the rainy season. A hundred years later, during the Wanli period, "it was better to go out on the side of the water gate, but now it is more of a barrier." This is supported by the water gate map drawn in the "Wanli Newly Revised Anding County Chronicle". Stone Lane is located between the current Dingxi City Eryuan Family Courtyard and the Anding District Cultural Center. It connects to East Street in the south and Wenchang Lane in the north. Since the Ming Dynasty, the water in a city flows through this lane and then flows out through Shuimen Lane. In order to prevent rainwater from washing away, the lanes are all paved with stones, hence the name. On the south side of the middle section of East Street, the short, curved and irregular lanes are likened to a cow's stomach, hence the name Baiye. It was named after Peng Chucheng when he was the county magistrate during the Republic of China.
On the south side of East Street in the county seat, adjacent to Baiye Lane, is Nantai Lane. Nantai is also called Yushitai. According to "Tongdian·Zhiguan·Yushitai": "Since the Later Han Dynasty, it has been called Yushitai,... Liang, Later Wei, Northern Qi, or Nantai." Therefore, Liu Xian, the Yushi official, appeared in the lane in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. And named. Nanchang Lane is on the east side of South Street and runs east-west. The military warehouse of the Eighth War Zone of the Kuomintang was built here in the 26th year of the Republic of China. The granary was named after it was located at the south gate of the city.
Chongfu Lane is on the south side of Nancang Lane in Nanguan of the county. The lane runs east-west and is nearly 200 meters long. It is now collectively called South Street. There was originally a temple in the alley facing east to west. In the 12th year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty (1447), Master Wu Mao went to Beijing to ask Yingzong Zhu Qizhen to grant the temple a gold plaque with the words "Chongfu Temple", which was named after the meaning of worshiping Buddha and gaining blessings.
Yulin Lane is on the north side of South County Street, with a length of about 200 meters. In the alley, there is an ancient elm tree planted in the late Ming Dynasty in the courtyard named Zhang. The main trunk is about 4 meters high, the total height is about 9 meters, the circumference is 4·30 meters, and the canopy originally covers an area of ??20 square meters. According to legend, after a rain during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a puff of green smoke around the elm tree that lingered for a long time. The local folks said that the elm tree appeared, and it was called Yulin Lane from then on. Later, someone built a Yuye Temple in Sanyuan to worship. The temple was demolished in 1956, and the original name was Yuling. Due to superstition, the alley was named after the homonym of Yulin. Outside the west gate of the county, it is also known as Qinjia Lane. According to the county annals compiled by Guo Jiesan, "The business house is connected to West Main Road, also known as Zhenlong Lane." The former site of the barracks before liberation is now Dingxi Middle School. This road runs east to west. The west end of the Xihe River runs along the east bank. In the fourth year of Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the Dragon King Temple was built to control floods, hence the name. Another saying is that the south mountain of the county is named Nan'an Mountain and Zhenlong Mountain. The north-south lane under the mountain is named after the mountain and is also called Zhenlong Lane. Yun Yingji in the Ming Dynasty once wrote that "Nan'an is as proud as a dragon's head, and the county government is standing in front of it."
Located in the lane to the north of Dacheng Primary School is the famous Yanshou Station, one of the four major stations in Anding County. In the early 1950s, the lanes were still wide and straight. Later, as the number of residents increased, the roads became narrow and winding. The old name of Mazhan Lane is the Chinese name of "Zhanchi" in the Mongolian language, and there is a drinking pool for official horses.
From the Yuan Dynasty to the 23rd year of the Yuan Dynasty (1286), post stations were already established here, as well as in Tong'an, Xigong and Chenggou. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was called Yanshou Post, Gou Post to the west, Xigong Post to the east, and Tong'an Post to the south. During the Shunzhi period, Yanshouyi had 42 horses and 23 husbands, and the annual silver allocation was 1,232 taels, 9 coins and 2 cents. The name of the post station is to prolong life and longevity; or it means that the post station has been long-lasting since the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, Yanshouyi was also known as the plaque platform. Because there were many talented people with the surname Ma in the alley, some of them had won martial arts, and there were several plaques hanging in their homes, hence the name.
Xugong Lane is near Dingxi Bus Station. It was named in memory of Xu Jue. Xu Jue (1614-1671), whose courtesy name was Tianyu and whose nickname was Tiantang, was born in Houguan County, Shenzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province (it was merged into Minhou County in the Republic of China). In the fourth year of Kangxi's reign (1665), he was selected as the magistrate of Anding County. He loved the people and benefited the government. After his death, he was buried at the foot of the east mountain of the county seat. Later, due to the reconstruction of National Highway 310, his tomb was passed by, and his coffin was moved to a new tomb on the platform at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain on August 16, 1998. In the 28th year of Daoguang reign (1848), Hu Jiankui, the magistrate of the county, built a main hall with three couplets, verandahs, and walls in the eastern suburbs of the county (100 meters west of the southern end of today's bus station), set up Xu Gong Temple, and raised funds to purchase 40 acres of sacrificial land. At that time, Zhang Xianghe (1785-1862), minister of the Ministry of Industry and calligrapher and painter, once wrote a couplet in Xu Gong's ancestral hall: "The voice of the old iron official is high in Longban, and the poems of Shuangsong are wonderful in the ocean." The current address of Xu Gong Lane is from the entrance adjacent to the original Xu Gong Temple, to the south exit of the bus station, and then from the entrance opposite the bus station to the railway. Cross the railway and go forward to the original Xu Cemetery. These two sections of laneway are about 500 meters long and house more than 100 households. They are unique and commemorative residential areas in Dingxi County named after historical celebrities.
Through the vicissitudes of life and more than a thousand years of ups and downs, the ancient lanes of Dingxi have left behind endless stories that people will remember. Lower your head and hide the withered bones in the weeds, and listen to the ghosts crying in the sky.
Dingxicheng is an ancient battlefield with a radius of hundreds of miles. It’s hard to guess who is buried three feet underground. There is a general's tomb on the right, and an ancient battle fortress on the left. The armor has long been cold, there are no ashes from the campfire, and there is no yellow sand in the sky. You can only hear the horn blowing in the distance!