運(yùn)河兩岸：赴一場(chǎng)千年之約

文／肖寒

○臺(tái)兒莊古城內(nèi)遍布水街水巷，可以舟楫搖曳、遍游全城。圖為古城內(nèi)的步云廊橋。圖／高啟民In the Old Town of Taierzhuang, there are water streets and alleys everywhere. Visitors may take a boat to travel around the town. The picture depicts the Buyun Gallery Bridge in Taierzhuang.

公元前486年，吳王夫差為爭(zhēng)霸中原，以水路溝通江淮，下令“開(kāi)邗溝，筑邗城”，從此開(kāi)啟了大運(yùn)河2500年的航程。

作為世界上最長(zhǎng)、最古老的人工水道，京杭大運(yùn)河全長(zhǎng)1797公里，像一條縱貫?zāi)媳钡拇髣?dòng)脈，也緩緩流淌過(guò)齊魯大地。如今，在運(yùn)河兩岸那些煙雨中的樓臺(tái)、清晰可識(shí)的古跡、復(fù)始的駁船……一切都恍如隔世。站在古運(yùn)河的堤岸上，恰如赴一場(chǎng)跨越千年的約見(jiàn)。

山東境內(nèi)之運(yùn)河全長(zhǎng)510.6公里，是京杭大運(yùn)河中海拔最高、船閘密度最大、水利工程成就最集中的河段。先是由北南下至德州，京杭大運(yùn)河德州段從德州市區(qū)及武城、夏津境內(nèi)穿過(guò)，造就了諸多令人贊嘆的古跡。細(xì)數(shù)之來(lái)，四女寺鎮(zhèn)尤為惹眼，因漢朝“四女孝親”的故事傳說(shuō)而聞名，是當(dāng)時(shí)衛(wèi)運(yùn)河上的重要碼頭，常年商賈云集，繁華非常。

由運(yùn)河乘船順流南下，便是著名的“江北水城”——聊城。全長(zhǎng)97.5公里的大運(yùn)河聊城段，不僅帶動(dòng)了聊城經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展，還在這片沃土上積淀下豐厚的運(yùn)河文化遺產(chǎn)。登上位于聊城舊城中央的光岳樓之頂，水城之美便盡收眼底。風(fēng)光秀麗的東昌湖環(huán)繞聊城古城一周，為這座城市增加了靈氣，一座座青磚灰瓦小院勾劃出了平和安靜的寧祥與質(zhì)樸之美。

而位于聊城東關(guān)古運(yùn)河西岸的山陜會(huì)館卻是由繁榮的舊時(shí)造就而出的奇跡。清乾隆年間，京杭大運(yùn)河漕運(yùn)暢通，聊城的商業(yè)尤為繁盛，于是山、陜商人便于公元1743年造建了山陜會(huì)館，作為其商賈集會(huì)宴游與奉祀關(guān)帝的處所。

“南有蘇杭，北有臨張”，這是人們對(duì)京杭大運(yùn)河沿岸四處著名商埠的表述，而其中的“臨”即為山東臨清。大運(yùn)河造就了古代臨清的富庶繁榮，至今仍保持著舊有城市的繁華肌理，運(yùn)河鈔關(guān)、鰲頭磯、清真寺等是彌足珍貴的運(yùn)河文化遺存。

京杭大運(yùn)河泰安東平段，是整個(gè)京杭大運(yùn)河的心臟所在，而之所以稱(chēng)之為心臟是因?yàn)檫@里的一座入選世界文化遺產(chǎn)的“戴村壩”。戴村壩距今已有600年的歷史，是整個(gè)大運(yùn)河提供調(diào)水的重要水利設(shè)施，有“中國(guó)第二都江堰”之稱(chēng)。

順流而下，古老的濟(jì)寧運(yùn)河段區(qū)幾經(jīng)整修，皆用青石壘砌，別具一番詩(shī)情畫(huà)意。大運(yùn)河水滋潤(rùn)著悠悠的微山湖，也擁抱著南陽(yáng)古鎮(zhèn)。元代南北大運(yùn)河通航后，皇帝走水路南巡必經(jīng)南陽(yáng)并在此停居。穿行在運(yùn)河商埠之地的街巷中，似乎也穿越了歷史。

作為京杭大運(yùn)河唯一一段東西走向的航道，棗莊段運(yùn)河從微山湖煙波浩淼的東口，蜿蜒向東流經(jīng)魯南大地進(jìn)入江蘇入中運(yùn)河，造就了十里港灣不夜城。這個(gè)城市的臺(tái)兒莊古城擁有運(yùn)河上保存完整的遺產(chǎn)體系——3公里長(zhǎng)的古運(yùn)河河道，被稱(chēng)為“活著的運(yùn)河”。作為運(yùn)河文化的承載體，臺(tái)兒莊古城也是二戰(zhàn)遺存最多的抗戰(zhàn)名城。江北水鄉(xiāng)，運(yùn)河古城，英雄臺(tái)兒莊這些塵封的印記，喚醒著這座城市對(duì)世界文化遺產(chǎn)的保護(hù)和傳承。

編輯/王雪芃

○大運(yùn)河穿鎮(zhèn)而過(guò)為南陽(yáng)古鎮(zhèn)的街面造就了獨(dú)特的景觀。圖／何康The Grand Canal flows through the town and forms the unique scene for the street of Nanyang ancient town.

○古時(shí)的四女寺鎮(zhèn)是京杭大運(yùn)河德州段重要的碼頭，常年商賈云集。圖／武城縣文體廣電新聞出版局提供In the ancient times, Sinusi Town was an important wharf in the Dezhou section of the Grand Canal, where merchants gathered throughout the year.

In 486 BC, King Fuchai of Wu ordered his men to “open up the Hangou Canal and build the Han City” to connect the Yangtze River with the Huai River, for the purpose of achieving hegemony in the Central Plains, and thus started the 2500-year voyage of the Grand Canal.

As the world’s longest and oldest artificial watercourse, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has an overall length of 1,797km. Like a main artery of communications between north and south, it slowly flows through Shandong. Nowadays, the buildings in the misty rain, the clearly visible historical sites, the boats moving in circles, and the like on both banks of the Grand Canal seem not to have changed much. Standing on the embankment of the Grand Canal, you may feel as if keeping an appointment across the millennia.

W i t h a n o v e r a l l l e n g t h o f 510.6km, the Shandong section of the Grand Canal is the section with the highest elevation, the largest navigation lock density and the most centralized achievements in hydraulic engineering. It first flows to Dezhou from north to south. The Dezhou section flowing through the urban area of Dezhou, Wucheng and Xiajin has created numerous amazing historical sites. Among them, Sinushi Town is particularly conspicuous.Famous for the legend of “Four Daughters with Filial Piety”, it was an important wharf on the Wei Canal.With many merchants gathering here throughout the year, it was fairly prosperous.

○臺(tái)兒莊保存完好的3公里明清時(shí)期古運(yùn)河遺跡。圖／高啟民The well-preserved 3km ancient canal of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Taierzhuang.

After going downstream by ship on the canal, you will reach the famous “Jiangbei Watertown” –Liaocheng. With an overall length of 97.5km, the Liaocheng section has not only promoted the economic development of Liaocheng, but also accumulated rich canal heritage on the fertile land. Ascending the top of Guangyue Tower in the center of the Old Town of Liaocheng, you will have a panoramic view of the beauty of the Watertown. The Old Town of Liaocheng is surrounded by the beautiful Dongchang Lake, which adds spirituality to this city. Those courtyards made of black bricks and grey tiles outline tranquility and the beauty of simplicity.

The Shanxi-Shaanxi Guildhall located on the west bank of the Dongguan Ancient Canal of Liaocheng is a miracle created by the past prosperity. In the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty, the Grand Canal enjoyed unimpeded transportation,and the business of Liaocheng was particularly thriving. Thus, in 1743,the Shanxi and Shaanxi merchants built the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guildhall as a place for gatherings and banquets of merchants and worship of Guan Yu.

“In the south, there is Suzhou and Hangzhou; in the north, there is Linqing and Zhangqiu.” It represents four famous commercial ports along the Grand Canal. Among them,“Lin” refers to Linqing, Shandong.The Grand Canal contributed to the aff l uence and prosperity of Linqing in ancient times. Today, it still maintains its original thriving texture. The Canal Customs Post, Aotouji, Mosque, and so forth are precious remains of the canal culture.

The Dongping section in Tai’an is the heart of the Grand Canal, because there is “Dai Village Dam” which is included in the list of world cultural heritage. With a history of 600 years,Dai Village Dam is an important water conservancy facility for providing water diversion on the Grand Canal,known as the “Second Dujiangyan of China”.

Flowing downstream, the ancient Jining section has been renovated with limestone several times. It appears poetic and picturesque. The canal water nourishes the Weishan Lake, and embraces the Old Town of Nanyang. After the North-South Grand Canal was opened to navigation in the Yuan Dynasty, Nanyang became an essential stop on the emperor’s southern tour by water, and the emperor often stayed in Nanyang for some days. Walking down the streets and alleys in the commercial port of the Grand Canal, you may feel like traveling across history.

As the sole east-west channel of the Grand Canal, the Zaozhuang section flows from the misty East Estuary of the Weishan Lake, winding its way eastwards to the Zhong Canal after entering Jiangsu by way of Southern Shandong. In this way, it enables the town by the canal to have no darkness all the time. The Old Town of Taierzhuang has a wellpreserved heritage system on the canal – the 3km-long ancient canal channel, which is known as a “Living Canal”. As a carrier of the canal culture, the Old Town of Taierzhuang is also a famous Anti-Japanese War town with the largest quantity of remains of World War II. Such dustladen imprints as the Jiangbei Watertown, the Old Town of the Grand Canal and heroic Taierzhuang arouse the protection and inheritance of world cultural heritage in the city.