地理變遷中的“江南”

余連祥

“江南可采蓮，蓮葉何田田。”在人教版一年級上冊語文課本里，這首漢樂府《江南》作為必背古詩出現。

對很多中國人來說，這是江南的模樣第一次朦朧地在眼前勾勒出來。

可是，江南，到底指哪里？地理上的江南，如何界定？歷史上的江南，又有過怎樣的變遷？它的精神內涵又是什么？在長三角一體化的時代進程中，“新江南”又具體指向何處？

一

江南是一個歷史性概念。

歷史地理學家周振鶴認為，先秦秦漢三國西晉時期，江南大致指的是今湖南地區(qū)，兼及今江西?！妒酚洝贰度龂尽返仁窌褪侨绱耸褂媒线@一概念的。長江下游以南，古代稱為江東。當年項羽率領的江東八千精兵，就是從太湖流域的吳中帶去的。“至今思項羽，不肯過江東?！崩钋逭盏脑娨惭赜昧诉@一歷史概念。

明清江南區(qū)域經濟史研究專家李伯重在《簡論“江南地區(qū)”的界定》中說，“通常從北方到今江南是通過今安徽渡江到今南京一帶的。而南京至蕪湖一段長江正是西南東北向，所以稱今江南為江東順理成章”。當年也稱江東為江左，同時稱對岸的今安徽北部及其以北地區(qū)為江西。東晉永嘉喪亂，大批中原人“如過江之鯽”，從廣陵（今揚州）渡江南下。此處的長江是東西走向的，于是，原先的“江東”被改稱“江南”了。江南對岸的蘇北被稱為江北。唐代的行政區(qū)劃把長江中下游以南地區(qū)稱為江南道，后又分江南東道與江南西道。唐后期，出現了湖南，取代了秦漢時期的“江南”。

《禹貢》為《尚書》中的名篇，是我國歷史研究與考古研究中最重要的參考文獻。《禹貢》分天下為九州，江南屬揚州。同治《湖州府志·物產上》載：“揚州土惟涂泥，郡地最低，性尤沮洳，特宜水稻?！苯系奶饔颍涞匦位咎卣魇撬闹芨呗?，中部低洼，是一個以太湖為中心的大型碟形洼地。數千年的糧田墾殖，就是將“涂泥”濕地墾殖成糧田的過程。

五代十國時，吳越王錢鏐建都杭州，大興水利，重點治理錢塘江和太湖?！笆婪洁┭允赂筛?，我且閉關而修蠶織”，一心一意發(fā)展經濟，使這一帶成為聞名全國的“魚米之鄉(xiāng)，絲綢之府”。吳越時“歲多豐稔”，范成大說“民間錢五十文糴白米一石”。

太湖流域塘浦圩田系統(tǒng)的形成，為太湖平原由自然河道形態(tài)向人工河網化方向邁進奠定了基礎，又使太湖流域的農業(yè)經濟走上繁榮的道路，促使國家經濟重心的南移。南宋時，形成了“蘇湖熟，天下足”的局面。明清時期，太湖流域成為全國經濟最發(fā)達的地區(qū)。經濟的發(fā)達，又促進了商業(yè)的繁榮?！盁o絲不成鎮(zhèn)”，南潯、雙林、烏鎮(zhèn)、盛澤、新市等專業(yè)性絲綢業(yè)市鎮(zhèn)迅速崛起。“上有天堂，下有蘇杭。”這樣的江南令人艷羨。

研究明清經濟史的專家，一般把太湖流域稱為明清時期的“江南”。李伯重就把“江南地區(qū)”界定為太湖流域的八府一州。“就明清時代而言，作為一個經濟區(qū)域的江南地區(qū)，其合理范圍應是今蘇南浙北，即明清的蘇、松、常、鎮(zhèn)、寧、杭、嘉、湖八府以及由蘇州府劃出的倉州”。這其實是明清時期“江南”的核心區(qū)塊，即狹義的江南。而廣義的江南一般指長江中下游的蘇南、皖南和浙江，包括后起的區(qū)域中心城市上海。

二

受政治、經濟、文化、交通等因素的影響，江南的中心城市也有一個變遷的過程。吳越國和南宋小朝廷都建都杭州，杭州就成為江南地區(qū)的中心城市。南京是六朝金粉之地，加上明太祖定都南京，南京也常常成為江南地區(qū)的中心城市。明永樂大帝朱棣遷都北京，舊都南京日漸衰落。京杭大運河成為從江南往北京漕運的經濟大動脈，大運河畔的蘇州走向繁榮，成為明清時期江南地區(qū)的中心城市。

上海開埠以后，迅速發(fā)展成為“東方的巴黎”。于是，上海又取代蘇州，成為江南地區(qū)的中心城市。海輪、火車、內河輪船、汽車等現代化的交通工具，拓展了上海作為中心城市的輻射能力。其輻射圈由太湖流域擴大到錢塘江南岸的寧波紹興地區(qū)，甚至還延伸到浙東的臺州和金華。

皖南的徽商在宋代崛起，至明清達到頂峰。江南小城鎮(zhèn)上的當鋪大都由徽商經營，“安徽朝奉”曾特指當鋪伙計。以青磚黛瓦馬頭墻為標識的徽派建筑，是明清江南小城鎮(zhèn)上的主流建筑。上海開埠后，洋行中的買辦主要為寧波人。寧波幫商人，加上南潯的絲商群體，使浙商的勢頭迅速蓋過了徽商。上海話也都是由松江話與寧波話雜合而成的。進入民國，上海對浙東的輻射力加強了，而對于日漸衰落的皖南的輻射力就沒那么強了。

包偉民在論述江南市鎮(zhèn)的近代（1840～1949）命運時，界定的近代江南范圍是“清末江蘇省的江寧、鎮(zhèn)江、松江、常州、蘇州、太倉直隸州，浙江省的杭州、嘉興、湖州、紹興、寧波等地”。

周振鶴在《釋江南》中指出：“江南不但是一個地域概念——這一概念隨著人們地理知識的擴大而變易，而且還具有經濟涵義——代表一個先進的經濟區(qū)，同時又是一個文化概念——透視出一個文化發(fā)達所取得的范圍。”

（本文圖片提供：CFP）

Located in the south of the Yangtze River Delta， Jiangnan is a legendary region in China. However， historically and geographically， where was and is Jiangnan exactly？ What are people talking about nowadays when they talk about New Jiangnan in terms of the integration of the Yangtze River Delta？

First of all， Jiangnan as a term emerged in ancient history. For centuries starting before the Qin （221-206BC） and all the way up to the Western Jin （206BC-8AD）， Jiangnan largely covered present-day Hunan province， which is now in central China. Part of Jiangxi to the east of Hunan was also Jiangnan. What is known today as the south of the Yangtze River Delta was called Jiangdong， literarily， east of the Yangtze River.

Li Bochong， a scholar of the regional economy in Jiangnan of the Ming （1368-1644） and the Qing （1644-1911） dynasties， says in his book on the geographic demarcation of Jiangnan that in ancient times， people in the north came to the present-day Jiangnan by crossing the Yangtze River in present-day Anhui to present-day Nanjing. In this part of the country， the river runs from the southwest to the northeast. That was reasonable to call present-day Jiangnan as Jiangdong. When the Western Jin （265-316） crashed and a large number of people from the north fled to the south， they crossed the Yangtze River at present-day Yangzhou and moved further southward. The Yangtze River runs from west to east in this part. Thats how present-day Jiangnan came into being when the Eastern Jin came into being.

Present-day Jiangnan experienced ups and downs in history. In very ancient documents， this part of the country is mentioned. People in this region built dikes and reclaimed lands from the Taihu Lake for rice farming. Qian Liu founded the Wuyue Kingdom （852-988） and dedicated the kingdoms resources to bringing under control the floods in the Qiantang River and the Taihu Lake. Thanks to the king， Jiangnan became a land of legendary prosperity and peace.

In ancient times， a river system became a wide-ranging network of natural rivers and manmade rivers in the Taihu Lake basin. The system controlled floods and made agriculture and industry flourish. The prosperity of Jiangnan shifted the national economic focus from the north to the south. When there were wars and chaos in the north， Jiangnan was the place people from the north fled to. During the Ming and the Qing， the Taihu Lake basin， that is， Jiangnan， was the countrys best developed region. Economy boomed and trade prospered. Cities based on silk production and trade mushroomed.

Jiangnan in the Ming and the Qing， in a narrow sense， included eight prefectures and one state， which are in the south of present-day Jiangsu and the north of present-day Zhejiang. In a broader sense， Jiangnan refers to the south of Jiangsu， the south of Anhui， Zhejiang， and Shanghai which rose to be the megacity in Jiangnan.

The ranking of the cities in Jiangnan has been changing all the time. Once upon a time， Hangzhou housed the royal house of the Wuyue Kingdom and later the royal house of the Southern Song Dynasty. The city was the center of Jiangnan for centuries. Nanjing was home to the Ming in the first decades of the dynasty and thus served as the center of Jiangnan. The city declined after the dynasty relocated its capital to Beijing in the north. Suzhou became important during the Ming and the Qing as it benefited hugely from a conveniently central position on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. In the late 19th century， Shanghai rose to forefront after the world powers came to the gateway city， replacing Suzhou as the center of Jiangnan. The metropoliss economic and cultural influences radiated out throughout the Taihu Lake basin and even pushed across the Qiantang River to the rest part of Zhejiang.

Business people from Anhui thrived in Jiangnan in the Song Dynasty （960-1279）. Their fortune reached a historical high in the Ming and the Qing. They almost ran a monopoly on pawnshops in towns throughout Jiangnan. The architectural style of Anhui was the mainstream trend in Jiangnan. Its influence can still be seen in many parts of the region. After Shanghai became a major city of international trade， businesspeople from Ningbo， a port city in Zhejiang， became important， acting as native business managers for European business houses in Shanghai. They and the silk tycoons in Nanxun， a small town in northern Zhejiang， became an important phenomenon outshining the businesspeople from Anhui. In the first half of the 20th century， Shanghai built up close ties with the eastern Zhejiang and its influence in southern Anhui declined.