大運(yùn)河的終點(diǎn)處

編者按：吳曉波，1968年出生于浙江寧波，被譽(yù)為中國(guó)最出色的財(cái)經(jīng)作家之一。吳曉波身上有很多標(biāo)簽，其中最有辨識(shí)度的就是保持每年寫(xiě)一本書(shū)的習(xí)慣。在大眾印象里，吳曉波作品題材一向與財(cái)經(jīng)商業(yè)、企業(yè)研究等相關(guān)，而此次文化類(lèi)新書(shū)《人間杭州：我與一座城市的記憶》的付梓出版不同以往，用他自己的話說(shuō)，這部《人間杭州》是“一次皈依，一場(chǎng)寫(xiě)作上的創(chuàng)新，一件可愛(ài)但或許沒(méi)什么著落的事情”。

其實(shí)，從古至今寫(xiě)人間天堂杭州的，無(wú)論是詩(shī)詞還是著作，都不乏詩(shī)意盎然、妙趣橫生、博古通今、意蘊(yùn)深遠(yuǎn)的，但這部《人間杭州》似乎并不特別想以文學(xué)性這點(diǎn)來(lái)論高下，而是依舊從商業(yè)財(cái)經(jīng)作者的視角去觀察整個(gè)城市在歷史長(zhǎng)河中的發(fā)展與變化。

比如，在吳曉波的筆下，他首先將大運(yùn)河稱作“財(cái)富之河”，它“繁亂卻又生生不息”，養(yǎng)成了杭州人“善賈”的天性。 再比如，從良渚文明的誕生催生出“城市”的概念，到運(yùn)河帶來(lái)生意和財(cái)富，再到元代杭州成為世界地圖上唯一的中國(guó)城市，接著鐵路代替運(yùn)河，杭州在很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間內(nèi)歸于沉寂，最后在20世紀(jì)90年代，以馮根生、宗慶后為代表的民營(yíng)企業(yè)家宣告了“善賈者”的復(fù)活。在這些人文敘事的背后，隱藏著這座城市商業(yè)發(fā)展的脈絡(luò)。

以下為吳曉波新書(shū)中關(guān)于大運(yùn)河的文章節(jié)選。

展開(kāi)華夏帝國(guó)的地圖，在軍事的意義上，杭州從來(lái)是一個(gè)微不足道的存在。

一

它與黃河、長(zhǎng)江兩個(gè)天塹無(wú)關(guān)，也不處在任何山脈或大平原的關(guān)隘之處，并非爭(zhēng)奪天下的“咽喉”或“樞紐”。取之不足以威懾四方，失之無(wú)關(guān)乎全局得失。今天，它與北京、西安、洛陽(yáng)、開(kāi)封、南京和安陽(yáng)并稱為“七大古都”，而與其他六城相比，它在地理上的重要性一定是最低的。

這種可有可無(wú)的角色，倒給了杭州一個(gè)意外的安全性。所以，后來(lái)即便筑起了城墻，也不夠高不夠厚，根本經(jīng)不起戰(zhàn)車(chē)和擲石機(jī)的猛烈沖擊。每一次的改朝換代，杭州都是被“順便”占領(lǐng)的城池，而大多數(shù)的場(chǎng)面是“稍事抵抗、主動(dòng)投降”。

這聽(tīng)上去一點(diǎn)都不壯烈，挺讓人沮喪的。不過(guò)，它也意味著杭州很少出現(xiàn)生靈涂炭的慘烈景象，“百日圍攻”“人相食”“屠城”這些詞語(yǔ)，從來(lái)沒(méi)有出現(xiàn)在杭州的地方志上。說(shuō)到這里，西安、洛陽(yáng)等地應(yīng)該會(huì)十分羨慕。

古代杭州的重要性在于文化和經(jīng)濟(jì)上的意義，而后者則全是京杭大運(yùn)河帶來(lái)的。

二

隋朝是一個(gè)極短命的王朝，前后僅僅37年（581年至618年）。而對(duì)于杭州，它則做了三件極重要的事情。

第一件事：589年（開(kāi)皇九年），隋文帝楊堅(jiān)進(jìn)行行政區(qū)劃改革，把州、郡、縣三級(jí)更改為州、縣兩級(jí)，全國(guó)共有241個(gè)州，其中之一為杭州，下轄錢(qián)唐、余杭、富陽(yáng)、鹽官、于潛、武康六個(gè)縣。

這是“杭州”之名的第一次出現(xiàn)。

第二件事：590年，會(huì)稽人高智慧起兵造反，大將軍楊素東征平叛，他的部隊(duì)從柳浦這個(gè)地方渡過(guò)錢(qián)塘江。此處是江北最大的渡口，楊素就在這一帶建了一個(gè)“周長(zhǎng)十里”的新城。隋唐的一里是現(xiàn)在的540米，這個(gè)新城的面積約1.7平方公里。

當(dāng)時(shí)中原的造城技術(shù)已非常發(fā)達(dá)，早在582年，高颎和宇文愷曾用280天就新建了首都大興城。錢(qián)塘江邊的這座小城費(fèi)時(shí)不足一年而成，它依山而筑，從鳳凰山南麓延伸到柳浦渡，占據(jù)了錢(qián)塘江南北岸的交通命脈。

它一開(kāi)始是一個(gè)駐扎軍隊(duì)的軍事性城堡，建成之后，錢(qián)唐縣的行政治所就從靈隱山遷到了此處，這便是日后杭州城的雛形。杭州從此進(jìn)入了漫長(zhǎng)的鳳凰山時(shí)代。

唐代詩(shī)人趙嘏曾寫(xiě)有《西江晚泊》，其中描述了柳浦的風(fēng)貌：

茫茫靄靄失西東，柳浦桑村處處同。

第三件事：610年（大業(yè)六年），隋煬帝楊廣下令開(kāi)鑿貫穿南北的大運(yùn)河，以洛陽(yáng)為中心，北部起點(diǎn)為涿郡，南部終點(diǎn)就在錢(qián)塘江邊的杭州。

這是一個(gè)決定了杭州命運(yùn)的工程。可以說(shuō)，沒(méi)有大運(yùn)河，就不會(huì)有后來(lái)的杭州城。

三

中國(guó)的大江大河，均為由西向東，南北之間缺乏水運(yùn)主干。早在春秋時(shí)期，吳國(guó)夫差為北伐齊國(guó)而開(kāi)鑿邗溝，是為運(yùn)河之始。在此之后，魏惠王、秦始皇、漢武帝及曹操，都開(kāi)鑿過(guò)不同長(zhǎng)度的漕渠，不過(guò)，它們都是一條條孤立的人工河，互相之間并無(wú)勾連。

604年，隋煬帝登基，著手營(yíng)建東都洛陽(yáng)。為了解決洛陽(yáng)的糧食供給，也為了征服南方地區(qū)，隋煬帝廣征民力，建成了一個(gè)以洛陽(yáng)為中心，東到淮泗，南到吳越，西到關(guān)中，北到幽燕，連接黃河、渭河、洛河、汾河、沁河、淮河、泗河、長(zhǎng)江、錢(qián)塘江的四通八達(dá)的漕運(yùn)體系。

隋代的這條大運(yùn)河，全長(zhǎng)5400余里，是一個(gè)雄心勃勃、具有頂層設(shè)計(jì)和前瞻性規(guī)劃的水利工程。自此，秦漢以來(lái)只有東西交通的狀況被陡然改變，中原文明自東晉渡江之后開(kāi)始出現(xiàn)南移景象，隨著大運(yùn)河的開(kāi)通，北風(fēng)南漸，終成定勢(shì)。

隋煬帝因開(kāi)拓大運(yùn)河消耗了驚人的國(guó)力?！端鍟?shū)》中說(shuō)是“舉國(guó)就役而開(kāi)御道”，終而激發(fā)民變，煬帝被縊弒于南巡途中，李淵在太原起兵，創(chuàng)建唐朝。晚唐詩(shī)人皮日休有詩(shī)嘆曰：

盡道隋亡為此河，至今千里賴通波。

這一巨大的運(yùn)河工程最南端的一段，被稱為“江南運(yùn)河”，它起于長(zhǎng)江南岸的京口，途經(jīng)晉陵、蘇州，到杭州，全長(zhǎng)800里（323.8公里），水面闊十余丈，可以行駛皇帝南巡時(shí)乘坐的龍舟。

楊廣在當(dāng)晉王的時(shí)候，曾經(jīng)有十年時(shí)間出任揚(yáng)州總管。他對(duì)江南的山形地勢(shì)應(yīng)該十分了解。大運(yùn)河以杭州為南部終點(diǎn)，在戰(zhàn)略上的考慮便是將長(zhǎng)江與錢(qián)塘江打通，便于把杭州和寧紹平原的糧食征調(diào)北運(yùn)。

隨著這條運(yùn)河的開(kāi)通，杭州的戰(zhàn)略地位猛然凸顯了出來(lái)，它一躍而“咽喉吳越，勢(shì)雄江海”，成為帝國(guó)地理上的一個(gè)重要樞紐，進(jìn)而極大地促進(jìn)了其經(jīng)濟(jì)的繁榮和人口的增加。

據(jù)史載，609年（大業(yè)五年）曾進(jìn)行過(guò)一次全國(guó)性的人口普查，杭州的戶數(shù)有15380戶，以每戶4人計(jì)算，總?cè)丝诩s6.1萬(wàn)人，已然是一個(gè)中型城市。

隋滅唐興，華夏帝國(guó)的聲望達(dá)到了巔峰。

杭州隸屬江南東道管轄（治所在蘇州），日常生活自然也平和安詳。據(jù)吳自牧的《夢(mèng)粱錄》記錄：杭州在貞觀年間（627年至649年），人口已增加到30571戶，到了開(kāi)元年間（713年至741年）時(shí)，又翻一番增至86258戶，約34萬(wàn)人口，成了一個(gè)東南名郡。

四

至今我的家仍在武林門(mén)的運(yùn)河邊，每當(dāng)傍晚，去河畔散步，可見(jiàn)岸石整潔，五步一柳。十多年前，運(yùn)河的水到了豐水期還有點(diǎn)臭味，這些年已經(jīng)完全沒(méi)有了。今天在河邊散步游玩的人們已經(jīng)很難想象，眼前的這條河流在當(dāng)年對(duì)于帝國(guó)和杭州的意義。

黃仁宇在《明代的漕運(yùn)》一書(shū)中，對(duì)大運(yùn)河有段很精簡(jiǎn)的論述：

中央政府是否能成功地統(tǒng)治全國(guó)，依賴于是否能夠有效地利用長(zhǎng)江下游的經(jīng)濟(jì)資源，是否能夠?qū)⑦@一地區(qū)的物資迅速通過(guò)運(yùn)河運(yùn)輸?shù)绞锥纪ǔＫ诘娜A北地區(qū)?！醭呐d衰，都反映在運(yùn)河的實(shí)際情況上?！扑我詠?lái)，大多數(shù)重要的政治事件和軍事行動(dòng)，都發(fā)生在南北大運(yùn)河的沿線地區(qū)。

再形象一點(diǎn)的描述是，中華文明的鐘擺原本是東西搖擺，自大運(yùn)河開(kāi)通后，改成了南北搖擺。而杭州就成了這個(gè)大鐘擺的南部節(jié)點(diǎn)。

運(yùn)河對(duì)杭州的第一個(gè)也是最顯著的改造，是城市的功能和格局。城內(nèi)出現(xiàn)了十多個(gè)以橋梁為中心的商埠區(qū)，比如拱宸橋、大關(guān)、小河、湖墅、觀音關(guān)和七賢弄等。商埠區(qū)是否繁華熱鬧，只要看橋的高度就可以了，橋越高，說(shuō)明通過(guò)的船只越大，貨運(yùn)量自然越多。至今仍在的拱宸橋是杭州城里最高最長(zhǎng)的石拱橋，橋長(zhǎng)98米，高16米，兩端橋堍寬12.2米，它被認(rèn)為是京杭大運(yùn)河最南端的標(biāo)志?？吹剿鸵馕吨贾莸搅?。

有河有橋就會(huì)有船。因?yàn)樨浳锖凸δ艿牟煌?，就有了運(yùn)糧船、運(yùn)木船、運(yùn)鹽船、運(yùn)沙船，以及燒香船、戲班船、迎親船、喪葬船和收破爛的敲梆船。

船民在當(dāng)年是一個(gè)很特殊的社群，杭州有諺語(yǔ)，“天下第一苦——搖船、打鐵、磨豆腐”。船民有自己的行業(yè)組織，叫“排會(huì)”，領(lǐng)頭的叫“總排頭”。還有自己極其封閉而隱秘的宗教信仰，叫“羅教”（明代由一個(gè)叫羅夢(mèng)鴻的人創(chuàng)立），最盛時(shí)，杭州運(yùn)河兩岸有七十多個(gè)羅教庵堂。杭州羅教在明清時(shí)勢(shì)力很大，總庵堂就在拱宸橋附近，上海開(kāi)埠后，很多羅教船民赴滬謀生，就有了那里的青幫。

北宋時(shí)期，因?yàn)槲鞅北幌恼紦?jù)，通往西域的絲綢之路斷絕，朝廷就在南方的廣州和杭州分別設(shè)立了市舶司，從事海外貿(mào)易，是為“海上絲綢之路”。中土的絲綢、陶瓷、筆硯和茶葉等貨物在杭州集中查檢后，通過(guò)寧波港發(fā)運(yùn)到日本和朝鮮等國(guó)家。而外商則在杭州設(shè)立“蕃坊”，進(jìn)行種種的交易活動(dòng)。自此，杭州成了一個(gè)國(guó)際性的商業(yè)城市。北宋時(shí)期的外貿(mào)交易量有多大，已經(jīng)沒(méi)有數(shù)據(jù)可考了，但從南宋中央政府的稅賦收入來(lái)看，最高時(shí)居然占到了總收入的15%，可見(jiàn)這筆買(mǎi)賣(mài)對(duì)帝國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)的重要性。

五

人貨兩旺，自然又催生了“運(yùn)河文化”。今日杭州的很多語(yǔ)言和習(xí)俗仍然帶有很濃烈的運(yùn)河特征。比如杭州人盛飯時(shí)不說(shuō)“盛（chéng）”，而說(shuō)“添”，因?yàn)椤笆ⅰ迸c“沉”諧音，不吉利。當(dāng)年運(yùn)河人家嫁女兒，先上花轎再坐花船，到了河埠頭上岸的時(shí)候，父親背新娘子上岸，左鄰右舍的孩子們提著水桶上去迎親，男方就要大發(fā)紅包，現(xiàn)在老杭州人還把新婚紅包叫作“討水包”。至于每年的端午，運(yùn)河上就會(huì)賽龍舟，中元節(jié)則會(huì)在運(yùn)河里放河燈，而到了農(nóng)歷七月三十日的地藏王菩薩生日，人們又會(huì)在家門(mén)前的河邊插上三支香。

當(dāng)我寫(xiě)到這些陳年細(xì)節(jié)的時(shí)候，心里正飄過(guò)一絲淡淡的憂傷。它們都已經(jīng)成為文字，而不再是日常生活的一部分。

如果說(shuō)西湖很文雅，投影了中國(guó)士大夫們與大自然“風(fēng)煙俱凈”的恬靜共處，那么，運(yùn)河就很世俗，世俗到很遠(yuǎn)就能聞到河床上的魚(yú)腥和船民的汗臭。因而，古來(lái)無(wú)數(shù)人為西湖寫(xiě)下了像湖水那么多的詩(shī)賦詞文，而對(duì)這條喧囂非凡的大運(yùn)河則視而不見(jiàn)，幾乎沒(méi)有留下任何有點(diǎn)意思的東西，詩(shī)詞更是很難找到。這樣的不公平，你很難找人去說(shuō)理，它是中國(guó)文化骨子里的“鄙視鏈”。

杭州因運(yùn)河而興，也一度因運(yùn)河而衰。1900年之后，鐵路興起，傳統(tǒng)的漕運(yùn)迅速衰落，京杭大運(yùn)河兩岸的很多商埠重鎮(zhèn)——臨清、揚(yáng)州、鎮(zhèn)江等，永遠(yuǎn)地告別了自己的高光歲月。運(yùn)河對(duì)于杭州的經(jīng)濟(jì)意義也漸漸地消淡，它變成了一個(gè)文化符號(hào)，只存在于記憶、照片、爬著青藤的舊街巷和若干個(gè)老杭州詞匯里。

Editor’s note： Born in 1968 in Ningbo city， Zhejiang province， Wu Xiaobo is regarded as one of China’s best business and financial writers. After graduation， he joined the Zhejiang branch of Xinhua News Agency and began his 13-year career as a business reporter. Past the age of 30， Wu started a 10-year plan of personal growth， writing full time while engaging in asset investment. His book Da Bai Ju （roughly translated as “The Great Debacle”） has been selected as one of the “twenty books that influenced the Chinese business community”. During that period， he also went to Harvard University as a visiting scholar and is currently the financial publisher of Hangzhou Blue Lion Cultural Creativity Co. Ltd.

Among the many labels that been applied to Wu Xiaobo， the most recognizable is his habit of writing a book every year. To the readers， the subjects of Wu’s books mainly focus on financial issues， business matters and corporate research. The publication of the newest book Renjian Hangzhou （Lost in Paradise）， therefore， is somewhat a “deviation” from his previous business books， as it falls squarely into the “culture” genre. In Wu’s own words， the new book is “a conversion， a writing innovation and a lovely but perhaps unrewarding undertaking”. But looking back on the entire writing process， he’d repeat his mantra： “it is the most comfortable and happiest process I have ever enjoyed.”

Whether poems or books， there is no lack of literary masterpieces that have written on Hangzhou from past to present. However， Lost in Paradise seems to have taken a different path. Its strengths lie not in its literary merit; instead， Wu has resorted to what he has always done best： observing the development and transformation of the city of Hangzhou throughout history from a business and financial perspective. Economic development is inseparable from cultural development， and socioeconomic factors have a great bearing on the formation of unique regional cultural characteristics and features. The combination of the two narratives thus has both practical and cultural significance.

For instance， in the book Wu called the Grand Canal a “river of wealth”， which is “bustling， sometimes messy but always full of life” and has helped nurtured the innate inclination of the Hangzhou people to conduct business. Another example is the evolution of Hangzhou， from the birth of the Liangzhu civilization which helped give birth to the prototype of the city， to the Grand Canal which brought businesses and wealth to Hangzhou， to the Yuan dynasty when Hangzhou was the only Chinese city marked on a world map， then to the period when railways replaced the Grand Canal and Hangzhou seemed to have fallen into decline， until eventually in the 1990s， the rise of Hangzhou-based private entrepreneurs such as Feng Gensheng and Zong Qinghou， private entrepreneurs announced the resurrection of those “who excel at doing business”. Behind these narratives lies the history of the city’s commercial development.

The following is an excerpt from Wu’s book Lost in Paradise on the Grand Canal.

Where the Grand Canal Ends

By Wu Xiaobo

Unfold any historical map of the Chinese empire， one will see that， militarily， Hangzhou had never been a significant presence.

It has nothing to do with the Yellow River and the Yangtze River， the two major natural barriers in China， and does not sit in the pass of any mountain range or great plain. It is neither a choke point nor a strategic hub that must be secured in the historical struggles to dominate and unite China. It appeared that with Hangzhou， it was not enough to deter the other parties; without Hangzhou， it wouldn’t really affect the overall situation. As one of China “Seven Great Ancient Capitals” along with Beijing， Xi’an， Luoyang， Kaifeng， Nanjing and Anyang， Hangzhou is the least important strategically， compared with the other six.

Ironically， such a dispensable role has afforded Hangzhou some unexpected security in history. Therefore， even when the city walls were built， they were neither high nor thick enough to withstand the onslaught of chariots and catapults. In fact， in each dynastic change， Hangzhou was invariably taken “as an afterthought”， and most of times， it was a scene in which “l(fā)ittle resistance was put up， for the defensive forces just surrendered”.

That doesn’t sound heroic; it’s even a bit depressing. However， it also means that fewer lives had been lost on those occasions in Hangzhou. The terms “100-day siege”， “cannibalization” and “slaughtering the city’s populations” have never appeared in the local gazetteers and annals of Hangzhou. In comparison， cities like Xi’an and Luoyang had not been so lucky.

On the other hand， the importance of ancient Hangzhou lies in its cultural and economic significance， and the latter almost entirely came from the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal （or the Jing-Hang Grand Canal）.

The Sui dynasty was an extremely short-lived dynasty. From its establishment in the year 581 to its collapse in 618， it lasted a mere 37 years. But as far as Hangzhou was concerned， three extremely important things had been done in the Sui dynasty.

First of all， Yang Jian （541-604）， Emperor Wen of Sui， carried out administrative reforms in the year 589 and changed the previous three-level territorial administration of zhou （region or prefecture）， jun （commandery）， xian （county or district） into two levels， doing away with jun and retaining zhou and xian. There was a total of 241 zhou at the time， one of which was Hangzhou. It was the first time that the name “Hangzhou” appeared in Chinese history.

Secondly， a “new city” with a perimeter of ten li （a li at the time equaled to 540 meters） near the Qiantang River， covering an area of 1.7 square kilometers. In 590， rebel forces in Kuaiji （present-day Shaoxing） started an armed insurrection， and Yang Su （544-606）， a top military general of the Sui dynasty， was sent in to quash the rebellion. His troops crossed the Qiantang River at a place called Liupu， the largest ferry-place north of the river， where they built the “new city”. City-building technologies were quite advanced then; it took just 280 days to build Daxing （present-day Xi’an）， capital of the Sui dynasty， in 582. The “new city” was erected in less than a year’s time， extending from the southern foot of the Phoenix Mountain to Liupu and occupying the traffic lifeline of the north and south banks of the Qiantang River. Originally a fortress for troops， the “new city” gradually took over as the administrative center of Qiantang county， this was the origin of the city of Hangzhou.

Thirdly， in the year 610， Yang Guang （569-618）， Emperor Yang of Sui， ordered the excavation of the Grand Canal， starting from Zhuojun （present-day Beijing） in the north to Hangzhou in the south， with Luoyang， the capital region along the Yellow River valley， in the center. It was a project that had sealed the fate of Hangzhou.

Major rivers in China run from west to east; there’s no major waterway linking north with south. In 486 BC， to aid for his military expedition， King Fuchai of Wu （r. 495-473 BC） dug the Hangou Canal connecting the Huaihe River with the Yangtze River， the oldest section of the Grand Canal. While canals had been dug by later rulers， they were simply isolated artificial rivers.

In 604， Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne and began to build Luoyang， the eastern capital. To ensure food supply for Luoyang and to take complete control of the south， he ordered a “Grand Canal” to be dug that would effectively all the major rivers from north to south.

With a total length of 5，400 li， the Grand Canal was undoubtedly an ambitious and forward-looking project with top-level design. However， the costs were also humungous， resulting in revolts and the eventual downfall of the Sui dynasty; Emperor Yang of Sui was strangled in a coup. The southernmost section of the Grand Canal was called the Jiangnan Canal， running for 800 li （323.8 kilometers） from Jingkou （present-day Zhenjiang） to Hangzhou， and as wide as over 30 meters to accommodate the emperor’s dragon boat during his southern tours. The decision to make Hangzhou the southern end point of the Grand Canal was based on strategic considerations， for the linking up of Yangtze River and the Qiantang River would facilitate the transportation of grains from the Ning （Ningbo）-Shao （Shaoxing） Plain.

All of a sudden， Hangzhou became “the throat of Wuyue， overlooking the Qiantang River and the East China Sea”， assuming great strategic importance， which in turn substantially stimulated its economic development and population growth. A national census in 609 showed that Hangzhou had 15，380 households and a population of about 61，000， already a medium-sized city. Then in the early years of the Tang dynasty （618-907）， the number of households increased to 30，571， which almost tripled， growing to 86，258 by the year 741.

I live along the banks of the Grand Canal in Hangzhou’s Wulinmen area. Every evening， when I go out for a walk， I can see the neatly stacked stones and the willows planted every five steps. People taking a stroll along the river today could hardly imagine what it meant to the Chinese empire and to Hangzhou.

In his book The Grand Canal during the Ming Dynasty， 1368-1644， historian Ray Huang succinctly summarized the role of the Grand Canal. According to Huang， the imperial government’s control of the whole country depends on its ability to effectively harness the economic resources of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and quickly transport goods here by the Grand Canal to northern China， where the capital was located. The rise and fall of dynasties， Huang argued， were reflected in the operations of the canal. Indeed， major political and military events mostly took place along the Grand Canal since the Tang and Song （960-1279） dynasties.

The most noticeable transformation the Grand Canal brought to Hangzhou was on its urban functions and layout. More than ten commercial port areas centered around bridges emerged in the city. In fact， by looking at the height of the bridges， one could tell how busy one area was： the higher the bridge， the larger the ships passing through and the more cargo volumes， hence a more bustling area. At the southern end of the Grand Canal， for example， stands the Gongchen Bridge， the tallest and longest stone arch bridge in Hangzhou， measuring 98 meters in length， 16 meters in height and 12.2 meters in width at both ends. With the Grand Canal and bridges came all kinds of boats： boats transporting grain， timber， salt and sands， boats carrying worshippers， boats hosting opera troupes， wedding boats， funeral boats， trash-collecting boats， among others.

In the Northern Song Dynasty （960-1127）， as the land-based Silk Road was blocked， the imperial court set up Maritime Trade Office in Guangzhou and Hangzhou， heralding the “Maritime Silk Road”. Products including silk， porcelain and tea were exported to countries like Japan and Korea through the Port of Ningbo after being examined and checked in Hangzhou， while foreign businessmen set up “foreign quarters” in the city. Statistics show that foreign trade accounted for as much as 15% of the imperial government’s total tax revenue in the Southern Song period （1127-1279）.

Population growth and economic prosperity， in turn， had combined to give birth to a unique “canal culture”. The Hangzhou dialect and many local customs were tinged with a “canal flavor”. For instance， when Hangzhou natives asked to fill a bowl with rice， instead of using the more common word “cheng”， they’d say “tian” （literally “add”）， since the pronunciation of “cheng” is similar to “chen” （or “sink”）， which is considered inauspicious for those making a living on and along the rivers. Not to mention the dragon boat races on the Dragon Boat Festival， the setting off of river lanterns during the Ghost Festival … Alas， these are but sweet memories for me， as most of the customs are not being observed any more.

Compared to the West Lake， which throughout generations had been regarded by China’s literati as a canvas to project their elegance and sophistication， the Grand Canal was much more crass and uncouth. Countless poems and essays had been composed for the West Lake in ancient times. In contrast， far fewer had been penned when it came to the Grand Canal. It is unfair， but that’s the way it is， deeply etched in the “chain of distain” of Chinese culture.

Hangzhou prospered because of the Grand Canal， and at one time fell into decline also because of it. With the rise of railways after 1900， the importance of the traditional grain transport system took a nosedive. Major commercial port cities along the Jing-Hang Grand Canal had been long passed their glory days. The economic significance of the Grand Canal for Hangzhou waned， and it became more of a cultural symbol， existing only in memories， photos， backstreets and a few archaic Hangzhou phrases.