Ladiesandgentlemen.Duringyesterday'stour,IarrangedforyoutovisitsuchplacesofinterestasZhongshanMausoleum,MingXiaolingMausoleum,LingguTempleandtheformersiteofthepresidentialpalace.Today,IwilltakeyoutoQinhuaiRiverandConfuciusTemple.QinhuaiRivertouristareaislocatedinthesouthoftheoldurbanareaofNanjing.Ittakesabout20minutestogettherebybusfromtheurbanarea.ItisatouristdestinationwithConfuciusTempleasthecenter,integratingsightseeing,shoppingandtasting,displayingthestyleandfeaturesoftheancientcityandethniccustoms.
[originandhistoricalchangesofQinhuaiRiver]
QinhuaiRiverisariverthatonceplayedanimportantroleinthepolitical,economicandculturaldevelopmentoftheancientcityofNanjing.ItissaidthattheQinhuaiRiverisanartificialcanalorderedbythefirstemperorofQinDynasty.WhenthefirstemperorofQinDynastyvisitedKuaijiintheEast,inordertofacilitatethenavigationofships,heorderedtodigFangshantoconnecttheHuaiheRiverwiththeYangtzeRiver.However,accordingtogeologicalinvestigation,QinhuaiRiverisanaturalriverwithalonghistory.Atthattime,theancientriverdidpassthroughFangshan.However,duetogeographicalchanges,theriverchangeditscourseandgraduallyformedthepresentriver.TheQinhuaiRiverinhistoryhasawidechannel.SinceYangxingmi,kingofWuintheFiveDynasties,builtthestonecityintheareaofchangganqiao,theriverbegantonarrowandwasdividedintotheinnerandouterQinhuaiRiver.TheInnerQinhuaiRiverflowsfromthecityofdongshuiguan,throughtheConfuciusTemple,andthenfromthecityofxishuiguaninthesouthofShuiximentojointheouterQinhuaiRiver.Thetotallengthoftheriveris10kilometers.Thisisthe"TenMileQinhuaiRiver"thathasbeenpraisedandvisitedbycountlessscholarsandscholarssinceancienttimes.LiBai,LiuYuxiandDuMu,thegreatpoetsofTangDynasty,wrotepoemsforher.KongShangren'sPeachBlossomFanandWuJingyang'sscholarsalsovividlydescribedthe"tenliQinhuaiRiver".
ComparedwiththeYangtzeRiver,whichflowsthroughthenorthofNanjingCity,theancientQinhuaiRiverisverysmall,butitiscloselyrelatedtothebirthanddevelopmentofNanjingCity,aswellasthepolitical,economicandculturaldevelopmentofNanjingarea.AsearlyasfiveorsixthousandyearsagointheNeolithicage,therehavebeenhumanreproduction.Sofar,asmanyas50or60relicsofprimitivevillageshavebeenfoundalongbothsidesoftheriver.IntheSixDynastiesandtheearlyMingDynasty,thefeudalcourtalwaysregardeditasanaturalbarrierforthecapitalandanaturalpassagefortheimperialpalace.AftertheestablishmentofthecapitalJianye(Nanjing),SunQuanoftheeasternWuDynastyusedtomake"gateponds"onbothsidesoftheQinhuaiRiver,whichcouldnotonlyresisttheenemy,butalsopreventfloods.SincetheSixDynasties,bothsidesoftheQinhuaiRiverintheareaofConfuciusTemplehavebeenprosperousplaceswithdenseresidentsandconnectedmarkets.TheQinhuaiRiverhasservedasthemainchannelforforeigntradeinNanjing,withboatsandboatsshuttlingthroughtheriver.Itissaidthatintheolddays,thereweremanysonghousesandrestaurantsonbothsidesoftheQinhuaiRiver,theriverhousesandwaterpavilionswerefullofsplendor,theyachtpaintingswerewelllighted,andtherichandnoblelivedalifeofpleasureandmoney.Theworkingpeople,especiallythevastnumberofwomen,hadagoodtasteofthebitternessoftheworld.Atthattime,prostitutesinNanjingweremostlyconcentratedonbothsidesoftheQinhuaiRiver.LiXiangjun,afamousprostitutewhoisnotafraidofpowerandnobility,isdescribedinPeachBlossomFanbyKongShangren,adramatistinQingDynasty.ShelivesbywendeqiaoontheSouthBankofQinhuaiRiver.
ThebeautifulQinhuaiRiveronceflowedthelonelinessofthewildage,theprosperityandextravagancesincetheSixDynasties,thedirtoftheoldsociety,thebloodandtearsoftheworkingpeople,andeventhebloodoftheNanjingMassacre.However,today'sQinhuaiRiver,aftertheprecipitationofhistoryandthetransformationofthepeople,hasexudedthefragranceofhealthandcivilization,showingaclearandmovingstyle.ItisthewitnessofNanjing'shistory.Nowonderpeopleusedtotake"Qinhuai"asthepronounofNanjing.
[Qinhuaiboat-Banchi-ZhaobiofConfuciusTemple-Squareinfrontofthetemple-Lingxinggate]
Ladiesandgentlemen:nowwecometotheBankoftheQinhuaiRiver.ThepainteddefensesintheriverareallmadeinthestyleofMingDynastyarchitecture,withbigredballsandredlanternshangingonthebow.WhenevertheLanternFestival,Nanjingpeopleusedtocomeheretoenjoythelights.ItissaidthataftertheestablishmentofthecapitalofMingDynasty,ZhuYuanjinpaidavisittothecapital.WhenhecametotheBankoftheQinhuaiRiver,hesawtreesonbothsidesoftheriver,clearwater,pavilionsandpleasantscenery.Hesaidcasually,"I'msorryforthelackofboatsintheriver."Whentheemperoropenedthegoldengate,hesentpeopleallnighttobuildtheboatinordertowinthefavoroftheemperor.Sincethen,Qinhuaipaintinghasbecomeamajorfeaturehere.EspeciallyintheMidAutumnFestival,tensofthousandsoflanternsareinfullbloomontheriver,anddragonlanternsaredancingonbothsidesoftheriver.Songs,drums,cheersandlaughterarecontinuousallnight.Itcanbesaidthat"Qinhuaiisthebestintheworld".NowonderthereisafolksayinginNanjingthat"everyfamilywalksonthebridge,everyonelooksatthelight".
ThissectionofQinhuaiRiverinfrontofushasbecomeaConfuciusTemple(ConfuciusTemple)andpanchisincetheSongDynasty,alsoknownascrescentmoon.Inancienttimes,theImperialAcademywascalledBiyong,andtheprinces'AcademywascalledPangong.TheConfuciusTempleAcademywasequivalenttotheplacewheretheprincesgavelectures,sothispoolwascalled"panchi".Generally,therearethreestonebridgesbuiltonpanchi.Accordingtothegrade,countyofficialsandstudentstakethemiddleone,andscholarstakethebridgesonbothsides.Itissaidthatinancienttimes,ascholarmistakenlywenttoZhongqiao.Hewasinadilemmaandhadtojumpintopanchibyhimself.
Pleaselookatasectionofvermilionstonebrickwallontheothersideoftheriver.ThisisthescreenwallofConfuciusTemple.ZhaobiwasbuiltinthethirdyearofWanliintheMingDynasty(LiZeNian),110meterslong,whichisthehighestZhaobiinthewholefamily.Ladiesandgentlemen,thisConfuciusTemplewasbuiltin337,thethirdyearofemperorchengdioftheEasternJinDynasty.Atthattime,EmperorchengdiadoptedtheadviceofWangDao:"thecultivationoftalentsisthemostimportantthingingoverningthecountry",anddecidedtoestablishtheUniversityontheBankofQinhuairiver.InthefirstyearofJingpai(1034),theConfuciusTemplewasbuiltonthebasisofXuefu.Therefore,ConfuciusTempleisabustlingcityevolvedfromaculturalandeducationalcenter.Itincludesthreemainbuildings:ConfuciusTemple,AcademyandGongyuan.ItsscopeisadjacenttotheNorthBankofQinhuaiRiverinthesouth,theeastendofJiankangroadinthenorth,YaojiaLaneintheEastandSifuLaneintheWest.AlthoughtheConfuciusTemplewasdestroyedmanytimes,itwasbuiltandexpandedindifferentdynasties.BytheendoftheQingDynastyandthebeginningoftheRepublicofChina,thestructureandlayoutofitspavilionsandtempleswerethebestinthesoutheast.ThepresentConfuciusTempleispartlyrebuiltinthelateQingDynastyandpartlyrebuiltinrecentyears.Pleaselookback.ThispavilionstylebuildingiscalledKuixingPavilion.ItwasfirstbuiltinQianlongperiodofQingDynasty.Thewaterfrontbuildingwasdestroyedtwiceandrebuiltin1985.
NowwecometothesquareinfrontofthetempleopenedupintheQingDynasty.TherearetwostelesstandingattheEastandWestendsofthesquare,aboutonefoothigh,onwhichareengravedtwowordsinManchuandChinese:"Ministerofcultureandmilitarydismountshere",whichshowsrespectforthesageConfucius.Thepavilionwithsixcornersanddoubleeavesontheleftiscalled"stargatheringPavilion",whichmeansthatallthestarsareconcentratedandtalentsaregathered.Itwasbuiltinthe14thyearofWanliintheMingDynasty(1586),butitwasnotrebuiltuntilthe8thyearofTongzhiintheQingDynasty(1869).ThisistheonlyQingDynastybuildingthatsurvivedtheJapaneseartilleryfire.Unfortunately,itwasdemolishedas"fourold"in1968andrebuiltin1983,restoringitsoriginalstyle.Thememorialarchwayinthemiddleofthesquareiscalled"TianxiaWenshuarchway".Pleasecontinuetofollowme.ThisgateiscalledLingxinggate,whichisthegateofConfuciusTemple.ItissaidthatTAXingisthestarinchargeofeducationinthesky.Heisconvenientandhappy.Thegateisastonestructurewithsixcolumnsandthreegates.Itwasbuiltin1480,the16thyearofChenghuaintheMingDynasty.Itwaslaterdestroyedandrebuiltin1870.However,thepolargateweseenowwasrebuiltin1983.TheEastandwestsidesofthegatearetheEastandWestmarkets.