933, the rain in Yangzhou

When it comes to water in Yangzhou, it is impossible not to mention the rain in Yangzhou. The ancients "wrapped 100,000 yuan around their waists and rode cranes to Yangzhou" in order to see the fireworks in March. And in March, there is a lot of rain in Yangzhou. Ordinary people always wonder why the economic and trade activities of "Fireworks March" are always arranged in the rainy season every year. As everyone knows, the rain in Yangzhou also has its unique style and unique charm. When people understand fireworks, most of them are interpreted as Yangcheng in March, and the sky is full of catkins, just like the smoke in the sky. Of course, there are other understandings. I have read Mr. Ji Xuefeng's article about fireworks in March, and I think it is more appropriate. In my opinion, the smoke mentioned here contains both the ingredients of catkins and the expression of smoke and rain, which is a hazy summary of smoke and rain.

Perhaps, you have been to many places, and how many times have you encountered sudden rain. The rain, but the wind to the rain, all of a sudden, lightning and thunder, booming, only to see the street in a panic running wolf, every house closed doors and windows, full of pedestrians. However, the rain in Yangzhou is secretly, quietly, and it rains as soon as it is said, very casually. Unconsciously, thousands of threads have drifted down, like smoke and fog, like a dream. In the haze, the woman in Yangzhou was not panicked at all, as if she had been prepared, and as soon as the bottom of her wrist turned over, a small flower umbrella was held above her head, and a colorful poncho was draped on her body. When you haven't seen enough of the world of flowers, the rain stops again, and the world of flowers disappears without a trace, and when you come back to your senses, the sun rises from the thick clouds again. Foreign tourists couldn't help but be dumbfounded, and then laughed knowingly: Yangzhou's people are beautiful, the city is beautiful, the water is beautiful, and the rain is also beautiful!

The ancients once used the verse "The world is divided into three bright moonlit nights, and the two points of scoundrels are Yangzhou" to describe the prosperity and beauty of Yangzhou City. As the center of water and salt transportation, the city was extremely prosperous with the endless boats coming and going on the river network, "the flowers and willows on both sides of the river are all according to the water, all the way to the mountains", and its "garden is the best in the world". Today's Evil Yangzhou is still characterized by beautiful gardens. Tourists who visit Yangzhou say that the pavilions here are picturesque, and the ink is fragrant, and there is a kind of quiet bearing of everyone's beautiful lady. It is a good place to visit all year round, with spring being the best. In April and May every year, thousands of purples and thousands of reds make people linger, it is the season of the ancient poem "fireworks in Yangzhou in March".

Yangzhou is near the river and the sea, with developed transportation and abundant products, and is known as the land of fish and rice. The most famous in Yangzhou are Slender West Lake, Geyuan and He Garden. Generally, to go to Yangzhou, you have to go to Zhenjiang first, so tourists always visit Zhenjiang and Yangzhou together.

Yangzhou is an ancient historical and cultural city. There are ancient poems: the old man left the Yellow Crane Tower in the west, and the fireworks went down to Yangzhou in March. Yangzhou in history has been prosperous several times, since Yu ruled the water, Yangzhou is named after "the state boundary is watery, the water is rising", and it is one of the ancient Kyushu. During the Han Dynasty, Liu Bi, the king of Wu, was enshrined in Guangling, and established the state of Wu, "that is, the mountain casts money", "boils the sea for salt", and the two "official industries" of salt and iron developed rapidly, and Yangzhou appeared for the first time in history. In the Tang Dynasty, Yangzhou, as the tail of the Yangtze River and the gateway to the vast sea, was equivalent to today's Shanghai in terms of geographical location and economic status. The river and the sea meet, and the city prospers with water.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the Grand Canal dug during the period of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty has become the main artery of the country's north-south water transportation, and the tributes of the southern counties and the materials of the eight southeastern provinces must be transferred to Chang'an, Kyoto through Yangzhou. Convenient transportation makes Yangzhou an important port on the Maritime Silk Road and one of the four major commercial ports in the East. Yangzhou's economic development has reached its second peak and entered its heyday. It is said that "between the Jianghuai River, the big town of Guangling, the rich world", and the history is called Yang (state) one benefit (state) two". The prosperous Yangzhou is more and more glorious, and "the waist is wrapped around 100,000 runs, and the crane is riding on Yangzhou" is a portrayal of its wealth in the world at that time. Yangzhou near the sea also has the mind of accepting all rivers, this inclusiveness also makes Yangzhou an international metropolis, an endless stream of Japanese monks and students sent Tang monks and students here to learn the true scriptures and Han culture, thousands of foreigners come to Yangzhou to do business. Various cultures are intertwined and integrated, coexisting and developing. Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity coexist here, which has become a major feature of Yangzhou. In the late Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties, Yangzhou experienced several wars and fell into a downturn. But this can't hide the charm and style of Yangzhou in the past. In his famous travelogues, Marco Polo described Yangzhou as infatuated, and he described himself as if he had walked into heaven and earth. In the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi and Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River six times and visited Yangzhou six times, which once again pushed Yangzhou to a new peak of prosperity. In the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou accounted for the three important political benefits of Cao Yun, salt and river affairs, and became the hub of Cao Yun and the largest salt distribution center in the country, and the two Huai were transferred to the salt transport envoy department located in Yangzhou, and the salt tax paid by Yangzhou accounted for a quarter of the total tax revenue of the country, Yangzhou's economic and political status rose again, and there was a third peak of economic development, and Yangzhou became one of the ten large cities with a population of more than 500,000 in the world at that time. The prosperity of the economy brings about the flourishing of culture, Yangzhou salt merchants, Yangzhou Eight Monsters, Yangzhou School, Yangzhou Quyi for future generations to leave countless garden buildings and valuable cultural heritage, forming a unique "Yang School Culture". ”

The thousand-year-old canal has given birth to Yangzhou's civilization, and the past glory has created Yangzhou's unique general history-style cultural corridor. From the 2,500-year-old history, today's Yangzhou is a spring breeze, full of passion and showing a new look.