Everyone in the current Jintang knows the place name Hantan, this large body of water outside Meilin Park. The current name of the bridge is "Hantan Bridge", which naturally comes from the name of the water. The old town of Zhaozhen was named Dadu during the Han and Jin Dynasties, and a post pavilion named Dadu Pavilion was set up here.
The name Hantan only came into being during the Song Dynasty. At that time, Tuojiang River was already an important waterway transportation hub. Due to long-term water erosion, river sand and gravel have accumulated, and ship channels have been blocked. In the Song Dynasty, this place was still under the jurisdiction of Tongchuan Prefecture. Han Xuan, the official in charge of transportation affairs in Tongchuan Prefecture, led migrant workers to dredge the channel here in order to facilitate smooth navigation. After that, in order to commemorate Han Xuan's achievements, people named this area of water after his surname and called it "Hantan".
After dredging the river, the middle river and adjacent river converged here, and the river surface suddenly became wider. Jiaqing's "Jintang County Chronicle" describes it this way: "Every time the spring waves overflow, they gather like a lake, with endless smoke waves, and boats and boats are lost in the water. It is quite a giant sight."
We can imagine the spectacular scenery here more than 900 years ago. Spring is here, the spring sun is melting, the ice and snow in Minshan in the upstream source melts, and spring rain falls. In addition, for spring plowing and sowing, Dujiangyan opens the gate to release water, so the river water surges and the river surface becomes wider. The river water surged this spring, which was different from the summer floods. It was so clear and green. The peach blossoms on the small island known as "Hengzhu" are crimson, the willows on both sides of the river are smoky, the Jintang Mountain peaks are emerald green in the distance, egrets are flying in the blue sky, and on the river, there are old crow boats and pounding boats. Salt stick, Mao Yeqiu, three boards, Nai Tiao, Diwo... all kinds of ships are crowded together, creating a busy scene. Melodious singing came from the boat decorated like a young woman with heavy makeup...
There is a famous ancient poem describing the spring rise of Hantan:
The vastness of the three rivers combined,
Qianjia Ancient Ferry.
sits on a light spacecraft, and
floats in the water far away from the city.
Liu Juan welcomes people and dances,
the spent flowers drift away.
Tantuo is infinitely good,
is bathing in a flock of gulls.
data compilation Sun Chengjun
(updated every Monday to be continued)
