In the early Ming Dynasty, Jinan became the provincial capital of Shandong, and various yamen at the provincial, prefecture, and county levels were staggered in the old Jinan city. As time goes by, these official offices have undergone many changes, but the old streets and alleys

Photography: Shao Kai

In the early Ming Dynasty, Jinan became the provincial capital of Shandong, and various yamen at the provincial, prefecture, and county levels were staggered in the old Jinan city. As time goes by, these official offices have undergone many changes, but the old streets and alleys crisscrossing the city are like veins traveling through time and space.

When visiting the old town of Jinan, Xianxi Lane, a prosperous street perpendicular to Quancheng Road, is not to be missed. The commercial buildings that combine classical and fashionable styles give this old street a completely new look. The "county" in County West Lane does not refer to the administrative divisions at the county level, but to the ancient Licheng County Office, which is also the Licheng County Government. Although this old building is no longer there, it is not difficult to find its location.

Photography: Wang Xiao

About 200 meters east of County West Lane, there is an echoing Old Street County East Lane. There are two crossing alleys in the middle and north of Xianxi Alley and Xiandong Alley, which are Xianqian Street in the south and Xianback Street in the north. These four old streets and alleys are named because they are located in the east, west, south and north of the county government office respectively. The place surrounded by the four streets is where the Licheng County government office used to be. According to Tang Jingchun, an expert on Jinan literature and history, the history of Licheng County is clear and traceable. Licheng County was established as early as the 44th year of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty (153 BC) and belonged to Jinan County, Qingzhou. Licheng County Government also had a troubled life.

During the Chongzhen Simao period of the Ming Dynasty, as the Qing troops captured Jinan City, the Licheng County Government Office was burned down by fire. The officers and soldiers could only work on the ground while sleeping in the wind. At that time, the county magistrate Song Zufa renovated the Licheng County government office and "made dozens of official residences as before" in an attempt to restore its original appearance.

During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty and after, Licheng County Government Office was rebuilt many times and became much more spacious than before. During the Daoguang period, due to a fire caused by a chef's carelessness, the county government office was almost burned down again and had to be rebuilt. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the east, west, and south sides of Licheng County Office formed County East Alley, County West Alley, County Office Front Street, and County Back Street respectively. During the Republic of China, the south side of the County Office was changed into County Gate Front Street. These four streets were named after the Licheng County Government Office.

In the first year of the Republic of China, the county office was changed to the county office, and the county magistrate was changed to the county governor. When the National Government of came to , the county office was changed to the county government. In 1937, the Licheng government office moved to Wangsheren Village in Xinjiang. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, the Shandong branch of the Youth League of the Three People's Principles was stationed here, and the streets in front of the county government were renamed Qingnian Road. Later, the original Licheng County Government Office was demolished and built into dormitory buildings for provincial-level agencies. In 1980, Xianqian Street was renamed.

In the past, County West Alley was an important passage in and out of Prince De's Mansion and the Shandong Governor's Office in the Qing Dynasty. It was also an important grain storage area in the Qing Dynasty. There are many winding alleys as dense as spider webs on both sides of County West Lane. On the west side of the street are Niutou Lane, Caisheng Lane, Mashimenqian Street, North and South Cangpeng Street, Zhenchi Street, houzaimen Street, and Wanshougong Street. ; On the east side of the street are County Front Street, County Back Street, East-West Caiyuan Street, North-South Caiyuan Street, Xinglongdian Street and North Chayuan Street.

From the names of these streets, we can see how prosperous Xianxi Lane was. For example, Mihemenqian Street was named after Xianxi Lane was the location of the granary in the Qing Dynasty. In the place where horses were raised in Licheng County, officials came and went like this, and Mayuanzi Street in the county got its name.

As time goes by, the appearance of County West Lane has also changed. During the road reconstruction, many small alleys on both sides have been included, especially the north and south Bell Tower Temple Street, which has been completely merged into the County West Alley, making the County West Alley wider and longer, and becoming a north-south urban subdivision in the old city. Main road.

Since the Western Jin Dynasty period, the capital of Jinan County was moved from Dongpingling City to Licheng. The old Jinan City has been the administrative center of counties and countries in the past dynasties. In the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Jinan County was changed to "Jinan Prefecture", and its capital was located in Licheng. For a long time, "Jinan Prefecture" became the highest administrative agency in Jinan City. Jinan Prefecture The department was also built accordingly. However, the Jinan government office whose location can be clarified can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty.

According to historical records, Jinan Government Office was founded in the early years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty. It was originally built on Yunshu Street (the site of today's Quancheng Middle School) and was founded by Cui Liang, the prefect of Jinan. Tang Jingchun said that at that time, this place was not called Yunshu Street. After research, it was found that this area was a large iron smelting base that began in the Han Dynasty.In the ninth year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1473), Yanchasi, one of the "Three Divisions", moved here, and the Jinan government office moved out. This street was called Yanchasi Street.

During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Salt Transportation Department originally located on Fudong Street (now northwest of the Huangting Gymnasium) moved to this street, and was gradually separated from and classified as Chasi Street, which gave the name of the Transportation Department Street. Since 1906, Jinan Women's Middle School and Jinan No. 1 Middle School, the earliest public middle school in Jinan, have been opened on this small street of only 230 meters. The Salt Transport Mission has also been transformed into Jinan Luoyuan Middle School, and the former official site has become Entered the academic gathering area.

In the 1950s, Jinan Luoyuan Middle School was changed to Jinan No. 18 Middle School, and it was here that Tang Jingchun studied. He recalled that at that time some of the old buildings of the Salt Transport Mission were still basically preserved, but most of them were converted into teaching and research offices. Every spring, peach blossoms bloom in the courtyard, contrasting with the antique old house, forming a beautiful picture. In 1966, this street was once renamed "Transportation Street", and after 1980 it was renamed its original name.

After the Chasi moved in, the Jinan government office moved to the former site of Kaiyuan Temple in the east of County West Lane. The prefect Chen Xiu used the original building to renovate it, including Jingshi Hall, later Qinhe Hall, and Hall, shelf, pavilion, library and other buildings. The road in front of Jinan Government Office is bounded by it. The one on the east side is called Fudong Street and the one on the west side is called Fuxi Street.

In the twelfth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1639 AD), Qing troops captured Jinan and all the government offices were burned down. It was not rebuilt by the prefect Jiang Kun until the 25th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1686 AD). After the reconstruction, the basic layout of the government office remains the same. Outside the gate of the building, there is a screen wall with stone foundation, brick body and tile roof opposite. It is painted with a colorful picture of a lion that is said to be able to distinguish between right and wrong and touch those who are not straight with its horns to show its power. On both sides of the gate outside the house, there are many auxiliary institutions. To the east are the wardens, warehouses, etc., and to the west are the prisons, prisons, etc.

After the Revolution of 1911, Jinan Prefecture was abolished. After liberation, it was the Shandong Provincial Police College. In 1962, it was converted into the residence of the CPPCC Shandong Provincial Committee. Subsequently, the old buildings that had been in disrepair were demolished, and office buildings and supporting dormitory buildings were built, changing the dilapidated appearance of the past. Fudong Street and Fuxi Street in front of the hospital have been widened and renovated many times. It has become part of Quancheng Road and is hard to find.

In the ninth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1376 AD), the provincial capital of Shandong was moved from Qingzhou Prefecture to Jinan Prefecture. Since then, Jinan has been the capital of Shandong Province. Speaking of the provincial capital, people in Jinan will naturally think of Provincial Government Front Street. This street is named because it is located in front of the "provincial capital". The north end of the street is the south gate of the Shandong Provincial People's Government.

Tang Jingchun introduced that the current seat of the provincial capital has been the seat of high-level government offices in Jinan and Shandong Province since the and Southern and Northern Dynasties. After the Revolution of 1911, it served as the Provincial Governor's Office. During the Kuomintang rule, it also served as the Shandong Provincial Department of Civil Affairs. Due to the change of dynasties, the name of this street also changed many times: in the Yuan Dynasty, it was named Xianya Street, also known as Tongzhi Lane, Qingchengli, etc., which may be related to the fact that it was the Shandong East-West Road Su Zheng Lian Visiting Envoy in charge of supervision and justice at that time. related to the company. In the Ming Dynasty, , in recognition of the move of the Chief Secretary of State, this street was changed to Chief Secretary Street. In the Qing Dynasty, this was still the seat of the Shandong Chief Secretary's Office, which was in charge of civil affairs and finance. The street name was also changed to Chief Secretary Street; the east-west alley in front of the gate was called Chief Secretary Street.

Due to the special location of this street, many officials in the past dynasties built their mansions here. Among them, the "Qipin Hall" of the famous writer Zhang Yanghao of the Yuan Dynasty was built on this street. Zhang Yanghao once served as a supervisory censor. He was an upright official and repeatedly criticized current affairs, which was not tolerated by the powerful people at that time. After resigning and going into seclusion, he built a house beside Daming Lake. During the day, he went boating on the lake with his friends, drank wine, composed poems and sang songs. At night, he held a candle and read, living a leisurely life like a fairy.

Later, because the imperial court was stingy with his talent and learning, he issued edicts to requisition him seven times. The first six times he was unmoved. The seventh time, due to a disaster at that time, Zhang Yanghao returned to his official career to provide disaster relief and serve the people. Finally, He died of exhaustion at the disaster relief post. Later generations respected his character of not being subordinate to the powerful and not afraid of high pressure, so they called his former residence "Qipin Hall".

From the late Ming Dynasty to the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty, due to the influence of the development of the commodity economy, the street gradually became prosperous and became a commercial street selling books, pens and inks, antiques, mountings, printing, sporting goods, etc. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was changed to Provincial Front Street. .

Photography: Li Feng

In the 12th year of Chongzhen (1639 AD), when Qing soldiers invaded Jinan, they captured De Wang Zhu Youshu and burned his De Wang Mansion in Pearl Spring. In the fifth year of Kangxi (AD 1666), Shandong Governor Zhou Youde built the governor's office here. Although its area is smaller than that of Mingde Palace, it is the highest authority in Shandong. Because in the Qing Dynasty, provincial governors generally held the title of Metropolitan Procuratorate Right Deputy Capital Censor, so the governor and the governor's yamen were both called "Fuyuan", so people called the area of ​​tens of meters in front of "Fuyuan" Yuanqian Street, the places located on its east and west sides are called Yuandong Street and Yuanxi Street.

Photography: Zhan Yunjian

In front of the governor's office in the Qing Dynasty, there used to be a tall brick screen wall. This screen wall blocked people's sight and made the governor's office a very mysterious place. Behind the screen wall is a semicircular wall, with a door separating the east and west walls. These are the East and West Gates for officials of the governor's Yamen to enter and exit. The two small streets outside the two Yuanmen are called Dongyuanmen Street and Xiyuanmen Street.

After the Revolution of 1911, it became the headquarters of the military governor and the governor's office, and later became the seat of the Shandong Provincial Government. In December 1937, Han Fuju, Chairman of the Shandong Provincial Government of the Kuomintang Han Fuju saw the Japanese invaders approaching Jinan, burned all the buildings in the compound except the lobby, abandoned the city and fled south. After liberation, the government carried out many careful renovations and built an auditorium to the west of the gate, and Building No. 4 to the north became the organ of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress.

Source: Jinan Ancient City Historic District

Author: Chen Juhui Qu Ran