運河兩岸：赴一場千年之約

文／肖寒

○臺兒莊古城內遍布水街水巷，可以舟楫搖曳、遍游全城。圖為古城內的步云廊橋。圖／高啟民In the Old Town of Taierzhuang, there are water streets and alleys everywhere. Visitors may take a boat to travel around the town. The picture depicts the Buyun Gallery Bridge in Taierzhuang.

公元前486年，吳王夫差為爭霸中原，以水路溝通江淮，下令“開邗溝，筑邗城”，從此開啟了大運河2500年的航程。

作為世界上最長、最古老的人工水道，京杭大運河全長1797公里，像一條縱貫南北的大動脈，也緩緩流淌過齊魯大地。如今，在運河兩岸那些煙雨中的樓臺、清晰可識的古跡、復始的駁船……一切都恍如隔世。站在古運河的堤岸上，恰如赴一場跨越千年的約見。

山東境內之運河全長510.6公里，是京杭大運河中海拔最高、船閘密度最大、水利工程成就最集中的河段。先是由北南下至德州，京杭大運河德州段從德州市區及武城、夏津境內穿過，造就了諸多令人贊嘆的古跡。細數之來，四女寺鎮尤為惹眼，因漢朝“四女孝親”的故事傳說而聞名，是當時衛運河上的重要碼頭，常年商賈云集，繁華非常。

由運河乘船順流南下，便是著名的“江北水城”——聊城。全長97.5公里的大運河聊城段，不僅帶動了聊城經濟的發展，還在這片沃土上積淀下豐厚的運河文化遺產。登上位于聊城舊城中央的光岳樓之頂，水城之美便盡收眼底。風光秀麗的東昌湖環繞聊城古城一周，為這座城市增加了靈氣，一座座青磚灰瓦小院勾劃出了平和安靜的寧祥與質樸之美。

而位于聊城東關古運河西岸的山陜會館卻是由繁榮的舊時造就而出的奇跡。清乾隆年間，京杭大運河漕運暢通，聊城的商業尤為繁盛，于是山、陜商人便于公元1743年造建了山陜會館，作為其商賈集會宴游與奉祀關帝的處所。

“南有蘇杭，北有臨張”，這是人們對京杭大運河沿岸四處著名商埠的表述，而其中的“臨”即為山東臨清。大運河造就了古代臨清的富庶繁榮，至今仍保持著舊有城市的繁華肌理，運河鈔關、鰲頭磯、清真寺等是彌足珍貴的運河文化遺存。

京杭大運河泰安東平段，是整個京杭大運河的心臟所在，而之所以稱之為心臟是因為這里的一座入選世界文化遺產的“戴村壩”。戴村壩距今已有600年的歷史，是整個大運河提供調水的重要水利設施，有“中國第二都江堰”之稱。

順流而下，古老的濟寧運河段區幾經整修，皆用青石壘砌，別具一番詩情畫意。大運河水滋潤著悠悠的微山湖，也擁抱著南陽古鎮。元代南北大運河通航后，皇帝走水路南巡必經南陽并在此停居。穿行在運河商埠之地的街巷中，似乎也穿越了歷史。

作為京杭大運河唯一一段東西走向的航道，棗莊段運河從微山湖煙波浩淼的東口，蜿蜒向東流經魯南大地進入江蘇入中運河，造就了十里港灣不夜城。這個城市的臺兒莊古城擁有運河上保存完整的遺產體系——3公里長的古運河河道，被稱為“活著的運河”。作為運河文化的承載體，臺兒莊古城也是二戰遺存最多的抗戰名城。江北水鄉，運河古城，英雄臺兒莊這些塵封的印記，喚醒著這座城市對世界文化遺產的保護和傳承。

編輯/王雪芃

○大運河穿鎮而過為南陽古鎮的街面造就了獨特的景觀。圖／何康The Grand Canal flows through the town and forms the unique scene for the street of Nanyang ancient town.

○古時的四女寺鎮是京杭大運河德州段重要的碼頭，常年商賈云集。圖／武城縣文體廣電新聞出版局提供In the ancient times, Sinusi Town was an important wharf in the Dezhou section of the Grand Canal, where merchants gathered throughout the year.

In 486 BC, King Fuchai of Wu ordered his men to “open up the Hangou Canal and build the Han City” to connect the Yangtze River with the Huai River, for the purpose of achieving hegemony in the Central Plains, and thus started the 2500-year voyage of the Grand Canal.

As the world’s longest and oldest artificial watercourse, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has an overall length of 1,797km. Like a main artery of communications between north and south, it slowly flows through Shandong. Nowadays, the buildings in the misty rain, the clearly visible historical sites, the boats moving in circles, and the like on both banks of the Grand Canal seem not to have changed much. Standing on the embankment of the Grand Canal, you may feel as if keeping an appointment across the millennia.

W i t h a n o v e r a l l l e n g t h o f 510.6km, the Shandong section of the Grand Canal is the section with the highest elevation, the largest navigation lock density and the most centralized achievements in hydraulic engineering. It first flows to Dezhou from north to south. The Dezhou section flowing through the urban area of Dezhou, Wucheng and Xiajin has created numerous amazing historical sites. Among them, Sinushi Town is particularly conspicuous.Famous for the legend of “Four Daughters with Filial Piety”, it was an important wharf on the Wei Canal.With many merchants gathering here throughout the year, it was fairly prosperous.

○臺兒莊保存完好的3公里明清時期古運河遺跡。圖／高啟民The well-preserved 3km ancient canal of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Taierzhuang.

After going downstream by ship on the canal, you will reach the famous “Jiangbei Watertown” –Liaocheng. With an overall length of 97.5km, the Liaocheng section has not only promoted the economic development of Liaocheng, but also accumulated rich canal heritage on the fertile land. Ascending the top of Guangyue Tower in the center of the Old Town of Liaocheng, you will have a panoramic view of the beauty of the Watertown. The Old Town of Liaocheng is surrounded by the beautiful Dongchang Lake, which adds spirituality to this city. Those courtyards made of black bricks and grey tiles outline tranquility and the beauty of simplicity.

The Shanxi-Shaanxi Guildhall located on the west bank of the Dongguan Ancient Canal of Liaocheng is a miracle created by the past prosperity. In the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty, the Grand Canal enjoyed unimpeded transportation,and the business of Liaocheng was particularly thriving. Thus, in 1743,the Shanxi and Shaanxi merchants built the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guildhall as a place for gatherings and banquets of merchants and worship of Guan Yu.

“In the south, there is Suzhou and Hangzhou; in the north, there is Linqing and Zhangqiu.” It represents four famous commercial ports along the Grand Canal. Among them,“Lin” refers to Linqing, Shandong.The Grand Canal contributed to the aff l uence and prosperity of Linqing in ancient times. Today, it still maintains its original thriving texture. The Canal Customs Post, Aotouji, Mosque, and so forth are precious remains of the canal culture.

The Dongping section in Tai’an is the heart of the Grand Canal, because there is “Dai Village Dam” which is included in the list of world cultural heritage. With a history of 600 years,Dai Village Dam is an important water conservancy facility for providing water diversion on the Grand Canal,known as the “Second Dujiangyan of China”.

Flowing downstream, the ancient Jining section has been renovated with limestone several times. It appears poetic and picturesque. The canal water nourishes the Weishan Lake, and embraces the Old Town of Nanyang. After the North-South Grand Canal was opened to navigation in the Yuan Dynasty, Nanyang became an essential stop on the emperor’s southern tour by water, and the emperor often stayed in Nanyang for some days. Walking down the streets and alleys in the commercial port of the Grand Canal, you may feel like traveling across history.

As the sole east-west channel of the Grand Canal, the Zaozhuang section flows from the misty East Estuary of the Weishan Lake, winding its way eastwards to the Zhong Canal after entering Jiangsu by way of Southern Shandong. In this way, it enables the town by the canal to have no darkness all the time. The Old Town of Taierzhuang has a wellpreserved heritage system on the canal – the 3km-long ancient canal channel, which is known as a “Living Canal”. As a carrier of the canal culture, the Old Town of Taierzhuang is also a famous Anti-Japanese War town with the largest quantity of remains of World War II. Such dustladen imprints as the Jiangbei Watertown, the Old Town of the Grand Canal and heroic Taierzhuang arouse the protection and inheritance of world cultural heritage in the city.