镇江：静水流深

镇江：静水流深

ZHENJIANG STILL WATER SURFACE WITH DEEP UNDERCURRENT

At the cross point of the Yangtze River: a major river runs all the way from the West to the East; and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal: a man-made miracle which made economic communication between the South and the North possible, you will fi nd Zhenjiang. The unique geographic location gave rise to this city more than 3000 years ago. It is not only a cross point of two signif i cant rivers, but also a city to help complementing the South and theNorth, the East and the West culturally and economically.

Text by Lan Xiaojiang Translation by Tao Wenjia Photos by ZengJian & CFP

采访支持：镇江市旅游发展委员会 & 镇江市创业精英联合会

横贯东西的中华母亲河——长江，带动南北经济流通的人工奇迹——京杭大运河，它们的交汇处就在——镇江。

特殊的地理位置，赋予了镇江特别的声名和地位。无论是在多个朝代的历史进程中，还是在典籍经典、诗词书画、民间传说里，要找到镇江，都不是件难事。然而，即使声名远播，它却始终像一位低调谦和的大家闺秀，带着江南的典雅秀气，藏着北方的质朴大方，安静地站立在千年江山之间，恬然地生长于人间烟火之中。

Maoshan Mountain (photos by Wang Zhenrong)茅山风光（王镇容 摄）

1. Xijin Ferry, which has witnessed the development of harbor economy in Zhenjiang, has a lifespan of approximately 2000 years, representing the geographical importance of the city and the styles of the prosperous business culture.西津渡是镇江港口经济发展的实物见证，有近两千年的积淀，体现着镇江地处要塞，商旅繁荣的风貌。

If you don't visit Zhenjiang personally, it will be very diff i cult to understand how such a small city can carry so much history, attract so many distingushed personages, and produce so many stories.

At night, when you walk in the Ancient Xijin Ferry Street, the famous Southern mist surrounds you after rain.

Under your feet, there is the green stone paved road that nobody knows when it was built. By chances, you see a stone tower from the Yuan Dynasties at a corner. And at the next corner, you will come across a Late Qing building. Several stone doors on a slope have inscriptions of famous people from different periods of time, while the small ferry street in the West still keeps its Tang-Song style. Just when you are so immersed in this historical scene, maybe imagining the once prosperous ferry, you take another turn, and two old ladies are singing Yangzhou opera when the street store owner is playing Erhu for them. In another store nearby, a man with long beard and long gown is taking a nap. The sign outside the store reads “plum temple ancient Zheng”. At the foot of the hill, there is an ancient stage surrounded by a colonial building. People drink coffee, tea, and wine there. Outside, on a lamp post, there is a Tang-Dynasty poem about the Xijin Ferry.

This is the charm of Zhenjiang. People live in history, and history is revitalized through life. This city has history, but it's not weighty; the city has culture but it is from the people. You can fi nd the best Buddhist and Daoist temples here. Books of science and arts such as "The Dream Creek Essays" and "The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons" were written here. Folklore has been passed down for generations: "The White Snake and Xu Xian", "Dong Yong and the 7th Goddess" and "The Butterf l y Lovers".

People in Zhenjiang say that their city has authentic mountains and rivers which attract poets, rich people and reputable elites. All of the four classical novels in China mention Zhenjiang. Hundreds of famous poems from Tang and Song Dynasties mentioned this city. Nobel Prize winner Pearl Buck call this city her "second hometown". Master Hsing Yun believes that "I wouldn't have become what I am now without Zhenjiang". Soong Mei-lin said that her trip to Zhenjiang was "hard to forget". History and Geography brought them to this city, but what made them stay, is the inclusiveness and humbleness of the city.

2. Zhenjiang embraces five Chinese religions . Its religious culture has an essential influence at home and abroad.镇江的宗教文化在全国乃至世界都有较大影响。

3. Since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Zhenjiang has been always a touristi destination with a good reputation and is entitled“ City Forest.从南北朝以来，镇江一直是长江流域久负盛名的旅游胜地，被北宋书画家米芾称为“城市山林”。

4. The art of Zhenjiang is usually tranquil and natural, full of refined pleasure in daily life. (Disorder Embroidery, by Fang Meilong)镇江艺术作品风格多恬静自然，充满生活雅趣。（《富贵九鱼图》，乱针绣非遗传承人方美珑作品）

如果不亲身来到镇江，很难理解，这座不大的城市，何以能装得下那么多历史，引来那么多名流，发生那么多闻名遐迩的故事。

漫步在西津古渡，踩着唐宋以来多个朝代铺成的青石路，你可能在某一个转角遇到元明的石塔，又在下一个拐弯看到晚清时期的楼阁。沿坡而建的门楣上有历代名人的题字，西边的小码头街保持着唐宋风韵。而当你还沉浸在历史的印迹中，遥想当年西津渡人来货往的繁盛景象时，一转角，可能看到两个阿姨在老街唱着扬剧。而不远的另一家铺子里，一个留着胡子、穿着长褂的男人正在闭目养神，他门口的招牌上写着：梅庵古琴。在另一边的英式建筑里，有人正在喝着咖啡、茶和酒。它外面的街道灯柱上，印着一首唐代的古诗。

这就是镇江的迷人之处。多段历史在此累积，各种文化得以交融。人活在历史里，历史活化于生活中。它有历史但不沉重，它有文化但不脱离民间。它有代表佛教道教最高水平的寺庙，也诞生了可以代表当时世界最高水平的科学人物（祖冲之）和科学成果，它有丰富的文学底蕴，中国四大名著都提到过镇江，唐宋诗词里关于此地诗篇数以千计，也有丰富发达的市井商业百年商铺；它曾经诞生过代表“十一世纪科技坐标”的《梦溪笔谈》、文学理论著作《文心雕龙》，也有代代相传的民间传说——白娘子与许仙，七仙女与董永，梁山伯与祝英台等。以上几乎每一个方面，都能让镇江在中国文化史上占有一席之地。

它还是一座地道的山水园林城市。镇江人说，他们的城市有“真山真水”，有如画的风景，便利的交通，于是吸引着一代代文学巨匠、达官贵人来此定居。苏东坡曾十一次来此游历，诺贝尔文学奖获得者赛珍珠称它为“第二故乡”，星云大师称“没有镇江就没有我”，宋美龄也对当年的镇江之旅念念不忘……

不可否认，南北要冲的地理条件，提供各方文化汇聚的机遇，而让它们就此扎根的，却是这座城市包容并蓄的胸怀，低调谦和、悠然自得的性格。