The naming of alleys in alleys

Hutongs are small streets and lanes in Shanghai (south). After the Ming Dynasty, it was officially classified as an alley. In the past, it was generally believed that hutong was the transliteration of Mongolian town or the loanword of Mongolian water well, because wherever there is a residential settlement, there must be a water source (well). The urban area of ??Beijing has been centered on water wells, and residential areas have been distributed for a long time. Recently, the "Beijing Evening News" published a new research article, arguing that "hutong" is not a loanword from Mongolian for "well", but from Chinese.

Every time an alley is formed, people will naturally give it a name. Once this name is accepted by most people and is widely used, it will truly represent the role of this alley in the entire city. Orientation has become an indispensable symbol in people's interactions, communications and other activities. This is a practical reference to the name of the alley.

Since the name of the hutong was first formed in the Yuan Dynasty, it has always been passed down orally from people to people. As for writing it in words on the sign and hanging it at the entrance of the alley, it was only after the Republic of China.

Although the hutongs in Beijing seem to be all-encompassing, they include rivers, lakes and seas (Dajiang Hutong, Hebochang Hutong, Tuanjie Lake, Haibin Hutong), mountains, rivers and sun and moon (Tuyanshan Hutong, Chuandian Hutong, Huisheng Hutong). , Moonlight Hutong), surnames of people (Zhangzizhong Road, Jiajia Hutong), market products (Caishikou Hutong, Yinwan Hutong), factories and workshops (polishing factory, paint making alley), flowers, grass, fish and insects (Huazhi Hutong, Caoyuan Hutong, Goldfish Hutong, beekeeping alley), Yunyuxingkong (Yunju Hutong, Yuer Hutong, Daxing Hutong, Kongchang), chicken, duck and fish meat (Chicken Feet Hutong, Duck Shop, Fresh Fish Port, Meat Market Street), etc., there are many names. It's confusing to watch, but if you analyze it carefully, it still has its own internal rules.

The names of alleys and streets were mostly determined by official government agencies, palaces and temples, warehouses and workshops, bridges, rivers, market trade, commodities and utensils, people's surnames, scenery and people's sentiments, and many of them are still in use today. .

1. Named after an image symbol

Therefore, many hutongs are named after an obvious image symbol, which also shows the authenticity, straightforwardness and humor of Beijing people. Like a wider alley, people casually call it "Kuanjie", a narrow one is called "Jiadao", a slanted one is called "Xiejie", a zigzag one is called "Badaowan", a rectangular one is called "box", and a short one is called "Xiejie". There are "Yichidajie", low-lying ones called "Xiawazi", slender ones called "bamboo poles", long and flat ones called "carpet poles", one end thin and one thick called "small trumpet" and so on.

There are also alleys named after special signs, such as Tangzi Hutong, Shihu Hutong, Cypress Hutong (today's Baishun Hutong), Tieshi Hutong, etc. In addition, there are also hutongs named after local characteristics or shapes, such as Er'eryan Hutong, Luoquan Hutong, Chair Circle Hutong, etc.

2. Named after places

In the early years, the most conspicuous and prominent symbols were city gates, temples, archways, fences, wells, rivers, bridges and factories, so There are Xizhimen inner and outer streets, front and back Yuanensi Hutong, Dongsi (archway), Xidan (archway), Dashilan (old Beijingers pronounce it as: Dashila), Shuijing Hutong and Sanlihe named after this. , Yindingqiao Hutong and other alley names.

3. Trees and plants

Some small alleys do not have these particularly conspicuous signs near them. There are many trees planted in the alleys, and there are alleys named after trees such as Willow Alley, Zaolin Alley, and Chunshu Alley.

4. Orientation

Many hutongs are named with the words east, west, south, north, front, back and middle in front of the name in order to make it easier to find. Such as Dongtangen Hutong, Xihongmen Hutong, Nanyueyaer Hutong, Beibanbi Hutong, Qianbaihu Hutong, Houniwa Hutong, Zhongmao Hutong, etc.

5. Beijing’s dialect

Because the name of the hutong was initiated by Beijingers living in the hutong, there are many Beijing dialects in it, such as the shady Hutong, Deng'er Hutong, Mengulu Guan'er Hutong, Dabhu Hutong, Yizi Hutong, Gaga Hutong, etc.

There are also many hutongs with baby sounds, which are more Beijing-style, such as Luo'er Hutong, Ya'er Hutong, Yu'er Hutong, Shang'er Hutong, Mao'er Hutong, Pen'er Hutong, and Jing'er Hutong. Hu and others.

6. Auspicious words

Some alley names can also express people’s good wishes. People are always willing to use some auspicious words to name alleys. Hutongs with the words "happy", "luck", "longevity", etc. include Xiqing Hutong, Xique Hutong, Fushun Hutong, Fusheng Hutong, Shouchang Hutong, Shouyuubai Hutong, etc. There are also Ping'an Hutong, Anfu Hutong, Jishikou Hutong, Yongxiang Hutong, etc. with the words "ping", "an", "ji", and "xiang".

There are also romantic alley names, such as Baihua Depeng, Xinghuatian, etc., as well as ridiculous dog tail (old Beijingers pronounce it as "Gou Yiba"), sheep tail Yang Yiba ) alley, etc.

7. Alleys named after official government agencies

Such as Lumicang, Xixinsi, Xishiku, Jianyuan Hutong, Fuxue Hutong, Gongyuan Hutong, Bingma Hutong Si, etc., the alleys named after the official titles of relatives of the emperor and nobles, such as Yongkanghou Hutong, Wudinghou Hutong, Sanbao Dadi Hutong (the former residence of Sanbao eunuch Zheng He is now named Sanbulao Hutong), Master Wu Liang Hutong, etc.

8. Alleys named after market trade

For example, Xianyukou, Mule and Horse Market, Gangwa City, Sheep Market, Pig Market, Rice Market, Coal Market, Jewelry Market...

9. Those named after temples include Longfu Temple Street, Dafo Temple Street, Baochan Temple Street, Huguo Temple Street, Zhengjue Temple Alley, Guanyin Temple Alley, Fangju Temple Alley, etc.

10. Hutongs named after handicraft workers and ordinary residents include Casserole Liu Hutong (today’s Dashaguo Hutong), Wangzhima Hutong (today’s Wangzhima Hutong), and Gelma Zhang Hutong (today’s Shuanma Hutong) ), Mengduan Hutong, Liuhan Hutong (now Liuhai Hutong), Anchengjia Hutong (now Ancheng Hutong).

11. Hutongs and names

Beijing’s hutongs have very particular names and are a reference for us to study the society of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. After Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, made Beijing his capital, most of his heroes lived in Beijing, and many alleys were named after them.

For example, the hutong where the residence of Yongkang Hou Xuzhong is located is called Yongkang Hou Hutong, which is today's Yongkang Hutong in North City. The hutong where the residence of Wu'an Hou Zhengheng was located was called Wu'anhou Hutong, and later it was mistakenly called Wuwanghou Hutong, which is today's Xisibeibatiao.

In the early Ming Dynasty, General Xu Da lived in Beijing for a long time. His eldest daughter married Zhu Di, the then King of Yan. When Zhu Di attacked Nanjing, Xu Da's fourth son Zengshou informed Zhu Di and was killed by Emperor Jianwen. After Zhu Di entered Nanjing, he caressed the corpse and cried bitterly. After he came to the throne, he posthumously named Xu Zengshou the Marquis of Wuyang, and soon after he was granted the title Duke of Ding. The street where Duke Ding Xu lived was called Dingfu Street, which is today's Dingfu Street in North City. .

As for today’s Sanbulao Hutong, it is the former residence of Zheng He, the Sanbao eunuch. Zheng He was known as Sanbao Dad, and the alley where he lived was called Sanbao Dad Hutong, which was later mistakenly called Sanbu Lao Hutong. Wuliang Lord Hutong in Dongcheng, today's Hongxing Hutong, is a misname of Wu Liang Lord Hutong. Wu Liang was a general under Ming Taizu.

The commercial economy developed after the middle of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, some individual workers also left names for the hutongs where they lived with their outstanding labor. For example, in the Ming Dynasty, there were workers named Tang who washed cloth in Nancheng. The alley where they lived was called Tang Xibai Street, which is today's Tang Xibo Street in Chongwen District.

There is a Fenfang Liuli Street in Xuanwu District, which is a misname of Fenfang Liujia Street. There was a handicraft worker surnamed Yao in Dongcheng who was good at casting pots. The hutong where his home was located was called Yao Zhuguo Hutong. Later it was mistakenly called Yao Zhiguo Hutong, which is today’s Zhiguo Hutong near Beijing Station West Street.

There is a Tofuchen Hutong in Beicheng, which was later called Doufuchi Hutong. Another characteristic of the Ming Dynasty was that there were many paper horse shops used for making sacrifices, which reflected the prevalence of religious activities in the Ming Dynasty. Among the names of the hutongs are Wangzhima Hutong and Hezhima Hutong. Today they are also called Wangzhima Hutong and Heizhima Hutong.

The names of hutongs in Beijing are actually people-centered, and some hutongs are named directly after people.

There are also many alleys not named after people, but there are former residences of famous people, such as the former residence of Kang Youwei in Mishi Hutong, the former residence of Tan Sitong in the northern half of the alley, the Zhongshan Guild Hall where Dr. Sun Yat-sen visited, and the Xiao Yangjia Hutong on Zhuchao Street. It is the birthplace of Mr. Lao She. There is Mei Lanfang’s former residence on Huguosi Street, Mao Dun’s former residence in Houyuanensi Alley, Cheng Yanqiu’s former residence in Xisibeishiao, etc. Although the names of other types of alleys are not directly named after people, they are also directly related to people's daily lives.

The names of Hutongs such as Xiangwen Prime Minister Hutong, Zhangzizhong Road, and Zhao Dengyu Road were all named by people to commemorate the national heroes, thus clearly expressing people's admiration for the national heroes. This shows that the name of the hutong is not only a practical reference, but also has an aesthetic function and humanistic tendency.

8. Changes in the names of hutongs

The names of some hutongs have not changed much from the Yuan Dynasty to today, such as Zhuangta Hutong.

There are more than 30 Hutongs including Menlou Hutong, Luoer Hutong, Cuihua Hutong, Rongxian Hutong, Fafa Hutong, Songshu Hutong, Shijia Hutong and Dengcao Hutong that have not changed much since the Ming Dynasty. . However, the names of many alleys have changed repeatedly with the change of dynasties. One alley at most has five or six previous names.

Caishikou Hutong in Xuanwumen was originally called Ropejiang Hutong in the Ming Dynasty. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was rumored to be the Immortal Hutong, and later it was rumored to be the Prime Minister Hutong.

There are also some hutongs whose names were originally relatively vulgar, but later gradually became more elegant. For example, Donkey City Hutong was changed to Lishi Hutong, Houwei Hutong was changed to Houwei Hutong, and Jizhao Hutong was changed to Houwei Hutong. It became Jizhao Hutong, Shourou Hutong became Shouliu Hutong, Dung Beetle Hutong became Shiliang Hutong, Shoupi Hutong became Shoubi Hutong, and Niuxue Hutong became Study Abroad Alley. These basically replace the bad words with homophones that mean good things. It is a homophonic conversion, and the sound is similar to the original sound. People in the alley are happy to accept it, so it can spread.

But if it is imposed on people without the approval of the general public, it will not scream. For example, during the Cultural Revolution, under the influence of the ultra-left trend of thought, some words with obvious slogans were imposed on the names of alleys, such as renaming Daijia Hutong to Red Sentinel Hutong, renaming Beidouya Hutong to Hongxiaobing Hutong, and renaming Beidouya Hutong to Hongxiaobing Hutong. Doujiao Hutong was renamed Hongjii Hutong, Zhushikou West Street was renamed Hongwei East Road, etc. However, the name only lasted for a while and soon disappeared.

This shows that the name of the alley is not something that can be changed casually. However, there are some hutong names whose historical significance has actually been lost. For example, Liulichang no longer burns glazed tiles and has become a cultural street where the book industry and cultural relics are concentrated. Meishi Street no longer sells coal, and Caishikou no longer sells vegetables. , Rice Market is no longer found in Mishi Hutong, and Hongge is no longer found in Yage Market, but its old name is still called that today. The reason is that it is closely related to people's daily life.

The longest hutong, Dongjiaomin Lane, is 3 kilometers long

The shortest hutong, Yi Chi Street, is only 25.23 meters long

The widest hutong, Lingjing Hutong, is the widest The width is 32.18 meters

The narrowest hutong is the small trumpet mouth hutong, and the north entrance is less than 0.6 meters

The hutong with the most turns, Jiuwan Hutong

The oldest hutong in the Yuan Dynasty There are Brick Pagoda Hutongs

The only remaining cross-street building is the Guanyin Yuan Cross-street Building in Rufuli

Although most of the Hutongs in Beijing run due south and north, and due east and west. But there are also side streets.

The longest skew street in Beijing starts from Xizhimen Nei Street in the north, ends at Zhao Dengyu Road at Fuchengmen Nei Street in the south, and continues from Taipingqiao Street to Fuxingmen Nei Street in the south, and then to Tonglinge Road. From there, go south to Xuanwumen West Street. A street that was originally an important waterway in the west of Beijing connects the longest diagonal street in Beijing.

The longest alleys are Dong and Xijiaomin Lane. This alley is parallel to Chang'an Street, to the south of Chang'an Street, running east-west, starting from Chongwenmen Nei Street in the east and ending at North Xinhua Street in the west. It is only 1.5 miles shorter than Chang'an Avenue, which is actually eight miles long from Dongdan to Xidan.

The opposite of the longest and widest is the shortest and narrowest alley. Southeast of the east entrance of Liulichang East Street, the section from the east entrance of Tongzi Hutong to the north entrance of Yingtao Hutong was originally called Yichi Street, but it was only about ten meters long and ran east-west. Now it has been merged into Yangmeizhu Xiejie.