History of West Lake in Hangzhou

West Lake used to be a bay, which evolved from a lagoon to a lagoon, an ordinary lake. West Lake used to be a natural lake, but it was submerged in the development process. The West Lake is a lake in Qiantang County, so it is called Qiantang Lake (after the Tang Dynasty, "Qiantang" was changed to "Qiantang"), and because there is a lake connected to it in the north, the water level is lower than it, so it is called Fox Xia, so the West Lake is called Shanghu accordingly.

The acquisition of the name West Lake is the result of historical development and geographical changes in Qiantang County. Since Qin established Qiantang County in the mountains of West Lake, during the Han, Three Kingdoms, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, the county administration may have been far away from the mountains and gradually entered the plain. In the 11th year of Emperor Wendi (59 1), Qiantang County moved to Liu Pu at the foot of Phoenix Mountain, and rose to the status of Hangzhou State Administration at the administrative level.

In the second year of Changqing (822), Bai Juyi built a lake embankment near Hanshiqiao, which was several feet higher than the original lake shore. It used to be the connection between the upper lake and the lower source. The water level of the West Lake is higher than that of the lower lake, and Bai Juyi's embankment has caused a greater gap between the upper and lower lakes.

Although the lake has been flooded for a long time, this artificial terrain gap still exists obviously in two directions: at least Nian Hydropower Station near the Children's Palace in the north of the West Lake and Huancheng West Road in the east. Bai Juyi's construction of the lake embankment at the beginning of the ninth century is epoch-making for the development of the West Lake, because since then, the nature of the West Lake has changed, from a natural lake to an artificial lake.

The West Lake was changed because Bai Juyi built a dike, but Bai Juyi still called it Qiantang Lake. When the name West Lake became popular, it was already an artificial lake.

After the West Lake became an artificial lake, it was renovated in the era of Wu Yueguo. After the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Ji in Jingdezhen (1007) not only dredged the whole lake, but also built the sluice and weir equipment of the West Lake. In the Song Renshou (1023-1063) and the well-known Jian Zheng and Shen Li era, the former used tens of thousands of migrant workers to abandon lakes for farmland and carry out large-scale dredging.

In addition to these six wells, the latter added a new well with extra large water supply, which was later called Shen Gong Well. In the second year of Xining (1069), Su Shi carefully studied the West Lake Water Conservancy and worked out a scheme to dredge the wells in six wells and Shen Gong. In the first year of Yuan You (1086), Su Shi came to Hangzhou for the second time as a magistrate, made a plan to dredge the West Lake, and presented the memorial of Hangzhou seeking the West Lake to the court.

The memorial is the first time that the name "West Lake" has been used in official documents, which indicates that the city of Hangzhou has been completely established to the east of the West Lake, and the name "West Lake" has become popular.

brief introduction

Located in the west of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China (PRC), West Lake is one of the first national key scenic spots in Chinese mainland and one of the top ten scenic spots in China. One of the main ornamental freshwater lakes in Chinese mainland.

The West Lake is adjacent to Hangzhou City in the east and surrounded by mountains on the other three sides, with an area of about 6.39 square kilometers, a length of about 3.2 kilometers from north to south, a width of about 2.8 kilometers from east to west, and a circumference of about 15 kilometers. The average depth of the West Lake is 2.27 meters, and the water capacity is about14.29 million cubic meters.

The lake is separated by an isolated mountain, Bai Causeway, Su Causeway and Yang Gongdi. According to the size of the area, it is divided into five water surfaces: Waixi Lake, Xili Lake (also known as "Houxi Lake" or "Houhu"), Beili Lake (also known as "Lixi Lake"), Hu Xiaonan (also known as "Nanhu Lake") and Yuehu Lake, of which Waixi Lake has the largest area.

Gushan Mountain is the largest natural island in the West Lake. Su Causeway and Bai Causeway pass through the lake, and three artificial islands, Zhou Xiaoying, Hu Xinting and Ruan Gongdun, stand in the center of Waixi Lake. Leifeng Tower and Baokui Tower face each other across the lake, forming a basic pattern of "one mountain, two towers, three islands, three dikes and five lakes".

Because of its important position in China's history, culture and scenic spots, West Lake was selected as the first batch of national key scenic spots (1982), the top ten scenic spots in China (1985) and the first batch of national 5A-level tourist attractions (2006).

In addition, the back of the one-dollar foreign exchange certificate issued by People's Republic of China (PRC) 1979 and the fifth set of RMB one-dollar notes issued in 2004 all adopt the pattern of "three pools printing the moon", which further illustrates the position of Hangzhou West Lake in China's scenic spots. There are dozens of lakes named after "West Lake" in China, and it is generally considered that Hangzhou West Lake is the most famous one. 20 1 1 On June 24th, Hangzhou West Lake cultural landscape was included in the World Heritage List.

Extended data:

Ten Views of the West Lake

The name of the Ten Scenes of the West Lake originated from the landscape paintings of the Southern Song Dynasty. Yu Fang Sheng Lan and Wu Meng were recorded in the Southern Song Dynasty, and were also mentioned in literati poems at that time.

These ten scenic spots are all near or in the West Lake. The top ten scenic spots are Autumn Moon in Pinghu, Chunxiao in Su Causeway, Canxue, Sunset in Leifeng, midnight in Nanping, Fenglian in Quyuan, Fish Watching in Huagang, Willow Waves Singing, Santanyue and Shuangfeng Cloud. In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi made a southern tour of Hangzhou, inscribed ten scenes of the West Lake, and changed "two peaks inserted into clouds" to "two peaks inserted into clouds"; "Leifeng Xi Zhao" (or "Leifeng Xi Zhao") was changed to "Leifeng Xi Zhao"; "Nanping Night Clock" was changed to "Nanping Xiao Zhong".

However, the names "Zhao Xi" and "Xiao Zhong" have not been accepted by people, and later generations still use the old names of the Southern Song Dynasty. Since then, local officials have carved stones and built pavilions to protect books written by Emperor Kangxi. At this time, the Ten Scenery Stone Monument of West Lake has become a symbol of scenic spots. When Emperor Qianlong visited Hangzhou in the south, he wrote a poem in each of the Ten Scenes, which was engraved on the dark side of the stone tablet, making the Ten Scenes of the West Lake more widely known.

The names of the top ten scenic spots are not only properly worded, but also neat in antithesis (strictly speaking, it is not antithesis, but also must be measured and level). For example, Pinghu Qiuyue, Su Causeway Chunxiao, Broken Bridge, Quyuan Fenglian, Nanping Night Bell and Leifeng Sunset can be matched with any two scenes. "Watching the fish in the flower harbor", "Listening to the warbler in the willow waves", or "Reading the moon in the three pools" and "Two peaks in the clouds" are also antithetical sentences or phrases, which are very neat.

During the period of 1984, five units, including Hangbao, carried out the selection of the top ten scenic spots of the new West Lake, and finally the new top ten scenic spots were determined as Yun Qi Bamboo Trail and Jiuxi Tobacco Tree. The feature of the new Ten Scenes is that its geographical scope is larger than that of the old Ten Scenes, and most of them are located in the mountainous areas around the West Lake. Like the traditional Ten Scenes of West Lake, the name of the new Ten Scenes is dual.

For example, "Jiuxi Smoke Tree" is compared to "full of rain in Gui Long" or "Wushan Tianfeng" (where "nine" and "full" are numerals, which are relatively simple); The combination of Jade Emperor Flying Clouds, Gem Flowing Clouds, Longjing Tea Quest, Tiger Running Mooncherry, Huanglong Cui Tu and Soft Shield Surrounding the Wall is also very neat.

In 2007, the Hangzhou Municipal Government conducted the "Three Comments on the Ten Scenes of the West Lake" and collected names. Lingyin Temple and other scenic spots were shortlisted and became the Ten Scenes of the New West Lake. Scenic spots include Lingyin Temple, a thousand-year-old temple, Pagoda of Six Harmonies, a famous pagoda in the Northern Song Dynasty, and Qianwang Memorial Hall and Song Wan Academy, which have been restored and rebuilt in recent years.

Second, the humanities of the West Lake

1, religious art

West Lake is closely related to Buddhism and Taoism. In the long history, various religious groups and Taoist temples have gathered in the West Lake and the surrounding mountains, adding a strong religious color to the West Lake. Among them, the period of Wu Yueguo was the peak.

At that time, kings of past dynasties were enthusiastic about Buddhism. They built many temples, pagodas, classic buildings and grottoes around the West Lake, expanded Lingyin Temple, established Zhaoqing Temple, Jingci Temple Temple, Lian Temple, Liu Tong Temple and Daoguang Temple, and built Baokui Tower, Pagoda of Six Harmonies Tower, Leifeng Tower and Baita Tower, which was once known as the Buddhist country.

Today, Baokui Pagoda and the rebuilt Leifeng Pagoda are still the representative scenic spots of the West Lake, and Lingyin Temple, with the largest wooden Buddha statue in China, is one of the most popular scenic spots in the West Lake.

2. Literary works

The West Lake, with its beautiful lakes, mountains and deep cultural background, attracted the attention of literati in past dynasties, so it also left many literary masterpieces and classics. Biography of Wulin, West Lake Dream, West Lake Collection, records of the west lake, Notes on Hushan, etc. Recorded a large number of historical sites and stories about the West Lake and ancient Hangzhou.

In addition, many writers in modern times also became attached to the West Lake. In terms of poetry, poets such as Bai Juyi, Su Shi, Liu Yong, Yang Wanli, Lin Bu, Xu Zhimo and Hu Shi left countless quatrains. In prose, famous writers such as Zhang Dai, Lu Xun, Yu Pingbo, Yu Dafu and Zong Pu have written many famous articles. The following are some literary works closely related to the West Lake.

3. Folklore

There are many folk legends and fairy tales circulating in the West Lake since ancient times. The most famous ones are Legend of the White Snake, Butterfly Lovers and Su Xiaoxiao. In The Legend of the White Snake, such plots as "Meeting at the Broken Bridge" and "The White Snake was crushed to death by the Leifeng Tower" are closely related to the ten scenic spots of the West Lake. Liang Zhu's legendary love story took place in Song Wan Academy near the West Lake.

In addition, there are many folk stories such as Yue Fei, Jigong, Yang Naiwu and Chinese Cabbage, as well as legends such as early balcony, double-headed bridge, Dongpo meat, chopped green onion with cypress and eighteen imperial teas.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area