As soon as every hutong is formed, people will naturally give it a name. Once this name is accepted and opened by most people, it truly represents the positioning of this hutong in the whole city and becomes an indispensable symbol in people's communication and other activities. This is the practical reference function of hutong names.
The name of Hutong has been handed down by people orally since it was formed in Yuan Dynasty. As for writing on the signboard and hanging on the alley mouth, it was only after the Republic of China.
Although Beijing's hutongs look all-encompassing, there are rivers and lakes (Dajiang Hutong, Hebo Chang Hutong, Tuanjiehu and Haibin Hutong), mountains and rivers, Sun and Moon (Huayangshan Hutong, Chuandian Hutong, Pickup Hutong and Moonlight Hutong), people's surnames (Zhang Zizhong Road, Jiajia Hutong), market commodities (Caishikou Hutong and Yinwan Hutong) and factory workshops (Mill and Paint Hutong). Empty factory), chicken, duck and fish (chicken feet alley, duck shop, fresh fish mouth, meat market street), etc. , numerous and complicated, but careful analysis, there are still its inherent laws.
The names of hutongs, streets and lanes are mostly determined by official institutions such as government offices, temples, warehouses, workshops, bridges, rivers, market trade, commodity vessels, people's surnames, scenery and people's feelings, and many of them are still in use today.
1. Named after the image logo
So many hutongs are named after an obvious image symbol, which also shows the reality, frankness and humor of Beijingers. Like a wide alley, it is called "wide street" if it is read smoothly, "narrow street" if it is read obliquely, "eight-bay" if it is read zigzag, "box" if it is read short, and "one foot street" if it is read short.
There are also hutongs named after special signs, such as Tangzi Hutong, Shihu Hutong, Bai Shu Hutong (now Baishun Hutong) and Tieshi Hutong. In addition, there are hutongs named after local characteristics or shapes, such as Erduoyan Hutong, luoquan Hutong and Chair Hutong.
2. Named after a place name
In the early years, the most conspicuous and prominent signs were gates, temples, archways, fences, wells, rivers and bridge factories, so there appeared Xizhimen inner and outer streets, Qianhouyuan Ensi Hutong, Dongsi (archway), Xidan (archway), Dashilan (pronounced Dashilan by old Beijingers), Shuijing Hutong and Shuijing Hutong.
3。 Trees and plants
There are no such conspicuous signs near some small alleys. There are many trees planted in hutongs, so there are hutongs named after trees, such as Liushu Hutong, Zaolin Hutong and Chunshu Hutong.
4. Direction
Many hutongs are named after the words East, West, South, North, Front, Back and Middle, such as Dongtangen Hutong, Xihongmen Hutong, South Crescent Hutong, North Half Hutong, Qianbaihu Hutong, Houniwa Hutong and Zhongmao Hutong.
5. Beijing dialect
Because the name of Hutong is given by Beijingers who live in Hutong, there are many Beijing dialects in Hutong, such as Shady Hutong, Deng Er Hutong, Saihulu Caner Hutong, Answer Broom Hutong, Pancreas Hutong, Gaga Hutong and so on.
There are also many hutongs with children's voices, which have Beijing flavor, such as Luoer Hutong, Yaer Hutong, Yuer Hutong, Shanger Hutong, Maoer Hutong, Pener Hutong and Jinger Hutong.
6. auspicious words
Some hutong names can also express people's good wishes, and people are always willing to use some auspicious words to name hutongs. Hutong with the words "happiness", "happiness" and "longevity" include Xiqing Hutong, Magpie Hutong, Fushun Hutong, Fusheng Hutong, Shou Chang Hutong and Shouchao Hutong. There are Ping 'an Hutong, Anfu Hutong, Jishikou Hutong and Yongxiang Hutong, with the words "Ping", "An", "Ji" and "Xiang".
There are also romantic Hu homonyms, such as deep flowers and apricot flowers. There are also funny hutongs with dog tails (pronounced "dog Bayi" by old Beijingers) and sheep tails.
7. Hutong named after yamen government office.
Such as Lumicang, Xijin Temple, Xishiku, xiang yuan Hutong, Fu Xue Hutong, Gong Yuan Hutong, and Military Horse Hutong. Hutongs named after the titles of royalty, such as Yongkang Hou Hutong, Wuding Hou Hutong, Dad Hutong (the former residence of Sanbao eunuch Zheng He, now Sanbulao Hutong) and Wuliang Daren Hutong.
8. Hutong named after fair trade
Such as fresh fish mouth, mule and horse market, gangwa market, sheep market, pig market, rice market, coal market, jewelry market, etc. ...
9. These temples are named after Longfumiao Street, Dafo Temple Street, Baochanmiao Street, Huguosi Street, Zhengjue Temple Hutong, Kannonji Hutong and Fang Ju Temple Hutong.
10. Hutongs named after handicraft workers and ordinary residents include casserole Liu Hutong (now Dashaguo Hutong), Wangzhima Hutong (now Wangzhima Hutong), Qianmazhang Hutong (now Shuanma Hutong), Mengduan Hutong, Hutong (now Hutong) and Anchengjia Hutong (now Hutong).
1 1, Hutong and its name
The hutongs in Beijing, with exquisite names, are our reference materials for studying Ming and Qing societies. After Judy, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, made Beijing the capital, most of his heroes lived in Beijing, and many hutongs were named after Beijing.
For example, the hutong where Yongkang Hou Xuzhong's former residence is located is called Yongkang Hou Hutong, which is the Yongkang Hutong in the northern city today. The hutong where Wu 'an Hou Zhengheng Mansion is located is called Wu 'an Hou Hutong, and later it was mistakenly called Wuwanghou Hutong, which is today's Xisi Beiba Road.
Xu Da, a general in the early Ming Dynasty, lived in Beijing for a long time, and his eldest daughter married Judy, the prince at that time. When Judy attacked Nanking, Xu Da's fourth son Zeng Shou told Judy and was killed by Wen Jian. After Judy entered Nanjing, she caressed the body and wept bitterly. After he acceded to the throne, he made Xu Zengshou the marquis of Wuyang, and was soon appointed as lord protector. The street where lord protector Xu lives is called Dingfu Street, which is Dingfu Street in today's North City.
As for today's Sanbulao Hutong, it is the former residence of Zheng He, the eunuch of Sanbao. Zheng He was called Sanbaodie, and the hutong where he lived was called Sanbaodie Hutong, which was later wrongly called Sanbu Old Hutong. The Wuliangdaren Hutong in Dongcheng, which is today's Hongxing Hutong, is a misnomer for Wuliangdaren Hutong. Wu Liang is a general under Ming Taizu.
After the mid-Ming Dynasty, the commercial economy developed. At that time, some self-employed workers also left their names for the hutong where they lived with their excellent work. For example, in the Ming Dynasty, there was a worker named Tang who specialized in washing cloth and silk. The hutong where they live is called Tang Baixi Street, which is Tang Xibo Street in Chongwen District today.
There is a dressing room on Liuli Street in Xuanwu District, which is the wrong name of Liu Jia Street in the dressing room. There is a craftsman named Yao in Dongcheng who is good at casting pots. The hutong where his family lived was called Yao Zhuguo Hutong, and later it was mistakenly called Yao Zhiguo Hutong, which is Zhiguo Hutong near West Street of Beijing Railway Station today.
There is a Tofu Chen Hutong in the north city, which was later mistakenly called Tofu Chi Hutong. Another feature of the Ming Dynasty is that there are many paper horse shops for offering sacrifices, which reflects the prevalence of religious activities in the Ming Dynasty. There are Wangzhima Hutong and Hezhima Hutong in the names of Hutong, which are wrongly called Wangzhima Hutong and Heizhima Hutong today.
The names of hutongs in Beijing are actually people-centered, and some hutongs are directly named after people's names. There are many hutongs that are not named after people, but have former residences of celebrities, such as Kang Youwei's former residence in Mi's Hutong, Tan Sitong's former residence in the northern part of Hutong, Zhongshan Hall visited by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in the street, Lao She's birthplace in Xiaoyangjia Hutong, Mei Lanfang's former residence in Huguosi Street, Mao Dun's former residence in Ensi Hutong, Cheng's former residence in Xisi Beisan and so on. Although other hutong names are not directly named after people's names, they are all directly related to people's daily lives.
The names of Prime Minister Hutong, Zhang Zizhong Road and Zhaolu Hutong are all named to commemorate national heroes, thus clearly expressing people's admiration for national heroes. This shows that the name of hutong not only has practical reference function, but also has aesthetic function and humanistic tendency.
8. Changes of Hutong Names
The names of some hutongs have not changed since the Yuan Dynasty, such as Zhuanta Hutong.
There are more than 30 hutongs that haven't changed much since the Ming Dynasty, such as Menlou Hutong, Luoer Hutong, Cui Hua Hutong, Wool Hutong, Hair Hutong, Pine Hutong, Shi Jia Hutong and Dengcao Hutong. However, the names of many hutongs have been changed repeatedly with the change of dynasties, and the most hutongs have five or six previous names.
Caishikou Hutong, like Xuanwumen, was originally called Rope Craftsman Hutong in the Ming Dynasty, but it was misinformed as Fairy Hutong in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty and later as Prime Minister Hutong.
There are also some hutong names, which are vulgar at first, and then gradually refined, such as Shilu Hutong changed to Lishi Hutong, Houhui Hutong changed to Zhao Ji Hutong, Liu Shou Hutong changed to lean meat Hutong, Dung Hutong changed to Yongming Hutong, smelly skin Hutong changed to Shoubi Hutong, Niuxue Hutong changed to study abroad Hutong and so on. These are basically homophones with good meanings, not unpleasant words. It belongs to homophonic conversion, which sounds similar to the original sound. Everyone in the alley is willing to accept it, so it can be circulated.
But if it is imposed on others without the approval of the masses, there will be no shouting. For example, during the Cultural Revolution, under the influence of the ultra-left ideological trend, some slogan words with obvious slogans were forcibly added to the names of hutongs, such as Daijia Hutong was renamed Red Guards Hutong, Beidouya Hutong was renamed Hongxiaobing Hutong, Doujiao Hutong was renamed Hongdi Hutong, and zhushikou West Street was renamed Hongwei East Road, but the result was only called for a while and soon disappeared.
This shows that the name of Hutong was not changed casually by anyone. But there are also some hutong names whose historical significance has actually been lost. For example, Liulichang has stopped burning glazed tiles and become a cultural street with concentrated cultural relics in the book industry. Coal market street has stopped selling coal, vegetable market has stopped selling vegetables, rice market in Mi market hutong has disappeared, and crow pigeon market has disappeared, but its old name is still called. 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 street is only 25.23 meters long.
The widest Hutong Lingjing Hutong, with the widest point of 32.18m.
Xiaobaokou Hutong, the narrowest hutong, has a north entrance of less than 0.6 meters.
Jiuwan Hutong, the Hutong with the Most Turn
The oldest hutong, Zhuanta Hutong, existed in the Yuan Dynasty.
The only building that crosses the street is Kannonji in Rufuli.
Although most hutongs in Beijing are due south, due north, due east and due west, there are also oblique streets.
The longest diagonal street in Beijing starts from Xizhimennei Street in the north and ends at Zhao Deng Yu Road in Fuchengmennei Street in the south. Taiping Bridge Street continues south to Fuxingmennei Street, and Tonggelin Road connects Xuanwumen West Street south. A street used to be an important waterway in western Beijing, connecting the longest inclined street in Beijing.
The longest hutong is Jiao Min Lane on the east and west sides. This hutong is parallel to Chang 'an Avenue, in the south of Chang 'an Avenue, from Chongwenmennei Street in the east to North Xinhua Street in the west. It is only 1.5 miles shorter than Chang 'an Avenue, which is actually 8 miles long from Dongdan to Xidan.
The antonym of the longest and widest is the shortest and narrowest alley. In the southeast of the east exit of Liulichang East Street, from the east exit of Tongzi Hutong to the north exit of Cherry Hutong, it was originally called a pedestrian street, but it was only a dozen meters long and ran east-west. Now it has been incorporated into Yangmeizhu in Xie Jie.