(East-West Question) Li Wei: Lugou Bridge, why is the World Peace Memorial Site constructed?

  China News Agency, Beijing, May 8th: Li Wei: Why is Lugou Bridge a World Peace Memorial Site?

  Author Xu Jing Du Yan

  China has been known as "the country of bridges" since ancient times, and has created a bridge culture with both historical heritage and local characteristics for thousands of years.

As one of the four ancient bridges in China, Beijing Lugou Bridge has a history of 830 years. It is the most complete eleven-hole combined-arch stone bridge in North China so far. Marco Polo, an Italian who visited China, once called it " The best, one-of-a-kind bridge in the world".

  Li Wei, director of the Lugou Bridge Cultural Development Center, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "East and West Questions", telling about the architectural characteristics, historical development, cultural connotation and peaceful significance of Lugou Bridge.

The following is a summary of the interview transcript:

China News Service reporter: Lugou Bridge is a beautifully designed ancient bridge.

Why was the stone bridge built here in the first place?

What effect will the completion of the Lugou Bridge have on the development of Beijing?

Li Wei:

Lugou Bridge is located on the Yongding River, the mother river in Beijing. It was built in the 29th year of Dading in the Jin Dynasty (1189) and took 3 years to complete. It has a history of 830 years and is the oldest existing one in Beijing. The stone-built joint-arch bridge is also the best-preserved eleven-hole joint-arch stone bridge in North China.

Lugou Bridge.

Photo courtesy of Lugouqiao Cultural Development Center

  This stone bridge was built on the ancient ferry of the Yongding River. Its location "Lugou" is the narrowest neck of the Beijing section of the Yongding River. As far back as the Warring States Period, it was the key point from the Yanji area to the North China Plain.

After Jin established the capital in Beijing, he began to build stone bridges to replace the previous pontoon bridges to meet the growing social needs.

Lugou Bridge has become the only way for all parts of the south to enter Beijing. For hundreds of years, it has been the throat of Beijing connecting North China.

  In the "Lugou Rafting Map" of the Yuan Dynasty, the rafts in the river are flowing down the river, the wood is piled up on the bank to be transported, and the bridge is crowded with people and traffic, which truly reflects the life of the people in the Lugouqiao area at that time and the prosperous scene of the south and the north. , which highlights the status of Lugou Bridge as a transportation gateway.

Photo courtesy of Lugou Bridge Cultural Development Center in the Yuan Dynasty "Lugou Rafting Map"

  Lugou Bridge is a bright pearl inlaid on the Yongding River.

In history, the Lugou Bridge has been repaired several times and has been well preserved.

It was not until the Lugou New Bridge was built on the south side of the Lugou Bridge in the 1970s and 1980s that the stone bridge gradually ceased to undertake the task of transportation and became a cultural relic and scenic spot for tourists to visit, attracting countless Chinese and foreign tourists.

China News Service reporter: For hundreds of years, the Lugou Bridge has been sturdy despite the huge waves, the impact of huge ice blocks, and the traffic of thousands of troops and merchants.

Can you introduce the unique and ingenious architectural structure of Lugou Bridge?

Li Wei:

The Lugou Bridge is a bridge of science and a physical manifestation of the superb bridge construction technology in ancient China.

  The Lugou Bridge is 266.5 meters long and 9.3 meters wide, with 10 piers and 11 arches.

The bridge arch is arc-shaped, with a rise-span ratio of 1:3.5, which is very different from the semicircular shape of most stone arch bridges in ancient times, and the 11 arch holes gradually increase from both banks to the center of the bridge, making the bridge deck more stable and smooth. Practical and more beautiful in shape.

  According to the written records of "Qianlong Restoration of the Lugou Bridge Stele", the Lugou Bridge is "masonry made of phosphorus, clasped with iron nails, and sturdy."

The reason why it "can't fall for a thousand years" is due to the craftsmanship of "iron pillar piercing stone".

Several thick iron pillars were driven into the pebble layer at the bottom of the river, and the boulders were penetrated above to form a whole.

In order to prevent the impact of water, the surrounding area is also surrounded by huge stone slabs.

The slates are hooked together and hugged tightly, and they are very strong.

The "physical examination report" of the bridge body that has undergone scientific testing shows that the largest subsidence of the 10 piers has not exceeded 12 centimeters.

  The piers of the Lugou Bridge are also "internally hidden".

The pier is in the shape of a boat, and the water-facing surface is built as a water-dividing tip, and each water-dividing tip has a triangular iron column, commonly known as "Dragon Slashing Sword", to meet the flood and the impact of a large amount of sediment and ice when the ice and snow melt in early spring. The bridge hole is not easy to be blocked, and the bearing capacity of the ancient bridge is stronger.

The "Dragon Slaying Sword" and the water-absorbing beast on the stone bridge arch coupon.

Photo courtesy of Lugouqiao Cultural Development Center

  The slope of the bridge deck is also scientifically set. The slope is gentle and does not accumulate water. It is open and magnificent and suitable for passage, reducing natural erosion.

The bridge deck is still intact to this day.

Pedestrians walking on the Lugou Bridge will be amazed by it.

Lugou Bridge deck.

Photo courtesy of Lugouqiao Cultural Development Center

China News Service reporter: There is a saying in Beijing: "The lions on the Lugou Bridge are innumerable." Are the stone lions on the Lugou Bridge really innumerable?

What is the earliest age of the existing stone lions?

Li Wei:

After the founding of New China, the cultural relics department has made several statistics on the stone lions on the Lugou Bridge, and announced that the number of stone lions is 501.

  These stone lions with various expressions and naive looks are the fine works of bridge sculpture art.

After being repaired in Jin, Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic of China and the founding of New China, the stone lion has integrated the artistic characteristics of various periods.

Some lions have exquisite ornaments on their backs, some streamers are tied into bows or surrounded by bells and velvet spikes, and some lions have hydrangea in their mouths, and the streamers move in the wind.

These various stone lions make people feel like they are in a stone sculpture art museum.

  Why do people keep saying that there are countless lions on the Lugou Bridge?

The reason is that there are many stone lions and each stone lion is different in shape and size.

Some are "in groups of three or five" and hide their stature, while some "hide" to the outside of the balustrade and lookout posts, making it difficult for people to find them.

In addition, because the stone lions have been repaired and replaced in all dynasties, the number of stone lions has always changed.

The stone lion on the Lugou Bridge.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita

  In recent years, cultural relic workers have carried out digital research on the stone cultural relics of Lugou Bridge, completed the 3D display file of stone lions, and established a 360-degree panoramic visualization three-dimensional data management system platform for the stone cultural relics of Lugou Bridge.

The Lugou Bridge can be inherited and developed in the protection, realizing the organic unity of cultural value and cultural relic value.

China News Agency reporter: "Lugou Xiaoyue" is one of the famous eight scenic spots in Yanjing, and many people still go to Lugou Bridge to chase the moon.

How does Lugou Bridge connect ancient and modern, and communicate with China and foreign countries?

Li Wei:

Lugou Bridge is a cultural bridge. Its beauty lies not only in the shape of the bridge itself and the beauty of architectural sculpture art, but also in the natural landscape with water and bridge as the carrier.

It carries the artistic and literary works of literati and travelers, as well as the expectations and wishes of ordinary people from south to north.

These gatherings form the unique and rich cultural connotation and extension of Lugou Bridge.

  On the stone stele of the Imperial Stele Pavilion on the north side of the east end of the bridge, the "Lugou Xiaoyue" inscribed by the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty is engraved.

In fact, "Lugou Xiaoyue" has been listed as one of the "Eight Sceneries of Yanjing" since the reign of Jin Zhangzong.

The poems of "Lugou Xiaoyue" in the past dynasties are quite rich, and there are also many paintings.

To this day, many citizens still go to the Lugou Bridge on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month every year to wait for the "Xiaoyue" in the early morning to appreciate the beauty of "one day in March", that is, a bright moon in the sky, and a circle on the water surface on the north and south sides of the Lugou Bridge. month reflection.

  At the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, the farewell session of the willow will show the "Chinese romance" that runs through ancient and modern times.

This scene has been staged countless times on Lugou Bridge.

In ancient times, Lugou Bridge was a place to send off friends. Zhao Bingwen, a poet of the Jin Dynasty, wrote in "Lugou": "When the sun is set, the willows on Lugougou will be sent off to Beijing several times."

  Italian Marco Polo visited this "best and unique bridge in the world" and made it famous overseas.

"Marco Polo Travels" wrote: "There is a beautiful stone bridge on the river, and the beauty of the bridges everywhere is rare... There are marble bars on both sides of the bridge, and there are columns, which are supported by the lion's waist... It is quite spectacular." Today, many travelers who come to China from Croatia, the birthplace of Marco Polo, will choose to set foot on the Lugou Bridge and see the scenery of the ancient bridge in peacetime.

Lugou Bridge at dawn.

Photo courtesy of Lugouqiao Cultural Development Center

China News Service reporter: Lugou Bridge and Wanping City have experienced wars and are witnesses of the Chinese nation's resistance to invasion and the realization of national independence and rejuvenation.

At present, the area where the Lugou Bridge is located is planning to build the "Lugou Bridge National Cultural Park Area".

Can you describe the target vision of the plan?

Li Wei:

The land of North China where the Lugou Bridge is located is the heartland of the Chinese nation.

On July 7, 1937, the "July 7 Incident" that shocked China and foreign countries broke out in Lugouqiao, and the Japanese imperialists started a full-scale war of aggression against China.

  For China, the "July 7 Incident" is the beginning of the whole nation's war of resistance, and its significance is extraordinary.

China has become an important force in the world's anti-fascist camp, and the Chinese battlefield has also become the main battlefield in the east of the world's anti-fascist war.

  On the occasion of the survival of the nation, all Chinese sons and daughters rose up to resist, and after a bloody battle, they ushered in the first comprehensive victory against foreign invasion in modern times.

The names of Lugou Bridge and Wanping City will always be engraved in the history of the Chinese nation's Anti-Japanese War.

  History is the best textbook and the best sobriety.

As an important historical and cultural heritage, Lugou Bridge has received many tourists from home and abroad.

Making overall use of the rich red resources, historical resources and ecological resources of Lugou Bridge and building a national cultural park with Lugou Bridge-Wanping City-Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Memorial Hall as the core can make Lugou Bridge a "World Peace Memorial Site with World Cultural Heritage Value" , let mankind remember history, cherish peace, and jointly create a better future.

(Finish)

Interviewee Profile:

  Li Wei, Party Secretary and Director of Lugouqiao Cultural Development Center, Fengtai District, Beijing.

He presided over the completion of the third overhaul of the Lugou Bridge after the founding of New China, and the first protective repair since the original appearance of the ancient bridge was restored in the 1980s.

He presided over the first real-time monitoring of structural safety in the history of Lugou Bridge and the first bridge body inspection in history, and organized the first stone lion dating of Lugou Bridge.

He edited and published the first domestic monograph "Research on Lugou Bridge Stone Lion Art" on the Lugou Bridge Stone Lion Art.