大运河的终点处

编者按：吴晓波，1968年出生于浙江宁波，被誉为中国最出色的财经作家之一。吴晓波身上有很多标签，其中最有辨识度的就是保持每年写一本书的习惯。在大众印象里，吴晓波作品题材一向与财经商业、企业研究等相关，而此次文化类新书《人间杭州：我与一座城市的记忆》的付梓出版不同以往，用他自己的话说，这部《人间杭州》是“一次皈依，一场写作上的创新，一件可爱但或许没什么着落的事情”。

其实，从古至今写人间天堂杭州的，无論是诗词还是著作，都不乏诗意盎然、妙趣横生、博古通今、意蕴深远的，但这部《人间杭州》似乎并不特别想以文学性这点来论高下，而是依旧从商业财经作者的视角去观察整个城市在历史长河中的发展与变化。

比如，在吴晓波的笔下，他首先将大运河称作“财富之河”，它“繁乱却又生生不息”，养成了杭州人“善贾”的天性。 再比如，从良渚文明的诞生催生出“城市”的概念，到运河带来生意和财富，再到元代杭州成为世界地图上唯一的中国城市，接着铁路代替运河，杭州在很长一段时间内归于沉寂，最后在20世纪90年代，以冯根生、宗庆后为代表的民营企业家宣告了“善贾者”的复活。在这些人文叙事的背后，隐藏着这座城市商业发展的脉络。

以下为吴晓波新书中关于大运河的文章节选。

展开华夏帝国的地图，在军事的意义上，杭州从来是一个微不足道的存在。

一

它与黄河、长江两个天堑无关，也不处在任何山脉或大平原的关隘之处，并非争夺天下的“咽喉”或“枢纽”。取之不足以威慑四方，失之无关乎全局得失。今天，它与北京、西安、洛阳、开封、南京和安阳并称为“七大古都”，而与其他六城相比，它在地理上的重要性一定是最低的。

这种可有可无的角色，倒给了杭州一个意外的安全性。所以，后来即便筑起了城墙，也不够高不够厚，根本经不起战车和掷石机的猛烈冲击。每一次的改朝换代，杭州都是被“顺便”占领的城池，而大多数的场面是“稍事抵抗、主动投降”。

这听上去一点都不壮烈，挺让人沮丧的。不过，它也意味着杭州很少出现生灵涂炭的惨烈景象，“百日围攻”“人相食”“屠城”这些词语，从来没有出现在杭州的地方志上。说到这里，西安、洛阳等地应该会十分羡慕。

古代杭州的重要性在于文化和经济上的意义，而后者则全是京杭大运河带来的。

二

隋朝是一个极短命的王朝，前后仅仅37年（581年至618年）。而对于杭州，它则做了三件极重要的事情。

第一件事：589年（开皇九年），隋文帝杨坚进行行政区划改革，把州、郡、县三级更改为州、县两级，全国共有241个州，其中之一为杭州，下辖钱唐、余杭、富阳、盐官、于潜、武康六个县。

这是“杭州”之名的第一次出现。

第二件事：590年，会稽人高智慧起兵造反，大将军杨素东征平叛，他的部队从柳浦这个地方渡过钱塘江。此处是江北最大的渡口，杨素就在这一带建了一个“周长十里”的新城。隋唐的一里是现在的540米，这个新城的面积约1.7平方公里。

当时中原的造城技术已非常发达，早在582年，高颎和宇文恺曾用280天就新建了首都大兴城。钱塘江边的这座小城费时不足一年而成，它依山而筑，从凤凰山南麓延伸到柳浦渡，占据了钱塘江南北岸的交通命脉。

它一开始是一个驻扎军队的军事性城堡，建成之后，钱唐县的行政治所就从灵隐山迁到了此处，这便是日后杭州城的雏形。杭州从此进入了漫长的凤凰山时代。

唐代诗人赵嘏曾写有《西江晚泊》，其中描述了柳浦的风貌：

茫茫霭霭失西东，柳浦桑村处处同。

第三件事：610年（大业六年），隋炀帝杨广下令开凿贯穿南北的大运河，以洛阳为中心，北部起点为涿郡，南部终点就在钱塘江边的杭州。

这是一个决定了杭州命运的工程。可以说，没有大运河，就不会有后来的杭州城。

三

中国的大江大河，均为由西向东，南北之间缺乏水运主干。早在春秋时期，吴国夫差为北伐齐国而开凿邗沟，是为运河之始。在此之后，魏惠王、秦始皇、汉武帝及曹操，都开凿过不同长度的漕渠，不过，它们都是一条条孤立的人工河，互相之间并无勾连。

604年，隋炀帝登基，着手营建东都洛阳。为了解决洛阳的粮食供给，也为了征服南方地区，隋炀帝广征民力，建成了一个以洛阳为中心，东到淮泗，南到吴越，西到关中，北到幽燕，连接黄河、渭河、洛河、汾河、沁河、淮河、泗河、长江、钱塘江的四通八达的漕运体系。

隋代的这条大运河，全长5400余里，是一个雄心勃勃、具有顶层设计和前瞻性规划的水利工程。自此，秦汉以来只有东西交通的状况被陡然改变，中原文明自东晋渡江之后开始出现南移景象，随着大运河的开通，北风南渐，终成定势。

隋炀帝因开拓大运河消耗了惊人的国力。《隋书》中说是“举国就役而开御道”，终而激发民变，炀帝被缢弑于南巡途中，李渊在太原起兵，创建唐朝。晚唐诗人皮日休有诗叹曰：

尽道隋亡为此河，至今千里赖通波。

这一巨大的运河工程最南端的一段，被称为“江南运河”，它起于长江南岸的京口，途经晋陵、苏州，到杭州，全长800里（323.8公里），水面阔十余丈，可以行驶皇帝南巡时乘坐的龙舟。

杨广在当晋王的时候，曾经有十年时间出任扬州总管。他对江南的山形地势应该十分了解。大运河以杭州为南部终点，在战略上的考虑便是将长江与钱塘江打通，便于把杭州和宁绍平原的粮食征调北运。

随着这条运河的开通，杭州的战略地位猛然凸显了出来，它一跃而“咽喉吴越，势雄江海”，成为帝国地理上的一个重要枢纽，进而极大地促进了其经济的繁荣和人口的增加。

据史载，609年（大业五年）曾进行过一次全国性的人口普查，杭州的户数有15380户，以每户4人计算，总人口约6.1万人，已然是一个中型城市。

隋灭唐兴，华夏帝国的声望达到了巅峰。

杭州隶属江南东道管辖（治所在苏州），日常生活自然也平和安详。据吴自牧的《梦粱录》记录：杭州在贞观年间（627年至649年），人口已增加到30571户，到了开元年间（713年至741年）时，又翻一番增至86258户，约34万人口，成了一个东南名郡。

四

至今我的家仍在武林门的运河边，每当傍晚，去河畔散步，可见岸石整洁，五步一柳。十多年前，运河的水到了丰水期还有点臭味，这些年已经完全没有了。今天在河边散步游玩的人们已经很难想象，眼前的这条河流在当年对于帝国和杭州的意义。

黄仁宇在《明代的漕运》一书中，对大运河有段很精简的论述：

中央政府是否能成功地统治全国，依赖于是否能够有效地利用长江下游的经济资源，是否能够将这一地区的物资迅速通过运河运输到首都通常所在的华北地区。……王朝的兴衰，都反映在运河的实际情况上。……唐宋以来，大多数重要的政治事件和军事行动，都发生在南北大运河的沿线地区。

再形象一点的描述是，中华文明的钟摆原本是东西摇摆，自大运河开通后，改成了南北摇摆。而杭州就成了这个大钟摆的南部节点。

运河对杭州的第一个也是最显著的改造，是城市的功能和格局。城内出现了十多个以桥梁为中心的商埠区，比如拱宸桥、大关、小河、湖墅、观音关和七贤弄等。商埠区是否繁华热闹，只要看桥的高度就可以了，桥越高，说明通过的船只越大，货运量自然越多。至今仍在的拱宸桥是杭州城里最高最长的石拱桥，桥长98米，高16米，两端桥堍宽12.2米，它被认为是京杭大运河最南端的标志。看到它，就意味着杭州到了。

有河有桥就会有船。因为货物和功能的不同，就有了运粮船、运木船、运盐船、运沙船，以及烧香船、戏班船、迎亲船、丧葬船和收破烂的敲梆船。

船民在当年是一个很特殊的社群，杭州有谚语，“天下第一苦——摇船、打铁、磨豆腐”。船民有自己的行业组织，叫“排会”，领头的叫“总排头”。还有自己极其封闭而隐秘的宗教信仰，叫“罗教”（明代由一个叫罗梦鸿的人创立），最盛时，杭州运河两岸有七十多个罗教庵堂。杭州罗教在明清时势力很大，总庵堂就在拱宸桥附近，上海开埠后，很多罗教船民赴沪谋生，就有了那里的青帮。

北宋时期，因为西北被夏占据，通往西域的丝绸之路断绝，朝廷就在南方的广州和杭州分别设立了市舶司，从事海外贸易，是为“海上丝绸之路”。中土的丝绸、陶瓷、笔砚和茶叶等货物在杭州集中查检后，通过宁波港发运到日本和朝鲜等国家。而外商则在杭州设立“蕃坊”，进行种种的交易活动。自此，杭州成了一个国际性的商业城市。北宋时期的外貿交易量有多大，已经没有数据可考了，但从南宋中央政府的税赋收入来看，最高时居然占到了总收入的15%，可见这笔买卖对帝国经济的重要性。

五

人货两旺，自然又催生了“运河文化”。今日杭州的很多语言和习俗仍然带有很浓烈的运河特征。比如杭州人盛饭时不说“盛（chéng）”，而说“添”，因为“盛”与“沉”谐音，不吉利。当年运河人家嫁女儿，先上花轿再坐花船，到了河埠头上岸的时候，父亲背新娘子上岸，左邻右舍的孩子们提着水桶上去迎亲，男方就要大发红包，现在老杭州人还把新婚红包叫作“讨水包”。至于每年的端午，运河上就会赛龙舟，中元节则会在运河里放河灯，而到了农历七月三十日的地藏王菩萨生日，人们又会在家门前的河边插上三支香。

当我写到这些陈年细节的时候，心里正飘过一丝淡淡的忧伤。它们都已经成为文字，而不再是日常生活的一部分。

如果说西湖很文雅，投影了中国士大夫们与大自然“风烟俱净”的恬静共处，那么，运河就很世俗，世俗到很远就能闻到河床上的鱼腥和船民的汗臭。因而，古来无数人为西湖写下了像湖水那么多的诗赋词文，而对这条喧嚣非凡的大运河则视而不见，几乎没有留下任何有点意思的东西，诗词更是很难找到。这样的不公平，你很难找人去说理，它是中国文化骨子里的“鄙视链”。

杭州因运河而兴，也一度因运河而衰。1900年之后，铁路兴起，传统的漕运迅速衰落，京杭大运河两岸的很多商埠重镇——临清、扬州、镇江等，永远地告别了自己的高光岁月。运河对于杭州的经济意义也渐渐地消淡，它变成了一个文化符号，只存在于记忆、照片、爬着青藤的旧街巷和若干个老杭州词汇里。

Editor’s note： Born in 1968 in Ningbo city， Zhejiang province， Wu Xiaobo is regarded as one of China’s best business and financial writers. After graduation， he joined the Zhejiang branch of Xinhua News Agency and began his 13-year career as a business reporter. Past the age of 30， Wu started a 10-year plan of personal growth， writing full time while engaging in asset investment. His book Da Bai Ju （roughly translated as “The Great Debacle”） has been selected as one of the “twenty books that influenced the Chinese business community”. During that period， he also went to Harvard University as a visiting scholar and is currently the financial publisher of Hangzhou Blue Lion Cultural Creativity Co. Ltd.

Among the many labels that been applied to Wu Xiaobo， the most recognizable is his habit of writing a book every year. To the readers， the subjects of Wu’s books mainly focus on financial issues， business matters and corporate research. The publication of the newest book Renjian Hangzhou （Lost in Paradise）， therefore， is somewhat a “deviation” from his previous business books， as it falls squarely into the “culture” genre. In Wu’s own words， the new book is “a conversion， a writing innovation and a lovely but perhaps unrewarding undertaking”. But looking back on the entire writing process， he’d repeat his mantra： “it is the most comfortable and happiest process I have ever enjoyed.”

Whether poems or books， there is no lack of literary masterpieces that have written on Hangzhou from past to present. However， Lost in Paradise seems to have taken a different path. Its strengths lie not in its literary merit; instead， Wu has resorted to what he has always done best： observing the development and transformation of the city of Hangzhou throughout history from a business and financial perspective. Economic development is inseparable from cultural development， and socioeconomic factors have a great bearing on the formation of unique regional cultural characteristics and features. The combination of the two narratives thus has both practical and cultural significance.

For instance， in the book Wu called the Grand Canal a “river of wealth”， which is “bustling， sometimes messy but always full of life” and has helped nurtured the innate inclination of the Hangzhou people to conduct business. Another example is the evolution of Hangzhou， from the birth of the Liangzhu civilization which helped give birth to the prototype of the city， to the Grand Canal which brought businesses and wealth to Hangzhou， to the Yuan dynasty when Hangzhou was the only Chinese city marked on a world map， then to the period when railways replaced the Grand Canal and Hangzhou seemed to have fallen into decline， until eventually in the 1990s， the rise of Hangzhou-based private entrepreneurs such as Feng Gensheng and Zong Qinghou， private entrepreneurs announced the resurrection of those “who excel at doing business”. Behind these narratives lies the history of the city’s commercial development.

The following is an excerpt from Wu’s book Lost in Paradise on the Grand Canal.

Where the Grand Canal Ends

By Wu Xiaobo

Unfold any historical map of the Chinese empire， one will see that， militarily， Hangzhou had never been a significant presence.

It has nothing to do with the Yellow River and the Yangtze River， the two major natural barriers in China， and does not sit in the pass of any mountain range or great plain. It is neither a choke point nor a strategic hub that must be secured in the historical struggles to dominate and unite China. It appeared that with Hangzhou， it was not enough to deter the other parties; without Hangzhou， it wouldn’t really affect the overall situation. As one of China “Seven Great Ancient Capitals” along with Beijing， Xi’an， Luoyang， Kaifeng， Nanjing and Anyang， Hangzhou is the least important strategically， compared with the other six.

Ironically， such a dispensable role has afforded Hangzhou some unexpected security in history. Therefore， even when the city walls were built， they were neither high nor thick enough to withstand the onslaught of chariots and catapults. In fact， in each dynastic change， Hangzhou was invariably taken “as an afterthought”， and most of times， it was a scene in which “little resistance was put up， for the defensive forces just surrendered”.

That doesn’t sound heroic; it’s even a bit depressing. However， it also means that fewer lives had been lost on those occasions in Hangzhou. The terms “100-day siege”， “cannibalization” and “slaughtering the city’s populations” have never appeared in the local gazetteers and annals of Hangzhou. In comparison， cities like Xi’an and Luoyang had not been so lucky.

On the other hand， the importance of ancient Hangzhou lies in its cultural and economic significance， and the latter almost entirely came from the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal （or the Jing-Hang Grand Canal）.

The Sui dynasty was an extremely short-lived dynasty. From its establishment in the year 581 to its collapse in 618， it lasted a mere 37 years. But as far as Hangzhou was concerned， three extremely important things had been done in the Sui dynasty.

First of all， Yang Jian （541-604）， Emperor Wen of Sui， carried out administrative reforms in the year 589 and changed the previous three-level territorial administration of zhou （region or prefecture）， jun （commandery）， xian （county or district） into two levels， doing away with jun and retaining zhou and xian. There was a total of 241 zhou at the time， one of which was Hangzhou. It was the first time that the name “Hangzhou” appeared in Chinese history.

Secondly， a “new city” with a perimeter of ten li （a li at the time equaled to 540 meters） near the Qiantang River， covering an area of 1.7 square kilometers. In 590， rebel forces in Kuaiji （present-day Shaoxing） started an armed insurrection， and Yang Su （544-606）， a top military general of the Sui dynasty， was sent in to quash the rebellion. His troops crossed the Qiantang River at a place called Liupu， the largest ferry-place north of the river， where they built the “new city”. City-building technologies were quite advanced then; it took just 280 days to build Daxing （present-day Xi’an）， capital of the Sui dynasty， in 582. The “new city” was erected in less than a year’s time， extending from the southern foot of the Phoenix Mountain to Liupu and occupying the traffic lifeline of the north and south banks of the Qiantang River. Originally a fortress for troops， the “new city” gradually took over as the administrative center of Qiantang county， this was the origin of the city of Hangzhou.

Thirdly， in the year 610， Yang Guang （569-618）， Emperor Yang of Sui， ordered the excavation of the Grand Canal， starting from Zhuojun （present-day Beijing） in the north to Hangzhou in the south， with Luoyang， the capital region along the Yellow River valley， in the center. It was a project that had sealed the fate of Hangzhou.

Major rivers in China run from west to east; there’s no major waterway linking north with south. In 486 BC， to aid for his military expedition， King Fuchai of Wu （r. 495-473 BC） dug the Hangou Canal connecting the Huaihe River with the Yangtze River， the oldest section of the Grand Canal. While canals had been dug by later rulers， they were simply isolated artificial rivers.

In 604， Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne and began to build Luoyang， the eastern capital. To ensure food supply for Luoyang and to take complete control of the south， he ordered a “Grand Canal” to be dug that would effectively all the major rivers from north to south.

With a total length of 5，400 li， the Grand Canal was undoubtedly an ambitious and forward-looking project with top-level design. However， the costs were also humungous， resulting in revolts and the eventual downfall of the Sui dynasty; Emperor Yang of Sui was strangled in a coup. The southernmost section of the Grand Canal was called the Jiangnan Canal， running for 800 li （323.8 kilometers） from Jingkou （present-day Zhenjiang） to Hangzhou， and as wide as over 30 meters to accommodate the emperor’s dragon boat during his southern tours. The decision to make Hangzhou the southern end point of the Grand Canal was based on strategic considerations， for the linking up of Yangtze River and the Qiantang River would facilitate the transportation of grains from the Ning （Ningbo）-Shao （Shaoxing） Plain.

All of a sudden， Hangzhou became “the throat of Wuyue， overlooking the Qiantang River and the East China Sea”， assuming great strategic importance， which in turn substantially stimulated its economic development and population growth. A national census in 609 showed that Hangzhou had 15，380 households and a population of about 61，000， already a medium-sized city. Then in the early years of the Tang dynasty （618-907）， the number of households increased to 30，571， which almost tripled， growing to 86，258 by the year 741.

I live along the banks of the Grand Canal in Hangzhou’s Wulinmen area. Every evening， when I go out for a walk， I can see the neatly stacked stones and the willows planted every five steps. People taking a stroll along the river today could hardly imagine what it meant to the Chinese empire and to Hangzhou.

In his book The Grand Canal during the Ming Dynasty， 1368-1644， historian Ray Huang succinctly summarized the role of the Grand Canal. According to Huang， the imperial government’s control of the whole country depends on its ability to effectively harness the economic resources of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and quickly transport goods here by the Grand Canal to northern China， where the capital was located. The rise and fall of dynasties， Huang argued， were reflected in the operations of the canal. Indeed， major political and military events mostly took place along the Grand Canal since the Tang and Song （960-1279） dynasties.

The most noticeable transformation the Grand Canal brought to Hangzhou was on its urban functions and layout. More than ten commercial port areas centered around bridges emerged in the city. In fact， by looking at the height of the bridges， one could tell how busy one area was： the higher the bridge， the larger the ships passing through and the more cargo volumes， hence a more bustling area. At the southern end of the Grand Canal， for example， stands the Gongchen Bridge， the tallest and longest stone arch bridge in Hangzhou， measuring 98 meters in length， 16 meters in height and 12.2 meters in width at both ends. With the Grand Canal and bridges came all kinds of boats： boats transporting grain， timber， salt and sands， boats carrying worshippers， boats hosting opera troupes， wedding boats， funeral boats， trash-collecting boats， among others.

In the Northern Song Dynasty （960-1127）， as the land-based Silk Road was blocked， the imperial court set up Maritime Trade Office in Guangzhou and Hangzhou， heralding the “Maritime Silk Road”. Products including silk， porcelain and tea were exported to countries like Japan and Korea through the Port of Ningbo after being examined and checked in Hangzhou， while foreign businessmen set up “foreign quarters” in the city. Statistics show that foreign trade accounted for as much as 15% of the imperial government’s total tax revenue in the Southern Song period （1127-1279）.

Population growth and economic prosperity， in turn， had combined to give birth to a unique “canal culture”. The Hangzhou dialect and many local customs were tinged with a “canal flavor”. For instance， when Hangzhou natives asked to fill a bowl with rice， instead of using the more common word “cheng”， they’d say “tian” （literally “add”）， since the pronunciation of “cheng” is similar to “chen” （or “sink”）， which is considered inauspicious for those making a living on and along the rivers. Not to mention the dragon boat races on the Dragon Boat Festival， the setting off of river lanterns during the Ghost Festival … Alas， these are but sweet memories for me， as most of the customs are not being observed any more.

Compared to the West Lake， which throughout generations had been regarded by China’s literati as a canvas to project their elegance and sophistication， the Grand Canal was much more crass and uncouth. Countless poems and essays had been composed for the West Lake in ancient times. In contrast， far fewer had been penned when it came to the Grand Canal. It is unfair， but that’s the way it is， deeply etched in the “chain of distain” of Chinese culture.

Hangzhou prospered because of the Grand Canal， and at one time fell into decline also because of it. With the rise of railways after 1900， the importance of the traditional grain transport system took a nosedive. Major commercial port cities along the Jing-Hang Grand Canal had been long passed their glory days. The economic significance of the Grand Canal for Hangzhou waned， and it became more of a cultural symbol， existing only in memories， photos， backstreets and a few archaic Hangzhou phrases.