Why is Gaomi also called Fengdu?

Phoenix City Test

Gaomi City History and Records Office

Gaomi City is known as Fengcheng or Phoenix City. It has been passed down by word of mouth from generation to generation and is known to almost every woman and child. However, it is a pity that no written record has been left. Fortunately, in recent years, many streets, hotels, and parks have been named after Phoenix, which has evoked memories of thousands of years of history and is a great comfort.

So, is Phoenix City a groundless subjective conjecture or a well-founded image name? This is undoubtedly a concern shared by the Fang family and hundreds of thousands of Gaomi children. If so, why did Phoenix get its name, when did it come from, and what does it mean? After spending a little pen and ink to examine it, its significance and value are naturally self-evident.

Phoenix style

Since the city is named Phoenix, of course, we must first get to know Phoenix.

Phoenix, the legendary divine bird and the king of birds, is also known as the "Four Spirits" ① together with Lin, turtle and dragon. There are legends about Phoenix all over the world. The name, image, and meaning of the phoenix are different in the East and the West, as well as in China and abroad. Western and Arab peoples often call the phoenix a phoenix or a flamingo, which means immortality or rebirth in Nirvana; its original shape is either an eagle or a peacock, but the description of its image is far less detailed and rich than that of the Chinese. Our country's written records about the Phoenix first appeared in the famous geographical book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" written from the Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty. It says that a bird that "looks like a chicken and has colorful patterns" is called the Phoenix. In the Western Han Dynasty, there were relatively specific phoenix images such as "hong head, chicken beak, swallow chin, snake neck, turtle drive, dragon pattern, fish tail"②. The phoenix sings and dances by itself. Seeing it means good luck and peace in the world. The artistic image of the phoenix we see now was actually finalized in the Qing Dynasty, which is a combination of comb, eagle eyes, chicken body, eagle wings, pheasant tail, peacock feathers, and mandarin duck feathers. It is the synthesis and sublimation of the style of hundreds of birds.

Thousand-year-old ancient city

Today's Gaomi city is governed by Lai Yiwei in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which is the earliest name of Gaomi. It has been more than 3,000 years since the 11th century BC. In the 16th year of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty (164 BC), Yi'an County was established as the county government and has a history of more than 2,000 years. By the sixth year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty (AD 623), the situation where many counties coexisted within the territory was finally unified under Gaomi, and the county government became a permanent seat. This has been nearly 1,400 years.

Yiwei is the hometown of Yanzi, a famous prime minister of Qi State. "Historical Records? Biography of Guan Yan" says that "Yan Pingzhong is a native of Yiwei", so the people of the city should be proud of it. What needs to be pointed out in particular is that from the end of the Spring and Autumn Period when the name Yiwei disappeared until the establishment of Yi'an County in the 16th year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, there is no written record of the relationship between Yiwei and Yi'an. But what is very interesting is that the word "Yan" is the co-writing of the two characters "Ri" and "An". At the same time, according to the local phonetic spelling, "Ri", "An" and "Yi'an" are also the same "Yan" "Character. According to the Chinese tradition of respecting virtuous people, Yi'an City contains the meaning of "Yancheng". Is this inference a meaningless coincidence, or does it reveal its inherent inevitable relationship? ! The author does not know.

Shape wins ④ Phoenix

The topography of Hanyi'an City and the surrounding areas is gentle slopes, which is part of the Jiao Lai Plain. That is, it covers an area of ??more than 200 square kilometers from Balizhuang in the south, to Qitai Village in the north, from Gaojialing in the east, to Tanwutun in the west. From a bird's eye view of the whole area, its shape is like a phoenix. Don’t you see: Nanling is like the head, the city wall is the driving force, Dongling and Xiling are like the two wings, and the Xiaokang and Xiaoxin rivers are like the tail. The Nanling in front of Balizhuang is named because it is located in the south of the city. Its original name is Pinganling⑤. It is as high as a phoenix head. Dongling, named because it is located in the east of the city, was called Yinglailing in ancient times, also known as Yinglailing, and its real name was Changling⑥; Xiling was named because it was located in the west of the city, and its real name was Jin'anling⑦. Both ridges stretch for several miles from north to south and extend outward, resembling the wings of a phoenix. The county's Yi'an city is like a crocodile in the middle, which can be called a phoenix. The two rivers Xiaokang and Xiaoxin (known as Xiaoshiqiao River in ancient times) flow through the north of the city, reaching Beiluanjiazhuang and then flowing to Yi'anze (later known as Baimai Lake). Their tails swing in a fan-shaped radial shape, and the intersection of rivers and lakes stirs up Two clusters of waves, aren't they the most realistic pair of phoenix tails!

At this point in the article, a huge, complete and beautiful phoenix has appeared on the page. In short, there is no doubt that Yi'an County and its surrounding areas are known as the Land of Phoenix, and the city is called Phoenix City because of its beautiful shape.

Phoenix in Dongyi

Fenghuang County in my country has a long history and is numerous.

The first county to be named Fengxiang was Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province. In the second year of Emperor Zhide of the Tang Dynasty (757), "taking the meaning of Fengming Qishan", Yong County was renamed Fengxiang County in the Qin Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the counties of Fengyang and Fengtai in Anhui, Fenghuang in Hunan, Fengshan in Guangxi, Fengqing in Yunnan, and Fengcheng in Liaoning were all named after the phoenix. It is a coincidence that the counties named after Feng are all located in the four directions of China, but there are no counties named Feng in the Central Plains and near-Central Plains. This is undoubtedly related to the cultural tradition that the original dragon is the dragon and the four directions are the phoenix. In addition, judging from the timing and number of Fengxian counties from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, it is also consistent with the gradual and perfect process of the legendary image of the Phoenix, showing a direct proportional development relationship. This environment named after the Phoenix objectively and powerfully supports the gradual evolution of the high-density Phoenix City.

It should be pointed out that many of the above-mentioned counties named after Feng are because there are mountains in the territory. Legend has it that Fengming Mountain or Fengqi Mountain was named Fenghuang. For Phoenix City, Fengcheng. In addition, Lijin County in Shandong Province was called Phoenix City because the city wall in the late Qing Dynasty resembled a phoenix. However, Gaomi City is unique because of its natural shape that resembles a phoenix.

Gaomi is located in Dongyi. It was called Yiwei during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and was the Dayi of Qi State at that time. According to traditional cultural classification, if the Central Plains culture is dragon culture, the attributes of Gaomi culture are Dongyi culture, Qi culture, or phoenix culture (of course, in recent years, some experts and scholars have argued that Qi culture is a dragon and phoenix compatible culture). It is also a coincidence that Gaomi is the only people in the Dongyi area named after Yi (Yiwei, Yi'an), which makes the theory of Gaomi Phoenix City a complete chain of evidence.

Phoenix Takes Off

As mentioned in the article, Gaomi Phoenix City is named because it looks like a phoenix. It originated from the early days when Yi'an was established in the Han Dynasty and has been passed down from generation to generation. I believe that this conclusion can, on the one hand, bring some joy to the folks, and on the other hand, it can trigger some discussion and discussion among those who are interested in this matter. This is really what the author wants.

History often has striking similarities. I recently heard that the urban planning of Gaomi City covers an area of ??220 square kilometers. Its planning scope is that the north and south are aligned with the shape of a phoenix, and the east and west coincide with the two wings. How similar! Is it God's will, or is it the phoenix's will? Let me wait and savor the glory of life with Fengcheng slowly!

The ancient city has been around for more than two thousand years. Nirvana is reborn, the phoenix soars. Today's Gaomi has become a vibrant city in the peninsula's urban forest. I believe that in the early part of the new century, Phoenix will become even more beautiful.

Phoenix, take off! Phoenix will be just as beautiful as you.