A lot of people gather in this place(人山人海)
The Song Dynasty in China is divided into
two periods by historians.
The first stage was the Northern Song
Dynasty (960-1127 AD).
The second stage was the Southern Song
Dynasty (AD-1127 to AD 1279).
In 1129 AD, the Southern Song Dynasty moved
the capital to the city (Lin'an), which is the current Hangzhou City of Zhejiang
Province.
At that time, a person whose pseudonym was
(an old man who lived by the West Lake) wrote a book.
This book records many customs in Lin'an
City, and also depicts the urban landscape at that time and the daily life of
people of various identities living in the city.
A passage in this book describes it as
follows.
There are zoning restrictions in Hangzhou
City.
Specific entertainment industries can only
be opened in specific areas.
This particular area has an interesting
name, people at the time nicknamed these places as (Wazi), the word means tile.
If you want to see acrobatics, theater,
dance, talk shows, if you want to play all kinds of gambling or all kinds of
sports, you have to go to a different (Wazi).
In addition, there are many different
merchandise specialty stores opened in some (Wazi). Various items are sold.
According to statistics, the commerce in
the city of Hangzhou at that time was very developed, with more than 440
specialized industries.
Shops of all kinds sell traditional Chinese
medicine, jewelry, fabrics, food, and all kinds of other handicrafts and daily
necessities that modern people have never thought about.
According to the records of this book,
there were five rooms (Wazi) in the city center of Hangzhou at that time, while
there were 20 rooms (Wazi) in the suburbs.
There was a saying at the time,
If you want to buy clothes, you have to go
to the (Wazi) in the south of the city.
There are so many clothes over there that
you can't count them, like mountains and oceans that never end.
If you want to divination, you have to go
to the (Wazi) in the middle city.
There are more fortune tellers over there
than you can count, like mountains and oceans that never end.
If you want to buy special products, you
have to go to (Wazi) in (Shangcheng).
There are so many special products over
there that you can't count, just like the endless mountains and oceans.
If you want to see a show, you have to go
to the one (Wazi) in (Xiacheng).
There are so many people performing various
performances that you can't count them, just like the endless mountains and
oceans.
This idiom is used to describe bringing
together many, many people.
Dear friends, what are your feelings or
thoughts after listening to this story?
Are there many artistic and cultural
activities in the city where you live? Are there any distinctive markets in the
city where you live?
I hope this story will give you something
new to gain.
人山人海(A lot of people gather in this place)
中國的宋王朝被歷史學家分為兩個時期。
第一個階段是北宋王朝(西元960-西元1127年)。
第二個階段是南宋王朝(西元-1127年到西元1279年)。
西元1129年，南宋王朝把首都遷到(臨安)這座城市，這座城市就是目前的浙江省的杭州市。
當時，有一個筆名叫做(一個住在西湖旁的老人)的人寫了一本書。
這本書中紀錄了臨安城中的許多風俗、也描繪了當時的城市景觀與居住在這座城市中的各種身分地位的人們的日常生活。
這本書中有一段描述如下。
杭州城中有分區限制。
在特定的區域才可以開設特定的娛樂產業。
這個特定的區域有一個有趣的名稱，當時的人們暱稱這些地方叫做(瓦子)，這個字的意思是瓦片。
如果你要觀賞雜技表演、戲劇表演、舞蹈演出，脫口秀演出，如果你想參加各式各樣的賭博或是各種不同的運動項目，你就必須到不同的(瓦子)。
另外還有些(瓦子)中開設了許多不同的商品專賣店。販售各式各樣的物品。
據統計，當時的杭州城中的商業非常發達，有超過440種專門的行業。
各式各樣的商店販售中藥、珠寶、布料、食物、與其他各種現代人想都沒想過的手工藝品和日常生活用品。
根據這本書的紀載，當時的杭州城市中心有五間(瓦子)，而郊區共有20間(瓦子)。
當時並有流傳一句話，
如果你要買衣服，你就要到那間城南的(瓦子)。
那邊的衣服多到你數不清，就如同看不到盡頭的山脈與海洋一樣。
如果你要占卜，你就要到那間中城的(瓦子)。
那邊的算命師多到你數不清，就如同看不到盡頭的山脈與海洋一樣。
如果你要買特產，你就要到間在位於尚城的(瓦子)。
那邊的特色產品多到你數不清，就如同看不到盡頭的山脈與海洋一樣。
如果你要看表演，你就要到那間位於下城區的(瓦子)。
那邊從事各種表演的人多到你數不清，就如同看不到盡頭的山脈與海洋一樣。
這句成語被用來形容許許多多的人聚集在一起。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你所居住的城市是否有很多的藝文活動呢?你所居住的城市中，有那些有特色的市集嗎?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為宋-西湖老人-西湖老人繁勝錄-瓦子-諸行市
