“Wandering around in Nanjing is like shopping in a boutique”, Zhu Ziqing, a famous Chinese essayist from the Republican era, once said. Indeed, 2,500 years of history over ten dynasties has made Nanjing a city like no other.
Compared with the magnificent mausoleums and temples, the streets around Nanjing may seem too obscure to mention but some of them have also been around for over a thousand years.
Historic street names are a constant reminder of our city’s colourful past. In an effort to preserve street names, the Nanjing Street Name Association launched a program at the end of last year to put QR codes on street sign posts for people to find out what stories lie behind the names. By scanning the QR code, one will find everything one needs to know about its origin, historical development and the surrounding area.
Mingwa Lang 明瓦廊
Anyone calling themself a true Nanjinger would not go to Confucius Temple if in need of an authentic bite of Nanjing. Mingwa Lang is the perfect destination that is well deserving of its reputation as “Nanjing office worker’s canteen”. Awaiting one here are juicy soup dumplings (小笼包), fried dumplings (锅贴), mouth-watering roasted duck (烤鸭) and so much more. Located parallel to Zhongshan Nan Lu, the Mingwa Lang street name gives us a hint of what this place was like 600 years ago. For “The Clear Tile Corridor” was once a market place for translucent tiles during the Ming Dynasty.
In the past, anything made from glass was considered a luxury. So as a substitute, people in ancient China ground oysters and clam shells and then mounted them on wooden grates to make translucent tiles for windows or ceilings.
But even oysters and clams were scarce in Nanjing as it cost too much to transport them from the sea and they tended to break easily. Instead, the clever craftsmen used goat horns. They boiled the horns into a jell sheet form and made them into tiles which were much more durable and cost less. These days, this type of translucent tiles can only be found in some ancient temples.
Note: Much of this information can also be found on a large plaque on the street side at the northern end of the street.
Wuyi Xiang 乌衣巷
Located amid the hustle and bustle of the Confucius Temple’s southern corner, Wuyi Xiang was once an army base for Emperor Sun Quan between his reign from 222-280 CE. Since soldiers of Sun all wore black uniforms, people referred to them as the “Wuyi” (black clothes). We therefore know the alley as “Wuyi Xiang”, or “Men in Black Alley”. Another piece of folklore surrounding the name’s origins sheds a more mythical and romantic light on this alley. Once upon a time, between 3 and 6 CE, a noble man from Nanjing called Wang Xie was sailing one day when his ship capsized at the sea. Drifted for days holding onto a wooden board, Wang was finally rescued by an old couple who led him to their hometown, “The Black Cloak Kingdom” of the north, where everyone was dressed in black.
Wang Xie got married to the old couple’s daughter but after a while he started to miss his home in Nanjing and decided to leave for the south. In her sadness at not being able to accompany him, his wife sent two swallows to follow him instead.
In the end, Wang came to realise that the Black Cloak Kingdom was actually made up of swallows and his wife was a swallow princess. She later sent him a goodbye poem saying she will not fly to the south ever again because it would hurt to see they could never be with each other. Wang did not see another swallow for the rest of his life.
Later on people referred to the alley where Wang Xie’s residence once lay as the “Wuyi Xiang” to mark the tragic love story between man and bird.
Taoye Du 桃叶渡
The “Peach Leaf Port” is also located near Confucius Temple. Legend has it that from the year 3 CE, renowned calligrapher and poet Wang Xianzhi lived there with his wife Taoye; “Peach Leaf”.
The port used to be very dangerous and many a ship would capsize due to heavy winds on the deep waters. Worried for Peach Leaf, Wang Xianzhi waited at the port each day for his wife to return. While waiting, he wrote poems and songs for her that went, “Storm of impermanence! Anyone crossing is threatened by death. But don’t worry my love! I shall wait here for you and keep you safe!”
During the Qing dynasty a bridge was built over the troubled waters to put an end to shipwrecks but the romantic tale of the couple lived on for centuries.
North Yinyang Yin 北阴阳营
One could easily walk past this small alley in Gulou district without paying it the slightest attention. Yet, this area used to be home to a primitive tribe of the earliest Nanjing residents some 5-6,000 years ago.
According to archaeologists, this was the perfect environment for our ancestors to hunt and gather as there were many hills with animals and fresh water sources. It is also interesting to note that polished river stones were found in the mouths of those who were buried here, proving that our fascination for these stones dated back as far as the Neolithic Age.
A total of 24 street sign posts carry such QR codes at present, namely 龙蟠中路、建康路、贡院街、贡院西街、乌衣巷、大石坝街、小石坝街、来燕路、大全福巷、东牌楼、义兴巷、瞻园路、中华路、桃叶渡（巷）、党家巷、姚家巷、东关路、长白街、太平南路、长乐路、白下路、莲子营、琵琶街 and 钞库街.. Most are in the Confucius Temple area. In the future, the Nanjing Street Names Association aims to bring out street name QR codes for the entire city.
According to statistics, there are a total of 250,000 street names in Nanjing, but over the past 18 years, more than 1,900 have disappeared. The local government is stepping up efforts to protect this disappearing cultural heritage, among which is the publication of a book called “The Compilation of Nanjing Street Names”.
“Streets are more than just simple names”, says Ma Yongli, one of the compliation’s authors, “They are a part of the entire historic fabric of the city. They should not be forgotten”.
