Streets regale us of stories, reflecting warmth in the shadows of the changing times, telling the vicissitudes of life over time and space, and revealing the prosperity of our City; the grandest City of Nanjing, for all its wondrous weirdness.
Beginning up north in Nanjing off Zhongshan Bei Lu, jokesters may take pride in venturing down a street called “School Gate” (校门口), to then call a friend, leading to the inevitable question, “Where are you”?. Delight in friend’s frustration they will, safe in the knowledge they are already being as specific as possible.
Then there are those in Jiangning District taking bus 205, 715, 845, 846, 905 or D19. Their eyebrows shall surely be raised as is announced the stop at “Burial Mound” (坟头). Named after the nearby village, according to legend, during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the migrant workers who died while excavating ground for the Yangshan Stele are buried in this particular area.
Back toward the centre of Nanjing, off Zhonghua Lu a little south of Baixia Lu, one will find Mud Horse Alley (泥马巷). Here, the legend has it that when the tenth Song Emperor, Zhao Gou, fled south, the mud horse in a temple in this alley appeared as a mythical beast and carried him across the Yangtze River. But in the modern day, and somewhat less romantically, the “mud horse” is also an internet meme based on a word play with a certain insulting profanity relating to one’s parent.
Still with cursing, “Swearing on a Bridge” (骂驾桥) off Qinhong Lu received its name after the extreme and repeated scoldings directed toward Founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, for his ungratefulness as a youngster.
Taking a walk from the east toward 1912 downtown, “Stone Grandma’s Nunnery” (石婆婆庵) implies the bringing of bad luck, while “Three Steps Two Bridges” (三步两桥), off Zhongshan Bei Lu near to Xinmofan Lu, begs the question, “Whose long legs can cross two bridges in just three steps?”.
Not far away, students at Southeast University will be aware that their downtown campus is situated on “Four Decorated Arches” (四牌楼). Fair enough. “Three Decorated Arches”, on the other hand, lies south of Fujian Lu up north, while “Decorated Arch” lies down south off Guanghua Lu. But where “Two Decorated Arches” is to be found is another Nanjing mystery…
Utilising more homonyms, “Chaoku Street” (钞库街) off Changle Lu could be thought of as “Super Cool Street”, while nearby is also “East Careful Bridge Street” (小心桥东街); a linguistic error dating from the Republican era allegedly, in which “star” (星) was mistaken for “heart” (心).
But for Nanjing’s top two weird names, we need to head for bang in the middle of Xinjiekou, our city centre, where the pronunciation of “Big Silver Mace Lane” (大锏银巷) sounds like “Big Bitch Lane” (大贱人巷).
And not far away is the pièce de résistance; “Screw Turn” (螺丝转弯). While initially defying explanation, the name is in fact a homonym for Luo Temple, originally named Yanzuo Temple, that was located at the bend, or turn, in the road. Simples!
