中山
——依水發(fā)生

中山舊稱香山，北宋地理學家樂史所著《太平寰宇記》有載：“香山在縣南，隔海三百里，地多神仙花卉，故曰香山。”

Zhongshan once went by the name of Xiangshan, or Heungsan (Chinese:香山; literally: "Fragrant Mountain"), in reference to the many fl owers that grew in the mountains nearby. This was recorded in a book titled Tai Ping Huan Yu Ji by a famous geographer of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Sanxiang town Yagang parades, Zhongshan, Guangdong.中山三鄉(xiāng)鴉崗飄色巡游。

The Changjiang Reservoir, also called Qingning Lake, is one of the well-known tourist attraction in Zhongshan.坐落于五桂山麓的長江水庫沿岸風光優(yōu)美，是中山著名的旅游度假地。（龍春生/攝）

Zhongshan, a city of south-central Guangdong Province, is located along the west side of the mouth of the Pearl River. As it was recorded, thousands of years ago, Zhongshan, or Xiangshan as it was once called, was only a small island scattered within the Pearl River estuary, also called Lingdingyang. Gradually from south to north, the area was fi lled in with alluvial silt and became dry land. To some extent, this place was born by the water.

Being called “a Lingnan-style water village”, Zhongshan witnessed its development become integrated with the Pearl River and its tributaries. In the farming age, variegated rivers here brought convenience to farmers for agricultural irrigation and also saved time for travellers using the waterway.

During Jiaqing ( the seventh emperor) and Daoguang ( the eighth emperor ) Period of Qing Dynasty, a sustainable amount of immigrants from Central China drifted down the river, bringing optimized technologies to help elevate the development of this area and to help boost the agricultural and fi shing economy. Coincidently, they ushered in the fi rst economic boom here.

This may be one important reason why Shagang Market in Xiaolan Town, an old market in Zhongshan, maintained its status for hundreds of years until now. On the 3rd, 6th and 9th day of every lunar month, the market will still be jam-packed with people.

When leaving the prosperous commercial towns for rural areas, you will experience the residents' longkept habit of living near the river. Many houses by the water also feature a small dock or just stairs for people to board a ship.

This may be partly infl uenced by the water culture of Danjia people, a group that is sometimes referred to as “water gipsies” with their lives and traditions relying heavily on fi shing and other water-related activities. But more people see it as evidence of local people attaching great importance to the effi ciency of water transportation.

Chinese people believe that a person's character is partly infl uenced by the place where they live. In Northern China where there are mountainous regions, people are more straightforward, compared with the acute southerners who live in these marshy areas.

The growing population not only benefi ted for agriculture, but also for commerce and trade development. Through the extensive waterways found in this region, farmers in these rural areas were able to effectively and effi ciently transport surplus agricultural products to the city's market to sell.

Zhongshan, is one representative of this. Coupling with its development of trade and commerce, Zhongshaners enjoy a unique, adventurous nature, daring to explore and innovate.

Sun Yet-Sen, born in Tsuiheng Village, has been named the forerunner of China's democratic revolution. Later on it emerged that a lot of important fi gures from Zhongshan have infl uenced the history of China. For instance, Zhongshan-born Zheng Zaoru was the fi rst Chinese ambassador to hold positions in foreign countries. Yang Xianyi was thought to be the father of the Chinese Air Force. Kwok Lok and his brother founded the Wing On Department Store, one of the largest and bestknown retailers in Hong Kong.

Great changes have taken place in Zhongshan during the process of China's urbanisation, while many other villages quietly drifted out of existence. However, customs and rituals here have sunken deep in people's daily life.

People in Xiaolan Town have kept their practice of fl ower cultivation, especially chrysanthemums, for several hundred years and have gained an international reputation due to their efforts. A special kind of folk music is also still being sung today among generations in Minzhong Town. And fi nally, on the 6th day of the 5th lunar month, villagers in Nanlang Town hold a special ritual to celebrate the birthday of the Dragon King just as it was before.

Now, due to its location of neighbouring Macao and facing Shenzhen and Hong Kong across the bay, Zhongshan is a key city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As to how this livable city will develop, people are expecting it to integrate traditional water town culture with aspects of modern civilisation and gracefully move forward into the future.

Zhanyuan Garden, Zhongshan.極富水鄉(xiāng)特色的廣東中山瞻園。

中山號稱“嶺南水鄉(xiāng)”，其發(fā)展離不開珠江水的滋潤。農耕時代，廣布的河涌水網不僅給農業(yè)灌溉帶來了便利，更為旅人節(jié)省了時間。清朝嘉慶、道光年間，大量來自中原的移民，便是乘坐船只，順流而下來到這里，為這個原本以半農半漁為主要經濟模式的地區(qū)帶來了比較先進的生產技術，同時帶來了最初的繁榮。

人口的增多不僅利于農業(yè)，更促進了商貿的發(fā)展。利用四通八達的水道，即使是居住在郊區(qū)的農民，也可以迅速且大量地將盈余的農副產品運送到墟市中出售，從而鑄就了小欖鎮(zhèn)沙崗墟的百年興旺，一直延宕至今，每逢農歷三、六、九日，就會出現(xiàn)人潮洶涌，接踵摩肩的盛況。如果離開繁華的商業(yè)市鎮(zhèn)進入中山的農業(yè)鎮(zhèn)區(qū)，你就會發(fā)現(xiàn)，這里的居民現(xiàn)在仍然保持著靠水而居的習慣。很多水邊的住宅都設有微型碼頭，至少是方便上下船的石階，這里面有著部分疍家人水上文化的影響，但更多的人還是看重水上交通的便利。

中國有句俗語：“近水者智，近山者仁”。意思是說中國的北方人多近山，厚道粗獷。南方人多近水，聰慧精明。中山深得其妙。加上從古至今貫穿于民眾生活之中的商貿傳統(tǒng)，便造就出中山靈活求變，敢于創(chuàng)新的人文底蘊?！案覟樘煜孪取钡闹袊裰鞲锩刃姓邔O中山先生，便是出生成長于坐擁山水，鐘靈毓秀的中山翠亨村。其后中山還涌現(xiàn)出大批在中國歷史上具有開創(chuàng)性地位的人物，如中國第一位駐外大使鄭藻如、中國空軍之父楊仙逸、中國百貨業(yè)先驅，永安百貨創(chuàng)始人郭樂等等。

在中國的城市化浪潮中，中山也正在發(fā)生翻天覆地的變化，許多自然村都已不復存在，但眾多傳統(tǒng)習俗卻因為早已深入到當?shù)厝巳粘Ｉ疃琅f得到相當完整的保存。

現(xiàn)如今，中山又因其毗鄰澳門，與深圳、香港隔海相望的優(yōu)越地理位置，成為了“粵港澳大灣區(qū)”的重要組成部分。這座善于將傳統(tǒng)水鄉(xiāng)文化引入到現(xiàn)代生活中的宜居城市，在接受時代賦予的最新使命之后，又將發(fā)生什么樣的變化？讓人期待。

ZHONGSHAN BLOOMING BY THE WATER

Text by Liang Jianfeng, Yan Junling & Peng Xianting
Translation by Hu Nan, Bian Jiajin Photos by CFP, Zhongshan Tourism Bureau