Free bridge

Free bridge

Fangsheng bridge is located in Zhujiajiao Town, across Caogang. It was built in 1571 by the monks of cimen temple

. Rebuilt in 1812, fangshengqiao condensed the wisdom of the ancient working people, which can be seen in its design and structure. Fangsheng bridge is a five hole stone arch bridge, not a flat bridge or a single hole stone arch bridge. As the longest, largest and highest five hole arch bridge in Shanghai, it is called "the first bridge in Shanghai". It is 70.8 meters long and 5.8 meters wide with exquisite structure and beautiful shape. Fangsheng bridge is as long as a belt and shaped like a rainbow. "Well belt with a rainbow" is one of the ten sceneries in Zhujiajiao. The bridge has always been praised by scholars and scholars, and there is a poem saying: "the long bridge drives the rainbow, and the flow is the well. Japan and China have traded, and the setting sun has been in chaos. Fangsheng bridge in Zhujiajiao is the largest and longest existing stone arch bridge in Shanghai. It is a valuable cultural heritage. As a landmark ancient building in the ancient town, it has been recorded in "the best in Shanghai", "Jiangnan wonders" and "Chinese famous places dictionary".

Brief introduction of ancient bridge

On the Bank of Dianshan Lake in Shanghai lies Zhujiajiao, a famous ancient town in the south of the Yangtze River. Thirty six ancient bridges are scattered all over Zhujiajiao, where rivers and ports crisscross. The most famous one is Fangsheng bridge.

In the fifth year of Longqing (1571) of the Ming Dynasty, fangshengqiao was built by the monks of cimen temple

Located in the east of Zhujiajiao Town, it is the largest five hole stone arch bridge in East China and the only large-scale ancient bridge among the "ten famous towns in the south of the Yangtze River" including Zhouzhuang, Wuzhen and Tongli.

The bridge is 70.8 meters long, 5.8 meters wide and 7.4 meters high. The largest aperture in the middle of the bridge is 13 meters, and the aperture on both sides is 10 meters up and down. The bearing structure adopts ultra-thin pier with the thickness of about 100 cm. The shape of the bridge is beautiful, spectacular and exquisite. It is still well preserved after hundreds of years of ups and downs. The Fangsheng bridge is as long as a jade belt and looks like a rainbow. From a distance, the five semicircular holes of the bridge turn into complete round holes reflected by the calm river water. It is also a landmark of Zhujiajiao, a famous historical and cultural town.

The steep trend of some stone arch bridges in ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River makes it difficult to cross the bridge like climbing a mountain. The trend of fangshengqiao is gentle and comfortable. Its steps are very thin. The thinnest part is only 3cm thick, generally no more than 8cm. Therefore, it is like walking on the ground when passing through the bridge. There are 122 steps in the South and north of Fangsheng bridge. Such a large number of stages are very rare in stone arch bridges in the south of the Yangtze River, which shows the wisdom of ancient bridge builders and their humanistic care for passers-by.

Design structure

Fangsheng bridge condenses the wisdom of ancient Chinese working people, which can be seen in its design and structure. Fangsheng bridge is a five hole stone arch bridge, not a flat bridge or a single hole stone arch bridge. Suppose someone weighs 60 kg, that is, g = 600 n, then the pressure on the flat bridge deck is 600 n, while the pressure on the arch bridge is less than 600 n. The design of five holes makes each arch bear the best pressure, which is inferior to that of single hole or seven holes.

The foundation of Fangsheng bridge is wooden pile, which has not rotted for hundreds of years. Why? When you usually cook glutinous rice balls, do you find that the cooked glutinous rice balls are bright in appearance, with a dense protective film, insoluble in water after cooling, and the glutinous rice inside is sticky. In fact, the mystery of the foundation of fangshengqiao bridge lies in this. According to the chemical knowledge we have learned, we can deduce: (1) quicklime + water → calcium hydroxide + hot glutinous rice + high temperature → burning glutinous rice porridge; (2) calcium hydroxide + carbon dioxide → calcium carbonate powder + glutinous rice → restoring to the original marble. Therefore, the protective film formed by adding lime to glutinous rice can play the role of waterproof, and make the glutinous rice adhesion stronger. This chemical principle is also used in the construction of the bridge.

The origin of the name

Origin one

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, on the first day of the lunar new year, local monks held a grand ceremony at the top of the bridge to release live fish into the river, so as to show their respect for life. The name of "fangshengqiao" comes from this.

During the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty, there were three monks in the Mingyuan nunnery at Zhujiajiao. According to the master's decree, they went around to make alms and prepared to do some good deeds for the common people with the money of alms.

The sex monk, who had traveled for more than ten years, got a huge sum of money. He was reluctant to spend a little money on money and rushed back to Zhujiajiao to recover his life from his master. Unexpectedly, the master had already passed away, and the sex monk was in agony.

Every day, sex tides walk up and down the Caogang River, pondering over what good things they do for the people? Occasionally one day, the tide looked up and saw many people on both sides of the Caogang River waiting for the ferry. Right, it's better to build a bridge on both sides of the Strait to facilitate people to come and go. Isn't it beautiful?

The idea of sex tide was made up. Immediately, the army was recruited, wood and stone were raised, and the bridge construction began. Who knows, a few days after the start of the project, the bridge pile could not be driven down, where and where the bridge pile was driven, and a suitable place could not be found. The tide looks at the river and sighs, but there is nothing to do. One day, a beggar came to Caogang River and said to sex tide with a smile, "master, you have boundless merits and virtues in building the bridge. You need to dig the bridge piles deeply. Lusheng is the most auspicious." He was so angry that when he saw that there was not a reed on the beach for ten miles, he told a lie with his eyes closed, and made fun of me on purpose? The beggar did not answer. He took a handful of red dates from his arms, chewed them in his mouth, spit out a ball of jujube seeds, and threw them into the Caogang River in turn. In the blink of an eye, four reeds grew out of the river. The monk knew that this man must be immortal. He bowed down and worshipped. The beggar had disappeared.

The tide laid a bridge foundation on the reed beach and built a five hole arch bridge. When the Longmen stone engraved with eight dragons was finally placed, it couldn't be put down. It couldn't be put together. It was so urgent that the tide and the local people were killed. At this time, an old man with white hair and silver beard came and said with a smile, "if we want to close the Longmen stone, we have to wait for the horse and rider to come." I don't understand the trend of sex. There are only people riding horses in the world. I've never seen a horse riding man before. I'm afraid the Longmen stone is hard to close all my life. He was in a dilemma when suddenly he saw a man with a tripod in front of him. It's not bad. God helps me. So the sex tide yelled: "the horse and the man come here, close the Longmen stone quickly. Several craftsmen on the scene immediately lifted and shouldered the Longmen stone to the center. At this time, the "horse rider" walked to the center of the bridge and knocked on the Longmen stone with a "three legged horse"; the Longmen stone was just right. Afterwards, it was said that the "horse rider" was "tie Guai Li" in the eight immortals. If the Longmen stone is really closed, it's not bad.

After the event, the monk made Lixu under the bridge the place where the monks of cimen temple were released to thank the immortal who built the bridge. It also forbids fishermen to set nets and stake in the water. Every Lunar New Year's Day is the date of release, so the bridge is called "release bridge".

There used to be couplets

Wandering monk, wooden fish, bronze bowl, set the world's good fate, and eventually turned into a free bridge five holes, Wanli river back;

Tea hermits, square tables and round stools, waiting for the world's hard journey, all rely on the four sides of Linshui building, thousands of people pass by.

Two origins

It is said that Bodhisattva Guanyin of Putuo passed by here and saw a fisherman fishing for a golden fish. In fact, it was the little princess of the Dragon King of the East China Sea. The Bodhisattva turned into a mortal and asked the fisherman to let it go.

Later, the fisherman released the fish, got the Enlightenment of Guanyin, and became Luohan.

Later generations built a bridge here, named "Fangsheng bridge".

Architectural skills

Fangshengqiao bridge is huge, like a dragon, giving people a very "big" feeling. Its architectural skills and style are "big" but not "rough", which embodies delicacy, subtlety and thoughtfulness everywhere. More than 400 years ago, it was extremely difficult to build such a bridge on a deep and fast flowing river. The bridge is equipped with ultra-thin flexible piers, which greatly reduces the stress of the main arch and greatly saves materials, which is very economical for the local lack of mine resources and the bridge building materials are all transported outside. The main arch ring of the bridge arch adopts the longitudinal joint section parallel laying method to strengthen the connection between the arch stones and make the thin pier bridge more solid. There are 9 arch stones in the middle hole of the bridge, 7 and 5 holes on both sides, and each section is made up of 9 arch stones. There is a single transverse stone connection between the upper and lower arch stones, and the abutment base stone is also a whole stone slab, which is very stable. Due to the thin piers and the natural increase of bridge arch, the whole bridge forms a gentle and smooth longitudinal slope, connecting the streets on both sides naturally and harmoniously, which is magnificent but not bulky.

The stone carving skills on the Fangsheng bridge are also superb. There are eight dragons carved on the Longmen stone, encircling the Pearl, and the shape is lifelike. There are four stone lions squatting on the four corners of the bridge top, with their heads up and mouths open, which are lifelike. There is a bamboo pillar in the middle, and carved stone slabs are inlaid in the center of the bridge deck. Rectangular slab bridge hurdles, square corners, sharp edges and corners. In the east of the bridge, there is a tablet Pavilion for pedestrians to rest. Stone barges are built near the water and cable holes are chiseled for boats to park. There are clear couplets carved on the pillars of the bridge wall: "the shadow of the sails chasing back to Hong locks up the clouds of Yushan, the sound of the tide is loud, the horse is level, the river is pearl, and the waves are heavy." Each couplet has 12 characters. From top to bottom, it looks like a waterfall in a mountain stream. It depicts the bustling scene of the busy water transport in the Shili Caogang port and the surging waves of the rivers, and highlights the magnificent style of the Fangsheng bridge.

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Chinese PinYin : Fang Sheng Qiao