Eastern Suzhou has more than a thousand kilometers of coastline, which has formed regional cultural characteristics, mainly referring to the coastal areas of Nantong, Yancheng, and Lianyungang today.
When it comes to Nantong’s marine culture, it can be summarized into the following parts:
1. Coastal towns. There are 14 towns along the coast of Nantong, each of which has its own characteristics due to its different historical formation and regional differences, and there are many cultural resources to be mined. As far as names are concerned, the origin of the names of many towns is an intriguing history or a twists and turns of legend. For example, Lu Si was named because Lu Dongbin, one of the "Eight Immortals", visited Lu Si four times. Another example is Rudong. Rudong was an ocean in ancient times and gradually turned into land during the Tang Dynasty. Tang general Xue Rengui stationed troops here, which is how the town of Matang got its name. From the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, two towns, Tuocha and Fengli, were established. These are cultural resources that can be mined and refined.
2. Marine fisheries. "The convenience of boats is the benefit of fishing and salt." This is the initial human understanding and utilization of the ocean. Living by the sea, fishing has become one of the main industries for people to sustain their lives. Nantong's fishery occupies a place in the province and even the country because it has the Lusi Fishing Ground, one of the three largest fishing grounds in the country, and its vast silt-sand tidal flats. Nantong was born and built by the sea, and the local people are also blessed by the sea. Since ancient times, two folk songs have been circulated: "There are treasures everywhere on the Yellow Beach, and a golden bull appears every day." Nantong's fishery, especially marine fishery, has evolved from simple beach fishing to offshore operations, then to manufacturing high-horsepower fishing boats to develop offshore operations and even ocean operations; it has developed from single fishing to a fishery industry chain integrating breeding, processing and trade. Because the proportion of the marine fishery industry in the entire marine industry has always been relatively large (in recent years, with the increase in coastal development, the proportion of the fishery industry has declined), therefore, marine fishery culture plays a very important role in the entire marine culture. location.
3. Folk customs. Mainly some customs and attractions along the coast. Including folk customs, folk songs, etc. Due to geographical reasons, people in the coastal areas of Nantong have different living habits from those in inland areas. Taking Haimen and Qidong as examples, the dialects in coastal areas are different from those in inland areas and belong to different language families. There is also a big gap in life and folk customs, which is inextricably related to the sea. As for the habit of eating fish, people along the east coast must not eat fish when eating fish, especially when eating fish on fishing boats. Turning the fish over is considered unlucky by fishermen, and eating the fish over means that the boat will capsize. This habit does not exist in inland areas. At the same time, in the Tongdong area, people created a lot of poems in their spare time, describing the production and living conditions of people there in the past, which has certain research value.
On Nantong’s more than 200 kilometers of coastline, there is Nantong’s unique coastal scenery. The easternmost part of the coast is the earliest place to see the sunrise - Yuantuo Cape in Qidong. To the north is the rare wonder in the world - Jilaoshan Oyster Reef, and further north is the origin of Jianghai civilization - Qingdun Culture. The location of the ruins...
4. Celebrities and Nantong Ocean. Search for celebrities who are closely connected with Nantong's marine development. For the study of Nantong's maritime culture, two people have to be mentioned. One is Zhang Jian, the number one scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, and the other is Fan Zhongyan, a writer and politician in the Song Dynasty.
Zhang Jian was the first person in modern China to look at the blue land and pioneer ocean development. He turned tens of thousands of acres of barren tidal flats in Nantong into fertile farmland; he built China's first fishery administration ship and protected maritime rights and interests through fishery administration; he was the first to promote the development of modern marine fisheries through a joint-stock management model and strive for marine resources through fishery development. ; He built China's first fishery school...
During the Tianxi period of the Song Dynasty (1017-1021), Fan Zhongyan was just 30 years old and was transferred to the salt warehouse supervisor in Xixi (now Dongtai), Taizhou. In Tianshengzhong, Fan Zhongyan, full of "the heart of benefiting the world", wrote to Zhang Lun, the magistrate of Taizhou, suggesting that the Haihaiweir should be repaired quickly to save the people from disaster. In the second year of Tiansheng in the Song Dynasty (1024), Fan Zhongyan recruited more than 40,000 soldiers to build a sea weir. It was the middle of winter, snow and rain continued for ten days, and the tide was strong, rushing towards the shore. The soldiers panicked and fled in all directions and fell into More than 200 people drowned in the mud. The stars change, and the sea changes. Although Fan Gongdi has now lost its ability to defend the sea, Fan Gongdi and Fan Zhongyan and his eternal saying "worry before the world's worries, and rejoice after the world's happiness" have been recorded in history forever and will be remembered for generations.
Wen Tianxiang, a famous prime minister of the generation, once wrote on the edge of the Yellow Sea in Nantong, "The wind stirs up waves in thousands of bays, and the tide creates thousands of hectares of sand."
She Yi, a Qing Dynasty poet, also wrote a poem about crab roe piled red in spring, and salt flowers blooming white in the evening: "The sound of sea air and river comes into view, the flat sand and shallow rivers are mixed with people, the east wind blows peach blossoms in the morning and evening, and salmon dishes are like mud ships. ”.
5. Coastal folklore. There are many legends and stories spread along the coast, and folklore has become a beautiful landscape of marine culture. In Lusi, there are stories about Lu Dongbin visiting Lusi four times; When Emperor Qianlong went to the south of the Yangtze River, he passed by Lu Si and ate "the most delicious food in the world" - a story that he never forgets after eating clams; there are also stories about the Temple of the Goddess of the Sea and the solitary tomb of Concubine Wu...
These folk legends They are the crystallization of the wisdom of coastal fishermen, some of which are of essence, and have certain literary, artistic and historical research value. The spread of folklore is often regional. Some far-reaching folklore are often combined with local customs and are spread in the process. Refined and processed, folklore often has the characteristics of legend. The plot of the story is directly related to human reality, and its development is in line with the internal logic of life. At the same time, the development of the story is caused by accident, coincidence, exaggeration, and superhuman plots. In this way, real scenes and strange things are organically unified, which is full of life, bizarre and moving. The creative characteristics of folklore provide useful reference for the creation of novels and dramas. We explore the history of Nantong's ocean and fishery. Folklore is to extract the essence and remove the dregs, to better reflect the existence of folklore as a special art in the entire ocean culture, and to inject more and newer elements into the promotion of a harmonious ocean and a charming ocean.
6. Seafood culture. The endless ocean provides us with rich resources. Among them, various seafood are the delicacies given to us by the sea. Therefore, Nantong has a seafood culture. It has rich content. In recent years, Qidong and Rudong have held various seafood festivals every year, and their influence has become more and more important. Seafood culture is actually about injecting cultural elements into seafood cooking and seafood. From a single diet to a dual enjoyment of food and art, the exploration of seafood culture will be conducive to the creation of our city's marine fishery brand, the promotion of our city's marine fishery products, and the promotion of our city's marine culture.
Nantong’s marine culture has profound connotations and rich resources. The above summarized parts basically summarize the main body of Nantong’s marine culture. It seems scattered and disorderly, but in fact there is a main thread running through it. This is the essence of what we call it. The essence of Nantong's marine culture is in line with the "Nantong spirit" we currently advocate - inclusiveness and courage to be the first. The research on Nantong's marine culture has a long way to go and requires the hard work of generations of marine people. I believe in the bright future. Marine culture shines brightly on the marine industry like a dazzling star.