“西口”辨

Arguing the Term "Xi kou"

《走西口》是晋、蒙、陕、冀交界区域家喻户晓、广为流传的民歌,它描绘了清代及民国时期的晋民北流现象,是“走西口”移民生活的缩影。但“西口”具体指什么地方?目前有多种解释,哪种是科学的、历史的呢?通过多年的资料收集和潜心研究,我们认为“西口”所指就是归化城(今呼和浩特市旧城),“西口”是人们对归化城的俗称,而且这一俗称来源于商人,只与商业活动有关。

＂Zou xi kou＂ is a popular and wide spread folk song in the area of the common boundaries of Shanxi province, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi province and Hebei province. It describes a phenomenon of the population of Shanxi province moving north and it is the reflection of the immigrating life of ＂Zou xi kou＂. However, what place does concretely refer to？ There have been so many kinds of explanations. Which ones are scientic and historical？ After many years of material collection and research with great concentration, we believe that refers to the city of Guihua（ The Old City of Huhhot）. ＂Xi kou＂is the common calling of the City of Guihua, this calling was originated from the merchants and only related to commercial activities.