运河明珠 明清时期的临清

A Bright Pearl by the Canal: Linqing in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

临清,因临近清河而得名。明清以前,只是一个十分普通的小县。明代会通河开通后,临清成为南北水路要冲,迅速发展成为集商业都会、军事重镇、仓储要地、手工业中心于一体的大都市。其繁华程度和重要地位,不仅超过与其平级的州城,即便是府城也难与之相比。从某种意义上讲,超过了北方的许多省城。是什么原因使一个县级州城具有这么重要的地位?让我们从历史上寻找几个视角,去从中寻找答案吧。

Linqing, which in Chinese means ＂bordering on Qjng＂, got its name by sitting close to the Qjng River.Before the Ming and Qing dynasties, Linqing was only an ordinary little county. After the Huitong River was dredged in the Ming dynasty, Linqing became the communication center for waterways from north and south, hence rapidly developing into a metropolis that functioned as a business and manufacturing center as well as a town of military and storage importance. The prosperity and vitality of Linqing exceeded that of other counties on the same administrative hierarchy. Even the capital cities of different provinces could barely compete with Linqing with respect to the development level. To some extent, Linqing got ahead of many provincial capital cities in North China.