Why do people in Tianjin like to say this number the most?

In Tianjin

You must have heard the number "72" often.

Tianjin's Seventy-two Valleys and the Seventy-two Bends of the Haihe River...

There are many similar proverbs like these "Seventy-two"

Is it a real number or an imaginary number?

Why do Tianjin people love this number so much?

Let’s find out today

Let’s start with the “Qi-shiergu” that Tianjin people are most familiar with.

According to research, the first person to put the term "72 Gu" in a text was Zhang Tao, a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty. In his book "Miscellaneous Notes of Tianjin", he recorded the following passage: "There is a saying that there are 72 Gu in Tianjin, but there are actually only 21 Gu. They are: Dingzigu, Xigu, Donggu, Sanchagu, Xiaozhigu, Dazhigu, Jiajiagu, Xingjiagu, Xianshuigu, Gegu, Tanggu, Caotougu, Taoyuangu, Pangu, Siligu, Dengshangu, Haojiagu, Dongnigu, Zhongnigu, Xinigu, and Dagu. This Gu is named after the Xilu River. The others are in Baodi and Ninghe counties."

In 1984, the Tianjin Institute of Literature and History re-studied this issue based on modern administrative divisions. If all the place names with "Gu" in the suburbs of Tianjin, Ninghe, Baodi, Jixian, Yutian, and Fengrun are included, the correct number should be "Ba Shi Gu".

"The flowers and water of Qishiergu share the same flavor of Jiangnan", "The spring water of Qishiergu is lively, and the wild peach blossoms are blooming in the sound of the noon scene", "Qishiergu is full of autumn colors, and it is unbearable to have half of the Hu dust blowing on my hair"...

The reason why people in Tianjin deliberately wrote "Eighty Gu" as "Seventy-two Gu" is probably because these words would be more rhyming when put in the poem.

After the 72 sells, there are 72 more bell sounds

Around 1968 to 1971, three gentlemen from Tianjin, Kou Mengbi, Chen Zongshu and Zhang Mushi, often spent their time composing poetry and ringing bells. Over time, they created more than 2,000 sets of poetic bells.

In 1972, several people compiled their works into a collection of poems.

Because there was a couplet engraved on the Drum Tower in Tianjin city at that time: "Climb up to the high and spacious place and see the sails of the 72 ships coming and going; who awakens the bustling city? Listen to the morning and evening bells of the 108 pestles", and as it was the year 1972, the collection of poems was named "The Sound of the 72 Bells".

The "seventy-two" here does not refer to the number of poems, but was given a real meaning by several Tianjin literati and is used to refer to Tianjin.
Is the Haihe River really so winding?

Since the Haihe River system has many scattered tributaries and complex micro-topography, it is certain that it has many bends.

There is no definite answer as to whether there were really 72 bends in the Haihe River in the early years, but there are definitely no more now.

Between 1901 and 1923, the Haihe Engineering Bureau carried out six "straightening" projects on the Haihe waterway. The Huochaichang Bay, Donghequ Bay, Difentou Bay, Baitangkou Bay and others disappeared one after another, making the winding Haihe River completely sealed in history.

Today, the saying of "Seventy-two bends of the Haihe River" is still on the lips of many Tianjin people. The "Seventy-two" here may just be an exaggeration, a way for Tianjin people to record those difficult shipping years.

What are the Seventy-two Official Villages?

During the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, there were large tracts of wasteland waiting to be reclaimed along the Grand Canal. A large number of officers and soldiers settled here to cultivate the land, practicing the "soldier-farmer system". These villages formed by the "corps" were the so-called "official settlements".

According to statistics, there were only more than 70 official settlements on both sides of the canal at that time, mainly distributed in today's Wuqing District, Jinghai District, and some areas in Hebei Province.

The "official villages" that are actually located in Tianjin include Bianguantun, Guoguantun, Nieguantun, etc. located in Wuqing District, and Chenguantun, Luguantun, Zhangguantun, etc. located in Jinghai District. In total, there are only sixteen of them.

The reason why it is called "Seventy-two Official Settlements" may be because of a misunderstanding in the old days, which mistakenly counted the official settlements on both sides of the canal as being included in Tianjin. In addition, Tianjin people love "Seventy-two", so it is natural that this saying was left behind.

The Seventy-two Temples of Panshan must be real, right?

During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism flourished and 72 temples were built in the Panshan area one after another, not one more, not one less. As a result, this place became a holy place for emperors and generals of all dynasties to meditate and worship Buddha.

Going back to the origin, more than a thousand years ago, people living in Tianjin have had a special liking for the number "seventy-two".

In 2007, Jizhou started the restoration of 72 temples, and they were to be restored one by one, without leaving out any one.
It is enough to see that "Seventy-two" has always been a special existence in the minds of Tianjin people since ancient times.

I believe everyone has discovered that the number "72" in Tianjin slang is mostly used as an imaginary number. What is the magic of this number that makes Tianjin people love it so much?

Nowadays, there are two generally accepted views.
Firstly, the ancients always regarded "three" as a lot. If "three" was not enough to express the quantity, they would use multiples of three to measure it. "Seventy-two" is not only "a lot", but also has the meaning of "abundant and rich". This is the case with the "Seventy-two Changes" in "Journey to the West", and the same is true for the sayings "Seventy-two Villages in Tianjin", "Seventy-two Bends of the Haihe River", and "Seventy-two Official Villages in Tianjin".

Secondly, in ancient times, "seventy-two" was the number of the five elements of heaven and earth, so ancient literati always liked the expression "seventy-two", such as "the seventy-two beaches of spring", and Tianjin people also want to use this to add a bit of misty and misty poetry to this city. No matter which reason, it actually shows the Tianjin people's cheerful yearning for a better life. Tianjin is called "Gendu" and it is said that Tianjin people are optimistic. The so-called "optimism" not only refers to humor, but also refers to the people living on this land, who are always willing to build this city with a sunny and positive attitude and look forward to a brand new tomorrow.