The Earliest Bridge on Fuzhou's Min River: Hongshan Bridge

闽江上最早的桥一一洪山桥（洪三桥）By Chen Jiang 陈坚

Hongshan Bridge is located at the water and land hub in the western suburbs of Fuzhou Laocheng. It spans the Hongjiang section of the North Port of the Minjiang River and connects Hongtang Port, an ancient commercial and shipping town. During the Song Dynasty, there was frequent traffic on both sides of the Yangtze River. Cheng Shimeng, the prefect of Fuzhou, initiated the construction of a pontoon bridge. Ships were first built to form a pontoon bridge, referred to as the Hongyi Bridge, the Hong2 Bridge, and the Hong3 Bridge. It connected Xichan Ferry in the east and Hongtang Zhanxian in the west. It was the earliest bridge on the Min River.

  In the sixth year of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1578), only the Hongsan Bridge was left. Pang Shangpeng, governor of Fujian, rebuilt the Shidun wooden beam bridge at the original site, connecting the foothills of Gao 'an in the east and Hongshan in the west. In the more than 100 years since then, the bridge was also plagued by disasters. It was destroyed by water and fire six or seven times, and repairs were carried out to "support the worship hall". In the 37th year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1772), high-standard reconstruction was launched through the efforts of all parties to raise funds. The underwater berm of the Hengjiang River was built with riprap, iron wedges were used to consolidate the foundation and slow down the water. There were 26 piers with 27 holes stacked with large stones. The bridge has a total length of 394.5 meters and took four years to complete.

  In order to avoid repeated damage, Hong Sanqiao was renamed Hongshan Bridge.

  In the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), the 27th pier was raised to facilitate sailing. In 1956, it was renovated into a highway bridge based on the "first-generation" ancient bridge. At the end of 1985, a new "second-generation" steel-concrete beam bridge was built 60 meters nearby. The bridge deck of the ancient bridge was demolished and most of the piers were preserved, which is the "broken bridge" seen today (see picture).

  The surging river tells the century-old story of Hongshan Bridge in the Song Dynasty. Zhu Xi, a Dali scholar in the Song Dynasty, founded the "Ziyang Academy" at the east gate and wrote "Tianfeng and Haitao" for Gushan. He must pass through the Hongsan Bridge to and from leaving foot marks everywhere; It is said that Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty visited here and once tasted Hongjiang's specialty "Braised Sandfish"; the sad and beautiful love story in Feng Menglong's "Love History" takes place in the west of the bridge, which is the sad place of poet Lin Hong and the girl Hongqiao; Yu Dafu mentioned the Hongshan Bridge in "Fujian Tour: Six of Deli". This bridge records his and Wang Yingxia's happy times in Fuzhou. The two often flooded the Yixin Tower at the ten-level bridge behind the Yangtze River; in 1941, Japanese planes bombed the Hongshan Bridge, and heroic Fuzhou officers and soldiers fought back tenaciously...

  Every change in Hongshan Bridge leaves a mark of historical development and many humanistic memories related to Fuzhou.

洪山桥位于福州老城西郊水陆要冲，跨越闽江北港洪江段，连接古代商航重镇洪塘港。宋时沿江两岸来往日频，福州太守程师孟倡建，先由船拼搭成浮桥，简称洪一桥、洪二桥、洪三桥，东接西禅渡口，西止洪塘阵坂，是闽江上最早的桥。

到了明万历六年（1578）仅存洪三桥，福建巡抚庞尚鹏在原址改建石墩木梁桥，东接高安山麓，西与洪山相连。此后的一百多年里，桥也是多灾多难，六七次毁于水火，修修补补中“扶着拜堂”。清乾隆三十七年（1772），经各方努力集资，得以启动高规格的重建。抛石构筑横江水底护堤，铁锲固基缓水，大条石叠砌的桥墩26座，27孔，桥全长394.5米，历时四年才竣工。

为避讳再而三的毁损，洪三桥改名为洪山桥。

　　民国二十四年（1935），加高第27孔桥墩，以利行船。1956年，在“第一代”古桥的基础上改建为公路桥。1985年底，在近旁60米处，新建“第二代”钢混梁式桥。古桥拆除了桥面，保存了大部分桥墩，就是今天所看到的“断桥”（如图）。

　　滔滔江水，娓娓诉说着洪山桥的百年故事——宋代大理学家朱熹在东门创办“紫阳书院”，为鼓山题写“天风海涛”等，往返必经洪三桥留下屐痕处处；相传明正德皇帝巡幸到此，曾慕名点尝洪江特产“红烧贴沙鱼”；冯梦龙《情史》中凄美的爱情故事发生在桥西，是诗人林鸿与红桥姑娘的伤心地；郁达夫在《闽游滴沥之六》中提及洪山桥，这座桥记录了他和王映霞在福州的幸福时光，俩人常泛江后拾级桥头的义心楼；1941年间，日机狂炸洪山桥，英勇的福州官兵踞险要顽强还击……

　　洪山桥的每一次变化，都留下历史发展的烙印，以及许多与福州有关的人文记忆。