宁波地处我国海岸线中段，东有舟山群岛，北濒杭州湾，西接绍兴市的嵊州、新昌、上虞，南临三门湾。“书藏古今，港通天下”形象地描绘了宁波是一座现代化的沿海历史文明城市。
据《光绪奉化县志》记载，历史上宁波的名称有：句章、鄞、郧、明州、庆元、宁波等。宁波秦时属会稽郡的鄞、鄮、句章三县；唐时称明州，元朝为庆元；１３８１年，为避国号讳，朱元璋采纳鄞县读书人单仲友建议，取“海定则波宁”之义，将明州改称宁波府，于是宁波之名沿用至今。
宁波简称“甬”，“甬”字则大有来头。“甬”源于甬江，而甬江之名又出自甬山。对于“甬”的来历，其中有一说为：甬山峰峦颇似覆罩的大钟，象形似“甬”字；另一说则是跟据《光绪奉化县志》记载：“甬山，县北二十里江口，县治之北上有塔故俗名江口塔山，自四明山分为雪窦诸山东衍至此而止山之阴为鄞境山之阳为奉化，……旧志云明州有句章城，旧本在甬山之南，……甬之言涌也，若泉涌出也，今是山由西而东颇如泉涌故有甬名，甬江之称殆因其源出于此而名之。” 由史可知，县北二十里有甬山，俗称江口，地处鄞、奉交界的境上。甬者，涌也，像山上泉水一般涌出来，此山由西向东，颇似泉涌，故名甬山，而甬江之名大概也是由此出。不过彼时的甬江非现在的甬江，当时的甬江指的是是从剡江、鄞江和奉化方桥方向流来的东江汇合处开始，一直到镇海口出海为止，而不是指今天的甬江。
《光绪奉化县志》片段
“从地名中，不但能了解人们的政治道德观念，还可以了解当地的图腾宗教、英雄人物及各种美丽的传说故事，更可以了解不同朝代的文化特征、社会心态等。”宁波地名的命名亦是如此。宁波的地名命名有以地理特征方式命名的，如：象山港、溪口镇等；有以历史故事或传说命名的，如：慈溪市、慈城镇、天童寺等；有以姓氏或历史名人命名的，如：郑氏十七房、黄贤村、方家河头、苍水街等；有以当地物产工商业命名的，如：打铁巷、卖鱼路；有寄托愿望命名的，如：招宝山、福泉山等等。从宁波的诸多地名中，我们可以看出地名不但是历史演变的记录者也是文化传承的重要载体之一。
宁波三江口
The Origin of Ningbo
Ningbo lies in the middle of coastal line of China, at the south bank of Hangzhou Bay, with the Zhoushan Islands to its east, Shaoxing to its west and Sanmen Bay to its south. It is called a city of culture and gateway to the world as the city enjoys a long history of civilization and the modern facilities of a top international port city.
The city was called by other names in the past, including Gouzhang, Yin, Mao, three counties belonging to Kuaiji Province during the Qin Dynasty, Mingzhou during the Tang Dynasty, Qingyuan during the Yuan Dynasty, according to Fenghua County Records during the Reign of Guangxu. It has been renamed Ningbo since the Ming Dynasty in order to avoid the forbidden pronunciation of yuan as the first Ming emperor had the same sound in his name Zhu Yuanzhang.
1870年代宁波老城门（照片来源网络）
The name of Ningbo is abbreviated to Yong, which can be traced back to Yong River, the biggest river in the city, whose name is said to have originated from Mount Yong in Fenghua County. One theory goes that the title of the mountain comes from its
shape, like a giant bell, thus the pictographic naming of Yong (甬). Another supposition can be found in Fenghua County Records, which says that Mount Yong, about 6 miles north of Fenghua County, gets its name from the springs on its eastern side. 甬, the homophone of 涌, is the description of the spring water rapidly flowing eastwards down the mountain. And Yong River is named after the mountain. A fact must be pointed out, however, that the historical Yong River started from the converging point of Shan River, Yin River and Dong River, and flew into the sea in Zhenhai, composed of what Fenghua River and Yong River are.
“by studying place names, people get to know not only the political and ethical conceptions of the community, but also the local totemic worship and religions, heroes and their deeds, and folklores and legends, as well as the cultural features and social mentality of different dynasties in the history,” says Li Rulong, linguistic professor with Xiamen University. The place names of Ningbo do offer such knowledge. Some places here are named after their geographical characteristics, such as Xiangshan, an elephant-shaped hill, and Xikou, the mouth of Shanxi River. Some are called in such way as the historic events or legends are recorded, like Cixi, a steam symbolizing maternal love, and Tiantong, related to a child from the heaven. Some places are simply named after clans or historic personages. For example, Zhengshi Shiqi Fang means the Zheng clan’s 17 households, and Huangxian Village is a village in memory of a reclusive physician Huang. Cangshui Street is obviously named after Zhang Cangshui, a general at the end of the Ming Dynasty. More interestingly, some streets bear the features of economic activities, like Datie Xiang, a blacksmiths’ lane, and Maiyu Road, a street featuring a fish market. Some places carry the good wishes, the typical examples of which are Zhaobao (or a treasure bowl) Hill and Fuquan (or good-fortune spring) Mountain. Therefore, the place names in Ningbo are not only records of the history, but the carriers of cultural heritages.
一、惊驾路的传说
惊驾路
初到宁波，逛宁波的大街小巷时，你应该会被宁波的一些奇葩地名所吸引，然后会有各种脑补：
“椅子巷”难道是因为巷子里有着供人休闲的无数椅子？
“大沙泥街”是不是泥沙遍地，无法行走？
“卖鱼路”是不是马路菜市场？
“呼童街”是不是因为儿童嬉戏，母亲唤儿回家而得名？
……
这些路名很多都起源于古代传说或行业。今天，且让我带你走条高大上的路，因为这条路和皇家有着紧密的关联，为“惊驾路”。据传，“惊驾路”得名于南宋皇帝赵构。当年康王赵构被金兵追杀逃到了明州（即宁波），骑马经过一桥，马突然受惊，康王赵构从马上摔下，后人据此将此桥取名为“惊驾桥”，通桥的路便是“惊驾路”了。
可能“惊驾路”的上述得名稍显帝王的狼狈，于是此路又有了一个更为感人的传说，此传说和身负各种八卦的乾隆帝有关。相传乾隆帝登基后，得知自己乃汉族大臣杨林之子，遂借南巡之名寻找生父，当时杨林已改名换姓在天童寺出家。乾隆在前往天童寺的路上，经过一座石桥时，突然从桥下冲出一个袈裟褴褛、满脸污垢的老和尚，使得御驾马匹受惊。和尚泪语：“善哉，贫僧姓木易，名二木也。”聪明的乾隆帝立马破解认亲密码，于是父子“暗搓搓”相认。这座原本不出名的桥因为乾隆的马受惊而被称为惊驾桥，通桥的路便被称为“惊驾路”。
当时惊驾的桥已不复存在，而因桥得名的惊驾路现如今成为了宁波城区一条主要的交通要道。惊驾路位于宁波鄞州区，西起外滩大桥，东至世纪大道，连接起江北区和东部新城。路的一头是百年老外滩，另一头则是美轮美奂的金融中心和城市CBD。惊驾路两侧则是宁波资历最老的一条美食街，以海鲜为主，也有正宗宁波菜还有川菜、东北菜、湖南菜、火锅等各地美食。
惊驾路海鲜美食一条街（图片来源网络）
The Tales of Jingjia Road
When walking through the streets and lanes in Ningbo, you may be fascinated by some odd place names in this historic city with wild imagination…
Is Yizi Lane, or “Chair Lane”, really full of chairs and benches for travelers to rest on?
Is Dashani Street, literally “Great Sand Mud Street”, always muddy and sandy, so much so that it is not easy to walk through?
Is Maiyu Road an open-air fish market as its pinyin means “selling fish”?
Is Hutong Street, the word-for-word translation of which is “Summoning Kids Street”, a noisiest place where parents keep shouting at their children hanging out in the street and late for dinner?
……
A bunch of place names in Ningbo originated from folklores and legends, and economic activities. One of the most impressive of them all should be Jingjia Road, as the name can be rendered into “to surprise an emperor”.
One legend says that the road was related to Emperor Gaozong (1107 –1187 AD) in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the story, the imperial ruler had not ascended the throne yet; instead, the then prince was in his flight from the invasion of the northern aggressors. While he was on the run here in Mingzhou, as Ningbo was called at that time, his horse got startled on a bridge somehow and his Majesty fell down from his ride. Hence, this bridge was named “Jingjia Bridge” and the road it linked became “Jingjia Road”.
That incident might sound too embarrassing for the royals. Therefore, there is another folktale about the origin of the road name, which is a touching one compared with the one mentioned. This story is related to another emperor, the Qianlong Emperor (1711 – 1799 AD) in the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty. After he was enthroned, Qianlong knew from a secret source that his birth father was Yang Lin, a former minister of Han ethnicity, instead of the deceased Yongzheng Emperor, his predecessor. He determined to look for his natural parent, who was supposed to be living in the South under a false identity, in the name of an inspection trip. In fact, Yang Lin had already changed his name and was living as a Buddhist monk in Tiantong Temple to the southeast of Ningbo. Qianlong with his men was passing through a stone bridge on his way to the famous monastery, when a dirty monk in rags suddenly showed up from under the bridge, which startled the horse that was carrying the young ruler. When asked, the monk, with tears down his face, said: “My surname is Mu Yi and my first name Mu Mu.” (Which is a riddle based on the writing of Chinese characters, as the combination of mu and yi results in yang and the addition of two mus forms lin) Qianlong decoded the puzzle and knew at once that the old man was his real father. Later, the stone bridge that witnessed this covert family reunion was named “Jingjia Bridge”.
惊驾路海鲜美食（图片来源网络）
The bridge can no longer be found where it was, but the street has become an important
thoroughfare in the city. The new road starts from Waitan Bridge to its west and ends at its crossing with Shiji Avenue to its east, linking the century-old Bund in Jiangbei District and the breathtaking skyline of the Eastern New CBD. The middle stretch of the
road is dotted on both sides with restaurants and cafes, mostly featuring seafood. There are also restaurants that serve cuisine from Sichuan, Northeast China, Hunan, and other parts of China, as well as hot pots, making the street a must-go for foodies.
课题编号：18ZC02
课题名称：宁波地名史话传说汉英双语读本
课题负责人：李凤萍
工作单位：宁波大学科学技术学院
,
