“太平车”名称及其内涵的历史变化考略-《中国农史》

文章信息/Info

Title:: A Textual Research on the Historical Change of the Name and Connotation of "Taiping Wagon"

Author(s):: LI Bing1 GUAN Xiao-wu2; （1. Department of History of Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084；2. Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190）

Keywords:: Taiping Wagon; four-wheeled vehicle; history of farming tools; history of vehicles

摘要:: 太平车制作技艺于2007年被列入河南省第一批非物质文化遗产代表性项目名录，但其历史源流尚待进一步考证。本文基于文献、画作等史料，以“太平车”这一概念为线索，考察了“太平车”得名原因及其历史变化。研究认为“太平车”一词至迟出现于北宋时期，为都城东京及附近各府对民间物资运输大车的称呼，具有鲜明的地方性，但此时“太平车”的形制不同于现今平舆四轮太平车，而是双轮车。“太平车”得名原因是其主要适宜于太平时期民用，而难以用于军事运输。现今平舆太平车的历史至迟可以追溯至清代中前期，民国以降在豫东、鲁西、皖北等平原地区的农村四轮太平车被广泛使用，直到20世纪七八十年代几乎完全被淘汰。

Abstract:: The traditional craftsmanship of "Taiping Wagon" has been inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Henan province in 2007, but the origins of "Taiping Wagon" have yet to be further studied. Based on textual and pictorial materials, this paper, tracing the evolution of the concept of the "Taiping Wagon", studies the origins and historical changes of the name of "Taiping Wagon". It holds that the term "Taiping Wagon" appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty at the latest, and it was a distinctive local name of wooden vehicle that was used for transporting goods in the capital city of Northern Song and the neighboring provinces. It was, however, a two-wheeled vehicle, different from the Pingyu four-wheeled "Taiping Wagon" we see today. It was designed as a kind of civil transportation being used in peacetime, rather than for military purpose, and that is why it was called "Taiping Wagon". The Pingyu "Taiping Wagon" we see nowadays can be traced back to the Qing dynasty, which were being widely used in the rural areas of Eastern Henan, Western Shandong and Northern Anhui in the Republic of China. Until 1970s and 1980s, the "Taiping Wagon" was almost completely eliminated in China.