Like most Chinese cities, the major streets of Nanjing are named after other cities in China. As per the debate over culture, identity and symbols in the “politics of place” branch of geography, so it be that Zhongshan Lu be the most important street in any Chinese city (Sun Yat-sen’s Simplified Chinese name is Sun Zhongshan) and that Shanghai Lu in Nanjing is a major thoroughfare but Yangzhou Lu is one stop short of a lane. Yet it is here, within the strokes of the Chinese characters providing these lesser known alleys with their monikers where much more insight into Nanjing’s past is to be found.
像大多数中国城市一样，南京的主要街道是以中国其他城市命名的。 根据地理“地方政治”分支中关于文化、身份和符号的辩论，中山路是中国任何城市中最重要的街道（孙中山的简体中文名称是孙中山），南京的上海路是一条主要通道，但扬州路离一条车道只有一站。 然而，正是在这里，在汉字的笔画中，为这些不为人知的小巷提供了它们的绰号，可以发现对南京过去的更多见解。
Yanliao Fang Workshop (颜料坊)
Yanliao Fang工作室（颜料坊）
The silk industry in Nanjing was developed during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and the scale of private enterprises engaged therein exceeded that of the government. It is said that silk washed by the waters of the Qinhuai River was the most suitable for weaving “black satin” and “azure satin”. The area around Zhonghua Men in Qinhuai District grew to be a concentration of silk industry since the Eastern Wu Dynasty, where silk workshops could be seen everywhere.
南京的丝绸工业在明清时期发展起来，从事其中的私营企业的规模超过了政府。 据说，秦淮河水洗过的丝绸最适合编织“黑色缎面”和“蔚色缎面”。 自东武以来，秦淮区中华门周边地区发展成为丝绸工业的集中地，到处都能看到丝绸工厂。
“Yanliao” means “pigment” and the enemy of pigment is moisture. Given that the last thing any self-respecting pigment maker would want is a flooded workshop releasing tides of coloured waters into the city, Yanliao Fang, that no longer exists, was located at Zhonghua Men since it is the highest point in this vicinity of Nanjing.
“Yanliao”的意思是“颜料”，颜料的敌人是水分。 鉴于任何自尊的颜料制造商最不希望的是一个被淹没的车间，将彩色水潮水释放到城市中，已经不存在的燕寮方位于中华门，因为它是南京附近的最高点。
Rouge Lane (胭脂巷)
胭脂巷
No longer a busy street, in ancient times, young girls from rich families used to go shopping in Rouge Lane for.… the best-quality rouge powder, together with other various other make-up and jewelry.
不再是一條繁忙的街道，在古代，富裕家庭的年轻女孩常去Rouge Lane购物……最優質的胭脂粉，以及其他各種化妝品和珠寶。
Sheepskin Lane (羊皮巷)
羊皮巷（羊皮巷）
Nanjing has a lot of streets that are include the character, “羊” (sheep) and Sheepskin Lane was once the epicentre of sheepskin shops and lamb vendors. Nowadays, those vendors are long gone, having been replaced by a concentration of restaurants with more than 40 delicacies hidden in this alley.
南京有很多街道，包括“羊”（羊）和羊皮巷，曾经是羊皮店和羊肉摊贩的震中。 如今，这些小贩早已消失，取而代之的是集中的餐馆，这些餐馆隐藏在这个小巷里，有40多种美食。
Mingwa Lang (明瓦廊)
明瓦廊（明瓦廊）
Mingwa Lang, dating back to the early Ming Dynasty, used to be one of the city’s main commercial roads, being a prosperous commercial block. Mingwa refers to the transparent tiles embedded in the windows or ceilings of houses. Made from the translucent shells of oysters or mussels, or even lamb horn, Mingwa Lang was the major marketplace for the colourful glass, also now an eatery street in Xinjiekou.
明华朗可以追溯到明朝早期，曾经是该市的主要商业道路之一，是一个繁荣的商业街区。 Mingwa是指嵌入房屋窗户或天花板的透明瓷砖。 Mingwa Lang由半透明的牡蛎或贻贝壳，甚至是羊角制成，是彩色玻璃的主要市场，现在也是新街口的一条美食街。
Gongjian Fang (弓箭坊)
弓箭坊（弓箭坊）
Have a not-so-close look at the first character above, 弓. Wouldn’t happen to resemble a bow, would it? And so it came to be that the street Gongjian Fang was named on account of the prevalence of bow and arrow workshops in the vicinity. Their location is clearly recorded in the book “Note of Zhengde Jiangning County” from the Ming dynasty; “Arrow Workshop, east to the Iron Workshop, south of Yatou Lane, north of Huolou Lane. … Bow’s Workshop is to the west of Iron Workshop, north of Sanshan Street, south of Pigment Workshop”.
仔细看看上面的第一个角色，弓。 不会像弓，是吗？ 因此，Gongjian Fang街之所以得名，是由于附近弓箭车间的盛行。 明朝《正德江宁县注》一书中清楚地记录了他们的位置；“箭坊，东到铁坊，亚头巷以南，火楼巷以北。 …弓的工作室位于铁工作室以西，三山街以北，颜料工作室以南。”
Crane Street (仙鹤街)
鹤街（仙鹤街）
A piece of folklore goes thus; a poor and single mother lived alone in this area with her son, relying on weaving brocade to make a living, using materials donated from the owner of a nearby silk shop. Touched by their hard work and kindness, the seven fairies of the sky sent two beautiful cranes down to Earth to fly around their looms.
一段民间传说是这样的；一位贫穷的单身母亲和她的儿子独自住在这个地区，靠编织锦缎谋生，使用附近一家丝绸店老板捐赠的材料。 被他们的辛勤工作和善良所感动，天空中的七个仙女将两只美丽的鹤送到地球，绕着织布机飞行。
From then on, brocade materials magically appeared on the looms each day. The mother and son no longer needed to borrow materials from the owner, and life became better. Seeing that they produced better brocade, the enraged silk-shop owner forced the mother to tell the truth, whenupon the owner’s greed impelled him to rush into their house in a desperate hunt for the finished silk. Suddenly, a pair of beautiful cranes descended, severely pecking the head of the silk-shop owner and his housekeeper, in the process saving the lives of the mother and son. Ever since, people have called this Crane Street.
从那时起，锦缎材料每天都神奇地出现在织布机上。 母子不再需要向主人借材料，生活也变得更好了。 看到他们生产了更好的锦缎，愤怒的丝绸店老板强迫母亲说出真相，而老板的贪婪促使他冲进他们家，拼命寻找成品丝绸。 突然，一对漂亮的鹤下来，狠狠地啄了啄丝绸店老板和管家的头，在这个过程中拯救了母子的生命。 從那以後，人们就把它叫做起重機街。
Golden Millet Nunnery (金粟庵)
金粟庵（金粟庵）
It is well known today that “An” (庵) usually refers to a nunnery, but in ancient times it meant a thatched hut, that is, a so-called “nunnery with grass” (结草为庵). Since the Han Dynasty, a number of temples have been built in which Buddhist nuns can live and work, and therefore the word “An” has become synonymous with nunneries.
今天众所周知，“庵”通常指尼姑庵，但在古代，它意味着茅草屋，即所谓的“有草的尼姑庵”（结草庵）。 自汉朝以来，许多寺庙已经建成，佛教尼姑可以在其中生活和工作，因此“安”一词已成为尼姑庵的代名词。
