Chapter 49 Section 15 Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou

The history of girder bridges in my country is longer than that of arch bridges. It originated in the Neolithic Age and has developed in successive dynasties since then, and many famous bridges have been built.In the Song Dynasty, the construction of girder bridges in our country entered a new period of development. A number of large-scale stone girder bridges were built, and the bridge construction technology was raised to a new level. The earliest large stone girder bridge built was the Luoyang Bridge in Quanzhou, Fujian.It was first built in April of the fifth year of Huangyou (May 1053 A.D.), and completed in December of the fourth year of Jiayou (January 1059 A.D.). It was built by Cai Xiang.

Luoyang Bridge was built at the mouth of the Luoyang River 20 miles east of Quanzhou City.The water surface here is open, "there is the pouring of the rolling valleys and waves in the west, and the galloping tide of the hong hao in the east" ("Quanzhou Fuzhi·Luoyang Bridge"), the water is dangerous.Before the bridge was built, people used ferries to travel here and there, and boat capsizing accidents often occurred.In order to pray for a safe transition, it was named Wan'andu, so after the bridge was completed, it was also named Wan'an Bridge, and Luoyang Bridge was its common name.Luoyang Bridge has the following innovations in bridge construction technology.

The first raft-shaped foundation Due to the dangerous water potential, the traditional piling technology cannot be used for the bridge foundation, so a new method was created and a new foundation-laying technology was created.That is to use the time of ebb tide, along the predetermined bridge line and its surroundings, use boats to load large stones and throw them into the bottom of the water to form a bottom stone embankment as the bridge foundation.According to investigations, the bridge base of Luoyang Bridge is more than 500 meters long and 25 meters wide.This is a major innovation in the history of bridge technology, which is the forerunner of raft foundation in modern bridge construction.

Application and development of wedge-shaped piers The wedge-shaped piers appeared in the Tang Dynasty and were built at the end facing the direction of the water flow.For Luoyang Bridge, both ends of the pier are built in a wedge shape to separate the impact of the river current and tide, and to protect the pier. The large stone girders on the Luoyang bridge deck weigh tens of tons by means of tidal fluctuations and floating transportation. It seems unimaginable to erect such heavy large stone girders suspended above the water in the absence of large lifting equipment in ancient times. of.Luoyang Bridge cleverly solved this problem.Taking advantage of the water drop of the tide, the stone girder is carried between the two bridge piers by boat during high tide, and fixed above the position to be placed. When the tide ebbs, the stone girder is automatically erected at the predetermined position, and the erection of the bridge deck is successfully completed. Operation.

Using oyster glue to fix the piers to connect the stones on the piers together is almost impossible in ancient times without quick-setting cement.However, when Luoyang Bridge was built, it cleverly used the growth characteristics of oysters to magically solve this problem.Oyster, also known as oyster, commonly known as sea oyster, is a scale marine animal.It grows and reproduces by attaching to other objects, and the calcareous shell also forms continuous sheets as it grows and reproduces, and is firmly cemented with the attachments.When the Luoyang Bridge was built, this feature was used to cultivate oysters on the piers, and the stones on the piers were glued together to form a solid whole to prevent them from being washed away and improve the firmness and durability of the piers.This invention can be regarded as an outstanding scientific creation.

The Luoyang Bridge is 834 meters long and has 46 piers. The entire bridge is built with locally produced granite. "Flying beams across the sea, west and east", is magnificent and majestic.After it was completed, it became an important channel for the communication between Quanzhou and the inland.After it was completed, people went to the boat to save themselves, so it has the reputation of "Wan An Ji Zhong". Under the influence of the completion of Luoyang Bridge, Fujian, especially in southern Fujian, set off a wave of bridge construction, and dozens of large and medium-sized stone girder bridges were built successively.Among them, Anping Bridge, known as "there is no bridge in the world as long as this bridge", is commonly known as Wuli Bridge. It is more than 2,000 meters long in Anhai Town, Jinjiang County. It is the longest stone beam bridge in ancient times.