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你們天津這馬路怎么就沒有正南正北的呢？
Why don't the roads of Tianjin go as they do in most other cities?
每當被外地朋友這么問，作為一個土生土長天津人，心中都感覺。。。
Whenever asked about that, I am always annoyed, as anybody else who grows up in Tianjin would be.
正南是哪面兒？
Where is due south?
我哪兒分的清什么東南西北！
We rarely use east, west, north, and south,
我就知道前后左右！
We only say forward, backward, left, and right,
難道分辨東南西北會比分清前后左右容易嗎？
Isn't it easier to tell where left is?
天津人生來方向感就不強，我們指路的方式一向都是“往左拐”“往右拐”，尤其是在老城里一帶，甚至是天津市區(qū)，基本就沒有什么人說“往東往西”，這就像兩套互不兼容的系統(tǒng)，根本切換不過來。
When asked for directions, local people, especially those who live in the old district, tend to say 'left' or 'right' instead of 'east' or 'west'.
為什么會這樣？這還得從天津的道路談起
Why is that? We have to start with Tianjin's roads.
翻看天津地圖，如今還能保持正南正北的路就只有老城廂一帶，當年拆了天津老城墻修出來的東馬路、西馬路、南馬路、北馬路。
When you look at a map, you will find that the roads which go due south, north, east or west are basically found around the formerly walled downtown area, and they were built after the city wall was removed.
除此之外，天津很難找出來其他正南正北，甚至是一個彎兒不拐就能走到頭兒的路了。
Besides them, you can hardly find any roads that run due south or north. Moreover, roads along which you can go straight to the end are sparse.
這也就是為什么天津人不愿用“東南西北”來指路的原因——即便我說了東南西北，你也不一定走的到，走著走著就走偏了……
This is why Tianjin people are reluctant to tell directions. Even if they use a compass, you are likely to get lost, because you might head in the wrong direction while walking along the road.
天津的路為什么會是斜的？這個鍋還得讓“海河”和“租界”來背……
Why aren't the roads of Tianjin straight? This is because of the Haihe River and the foreign concessions in Tianjin.
天津和其他“古都”不同，我們也就有600多年的歷史，而且從開始也就只是個“衛(wèi)城”。
Tianjin is different from many other historic Chinese cities. With a history of 600 years, it was mainly built to defend the capital, Beijing.
駐軍的地方和住皇上的地方當然不能相提并論，皇權(quán)所謂的中、正，在老百姓那兒就不是那么講究了，所以從最早的規(guī)劃開始，天津城就沒有那么“方”。
The city where the garrison lived was not comparable to the one where the emperor lived. The latter featured a square design whereas the former didn't have a particular layout.
Beijing
最早的天津老城建在海河西岸，緊鄰三岔河口，并沒有和海河水系直接交匯。而隨著人口的增加，百姓的居住范圍逐漸由城內(nèi)向城外擴張，漕運、海運的發(fā)展使得人們逐水而居，老百姓靠水吃水，城市的規(guī)劃也得按著海河的“意思”來。
The old city of Tianjin was built originally on the west bank of the Haihe River, next to the intersection of the South Canal, the North Canal and the Ziya River. But the residents at that time did not live directly along the Haihe River system. When the population increased, people began to live by the water, and the city had to develop to fit in with the Haihe River.
早期的聚居區(qū)不但要考慮生活便捷，還要遠離水患，因此也呈現(xiàn)出不規(guī)則的發(fā)展。
People in those early settlements had to consider not only convenience but also the dangers of flooding, so the city developed in irregular patterns.
Tianjin
所以現(xiàn)在看看天津的道路，基本都是和海河垂直交匯或是平行的。
Therefore, Tianjin's roads mainly run parallel or perpendicular to the Haihe River.
另外，從1860年開始，天津海河沿岸逐漸淪為租界，最高峰時有9國租界。各國在自己的租界地面上規(guī)劃道路，各自為政，其結(jié)果也就是如今天津道路的雛形。
In the late 1800s, the areas along both banks of the river gradually became concessions. At its peak, nine countries had concessions in the city. Foreign countries planned the roads in their concessions as they saw fit. This is why the roads are not straight.
這里就不得不提一下解放北路，這條穿過租借的道路兩旁建筑物造型豐富，哥特式、羅馬式、羅曼式、日爾曼式、俄羅斯古典式等西洋建筑。
Here we have to mention Jiefang North Road. The buildings along this road are rich in style: Gothic, Romanesque, Germanic, Russian, and other Western architectural styles.
最后，要說的是——
Finally, I want to say that
我們天津人不是沒有方向感
we Tianjin people do have a sense of direction.
我們只是沒有東西南北的概念
We just do not have to tell directions in this city.
僅此而已
That's it.
Source: 掌上天津
Photos: 掌上天津
Translated by ITianjin
監(jiān)制：田曉璇、廖媛
編輯：沈奕伽
實習生：汪清、何季霖
