Yangzhou
The "richest city in the world" Yangzhou City is located in the central part of Jiangsu Province, bordering Taizhou and Yancheng City to the east; Liuhe County of Nanjing City and Tianchang City of Anhui Province to the west It faces the Yangtze River in the south and faces Zhenjiang across the river; it is adjacent to Huai'an City in the north; the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal that runs through the north and south meets the Yangtze River here. It has always been a water and land transportation hub, the throat of north-south water transportation, and an important gateway in northern Jiangsu. It is also a landscape city.
Yangzhou is an ancient city with a history of more than 2,480 years. Since Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty dug the Grand Canal, ancient Yangzhou has prospered several times. It is my country's water and land transportation hub and salt transportation center. It is the largest metropolis in the southeast and a famous city. The scenic tourist city is known as "the most prosperous and richest city in the world". Here are the Hangou of the Spring and Autumn Period (the oldest canal section in China), the tomb of King Guangling of the Han Dynasty, the Mausoleum of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, the Daming Temple, an ancient temple in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the ruins of the ancient city of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Tang Jianzhen Memorial Hall, the Tomb of Islam Puhadin in the Song Dynasty, Xianhe Temple, the Ming Dynasty Qing Private Garden Geyuan (famous for its stacked stones in four seasons), He Garden (famous for its combination of Chinese and Western architectural styles) and many other places of interest make the ancient city of Yangzhou exude endless charm. In 1982, the State Council announced Yangzhou as a national historical and cultural city.
Yangzhou is also a well-known tourist destination both at home and abroad. It has always been a place where people gather together, and it is a prosperous city with many historical sites and elegant gardens. Yangzhou's "Slender West Lake" has a long history and has been favored by gardening experts of the past dynasties. On both sides of the ten-mile-long lake area, it has created a holy lake area with "two embankments of flowers and willows all leaning on the water, and towers all the way to the mountain"; there are many temples on Guanyin Mountain, including It is known as "the first spiritual mountain in the south of the Yangtze River"; "On a moonlit night at the Twenty-Four Bridges, Jade Man teaches flute playing at the river", which has been the best place to appreciate the moon since ancient times; Yangzhou also has the Daming Temple, an ancient temple with a long history, and an "urban forest" The well-known He Garden, the Ge Garden famous for its four-season rockery, and the palace ruins left by emperors such as Sui Yang, Kangxi, and Qianlong, etc., have countless beautiful scenery and are truly a treasure of the south of the Yangtze River.
Yangzhou has historically been a hometown of opera. The famous local dramas Yangzhou Opera, Yangzhou Pinghua, Yangzhou Qingyin, etc. are still loved by the people. Yangzhou's traditional crafts, lacquerware, jade carvings, embroidery, velvet flowers, etc., which are rich in local characteristics, can be traced back to the Warring States Period more than 2,000 years ago, and recently flourished in the Qing Dynasty. Known for its exquisite art and exquisite production, some products are exported to more than 50 countries and regions around the world.
"Fireworks in Yangzhou in March", every year from May 1st to 5th in the Gregorian calendar, Yangzhou City holds the "Fireworks in March Tourism Festival". At this time, Yangzhou is misty and rainy, the viburnum is in full bloom, and the flowers are fragrant. It’s the golden season for travel. The "Two Min Moon Cultural Festival" held in Yangzhou from September 8th to October 8th every year is the best place for you to enjoy the moon. The main activities include garden tours to enjoy the moon, Emperor Qianlong's water cruise, canal night tours, food festivals, etc.
China·Yangzhou
Overview of Yangzhou City
Yangzhou currently governs three districts: Guangling, Weiyang, and Hanjiang, and four counties: Baoying, Gaoyou, Jiangdu, and Yizheng (city). The city has a total area of ??6,638 square kilometers and a population of 4.67 million; of which the urban area is 973 square kilometers, the built-up area is 53 square kilometers, and the urban population is 1.28 million. Yangzhou is one of the first 24 historical and cultural cities in the country. It is one of the first batch of outstanding tourist cities in China, a national ecological construction demonstration city, a national urban informatization pilot city, a national advanced city in creating civilized cities, a national sanitary city and a national environmental protection model city. .
Yangzhou is a famous historical city. Yangzhou has a history of nearly 2,500 years since its establishment. It has gone through many changes, including rises and falls, and glory. The prosperity of the Han Dynasty, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, and the prosperity of the Ming and Qing Dynasties made this ancient city make a positive contribution to the prosperity of the motherland. The Western Han Dynasty was the first development peak in Yangzhou's history. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty dug the Grand Canal and established Yangzhou's status as a transportation hub. During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Yangzhou was the most prosperous and wealthy city in the world, and was sometimes known as "Yangzhou Yiyiyi". In the mid-Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou became a water transportation hub and the largest salt distribution center in the country, becoming one of the 10 largest cities in the world with more than 500,000 residents. Years of historical accumulation have made the 5.09-square-kilometer old city of Yangzhou one of the ancient cities with relatively well-preserved historical features in China. There are many monuments, sites, and cultural relics. The urban area alone has 148 cultural protection units of various types, including 4 national-level ones. (Ge Garden, He Garden, Puhading Cemetery, Yangzhou City Site of Sui, Tang, and Song Dynasties), 16 at the provincial level. Wenchang Road in the urban area is known as "the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, from ancient times to the present".
Yangzhou is a famous cultural city with a gathering of people. In its long development process, Yangzhou has accumulated a rich and splendid Yangzhou culture along with its economic prosperity. Literary creation, artistic achievements, academic research, cultural relic accumulation, craft production, etc. are the pride of Yangzhou people and an important window for Chinese culture. A large number of politicians, writers, and artists served as officials or visited Yangzhou, leaving behind a large number of famous works. Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Meng Haoran, Du Mu and others in the Tang Dynasty lived in Yangzhou successively. During the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" painting school, represented by Zheng Xie, Jin Nong, Li Fangying, Luo Pin, etc., became unique in the Chinese painting world. Yangzhou opera, commentary, academies, engraving and printing, compilation of journals, and book collections formed in the Qing Dynasty were quite prosperous and became symbols of Yangzhou culture. Today's Yangzhou has relatively developed science, education and culture, and has been rated as an advanced city in the country for "revitalizing the city through science and education" many times.
Yangzhou is a tourist city with beautiful scenery.
Yangzhou is rich in tourism resources. It combines the wonderful scenery in the north and the beautiful scenery in the south. It is known as "the first scenic spot in Huaidong" and the best place in Zhuxi. Yangzhou gardens began in the Han Dynasty, and in the Tang Dynasty, "gardens were mostly houses". Ge Garden, one of the four most famous gardens in the country, has beautiful peaks and mountains throughout the four seasons, changing the sceneries as you move, creating a myriad of atmospheres. He Garden, a national key cultural relic protection unit, has picturesque pavilions and pavilions, integrating Chinese classical gardens and Western architectural styles. Shugang-Slender West Lake Scenic Area is one of the top ten civilized scenic spots in the country and is famous for its beautiful scenery. In particular, the Slender West Lake Scenic Area is the representative of my country's lake gardens, and its delicate and graceful style is unique among all lakes in the world. Traditional handicrafts such as lacquer ware and jade ware are an important part of Yangzhou's tourism resources. Lacquer ware is sophisticated in form and spirit, simple and elegant; jade ware is well-selected, designed according to materials, and the shapes are well-measured and exquisitely carved. Yangzhou embroidery is famous for its fine silk splitting and meticulous stitching. Yangzhou paper-cutting is famous for its bright, simple, fresh and beautiful style. The famous Yangzhou bonsai cultivation art is unique and has the saying of "three bends per inch". It is one of the five major schools of bonsai art in my country. Yangzhou is officially recognized as the "Hometown of Huaiyang Cuisine" by the China Cuisine Association, and is known as "Eat in Yangzhou".
Yangzhou is an open and emerging modern city. Yangzhou is a famous open city in history. In the Tang Dynasty, Yangzhou was the largest city in the southeast region and one of the four major ports for foreign economic and cultural exchanges. At that time, there were more than 10,000 foreign businessmen in Yangzhou. The eminent monk Jianzhen made six eastward journeys to Japan. Choi Zhiyuan of South Korea, Puhardin of Arabia, Marco Polo of Italy, etc. have all left their footprints. In 1988, Yangzhou was approved to open to the outside world and has now become sister cities or friendly cooperative cities with 9 cities in 7 countries. Yangzhou's foreign economic cooperation has been continuously strengthened. It has joint ventures and cooperation with a number of large companies including Mercedes-Benz of Germany, Colgate of the United States, Pirelli of Italy, Texas Instruments of the United States, Philips of the Netherlands and other Fortune 500 companies. It has formed automobile, ship, cable There are six pillar industries: , fine chemicals, chemical fiber and textile fabrics, and food, and three emerging industries: electronic information, new materials, and bioengineering.
Yangzhou culture is the same as other regional cultures. It is not an antique displayed in a museum cabinet. It is a torch that illuminates the future when walking in the mountains at night. In the strong mountain wind, sometimes the light is shining, sometimes it is dim and weak. Many torches have been blown out by the mountain wind, but the torch of Yangzhou culture has not been extinguished and is still shining brightly. It has gone through the historical tunnel of more than 2,000 years, to modern times, and to today.
The most resounding ode to Yangzhou culture is "Guangling Dui" by Wang Zhong of the Qing Dynasty. He recounted the deeds of loyal ministers and martyrs in Yangzhou over the past 2000 years, literary and Taoist talents, the behavior of filial sons and chaste wives, and the writings of celebrities and scholars, all of which are treasures. He described Yangzhou's great contributions to the country in agriculture, salt and iron industry, and transportation in the long history. He also described the huge sacrifices made by Yangzhou at the turning point in history. It is a historical city worthy of the world. Wang Zhong made this comment in the fifty-second year of Qianlong's reign, when the Kangxi and Qianlong dynasties were about to come to an end. Unlike Cao Xueqin, who wrote "A Dream of Red Mansions", he could not foresee that the feudal edifice was about to collapse and Yangzhou was about to decline.
When people today praise Yangzhou culture, they should recommend Zhenting of the Song Dynasty. He said: "Yangzhou culture is a comprehensive Chinese national culture. No matter what your hobbies are, you can find what you like." He listed Yangzhou's achievements in monuments, poetry, paintings, religion, tombs, food, gardens and other aspects. Contribution, his central meaning is: "Yangzhou is a good place to arouse the pride of the Chinese nation." He cherishes the advantages of Yangzhou culture and praises it most. He also wrote about tomorrow's Yangzhou, but the words were vague because in the 1980s, the writer had not yet been able to feel the arrival of the wave of economic globalization.
There are also people who criticize Yangzhou culture, such as Zhu Ziqing. Mr. Zhu said that Yangzhou people are "stingy and weak". To be small is to have the vision of a bean, to be vain is to be bluffing. After Kangxi and Qianlong, the salt industry declined, and Yangzhou city was marginalized. It was closed for a long time, which was the root of its foresight. The industry had declined but was once prosperous, which was also the root of its love of bluff. Zhu Ziqing loved his hometown deeply, so he felt pain. He hit the nail on the head not once, but twice, about the decline of Yangzhou culture. Another Mr. Yi Junzuo ridiculed Yangzhou people for their "lazy, romantic and decadent recession." Mr. Yi finally lost the lawsuit, but Mr. Yi did not lose the case. Who dares to say that the elements of today's cultural genes in Yangzhou that are high-minded but low-handed, talk more but do less, are afraid of hardship, are blind and deaf, and are arrogant have disappeared?
From the day it was founded, a city gradually has a cultural spirit. In the process of the city's development, this cultural spirit gradually changes, either from being conservative and ignorant to being high-spirited and open, or from being diligent and upward. Negativity and decadence will not remain unchanged. This is especially true for Yangzhou, which has experienced ups and downs in its historical destiny for more than 2,000 years. Ideology affects the economy, but it is determined by the economic foundation, that is, the status of productivity and the mode of production. The ancestors who wielded the first shovel to dig the Hangou ditch in our land and the people who today use keyboards at their computer desks to direct the South-to-North Water Diversion Project would not have unified values ??and ways of thinking.
The most vigorous and powerful era of Yangzhou culture was in the Tang Dynasty. "Thousands of willows hang down the street, and the clouds reflect the double city", and "the city bridge is lit up with lights in the sky, and the water rafts and sails are nearly half an ox". The material civilization of Yangzhou was created by the people of Yangzhou. It can be imagined that the people of Yangzhou were walking in the city back then. You must be arrogant on the Yueming Bridge, with a heroic look on your face.
In "Spring River with Flowers and Moonlight Night" written by a native of Yangzhou, what you see in your eyes is the vast river and the sea, the bright moon and stars, the flying geese, and the diving fish and dragons. While seeing thousands of miles away, you are thinking about the universe of life. From the chants of the Tang people, future generations can read the majesty, magnificence, majesty and grandeur, the harmony between people and nature in Yangzhou in the Tang Dynasty, and the wisdom and spirituality. Yangzhou is not only the Yangzhou of Yangzhou people, but also the Yangzhou of Yangzhou people. Yangzhou is the place for people all over the world. When the scholar arrived in Yangzhou, he reflected that "if you are willing to learn from the Confucian scholars, you will waste your life by studying", so he was high-spirited and had no other plans; when the frustrated man arrived in Yangzhou, he sang "Thousands of sails are passing by the side of the sunken boat, and thousands of trees are springing in front of the diseased tree". The cityscape made him see light and hope. At that time, Yangzhou was shining with flames of hope, and the drums of life's progress were beating everywhere. Later generations imitated Tang poetry, but it never looked the same again and again. The secret was that the era lacked the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty and the city lacked the cultural spirit of Yangzhou in the Tang Dynasty. All efforts to imitate are in vain.
The era when Yangzhou’s cultural spirit tended to be “petty and weak” was at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. The north-south transportation lines were moved to other places, and the city was marginalized. Unfortunately, during the Xianfeng period, it became a battlefield again, and the houses were in ruins and devastated. Yangzhou not only lost its central position in the Yangtze River Delta, but also lost its central position in central Jiangsu and became a small town in Jiangbei. Pedicures and head shaving have become the main industry, and chickens and ducks fighting have become the main content of literary expressions. What Yangzhou people see is caged birds fighting insects and cards and mahjong, instead of thousands of mountains and valleys and vast seas and rivers. Yangzhou gradually began to sit in a well and look at the sky, so it became "petty"; Yangzhou often felt sad about its past glory, so it became "empty". The unity of stinginess and weakness allowed the germs of laziness and decadence to sneak in and wreak havoc. It cannot be said that there is no truth in saying that the culture of Yangzhou in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China was close to the culture of "the wandering children who settled down in ruins".
Yangzhou culture is difficult to describe in just one word. To say it is glorious, to say it is in decline, to say it is high-spirited, to say it is decadent and depressed, to say it is profound and profound, to say it is in decline, all have certain basis, it all depends on the angle of intervention and which stage of history is being reviewed. Culture is dynamic, and the fire of Yangzhou culture is also immortal. Fortunately, in recent decades, the trend of Yangzhou culture has been towards rebirth, revitalization and rise. This is an indisputable fact.