苏州有近2500年历史，是吴文化的发祥地。苏州人多属江浙民系，使用吴语。苏州园林被联合国教科文组织列为世界文化遗产。在中国大运河中苏州段入选世界遗产名录。
WelcometoLuzhiancienttownforsightseeing.Luzhiancienttownisabout25kilometerssoutheastofSuzhou.Therearemanylakesandriversaroundtheancienttown,and"smallbridges,flowingwaterandpeople"canbeseeneverywhere.Therefore,itcanbesaidthatLuzhiisatypical"watercountry".
LuzhiwascalledFuliinancienttimes.ItwasnotuntiltheQingDynastythatitwasrenamedLuzhi.Luzhi,originatedfromLiuzhi.Theso-called"sixstraight"meansthatthethreeriversofDazhi,Xiaozhiandzhishangjingintheeastoftheancienttowncanreachsixplaces."Yong"isanauspiciousUnicornnamedluduaninthemythsandlegendsoftheZhanDynasty.It'stheimageyouseeonthissculpture.Itissaidthatithasthespecialfunctionoffastwalking,understandingallkindsofwordsandwell-informedinformation,whichcanensurethesmoothweatherandprotectthepeaceofthepeople.Therefore,ittakesthehomonymof"Lu"and"six"inWudialectandnamesthetown"Luzhi".Atthesametime,ittakesluduanasthetownlogooftheancienttownandstandshere,whichfullyshowsthegoodwishesofLuzhipeopleforabetterlife.
LuzhiancienttownbelongstoWuzhongDistrictofSuzhoucity.Theareaoftheancienttownisonly1.1squarekilometers.TheancienttownisadjacenttoWusongRiverinthenorthandChenghuLakeinthesouth.Ithaswidewatersandrivers.Sinceancienttimes,itisrichinrice,wheat,freshwaterfish,matgrass,Lingouandotheraquaticplants.Itcanbecalledagenuine"landoffishandrice".
Theancienttownisnotonlyrichinwaterproducts,butalsohasalonghistoryandstrongculturalatmospherecomparedwithotherancienttownsinthesouthoftheYangtzeRiver.ThehistoryoftheancienttowncanbetracedbacktothespringandAutumnperiodandtheWarringStatesperiod2500yearsago.Atthattime,Helu,thekingofWu,andfuchai,thekingofWu,successivelybuilttheLipalacehere.ZhangLingshaninthesouthwestofthetownistheburialplaceofZhangCang,thePrimeMinisteroftheWesternHanDynasty;Luguimeng,apoetoftheTangDynasty,oncelivedinseclusioninthewestofBailiantempleintheancienttown,andstillhashistomb.SincetheestablishmentofFuliAcademyintheYuanDynasty,theancienttownhasalwaysattachedgreatimportancetoeducationandtrainedcountlessscholars.IntheearlyyearsoftheRepublicofChinainmoderntimes,theancienttowntooktheleadinsettingupnewschools.YeShengtao,WangBoxiangandShenBaihan,thefamouseducators,taughthere,andcultivatedmanyexcellenttalentsfortheancienttown.
Thelonghistoryandprofoundculturalaccumulationhaveleftmanyhistoricalsitesandcelebrityfootprintsfortheancienttown.Fromtheancienttemples,gardensandstreetstotheancienthousesofhistoricalcelebrities,thewholezhanzhentownislikeadazzlingMuseumofhistoricalrelics.Amongthem,wecannotonlyfeelthevicissitudesofhistory,butalsogetthenourishmentofculture.Atpresent,theancienttownpreserveshistoricsitesandculturallandscapessuchastheancientcastletemple,Luguimeng'sCi,Shengtaomemorialhall,Shenhouse,Xiaohouse,Wanshengriceshop,WangTaomemorialhall,etc.Inparticular,thepaintedarhatstatuepreservedintheancientcastletempleistheonlynationalkeyculturalrelicsprotectionunitintheancienttownofJiangnan.Mr.FeiXiaotong,vicechairmanoftheNationalPeople'sCongressandafamoussociologist,wrotethewords"thefirstwatertowninChina"aftervisitingtheancienttown.Today,"thefirstwatertowninChina"hasbecometheprideoftownpeopleandthepronounofLuzhiancienttown.ThetownwasnamedasafamoushistoricalandculturaltowninJiangsuProvincein19q4,andwaslistedasoneofthe13scenicspotsofTaihuLakescenicspot.Now,pleasefollowmetotheancienttowntoappreciatetheuniquestyleof"thefirstwatertowninChina".
[BaoshengTemple]
Luzhiancienttownisfamous,toalargeextent,becausethereisaBaoshengTempleMuseuminthetown,whichwasoneofthefirstbatchofnationalkeyculturalrelicsprotectionunitsannouncedafterthefoundingofnewChina.Sofar,LuzhiisprobablytheonlyancienttowninthesouthoftheYangtzeRiverwithnationalkeyculturalrelicsprotectionunits.
BaoshengtemplewasbuiltintheperiodofLiangTianjianinthenorthernandSouthernDynasties.Ithasahistoryof1500years.LikethefamousHanshanTempleoutsideGusuCity,itisoneofthe480templesintheSouthernDynasty.Inhistory,ithasbeenusedrepeatedly.Atthattime,thereweremorethan5000templesandthousandsofmonksinthetemple,coveringhalfoftheancienttown.BytheearlyyearsoftheRepublicofChina,almostallthebuildingsinthetemplehadcollapsed,andsomeofthetempleshadbeenrebuiltintoschools.Inthe1920s,whentheDaxionghallcollapsed,thestatueofarhatonthewestwallofthehallwasdestroyed.Later,undertheinitiativeofCaiYuanpei,GuJiegangandotherfamousscholars,in1932,anAntiquitiesMuseumwasbuiltonthesiteofDaxionghalltoprotectthestatueofarhat.Afterliberation,thepeople'sGovernmentrenovatedtheancienttemple.Theexistingancienttemplegatewasrebuiltin964accordingtotheoriginalappearanceofthegateduringthereignofEmperorQianlongoftheQingDynasty.Theword"BaoshengTemple"onthemountaingateisinscribedbyMr.FeiXini,acontemporarysweeper.
ThroughthetwoMountainGatewiththetitleof"FuyangXianmi",youcanseetheheavenlykinghallstandinginthemiddleofthecourtyard.TianwanghallwasbuiltintheMingDynastyandrebuiltintheTongzhiperiodofthelateQingDynasty,butitstillretainsthestyleoftheMingDynasty.However,thebasintypeplinthoftheBucolumnisarelicoftheNorthernSongDynasty.Accordingtotextualresearch,theTianwanghallwasrebuiltonthesiteofthelastdynastyhallintheChongzhenperiodoftheMingDynasty.ItissaidthattherewasnoironnailusedintheconstructionofTianwanghall,andthejointwascompletelyconnectedbytenon,whichshowstheexquisitecraftsmanshipofwoodworking.TheoriginalfourclaystatuesofVajrainthehallwerealldestroyedbytheJapaneseduringtheAntiJapanesewar.In1956,TianwanghallwaslistedasaculturalrelicprotectionunitinJiangsuProvince.
TothenorthofthecourtyardofTianwanghallistheMuseumofantiquitiesbuiltonthesiteofDaxionghall.Therearetwotreasuresoftheancienttempleinthecourtyard.StandingonthewestsideisabluestoneScripturebuilding,whichoriginallystoodinfrontoftheheavenlykinghall,nexttothestonewithacoiledpoleontheeastside,toexorciseevilspirits.JingchuangandJiashiarerelicsoftheNorthernSongDynasty.Infact,JingchuangisakindofBuddhiststonecarvingthatbegantoappearintheTangDynasty.Itisgenerallycomposedofcover,columnandseat.ThepillarisengravedwithBuddhastatue,BuddhanameorSutra.ThehandwritingontheexistingQingshiScripturebuildingisnolongerclear.Ontheeastsideofthecourtyard,thereisanironclock,about1.5metershighand1meterindiameter,whichwascastinthelateMingandearlyQingDynasties.Ontheclock,thereisanauspicioussayingof"goodweather,goodharvest".
Thereisafamousplasticwallarhatinthemuseum.UndertheeavesinfrontofthemuseumisaplaqueinscribedbyMr.ChangYinren.The"nineArhats"onthelinteloftheMuseumofantiquitieswaswrittenbyZhangTing,aprofessoroftheCentralAcademyoffinearts.AccordingtoWuJunFuLiZhi,theoriginalDaxionghallwasbuiltin1013.DuringtheNorthernSongDynasty,therewereBuddhastatuesofSakyamuniandeighteenArhatsinthehall,whichwascopiedbyYangHuizhioftheTangDynasty.YangHuizhiisanativeofWuCountyinTangDynasty,whoisasfamousasWuTongguang,the"sageofpainting".Becauseclaysculpturesarenotaseasytopreserveasstoneandwoodcarvings,itisnoteasyforYangHuizhi'sauthenticworkstobemillenniumold.
In1918,historianGuJiegangvisitedBaoshengtempleattheinvitationofYeShengtaoandWangBoxiang.AwellpreservedworkofTangDynasty'smasterpiecesattractedtheattentionofhistorians.In1922,GuJiegangfoundthatthestatueofamemberoftheLuohantribewasbadlydamagedandinurgentneedofprotection,soheranaroundandcalledfortherescueof"artworksof1100yearsago".Later,underthecareandadvocacyofMr.HuShiandMr.CaiYuanpei,a"preservationCommitteeofLuzhiTangsculpture"wasestablishedtocollectfundsandinvitefamouspaintersandsculptorssuchasXuBeihong,LiuHaisu,JiangxiaostorkandHuaTianyoutostudyanddrawuppreservationplans.Inviewofthecollapseoftheoriginalmainhall,itwasdecidedtobuildanAntiquitiesMuseumonthesiteofthehalltopreservethesepreciousartrelics.
Themuseumstartedconstructionintheautumnof1930andwascompletedintheautumnof1932.TheAntiquitiesMuseumwasoriginallyaRomanstyleredbrickbuildingwithflatroof.Becausetheflatroofwaseasytoaccumulatewater,theleakageoftheroofwasfoundintheearly1950s,sotheAntiquitiesMuseumwasrenovatedandtheflatroofwaschangedtoaslopingroof.Afterchangingitintothetopoftheslope,althoughitcandrainwater,itdoesnotcoordinatewiththeoverallarchitectureofthetemple.Soin1987,itwasrebuiltagain,andtheroofwaschangedtoXieshansingleeavestype.
Whenyouenterthemuseum,youcanseeastatuewallarhatfacingsouth.ThestatuesofArhatscanbeseeninmanytemples,eitherfivehundredArhatsoreighteenArhats,buttheyhardlyhaveanybackground,whichisdifferenthere.InadditiontothenineArhatsonthewall,therearerocks,cloudsandspray,whichgivepeopleafeelingofbeingneartheseaandheaven.ExceptforthetwoArhatswhoarediscussingBuddhistscriptures,therestofthenineArhatsarescatteredandsitting,withdifferentshapesandexpressions,givingpeopleaveryvivid,realisticandnaturalfeeling,whichmakesthewholedesignalittlelessreligiousandaddsabitofhumanaffinityHeLi.
HighinthemiddleisBodhidharma,theforefatherofZen.Becausethereisnohiminthe16Arhatsand18Arhats,somepeoplethinkthatthestatueinthemiddleisXiaoYan,EmperorWuofLiangDynasty,whichisaportrayalofhisresignationwhenhewastrappedinTaicheng.TotheeastofDharmacaveisthevenerableJiaxi,alsoknownas"WangYanLuohan",withthickeyebrowsandbigeyes.Atfirstglance,heisanIndian.HisclothesarethemostgorgeousofalltheArhats.
Under"WangYanLuoHan",thereisapairofLuoHan.TotheEastisthevenerablenuojulu,whoiskind-heartedandkind-hearted.Heseemstobepreachingscriptures,soheisalsocalled"preachingarhat".Sowhoishelecturingto?LookatthestatueofXimei,whoislisteningattentively.Thisis"listeningtotheSutraarhat".Hisnameisashdodovenerable.
Totheeastofthe"preachingarhat"isthebatara.Becauseofhispeculiarfacialexpression,heisalsocalled"embarrassedRohan".
TothewestoftheDharmapatriarchisthevenerabletanthidra.Lookathisbroad-minded,fat,detachedlook,knownas"barefootarhat.".
Inthewestof"barefootarhat",theonewithangryeyesistheonewhoguardsBojia.Fromhisangrylook,heiscommonlyknownas"angryarhat".Belowhimisthe"lonelyarhat"supindra,withanimpassiveexpression.
Sittingatthewesternmostendofthewallisthebantorga.Hisexpressionisdeep,asifthinkingaboutsomething,sopeoplealsocallit"meditativearhat".
ThenineArhatsweseenowareonlyhalfoftheeighteenArhatsworshippedontheEastandwestsidesinthemainhallofBaoshengtemple,andtherearemanydamages.Inaddition,whethertheauthorofitisYangHuizhi,the"sculptor"oftheTangDynasty,iscontroversialinthefieldofhistoriographyfromthefollowingaspects:beforetheendoftheTangDynasty,therewerenoeighteenArhats,onlysixteenArhats,andthegreathallwasbuiltintheNorthernSongDynasty.However,whetheritwascreatedbyYangHuizhiorbyimitatingYang'sstyle,itssuperbsculptureartshowspeoplethewisdomandtalentofancientChineseartists,whichisofgreatartisticappealandculturalvalue.Therefore,afterthefoundingofnewChina,itwaslistedinthefirstbatchofnationalkeyculturalrelicsprotectionunits.InfrontoftheLuohanwall,therearetwostonestatuescarvedfrombluestones,whichareantiquitiesoftheSixDynasties.Inthepast,itwasusuallyplacedinthemiddleofthestreet,whichmeansthattheBuddhaiseverywhereandcaresforalllivingbeings.
[YeShengtaoMemorial]
NowyoucometotheyardisYeShengtaoMemorialHall.ItwasoriginallythesiteofPuliAcademy.In1906,anewschoolwassetup,andFuliAcademywastransformedintoFuliprimaryschool.Later,itwasreorganizedinto"thefifthhigherprimaryschoolofWucounty",whichiscalled"wugao"forshort.Inthespringof1917,Mr.YeShengtaowasinvitedbyhisclassmatesWubinruoandWangBoxiangtoteachatthe"fivehighschool".Heworkedandlivedhereformorethanfouryears.Duringthisperiod,hecarriedouttheexperimentofeducationalreformandcreatedmanyliteraryworks,suchas"HanXiao'sQinsong"and"lowenergychildren",allofwhichweredirectlybasedontheancienttownofLuzhi.Therefore,Mr.YehasalwaysaffectionatelycomparedLuzhitohissecondhometown.AfterhisdeathinBeijinginFebruary1988,inordertoshowhisrespectandmemory,thepeopleoftheancienttownrenovatedseveraloldsiteswherehewasteachingandturnedthemintoYeShengtaoMemorialHall."YeShengtaoMemorialHall"engravedonthemainentranceofthememorialhallwasinscribedbythelatepresidentoftheChineseBuddhistAssociation,Mr.ZhaoPuchu.
Thetwo-storybuildingontheeastsideofthecourtyardwasthe"fivehigh"women'sdepartmentatthattime.In1919,YeShengtao'swife,HuMolin,wasemployedbythe"fivehigh"andservedasateacherinthewomen'sdepartmentforthreeyears.
InthemiddleofthecourtyardisafoursidehallbuildingthatlookslikeaSquarePavilion.Thisisthe"fivehigh"Exporoom,thatis,thereadingroom.Nowthereisaflowerbasketonthetableinthemiddleofthefoursidehall.Infrontoftheflowerbasket,yeLao'sfacemodelisplacedforpeopletolookforwardto.
Onthewestsideofthefoursidehallisamandarinduckhall.Atthattime,itwasthedormitoryandofficeofthe"fivehigh"foreignteachers.Thenorthsidehasbeenrestoredtotheoriginalappearanceofthe"fivehigh"teachers'office.
Tothenorthofthecourtyard,therearesevenbungalowslinedupwithalongcorridor.Thisistheexhibitionhallofthememorialhall.StartingfromtheprefacehallintheEast,itisdividedintoeightpartstointroduceYeShengtao'slifeandhisoutstandingachievementsineducation,literature,publishingandsocialactivitieswithphotos,objects,literatureandotherexhibits.Inparticular,ithighlightstheworkandlifeofYeLaointheancienttown.
Fromthenorthgateofthememorial,wecametoYeShengtaocemetery.ThegraniteplatformfaceseastintheWest.Onthewallofthemonumentareengravedsixgildedcharactersof"TombofMr.YeShengtao"inscribedbyMr.ZhaoPuchu.ThereisasixcornerPavilionintheeastofthetombplatform,whichiscalledWeiyanPavilion."Nottired"ontheplaqueinthepavilionistheinkleftbyYeLao.Inhisearlyyears,yeusedtocallhisresidence"nottiredofliving".Theword"nottired"meansnevertiredoflearning,constantlypursuingandmakingprogress.
[LuguimengTemple]
FromthewestgateofBaoshengtemple,thereisanopenspace.TothenorthofitistheBailianTemplesitefoundedinthenorthernandSouthernDynasties.TothewestoftheBailianTemplesiteisLuguimengtemple,alsoknownasMr.Fulitemple.ItwasoriginallytheresidenceofLuguimeng,andwasbuiltastheancestralhallofMr.FuliintheNorthernSongDynasty.
LuguimengisalateTangDynastywriter,anativeofSuzhou,anothernameofMr.Fuli.Hehadadistinguishedfamilybackgroundandhadtwoprimeministers.Luguimengstudiedhardsincechildhoodinordertoservehiscountry.However,withbadluck,hefailedintheexam.Inthiscase,IcametoLuzhiancienttowntobuyfarmlandandliveinseclusion.Inspiteofthefeudalandsecularideas,hewenttoworkinthefieldhimself.Thiswasavaluablemoveatthattime.Apartfromfarming,heoftenwentboatingandtraveledintheriversandlakes,andwrotemanypoemsreflectingthelifeofWu'swatercountry.Hisworkshavebeenhandeddownfromgenerationtogeneration,suchasMr.Fuli'scollectionandLize'sseries.HeisthebestfriendofPIRixiu,apoetofTangDynasty,andisknownas"PiLu"intheworld.Inaddition,Luguimengalsohasalotofresearchonagriculturaltools,andhis"leifujing"isanimportantmaterialforthestudyofancientagriculturaltoolsinChina.
Luguimeng'stombcoversanareaofaboutonemu.InfrontofthetombstandsastonetabletofthereignofKangxiandTongzhioftheQingDynasty.
Thereisaqingfengtingbesideyiguanzhong,whichmeanstopraiseLuguimeng'selegantcharacterof"qingfengliangjie".Thereisapoolbesideqingfengting.ThisisthepoolwhereLuguimengraisedgreenducks.Becausethegreenduckisgoodatfighting,thepoolisalsoknownastheduckfightingpool.
QingfengtinganddouyachiwerefirstbuiltintheNorthernSongDynasty,andwererebuiltintheMingandQingDynasties.WhenqingfengtingwasrebuiltinTongzhiperiodofQingDynasty,aplaqueof"qingfengliangjie"washunginthepavilionandastatueofLuguimengwaserected.Duringtheculturalrevolution,itwasdestroyedagain.Theexistingqingfengtinganddouyachiwererestoredafter1981.Amongthem,Luguimeng'syiguanzhonganddouyachiarelistedasculturalrelicsprotectionunitsinJiangsuProvince.Therearethreeancientginkgotreesonbothsidesofdouyachi,whicharesaidtobeplantedbyLuguimeng.Theyarejustlikethreeexperiencedhistoricalelders,standinghere,witnessingthevicissitudesoftheancienttown.
[Wanshengriceline]
TheplacewecometonowisWanshengricelinewritteninMr.YeShengtao'snovel"collectedmorethanthreeorfiveDou".ItsprototypeisWanchenghengmihang.IntheearlyyearsoftheRepublicofChina,thisriceshopwasjointlyoperatedbyShenandfaninthetown,anditwasalsoariceshopinJiaozhiancienttown.Inthepast,everytimeIwenttothenewValley,manyboatssellinggrainandbuyingricewouldgatherintheriverchannelatthegateofthenewvalley.Thelivelysceneofloadingandunloadinggrainandricecanbeimagined.
Inthe1950s,itwastransformedintoagrainpurchasingstationandagrainwarehouse.Now,inordertoadapttothedevelopmentofthetourismmarket,developtheculturaltourismresourcesoftheancienttown,renovateitas"Wanshengriceshop",andreproducethestyleof"frontshopandbackyard"ofthesmalltownricemarketintheRepublicofChina.FacingHebu,thethreeBayshopisariceshop.Onthehighwoodencounterisabillboardof"thousandsofmerchantsgather".Behindtheshopwasalargeyard,withstoneslabsontheground,andthesouthsideofit