Huzhou culture is the best in the world

Author: Luo Kaifu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: This is where the world's great cultural works were born. The world's first comprehensive monograph on tea culture, The Classic of Tea, was written here. It has produced ancient private book collectors whose libraries surpassed those of the imperial court, as well as modern private book collectors who influenced the world. It has given rise to scholars who studied and codified the Chinese phonetic system, writing The Four Tones Dictionary, which determined tones based on the four tones (level, rising, falling, entering). It has produced both literati and military figures. During the Three Kingdoms period, it was a native of Huzhou who forced Guan Yu to retreat to Maicheng. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the founding emperor of the Chen Dynasty was also from Huzhou. Huzhou has historically produced six world sports champions. It has nurtured a large number of local talents while also attracting and achieving success for many non-local talents. Literary giants such as Lu Yu, Wu Cheng'en, Zhang Zhihe, Su Dongpo, and Yan Zhenqing all resided in Huzhou for extended periods, inspired by the local culture and landscape, and created countless masterpieces. Huzhou was one of the wealthiest places in modern China. It is also one of the wealthiest cities in the modern Jiangnan region. It once possessed one-tenth of China's silk production, earning the title of "Silk Capital." It once had one-tenth of China's freshwater fish, earning the title of "Land of Fish and Rice." It once had one-tenth of China's bamboo, earning the title of "China's Bamboo Land."
When it comes to landscapes, readers are familiar with Guilin, [Guilin's landscapes are the best under heaven]. But when it comes to culture, where can be called the best under heaven? It should be Zhejiang's Huzhou, which is renowned as the "Central Paradise." Compared to Guilin, Huzhou is less famous, but its cultural value is just as unparalleled as Guilin's landscapes. Huzhou is the place with the most calligraphers and painters in China. The calligraphy and painting world has long held the view that half of the history of Chinese calligraphy and painting was written by Huzhou natives. It is both the place with the most imperial examination graduates in ancient China and one of the places with the most members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering in modern times. It has produced the designers of two generations of China's missile destroyers and the designer of the first aircraft of the People's Republic of China. It has produced three presidents of Peking University, and the first gymnastics school in China was founded by a native of Huzhou. The most important pioneer of China's acrobatics industry in the People's Republic of China was also from Huzhou. It has produced a large number of literary giants. The widely known Tang poem A Farewell to My Son was written by a native of Huzhou. The Two and Three Stories and the modern famous reportage Goldbach's Conjecture are also written by Huzhou natives.