San Su Culture and Chinese Poetry and Calligraphy City

Author: Yan Wenqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
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The origin of Shuizhou City can be traced back to Meishan, an ancient city. The establishment of Meishan dates back to the third year of Jianwu in the Southern Qi Dynasty (496 AD), and it has served as the seat of prefectures and districts for many years in history. In the second year of the Abdi Emperor of Western Wei (553 AD), the prefecture was renamed Meizhou because its territory was close to Mount Emei, and since then, the names of the prefecture, district, and county were all related to "Mei." In the first year of Taipingguo in the Northern Song Dynasty (976 AD), Tongyi County, where the prefecture seat was located, was renamed Meishan County, so Su Zhe's poem mentions "Meizhou and Meishan are one city." The current Meishan City is built on the site of the Tang Dynasty. Before the Tang Dynasty, there was Luocheng, located at the northeastern corner of the current Meishan City. There is also a legend of Peicheng. The "Ming Tongzhi" records: "In the past, a Pei family built a city at night, and it was completed by dawn, named Peicheng, located east of the seat." Peicheng should be on the east bank of the Min River in the current Meishan City, and the Pei family should have been "superhuman," otherwise, it would be impossible to build a city in one night. It seems that this is just a legend. The current Meishan City was built by Shan Xing Zhang, the prefect of Meizhou during the Five Dynasties period, who gathered the financial resources of five counties—Meishan, Pengshan, Qingshen, Danling, and Nan'an (now Jiajiang County, Sichuan Province)—to construct the city. The "Famous Scenic Spots Record"s: During the Chunhua period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the tea farmers Wang Xiaobo and Li Shun of Qingshen County rebelled and led troops to attack Meizhou, but failed to capture it within half a year. Therefore, Meishan City is also known as Woliu City. The city walls were covered with Hibiscus plants, so it was also called Hibiscus City. In the Ming Dynasty, due to years of neglect, many parts of the city walls collapsed. In the 17th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1481 AD), the prefect Xu Ren used stone to rebuild the city walls, with a height of 21 feet and a total length of 10.3 miles (1,008.54 meters). Four new city gates were built: the East Gate was named Linjiang Gate, the South Gate was named Jixue Gate, the West Gate was named Kaili Gate, and the North Gate was named Dengyun Gate. During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, the prefect Zhang Rishan repaired the city walls. In the late Ming Dynasty, the troops of Zhang Xianzhong destroyed the city walls severely. In the 24th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1685 AD), the city walls were repaired under the order of the imperial court. However, since Sichuan had only recently been incorporated into the Qing Dynasty, there was a shortage of manpower, materials, and financial resources, so only minor repairs were made. A hundred years later, the city walls collapsed completely, leaving only faint traces of their foundations. In the third year of Jiagqing (1798 AD), the prefect Tu Changshao led the reconstruction of the Meizhou City walls. He also wrote an article titled "Record of Reconstructing the Meizhou City Walls," in which he said: "The city of Meishan spans over more than 100 miles. To the east, it connects with Jiaxi, to the south, it controls Liya, and it is located in the upper reaches of the river, serving as a shield for Sichuan. This land is of great importance, and it is not easy to defend it. I have been in urgent need of this matter since taking office. Upon my arrival, I immediately inspected the suburbs and inquired about the people's hardships. Over the years, I have restored what was ruined and repaired what was broken. However, since the city walls were destroyed by troops in the late Ming Dynasty, although they were repaired by previous prefects during the Kangxi period, they could not be restored to their original state. For over a hundred years, the world has been peaceful, and the people have been living in peace and prosperity, without any disturbances. As a result, this was considered an urgent matter. However, the city walls had collapsed to such an extent that only faint traces of their foundations remained, making them almost unrecognizable. I repeatedly wanted to gather funds for reconstruction, but the task was too difficult. Just then, bandits from Dazhou became restless, and the counties to the northeast were in constant alert. The higher authorities ordered the prefectures and counties to repair the city walls to prepare for unforeseen circumstances. I then gathered the local gentry and explained to them: 'To defend the city and establish fortifications is a constant practice in a nation. This is true even in peacetime, let alone during times of crisis? In the past, Shan Xing Zhang, the prefect of Meizhou, built stone walls. During the rebellion of Li Shun of Qingshen, his troops besieged the city for half a year without success. This was a well-known event. Now, the suburbs are surrounded by walls, and urgent orders are flying. If we do not prepare in advance and anticipate potential troubles, we will regret it later.'