Mountain scenery, with or without, is renowned in Yangzhou.

Author: Huang Jilin / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: There is another story about the origin of Hongshan. Several years ago, at the foot of Shili Changshan, there was a sandy river with a yellow eel in it. After a thousand years of cultivation, the eel became a spirit. The eel spirit swam up the sandy river into the Yangtze River, impersonating the Dragon King of the East Sea, causing storms, capsizing boats, and stealing money and women from boat families. Sometimes, it would burrow through the river embankments into the floodplains, causing chaos. The people on both banks of the great river hated the heavens and cursed the Dragon King for his tyranny. When the Jade Emperor learned of this, he ordered the Dragon King of the East Sea to investigate the truth. The Dragon King came to the Yangtze River and discovered that it was the eel spirit causing trouble. He summoned shrimp and crab soldiers to capture it. The eel spirit, realizing it was in trouble, fled hastily to its lair. The Dragon King chased after it with his sword. The eel spirit escaped to the cave mouth at the foot of the mountain and desperately tried to hide inside, but the Dragon King caught up and chopped off its head with a sword, causing blood to flow profusely. This is how the soil on the mountain turned red. Of course, this is all legend. The name Hongshan is said to be because the mountain resembles a yellow dragon lying from west to east along the banks of the Yangtze River. During the Republican era, there was a place called "Wo Long Fang," which was named after this.
Qingshan is located at the river mouth. Yizheng was once a storage and distribution base for Huai Salt. The river mouth was the throat through which Huai Salt left the river and also a place where smuggled salt operated. In the 13th year of the Yongzheng reign (1735), Qingshan Camp was established, and 120 officials were initially stationed at the river mouth to prevent smuggling. In the first year of the Qianlong reign (1736), more troops were added, and the seven river and land posts under the Qibing Camp were transferred to Qingshan Camp. A defense officer was appointed to oversee them, and they were stationed at Longshan Head. Originally, there were 150 soldiers stationed there, but as the salt industry declined, they were gradually reduced. By the second year of the Xuantong reign (1910), only 36 officials and soldiers remained, and they were disbanded after the Xinhai Revolution. The local people called the defense officer's residence "yamen" and the place where cavalry were stationed and pastured "machang." Today, there are still villages named "Yamen" and "Machang" at the foot of Longshan.
Originally, there was a "Dragon-Slaying Temple" at the summit of Longshan, built in the early Ming Dynasty, but it was destroyed by the Taiping Army during the Xianfeng reign of the Qing Dynasty. The dragon has always been a symbol of auspiciousness, and it truly brought vitality to Longshan. The red sand on Hongshan could not have been dyed red by dragon blood or the blood of the eel spirit. The red color comes from the minerals in the sand, which is the main material for casting. The red sand of Hongshan once outshone imported German red sand and became popular in Shanghai.
At the summit of Longshan, rest the founder of the Taigu School, Zhou Taigu, and his disciple Li Guangxin, as well as the famous scholar Sheng Cheng and his mother Guo Ruguang. The Taigu School, also known as the "New Taizhou School," emerged during the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns of the Qing Dynasty and continued into the Republican era, named after its founder, Zhou Taigu. Contemporary researchers believe he was the last school of Confucianism in China. His teaching methods and academic thoughts differed from traditional Confucian schools, as he primarily adhered to Confucianism while blending some ideas from Buddhism and Taoism to form a new Confucian school. The Taigu School's concepts of "teaching the world" and "nurturing the world" had a guiding role in the Self-Strengthening Movement and the Xinhai Revolution.
The main representatives of the Taigu School include Zhou Taigu, Zhang Jizhong, Li Guangxin, Huang Baonian, Liu E, Li Taiji, and Huang Shoupeng.
P20-21