Biography of Hui Dong - (163)

Author: Li Kai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-07-01
Features:
1. Huiding, the pride of "Paradise on Earth" and a poor scholar immersed in the natural scenery of "Paradise on Earth" and the cultural landscape of Wu, was born into a scholarly family by the Taihu Lake. As a "Four Generations of Famous Mountains" under the tradition of intellectualism, he lived a life of lifelong poverty, criticized the imperial examination system, and expressed his lamentation over the "unmet scholars." Huiding (1697—1758) was a renowned Qing Dynasty Confucian scholar, philosopher, and linguist, as well as the founder and leader of the Wu School of Confucianism. His courtesy name was Dingyu, and his sobriquet was Songyai. On the fifth day of the tenth month in the 36th year of the Kangxi reign (Dingchou year, 1697), this future great scholar and academic thinker was born in Dongzhe, Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture, Jiangsu Province (established in 1667), in the Qing Dynasty. On the 22nd day of the fifth month in the 23rd year of the Qianlong reign (Fengyin year, 1758), this academic superstar passed away and was buried in Xiangxue Village, Shangfuxu Town, in the western part of the county. Dongzhe is located in the area of Shangfu. Wu County is a dazzling pearl on the shore of Taihu Lake and has long been renowned as "Paradise on Earth." It is famous for its ancient civilization, outstanding talents, beautiful mountains and waters, abundant produce, and countless beautiful legends. Wu culture has developed into a major regional culture of ancient Chinese culture. Dongzhe and Shangfu are located on the western shore of Taihu Lake and are about twenty kilometers east of Suzhou City. Dongzhe Town was originally known as Hongdou Village (also named after the three generations of Huizhouyi, Shiqi, and Huiding, known as the Old Hongdou, Hongdou, and Little Hongdou). It was called Dongzhe because it was located east of Xizhe Village, and the Xuhu (Xuhu Pass) and Guangfu canals run through the north and south. Shangfu Town was originally known as Yebusi, also called Zili and Dengwei. In the Dali period of the Southern Dynasties of the Liang Dynasty (535-546), the Guangfu Temple (also known as the Copper Guanyin Temple) was built on the southern foot of Guishan, hence the name Shangfu. The Xuhu and Mulu (Mulu) canals intersect here. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Shangfu was already a market with "over a thousand households and interconnected fields." By the Ming Dynasty, it had become one of the six major towns in Wu County, and in the 11th year of the Qianlong reign (1746), a garrison was established. The Dongzhe and Shangfu areas are blessed with beautiful mountains and waters, and their scenery is picturesque. Among the famous 72 peaks of Taihu Lake, 56 are located in the western part of Wu County, with Dongzhe and Shangfu areas including Nanyang Mountain, Qingshan, Longshan, Maoshan, Anshan, Guishan, Huishan (named after the King of Wu who raised tigers here), Tongkeng Mountain, Dengwei Mountain, Qiongleng Mountain, and others. Green mountains and clear waters, fragrant all year round, are filled with breathtaking scenery and enchanting scents of flowers. Plum blossoms are the famous flowers of Dongzhe and Shangfu, and Dengwei in Shangfu is a sacred place for plum blossom viewing, known as the "Ten Li Plum Village." The Xiangxuehai near Xiangxue Village in Huiding's burial ground has a beautiful name that now accompanies refrigerators worldwide. It is the best place for plum blossom viewing in Dengwei, once praised as "Dengwei plum blossoms are the best under heaven, with no place in sight without plum blossoms." In the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, plum blossom viewing in Dengwei became a custom in Wu. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty visited Dengwei for plum blossom viewing three times, while Emperor Hongli of the Qianlong reign visited Xiangxuehai six times and wrote five poems titled "Song of Xiangxuehai in Dengwei." The plum groves of Xiangxuehai are an ocean of famous plum varieties such as Meiqing (young plum), Xueqing (snow plum), Da Meiqing (large young plum), Hongguo (red fruit plum), Pinzi (pin plum), Baiqin (white plum), Huamei (flower plum), Huangdou (yellow bean plum), Shoutao (peach-shaped plum), and others. Xiangxue Village is also famous for its osmanthus production, with three autumn osmanthus trees, including Jingu (golden osmanthus), Zao Wan Yin (early and late silver osmanthus), Zigu (seed osmanthus), Dangu (red osmanthus), Sijìgu (four-season osmanthus), Yuegu (moon osmanthus), Muxi (osmanthus), and Baijie (white osmanthus). They shine in the sun and turn into colors at sunset, resembling the moon palace.