Rivers of Books (Famous Books of Yangzhou)

Author: Zeng Xuewen
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-03-01
Features: In the early Western Han Dynasty, the Yangzhou region, under the governance of King Liu Bi of Wu, became prosperous and powerful, once described as "streets densely packed with shops, songs and music filling the air." After Liu Bi and others failed in the "Rebellion of the Seven States," Emperor Jing of Han abolished the Wu Kingdom and established a smaller Jiangdu Kingdom, appointing his son Liu Fei as its king. Upon Emperor Wu's accession to the throne, to prevent Liu Fei from following in Liu Bi's footsteps, Dong Zhongshu was appointed as the Chancellor of Jiangdu to assist, guide, and also monitor the king. Dong Zhongshu was a great scholar deeply versed in Gongyang Studies and had proposed to Emperor Wu the idea of "Abolishing the Hundred Schools of Thought and Exalting Confucianism Alone," which had a profound impact on later generations. During his tenure in Jiangdu, he used Confucian principles to correct Liu Fei, who was a proud and rebellious king, thus bringing some restraint upon him and preventing him from acting recklessly. It can be said that he fulfilled his mission. Historical records state that "he governed the state by the changes of disasters and anomalies in the Spring and Autumn Annals, deducing the interplay of yin and yang, thus seeking rain by closing the yang and releasing the yin, and the reverse for stopping rain. In governing a state, he never failed to achieve his desires" (Book of Han, Biography of Dong Zhongshu). This indicates that his governance strategies were implemented in Jiangdu and were successful. The great scholar Dong Zhongshu left the capital and came to Yangzhou, which was somewhat remote at the time, much like the demotion of another great scholar, Jia Yi, to Changsha during the early Han Dynasty. Of course, this may also have contained the implication of exile. But for Yangzhou, it was a great fortune. Dong Zhongshu was the earliest scholar to introduce Han Dynasty Confucianism to the Jianghuai region and Yangzhou. His status in the academic history of Yangzhou is extremely, and he had a significant influence on the formation of the city's scholarly atmosphere. To commemorate him, the people of Yangzhou built the Dongzi Temple in the present Beiliu Lane and has been extensively renovated over the centuries, remaining in use. The plaque above the gate reads "Yi Zhao Jing Wang" and "Ji Chuan Dong Xiang." This site was also the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office during the Qing Dynasty, with its ruins known as "Daruifu Fang," and next to it stood the old well called "Dong Well." Today, in front of the Yangzhou Museum and the Yangzhou Chinese Woodblock Printing Museum, there stand ten statues of famous figures from different dynasties, including one of Dong Zhongshu. Over nearly a thousand years from the Western Han to the Tang and Song Dynasties, the literary history of China produced many brilliant works associated with Yangzhou, such as Mei Chong, a Han Dynasty poet who served as a secretary to King Liu Bi of Wu and wrote "Admonishing the King of Wu," leaving behind the famous essay "The Seven Stimuli," in which he described the waves of Guangling, thus making "Guangling Waves" renowned; Bao Zhao, a Southern Dynasties poet, whose "Ode to the Ruined City" depicted the prosperity and decline of Guangling, becoming a representative work of Six Dynasties parallel prose and giving Yangzhou the alias "Wucheng"; Zhang Ruoxu, a Tang Dynasty poet from Yangzhou, whose "Spring River Flower Moon Night" is a classic poem praising Yangzhou's scenery, hailed as "a single poem surpassing all of Tang poetry"; and countless other masterpieces of Tang poetry that continue to captivate readers. During this period, two famous works in the history of Chinese scholarship had a special connection with Yangzhou, worth mentioning. One is the Selected Rhapsodies compiled by Prince Zhaoming of Liang, and the other is the Comprehensive Treatise written by Du You of the Tang Dynasty. Yangzhou has a deep connection with the Selected Rhapsodies. Whether Prince Zhaoming ever visited Yangzhou or whether the Selected Rhapsodies was compiled there are questions that are now impossible to verify due to the passage of time, but it is undeniable that the people of Yangzhou have always held a special affection for the Selected Rhapsodies. Cao Xian, a scholar from Jiangdu during the Sui Dynasty, was renowned for teaching the Selected Rhapsodies, thus initiating the study of the Selected Rhapsodies in Yangzhou. His disciple Li Shan devoted his life to the Selected Rhapsodies, and his Annotations to the Selected Rhapsodies became famous for its meticulous and extensive scholarship, rivaling the Selected Rhapsodies itself in reputation and. During the Qing Dynasty, Yangzhou scholar Ruan Yuan dedicated himself to promoting the study of the Selected Rhapsodies, and his contemporary Li Xiang became renowned for his expertise in the Selected Rhapsodies. The study of the Selected Rhapsodies thus became a renowned discipline in the Jianghuai region, flourishing in Yangzhou for over a thousand years, a true miracle in the academic history of Yangzhou. Remnants of the Selected Rhapsodies in Yangzhou include the "Wenxuan Tower," "Wenxuan Lane," and "Wenxuan Lane," with the Wenxuan Tower housing a statue of Prince Zhaoming. Ruan Yuan also built the "Sui Wenxuan Tower," which served as his library and study, with statues of scholars like Cao Xian and Li Shan enshrined within. P3-4