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Introduction to Suzhou, in Jiangsu

Suzhou City in China

Introduction to Suzhou, in Jiangsu

Suzhou, known as Wu in ancient times, Suzhou for short, also known as Gusu, Pingjiang, etc., is a national historical and cultural city and a scenic tourist city, a national high-tech industrial base, one of the important central cities of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, and the central city of the G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor. , An important part of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration, it has the reputation of “paradise on earth”.

Suzhou is located in the southeastern part of Jiangsu Province, in the middle of the Yangtze River Delta, with Shanghai in the east, Jiaxing in the south, Taihu Lake in the west, and the Yangtze River in the north. Suzhou has a subtropical monsoon oceanic climate with four distinct seasons and abundant rainfall. It grows rice, wheat, rapeseed, and produces cotton, sericulture, and forest fruits.

Suzhou is one of the first 24 national historical and cultural cities in China, with a history of nearly 2,500 years. Most of the people in Suzhou belong to the ethnic group of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and use the Wu dialect. Suzhou Garden is a representative of Chinese private gardens and is listed as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. The Suzhou section of China’s Grand Canal was included in the World Heritage List.

Suzhou history and culture

1. Dialect

Suzhou dialect is a kind of Wu dialect, belonging to Sino-Tibetan language family – Chinese language family – Wu dialect – Taihu piece – Suhujia small piece. Suzhou dialect is the standard language of Wu language and has long been the representative dialect of Wu language.

Wu dialect is one of the earliest dialects formed in China, and modern Wu dialect still retains quite a few ancient sounds and words. The main feature of Wu language is that it retains all the voiced initials, with fully voiced and three-pointed stops. The Wu dialect retains all the tones, and the pings are divided into yin and yang because of the opposition between the clear and the voiced. Generally, there are seven to eight tones, and it is the most positive and smooth tone. Suzhou dialect distinguishes sharp and round sounds, arrow-sword, Qing-qing, wine-long are all different sounds.

Suzhou dialect is known for its elegance, and the so-called Wu Nong soft language is often used to describe Suzhou dialect. Whether a dialect sounds good or not depends mainly on intonation, speed, rhythm, pronunciation and vocabulary. The Suzhou dialect is balanced without losing the inflection, the speed is moderate without losing the pause, and the pronunciation of the Suzhou dialect is a little sung.

Wu language has a history of 3,000 years, and the Wu language area has a history of 1,000 years as an economic and cultural center. Wu dialect retains many elements of orthodox Chinese, and Suzhou dialect is the core of Wu dialect.

2. Religion

Suzhou currently has five major religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity.

The main religious sites are:

Taoist temples include Xuanmiao Temple (located on Guanqian Street), Jade Palace (park), Chenghuang Temple (located on Jingde Road), and Zhenguan on Qionglong Mountain.

Buddhism includes Xiyuan Temple, Hanshan Temple, Beita Baoen Temple (located on Renmin Road), Wenshan Temple, Lingyanshan Temple (Mudu Town), Baoshan Temple (Xishan Island, Wuzhong District) Park Chongyuan Temple, Laifeng Temple, Changshu Yu Shanxingfu Temple, Zhangjiagang Phoenix Mountain Yongqing Temple, Xiangshan Temple, Shuangxing Temple, Wujiang Pingwang Town Xiaojiuhua Temple, Kunshan Haizang Temple and other temples.

Other religions include St. John’s Church, Apostle Church, Yangjiaqiao Catholic Church, Shilu Taipingfang Mosque, etc.

3. Folklore

Every year on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, Suzhou has the custom of drying books. On this day, the picture books are dried in the courtyard to prevent insects and corrosion, which is particularly effective. The monasteries and temples took out their collections of scriptures for drying, and the monks took the opportunity to convene old women in the villages to hold a “sutra reading meeting”. They were exposed to the sun by reading the scriptures, claiming that “after reading the scriptures ten times, they can turn into a man in the next life.”

Another folk saying goes: “On June 6th, the dog takes a rot bath.” (Suzhou dialect calls a bath a rot bath.) On that day, dogs and cats are led into the river to bathe to avoid lice and fleas.

Every year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, is the Qiqi Festival, also known as the Girls’ Day. According to folklore, on this night, magpies flew to the Milky Way in groups and built a bridge of magpies, so that the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl met on the bridge of the Milky Way. It is a folk custom to worship the ancestor Weaver Girl on the night of Qixi Festival and beg her for wisdom and skill, which is called “begging for skill”.

On the Qixi Festival, every household uses flour and sugar, mixes it firmly, cuts it into about 2-inch long strips, twists it into a mango knot shape, and after frying, it is crunchy and sweet.

In Wudi, mandarin duck water (a mixture of well and river water) is also used in teacups, which are placed in the courtyard to be mixed with dew water. After sunrise, they are left to be exposed to the sun. When the water surface is covered with membranes, the girls put small needles in each to make the needles float. On the surface of the water, looking at the shadow of the needles under the water, if it is in the shape of a cloud, dragon, flower, and grass, it is “skillful”, and if it is like a vertebrae like a pestle, it is “clumsy omen”. There are still customs such as threading through pinholes to distinguish between good and bad eyesight.

4. Painting

Suzhou, with a history of more than 2,500 years, is undoubtedly the main body of Wu culture. Wudi painting has a long history. From the five or six thousand years of Liangzhu Culture’s jade and decorative patterns depicted on objects, to the “Wumen School of Painting” named after Wumen in the Ming Dynasty, all of them exude artistic brilliance.

Wudi painting has achieved great achievements in the Southern Dynasties during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. There have been calligraphy and painting masters such as Gu Kaizhi, Lu Tanwei, Zhang Sengyao, Cao Buxing, etc. Wudi painting in this period has made a dazzling display in the history of Chinese painting. ‘s brilliance. The most prominent painters in the Tang Dynasty were Zhang Wei, Zhu Jingxuan and Zhu Shen.

During the Song and Song Dynasties, the achievements of flower and bird painters in Suzhou area were relatively remarkable, and landscape painting also reached a new height. In the Yuan Dynasty, Suzhou painters responded to Zhao Mengfu’s idea of ​​”literati painting” and used writing pens to paint landscapes, flowers, birds and figures to express their temperament.

At this time, Huang Gongwang’s “foreign teacher’s good fortune, and the source of the heart” has a far-reaching influence on future generations. His masterpiece “Fuchun Mountain Residence” is a rare masterpiece in the history of world art. Influenced by the development of literati paintings, the flower and bird paintings of the Yuan Dynasty also began to develop in the direction of ink wash.

Suzhou paintings in the Ming Dynasty formed a painting artistic ethos combining cultural accomplishment and elegant life, emphasizing elements such as character, knowledge, talent and thought.

These almost professional literati painters actively promoted the spread of the literati painting style. During the Zhengde and Jiajing periods, due to the efforts of Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin and Qiu Ying, the “Wumen School of Painting”, which had a wide range of influences, was finally formed. It became the mainstream form of painting in the Ming Dynasty.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the painters of the Wumen School of Painting attached great importance to inheriting the tradition of brush and ink of the ancients, and regarded the pursuit of style as an important purpose of art. Moreover, because of their profound cultural accomplishment and their own aesthetic pursuits, they are also highly creative.

During this period, a group of outstanding painters who learned from nature and attached great importance to sketching emerged, and Zhang Hong was one of them. Suzhou painters in the Ming Dynasty had a profound influence on the painting circles of later generations with the exquisite brush and ink techniques and the idea of ​​imitating nature. The Wumen School of Painting has been leading the painting world for 600 years without interruption, and talents have emerged in large numbers.

5. Drama

Suzhou is the hometown of Kunqu Opera and Su Opera.

Kunqu Opera is China’s first intangible cultural heritage in the world. It emerged in the Kunshan and Taicang areas of Suzhou in the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasties. From the turn of Longqing and Wanli in the Ming Dynasty to the Kangxi and Jiaqing years of the Qing Dynasty, Kunqu Opera flourished rapidly due to its innovation. At that time, in the towns and villages of Suzhou, people were so infatuated with Kunqu Opera that they organized amateur class clubs, held singing activities, and the annual Tiger Hill Music Festival. Thousands of”.

In the heyday of Kunqu Opera, with Suzhou as the center, it spread almost all over the major cities of the country, and it dominated the opera for more than 200 years. The prosperity of Kunqu Opera has resulted in the emergence of a large number of outstanding actors, as well as a number of famous writers, leaving behind a large number of famous legendary plays for future generations.

Such as Kunqu Opera “The Peony Pavilion” and “Dou E’s Injustice”, among which “The Peony Pavilion” was re-produced by the famous writer Bai Xianyong in April 2004, and the “Youth Edition” Kunqu Opera “The Peony Pavilion” has been jointly created by artists from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and three places. It has toured more than 100 shows around the world, and it has been sold out, and it has landed in the Vienna Golden Hall in Austria.

Suzhou operas include “Drunken Homecoming”, “Dou Gong Sending Son”, Peking Opera “Li Huiniang”, and the burlesque “Satisfied Not Satisfied”, etc.

6. Diet

Suzhou is the center of eastern food culture, and is one of the three major food cultures (Beijing-style, Suzhou-style, Cantonese-style) – the development place of Suzhou-style food culture.

Suzhou snacks are one of the four major snacks in China (Nanjing Confucius Temple snacks, Shanghai Chenghuang Temple snacks, Suzhou Xuanmiaoguan snacks and Hunan Changsha Huo Palace snacks are also known as the four major snacks in China).

“Songhe Tower” is a time-honored Soviet-style restaurant; “Old Suzhou Tea Restaurant” is famous for its traditional Soviet cuisine; “Zhu Hongxing Noodle House” and “Lvyang Wonton” are good and inexpensive, and are more suitable for mass consumption. There are noodle shops all over Suzhou, indicating that Suzhou-style noodles with a variety of toppings and soup are a popular snack.

Food Street: Eunuch Lane, Shiquan Street, Xueshi Street, Ligong Causeway, Phoenix Street, etc. Bifengfang and Ligong Causeway are famous streets of Chinese food culture.

Suzhou-style signature dishes: squirrel mandarin fish, eel paste with sizzling oil, hoof tendons with crab flour, shrimps, glutinous rice, whole chicken with mother oil, Taihu water chestnut soup, snow crab bucket, cherry meat, sauce meat, smoked fish, (yuba) ) Lung Soup, San Piece, Hot Sauce, Warm Pot, Jujube Pudding, etc.

Suzhou-style candy: light candy pine nuts, zongzi candy, pouring slices, three-color pine nut fudge, crispy candy, pine nut jujube candy, etc.

Su-style candied fruit: The history of making candied fruit in Suzhou can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms period. The Qing Dynasty was the heyday of Su-style candied fruit. Among them, “Zhang Xiangfeng” is the most famous, and it has always been “court food”. There are more than 160 varieties of Suzhou-style candied fruit, the most famous of which are golden jujube, butter plum, golden kumquat, white sugar bayberry, and nine-system dried tangerine peel.

7. Festivals

1. Tourism Festival: China Suzhou International Tourism Festival (April-May every year), China Suzhou International Silk Tourism Festival (September 20-25)

2. Customs Festival: Xuanmiao Temple to welcome the God of Wealth (early February, the fifth day of the first lunar month), Luzhi Water Township Costume Culture Festival (April)

3. Flower and Tree Festival: Xishan Taihu Plum Blossom Festival (March 1-10), Tiger Hill Flower Festival (March-May), Humble Administrator’s Garden Rhododendron Festival (March-June), Humble Administrator’s Garden Lotus Festival (July-August), Suzhou Tianping Red Maple Festival (one of the three major maple viewing sites in China, November)

4. Temple Fairs: Nanhao Street Fairy Temple Fair (May), Tiger Hill Temple Fair (September-October)

8. Famous people

1. Ancient

(1) Spring and Autumn: Tai Bo, He Lu, Gan Jiang, Mo Xie, Xiang Yu

(2) Han Dynasty: Bo Ji, Zhao Feiyan, Yan Ji

(3) Three Kingdoms: Lu Xun, Lu Kang, Lu Ji

(4) Two Jin Dynasty: Lu Ji

(5) Southern and Northern Dynasties: Zhang Sengyou, Lu Tanwei, Gu Yewang

(6) Tang Dynasty: Lu Guimeng, Gu Kuang, Zhang Xu, Sun Guoting, Yang Huizhi

(7) Song Dynasty: Fan Chengda, Xu Dong, Fan Zhongyan, Huang Gongwang

(8) Late Yuan Dynasty: Shen Wansan, Zhang Shicheng

(9) Ming Dynasty: Shen Zhou, Tang Bohu, Zhu Zhishan, Wen Zhengming, Xu Zhenqing, Zhang Hong, Qiu Ying, Yao Guangxiao, Kuang Zhong, Shen Shixing, Wang Hao, Zhu Wan, Gu Dingchen, Feng Menglong, Li Yu, Kuaixiang, Yang Ji, Zhang Yu , Xu Ben, Gao Qi, Wu Kuan, Wei Liangfu

(10) Late Ming and early Qing: Gu Yanwu, Mao Jin, Chen Yuanyuan, Liu Rushi, Dong Xiaowan, Gui Youguang, Wu Youxing, Lu Zigang, Sun Yunqiu

(11) Qing Dynasty: Wu Meicun, Qian Qianyi, Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang Hui, Wang Yuanqi, Mao Zonggang, Jin Shengtan, Shen Deqian, Hui Dong, Ye Gui, Xue Xue, Wu Dacheng, Zhao Guni, Weng Tonghe, Hong Jun, Sai Jinhua, Wang Tao

2. Modern

Liu Yazi, Gu Jiegang, Ye Shengtao, Hu Sheng, Shen Shou, IM Pei, Lu Wenfu, Cheng Xiaoqing, Su Tong, He Jianming, Jin Zenghao, Wang Yimei, Fei Xiaotong, Pan Yingzi, Carina Lau, Han Xue, Pan Hong, Zhu Xun, Shen Bing, Mi Xizhao, Gu Changwei, Li Zhengdao, Wu Jianxiong, Zhu Xiwen, He Zehui, He Yizhen, Hu Shuqin, Wang Shuzhen, Shen Jiying, Gu Naiqin, Peng Daen, Shi Sizhen, Yan Wenliang, Zhu Qizhan, Zhang Qinglian, Shen Liying, Gu Tianlai, He Zeying, Yan Junqi, Chen Yanqing, Sun Jinfang, Cai Yun, Yao Ming (ancestral home), Wang Ganchang

Fun Places in Suzhou

1. Attractions

Suzhou has always been famous for its beautiful landscapes and elegant gardens. It has the reputation of “the best gardens in the south of the Yangtze River, and Suzhou’s gardens are the best in the south of the Yangtze River”.

The density of historic sites in the ancient city of Suzhou ranks third, and the ancient city of Suzhou is 14.2 square kilometers. The ancient city of Suzhou and Suzhou gardens are the “double heritage” of the world cultural heritage and the world intangible cultural heritage, while Kunqu Opera, Yangcheng Lake Hairy Crab and Zhouzhuang are three international and heavyweight brands.

Suzhou gardens are the best in the world and one of the top ten scenic spots in China. Nine of them are listed in the World Cultural Heritage List. As of 2009, six intangible cultural heritages have been listed as the world’s oral and intangible cultural heritage; “Wu Zhong The first scenic spot” Tiger Hill’s profound cultural accumulation makes it a must-see for tourists who come to Suzhou.

Suzhou currently has 2 national historical and cultural cities (Suzhou, Changshu), 12 Chinese historical and cultural towns (Kunshan Zhouzhuang, Wujiang Tongli, Wujiang Zhenze, Wujiang Lili, Wuzhong Luzhi, Wuzhong Mudu, Taicang Shaxi, Kunshan Qian Deng, Kunshan Jinxi, Changshu Shajiabang, Wuzhongshan Mountain, Zhangjiagang Phoenix), well-preserved ancient towns (such as Lili, Shengze, Pingwang, Taicang Liuhe, etc. in Wujiang), famous historical and cultural villages in China (Wuzhonglu Lane Ancient Village, Mingyue Bay), Pingjiang Road and Shantang Street, two of the first ten famous historical and cultural streets in China.

1. Selected into the preliminary list of world cultural heritage

The ancient water towns in the south of the Yangtze River: Zhouzhuang, Luzhi, Tongli, Shaxi, Qiandeng, Jinxi.

2. Garden

The history of Suzhou classical gardens can be traced back to the garden of King Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period in the 6th century BC. The earliest record of private gardens is the Pijiang Garden built by Gu Bijiang in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (4th century). In the past dynasties, gardening flourished, and there were many famous gardens. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Suzhou became one of the most prosperous areas in China, with private gardens all over the ancient city. During the heyday of the 16th and 18th centuries, there were more than 200 gardens in Suzhou, so Suzhou was known as the “paradise on earth”.

Suzhou currently has nine gardens including the Humble Administrator’s Garden, Lingering Garden, Lion Forest, Canglang Pavilion, Huanxiu Villa, Yipu, Ou Garden, Master of the Nets Garden, and Retreat Garden, which have been included in the World Heritage List. There are 73 garden relics including Yi Garden, Wufeng Garden and Huiyin Garden.

3. Red tourism

Shajiabang Reeds Scenic Area: Shajiabang Reeds Scenic Area is a national demonstration base for patriotism education, a national 100 classic red tourism scenic spots, a national AAAA-level tourist area, and one of the largest ecological wetlands in East China. More than 1,000 mu, functional areas such as revolutionary traditional education area, aquatic plant viewing area, red stone folk culture village, reed water and land labyrinth, food shopping area, and bamboo forest trails, Qianmo reed fragrance, willow embankment to hear the waves, and hidden lake for fishing , Shuanglian plumbing and other scenic spots. Zhanyang Square covers an area of ​​13,300 square meters.

New Fourth Army Taihu Guerilla Memorial Hall: The New Fourth Army Taihu Guerilla Memorial Hall is located in Beishan, Chongshan Village, Guangfu Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou City. The main project covers an area of ​​1,700 square meters.

The memorial hall is divided into three chapters, showing the twists and turns of the New Fourth Army Taihu Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Detachment during its initial construction, reconstruction and expansion. The museum not only displays the daily necessities, combat tools, letters, etc. used by the soldiers of the New Fourth Army, but also reproduces the reed ditch, communication ships and liaison stations during the Anti-Japanese War, making people immersive.

2. Specialties

1. Su embroidery

The history of Su embroidery can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,600 years ago. Su embroidery, together with Hunan embroidery, Sichuan embroidery, and Guangdong embroidery, are called “Four Famous Embroidery in China”. And it is the first of the four famous embroidery.

The themes of Suzhou embroidery are mainly figures, landscapes, flowers and birds, and animals, including embroidery pieces, album covers, screen strips, and screens. After the founding of New China, Suzhou artists successfully created double-sided embroidery, and their representative work is “Double-sided Cat”.

2. Silk

Suzhou is the hometown of silk, and the Taihu Lake Basin has relics from the New and Paleolithic Ages, witnessing the long history of silk.

Remnants of textiles from 6,000 years ago were unearthed in Caoxie Mountain, Weiting Town in the park; silk fabrics from 4,700 years ago were unearthed in Qianshanyang, Wuxing; a large number of spinning wheels and bone needles were unearthed 4,000 years ago in Meiyan, Wujiang , as well as pottery with silk twist pattern and silkworm pattern, all of which show that the ancient ancestors of Suzhou mastered the technology of raising silkworms and spinning very early.

3. Taohuawu Wood New Year Pictures

Taohuawu New Year pictures on wooden boards are the main folk New Year pictures on wooden boards in the south of the Yangtze River in China. Taohuawu is located in the north of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. (Taohuawu is located in the north of Changmen, Suzhou, Jiangsu.) Taohuawu New Year pictures originated from the engraving and printing process of the Song Dynasty. It evolved from embroidery and pictures, and developed into a folk art genre in the Ming Dynasty. The Yongzheng and Qianlong years of the Qing Dynasty were the heyday, and they were produced every year. The Taohuawu woodblock New Year pictures are more than one million.

4. Song Jin

“Brocade” is a kind of high-grade silk fabric. Song brocade produced in Suzhou, Yun brocade in Nanjing and Shu brocade in Sichuan are called “three famous brocades in China”. Its weaving process is exquisite, and the warp wire has two layers of surface warp and bottom warp, so it is also called “heavy brocade”.

5. Biluochun

One of the top ten famous teas in China, belongs to green tea.

6. Suzhou wedding dress

Suzhou Tiger Hill Wedding Dress is located in the north of Suzhou City. It is a production base specialized in wedding dress manufacturing and wholesale in Suzhou. It is one of the two largest wedding dress production bases in China.

7. Food

(1) Taihu Plum Clam

Also known as lake anchovies, commonly known as hairy fish, knife anchovies, Su Dongpo in the Song Dynasty called “silver knife”, also known as lake anchovies and other areas are also called anchovies or grilled scorpion. Anchovies, flat on the side, slightly moist belly, slender tail, silvery white; slightly flat and thin body, small head tip and large mouth, two eyes on the front and upper end of the head, slightly broad abdomen, narrow tail, thin scales The color is white, and the overall shape is narrow and long bamboo leaves.

(2) Taihu White Shrimp

Taihu white shrimp, also known as ridge tail white shrimp. It is known as “Taihu Lake White Shrimp is the best in the world”. The shape of Taihu white shrimp is no different from other freshwater shrimp. The white shrimp has a thin white shell and is transparent throughout. “Huzhou Fuzhi” contains: white shrimp, out of Taihu Lake, soft white shell, and delicious. White shrimp has high nutritional value and is rich in protein, vitamins and various trace elements. Folk gourmets like to use white shrimp to make drunk shrimp, which has a unique flavor.

(3) Caizhizhai Candy

Suzhou-style candy is well-known in China, with more than 150 varieties in 4 categories: Minghuo, Roasted Seeds, Soft Candy, and Special Flavor, such as pine nut candy, zongzi candy, peanut candy, three-color pine nut jelly, crisp candy, pine nut and jujube candy, etc. Among them, the Zongzi Candy exclusively produced by Caizhizhai is the most famous.

(4) squirrel mandarin fish

This fish is red in color, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sweet and sour, and was greatly appreciated by Qianlong after eating it, and the squirrel fish became famous. Today, squirrel fish is made from mandarin fish. The flesh of mandarin fish is tender and the bones are sparse and thorns are few. After being cut and fried, the head is wide open, the tail is raised, the inside is like turning hair, and it looks like a squirrel. squirrel call.

(5) Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs

Yangcheng Lake hairy crab, also known as golden claw crab. Produced in Yangcheng Lake. The crab body does not stick to mud, commonly known as the big crab in clear water. Since September 2011, Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs have been marked with anti-counterfeiting signs. Mrs. Zhang Taiyan, Tang Guoli said, “I don’t know if Yangcheng Lake crabs are good, so why should I be in Suzhou in this life?”

(6) Beggar Chicken

Beggar Chicken is a famous dish in Changshu, Jiangsu, also known as yellow mud simmered chicken.

According to legend, a long time ago, there was a beggar who went to a village in Changshu County begging for food along the way. One day, he accidentally got a chicken and wanted to slaughter and cook it, but he had neither cooking utensils nor seasonings. He came to the foot of Yushan Mountain, killed the chicken, removed the internal organs, coated the hair with yellow mud and firewood, simmered the coated chicken in the fire, and when the mud-dried chicken was cooked, peeled off the mud shell, and the chicken feathers were also mixed with the mud. The shell is taken off and the chicken is exposed.

About 100 years ago, according to this legend, the “Mountain Garden” restaurant in Yushan Resort, northwest of Changshu County, created this chicken by removing the rough and extracting the essence.