Jiangxi Cultural Symbols II: Xunyang Culture

This series is a landmark book that tells the story of Jiangxi and spread Jiangxi culture to the world in the new era. It presents the classic content of Jiangxi culture in a rich and three-dimensional way with concise words， exquisite pictures， and well-made audio files and videos. It also fascinatingly depicts Jiangxi with beautiful scenery， ecology， and splendid culture.

Jiangxi Cultural Symbols II

Wu Guofu， Zhou Guangming， Chang Geng， Xu Gongxi， Nie Leng， Wu Changgeng， Cao Guoqing， etc.

Jiangxi People’s Publishing House

Jiangxi Fine Arts Publishing House

November 2023

793.00 (CNY)

Jiujiang City is in the northernmost region of Jiangxi， neighboring Hunan Province to the west， Hubei Province and Anhui Province to the north. To the north of Jiujiang City is the raging Yangtze River and to the east of the city is the mist-covered Poyang Lake. Mount Lu towers in the middle of them. All these landmarks have given Jiujiang City the nickname of “the most outstanding place on Earth.”

Jiujiang City has a long history. Its civilization dates to more than 3，500 years ago， evidenced by the discovery of the Shanbei Site in Xiushui County and the copper mine of Shang and Zhou dynasties in Ruichang City. The book Shangshu Yugong (an old geographical famous work in China) already begins to mention “Jiujiang，” “Pengli” and “Fuqianyuan” (Fuqian Plains). Some of the 18 counties (Pengze， Chaisang， Qiaoyang， Liling， Haihun and Ai) under the jurisdiction of Yuzhang Prefecture， founded during the early Western Han Dynasty， were within the region of Jiujiang. During the reign of Emperor Hui of the Western Jin， Xunyang Prefecture contained Xunyang and Chaisang counties， but its jurisdiction expanded to Pengze， Duchang and other surrounding areas during the Tang Dynasty. Five counties — Dehua， Ruichang， Pengze， Hukou and De’an were directly under Jiangzhou District in the Yuan Dynasty and Jiujiang Prefecture in the Ming and Qing dynasties. After the foundation of the People’s Republic of China， the Jiujiang region’s control further expanded to the Xiu River Basin. Now， the government of Jiujiang City governs three districts (Xunyang， Lianxi， and Chaisang)， three county-level cities (Ruichang， Lushan， and Gongqingcheng)， and seven counties (Pengze， Hukou， Duchang， De’an， Yongxiu， Wuning， and Xiushui).

“Xunyang Culture” has long been used to describe the culture of the region around ancient Xunyang City (current Jiujiang City). Till date， the urban area of Jiujiang City has expanded at an unprecedented rate and become the core city of Northern Jiangxi. As the city’s influence has already spread throughout the entire Jiujiang region， “Xunyang Culture” should also expand from the confines of ancient Xunyang City to current Jiujiang City， and it should also be used to refer to the civilization of the entire Jiujiang territory.

The unique geography of Jiujiang’s mountains and rivers， along with the city’s history of civilization， has given birth to political， military， economic， and cultural phenomena that has attracted worldwide attention. It has also created the unique culture of celebrity， Mount Lu， and

commerce and formed the rich and diverse folk culture.

This book is divided into four sections to introduce “Xunyang Culture”:

The first section talks about the political， military， and economic culture of the region. Rivers and lakes meet on the land of Jiujiang. The city neighbors the Poyang Lake Plain， the Dongting Lake Plain， and the Jianghan Plain and leans against the Jiuling and Mufu mountain ranges. The city has been visited by kings， emperors， and famous political figures， served as a location for battles and as a busy transshipment hub. These have resulted in many influential historical stories and cultural phenomenon.

The second section deals with the famous figures associated with Jiujiang. The region is a beautiful land that nurtures talents and a fair place producing outstanding people， such as Tao Yuanming and Huang Tingjian. It was also known as the “Thoroughfare of Seven Provinces” and maintained frequent contact with the outside world. Many literary titans， such as Li Bai， Bai Juyi， and Su Shi， had been charmed after setting foot here.

The third section examines the literature， academies， and architecture around Mount Lu. The mount has no rivals as the inspiration for poets and writers， and is a spot for scenic villas， giving it the title “Sacred Mountain of Culture.”

The last section details the culture of famous markets and villages in the region， as well as its intangible cultural heritage. The strong tradition of commerce of Jiujiang has given it the reputation of one of the three major tea markets and one of the four major rice markets， etc. Jiujiang， as a port for trade， has also sped up the prosperity of Wucheng and Jiujiang Customs. The beautiful time-honored villages are capable of invoking nostalgia and the region’s rich history. Walking in the villages， it seems that you can touch the temperature of history. Meanwhile， Jiujiang’s rich and vibrant intangible cultural heritage， such as the Qingyang Opera of Hukou and the bamboo weaving of Ruichang， brings out the vividness of its traditional culture.

Ultimately， each of the four sections is relative to each other and extremely interconnected. The term “Xunyang Culture” is also relative， as the culture of the surrounding region has long exceeded the physical boundaries of “Xunyang” — it is a legacy that now belongs to the entire province， nation， and even the world.

Historic Events of Xunyang

The converging of the Yangtze River (China’s largest river) and the Poyang Lake (China’s largest freshwater lake) created a waterway transport system which linked the entire nation. Meanwhile， Jiujiang， which was situated at the crossroads of this system， became inland China’s largest river system hub and node. Besides being a transport hub for supplies in the Jianghan Plain， the Dongting Lake Plain， and the Poyang Lake Plain， the city was surrounded by three great mountain ranges (Dabie Mountains to the north， Mufu and Jiuling mountain ranges to the west， and Huangshan mountain range to the East) that served as a natural military barrier against foreign forces. Jiujiang was also split in the middle by the Yangtze River. And the unique geography made it a hotly contested strategic location. Due to this， Xunyang’s history was filled with military events.

The Southern Expedition of Yu the Great

There were already signs of large-scale human habitants in Northern Jiangxi more than 4，300 years ago， during the late Neolithic Age. It was also during this period that Yu the Great diverted the nine rivers.

The book Shangshu Yugong told of Yu the Great taming floods and arriving at the Fuqianyuan after crossing Jiujiang from Mount Heng. It also mentioned that the Yi tribes people resided in the Pengli region， and Jiujiang paid tributes of “giant turtles.” Pengli， Jiujiang， and Fuqianyuan were three place names which first appeared in the history of Jiujiang. “Pengli，” later known as “Pengli Lake，” was replaced by “Poyang Lake” after the Song and Yuan dynasties. It was commonly believed that “Fuqianyuan” lay in De’an County， or the current Boyang River Minor Plain. The nine rivers got their names from the division of the Yangtze River waters into nine parts after flowing into Jiujiang (Nine Rivers). These rivers flowed eastward to form a large lake， which became known as “Pengli.”

Books such as Records of the Historian and Shui Jing Zhu (Commentary on the Waterways Classic) spoke of Yu the Great diverting the nine rivers and his ascension up the steep Purple Sky Peak (situated along the southeast of Mount Lu)， as well as his carving of the “Stone Mantra.” Mount Xie， situated in Poyang Lake， got its name by resembling a giant shoe. The Tales of Xunyang told of Yu the Great carving out the Stone Mantra on Mount Xie.

During Yu the Great’s time， the Sanmiao tribe people resided within the borders of Northern Jiangxi. The Sanmiao tribe had originally settled in the region of current Nanyang City， Henan Province， and Shiyan City， Hubei Province， neighboring the tribes of the Central Plains of Yao， Shun， and Yu the Great. The tribe had many fierce battles with the tribes of Central Plains of Yao， Shun， and Yu the Great and were forced to migrate southward along the Han River after a terrible defeat. According to “The Biography of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi” in the Records of the Historian， Mozi’s “Pacifism，” Zhushu Jinian (The Ancient Bamboo Annals)， and other historical books， the Sanmiao tribe people created their own nation after migrating South in the Mufu and Jiuling mountain ranges (located at the region where Hunan， Hubei and Jiangxi provinces intersect). The ruins in Shanbei Village of Shangfeng Town， Xiushui County， are a cultural relic from the late Neolithic Age and were officially included by the government in October 2019 in the 8th batch of national key protected cultural relics. By comparing notes with history books， the site could be the ruins from the ancient Sanmiao Kingdom.