Understand Wenzhou’s landscape poetry, temple couplets, and feel its cultural charm.

The solemnity and agility of landscape culture.

Confucius said: A benevolent person enjoys mountains, and a wise person enjoys water. Wenzhou is known as "seven parts are mountains, two parts are water, half are roads and houses, and half are fields." Born and raised here, Ou culture is naturally inseparable from mountains and rivers. The benevolence of mountains lies in their solemnity, and the wisdom of water lies in their agility. This inspired Ou people and foreign literati to praise Wenzhou's landscapes. Wenzhou is the center of Chinese landscape poetry. birthplace. The originator of landscape poetry in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, when Xie Lingyun was appointed as the prefect of Yongjia (Wenzhou) in 422 AD, he left many poems describing the landscape of Wenzhou. Among them, "Climbing the Lone Island in the River" was his first poem describing the island in the middle of the river. North Korean poets Meng Haoran, Li Bai, Du Fu and Han Yu successively sang praises.

Lu You and Ye Ji of the Southern Song Dynasty, "Yongjia Four Spirits" Xu Zhao, Xu Ji, Weng Juan and Zhao Shixiu also left a large number of poems on Wenzhou landscapes.

Liu Ji, Huang Huai, He Wenyuan, Zhang Lun, Zhang Cong, Gu Xichou in the Ming Dynasty; Yizun, Liang Zhanggui, etc. in the Qing Dynasty; to modern Guo Moruo, Ma Yifu, Zhu Ziqing, Xia Chengtao, Mei Lengsheng, Famous artists such as Wu Lushan, Wang Jisi, Su Buqing, Wang Jingshen, and Su Yuanlei all praised Wenzhou's beautiful landscapes from different angles.

Mountains take eternal contemplation as their way of existence, and despite the wind and clouds in the valleys, flowers blooming and falling, the eternal mountains are tall and longing for people. Water flows willingly to all low-lying places, and its meticulous moisture benefits all humble things. This is the most emotional soul of mountains and rivers.

The long-term and subtle penetration of Shuishan culture has forged Wenzhou people’s entrepreneurial spirit as pragmatic and unassuming as mountains and their wisdom of practical adaptability and flexibility as agile as water.

The absorption and opening of East China Sea culture

Wenzhou has been opened to the outside world three times in history. The first opening was established in the second year of Shaoxing, Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty (1132 AD). Municipal shipping affairs, managing overseas trade. The second time was after the signing of the Sino-British Yantai Treaty in the second year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1876 AD). Wenzhou became one of the five British trading ports in China. The third time was in May 1984. In August, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council approved Wenzhou as one of the 14 coastal port cities along the coast of China, opening to the outside world for the third time.

For humans, the sea means freedom, opportunity, creativity, resources, power, and all kinds of possibilities in the vast sea and sky. Ports near the sea are often home to thousands of merchants, or those from all over the world.

However, most of the time in Wenzhou’s history, it faced the sea. At that time, the sea symbolized isolation and isolation, danger and threat. The word "coast" connotes huge obstacles, difficulties, and difficulties. Wenzhou has achieved considerable development during the three rare opportunities of opening up to the outside world. The first opening up in the Southern Song Dynasty made Wenzhou famous for "its goods are abundant and its people are numerous", "fish and salt are abundant, and merchants converge". During the second opening of the Qing Dynasty, the British bought a house on Chengxi Street in Wenzhou to build a Christian church, built a consulate under the east tower of Jiangxin Island, and founded the first Western hospital, Tingli Hospital, in Yangliu Lane. By 1990, Wenzhou Twenty-two foreign banks from Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan were opened, forming a situation where "Ou is a maritime country and the city is dominated by foreign merchants". During the third opening up of New China in the 1980s, the Wenzhou model was born based on the private economy. Wenzhou products went to the whole country and the world, enriching Wenzhou and shocking the whole country.

Reform and opening up has allowed Wenzhou people to shift from turning their backs to the sea to facing the sea. Only when facing the sea can the sea breed a more open and generous spirit that is full of knowledge and interest in the outside world. Open culture refers to the adventurous spirit of daring to be the first.

In addition to the above four main Ou cultures, there are also the following ones that have a wide influence on Wenzhou’s history and present:

1. Buddhist culture. There are many Buddhist temples in Wenzhou, the famous ones include "Jingguang Pagoda" and "Jingguang Zen Temple" in Songtai Mountain, Bailu City, collectively known as "Jingguang Pagoda". This pagoda is where the eminent monk and Zen master "Yisukjue Zen" of the Tang Dynasty studied Buddhism. land. The treasure of Miaoguo Temple is the "pig-head clock" from the Yuanfeng period of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, which is of great cultural relic value. The Thousand Buddha Pagoda of Huang'ao Guo'an Temple in Yaoxi is called the Thousand Buddha Pagoda because there are 1,026 Buddha statues in relief on its body.

2. Taoist culture.

Wenzhou Taoism is most famous for Tao Hongjing, the Prime Minister of Taoshan, Ruian. According to legend, Tao Hongjing, the "Prime Minister of the Mountains," once lived in seclusion in a grass-weeded hut in Fuquan Mountain. He was a famous Taoist thinker and physician in the Southern Dynasties. He collects medicines, grows sugar cane (for medicinal purposes), and treats the poor without taking a penny. Later generations were grateful for his kindness and called the place where he lived "Taoshan", the place where he grew medicine "Yaoqi" and the common people called it "Taoshan".

3. Confucian culture. Among Wenzhou’s historical celebrities, Sun Yirang (1848-1908) should be the first to be commended. He was honored by Guo Moruo as “a great scholar in modern times and a great Confucian who inherited the past.” , taking the passage of scriptures as its body and its use as knowing current affairs. He wrote nearly forty kinds of works in his life, involving classics, history, scholars, writers, compilation, etc. Among them, "Zhou Li Zhengyi" is "the crown of new Shu" and "unparalleled". "Mozi's Questions on Exegesis" opened up a new approach to the study of "New Mohism". In his later years, he abandoned old learning and advocated the establishment of schools to save the country. "The source of wealth and strength lies in the establishment of schools."

4. The culture of Jiangxin Island Poetry Island. Jiangxin Island was originally two small islands with a river running through it, named Zhongchuan, also known as Lone Island. There are small peaks at both ends of the Lone Island. The pagodas on the peaks face each other east and west, which are called the East and West Pagodas. In the seventh year of Shaoxing (1137), Shu monks were ordered to come to Guyu from Putuo to preach scriptures and set up an altar. They threw stones to fill Zhongchuan and built a temple. It was named Zhongchuan Temple, that is, Jiangxin Temple. Jiangxin Island is one of the four most scenic islands in China and is known as "Oujiang Penglai". Jiangxin Island is a collection of places of interest and historical sites. The main cultural landscapes include: Haoran Tower, Song Wenxin Guogong Temple, Chengxian Pavilion, Xie Gong Pavilion, the British Consulate in Wenzhou, etc. There are more than a thousand poems by literati and poets in the past dynasties singing about Jiangxin Island, which is the only one in China. This lonely island.

5. Imperial examination culture. Wenzhou has a prosperous literary style in history, and Jinshi have emerged in large numbers. The most famous imperial examination culture is Caocun, Caocun Town, Ruian, which can be said to be "the first village of Jinshi in China". In the Southern Song Dynasty alone, there were 87 people. . Among them, 24 were Jinshi, 19 were Jinshi in special studies, 6 were Jinshi in martial arts, and 38 were Jinshi in Taixue. Mr. Ye Wenyao said: "When you walk into Cao Village and ask the villagers who are sitting around, they can tell you a long allusion just by pointing in any direction, which shows its profound cultural heritage."

6. Longgangshan site culture. The Longgangshan site is from the late Neolithic to the Warring States period. It is located in Longgangshan on the Shanghe River and covers an area of ​​about 1,500 square meters. It is rich in relics, including stone tools and pottery. The stone tools include leaf-repressed stone arrowheads and perforated stone spears. Pottery includes sand-filled red pottery, muddy red pottery, black leather pottery, and printed hard pottery. The shapes of the utensils include cauldrons, gourds, bowls, pots, jars, spinning wheels, etc. The patterns include basket patterns, straight stripes, braided patterns, thunder patterns and carved curve patterns. 7. War site culture. The famous war sites include Yongchang Fort, Longwan Fort, and Jinxiang Guard City Wall. Yongchang Fort is located in Xincheng Village and is an anti-Japanese relic of the Ming Dynasty. There is an anti-Japanese commemorative exhibition in the Yongchang Museum. The World War II Revolutionary Old Area Exhibition Hall, the Folk Customs Exhibition Hall, and the museum also collects more than 100 folk cultural relics from the Jin, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and more than 70 Ming-dynasty works written by Yongchang's successive Jinshi scholars.

Longwan Fort is located on the top of Longwan Mountain. It was built in the 11th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1885) because of "legal persons causing trouble". It faces the Oubei Fort of Panshi Town, Yueqing across the river and guards the gate of Oujiang River. The fort is oval in plane, with a north-south diameter of more than 40 meters and an east-west diameter of about 60 meters. There are existing walls, 6 gun holes, a gate and the stone forehead of the "Longwan Fort". There is a lookout, a martial arts training pavilion, and sculptures of ancient officers and soldiers.

Jinxiangwei, known as "Jinzhou Township" in ancient times according to historical records, was built in the third year of Jiuyan in Zhao Dynasty (1129) in the Song Dynasty. In the seventeenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1384), in order to fight against the Japanese, Tang He, the Duke of Xinguo, built a city in Jinzhou Township and renamed it Jinxiang Wei. It governs all water and land passes along the coast from the mouth of the Oujiang River to Xiaguan Port, including the vast sea areas of Yuhuan and Nanji. There were frequent wars in that year. In the 33rd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1555), Qi Jiguang transferred Zhao Jianjiang to his new post. The Qi family army resisted the swords and shadows of Japanese crowns. It still flashes in front of my eyes from time to time.

8. Taishun Ancient Covered Bridge Culture. There are 900 ancient bridges in the four counties of "Jingtai Shouqing" in southern Zhejiang and northern Fujian. Taking advantage of this, the small county is in the process of applying for a world cultural heritage. Among the four counties, Taishun is the hometown of covered bridges, which are exquisite and unique. The most famous. Experts once thought that the Song Dynasty Zhangshuihong Bridge in the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" was lost, but several have been found in Taishun.

9. Wenrui Bailitanghe Culture. Wenruitang River is known as the mother river of Wenzhou.

The main channel of Tanghe River starts from Jinxiu Road in the urban area in the north and ends at Xianyan in the south, with a total length of about 17.7 kilometers. Its core is five major scenic areas and eight core attractions. The five major scenic areas from north to south are Nantang Wutian Section, Sanyang Section, Baixiang Section, Fanyou Section and Xianyan Section. The eight core attractions embedded in it are Nantang Ouyue Residential Street, Wutian Old Street Traditional Street, Nanhu Cultural Square, White Elephant Tower Park, Sailing Ecological Park, Gantan Xiaoye Leisure Park, Lukou Park, and Suifeng Ancient Town. Village.

10. Yongjia farming and studying culture. Mr. Jin Hui pointed out in "Yongjia Farming and Reading Culture is a "National Treasure"" (Wenzhou Daily, November 22, 2003): Farming and reading culture can be said to be more valuable and more charming than the beautiful national scenic spots and Nanxi landscape. Farming and reading culture is the soul of Nanxi culture. Farming and reading culture, "farming" is the foundation of survival, "reading" is the road to promotion, and it is the survival form of China's traditional agricultural society. How many children from farmers have changed their destiny through this road. "The two-character motto is "diligence and inspection, and a true line of work is reading and cultivating." There is a genealogy ancestral saying: "Reading can bring honor to one's body; farming can make one rich; being idle in a hurry will bring disgrace to oneself." It is this pursuit tradition of "Being a farmer in the morning and ascending to the emperor's hall in the evening" that has made farming and reading culture passed down to this day.

11. Bailu Ancient City Culture. According to records, Wenzhou began to build the city in the first year of Taining (AD 323) of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. At that time, the famous Feng Shui master Guo Pu (from Wenxi, Shanxi) lived in Wenzhou and chose the site for the city. Guo was "skilled in the yin and yang calendar and proficient in the art of surveying." He chose several hills on the south bank of the Oujiang River. Four of them were distributed like the four corners of a parallelogram, which may be a natural basis for building a city. He symbolized the four mountains as the "Dokui" or "Doumen" of the Big Dipper - two mountains along the river, Haitan Mountain in the east and Guogong Mountain in the west. There are two more mountains opposite to the north and south, Jigu Mountain in the south and Jigu Mountain in the north. Songtai Mountain. The stone city is built on four mountains and is 18 miles around. Twenty-eight wells are dug in the city, symbolizing the twenty-eight stars in the sky, to provide water for residents in the city and emergency needs in wartime. Bailu Ancient City is a precious cultural site that combines the natural landscape and human settlement environment, and is a highlight of Wenzhou's historical and cultural foundation.

12. Thousand-year culture of Wuma Street. Wuma Street starts from South Street (today's Jiefang Street) in the east and connects to Chan Street in the west. It was originally named Wuma Square. It was named after Wang Xizhi's appointment as the prefect of Yongjia. According to the "Wenzhou Prefecture Chronicles" written by Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty: "Wang Xizhi, a native of Shanyin, was the governor of Yongjia County. He rode five horses. The young and old admired him and built a five-horse square." The five-horse sculpture currently installed at the west end of the street was designed based on the story of Wang Xizhi riding five horses through this place. Wuma Street is a commercial street and pedestrian street well-known to Wenzhou people of all ages. The most historic shops on this street are three century-old brands, including "Wuweihe", "Jinsanyi" and "Laoxiangshan". They are known as "Zhejiang" South First Street". Unfortunately, due to various reasons, it could not be included in the "Top Ten Commercial Streets in Zhejiang" selected in 2003. It must be said that it is a loss for Wenzhou.