English >> Travel in JiangXi 2005-5-19 15:34:11
Nanchang

 

Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province, has been a prosperous cultural city south of the Yangtze River for 2,190 years. Poet Wang Bo (649-676) of the Tang Dynasty described it in the "Preface to Tengwang Tower" as a place "boasting rich resources and people of talents". With an area of 7,402 square kilometers and a population of 3. 45 million, the city has jurisdiction over five prefectures and four counties.

On the southwestern shore of Poyang Lake, China's Largest fresh -water lake, the city has four distinct seasons and a pleasant climate. In the city proper there are the ancient Shengjin Pagoda, Ruzi Pavilion , Shui Guan Yin Pavilion and East, South, West and North Lakes. Three Rivers -- Ganjiang, Fuhe and Jinjiang, flow through the city. Mt. Meiling, known as "small Lushan Mountain", lies in the west suburb of Nangchang and southwest of Poyang Lake. Streams meander among deep gorges and beautiful peaks, making Mt. Meiling an ideal summer resort. Lushan Mountain rise majestically to the north of Nanchang city. Qingyunpu, first a Taoist temple over 1,000 years ago, obtained its present name in 1661 when Zhu Da (Ba Da Shan Ren) went to live there. Zhu Da was a descendent of the tenth generation of Zhu Yuanzhang, founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Zhu Da developed a school of freehand brushwork in traditional Chinese painting an became an outstanding painter and Taoism believer. His paintings are on display in Qingyunpu.

About 10,000 rare birds including white cranes, storks and swans winter on the Nanjishan Island in Poyang Lake, 60 kilometers away from the city proper. The Tengwang Tower, the number one of the three famous towers south of the Yangtze River, was built on the city wall in 653 when Li Yuanying, son of Li Yuan, Emperor Gao Zu of the Tang Dynasty was military governor there. The tower, overlooking the Ganjiang River and facing the Western Hills, is double- evade structure with painted beams and vermilion windows. From the tower one can see the glorious sunset and wild ducks, the water and sky joining in the far horizon. Visitors to the tower in history include Tang poet Bai Juyi, writer Du Mu, Northern Song (960- 1127) statesman, writer and philosopher Wang Anshi, writer Zeng Gong, writer and historian Ouyangxiu, writer Wen Tianxiang, philosopher and educator Zhu Xi and poet Xin Qiji. They all have left writings eulogizing the Tengwang Tower.

The Tengwang Tower is in the style of the Song Dynasty. The 54.4- meter- high tower consists of three open stories and six hidden stories. The glazed tiles, gilded double eaves, carved screens and vermilion corridor columns produce an effect of archaic simplicity and elegance. Outside the pavilion are courtyards, rockeries, terraces, pavilions and a lotus pond, covering an area of 40,000 square meters. It   receives visitors with  splendor.

Nanchang is a heroic city. In 1927, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and He Long led the August 1 Nanchang Uprising to begin an army of the Chinese Communist Party. The Jiangxi Hotel, the headquarters of the uprising, is now a museum.

Nanchang, Lushan, Mountaina, and Jingdezhen, a town famed for porcelain production, form a "gold triangle" of tourism in Jiangxi province for their fantastic natural and man-made landscape.

Flat and fertile soil and many rivers and lakes make Nanchang one of China's leading commodity grain-producing bases. The area also produces a great variety of fresh-water fish such as catfish in spring, carp in summer, madarin fish in autumn and bream in winter. A number of bases producing farm, animal busbandry and side- line products for export have been set up in the suburbs of Nanchang.

Nangchang is also a rising industrial city. Over the past 30 years its urban area has been expanded fivefold. Today, there are 2 ,400 modern factories and enterprises in metallurgy, machinery, aviation, electronics, textile, chemical industry, building materials, medicine, foodstuffs, paper-making and printing. Over 180 varieties of products in 9 categories and 480 designs are sold at home and overseas market. In recent years Nanchang has signed a number of joint- venture projects with firms from 14 countries and regions. More are expected.

Nanchang has 14 institutions of higher learning, 97 scientific research institutions and over 20,000 technical personnel. A transport and communication network by land, water and air has taken shape. Beijing and other big cities can be reached by train and plane. A programme- controled telephone system of 10, 000 routes has been installed. Nanchang is one of China's 10 cities offering the best telephone service.

Today, an increasing number of overseas Chinese, compatriots from Hongkong, Macao and Taiwan, and foreigners come to tour Nanchang, visit their relatives, or friends, and do business.

Nanchang, a historical cultural city, has great potentials and will grow even more rapidly.

Painter ¡°Ba Da Shan Ren¡±

Qingyunpu is an age-old Taoist temple in the suburbs of Nanchang City in Jiangxi Province. It was built over 1,700 years ago. The fame of Qingyunpu is due to Ba Da Shan Ren a prominent calligrapher and painter who lived at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. With Zhu Da as his original name, Ba Da Shan Ren was a descendant of the imperial clan of the Ming Dynasty. Ba Da Shan Ren was his alternative name and it was by this name that he was most well known to the public.

In 1644, troops of the Qing regime entered the Shanhaiguan Pass and the Ming Dynasty finally fell. Nineteen-year-old Ba Da Shan Ren witnessed the fall of the Ming Dynasty almost overnight. As a descendant of the imperial clan of the previous dynasty, he began to live in exile and seclusion. At first he became a Buddhist monk but after awhile he returned to secular life. In the end, however, he became a Taoist priest and spent most of the latter half of his life in the secluded Taoist temple. He was haunted by his sorrow for the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Previously he had been a son from a noble family but now he had become a lonely, apathetic and eccentric man. While he could hardly change his fate he could, nevertheless, refuse to submit to degradation. Perhaps the white paper and the black ink were the only tools he could use to express his sentiments.

Wang Kaixuan (Deputy Curator, Ba Da Shan Ren Museum):

Once a relative of the emperor, Ba Da Shan Ren became a man whose family had been broken up and destroyed. He was in this mood all his life. Look at his inscribed name. When the four characters Ba Da Shan Ren were written together, they looked like two characters meaning ¡°cry¡± and ¡°laugh¡±. They implied that he did not know whether to laugh or cry. They were metaphorically used to refer to his lot in life. From his paintings, especially his landscape paintings, we can feel the void in Buddhism, the non-action of Taoism and the simplicity and elegance in Confucianism.

Ba Da Shan Ren¡¯s works were known for their peculiar style. It seemed that their ingenious composition was designed to build a precarious atmosphere. Probably this was a true revelation of the feelings he cherished when he lived in exile.

The unusual style of Ba Da Shan Ren¡¯s works can also be seen in his paintings of flowers and birds. The images of animals he depicted were grotesque and exaggerated. Beauty was perceived only in ugliness. The scornful look rendered a feeling of indifference and aloofness. This unique technique of portrayal was symbolic of his paintings.

  

Succinctness was another feature of Ba Da Shan Ren¡¯s works. With just a few strokes, he could execute a painting of flowers and birds or a landscape painting. But it was almost impossible to reduce a single stroke from the painting.

In 1705, Ba Da Shan Ren passed away after a long period of secluded life. His artistic achievements, however, have stood the test of time. He was not the most well-known painter during his lifetime, but his works produced a profound impact on traditional Chinese painting. His literary style of painting reached a high standard of freehand brushwork. His great achievements became a precious legacy in the history of Chinese fine arts.