Wu cultural center

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the capital of Wu was always moving. When Zhu Fan was the King of Wu, his capital was in Mudu, Wuzhong District, Suzhou. Later, this son stabbed Liao Wang and later became the king of Wu, namely He Lv. Under the auspices of Wu Zixu, he rebuilt the capital city of Helu. As a result, Wuxi became the birthplace of Wu culture, and Suzhou became the place where Wu culture developed.

China, Egypt, India and Babylon are four ancient civilizations in the world, and China is one of the countries with the earliest economic and cultural development in the world. In the 5,000-year history of civilization, people of all ethnic groups in China interacted and merged with each other around the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, gradually formed a great Chinese nation and a unified political system, and created a profound Chinese culture, which is an important part of the world cultural treasure house. The Yangtze River Delta, known as Wudi, has long enjoyed particularly prosperous economy and developed culture. From the splendid history and culture here, we can see a spot of Chinese national culture.

The history of ancient civilizations in the world is similar to that of China, but most of the cities built 3000 years ago or even earlier are small, and some are just big castles. The ancient Egyptian city of Cahon, the wall is only 380 meters long and 260 meters wide; The city of Babylon is very big, but it no longer exists. Athens is a large-scale ancient city, which still exists today, but it was rebuilt after the establishment of the Macedonian Empire in 383 AD. The ancient Roman city made brilliant achievements in construction, but it was formed after a long-term free development in the first century BC, and there was no unified and reasonable planning system.

Because the city is the product of social division of labor, it is produced by the needs of military, political and economic development and exchange trade. It marks the great progress of architectural art and is the epitome of the development and progress of human civilization. The establishment of the ancient city of Suzhou shows that the productivity and civilization level of Wu was already quite high at that time, and it has continued to develop since then, accumulating extremely rich historical and cultural heritage, which is an important symbol of Wu's traditional culture.

Second, the prosperity of Wu culture.

Wu culture is an important part of Chinese culture, and its "personality" is very prominent and its vitality is extremely strong. It has prospered and developed for a long time in history, made outstanding contributions and occupied a glorious and unique page in the history of world civilization. It has created historical miracles again and again, and the history of Wu in Zhou Dynasty is an example.

More than 3 100 years ago, Wu Gou established and gradually formed the Wu culture. The original political center was at the junction of wuxi and wuxian. 2500 years ago, Wu moved to Suzhou, which was once prosperous. The development of Wu culture is also advancing by leaps and bounds, and historical miracles appear frequently.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu, Jin and Qi were big countries, while Wu was a small country living in the south. It is possible to defeat the State of Chu with 200,000 people with 30,000 troops and occupy its capital. Later, Wu defeated Qi and gained world hegemony.

Why did Wu Can create miracles? On the surface, there are outstanding generals such as Sun Wu and Wu Zixu, and Wu people are martial and good at fighting. The fundamental reason is that Wu has a high cultural level. Tai Bohe went to Wu to study with Confucius. Wu Zixu of Chu State and Sun Wu of Qi State were reused, which blended local culture with Central Plains culture and Chu culture and created a prosperous Wu culture. As a result, culture promoted the development of productive forces, the formation of Suzhou as a central city, and the progress of weapons, warships and economy and technology greatly improved the comprehensive national strength of Wu. From this point of view, Wu people's specialty of screening, absorbing and integrating foreign cultures is the foundation of their success. They have achieved economic and military miracles by relying on culture and intelligence.

Third, Wu culture has a long history.

Wu culture is a narrow sense of Wu culture, a kind of historical culture dating back to the past, and based on its political ideas. Wu culture is a broad sense of Wu culture, taking the concept of regional historical records, which includes the regional culture before and after the Wu State, that is, the Great Wu Culture. The so-called grand culture includes the sum of material wealth and spiritual culture created in the historical development of human society. It develops with the development of productive forces, and people generally call it history and culture.

Wudi generally refers to the Taihu Lake Basin and the Yangtze River Delta in Nanjing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Suzhou is the cultural center of Wu after Wu, which is located in the center of Wu. It is customary to call Suzhou history and culture Wuzhong culture, which should be the main representative of Wu culture.

Wu culture has a long history. The excavations in Sanshan Island in Taihu Lake, Caoxie Mountain in Wuyan County in Wujiang, Dongshan Village in Zhangjiagang and Xujiawan prove that humans lived here 10,000 years ago. The cultures in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River have developed simultaneously, and some cultures even surpass those in the Central Plains, such as jade, lacquerware, wooden architecture, textiles, silk weaving, rice farming and shipping. According to legend, the cultures of the Yellow Emperor and Yi Chiyou are equal. Later, Chiyou was defeated by the Yellow Emperor because of the flood going north. However, his people brought the former Wu culture to the Central Plains, and then to Jianghan and Yungui, where they merged into the Chinese culture. The Yi people and the Yue people stayed in Wudi mountain area, and later formed the main part of Wu people in the State of Wu. To the Sui Dynasty, Wu changed to Suzhou, which was officially named as the cultural center of Wu, and has been developing ever since.

Fourth, economy and culture complement each other.

Wu's history vividly proves that the development of productive forces and culture complement each other. The development of culture will inevitably bring about the revolution of productive forces, and the development of productive forces will inevitably promote the prosperity of culture. Because culture has tangible value and intangible value, it has economic value and spiritual value. Invisibility is invisible to ordinary people, so this valuable experience of our ancestors is often not fully utilized. It is of practical significance to recall this history.

6000 years ago, people settled in Wudi and engaged in agriculture to grow rice. The prosperity of Wu culture brought about the revolution of productive forces. The canal was first opened here, which is rich in gold, tin and copper, and its smelting level is very high. In late spring, Shen Jun brought Chu culture and the economy resumed development. At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, Wu Wang Liu Bi became the first of the seven countries. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the further exchange and integration with the culture of the Central Plains, Wu became an important source of wealth and tax revenue for the imperial court. Seven counties in Suzhou have set a historical record, and 1% of the cultivated land in the country bears 1 1% of the tax revenue, which is more than a quarter of the salary of Beijing officials.

Economically speaking, Wu has a strong sense of commodity economy and has always attached importance to economic construction. As a result, agriculture, commerce, handicrafts, silk, textiles, metallurgy, shipping and food industries flourished. Although the market and urban infrastructure have been destroyed by the war for many times, they can be quickly restored and developed in situ, reaching the national leading level in some aspects. Wuxi used to be an important trade and business metropolis at home and abroad, an important silk base, a rice market and a financial center. In science and technology, metallurgy, shipbuilding, medicine, astronomy, printing, navigation, construction, water conservancy, silk, business management and so on. , have reached a very high level. Today, the economic strength still occupies an important position in China, and the Yangtze River Delta, the land of Wu, will be the largest economic core area in China.

In terms of culture and education, it is also a sustained, comprehensive and high-level development, which is concentrated in talents. From sages to patriotic thinkers, from scientific and technological experts to skilled craftsmen, from politicians to military strategists, from rebels of the old system to people-led revolutionaries and socialist revolutionaries, many outstanding figures have grown up from Wu's soil. Some talents didn't achieve much until Emperor Wu. For example, Sun Wu, known as the sage in the south of the Yangtze River, was the first military strategic thinker in ancient times, Fan Zhongyan and Gu were patriotic thinkers and great officials, and Kuai Xiang, a metallurgical expert and master of architectural planning and design. There are also painters, doctors, businessmen, writers and all kinds of talents. There are also many talents in modern times, such as Zhang Taiyan, Liu Yazi, Ye Shengtao and Fei Xiaotong. Talented people have come forth in large numbers throughout the ages, which is also the fundamental reason for creating miracles.

Only when people are outstanding can things be rich and beautiful, and only when people are outstanding can they give play to their advantages. Only the development of education and culture can produce talents and bring about a revolution in productivity.

Wu culture education is developed, and official advocacy has played a positive role. Fan Zhongyan's official school has far-reaching influence. Folk awareness of culture and education has also effectively promoted the prosperity of education. For example, under the strong consciousness of "only reading is high" and "books have their golden houses", scholarly families and cultural clansmen have gradually formed, and then a dense cultural group with Suzhou City as its central base has been formed. Under the influence of this folk custom, Wudi has been actively spreading it for a long time. This is the foundation for cultural education and even skills to pass on and develop, reach a higher level and take root among the people.

Facts show that Wu culture is essentially based on pre-Wu culture and Wu culture, including Zhou culture, Chu culture, Qilu culture and even overseas culture, and the sum of high civilizations represented by outstanding talent groups.

Six, all rivers run into the sea, with great tolerance.

Emperor Wu controlled the three rivers, crossed the five lakes, connected the Yangtze River and was close to the sea, with convenient transportation, thus promoting the prosperity and development of the market, economy and culture. Wu took the lead in opening canals and establishing a water army to attack Chu and cut Qi. The rise of towns in Wu was mostly built on water. Wudi has been an import and export port and a landing point for overseas people since Qin and Han Dynasties. Abundant water resources also promote overseas trade and cultural exchanges and the import of western culture. In addition, the Yangtze River has a special defensive function, which makes Emperor Wu relatively stable, which is of great significance to the miracle of Emperor Wu. The sea, Yangtze River, Canal and Taihu Lake can be said to be the natural "birthplaces" of Wu culture.

Wu people are good at "building water conservancy", and first promote farmland water conservancy to achieve a higher harvest. Secondly, the outstanding achievements are the "advanced" shipbuilding technology and the vigorous development of water transport. The rise and fall of Wu Can can be said to be the fate of this ship. During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan sent envoys to Nanyang to carry out foreign trade activities. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Southern Dynasty had a strong navy, so it was safe for the time being. Zheng He and Jian Zhen set out from Taicang and Zhangjiagang bases respectively. Suzhou has the largest and earliest urban water conservancy control system in the world. Shipbuilding and shipping technology benefited Emperor Wu greatly in economy, culture and even military affairs.

Wudi is located in the south of the Yangtze River, in the middle of China's coastline and in the west of the Pacific Ocean. With the natural barrier and relative stability of the Yangtze River, coupled with economic prosperity and other factors, with the changes in the ecological and political situation, a large number of people in the Central Plains have moved southward for many times. In the early Han Dynasty, there was a famine in Guanzhong, and a large number of immigrants came to make a living. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, northern literati moved southward continuously. During the Three Kingdoms period, the northern residents moved across the river 10 million people, and Sun captured the population.

After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Opium War, Wu was at the forefront of imperialist aggression and the introduction of western culture. In the fierce conflict, a large number of patriots and revolutionaries, entrepreneurs and scientists were born, creating new culture and higher productivity, becoming one of the most developed regions in China, and then transporting new and higher modern culture to the mainland. This is the extension and re-creation of Wu culture.

Seven, Wu culture and marine culture

In the long history, there are two main ways for human beings to seek survival materials. First, inland people mainly make a living by transforming land, while people in coastal areas and islands have close ties with the ocean in developing productivity. Due to the different geographical environment, people make a living and develop productive forces in different ways, thus forming two different types of culture: mainland culture and marine culture. For example, ancient Egypt and India formed continental culture, while ancient Greece formed marine culture. China has also formed two cultural circles in history, namely, the coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan Province Province, Hainan Island and Hong Kong Islands. The Chinese communities scattered in Southeast Asian countries are marine cultural circles, and the mainland part belongs to the mainland cultural circle. The Yangtze River Delta is located in the marine cultural circle and at the junction of the two cultural circles. It is an outpost of cultural exchanges between China and the West in modern times and is deeply influenced by the mainland culture of the Central Plains. A nation in a country or a certain region has formed a variety of cultural characteristics, with strong vitality, adaptability to various environments and creativity.

Like other ethnic groups, the ancestors living in the Yangtze River Delta first encountered the basic problem of their own survival and sustainable development, that is, food and clothing; Secondly, the problem of material enjoyment; Thirdly, it is a question of satisfying spiritual enjoyment. Scholars call these three problems the first existential problem, the second existential problem and the third existential problem respectively.

Wu people have attached importance to agriculture since ancient times, and many laborers have taken root in agriculture from generation to generation, paying attention to solving pre-existing problems, which is the characteristic and advantage of Wu people's continental culture. Since the establishment of the State of Wu in the Zhou Dynasty, the productivity of Wu people has developed rapidly, and they can use part of their labor force to solve their own food problems, so they have the conditions to solve the existing second problem. People attach importance to the development of industry and commerce, which is the characteristic of marine culture. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Wu's material production reached a high level, and people gradually turned to meet the needs of spiritual enjoyment and solve the third existing problem. Therefore, Wu's operas, handicrafts, sculptures, paintings, gardens and so on. Are thriving.

The blending of marine culture and mainland culture also breeds lofty national spirit, such as Gu's "Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world" and Fan Zhongyan's "Worry about the world first, and enjoy the world later", all of which have seafood factors. This is the collectivism thought of helping each other in the same boat, sharing weal and woe and being brave in struggle, which is quite different from the concept of land owners. Of course, there are feudal ethics such as loyalty to the monarch.

Marine culture and inland culture were formed in a specific geographical environment, adapted to two cultures with different productivity levels, and made positive contributions to historical progress. Because marine life is dynamic, people always seek to adapt to the changes of water flow and strive for victory in the struggle against wind and waves, so marine culture is mobile, adventurous, open and competitive. Mainland culture is based on sticking to and taking root in the homeland. It is a static culture, with the characteristics of settlement, conservatism, closeness and patience.

Due to historical reasons, the vast inland areas of China have not solved the primary problem for a long time (until recently, the problem of food and clothing has been solved in some places), and the inland culture has adapted to this productivity, so it has long attached special importance to the inland culture, which is manifested in cultural research and understanding of various cultural values, and often emphasizes that the north crosses the south, the Yellow River crosses the sea, and the Yellow Emperor crosses the sea. In recent decades, due to the substantial improvement of productivity, the primary problems of the people of all ethnic groups in China have been basically solved, and all localities have generally attached importance to the development of industry and commerce. In order to adapt culture to the new productive forces and promote economic development, we should not only pay attention to mainland culture, but also pay attention to the study of marine culture, such as Wuyue culture, Fujian and Guangdong culture, Shanghai modern culture and even western culture. This will play an important role in promoting modernization and solving the second and third existing problems.

Eight, the role of the city and the charm of science and technology

Culture can promote the development of productive forces, so in what way and by what "tools" do people achieve it in practice? Wu's historical facts show that it mainly depends on the market and technology.

This is because Shanghai culture has promoted people to actively develop industry and commerce, thus prospering the market, revitalizing the city by the market, and the city has played the role of a locomotive, driving the vast rural areas and comprehensively improving productivity. In the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to the improvement of productivity level, its agglomeration benefits began to be reflected in the first multiplier effect of the city (the input of handicraft projects promoted the corresponding development of the tertiary industry), the second multiplier effect (the investment environment of the urban tertiary industry attracted a new round of industrial project input) and their interaction. For a long time, Wudi has established workshops such as silk industry, handicraft industry, textile printing and dyeing industry, food processing and arts and crafts, which has promoted the development of the tertiary industry, made the investment environment better and attracted more businessmen to invest or trade in the Soviet Union.

The level of human productivity is roughly from primitive mode-manual labor mode-machine production mode-modern production mode. Most areas of China are still dominated by primitive production methods, and Emperor Wu has reached the era of manual or even machine production. The progress of science and technology and advanced production methods are the main means to gather wealth.

In the past, the high level of science and technology in Wudi was closely related to marine culture and market competition. Socialization, commercialization and multiple competition in industrial and commercial production and management urge people to seek innovation intentionally. Because many producers and operators live in a city, the information is clear, and the professional skills of different industries and "multi-disciplines" cooperate and inspire each other, which can create new things, and specialized production is more conducive to the improvement of technology. Coupled with the inheritance and accumulation of education and skills from generation to generation, a large number of talents flow to cities, thus promoting the progress of human civilization.

Today's scientific and technological progress is closely related to economic development, domestic and international market competition, and even international political and military competition. The expanding social function of science and technology has become a strategic issue that determines productivity, national modernization and even national destiny. Science and technology are also the key factors for the prosperity of a city and an enterprise. Connecting with the prosperous history of the Yangtze River Delta, we should take the road of rejuvenating the country through science and technology, pay attention to giving full play to the role of the city, use the law of rejuvenating the city through the market, build a metropolis, develop high technology, carry forward the characteristics of Wu culture, absorb modern culture, and create a Wu culture more suitable for the development of new productive forces.

Studying Wu culture is the concrete content of carrying forward the excellent national cultural policy and criticizing national nihilism and historical nihilism. It is also a vivid and rich patriotic education textbook, which makes future generations love their hometown, their motherland and devote themselves to it. Combining Marxism-Leninism with Wu's reality is an effective way to train a new generation. In the construction of material civilization, spiritual civilization and political civilization, we should proceed from the historical characteristics and recent facts of Wu, and draw infinite wisdom and strength from the experience of Wu people for thousands of years.

As far as tourism development is concerned, gardens were mainly used in the past. If Wu culture is the content, it will form a variety of routes and networks, such as museums, places of interest, folk customs, martial arts, food, operas, folk literature and art, water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, ancient cities, Taihu Lake scenic spots, and even Shanghai, Wuxi and Hangzhou, which will be unique and attract tourists from all over the world.

It is of great significance to study Wu culture and Wu land. Let's work together and make more contributions to the construction of our hometown and motherland.