SUZHOU
HISTORY |
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Suzhou, the cradle of Wu culture, is one of the oldest towns in the Yangzi
Basin. 2500 years ago, local tribes who named themselves "Gou Wu" in the
late Shang Dynasty lived in the area which would become Suzhou.
In 514 BC, during the Spring and Autumn
Period, King Helu of Wu established "Great City of Helu", the ancient name
for Suzhou, as his capital.
In 496 BC, Helu was buried in Huqiu (Tiger Hill).
In 473 BC, Wu was defeated by Yue, another kingdom to the east that was soon
annexed by Chu in 306 BC. The golden era of Suzhou was over.
By the time of Qin Dynasty, the city was known as Wu County. Xiang Yu staged
his historical uprising here in 209 BC; Qin was overthrown.
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During Sui Dynasty, the city was renamed Suzhou in 589 AD.
When the Grand Canal was completed, Suzhou found itself placed strategically
on a major trading route. In the course of the history of China, it has been
a metropolis of industry and commerce in the south-eastern coast of China.
During Tang Dynasty (825 AD), the great poet Bai Juyi constructed the
Shantang Canal to connect the city with Huqiu for the tourists. In 1035 AD,
the Confucius temple was founded.
In February 1130, the advancing Jin army from the north sacked the city and
committed a holocaust, which was to be followed by Mongol invasion (1275 AD)
and destruction of the royal city (in the centre of the walled city) in the
beginning of Ming Dynasty (1367 AD).
Afterwards, the city had a more prosperous time; many of the famous private
gardens were constructed by the gentiles of Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty.
However, the city was to see another disaster in 1860 AD when the Taiping
rebellion advanced on the city, to be followed by the Japanese invasion
(1937 AD). Many gardens were devastated by the end of the war. In the early
1950’s, restoration was done on Zhuo-Zheng Yuan (Humble Administrator's
Garden), Dong Yuan (East Garden), and others, to bring them back to life.
Consequently, most of the existing gardens reflects the architecture style
of Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 AD), albeit many of had a history dating back to
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD).
In 1981, this ancient city was listed by the State Council as one of the
four cities (the other three being Beijing, Hangzhou and Guilin) where the
protection of historical and cultural heritage as well as natural scenery
should be treated as a priority project.
Gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the World Heritage Sites in 1997
and 2000. |
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