Tongli Town, situated by Taihu Lake and along the bank of the Grand Canal, belongs to Wujiang District of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The town is in the northeast of the District and therefore, the southern part of Suzhou. Adjacent to Chengguan Town and Songling Town (the new lakeside district) to the west, it has just an hour's drive to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport. The Suzhou-Jiaxing-Hangzhou Expressway and Metro Line No. 4 run through its development zone. Tongli thus enjoys superior geographical location and convenient land-and-water transportation. The old town area extends to Dongxi Bridge in the east, the entrance of the town in the south, Lujiadai in the west and Hongtadai in the north, covering an area of 0.87 square kilometers.
Tongli’s long history can be dated back to the eras of the Songze and Liangzhu Cultures, five or six thousand years ago. The “Tongli Site” was determined to be relics belonging to the Songze Culture during the cultural relic census in 1985. The site is located in the northwest of the town, most of which has merged into the old town area and might be the original site of the ancient town. As early as the Neolithic Age, people started to do farm work and settle down here. The superior natural conditions make Tongli one of the most affluent places in the area of the Wu State. Hence the town was originally called “Futu” (meaning “prosperous land”).
In the pre-Qin period, Tongli became a marketplace under the jurisdiction of Wu County of Kuaiji Prefecture. It grew increasingly prosperous during the Han and Tang Dynasties. In the early Tang Dynasty, it was named Tong (meaning “copper”) and remained still as a village and marketplace located within the Jiuli Village. In the Song Dynasty, Tongli was officially established as a town. The two characters of its old name “Futu” (“富” and “土”) were split into several elements which were rearranged as “Tongli” (“同” and “里”). According to The Chronicle of Tongli Town in Emperor Jiaqing’s reign, “During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Tongli was densely populated and known for its abundant resources. Merchants and peddlers gathered here for opportunities. Skilled craftsmen in various fields were available. Performances of singing and dancing given in gardens, beside ponds and in pavilions were very popular and spectacular.” By the Ming Dynasty, Tongli had become “a place of twenty-five square lis, where there were over a thousand households, clusters of houses, winding streets and alleys, bustling markets, and convenient transportation to other prefectures and counties.” In the Qing Dynasty, the population of Tongli “increased steadily,” while the town area “kept expanding.” “The number of high-level officials living here was great, so the town was spotted with luxurious houses and exquisite gardens. Tongli became a business hub and a centre of distributing goods for surrounding towns. In the ninth year of Emperor Yongzheng’s reign (1731), the Suzhou government set up the Taihu Water Conservancy Department in Tongli. In the tenth year of Emperor Xianfeng’s reign (1860), the Taiping Army stationed at the town and established the Pioneer Army Commander’s Office. In 1912, Tongli was renamed as a city and later became the second district of Wujiang County. With thriving economy, highly developed rice industry, educational innovation, advanced culture and beautiful view, Tongli became a key town in the south of the Yangtze River. Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, Tongli has been a county-level town and made new achievements in varied fields. After the policy of reform and opening up was adopted, it has grown into a nationally renowned tourist town.
The long history and strong economy have bred generations of talented people for Tongli. In the Qing Dynasty, Tong Chuan Feng Yang Ji Xu (meaning “a collection of essays on regional literati”) gave such a description of Tongli, “Tongli, though a small patch of land by the side of the Yangtze River, shares the beauty of Taihu Lake and cultivates batches of talents and literati, whose writings surpass their precursors and benefit their descendants.” According to historical records, from the Northern Song Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, Tongli had one Zhuangyuan (meaning “champion scholar in the national-level imperial examination”), 45 Jinshi (meaning “successful candidates in the national-level imperial examination”), and 96 Juren (meaning “successful candidates in the provincial-level imperial examination”) in either martial or liberal arts. During the Southern Song Dynasty, among native poets Ye Yin ranked top. In the Ming Dynasty, Liang Shi served as deputy editor in chief of Yong Le Da Dian (or Great Encyclopedia of the Yongle Reign). The master of gardening art Ji Cheng wrote his influential book Yuan Ye (meaning “the craft of gardens”). In the Qing Dynasty, there were famous painters Wang Chong and Lu Hui of the Wu School painting and the defense minister Shen Guifen. In modern times, there were numerous Tongli natives who achieved success in their respective fields, including Chen Qubing, a prominent figure in the Revolution of 1911; master of Chinese traditional learning Jin Songcen; social activists Wang Shaoao and Lan Gongwu; founder of Wenhui Daily Yan Baoli; renowned economist Jin Guobao; and revolutionary martyr and famous professor Fei Gong. At present, quite a number of Tongli natives have become CAS academicians such as Feng Xinde and Shen Shanjiong and scholars who are entitled to special State Council allowance. Throughout history, many famous scholars have taken residence in the town, for example Ni Zan, Yao Guangxiao, Zhu Yunming, Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, Dong Qichang, Shen Deqian, Liu Yazi, and Fei Xiaotong, etc.
Tongli is home to many prolific scholars and writers. Literary creation in the town could be dated back to the Tang Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the collections of essays and poems composed locally amounted to 357 which fell into 1,551 volumes. Among them quite a few were immortal works. More than 10 of them were included in Si Ku Quan Shu (or Complete Library in the Four Branches of Literature). From the late Qing Dynasty to the period of the Republic of China, there were more than 20 newspapers and magazines founded by natives of Tongli or in Tongli, including such journals as Fu Bao, Tongyan Bao and Tong Nan and such newspapers as Tongli Herald, New Tongli Daily and Wujiang Daily, etc. Chen Qubing, a local scholar, was the editor of “Southern Society series” to which the technique of block printing was applied. He successively did editorial work for magazines such as Jiangsu, Alarm Bell Daily, The 20th Century Stage, Journal of Chinese Cultural Quintessence, Chinese Times, Dahan Daily, and Yueduo Daily. Newspapers and journals published in Tongli were distributed nationwide and rather influential, which made great contributions to overthrow the monarchy, establish democracy and resist Japanese invasion.
These literary achievements are indispensable from the tradition of appreciating literature and valuing education as well as upright academic and family values. The government established schools in Tongli during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. In the twelfth year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign of the Qing Dynasty (1747), Tongchuan Academy was built on the basis of the free private school Tongchuan School. The trend of promoting education was more vigorous in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China period. In the 28th year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign (1902), Jin Songcen founded Tongchuan Autonomous Society (the predecessor of Tongchuan School) which pioneered the mode of modern school in Wujiang. He further established the Tongli Branch of the China Education Society, a subordinate to China Education Society in Shanghai. In the thirtieth year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign (1904), Jin Songcen founded Minghua Girls’ School, which was a precedent for modern women’s education in Wujiang. In the 32nd year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign (1906), Ren Chuanxiu, the second-generation owner of the Retreat and Reflection Garden, founded the renowned Lize Girls’ School. In the first year of Emperor Xuantong’s reign (1909), Lize Girls’ School started to run the undergraduate major of normal education, whose subjects, courses and regulations were all arranged with reference to those of normal schools for girls in Japan. As to women’s education, Tongli was among the pioneers in the country.
According to statistics collected in 1924, there were 12 county-level, municipal (district) and private schools in Tongli, with 700 to 800 enrolled students. In 1942, Tongwen Middle School (the predecessor of Tongli Middle School) was founded by Xue Fengchang and other educators, which exerted a great impact on the neighbouring counties and towns. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the education in Tongli has thrived even further.
Tongli is characteristic of water-town views. As the famous architect and garden art master Chen Congzhou once said, “Tongli is named after water. Without water, Tongli will lose its soul.” In and around the town, lakes and ponds of varied sizes scatter, while rivers and canals knit together like spider webs. The water covered part accounts for over 40.3% of the total town area. The layout of the ancient town depends heavily on the watercourses, in which streets are set along rivers, canals are used as passages, markets are formed beside water, and gardens are arranged by taking water as the key element. Almost every household live close to rivers and are accessible via boats. Townspeople’s residences, therefore, bear close connection with water. Most grand houses are built by the riverside. Some houses have small pavilions built on stilts in which buckets are prepared to fetch water for drinking, washing and other household uses. From these riverside pavilions people can enjoy the view and the cool at the same time. Each household has a set of stone steps leading to the nearby river, commonly known as a “He Qiao” (meaning “river bridge”) for getting and using water.
Other buildings in Tongli have a unique connection with water as well. Renowned ones include the Song-Dynasty poet Ye Yin’s “Villa of Water and Bamboo,” Ye Zhenzong’s “Water Garden” in the Yuan Dynasty, Ren Xiuzhi’s “Villa of Lakeside Retreat” constructed in the Ming Dynasty, and the famous Retreat and Reflection Garden built in the Qing Dynasty which is also known as a typical case of “gardens adjacent to water.” The ancient town is surrounded by five lakes, namely Pangshan Lake, Jiuli Lake, Tongli Lake, Nanxing Lake and Yeze Lake. The town and these lakes merge into an integral whole. The 15 rivers within the area divide the town into 15 dykes, which are connected by the 49 well-preserved stone bridges built in different dynasties. These bridges feature a variety of shapes and styles: some are arched, some are supported by beams, some have a single-plank or multi-plank structure, and some feature an open-spandrel design while others are in a simple style. The Siben Bridge, built in the Song Dynasty, is the oldest bridge in Wujiang District. The Fuguan Bridge is a representative of those built in the Yuan Dynasty. Among bridges constructed in the Ming Dynasty the Dongxi Bridge is most outstanding. The Taiping, Jili and Changqing Bridges, built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, are treasures of the bridges in Tongli. Whenever a wedding ceremony or any other celebration are held, local people will follow the long-established custom of crossing the Three Bridges for good luck.
In addition to ancient temples and residences, there are many old trees in Tongli. According to statistics, there are 139 famous ancient trees in the town. The ginkgo tree on the foundation of the Wangta Temple is over 1,000 years old, with a diameter of 2.05 meters and the height of 28 meters. The 400-hundred-year-old lacebark pine in Gengle Hall is of a rare species to the south of the Yangtze River. The Chinese littleleaf box in the former residence of the Jin family in Xidai Street is over 330 years old. The camellia tree in the former residence of the Ren Lansheng’s ancestors (Hengfu Hall) is 250 years old. These ancient trees are witnesses to the changes throughout Tongli’s history.
Tongli is full of historical sites and diverse views. In the early Ming Dynasty, there were “Eight Scenic Spots in the Front” and “Eight Scenic Spots at the back” in the town. “Four Scenic Spots” were added to this list in the Qing Dynasty. Tongli used to be accessible to the outside world by boat, so it was seldom disturbed by wars and made an ideal place for wealthy gentry to escape chaos and live in peace. As a result, there are numerous grand houses and private gardens in Tongli. According to The Chronicle of Tongli Town compiled during Emperor Jiaqing’s reign of the Qing Dynasty, there were 38 large gardens and residences in the town from the seventh year of Emperor Xianchun’s reign of the Song Dynasty (1271) to Emperor Jiaqing’s reign of the Qing Dynasty. Up to now, there are still over 90 big houses with compound well-preserved courtyards. Other places of interest include the grand temple built in the Song Dynasty and Xingluo Island constructed in the Yuan Dynasty, many buildings of historical value erected in the Ming Dynasty (for example the Imperial Censor’s Mansion built by the Chen family, Ji Cheng’s former residence, Xizhai Villa, Cheng’en Hall, the Censor’s Mansion, Wuhe Arch (i.e. Shoushan Hall), the Pan Family’s Mansion, the parlor of Yangong Hall, San Xie Hall, Woyun Temple and Gengle Hall). The Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China period saw the completion of quite a few historical buildings (i.e. the Retreat and Reflection Garden, Lize Girls’ School, Tianfang Tower, Red Tower, Wuben Hall, Chongben Hall, Jiayin Hall, the Pang family’s ancestral temple, Nanyuan Teahouse, Yang Tianji’s former residence, Liugeng Hall, Yude Hall, Shide Hall, Shifen Hall, the Yuan Family’s Hall, Lishan Hall, Hengfu Hall and Shenxiu Hall, etc.). Tongli is thus appreciated by experts as the “Architecture Museum of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.”
