History and Culture

From: Lianyungang Updated: 2023-07-24

Lianyungang, called "Haizhou" in ancient times, is rich in historical and cultural relics. Tenghualuo Prehistoric City Ruins is the first prehistoric city site with dual inner and outer structures discovered in China. The rock paintings of Jiangjun Cliffy known as the Eastern Book of Heaven, are the oldest rock paintings across the country. The art treasure of the Eastern Han - Dynastythe Buddhist cliff sculptures of Kongwang Mountain, according to research, is 300 years earlier than the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. All the cultural relics such as the Asoka Pagoda of Haiqing Temple, which has a history of a thousand years, have all presented the glory of ancient civilization of Lianyungang.

Lianyungang has cradled numbers of talents and scholars since ancient times. Xu Fu, an alchemist of the Qin Dynasty and a native of Ganyu county, navigated east to Fusang (today's Japan) from Lianyungang. He is known as the first contributor to cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. During the Jiajing Emperor period of the Qing Dynasty, scholars like Ling Tingkan, Xu Qiaolin, and Xu Guilin grew up and lived on this land. Shen Yimpei, who was bom in Haizhou in the late Qing Dynasty and served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Postal Service and Transportation, prevailed over all dissenting views and set the eastern terminal to the sea of the East Longhai Railway to Haizhou, making the ancient coastal town become a modem port city. In modem times, water conservancy scholar Wu Tongju, vocational educator Jiang Wenyu, author Zhu Ziqing, and painter Yan Han were all born here. Here is also the hometown of seven academicians of the Academy of Science and Academy of Engineering, including Wang Dezhao, Wang Dexi, Chen Jiyu, Cheng Jinpei, Dong Jiahong, Xu Hongxing and Xiao Wei.

In Lianyungang, there are still many historic sites and stories of literati. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Confucius, as the Prime Minister of Lu State, met the Emperor of Qi State in Jiagu Mountain. This meeting set a good example of how to prevent a dispute in a peaceful way. The great author Shi Manqing and Su Dongpo of Song Dynasty once took office or traveled to Haizhou, and wrote dozens of poems related to it. Wu Cheng'en, a femous author of Ming Dynasty, wrote the classic Journey to the West story inspired by the local Yimtai Mountain. Wu Jingzi and Li Ruzhen who long lived here, created the literary masterpieces of The Scholars and Flowers in the Mirror according to the local cultural resources.