Nanxun () is a historic town in

Nanxun District Nanxun District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Huzhou, Zhejiang province, China. Nanxun Town, an ancient water town, is located in the district. It is one of the most well-preserved old towns in this region and is known for it ...

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, China. As of the 2007 census it had a population of 119,300 and an area of .

Name

The name of Nanxun was coined by a combination of the initial Chinese characters of two place' names in the region: "Nanlin" () and "Xunxi" ().

History

Established in 1252 in the

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

(1127–1279), Nanxun is located in the northeast of Huzhou city. It was one of the richest towns in

Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...

from mid-Ming down to mid-Qing dynasties. During this period, with the development of

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

industry and rise of commodity economy, it experienced unprecedented prosperity, and developed into the center of China's silk trade at the beginning of 20th century. It became the most prosperous town in

region, producing hundreds of magnates. As a popular saying went, "What counts as a city in Huzhou is barely half the size of Nanxun." ()

Religion

The introduction of Christianity into the Nanxun area began in 1860, belonging to the

American Methodist Episcopal Mission American Methodist Episcopal Mission (AMEM; also known as Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church ''MEFB was the missionary society of the Methodist Episcopal Church that was involved in sending workers to countries such as A ...

. The Nanxun Christian Church is a

Protestant church Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone, the teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible sourc ...

in the town. It was built in 1927. The

Guanghui Palace Guanghui Palace (), commonly known as Zhang–Wang Temple (), is a Taoist temple located in Nanxun city, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China. History The temple was first established in the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Song of the Song dynasty (960&ndash ...

is a

Taoist temple A Daoist temple (), also called a () or (), is a place where the Dao is observed and cultivated. It is a place of worship in Taoism. Taoism is a religion that originated in China, with the belief in immortality, which urges people to become i ...

in the town. It was first established in the

Northern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

(960–1127) and was destroyed and rebuilt many times. The present version was completed in 2003.

Tourist attractions

Nanxun once had a large number of gardens. From the Southern Song dynasty down to the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

(1644–1911) it had housed as much as 27 gardens. Among the survived ones are the Baijian Houses, Jiaye Library, Liu's Xiaolian Manor, (Chen's) Ying Garden and (Zhang's) Shi Garden. Nanxun is also the home to the

Former Residence of Zhang Shiming A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature. A former may become an integral part of the ...

and Former Residence of Zhang Jingjiang. Nanxun has more well-preserved ancient bridges of the

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

(1368–1644) and

Qing dynasties The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

(1644–1911) with hundreds of years of history, such as Tongjin Bridge, Hongji Bridge, Guanghui Bridge, and Chuihong Bridge.

Notable people

Zhu Guozhen Zhu Guozhen (; 1557–1632) was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer of the Ming dynasty. Biography He was born in 1557. He was jinshi in the imperial examination in 1589 and was a Senior Grand Secretary of the Tianqi Emperor. Zhu was t ...

, an official, historian, and scholar of the Ming dynasty. * *

Zhuang Tinglong The Zhuang Tinglong case, also known as the Ming History case, was a 17th-century case of literary inquisition which took place in China between 1661 and 1663 during the Qing dynasty. The case was about the publication of an unauthorised history o ...

, historian. * , historian. * , a tycoon in Nanxun. * , a tycoon in Nanxun. * , philologist. *

Zhang Renjie Zhang Renjie (; 19 September 1877 − 3 September 1950), born Zhang Jingjiang, was a political figure and financial entrepreneur in the Republic of China. He studied and worked in France in the early 1900s, where he became an early Chinese anarchi ...

, a political figure and financial entrepreneur in the Republic of China. * Jin Zhang, prominent painter and calligrapher

Gallery

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nanxun Traditional folk houses in China Ancient Chinese cities Huzhou