Slender West Lake, also known by its
Chinese name Shouxihu and by
other names, is a scenic
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
in
Hanjiang District in central
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...
, China. The lake developed from the
city moats of
Tang-era Yangzhou. During the
Qing
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 ...
dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.
H ...
, its
banks were the site of numerous
estates for the area's wealthy
officials
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...
and
salt merchants. The lake and some of its attractions have been restored as a
national park
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
and
AAAAA tourist attraction, requiring a ticket for admission and open only from 7 am to 6 pm.
Names
In
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
and
early modern China, the present Slender West Lake was described as a stretch of
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
variously known as Paoshan, Changchun, Baoyang, or Baozhang Creek. The area was popularly known as the Slender West Lake by the late 17th century, when the name was recorded in the treatise ''Yángzhōu Gǔchuī Cíxù'' compiled by
Wu Qi
Wu Qi (, 440–381 BC) was a Chinese military general, philosopher, and politician during the Warring States period.
Biography
Born in the Wey (state), State of Wey (), he was skilled in leading armies and military strategy. He had served in th ...
''Wú Qǐ''; 16191694). It was further popularized in the 1736
poem
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
"On Baozhang Creek" (, ''Yǒng Bǎozhàng Hé'') written by the
Hangzhou
Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
native
Wang Hang (, ''Wāng Hàng'', 17041784) during a visit to Yangzhou. Wang had been the student of
Li E, who had just completed his own work on the ''West Lake Records'' (, ''Xīhú Zhì'') detailing the
history of the area around Hangzhou's
West Lake and Wang's short ode praised the town as similarly prosperous and attractive.
Geography
Slender West Lake is located between
Hanjiang and
Guangling districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
in the center of modern
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...
in central
Jiangsu
Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...
in
eastern China
East China () is a geographical region in the People’s Republic of China, mainly consisting of seven province-level administrative divisions, namely the provinces (from north to south) Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, a ...
. Originally part of the moats,
canals
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow u ...
, and streams around the older locations of Yangzhou, it lies above the northwestern corner of the city's Song, Ming, and Qing fortifications. The lake proper runs from Baozhang Lake at the north to the remains of the Qing moat at the south. The Slender West Lake Scenic Area includes Baozhang Lake and some islands and additional waterways to the west.
The present lake runs for and covers about . The scenic area around it covers at least .
[
The lake lies on the opposite side of the old city from the course of the Grand Canal to its east. It is nevertheless interconnected with it by streams along its entire length: by Baozhang Lake and the modern extent of the Han or Hangou Canal ''Hángōu'') on the north; by Cao or Caohe Creek ''Cáo Hé'') in the middle; and by Yudai Creek ''Yùdài Hé'') or by Erdao Creek ''Èrdào Hé''), Lotus Pond Park, and Andun Creek ''Āndūn Hé'') on the south.
]
History
Despite Yangzhou's centuries of prosperity as a major hub on the Grand Canal, the area around Slender West Lake was not particularly built up until the Qianlong Era of the Qing
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 ...
, the mid-1700s. The area had been greatly damaged with the rest of city by the Qing
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 ...
conquest
Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...
and the Yangzhou Massacre in May 1645. Under the Qing, however, the great wealth of the area's canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
officials
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...
and salt merchants was used to construct lavish private residences and gardens
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
along with nationally renowned restaurants and teahouses and decoration intended to welcome Qing emperors and officials, particularly the Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...
. The lake was dredged and enlarged to handle the imperial entourage, particularly during his second visit in 1757. Several major landmarks self-consciously emulate features of other locations. The area was heavily damaged during the Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...
in the 1850s and 1860s, but was a particular focus of rebuilding afterwards.
The lake was thoroughly dredged in 1979, allowing boats to again reach the Daming Temple[.] in time for a long-planned bit of cultural diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy is a type of soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpose of cultural diplomac ...
whereby the Tōshōdai-ji
is a Buddhist temple of the Risshū sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the '' kondō'', has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archetyp ...
in Nara, Japan, allowed its 8th century sculpture of the monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
and missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
Jianzhen to be temporarily exhibited at his original temple in mainland China
"Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
. The lake was designated a national park
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
in 1988.[
A long bank planted with weeping willows follows the lake. At its midpoint stands a square terrace with pavilions at each of the corners and one in the center. Around the lake is a park in which are found several attractions: Xu Garden, the White Dagoba of Lianxing Temple, copied from the similar tower in ]Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
's Beihai Park
Beihai Park is a public park and former imperial garden immediately northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China.
First built in the 12th century, Beihai is among the largest of all surviving Chinese gardens and contains numerous histo ...
; Five-Pavilion Bridge; Small Gold Mountain (Xiao Jinshan); and the Fishing Platform (Diaoyu Tai), a favorite retreat of the Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...
. The emperor was so gratified by his luck in fishing at this spot that he ordered additional stipends for the town. As it turns out, his success had been augmented by local swimmers who lurked in the lake busily attaching fish to his hook. The present Bridge of 24s (Ershisi Qiao or Niansi Qiao) is not located in its original place and probably derives from confusion with the 24 bridges recorded in Yangzhou under the Tang, the confusion arising from the general lack of distinction between singular and plural forms in Chinese.
Legacy
Wang Hang's poem remains a point of pride for the city and the area remains a major tourist attraction. However, Zhu Ziqing found the comparison with Hangzhou ill taken; by comparison, he found the slenderness of the lake offputting despite enjoying Yangzhou's many canals.[.]
See also
* List of Chinese gardens
This is a list of Chinese garden, Chinese-style gardens both within China and elsewhere in the world.
Greater China
This list is organized by region within the Greater China region, roughly following the structure laid out by Maggie Keswick in '' ...
* Geyuan, a nearby traditional estate
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{Authority control
National parks of China
Yangzhou
Lakes of Jiangsu
Tourist attractions in Jiangsu
AAAAA-rated tourist attractions