Qi and Liang are the names of the two dynasties in the Southern Dynasty period in Chinese history, from 479 to 557 AD, which lasted 78 years, although the time span was not long, but it created a prosperous culture, and made extraordinary contributions in classics, religion, literature, history, philosophy, mathematics and other aspects, leaving a deep mark on the history of the development of the Chinese nation.
The founding emperors of these two dynasties, Xiao Daocheng and Xiao Yan, were the same clan of Xiao clan in Nanlanling, whose hometown was in the territory of present-day Danyang City, Jiangsu Province, and after the death of the emperors of the two dynasties, they were buried in accordance with the tradition of "trees are thousands of feet high, leaves fall back to the roots", and more than a dozen imperial tombs were distributed in clusters in the area around Dongcheng Village and Jingshan in Danyang City.
With the passage of time, although 1500 years have passed since the Xiao Dynasty of Qi liang, there are still a large number of cultural relics in Danyang, the hometown of the Xiao Emperor, which have been passed down to the present day in various forms such as mausoleums, stone carvings, temples, ancestral halls, rivers, hills, ponds, place names, food, legends, and folk art.
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal passes through Danyang, and there is a branch river that runs north from the Grand Canal to the bottom of Danyang's highest crystal mountain, and there are 11 emperor tombs built along the way. At the confluence of the Grand Canal and this branch river to the north, two stone beasts with rich ornamentation are intricately carved. To the east is Tianlu, to the west is the Qilin, with the majestic wind holding its head high and the mouth of the River.
The stone beast guarded the entrance of the river, and since then, the entrance of this branch of the river has been called Lingkou, and the Lingkou Market Town has also been born. The emperors of the two dynasties of Qi Liang took the surname of Xiao, and this branch of the river was called Xiao Liang River, also known as Xiao Gang. This pair of stone beasts is the largest pair of surviving Southern Dynasty stone carvings.
The establishment of Danyang began in the Warring States period, and was one of the 15 counties set up by the Jiangsu region in the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC, then called Qu'a, and later renamed Yunyang. In the first year of Tang Tianbao (742), because there were many alder trees growing in the territory, "red" and "Dan" were synonymous, and "Yang" and "Yang" were harmonious, so the name "Danyang", taking the meaning of "Danfeng Chaoyang".
In the history of Danyang, there was a collection of humanities, including Wei Zhao, a famous scholar of the Eastern Wu Rulin of the Three Kingdoms, Xiao Yan, Xiao Tong, Xiao Gang, and Xiao Zixian of the Southern Dynasty, Huang Furan, Zeng Kunzhong, Xu Hun, and Zhang Chao of the Tang Dynasty, Wu Shu, Cai Zhao, and Gao Shu of the Song Dynasty, and Jiang Shaoshu and Ji Mengxiong of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, who were respectively famous for their literature, historiography, calligraphy and painting.
There are many cultural relics in Danyang City. The Jizi inscription is said to be the only surviving handwriting of Confucius; the TangZhonghe bronze bell cast in 883 AD is known as the "First Bell of Jiangnan". Danyang is also the birthplace of the story of "Dong Yong and the Seven Fairies". Xinggong Jiuli Village is the ancestral place of the "Wu" surname; it is also one of the important birthplaces of Wu culture.
Danyangjing District has Gecheng, Ercheng and other ruins, and excavated a large number of cultural relics from them, including Liangzhu cultural relics - black pottery arc belly jar, late Neolithic relics - black pottery wide handle lid cup, Hushu cultural relics - mane, Majiabang cultural relics - waist along the kettle, Western Zhou bronze phoenix pattern zun and so on, so Danyang has the reputation of "Jiangnan cultural relics state".
Jiuli Scenic Area is located in Yanling Town, Danyang City, which is a ancestral temple complex with Wu culture as the background and Jizi Temple as the core. The scenic spot as a whole takes the pastoral water town as the keynote and the ancient Wu culture as the main line, and is a scenic tourism area integrating tourism, leisure and ancient Wu cultural experience.
Wanshan Pagoda is a wooden pillar pavilion-style brick tower, built in 1627, the tower is 46.65 meters high, which is a brick and wood mixed structure, which fully reflects the architectural style of the ancient pagoda of the Ming Dynasty. It was originally called "Wanshou Pagoda". In 1987, when the top of the pagoda was repaired, it was found that the Ming Chongzhen Ten Years (1637) cast text was engraved with the character "Wanshan Pagoda directly under Danyang County, Zhenjiang Province", which was later renamed Wanshan Pagoda.
Kaitai Bridge, a granite single-hole stone arch bridge, has only a stone in the middle of the 9.5-meter-wide steps for the previous wheelbarrow to promote. The Kaitai Bridge spans the east-west West Gate Canal. It is said that in ancient times, whenever there was a drought and lack of water, the bridge hole was filled with grass packaging soil, so that it flowed backwards into the two rivers of vanilla and Jiandu, which facilitated the irrigation of the people along the river, so it was also called "grass weir bridge".
Longqing Zen Temple is located in the Jiashan Tourist Scenic Area of Houxiang Town, Danyang City, and is similar to the Xiao Ancestral Hall, a descendant of the Qi Liang Emperor of the Southern Dynasty. Longqing Zen Temple, formerly known as "Jiashan Temple", was founded in the Northern Song Dynasty during the Shaosheng Period, from ancient times to the present in Danyang people, especially the majority of Buddhists have a profound influence, once with Zhenjiang Jinshan Jiang Tianchan Temple, is an important famous stop of Jiangnan Buddhism.
Danyang is located in the Yangtze River Delta, for the Jiangnan water town, rich in products, rich in glutinous rice, but also known as "palace rice", sealed tank wine in history has been famous. According to records, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei bid farewell to General Liu Zao before his southern expedition and entertained the people with "Qu'a Wine" when they met in victory. Qu'a is now Danyang, so Danyang sealing cylinder wine was called "Qu'a wine" in ancient times.
In Danyang, every household has the habit of drinking barley porridge, the boiling of barley porridge is quite exquisite, when boiling porridge, take a bowl of water, add two small spoons of barley flour to mix well, when the white porridge is boiled, while stirring with a spoon, while slowly injecting. Then use a knife to cut a little edible alkali and sprinkle it in the porridge to refine the aroma, and when the porridge is slightly yellowed, it can be eaten.
Yanling duck dumplings are danyang intangible cultural heritage, which is a must. Created in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, its production process is exquisite, to ensure that the color, fragrance and taste are complete, several processes must be meticulous. The taste is light and delicate, not fat and not greasy; the meat is soft and the aroma is attractive; nourishing and nourishing the stomach, and the mouth is fragrant.
References: "Danyang City Chronicle", etc. Like articles, please click, favorite or forward.