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 Huangshan City is rich in historical origins.
According to records, it was under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou Prefecture in the remote
antiquity. In the early years of the Qin Dynasty (221---207BC), two counties
(Shexian and Yixian) were established, which were divided by Sun Quan (king of Wu) in the Three
Kingdoms period (220---265) into six counties forming a new prefecture. In the first year
of Taikang's reign (280) in the Jin Dynasty, the prefecture was renamed
Xin'an. It was not
until the third year of Xuanhe's reign (1121) in the Northern Song Dynasty that the
capital of Huizhou Prefecture, as it was called in its day, was set up, under which lay
most of the prefectures and counties belonging to the present-day Huangshan City. It is
more than 2,300 long years since the earliest records. As a matter of fact, there were
human activities at the foot of Mt. Huangshan as early as the New Stone Age. The earlier
inhabitants, known as mountaineers , lived in compact communities mainly along the
upper reaches of the Xin'an River (in the present--day Xiuning). Later they moved
downstream further east and opened up farmland there. In 1959, two graves of the Western
Zhou Dynasty were excavated in the western suburbs of Tunxi. And among the unearthed
relics were stoneware, copper birds and jade ornaments, as well as a great amount of
glazed pottery and bronze ware. This indicates that over 2,700 years ago the ancestors of
the Huizhou people had opened up the area in the upper reaches of the XinĄŻan River.
Within the boundaries of Huangshan Municipality, peaks rise beyond peaks and
rivers run across rivers, with Mt. Huangshan standing dominantly in the middle. The damp
climate accounts for the verdant mountain ranges and rich natural resources. The scenic
zone is 500 li in circumference, where thousands of peaks is shrouded by mists and clouds
all the year round. The majestic and enchanting scenery is marked by quaint pines,
grotesque rocks, the sea of clouds and hot springs, well known as the four wonders .
Mt. Huangshan has been listed by UNESCO in the Inventory of the World's Cultural and
Natural Heritage and is now a world--famous summer resort and tourist destination.
The Qiyun Mountain in Xiuning County has been a Taoist sacred place south of the Yangtze
River since the Tang Dynasty. The mountain is not high, but it is attractive with its
peculiar antique appeal-the endless fantastic peaks, the  colorful cliffs, the layers of
sandstone shaped like a multi-storeyd house, and the caves, gullies, springs and
waterfalls scattered here and there. The story runs that Emperor
Jiajing of the Ming
Dynasty once sent his men to the Qiyun Mountain to pray for a son, and as his wish was
fulfilled later, he approved the construction of the "Heavenly Master' s
Palace", which soon began to attract more and more pilgrims. On the mountain, about a
hundred temples, palaces, pavilions and altars were built, and nearly a thousand inscribed
tablets and steles were set up. The Qiyun Mountain thus gained a fame equal to that of Mt.
Longhu in Jiansxi, Mt. Wudang in Hubei and Mt. Heming in Sichuan. Now they are known as
China's four time-honored Taoist sacred mountains. The Qingliang Mountain, a provincial
nature reserve, and the GuniuJiang Mountain, a state nature reserve, stand facing each
other, one on the east, the other on west, like two huge green screens of natural
defense.
As a result of varied topography, the area beyond is rarely trespassed by the human feet.
The warm and rainy climate and the abundant vegetation, on the other hand, have provided a
cozy home for the little-known rare animals and plants there.
Unfolding a map of Huangshan City, you will be surprised to find that
the towering, undulating Qingliang, Qiyun, Guniujians and Huangshan Mountains are like
four lofty warriors guarding the city on all four sides--east, south, west and north
respectively, with the Xin'an River and Lake Taiping dancing like jade ribbons, one up and
the other down in tacit harmony, while the crisscross system of the
Qingyi, Changjiang and
Shuiyang Rivers are like glistening necklaces strewn over the land. It is these loving
mountains and rivers that have nurtured generation upon generation of Huizhou people. The
rivers also facilitated the interflow between Huizhou and other places, thereby playing an
important part in its growth and civilization, while the mountains have served as great
shields warding off the outside blows, thereby ensuring the unimpeded development of the
Huizhou culture.
The bounty of Nature and the diligence of the people inevitably resulted in
the emergence of successive talented scholars and the unique system of Huizhou culture,
which adds greatly to the splendid treasure-house of Chinese national history.
With a marked local color, Huizhou culture carries a regional
significance. However, as a highly focused representative of the national culture, it has
been radiating in the endless flow of history. Some scholars regard it as the symbol of
the Chinese national culture, and some others believe that the research of the Chinese
culture cannot solve the Oriental mystery without starting with an analysis of
Huizhou culture. In short, in terms of the social economic base and ideology it reflects,
the folkways and customs it has boiled down and kept, the feudal ethics it upheld
vehemently, and the new academic ideas it failed to resist, Huizhou culture is almost
all-encompassing- Xin'an painting, Xin'an medicine, Xin'an engraving, Huizhou
architecture, Huizhou carving, Huizhou epigraphy, Huizhou potted landscape, Huizhou opera,
Huizhou cuisine, Huizhou handicraft, etc. Since ancient times, literary learning has been
a prevailing practice in Huizhou. A common purpose for friends to meet was to discuss each
other's writings. There was a saying that Even a small village of ten households
hears continuous reading voices day and night . At a flourishing age Huizhou scholars were
found in practically every domain. Such a popular esteem for knowledge has been passed
down to the present day. In many houses in Yixian County, one will see scrolls of ancient
mottoes hung up such as For hundreds of years the family has done nothing
uncharitable, yet the first of all virtues is none other than persistence in academic
studies . And the local people write their own Spring Festival couplets, which are usually
done by calligraphers in other parts of China. It is then small wonder that so many famous
scholars have emerged from Huizhou through the ages. Over forty Huizhou names are listed
in the new edition of Lexicographical Work. Among the most famous of all the Huizhou
celebrities are Fang Hui, Wang Daokun, Pan Zhiheng, Zhang Chao, Cheng Menzheng (literary
men); Jian Jiang (artist, originator of Xin'an painting, established as one of the four
best Xin' an artists, besides Cha Shibiao, Sun Yi, and Wans Zhirui); Wang Ji (forerunner
of Xin'an medicine); Wang Ang (compiler of Reference to Materia
Medica); Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, Zhu Xi (originators of the Cheng---Zhu Li school); Zhu Sheng (who advised Zhu
Yuanzhang to build forts and store grain before taking the throne) Cheng Dawei
(mathematician); Wang Maoyin (financier); Dai Zhen (philosopher); Wang
Shishen, Luo Pin,
Huang Binhong (artists); Tao Xingzhi (educationist); Cheng Yaotian (researcher of
Confucian classics); Ling Tingkan (researcher of musical temperament); Zheng Fuguang
(physicist); Cheng Sui, Huang Shiling (seal-engravers); Hu Shi (famous erudite scholar);
Hu Zhengyan (inventor of multicolor registering printing); Li Tingsui (originator of
Huizhou ink sticks); Wu Luheng (well--known craftsman); etc. They are the pride of
Huizhou, and will glitter in the endless flow of history like brilliant pearls.
The success of Huizhou merchants had no doubt played a decisive part in the
emergence and growth of Huizhou culture. Huizhou merchants generally refer to businessmen
from the six counties under Huizhou Prefecture----Shexian, Xiuning,
Qimen, Yixian, Jixi
and Wuyuan. Most researchers believe that Huizhou merchants as a whole came into being in
the South.
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