Huangbugang

Huangbugang

Huangbugang is a cultural relic protection unit of Wuxi City.

Huangbugang is located in the center of the ancient Furong Lake in Wuxi, Jiangsu, at the outlet of Huishan Bang. Formerly known as Little Jinshan, the small, round islet covers an area of 220 square meters, with stone revetments all around. It lies in the center of the ancient canal south of Wuxi’s Wuqiao Bridge and at the mouth of Huishan Bang, and is named after Lord Chunshen (Huang Xie) who once dredged Furong Lake here. The islet is circular, with an area of 220 square meters, surrounded by stone revetments and encircled by water on all sides. There is a temple on the island where incense smoke wafts faintly. To the north is Shuanghekou, and to the south is Jiangjianzhu.

Huangbugang is a small island left behind from the ancient Furong Lake. During their southern tours, both Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited the islet six times each. Emperor Kangxi compared it to an orchid in the water, while Emperor Qianlong likened it to the legendary “Penglai.” Over 2,400 years ago, King Fuchai of Wu held a grand banquet for his ministers on the islet when leading troops to attack Qi. Lord Chunshen of Chu is said to have carried out water conservancy projects in this area, from which Huangbugang may have gotten its name. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the national hero Wen Tianxiang passed by the islet twice and wrote the patriotic poem “Passing Wuxi” here. In the Ming Dynasty, the revered official Hai Rui, known as the “Hai Qingtian” (Heavenly Hai), wrote the plaque “The Finest Tower to Admire Mountains by Water” while on the islet, among other things.

The “Yuejueshu” records that “during the time of Lord Chunshen, the Wuxi Dyke was established and the Wuxi Lake was managed.” Some local gazetteers from the Ming Dynasty in Wuxi also refer to it as “Huangbugang.” Aisin-Gioro Hongli, during his sixth southern tour in the 49th year of the Qianlong reign (1784), mistakenly referred to it as “Huangpu Gang” in writing. Meanwhile, the “Yinglian Conghua” written by Liang Zhangju during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty records it as “Huangfu Gang.” As for Wuxi Lake, it is called “Shegui Lake” or “Furong Lake” in the “Huishan Temple Record” written by Lu Yu (733–804) of the Tang Dynasty. Today, place names such as Ronghuangzhuang and Lianrongqiao (with “lian” meaning lotus, also known as “water orchid”) still reflect its legacy. Due to land reclamation activities since the Ming Dynasty, the lake gradually shrank and became a section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Huangbugang, along with another small islet in the ancient canal called “Xishuidun,” is referred to as the “Heavenly Pass” and “Earthly Pivot” of the Wuxi section of the ancient canal. Huangbugang became widely known because it was visited by “two emperors (Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty), two chancellors (Lord Chunshen of Chu and the national hero Wen Tianxiang, chancellor of the Southern Song Dynasty), and one heavenly official (Hai Rui, the Ming Dynasty official hailed as ‘Hai Qingtian’).”

Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, Huangbugang has been a scenic spot along the Wuxi Canal. In the second year of the Deyou era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1276), the national hero Wen Tianxiang, then serving as Right Chancellor, was sent to negotiate with the Yuan army amid its eastward advance. He was detained and on his way north, stopped at Huangbugang, where he wrote the poem “Passing Wuxi”: Golden Hill rises gently through misty waves and rain, Wuxi waters stretch vast, plants greening in spring. Twenty years ago I walked this path, now three thousand miles away, a traveler once again. The hero’s heart shatters before death strikes—elders follow, noses wrinkling in sorrow. Reading at night how Cheng Ying saved his state, each time I sigh, each time I wipe my tears.

Hai Rui, the right censor-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty, visited Wuxi while serving as the imperial inspector of Yingtian. He inscribed the plaque “The Finest Tower to Admire Mountains by Water” for the Huan Cui Lou on Huangbugang. The “Xishan Jingwu Lüe” by Wang Yongji of the Ming Dynasty states: “On the islet are the Wenchang Pavilion, Huan Cui Lou, and Shuiyue Xuan, shaded by weeping willows, neither too close nor too far. Ascending the pavilion, the Nine Peaks stand in a ring, with sailboats drifting past the desk from time to time.”

Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong stopped here multiple times during their southern tours. Kangxi inscribed the plaque “Lanruo,” while Qianlong composed the verse: Two waters loop around embracing one isle, no carriages or horses pass, only boats do. Liang Zhangju’s “Yinglian Conghua” says: “Outside the north gate of Wuxi lies Huangfu Gang in Furong Lake, surrounded by water on all sides, with lofty towers looming faintly, much like the Mid-Lake Pavilion of West Lake. Windows, railings, and sills are all bathed in the verdant hues of Jiulong Mountain. The view from atop is the finest in the region. The tower is adorned with many plaques and couplets, but the most praised by locals is that by Sun Pingshu, the imperial guardian: ‘Lamplight and spring stars float over the northern wall; morning clouds and rosy dawn embrace the western deity.’ Elegant and refined, the locals speak highly of it. The Western Deity refers to Jiulong Mountain.”

Beijing’s Summer Palace, originally known as the “Qingyi Garden,” was commissioned by Emperor Qianlong and centered around Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. When constructing Qingyi Garden, Emperor Qianlong extensively replicated famous gardens of the Jiangnan region. For example, during his first southern tour in the spring of 1751, he had accompanying painters sketch the Jichang Garden, which was later replicated north of Longevity Hill in Beijing and named “Huishan Garden,” today known as the “Xiyou Garden” rebuilt in 1892 during the Guangxu reign. However, Qianlong also replicated Huangbugang in the waters south of Kunming Lake—an endeavor not mentioned in any extant Wuxi records. According to Volume 18 of “Yangji Zhai Conglu” by Wu Zhenmu or of Qiantang, Zhejiang, a scholar of the Jiaqing era, top imperial examination graduate, governor-general of Yunnan and Guizhou, and compiler of the Hanlin Academy: “Phoenix Gang in the lake was modeled after Jiangnan’s Huangbugang. It has a tower with a golden phoenix installed, its wings spread and rotating with the wind to indicate wind direction.” Why did Emperor Qianlong build the Phoenix Tower? Experts suggest it was to create a north-south correspondence with the “Dragon King Temple” on the South Lake Island of the garden, symbolizing dragons and phoenixes together. As for the tower with a golden phoenix akin to today’s “wind vane,” research indicates it was called “Huibo Tower.” The name alone reveals the charm of this waterside pavilion, echoing the “Huan Cui Lou” on Huangbugang, inscribed by Hai Rui as “The Finest Tower to Admire Mountains by Water,” overlooking Jiulong Mountain (Huishan).