The Broken Bridge of Chuihong

The Broken Bridge of Chuihong

The Broken Bridge of Chuihong is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Chuihong Bridge was located outside the eastern gate of Songling and was once widely renowned as the "Longest Bridge in the South of the Yangtze." The most distinctive feature of the Chuihong Bridge to Wujiang was that it was the only iconic cultural landmark that spanned the entire thousand-year history of Wujiang. No other existing site or object in Wujiang has had as profound an influence on the area as the Chuihong Bridge. Its impact has been deeper, longer-lasting, and more extensive than any other, unmatched by anything else. It could be said that the Chuihong Bridge, with its myriad charms, provided crucial — if not the entirety of — the basis for ancient and modern literati in shaping the overall image of Wujiang. Its historical and literary significance far outweighed its practical function.

The Chuihong Bridge was built during the Northern Song Dynasty, and its construction was closely related to the geographical conditions of ancient Wujiang. Since ancient times, Wujiang has been a land of rivers and lakes. The county seat, Songling, was situated on the banks of the ancient Wusong River, with the vast Taihu Lake lying to the south of the town. The Wusong River received water from Taihu Lake in the southeast of Songling and flowed eastward into the sea. The Wusong River, anciently known as the Song River or Songling River, was one of the three major tributaries downstream of the ancient Taihu Lake. Before the Tang Dynasty, from Langdacuan (now Wanping) in the south to Guajing Port in the north, all were upper sources of the Wusong River. As recorded in old chronicles: "South of Wujiang, as far as the eye can see, lies the mouth of Taihu Lake and the beginning of the Wusong River." Before the Tang and Song Dynasties, the river here was broad, the water deep and fast-flowing, with strong winds and high waves.

Thirteen-nine years after the establishment of Wujiang County in the third year of the Kaiping era of the Later Liang Dynasty, and as the dynastic period transitioned from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the prosperous and unified Northern Song Dynasty, in the eighth year of the Qingli era of Emperor Renzong of Song (1048), which was three years after the failure of Fan Zhongyan’s “Qingli Reforms,” Li Wen, the magistrate of Wujiang, and Wang Tingjian, the county magistrate’s assistant, raised a million coins to build a long bridge with a composite structure of brick and wood. After the bridge was completed, boats were spared the dangers of wind and waves, and pedestrians traveling to and from work had a smooth path morning and evening. Hence, it was named "Liwang Bridge" (Bridge of Profitable Passage), commonly known as the "Long Bridge."

Because wooden bridges are prone to decay and were often damaged by war, the Long Bridge was repeatedly destroyed. Therefore, almost every year after its construction, the Chuihong Bridge required maintenance, and the number of bridge arches fluctuated. By the eighth year of the Dade era of the Yuan Dynasty (1304), there were as many as 99 arches. By the second year of the Taiding era (1325), Zhang Xianzu, the prefectural judge of Wujiang, replaced the wooden structure with stone, opening 72 arches. By the twelfth year of the Zhizheng era (1352), Na Hai, the supervisory official of Wujiang, renovated the Chuihong Bridge again and personally inscribed the two clerical script characters "Chuihong" (Rainbow Hanging), which were hung as a plaque in the pavilion. Since then, it has been called the Chuihong Bridge rather than the Liwang Bridge.

On October 7, 2019, the Broken Bridge of Chuihong was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units