ruins of Ducheng

The ruins of Ducheng

The ruins of Ducheng are a cultural relic protection unit of Suzhou City.

The ruins of Ducheng are a cultural relic protection unit of Kunshan City. Located six kilometers west of Dianshan Lake Town, Qing dynasty scholar Chen Yuanmo wrote in his *Songnan Zhi* (“Records of Songnan”): “Ducheng Town, situated on the shores of Dianshan Lake in the south of the Song River, is recorded in the *Imperial Gazetteer* and local records alike as having been built by Huang Chao.” Originally called “Duocheng” (Bell Town), in the fifth year of the Qianfu era of the Tang Dynasty (878 AD), Huang Chao’s rebel army marched south along the Yangtze River and then eastward, arriving here where they built city walls and renamed “Duocheng” to “Ducheng” (Degree/Duty Town).

Surrounded by water on three sides, Ducheng is a unique water town, hence also known as “Solitary Town.” Chen Yuanmo further wrote in the preface to *Songnan Zhi*: “Xue Dian basin connects distantly to Shibu, shrouded in the misty hues of mulberry and hemp fields stretching for miles. Ducheng stretches far toward Lou Town, nestled amid the smoke of myriad households. It enjoys not only the beauty of lake and mountain but also the purity of its land and air.” This shows that in ancient times, Ducheng held considerable prestige in Kunshan.

To the west of Ducheng Village lies Ducheng Pool, which was historically called Ducheng Lake. The Ming dynasty’s Grand Master of the Imperial Stud, Gui Youguang, once remarked upon visiting Ducheng Lake: “To the northeast of Taihu Lake lie over ten overflow lakes, the largest of which to the east is Dianshan Lake. The lake bends northeastward into a stream, which then gathers again into Ducheng Lake. Such is the magnificence of these waters—just as the waters seem to end, they gather anew, and just as the scenery seems to reach its limit, it becomes even more sublime. This is how our Wu region has become a land of abundant water.” Truly, the beauty and richness of Ducheng Pool led the *Kunshan County Annals of the Kangxi Reign* to list it among the eight great lakes of Kunshan.

Ducheng holds a highly strategic position, suitable for both offense and concealment, and has always been a contested military stronghold. Legend has it that during the struggle between the Wu and Yue states, the Eastern Wu kingdom established a tripartite defensive system anchored by Ducheng, Jincheng, and Wacheng. Huang Chao, leader of the Tang dynasty peasant uprising, once built fortifications here. Han Shizhong, the Southern Song dynasty hero who resisted the Jin invasion, stationed troops in Ducheng to fight the Jin. Even in the early years after liberation, people were still collecting numerous earthenware wine jars in Ducheng, which the elderly recognized as “Han bottles.” During the war against Japan, when Japanese troops came to conduct sweeps, the people of Ducheng fled en masse, drifting on Dianshan Lake. The once-flourishing Ducheng instantly became ruins, and merchants fled across the lake, leading to the gradual decline of Ducheng.

Ducheng is also the birthplace of Wang Jian, a filial and friendly figure from the Ming dynasty in Kunshan. The Wang family of Ducheng traces its origins to the “Three Catalpa Hall” branch of the prestigious Wang family from Taiyuan, forming one lineage of the Wang families in Kunshan.