Mountains, Valleys and Lakes Nurture Great Talents (Part 1)
Section 1: Political Elites, Teachers for All Ages. A World Cultural Celebrity — Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan (c. 339 – c. 278 BC) was a renowned poet and great statesman of the Warring States period in Chu, founder and representative author of "Chu Ci." He created the Chu Ci literary form and pioneered the "fragrant grass and beauty" tradition. In his early years he was favored by King Huai of Chu...
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Section One
Political Elites, Models for a Hundred Generations
A World Cultural Celebrity—Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan (c. 339 BCE-c. 278 BCE), a famous poet and great statesman of the State of Chu during the Warring States period, and the founder and representative author of "Chu ci." He created the literary form "Chu ci" and also initiated the tradition of "fragrant herbs and beautiful women." In his early years Qu Yuan was trusted by King Huai of Chu and served as zuotu and santang dafu, often discussing state affairs with King Huai, participating in the formulation of laws, advocating clear laws and institutions, promoting the worthy and employing the capable, reforming politics, and allying with Qi against Qin. At the same time he presided over foreign affairs. He advocated that Chu ally with Qi to jointly resist Qin. In 305 BCE, because Qu Yuan opposed King Huai of Chu's conclusion of the Huangji Alliance with Qin, and Chu nevertheless threw itself completely into Qin's embrace, Qu Yuan was expelled from Yingdu by King Huai of Chu and wandered to northern Han. During his exile, Qu Yuan felt depressed and began literary creation, his works brimming with attachment to the land and customs of Chu and enthusiasm for serving the people and the country. His works are gorgeous in language, fantastical in imagination, novel in metaphor, and profound in meaning, becoming one of the origins of Chinese literature. In 278 BCE, the Qin general Bai Qi led his troops south and captured Yingdu, and Qu Yuan, in despair and grief and indignation, clasped a large stone and drowned himself in the Miluo River. 1953 was the 2230th anniversary of Qu Yuan's death, and the World Peace Council adopted a resolution designating Qu Yuan as one of the four world cultural celebrities commemorated that year.
A Famous Statesman and Man of Letters of the Western Han—Jia Yi
Jia Yi (200 BCE-168 BCE), also known as Grand Tutor Jia, Jia of Changsha, and Master Jia. A native of Luoyang (east of present-day Luoyang, Henan), of Han ethnicity. A famous statesman and man of letters of the early Western Han. Jia Yi was already known for his talent at 18. In the early period of Emperor Wen's reign, under the strong recommendation of Wu Gong, governor of Henan Commandery, he was summoned by Emperor Wen as a boshi at over 20 years of age, the youngest among all the boshi. Because he stood out every time edicts were discussed, in less than a year he was exceptionally promoted to taizhong dafu. At 23, because he incurred the resentment of the assembled ministers, he was demoted to grand tutor of the King of Changsha. Later he was recalled to Chang'an as grand tutor to the King of Liang. He submitted several memorials to Emperor Wen setting forth strategies for governing the state, and these memorials were later called the "Measures for Peace and Order." In 169 BCE, after the King of Liang died from a fall from his horse, Jia Yi felt deeply remorseful and died of sorrow at the age of 33. Jia Yi has almost become a legendary figure in Chinese history; his essays and poems are praised by people, and his works mainly fall into two categories: prose and ci fu. His prose, such as "On the Faults of Qin," "Memorial on the Storage of Grain," and "Memorial on Current Affairs" (also called "Measures for Peace and Order"), are all very famous; among his ci fu, "Fu Lamenting Qu Yuan" and "Fu on the Roc" are the most notable.
Hunan's First Prime Minister in Ancient Times—Jiang Wan
Jiang Wan (168-246), courtesy name Gongyan, a native of Xiangxiang County (present-day Jingzi Town, Shuangfeng County) during the Three Kingdoms period. As a youth he was known for his talent throughout the commandery and county. He followed Liu Bei into Shu and served as magistrate of Shifang. When Liu Bei proclaimed himself King of Hanzhong, he summoned him as shangshu lang. During the reign of the Later Ruler, Zhuge Liang appointed him as dongcao yuan, recommended him as maocai, promoted him to canjun, then to zhangshi, and added the title of fujun jiangjun. After Zhuge Liang's death, he was advanced to shangshu ling, promoted to da jiangjun, and placed in charge of shangshu affairs. Later he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Anyang Pavilion and succeeded Zhuge Liang as prime minister, becoming the first prime minister in ancient Hunan. In governing he followed Zhuge Liang's legacy, being perceptive and decisive, governing the state according to law, disliking flattery and not listening to slander. Therefore the assembled ministers were pleased and convinced, and willing to serve with their lives. Later generations called him "a scholar who became a great general, achieving merit even without battle."
The First Person to Open His Eyes to the World—Wei Yuan
Wei Yuan (1794-1857), a famous scholar and modern Chinese enlightenment thinker, a native of Shaoyang, Hunan. In 1841, entrusted by Lin Zexu, he expanded the Western historical and geographical materials translated under Lin Zexu's direction, the Sizhou Zhi, together with historical records of successive dynasties, into the Haiguo Tuzhi, which introduced the geography, history, and scientific and technological development of countries around the world, and could be called an encyclopedia of world knowledge at that time. He advocated "learning the advanced techniques of the barbarians in order to control them." His high praise of Western democratic systems and the hope he raised that "the people of the Eastern Sea should be like the people of the Western Sea" were even more precious. Wei Yuan deserved to be called "the first person to make the Chinese open their eyes to the world," and deserved to be called a pioneer occupying a founding position in modern Chinese history.
The Mother of the Xiang Army—Luo Zena
Luo Zenan (1808-1856), a native of Shiniu Township, today's Shuangfeng County. He was an educator, Neo-Confucian philosopher, man of letters, and military strategist of the late Qing Dynasty. In 1852 he organized a local militia in his home village to resist the Taiping army. In July 1854 he was promoted to prefect, and later was granted the posts of Daotai of Ningbo-Shaoxing-Taizhou in Zhejiang and the rank of Provincial Judge. In 1855, returning from Jiangxi to relieve Wuhan, he was struck in the left forehead by a cannonball and soon died in camp. He was one of the earliest and most important founders of the Xiang Army, and some even praised him as the 'Mother of the Xiang Army.' Zeng Guofan, in Luo Shan's epitaph, said: 'The rise of the Xiang Army, whose might shook the land, was founded by Lord Luo Zhongjie Zenan.' Zeng Guofan's disciple Li Yuandu of Pingjiang, in the Brief Account of Lord Zhongjie, wrote: 'The Chu braves began with Jiang Zhonglie; the Xiang braves began with Lord Luo Zhongjie.' The famous scholar Qian Jibo (father of Qian Zhongshu), in his Hunan Academic Style over the Past Century, said: 'At the time it was said: "Without Xiangxiang, no army can be formed." This saying was on everyone's lips, yet people did not know that without Zenan, there would be no Xiang Army.'
Initiator of the Self-Strengthening Movement — Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan (1811-1872), courtesy name Bohan, art name Disheng, originally named Zicheng, generational name Chuanyu, a native of Xiangxiang County (today's Heye Township, Shuangfeng) in Qing Dynasty Hunan. He was a military strategist, Neo-Confucian philosopher, and statesman of Qing Dynasty China, one of the 'Restoration Ministers,' and also a man of letters, founder of the Xiangxiang School of late Qing prose, and the initiator and practitioner of the Self-Strengthening Movement. He took the lead in establishing China's first modern military factory — the Anqing Internal Ordnance Institute — and built China's first steamship, the 'Huanghu.' Together with Li Hongzhang he founded the Jiangnan Machinery Manufacturing Bureau and set up China's first large modern factory using machine production; it produced old China's first warship and first machine tool, refined old China's first pound of modern gunpowder and first furnace of molten steel, and trained a large number of old China's modern skilled workers and a portion of its engineers and technicians. It was the mother factory of China's modern industrial and mining enterprises and laid the foundation of China's modern industry.
Famous Xiang Army General — Hu Linyi
Hu Linyi (1812-1861), courtesy name Kuangsheng, art name Runzhi, one of the Restoration Ministers of the late Qing, an important leader of the Xiang Army, a native of Quanjiaohe, Yiyang County, Hunan. In 1836 (the 16th year of the Daoguang reign) he passed the imperial examination as a jinshi and was appointed to the Hanlin Academy as compiler. In 1840 he successively served as a co-examiner for the metropolitan examination and deputy examiner for the Jiangnan provincial examination. In 1846 he was assigned as a prefect to Guizhou. He served successively as prefect of Anshun, Zhenyuan, and Liping and as Daotai of Guidong. In office he strengthened the militia and the baojia system, suppressed the Miao uprisings in Huangping, Taigong, Qingjiang, Tiantou and other places and the uprising of Li Yuanfa in Hunan, and afterward summarized his war experience into the Hu Family Art of War. Chiang Kai-shek particularly admired Hu Linyi's military talent and compiled the military and troop-commanding methods of Zeng Guofan and Hu Linyi into the Zeng-Hu Art of War, which became required reading for Whampoa Military Academy students, and he signed and inscribed copies for students.
Pioneer of the Self-Strengthening Movement — Zuo Zongtang
Zuo Zongtang (1812-1885), a native of Xiangyin, Hunan, was a Qing Dynasty minister and a famous Xiang Army general. His life spanned such important historical events as the Xiang Army's suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Self-Strengthening Movement, the suppression of the Shaanxi-Gansu Hui revolt, and the recovery of Xinjiang. In 1866 he submitted a memorial requesting the establishment of a bureau to supervise the construction of steamships, which was approved for trial; he then chose a site at Mawei in Fuzhou to build a shipyard, sent personnel abroad to purchase machinery and shipways, and founded the Qiushi Tang Arts Bureau (also called the Naval Administration School) to train shipbuilding technicians and naval personnel. Soon afterward he was transferred to serve as Governor-General of Shaanxi-Gansu and recommended the former Jiangxi governor Shen Baozhen to serve as Minister Superintendent of Naval Administration. A year later the Fuzhou Naval Dockyard (also called the Mawei Naval Dockyard) formally began operation, becoming China's first modern shipyard. During his tenure in Shaanxi-Gansu he continued to engage in self-strengthening enterprises, founding the Lanzhou Manufacturing Bureau (also called the Gansu Manufacturing Bureau) and the Gansu Woolen Weaving General Bureau (also called the Lanzhou Machine Woolen Weaving Bureau), the latter being China's first machine textile factory.
An Upright Official of Feudal Society — Tao Shu
Tao Shu (1779-1839), courtesy name Zilin, was born into a poor scholar's family in Xiaoyan, Anhua County. The character for rain in Tao Shu's name reflected his parents' hope that when he grew up he would bring benefit to the people and moisten all living things. Under the influence of family and society, Tao Shu was diligent and studious from childhood, honest and conscientious. In the 7th year of the Jiaqing reign (1802) he passed the imperial examination as a jinshi; after serving as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy he was promoted to censor. Because he was an honest official and handled matters astutely, he was successively transferred to serve as provincial administration commissioner and governor in Shanxi, Sichuan, Fujian, Anhui and other provinces, and later rose to Governor-General of Liangjiang with the title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In June 1839 he died of illness in Nanjing at the age of 62. Tao Shu served as an official for more than 20 years and had a heart that loved his country and people. He went deep among the people and made secret inspections in plain clothes, and made considerable contributions in eliminating evil and pacifying the people, fighting and relieving disasters, building water conservancy works, rectifying finances, managing grain transport, promoting sea transport, reforming the salt administration, improving public order, establishing education, and cultivating talent. As an official he was relatively upright and honest, lived relatively frugally, dared to uphold justice, and supported the good while suppressing the evil, so he can truly be called an upright official of feudal society. He also wrote prose and poetry with no small accomplishment, was skilled in both calligraphy and painting, and left many fine works for later generations.
Proposer of the 'Three Memorials of Jiangchu' — Liu Kunyi
Liu Kunyi (1824-1902), an important minister of the late Qing. A native of Xinning, Hunan, he was a stipend student. In 1855 he organized a militia in his home village and soon joined the Xiang Army. After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising, he entered Jiang Zhongyuan's staff as secretary of the Chu Army and took part in the battle to defend Changsha. From 1862 he served successively as Guangxi provincial administration commissioner, Jiangxi governor, and Governor-General of Liangjiang concurrently in charge of the Southern Maritime Trade Minister. In the Sino-Russian negotiations over Ili he did not yield to Russian intimidation. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 he supported fighting against Japan. When the Society for the Study of National Strengthening was founded in 1895, he wrote to the governors and governor-generals of the provinces expressing support and donated five thousand taels of silver to have his name enrolled as a member. When the reform movement arose, he attacked Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao's reforms, but he also opposed deposing the Guangxu Emperor. In 1901 he and Zhang Zhidong jointly submitted three memorials requesting reform, proposing to establish schools and cultivate talent, rectify court administration, and adopt Western methods as appropriate; these were called the 'Three Memorials of Jiangchu' and were mostly adopted by the Qing court. His Collected Works of Liu Kunyi has been handed down.
First Xinjiang Provincial Administration Commissioner — Wei Guangtao
Wei Guangtao (1837-1915), a native of Longhui, Hunan. He was an important historical figure in late Qing politics, military affairs, and diplomacy. Along with Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong, Liu Kunyi and others, he was one of the important ministers of the Qing government in the 1880s and 1890s. In 1884 he served as the first provincial administration commissioner after China's Xinjiang region was established as a province, and later as the second acting chief executive (governor). During his tenure as acting Governor-General of Liangjiang, following Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong, he carried out the planning and establishment of the Sanjiang Normal College and was an important figure in the beginnings of modern Nanjing University. He was an inheritor of Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army and an important assistant to Zuo Zongtang. On March 5, 1915, he died at the Hushan Villa on the eastern outskirts of Baoqing city.
Creator of the First National Anthem in Chinese History — Zeng Jize
Zeng Jize (1839-1890), a Chinese diplomat of the late Qing. A native of Xiangxiang, Hunan, he was the eldest son of Zeng Guofan. Talented from youth, in 1870 he was appointed as an extra secretary of the Ministry of Revenue by hereditary privilege, and in 1877 he inherited the title of Marquis of the First Class Yongyi. In 1878 he was appointed minister to Britain and France, was made an extra vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and was transferred to the Court of Judicial Review. In 1884 he was promoted to vice minister of the Ministry of War and went to Britain to negotiate the tax and likin on foreign medicine, increasing the state's annual revenue by more than six million taels. Later he was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue and concurrently served as acting vice minister of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Personnel, and other ministries. During his tenure as minister to Britain, France, and Russia, he ordered the construction of the warships 'Zhiyuan' and 'Jingyuan.' During this period he also personally composed China's first national anthem in history, 'Universal Joy.' He died of illness in 1890, was granted the title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and was posthumously given the name Huimin.
Patriotic Poet-Monk — Shi Jing'an
Shi Jing'an (1851-1912), whose secular name was Huang Dushan, courtesy name Jichan, art name Bazhi Toutuo (Eight-Finger Ascetic), was a native of Yinhu Tang, Yanping Township, Xiangtan County, Hunan. He served as abbot for 17 years at the Great Luohan Temple in Hengyang, the Wanfu Chan Grove in Xiangyin, and the Shanglin Temple in Changsha, joined the Bihu Poetry Society, and entered the poetry world. Master Jing'an read widely in famous poetry and was diligent in study and fond of asking questions, often forgetting food and sleep while polishing his verses. In 1898 the Collected Poems of Bazhi Toutuo was printed and published in Zhejiang and Hunan, and from then on his fame spread throughout the land, making him a famous Chan Buddhist poet-monk of the late Qing. In the 34th year of the Guangxu reign he organized the Monks' Education Association in Ningbo and served as its president. On April 11, 1912, Buddhist representatives from various places established the Chinese Buddhist General Association in Shanghai, and he served as its first president and once called on Sun Yat-sen. His works include the one-volume Chewing Plum Verses.'Supplement to Reciting Plum Blossoms', 'Poetry Collection') and collected works2volume, quotations4volume.
First of the Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform — Tan Sitong
Tan Sitong (1865-1898), courtesy name Fusheng, art name Zhuangfei, a native of Liuyang, Hunan, had the elegant title of 'Sword Spirit and Lute Heart.' He was the son of the late Qing governor Tan Jixun, good at writing, fond of chivalry, and skilled in swordsmanship. He was a famous reformist figure. In 1898 he took part in the Hundred Days' Reform; after the reform failed, he died heroically on September 28, 1898, at the execution ground outside Xuanwu Gate in Beijing. The other reformists executed at the same time were Lin Xu, Yang Shenxiu, Liu Guangdi, Yang Rui, and Kang Guangren. The six were together called the 'Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform.' His representative work is On Benevolence, and later generations compiled his writings into The Complete Works of Tan Sitong. While awaiting execution, it is said, he wrote a poem: 'Gazing at the gate, I think of Zhang Jian who fled; remonstrating directly and submitting memorials, I await Du Gen. I laugh at heaven with my sword held across; whether I stay or go, my loyal heart shines like two Kunlun peaks.'