Hunan's Best — Masterpieces and Art Treasures (Part 1)
Historical Archives, Literary Works: China's first lyric long poem—Li Sao. Li Sao is one of Qu Yuan's masterpieces, spanning 375 lines and nearly 2,500 characters. It is the earliest and longest lyric poem in classical Chinese literature, reflecting Qu Yuan's unremitting struggle and steadfast devotion to his ideals.
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 Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.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
Historical Records and Archives, Literary Monographs
China's First Lyric Long Poem — Li Sao
Li Sao is one of Qu Yuan's representative works. This poem runs to 375 lines and nearly 2,500 characters, making it the earliest and longest lyric poem in classical Chinese literature—deservedly called China's first long lyric poem. Li Sao reflects Qu Yuan's unremitting struggles throughout his life and his steadfast action of sacrificing himself for his ideals; it expresses his fighting spirit of devoting himself to his homeland for a lofty ideal, his profound patriotic feeling of sharing weal and woe with his homeland and living and dying together with it, and the poet's brilliant and pure personality—his love of progress and hatred of darkness. Li Sao is the longest lyric poem in our country's classical literature, and also a romantic masterpiece that shines through the ages; it is truly a great poem in the history of Chinese literature. The term "Li Sao" was explained by Sima Qian as "encountering sorrow," by Wang Yi as "the sorrow of parting," by Ban Gu as "meeting with grief," and more recently by some as "grumbling." If we analyze the time, content, and intended purpose of Qu Yuan's writing of this poem, he wrote it when he had suffered the slanderous attacks of petty men and had been treated coldly and kept at a distance by King Huai of Chu (around 313 BC). It was meant to be heard by King Huai of Chu, meaning "I have gone through turmoil of mind, and since I am not given important office, I shall go back to my old trade." From this angle, Qu Yuan's choice of "Li Sao" as the title means "stating his own restless and uneasy state of mind." Looking at the whole of Li Sao, not only is the language fluent, but it also fully displays Qu Yuan's wisdom and strategy. In fact, in composing Li Sao, Qu Yuan was not simply venting complaints, still less making a fuss about nothing; he had a clear purpose—through this long poem to declare his loyal heart of concern for his country, his ruler, and his people, and to influence and move King Huai of Chu, so that he might continue to realize his ideal of good governance.
China's first systematic work on world history and geography—Haiguo Tuzhi (Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms)
Wei Yuan (1799–1873) was a native of Jintan, Shaoyang, Hunan. The book Haiguo Tuzhi, compiled in 1842, is the first relatively detailed and relatively systematic work on world history and geography in modern Chinese historiography. The book cites nearly a hundred Chinese and foreign, ancient and modern sources, systematically introducing the geography, history, political conditions, and many advanced science and technologies of Western countries. Its records of the climate, products, transportation and trade, customs and folkways, culture and education, foreign relations, religion, calendars, science and technology of various countries all surpassed earlier works. Therefore some have praised Haiguo Tuzhi as the "pioneering work" for Chinese people's discussion of world history and geography.
Hunan's first provincial-level place-name gazetteer—Hunan Place-Name Gazetteer
Compiled through the joint collection and editing of several hundred place-name workers and gazetteer editors from Hunan Province, the Hunan Place-Name Gazetteer is the first provincial-level place-name gazetteer in Hunan since the founding of New China and an important local historical and cultural document. The complete gazetteer consists of two volumes, about 15 million characters and more than 500 photographs. Its contents include administrative divisions and settlements, natural geographical entities and man-made structures, revolutionary memorial sites, scenic spots and historic sites, scenic tourist areas, administrative organs, enterprises and institutions, and place-name stories and origins, relatively faithfully recording the history and present reality of our province's place names. The book provides accurate, comprehensive, complete, and systematic place-name information on Hunan for all sectors of society, and is an encyclopedia of Hunan that integrates historical preservation, governance reference, and education.
Hunan's first family archive—The Wang Zhenting Family Archive
During the May Day holiday in 2007, Wang Zhenting, a man in his sixties from Maoyi Town, Lengshuijiang City, Hunan Province, released the more than 200,000-character, 246-page Wang Zhenting Family Archive (one of the first volumes). This family archive, which he edited, became Hunan's first family archive. The Wang Zhenting Family Archive is divided into three parts: "Genealogical Chart of the Wang Zhenting Family Lineage," "Chronicle of Family Events," and "Detailed List of Family Relatives and Friends." The archive links together a roster of 94 generations of the family lineage, spanning more than 2,550 years. The village gazetteer he edited and the family archive he wrote and published were called "Hunan Province's first village gazetteer" by Huang Meichun, director of the Hunan Provincial Archives Bureau.
Hunan's first religious gazetteer—Yuanling County Religious Gazetteer
The Yuanling County Religious Gazetteer totals 220,000 characters. In format it adopts a chapter-and-section structure, divided by religion, with each religion forming an independent chapter, plus two additional sections on religious affairs management and religious humanities, making seven sections in all. The genres are used according to the principle of convenience for recording and narration, comprehensively employing records, gazetteer entries, biographies, illustrations, tables, lists, and photographs. It comprehensively records the spread, development, and transmission of the five major religions—Buddhism, Daoism, Catholicism, Christianity, and Islam—within Yuanling County; objectively documents religious affairs management, the implementation of the policy of freedom of religious belief, and the adaptation of religion to socialist society; and faithfully reflects the achievements made in Yuanling County's religious work under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It is Hunan Province's first county-level religious gazetteer.
An important work in the history of Hunan calligraphy—Zhou Yongjin's Compendium of Running and Cursive Script
Zhou Yongjin's Compendium of Running and Cursive Script was written entirely by Zhou Yongjin, a Hunan-born calligrapher and deputy editor-in-chief of the China Calligraphy Yearbook of the Chinese Calligraphers Association. This calligraphy dictionary was the first to collect five running and cursive script forms for 4,000 commonly used Chinese characters from different calligraphy dictionaries, including both traditional and simplified forms; the first to arrange entries alphabetically by pinyin in its editorial format, making consultation convenient; and the first to provide Chinese-English bilingual comparison. The book has attracted much attention and favor from the calligraphy world and general readers. Since its publication in 2008, it has already been printed four times, pioneering the inheritance and popularization of Chinese calligraphy art and truly constituting a new innovation in contemporary Chinese calligraphy.
China's first professional calligraphy yearbook—China Calligraphy Yearbook
The China Calligraphy Yearbook (2006) was initiated and organized by Hunan-born calligrapher Zhou Yongjin, and is the first professional calligraphy yearbook compiled by the Chinese Calligraphers Association. Shen Peng, honorary chairman of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, served as honorary director of the editorial committee and inscribed the book's title; Zhang Hai, chairman of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, served as director of the editorial committee and wrote the preface. The China Calligraphy Yearbook (2006) has a broad vision and is a comprehensive collection of information in the calligraphy field in 2006. It includes important speeches by leaders at various levels and important documents from the Fifth National Congress of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, as well as academic achievements representing the contemporary level of calligraphy theory; it records, through text, photo silhouettes, and selected works, the main work content and major activities of the Chinese Calligraphers Association in 2006, as well as chronicles of the work and activities of provincial calligraphers associations; it introduces professional exhibitions such as the Second China Calligraphy Lanting Award and displays works by more than seventy contemporary calligraphy masters; and it includes the addresses of provincial and municipal calligraphers associations, as well as practical information on professional calligraphy schools and training institutions, national calligraphy media organizations, and businesses dealing in the four treasures of the study and calligraphy works. It can be said to distill every aspect of today's calligraphy world and calligraphy cause. Subsequently, the 2007, 2008, and 2009 editions were published in succession.
Hunan's first monograph on dark tea—Anhua Dark Tea
Anhua Dark Tea, written by Wu Xiang'an, chairman of the Anhua County Tea Association, and published and distributed by Hunan Science and Technology Press, runs to more than 400,000 characters. The book offers rational argumentation on the origins of Anhua dark tea, its producing areas, the rise of tea firms, the origin of the Tea Horse Ancient Road, the source of the Ten-Thousand-Li Tea Road, and the integration of Jin-Shaan culture brought by tea merchants from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and other places with Meishan culture. It provides a detailed record of the traditional tea-making techniques, tea culture, and tea history of "Anhua dark tea," and systematically summarizes and encapsulates the development history of Anhua dark tea. It is currently the first monograph in Hunan's tea circles to write about a county's tea. The official publication and distribution of this book not only leaves a valuable asset for the tea industry of Anhua County and even Hunan Province, but also has profound practical and historical significance for promoting the development of Anhua's tea industry, building the Chinese "Anhua Dark Tea" brand, and jointly creating a better tomorrow for "Anhua Dark Tea."
China's first monograph on Nüshu—Nüshu Customs
China's first monograph on Nüshu, Nüshu Customs, published by Hunan People's Publishing House, opens a window for readers who love Nüshu to understand Nüshu customs. The book describes in detail Nüshu and ancient Yue cultural customs; the social, marriage, childbirth, funeral, and festival customs of the areas where Nüshu circulated; and Nüshu and needlework cultural customs. Tang Changjiu, deputy secretary of the Yongzhou Municipal Party Committee, praised the book as having "rich folk-custom cultural connotations and relatively high artistic value, and as important study material for those who love, care about, study, and research Nüshu." The book was jointly compiled by four people, including Xie Mingyao, director of the Jiangyong County Culture Bureau, and Li Qingfu of the Nüshu Culture Research Center of South-Central University for Nationalities.
Hunan's first media case-study textbook—The Great Turning Point of Chinese Media
The Great Turning Point of Chinese Media, written by Ouyang Guozhong, executive producer of Hunan Satellite TV's most dynamic talk show New Youth, has been praised by media research experts as "China's first media case-study textbook with practical operational value." The book is information-dense, richly documented, unique in perspective, and broadening in vision. Closely tied to the cutting-edge theme of "the great media turning point," it undoubtedly provides a good platform for media organizations and for those who want to enter or understand the media to look ahead. With a forward-looking vision, the book analyzes and forecasts the future trends of Chinese media, with broad vision, unique perspective, and dense information. Combining his own rich professional experience, the author profoundly records and analyzes the trajectory of reform and development in China's media industry in recent years and its magnificent changes.
Hunan's first reader for the children of migrant workers—Under the Same Blue Sky
In order to help the children of migrant workers better integrate into the city and school, Yuhua District of Changsha City, building on a reader compiled by Shumuling School, hired a group of senior education experts who revised it more than twenty times, and Hunan took the lead in using the first reader compiled for the children of migrant workers coming to the city for work, Under the Same Blue Sky. Its contents are divided into sections on living environment, safety and self-protection, civilized communication, and self-management and self-discipline. It is understood that the reader had an initial print run of 10,500 copies, distributed free to the children of migrant workers in the compulsory education stage throughout the district. This practice represents a shift from initially "waiving miscellaneous fees" and "giving schoolbags" for the children of migrant workers to "giving safety," "giving survival skills," and "giving development."
The first Chinese long poem in Olympic history—Burning Dreams
The long poem Burning Dreams, written by Huang Cheng, a poet from Hengnan, Hunan, was published and distributed by Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House in May 2008, and is the first Chinese long poem in Olympic history. Huang Cheng consulted tens of thousands of documents and images and spent five years finally completing this lyric recitation poem of 2,008 lines and nearly 20,000 characters. The poem consists of three chapters: "Classical Movements," "Modern Civilization," and "Future Dreams." It spans from 776 BC to 2008, covering nearly 3,000 years, and its content encompasses the entire history of the Olympic Games, involving nearly a thousand figures. The poetry is expansive yet leaping, rich yet concise, full of passion yet not lacking in reason.
Hunan's first novel depicting migrant workers—Rural Migratory Birds
The publication of the novel Rural Migratory Birds marks Hunan's first novel on the theme of migrant workers returning home to start businesses. The author is Deng Jianhua, vice chairman of the Changsha Writers Association. The book depicts a group of lower-class peasants who left their homes and came to the city to make a living during the early period of social transformation. Zuiyu, as the representative of this group of rural migrant workers in the writer's portrayal, is unwilling to remain mediocre and has always sought development in the city. In the end, Zuiyu finally decides to go home, which is undoubtedly an awakening of consciousness. This is not a failure of city ventures, but a new leap based on years of accumulated experience in the city. The massive outflow of young labor and the severe imbalance in the rural labor allocation structure have made the already backward and poor countryside even more desolate and declining. The author cares deeply about the countryside and farmers, and wants, through his own outcry, to find a path of development suited to migrant workers. The book also once won the title of one of the "Top Ten Books" on Tianya Website.
China's first Chinese haiku love poetry collection—River of the Matchmaker
Chinese haiku is a new genre in Chinese poetry. Duan Lesan, editor-in-chief of the Changsha magazine Chinese Haiku Poets, founded the quarterly Chinese Haiku Poets in 2002, filling a gap in Chinese haiku periodicals. In the same year, he initiated the establishment of the Yiyang Chinese Haiku Poetry Research Society in Yiyang City, filling a gap in Chinese city-level haiku group organizations. In 2005, he officially published China's first mobile-phone text-message Chinese haiku poetry collection, A Date with Poetic Friends; in 2006, he published China's first Chinese haiku linked-verse poetry collection, Various Charms; in 2007, he published China's first Chinese haiku love poetry collection, River of the Matchmaker. By November 2009, he had publicly published 2,625 Chinese haiku in newspapers, periodicals, and publications in China, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and the United States, many of which were also translated into foreign languages, making him the author who has publicly published and written the most Chinese haiku in China today. Duan Lesan has successively served as standing director of the Chinese Haiku Society and senior adviser to the Japanese Haiku Society. The appearance of River of the Matchmaker has made its due contribution to the overall development of Chinese poetry.