Chengdu tourist sites intact, still yield their wonders

By Huang Zhiling and Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-04 07:22

In 1902, uprisings led by farmers, who called themselves the Boxers, began against the decadent Qing Dynasty in different parts of Sichuan. The Qing government's rule in Sichuan was threatened because of the size of the uprisings. The government in Beijing was so frightened that it sent Cen to Sichuan.

Cen, who believed in the ancient Chinese philosophy of "meting out severe penalties in hard times," prosecuted the Boxers to the fullest extent of the law, killing Liao Jiumei, their leader in Chengdu. As Liao was popular in Chengdu, Cen's acts aroused widespread dissatisfaction and hatred.

Zhao, who was also an official in Sichuan, felt that Cen's efforts were doomed to failure as they went against the will of the people. Although he had been Cen's teacher as a child, Zhao could neither criticize Cen nor approach him directly to urge a change in approach, for Cen was now his superior.

Zhao, noted for both his writing and calligraphy, wrote the couplet "Conquering the Mind" and had it hung in the Temple of Marquis Wu. He hoped that Cen would see the couplet and understand what he meant.

Many days passed after the couplet was put on display without Cen learning of its existence. Zhao eventually arranged a banquet for Cen in the temple as part of a spring outing. There, Cen read the couplet and was told its meaning. But the arrogant Cen was irritated with his former teacher's "offence" and demoted him, banishing him to a faraway place.

It was only after Cen suffered major setbacks several years later due to his hard line and was almost dismissed that he truly understood the couplet's meaning.

When the Qing government sent him to Sichuan to suppress the Railway Protection Movement in 1911, which helped trigger the Revolution of 1911, Cen correctly assessed the situation. This time, he did not suppress the revolutionaries who later overthrew the Qing government in the Revolution of 1911 and established the Republic of China. Instead, Cen cooperated with their leader Dr Sun Yat-sen, and contributed to the new republic.

The couplet's rich connotations attract many visitors in the temple, including top Chinese leaders. When the late Chairman Mao Zedong visited the temple in 1958, he stayed in front of the couplet for a long time and highly praised it.

Sharp-eyed visitors to Chengdu will notice the emblem of a circular gold leaf, featuring four flying birds surrounding the sun in many parts of the city.

It is on the top of the overpass of the People's Road South leading to the airport, on outdoor advertisements promoting the city's image and on the television screen when one tunes in to the Chengdu television station.

The emblem, which represents Chengdu, has been chosen as the symbol of China Cultural Heritage by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The emblem's exquisite craftwork and its representation of ancient Chinese people's worship for the sun and the Chinese nation's enterprising spirit account for the decision, according to the administration.

The gold-leaf sunbird, believed to be about 3,000 years old, was excavated from the Jinsha Ruins in the western suburbs of Chengdu.

The Jinsha Ruins, which cover 4 sq km, include an area for holding sacrificial rites, a residential quarter for the nobility, a residential quarter for commoners and a graveyard.

Archaeologists hail the ruins as one of Sichuan's most important archaeological finds after the discovery of the Sanxingdui Ruins in 1929.

On February 8, 2001, builders were working at an apartment construction site in Jinsha village. Suddenly they found ivory and jade were amidst the piles of mud.

Since then, archaeologists have excavated more than 5,000 precious relics including gold, jade, bronze and stone wares as well as one ton of whole elephant tusks and tens of thousands of pottery and ceramic pieces.

Many of the relics unearthed in the Jinsha Ruins bear a strong resemblance to those at Sanxingdui.

Located in Guanghan, a city 40 km from Chengdu, the Sanxingdui Ruins were accidentally discovered in 1929 by a farmer digging a ditch in his field.

Since then, more than 10,000 relics, some of which date back 3,000 and 5,000 years, have been unearthed. The excavations have yielded what are considered some of the most significant archaeological discoveries in China in the last century.

The discovery of the Sanxingdui Ruins, whose site is believed to have served as the capital of several kings of the state of Shu, offers proof that Chinese civilization has diverse origins.

It can be said that Chinese civilization has several cradles - the Yellow River Valley, the Yangtze River Valley and the Sichuan Basin, where the Sanxingdui and Jinsha ruins are located.

According to archaeologist Yu Weichao, former curator of the Beijing-based Museum of Chinese History, the Jinsha Ruins are most likely to be the political and cultural center to which the ancient state of Shu moved from Sanxingdui.

After the sudden demise of the Sanxingdui culture some 3,000 years ago, the Shu king likely moved to areas around today's Jinsha Ruins in Chengdu, he said.

Many relics unearthed from the Jinsha Ruins including the sun-bird gold leaf are on display in the Jinsha Site Museum.

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