The other was Ding Niangzi (Mrs. Ding) who lived during the Ming Dynasty. The cotton cloth she made was light, soft and silky, and was designated for tribute to the royal family. Thanks to these two ladies and their fellows, the reputation of Songjiang cloth went beyond the oceans. Victor Hugo mentions Songjiang cotton as being popular amongst the French upper class in his time.

Songjiang is home to talents of all stripes. Huang Xie, also known as Lord Chunshen, a famous politician and military commander of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), is remembered for the water projects he built. To divert the water from Taihu Lake to the sea to reduce flood risks, Huang Xie led his people to dig the Huangpu River across his fiefdom in Suzhou and Songjiang. There is still a Chunshen Village in Songjiang, reputed to be the headquarters of that ancient project. A folk song has been passed down among the villagers: “Dad and mom went to dig the Huangpu River, and then dredged the Chunshen Pool. Their leader was Lord Chunshen, who lived in my village....” A memorial to him now stands amid lush crop fields in the village, guarding the land on which the ancient master and his people had worked.

The two brothers Lu Ji (261-303) and Lu Yun (262-303) cannot be overlooked in the history of Songjiang. Grandsons of Lu Xun, the Wu marquis mentioned above, the brothers were both accomplished in calligraphy and writing. They retreated to the Lesser Kunshan Mountain in their ancestral land of Songjiang after their kingdom Wu was annexed by Jin. The best known work of Lu Ji is an 84-character letter to his friend written 1,700 years ago, which is the oldest calligraphy piece in China, and one of the most valued items in the collection of the Palace Museum. In undiluted ink, the strokes snarl like withered vines, but in an aesthetic fashion. Some characters are rolled out so freely they defy recognition, only adding to the mysterious charm of the script. It has been revered by Chinese calligraphers of later generations as the “king of ink work.” Lu Yun also left behind a calligraphic masterpiece Spring Festival, which appeared in China’s first calligraphy compendium with copies of works by master calligraphers from Qin to Tang.

After a decade in their hermitage the Lu brothers left for the capital city at the invitation of friends, and accepted official positions there. In 303 Lu Ji was appointed by a prince to command an army of 200,000 to fight his rival, but was defeated in combat after fierce fighting. At the instigation of a wicked eunuch, the prince signed the order to execute Lu Ji. When told the news, he remained composed, and changed from his uniform into a white civilian robe to await the soldiers making his arrest. His last words were: “The song of cranes in the valley, I cannot hear it again.” The sad remarks, imbued with courage and peace in the face of death, were widely quoted in later centuries. Lu Yun was killed soon after his elder brother. The former residence of the Lu brothers in Lesser Kunshan Mountain in Songjiang still receives streams of visitors every year.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties Songjiang made a niche for itself in literary and artistic circles by developing the distinctive Yunjian School. Dong Qichang (1555-1636) was a leading figure among painters and calligraphers in the Ming Dynasty, and the artistic value of his works has been reconfirmed in recent years; they have featured in several national and international seminars and a series of papers and books have been devoted to the artist.

Dong had a successful political career, serving six emperors in 40 years in posts ranging from minister of rites to tutor of the crown prince. But his political merits are nothing when compared with his achievements in the arts. Dong Qichang was a late starter in calligraphy. When he attended the regional examination at 17, he surpassed all others in essay writing, but ranked behind his own nephew because of his poor hand. The shame spurred him to improve, and years of strenuous effort eventually made him one of the top calligraphers of his time. For nearly a century nobody could outdo Dong in calligraphy. His fans included the Qing emperors Kangxi and Qianlong.

Myth and Romance

Sheshan Mountain is home to a national forest park that sprawls over 12 peaks. The area was an imperial hunting range 2,000 years ago. A Northern Song book says there were five grasslands east of the Huating Valley during the rule of King Wu. In the 1960s a local farmer came across a bronze vessel in his field, which was confirmed by archeologists as dating from the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), physical proof of the existence of the imperial hunting range.