Shangyu
Encyclopedia
Shangyu is a county-level city
which is part of the prefecture-level city
of Shaoxing
in the Northeast of Zhejiang
province of the People's Republic of China
. Its 2004 population was over 770,000, up from 722,523 in the 2000 census. Shangyu is roughly fifty kilometers from north to south and about thirty kilometers from east to west. It makes up about one-fourth of the area of Shaoxing prefecture.
A river flows northward through it. Shangyu's urban center, Baiguan, is located where the Cao E River (曹娥江) river flows out of the hilly area that makes up more than half of the county, into flat alluvial land bordering Hangzhou Bay
. This river, and the Cao E Temple (曹娥庙) next to it, are named after a fourteen year old girl who became famous in 143 AD for her filial devotion. She died in the river trying to retrieve the body of her father (Cao Xu) who drowned while officiating at a ceremony in honor of Wu Zixu
who himself was famous for his filial piety
.
Baiguan is about 28 kilometers east of Shaoxing's urban center. The railroad from Hangzhou
to Ningbo
passes through Baiguan, and the new superhighway between Hangzhou and Ningbo skirts Baiguan. Within Shangyu, just northwest of Baiguan, the Hangzhou-Ningbo highway (mostly east-west) intersects with a superhighway that goes south to the seacoast and then down the coast, through Wenzhou
and Fuzhou
, all the way to Guangzhou
.
In the name "Baiguan" (百官) “bai” means “hundred” and “guan” means an imperial civil service official. The city came to be called this when it became famous for producing many scholars who became officials by passing the imperial civil service examination.
In the tragic legend of the Butterfly Lovers
, the young lady was from Shangyu and the young gentleman was from Shaoxing.
Two books by Zhang Jin Huan (章金焕) published by the Zhejiang University Press deal with porcelain (mostly celadon
) produced in the Cao E River Valley in Shangyu starting in the Eastern Han dynasty:
ShangYu Yue Kilns (上虞越窑)(2007) ISBN 978-7-308-05462-1, and
Yue Porcelain Gems (越瓷瑰宝)(2009) ISBN 978-7-308-06531-3.
The Wu language is spoken in Shangyu, as it is in most of Zhejiang Province and in some surrounding areas, including Shanghai.
Shangyu has over a thousand umbrella factories; these are concentrated in Songxia, about eight kilometers northwest of Baiguan.
County-level city
A county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....
which is part of the prefecture-level city
Prefecture-level city
A prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...
of Shaoxing
Shaoxing
Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou to the southeast, Jinhua to the southwest, and Hangzhou to the west. It was once known as "越"...
in the Northeast of Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
province of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Its 2004 population was over 770,000, up from 722,523 in the 2000 census. Shangyu is roughly fifty kilometers from north to south and about thirty kilometers from east to west. It makes up about one-fourth of the area of Shaoxing prefecture.
A river flows northward through it. Shangyu's urban center, Baiguan, is located where the Cao E River (曹娥江) river flows out of the hilly area that makes up more than half of the county, into flat alluvial land bordering Hangzhou Bay
Hangzhou Bay
Hangzhou Bay, or the Bay of Hangzhou , is an inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai. The Qiantang River flows into the bay.It lies south of Shanghai, and ends at the city of Hangzhou...
. This river, and the Cao E Temple (曹娥庙) next to it, are named after a fourteen year old girl who became famous in 143 AD for her filial devotion. She died in the river trying to retrieve the body of her father (Cao Xu) who drowned while officiating at a ceremony in honor of Wu Zixu
Wu Zixu
Wu Yun , better known by his style name Zixu , is the most famous ancestor of people with the surname of Wu . All branches of the Wu clans claim him as their "first ancestor"...
who himself was famous for his filial piety
Filial piety
In Confucian ideals, filial piety is one of the virtues to be held above all else: a respect for the parents and ancestors. The Confucian classic Xiao Jing or Classic of Xiào, thought to be written around 470 BCE, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of xiào /...
.
Baiguan is about 28 kilometers east of Shaoxing's urban center. The railroad from Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
to Ningbo
Ningbo
Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...
passes through Baiguan, and the new superhighway between Hangzhou and Ningbo skirts Baiguan. Within Shangyu, just northwest of Baiguan, the Hangzhou-Ningbo highway (mostly east-west) intersects with a superhighway that goes south to the seacoast and then down the coast, through Wenzhou
Wenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....
and Fuzhou
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....
, all the way to Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
.
In the name "Baiguan" (百官) “bai” means “hundred” and “guan” means an imperial civil service official. The city came to be called this when it became famous for producing many scholars who became officials by passing the imperial civil service examination.
In the tragic legend of the Butterfly Lovers
Butterfly Lovers
The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend of a tragic love story of a pair of lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai , whose names form the title of the story...
, the young lady was from Shangyu and the young gentleman was from Shaoxing.
Two books by Zhang Jin Huan (章金焕) published by the Zhejiang University Press deal with porcelain (mostly celadon
Celadon
Celadon is a term for ceramics denoting both a type of glaze and a ware of a specific color, also called celadon. This type of ware was invented in ancient China, such as in the Zhejiang province...
) produced in the Cao E River Valley in Shangyu starting in the Eastern Han dynasty:
ShangYu Yue Kilns (上虞越窑)(2007) ISBN 978-7-308-05462-1, and
Yue Porcelain Gems (越瓷瑰宝)(2009) ISBN 978-7-308-06531-3.
The Wu language is spoken in Shangyu, as it is in most of Zhejiang Province and in some surrounding areas, including Shanghai.
Shangyu has over a thousand umbrella factories; these are concentrated in Songxia, about eight kilometers northwest of Baiguan.