Jiangnan : Jewel in China’s Crown

Enjoying an extensive networks of river and waterways, Jiangnan is one of the most fertile plains in China, as well as one of its earliest commercial hubs. Consequently, its prosperous towns gave the region its nickname 鱼米之乡 or “the land of fish and rice”.

Not everyone agrees on the geographic boundaries of Jiangnan, though it’s name literally means “South of the [Yangtze] River.” This generally comprises present-day central and southern Jiangsu province, Shanghai, Zhejiang province, southern Anhui province and some regions in Jiangxi province. Cities that fall under this definition include Suzhou and Nanjing in Jiangsu, Hangzhou and Shaoxing in Zhejiang, Huangshan and Anqing in Anhui, and Wuyuan in Jiangxi.

Mirror with depiction of Wu Zixu 伍子胥画像镜 (Eastern Han)

Between the Western and Eastern Jin dynasties (265-317, 317-420), a pattern was set for Chinese history as much as for Jiangnan: In the ensuing 17 centuries, whenever the north was engulfed in war or political instability, people moved southward, to Jiangnan, the haven and last defensive foothold upon which the fate of an empire would often hinge.

Green-glazed bowl caved with lotus petals 青釉刻花莲瓣纹碗 (Southern Dynasties)

China descended into a state of chaos upon the demise of Eastern Jin in 420 AD, and stayed fragmented until the founding of the Sui Dynasty in 581 AD. The Sui emperors oversaw the digging of the Grand Canal, the world’s longest artificial waterway which was to run between the modern-day Beijing and Jiangnan city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Greenish-white-glazed lidded box incised with infants (L), Celadon lidded box 青白釉划花嬰戏图盖盒（左）、越窑青釉盖盒 (Tang-Song Dynasties)

Tang Dynasty (618-907). This powerful empire, whose territory at one point stretched between the Korean Peninsula in the east to present-day Afghanistan in the west, was politically centred in modern-day Shaanxi province in northwestern China. Yet its poets, who outshone those from all other historical periods in China, frequently traveled to Jiangnan, where they were duly impressed by the otherworldly beauty of its misty landscape and wrote tirelessly about it. One of them, named Wei Zhuang, reflected that “this place, where one sleeps to the sound of rain, is for a weathered traveler to age”.

Yue ware celadon bowl (R), Jian ware black-glazed tea-bowl 越密青釉碗（右）、建窑黑釉盏 (Tang-Song Dynasties)

When violent rebellion broke out in 755 and shook the Tang empire to its core, people, among them men of words, fled for Jiangnan, where they nurtured their grief while listening to the endless rain, only to return to the north years later to pour out their memories on paper.

Bluish-white glazed foliated cup and saucer, ewer 景德镇密青白釉花口盏、盏托、执壶 (Northern Song)

However, the defining moment for Jiangnan didn’t come until 1127, toward the very end of China’s Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). That year, the Song emperor Zhao Ji and his son Zhao Huan, who by that point had succeeded his father, were captured by their arch-nemeses — the Jurchen armies from the north who rode into the Song capital of Bianjing (modern-day Kaifeng in Henan province) on horseback and ransacked the city.

Lacquered lobed tiered box 黑漆莲瓣形奁 (Southern Song to Yuan Dynasties)

What the Song court did in the face of imminent demise held up a mirror to history: They moved their capital across the Yangtze River, to Lin’an (modern-day Hangzhou), the southernmost end of the Grand Canal.

Black-glazed tea-bowl with paper-cut floral decoration 吉州窑黑釉剪纸贴花花卉纹盏 (Southern Song Dynasty)

Following the relocation of the Song court, China’s silk and textile production center shifted from the country’s north to Jiangnan, whose warm climate made it ideal for both the growing of mulberry trees and the wearing of flimsy silk clothing. The Cleveland show features a 12th-century silk gauze robe on loan from the Hangzhou-based China National Silk Museum — one of 80 articles of silk clothing unearthed from the tomb of an upper-class lady in the region.

Brownish-yellow gauze blouse with flower scrolls 褐黄色缠枝花纹暗花罗衫 (Souther Song Dynasty)

And silk, like the locally produced green porcelain known as celadon, became Jiangnan’s biggest export to international and domestic markets. Immense wealth was generated where the ruling elite resided, giving rise to a dynamic luxury sector catering to their demands.

Mesh bun cover 银丝发罩 (Ming Dynasty)

The cultural and economic strengths Jiangnan gained during this time were to stay with her, although the region, after Southern Song, almost never served as the political centre of a Chinese empire — except for the initial few decades of the Ming Dynasty.

Densely cultivated fields routinely appear in Ming-period landscapes, testifying to an embrace of realism that also led the painters to capture the merchant ships “gathering like clouds” around the mouth of the Chang Gate, an intersection of three major streets and a canal in the modern-day city of Suzhou which, before the rise of Shanghai in the late 19th century, was Jiangnan’s — and China’s — biggest commercial center.

Melon-shaped ewer inscribed with poem 沈存周制刻诗文锡瓜形壶 (Qing Dynasty)

In 1689, the Chang Gate had a special visitor — Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), whose Manchu ancestors defeated the Ming troops and who, clearly recognising Jiangnan as the jewel in the crown, traveled to the region six times during his 61-year-long reign.

Jingdezhen famille rose chicken cup 景德镇窑粉彩鸡缸杯 (Qing Dynasty)

By commissioning large quantities of goods — carved jade and porcelain, for instance — from Jiangnan artists and artisans, the Qing rulers promoted the region, which contributed one-third of the empire’s tax revenue, while subtly imposing their own cultural standards.

江南好，风景旧曾谙。日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝。能不忆江南？

唐 • 白居易「忆江南」

Jiangnan remains China’s most economically developed region, with one “first-tier” city, Shanghai, and cities like Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Ningbo. Thanks to its geographical location, Jiangnan’s economy has exerted a huge influence both at home and abroad: Zhejiang’s entrepreneurs are known all over the world, and the province is now a pioneer in the country’s digital economy.

About Shanghai Museum East

Individual visitors can enter the Museum with a valid ID (foreigners need passport) through the B1 East Gate (near Dingxiang Road) after security check; while groups reserved can enter through the North Gate (1F, near Century Avenue) after security check.

Opening Hours:

• Wednesday to Monday, 10:00-18:00 (last entry at 17:00)
  Closed on Tuesdays (except national holidays)
  Reservation for individual visitors is not required since 15 Sep 2024, but do check with the website as restrictions may be implemented any time.

Shanghai Museum East Gallery 上海博物館東館
1952 Century Avenue, Pudong New Area, Shanghai
上海市浦东新区世纪大道1952号
(Reservations)