Research on Ancient Education and Culture along the Taizhou Yunyan River

Abstract

The ancient Yunyan river that spans Taizhou is “mother river” and has nurtured a charming regional culture. From Dong Zhongshu establishing the Confucian virtue of “Zheng Yi Ming Dao(Act with justice and moral),” to Hu Yuans educational philosophy of “Ming Ti Da Yong(Making practical use of truth), ” to Wang Gen, the founder of the Taizhou School, promoting the “People Daily That Ontology”, it has estabilished a thousand years of cultural and educational system along the ancient salt canal. The Yunyan river of Taizhou City began as a tributary of Hangou dug by Emperor Liu Bi of Wu State in the early Western Han Dynasty in China. This river has a history of more than two thousand years. This river starts from Zhuyu Bay (in today’s Wantou Town) in the west of Yangzhou, passes through Hailingcang (now named Taizhou City), and ends at the east of Rugao Panxi River. The length of this river is 159 kilometers. The river gradually extends to Nantong Jiuxu Port, with a total length of 191 kilometers. In Taizhou City, the river for transporting salt is 64.5 kilometers long. This salt river can be said to be the "mother river" of Taizhou City. This river has cultivated a charming regional culture and shaped a unique cultural space. The development and prosperity of culture and education along the riverside of Yunyan river is inseparable from the three Confucian masters, Dong Zhongshu, Hu Yuan and Wang Gen..