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Preface
The Yangtze River, which was born in remote antiquity,winds its way eastward with bllowy waves for thousands of mils. To the north of the place where the river meets the sea, a bery of goldcn pheasants take wings, leaving a stterin of smiles Rugao is thus known in history for its cultural refinement.Five thousand years ago, in the New Stone Age, ciain dawned in Rugao. The elapse of time has enabled Rugao to have a rebirh and evolve into one of China's most developed areas, with prosperous idustes wlvelledd uture, a dense population over a vast arer anc snmple, mllow folk customs. In adion, tere are heroes and Vitouspople who have left their gorious names in hstors products clerated throughout China, scene arate well-known at home and abroad, and legends fascinating the whole naiton . The Floving Charm of Waet is only awindw 0 te hsoay of Rugo0 Cmphansive as it ss i mises ou oprd features. Nevertheles it demonstrates the spirit of the people of， Which coprises virue; suiosnos rfinememn hgrg mvrio and pusus of pefecier Let u hore ne egy of he pas s hrted orverr and hal proftre future can surpass their predecessors.
The History of Rugao
Over 5,000 years ago, ancient people began to live and engage in primitive labor in what is now Rugao. The name of the place is derived from a phrase in one chapter of Zuo Zhuan, which narrates an anecdote about an official named Jia shooting a pheasant here. Thanks to such literary giants as Pan Yue, Tao Qian, and Su Shi, the beautiful allusive name of 'Donggao' has been resounding for 1,600 years, as witnessed by the shimmering waves of the Pheasant River. Today, there remain visible and tangible marks of civilization in the forms of historical remains and cultural vestiges scattered all over the urban and rural areas.
 
The Economy of Rugao
Situated by heYungize and near the sea, Rugao ofers easy transporation and has hriving idustries. Surunded by two moats, the town is shaped like an ancient coin; in fact, it has always been an entrepot of goods and a magnet for businessen. The economy of Rugao was based on fishery and the salt industry, which attained a considerable scale during the Han Dynasty; at that time, salt produced in Rugao and other places in Jiangsu was sold all over China. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there was a boom in agriculture thanks to the reclamation of wasteland for farm fields. In the Tianqi period during the Ming Dynasly, arapid development was achieved in txie, the rising of sikwormss and the culivation of fowers. During the Qing Dynasy, the lown W popularly known as golden Rugo beae of is urbua pos penty hrving poulaion a lag guhering orf aisedrd Duosme : Im and dene duste。guil o Towude adar spearheaded I by Sha Yuanbing ryVe the ervared counry from suiuiaton ny and Zhang Jian, who sw industry asawayto By the Republican Period, Rugao had become foreign powers. Fcounties, Hunan.
 
The Culture of Rugao
Because of its favorable location to the east of the Yangize and to the south of the Huai River, Rugao has incorporated the court culture of Nanjing, the capital of six dynasties, the literati culture of Jiangnan (specifically. the region to the north and south of the Huai River), and the folk culture of eastem Zhejiang and souther Anhui. This has resulted in a long-established reputation for its profound cultural legacy and successive generations of virtuous and talented people, including the following: Hu Yuan, a scholar of neo-Confucianism; Shen Qi, an expert of Confucian classics; Fan Cheng, a savant of Buddhism; Xu Rong, a master of seal-cutting; Wei Jiangong, a student of guoxue ('Chinese studies',which roughly refers to the study of classical Chinese learning); Wang Guan, a writer of ci and 'poetic essays' (fu); Li Yu, a playwright; Mao Xiang, a poet and essayist; Dong Bai, a painter; and Mao Guangsheng, a textual researcher. In particular, during the Song Dynasty, Hu Yuan's Su-Hu (i.e. practiced in Suzhou and Huzhou) approach to education broke new ground in academic studies; in modern times, normal instruction in Rugao made a great contribution to education in China by setting a good example.
 
The W onders of Rugao
Rugao is celebrated as a 'historic and cultural city' of Jiangsu, one of China's centers of horticulture and potted landscape, and one of the world's ideal places for living a long life. The refined taste and natural talent of the Rugao people have generated a daz zling array of folk arts. The Rugao-style potted landscape has been one of the seven major schools of Chinese potted landscape for a long time; Rugao is one of China's four major origins of kites; the Donggao school of seal-utting has become one of the three major schools of Chinese seal-utting. These are accompanied by other unique and bllint wonders, including silk carpets, puppets. lanterms, paper-cutting, folk songs, velvet applique pictures, and Lianxiang Dance.