Slow Talk in Fuli | Following Lu Wang’s Footsteps, Exploring the Cultural Jiangnan-Luzhi Tourism_Luzhi Ancient Town 4A-level Tourist Scenic Area

　　Lu Guimeng came from a distinguished and prominent family, enjoying a prestigious lineage. Influenced by his family’s traditions, he was devoted to the study of classical texts from an early age. According to the “Biographies of Tang Scholars,” “From childhood, Guimeng displayed remarkable intelligence and insight, possessed lofty aspirations, mastered the Confucian classics, and excelled in literary composition.” Regrettably, his official career proved fraught with setbacks, so he withdrew into seclusion at Fuli, thereafter earning the appellation “Master of Fuli.”

After retiring to Fuli, Lu Guimeng embraced a life of seclusion. According to the Qing‑dynasty scholar Yao Chengxu’s “Wuqu Fanggu Lu,” at his Tian Sui Villa in Luzhi, Lu Guimeng had constructed such structures as the Qingfeng Pavilion, the Qiju Plot, and the Chuihong Bridge, finding great pleasure in them. Among his lifelong passions was raising ducks and engaging in duck‑fighting; he even built duck ponds and marshes, where he would either lean on the railing to watch the crimson‑webbed feet of the ducks gliding across the water or delight in spectating two ducks locked in combat within the duck‑fighting pool.

Today, beneath the ginkgo tree in the western courtyard of Baosheng Temple stands a symbolic tomb bearing the vestments and headgear of Lu Guimeng. A stone stele before the grave bears the inscription “Tomb of Mr. Fuli of Tangxian,” honoring this poet. The Qingfeng Pavilion, the Chuihong Bridge, and the duck ponds and marshes at the foot of the ginkgo were all erected in his memory; within the ponds, red carp ripple gently, while on the banks, the duck pens lie empty. As a gentle breeze sweeps through, poetry flows forth as naturally as the wind.

Second stop

Ye Shengtao Memorial Hall

A succession of eminent figures, with a cultural heritage passed down through the ages.

　　Lu Guimeng’s refined elegance and moral integrity have exerted a broad and profound influence on the ancient town of Luzhi. His descendant, Lu Deyuan, took his name from Fuli and founded the Fuli Academy, thus pioneering the tradition of local gentry establishing schools in Luzhi.

　　In modern times, Shen Kuangfu of the Shen family donated funds to rebuild Puli Academy, and Shen Baihan transformed it into Puli Primary School, which was later renamed “Wuxian County No. 5 Higher Primary School.” Progressive young teachers such as Ye Shengtao and Wu Binruo carried out educational reform initiatives there.

Back then, Ye Shengtao led his students in establishing the Shengsheng Farm beside the Luwang Temple. Together with teachers and students, they agreed to designate the day before Qingming Festival and the day after the Double Ninth Festival each year as occasions for the faculty and students of the “Five Highs” to jointly honor Lu Guimeng. Ye Shengtao also guided the students in paying their respects at Lu Guimeng’s symbolic tomb, ensuring that the exemplary deeds and noble conduct of this revered scholar would be passed down through the ages.

Today’s Ye Shengtao Memorial Hall stands on the site of the former “Wugao” and is separated from the West Courtyard of Baosheng Temple by a single wall. The cultural heritage endures, thriving from generation to generation.

Third stop

Luzhi Water Town Agricultural Tools Museum

Plowing with the plow and harrow, a land of fish and rice.

　　Lu Guimeng was not only a literary figure but also an outstanding agronomist. In Luzhi, he owned several mu of land and an extraordinary ten thousand paces of cultivated fields. During his years in seclusion, he often took up the hoe and worked alongside the farmers in the fields, and he even composed “The Classic of the Plow and Hoe,” the earliest extant treatise on agricultural tools in China.

The leisi, or plow, was an ancient agricultural tool used for tilling and turning the soil. In his writings, Lu Guimeng meticulously documented the invention, manufacture, and methods of using such implements as the plow, harrow, and shovel. He also provided a detailed account and explanation of the Jiangdong plow—a key paddy‑field cultivation tool in the Jiangnan region, already largely standardized—covering its shape, structure, dimensions, and functions.

Stepping into the Luzhi Water Town Agricultural Tools Museum, visitors will find authentic exhibits of the Jiangdong plow and over a hundred traditional farming implements. These tools are organized into seven categories—tilling and land preparation, sowing and transplanting, intertillage and weeding, irrigation and water management, harvesting and transportation, threshing and processing, and weighing—forming a veritable chronicle of meticulous agricultural craftsmanship and bearing witness to the prosperity of Luzhi.

It’s precisely the perfect time for a spring outing.

Let’s meet in Luzhi this weekend.

Following in Mr. Fuli’s footsteps

Retracing the Humanistic “Lü”

Ensure that Luzhi’s cultural heritage is passed down more effectively.

Strengthen exchanges and learning to promote common development.

Encountering Luzhi | Let’s go—let’s paint the spring of Luzhi!