Retired doctor turns his attention to old towns
Print Edition
CHINA is composed of many drastically different regional cultures. For instance, the region immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, or jiangnan, has long been regarded as one of the most prosperous areas due to its wealth of natural and human resources.
Essayist Yu Qiuyu once wrote an article in which he describes small towns in jiangnan as “the places where natural and humanistic elements merge seamlessly.”
Jiading, Nanxiang and Huangdu are some of the representative jiangnan towns.
They used to have prominent economic status and a wealth of culture, and are still part of the unforgettable memories of elderly residents.
As Shanghai transforms into a modern international metropolis, a number of historic sites have disappeared from these towns, except for a few historical and cultural preservation zones. Their former glory can only be found in old documents such as town construction logs.
The recent publication of a book called “Traces of Jiading’s Former Days” evoked feelings of nostalgia among local residents. It painted a convincing picture of the towns’ original looks and characteristics.
The author, retired doctor Zhang Lichun, is originally from Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. He co-founded Jiading Rural Clinical School in 1958 and eight years later moved to the district with his family. He worked in the ear, nose and throad department at a local hospital and also had teaching job. He took part in the compilation of several medical textbooks.
In 1994, he served as head of Jiading’s first medical team to provide health services at the city of Al Hoceima in Morocco.
His team brought invaluable help to the Moroccans and improved their quality of life.
However, at the same time, Zhang’s personal life was falling to pieces.
While he was abroad, his wife died from a severe illness.
He was devastated by the news, and the overwhelming emotions affected his own health.
He, too, developed health problems. He had two operations for cancer which, fortunately, were successful and he gradually got better.
In 2008, as he was recovering at home, Zhang thought that he should do something meaningful to make use of his free time, something he felt extremely lucky to have.
“In the 1990s, the research of the history of jiangnan towns became a hot topic among intellectuals. Some of the towns in Jiading date back to the Southern dynasties (420-589 AD), and flourished in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. A few of them still remained in great shape during the period of the Republic of China (1912-1949),” Zhang says. “If I could disinter the towns’ past through articles and photos and introduce them to future generations, it would be such an honor,” he said.
Tao Jiming, Jiading’s literature and history expert as well as Zhang’s friend, urged him to start work on the project as soon as possible.
To Tao’s surprise, although the work was a lot different from Zhang’s old job, he got into gear pretty quickly. He finished an article titled “Looking for Jiading Town’s Past Before Liberation” within a year and it was soon published.
Not only did the article provide accurate historical data, it was also beautifully written. In addition, it came with a detailed map of Jiading Town around the year 1949, and was much sought after by many readers.
The success of this article led him to devote more time to researching the old towns’ history and current condition.
Apart from gathering written material, Zhang usually visits the actual sites many times before he begins writing. During his eight years of research, he walked the length and breadth of most local towns.
To find the Anqiao Bridge — one of the three ancient bridges of Loutang Town — he went there four or five times. “I tried to locate it by following the description in the history book, however, it was not there any more,” he said.
But one day, Zhang ran into one of his former students on the way to Ludu Town, which is across the river from Loutang. The student was able to tell him that the bridge had been relocated and reconstructed and led Zhang to the new site.
The bridge was merely one example of Zhang’s arduous fieldwork. He talked to dozens of locals to collect interesting stories about ancient towns to put in his book “Traces of Jiading’s Former Days.”
Earlier this year, the book that took nearly a decade to research finally came out. It covers a timeline spanning from the formation of the towns all the way till now. He drew a vivid map for every town, making the book visually attractive and fun to read. He also added pieces of new information that were not in old historical records. It proved to be a huge success.
There was more good news for Zhang. During the process of writing this book, he was told he had fully recovered from cancer. “As long as my health allows me to work, I will continue to do research and write articles,” he said. “My love for Jiading is deep. I have lived here since I was little; it is my second hometown. I wish more volunteers could join me in documenting Jiading’s history.”
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