A Thousand-Year Ancient Town in Jiangsu Province: Easily Mistaken for Another Name
In Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, there is a historical town called Lùzhí Town, which belongs to Wuzhong District of Suzhou. It has a history of over two thousand years. Lùzhí Town is located in the southeast of Suzhou, with the Wusong River to the north, the Jinghu Lake to the south, the Suzhou Industrial Park to the west, and Nancang Town to the east. The total area is 120 square kilometers, and the population is nearly 140,000.
When people see the name ‘Lùzhí Town’ for the first time, many are easily mistaken for ‘Yúnzhí Town’ (), and many people don’t recognize the character ‘Lù’.
Regarding the origin of the words ‘Lùzhí’, there are several explanations:
One explanation is that Lùzhí is also called ‘Liùzhí’ (). In the local dialect, ‘Liù’ and ‘Lù’ are homophones. There is also another explanation recorded in the ‘Fǔlǐ Zhì’ () –
Originally, this place was called Fǔlǐ. During the Tang Dynasty, poet Lu Guimen (), nicknamed Fǔlǐ Xiánshēng (), lived here as a recluse, hence the name Fǔlǐ. Later, because the town had a straight canal leading to six places, and the shape of the water resembled the character ‘Lù’, the place was named ‘Lùzhí’.
Another explanation is that in ancient legends, there was a mythical beast called ‘Lùduān’ (). When it passed through this place, it found it very good and lived here permanently, which led to the name Lùzhí.
The most reliable explanation of the origin of Lùzhí is due to a typographical error made by Ming Dynasty calligrapher and scholar Dong Qichang () during his writing. He and Xu Zichang (), who lived in Fǔlǐ, were friends. During a visit, they wrote a poem together, and in the signature, he accidentally wrote ‘Lùlǐ’ instead of ‘Fǔlǐ’. People then corrected it, and ‘Lùzhí’ became the established name.
The poem is still preserved in the Pingshèng Temple Stele Corridor.
Regarding the historical evolution of Lùzhí, there are traces of human activity dating back 6,000 years. During the Qin Dynasty, the county system was implemented here, and Wu County was established, which is now Lùzhí Town.
During the Tang Dynasty, Changzhou County was established, and this place was under Changzhou County’s jurisdiction. During the Song Dynasty, the current administrative area of Lùzhí Town was divided into Yí Rén Xiāng (), Wú Gōng Xiāng (), and Sū Tái Xiāng ().
