“Feng”?Bridge, located seven miles to the north-west of Suzhou City, crosses a branch of the grand canal. It was originally built in Tang dynasty and has endured for more than 1200 years.
“Feng”?Bridge has always been famous for attracting countless poets. One famous poet, Ji Zhang, first composed a poem named “Feng Qiao Ye Bo”(A night at “Feng”?Bridge). It was such a masterpiece that it gained widespread recognition. After Ji Zhang, many prestigious and influential poets all made their own version of “Feng”?Bridge, including Mu Du in Tang dynasty, Chengda Fan in Song Dynasty and Yintang in Ming dynasty. Probably due to the influence of these great figures, “Feng”?Bridge became a place where every poet would stop by and write something, pretty much like the holy land for Christians. Apart from the bridge, the temple, canal and plants were all vividly depicted in countless poems, making the whole region around the bridge seem poetic.
Interestingly, the bridge itself is actually not that special, especially when compared to those fancy ones. It is just average. So how can it be so “prestigious”?among so many bridges in Suzhou? I would say because the poems it contains or the cultural significance of it. At least for me, it perfectly demonstrates why bridges are much more than mere tools for transportations or decorations. It is the culture or history that lies within the bridges define them and embody them with irreplaceable and unique significance. The fact that “Feng”?Bridge is a holy place for poets it undeniable, the fact that “Feng”?Bridge exerts influence on the culture of the whole region around it is irrefutable, and the fact that all these influences the bridge has turn it into what it is is obvious.
“No poet has ever passed “Feng”?Bridge without leaving a poem behind.”?(1) ?吴县志
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