History and culture

Taicang has a history dating back more than 4, 500 years. In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Taicang was an important seaport and business hub, known as the “dock of six kingdoms”. Zheng He, the great navigator of the Ming Dynasty, started his seven great naval expeditions from Taicang. Taicang Prefecture was established in 1497, the 10th year of the reign of Emperor Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty. In the first year of the Republic of China(1912) , it was elevated to Taicang County. In March 1993, Taicang was upgraded from a county to a city.

Located east of the Lou jiang River, Taicang is also called Loudong. It is home to a large talent pool, well-known for good education and unique Loudong Culture. Besides, it is the cradle of wonderful classical music and Loudon g painting school, and the birthplace of the Chinese myth of the Cowboy and Weaver Girl.

Taicang has long been home to great cultural and art masters, such as Wang Shizhen and Wu Meicun, literary giants of the Ming and Qing dynasties; Zhang Pu, head of Fu She(the Society of Classical Learning Restoration), Qiu Ying, one of the Top Four Painters in the Ming Dynasty; Wang Shimin, Wang Jian and Wang Yuan qi, representatives of Loudong painting school; Tang Wenzhi, famous educator and founder of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Zhu Qizhan and Song Wenzhi, modern painters; and Wu Xiaobang, founder of the new dancing art of China.

Besides, Taicang has nurtured 13 academicians at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chinese Academy of Sciences, including: Chien-Shiung Wu(Wu Jianxiong), who was honored as the “Mrs. Courier of China”; Steve Chu(Zhu Diwen) , winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics; and Tang Xiaowei, Yang Shengli, Shi Jianlin, Lang Jianping, etc.