SUZHOU.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Rubbing of the Gusu chengtu ("Map of the Ancient City"). An attractive map of the city considered by Qing-era literati to be the most beautiful in all China. Traditionally known as Gusu, the area within the walls is shown criss-crossed by the ancient network of irrigation canals, which is fed by a ring of waterways connected to the Grand Canal.From the early second millennium onwards, Suzhou was China's cultural epicentre, its breathtaking vistas inspiring generations of poets and painters. Sponsored by the Suzhou official Fu Chun, the Gusu chengtu was drawn in the 1750s by the court painter Xu Yang (1712 - c. 1777). This revised version, dated 1783, was carved onto a stele from which rubbings could be taken. The impression, combined with the slight losses and cracks to the stele surface, suggest that this copy was rubbed the following century.

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