Wujin Helu City

Experts from the Institute of Archaeology of Nanjing Museum have preliminarily determined that the junction of Hudai town in Xishan District and Xueyan town in Wujin District of Wuxi is probably Helu City, the ancient capital of Wu. The experts' evidences are as follows: the pottery pieces and relics unearthed in the city wall are not later than the spring and Autumn period, and the pottery pieces of earlier Maqiao culture period are also unearthed in some strata. According to the yuejueshu biography of Wu, there is a small city in the city. There is an east-west wall to the north of the road from Xueyan to Mashan, and to the west of the Lujiang River to the north. This wall shows that there is a small city in the city. According to historical records, the capital of Wu built by Wu Zixu is called Helu city. Since ancient times, Wujin snow weir has been named Helu City, as well as the place names of urban villages and villages outside the city. Yuejueshu says that Helu, the king of Wu, moved to govern Xushan There is also a mountain named Xushan in the northeast of Xueyan. According to the spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue, the king of Wu wrapped his body in leather and threw it on the Lujiang River after Wu Zixu committed suicide. There is also an ancient river named Lujiang in the east of Xueyan City, which leads directly to Taihu Lake. Lu Tanwei of the Tang Dynasty wrote Wu Di Ji, leaving some valuable historical materials: "pingmen, to the north, there is water and land connecting to piling." "Qimen leads to piling in the north." Piling is now Changzhou. From the large-scale topographic map, we can see that there are ancient rivers in Helu City, which lead to Yancheng and piling in the north. Another record in Wu Di Ji says: "the Zicheng (Helu city) is in Fu'an Township, Wuxi, and the Dacheng is in the 16th capital and 8th map of Yanghu boundary." It can be seen that most of Helu city is in Wujin, Changzhou.

Wujin Helu City

It is in Xueyan township of Wujin City and Huchang township of Xishan City, near Lujiang River. In March 1982, Jiangsu Provincial People's Government re announced it as a provincial cultural relics protection unit. In the spring and Autumn period, when the Three Kingdoms of Wu, Chu and Yue were fighting for hegemony, King Helu of Wu fought against the attack of Chu and Yue. In the sixth year of King Jing of Zhou (514 B.C.), Wu sent his troops to return Chu to the army. King Helu of Wu ordered him to build two big and small cities. The big city is now Suzhou City, and the small city is Helu city. It is an important military place in ancient times. According to the survey, the city is surrounded by rivers, and only half of the city wall remains in the southwest. The city is rectangular, about 2420 meters in circumference, 910 meters in length from east to west and 600 meters in width from north to south. The bottom of the city wall is about 20 meters wide and is now 2-4 meters high. No bricks and stones were found in the section of the city, indicating that the city was built purely of earth. There is a 36 meter wide entrance to the South and east of the city, which may be the entrance at that time. The situation of the city is very dangerous. Behind the city, there are Xushan, pusheshan and Longshan as barriers. In the distance ahead, there are Nanshan mountains, and on the left, there are great lakes. The beacon towers on the mountain and the Earth City at the foot of the mountain can attack when entering and defend when retreating.

The site of the ancient city is east-west, and the shape of the city is divided into East and West. The East inner wall, the outer wall and the south wall are well preserved, while the west wall and the north wall no longer exist. The moats in front of the south wall and the west wall are relatively complete, while the East moat and the north moat are difficult to distinguish due to the excavation of fish ponds. The city once unearthed Neolithic sand pottery, red pottery and the Western Zhou Dynasty to the spring and Autumn Period popular zigzag pattern, Huiwen, diamond filling line and other geometric pottery pieces.

There are many legends and historic sites inside and outside Helu city of Wujin. There is a mound in the southeast of Xicheng, which is said to be the site of the armory. Outside the West City, there is a training ground and a point general platform. In the northeast of the city, Xu mountain is known as Wu Zixu's garrison. The whole city is close to the mountain and faces the lake. It is a strategic military station to guard the northern part of Taihu Lake. Ding Yong's poem "Helu city" says: "build Wu City in winter, and the city will defend Yue soldiers." It can be seen that this city is a military castle of Wu state in the late spring and Autumn period.

Address: Xueyan Township, Wujin District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Longitude: 120.11467470766

Latitude: 31.5161274609

Chinese PinYin : Wu Jin He Lv Cheng