Wu Culture

A Brief Introduction to Wu Culture

Wu Culture is a regional and special culture in Wuxi County of Chongqing, mainly in the forms of astrology and augury and with the contents of salt culture and medicine culture. According to the research, there are still many salt springs in the Baoyuan Mountain in Ningchang Ancient Town of Wuxi County, which can be directly gained for cooking dishes. And here is also abundant in elixirs in the ancient times. Therefore, Baoyuan Mountain is the celestial mountain for producing elixirs as well as salts.

History of Wu Culture

Wuxi County gave birth to the mysterious and ancient mother culture of Ba culture - Wu Culture (salt culture and medicine culture). In the ancient times, Wuxian reign was established here, thus becoming the origin of the Wu culture in Three Gorges area. Besides, some people were moved out of here to the Zhongli Mountain area in today's Hubei Province. Then Wu Culture and Chu Culture influenced each other and mixed together into the prosperous Ba culture, which bred the earliest geographical book full of mythologies in pre-Qin period - Shanhai Jing (Chinese Mountains and Rivers Classics) and the first literature - Shih Ching (Book of Songs) and the great Chu Ci (The Songs of Chu) written by Qu Yuan as well as fruitful achievements in astronomy, arts, medical science and geography.

Three Mysteries of Wu Culture

In Wu Culture, there are still three mysteries unsolved in the area of the Daning River.

Mystery of Savages

The mystery of savages is still unknown to people in Wu Culture. And Wuxi County has become an important scientific research area. Many people have witnessed the savages and the hairs as well as the traces of their activities. Experts have come and studied here several times and found from the hair that most features of these savages match those of modern humans. However, as to the questions like where these savages at earth are, are they still alive today are still unknown to people, becoming a mystery of Wu Culture.

Mystery of  Suspending Coffins

Daning River in Wuxi County is one of the main places in China with large concentration of suspending coffins. According to the research, there are altogether 274 suspending coffins caves, with 43 extant rock coffins along the Daning River. Among the rock coffins groups in Wuxi County, Jingzhuba Suspending Coffins Group is the most well-preserved with the largest scale. There are 24 suspending coffins remaining in this area today. The ancestors placed these heavy coffins on the rocks for what reason and by which means are still mystery for people.

Mystery of Ancient Plank Roads

In the Daning River area, there is a web of ancient plank roads, winding and climbing upon the mountains for several thousand kilometers, connecting Hubei Province, Shaanxi Province and Chongqing. Its large scale and difficult project can compare with the Jiange Plank Road in Sichuan Province. Why did the ancestors build these Ancient Plank Roads? As for this question, there are many sayings in the historical records and among the local people, but is still a pending issue.