I have been to many cities across China. For sure, cities in the south are modern. But in my opinion they lack the depth. In the north, it’s just the opposite,” said renowned scholar, author and commentator Yu Dan recently. But she also added: “Linyi in Shandong Province is an exception to this rule. It’s inherited the south’s modernity and the north’s sense of dignity.”

Linyi literally means “by the Yi River.” Today the city is the largest in Shandong Province, in terms of both territory and population. The Yi River has played an important role in the city’s history, which can be traced back 2,400 years.

The river itself is 300 kilometers long. It is fed by eight tributaries and flows united through Linyi before arriving at the sea. Mengshan Mountain rises in the north of Linyi, and the two geographic features have long battled for prominence in the minds of Linyi’s residents – the city is also known as “Yimeng,” literally “The Yi River and Mengshan Mountain.”

Linyi is connected to faraway locales via the Yi River. Both Jiangsu Province in the south and Hebei Province in the north are short journeys upstream. Waterborne contact ensured the city was influenced by both southern and northern regional cultures.

Rivers may have been replaced by roads as modernity imposed itself upon China, but the syncretic culture of Linyi has remained intact to this day. As with many ancient towns in China, Linyi developed a culture of its own, by drawing on the venerable Wuyue, Dongyi and Qilu civilizations. The boom in arts and literature and highly developed education in the region gave rise to a number of academic luminaries and moral role models that have etched their names in the nation’s history.

The region continues to loom large in the Chinese people’s consciousness. In most people’s minds today, Linyi is synonymous with patriotism, fighting spirit and war. Much of this is thanks to the 42-episode TV drama Yimeng, which is aired by national and several provinciallevel broadcasters. The drama depicts Linyi people’s sacrifices and dedication to combat, first against Japanese aggression and then in the civil war. The city seated the headquarters of the communist army in the province in the 1930s and 40s, and many founding fathers of the PRC, including late President Liu Shaoqi, worked and fought here.

Before visiting Linyi, I too was ignorant of the city’s long history. When I arrived, and delved into the city’s incredibly rich cultural legacy, I was amazed. Linyi’s history is long, and much remains in the city today to attest to millennia of cultural achievement. Chief among the cultural relics are surely the bamboo slips on which were written the original passages of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. The slips were unearthed in an ancient tomb in Linyi in 1972 alongside Sun Bin’s (a descendent of Sun Tzu) own Art of War.

The city is the also birthplace of famed calligraphers Wang Xizhi of the fourth century and Yan Zhenqing of the eigth.

Among all the outstanding men born in Linyi, Zhuge Liang (181-234) is perhaps the most popular and influential. The statesman is recognized as having been the most accomplished strategist China has ever known. Today, he is worshipped by some as an incarnation of wisdom at its purest.

Confucian tradition is strong in Linyi; indeed, Confucius himself was born not far away. Filial piety has always been a highly regarded virtue in the region, and Linyi natives contributed seven stories to the classic work 24 Stories of Filial Piety.