How Suzhou's "Seven-Mile Street" Became "Seven Cats Street"

One of the most renowned and popular ancient streets in Suzhou is Shantang Jie, located just outside the former city walls at Chang Gate (Changmen) and running northwesterly to the foot of Tiger Hill (Huqiu). Along its entire length, Shantang Jie parallels a canal of the same name, excavated in the Tang Dynasty years 825 - 826 under the direction of then-governor Bai Juyi to facilitate more convenient and pleasurable excursions by boat to the Buddhist temples, historical sites, and elevated viewing spots at Tiger Hill.

 The Scenic Waterway of Shantang Canal

Master Bai's Embankment, as it was once called, was built for leisurely outings. Walking the upper half of the ancient road, you can easily romanticize those ancient boats on their raucous way to Huqiu, the well-dressed literati and government officials laughing, drinking, and parading their good fortune while “sing-song girls” pluck stringed instruments and chant poetic songs for their entertainment. Bai himself wrote poetically:

Since the passage to the temple was built,
The road and waterway have become very busy.
By land people come on horseback or on sedans;
On water are boats carrying beautiful ladies.

 Bai Juyi's Temple at Shantang Jie

Over the years, the canal-side lane called Bai’s Embankment assumed a local name that reflected its length: Qi Li, or Seven Li. One Chinese li is equivalent to about 500 meters, so the full length of the road to Tiger Hill measured about 3.5 kilometers, or roughly 2.3 American miles. The official modern name, Shantang Jie, incorporates the characters for “hill” (山) and “dike” or “embankment” (塘) as its two-character representation. Surprisingly, this ancient byway harbors still another, lesser-known name, one not seen yet revealed in plain sight to everyday passersby: Seven Cats Street, or if you prefer, Seven Cats Shantang.

How this came about was simple enough, a product of the Chinese propensity to play on the homophonic sounds and character representations of the language. Nearly 700 years ago, most probably in the waning years of the Yuan Dynasty, a local official and literatus named Liu Bowen made an amusing observation. The character for Chinese distance measurement, li 里, had both the same sound and virtually the same appearance as another li character, 狸. This second li was in fact part of the name for a celebrated breed of Chinese house pet, the lihua cat, 狸花猫 (li hua mao).

 狸花猫, Chinese Lihua Cat

In Liu Bowen’s mind, the transposition must have seemed obvious: the Shantang of Seven Li (Distance) could also be the Shantang of Seven Li (Cats). The next step was simple enough. Seven bluestone cats were carved, each standing perhaps 140 centimeters (55 inches) high, and placed at the Shantang-side crossing point for the canal’s seven ancient bridges. Each cat differed somewhat in appearance, and each stood for an auspicious aspect of life. Beginning at Shantang Jie’s starting point outside of Changmen Gate, the seven cats represent, respectively, cultured virtuosity (at Shantang Bridge), wealth (at Tonggui Bridge), learning (at Xing Bridge), happiness (at Caiyun Bridge), healthy life (at Puji Bridge), blessed fate (at Wangshan Bridge), and fortuitous opportunity (at Xishanmiao Temple Bridge).

 Shantang Bridge - Cultured Virtuosity

Tonggui Bridge - Wealth

Xing Bridge (hidden on left) - Learning

Caiyun Bridge - Happiness

 

Puji Bridge - Healthy Life

 Wangshan Bridge - Blessed Fate

Xishanmiao Temple Bridge - Fortuitous Opportunity

Walking the length of Shantang Jie today, you can still find those seven cat statues, but unfortunately not the original bluestone cats. Those were lost in the 1950s and early 1960s, many simply demolished for their lime content. By popular local request, seven replica cats were installed at those bridges in 2006.

Bai’s Embankment. Qi Li. Shantang Jie. Seven Cats Shantang. Whichever name you prefer, be sure look for those cats when you walk that canal-side lane. Most are readily visible; one or two take a small amount of easy searching. And don’t forget to rub each of their heads for good luck!

(Note: The most distant cat from Changmen, at Xishanmiao Bridge, is located about 250 – 300 meters beyond the gate to Tiger Hill, on the northwestern extension of Shantang Jie. The other six all sit between Changmen and the Tiger Hill entrance area.)

(Note: This article, other than the first paragraph above, was previously published online on the Discover Suzhou section of the WeAreSuzhou website, at www.wearesuzhou.com/stone-cats-shantang-jie/. I wish to thank Ms. Esther Thelen, WeAreSuzhou manager and administrator, for allowing me to republish here on the Beautiful Su website.)