Lihu Lake, originally known as Wuli Lake, also called Qihu Lake or Little Wuli Lake, is an inner lake extending from Taihu Lake into Wuxi. Located 10 kilometers southwest of Wuxi city, it covers an area of 9.5 square kilometers with a circumference of approximately 21 kilometers. The slender and graceful Lihu Lake resembles a mysterious gourd and a womb nurturing all things. Both its shape and name have given rise to many beautiful legends.
The lake is named after Li,it is related to Fan Li and Xi Shi during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. According to the Song Dynasty's "Huan Yu Ji": "When Fan Li attacked Wu, he dug the Li Canal to connect with this lake, hence the name Li Lake." Sima Qian recorded in "Records of the Grand Historian - The Annals of Yue": "Fan Li served King Gou Jian of Yue, enduring hardship and making great efforts. After more than 20 years of deep planning with Gou Jian, they finally destroyed Wu... After returning to their country, Fan Li believed it was difficult to stay long under such fame, and although Gou Jian could share hardships, he could not share peace... Therefore, Fan Li packed his jewels, boarded a boat with his followers and sailed away, never to return." The Eastern Han Dynasty's "Yue Jue Shu" by Yuan Kang recorded: "After Wu's defeat, Xi Shi returned to Fan Li, and they sailed away together on the Five Lakes." It turns out that Fan Li and Xi Shi had long been soulmates and lovers.
According to legend, Xi Shi's real name was Shi Yiguang. She was born in Zhuluo Village, located on the western bank of Huansha Stream in Zhuji, an ancient city in Zhejiang. At that time, Zhuluo Village was divided into East Village and West Village, both inhabited by people surnamed Shi. As she lived in the West Village, she was called Xi Shi (meaning "Western Shi"). Xi Shi was intelligent and beautiful since childhood. By the age of thirteen or fourteen, her beauty had become renowned throughout the four towns of Zhuji.
In the late Spring and Autumn Period, during the war between Wu and Yue, Yue was defeated by Wu. To seek peace, the King of Yue, Gou Jian, became a hostage in Wu and served as a groom for King Fu Chai for three years, enduring all kinds of humiliations.
As a condition for pardon, they agreed to pay annual tributes of one hundred thousand bolts of silk and one hundred thousand stones of rice. Upon returning to Kuaiji, Gou Jian appointed Fan Li as his prime minister. He slept on brushwood and tasted gall to remind himself of his humiliation, determined to seek revenge. At that time, Fan Li, young, handsome, and resourceful, advised Gou Jian: "On one hand, we should use gold, silk, and beautiful women to distract the King of Wu; on the other hand, we should conserve our strength, enrich our nation, and strengthen our army, waiting for the right opportunity to rise and wipe out our national disgrace." Gou Jian was delighted and ordered Fan Li to search for beautiful women among the common people. After several twists and turns, Fan Li found Xi Shi. Seeing her dressed in plain white, with exceptional beauty, and hearing the legend that her mother conceived her after swallowing a pearl and gave birth to her after being startled by a bird, he believed this woman was indeed a rare gem among the people, a heroine in disguise. When Xi Shi met Fan Li, seeing his outstanding talent and extraordinary bearing, she secretly rejoiced in her heart. After some conversation, they made a solemn vow of life and death on the hair-binding stone.
Afterwards, following King Gou Jian's order, Xi Shi made sacrifices and endured hardships by marrying King Wu of Wu. While in the Wu palace, Xi Shi secretly collaborated with Fan Li in managing state affairs. Within just a few years, she helped the State of Yue defeat the State of Wu.
Fan Li found Xi Shi in the Wu Palace and said to her, "In my opinion, the King of Yue is a man who can only share hardships but not wealth. The future is uncertain, so we should retreat after our success and leave as soon as possible!" Xi Shi listened to Fan Li's words and followed him to leave the Wu Palace, sailing to Lake Tai. Fan Li and Xi Shi raised fish and ducks by the lake, engaged in silk business, and lived a peaceful and prosperous life.
From then on, a series of legends and place names related to Li were left here, including Li River, Li Bridge, Xianli Mound, and Mali Port. Nowadays, "Li Garden" and "Shi Garden" are like Fan Li and Xi Shi, a pair of lovers, telling the world the story of their deep love.
In fact, there is another beautiful legend about the origin of Lihu Lake. According to the legend, long long ago, Wuxi suffered from continuous disasters and famine. The fields were barren, and the people from all surrounding villages were sighing heavily with worried frowns. The area was either suffering from drought or floods, and people were in dire poverty and misery.
After the youngest daughter of the Dragon King learned about this, she decided to help the people fight against the disaster. The dragon princess transformed herself into a fisherman's daughter multiple times and went to the shores of Taihu Lake to understand the people's situation, so as to deploy troops and generals. However, this was discovered by the Dragon King, who banished her from the Dragon Palace. After leaving the Dragon Palace, the dragon princess was taken in by Guanyin and became her right attendant. Before leaving the Dragon Palace, the dragon princess entrusted the mission of helping the people fight against the disaster to her good friend, "Li".
Li, the embodiment of a giant clam, possessed not only immense strength but also boundless magical power. With a single suck of her mouth, she could drain half the lake, and with a single blow, she could fill the lake to its shores. The shrimp soldiers and crab generals all hailed her as "Immortal Li". When Li arrived at Taihu Lake, she used her power to suck away half of the water, but the water quickly returned, flooding the shores. Only then did Li realize that without a dam by the lake, both drought and flood would bring disaster. Though Li had the ability to control water, she lacked the power to build a dam. Therefore, Li informed the Dragon Girl, who then sought help from Guanyin. Known for rescuing all sentient beings, Guanyin heard Li's plea at Taihu Lake and ordered various celestial deities and aquatic soldiers to rush to Taihu Lake to build a dam. To ensure eternal prosperity and peace in this region, Guanyin commanded these deities to guard the dam day and night, never to leave their posts.
Due to the harsh spring cold, exposure to sun and rain, and the passage of time, these deities who endured countless hardships gradually weathered into peaks, forming a natural zoo. Look by the lake: Turtle Head Peninsula, Eagle Peninsula, Dragon Head Peninsula, Horse Mountain, Dragon Mountain, Elephant Mountain, Tiger Mountain, Deer Mountain... Look in the lake: Rabbit Mountain, Big Rooster Mountain, Little Rooster Mountain, East Duck, West Duck... And where is Li? After seeing the great success, Li transformed into a beautiful fisherman's daughter and went ashore to play.
As she approached a thatched hut at the foot of a mountain, she saw a handsome and robust young man. The young man was also captivated by her beauty, and they fell in love at first sight, promising to be together for a lifetime. However, this violated the heavenly laws, and Li was summoned back to the Milky Way by the Jade Emperor. When Li left the mortal world, he painfully took off his beloved coat and tore it into two pieces - one piece he left in the lake, and the other he took back to the Milky Way. Whenever there was flooding, the ladle in the lake would splash water towards the sea. During droughts, the ladle in the Milky Way would sprinkle water from the heavens onto the earth.
To remember Li's kindness, people named the lake "Li Lake". The young man who deeply loved Lady Li was actually a fairy deer sent to the mortal world. Later, he pined away for the fairy Li and transformed into a mountain leaning against Li Lake. People called it "Luding Mountain".
For thousands of years, Li has become a protective deity and a symbol of good fortune in the human world. No wonder the famous Prime Minister Fan was also named "Li". The mother who conceived with a pearl gave birth to Xi Shi, who was also an unparalleled beauty. Nowadays, by the Lihu Lake, we can still see those "pearls" shining brightly. That is the fairy maiden Li sending us her affection.
