Prose | Yang Lanqin: Jingyang Gangshang

Jingyang Gangshang

Text/Yang Lanqin

(Image courtesy of the author)

In this world, there are always some people who are intoxicated by the fragrance of history and try to salvage the remnants of time. Perhaps, like these people, I love the ordinary but hidden mysterious records of the history books; obsessed with an ordinary and suspicious legend; Hao shou in a piece of pottery that is not strange and soaked in history. Maybe it's just a relic, a ruined tomb, a fallen ancient village, or a section of a remnant wall, but a barren hill will always make people fascinated and haunted. Only because, beneath them, there is an immortal story, a page of eternal legend.

The visit to Jingyanggang was in the late autumn of 2016. It is a pity to say that the picture of Wu Song fighting the tiger in the primary school Chinese texts is still vividly remembered, and the unique love and respect for "Water Margin" in the four famous works of the university has been extended to this day, and its ruins are in the hometown of my hometown, only because I live outside and leave my hometown, I was able to visit as I wished when I had passed the age of standing.

Jingyang Gang belongs to Yanggu County, Shandong Province, located at the junction of Shandong Province and Henan Province, on the banks of the Yellow River, on the right side of the canal, in the territory of Zhangqiu Town, about 16 kilometers east of Yanggu County. Drive from the town of Chaocheng (Ancient Wuyang City) in Xinxian County, along the 324 Provincial Highway all the way east for half an hour, then turn south, and finally cross the Tongcun Road of the Forest And Wood Road to JingyangGang.

According to historical records, Jingyang Gang used to be chaotic, with undulating sand dunes, shady trees, tigers and wolves, birds and beasts, and sparsely populated. The simple and ancient wooden gate with staggered thatched roof is not obtrusive, so that the artistic conception of "barren hills and wild mountains" is not much reduced. When I entered the door, I looked up and saw that there was a rockery under the trees, and the words "ancient wind still exist" were written on it. Moving on, pine pine forest, sandwiched by a natural tonggang dirt road. I was attracted by an ancient dry willow, two thick and thin, rugged branches growing obliquely forward, almost touching the ground, in the silence of cicadas and birds, it seems to be at the feet of Wu Song a thousand years ago. The stone stele of the "Jingyang Gang Ruins" stands alone in a corner of the barren hill, making visitors throbbing in the intersection of time and space. Further ahead, I saw a boulder on the side of the deserted path, on which was engraved Chairman Mao's inscription: "Yanggu County is the hometown of Wu Song, the hero of fighting tigers." This is chairman Mao's first sentence in 1956 when he gave instructions for the report on the construction of a pig base in the local area. The original words are "After all, Yanggu County is the hometown of the tiger hero Wu Song...". I think that although Wu Song was out of Qinghe County, Jingyang Gang triggered him, activated him, and achieved him, Yanggu was finally his second hometown. Along the Shagang Trail, you can see more than 20 places along the way, such as three bowls of Gang Liquor Stack, Villagers' Notice Office, County Notice Office, Mountain Temple, Wusong Tiger Fighting Place, Stone Stele, Tiger Howling Pavilion, Wusong Temple, Huxin Island, Stele Forest, Tiger Pond, Monkey Mountain, Deer Garden, Arrow Field, etc. All of them have passed away from the ancient wind, and in this hilly and wild forest, they exude a heroic spirit of loyalty and bravery. The mountain temple has a history of more than 200 years, a total of 3 rooms, built on a 30-meter-long, 25-meter-wide and 4-meter-high earthen platform, sitting north to south, green bricks and gray tiles. Inside the temple, there is a statue of Wu Song fighting a tiger. In the left front of the temple stands the stone stele of "Jingyang Gang" inscribed by Shu Tong, former secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Cpc Committee and a famous calligrapher, and in front of the right side stands a 3-meter-high stele of "Tiger" written by the famous calligrapher Yang Xuanting. Scenic Area West Tiger Pavilion: exquisite physique, hexagonal single eaves, inscribed by Xu Beihong's wife, calligrapher Liao Jingwen. The Forest of Steles is located north of the Mountain Temple. Because the story of Wu Song fighting the tiger was widely circulated, visitors from all over the world flocked to it, and famous scholars inscribed inscriptions and poems here, engraved into a stele. After many years of accumulation, the forest of steles has gradually become a scale, and it is reported that by the end of 2001, there were 46 inscriptions.

Wusong Temple occupies the top of Beigang, which is also the commanding height of Jingyang Gang, and behind it is a cliff with a height difference of 40 meters, which is not inferior to Beijing Jingshan. It is said that it was built in the middle of the Ming Dynasty and was destroyed, and the current Wusong Temple was rebuilt in 1958, and the gate plaque "Wusong Temple" was written by Zhao Puchu. In the east pavilion of the park, there is a monument to Wu Song to fight the tiger, and in the west pavilion is a newly cast bell. The main hall is a five-bay, three-entry deep-stump mountain-style building. In the middle of the hall is a statue of Wu Song, and the statue hangs a plaque with the words "Xun Ye Zhaozhang". The interior of the wall is decorated with a number of wood-carved murals depicting the life of Wu Song. Quietly tells the story of Wu Song's life and his immortal legend. There is a glass-covered stone stele in the courtyard, through the glass can see the vicissitudes of this stele, the handwriting is mottled, and the text on the side probably introduces this as a stele from the Southern Song Dynasty, and after the examination of historians and gold stone experts, there is a record of "Wusong Fighting Tiger Place". The events of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Chronicle of the Southern Song Dynasty, are only a few decades apart, so it is true to judge that Wu Song fought the tiger.

Coming down from the Wusong Temple, it was already ten in the afternoon, sitting on the stone slab of "Wusong Fighting Tiger", his thoughts could not help but overflow over this hill, real and virtual, the ruins in front of him and the figure of "Water Margin", a real Wusong seemed to stand in front of his eyes.

Throughout Wu Song's life, he fell into the Chai Mansion, beat the tiger to meet the brother, hated the brother xue, drunkenly beat the Jiang Men God, made a big fuss about Fei Yunpu, splashed the Mandarin Duck Tower, fell grass Erlong Mountain, Liangshan Dajuyi, Southern Expedition Fang La, broke his arm, and sat in Liuhe Temple. It is really vigorous, a piece of blood sincerity, a piece of righteousness, a piece of determination...

Jin Sheng sighed and commented on the Water Margin, and surprised Wu Song as a heavenly person, and was designated as the superior among one hundred and eight people: "However, this one hundred and eighteen people are also not as superior as Wu Song. However, how can Wu Song be like a man? "Wu Song, Tianren also." 'Wu Song Tianren has the breadth of Lu Da, the poison of Lin Chong, the righteousness of Yang Zhizheng, the liang of Chai Jin, the speed of Ruan Qi, the truth of Li Kui, the jie of Wu Yong, the ya of Hua Rong, the greatness of Lu Junyi, and the police of Shi Xiu. Isn't it appropriate to be the first person? Chairman Mao highly praised Wu Song. He said, "We want to learn from Wusong on Jingyang Gang." In Wu Song's view, the tiger on the Jingyang Gang stimulates it like that, and it is also like that without stimulating it, in short, it is to eat people. Or beat the tiger to death, or be eaten by the tiger, and either." Of course, the tiger that Chairman Mao is talking about here is not only the real tiger on the Jingyang Gang, he is referring to all evil forces.

Wu Songyuan was a native of Qinghe County, and his brother Wu Dalang raised him when his parents died in childhood, and then took refuge in Chaijin Province because of the death of a fight. At this time, Wu Songping was among the many fallen people in Chai Jin Province. Leaving Chai Province, Wu Song embarked on the road of finding his brother, and it was from this that a hero who was bold and loyal and bloody began to reflect his rivers and lakes, wielding happiness and vengeance, writing loyalty and courage, leaving an eternal legend.

Wu Song is a righteous man - eight-foot boy, the most affectionate and righteous. When he learned in Chai Province that his lawsuit was unencumbered, the first thing he did was to find his brother who had nurturing grace for him. Jingyang Gangshang killed the tiger with a red fist, and his fame spread to the world, and in the face of yanggu county's award of silver, he did not show much enthusiasm, and the reward was scattered among the people, and he also accepted it after repeatedly thanking the officials. In the face of his sister-in-law's unscrupulous desires, he sneered at righteousness and stubbornly adhered to the bottom line of human morality and righteousness. When he learned that his brother had been wrongfully killed, he decided to draw his sword and kill Pan Ximen in anger. In order to repay the grace of Giving Grace, Wu Songyi did not hesitate, drunkenly beat Jiang Menshen, and the blood-spattered Mandarin Duck Tower finally went to a road of no return. After Liangshan Juyi, he killed countless people with swords and swords, only for the hero to pity each other, brotherly righteousness.

Wu Song was sane--there were many comments in later generations that Wu Song was bloodthirsty and reckless. If you think about it, it's not. Wu Song was wary and rational about the world, only because he knew the true face of the world. This is the complete opposite of Lin Chong's naïve forbearance. In the face of the kind admonition of the restaurant on Jingyang Gangshang, Wu Song first thought of "trying to get rich and kill people"; on the cross slope where countless passers-by lost their lives, Wu Song was actually on high alert and successfully saved his life; when he was a bloody vendetta against his brother, under the fury, Wu Song still maintained a terrible calm, checked clues, looked for evidence, used public opinion, and killed both hands with his hands. In contrast, Lin Chong's family was destroyed, and he was innocent of sin, but he was almost wiped out. The ensuing big fuss Fei Yunpu, the blood splashed the Mandarin Duck Tower, Wu Song relied on amazing calmness, a high degree of vigilance, single-handedly, broke through the sinister organs, killed all the way, waded through the dark conspiracy, after the blood light, Wu Song's reason sublimated to a new realm: the whole world and era he lived in was dark and sinister. So he raised his sword forward and righteously went to Liangshan.

Wu Song is resolute -- Jingyang Gangxia, facing the unjust death of his eldest brother, Wu Song's nature made his bloody spurt for the first time. Maybe in just a moment his heart was written with a word —"kill"; perhaps as soon as evil appeared, his heart began to sharpen its knife. Wu Song's determination and bloodiness reached its extreme in the rainy night of the Mandarin Duck Tower, and the knife fell in his hand, and there was a bloody light. He was convinced that the only way to reason with the blade and to speak with blood was his philosophy, and this was his choice. Later generations have many theories of "viciousness" and "cruelty" when discussing Wu Song's bloodiness, but throughout the ages, the forbearance and compromise of losing principles have often been rolled over by more and more evil. When commenting on "Water Margin," Chairman Mao pointed out that this book is good in that it is written on Zhao'an, which is to educate us and to see the fate of surrender. The famous Jewish political thinker Hannah Arendt also pointed out in her reflection on the roots of fascism that it is the "banal evil" of collective aphasia and indifference to power and violence that has led to the tragic catastrophe on the heads of sentient beings themselves. In the face of evil and meanness, only a clear distinction between determination and blood can defend justice! There always needs to be a bloody hero who jumps out of the darkness, shouts, and falls with a knife...

Wu Song is Wise - Wu Song strides forward in his ups and downs in his ups and downs of life. But think about it with your heart, and each of his legends unfolds under the guidance of his philosophy of life. His philosophy is: loyalty comes first, and evil is not tolerated. Among the one hundred and eight people, there is no one who is as free as Wu Song, no one who is as good as Wu Song, no one who kills people, and no one who protects himself is more wise than him. For Zhao'an and Liangshan's fate, he seemed to have anticipated it earlier, and he was indifferent, he did not have the irritability of Li Kui and others, nor did he have the sadness of others, and what was even more shocking was that Wu Song had a thorough understanding of the earthly world and life. After a life of devotion, he cooled down, calmed down, and concluded in his heart: the mission is over, the big thing is done, and the red dust is gone. So he put down the butcher's knife, rushed to his heart, and in the sutra of liuhe temple, under the admiration of the people, he went to eternity...

Just as Zhang Hateshui said, those who can really read the Wusong Transmission are by no means only shocked, but also not only shocked, but only feel a piece of blood sincerity, a piece of innocence, and a piece of righteousness. However, in this way, we do not know that there are fierce tigers in the world, that there are fierce enemies in the world, that there is adultery in the world, and that there is power in the world to kill people without blood. What is righteous should be done, that is, to go to the soup and the fire, to have something to do, and what is righteous should not be done, although it is pearlescent, it is avoided. There are such people in the world, who can not only be filial piety at home, but also good people in the country, so that reading must be true Confucianism, so that the study of Buddhism must be high monks, and the officials must be pure officials.

It was nearly dusk, and I was standing on this Jingyang Gang. The sunset jinhui through the gaps in the trees was mottled on the stone stele of the "Jingyang Gang Ruins" in front of me, and the large stone that was said to have been drunk and lying down by Wu Song had no good man's body temperature, but the temperature of history was delayed in the legend of the hero. In his world of carved words, folded words and ink, prevailing in the city government, and exhausting organs, Wu Song was nothing more than a different kind of thing--clear and clear, happy and decisive, right and wrong, good and evil, and full of vitality...

Looking not far to the south, ShenSi has already followed the footsteps of the walkers to cross Dongping Lake, pointing directly to Liangshan Po, running straight to juyi Hall...

【About the author】Yang Lanqin Male born in Xinxian County, Shandong Province, Bachelor of Foreign Languages, Master of Management, working in government agencies. Adhere to the concept of "literature, after all, has the heart of the world's hearts"; wander the text, dialogue ideas, and create freely. Prose and poetry works such as "Fushui Long Song, Dream Spring City", "Westbound Wind Song", "Dead Country, Tan Sitong", "Murderer, Wu Song", "Brick Stove", "Hi, Simon", "Thick Soil", "Old Copper", "Moon is Hometown Ming", "Be a Sparrow on the Brick Floor", "See the Wind and Dust", "Standing on the Tip of Words", "Song of Breaking the Void", "Flying Bird", "Also in that Sea", "Dream Horse" and other prose and poetry works have won awards, published or been featured in various theme essay solicitation activities.