Tangjia River in spring
Text/Yang Xianping
There are people in coats by the river. The clear and bright river seems to illuminate the heavenly court. Flanked by long and wide cement dams. Above the dam are various houses and streets that are common in the current era. And these, but are commonplace, only the raccoon person, oh, in fact, is just a long-lost, from the agricultural era of a distant "image", as I want to say, the beauty and ugliness of the raccoon man and the old and young are not important, the important thing is "raccoon", this beautiful "word", like an elegant nail, nailed in my heart, especially in the era of all mechanization and informationization, every time I see it, I will suddenly give birth to a sense of beauty. Looking closely, the man in the raccoon, although he was also a woman, was old, with a fat waist and gray hair, and he must have been a grandmother. Moreover, what she washed was not the cotton clothes she used to have, but some plastic woven bags.
I sighed, looking at an unhurried figure in front of me, I couldn't help but think that if I was familiar, I would definitely stop her, and said solemnly, there are only people who go down to the river in this era, and I can see it in the remote Qingxi Ancient Town, which must be a rare blessing. Among them, "Qingxi", which is also so good that my heart gives birth to poetry for no reason, this place is said to be related to Deng Aihuashu during the Three Kingdoms period. Deng Ai, of course, can be regarded as a generation of famous generals, back then, he led his troops from today's Wenxian County, and then descended from Ferris Ridge, in a surprise attack, captured Jiangyou Pass, occupied Guanghan, and Liu Chan, the lord of the Shu Han Dynasty, saw that the general trend had passed, and led the people to surrender. This achievement of his was something that Cao Cao and Sima Yi dreamed of never achieved in their entire lives. Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching says, "When you achieve success, you will retreat from the way of heaven." "Deng Ai took credit for his own destruction of Shu, and without reporting to the emperor, he rewarded the former ministers of the Shu Han Dynasty, including Liu Chan, which finally gave Zhong Hui an opportunity to make false accusations, so that Deng Ai's father and son were unjustly killed by Sima Zhao.
This is the most prominent piece of history that happened on the Yinping Ancient Road connecting Qingxi Ancient City. But Deng Ai's death also had his own reasons. When a person obtains unearthly achievements, he should learn to converge and even retreat with his whole body. Deng Ai's ambition was not only Shu Han, but also dreamed of winning Eastern Wu in one fell swoop. But his ambition is still a delusion after all. Qingxi Ancient Town, once the seat of a county capital for a long time, of course, because of its important military strategic position, the confrontation and conflict between ancient political and military groups, favorable terrain can certainly achieve the effect of doubling the result with half the effort.
The situation of the earth itself provides human beings with everything they need to survive, including the heart and spirit, even the soul. To this day, Qingxi Ancient Town still retains the fortifications that look extremely strong, the green bricks are forested, and the Wengcheng is intact, and there is a sense of majesty from a distance. It is said that in the early Ming Dynasty, Fu Youde conquered Western Shu, and it also entered Shu from this, so that the southwestern region was also successively included in the territory of the Ming Empire. Stepping into Qingxi Ancient Town, you will be greeted by that quaint wind. Between the shops on both sides, there is a specially dug canal made of stone. In front of those stores, almost all kinds of flowers are placed. A voice next to him said that most of the people in this Qingxi ancient town like flowers, junzilan, green bamboo, hydrangeas, peonies, etc., competing on the stone steps, with different colors and fragrances, making the ancient entrance halls of each house suddenly infinitely vivid.
The relationship between plants and people is the most primitive, but also the most appropriate and comfortable. Walk through the tall archway, find a secluded place to sit, a few cups of tea floating is life's sorrows and joys and various encounters.
Quiet in the midst of hustle and bustle, lonely in the crowd. I think it's a necessary life situation. But thankfully, there are warm words from companions, the sunlight slanting down from the blooming flowers and trees, and the mottling on the ground actually hints at many inevitabilities, such as the posture and mood of others here in the past, and after this moment, who else will come here, will it be like us? Go to Shiniu Temple again, it is already dilapidated. There are five centuries-old cypress trees in the yard, and the waist pole is so thick that it makes people feel the bloated and rough of time. I came to the temple just to see. All the good and evil in the world is actually in one's own heart. As the Buddhists say "self-sufficiency by nature" and Wang Yangming's "to conscience". Behind the temple is the remnants of Ferris Ridge, with rich vegetation and green like an undulating ocean. Some say that there is a big snake there, but it never hurts. I also said that as long as it does not pose a threat, there is no need to be afraid and there is no need to eliminate the threat by other means. The serpent is also life, and it must have its own character and "boundaries." ”
Overlooking Qingxi Ancient Town from this position, houses are scattered, all kinds of trees, between the river beaches, green spaces and ditches, fresh in the sun, the surrounding peaks and mountains, like giant tortoises, carrying the sky, crawling in the world. For example, the horses, Luan drivers and flying birds all face towards Yinping Village and Qingxi Ancient Town in the middle of the depression. The ancients chose this place as a place of life, with wisdom, on the one hand, with the help of the prosperity of the dynasty, so as to live in peace and contentment, and live their own small lives. On the other hand, they can take refuge in the mountains in times of war and are not disturbed by war. Although there are some negative colors and closed farming consciousness, human nature is to seek advantages and avoid harms, and there is nothing wrong with such intentions.
Saying goodbye to the lonely and ascetic host, on the way down the mountain, I suddenly saw a flock of sheep flying over the green grass and green leaves with only their mouths and teeth. The sheep here are not large, and even look a little thin, but their legs and feet are agile, and their round eyes are as lively as a spring. I felt cordial when I saw wormwood growing everywhere. This grass that grows on the edge of the ditch ridge ditch exudes a strong medicinal fragrance itself, or rather, the somewhat smoked plant smell, which makes me a little fascinated. Some years, I had stomach problems, and a doctor friend suggested that I use moxibustion every day.
Mugwort has the effects of warming menstruation, removing dampness, dispersing cold, stopping bleeding, anti-inflammatory, calming asthma, suppressing cough, calming the fetus, anti-allergy, etc., and for me at that time, it was mainly to use them to remove dampness and disperse cold. I couldn't help but take off one and sniff deeply under my nose, I only felt that my mouth and nose were smooth, which was a different aroma, which made people feel the profound content of the plant itself. I think the taste is acceptable to anyone, including those who go with you. In the face of beautiful things, once they are echoed, I think it is a beautiful thing. Because, there are so many people in the world, all of them, come and go, and there are few people in the world who can be in the same breath and have the same interests as you. Just like this Qingxi ancient town, in the transition zone from the northern edge of the Hengduan Mountain Range to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, between the rolling mountains and valleys, its free and deep form is obviously different from many similar ancient towns. As I walked and sat in the town, I clearly felt that I was in a gentle small "dome" and "curtain", surrounded by the glow of the sun and the moon and the plants of the earth, soft and crisp wrapping and washing, and a rare sense of "sudden favor".
The mugwort in my hand constantly emits a refreshing smell, and then goes deep into the Tangjiahe River to greet me in an open posture for a newcomer, but please forgive me for being despicable, before, I only heard the name Tangjiahe from a friend in Guangyuan, and I only thought in general terms that this is probably also a natural existence and commercial natural attraction after "artificial", and the desire to go is not great.
Following the flowing water deep into the pole of the mountain, there are birds singing loudly in the sky, and the gushing water kills decisively, which is the deep beauty of life and the embodiment of the beauty of leisure. The Tangjia River is so deep, the car has been running for a long time, and it is still at the mouth of the valley. When I passed by Deng Ai's writing stone cliff, I once again felt the heaviness and delusion of history. The land of Bashu, whether in terms of property or talents, is definitely a land of anointing and abundance, the land of abundance, but why are the dynasties established here so short-lived? Shu Han is just one of them. In addition, there were Former Shu, Later Shu, Ming and Xia, Cheng Han, etc., which fell apart or were annexed by more powerful dynasties in a few decades, or as little as a dozen years. There must be something magical about it, and no one has yet made a convincing statement about it.
Because of the long popular novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the culture of the Three Kingdoms has been so long and profound in the southwest land, among which Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others are all from Yan Zhao, and Zhuge Wuhou, Guan Yu, Ma Chao and others are also northerners. Their short-lived struggle for hegemony in the southwest region, centered on Chengdu, was only a fleeting moment in the entire long history, and in today's Bashu, there is always a familiar "brand effect" known to women and children. "From this, I always feel that the people of the previous generations, and of course the present us, no matter how prominent and great they were at the beginning, if they can really be the descendants, it is the real success and merit."
Seeing green swarming and moss on both sides, he opened the window. In the breeze, the sound of the waves is heard. I can't help but look down, in the not so wide river, the flowing water is fast or soothing, and the sound of them hitting boulders and rolling themselves violently is always refreshing. Water, a natural thing that has been given supreme philosophical meaning by Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, must have some indescribable divine intent. Strictly speaking, the real cause and source of the formation of water as a substance cannot be traced in fact. The complete things between heaven and earth always have some mysterious properties, tangible, and may come from the intangible. The invisible may give birth and agglomeration to split into more invisible and tangible. In this regard, Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching also said, "There is no mutual birth, difficulty and easy to form each other, long and short are shaped, high and low are mutually reinforcing, sound and sound are harmonious, and the front and back follow each other, and they are constant." "Water must be the most permanent and fickle of the many eternal things in this world. And Confucius's "the deceased is like Sifu" is obviously based on flowing water, a popular summary and lament for the shortness of life. The former is based on the thorough observation and understanding of the natural humanity of heaven and earth, while the latter is a metaphor for all life like a white horse.
The staff of Tangjiahe Nature Reserve said that it is located in the northeast foot of Minshan Mountain and the northern section of Longmen Mountain, with an area of more than 40,000 hectares, including more than 20 rare animals such as giant pandas, golden monkeys, takins, clouded leopards, and green-tailed rainbow pheasants, as well as ancient plant species such as tongtong, lianxiang tree, water green tree, ginkgo, and yew tree. I was amazed, I didn't expect that there were so many peerless species in this remote place.
The more you walk inward, the more claustrophobic it becomes. The mountains on both sides are steep and the cliffs are among them. But the vegetation is quite abundant, including locust flowers that are blooming and redbuds that have withered. In addition to rare tree species such as tunghorn, lianxiang, aqua tree, yew tree, and ginkgo, there are also a wide variety of evergreen broadleaves, subalpine coniferous forests, alpine shrublands, and so on. It covers the entire Tangjia River densely and colorfully, mixed with natural Chinese herbs such as Qianghuo, Tianma, and fritillary.
Nature itself is a fusion and mixture, where many substances are crowded together, interacting, and the vitality is more resilient and long-lasting. People always think that this is very mysterious, but this is the essence. As Wittgenstein said, "It's not a mystery how things in the world exist, it's mysterious that they exist that way." ”
After stopping, facing the green and beautiful flowing water and the green mountains on both sides, I felt the clarity and thoroughness that came from heaven and earth itself, and I also felt the appropriateness and beauty of the integration of man and nature. The stones at the bottom of the river are almost transparent, and although they are irregular and even a little crooked, they are clean and full, like gemstones. The silky green algae are like the colorful skirts of fish, and they can't stop flowing with the water, as if they are dancing for the surrounding trees and boulders.
Such a beautiful scenery, when it is a good place to live in seclusion, must also be a wonderful place for men and women to fall in love. A friend who traveled with me pointed out to me the huge ginkgo tree, a tree that has traveled through billions of years and encountered humans again on today's earth, and the time information they carry is unknown to humans. The same goes for yew and yew. Of course, there are Sichuan golden monkeys, Tibetan chief monkeys, takins, giant pandas, rock squirrels, black bears and other animals. Staff at the Tangjiahe reserve said that if they were lucky, they could see twisted horned antelopes and giant pandas. Monkeys are common. I couldn't help but secretly rejoice, if it weren't for Tangjiahe, if it weren't for the repeated recommendation of friends who are familiar with this secret realm of the world, how could I have seen and encountered so many rare animals and plants? For this, I am deeply honored and feel that this is an invitation from the shadows.
They lie on the pavement, exposing their entire bodies to the spring sun, some turning over, others falling asleep. When the car came, it did not panic at all, and one of them walked to the car, first grinning and making angry noises. There is also one, with a smaller monkey in his arms. It was, of course, his child, with only a small head exposed, limbs and other parts clinging to his mother's arms. This kind of licking and affectionate scene, anyone will feel warm. This is the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey, as well as macaques and other species of monkeys, but no matter which one, the behavior and mentality of monkeys are roughly the closest or even similar to humans in terms of attitude towards their offspring. Looking at the monkeys' expectant eyes, I even said that I regretted not bringing any food, as if I owed them a great favor.
There was also a large monkey, crouched on a road pier, with its forelimbs raised, and there seemed to be some kind of longing in his eyes. I thought, too, was going to eat. I couldn't help but touch the empty space again. I also saw that the monkey's hair was golden and thick. This is roughly how they adapt to the environment, no matter in that season, as well as the characteristics of the plateau climate with a large temperature difference between day and night, they can protect their bodies well from wind evil. It also reminds me that there are some universal laws and rules between heaven and earth that apply to everything, including people. But I still had some sense of horror about the monkeys that I never dared to get out of the car. I felt ashamed, if the monkey was a person living in the mountains, I would definitely not hesitate to stretch out my hands, whether it was a slender jade finger or a thick palm as rough as a stick.
After all, there is some separation between humans and animals, which must be related to the arrogance and paranoia of human beings who claim to be the primate of all things and have no wisdom to match. Man is also a part of nature, and "Tao Law Nature" is an eternal truth and fact. Everything human beings derive from nature and must obey nature, and much of human wisdom is also the result of "learning from nature". As Rachel Carson puts it in her book Silent Spring, "The history of life on Earth is the history of how living things interact with their surroundings." The physical forms and habits of animals and plants on Earth are largely shaped by the environment. ”
No matter where you are, you will always hear the sound of singing waves, endless, continuous, booming or booming. This is the actual action of water on the earth, and it is also a proclamation and chant. At this time, the sun was in the middle of the sky, sharp and without any obstruction, illuminating the river water brightly and unhiddenly. The splashing waves fell on the water, but also on the surrounding stones and rocks. In particular, those huge rocks must be relics of the glacial age, some of which are as large as houses and some are wider than ordinary country roads. But most of them are just huge in the general sense. They just like that, standing and lying down in the running water day after day or on one side. I firmly believe that these stones also have memories, on the one hand, they are born by the constant washing of flowing water, on the other hand, they also help each drop of water to preserve history and emotion. They are integrated with all the plants and trees of the Tangjia River. Although spring has deepened, the water is still cold and piercing, and it seems to be covered with invisible steel spikes.
Some of the boulders shine brightly and sparkle, like the most beautiful body or mermaid fossils in the world. I couldn't help but exclaim. I also feel that no matter how tough things are, they are fragile to water. The constant movement of water can disintegrate anything. Like the common waterjet today, even the hardest steel will be split in two in an instant. A few of us got out of the car, raised our heads and looked around, each of us longing to have the privilege of seeing takin, giant pandas, hairy crowned deer, etc. In the dense forest, there seem to be countless sounds and animals moving, cracking or clashing leaves. But I could only hear the sound, and there was no moving thing appearing, and I was a little disappointed, and this embarrassment and embarrassment that I couldn't think of and love seemed to contain the meaning of fate.
Frustrated, I had to walk back and forth on the side path, just hoping that in this life, my steps would also stay in Tangjiahe. This proved to be futile, just like Deng Ai, who was smuggled into Yinping, he worked hard all his life, although he got what he wanted in a short time, in the long run, he just did one thing that should be done. How many years have passed, the Tangjia River is still gushing and everything is luxuriant, and Deng Ai can only be like a legend. Things last longer than people, this is also a true truth. "Zhuangzi Getaway" said, "Small knowledge is not as good as big knowledge, and small years are not as good as big years." "No matter how great the wisdom of a person, it is also a little clever. The longevity of Tangjiahe can be described by Li Bai's many poems "48,000 years old".
Out of the Tangjia River, and then seeing Qingxi Ancient Town located safely in the ravine, the fireworks atmosphere of the contemporary world came to the face, at that moment, it seemed to experience two worlds, one side is the endless and luxuriant nature of nature, and the other side is some chaos and noisy in nature. At dinner, I drank the mead that is unique to this place, and as soon as I took my mouth, I realized that this wine is delicious, but I can get drunk too much. Sure enough, at night, I wanted to sit on the windowsill and drink tea while looking at the stars. But as soon as I returned to the room, I was a little dizzy. I didn't take a bath and lay down, probably because of the full moon, even if it was a dark night, the sky of Tangjiahe was still blue, blue, and blue.
After that, I actually dreamed of a snake with a white body, flowing along the clear water that flowed endlessly, and then twisted and crawled through the wasteland full of flowers, along the window, rushed into the room, twisted her body, and sat in front of me, and then held up a beautiful face, saying that she was from the Tangjia River and had lived there in seclusion for many years, and then smiled, seemingly without malice. But I felt terrified and inexplicable, I couldn't help but wake up, my whole body was drenched with sweat, and thinking about it carefully, I felt that this was probably the legend I heard in Shiniu Temple, and I browsed and walked through the Tangjia River for too long, and I thought too much. He laughed dumbly. Looking out the window again, dawn is rising, a large area of light is falling, the Tangjia River on a new day, and in the huge greenery and vigorous of spring, it is a layer deeper and crisper.