As a middle-aged person who is slightly interested in the historical and cultural landscape when he comes to Hanzhong, the first thing to visit is the tomb of Wuhou, and the second is the stone gate plank road. But it was this Shimen Plank Road scenic spot that made me and my husband feel a great disappointment.
Striking signage on Shimen Boardwalk
Shimen Plank Road is the location of the first batch (1961) of the national key cultural relics protection unit Baoxiao, Shimen and its cliff stone carvings, which runs from the mouth of the valley in Hanzhong in the south to the Xieyu Pass in Mei County, Guanzhong in the north, known as the "ninth wonder of the world" and called by Mr. Mao Yisheng, a bridge expert, "the third architectural miracle of ancient China comparable to the Great Wall and the Grand Canal". It is such a great miracle, but now it no longer exists, not because of natural annihilation, but because of the construction of water conservancy projects.
Introduction to the first place of Shimen Plank Road
We braved the drizzle to run to the scenic area first, and found that it was basically a large construction site with various constructions under way. But since it came to peace, I still made up my mind to start climbing that section of up and down the steps, but it didn't look like a real work, and I felt that the real plank road should be gentle, easy to walk, especially on the march, and should not have such a large undulating slope. In addition, looking for cliff carvings all the way, I only saw a Liu Yuxi poem imitated by later generations, one recorded in the right Ren poem, and the other poem was written in a thimble technique, which is quite distinctive, and the author can't see it clearly. It wasn't until the so-called Shimen that I read the instructions and learned that the real Shimen Plank Road had been submerged underwater when the reservoir was built in 1969! I was very surprised, although I have not studied the value of this Shimen Reservoir compared to such a long and profound historical relic since the Warring States Qin and Han Dynasties, but intuitively, I am afraid that the gain is not worth the loss.
Today's "Stone Gate"
On the way, I talked with other tourists and learned that part of the real cliff carvings were demolished and relocated to the Hanzhong Museum, known as the "Shimen Thirteen Pins". So we returned to the Hanzhong Museum, where we made up for the most important lesson, visiting the thirteen stone carvings that had been cut and excavated and embedded in the wall. And these, far from all, more, also quietly sank 70 meters below the reservoir! Are they still fine, or have they been eroded?
Liu Yuxi poem imitation
At this point, I felt a little heartache, for those cultural relics that were cut and stripped alive, and for the era in which this decision was made. Once, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, repaired the plank road here, darkened Chen Cang, and eventually established the Han Dynasty. Once, when Cao Cao garrisoned at the mouth of the valley in Hanzhong, he saw the rushing down of the Bu River, crashed into stones and flying flowers, and inscribed the word "Gunxue" with a pen, which is said to be the only authentic handwriting of Cao Cao that has been seen so far. Once, Shu Prime Minister Zhuge Liang led an army from this plank road over the Qinling Mountains to Hanzhong, and then north into the Central Plains. It is such an ancient plank road that carries a heavy Chinese culture and still existed more than 60 years ago, but it suddenly disappeared in the smoke and dust of distant history.
Introduction to the second place of the Shimen Plank Road
Because of regret, I made up another possible picture in my mind: the location of the ancient plank road has not changed, but it is repaired as old in the original site, and the cliff carvings have not been dug up and removed, but are better protected in the original site. Visitors here should be like being in the historical smoke of 2,000 years ago, wandering in the historical corridor since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, as descendants of future generations, we should be able to feel more deeply the wisdom and long history of the Han nation.
One of the thirteen products of the Shimen of the Hanzhong Museum, with an inscription by Cao Cao
However, the fact is that now this scenic spot as a historical and cultural attraction, built by ancient methods, soaked with the industrious wisdom of the ancients of the ancient plank road is submerged, flowing with the talents of the literati and ink of the past generations of cliff carvings are gone, its soul has gone, its anger has gone, the smoke of history and the pulse of humanities have gone, to put it mildly, it is basically empty, which is really regrettable!
The main scenic spot under construction
Personal opinion, can be discussed, do not spray.
(March 25, 2023)