Finding evidence on Lychee Road and visiting Madu Pass
During the reign of Tang Tianbao (742-756), in order to satisfy the favorite concubine Yang Yuhuan's preference for eating fresh lychees, Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty built a concubine garden in Fuzhou (now Fuling, Chongqing), and repaired more than 1,000 kilometers of post roads from Fuzhou to Xi'an to transport lychees, leaving a thousand-year-old lychee ancient road heritage for today's people.
Recently, Xuanhan Cultural Tourism invited Internet experts, media reporters, and ancient village protection workers to visit an important node on the Lychee Ancient Road - the ancient "Langyingyi", and now the "Madu Pass".
The series of visits has a total of 3 episodes: "Ancient Road, Madu Pass", "Stone Forest, Madu Pass", and "Folk Song: Madu Pass".
Madu Pass
"When you ride the red dust and the concubine laughs, no one knows that it is a lychee", the ancient road of lychee is known because of this poem by Du Mu.
In order to favor his concubine Yang Yuhuan to eat fresh lychees, Tang Xuanzong ordered the lychee post envoy to seal the picked lychees with leaves in the newly cut Nanzhu tube, and keep them fresh in the soil method.
The Ming Dynasty's "Shuzhong Guangji" recorded the general direction of this route: Feiziyuan - Dianjiang - Liangping - Sichuan Dazhu - Daxian - Xuanhan Maduguan - Pingchang Yankou Township - Wanyuan - Tongjiang - re-enter Wanyuan - Shaanxi Zhenba County - Xixiang County Ziwu Town - Chang'an.
Lychee Road and Micang Road (Photo courtesy of Dazhou Museum)
Judging from the current expert research of the Lychee Road route, the whole journey of more than 1,000 kilometers of Lychee Road, passing through Dazhou for a total of about 200 kilometers, from Dacheng Township Wayao Dam into Xuanhan, into the three bridges, passes, and horses out of Xuanhan to Pyeongchang.
Among them, the Lychee Ancient Road in the territory of Madu Pass is about 15 kilometers.
Ma Du Kwan Lychee Road (detail)
"When you enter the old forest trench, there will be fewer lychees; After the old forest ditch, the lychee will not be stolen", "a yellow dragon (fire paper) goes out of the river, and a white dragon (cotton) enters the river", the staff of the Madu Pass Stone Forest Scenic Area told us that this is a local saying, which adds a bit of intriguing fun to the Madu Pass on the lychee road.
Madu Guanguan Building
Walking into Madu Pass, when we pass through the gate along the bluestone road, it is as if we have traveled to the depths of time.
The stone bridge, the horse wall, the horse trough, and the horse tethering stone that are closely related to the ancient road post station come into view, and a string of horses' hooves from the Tang Dynasty are ticking past the ears, all the way to the north, over the hills, and reach Chang'an.
The Lychee Ancient Road is famous for the story of transporting lychees, but in the more than 1,000 years that followed, the stories that happened outside the poem made the story of this ancient road even more exciting.
It runs through the townships, post stations, and villages at the southern foot of Bashan, and the population is thriving. During the Tang Tianbao period, the imperial court ruled the county in Maduguan, and this place was more prosperous, and people from the south and north met here.
Friends in the same industry summed it up properly: the ancient road sets up the stage, and the humanities sing.
In order to bless the safety of the road and pray for the blessing of the family to eliminate disasters, the wind of opening shrines and statues that prevailed in the Central Plains also spread to Madu Pass.
Now we see the Madu Pass Tang and Song Dynasty cliff statues, excavated in a 10 meters long, wide, high 4 meters each on the big stone package, around the rock face of red sandstone, densely distributed 24 large and small 145 statues. During the Tang Zhenguan period, in the statue place, Taizong ordered the construction of the Fengrao Temple of the triple temple, that is, the Langyang Temple today, in front of the huge atrium in front of the temple, that is, there are nineteen stone steps, this brilliant big temple, for a time became one of the four famous temples in eastern Sichuan.
According to the staff of Maduguan Scenic Area, in recent years, many archaeological experts have come to Maduguan to conduct archaeological investigations, the first stop is Langyang Temple, and unanimously identified: the cliff statue of Maduguan Langyang Temple is vivid and full, the clothing pattern and clothing are beautifully carved, and it is very Tang style and Song rhyme, and it has become the artistic conception of "Madu Majestic Wind in the Tang Dynasty".
Among the 145 Buddha statues, the most precious is the male Guanyin of the Tang Dynasty.
The staff of Maduguan Scenic Area told us that "there are only three well-preserved male Guanyin cliff stone carvings in the country, and the other two are located in the famous mountain room of Yongtai in Fuzhou City and Tongliang Couples Town in Chongqing."
The Nanguanyin of Langyang Temple was built in 756, which is the earliest and has high artistic value.
Today, we can still feel the beauty of this male Guanyin statue with delicate carving, smooth lines, and shape. The statue is deeply embedded in the boulder in a standing posture, holding a bottle in the left hand, holding a branch in the right hand, the body is integrated with the boulder, the folds of the clothes are expressed in stripes, the lines and contours are smooth and natural, the modeling posture is solemn and quiet, the demeanor is graceful and calm, and there is a solemn majesty that does not eat the fireworks of the world.
Around the statue of the male Guanyin, many believers are carved on the boulder. In one of the niches, the first person is a housewife in women's clothes, with a small bun, a shawl, a long skirt with wide sleeves, kneeling in front of the Buddha. Behind him are two women in long skirts with wide sleeves and folded hands, and in front of the female dependents are boys and girls, vividly reproducing the life scenes of ancient people.
In addition, in the cliff statue of Langyang Temple, there are the gods of the eight parts of the heavenly dragon in the shape, the face is big, the eyes are round and angry, and the Buddha is compassionate, the Bodhisattva is soft, the king is brave, and the strength of the wrestler sets off each other.
The flying sky at the top of the Buddhist shrine, the body is V-shaped, the neck wears a collar, the wrist wears a bracelet, the posture is semi-naked, the long skirt reaches the feet, dancing and flying, lifelike.
At dusk, a little starlight in the sky is faintly visible, and we return to Guanlou from the ancient road between the stone forests, only the footsteps can be heard all the way, as if we are returning from drawing water in the river of time, full of sweetness, a poem.
In our hearts, this ancient road carries not only the trivial things of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Yuhuan, but also a broader folk picture scroll spread out along the ancient road, and more intense fireworks rise with the business travel.
Source: Cultural Tourism Xuanhan