My Long Ascending - The stones of Jishi Mountain have a story
Wende Peak
On December 18, 2023, I learned from the news media that there was an earthquake in Jishishan County, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province.
There are 10 ethnic groups in this county, including Baoan, Dongxiang, Sala, Hui, Han, Tu and Tibetan, and ethnic minorities account for 64.9% of the total population of the county, of which 21,400 are Baoan people, accounting for more than 95% of the total population of Baoan people in the country.
Knowing this special county, fly thousands of miles from the country of Lu to the country of Qin, and see this western minority settlement that spans thousands of years and is still mysterious.
The history of Jishishan County can be traced back to the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and it became the habitat of the ancient Qiang and Fan ethnic groups during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. These tribes have set up camp here, giving birth to a splendid regional culture and forming a unique "Stone Sea" culture.
The stones of the Stone Mountain are everywhere. And it's so beautiful that I suddenly feel like I'm lonely, so beautiful that I feel small and ignorant when I see any stone, and every stone here has a beautiful story written in ancient times.
The stones of Jishi Mountain, I know that Dayu has guided the river here to control the water, and I know that Luban has been here to build a bridge. The stones of Jishi Mountain can proudly say to other stones that I am here, which is the source of Dayu's water control, is the hometown of the King of Chinese Painted Pottery, and is the place where the Baoan people live.
Approaching the "Stone Sea" composed of stones from Jishi Mountain, you will find that this is a paradise for eco-tourism, the hometown of Chinese peppercorns, and the birthplace of world folk songs (flowers).
The stones of Jishi Mountain hide the stories of Chinese culture for millions of years.
For example, the "Luban Stone" I encountered in the Shihai Scenic Area today.
Lu Banshi's past and present life is like this:
A long time ago, the Bingling Temple in this area has been famous all over the world and merchants gathered, the incense is prosperous, but because the road is rugged and difficult, it is necessary to use a raft to cross the river, the Yellow River is high in rapid waves, and the raft overturns and people die from time to time.
One day, Lu Ban traveled here, saw this scene, he wanted to build a bridge on the Yellow River, he found a lot of high-quality stones to build the bridge foundation along the foothills of Jishi Mountain. So, how can these stones be transported to the bank of the Yellow River next to Bingling Temple?
He meditated for many days, and late one night, the gods gave Lu Ban a dream—why don't you drive the sheep along the mountains and rivers?
This method surprised Lu Ban. So when Lu Ban chose the zodiac auspicious, he used mana to point the stone as a sheep, and slowly drove a group of "stone sheep" to the bank of the Yellow River, at dawn on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, Lu Ban drove the "sheep", which was found by a girl who got up early to carry water, and the girl looked at the "sheep" of the Manchuan Road, and she couldn't help but exclaim:
"Come and see, where are so many 'sheep' running!"
Before the words fell, the "sheep" instantly turned into a stone, not moving at all.
Seeing this scene, Lu Ban sighed and sat down on this boulder, leaving a deep seat mark, which is called "Luban Stone" in the folk.
In Chinese culture, the secret of heaven cannot be revealed!
The girl inadvertently leaked the secret of heaven, Luban's Yellow River Bridge was not built, and he sat on this stone with eternal regret.
Nuwa is here to refine stones to make up the sky, Shennong's tastes herbs in this stone sea, when Dayu controls the water, he uses the stones here to build a dam, and Sun Simiao tastes herbs in the cracks of the stones......
The things in the story, yes or no......
It doesn't really matter whether it is true or not, the important thing is that the stones of Jishi Mountain have been lying there for hundreds of millions of years, they have witnessed the birth and reproduction of the Chinese nation, witnessed the splendid Chinese culture yesterday, and today, will also witness the continued prosperity of Chinese culture tomorrow......
Editor: Ma Jing
Editor-in-charge: Ma Lanhua
Producer: Li Hua Ma Deming
Director: Han Zheng