Colorful boat cruise. Photo by Guangyuan Daily all-media reporter Liu Ren
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On the west bank of the ancient city of Lizhou during the Tang Dynasty, the Jialing River is gentle and deep, known as Jiangtan, and it is said that there is an oolong growing in the water of Jiangtan, which is also called Black Dragon Pond. The Black Dragon Pond is sparkling and unfathomable. According to legend, the Yang family, the mother of Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, became pregnant here with an oolong, became pregnant for the course of pregnancy, and gave birth to the Empress Wu Zetian of Qianqiu.
In the last years of Wude, Wu Zetian's father, Wu Shitong, was ordered to take his family and cronies to cross the Qinling Mountains, set foot in Shuzhan, and came to the Lizhou Governor's Mansion located on the bank of the Jialing River.
Soon after Wu Shitong took office in Lizhou, he struck hard, and the situation in Lizhou was quickly brought under control, and the people could basically live and work in peace and contentment, and the imperial court was also very relieved.
On the west bank of the Jialing River outside Lizhou City, there is an ancient temple, which is scattered, the cigarette smoke is swirling, and the Sanskrit language is bursting. In the spring of the first year of Zhenguan, when the spring flowers bloomed, Wu Zetian's mother Yang accompanied her husband and crossed the river by boat to the ancient temple on the other side to worship the Buddha and ask for the blessing of the Bodhisattva.
The cliff statues in the temple are a treasure in the history of art. The excavation began in the Northern Wei Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty, mainly including the central pillar cave, the five Buddha caves, the big Buddha caves, etc., among which the big Buddha statue is the most magnificent and exquisite. These grottoes are large in scale and exquisite in craftsmanship, and are the artistic masterpieces of Buddhist stone carvings in the early Tang Dynasty in the mainland.
Yang went to the ancient temple to see the Buddha and worship, extremely excited, forgetting the hard work of going up and down. Back in the cabin, Madame Yang fell asleep on the couch, feeling as if she had entered a crystal palace, full of gold and jewels, and she roamed the crystal palace with high spirits.
When the official ship sailed to the Black Dragon Pond, a cloud of mist covered the river, the sky and the earth immediately darkened, with a lightning bolt piercing the sky, an oolong suddenly jumped up in the river, pounced into the official boat, and woke up the Yang family in the dreamland. Oolong entered the ship, and Yang collapsed in horror in the cabin, unconscious. After a while, the oolong rushed out of the official ship, took off, circled over the official ship and then shook its head and tail and flew towards the west mountain, at the same time, a phoenix also flew with Caixia to soar over the official ship and fly to the east mountain.
Everyone was stunned by the scene in front of them, only Yuan Tiangang, who was on the same boat, looked up to the sky and exclaimed: "The dragon and phoenix are auspicious, and there will be nobles here." ”
Seeing that his wife was sleeping in the cabin, the governor of Wudu hurriedly called his entourage to quickly steer the boat and send his wife back to the house. Back at the Governor's Mansion, Yang was bedridden. After more than a month, the doctor saw her again and found out that she was pregnant. Since then, the legend of the reincarnation of the golden wheel and the pregnancy of the oolong has spread far and wide.
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On the twenty-third day of the first month of the second year of Zhenguan (628 AD), Yang gave birth to a girl, who was the only female emperor Wu Zetian in Chinese history. When Wu Zetian was two years old, Yuan Tiangang went to the Lizhou Governor's Mansion again, and the Wudu Governor asked him to show the child. At that time, Wu Zetian was wearing boy's clothes, and Yuan Tiangang looked at it for a while and exclaimed: "The appearance of Fuxi is the most noble. Yuan Tiangang asserted: "If it is a woman, she should be the lord of the world." ”
This word quickly spread in Lizhou, and Wudu Governor was also very happy, so he called the West Mountain of Hidden Dragon and the East Mountain of Hidden Phoenix as Wulong Mountain and Phoenix Mountain.
Oolong Mountain winds and falls, there are two or three earth and stone bags on the top of the mountain, and the whole mountain shape looks like a huge dragon head. Phoenix Mountain is more like a phoenix with wings ready to fly, and the top of the mountain is just like a phoenix's head. This is the beauty of the landscape forged by nature, and the magic of nature is breathtaking.
Since then, people have regarded the Black Dragon Pond as a sacred pond and Lizhou as a spiritual land. Every year on the 23rd day of the first lunar month, local men and women prepare incense and candle offerings, and go to the Jialing River in groups to worship the Black Dragon Pond and thank God. The legend of "Oolong Pregnancy" has added a lot of mystery to Wu Zetian's birth.
Wu Zetian was born with "square forehead" and "dragon eyes and phoenix neck" since he was a child, and he is a stunning beauty. She grew up, and after a period of hardship, she became the only female emperor in Chinese history and became the "Golden Wheel Holy Spirit Emperor" of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
After becoming emperor, Wu Zetian paid more attention to the appointment of talents. She pioneered the palace examination and martial arts system, improved and developed the imperial examination system, and emerged a group of capable generals who were "like benevolent and martial arts". She vigorously developed production, and agriculture, handicrafts and commerce developed considerably. During the 15 years that Wu Zetian was emperor, the territory was vast and the empire was strong.
It is worth mentioning that Wu Zetian also vigorously improved the status of women. After becoming the queen, she personally presided over the "first silkworm" ceremony and sacrificed the first silkworm as the "first lady" of the Tang Dynasty. At the same time, she also encouraged women all over the world to raise silkworms and weave cloth and take on the heavy responsibility of economic development.
Wu Zetian's life can be described as legendary and colorful. In the ancient society where men were inferior to women, she rose to prominence and governed the dynasty in an orderly manner with her amazing talent. Song Qingling commented on her, "The only female emperor in Chinese history, an outstanding female politician in the feudal era." Guo Moruo commented on her "governance of the grand and chaste concept, and the beginning of the political enlightenment".
During her reign, the Tang Dynasty was socially stable, economically prosperous, and culturally developed, and its strong national strength laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Kaiyuan Dynasty. In particular, she challenged the traditional social concept of "male superiority and inferiority of women", breaking through the boundaries of the system and daring to be the first, which has transcendent significance. She has set up women's scientific examinations, and women can also be officials, and is deeply supported by women, especially women in Lizhou.
Theatrical performances. Photo by Guangyuan Daily all-media reporter Liu Ren
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Wu Zetian was born in Lizhou, which is recorded in the history books. "Chronicles of the Nine Domains": "Wu Shi Tong was the governor of Lizhou, and he lived in his place after his death. "Fang Yu Shenglan": "Its place Huangze Temple has the true face of the martial arts. "Notes on Lao Xue'an": "The portrait of the Empress Wuhou of Lizhou, which is seven feet long. "Shu Zhi": "Then the heavenly father Shi Tong docked in the river and pond, and the stepmother felt that the dragon was pregnant." ”
In the fifth year of the late Tang Dynasty (851 AD), when the famous poet Li Shangyin went to Zizhou with Liu Zhongying as the shogunate, he passed through Lizhou City along the ancient Shu Road, remembered that Wu Zetian was born here, and specially visited Lizhou Jiangtan and Huangze Temple, and made this poem "Lizhou Jiangtan Works" that has been passed down through the ages:
The sword is not easy to sell, and Bitan cherishes Lanhua.
Bring your own bright moon and move the lights, and if you want to, the clouds will scatter.
The window of Heboxuan is through the shell que, and the water palace is only foil rolled with ice silk.
When he had no one to send the swallows, the rain was full of empty city leaf carvings.
Li Shangyin's poems are mostly untitled, this poem not only has a title, but also deliberately adds a note, which is to remind readers: Look at it, I am Acura Wu Zetian, she is a "divine sword" and a "dragon"!
Li Shangyin noted that "Lizhou Jiangtan" is "the Golden Wheel of Pregnancy". This is because many historical books record that Wu Zetian once canonized himself as the "Golden Wheel Holy Spirit Emperor" history, "feeling pregnant Golden Wheel", which means that Wu Zetian is pregnant because of the sky, and "Lizhou Jiangtan" is the place where Yang's pregnancy Wu Zetian is pregnant.
In July 1954, when the Baocheng Railway was built, a stone tablet was dug out in Huangze Temple in Guangyuan County (now Lizhou District), which was a tablet in the 22nd year of Mengchang Guangzheng in Houshu (959 AD), and it was engraved with the new temple of Empress Wu of Tang Zetian in Huangze Temple, Lizhou Governor's Mansion. The inscription consists of 29 lines, each containing 26 to 27 characters. In the text, where the queen of heaven or the word after the word must be raised to the top of the grid, when the honorific is empty, the whole text of the Wu Zetian is the supreme respect.
There is such a passage in the inscription: "When Zhenguan, his father was the governor of the capital, so (state, the first birth) was born." The three characters in parentheses were filled in by the contemporary writer and archaeologist Guo Moruo because of the incomplete inscription. It is safe to say that Wu Zetian was indeed born in Lizhou, during the Zhenguan period.
"The divine sword is flying", secretly using the two divine swords of the cadre and Mo Xie to turn into two dragons meeting in Yanpingjin, which means that the oolong encountered by Wumu Jiangtan is the same as the two dragons in Yanpingjin, and they are all gods sent by God. "Not easy to sell" means that the destiny of heaven must not be avoided and eliminated. The meaning of the whole sentence is: Wu Zetian wants to be the emperor, it is arranged by God, and no one can change it. At the same time, Li Shangyin also warned those corrupt Confucians that Wu Zetian's achievements in his life cannot be erased, "You want to 'sell' it is delusional!" ”
"Bitan cherishes the Lanhua", "Bitan" is Jiangtan, which means that the boat of the warrior Tong couple is just parked in the Jiangtan where the two dragons take off and gather.
The third or fourth sentence is to say that the two dragons with self-titled pearls are like lanterns, and they move quickly and play with ripples like scattered brocades, which is what Yongwu Zetian's mother saw at that time. The "bright moon" here is actually the name of Wu Zetian. The "lamp" is the official she uses. Three or four deeper sentences mean that Wu Zetian is clear and decisive, and he will use people, and replace those who are not good. "Cloud" also refers to officials, and she relies on them to "scatter Jinyao" and spread good politics far.
Five or six sentences mean that she was touched after seeing it, as if she had seen everything in the Dragon Palace. Yu Wu Zetian's political classics, her "bei" and "silk" are very rich. To explain with Li He's "Red Silk and a Horse Dyed in the Morning Sun", it is said that these treasures can be books, articles, and documents, and translated in our jargon, which can be called Wu Zetian's historical archives.
The last two sentences refer to the Huangze Temple is deserted, and no one renovates the ancestral temple, so there is a sense of "Hui leaf carving". At that time, Lizhou did build the Huangze Temple and the Empress Temple, which was the only one. The hometown fathers did not forget her kindness and built this Huangze Temple. "When he had no one to send the swallows", Li Shangyin clearly wrote that Huangze Temple was deserted, alluding to the late Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian's set of "routes" had been broken. "The rain is full of empty city Hui leaf carving (withered)" The late Tang Dynasty has been shaky, the people's livelihood has withered, and Wu Zetian's vanilla "Hui leaf" has withered. It fully shows that Li Shangyin has a high opinion of Wu Zetian's governance, and regrets that her statecraft has not been implemented.
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Li Shangyin's name is Gao Shimiao, and Jiangtan has since been named "Lizhou Jiangtan", also known as "Pregnancy Golden Wheel", commonly known as "Black Dragon Pond".
After Wu Zetian ascended the throne, he took the meaning of "the emperor's grace is vast, Ze and Zili", and renamed the Wunu Temple located on the cliff at the eastern foot of Wulong Mountain as "Huangze Temple" and expanded. Today's Huangze Temple, is China's only Wu Zetian temple, the temple preserves the 6 caves, 41 niches, 1203 body cliff statues and inscriptions of the past dynasties that were excavated in the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Ming and Qing dynasties, has extremely high cultural relics value, ornamental and research value, and is known as the treasure of Chinese traditional culture.
The cliff statue of Huangze Temple was the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units announced by the State Council in 1961; Huangze Temple is the first batch of cultural industry demonstration bases in the country named by the Ministry of Culture in 2004, and was named a national 4A-level tourist attraction in 2006. Huangze Temple has achieved Wu Zetian's thousand-year-old watch, there is Jialing River flowing in front of the temple, behind the temple is the green cypress and bamboo covering the sky and the sun, the temple has the morning bell and dusk drum around the Sanskrit sound.
In Lizhou during the Tang Dynasty, people had great respect for Wu Zetian. In order to commemorate this outstanding woman born here, the local people call the rippling Jiangtan "Golden Wheel of Pregnancy". Every year on Wu Zetian's birthday, a grand commemorative event will be held, and a folk custom has been passed down for thousands of years, "on the twenty-third day of the first month, women swim in the river bay". There is also a folk legend in Lizhou that "Jiangtan is pregnant", and Li Shangyin wrote poems in Lizhou and noted that Jiangtan is the "Golden Wheel Pregnancy Institute", which is an important evidence that Wu Ze was born in Lizhou.
"Zizhi Tongjian" volume 204 Tang Ji 20 "Tianshun Holy Empress Shang Xia" contains: "The Queen Mother enjoys the Vientiane Divine Palace and forgives the world. Beginning to use Zhou Zheng, change November of the first year of Yongchang to the first month of the first year of Zaichu, take December as the wax month, and the first month of summer as January. ”
Wu Zetian reigned in November of the first year of Yongchang (690) as an emperor and implemented the "Wuzhou Revolution". At the beginning of the Great Zhou Dynasty, "November of the first year of Yongchang was changed to the first month of the first year of Zaichu", and November was changed to the first month, Wu Zetian's birthday should have been November 23, and it became the 23rd of the first month using the Great Zhou calendar. The fathers and villagers of Lizhou naturally took the day of the "twenty-third day of the first lunar month" as the date of Wu Zetian's meeting to carry out commemorative activities. This also shows that as early as the Wu Zhou period, the people of Lizhou began to hold the Zetian meeting period and began to commemorate this outstanding woman.
Later, Zhongzong reverted to the Tang Dynasty, the calendar returned to Zhengshuo, and the days were changed back, but the folk customs have been formed, and the days of the commemoration of Wu Zetian's meeting in Lizhou have not changed with the calendar, so it has been customary for thousands of years, "the twenty-third day of the first month, women swim in the river" set Wu Zetian's birthday on the twenty-third day of the first month.
On this day, people go to Huangze Temple, Zetianba and Jialing River in groups to play, and row phoenix boats on the Jialing River. The women dressed up and invited each other to swim along the river bay to seek good luck, and this activity lasted until the late Republic of China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, this activity was interrupted for a time.
In 1988, the city government decided to revive this folk festival and named it "Daughter's Day", which was set on September 1 of the Gregorian calendar every year. Every day, the women of the whole city come out of the city in colorful costumes and gather on both sides of the Jialing River.
"Women's Swim in the Bend" is a unique folk activity in Gulli. With the passage of time, "River Tour" gradually evolved into "Phoenix Boat Race", which became a sports competition for women in Guangyuan.
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Today, the empress's hometown has become synonymous with Guangyuan and Lizhou.
As a new type of festival, the "Guangyuan Daughter's Festival" has inherited the folk customs of Lizhou women visiting the river bay, and the ordinary people have actively participated in it, and has become a city card of Guangyuan City. Women's tour of the river is one of the most attractive folk cultural activities in Guangyuan.
On September 1, 1988, Guangyuan's first "Daughter's Day", Lizhou Jiangtan was covered with colorful boats, the sea of people in front of Huangze Temple was like a tide, more than 10,000 people on both sides of the Jialing River laughed and laughed, Guangyuan's daughter was dressed in festive costumes, singing and dancing to celebrate their own festivals. This unique folk event has aroused strong interest from merchants from all over the country. Because of this unique river visit, the "Guangyuan Daughter's Festival" stands out among many cultural festivals across the country and is known all over the world.
Since the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Lizhou women's tour of Hewan has become a characteristic of Guangyuan, and it is a cultural phenomenon that is not found in other places. In the later "Daughter's Festival", Youhewan became the main project of the "Daughter's Festival".
In 1991, the "Daughter's Day" tour of the river bay was particularly spectacular. On that day, the dragon and phoenix two boats each pulled more than 10 colorful boats on the Jialing River, there were singing and dancing masses dressed in national costumes on the colorful boats, and there were dragon lanterns and lion dances, and lotus picking boats were on the boat to help the fun. The singing on the river continued, and the two sides of the strait laughed all over the world. It can be described as magnificent, colorful, and beautiful, and it pours tourists from all over the world.
The female color of the phoenix boat race is very distinct, highlighting the support and reverence of Lizhou women for generations since the Tang Dynasty for Wu Zetian. Fengzhou contains China's unique phoenix culture, fully embodies the healthy, harmonious, civilized and enterprising spirit of Guangyuan's daughter, enhances the image of Guangyuan city, expands Guangyuan's foreign influence, and uses the daughter's festival activities as a platform to promote Guangyuan's commercial circulation and economic development.
Source: See Guangyuan