Famous essay | Xu Ke: Zhu Ziqing's Meiyutan

Text/Xu Ke

When I went to Ouhai, I was always unwilling not to go to see Mr. Zhu Ziqing's Meiyutan.

It is a winter morning, the drizzle is flying obliquely, the sky is overcast, the breeze is thin and cold, the ground is muddy and slippery, and the scenic tourists are sparse. This season, this kind of weather, is not suitable for travel; only A few idiots such as me will come to see Meiyutan at this time.

The fame of Meiyutan should be thanked by Zhu Ziqing. It was his thousand-word short essay "Green" that made Meiyutan famous in the world.

In September 1923, Zhu Ziqing, a native of Donghai, Jiangsu Province, came to Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, and worked as a Chinese language teacher at the Provincial No. 10 Middle School. He was just 25 years old, already a well-known poet, with a fashionable little head, wearing round glasses, although not tall, but heroic, but with a little pride. He came to Wenzhou, carrying the residual heat of the May Fourth New Literary Movement, and soon ignited the literary fire of Wenzhou, leading a large number of young people to devote themselves to literary creation.

Zhu Ziqing had close friendships with the brothers Ma Mengrong and Ma Gongyu, who were teachers at the same school, and he especially admired Ma Mengrong's Chinese paintings. On the occasion of his parting from Wenzhou, he painted Ma Mengrongsuo as a memorial. Ma Mengrong knew that Zhu Ziqing liked begonia flowers, so he painted a painting with moonlight, begonias, and starlings, and gave zhu Ziqing. Zhu Ziqing was very pleased, and immediately returned an essay entitled "The Moon Is Hazy, the Birds Are Hazy, and the Curtains are Red with Begonias", which has achieved a good story in the literary world.

In wenzhou for a year, in addition to teaching, writing, and socializing, Zhu Ziqing's favorite thing is to go sightseeing. In October 1924, Zhu Ziqing did not return to Wenzhou after his family left Wenzhou, but he could not forget the landscape of Wenzhou. Later, in a letter to Ma Gongyu, he said: "The mountains and rivers of Wenzhou are beautiful, and the characters are timeless, all of which are concerned by my brother. "In these famous mountains and rivers, the one that makes him most nostalgic is none other than Meiyutan. This pool of clear water left him with the classic prose "Green", which is famous in history. It was in Wenzhou that Zhu Ziqing switched from poetry writing to prose writing.

I don't know which ancients have sung About Meiyutan before, but a piece of "Green" lets us know Meiyutan and remember the "green" of Meiyutan.

In December 2019, Xu Mou, a native of Rugao, Jiangsu Province, came to Ouhai, Wenzhou. After doing the things that should be done, when leaving, there was still a little half a day of spare time, hurried to Xianyan, to see Zhu Ziqing's "daughter green". In fact, it is not so much for the sake of viewing, but rather to follow the "traces" of this previous writer.

Xianyan has now become a famous scenic spot. Although it is winter, the mountains are still lush with trees and flowing water.

Found a narrator, calling himself "Xiao Huang" - it is clear that he is a middle-aged man, "Xiao Huang" may be a modest name, it is said to be the gold medal commentator here. He told local legends and stories along the way, so that the static landscape had a vivid life.

"The second time I arrived at Xianyan, I was amazed at the green of Meiyutan." The second tour of Xianyan and Meiyutan deeply touched Zhu Ziqing's heart. According to Kao, Zhu Ziqing's second visit to Xianyan was on September 30, 1923. On that day, Zhu Ziqing and Ma Gongyu and others set off from the Ma family and took a small fire wheel to Xianyan at the Xiaonan Gate. After arriving at Xianyan, first stay at the Shengshou Zen Temple for a while, and then climb the stairs to ascend to the Meiyu Pavilion. At the Meiyu Pavilion, Zhu Ziqing first looked at the Meiyu Lake, and then stood on the edge of the cliff and leaned down to carefully admire the water. Ma Gongyu stopped him and said: This is too dangerous. He was led through a stone dome under the pavilion, and let him stand on a small flat on the edge of the pool to enjoy the water and light of the pool. The water of MeiyuTan made Zhu Ziqing love it. He said to Ma Gongyu: This pool of water is so good! I have seen a lot of good landscapes in recent years, and there is no such pool of water that is so quiet and vibrant. Usually see the deep pool, always a little palpitations, the more you look at this pool, the more cute it is, even if you fall into it, it is a painful thing. This water was thundering down, how could such a fierce Lei Gong Lei Po give birth to such a gentle and quiet daughter? The "green" of Meiyutan touched the writer's feelings. Soon, a short and exquisite "Green" was waved. After taking off the manuscript, he copied several copies and sent them to Ma Gongyu and the other two who traveled together as souvenirs.

Coming to Meiyutan, it seems that there is Zhu Ziqing's figure everywhere. We stepped on the footsteps, not knowing which one overlapped with Zhu Ziqing's footprints. I was excited by this imagination. Zhu Ziqing became an invisible tour guide, leading us step by step to Meiyutan.

Daluo Mountain, where the Xianyan Scenic Area is located, is a mountain rising from the plain, with steep cliffs and steep walls, abundant water sources, although the radius is not more than tens of miles, but there are many waterfalls, and it is concentrated near the Xianyan in the western foothills. It is said that there are five more famous waterfall pools in xianyan scenic spot, of which Meiyutan is the most famous.

Entering the scenic gate, the first thing you see is the Shengshou Zen Temple. Zhu Ziqing's second visit to Xianyan once stopped here to enjoy the mountain scenery, and Ma Gongyu instructed him to carefully identify those legendary attractions like green lions and white elephants. Shengshou Zen Temple, formerly known as Xianyan Temple, was founded during the Tang Dynasty. The plaque "Open Sky Meteorology" hanging on the lintel of the mountain gate was inscribed by the Song theorist Zhu Xi. Time is limited, we did not have time to enter the temple to visit, hurried through the temple, the first thing that caught our eyes was Sangu Lake, which is the lowest of the five pools of Xianyan. The name Sangutan began in the Song Dynasty. According to the Ming Dynasty Bao Wu's "Song Sangu Xingluo", in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Leng Yan met the Zen master an in Xixianyan to preach the Buddhist scriptures, and the wind was heard in all directions, and the followers were like clouds. Suddenly, three fairy goddesses came to worship the Zen master. Yu An asks where they are from? They said that when they came from Fujian in the morning, they heard the teacher preaching the Fa-rectification, and they were super confused and came to ask for advice. Yu An said to them, as long as they have the heart to learn the Tao, why should they leave their hometown and travel thousands of miles! After the three fairy girls heard this, they had an epiphany, so they put their arms around the pool and disappeared. Hence the name of this pool.

SanguTan is a clear blue, horizontal as a mirror, reflecting green mountains, appearing bright and quiet; above the waterhole is a large smooth slope rock tank, flowing over it, like a pearl splashing around, slowly rolling down the pool, the waterfall has a different style. There are two holes on the slope, one large and one small. Xiao Huang said that this is "immortal slipping and collapsing". Legend has it that when the Eight Immortals came to xianyan to play, there was no way to go here. But the view above was very tempting, and the other immortals all jumped on it, only the iron crutch Li could not jump up, and his ass fell to the ground. He Xiangu went to pull him, but he also fell to the ground. They fell on this rock face, one small and one large, two marks, which posterity called "immortals slipping and collapsing". The Song Dynasty poet Zhao Ruhui once wrote a poem called Sangu Tanyun: "Whoever locks the milky way iron locks open, and throws flying beads to practice this mountain." Flying yellow plum rain without sunny days, trailing white clouds are born with anger and thunder. ”

Moving forward from Sangutan, I saw a cliff carving, engraved with a "Xianyan Inscription" by Yu Yao of Wenzhou County during the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang: "The residence of Wei Xian is both clear and virtual; a spring and a stone can be poetic and picturesque." It is said to be collected in the 901 volume of the Quan Tang Wen. The Cliff Carvings are an important part of the cultural resources of the Xianyan Scenic Area, and 35 have been discovered. The earliest "Tongyuan Shengjing" is on the rock wall directly in front of the mouth of the Guanyin Cave in front of Meiyutan, which was written by the monks of the Kaiyuan Temple in the Southern Dynasty Liu Song Yuan Jia Yu Younian (433), which is also the earliest cliff among all the scenic spots in Wenzhou. Since Xie Lingyun, the originator of landscape poetry in the Southern Dynasty, the literati and scholars of successive dynasties have left countless wonderful chants and exquisite inscriptions for him. Xie Lingyun once "stomped on the plum pond, and the ice and snow were hanging coldly" ("Boat to Xianyan to Find the Immortal Traces of the Three Emperors Well"). There are also celebrities from past generations such as Lu Ying, Fang Gan, Li Jian and Sikong Tu of the Tang Dynasty, Lin Shi, Xu Jingheng, Zhu Xi, chen Fuliang of the Song Dynasty, Gao Ming of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhuo Jing, Huang Huai, and Zhang Xuan of the Ming Dynasty, and Pan Qian and Sun Yiyan of the Qing Dynasty who have left travel notes and poems here. These cliff carvings such as "Flying Spring", "White Dragon Flying Up", "Plum Jade", "Spraying Jade Rock", "Four Hours plum rain", "Don't Have a Sky", "Flying White", "Gargling and Forgetting Taste", etc., not only reflect the different feelings of different people in different periods, but also their calligraphy art can also be used as an excellent facsimile for scholars.

There are three stone pavilions next to Meiyu Lake: Meiyu Pavilion, Ziqing Pavilion, and Shengxian Pavilion (also known as Xuanyuan Pavilion). Ziqing Pavilion and Shengxian Pavilion were newly built in recent years to commemorate Mr. Zhu Ziqing and The Yellow Emperor of Xuanyuan respectively. The name Xianyan has been around for more than a thousand years. Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor of Xuanyuan was practicing Dan into an immortal on a huge rock on the east side of Meiyu Waterfall and was about to ascend to heaven by dragon. Rock has been with him for a long time, has deep feelings, and wants to ascend to heaven with Xuanyuan. But Xuanyuan did not want to take away every grass and tree in the world, so he left it behind. In order to commemorate Xuanyuan, people named this rock "Xuanyuan Rock", that is, Xianyan Rock. Inside the Ziqing Pavilion stands a triangular stone stele inscribed with Zhu Ziqing's essay "Green". We all couldn't help but recite, "Lovely, what will I compare to you?...... Shall I call you 'Daughter Green' from now on?" Some people are curious: why does Zhu Ziqing call Meiyutan "Daughter Green"? According to the analysis of Gao ren: Zhu Ziqing's ancestral home is Shaoxing, Zhejiang, the best wine in Shaoxing is "daughter red", Zhu Ziqing named Meiyutan "daughter green", which means that Meiyutan is the best pool in the world. Zhu Ziqing only lived in Wenzhou for a little more than a year, but the people of Wenzhou thanked him and built a memorial for him.

Meiyu Pavilion is located on the back of the southwest cliff of Tan, built by Yu Shiru of Ruian County during the Ming Jiajing period. The doorpost couplet "Flying Waterfall is sunny and rainy in mid-air, and Meitan is like autumn in ancient summer", which reflects the exquisite personality of Meiyutan. At first glance, as written in The Green: "The pavilion is perched on a rock in a protruding corner, empty up and down; as if a goshawk were floating in the sky with its wings outstretched." "This pavilion is facing the waterfall, because sitting in it can enjoy the full view of the waterfall, as a building and just right to integrate with the natural scenery of Meiyu Lake, so it was renamed "Meiyu Pavilion" by later generations. When we were about to reach Meiyutan, a hill blocked the way. It is really the same as described in Zhu Ziqing's prose, it is necessary for the cat to drill through a cave, which is the "Tongxuan Cave" named after zhang Guolao, who is said to have lived in the Eight Immortals. The cave has three exits, two light and one dark. The dark passage was pitch black, and no one dared to try it; out of the mingdao cave entrance, the Meiyutan Waterfall was in front of them. The waterfall of Meiyutan rushes down; below the waterfall is a pool, which is Meiyutan. The sound of rushing water is incessant, it is the sound of Meiyu Waterfall falling from above, and the water flow collides with the mountain rock.

The stones on the side of Meiyu Lake were trampled very smooth by many tourists, and the stone surface was slippery after the rain, and some people accidentally fell down. We helped each other up to climb the stone dam by the pond. This is the best place to see the Plum Rain Waterfall and the Plum Rain Lake, from this angle you can see the pool water, the pool is deep turquoise. It is said that Zhu Ziqing sat here for an afternoon, concentrating on the pool of water. Maybe it was here that he was brewing the "Green" in his heart? Someone joked that we would sit here for two afternoons. I'm ashamed, even if we sit for ten afternoons, we can no longer write a good sentence like Zhu Ziqing. She was loosely wrinkled, like a skirt dragged by a young woman; she fiddled gently, like the heart of a virgin of a beating first love; she was slippery and bright, like "bright oil,...... I have seen the green poplars of the Shichahai Sea in Beijing, which cannot be shed the bottom of the goose yellow, which seems to be too light; I have seen the tall and deep 'green wall' near the Hangzhou Hupao Temple, overlapping with endless green grass and green leaves, which seems too thick. The rest of the waves of the West Lake are too bright, and the Qinhuai River is too dark. Such a sentence can be written by Zhu Ziqing, and if others write it again, they will draw tiger cats. Before and after Zhu Ziqing, there were thousands of literati rioters who came to Meiyutan, and the poems left behind were even more innumerable. But what people remember is still a "green". Our mood is like Li Baiyou's Yellow Crane Tower: "There is a scene in front of us, and Cui Hao's inscription poem is on the top." "There is joy and there is discouragement; there is admiration and there is loss. Meiyutan is Zhu Ziqing's Meiyutan, which has been deeply branded by him. We like Meiyutan because of Zhu Ziqing, because this is the Meiyutan that Zhu Ziqing likes. When people visit Meiyutan, they are actually just reviewing Zhu Ziqing over and over again, paying tribute to this master over and over again. Where are there no waterfalls? Where is there no pool of water? But less zhiyin such as Zhu Ziqing also.

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