Seeing azaleas in Xuancheng

Tang Li Bai

Shu once heard of Zigui birds and Xuancheng saw azaleas.

A call, an ileum, a rest, three memories in March.

Xie Shi

Claim: Located in the southeast of Anhui Province.

Zigui bird: also known as cuckoo bird and Cui Gong bird.

Sanchun: refers to spring.

Sanba: Ba County, Badong County, Brazil County, which refers to Sichuan in ancient times.

Pinshi

When I was in Shu, I once heard the cuckoo singing, but now I claim to have seen the azaleas all over the garden. Every time I hear the plaintive cry of the cuckoo, my heart aches. In the spring of March, I remembered my hometown far away.

This poem was written by Li Bai when he was demoted to Yelang after An Shi Rebellion in his later years. After he was pardoned and returned, he crossed the south of the Yangtze River and was locked in a pen. Coupled with his serious illness, he felt homesick. At the age of five, Li Bai moved to Sichuan with his father from the Western Regions. When he was young, he "went to the countryside with a sword and left his relatives to travel far away." He wanted to show his grand ambition, but unfortunately, he didn't achieve anything. It's just that his old body misses his hometown more in a foreign country.

human geography

On February 7, 2020, a photo of the intersection of Paihu Expressway in Xiantao City was posted on the Internet: trucks loaded with fruits, vegetables and rice drove into Xiantao from Sichuan with a total weight of 1500 TOP2. For the 84 million Sichuanese whose per capita GDP is only about one twentieth of that of China, they have emptied their homes, whether it is food, daily necessities or self-esteem. Go through fire and water.

From ancient times to the present, whenever the Chinese nation is in danger, Sichuan will always be at the forefront. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, Sichuan, as the absolute main force, sent 3.4 million troops and killed 640,000 people, ranking first in the country in terms of both the number of participants and the tragic degree of sacrifice. 700 years ago, Sichuan Qixin resisted the Mongolian army, stuck to the fishing city for 40 years and died in Sichuan. Until the last moment, 32 generals died in battle, drew their swords and hanged themselves. Their heroism was all admirable. Today, as a rising star of the Central Plains culture, we walk into Sichuan together with poems written by the ancients and have a dialogue through time and space.

On the map of China, you will find that Sichuan is like a tropical fish. However, at the beginning, it was also called Shu State, which was a small piece of land. Later, due to the territorial expansion of successive dynasties, the territory became larger and larger, and the Sichuan we see now gradually formed. The word "Chuan" can be recorded as early as four years in Xianping, Northern Song Dynasty. Xichuan Road and Shaanxi Road were set in Song Dynasty. Later, the two roads merged into four roads: Chengdufu Road, Zizhou Road, Lizhou Road and Kuizhou Road, which are called "Xia Chuan No.4 Road" for short, also known as "Sichuan Road", from which "Sichuan" came.

Since ancient times, there has been a conclusion that "the world is chaotic before it is chaotic, and it is difficult for the world to be peaceful." Because of its special geographical location and topography, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the terrain is steep. Many emperors and generals dream of stepping into this basin in western high heels and eastern low heels, so when you walk on the ancient plank road, you will hear a legend that in the ancient dinosaur era, the water that Sichuanese drank was a bubble of urine spilled by dinosaurs 200 million to 300 million years ago. Before the Qin Dynasty unified the six countries, the people of Shu had been living a self-sufficient paradise life. If it hadn't been for Qin Huiwen's policy of "opening mountains with five tripods", Liu Bei wouldn't have proclaimed himself later and formed a tripartite confrontation with Cao Cao and Sun Quan.

Shu is rich in natural products, and its military position is easy to defend but difficult to attack. There is a saying that "one person keeps it, and ten thousand people can't force it."

? To the west of Shu is Tibet, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau stands tall. At that time, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway had not yet started construction. Entering Sichuan is simply more difficult than ascending to heaven.

Shaanxi and Gansu are adjacent to the north. If you want to enter from these two provinces, you must cross Daba Mountain and Qinling Mountain. At that time, there were no advanced means of transportation such as airplanes, high-speed trains and trains in China. Unless you have a pair of flying wings, it is basically impossible to climb the 3767-meter-high Daba Mountain with your legs and hands. Because of this, Li Bai, a local, wrote down the feeling that "it is difficult to get through the Shu Road and go to the sky", and even more, he should persuade his good friend Wang Yan to think twice before going back to Shu.

To the east is a waterway, and the Yangtze River basin flows to the ocean from west to east. At that time, the Yangtze River was in a fast-flowing state, and it might die if you were not careful. No wonder the poet Li Bai wrote the poem "The water is as urgent as a sword, and the boat flies". The current is as rough as a sword, and the ship is like flying at sea. You can imagine how dangerous it is.

There is Mount Emei in the south, with an altitude of 3099 meters, second only to Dabai Mountain. With such a special geographical location, there is no other province in history except Sichuan, hence the name "Land of Abundance".

With such a special terrain, Sichuan is a bit like a paradise written by Tao Yuanming. It is rich in products and does not need to rely on relief from other provinces. No matter how the outside world is at war, people in Sichuan live a relatively stable life. On the other hand, Sichuan's contact with the outside world is isolated, and the information is relatively closed, but excellent culture and advanced technology have no chance to spread. Li Bai once said: He lived for 48,000 years, but he didn't communicate with Qin Xiang. Whether it has a history of 48,000 years is unknown, but it is a fact that it is self-enclosed. According to historical records, before the Xia Dynasty, the local people established the ancient Shu State. It was not until 3 16 BC that the Qin dynasty unified the six countries that the world had a chance to see the beautiful scenery of the land of abundance. In order to distinguish it, people later renamed it Shuzhou.

Li Bai's father Li Ke moved to Shu from the Western Regions. He once wrote such a poem: "Shu once heard of Zigui birds and Xuancheng saw azaleas." A call, an ileum, a rest, three memories in March. " In this poem, Zi Gui, also known as Du Fu and Du Fu, is the incarnation of Shu Wang, formerly known as Du Yu. Legend has it that after Wang Di's death, the cuckoo will wander in the sky in different solar terms every year, constantly reminding people to plow in spring and harvest in autumn, weed and water. There are cries one after another, blood flows out of the mouth, and the voice is sad and touching, just like calling for a child to return, hence the name Zigui Bird. Later, some people called it robin and kingfisher.

Du Fu once wrote in Jinse: "I want to know why my Jinse has fifty strings, and each string has a flower-like interval and youth. Saint Zhuangzi daydreaming, bewitched by butterflies, crowed by cuckoos in spring. " Wang Di has made great contributions to the development of agriculture in ancient Shu, and Wang Di is also deeply loved by people. Why can't his soul bear to leave after his death and linger in his native land for a long time? This has to talk about Wang Di's successor: the turtle spirit.

Master Roshi is a native of Chu State. It is said that when the Shu people rescued him in the river, he still had a breath. Later, Master Roshi drifted upstream to Shu. As mentioned above, the Yangtze River basin is fast-flowing and the terrain is dangerous. Without superb skills, it is impossible to reach Shu smoothly, what's more, people at that time believed in the theory of reincarnation of immortals, so people believed that Master Roshi was a living immortal sent by heaven to assist the king. The turtle spirit has not let everyone down. Because of his profound knowledge, Wang Di made him a prime minister to participate in governing the country. Shu is low-lying and crops are flooded all the year round. Master Roshi skillfully used Dayu's method of water control-dredging to introduce water into the Yangtze River. Seeing that the turtle spirit was so powerful, Wang Di gave up the position of emperor and established an enlightened dynasty named Cong Di. Since then, Wang Di has retired from the mountains. After the death of Emperor Wang Di, he still cared about the people. Every time he went to Qingming, Grain Rain, Changxia and Xiaoman, he flew to the fields to sing. But no one expected that the paradise-like ancient Shu kingdom would perish in Ming Kai XII, and the Qin Dynasty unified the six countries from then on.

In any case, Wang Dijuan's story happened in the ancient Shu country, which is now Pixian County, Chengdu. The Tang Dynasty tells the historical facts of the ancient Shu kingdom: "Du Yu was the king of Shu, and many birds flew to the old city. Calling Tao Wei musicians every year seems to be telling the spring breeze. " There is a very old temple in Pixian County-Wang Cong Temple, next to which are two large sculptures, Wang Di and Cong Di, surrounded by cypress trees. It is said that Wang Di's voice can be heard every year when peach blossoms are in full bloom.

Expansion?

Dandan Noodles, Dragon Wonton, Bell jiaozi, Chen Mapo's Tofu, Dervish Chicken, Chicken with Bean Paste, Pork Pork Powder, Couple's Lung Slices, Beef with Fire Whip and Sanpao are the top ten delicacies in Sichuan, but there are countless descriptions of Sichuan cuisine under the pen of literati. Read the following poems, invite three or five friends, eat local specialties and enjoy Sichuan on the tip of your tongue!

? Shu wine is invincible and river fish is beautiful. I finally thought about it and swept the head of the wild goose pond. -"The title of the play is sent to the Three Kings of Hanzhong" Du Fu

Interpretation of the vernacular: drinking Sichuan invincible strong wine, eating the fat fish in the river, and finally getting drunk, only to find that the dish Yanchitou is missing.

? Sprinkle a bucket of sweet-scented osmanthus pot pepper and burn willow. Fierce boiling water is red and iron bowls are used as spirits. -"Hot Pot Boiling Spicy Yin" Lu Qingshan

Explain in vernacular Chinese: There is only one bucket of peppers in the Yuanyang pot, and the soup rolled up in the pot is as lively as wicker. Boiling water is as red as blood, and everyone drinks iron bowls of Chili water as spirits.