Entering Wuyi Mountain (Part 1)

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It was my deepest desire to visit Wuyi Mountain. It was not until the eve of the Spring Festival in 2012 that my long-cherished wish finally came true. At midnight on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, my wife and daughter and I arrived at Wuyishan Airport with a tour group departing from Beijing. The winter nights in Wuyi Mountain were not only freezing, but also extremely cold due to the unique humidity in the south. The two-star hotel I stayed in was relatively old and did not have air conditioning. Fortunately, it had an electric mattress, so I was able to sleep peacefully. My wife and daughter soon fell asleep, and I quietly moved to the window to look out. The legendary Wuyi Mountain was so close and mysterious.

Geography textbooks once told us that Wuyi Mountain refers to a series of mountainous areas extending from northeast to southwest on the border of Jiangxi and Fujian provinces. It has many peaks and stretches for thousands of miles. It is the main mountainous area on the southeast coast and the watershed between the Yangtze River and the Min River. The concept of Wuyi Mountain in the tourism concept only refers to a clear water mountain in the south of Wuyishan City, Fujian Province. It is known as "Guilin's landscape is the best in the world, and Wuyi's landscape is amazing". It is not only a national key scenic spot, a national tourist resort, but also a world-famous tourist resort. Natural and cultural heritage.

According to legend, in the ancient prehistoric era, the Wuyi Mountain area was filled with turbid waves, monsters and beasts were raging, and mourners were everywhere. Peng Zu's two sons, Peng Wu and Peng Yi, wore the stars and the moon, ate in the wind and drank the dew, kept waving the shovels in their hands, opened up the mountains, diverted water, planted trees and flowers, and finally turned the wild Wuyi Mountain into a beautiful place with beautiful mountains and rivers. Fairyland.

The story of Peng Zu's son is just a myth. The real situation is that as early as the beginning of the Cretaceous, the Wuyi Mountain area was just a large lake with rippling blue waves. During the Quaternary Ice Age, the flora and fauna here miraculously escaped that disaster, leaving us with dense forests, fragrant flowers and plants, mountains as sharp as a knife and an axe, as well as deep canyons and passionate rivers. Rare birds and beasts. Time after time of orogeny, coupled with water cutting, mountain wind erosion, and oxidation, the hand of God slowly carved this "God's darling" into such an enchanting and majestic form.

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More than 4,000 years ago, the Wuyi Mountain area was the cradle of the Fujian and Yue ancestors. Looking at Wuyi Mountain, the ruins of the abandoned Yuewang City, the mysterious boat coffins in the caves, the Song Dynasty Book Garden in the lofty mountains, even the collapsed temples, desolate Zen temples, and the long-standing tea culture remind us everywhere , the ancestors once created a splendid historical civilization here.

"Confucius emerged in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Zhu Xi emerged in the Southern Song Dynasty, ancient Chinese culture, Mount Tai and Wuyi", this is the comment of the famous historian Cai Shangsi. After Confucius, Zhu Xi, the most eye-catching representative of Confucianism in China, was associated with the name of Wuyi Mountain for most of his life. He became famous here and reached the peak of his life here. In a sense, Zhu Xi is an irreplaceable business card of Wuyi Mountain.

During the Second Civil Revolutionary War, Wuyi Mountain was the seat of the Fujian and Jiangxi Provincial Committee and the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. The "Shangmei Riot" and "Akashi Riot" led by the Communists were held here successively. "Fight the local tyrants and divide the land", "Political power emerges from the barrel of a gun", those exciting revolutionary slogans for changing dynasties once swept through this red land.

After the unique scenery of Wuyi Mountain and the unforgettable history and culture slowly faded away from my wild mind, I gradually fell into a wonderful dreamland.

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A series of wake-up call rings woke me up from my deep sleep. I stood up and woke up two lazy sleepers with their heads covered. Then the family hurriedly washed up and came to the restaurant at the designated time to enjoy a steaming breakfast. " "Touch" and "hug" are Wuyishan people's nicknames for steamed buns and steamed buns. It is easy for outsiders to have some wonderful associations when dining here.

After breakfast, the tour group of more than 20 people was divided into two. Our group consisted of three families, each family was a couple with a girl. My wife and I are both doctors by background, and our daughter is a very creative handicraft enthusiast. The surname is Chen. Her husband is a well-mannered university teacher and is very nurturing. His wife is a nurse in a hospital in Beijing. Their ten-year-old daughter is in the fifth grade of elementary school. The little girl is modest, polite, and has a sharp mind. The family surnamed Li became rich overnight due to the demolition of several houses in good locations. Now they own multiple properties. They can live an inexhaustible life of wealth just by collecting rent. The mother and daughter started from scratch. They show luxurious style from head to toe. Unfortunately, the Wuyi landscape is priceless, which prevents them from getting any chance to display their shopping talents.

The nine-person group was very lucky. The local tour guide who greeted us, Shen Zhuhong, was a local with 22 years of tour guide experience. He was enthusiastic, capable and knowledgeable. Shen Dao is originally from Guangdong. Due to family background, her parents came to the inaccessible Wuyi Mountain in the early 1950s. Director Shen, who was born and raised here, is humorous and diligent, and speaks and behaves like an old native. She likes the mountains and rivers of Wuyi, worships Zhu Xi, advocates Taoist thought, and has considerable experience in Buddhism. Especially when she mentioned the history of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's three expeditions to the Fujian and Yue regions, her indignation and passion were like the reincarnation of an ancient angry youth. Shen Zhuhong's family not only has her own tea garden, but also has a tea processing factory and a tea house. Her living standard has already entered the ranks of a well-off society. Being a tour guide is just her true love and reluctance.

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In the heavy winter rain, we arrived at the north gate of Wuyi Mountain. Usually, the front gate is the way to enter the mountain, but because the bridge suddenly collapsed a few years ago, many people were killed and injured, so tourists had to take a detour to the back gate. The eve of the Spring Festival is the off-season for tourism in Wuyi Mountain, and there are very few tourists. Director Shen is like an elf who has lived here for thousands of years. She knows all the tourist routes like the back of her hand. She does not follow conventional routes at all, but follows her own will. She can always let us enjoy the scenery in the most concise way and in the shortest distance. to the most beautiful scenery.

Wuyi Mountain, an outstanding paradise on earth, has 36 peaks, 99 rocks and 108 scenic spots distributed within a 70-kilometer radius scenic area. "Three beautiful waters are as clear as jade, and sixty-six strange peaks are green as green as the sky." This is people's most vivid description of the scenery of Wuyi Mountain. Every peak and rock in Wuyi Mountain is like a vivid life subject, wrapped in the coat of distant myths and swinging the embroidered skirt of charming legends.

"I came to visit the waterfall in June, where the snow is flying, and the cactus is high and dew is ready to flow. I sit and watch the peak covered with clouds, Penglai five colors connected to Yingzhou." This is the praise of Wuyi Mountain by a contemporary Jinshi during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and it was engraved on the stone in front of Wuyi Palace by later generations. Swimming on the ground in front of Wuyi Palace is a small snake as thin as hair, called the wire snake. It is said that this small snake is so powerful that if it has an idea, it can easily wrap around the ankles of a cow alive. Break.

After leaving Wuyi Palace, under the guidance of Director Shen, we slowly climbed up the steep stone steps. After passing the auspicious cloud nest, we arrived at the legendary tea cave. Ah, what a tea cave. It is surrounded by Xianyou Rock, Jiesun Peak, Yinping Peak, Yuhua Peak, Qingyin Rock, Tianyou Peak, and Xianzhang Peak. A clear river goes straight to Jiujiu Mountain under the clouds and mist. Quxi.

According to legend, the fairy bathing pool on the north side of the tea cave is where young goddesses often come to bathe. Thinking back to the ancient times, there were red peaches and green fruits here, birds singing and the fragrance of flowers, and the fairy spirit lingering in the clear water. The fairies who had taken off their skirts were exquisite and graceful, delicate and lovely. The love and scenery must be so seductive to the eyes. Nowadays, there are so many tourists and it is so noisy. How can the immortals who like tranquility and do not eat the fireworks of the world dare to come here to be naked and graceful.

Taking into account the small size of the nine of us, Director Shen decided to abandon the climb to Yinping Peak and Jiesun Peak and go straight to Tianyou Peak. So, I had to take a quick look at the 1800 characters engraved on the stone wall of Yinping Peak during the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty. Then I said "The future is long" to this big stone that I had not had time to appreciate the charm of, and continued climbing towards Tianyou Peak. .

"The essence of Wuyi is in Jiuqu, and the essence of Jiuqu is in Tianyou." "If you don't travel to heaven, you will travel in vain." This kind of rhetoric is both motivation and temptation. The more than 800 stone steps swallowed up so many beads of sweat that I didn't know how many beads of sweat I had to climb until I was exhausted and panting to climb to the top of Tianyou Peak. Looking up, you can see thousands of peaks vying for beauty; looking down, you can see nine curves surrounding it. The breeze blows on my face, the charm is superb, and it is like a natural ink painting created from the ground.

In front of the temple at Tianyou Peak, my daughter brought three bowls of mung bean soup from the grocery store without asking the price. When she paid, she learned that the three bowls of mung bean soup actually cost 90 yuan. black! too dark! The surrounding tourists simultaneously extended their “admiration” thumbs up to the proprietress. This is exactly: "The mung bean soup on Tianyou Peak is wiped away by the geese plucking their hair."

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When going down the mountain, the tour guide introduced us to many anecdotes about Tianyou Peak, as well as poems and paintings by many famous people. There were many literary giants like Guo Moruo praising Wuyi Mountain, and some limericks graffitied by folk masters, such as: "A certain old man loves Bragging, tricking me into traveling to heaven, eating steamed buns with cold water, and worrying about being a ghost." Hilarious and light-hearted.

On the path down from Tianyou Peak, we paused in front of an old-style archway that had been lost and recovered. Light rain began to fall from the sky. The group put on colorful disposable raincoats and continued walking. Soon we reached the north of Wuyi Mountain. Door. The four powerful characters "standing on the wall" are engraved on a tall stone cliff. Walking towards the stone cliff, in the mist of rain and mist, my heart was full of poetry, and there was a kind of sublimation of heroic spirit like a dry cloud.

Flowers and herbs are green, and bamboos are luxuriant. Jiangnan in winter feels like early spring in the north. The light rain is still tirelessly singing the songs of winter, and everything is still sleeping in the embrace of winter. Only this continuous winter rain is rubbing the desire for spring, plucking the strings of spring, and reciting Wuyi's everlasting pride and tenderness. .

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I have read Zhu Xi's "Nine-bend Oar Song", and I still remember the beautiful lines: "There are fairies on Mount Wuyi, and the cold currents below the mountain are winding and clear. If you want to know the wonders, just listen to two or three oar songs. A fishing boat on the stream, the shadow of Manting Peak dips into the clear river. There is no news after the Rainbow Bridge is broken, Thousands of ravines and rocks are shrouded in green mist . The second bend is the graceful Jade Maiden Peak, for whom is she arranging flowers by the water? The Taoist does not dream of the balcony, but is excited to enter the green mountains in front. The third bend is the boats in the valley, and I don’t know how many years they have stopped. The sea water in the mulberry fields is like this now, and the foam wind lamp dares to pity itself. The fourth bend is the east and west of the two stone rocks, and the rock flowers are hanging down like green. . The golden cock crowed but no one saw it, the moon was full in the sky and the mountains and waters filled the pond. The Wuqu Mountain was high and the clouds were deep, the mist and rain darkened the forest for a long time. There was a guest in the forest but no one knew him, his voice was filled with eternal heart. The Liuqu Green Screen surrounded the green bay, the thatched cottage covered the firewood gate all day long. When the guest came, he leaned on the oar to see the flowers falling on the rocks, the monkeys and birds were not startled by the leisurely spring. The Qiqu moved the boat to the green beach, and the hidden screen fairy palm looked back. But I pity the rain on the peak last night, which added a few cold streams to the flying spring. The Eighth Bend is about to clear the wind and smoke, and the water is swirling under the Drum Tower Rock. Don’t say there is no beautiful scenery here, it’s because tourists don’t come here. The Ninth Bend will open up your eyes, and the mulberry and hemp rain and dew will show the plain. The fisherman is looking for the way to the Peach Blossom Spring, there is no other world except this one.”

At the pier of Jiuqu River, my wife and daughter and I boarded a small bamboo raft. It is said that in the past, when people visited Jiuqu River, they followed the route in "Jiuqu Song". Now we are going in the opposite direction, swimming down the river in shallows and deep pools. The small bamboo raft is made of six moso bamboos. There are six tourists sitting on the six rattan chairs, and there is a boatman at the bow and stern of the boat. The small bamboo rafts followed the current and the wind, moving close to the water. Green mountains, pretty rocks, phoenix-tailed bamboos, acacia birds flying in the forest, tourists climbing on the mountain road, movement and stillness, people and scenery, the mysterious combination is so beautiful.

The boatmen are all young people born and raised here. They are strong and humorous. Before boarding the bamboo raft, Director Shen repeatedly told us that after boarding the boat, we must first pay the tip to the boatman, so that they can talk endlessly about the beautiful scenery by the water as a sketch by Zhao Benshan.

"If you don't climb to the sky, you're traveling in vain; if you don't sit on a bamboo raft, you're traveling in vain." "We just call such a big river a stream. Unlike you Beijingers, who are arrogant and arrogant at the feet of the emperor, and the whole water bubble is like a stream." It’s called the sea.” "The two round hills on the Jiuqu River are called Ernui Mountain. They are the pride of women and the hobby of men." The opening remarks of the Wuyi boatman were indeed extraordinary.

Baqu River turns back and forth next to Furong Town. The lion on the water, the Elephant Trunk Rock, the Maoer Rock, and the Toad Rock are all beautiful. What’s interesting is that the chinless toad stone actually wears big black-rimmed glasses. The cunning boatman insisted on telling us which former boss the big toad with glasses looked like. We are not stupid either, so we just didn’t say anything, but we knew each other well and burst into laughter. The final answer was self-evident.

The three Yangfeng peaks by the Qiqu River are slanted into the blue sky, and the phoenix-tailed bamboos are swaying in the wind. Two toads of the opposite sex appeared on the rock, repeating the good deeds of "child-daughter affair" there. Three leaders-looking people held umbrellas and stood on the bank looking into the stream. The boatman said that they were not looking at the mountain scenery, but checking the swell of the river. Whether you can ride on the bamboo raft when visiting Wuyi Mountain depends on God's mood. It is said that a few years ago, the Queen of England waited patiently for three days and three nights. , but still couldn’t experience the beauty of bamboo rafting.

After walking around Xiangsheng Rock and looking up at Liuqu River, countless tourists are holding umbrellas and heading towards Tianyou Peak. From the small bamboo raft to Pingcun Ferry, you enter the waters of Wuqu River. The waterway is wide and the water flow is gentle. Here is the ruins of Ziyang Shuyuan, where Zhu Xi recruited many disciples, gathered people to give lectures, and spent all his efforts. Under the Hidden Screen Peak, I seem to see the young Zhu Xi, who traveled here with his mother and received the loving teachings of his late father's friends. Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism finally sprouted here.

In my reverie, small bamboo rafts have drifted into Siqu River, where Dazang Peak and Xian Diao Tai are looking up at each other. On the rock walls on both sides, water gathers to form streams, and small waterfalls float in the wind. The boatman pointed to the small waterfalls and said, "Those are not waterfalls, they are gods peeing." Wuyi Mountain is truly Wuyi Mountain, a dip in the pee of a god is so wonderful!

Entering Sanqu River, I suddenly became excited. For thousands of years, the "gully boat" that has been hyped by literati and poets is located in the high cave here. According to research, these gully boat coffins are the masterpieces of ancient Vietnamese ancestors. How these coffins were placed in the high cave has always been a mysterious topic.

Erqu River is as horizontal as a mirror. Why can't I see a single fisherman on such a wide water surface? A big question mark hung in my mind. The boatman brother said that since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, there has been a tradition of prohibiting fishing in Jiuqu River. Even in the 1960s, when Wuyi Mountain was starving to death, no one dared to tear down this prohibition without authorization.

Yiqu River, the broad water surface floats the reflections of Yunu Peak and Dawang Peak. Legend has it that a long time ago, a handsome boy named Dawang was attracted by the Queen Mother's youngest daughter, and she had to do something good. When the Dongchuang Incident happened, the cruel Queen Mother turned them into Shi Feng. As this was not enough, the stubborn old woman also brought in a third person named "Iron Monster" to sandwich them between them. As a result, the interesting saying "The Jade Queen fell in love with an iron plate monster in the middle" was circulated among the people.

"Crossing the Amazon River", as the boatman shouted, the small bamboo raft rushed into the fast-flowing river in the blink of an eye. Our tour guide Shen Zhuhong was waving to us from the shore, and the rafting in Jiuqu River was over. The next step was to visit Shen Zhuhong’s tea house to taste the best tea and warm up our cold bones.

On the way to Shen's house, my thoughts were still wandering in the Jiuqu River. The biggest reward from the Jiuqu River rafting trip is that I remember many "the best of Wuyi". The highest point of Wuyi Mountain is called Sanyang Peak; the rarest stone is the pair of flirting water turtles; the largest rock is Shaibu Rock; the earliest stone carving is Zhu Xi's "The Dead Are Like This"; and the oldest cultural relic is the hanging coffin of the ancient Yue people. The most beautiful peak is Jade Girl Peak, which is full of legends of love; the most majestic peak is Dawang Peak; the largest stone is the "mirror stand" where Jade Girl washes herself.