WAITING IN A WONDERLAND XIUWU

Text by Liang Jianfeng Translations by Bian JiaJin

WAITING IN A WONDERLAND XIUWU

Text by Liang Jianfeng Translations by Bian JiaJin

At first, I started to know Xiuwu because of Yuntai Mountain, the famous tourist spot located in Central China. In the late 1990s, it showed up everyday in the weather report on CCTV. Then if you are looking for Yuntai Mountain on a map, you will find a small town contiguous to Yuntai Mountain with a quaint name—Xiuwu.

Yuntai Mountain （Photo by Wang Shugui ）云台仙境 （王树贵／摄）

修武：静候奇境中

最早知道修武，是因为云台山，这个位于中原地带的著名自然风景区，在上世纪90年代末，每天都会在央视《新闻联播》后的天气预报中亮相。如果从政区地图中寻找云台山，会发现一个紧邻的，名字中就带着古意的小城—— 修武。

1. In spring, the mountain full of blossoms. (Photo by Qiu Dajun)春季，山花烂漫。（邱大军／摄）

2. In summer, the lush trees, the dashing waterfall.( Photo by Li Junyan)夏季，郁郁葱葱，飞瀑流泉。（李军彦／摄）

It is another long and tiring Monday. I am sitting behind the wheel with a long line of cars in front of me, red lights shining in my eyes. I am in a trance, stopping and starting. The radio in car was playing Mr. Chow's old song Thousands Miles Away; the melodious song just distracts me from here to the small town where I spent last weekend— Xiuwu.

At first, I started to know Xiuwu because of Yuntai Mountain, the famous tourist spot located in Central China. In the late 1990s, it showed up everyday in the weather report on CCTV. Then if you are looking for Yuntai Mountain on a map, you will find a small town contiguous to Yuntai Mountain with a quaint name—Xiuwu.

Later I reread Jin Yong's work, the song Guang Ling San played by the elder of devil sect Qu Yang. I found out that the song was performed by Ji Kang, a renowned scholar in the Wei Dynasty of the Three Kingdoms period. The song was at that time rumoured to have been imparted by ghosts and gods. Ji Kang, who got the music and swore not to release it, was then trapped by Sima Zhao, dying with his music silent. Before Ji Kang died, he lived as a hermit in Xiuwu.

Like many other Chinese tourist cities, Xiuwu is full of stories. For instance, it was once called Ningyi in the Zhou Dynasty. The name was changed to Xiuwu when King Wu of Zhou was there stationed and training his troops for attacking King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty. After the unity of the nation by the First Emperor of Qin, he set up 36 counties, Xiuwu belonged to one of them . The name has remained unchanged for over 2000 years. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, when Ji Kang and Ruan Ji withdrew from society to Xiuwu, another five scholars with reputation including Liu Ling, Shan Tao ，Wang Rong ,Ruan Xian and Xiang Xiu were also attracted there to the deep Bamboo forests, drinking and composing. They are honoured as “seven sages of the bamboo grove”. That place was then idle and isolated, immersed in a literary atmosphere. Xiuwu was later pilgrimed by upright cultivated personages of every dynasty.

However, what pushed me to make it to this county thousands of miles away in the mountain was not the folklore of ghosts and gods, or the anecdotes of celebrities, but by an invitation of a close friend.

Frankly speaking, I am not that type who loves to be where abustle and astir, so when it comes the festival, while everyone gushes out for a trip, I would like more to be at home, resisting the temptation of so-called interesting places and tourist spots. I am not saying that I accepted without hesitation, but my friend's conclusion “I think you will definitely like it”triggered my curiosity—how would that be?

Then here we are.

The county is not big, but my first impression is that it is incredibly clean. As a tourist city, tourism is the first important income, so keeping it clean is common

3. In Autumn, the mountain is dyed with red. People are picking up cornels, enjoying the view of red leaves and expressing their moods.(Photo by Yang Cuiping)秋季，层林尽 染，插茱萸、赏红叶，遥寄情怀。（杨翠萍／摄）

又是一个让人倦意绵延的周一，我坐在方向盘后方，前方绵延的车龙遍体闪烁的红光映入眼底，一停一走之间竟有些恍惚。车载广播中正播放着周杰伦的《千里之外》，悠扬的中国风乐曲带着我的思绪飘飞，回到上个周末踏足的那个太行小城——修武。

最早知道修武，是因为云台山，这个位于中原地带的著名自然风景区，在上世纪90年代末，每天都会在央视《新闻联播》后的天气预报中亮相。如果从政区地图中寻找云台山，会发现一个紧邻的，名字中就带着古意的小城——修武。

再到后来重读金庸，魔教大长老曲洋所弹奏的那曲《广陵散》让人心驰。查知魏晋名士嵇康善弹此曲，民间传曰为鬼神传授，嵇康得谱后立誓不予外传，其后为司马昭所害，身死曲绝。嵇康死前隐居之地，便又是这小小的修武。

与中国很多旅游城市一样，修武也是一个有故事的地方。譬如此地周代之前称“宁邑”，武王伐纣时在此处驻兵练武，改名为“修武”。秦始皇统一中国后，在全国设立36个郡（后增至46个），修武县便隶属其中之一的三川郡，历经2000多年从未改名。及至魏晋，嵇康、阮籍在此间避世，引来刘伶、王戎、阮咸、山涛、向秀等另五位当时名士在此间竹林中赋诗对饮，并称“竹林七贤”。一时间清风霁月，文气冲天，成就此后历朝历代清流文士的朝圣之地。

不过，真正促使我踏足这个远在千里之外的山间县城的，不是什么神鬼传说，也不是什么名人轶事，而是一位好友的同游邀约。

说老实话，我不是什么喜欢热闹的人，故而

4. In winter, the whole mountain is embellished with the heavy snow and glazed ice.(Photo by Yang Jiantang)冬季，银装素裹，冰挂惊奇。（杨建堂／摄）

1. Village Pingdingyao in Taihang Mountain太行深山中的平顶爻村。

2. The abundant agricultural products in Village Yidoushui.一斗水村的农产品丰富。

3. The famous twistplacenta porcelain of Song Dynasty is originated in Xiuwu.( Photo by Zengjian)修武是宋代名瓷绞胎瓷的发源地。（曾健／摄）

sense for the government. What amazed me more however, was, although it is less than 50 minutes drive from Xinzheng Airport, the sky over my head changed from grey to blue. Such weather can not even be seen that frequently in southern China.

The second feeling I got is peace. We arrived at around 5 o'clock in the afternoon on Friday, which was right in rush hour in a big city. But in a city with a little more than 270 thousand people, the crowds and traffic jams, as I imagine them, didn't exist. What we were faced with were some joggers in sportswear, brushing against me. I assumed they were tourists like me, not local, until one of them greeted our guide in the local dialect. To me, peace is truly an advantage of this city, but is that all why my friend is so sure about his conclusion?

Yuntai Mountain is a must-see, since we were there, we were not going to miss it. As it was off-season there were only a few self-driving tourists from neighbouring provinces. With so few people I was able to take in the unique, natural magnificence of the view at my own pace.

The drastic lifting evoked by movements of the Earth's crust and undercutting by water erosion millions of years ago, as well as the abundant water resources there has formed the natural view of two cliffs facing each other and the perennial waterfalls, springs, brooks and ponds. When I took a walk along the zigzag paths up the hill, the towering walls and the huge rocks always produced a natural visual screen in front of me. One moment it was a winding path leading to a secluded spot, and the next moment it was open and clear after a turning, with a flourish and wide field ahead like in Shangri-La. A cool spring from nowhere converged to a deep green pond at my feet, which felt so kindly and intimate. Such views that are like a naturally formed garden constructed with marvellous ideas and concepts, it's no wonder that Ji Kang, who is regarded as the originator of Chinese landscape garden design, and his friends lived nearby for more than 20 years. There are many wild and undisciplined scholars in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Maybe Ji Kang at the that time once set his ancient Chinese zither and played Guang Ling San wholeheartedly and passionately to relieve his depression.

It's said that the real reason why Ji Kang decided to live there is because of the Baijia Rock near the main spot of Yuntai Mountain, Hongshi Canyon. Compared to the fully developed and facilitated areas of the city, it was rather quiet. The days of seven sages drinking while composing are gone, but the endless cool spring in the mountain lasts longer. After walking along the stone path till the half-hill, I paused at a spring outside of an old temple and sit down on a rock. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze, thinking of nothing. The gentle cool vibe made my heart bright and clean. Without moonlight, without alcohol, without music and also without distracting thoughts in my mind, I just felt the soul that once fell behind due to the bustling daily life was now again gradually coming home.

“Seven sages of the bamboo grove” were perhaps seeking for the possibility of staying away from the mundane world and returning to their origins. Now I think I understand what my friend wanted to say……每逢节假日众人一窝蜂出游的时候，总愿意待在家里，心中更对所谓的名胜之地有着某种抵触。不能说没有犹豫，但朋友一句“我觉得你一定会喜欢”的断语却引发了我的好奇——何以见得？

于是成行。

修武县城不大，给人的第一感受是干净。作为一座以旅游为第一收入来源的城市，保持市容的整洁是政府常识，这并没有让我感到意外。真正让我惊讶的是，我们到达这里时，虽然离新郑机场不过50分钟的车程，头顶的天空却从灰蒙蒙换成了湛蓝，这样的天气，即便是在南方，也并不多见。

第二个感觉是安静。我们到达时间是周五的下午5点多，在大城市中这正是下班高峰，但在这个人口只有27万出头的县城里，预想中的人潮与车流却并不存在。迎面而来，与我们擦肩而过的，多是一身运动装备的慢跑者，我甚至怀疑他们其实和我们一样，并非本地居民，直到陪伴我们的当地向导用本地方言与其中的一位热情地打起了招呼。对于我来说，清静的确是这个地方的优点，但这就是让我的朋友如此笃定的全部吗？

云台山是修武的必游之地，既然来了固然不能错过。即便是旅游淡季，各个景点中也能看到不少来自周边省份和城市的自驾旅游者。当然，擦肩接踵的景象不会出现，这让我得以更加悠然地观赏这里独特奇丽的自然景观。

在这里，远古时期地壳的强烈抬升和水蚀下切，加上当地水源丰富的地理特点，形成了双崖对峙的峡谷群和各种常年不竭的瀑、泉、溪、潭。漫步在蜿蜒曲折的山谷之中，高耸的山壁和巨大的岩石往往会在人眼前形成天然的视觉屏障。这一刻还是曲径通幽，下一刻只不过拐了个弯，眼前便豁然开朗，进入一片植被茂盛的开阔谷地，仿佛偶遇世外桃源。更有不知从哪里突然冒出的清冽泉水，在脚下汇成碧绿的深潭，让人心生亲近之意。如此山水，犹如一座座布局巧妙的天然园林，无怪乎有中国山水园林文化鼻祖之称的竹林七贤，会选在附近隐居，一住就是20多年。魏晋文人多狂士，遥想嵇康当年，或许也曾在这山谷中寒潭畔，架起古琴，袒胸露怀纵情狂奏一曲《广陵散》，一舒心中的郁结之气。

相传嵇康隐居的真正所在，是云台山主要景点红石峡附近的百家岩。比起已经开发完毕，设施齐全的其他景区，这里更见清幽。当年七贤月下对酒当歌的竹林虽然已经难觅其踪，但山间长流不息的沥沥清泉仍在。顺石阶行至半山，在一处古寺外的泉水边驻足，觅一块青石坐下。闭上双眼，偶有山风吹过，轻浅的寒意让人灵台清明。无月，无酒，无琴音缭绕，心无旁骛，便已感觉被匆匆的日常甩在身后的灵魂，正在逐渐回归。

竹林七贤追求的也许就是这种远离世俗，回归本源的心境吧！我想，我大概明白了友人的意思……

Baijia Rock, the secluded place of„Seven Sages of the Bamboo grove”.( Photo by Zengjian)百家岩 ，竹林七贤隐居地。（曾健／摄）