[Phoenix PEN] Yunhan: Revisiting Anqing during the Meiyu (Photos)

[Phoenix PEN] Yunhan: Revisiting Anqing during the Meiyu (Photos) Phoenix, Yunhan I am very nostalgic, even though I have lived overseas for more than 20 years, I often think of the past...

Phoenix, Yunhan I am very nostalgic. Even though I have lived overseas for more than 20 years, I still often think of bits and pieces of the past and never forget the kind people who helped me in my life. It's a pity that I haven't been able to make a fortune so far, so I can't return to my hometown in glory. However, I still persistently looked for free time to return to China to visit relatives, and returned to Anqing to visit two kind-hearted elders. It has been twenty or thirty years since they were separated, and at last count they are about eighty years old. How many times can we meet again in life? Now would be the best time to come and say hello, that's what I always thought in my heart.

June is the rainy season in southern China. It is humid, steamy and hot, making me feel uncomfortable, but it does not diminish my interest in revisiting Anqing at all. A night's sleeper train took me to Anqing New Station. As people flowed out of the station, a broad and new square appeared in front of me, which immediately gave me a refreshing feeling of Anqing's great changes. I remember that before the 1980s, Anqing mainly relied on shipping on the Yangtze River. The river rolled across the east and west. Although it gave Anqing a certain prosperity in ancient times, in modern society where speed is paramount, Anqing, which lacked railway connections, immediately lost its former glory as a provincial capital. Its status plummeted, and it had to be associated with small and medium-sized cities. Now that Anqing is connected to the railway track, I have a hope of regaining a new life.

Sitting on the Honda Jacques that came to greet him, he chatted with the elders' children all the way, his eyes constantly scanning the urban streets outside the car window, trying to evoke as many memories as possible. However, it was too far away. Apart from the deep impression of the Yangtze River Pier, which was bustling with traffic and people in the old days, the rest was at a loss and had no choice but to listen to their attentive introduction. Decades have passed, and the developing city of Anqing is still not very big. The car drove straight and turned several times before entering the most prosperous Renmin Road in Anqing. The residence of the two seniors is in a residential area near Renmin Road. I think it was a quiet and quiet place in the busy city back then. Only in recent years, with the reform and development and new buildings rising everywhere in the new city, does it look a bit outdated. However, the old people seem to miss the old house very much. They often say that it is close to my daughter's workplace and that they can come here to have dinner and talk together at noon every day. It is also close to the big hospital where the son-in-law works, so the old man feels a more secure sense of security. Decades of old tenants, decades of old friendship, good partners for chatting and playing cards, many of these conveniences in life are self-evident. It is precisely this kind of ordinary and calm life that brings the old man as much satisfaction as a fish in water.

Reunited with the seniors after a long absence, reminisced about the past and said hello. It was hard to express in words, and all of them expressed the feeling that life is easy and it is hard to grow old. Fortunately, the elderly are still in good health and can walk easily. Although illness is inevitable, domestic TV programs now popularize health care knowledge and provide the elderly with many fitness routines adapted to local conditions. The two elders and their children not only have promising careers in the local government departments, but are also very filial. The three generations of grandparents are harmonious and harmonious, which is very gratifying. That night we had dinner together at a hotel in the city center. There was a full banquet, endless delicious food, endless talk, and great fun. After the wine was drunk and the meal was over, I had already taken the bill. When I was paying at the counter, they came to me one after another and tried to pay me without talking. I was helpless and had to accept their hospitality uneasily again. But I thought to myself: This banquet in Shanghai is estimated to cost at least 1,500 yuan. The salary in Anqing is not high. I feel really uneasy about letting them pay the bill. The next day, I walked into the hotel specifically and asked to check last night's bill. When I was told that it was only a little over 500 yuan, I was dumbfounded. Food prices in Anqing are really reasonable.

The next morning, the rain fell one after another, coming and going, and the humid air carried sultry smog. At this time, Anqing seemed to deliberately show a hazy scene in front of me that I was already familiar with to welcome my arrival. It was a rare opportunity to revisit, and regardless of the heat and humidity of the rainy season, I started a one-day journey to revisit my hometown. There is a "Qingjietang Shopping Mall" in the west of Huaqing Pond on Renmin Road. It is said to have some origins. Its predecessor was the Qingjie Hall. Li Hongzhang donated a huge sum of money in the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1878) and was rebuilt on the remains of the Juwu and Sanqing Halls of Mawang Temple in Anqing. In order to require young widows to observe moral integrity throughout their lives and uphold feudal ethics. Let him and his children live in Qingjie Hall. There is only one day of Qingming Festival every year, and people are allowed to go out to pay homage to their deceased husband. For the remaining 364 days, they are not allowed to go out of the hall and have to guard their names all year round. The strict rules of the hall make the pervert stop and run away. The distortion of human nature is deeply regrettable by today's people. The church has long since been closed down and demolished, and was converted into a shopping mall in 1987. However, its unique Hui-style architectural style and rigorous layout can still be seen as the way in which women were imprisoned.

The memorial platform of Xu Xilin, the revolutionary pioneer of democracy in the late Qing Dynasty, is located close to the west of the gate of Xinguang Cinema on Renmin Road, a prosperous street in Anqing. Xu Xilin's feat of shooting Deng Enming to death in 1907 shocked both China and foreign countries, and awakened the Chinese people's will to eradicate the imperial system and pursue republic. In order to commemorate the heroes, after the Revolution of 1911, a north-south street from Tianhou Temple to No. 2 Middle School was named Xilin Street. In 1984, the Anqing Municipal People's Government built the "Xu Xilin Memorial Tower". The platform site is square, with its back facing south and facing north. It is surrounded by stone railings and decorated with pines, cypresses, osmanthus and other flowers and plants. The horizontal stone walls are inlaid with marbles engraved with a brief introduction to Xu Xilin's deeds. On the stage, there is a full-body seated statue of Xu Xilin carved from white marble. He looks calm and looks into the distance with a smile, as if he is looking forward to the arrival of a harmonious and bright Chinese society.

>Xu Xilin Memorial Platform – Yunhan Photography The rushing Yangtze River is not far from Renmin Road, just a 20-minute walk away. It is said that since the opening of the railway from Anqing to Shanghai and Nanjing, waterway passenger transportation had to close down. The river is still flowing and the dock is hard to find. Gone are the cluttered and crowded riverside piers of the past, replaced by clean, quiet, tree-lined street gardens and double-decker riverside walkways. It is said that the riverside improvement plan here is largely based on the model of the Huangpu River Bund in Shanghai. Walking on the upper walkway, looking at the mist-filled river flowing thousands of miles away, I couldn't help but think of the time when I, as an educated youth, spent several nights queuing up at the pier in winter to buy a ticket to go back to Shanghai for the Spring Festival. Now these scenes of renewal and prosperity before my eyes make me burst into tears. Looking eastward, the Yangtze River is mighty and ever-flowing. In the smoky sky, you can vaguely see a modern highway cable bridge flying from north to south, crossing Anqing on the north bank and Tongling on the south bank.

Not far from the river here are the Zhenfeng Tower, the landmark building of Anqing, the "No. 1 Tower on the Yangtze River", and the Yingjiang Temple, which is undoubtedly the number one tourist attraction in Anqing. Some people say: "If you haven't arrived at Yingjiang Temple, you have arrived at Anqing City in vain." Due to the sequelae of the Cultural Revolution, Yingjiang Temple had been closed to visitors. Having stayed in Anqing many times, I never had the chance to visit. Nowadays, the country is peaceful and the people are safe. The Zhenfeng Tower of Yingjiang Temple has been renovated and welcomes the destined guests from all over the world with a smile. Stroll along the Yangtze River outside the east gate of Anqing and walk leisurely towards Yingjiang Temple. The mountain gate of the temple faces the river. There are many business stalls on both sides of the gate. Most of them are fortune tellers who do business without capital. Some are palm readers, some are fortune tellers, and some are fortune tellers. . . . Out of curiosity, I asked about the price of fortune telling. It was about 50-80 yuan, which is quite expensive. No wonder there are so many "fake fortune tellers" fishing in troubled waters here, waiting for the fish to take the bait.

> Yingjiang Temple is an organic combination of ancient buildings such as halls, pavilions, towers, halls, dormitories, forest gardens, and jita. It is built on the high ground on the bank of the Yangtze River. The palace is majestic and the layout is the most clever among Anhui temples. According to legend, it was first built in the seventh year of Kaibao in the Northern Song Dynasty (974). It was originally named Wanfo Temple because there were 100,000 sacred Buddhas. After reconstruction in the seventh year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1650), it was renamed Chijian Yingjiang Zen Temple. Since the temple has a history of more than a thousand years and enjoys a high reputation in the Buddhist community, it has been called "the most famous temple in Zhongjiang" by Buddhist sects in the past dynasties. Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties had some connections with it. There are records that Wenzong of the Ming Dynasty, Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong, Cixi, and Guangxu all wrote inscriptions and presented plaques to it. Famous monks emerged in large numbers throughout the ages, and the number of monks in many cases numbered a thousand, so there is a bronze "Thousand-Man Pot" left in the temple.

The gate of Yingjiang Temple – Yunhan Photography The gate is inlaid with a golden temple plaque in running script that reads “Yingjiang Temple”, which is said to be the imperial calligraphy of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty. This word "temple" is actually flawed, and it is also dignified and superior. I asked several eunuchs for advice, but no one could explain why. Is this an accidental loss or an act of ingenuity? It's puzzling and makes no sense. Hi, what do you say? Perhaps because Empress Dowager Cixi was too majestic, Emperor Guangxu deliberately omitted some details to show his modesty in order to please her. The poor emperor lived a useless life.

>Yingjiang Temple Gate Plaque – Yunhan Photography The gate plaque of the mountain gate is made of white marble, with a relief sculpture of a four-clawed golden dragon on it, showing the momentum of flying towards the river. The most peculiar thing is that there are large iron anchors weighing more than 3 tons on both sides of the mountain gate. This is a unique spectacle among the temples in the country. According to folklore, the terrain of Anqing City is like a ship, with the Yingjiang Temple as the bow and the Wind Tower as the mast. If the bow of the ship is not anchored with anchors, Anqing City will follow the river eastward, so it was built to ensure the safety of the people in Hebei Province. However, there is another version of folklore. There was once a local official named Peng in Anqing. Because Peng and basin are homophonic, and the basin is easy to float away by the water, it seems unlucky. This man was unhappy about this. When his mother learned about it, she laughed and said, "My mother's surname is Mao. As long as I make a pair of big iron anchors and place them on both sides of the gate of Yingjiang Temple, your official position will be secure." Peng Zhixian acted according to the plan, and it was indeed stable. Interesting street talks always make people talk about it, adding a mysterious and weird color to Yingjiang Temple.

There are not many tourists, and the tickets are not expensive, 20 yuan per person. Stepping into the mountain gate is the Temple of the Heavenly King, where the cute and silly Maitreya Buddha sits in the shrine, facing the roaring Yangtze River, quietly watching the ships and living beings on the river going west and east. There are wonderful couplets on both sides of the shrine, which are grand and interesting, saying: Open your mouth to swallow the moon in the heart of the river, and your mind will wander around the sea and the sky without moving. I heard that this couplet is quite ingenious and its special feature lies in the beauty of "hidden characters". The words "口" and "神" are emphasized and added to form an interesting couplet. You can also shorten the sentences and write them into five-character couplets. Driven by curiosity, I silently tried to read in my mind, "Open your mouth, and swallow the moon in the center of the river; move your mind, and wander around the corners of the sky." "Open your mouth, and swallow the moon in the center of the river; move your mind, and wander around the corners of the sky." If you understand it carefully, you will find that the meanings are similar, showing not only the thought-provoking Zen meaning, but also the exquisiteness and interest of Chinese characters. In the shrine on the back stands a majestic Bodhisattva Wei Tuo. On the east and west sides of the main hall, there are imposing and majestic standing statues of the four heavenly kings that are shoulder-level with the roof ridges, symbolizing that their divine power protects the people's livelihood and ensures good weather. There is a pair of Buddhist couplets engraved on the pillars in the hall: From the ten directions, the world is in the ten directions, and the ten directions together create the affairs of the ten directions; ten thousand people give, ten thousand people give, ten thousand people join together to form ten thousand relationships. Although its connotation is the Buddhist thought of saving all sentient beings and making connections with others, it is also extremely philosophical. If any society or country can achieve or reach such a state, it will surely be a harmonious and prosperous era where evil cannot invade.

Going out from behind the Tianwang Hall, you will reach the 28-level stone steps leading to the Main Hall. Hanging on the door of the hall is a plaque written by Zhao Puchu, president of the National Buddhist Association, with beautiful and upright calligraphy and profound foundation. It is said that during the Cultural Revolution, Yingjiang Temple was severely damaged, and only the Main Hall and Zhenfeng Pagoda were well preserved. Two black-backed gilt plaques, bestowed by Emperor Qianlong with the words "The Roar of the Good Lion" and the Empress Dowager Cixi with the title "Wonderful Round Mirror", hang high on the beams in the hall together with the plaque with the words "Buddha's Light Shines" by Yao Yang Cijing, a female laywoman from Tongcheng. Among the colorful Buddhist curtains, Sakyamuni, the three great Buddhas of the Saha world, Ananda and Kassapa, sit facing south. Behind the Buddha sit the four great Bodhisattvas Manjusri, Samantabhadra, Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha. The medicines for dispelling disasters and extending life, Shun Buddha and Amitabha Buddha are on the left and right. On the Buddhist altars in the east and west chambers of the main hall, there are statues of the Eighteen Arhats, including the subduing dragon and the crouching tiger, with different postures and vivid shapes. On the right side of the front door of the hall is the bronze bell of "Shifang Yingjiang Temple". Yingjiang Temple also has the newly renovated Pilu Hall, Sutra Library, Renge Pavilion, Dharma Hall, Guangsi Hall, etc. The center of the Vairocana Hall is dedicated to Vairocana Buddha, with King Brahma on the left and Sakyamuni on the right. There are exquisite and lifelike sculpture paintings on the hanging wall behind the Vairocana Buddha. On the island more than 10 meters high, there are more than 100 statues of the Good Fortune Boy, Fifty-Three Ginseng and others. Under the island is the "Four Sea Dragon Dynasty Guanyin". It seems to contain many Buddhist allusions. There is no tour guide to explain it in detail here, so I have to take a few glances and leave. The incense in this famous temple in the ancient city is obviously not as prosperous as the ancient temples in the famous mountains, and it seems a bit lonely. However, the valuable thing is that it still maintains a solemn and elegant style, relatively speaking, it lacks the snobbish copper smell.

It happened that there was a group of men and women chanting sutras in the chanting hall. If you look closely, you can see that most of them are elderly believers who have not lost their hair, and only a few are monks wearing cassocks. While I was watching, suddenly a young, chubby, bald monk saw an acquaintance and casually ran out of the chanting team. He laughed and talked with him. Even I, a bystander, felt embarrassed, but he acted as if nothing had happened. It seems that it is difficult to break ties with the world, and cultivation is really not easy. There is a bookstall in the right corner of the main hall, and a monk usually sits on the sofa to look after it. He provides simple books related to Buddhism for free. I took a thin "Disciple's Rules" there and flipped through it. Including it in the package may have some reference value in overseas Chinese education in the future.

Rising from the ground in the middle of the temple, stands the famous Zhenfeng Tower. Zhenfeng Tower was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council in June 2006. The tower has a seven-story octagonal pavilion-style masonry structure and a tower height of 64.8 meters. It is the second-largest ancient masonry pagoda in China after the Kaiyuan Temple Tower in Hebei Province. It was built in the fourth year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1570) and has a history of more than 400 years. The appearance of the ancient pagoda is thick and solemn, and the gourd and vase-shaped pagoda on the top of the pagoda is gracefully shaped. The two complement each other and appear particularly majestic and upright. "The Yangtze River is so strong that the shadow of the tower cannot flow away." For hundreds of years, Zhenfeng Pagoda has gone through ups and downs and is still proud of the world. It is still known as "the pagoda is not mentioned after you have passed Anqing". It is said that there are a total of 1,080 Buddha statues hidden in Zhenfeng Pagoda, which is known as the "Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas". When I climbed the pagoda, I walked up and down and walked around. I saw quite a lot of Buddha statues with different expressions, but I never expected that there were as many as a thousand. With ordinary eyes, ordinary people can only see that the bottom floor of the pagoda is dedicated to a 5-meter-high Amitabha Buddha, the second floor is dedicated to Maitreya Buddha, and the third floor is dedicated to the Five Buddhas of the Five Directions. Little do they know that there are many Buddha statues embedded in the belly wall of the pagoda. They also observe the Dharma duties at all times and watch all living beings in the ordinary world.

If you have time to visit the tower, buy a ticket for ten yuan and you can climb to the sixth floor of the tower. The cornices of each floor of the tower are covered with tiles, and on the octagonal corners there are strange beasts holding wind bells in their mouths. At the bottom of the tower are copper bells, which sound in the wind, and the Sanskrit sounds are clear and melodious. The layout of the tower gate and stairs is varied. What is interesting is the wonderful hidden staircase on the second floor. After I climbed to the second floor of the tower, I wanted to find the ladder to go up, but I always ran into walls and couldn't get the key to the entrance. After going around in a circle, I suddenly realized that I had just unlocked the door. Amidst the relieved laughter, I deeply admired the original design of the ancient architects. It seemed that they had specially set up the Bagua array in the eight gates to create some small problems so that future generations can spend more time and have fun while playing. Each floor of the tower is surrounded by stone railings, but due to the shrinkage of each floor, by the fourth and fifth floors, the width of the perimeter is already very narrow, and the stone railings are low, allowing only a single person to pass. Walking on the periphery of the sixth floor, I felt a little scared of heights and nervous. When the strong wind blows and the body shakes, it is really dangerous. Fortunately, there were not many tourists, so I took a leisurely walk around the tower wall alone, and then looked out to the horizon. The entire Anqing city was in my sight, and the river was rushing away quietly in the white mist. At this time, I thought of the eternal poem written by Wang Zhihuan, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, when he climbed to the Stork Tower. I inevitably wanted to feel the artistic conception of "to reach a higher level if you want to see a thousand miles away". Unfortunately, the sky in the plum rain was very low and white, and the surroundings were vast and the water and sky were the same color. If you go to the next floor, it must be the same, except that you can see it within a radius of more than ten miles. No wonder the poets living in the south could not write such heroic and powerful poems. However, in this steamy and misty high place, I feel like I am about to fly and become a fairy. While taking a rest in the temple, I saw a middle-aged monk talking to someone, which gave me some insights. Thinking it was the monk in charge of the temple, they started talking. His Dharma name is "Manjie" and he specially invited me to sit in his guest house. I had never visited a monk's house before, so I went there happily. He lives on the second floor of the Sutra Library, in a small room behind a brand-new Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara statue. The room was messy, but there were several framed calligraphy banners titled "Manjie", which I knew were his works. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be so elegant." He was a little proud and said humbly: "I wrote it all for my friends." I took a closer look at his calligraphy and found it to be average in structure and lacking in writing power. But I am quite courageous, amuse myself with books, and live a very cool life. There are corridors on both sides of the house, and the corridor at the back is filled with the four treasures of his study, a large table covered with a doily, with a large inkstone, ink, a pen holder, large and small brushes and stone seals, as well as all kinds of calligraphy that he liked. He introduced himself. He learned his cursive calligraphy from Anqing's famous calligrapher Deng Shiru, and his regular script from Zhang Jizhi, both famous Huizhou calligraphers in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Bao Shichen, a famous master from Anhui Province, also studied running calligraphy. He joked that he likes to read a lot of books and has many insights. There are not many monks today who have such a taste. Since I only stayed in Anqing for two days, I had to go visit Duxiu Garden in the afternoon, so I left in a hurry. Before leaving, he spread out the rice paper and wrote a banner on the spot for me. It was a replica of Zhuangzi's "A virtual room produces whiteness" and the four words "A virtual room produces whiteness". Of course, I also gave some money as a gift to support his hobbies and interests, because I think writing is quite expensive, which is not easy for a monk.

Monks dancing pens in the temple - Yunhan Photography The Jianglou Pavilion facing the west of the mountain gate of Yingjiang Temple was originally the Ciyun Pavilion. After the success of the Revolution of 1911, it was changed to the Xiong Fan Er Martyrs Shrine to commemorate Xiong Chengji and Fan Chuanjia, the leaders of the Anqing Ma Pao Camp uprising during the Revolution of 1911, as well as the Anhui or Anhui martyrs who died in the Revolution of 1911. There is only one special temple to commemorate the Revolution of 1911 in the country, and it is also the Anqing Museum. After visiting Yingjiang Temple in the morning, I wanted to visit there, but was turned down. I never expected that the Tangtang Museum is only open for four hours in the morning every day, which shows that the city of Anqing is not very popular as a tourist.

There is also a famous vegetarian restaurant next to Linjiang Mountain Gate in the temple, which can prepare more than 400 vegetarian dishes. Since I planned to visit the cemetery of Mr. Chen Duxiu, a modern celebrity, in the afternoon, I just wanted to have a simple lunch. In the vegetarian restaurant on the second floor, while watching the barges on the river from the window and enjoying the delicious vegetarian noodles, my thoughts wandered endlessly in the air, sometimes reflecting on my three-year life as an educated youth who once cultivated the earth. The small and remote villages there and the honest and honest fellows from northern Anhui make me miss them deeply. My schedule is tight and I cannot spend another 2-3 days to see the mountains, waters and people more than 200 miles away. This should be my biggest regret during this trip to Anqing. My thoughts naturally associated with those brothers and sisters who shared the joys and sorrows in those days. Most of them should later find employment and settle down in Anqing. Unexpectedly, the biggest regret is that I did not meet a friend from the same hometown during this trip. In fact, it was impossible for me to realize this wish, because I later learned that at the beginning of the reform and opening up, the Anqing Municipal Government allowed Shanghai’s educated youth to compensate Shanghai’s educated youth for leaving their jobs and returning to Shanghai, so most of them did not live here. After hearing this, I was very sad. Is this decision a disaster for them? Is it a blessing? There is no way to know the answer. I hope that my brothers and sisters will still stand upright in the spring breeze of reform and go well all the way.

This picture was obtained from the Internet and is much clearer.