桐柏，千里淮河的源頭，一塊古老、神秘而又充滿勃勃生機(jī)的土地，它位于河南、湖北兩省交界的桐柏山北麓。

4月，正是桐柏山山嶺嶺杜鵑花盛開(kāi)的季節(jié)，我應(yīng)邀參加了由中國(guó)攝影家協(xié)會(huì)組織的“走進(jìn)淮河之源，尋訪桐柏英雄”的大型攝影采風(fēng)活動(dòng)，和來(lái)自新華社、《人民日?qǐng)?bào)》《工人日?qǐng)?bào)》《中國(guó)化工報(bào)》《中國(guó)環(huán)境報(bào)》《中國(guó)攝影報(bào)》等新聞媒體的20余名攝影記者一道，走進(jìn)了淮河源頭的桐柏。

我們的采風(fēng)活動(dòng)由攀登太白頂、探溯淮河源開(kāi)始。太白頂為桐柏山主峰，位于桐柏縣城城西15公里的淮源鎮(zhèn)，它雄峙凌極，橫臥天際，海拔為1140米。我們從山下拾級(jí)而上，上行不到50米早已大汗淋漓，氣喘噓噓，但同行的伙伴們看到山之秀、石之奇、樹(shù)之老、水之碧，仍然一步一聲贊嘆，興味盎然。

我們用了將近一個(gè)小時(shí)的時(shí)間登上了太白山頂。站立山巔，環(huán)顧四方，只見(jiàn)太白山頂東側(cè)有一大淮井，這便是千里淮河之源頭。井徑2米左右，深約2米，井底那三眼涌泉時(shí)刻水花翻滾，透過(guò)石壁潛流而下，注入了山谷，并義無(wú)反顧地一瀉千里直奔東海。

淮河源有著很深的文化積淀?！坝韺?dǎo)淮，自桐柏”(《尚書(shū)·禹貢》)；“盤(pán)古開(kāi)天，血為淮瀆”(《五運(yùn)歷年記》)。據(jù)有關(guān)專家論證，桐柏山是舉世聞名的盤(pán)古神話發(fā)源地。盤(pán)古文化在桐柏山源遠(yuǎn)流長(zhǎng)，這里有盤(pán)古山、盤(pán)古廟、盤(pán)古洞、盤(pán)古斧、盤(pán)古墓等天下奇觀。公元前221年秦始皇詔令祭淮，那時(shí)便有了桐柏縣淮源鎮(zhèn)現(xiàn)今的淮祠。“祭淮”是歷代帝王為黎庶祈福的一種形式。朱元璋、康熙、雍正等皇帝在此御書(shū)匾額，祈求國(guó)泰民安、五谷豐登；無(wú)數(shù)墨客賢達(dá)到這里探源覽勝，也留下千古絕唱。“一定要把淮河的事情辦好”，毛澤東巨手一揮，修淮工程便由此拉開(kāi)了序幕。自古以來(lái)，淮河源兒女圍繞識(shí)淮、祭淮、治淮，譜寫(xiě)了一部厚重的淮河源文化。

淮源鎮(zhèn)位于桐柏縣城西14公里，有千里淮河第一鎮(zhèn)之美稱。在淮源鎮(zhèn)的淮漢分水嶺上，一個(gè)記載著神話傳說(shuō)的人文遺跡就鑲嵌在這里：它就是聞名遐邇的淮漢鴛鴦池。鴛鴦池為三個(gè)自然池塘，東邊的兩個(gè)池塘清澈見(jiàn)底，西邊的一個(gè)池塘卻渾濁異常。相傳，在很早以前，桐柏有東西兩個(gè)部落。有一年天久旱不雨，東部落首領(lǐng)桐花姑娘便約西部落首領(lǐng)柏子一同到山上去尋找水源。他倆找到了水，但因其勞累過(guò)度卻倒在了山下。柏子之妻尋夫至此，見(jiàn)狀誤認(rèn)為柏子和桐花有染，頓時(shí)醋性大發(fā)，大吵大鬧，最后找到盤(pán)古奶告狀評(píng)理。盤(pán)古奶就把他們?nèi)诉€原成水，以水清濁來(lái)判斷是非。柏子和桐花變成了清澈見(jiàn)底的池塘，而柏子之妻的池塘卻渾濁異常，如此一來(lái)，是非對(duì)錯(cuò)便一目了然。后來(lái)大禹治淮時(shí)來(lái)到這里，聽(tīng)了這個(gè)故事，感慨地說(shuō)：“清者自清，濁者自濁，不宜合流!”于是他便引導(dǎo)清池東流成為淮河，疏通濁池西流注入漢水?！傍x鴦池”的故事從此世代相傳，直到現(xiàn)在淮河兩岸不少人在愛(ài)情方面遭到誤解時(shí)，總愛(ài)到鴛鴦池邊以古池為鏡，尋求心理的慰藉和解脫。從此，淮漢鴛鴦池成了桐柏的一大名勝景觀。

淮河源頭，也有深厚的宗教文化。這里清代以前重道，王禪曾在此悟道，孫臏曾在此課徒，張良曾在此辟谷?；礊^廟對(duì)面金臺(tái)山上的那座“金臺(tái)道館”，為南北朝時(shí)代四大道觀之首，水簾洞被道家定為“天下第四十一福地”。到了清乾隆四十九年以后，桐柏山佛教昌盛起來(lái)，自成白云山系，成為飲譽(yù)海內(nèi)外的佛教圣地。桐柏山主峰太白頂上的云臺(tái)禪寺，水簾洞的水簾寺，桃花洞的普化寺，淮源鎮(zhèn)的清泉寺等，僧民多達(dá)600余人，暮鼓晨鐘，香火不絕，構(gòu)成了桐柏山氤氳的宗教文化。

一日下午，我們一行來(lái)到水簾寺觀光?？匆?jiàn)金碧輝煌的大雄寶殿內(nèi)，有尊端坐在殿宇中央蓮花圣壇上的釋迦牟尼說(shuō)法佛像。這尊玉佛是由早年在水簾寺出家的香港如修法師出資鐫琢而成的。佛祖通體為上乘的緬甸翠玉，冰清玉潔，不含一纖瑕疵。釋迦牟尼佛祖慈祥的面容，明凈如秋水般的慧眼，豐滿端莊的身態(tài)，靈巧纖細(xì)的手指和安詳靜謐的坐姿，好像隨時(shí)都會(huì)從佛壇上走下來(lái)普渡我們這些蕓蕓眾生。

蘇區(qū)文化也是淮源文化的重要組成部分。桐柏山是一塊紅色的土地，是英雄輩出的地方。早在1925年夏桐柏山就插上了紅旗，建立了黨組織。豫南工農(nóng)革命軍、紅九軍、紅二十五軍、紅二十八軍、新四軍五師以及三五九旅南下支隊(duì)等，均在這里輾轉(zhuǎn)戰(zhàn)斗過(guò)。1927年楊靖宇在回龍鄉(xiāng)徐老莊組建的“回龍農(nóng)民協(xié)會(huì)”舊址、1936年鄂豫邊省委書(shū)記張星江領(lǐng)導(dǎo)桐柏山紅軍游擊隊(duì)孤峰山廟會(huì)奪槍舊址、1938年徐海東在回龍養(yǎng)傷舊地、1945年新四軍五師師長(zhǎng)李先念、河南軍區(qū)司令員王樹(shù)聲在葉家大莊住處舊址，均保存得相當(dāng)完好。如今，這些革命舊址都已成為緬懷革命先烈、弘揚(yáng)革命傳統(tǒng)的教育基地。

由小說(shuō)《桐柏英雄》改編成的電影《小花》已為廣大觀眾所熟悉，桐柏山悠久燦爛的歷史文化和神奇獨(dú)特的自然景觀，也為中外游人所喜愛(ài)。桐柏，這顆鑲嵌在中原旅游風(fēng)景圈中的明珠，如今更加放出璀璨的光芒。

A Spring Journey to Tongbai Mountain

Story and Photographs by Zhou Jinping

The Tongbai Mountain stretches between Henan and Anhui Provinces. The vast mountainous area is not only full of ancient legends and natural wonders but also is where the Huai River originates.

In the past April， I joined a group of photojournalists in a program to photograph the natural beauty and heroes of the revolutionary era in the Tongbai Mountain. The program was jointly organized by the country's leading news media.

We started our journey by scaling the highest peak of the mountain. It is the Supreme White Peak， 15 kilometers west of the Tongbai County seat. At 1，140 meters above sea level， the peak towers magnificently. Taking the zigzagging stone steps， we were amazed by sceneries on the way: magnificent peaks， unique-shaped rocks， age-old trees， and clear streams. Near the eastern side of the mountain top is a 2-meter-deep well in about 2 meters in diameter. Three springs surge bubbling in the well. The water seeps through the cliff down the valley， starting its long journey to the East China Sea.

Experts say that the Chinese genesis originated in the mountain area. The legend has it that Pangu， the very first Chinese deity， created the universe by separating the sky and the earth at the very beginning. There are various historical sites in memory of the giant deity. In 221 BC， the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206B.C.) issued a decree for holding a grand ceremony in the name of the Huai River. Emperors in the following dynasties continued this practice to pray happiness for the people.

The riverhead area is steeped in religious heritages. Before the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)， Taoism dominated the area. Sites of historical interests there remind visitors of busy Taoist activities there over centuries. In the 49th year during the reign of the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty， Buddhism began to flourish there. Taoism faded. A few Buddhist temples attracted an aggregate of more than 600 monks.

We visited the Water Curtain Temple in one afternoon. The stately Grand Hall had a giant jade Buddha statue， donated by a monk from Hong Kong. The green jade was imported from Burma.

The mountain area was once the revolutionary base area in the first half of the 20th century. The Communist Red Army started military activities in the summer 1925 and local Communist party chapters worked to rally forces. In the history of the Chinese Communist Revolution， troopers stayed in many places in the deep mountains. Today， headquarters of different Communist armies over the different periods serve a witness to the heroic past.

In the early 1980s， a feature movie adapted from a novel that portrayed revolutionary heroes in the war periods was released nationwide. The movie made the Tongbai Mountain well known in the country. Today， the mountain attracts a great number of tourists both from home and overseas with its unique sights of natural beauty and historical interests.

(Translated by David)