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 ）云臺仙境 （王樹貴／攝）

修武：靜候奇境中

最早知道修武，是因為云臺山，這個位于中原地帶的著名自然風(fēng)景區(qū)，在上世紀(jì)90年代末，每天都會在央視《新聞聯(lián)播》后的天氣預(yù)報中亮相。如果從政區(qū)地圖中尋找云臺山，會發(fā)現(xiàn)一個緊鄰的，名字中就帶著古意的小城—— 修武。

1. In spring, the mountain full of blossoms. (Photo by Qiu Dajun)春季，山花爛漫。（邱大軍／攝）

2. In summer, the lush trees, the dashing waterfall.( Photo by Li Junyan)夏季，郁郁蔥蔥，飛瀑流泉。（李軍彥／攝）

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，層林盡 染，插茱萸、賞紅葉，遙寄情懷。（楊翠萍／攝）

又是一個讓人倦意綿延的周一，我坐在方向盤后方，前方綿延的車龍遍體閃爍的紅光映入眼底，一停一走之間竟有些恍惚。車載廣播中正播放著周杰倫的《千里之外》，悠揚(yáng)的中國風(fēng)樂曲帶著我的思緒飄飛，回到上個周末踏足的那個太行小城——修武。

最早知道修武，是因為云臺山，這個位于中原地帶的著名自然風(fēng)景區(qū)，在上世紀(jì)90年代末，每天都會在央視《新聞聯(lián)播》后的天氣預(yù)報中亮相。如果從政區(qū)地圖中尋找云臺山，會發(fā)現(xiàn)一個緊鄰的，名字中就帶著古意的小城——修武。

再到后來重讀金庸，魔教大長老曲洋所彈奏的那曲《廣陵散》讓人心馳。查知魏晉名士嵇康善彈此曲，民間傳曰為鬼神傳授，嵇康得譜后立誓不予外傳，其后為司馬昭所害，身死曲絕。嵇康死前隱居之地，便又是這小小的修武。

與中國很多旅游城市一樣，修武也是一個有故事的地方。譬如此地周代之前稱“寧邑”，武王伐紂時在此處駐兵練武，改名為“修武”。秦始皇統(tǒng)一中國后，在全國設(shè)立36個郡（后增至46個），修武縣便隸屬其中之一的三川郡，歷經(jīng)2000多年從未改名。及至魏晉，嵇康、阮籍在此間避世，引來劉伶、王戎、阮咸、山濤、向秀等另五位當(dāng)時名士在此間竹林中賦詩對飲，并稱“竹林七賢”。一時間清風(fēng)霽月，文氣沖天，成就此后歷朝歷代清流文士的朝圣之地。

不過，真正促使我踏足這個遠(yuǎn)在千里之外的山間縣城的，不是什么神鬼傳說，也不是什么名人軼事，而是一位好友的同游邀約。

說老實話，我不是什么喜歡熱鬧的人，故而

4. In winter, the whole mountain is embellished with the heavy snow and glazed ice.(Photo by Yang Jiantang)冬季，銀裝素裹，冰掛驚奇。（楊建堂／攝）

1. Village Pingdingyao in Taihang Mountain太行深山中的平頂爻村。

2. The abundant agricultural products in Village Yidoushui.一斗水村的農(nóng)產(chǎn)品豐富。

3. The famous twistplacenta porcelain of Song Dynasty is originated in Xiuwu.( Photo by Zengjian)修武是宋代名瓷絞胎瓷的發(fā)源地。（曾?。瘮z）

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……每逢節(jié)假日眾人一窩蜂出游的時候，總愿意待在家里，心中更對所謂的名勝之地有著某種抵觸。不能說沒有猶豫，但朋友一句“我覺得你一定會喜歡”的斷語卻引發(fā)了我的好奇——何以見得？

于是成行。

修武縣城不大，給人的第一感受是干凈。作為一座以旅游為第一收入來源的城市，保持市容的整潔是政府常識，這并沒有讓我感到意外。真正讓我驚訝的是，我們到達(dá)這里時，雖然離新鄭機(jī)場不過50分鐘的車程，頭頂?shù)奶炜諈s從灰蒙蒙換成了湛藍(lán)，這樣的天氣，即便是在南方，也并不多見。

第二個感覺是安靜。我們到達(dá)時間是周五的下午5點多，在大城市中這正是下班高峰，但在這個人口只有27萬出頭的縣城里，預(yù)想中的人潮與車流卻并不存在。迎面而來，與我們擦肩而過的，多是一身運(yùn)動裝備的慢跑者，我甚至懷疑他們其實和我們一樣，并非本地居民，直到陪伴我們的當(dāng)?shù)叵驅(qū)в帽镜胤窖耘c其中的一位熱情地打起了招呼。對于我來說，清靜的確是這個地方的優(yōu)點，但這就是讓我的朋友如此篤定的全部嗎？

云臺山是修武的必游之地，既然來了固然不能錯過。即便是旅游淡季，各個景點中也能看到不少來自周邊省份和城市的自駕旅游者。當(dāng)然，擦肩接踵的景象不會出現(xiàn)，這讓我得以更加悠然地觀賞這里獨(dú)特奇麗的自然景觀。

在這里，遠(yuǎn)古時期地殼的強(qiáng)烈抬升和水蝕下切，加上當(dāng)?shù)厮簇S富的地理特點，形成了雙崖對峙的峽谷群和各種常年不竭的瀑、泉、溪、潭。漫步在蜿蜒曲折的山谷之中，高聳的山壁和巨大的巖石往往會在人眼前形成天然的視覺屏障。這一刻還是曲徑通幽，下一刻只不過拐了個彎，眼前便豁然開朗，進(jìn)入一片植被茂盛的開闊谷地，仿佛偶遇世外桃源。更有不知從哪里突然冒出的清冽泉水，在腳下匯成碧綠的深潭，讓人心生親近之意。如此山水，猶如一座座布局巧妙的天然園林，無怪乎有中國山水園林文化鼻祖之稱的竹林七賢，會選在附近隱居，一住就是20多年。魏晉文人多狂士，遙想嵇康當(dāng)年，或許也曾在這山谷中寒潭畔，架起古琴，袒胸露懷縱情狂奏一曲《廣陵散》，一舒心中的郁結(jié)之氣。

相傳嵇康隱居的真正所在，是云臺山主要景點紅石峽附近的百家?guī)r。比起已經(jīng)開發(fā)完畢，設(shè)施齊全的其他景區(qū)，這里更見清幽。當(dāng)年七賢月下對酒當(dāng)歌的竹林雖然已經(jīng)難覓其蹤，但山間長流不息的瀝瀝清泉仍在。順石階行至半山，在一處古寺外的泉水邊駐足，覓一塊青石坐下。閉上雙眼，偶有山風(fēng)吹過，輕淺的寒意讓人靈臺清明。無月，無酒，無琴音繚繞，心無旁騖，便已感覺被匆匆的日常甩在身后的靈魂，正在逐漸回歸。

竹林七賢追求的也許就是這種遠(yuǎn)離世俗，回歸本源的心境吧！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?guī)r ，竹林七賢隱居地。（曾?。瘮z）