Tang Dynasty Crossing Guide: Chang'an and People's Life Manual

Chapter 17
One-day tour of five popular scenic spots in Chang'an City starts!
名胜
Comrades, friends, rotten girls, nerds, welcome to the heart of Datang, the capital Chang'an!
Spring is here, with beautiful mountains and clear waters inside and outside Chang'an City, and grass growing and warblers flying, it is the most pleasant time of the year.The "One-day Tour of Five Popular Scenic Spots in Spring" tour group specially organized by our agency is to allow participants to appreciate the essence of the ancient capital in the shortest possible time and in an efficient visiting mode.

Also because of the limited time, we carefully designed the tour route for this day, striving to achieve a combination of work and rest, a degree of relaxation, and a combination of on-board browsing and off-board activities.Of course, we guarantee that the selected scenic spots are ten-A-level scenic spots with profound cultural heritage that have been tested by thousands of years. Great spiritual satisfaction.

Let me introduce today's schedule of activities.

After breakfast at [-] o'clock in the morning, set off and take a bus from the east to Chang'an City. On the way, you will pass the famous "Baqiao Snow" scenic spot, and visit it in the car.

Enter the city from the Chunming Gate in the east of Chang'an City, pass by Emperor Xuanzong's Xingqing Palace and Dongshi in turn in the west, turn south at the northeast corner of Pingkang Square, go south all the way, pass Daci'en Temple, and watch the Big Wild Goose Pagoda from a distance in the car.

Going southeast from the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, you will arrive at Qujiang Pond, the largest garden scenic spot in Chang'an City.Here you can get off the car and move freely, and have lunch at the "Xingyuan" in Qujiang Lake Scenic Area to taste the Tang Dynasty No. [-] Scholar Banquet.

In the afternoon, go out of the city and go to the "Fanchuan" area at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain to enjoy the natural beauty of the clear forest and water, and visit the former residences of Wang Wei, Du Fu, Du Mu and others by the way.

Go back to the city in the evening, go to the Qinglong Temple on the Leyouyuan to worship the Buddha and watch the infinitely beautiful sunset.The dinner is at Pingkangfang Geisha House, the meal fee is already included in the tour fee, and other optional items are at your own expense.

Members of the group, please look to the right window, now we have come to Baqiao.

Baqiao is located on the Bahe River more than ten kilometers east of Chang'an City. It is the east gate of Chang'an and connects the main traffic arteries in the east of Chang'an.The Bahe River is one of the Eight Rivers in Chang'an. It originates in the Blue Valley of Lantian County, Qinling Mountains.It is said that the earliest bridge on the Bahe River was built by Qin Mugong, who dominated Xirong, renamed the original Zishui River as Bashui River, and built the oldest stone pier bridge in my country on the river.

The porous large-scale stone arch bridge you see now was built in the third year of Emperor Kaihuang (583) of the Sui Dynasty, and basically belongs to the same era as the famous "Zhaozhou Bridge" in Hebei, which has stood for 400 and [-] years.You can see that there are so many willow trees planted at the bridgehead and on the embankment of the nearby river bank. In early spring, when the strong wind blows, the catkins are flying all over the sky. Does it look like snow in midwinter?

"Baqiao Wind and Snow", one of the eight scenic spots in Guanzhong, refers to exactly such a scene.Dear group members, visiting Chang'an in early spring is really a blessing.

Look, there are a group of people on the bridge, leading horses, and holding freshly broken willow branches in their hands.The man in the green robe took the willow branches sent by others and said goodbye one by one.He was going to leave Chang'an for a long journey. According to the customs of the Tang Dynasty, his friends came to see him off and sent him all the way to the Baqiao. He might even stay overnight in a post station by the bridge, drink and say goodbye, and send him off the next morning. At the end of the bridge, fold the willows and present them to each other, and this is considered to be the completion of the farewell.

The group member asked, people in the Tang Dynasty saw them off as soon as they saw them off, why did they destroy willow trees?Who did the willow tree provoke?That's right, because "willow" and "stay" are homophonic, so giving willow branches to others not only expresses the emotion of reluctance, but also implies that people go to other places, just like willows, they are at ease with the situation, live in the soil, and develop and grow... And This custom did not come into existence in the Tang Dynasty. Everyone should be familiar with the famous article in "The Book of Songs": "In the past, I have passed away, and the willows are Yiyi. Now I come to think about it, and the rain and snow are falling..."①
Baqiao is also very famous in Tang poetry. Li Baiyun: "The willows are beautiful every year, and Baling hurts you." , how it hurts to look back." ④ Li He chanted: "The boat crosses the Bashui Tower, and the camp gate opens with thin willows." Yan Baan spring, every year climbs and folds to become a pedestrian. If the good wind borrows the low branches, don’t send green silk to sweep the dust.” ⑦…Now we have entered the east gate of Chang’an City, Chunming Gate.

As soon as you enter Chunming Gate, the north of the street is the "Xingqing Palace", the love nest of Emperor Xuanzong and Concubine Yang. This palace is also called "Nannei". It is very large and occupies an area of ​​one and a half squares.Everyone look to the right, the tall building facing the street is called "Qin Government Affairs Main Building".When Kaiyuan Tianbao was in its heyday, Emperor Xuanzong would go up to this building during festivals and hold some mass gatherings, shouting "Long live the people" or something... Uh, just kidding, don't take it seriously.

After passing Xingqing Palace, further west, the south of the street is Dongshi.Everyone looked to the left of the car... Well, although there is nothing to see except for the square wall and the trees beside the road, the East Market is the commercial center of Chang'an City, which is as famous as the West Market.Because of the large number of foreign merchants and imported goods, the West Market is busier than the East City.However, the vicinity of Dongshi is a high-end residential area for dignitaries, so if any time-traveling woman wants to meet a nobleman, it is recommended to visit Dongshi more.

To the west of Dongshi is Pingkangfang, which is very interesting to many male group members.Tonight we will go back to this red-light district for dinner. Now, our bus makes a left turn between Dongshi and Pingkangfang, and turns south. We will see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

That group member, you are so humorous, you ask why there are no traffic lights and traffic police at the intersection of Chang'an City in the Tang Dynasty?Let’s see how wide the streets in Chang’an City are. The main roads are more than 100 meters wide, and the secondary roads are tens of meters wide. The streets are dominated by pedestrians. The horse runs fast, and its speed is not as fast as that of a motor vehicle—why do you need traffic police and traffic lights?There will be no traffic jams in the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

Our invisible bus doesn't even need to consider traffic rules.There is still some way to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, let's talk about this tower.

First of all, I would like to remind everyone that if you want to travel to the Tang Dynasty to see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, you have to pay attention to the time slot.This pagoda was built in the third year of Emperor Gaozong Yonghui (652) of the Tang Dynasty, after Master Xuanzang returned from learning scriptures from the West, and built them for the translation of Tibetan scriptures.That is to say, there was no such tower in the era of Wude Zhenguan, the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and Li Yuan and Li Shimin had never seen it.

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built in Daci'en Temple, which was built by Prince Li Zhi in memory of his mother, Queen Wende, in the 22nd year of Zhenguan (648).Four years after the temple was built, Comrade Tang Seng started to build the pagoda, so everyone must not mistake the context.

Why is it called "Big Wild Goose Pagoda"?In "Da Tang Western Regions" written by Xuanzang, it is recorded that when he was learning Buddhist scriptures in India, he heard the legend that monks buried geese to build pagodas. It is roughly that a goose saved the empty stomachs of monks by committing suicide. The monks buried geese and built pagodas.Xuanzang once looked up at the Wild Goose Pagoda in India, and after returning to China, he copied a copy of it to store the Buddhist scriptures and statues brought back from India.

We are about to arrive at the Da Ci'en Temple ahead, we still don't get off the bus, just look at the pagoda from the outside of the wall.Well, do the group members think this Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a bit strange?Is it different from the khaki seven-story pagoda you saw in the 21st century?
①From "The Book of Songs Xiaoya Caiwei".

②From Li Bai's "Recalling Qin'e".

③From the remaining sentences of Cen Shen.

④From Liu Yuxi's "Please tell the east to go back to Baqiao but send it to all the bureaucrats".

⑤ From Li He's "Send Qin Guanglu to the Northern Expedition".

⑥From Li Shangyin's "Ba'an"

⑦From Li Yi's "Send Li Er on the Way" (a poem by Rong Yu).When the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was first built, it had only five floors. It was rebuilt in the time of Empress Wu, and it was added to a seven-story green brick pagoda, which was later increased to ten floors.Since then, it has been repaired, and the highest has reached eleven floors, and they are all thinner and taller.After several major earthquakes in the millennium, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the exterior of the remaining seven-story Tang Dynasty pagoda was completely covered with a [-]-centimeter-thick cladding, and the shape was thicker than before. stereotyped".

Going southeast from the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there are fewer and fewer houses and more and more greenery.Did the group members see the sparkling water in front?We are about to enter Qujiang Pond.

The area around Qujiang is the most important public scenic spot in Chang’an City. It is located in the southeast corner of Chang’an City. Half of the gardens are inside the city and half outside the city. It was originally a natural lake. Because it is long from north to south, short from east to west, and curved on the west bank, It is called "Qujiang".In Emperor Xuanzong's time, it was artificially transformed to attract more water, and the water area of ​​Qujiang expanded to 70 square meters.It's spectacular.

Here we can get out of the car to play, don't worry, wait for the car to stop, please take your personal belongings, and get off in turn.

What a clean air, isn't it?There are Xinggongtaidians built all over the water surface of the Qujiang River, Ziyun Tower and Furong Garden to the south, and Apricot Garden and Ci'en Temple to the west.Everyone looks around, it is really "surrounded by flowers, bright smoke and water...the wild wild cattail is verdant, the shade of the willows is in harmony, the blue waves are red, and they are lovely"①.Look at these people from the Tang Dynasty who came out for spring outings, "colorful tents and emerald banks, running on the embankment, fresh chariots and horses, shoulder to shoulder" ②, everyone is enjoying this picturesque scenery.

Now everyone is free to move around for two hours, but don’t go too far, gather at the bus at [-]:[-] noon, and we will go to Xingyuan for lunch.There are two other places to remind everyone to pay attention to.

One is to stay as far away from the "Ziyun Tower" as possible.Although it is said that Qujiang is a public garden, everyone in Chang’an can come to play, but the part of Ziyun Tower is still a restricted area for the royal family. At that time, Emperor Xuanzong specially ordered a special lane to be built along the east wall of Chang’an, for his old people and his party. Feel free to come to Ziyun Tower from Xingqing Palace to have fun.Although theoretically the guards can't see our traveling tour group, it's better to be careful.

The second is that Qujiang is a big place, and there are some places that are deep in the grass and are particularly hidden. Don't venture in, you may be surprised by a few young people with Pingkangfang's wife, the kind without clothes... …

It's two hours, are all the group members complete?Well, counting people is not bad, it seems that everyone is hungry.Get on the bus, let's go to Xingyuan for dinner.

Why eat in Xingyuan?Because the "Apricot Garden Banquet" in Chang'an City is not only very famous, but also very auspicious, and the mouth is very good!

The apricot orchard is on the west side of Qujiang Pond, facing Da Ci'en Temple from north to south.Therefore, many apricot trees are planted in the area, hence the name "Apricot Garden".When the apricot blossoms bloom every spring, it is as bright as clouds, and it is the best place for Qujiang scenery.After the imperial examination talents of the Tang Dynasty were admitted to the most senior "Jinshi", they held a "Beautiful Flower Banquet" here.

In the beginning, "Tanhua" did not refer to No.3 on the Jinshi List, but just the two most handsome young men selected from the new division Jinshi, called "Two Street Tanhua Envoys", and asked them to ride around the vicinity of Qujiang Or pick all kinds of early spring flowers in famous gardens in Chang'an, especially peonies and peonies are the best.If someone else picks peonies, peonies and other flowers earlier and returns, the "Traveling Envoy" will be punished.After the flower-pickers returned to the apricot garden victoriously, they held a banquet. The imperial court invited guests, and there were many kabukis participating in the apricot garden banquet to add to the fun.

Do you have any children who are about to take the college entrance examination?If there is, I must eat more food at the apricot orchard feast to be happy.Everyone, please take your time, the tour guide Lu is going to eat, see you later.

The group members are in the car, are you full?It doesn’t matter if you’re not full, the Zhongnanshan Scenic Area we’re going to in the afternoon is full of delicious food, and everyone will enjoy the great rivers and mountains in the suburbs of Chang’an City.

Zhongnan Mountain was often referred to simply as "Nanshan" in the Tang Dynasty. This is the "Nanshan" mentioned in the familiar pair "Furudonghai, Shoubi Nanshan".It is the tall and solid support and majestic barrier of Chang'an City, with strange peaks and beautiful mountains, clear water and quiet paths, lush forests and bamboos, and flowers and vines. "Han Shu" said: "Its mountain (Nanshan) produces jade, gold, silver, copper, iron, and good materials. What all the craftsmen take is enough for all the people. There are also japonica, rice, pear, chestnut, mulberry, Raw hemp and bamboo arrows. The soil is suitable for ginger and taro, and the water is rich in frogs and fish. The poor can provide for their families without worrying about hunger and cold.” During the Han and Tang Dynasties, the residents and handicraftsmen in Chang’an used firewood, wood, stone, Most of the medicinal materials are taken from Zhongnan Mountain.

Nanshan is also the most famous natural scenic spot on the outskirts of Chang'an, covering a vast area.Today we are going to the "Fanchuan" area at the foot of Nanshan Mountain.

①From Kang Pian's "Ju Tan Lu Qu Jiang".

②From Kang Pian's "Ju Tan Lu Qu Jiang".

Fanchuan is located between Shaolingyuan and Shenheyuan. It starts from Weiqutapo in the northwest and ends in Wangmang Township at the northern foot of Zhongnan Mountain in the southeast. It is a flat river about [-] kilometers long. An alluvial plain formed by erosion, incision and deposition.The land here is fertile and watery, with verdant vegetation and lush trees. It is the favorite place for Chang'an people to go out for a wild outing in the early spring.

Fanchuan has been the place where Chang'an dignitaries built villas since the Han Dynasty.In the Tang Dynasty, it was a place where private gardens and villas gathered.Generations of aristocrats from the Wei and Du clans have gathered here. People in the Tang Dynasty have all heard the saying "Weidu in the south of the city, go to Tianchiwu".There are also places where Han Yu sent his son to study, the suburban residence of Niu Sengru in Fan Village, and the villas of Zheng Consort Chitai, Cen Shen, Lang Shiyuan, Quan Deyu, Yuan Zhen and others.These villas are distributed on both sides of the Juhe River in Fanchuan, leaning against the original water, with gardens and flower pavilions, and the scenery is sultry. "Wei Quhua is a rogue, every family annoys and kills people" ① is a vivid portrayal of the beauty of Fanchuan.

The poet Du Fu lived in Fanchuan for ten years, and the story of Cui Hu's "human face and peach blossoms reflecting each other" also happened in Fanchuan.Du Mu called himself "Fan Chuan Weng", and named his works "Fan Chuan Anthology". His tomb is in the southwest of Sima Village, Shaolingyuan.In Fengqiyuan, there is also the tomb of Yan Zhenqing, a great calligrapher.Niutou Temple, Huayan Temple, Xingguo Temple, Xingjiao Temple, Yunqi Temple, Chanjing Temple, Hongfu Temple, Guanyin Temple "Fanchuan Eight
Let’s have free time in Fanchuan in the afternoon. Gather in the car at [-] o’clock and go to the last scenic spot of the day—Leyouyuan to watch the sunset.

Why go to Leyouyuan to watch the sunset?You must be able to recite Li Shangyin's famous work "Xiang Wan felt unwell, and drove to Guyuan. The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is only near dusk", right?So do you remember the name of this poem?By the way, it is called "Le You Yuan".

This time we entered the city from the Yanxing Gate in the southeast of Chang'an City. As soon as we entered the gate, we could see the suddenly rising terrain.Leyouyuan, in layman's terms, is a highland in the east of Chang'an City. The highland is relatively flat, and the area is not small. It is very close to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Qujiang Pond, to the north of those two places.

In the era of Empress Wu, Princess Taiping built pavilions and pavilions on Leyouyuan.People in Chang'an have the custom of ascending to a high place to have a banquet on the third day of March and the ninth day of September. Every time that happens, the Leyou Plain is really crowded.Later, another "Qinglong Temple" was built on the original site, which is a temple of Tantric Buddhism. A Japanese monk was accepted to study. After returning to Japan, the monk did some business.

①The great temple is full of incense.

In short, Leyou was originally a place where people of the Tang Dynasty climbed high and looked far away, thinking about the past.Li Shangyin looked at the sunset here, Du Shisheng looked at Taizong Zhaoling here, and Bai Juyi looked at Twelfth Street here.Let's take a look too, the blood-red sunset of the Tang Empire is slowly sinking outside the west wall of the great city of Chang'an.

The ancient garden of Leyou is dense and cool, with smoky green grass and luxuriant growth.

Young Master Hua has the highest banquet, and Qin Chuan treats wine like palm.

The long-lived wooden ladle shows the truth, and the pommel horse is replaced for a carnival reward.

In the Hibiscus Garden of youthful waves, thunder and thunder fight in the daytime.

When the sun is shining and the weather is clear, the Qujiang Cuimu ranks on the silver list.

Whisk the water low and dance the sleeves up, and the singing of Yuanyun is clear.

But I recall that when people are drunk every year, they are sad before they are drunk.

If you throw away a few stems of white hair, you will not hesitate to pay a hundred fines and a deep cup.

The Holy Dynasty also knew that lowly people were ugly, and everything came from the kindness of the lotus emperor.

This body has no place to return to after drinking, and sings poems independently and boundlessly. ①
The Tang Dynasty branch of Qinhuai Fengyue Leisure Club has a grand opening, [-]% off for orchids!

Brothel
The world is full of fragrance in April, and it is a good time to travel.Dear Tang wear lovers, when the beauty of spring attracts your attention, the breath of spring stirs your heart, when the stamens bloom, the bees and butterflies frantically, and the meowing of cats on the roof in the middle of the night attracts a pile of bricks, and then one of the bricks is broken The glass windows of your house flew in and knocked you out...

So you successfully traveled to the Tang Dynasty.In this situation, where would you like to go?

① From Du Fu's "Garden Song of Le You".

(End of this chapter)