The history and wisdom hidden in Qingcheng’s “Echi Cave”
The history and wisdom hidden in Qingcheng's "Echi Cave"
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Qingcheng is a living ancient city that has existed for thousands of years. Since the time when "cutting the soil as the foundation and building the city into a city", it has always been a geomantic treasure land for human life, so the current Qingcheng is still one of the most worth-seeing tourist attractions in Qingyang and suitable for everyone to visit. The Zhou Zuling Scenic Area has a strong sense of history; Maweiyi Folk Culture Village in Yaowangdong Health Town concentrates a variety of small scenery and snacks, coupled with the rippling blue waves of the Rouyuan River and modern glass bridges, sightseeing platforms, and amusement parks, it is suitable for the public Leisure, full of lively atmosphere of human fireworks; places such as the Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Museum of Agricultural Culture are suitable for high-level professionals to study carefully...
I have been to Qingcheng many times by myself or with friends. Every time I go there, I see "Echidong Scenic Area" written on the slope-protecting wall on the side of the road, but I don't know where to get into the cave and I don't see anyone moving up there, so I subjectively assume it must be Banpo. There is just a "hole" in it. Geese must have been raised in it, so it's okay not to look at it.
On the Qingming Festival in 2019, I went to Qingcheng again to relax. Standing at the highest point of Maweiyi Folk Culture Village and looking across, I saw that the Echidong scenic spot is divided into several floors. The architecture is quite exquisite, with pavilions and pavilions. Looking more closely, it is obvious that there is no way up from the riverside road, but it seems that there is a way down from Qingcheng County, which is high up there, so I really want to see it.
Walk straight ahead through the tall and majestic Qingcheng antique city tower "Jiahui Gate". Under the instructions of a low and inconspicuous "Echidong Scenic Area" sign, you walk into a narrow You can find it at the end of the alley.
Compared with other scenic spots, Echi Cave is really lonely. I was the only one walking down the steep steps, listening to the sound of my own footsteps, walking across the eight-acre platform, and then walked down, and then down, until I reached the bottom...
Ah, The scenery in the cave is infinite! The cave is tall and spacious, with excellent workmanship. The round arched roof is strong and beautiful, and the cave walls are inlaid with ancient stone inscriptions, giving people a deep and mysterious feeling. But it is obviously already under the ground outside the wall. There is water at the bottom of the cave, and there are two holes above and below that are connected to the Rouyuan River outside. Through those two holes, you can see the clear water of the Rouyuan River outside.
Go back to the platform above, browse the cave dwellings on the slope, walk around the "Wenyuan Pavilion", look at the ancient cypresses, and then stand on the open platform On the top, looking across, you can have a panoramic view of the Zhouzu Mausoleum Scenic Area and the Maweiyi Folk Culture Village opposite. Guarded by tall city walls, the Rouyuan River flows slowly under your feet. No matter how you feel, this place is extraordinary.
I quietly searched for all the information here, and did some rational sorting and thinking, trying to decipher the mysterious code hidden here...
The legendary "Echidong" This is where Zhou ancestors raised geese, so just listen to it. The reason for "raising geese" is to prevent intrusion alarms. Although "geese" are vigilant, I wonder where war information can only rely on geese? It is said that this is a place built to prevent foreign invasion for the soldiers and civilians in the city to draw water, so as to prevent the soldiers and civilians in the city from running out of water. It makes sense, because the water from the Rouyuan River can obviously be brought up, not to mention that there are "stone walls that will not fall down, and the Echidong Cave". What is the testimony of the folk song "You don't need a ladle to carry water, but the Dragon King can't bring you firewood"? But in the thousands of years of history, this place was once a religious holy place, a romantic place where literati and poets sang and danced. How could they ensure that foreigners would not know this secret? It's probably a place where people in the city get water, right? It is said that this is a secret intelligence channel leading outside the city. It is possible that, just like the manor of a wealthy family in Zhouzhuang, a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, there is a hidden channel where you can directly escape from the river in a boat. This leads to the Rouyuan River. The entrance to the cave can be exited completely. It is possible to say that this is a secret prison. If the entrance is blocked, this is a closed world. It is said that "cover training" can be done here, perhaps because the upper and lower floors here resemble the structure of a city gate, and there is also an urn city. It is said that this is the location of the "Goose Pond Spring Water", which is the first of the eight scenic spots in Qingcheng. This may be true. Looking at the scenery here has a unique flavor!
According to records, Li Kexin, who was engaged in Anhua County (Qingcheng) in the Tang Dynasty, first organized the dredging of Echidong, and renovations have been carried out since the Song Dynasty. The seven inscriptions inlaid on the upper cave wall are all monuments to the achievements of the renovation of "Echi Cave" in the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties. There used to be many beautiful poems and poems on the walls of the water intake cave, but unfortunately they were destroyed by soldiers and earthquakes. The most famous one that has been handed down is Wang Xun's "Poetry on the Goose Pond" written by Wang Xin during the Jiajing period.
It is said that there was once a four-character stone inscription "Feiyun Breaks the Sky" inscribed by Fan Zhongyan, but it is a pity that it can no longer be seen. Fan Zhongyan dare not say without the inscription, but I believe that this old man must have been to "Echi Cave" because he once knew Qingzhou and fought against Yuan Hao here. It is impossible not to see this important defensive value. Facilities. Although there is no data showing that Li Mengyang has been here, I believe that Li Mengyang, the great litterateur of the Ming Dynasty who advocated "literature must be from the Qin and Han Dynasties, poetry must be from the prosperous Tang Dynasty" and insisted that "true poetry lies in the folk" must also have visited "Echi Cave". Because he was born in Qingcheng and did not return to his hometown in Henan until he was ten years old. At the age of 19, in order to take the exam in Chang'an, he returned to Qingcheng and lived for a while. With the romantic character of a writer and the sensitive character of a politician, it is impossible for him not to Come and see this unique scenery?
It can be seen from the high walls here that the ancient city of Qingcheng is indeed a maze-like existence. It relies on unique mountains and rivers to build the city. It is not only surrounded by two rivers, like a phoenix about to fly, but also the natural platform along the river is cut into the city. The city is built on the wall. The average wall height is 31 meters, and the height is as high as 40 meters. At 50 meters, it is far higher than ancient plain cities such as Xi'an and Nanjing, making it the tallest city wall in the country. Moreover, because the city wall is integrated, the thickness of the city wall can be extended infinitely, making it the thickest city wall in the country. Also because of the unique structure, there is a city wall tunnel that runs through the entire city, and there is a 7-meter-deep stone tunnel that passes through the city wall from inside the city. The "Echidong" tunnel leads directly to the city wall several hundred meters below the river.
According to Zhang Jinrong's article on the Internet, 100 years ago, the world-class explorer CD Bruce compared Qingcheng to the large Edinburgh Castle in his famous book "Out of the Western Regions", calling it "the most fascinating ", comparable to any ancient castle that could still be seen in Europe at that time. The city wall was so solid that even new cannons found it difficult to destroy it. In the summer of the third year of Xining (1070), Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, Xixia troops attacked Qingzhou in two groups. The number of soldiers and horses numbered 200,000, and the number was no less than 30,000. They rode to the gates of Qingzhou City, but failed to defeat them after nine days, before retreating. In the tenth year of Shaoxing in the Song Dynasty (1140), the Jin soldiers attacked Qingcheng, but Quan Hanchen and Song Wannian held on. The Jin soldiers "could not reach the city," so they had to retreat. In the third year of Hongwu (1370) of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty (Zhu Yuanzhang), Ming general Xu Da believed that Qingcheng was dangerous and had elite soldiers, so he took a detour to attack Lintao first. In the fifth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1866), the Ningxia Hui uprising army Ma Zhenghe led 50,000 to 60,000 infantry and cavalry troops to besiege Qingcheng for more than a month. Of course, no matter how thick the city wall is, it cannot stop the torrent of the times, and it has been conquered many times, but the enemy has also paid an extremely heavy price.
From this point of view, Echidong, which is now a bit lonely, hides the infinite wisdom and magnificent history of the ancients. It may be an elegant place where literati in ancient times lingered, or it may have been a political and cultural place. It is the focus and hot spot, and there may have been tragic battles and touching stories here...