Qingzhou Talks about Longevity - An Eternal Fan Zhongyan
Five miles south of Qingzhou City, there is a mountain named Yunmen Mountain. Looking from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, there is a faint word "Shou" on the cliff. This is the miracle that people want to see. A path with stone steps turns upwards, with green cypress trees on both sides, spreading branches and ravines. The trees are not very thick, but they are strong and straight. They are all grown on rocks. The roots of the tree run along the stone wall, like lightning cracking the sky; the trunk breaks out of the stone, like a strong wind. Occasionally, there are one or two trees blocking the road. They were deliberately left behind because they could not bear to cut them during road construction. The bark of the trees has been touched by tourists and is shiny. Looking around, one can feel the details of the past. After a while, we climbed to Wangshou Pavilion halfway up the mountain and took a rest here. The big red longevity characters on the stone wall at the top of the mountain were clearly visible. Looking back at the foot of the mountain, the market retreats far away, and the countryside is like a weave. After gathering enough courage, I reached the top of the mountain. At this moment, looking up at the word "Shou", it looked like a huge multi-masted ship, carrying clouds and mist, as if it was about to hit my head. A young man traveling with me had the character "inch" on his bodyguard not as high as the word "shouxia". This is the largest longevity character in the world, and it is a masterpiece of calligraphy. Japanese calligraphy experts often come across the sea to worship it. This is the moment when King Heng of Qingzhou celebrated his birthday in the 39th year of Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty. It has been more than 400 years ago. There was still snow on the mountain, and I looked at this miracle carefully in the cool spring breeze. This character is 7.5 meters high and 3.7 meters wide. I don’t know how it was written or carved in the first place, but it still retains the structure and the meaning of the strokes. This King Heng created miracles, but his purpose at that time was not art. Just like the Wei stele unearthed from the ancient tomb, which we regard as a masterpiece of calligraphy today, it was just an ordinary stone next to the deceased. King Heng carved the words in the hope that he would live a hundred years, and at the same time, he also showed off the majesty of the royal family to the common people. However, a few generations later, Prince Heng's mansion was ransacked, his life could not last forever, and his prestige had long been wiped out by wind and rain. But this artistically valuable word longevity has lived up to this day. Go left in front of the character "Shou" and enter a cave, which looks like a city gate. Looking back at the steaming clouds outside the door, this is the origin of Yunmen Mountain. From the gate to the top of the mountain, it is like the back of a carp, slightly flat, with stone steps, pavilions, temples and Buddhist caves. Looking from the railing, the sea breeze blows from the east, the clouds are vast, the mountains, rivers, distant cities and towns are all as vague as a picture. I recall that Dayu controlled the floods and diverted them eastward from here to the sea, so that the world could be saved from the torrent of floods, and this was Qingzhou. Since then, men have farmed and women have weaved, and people have been reproducing and living here from generation to generation. Fan Zhongyan once came here to serve as an official, Li Qingzhao once lived in seclusion here, and King Heng ruled his own little world here. People were busy carving words on the cliffs, digging caves and making statues on this rocky mountain. Only this mountain is silent. I think that when the God of Yunmen Mountain looked at the King Heng who spent money to carve words and paid homage to pray for longevity, he must have snorted contemptuously and continued to meditate. I walked around the mountain, looking at these relics from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, and looking at the clouds and mist lingering below the mountain. I was really proud of Yunmen Mountain. It defied the wind and rain and resisted thunder and lightning, and it has been invisible for thousands of years. Lin Zexu said about the mountain: "The wall stands thousands of feet high, and it is strong without desire." It has no pursuit and no desire, and will exist in the world forever.
Come down from the mountain and go to the west of Qingzhou City to visit Fan Gong Temple. This was built in memory of Fan Zhongyan, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, and has been popular for thousands of years. This temple is not big, about the size of two basketball courts. There is a well in the center of the courtyard, named Fan Gong Well, which is said to have been built by Fan Gong. The water from this well is unusual, with a clear and refreshing taste. It is said that Duke Fan Zhongyan used this water to prepare a kind of "Qingzhou White Pill", which was very effective in curing chronic diseases of the people. Like a lover's token, this well has become a support for future generations to remember Fan Gong. There is a poem from the Song Dynasty: "The sweet and clear water has been absorbed endlessly, just like Xiwen's past heart." (Fan Zhongyan's courtesy name is Xiwen) Now the water in this well is as clear as a mirror. There is an ancestral hall in the east, with a statue of Fan Gong and murals about his life. The left and right sides of the ancestral hall are dedicated to Ouyang Xiu and Fu Bi, who were the presiding officers when the Qingli New Deal was implemented. There is a bamboo forest in the south of the courtyard, with thousands of green bamboo poles, showing the beautiful spirit of the earth. There is a stele gallery behind the bamboo, in which Fan Gong's famous text "The Story of Yueyang Tower" is engraved. There are three ancient trees in the center of the courtyard, which are catalpa trees of Tang Dynasty and locust tree of Song Dynasty. This shows how old this temple is. To the north of the tree is a couplet written in official script by General Feng Yuxiang: "Soldiers with rich hearts, even if they teach them how to ride and ride, they are still afraid of Mr. Fan. I am optimistic about the world. I hope that today's people will work hard and be inspired, and learn from this scholar." Two sentences accurately summarize Fan Gong's life. Fan Zhongyan lost his father when he was young and his family was poor. He studied hard and got up early to cook a small pot of porridge. After the porridge was cool, he divided it into four pieces. This was his meal for the day. Later, he won the imperial examination and was awarded the bachelor's degree of Longtuge. He was honest in government and strived for innovation. Later, Xixia invaded frequently, and there were no military talents in the DPRK. As a civilian, he led troops to guard the border and defeated the enemy invaders. The people of Xixia exclaimed that "he has millions of powerful soldiers in his chest", and the border people respectfully called him "Longtu Laozi". Even the emperor looked at the map and said: With Zhongyan here, I won't have to worry. Later, he was transferred back to the central court to preside over the reforms of the Qingli New Deal, and he vigorously eliminated the old and introduced the new. He was also frequently transferred to various places and personally promoted the reform of local politics. No matter in frontier defense, in court, or in local areas, he was always "worried when advancing, and worried when retreating." His concern for the country and his people is as blazing as a flame. Fan Zhongyan was a politician like Zhuge Liang and Zhou Enlai, and his life was mainly about practice. He devoted himself to the way he believed in conducting himself in society and governing the country, devoting all his talents to handling specific government and military affairs, without paying any attention to writing. It’s not that I don’t have talent, it’s that I don’t have time. In the third year of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty (AD 1051), Fan Zhongyan went to Qingzhou to serve as the magistrate. This was the last stop of his official career and life journey. He died of illness the next year. "The Story of Yueyang Tower" was written seven years before his death when he was transferred from the front line to the mainland due to illness.
Just like "The Master", this is a late work of a great man and the crystallization of his life's thoughts. I can imagine how an old man was wandering anxiously in this small courtyard, under the pavilion, and in the bamboo forest, blaming himself, asking for help, and worrying about the country and the people. He recalled the life of guarding the border when "when people are sleepless, the generals' gray hairs and husbands' tears"; he recalled the hardships of "living above the temple" and working diligently with the emperor; he recalled the suffering of civilians during disaster relief and food distribution, and the suffering of fire and water he saw. He summarized the sages of the past generations and his own political experience in his life, and finally sighed: "Be worried about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness." This sigh of great enlightenment is like the sound of bells in a famous temple, deep and deep, shocking the world. This long sigh has lasted for thousands of years, inspiring many people with lofty ideals and benevolent people, and correcting many officials. "The Story of Yueyang Tower" was not written on the Yueyang Tower, and the grand view of Dongting Lake was not in front of Mr. Wang at that time. It can be said that this is a work that borrows the topic. Fan Gong poured out his understanding of life and society, the political waves he experienced throughout his life, and the ups and downs of thoughts in his chest, through the myriad phenomena of Dongting Lake, and then suddenly collected them, summing up this sentence The famous quote turns into a rainbow and spans the sky, illuminating for eternity.
The spring breeze blows the new branches of the Chinese catalpa and Songhuahuai, and the green bamboo swings its green leaves. This ancient temple has entered a new year in the long river of time. Fan Gong sat in the temple, silently enjoying the spring scenery in the courtyard. I wandered in the courtyard, facing the statues of Fan Gong, Ouyang Gong and Fu Gong, and meditating on the thousand-year history of ancient history. Only Fan Zhongyan can teach people to remember for thousands of years and never forget? I think a person only has hard practice and honest sacrifice. These can only end with life and can only be understood by contemporaries. More importantly, he must be able to create a spirit and refine an idea that is in line with the people's hearts and the laws of history. It is the famous saying "Be worried about the world's worries first, and be happy after the world's happiness". It is this kind of progressive optimism that makes Fan Zhongyan eternal.
Go out of Fan Gong Temple, get in the car and leave the city. Two tall stone archways flashed past the roadside, abrupt and lonely in the cold wind. People say that this was the former site of Prince Heng's Mansion. Such a majestic royal family. Now only the archway on the roadside and the word "Shou" on the mountain are left. Looking at Yunmen in the distance, green cypresses are draped in the mist, and strange peaks stand proudly. After all, those who carved words on the mountain will not be retained, and what will be left behind is this silent mountain; those who built the gate tower very high will not survive, but those who have used their lives to move the wheel of history will remain.