Ping An Fire is a type of beacon fire. It is called Ping An Fire because it is used to report peace. It first appeared in the literature of the Tang Dynasty. "Tongdian·Bing·Shoujifa": "Every morning and night, raise a fire. When you hear the alarm, raise two fires; when you see smoke and dust, raise three fires; when you see a thief, burn the firewood cage. Such as every morning and night, raise a firewood If he doesn't come, Fengzi will be captured by thieves." The beacon son, the soldier guarding the beacon tower, part two of Rong Yu's "Fortress Song": "The sound of the beacon son on the top of the mountain tells you that the general is returning from hunting at night"; "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" in the 12th year of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty (817) 》: Tang general Li Suxue planned to capture Caizhou (now Runan, Henan) at night and ordered the army to march eastward, "walk sixty miles at night to Zhangchai Village and kill all the garrison soldiers and beacon sons." Hu Sansheng's note: "In the Tang Dynasty, where the beacon was waiting, there were the beacon master and the beacon deputy; the beacon son was the soldier guarding the beacon, and he was the one who raised the beacon when the police were anxious." Waiting means waiting and reconnaissance. "Mozi Preparing Points": "The city is built with tall buildings to wait for the enemy." This was a famous surprise attack. Li Su finally captured the rebel general Wu Yuanji and completely destroyed the Huaixi rebels.
In the Tang Dynasty, a beacon tower was set up every thirty miles in the border area. During the day, people were invincible, and fires were raised at night to report; Zhang Ji's "Three Poems on Liangzhou" No. 2: "The gates of the ancient town are open, and Hu soldiers often stand near the sand piles. Visitors patrolling the border should arrive early, waiting for the safe fire to arrive." Yang Kui's "Ningzhou Road Middle" said: "The city rests on Xiaoguan Road, and Hu soldiers are coming day and night. Only a torch can comfort the hearts of thousands of people." A fire of peace can comfort the hearts of all people. If the fire of peace does not come, people will be panicked. "Zizhi Tongjian·The First Year of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty" contains: "On that day, Han's subordinate came down to report an emergency. He summoned him from time to time, but he sent Li Fudou and other generals went to Tongguan to supervise the troops. At dusk, the fire did not arrive, so they were afraid. "Hu Sansheng's note: "Liu Dian": When the beacon watch arrives in Tang Town, the generals will go thirty miles, every night. , set off a torch, calling it a peaceful fire. By then the defenders had collapsed, and no one raised the fire again." "Han" refers to his brother Shu Han, who was guarding Tongguan at that time; "Shang" refers to Suzong of Tang Dynasty. In the first year of Zhide (756), which was the second year after the "Anshi Rebellion" broke out, the Anshi rebels came fiercely and approached Chang'an. The future of the Tang Dynasty was uncertain, and the monarchs and ministers were panicked. They were eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the Anshi Rebellion in order to know the news from the front line. As the saying goes, "Zhaoyang is also waiting for peace and fire, and whoever holds the banner will not see the honor" (Han Cong's "Jingxi Shishi").
The Tang Dynasty had a strong national power, a vast territory, and long borders. With the revival of the Silk Road, exchanges between China and foreign countries became more frequent. Compared with previous generations, the borders of the Tang Dynasty needed "safe fire" to be raised on time. It always reports peace, so "peace fire" is often described in Tang poetry, but its connotations are different:
First, it means peace on the border. The security of the border means the security of the capital and the country. The symbol is to see whether the peace fire is raised on time: "The evening beacon is not close, and peace is reported every day" (Du Fu's "Xi Beacon"), "There is nothing happening along the border for thousands of miles, but the peace fire enters the city. "(Yao He's "Two Poems of Qiongbian Ci" No. 2), "Welcoming people should be few, and the fire of peace should not be alarmed" (Yuan Zhen's "Ten Poems of Dispatch" No. 9), "Yimen should have a fire of peace, and they will drive to Mount Heng." "Waiting for the riders to come" (Part 1 of Li Mi's "Sentences"), the evening beacon, the beacon lighted at dusk to announce peace; Yimen, the east gate of the Wei capital in the Warring States Period, later generally refers to the city gate. If Ping'an Fire comes, the border will be safe; if P'ing Fire doesn't come, there may be war on the border. Wang Wei "Zheng Peng left the Han Dynasty, and returned to the Hutian. The solitary smoke in the desert was straight, and the sun set in the long river" ("Shi to the Fortress"). The "lone smoke" refers to the beacon smoke, that is, the safe fire. The poet came to Juyan (today's Ejina Banner, Inner Mongolia) on an envoy mission to Saishang. When he sighed at the wandering grass and wild geese traveling from south to north, and the loneliness overflowed in his arms, the scene in front of him made the poet feel moved. A startling moment: Against the backdrop of the vast golden desert, a flint fire's green smoke rises slowly; the weak water (today's Ejina River) rushes away, and where the water and the sky meet, the extremely gorgeous sunset rolls slowly like a wheel. Into the roaring river. Because of the Ping An fire and the border was safe, the poet's mood turned from melancholy to excitement (for details, see Gao Jianxin's article "A New Interpretation of "The Solitary Smoke in the Desert, the Sun Setting in the Long River"", published in "Journal of Inner Mongolia University", Issue 1, 2017).
The second is to show pride in strong national defense. Only when the national defense is strong can the country be safe: "The thin willows will camp in the stone ditch, and the safe wolf fire and the red star will be high" (Bao Rong's "To General Li An"), "The flying ponchos will cover the cold clouds, and the war horses will neigh and the land is wide. Thousands of miles. There was no alarm in Hu Tian, ????a cage of beacon fire reported peace" (Liu Yuxi's "Linghu Xianggong came from Taiyuan to express new poems in return for mailings"). The army of the Tang Dynasty had strong soldiers and horses, and was well prepared. The enemy did not dare to act rashly, ensuring that the peace fire was raised on time. . Among them, Xu Hun's poem "Xianxiaofangqiu Changshi" has a broad vision and is the most powerful:
The imperial edict selects generals to protect the Northern Army, riding white horses and armed with bows. From a distance in Liu Ying, one knows the value of gold and mink, and from a distance in Yusai, one knows the hero of jade tent. The drums on the autumn threshold startle the snow, and the flags on the dawn steps blow up in the side wind. Every time Penglai looks at the peaceful fire, it should be played the class Chaoding Dingyuan Gong.
The poem depicts a white-horse general guarding northern Xinjiang, rushing from Xiliu Camp in Xianyang to the border. The sound of drums and drones, the fluttering of military flags, and the great military might. Penglai, Penglai Palace, Daming Palace in the Tang Dynasty, was named because there was Penglai Pool behind the palace. General Baima is willing to do the same as Ban Chao, who has been in charge of the Western Regions for thirty years and was named Dingyuan Marquis. He has made great contributions to the frontier so that the court can see Ping Anhuo every night. "Book of Han·Biography of Dou Tian Guan Han": "Later Mengtian invaded the Hu for Qin and opened up thousands of miles, using the river as the end. The stone was used as a city and the elm trees were used as a barrier. The Huns did not dare to drink from the river." Yusai refers to border passes and frontier fortresses.
The poet uses Yusai Canon to praise General White Horse for being as brave and good at fighting as Meng Tian was for resisting the enemy thousands of miles away.
The third is to express war-weariness: "Everyone is tired of fighting, and the three sides have not yet made peace. The general praises the sword because it kills more people" (Liu Shang's "Camping in the Camp"). In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and it was difficult to raise the fire of peace. The poet Gao Pian (821-887) of the late Tang Dynasty (821-887) said in one of his "Two Songs on the Fortress": "The soul of the conqueror of Longshang, Longxia, hates the Han generals both life and death. I don't know the hardships of thousands of miles of battlefield, but I raise peace and fire into the clouds in vain." See the decline of the times. The responsibility and pride of protecting the homeland and the country have disappeared, so whether they are dead or alive, they all hate the "Han generals" who lead the troops to fight. The peaceful fire of "empty lifting" was wrapped in a strong feeling of war weariness. Gao Pian himself was also a military strategist. He once led his army to regain Jiaozhi, and later served as the governor of five towns in Tianping, Xichuan, Jingnan, Zhenhai and Huainan. During his tenure, Huang Chao raised troops, and Gao Pian suffered heavy losses many times. Later, he fell into Huang Chao's delaying strategy and became afraid of the war. As a result, Huang Chao successfully crossed the river and captured Chang'an. Gao Pian did not dare to send troops to rescue the capital. As a result, his career was ruined. This poem is true. It is a reflection of his thoughts and actions.
The Song Dynasty followed the Tang Dynasty's safe fire system. Volume 10 of Zhou Hui's "Qingbo Magazine" of the Southern Song Dynasty: "If the beacon towers along the river are safe every day, they will raise a fire at the time of watch; if they are safe every night, That is to say, on the next day, a bunch of cigarettes will be raised. The thieves in a hurry will raise cigarettes in the day and three sticks in the night. to nine o'clock. If you have a peaceful day during the day, you should raise a fire at night; if you have a peaceful night at night, you should raise a cigarette at dawn. If the enemy invades, three sticks of smoke must be raised during the day and three sticks of fire must be raised at night. There is a time limit for the use of beacons to announce safety; there is no time limit for the use of warning beacons.
Compared with the people of the Tang Dynasty, the people of the Song Dynasty were more eager to look forward to peace and fire: "The beacon tower stands hundreds of feet high, but it shakes the orange to announce peace" (Su Shunqin's "Wating Couplet"), "Bianjia" Isn't it good to herd horses? The peace of the fire will eliminate people's worries" (Wu Zeli's "Picture of Inscription on the Silence of the Bell"), "A fire of peace comes at night, and the remaining happiness will be relieved before the jade and food worries" (Chen Jie's "Send a Gift"), "A beacon of peace and fire can spread sorrow to the south of the Yangtze River" (Dong Sugao's "Abandoned Temple at the Back of Pantang Mountain"), "A night of frost and wind caused the ground to be cold, but the fire on the fortress did not signal peace. Chang'e also looked sad, as a warning to the conscripts. "Hold the saddle" ("Frost Wind" by Wang Tongzu). The tangerine was originally a tool for drawing water. The tangerine was borrowed for the beacon fire. Originally, one end of the bucket was tied to a cage containing fuel (for details, see Gao Jianxin's article "Beacon Fire and Its Settings", published in "Literary and Historical Knowledge" 2016 12 issues). In the eyes of Song people, only by raising the Ping'an Fire can one be free from worries; without raising the Ping'an Fire, even Chang'e, who looked down on the world, looked sad. Lu You's "At midnight on the 11th day of the fifth lunar month, I dreamed of Cong Dajia going on a personal expedition and returning to his hometown in the Han and Tang dynasties. He saw the rich and beautiful people in the city, and he was also in Liangfu, Yunxi Province. He was very happy. He immediately wrote a long sentence. Before the end of the chapter, he realized that it was enough. "Chengzhi": "The mountains and rivers of Han are as far as the eye can see, and the document was first written in the year of Chunxi. The six armies in front of the army are strewn with beautiful scenery, and the autumn wind fills the sky with the sound of drums and horns. The pavilions are covered in front of the alfalfa beacon, and the safe fire is on the Jiaohe River. The daughters of Liangzhou are full of tall buildings, Combing hair is like Kyoto. "This poem was written in the seventh year of Chunxi (1180). It can be seen from the 48-character title that the poet lived in the turbulent Southern Song Dynasty and had great expectations for a peaceful life. Alfalfa beacon, the name of the beacon, is located in the northwest of Yumen Pass. Cen Shen wrote a poem titled "Alfalfa beacon sends a message to the family": "Alfalfa beacon is at the beginning of spring, and tears stain the towel on the Hulu River." Pavilion barrier, a military fortress set up in a frontier fortress, "Historical Records" "The Chronicles of the First Emperor of Qin": "He also sent Meng Tian across the river to take Gaoque, Yangshan, and Beijiazhong, and built pavilions and barriers to drive away the soldiers." There were pavilions and barriers in front of the Alfalfa Beacon, indicating that the defense was tight; Ping'an Fire was far away in Jiaohe (today's Xinjiang) west of Turpan), indicating that the country is strong and vast; Liangzhou's daughters learn to comb their hair in the style of Kyoto, indicating that traditional Central Plains culture and customs have begun to dominate in the Hexi region. "Safe fire on the Jiaohe River" is Lu You's lifelong dream, which embodies the patriotic sentiments of longing for a unified and powerful country.
In the vast north, beacon towers can be seen everywhere, standing tall and tall. Climbing the beacon tower, you can see the undulating mountains and the vast Gobi desert from a distance, and hear the rushing river and the bleak autumn wind up close. Whether the beacons of early warning or the beacons of safety have been extinguished today, they bear witness to history and silently tell the thrilling stories that have happened in the past.
(Author’s unit: College of Liberal Arts, Inner Mongolia University)