Why is this spring called "Black Lake"? Many people will blurt out: "Isn't it named after the stone carving tiger head in this spring pool!" However, the name of the spring and the animal head are quite controversial.
"Hei Hu" was first seen in the northern Jin Dynasty.
Black Tiger Spring is located under the steep cliff on the south bank of the south moat of Jiefangge. The spring water is a natural cave, 2m high, 3m deep and 1.7m wide. The cave is made of bluestone and exposed under the rock wall. The slightly rectangular spring pool is made of stone, and three stone carving animal heads are juxtaposed on the south wall of the spring pool. The spring water flowed through the culvert and spewed out from the mouths of the three stone beasts.
There are different opinions about the origin of the name of Black Tiger Spring. One view is that the Black Tiger Temple was built above the spring, hence the name Black Tiger Spring. However, according to relevant experts' research, Hei Hu Temple was built in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, also known as Tan Xuan Temple, and now lives in Huquan Pavilion. According to the Taoist legend, Zhao Gongming, Wu Caishen, was honored as the "Zheng Yi Xuan Marshal", and his mount was a Hei Hu, so it was also called "Tan Xuan, Hei Hu". However, the history of Black Tiger Spring is longer than that of Hei Hu Temple, which was first seen in Mingquan tablet in Jin Dynasty. The famous spring tablet is engraved with the names of 72 famous springs in the Jin Dynasty. Although the monument no longer exists, Qi Cheng written by Yu Qin in Yuan Dynasty was collected and annotated, and has been passed down to this day. Its record: "Lejin Lake, Yuehei Lake, Li Chengwu Lane." In reality, there is Li Chengwu Lane. This ancient water lane is located in the middle of Li Si Street, which leads directly to Pipa Bridge, just between Black Tiger Spring and Golden Tiger Spring. It is not accurate to say that the name of Black Tiger Spring comes from Black Tiger Temple.
Another view is that the Black Tiger Spring is named after "the water excites the column and the sound is like a tiger whistling". In the Ming Dynasty, Liu Yi wrote in the poem Ode to the Black Tiger Spring: "The roaring sound of the stone makes the tiger roar, and the clear sound of the spring makes the dragon sing." He recorded in Li Cheng, which he compiled, that the water from the black tiger spring gushed out directly from the cave, and a pool named Tai Chi Pool was formed below it. In a deep cave, there used to be a black stone covered with moss, which looked like a tiger crouching. Spring water gushed out from below, and rough songs resounded through the cave like a tiger's amazing roar. Yan Bi, a poet in the Ming Dynasty, once described the poem "Seventy-two Springs in Jinan" as "the ashes of a stone pot, as deep as the turbidity of a black lake". In the middle of the night, the north wind blows rocks and cracks, and there is no light in the clear moon. However, there is no empirical evidence for this statement.
This folklore is wonderful and strange.
There are many different versions of the name of Black Tiger Spring in folklore.
Some people say that one day in ancient times, a strong wind suddenly blew, and then there was a tiger roar. People found a black beard and Hu fighting in the distance. More and more people gathered, and the tiger turned and ran when he found it. Hei Hu fled to the east and got into a spring, while Hu Jin ran to the west and fell into a spring, which became Black Tiger Spring and Golden Tiger Spring. Three days later, another tiger came. It is huge and walks around looking for it, as if looking for a lost cub. The surrounding residents are ready to surround them and catch them. When the tiger saw someone coming to catch them, he jumped into the water and later became a tiger spring.
Some people say that the spring water of Black Tiger Spring comes from Black Dragon Pool on Mount Tai. The Black Dragon Pool is connected with the East China Sea by an underground river, which is a secret exit of the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea, where a black dragon lives. When the black dragon comes out, it will collapse and the sea will pour into Qilu. In order to ensure that the Black Dragon Pool is infallible, Longjiao Mountain, the highest peak at the western foot of Mount Tai, is used to guard the Black Dragon Pool, and Ole Peak is used to protect the law, so as to "protect the country and the people". During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, in order to prove this statement, Tai 'an county magistrate poured dozens of bags of rice bran into the Black Dragon Pool. About three days later, the magistrate of Jinan, the magistrate of Tai 'an and hundreds of witnesses came to the spewing place of Black Tiger Spring, and sure enough, they saw the rice chaff surfaced.
Others said that Black Tiger Spring was originally named Taiping Spring, but it was later occupied by a dragon, and it often made waves, which made everyone miserable. Brother Black, who had great strength since childhood, was determined to get rid of the dragon. He worshiped Buddha in Qianshan, went to Nanshan for practice every night, and didn't come back until the fifth watch. His martial arts improved greatly. Tiger sister who grew up with him waits for him at the head of the village every day. On this day, Brother Black went to Nanshan again. Qian Shan Buddha suddenly handed the Longquan sword to Brother Hei and said, "Go home quickly, Tiger Sister is in trouble. Today you will fight the dragon to the death! " Brother Hei hurried back to the village and saw that the dragon was capturing Sister Tiger and was about to fly. He drew his sword and cut at the dragon. The dragon left Tiger Sister behind, flashed his sword and rushed at Brother Black. For a time, it was dark and flying sand and stones. Brother Hei became more and more brave, and the dragon that became angry from embarrassment was on his head. Tiger sister used her quick wits, grabbed a big white stone around her and threw it at the dragon, hitting it right in the eye. The white stone fell to the ground and turned into a clear spring. With a strange cry, the dragon plunged into the bottom of the Taiping Spring pond. Brother Hei chased him to the edge of the pool, and a diving fish plunged into it, only to see the waves in the pool were huge, the dragon jumped out of the water again, and the Longquan sword was in his throat. It flew painfully south, but it didn't fly far before it fell headlong into a mountain, which is Qinglong Mountain in the suburb of Jinan today. Brother Black never surfaced again, and the spring water was dyed red with blood. "Black brother, wait for me!" Tiger sister jumped into the water. There were only two loud noises, and two springs gushed out, just like the original ones. In memory of Brother Hei and Sister Tiger, people renamed Taiping Spring Black Tiger Spring. The white petrochemical spring that hit the dragon is the white stone spring separated by a river from the Black Tiger Spring.
Is it a dragon or a tiger?
Whether in historical records or folklore, the name of the spring "Hei Hu" seems to have nothing to do with the animal head. What is the origin of that animal head? Are they tiger heads?
Liu E once thought that the animal head in Travel Notes of Lao Can was a tiger head. He wrote in Travel Notes of Lao Can:
"The old man left Jin Quan Academy and went south along Xicheng ... This is a big river outside the south gate. The spring water in the river is Zhan Qing, which is crystal clear. The aquatic plants in the river are more than ten feet long and swaying by the river. They are really beautiful. Walking and watching, I saw several large rectangular pools on the south side of the river bank, and many women were sitting on the stones beside the pools to pound clothes. There used to be a big pool, and there were several straw houses in the south of the pool. When I walked to the front, I knew it was a teahouse.
When I walked into the teahouse and sat by the north window, a waiter made a pot of tea ... The old man sat down and asked the waiter,' I heard that you have a black tiger spring here. "Do you know where it is," the waiter said with a smile, "Sir, if you lie on this windowsill and look out, isn't it a black tiger spring? '
As expected, the old man looked out and found a stone-carved tiger head at his feet, which was about two feet long but not five or six feet wide. A spring water gushed from the tiger's mouth with great strength, flowing straight from one side of the pool to the other, then turning to both sides and flowing into the city river. "
There has always been controversy about the statement of Tiger Head. Some experts believe that the heads of these animals do not conform to the basic characteristics of tigers. A basic feature of a tiger is that it has markings similar to the word "Wang" on its forehead, and there are two hard and sharp canine teeth on the top and bottom of the tiger's mouth, but these are not presented on the head of a stone carving beast. Tigers are usually regarded as great symbols and have little to do with water. This carved animal head should be the sixth son of the mythical dragon. He likes water and often lives by the water. Dragons are usually described as mysterious animals, which can make clouds rise and cause rain. The carved animal head is shaped like a dragon. Although due to the limitation of area, the "Dragon Horn" on both sides of the animal head is not completely carved, it can also be clearly seen that there are prominent longan, flat mouth, flat teeth and triangle. The cheek of an animal's head should have been a "dragon forest", but it was designed and carved into a mosaic figure. According to the traditional dragon modeling style, this stone carving faucet should be exaggerated.
Some experts also believe that the stone carving animal head is a "tiger head". The beast in the middle has a round head, a narrow face and a wide mouth, almond eyes and a beautiful mouth, like a tigress. The animals on both sides have big heads, big ears and round eyes, which are even more majestic and powerful, like two male tigers. Moreover, the word "Wang" on the animal head is faintly visible in the old photos of the Republic of China, but it is no longer visible, because the word "Wang" has been completely worn away after years of baptism.
The head of the beast has increased from one to three.
From the records of Lao Can's travels, we can know that there was originally a animal head in the Black Tiger Spring at that time, but how did the animal head change from one to three?
According to Ji 'nan City Records, in 193 1 year, the municipal department excavated the Black Tiger Spring and expanded the spring pool. "There are masonry walls and low walls around, leaving a water outlet on the north wall and two water-jet stone carving faucets on the south wall." 1903 The first edition of Travel Notes of Lao Can should be 193 1 which records the appearance of Black Tiger Spring before renovation, and only one animal head is reasonable.
The article "Finishing Black Tiger Springs" describes the process from one to three black tiger springs. The full text is nearly 400 words, carved on a stone tablet with a width of one meter and a height of more than 60 centimeters, and embedded in the stone wall on the left side of the spring cave. 1955, after Black Tiger Spring was renovated again, stone tablets were scattered among the people. Someone once found this monument in front of a resident in Xiangmoli Village, Beiyuan, and wrote down the contents of the inscription, but since then this monument has disappeared.
According to the inscription: "There are different famous springs in the moat area in the southeast of the city, and the Black Tiger Spring is the most prosperous and highest. There are dozens of spring caves. If the beads break out, they will accumulate into pools and be crystal clear. The pool is close to the cliff, on which stands a stone pavilion and an ancient temple, about ten steps away from the moat. During this period, one side of the old reservoir was used to discharge pond water and pour it into the moat. There is a carved tiger's mouth at the drain of the pond, which is embedded in the wall of the pond. After a long time, the wall is broken and cracks appear repeatedly. The depth of ponds and ponds is also silted up due to years, and the number and capacity of springs are reduced. Tidy up the Xiaoqing River, ask President Han for instructions, and make up your mind to drain the source and increase the water ... A spring was dug in the southeast of the pool, and suddenly it became angry, just like Baotu Spring. The flow of ponds and pools is * * * a quarter cubic meter per second, which is about a third higher than before. There is a short wall around the ring pool, which looks like a well site. Add stone carving Tiger Mouth II in Lintan to make it smooth. A sluice is built from the pool to the moat, and water is set to measure the flow. It is built with scientific and accurate water meters, not only for tourists' low-lying scenic spots and lingering scenery. "On the tablet is' Zhang Honglie, Director of the Construction Department of Shandong Provincial Government'. The records in this paper supplement the argument that the animal head is the tiger head.
The mystery of Black Tiger Spring's "life experience" has not yet been determined, but this has not reduced tourists' love for the three heads of Black Tiger Spring. People passing by here, besides coming here, will always stop for a moment, watch the surging spring water, listen to the sound of the spring water like a tiger roar, and feel the tolerance and vitality given by the spring water to Jinan.