If we really want to say that measuring the world is also a world history, I am afraid that Sarah Baxter's method of classifying these 500 classic railways should be implemented. Prehistoric period, ancient world, Middle Ages, Towards modern world,19th century, 20th century and future are the chapter names of the five chapters in this book. If we think that the five chapters of Measuring the World introduce the history of world railway development in chronological order, I have seen that you are reading this article with your mouth wide open in surprise. Yes, when was the first train in the world born? On September 27th, 1825, Englishman george stephenson showed his compatriots a new thing-the train. There is a philosophical proposition that seems to have no answer until today, that is, which came first, the chicken or the egg. However, I'm afraid there is no need to argue about which was born first, the train or the railway. Since the train was not invented by an Englishman until the mid-1920s in 19, how could the subsequent railway history date back to prehistoric times? The first chapter of "Measuring the World" was named "Prehistoric Period" by the author, because the railways in this chapter all extend to the high mountains or the depths of the Gobi where people can see their initial footprints. It is this extension that sarah buxton inadvertently reveals the core of this book's real relationship with history, that is, the history of railway construction in the past 200 years, which is also the history of the game with nature.
The Glacier Express, which appeared in the first chapter "Prehistoric Period", is a train running in the hinterland of Switzerland. The total length of this train is 290 kilometers, and it will stop at Zermatt, Briggs, Andermatt, Chinstis, Kul and St Moritz along the way. For most readers in China, Switzerland is Zurich or Lausanne. What are the landforms of Zermatt, Briggs and Andermatt that the Glacier Express passes through? Not many people may know, so there are even fewer reasons to know that this train proudly calls itself "Glacier Express". Listen to sarah buxton: "(Glacier Train) In the total length of 290 kilometers, this narrow-gauge railway has passed 29/kloc-0 bridges and 99 tunnels, and passed through some of the most magnificent mountains in the world. During the Quaternary Great Ice Age, the earth was like an architect who designed and built the magnificent scenery of the Alps. In the past 2.5 million years, a series of great ice ages and great interglacial periods (that is, the period we are now in) have occurred alternately. When the ice age came, huge glaciers infiltrated into the Swiss valley, slid to the plains, cut out countless gullies and ice buckets, and broke boulders to build hills and form lakes. " Faced with this description, I'm afraid our passion has been ignited by sarah buxton. She wants to take the "glacier train" and see the wonderful flowers left by nature in a remote place in 2.5 million years. However, one after another, the author wrote truthfully, but we gasped: "Unfortunately, from the glacier express looking out the window, we can't see the real glacier. Glacier tongues are now appearing on higher and higher mountains, and they continue to retreat these days. " The statement was concise, but the content behind it was complicated. If the British hadn't invented the railway 200 years ago, the "Glacier Express" in the depths of the Swiss Alps would not have passed if there were no mechanization such as trains and railways to help mankind extend the distance of travel indefinitely. It took nature 2.5 million years to "wear" glaciers, ice buckets, glacier tongues and other "coats" that can keep the earth at a suitable temperature, so it will not "shrink" because of human intrusion. Let's take a look at the speed of glacier retreat here since Glacier Express: "When 1930 was first opened, this line crossed the Rhone Glacier, the source of Rhone River, from the Forcat Pass at an altitude of 2,429 meters. However, due to the heavy snow, the train can't pass the mountain pass in winter ... "Less than 100 years ago, let alone the snow-covered train can't pass the mountain pass. The current situation is that "looking out of the window from the glacier express, you can't see the real glacier", so that sarah buxton can't help but sigh that the history of railway development is also a game history between human beings and nature.
If the visible consequences of glacier retreat along the Swiss "Glacier Express" railway warn that the game between human beings and nature must be measured, then India's "Mahabonivada Express" presents itself in another way. Long ago, human beings were seeking a way to live in harmony with nature.
The "Mahaboniva Express" was arranged by the author in the second chapter "Ancient World" of Measuring the World, because I took this train from the Indian capital, New Delhi, and passed through Goya, varanasi, Gollac Poole, Kunda, Bodhgaya, Rokuyaon, Najero's detention and the Acropolis. It took us 8 days, with the help of Mahaboniva Express, to walk 2,285 kilometers to reach the destination Agelin, which is equivalent to completing the most inspiring train journey in the world, because we have been following in the footsteps of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, haven't we? Bodhgaya, the holy city, is the place where Siddhartha had an epiphany, and the place where the Buddha preached for the first time 10 km north of the curb, and Najera, the Buddhist monk who died, spent most of his life in the Acropolis, an ancient city on the Indus-Ganges plain. This journey is not so much to trace Gautama Siddharta's spiritual path as to understand how the once mysterious prince found the true meaning of life by hiking in northern India. Or, what is the connection between Gautama Siddharta's epiphany in meditation and penance and nature? Where is the prince and how did he finally realize the true meaning of life? Sit quietly under the bodhi tree for 40 days. It is probably not an exaggeration to say that Siddhartha Gautama was partially enlightened by nature.
The other two lines with the same effect as the Maha Bonaville Express are the Persian Railway Heart in the third chapter "Medieval" and the classic train crossing the Cantabrian Mountains in the fourth chapter "Towards the Modern World". The former starts from Tehran, the capital of Iran, passing through Mashhad, Yazd, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kashan and Susa, and stops in Susa. It took us eight days to get a general understanding of how Arabs get along with the surrounding natural environment through the remains of Islamic civilization we saw along the way. The latter is a railway line following the apostolic road in medieval Europe.
Taking the luxurious "Classic Train Crossing Cantabria Mountains", we started from Leó n, Spain, passing through Vilaca de Mena, Bilbao, Santander, Oviedo, Louard Card and Filor, and the next stop was Santiago de Compostela, the terminal of this train. The question is: Why is the destination of this train Santiago de Compostela so popular in Europe? In the 1 th century, the apostle James traveled through northern Spain, preached in Galicia, trudged all the way to what is now Santiago de Compostela, and finally became a martyr. According to legend, about one night in 8 13 AD, some hermits looked up at the starry sky and saw many meteors falling in the same place in northwest Spain. Driven by curiosity, they searched for the past, where they found the body of the apostle James. To show their respect for Jacob, they built a church there to store the remains of saints. Since the church was built in 829, Santiago de Compostela has become the most important pilgrimage site in Europe. There is more than one way from all over Europe to Santiago de Compostela, but there is only one way: on foot. Dragging luggage, eating in a humble roadside restaurant and sleeping in a shabby pilgrim hotel are all tests that every pilgrim must undergo before facing St. James. So until today, although the "classic train through Cantabria Mountains" makes this way comfortable and fast, real pilgrims simply disdain to take the train to make a pilgrimage. They are still dragging suitcases, eating simple meals and living in simple houses that can shelter from the wind and rain, step by step. Because of their piety, this small town, which was built in the 10 century and has a population of less than 654.38+million, has become one of the three holy cities on the same footing as the Vatican and Jerusalem. This also leaves us with a question to think about: if we fall asleep in the wind.
If the pilgrimage is regarded as a spiritual encounter between the apostles and nature on the way, then, does The Classic Train Crossing the Cantabrian Mountains isolate this blend with an "iron shell"?
We regard the road of practice as the spiritual communication between man and nature. Then, while the railway helps us to improve the efficiency of measuring the world, it also reduces the depth of our integration with the earth, which may be a necessary prerequisite for human beings to find a way to get along with nature.
Although the "Glacier Express" has delayed the snow line in the Swiss Alps, the original intention of building a railway for the "Glacier Express" must be to learn more about nature and live in harmony with it. Then, among the 500 classic railway lines listed in sarah buxton's book, is there a railway line that can not only help people understand the earth, but also promote people to protect ecological resources? In my opinion, a railway line that can be used as a benchmark is the international train from Beijing to Moscow via Ulaanbaatar, which is one of the longest railways in the world.
Starting from Beijing and passing through Erenhot, Ulaanbaatar, Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk and Yekaterinburg, this international train finally arrived in Moscow, with a total distance of * * * 22 13km. If the train runs normally, we can finish the journey by sleeping in the sleeping car for 6 nights. Now, what we need to know is how long it will take someone to travel from Beijing to Moscow by train before this international train. 400 years ago, it took 16 months for camel caravans carrying tea to complete the same route. Eight days and six nights can cover the camel caravan 16 months, which is not the biggest attraction of this international train. Many tourists choose this kind of international train instead of plane, because it can bypass Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world, and make a contrast with the endless tundra zone, the distant mountains and the endless birch forest. In addition to the beautiful scenery, the lake is also home to unique local wildlife. Because of this, some environmentalists question this international train: Although it only comes once a week, when it rumbles around the beautiful Lake Baikal, will it do harm to wildlife accustomed to the inaccessible environment? There is no doubt about the answer. The problem is that during the reign of Genghis Khan, no one dared to enter this daunting wasteland, and this vast land was silent. Cossack soldiers began to settle in Siberia after Ivan IV occupied Mongolia in the 6th century 10. With human wasteland, it is alive. According to historical records, the tea trade between China and Russia began at that time and also began at that time.
People-to-people communication is very important, and the COVID-19 outbreak around the world in early 2020 gave us a profound understanding of this. Personally, grounding makes our colorful life monotonous, and even loses the opportunity to go abroad and look at the world; As far as the country is concerned, even if there is an internet connection, it will cause a lot of trouble because it can't sit at the same round table and communicate with each other without prejudice.
It can be seen that in order to make the world a better place, communication between people is essential. And the train speeding on the railway is undoubtedly the first choice to help people come together. ? Laying railways on the earth, especially in the depths of mountains where ordinary people can't set foot, does make human beings go further and climb higher, but it also does harm to the natural environment around the railways. Therefore, a railway history is also a game history between human beings and nature. Sarah Baxter's Measuring the World-A World History in the Classic Railway Route urges us to think about how to find the best balance between the boundary of human activities and the tolerance of nature.