On May 29th, the sun was blazing in Wan Li, and the sky was clear. At the invitation of An Xiaomi, Zhang Xianchun, Cui Feng and Xiongguan Mandao from Zhong Dingshan Literature and Art Network in Dejiang County went to Chaoshan for a tour. I am lucky to go with them.
Approaching the Wujiang River and entering Chaodi, I learned more about Chaodi. Not far downstream of the tidal flat, because the river suddenly widened, the sediment along the river accumulated into a big sandbar. It is said that the market town formed by the sandbar has a history of thousands of years, and Chaochao Town is located on this small sandbar.
Tidal beaches in history have been suspended for many years. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), the country gradually began to pay attention to the shipping industry. At the end of 1950s, the shipping department began to renovate the Wujiang River beach. It was not until the early 1970s that the navigation conditions of the tidal reach in the lower reaches of the Wujiang River were improved, making the tidal town once an important town for merchants.
Chaodi Town is located 30 kilometers southeast of Dejiang County, with Fengxiang Town in Dejiang County in the east, Wu Ying Town in Sinan County in the south, Gungun Wujiang River in the west and Changbao Township in the north. There are famous scenic spots such as "the pillar of Guizhou", the sleeping Buddha in Wujiang River, the old people watching stars and the cliff meditation room.
Walking on the street of Chaodi Town, not far ahead is Chaodi rapids, and the mighty Wujiang River is rolling by. Although it is located on the bank of the rolling Wujiang River, I feel that the town is quiet and peaceful, and there is no impetuousness of the river at all.
Quiet town quietly watching Wujiang River, fishermen, cultivators, businessmen, gourmets and civil servants come and go on Wujiang River ... quietly watching the water of Wujiang River break through the tidal flat, calmly flow through the tidal ancient town and flow to the downstream Changbao. The river flows through the deep valley, singing songs all the way, singing a song that is both happy and bitter, old and young, witnessing the ups and downs and vicissitudes of the ancient town of Chaodi on the edge of Wujiang River.
(2) New towns and new bridges
With the construction of Shatuo Power Station, the last power station of cascade development in the lower reaches of Wujiang River, the resettlement project in the reservoir area has also started. Tidal streets will be flooded after the storage of Shatuo Power Station. Chaodi Town Government, Chaodi Middle School and Market Town will all be relocated to Xiaoxi River.
Xiaoxi River is a tributary of Wujiang River in Dejiang County, and it flows into Wujiang River not far downstream of Tide Ferry. The new site of the overall relocation of Chaodi Town is in the lower reaches of Xiaoxi River, not far from the confluence of Xiaoxi River and Wujiang River. From the car, we can see that the overall relocation project of Chaodi Town has been implemented, and the machinery for the previous operation has entered the site and started construction.
Xiaoxihe Bridge, a supporting project for the overall relocation of Chaodi Town, is nearing completion. The bridge spans Xiaoxi River, with a total length of nearly 100 meter. The newly-built bridge overlooks the dream of "sleeping Buddha" not far away, and records the process of the overall relocation of the government and the town of Chaodi, and will witness the future happiness and hope of Chaodi people together with the new town of Chaodi after the relocation.
(3) the pillar of Guizhou
The mainstay of Guizhou is the stone carving handwriting left by Qiu Tian, a pioneer of Guizhou education in the Ming Dynasty.
In the past, Tidal Beach, Xintan in Dejiang County and Gongtan in Yanhe County were all dangerous beaches in the lower reaches of Wujiang River. Qiu Tian, a former envoy to Guangdong, made outstanding contributions to the education in Guizhou during the Zheng De period in the Ming Dynasty. When he passed by the tidal flat, he felt the thrill of the tidal flat, wrote down the four characters "mainstay of Guizhou" and ordered people to carve them on the boulder in the riverside canyon. His handwriting is still visible today. Qiu Tian's "Qianzhu" stone carving is listed as a key cultural relic by the provincial government.
When you arrive at the beach, if you don't go to see the beach and the "pillar of Guizhou", it means that you have never been to the beach.
Standing by the ferry, I swam up and looked from a distance, feeling the threatening momentum of the river swirling and rushing from the upstream. After a short stop at the ferry, we went straight to the "Pillar of Guizhou" along the ancient road on the right bank of Wujiang River.
After a while, I saw the famous "pillar of Guizhou" with my own eyes. The four characters "mainstay in Guizhou" are horizontal inscriptions read from right to left, and there are small inscriptions on the left and right. The front section is "Shen Jiasui, Meng Chun, Ji Dan", with the inscription "Xi Lu Qiu Tian" and a rectangular single-line border carved around it. The word "mainstay of Guizhou" is simple and square, strong and powerful.
The boulder where the stone carving is located is not in the middle of the river, but on the side of an ancient road more than ten meters high from the river. The boulder itself does not give people the feeling of being a mainstay. Why did Qiu Tian think of "pillars" in those days? Perhaps it was because it was very difficult to pull the boat upstream on the beach at that time, and the rope was often tied to this boulder. But why is it the "pillar" of "central Guizhou" and not the "pillar" of other places? Dejiang, a tidal flat, is located in the northeast of Guizhou? Perhaps, the "middle" here does not refer to the direction of "southeast and northwest", but "middle of Guizhou" is simply "the land of Guizhou"? The reason is unknown.
After the storage of Shatuo Power Station, the pillar of Guizhou will be submerged. Qiu Tian's ink, the "Pillar of Guizhou" stone carving, which has made outstanding contributions to Guizhou's education, is said to have been cut and preserved by relevant departments to preserve this precious cultural relic.
(4) Long ancient road
In the "pillar of Guizhou" stone
After several times of carving, observation, sighing, single photo taking and group photo taking. After that, everyone can move freely. Together with Yu Hai and Xiao Tingjun, I continued to move upstream along the ancient road.
The ancient road was dug on the steep slope on the left bank, ranging from ten meters to dozens of meters away from the river. In a long period of underdeveloped economy and backward technology, the rugged pure stone pavement was built with much effort and cost!
On the roadside, dense bushes are dotted with finger-thin wild bamboos; Overhead, similar to the Three Gorges "self-pavilion midnight, no sunrise"; The shrubs in front are wide and narrow, looming, and the endless ancient road extends upstream; By the river, the rocks are empty and the river waves are rolling down. Although it was a hot summer and I was sweating all over, I clearly felt the threatening chill from the raging river and the cliffs on the other side.
This is Wujiang Gorge, this is the ancient tidal road and this is the tidal shoal.
On a prominent rock corner above the ancient road, there is a broken hut with no one in it. Who was the owner of the hut? Who has rested in the hut, had tea and sheltered from the wind and rain?
The canyon is silent, the cliff is silent, and the hut is silent; The path must know, and the hut certainly knows. I don't know.
(5) Wujiang stone
I have heard the name of Wujiang stone for a long time, calling Dejiang the hometown of stone. There is a strange slate street in the central area of the county. I often go to the shops there to see or touch those grotesque Wujiang stones, which are hard, warm in color and strange in shape. How many times, I want to go to the Wujiang River and pick up a piece by myself.
Once Shatuo Power Station in the lower reaches of Wujiang River is put into use, the unexploited Wujiang stone will be submerged in the river. Today, I was lucky enough to come to Wujiang River in Chaodi, but I heard that Wujiang Stone in Dejiang County is the most famous in Changbao Township, and there is no Wujiang Stone in Chaodi. I feel a little sorry.
The hometown of strange stones, the tidal town that does not produce Wujiang strange stones on the riverside, Wujiang strange stones can still be seen everywhere in the streets and even in the government compound. Some people are piled with Wujiang stone along the street, on both sides of the gate and even in front of it.
Under the leadership of An Xiaomi, dozens of people from Zhong Dingshan Literature and Art Network in Dejiang County, such as Zhang Xianchun, Cui Feng and Xiongguan Man Dao, just arrived in Chaodi and couldn't wait to come to the Wujiang River. The river rolled away, except for the boulders and cliffs on the river bank, there was only a small beach at the ferry, and the sand on the beach was even and small, without any silt. There is not even a big stone by the river, let alone the strange stone in Wujiang River.
When I left the river, other literary friends walked in front. I always feel a little fly in the ointment. I still hope to bring back a strange stone from Wujiang as a souvenir. There happened to be a small house by the river, and now people still live in it. The house is full of Wujiang stones. These Wujiang stones should have been excavated and sorted out from Changbao or other places in Wujiang by the owner of the hut at a high price. Although I can ask the master for a piece or buy a piece of Wujiang stone, what I want most is to pick up Wujiang stone myself, which is more interesting. Next to the Wujiang stone pile, there are piles of sand for construction, waiting for the car to transport it. The sand was also collected by the owner of the cabin from the bank of Wujiang River and transported here.
I asked my host, "I want to go to the sand to see if there is Wujiang stone, can I?"
Unexpectedly, the host readily agreed: "Yes, but there are no good stones in it."
Although I am sweating all over, as the owner of the hut said, there is no Wujiang stone. In the hill-like sand pile, there are no ordinary pebbles larger than sand. I found a pebble or two at random and prepared to take it back as a souvenir. Suddenly, I dug out a bigger stone weighing more than ten kilograms in the sand and wiped the fine sand on the surface with my hand. At first glance, it was neither a stone nor an ordinary pebble. I quickly took the stone to the owner's free tap water to wash it.
The true face of the stone appeared: the stone was as green as jade; There are oval egg-yellow patterns on the top of the stone, and there are strange ribbon waves around it. This stone is very smooth, like jasper. Isn't this the Wujiang stone I've been longing for for for a long time? Perhaps, it is just a very common Wujiang stone, not a "Wujiang stone", but in my eyes it is my own "Wujiang stone".
After visiting the tide, I went to Wujiang and saw the original stone sculpture of Qiu Tian, a provincial cultural relic in Guizhou, with friends from Zhong Dingshan Literature and Art Network. In the steep canyons along the river, I saw the ancient road that trackers or others walked along the river in the long years; I saw the remains of the noose boat when the boat went upstream to the beach for a long time; I also found a Wujiang stone, which is really fruitful!
Thanks to Qiu Tian who left the stone carving, thanks to the owner of the cabin by the ferry, thanks to Xiaomi, the guide, and thanks to the rushing Wujiang River.
When I left the hut, I said to myself, thank you. The summer sun shines obliquely on the opposite cliff, and the river is sparkling. The river ran forward and I began to catch up with my friends who were walking in front. Holding the heavy stone, although I was sweating profusely, I couldn't help humming the song that my classmates sang at the school red song party not long ago: "Let's paddle and push the boat away from the waves ..."