Colorful Ningde
Ningde has mountains and sea, with colorful scenery. Besides Xiapu, there are many other wonders.
Fu'an is a small city surrounded by mountains. Looking down from the mountains, a medium-sized river flows slowly from north to south through the city. Before long, it will embrace the East China Sea.
Fu'an is not very famous. It has neither renowned grand mountains nor ancient cultural relics. What it can show to outsiders, besides a bit of red memory from the Great Revolution period, ancient villages with preserved customs and authentic secular life, are more temples than schools. Believing in Buddhism is good, but one must also study. Otherwise, no matter how much incense is burned, the Buddha will not be pleased.
Not far from the city, there is a place called Baizhuyang, surrounded by mountains with vast fertile fields. Inside is a small village named Doumian. There is a river beside the village, clear enough to see the bottom. A stone dam was built in the river. As it was the dry season, the water level dropped below the dam. Near the bank of the dam, there is a V-shaped pointed tip that divides the river into two parts: the outer part flows along the river, while the inner part is diverted into artificial channels to irrigate farmland. During the wet season, water can overflow the dam and flow downstream. This V-shaped pointed tip is similar to the plowshare point of Lingqu in Xing'an, Guangxi; this stone dam performs the same water-regulating function as the large and small balancing dams of Lingqu. The clever people of Baizhuyang, with a few strokes, painted a harmonious picture between man and nature.
Entering Doumian Village, the afternoon sunlight falls on the earthen walls, dyeing the uneven mud walls into a dazzling earthy yellow, standing out against the blue sky and green mountains. These earthen houses have weathered over seventy or eighty years. In the 1930s, the Fujian East Special Committee of the Communist Party of China was located here. Zeng Zhi, Ye Fei, Tao Zhu, and other early high-ranking officials of the republic left deep footprints here. They were pioneers of New China, but to Doumian Village, they were just passersby. After the magnificent events, they left, and Doumian Village returned to peace. Yet the village did not forget them; the villagers preserved the places where they worked, telling future generations that this was once an important revolutionary base in the founding of the republic.
Fu'an once had its moment of pride in the history of Fujian. The first Jinshi (successful candidate in the imperial examination) in Fujian, Xue Lingzhi, came from Lian Village in Luojiang Town, Fu'an, during the Tang Dynasty over 1,200 years ago. Xue Lingzhi served as the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. Emperor Suzong of Tang named his hometown Lian Village (Honest Village) because of his incorruptibility. The stream behind the village was named Lian Stream. In ancient times, the stream was deep enough for official boats to enter the village directly, and the dock where boats moored can still be seen by the stream. When Xue Lingzhi returned home in glory after passing the imperial examination, he must have landed here. The celebratory drums and gongs have long faded, leaving only overgrown weeds and a dock that no longer waits for boats to dock.
The houses in Lian Village are quite old. Doorways and plaques from the Qing Dynasty can be seen everywhere. The cobblestone paths in the village may have been renovated, but they still exude an ancient atmosphere. Walking among them, one recalls the phrase "not knowing there was Han, let alone Wei and Jin." An old man, wearing a small black cap, sits by the small window of a two-story old wooden house, gazing at the outside world. The outside world is wonderful; the outside world is helpless. The clear water of Lian Stream, which once could carry boats, has now become a turbid trickle murmuring helplessly by the village. Is it the fault of heaven, or the fault of man? Xue Lingzhi served in the same court as He Zhizhang. Besides the well-known line "Children meeting me do not know me; smiling, they ask where I came from," He Zhizhang's "Two Poems on Returning Home" also includes: "Only the mirror lake before my gate, spring breezes haven't changed its waves as of late." It is truly hoped that the mirror of Lian Village will be caressed by spring breezes every day, and the waters of Lian Village will surge with clear waves every night.
The countless potholes of various sizes in the river valley of Baiyun Mountain Jiulongdong Scenic Area seem to illustrate Laozi's classic argument: "Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet nothing can overcome the hard and strong." Water, carrying gravel, tirelessly scoured the river valley for countless millennia, finally polishing smooth round potholes in the hard rock of the riverbed, including China's largest single pothole—Feitian Well of Jiulong Cave. Water, with gentle and persistent power, changes the world, interpreting the dialectics of softness and hardness. The highest good is like water.
Zhouning is similar to Fu'an, also surrounded by mountains. The terrain seems even more majestic. It has two scenic spots: one is Jiulongji Waterfall, where water from the mountaintop cascades down nine tiers. We visited during the dry season, so we missed the spectacle of nine dragons leaping. The other is Carp Stream, which is quite unique. Carp are not rare; they are raised in most park lakes. Notable examples include Huagang Guanyu in Hangzhou, one of the Ten Scenes of West Lake. But the carp living in Zhouning's Carp Stream are not merely ornamental; they have coexisted with humans here for eight hundred years, generation after generation. Carp Stream was originally named Jiuqu Stream. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, due to frequent wars, a man surnamed Zheng led his clan to migrate here and settled by the stream. This man had foresight and deeply understood the way of harmony between man and nature. Eight hundred years ago, he established village rules aimed at protecting the carp: "When people exist, carp exist; defend the carp to the death; do not catch or eat them; pass this down through generations." Over time, this rule took root in people's hearts. Regardless of changes in dynasties and laws, this village rule has been passed down verbatim to this day. For eight hundred years, villagers have voluntarily observed the rule, enjoying harmony with the carp. This shows that in rural Chinese society, naturally formed folk agreements can be more effective and lasting in binding people than state laws.
Walking upstream along the stream, the carps gather or scatter, swimming leisurely. The stream is narrow, about three to four meters wide, with occasional stone slabs crossing it for villagers on both sides to move around. Houses built along the stream form long rows, brick-and-wood structures, two to three stories tall, many said to be from the Qing Dynasty. The wood appears old, clearly weathered. What touched me most was the fish tomb lying quietly behind two towering ancient trees at the village entrance. The carps in Carp Stream not only avoid the fate of being caught and eaten by humans, but after their natural death, the villagers prepare a permanent resting place for them. Such love for fish is unheard of, carrying a hint of religious sanctity.
Red lanterns hanging on the old Qing Dynasty houses sway in the wind, a sign of tourism. It might be better to remove them.
The famous mountain in Ningde is Taimu Mountain in Fuding.
The meaning of Taimu is goddess. A mountain turned into a goddess, standing by the East China Sea, is naturally full of charm. Taimu Mountain is not large; one can go up and down in half a day. Yet within this half-day journey, countless extraordinary peaks and strange rocks are piled up. "Taimu has no ordinary stones; each is a divine creation," someone accurately described Taimu Mountain.
Taimu Mountain, like Huangshan and Huashan, belongs to granite peak forests. From the foot of the mountain, it somewhat resembles the Lotus Peak of Huangshan or the White Cloud Peak of Huashan. But Lotus Peak is just one, while Taimu Mountain has countless blooming lotuses; White Cloud Peak is sturdy and steadfast, but cannot match the thousand postures and myriad changes of Taimu Mountain. Walking along, the divine rocks and spiritual stones carved by the wind and rain of the East China Sea for millions of years form vivid scenes that evoke heartfelt exclamations. People have given them many beautiful names, which I did not remember. Actually, there is no need to remember; the infinite subtlety of nature cannot be constrained by a beautiful name. As long as you are awed or delighted, that is enough.
Taimu Mountain seems too small, yet there are too many wonderful stones; "eyes cannot take them all in" is perfectly apt here. Perhaps because Taimu is a goddess, women always symbolize kindness and modesty. She allows people to enjoy the magnificent scenery within her domain while strolling leisurely. Not like Mount Tai, where you must tread the exhausting Eighteen Bends to enter the South Gate of Heaven; nor like Huashan, where you must cross the Canglong Ridge that made Han Yu weep to stand atop the West Peak; the Three Fold Waterfall of Lushan and the Tiandu Peak of Huangshan are not easy to reach; the Golden Summit of Emei is beyond a day's walk for ordinary people. Only the strange peaks and interesting rocks of Taimu Mountain seem to have been herded together by the goddess, viewable and appreciable with casual steps.
Climbing up the Yongcui Pavilion to view the waves of the East China Sea, but the sky was gray; only "sky's edge sea vapor joins the sky's white" was visible, without "a patch of clear light shining red on the trees." The compulsory "One-Line Sky" pass on the mountain path is as narrow as Taoyuan Cave in Yong'an, western Fujian. Xu Xiake described the One-Line Sky of Taoyuan Cave as "large yet narrow, long yet neat." Unfortunately, Mr. Hongzu (Xu Xiake's style name) never set foot on Taimu Mountain; otherwise, he would have left beautiful verses. Based on my not insignificant travels, these two One-Line Sky spots in eastern and western Fujian can be considered the finest of their kind.
Coming down the mountain, starving, Shejia black rice awaits me below. It is said that when Sun Bin was framed by Pang Juan and imprisoned, he ate black rice secretly brought by an old jailer, which sustained his energy and allowed him to escape and avenge himself. This black rice, made from the leaves of Vaccinium bracteatum and glutinous rice, is fragrant, soft, and tasty. No wonder Du Fu praised Shejia black rice in his poem: "How could there be no black rice to make my complexion good?" Eating the sweet soft black rice, I wonder: is the black rice I taste today the same as the "Black Jade Rice" mentioned by the Tang poet Lu Guimeng?
4. Pinnan Baishuiyang (White Water Ocean)
Baishuiyang in Pinnan is a huge flat rock of 80,000 square meters, lying in a valley surrounded by mountains. When the stream water rushing from the mountains meets such a large stone bed, it immediately slows down, spreads out flatly, looks up at the blue sky and white clouds, and gently hums a soft tune. People who come here, seeing the shimmering clear white water, cannot resist wading in. The water reaches the ankles, gentle and cool. Young people call out to friends and laugh heartily; elders play slowly in the water, returning to childhood.
