Chapter 16 Journey to Emei ①

Emei Mountain has been praised in ancient times, or it is called "Aurora No. 1", or it is praised as "higher than the five mountains, and the best of Kyushu". For this reason, the heart of visiting Emei has long been there, but it is difficult to fulfill the wish because it is thousands of miles away. ①This article was written in August 1980, and Gong Xun also participated in the writing.Originally contained in "The Theft That Shocked the World", Henan Science and Technology Publishing House, 1982 edition. In April 1979, after a symposium on popular science creation in Chengdu, the enthusiastic host invited us to go to Emei for a scientific trip, and this wish was finally fulfilled.

Cars carrying happy crowds pass through the Chengdu Plain, and the green waves formed by wheat seedlings and rapeseed are billowing, which really makes people feel like they are on the sea.When the sun went down, the sunset glowed red.Against the backdrop of an orange cloud, a majestic mountain looms in front of you.Looking from afar and the humanitarian thought and theory of human nature derived from it. , but see the peaks and flutes, the hills and valleys are ever-changing, the clouds are steaming and the clouds are shining, and the fog is caged and smoked.With the speeding of the car, the outline of the mountain gradually became clear, and a tall archway came into view. The four characters "Famous Mountains in the World" written horizontally on the archway were written by Comrade Guo Moruo.At the foot of Mount Emei is the hometown of cultural giant Guo Moruo.

After passing the archway, Baoguo Temple is in front.This garden-style temple is the first reception station for tourists in Emei. The exquisite and elegant pavilions are hidden among the green cypresses, and the fragrant herbs and flowers are laid out in several gardens.The most amazing thing is the copper pagoda of Shengji Temple standing in front of the Hall of Seven Buddhas. This 7-meter-high pagoda is made of pure copper and was produced by skilled craftsmen in the 16th century.There are more than 4,700 Buddha statues and the full text of the "Avatamsaka Sutra" engraved around the tower.

In front of an electric model with a panoramic view of Mount Emei, the comrades of the tour guide introduced us to the main scenic spots of Mount Emei.According to the records of Emei County Chronicles, during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, when Tan Zhongyue painted the whole picture of Emei, he drew ten other pictures, each with a poem attached.These ten pictures are "Golden Summit Auspicious Light", "Ling (Mountain Strict) Emerald", "Holy Temple Dawn Bell", "Elephant Pond Night Moon", "White Water Autumn Wind", "Hong Chun Dawn Rain", "Shuangqiao Qingyin "," Jiulaoxianfu", "Daping Jixue", "Luofeng Qingyun", which are what we usually call the ten scenic spots of Emei.In addition to the ten sceneries, there are four wonders: sunrise, sea of ​​clouds, Buddha's light, and Buddha's lamp.The ten sceneries are scattered all over Emei, but the four wonders are concentrated in Jinding.In particular, the "Emei Buddha Light" has a magical alluring power: whenever the sea of ​​clouds is flat and the sun is calm in the afternoon, when the sun shines through the clouds, it will form a circle of colorful halos under the Sheshen Cliff. Move with the people, and the shadows are in the ring."What a sight!The courage of most climbers to the Golden Summit is probably inspired by this wonderful landscape.

The next day, we drove to Jinding. Along the way, we only hated the slow speed of the car, because everyone hoped to catch up with the Buddha's light that afternoon. "It would be great to have a helicopter!" A comrade exclaimed. "When you come back next time, maybe you can take a helicopter." The tour guide continued, and hearty laughter broke out in the car. However, this laughter soon disappeared.Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and the sun was obscured by dark clouds.In the distant sky, from time to time, there are dull thunderclaps, and the rain is coming.Unlucky weather, what a disappointment!

At noon, when the car arrived at Shuangshuijing, it had been raining for more than an hour.Although it is only a little over two hours away from here to Jinding, when people's interest is extinguished by the rain, it is obviously impossible to go up for two hours. Everyone trekked on the muddy path, relying on the crutches in their hands, supporting each other to move forward.After we stumbled through a slippery trail, there was a rocky slope.Stepping on rocks in rainy days is always in danger of falling.However, the matter has come to this point, and they have no choice but to fight with their backs.

It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon when we boarded the Golden Summit.The strong wind and rain made people feel unbearable cold. Even though they were in the wooden house of the guest house at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, with a fire, they still couldn't resist the cold attack.It was only after the waiter brought the fur coats that we got excited about going outdoors. In such an environment, watching the scenery with such a mood is not so much an appreciation as a punishment.An iron tower of a TV relay station stands on the highest point of the peak, and the weathervane of the weather observation station not far from it is constantly rotating.A temple on the Golden Dome was left in ruins after a fire a few years ago.We wandered into this burnt temple, and there was nothing to see, which was quite disappointing and frustrating.

Walking out of the temple, it is Sheshen Cliff. Looking at it by the railing, we can't help being shocked. What a spectacle is in front of us!The cliffs cut like axes and swords go from the top of the mountain to the misty foothills. Pieces of silver-gray smoke are slowly climbing up the cliffs by the wind, and become lighter as they reach the top, like a layer of heaven. The translucent curtain makes the iron blue cliff appear and disappear from time to time, and there is still a charming color in the majesty.Looking down, it is an abyss surrounded by clouds and fog. People can only guess its depth by imagination: 1,000 meters, 2,000 meters, 3,000 meters...Looking into the distance, you can only see the rolling clouds, surging and rolling, all The mountain peaks have all been obliterated, and the majestic golden dome seems to be an isolated island in the vast sea.

The comrades of the tour guide told us that in the past, some religious believers and cynics came to this cliff and saw the figure appearing in the Buddha's light. They thought that God was calling, so they jumped down the cliff and sacrificed their lives for benevolence. .This is the origin of Sacrifice Cliff. In fact, from a scientific point of view, the so-called "Emei Buddha's light" is just the refraction phenomenon caused by the sunlight slanting from a high place through water vapor, and the Sheshen Cliff is just a basalt inverted strata formed over hundreds of millions of years. .The divine workmanship of nature can indeed sometimes produce the power to make people fascinated.Those who were buried under the cliff of sacrifice were not just teased by nature!

As far as we are concerned, after seeing the Sacrifice Cliff, our emotions have also undergone a 180-degree turn.Although we couldn't see the Buddha's light, the towering cliffs and the imposing sea of ​​clouds finally made us feel that the trip was worthwhile. When we bid farewell to Jinding the next day, it was still raining lightly.After passing through the top of the mountain covered with green bamboo, we soon entered the tall fir forest.Thick fog shrouded the entire mountain forest, and the cold water droplets kept splashing on people's faces, making it impossible for you to distinguish whether it was raindrops or fog droplets.This cold and humid climate is the most suitable environment for moss growth. Here, firs, pine trees, various shrubs, clumps of rhododendron forests, and even bamboos are covered with brown mosses. On the branches of the trees, bedding on stones and soil, so that all the plants here grow "beards", and all the ground is covered with a layer of "carpet".The "cloud grass" fluttering on some branches is more than 1 meter long.Trees provide a shady living environment for moss, and moss maintains the water necessary for tree growth. Various plant communities have their own places and live harmoniously in a big family.Ecological balance has been excellently reflected here.

At noon, we arrived at Xixiangchi, a monastery built in the early 17th century.Examining the origin of its name, it was originally related to Buddhism. There are more than 70 Fanyulin Palaces in the hundreds of miles of mountains in Emei.As early as the 16th century, Emei was already known as the four holy places of Buddhism in my country together with Mount Wutai in Shanxi, Mount Jiuhua in Anhui and Mount Putuo in Zhejiang.According to the Buddhist classics: "Manjusri and Puxian, all of them have built a Buddhaland for a long time, but they refused to become a Buddha. They use the Bodhisattva to appear in the world as the second assistant of Sakyamuni." Emei is the residence of Puxian Bodhisattva. They are called the Four Sages of Buddhism, and they are all the children of King Miaozhuang. The "Mahayana Method" explains the names of the four sages and their Taoist vows: "Going into the mountains to seek the Tao, hungry, cold, sick, and sitting on the futon withered, this is called Samantabhadra; Samantabhadra, who works asceticly. To obtain the Tao through asceticism, it is called Manjusri; Manjushri, Wisdom also. Wisdom sees the stupidity of the lower world, like a bird throwing a raft, like a moth to a fire, and then generates a compassionate heart; Avalokitesvara, compassion is also. Because of compassion, a universal salvation heart is born. To save Wuxian as his own duty is called Dizang; the dizang makes a vow." "Manjusri's learning comes from knowing, knowing is brave and diligent like lions, so he likes lions; Samantabhadra's learning comes from doing, and doing it carefully judges There is nothing like a quiet and heavy image, so it seems." This ascetic Puxian Bodhisattva came to Mount Emei riding her favorite elephant.The current elephant washing pool is where she washed the elephant. In today's Xixiang Pool, not only the temple has been repaired, but also a corridor of guest houses has been newly built.Our lunch is provided by the guest house here. As soon as the lunch bell rang, the steaming hot meal was served on the table.In the dining room, I suddenly heard someone shouting outside: "The monkey group is here, come and see!" Everyone put down their rice bowls, took the biscuits, peanuts, candies, etc. that had been prepared a long time ago, and rushed out.As a result, I saw several monkeys, old and young, climbing to the corridor from the branches and the roof.At this time, some people stretched out biscuits and other food to them, and some people were busy taking photos with monkeys.Monkeys are not afraid of people.They swagger over and grab food from your hand.If you withdraw your hand at this time, it will hold on to your hand until you hand it the food. We had wanted to inspect the monkeys here for a long time, but they came to us by themselves, there were about eight or nine of them.The leader is a male monkey, followed by two female monkeys with a cub each, and several young monkeys.Observing them carefully, it turns out that they are a kind of "Sichuan monkey". Their tails are very short, as if a section has been amputated, so they are also called "broken-tailed monkeys" or "short-tailed monkeys".This kind of monkey has a strong body, short legs, and the body is covered with thick hair. The male monkey also has long "whiskers"!This kind of monkey is different from the macaques we usually see in the zoo. The macaques are small and have much longer tails. In terms of living habits, the monkeys in Emeishan are much more "steady" and not as mischievous as the macaques. It is said that there are hundreds of monkeys in Mount Emei, most of them live in the nearby forests, and only this group interacts with people.Because they have been with people for a long time and accept the food they give them, they are almost domesticated. There is no doubt that they are good objects for direct study by biologists.After we quarreled with the monkey for more than an hour, we returned to the dinner table for dinner. People say that "Elephant Pool Night Moon" is a famous scene here.At night, when the clouds and mist recede, and the bright moon is in the sky, looking from the ancient bushes, the scenery is clear and the cold light melts into jade, but this beautiful scenery is no longer with us. April 23rd is the 27th day of March in the lunar calendar. How can there be any moonlight?Besides, it's still raining. When we left the Elephant Washing Pool, the monkeys were still climbing and playing at the gate of the courtyard and on the trees next to it, as if they were saying goodbye to us, and they seemed to be welcoming those coming from behind. After arriving at Yuxian Temple, you will be far away from Xianfeng Temple on the opposite mountainside.If a bridge is built in the middle, I am afraid that it will take a while to walk across.However, when we walked along the mountain path to the depths of the valley, and ascended from the valley to Xianfeng Temple, it took nearly three hours. At this time, the sky is clear after the rain, the blue sky is like washing, the afterglow of the setting sun reflects the towering Changshou Rock, and the dark blue mountains are covered with a layer of golden splendor.Facing Huayan Peak, the lone peak stands tall and is surrounded by white clouds, just like a landscape painting with appropriate shades. In twos and threes, holding flashlights, we went to a place about 500 meters away from the temple to explore the Jiulao Cave.It was nothing more than a dark, dank cave.When you come to the entrance of the cave, you can hear the "squeak" sound of bats coming from inside. When you shine the flashlight, you can see them hanging on the cave wall or flying among the caves.These guys who are afraid of the sun have found the best shelter here. The appearance of such a cave is a natural phenomenon well known to people today.However, Tan Zhongyue in the Qing Dynasty didn't understand it. After he painted the picture of "Nine Old Immortal Mansion", he wrote such a poem in bewilderment: The picture shows Jiulaoji Xiangshan, Why is this cave created here? The material is a Chinese alchemy formula, The elderly are ninety-nine suitable for chasing and climbing. Of course, the question of "why this cave was created here" is still worth exploring.This cave is located at an altitude of about 1800 meters, which is much higher than the modern underground water level. Is there any mystery about this?It turns out that 200 million years ago, the Emei area was a sea, and a large amount of limestone was deposited.Later, due to crustal movement, the ground rose, and about 80 million years ago, the seabed began to emerge from the water, and then experienced several rapid uplifts, forming the current general trend of mountains and rivers.It is with the uplift of the ground that Jiulong Cave gradually reached its current position. At 8 o'clock in the morning of the next day, when the morning sun smiled at us, we were already walking on the mountain path known as "Ninety-Nine Turns".This 15-kilometer trip really allowed us to enjoy the beauty of Emei.Along the way, it is really dizzying to see many mountains and green hills, mountains and rivers, winding peaks and winding willows, dark willows and bright flowers.The exhaustion of trekking in the rain two days ago was suddenly driven away without a trace. Everyone talked and laughed, and arrived at Hongchunping without knowing it. Hongchunping is an ancient temple surrounded by mountains, with green trees, fragrant flowers, quiet environment and beautiful scenery.It is said that on a sunny morning in hot summer, there are often misty mist droplets, which sprinkle on the courtyard, making people feel refreshed, and it is called "Hongchun Xiaoyu". "There is no rain in the mountains, and people's clothes are wet with emerald green", which is the natural scenery described. Going down from Hongchunping, you will arrive at the famous Heilongjiang Plank Road.People walk on the plank road that twists and turns attached to the cliff, as if entering a narrow alley surrounded by tall buildings.Overlooking the deep stream, the stream is crystal clear, and the sunlight projected from the gaps in the leaves onto the water surface is spotty, shining and beating in the water.Looking up, you can see the cliffs soaring into the sky, thousands of vines and vines, the sun is covered by thick shade, and the sky is a ray of light.The comrades of the tour guide explained to us: Due to the rapid uplift of Emei, the flowing water also speeds up the cutting speed of the ground.The deep valley now presented in front of our eyes is an important evidence of the rapid rise of Emei. Ah, the divine workmanship of nature has once again amazed people! Not far from the plank road, you will arrive at Qingyin Pavilion.This is an ancient temple founded in the 4th century AD.The Heilongjiang River and the Bailongjiang River meet here, and the two streams rush from under the two arched bridges respectively, rushing towards a boulder shaped like a cow's heart, making rumbling noises, splashing jade and flying flowers, and stirring up a mist .It is really a beautiful enjoyment to stand on the exquisite and elegant Niuxin Pavilion between the two waters to watch this "two dragons playing with pearls" scene.Looking back, you can see the exquisite and elegant Shuangfei Pavilion nearby, the majestic and simple palace on the hillside behind, and the rich and verdant Niuxin Ridge behind.The close-up view of the distant mountains, contrasting in shades and shades, is pleasing to the eye and lingers on.The beauty of Emei is most concentrated here.There is an ancient poem praising it: Jieran Gaoge utters a voiceless voice, As if the gods are playing the piano, Try to build a double bridge and tilt your ears, It is clear that two waters are used to brew the heart of the beef. People who have never been here can imagine the sensuality of "Shuangqiao Qingyin" from this poem. Starting from here, there is a newly built neat and wide stone steps leading directly to Wannian Temple.This temple used to be called Puxian Temple.A bronze Buddha statue of Samantabhadra, 9.1 meters high and 62 tons in weight, is placed in a beamless brick hall here.This ascetic holding a ruyi and sitting cross-legged in a lotus, straddles her beloved white elephant. The shape is well-proportioned and harmonious, and the shape is lifelike. It is a treasure of ancient art. In the evening, when we were drinking strong tea from Emei and talking about our impressions in the past three days in the courtyard, there was a sudden melodious and crisp sound of the piano.I looked around, but I couldn't see the player playing the piano. I followed the sound and found a frog sitting in the stone crevice of the pool in the courtyard.It turned out that it was the luthier.Emei's lyre-playing frog finally showed us its unique skills when we were about to leave here. And things don't stop there!Emei's living plant fossil - Davidia involucrata, is also in full bloom.Blooming flowers, like a group of white pigeons flying, seem to be holding a farewell ceremony for tourists who are about to end their trip to Emei. Under the dove flowers fluttering in the wind, amidst the melodious sound of the zither, we bid farewell to Emei reluctantly!