Chengdu is a city born of water. The gurgling water makes Chengdu people gentle and full of spray-like interests.
For a long time, Chengdu was a veritable water city. Kyle Polo, a Venetian, went to Chengdu as an official and traveler in the Yuan Dynasty. During his trip, he paid attention to the rivers and bridges in Chengdu. Standing on a covered bridge in Chengdu, he saw the sails fluttering like the wings of birds, heard the gurgling sound of running water and the splashing sound of paddling, and felt a moist wind blowing gently on his face. At this time, he thought of his hometown, a submerged this beautiful city. The urban pattern of "two rivers around the city", beautiful mountains and rivers, and cultural relics like Caotang and Wuhou all make people here full of interest and wit in life.
Chengdu's amusement culture has become particularly romantic, intoxicated and noisy because of the nourishment of water. Describing the water attractions in Chengdu in the post-Shu period, Shu Bian said: "The colorful boats of the dragon boat stretch for ten miles, from Baihuatan to Wan Li Bridge, the tourists are all women, and the pearls are sandwiched between the two banks. A white fish jumped from the middle of the river and flew away. " Ren Zhengfei's "Journey to Huanhuaxi" is a grand trip. Men and women in the city are boating in Baihuatan, Huanhuaxi ... Boating like a house, decorated with colorful paintings, tied with tails, rippling waves, beating drums and strings, making noise. If they can't have a boat, build a shed on the shore and read the boat for miles up and down. "
Such a city cultivated by water must be calm, not tyrannical and aggressive. It always modestly absorbs foreign things, and then melts other people's things into our own things for our use like genetic modification. On the other hand, the flexibility and charm of water will make people in this city easy-going, interesting, not stubborn and not exclusive, and have a humble personality while being confident.
The ancient capital dotted with flowers
The city image of Chengdu has always been inextricably linked with flowers. Sometimes I even think that without flowers, Chengdu will suddenly be eclipsed and become another rough and boring city I don't know.
The first person to associate flowers with the image of Chengdu was Meng Chang, a master of Shu after the Five Dynasties. He once planted hibiscus flowers on the wall of Chengdu. In the autumn season, colorful hibiscus flowers are blooming on the wall, "four miles are like splendid", which sets off a beautiful Chengdu, romantic and warm. Because of this allusion, Chengdu was called "Rongcheng" for a long time. As far as I know, it is a unique case in the history of China to plant delicate hibiscus flowers instead of placing defensive tools such as swords and guns on the tall city walls.
In the Song Dynasty, the flowers in Chengdu were more closely related to the lives of ordinary people, and begonia and plum blossom became the "city flowers" in Chengdu in the Song Dynasty. "Yizhou Lu" describes the begonia in Chengdu in the Song Dynasty, saying: "The begonia in Shu is really a wonder in the world." When the poet Lu You was an official in Chengdu, he rode from Qingyang Palace to Huanhuaxi and was deeply intoxicated by the endless fragrance of plum blossoms. He wrote: "I visited Jincheng West and got drunk for plum blossoms. Twenty miles on, Qingyang Palace will go to Huanhuaxi. " As you can imagine, in a city full of flowers, people have flowers on their temples, skirts and lives.
On the streets of Chengdu, there are always vendors carrying a bunch of broccoli and two or three flowers to wear. Flowers and jade have the same texture, and they smell fragrant ten steps away. Women buy them to hang on skirts and sideburns, and men buy them to hang behind the windshield of cars. In winter, plum blossom sellers will ride bicycles, carry a large bunch of pruned plum branches and sell them along the street. Chengdu people bought some sticks and put them in vases. The roots are soaked in water. For half a month, the fragrance at home lasted for a long time.
A paradise for leisure people
The elegant word "feast" may remind people of rich dishes, gorgeous people and fragrant wine. Such a banquet must be a wedding, and many distinguished people take the opportunity of eating to chat about friendship. However, the banquet I am talking about here has two meanings. One is that officials in Chengdu have always been elegant in feasting, and the other is that people in Chengdu have been eating, drinking and having fun. Chengdu, a gentle, rich, humid and beautiful city, is extremely rich in materials and beautiful in environment. War and disaster are hard to come by, and people will have an instinctive pursuit in such an environment. Du Fu has a poem describing the happiness of Chengdu: "There are more and more silk and bamboo in Jincheng, half in the river and half in the clouds." Du Fu's poems did not mean to criticize the decadent life of Chengdu people. On the contrary, he appreciates this way of life. Du Fu took refuge in Chengdu with his family. In his memory, the Central Plains was a bleak scene of war, and the people lived in poverty. Chengdu shows ease and joy in the period of peace and prosperity, so he has a heartfelt love for Chengdu. The years he spent in Chengdu are the most cherished years in his life.
The word pleasure, once put forward, is easily criticized. Through this word, it is easy to associate people with aspects such as lack of progress and love of ease. But I have always supported the lifestyle of Chengdu people, because the city is not an arena where people are tired and rushing around. The mission of the city is to provide people with a comfortable living environment.
The tourist customs of Chengdu people have always been characterized by the combination of art and economic and trade functions, which embodies a city's strong popularity and rich source of material and spiritual joy. Today, Chengdu people still maintain this style. They visit Wuhou Temple on the first day of the first month, Du Fu Caotang on the seventh day of the first month, Lantern Festival and Flower Show in Qingyang Palace in the first month and February ... Together with various snack festivals and trade fairs, there are always interesting and beautiful places in a city worth visiting.
There is a book called "Life in the New Year", which records in great detail the feasting and entertainment life of Chengdu people in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In the preface of this book, there is such a passage: Chengdu is the best place to travel, and the reason is nothing more than the vast land and rich resources in Chengdu Plain, which has a custom of loving entertainment since ancient times. At the end of the year, when the Chengdu magistrate invited a banquet for officials, he also invited a group of performers to sing. During this time, all kinds of people in Chengdu have also come out to play. "Men and women are row upon row, light autumn clothes, help the old and carry the young, and swim the streets." Such activities will certainly attract folk artists to perform, so people will appreciate "amazing skills from all directions" and look like a grand temple fair.
Romantic city
Chengdu is a city prone to two kinds of stories, the extreme expression of which is elopement.
The most famous elopement story in Chengdu is the elopement between Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun in the Western Han Dynasty. Sima Xiangru, the founder of Han Fu, was the first scholar in the world at that time. This young man who was born and raised in Chengdu once visited Qionglai, which led to a long-standing story.
Two elopers opened a hotel anonymously. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were still many famous literati who came to the famous hotel in Chengdu. For example, Li Shangyin once wandered the streets of Chengdu for a long time, and wrote the poem "Chengdu fine wine can send the old, but it is still Zhuo Wenjun". Sensitive poets are not so much looking for a hotel and an admirable woman as looking for the romantic feelings of Chengdu-this romantic and loyal spirit is still inspiring despite the passage of time.
Xue Tao, a beautiful woman in Chengdu, became famous in the Tang Dynasty, on the one hand, because of her poems, and on the other hand, because of the "carrier" she used when writing poems, which is the famous "Xue". Throughout the history of Tang Dynasty and China, no woman was so particular about the "carrier" of poetry as Xue Tao.