Literati and poets of past dynasties are always filled with emotion when visiting historical sites, and poems of nostalgia are also endless. However, times have changed, the ancients have passed away, and ancient buildings have turned into dust. Even the wall built with huge stones has only a few sections left.
Compared with man-made things, the life span of natural landscape seems to be longer: the most conspicuous piece of blue on Nanjing map still has its place on the map hundreds of years ago.
Xuanwu Lake, like a pearl in Nanjing, provides us with a reference coordinate to go back to the past.
General situation of Nanjing Huang Du city wall and Waiguo built by Ming Taizu
In the traditional culture of China, there are four images: Qinglong, Baihu and Suzaku Xuanwu, which respectively represent the four directions of east, west, north and south. Xuanwu Lake is located in the north of Nanjing, so this name is also very appropriate.
Xuanwu Lake in the Ming Dynasty became a "Yellow Bookstore" for storing the national population and field files, and people were forbidden to enter.
At the same time, the Ming city wall extends to the south bank and the west bank, forming an insurmountable barrier between Xuanwu Lake and the main city and Zhoushan.
It can be said that a series of decisions made by the Ming Dynasty established Xuanwu Lake's present position.
Today, Xuanwu Lake starts from the emergency exit in the east and turns north in Taicheng section until Shence Gate. This section of the city wall is the most intact section of Nanjing Ming City Wall. Boarding it, you can see the beauty of Xuanwu and the prosperity of the main city.
A scene of Xuanwu Lake
I climbed the wall of Taicheng section twice, but it was cloudy every time. I think it is this gloomy mood that most of the literati who boarded here lamented Taicheng.
On the one hand, Jinling wins, and the imperial city is heroic; On the other hand, it was sad because of the collapse of the Six Dynasties. Strong contrast contributed to this complex emotion. For example, the Tang Dynasty poet Wei Zhuang's Taicheng:
The rain is falling, the grass is falling, and the birds of the Six Dynasties are singing.
Ruthlessness is a willow in Taicheng, but it is still a smoke cage.
Or the poet Li Bai's "Three Poems of Two Women in Jinling";
The land has Jinling potential, and the city flows back to the river.
At that time, there were millions of families on both sides of Zhulou Street.
Spring grass grows when the country dies, and there is no ancient hill when it leaves the palace.
After the lake is free, the waves will go to Jiangzhou.
Climbing up the stairs, the ancient Jiming Temple in the distance still retains some ancient charm. Antique yellow walls stand out in the shade of trees. The modern buildings in the distance are consistent with the cloudy weather. If it weren't for a few cars passing by from time to time, this scene in front of me seemed to take me back to that era.
Ji Ming ancient temple
In normal times, the Zifeng Tower, the tallest building in Nanjing not far away, will destroy this sense of chaos through time and space to a certain extent, but today, it is quite interesting that God directly covers the upper part of the Zifeng Tower with clouds.
Yunfenglou in Yunzhong
Xuanwu Lake in misty rain, Tailing Bridge under the city wall leads directly to Lingzhou.
A scene of Xuanwu Lake
Walking on the south bank of Xuanwu Lake, I suddenly heard a gurgling sound not far away. A closer look reveals the remains of Wu Miao's ancient gate, which was built in the period of Zhu Yuanzhang, the main exit of Xuanwu Lake and the earliest sluice in Nanjing.
There is an ancient reading platform further on. "Red Mountain in the north and Lulong in the west", the ancient Xuanwu Lake, which is "forty miles a week", is adjacent to the Six Dynasties Palace and is an excellent place for naval masters to practice and read martial arts. Nowadays, there is a couplet hanging on the restored martial arts stage: "The plan 300 years ago still exists, only the gull pavilion is left, and sometimes clouds enter the picture;" There are still 40 miles in Kunming. Listen to Brother Ling fishing without playing drums and horns. "savor, there are a lot of regrets, how the times change and how the situation changes.
Wutai in Gu Yue
As a completely free park, Xuanwu Lake is now not only a business card to promote Nanjing to foreign tourists, but also an excellent place for Nanjing citizens to take a walk after dinner. Compared with the ancient martial arts parade, it means "Lao Wang Xie Yan, flying into the homes of ordinary people". I have been to Xuanwu Lake in Nanjing for five years, but I feel different every time. Throughout the year, it is sunny, rainy and snowy, and day and night are different. It's just that this Xuanwu Gate is very different day and night.
xuanwu men
Xuanwu gate at night
On Xuanwu Lake, there are cherry blossoms, diamonds, beams, and green rings around five continents. The first and only time I walked all the way through five continents was in the midsummer of 20 14. The high temperature near 40 degrees makes the machine a little unbearable. At that time, I only had a brick-and-mortar mobile phone, and most of the old photos I turned out were exposed because of the dazzling sunshine. But the original picture will show the most real scene at that time, and even the atomized water vapor will create a strange impression of mist.
Old photos of Xuanwu Lake
Xuanwu Lake at night is another scene. The colorful and gorgeous lights along the coast make Xuanwu Lake less retro and heavy, and more modern fashion and prosperity. The towering Zifeng Tower finally showed its true colors, and stood out from the crowd and looked down on all beings.
Xuanwu Lake at night
The more times I come here, the stronger my feelings are: to understand Nanjing's past, I just need to set foot on the ancient city wall and touch the traces left by history; To understand the present situation of Nanjing, we only need to go to the depths of Xuanwu Lake and see the life of ordinary citizens.
I remember when I first came, I started from Xuanwu Gate and ended in Lingzhou.
Even in midsummer, there are still fathers and daughters playing badminton and the old couple practicing ballroom dancing.
It seems that I broke into their back garden without authorization, and my appearance did not attract their attention at all. This strong breath of life made me want to see them in my picture for the first time-they are real people, and that is life itself.
This visit is no exception. On the way back, an old man leisurely wrote Su Shi's "Water Tune Song Tou". Although he is white-haired, his brushwork is calm and handy, which won everyone's applause.
Just like those literati in history, when they arrived in Taicheng and had a general view of Xuanwu, they couldn't help but think of the past. However, unlike them, they no longer lament the decline and prosperity of the Six Dynasties.