Why does Taizhou, the "City of Mountains and Seas", prefer mountains and seas?

“The water is like the waves in the eyes, and the mountains are like the peaks of the eyebrows. I want to ask pedestrians where to go? The place where the eyebrows are full.” Wang Guan, a man of the Song Dynasty, had this description of Jiangnan. On New Year's Day in 2000, the first ray of dawn in China's new millennium fell "between the eyebrows" of Taizhou's Kuocang Mountain Peak and Haibin Shitang Town within a few dozen seconds.

Except for this kind of "God's blessing", Taizhou is very inconspicuous in eastern Zhejiang and even the whole country. Many people even pronounce tāizhou as táizhou. Named after Tiantai Mountain, the birth of Taizhou can be said to have its own halo. Facing the sea, as Chinese people continue to integrate into the world, it is synonymous with opportunities.

However, what do mountains and sea mean to Taizhou? They are the skin and bones of Taizhou. They have blocked Taizhou people from exploring the world, and they have also given Taizhou its strength. There are many cities facing mountains and seas. What is special about Taizhou's "grievances and hatreds" with mountains and seas?

1. A public case: What did Li Bai dream about?

Taizhou is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the vast and continuous hills of Zhejiang and Fujian form a tendency to surround Taizhou. It has Yandang as the screen in the south, Kuocang as the peak in the west, and embraces the sea in the east, with 12 island groups and 691 islands listed in its embrace. The offshore plain has vast tidal flats and water networks; in the northwest, there are continuous mountains and thousands of beautiful rocks. The most famous among them is naturally Tiantai Mountain, a place of pilgrimage in the hearts of poets of the Tang Dynasty.

Tiantai Mountain has three meanings: broad, medium and narrow. According to Sun Chuo from Jin Dynasty, in a broad sense, the Tiantai lineage "has Fangzhang and Penglai when it touches the sea" (referring to the Zhoushan Islands), and "Siming and Tiantai when it lands" (the main peak of Siming Mountain is in today's Shengzhou, Shaoxing). It is majestic and majestic. The ancients even believed that it was the boundary between the two stars Dou and Niu, and also corresponded to the Taisu (that is, the Santai star) in the sky, so it was called "Tiantai".

Tiantai Mountain in Zhongyi refers to Taizhou. Since the Tang Dynasty, Tiantai Mountain has become so famous that scholars simply named a state after this mountain. It has been changed several times during this period and is still used today.

In the narrow sense, Tiantai Mountain is the general name for all the mountains in Tiantai County today. It is a branch of Xianxia Ridge, stretching from the southwest to the northeast, separating the Cao'e River and the Yongjiang River. The mountain is mainly composed of granite, with many hanging rocks, many cliffs and many waterfalls, making it a natural and unique place.

Wei Yuan, a man of the Qing Dynasty, once praised, "The waterfall at Yandang is smoky, the waterfall at Zhongtiao is thunderous, but the waterfall at Tiantai is not surprising because of its strange stone beams." Viewed from a distance, the Shiliang Waterfall looks like a heavenly being. Lying on the top of the mountain, he stretched out his arms to open a large mouth, releasing a waterfall like the Milky Way falling from the sky, with majestic momentum.

Li Bai once visited Shanzhong three times and visited the rooftop twice, leaving behind the most poetic poem "Sleepwalking in Tianmu and Saying Farewell", which is about the Tianmu Mountain next door (in today's Xinchang, Shaoxing) , the mention of "the rooftop is 48,000 feet long" seems to be a foreshadowing of "the desire to fall to the southeast", highlighting the majesty of Tianmu Mountain. However, in the Tang Dynasty, Tianmu Mountain and Tiantai Mountain both belonged to the jurisdiction of ancient Taizhou. Today, they belong to Shaoxing and Taizhou respectively. A public case was triggered between the two cities because of "a dream of a poet" - what did Li Bai dream about? where?

Dating back to the Tianbao period, Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) at that time governed six counties: Kuaiji, Shanyin, Zhuji, Yuyao, Yan, and Yongxing (Xiaoshan). Taizhou included Linhai and Shifeng. , Ninghai, Huangyan and Xiangshan counties. It was not until the Five Dynasties after the Tang Dynasty that Taiwan was divided and Xinchang County was established, which was under the jurisdiction of Yuezhou. The so-called "cutting Tai and dividing Shan" means that thirteen townships were separated from Shan County, and Tianmu, Wozhou and other places in the northwest of Tiantai were cut off to establish Xinchang County, which is today's Xinchang, Shaoxing.

In other words, when Shixian visited Tianmu, it did still belong to ancient Taizhou. Taibai probably traveled all over Tiantai and was nostalgic for it. And the scenery I dreamed about after returning home should also be the rooftop wonderland reflected in the mountains and woven together in my memory.

The Shaoxing people naturally sneered at this, but the Taizhou people were never convinced. But it is undeniable that the Tianmu, which "overwhelms the five mountains and covers the Chicheng", has been taken away. Even though the rooftop is still the brightest pearl on the road of Tang poetry in eastern Zhejiang, even though the cloud brocade and azaleas all over the mountain look like clouds, Sui plum blossoms, Tang Zhang and Song Bai witnessed the ups and downs of EMI, and ultimately lost their romance as poets and immortals.

2. Linhai, with no view of the sea

Go eastward from Linhai City in Taizhou, along the Lingjiang River, into the Jiaojiang River, and at the mouth of the Jiaojiang River, the outline of the coast becomes clear. It takes about an hour's drive. Hour. From this point of view, looking at the sea from Linhai is indeed a beautiful misunderstanding. The person who caused this misunderstanding was Sun Quan, the overlord of Soochow during the Three Kingdoms period.

Taizhou has always been associated with mountains and seas. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, King Yao of the East China Sea established the Dongou Kingdom (the capital is in today's Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province) and set up Huipu County, covering today's Taizhou, Wenzhou, and Lishui. Huipu County was incorporated into ancient Yinzhou during the Guangwu Zhongxing Period, and was reestablished as Zhang'an County in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

When Soochow arrived, the branch was established near the sea. On the one hand, according to "Taiping Huanyu Ji", it was because there was a "Linhai Mountain" in the north of the county, and the name of the mountain was taken from the "Linhai Mountain" that goes around the mountain. "Linhai River" (the ancient name of Lingjiang), this river is a tributary of Jiaojiang River and leads directly to the East China Sea; on the other hand, it is also because of Sun Quan's lifelong feelings about rivers and seas. He grew up in the east of the Yangtze River where the water network is crisscrossed. The foundation he laid during his life as a soldier also moved along the river. There were the battles of Chibi and Yiling before, and later Zhuge Zhi and others were sent to "float thousands of soldiers on the sea to seek Yizhou" (today's Taiwan). Even his palace was called "Linhai Palace".

So far, ancient Taizhou has been named "Linhai" and governed a county until the Tang Dynasty; and now, the name Linhai is still retained as the jurisdiction of Taizhou.

After the Song Dynasty moved south, the Liangzhe Road not only played the role of guarding the capital Lin'an, but also served as a source of wealth to support the country's operations. Linhai, as the administrative seat of Taizhou, has also achieved considerable development. There are many talented people here, and it is known as "Little Zou Lu". It has been the seat of Taizhou Prefecture for more than a thousand years from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.

Linhai cannot see the sea, but the people of Linhai have inherited the spirit of the Soochow Emperor who took the name of the sea. Not only does it have a wonderful terrain, but also a history of fighting against Japanese aggression, and a majestic " "Jiangnan Great Wall". In the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing, under the leadership of the anti-Japanese hero Qi Jiguang, Taizhou’s military and civilians worked together day and night to build this majestic city south of the Yangtze River with blood and sweat. It became the blueprint for the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty in the north and also became the Ming Dynasty’s naval defense force. , a strategic fortress that consolidates the country.

Different from the Great Wall in the north, this section of the city wall is close to the bustling city. Amidst the graceful sound of flower sellers in the south of the Yangtze River, a majestic pass suddenly rises, like a black dragon crawling between the mountains and rivers. Starting from Lan Rong Gate in the east and ending at Jingyue Gate in the west, if you look down from a high altitude, it will look like a heavenly being stretching out his arms, holding Beigu Mountain in your left hand, and exploring the Lingjiang River in your right hand. fundus.

But such a majestic city not only defended against foreign invaders, but also trapped Taizhou Port where boats and boats were built one after another and sails blocked the sun. After Zheng He's Seventh Voyage to the West, the Ming Dynasty implemented a strict maritime ban policy. Since the Tang Dynasty, the "throat" of waterway transportation has turned into a "sea fortress" that blocks maritime commercial exchanges. This move undoubtedly restricted Taizhou's economic development and cut off the tradition of merchants in this ancient city. The calm and peaceful atmosphere disappeared for a while, but it also injected a toughness into Taizhou, a Taizhou-style toughness that was incompatible with the stereotype of Jiangnan's gracefulness.

3. Taizhou-style toughness

In his article "For the Memory of Forgetfulness", Lu Xun once commented that Rou Shi (a native of Ninghai under the jurisdiction of Taizhou Prefecture in the old days) had "Taizhou-style toughness" "And "a bit pedantic." This "pedantic" is not pedantic. It probably means that Taizhou people have a perseverance in knowing that something is impossible. The praised hardness of the bones comes from the mountains, the sea, and the sages who walked between the mountains and the sea.

Taizhou has been famous for its mountains thousands of years ago. "People are like immortals when they are on the mountains." Therefore, Buddhism and Taoism flourish in the mountains. The Tiantai branch includes the Guoqing Temple, the ancestral hall of the Tiantai Sect, with numerous famous monks throughout the ages; Kuocang Mountain is one of the top ten Taoist caves, the "Chengde Yinxuan Cave", and has a deep connection with the poet Taibai. Taizhou lives in the fairy land of Buddhism, and naturally has a bit more pride that refuses to succumb to the vulgar and sycophant. It would rather watch the flowers and moon in the mountains than seek power and wealth in the human world. Apart from Roushi, there were also Fang Xiaoru and King Luo Bin who had great integrity in ancient times.

The previous one was born in Ninghai, Taizhou (now Ningbo, Zhejiang). In the early Ming Dynasty, King Zhu Di of Yan swore to "pacify Nan", the capital fell, and all the ministers saw the wind and surrendered one after another. However, because Fang Xiaoru refused to surrender and remained unyielding, he was brutally killed by King Yan and annihilated ten tribes.

However, Zhu Di could destroy his body, but he could not destroy the righteousness of this "reading seed". Instead, he perfected Fang Xiaoru's pride and set an example for future generations of Taizhou people.

Although the latter was not from Taizhou, he was demoted as "Linhai Prime Minister" because he wrote many letters to satirize the current dynasty. Within a few years, he wrote a piece of paper "Pleading against Wu Zhao" and bluntly stated that " A handful of soil is not yet dry, how can a six-foot lone man be supported?" He even poked at Empress Wu's backbone and asked: "Look at who is ruling the world today!" Taizhou-style toughness is reflected in the "Four Heroes of the Early Tang Dynasty". Under the exaggeration of literary talent, it deserves the words "striking and impactful".

If the mountains have forged the backbone of Taizhou people, then the sea has given them the vast feelings of family and country. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates caused chaos and invaded Taozhu, Qitou and other places on a large scale. Under the leadership of Qi Jiguang, Taizhou soldiers and civilians defeated the Japanese bandits in Longshan and pursued them all the way to Yanmen Ridge. Among them, some of the great men of Taizhou joined the famous "Qi Family Army" and followed the famous generals to defend the Japanese pirates in the south and drive the Tatars in the north, and made great achievements.

Throughout history, Taizhou seems to have never been conspicuous in the East Zhejiang region. It is neither like Hangzhou, the old capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, nor like Ningbo, a major seaport city. In the past 40 years, people from neighboring Wenzhou have traveled all over the world. In comparison, Taizhou has kept a low profile. Today's traffic conditions mean that mountains and seas can no longer easily restrain Taizhou people. The private economy accounts for 90% of the city's total GDP, which is enough to prove the activity and diligence of Taizhou people.

Although history has left many regrets for Taizhou, Taizhou people regard the mountains as their backbone and the sea as their arms. Their calm and strong spirit has added a touch of brightness to the beautiful Jiangnan water town.

Reference materials

1. Sun Chuo, "Ode to Tiantai Mountain"

2. Zhou Qi, "Large Theory of Tiantai Mountain Culture", Taizhou Academic, 2015

3. Xu Yuelong, "Tianmu Mountain Research", Zhejiang Social Sciences, Issue 4, 2017

4. "Xinchang County Toponymy Chronicles - A Research on the Dividing and Cutting Platform to Build Xinchang" "

5. Zhou Qi "The Crystallization of the Taoist Love between Li Bai and Tiantai Taoist Sima Chengzhen