Qiu Deng's essay on hanging drums in Yunxi

My wife and cousin, because our son worked in Yunxi and moved to Yunxi County, invited the old couple to visit her many times. The day after the National Day Golden Week, I finally got a chance. The luxury bus crashed my old couple into Yunxi County. After settling down, I wanted to go to Liuzhou, an ancient town in Shang Jin, but my nephew said the road was bad and the car was uncomfortable. The next day, my cousin took us to the south of the city to see the hanging drum view. It was a cloudy day, reflecting the sunny side of the host's hospitality. Looking out of the street, you can see the hanging drum view hidden in pine, cypress and bamboo, embedded under a piece of red stone, and red columns and yellow tiles dotted in thick green, which is particularly eye-catching.

Winding up the back slope of a village yard, the slope is covered with vines, which are natural forest trees, and the purple fruit of Tribulus terrestris sets off the swaying lavender of wild chrysanthemum; The uphill steps led by the local government's fund-raising are arranged neatly and smoothly, and the artificially planted pines and cypresses on both sides of the road are lush and fresh; From time to time, there are three or two tourists going up and down, and the mountain wind they carry is wrapped in the smell of earth and the incense brought out from the field of vision. In less than half an hour, I have climbed to the top of the mountain, and a big Chinese character "Dao" carved on the rock wall suddenly came into view. This can not help but remind people of the past.

China's "Tao" is mysterious and unclear. Although many people claim that China's philosophy is Taoism, there are many interpretations such as Taoism, Taoism, Taoism, intangible Taoism and nature. The explanation is still at a loss. Fortunately, I have learned the knowledge of folk literature and can tell an ugly story from folk stories. For example, in a story, some people say that ants are also a life, and they are not allowed to kill-this is a Buddhist story that pays attention to cultivating people's afterlife. The same ant, if it stung someone, was told to kill the ant quickly and decisively-this is the story of Taoism. The former advocates passive response to the world, while the accumulation of goodness and virtue seems to be healthy; The latter faces life squarely, strives for progress, monster hunt, punishes evil and promotes good, and pays attention to happiness in this life, no matter what the next life is. Everyone has his own interests while respecting Buddhism and Taoism. I value the cultivation of Buddhist spiritual civilization, and I also value that Taoism faces reality and actively faces the realistic spirit of life.

Compared with the scale of hanging drum view restored in 2005, it maintains the original specifications, with a small area and few houses, but it is a bit like the format of Nanyan Palace in Wudang Mountain. It shouldn't just be that the old ones are not as old as before, and the beams and columns are all cast in cement-it has greatly damaged the appetite of ancient times. There are statues of Wudang founder, Nanhai Guanyin, Manjusri Bodhisattva, Water Mars Army, Qinglong White Tiger, Medicine King and God of Wealth. I don't know if the Taoist priests here are not good at it, or if the local government doesn't know the scriptures. It is obviously a bit neither fish nor fowl to let Buddhist and Taoist figures live together. How's it going? Buddha?

However, watching is also a kind of enjoyment. The original intention of the local government to build this landscape is to open up a place for people in the county to play and relax. In other words, the mountain is not high and the fairy is famous. Without the overall situation, there can be gods. Unfortunately, the level of the newly built statue of the man of God is far from the image of the old man of God. The face of the old man of god looks dignified and kind, while the face of the new man of god looks sharp and perverse-there is a problem with the artistic level of the statue.

Regarding the origin of the concept of hanging drums, a Taoist named Cheng in Shangluo, Shaanxi told a complete legend: It is said that a long time ago, the ground in Yunxi County was a very large and deep lake, and the local people lived a life of fishing and firewood, which was very comfortable. However, the good times did not last long. Woodmen on the hillside near the lake are often sucked into the lake by the whirlwind rolled up in the lake and drowned. Those dozens of fishing boats are often overturned by shady and windy things, and fishermen and fish are thrown into the bottom of the lake. The common people don't know why, but the local land god knows that there is an old crab at the bottom of the lake, which has become a demon and specializes in doing harmful things.

Although the land god has little ability, according to his terms of reference, he has the responsibility and obligation to safeguard the lives and property of local people. He ran to the sky and told the Jade Emperor about the evil of the crab essence. The Jade Emperor sent a heavenly soldier in time to punish the crab essence. It's ridiculous that before the heavenly soldiers could use force, the crab essence was only scared to death by the drums that urged the array. The heavenly soldier who played drums was about to return to heaven, but a stone from the goddess of mending heaven flew in and broke the rope (the ticket also said that the queen was far-fetched). The drum slammed on the top of the mountain and was about to roll down the mountain, but it was supported by the filling stone-it stayed there and became a hanging drum mountain, which looked like a big drum.

Besides, the crab essence killed by Tiangu still hurts people when it dies. The crab turns black and stinks to the bottom of the lake, causing plague, and the dead are as easy as falling trees. This matter was known by the ancestors of Wudang who passed by here. He told the local land that you should immediately bring dreams to the people here tonight, and said that you should scoop some cold water under the ancient drum to stop the epidemic of the plague. The local people got up the next morning and complained that they had the same dream. As soon as they got together, they all ran to the ancient rock wall to scoop water to drink. Once they drink it, all diseases will be eliminated!

Later, the people realized that it was the ancestors who appeared to cure diseases. In order to thank the grandfather for his kindness, he proposed to build a palace view where the sacred water was taken from the hanging drum rock wall, and named it hanging drum view under the hanging drum rock wall. At first, the temple was dedicated only to the founder of Wudang, and then other immortals were gradually added. Guan Gong built a dry lake, and the bottom of the lake became fertile land. However, the crab bone is not rotten, and it still lies under the hanging drum mountain, forming a crab-shaped landform. Two eyes and eight claws also extend to Yunxi county, and floods and droughts are brewing from time to time. Fortunately, not many people walk like crabs.

On the mountain road between Hanguguan and Kannonji, there is a monument of public morality, which was erected in Qianlong for fifty years, proving the ancient concept. Unfortunately, the palace is not big and the view is not big. Just have a cigarette and it's over. When I go down the mountain in autumn, I don't understand what Tao is for a while. What is more worth tasting is the profound folk culture. Many famous temples such as Wudang Mountain. And the influence of that name is also supported by folk stories and legends.