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This is an ideal country.

It is also a Jianghu field.

Mr. Jin Yong once said: "I wrote Dali when I was not in Dali." I was probably from Dali in my last life. " Indeed, Dali has appeared many times in the Wulin rivers and lakes written by Jin Yong. For example, Duan Dali, which appeared in "Tian Long Ba Bu", has a very special name:

Jianhu Lake, a wetland on the outskirts of Jianchuan County in northern Dali Prefecture, is the home of purple waterfowl known as "the most beautiful waterfowl in the world". Wuliangshan, at the southern tip of Nanjian County, Dali Prefecture, is a rolling hill with one of the earliest winter cherry blossoms planted in Chinese mainland.

In this way, the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in the real world was wrapped in a place name with martial arts temperament.

The "romance" here has never been just a literary style and a little freshness. Dali, whether it is topography, human history, or food folklore handed down from generation to generation, has a little martial arts temperament, or tough atmosphere, or mysterious. It is a river and lake where heroes from all sides compete with each other.

Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, which governs western Yunnan, is one of the two prefecture-level administrative regions where Yunnan is not bordered by other provinces and foreign countries.

The skeleton of mountains and rivers

In Dali, the ruins of Laojun Mountain-Cangshan Mountain-Ailao Mountain extend southward from Yunling Mountain, and the Hengduan Mountain area in northwest Yunnan continues to transition to Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the middle and east. Dali is like a condensed version of Yunnan Province: the north-south span is less than 300 kilometers, and the altitude of Dali Prefecture has also dropped from 4,295 meters of snow-capped mountains to 730 meters of Nujiang River.

The Nujiang River flows briefly from the edge of Yunlong County in the westernmost part of Dali Prefecture, thus contributing the lowest elevation to the whole state. Lancang River meanders south in the depths of Yunlong, Yongping and Nanjian Mountain, and also accepts two important tributaries, Minjiang River and Heihuijiang River.

Jinsha River, another protagonist of "Three Parallel Rivers", took a unique road in Dali: at the "First Bay of the Yangtze River" in Shigu, Lijiang, she turned north, but after flowing through Tiger Leaping Gorge and bypassing Yulong Snow Mountain, she went south-until the junction of Yongsheng, Lijiang and Heqing in Dali, Jinsha River suddenly made a 90-degree turn to the left and rushed to the East China Sea without looking back.

Another river with a far-reaching influence on Southeast Asia, the Red River (called Yuanjiang in China), also flows into Huiyuan in Weishan County. Not far from Dali Prefecture, Yuanjiang rushes out of Yuanjiang wide valley in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, which is another important physical and geographical dividing line in Yunnan.

The subject of "romance"

Famous mountains and great rivers have built a magnificent stage for Dali. Under this shining spotlight, Dali, which monopolizes C, is dazzling. Dali's Romantic Love praises Dali City between Cangshan and Erhai. Behind this poetic rhetoric, Dali's geographical code is hidden.

The wind is the "Xiaguan wind". Along the Xi 'er River, the canyon rushed out at the junction of Cangshan Mountain and Ailao Mountain, and a steady southwest wind blew in. At the bottom of this wind corridor is a natural passage to India and Myanmar. Until today, Xiaguan in the southwest corner of Erhai Lake is still a pivotal transportation hub in Yunnan, and the Dali prefecture government and Dali city are also here.

The flower is "Shangguan Flower". There are different opinions about it: according to the description in Xu Xiake's travel notes, it is probably a kind of Manglietia; "Eight Branches of the Dragon" added the side notes of "eighteen bachelors" and "catching beauty face". More people interpret it as the custom of "every household raises flowers", and Dali's abundant sunshine is too suitable for raising flowers.

Snow is "Cangshan Snow". The latitude of Dali is similar to that of Guilin and Fuzhou, and snowfall can only be preserved at a very high altitude. It happens that Cangshan (Diancangshan) has an average elevation of 3500 meters. Among the 19 peaks from north to south, the main peak, Malong Peak, is as high as 4 1.22 meters. Now Cangshan snow can only be seen in winter, but the mountain is still a natural barrier and a rare ecological treasure house in Dali.

The moon is "Erhai Moon". The eighteen valleys are sandwiched between the nineteen peaks of Cangshan Mountain. The clear mountain springs and Mimao River jointly irrigate Erhai Lake, the second largest plateau freshwater lake in Yunnan, and cultivate rich aquatic resources for Dali. On the west bank of Erhai Lake, the gentle slope at the eastern foot of Cangshan Mountain also contains open cultivated land resources, which makes the surrounding area of Erhai Lake a place where people live together.

The ancient city of Dali, namely Dali Town, is located on the fertile soil at the east foot of Cangshan Mountain and the west bank of Erhai Lake. The Jianghu stage has been paved, and the story of Dali Jianghu begins!

The collection school, which has little contact with the Wulin of the Central Plains, and the fantastic six-pulse Excalibur and one-yang finger are just the imaginative creations of martial arts novelists. But in Dali, where the mountains and rivers are beautiful and the ancient roads run through, the real history is already legendary!

"Kunming Pool" Era

Haimenkou Site in Jianchuan County gave birth to the earliest bronze civilization in Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Erhai Lake area, Lu 'e Mountain site on the east bank and Jingqu site on the west bank ... also spread the life scenes of ancestors' farming and fishing thousands of years ago for future generations.

Zhang Qian, the prince of Wang Bo who returned from his mission to the Western Regions, told the emperor that he saw Sichuan-made Shubu and Zhu Qiong in summer, which made the emperor interested in the southwest frontier. Since BC 109, the Dahan Empire has launched tens of thousands of Bashu soldiers, defeated many tribes in Yunnan, and incorporated most of Yunnan into the territory of Yizhou County of the Han Empire.

In this ancient official history, there are two romantic episodes. According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty heard of "colorful Yunnan scenery" and sent envoys, and finally caught up with the colorful clouds of Yunnan Post in Xiangyun County today, hence the name "Yunnan".

Erhai Lake was called Kunming Pool in ancient times. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty dug an artificial lake in the southwest suburb of Chang 'an and put it in the name of Kunming Pool. 1800 years later, Emperor Qianlong followed the old example of Hanwu and renamed Jinhai Lake in the Summer Palace in Beijing as Kunming Lake-all these cultural landscapes originated from Erhai Lake.

Erhai Lake, or Kunming Pool, has made a good start for this grand event in Dali.

Yunnan central era

Although it has long been incorporated into the county system, Dali and the Central Plains have maintained a relationship similar to the rule of Jimi for a long time. In the early Tang Dynasty, Nanzhao Kingdom made its fortune in Weishan County. After the vigorous governance of four generations of kings, in 738 AD, six imperial edicts were unified and became the actual ruler of Dali.

Nanzhao was not only under the control of the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, but also pushed its territory southward to Annan (now northern Vietnam) in its heyday. The capital city Yangju (now the ancient city of Dali) is also the ruling center of Yunnan. Nanzhao also actively developed friendly relations with the Tang Dynasty. "The First Monument in Yunnan" and "Nanzhao Dehua Monument" recorded the wish of reconciliation with the Tang Dynasty, and "international students" were sent to Chengdu in batches to learn Chinese style.

In 937, Yunnan entered the era of Dali rule. Dali not only continued to accept the baptism of Confucian culture, but also respected Buddhism from top to bottom. Emperor Duan became a monk and was even written into martial arts novels. Located at the intersection of Han Buddhism, Southern Buddhism Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, Dali not only has these three schools, but also exhibits Ali Buddhism with local characteristics under the profound influence of Tantric Buddhism. Narrow waist Guanyin is the representative icon of this school, and Dapeng Golden Winged Bird is also regarded as the patron saint.

Today, this warm picture depicting the Buddha statue of Li in Dali is treasured in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which is comparable to the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. However, in all parts of Dali, the white pagoda with dense eaves is also showing the elegance of "Miaoxiang Buddha Country" to future generations.

Tea-horse ancient road era

In A.D. 1253, Dali fell under the iron hoof of Mongolian army. The Yuan Dynasty established Yunnan as a province, and its ruling center moved eastward to Kunming. Since then, Dali has bid farewell to the status of "the oldest city in Yunnan", but its historical inertia and geographical advantages make it still a well-deserved "first city in western Yunnan".

Lingguan Road and Wuchi Road of the Southern Silk Road meet in Dali, and then merge into Bonan Road to continue westward. Dali is an important trade transit point for youyou caravan walking on the ancient tea-horse road and salt-horse road. When Xu Xiake visited Dali in the late Ming Dynasty, he was pleasantly surprised to find that "there are things in thirteen provinces and barbarians in central Yunnan" in March Street.

Dali story in the late Qing Dynasty is more international. 1904 Frenchman Tian Deneng came to Zhukula village in Binchuan county to preach and planted the earliest coffee tree in China. Xizhou merchants created Xiaguan Tuocha, "Sichuan sells Yunnan tea and Myanmar sells Sichuan silk", and stepped onto the peak of Yunnan-Nanyang trade road step by step. During World War II, Yunnan-Myanmar Highway and Hump Route were able to transfuse blood for the country, and Dali, the only place to pass, was an extremely important blood pump.

In Yunnan, all roads lead to Dali, and these roads are the "meridians" of Dali. "Children are old in rivers and lakes", a wave of passers-by in time, left countless rumors in Dali where the meridians were opened.

In Jin Yong's novels, the Dali royal family has four courtiers, namely "fisherman, ploughing the fields". These four ancient occupations just condense the beauty of traditional oriental life. Today, in Dali, "fishing firewood" is almost interrupted due to ecological protection and other policies, and the pastoral village of "farming and reading" still depicts ink paintings between Cangshan and Erhai.

The most striking thing is the big green trees standing at the entrance to the village. Most of them are Ficus altissima, and the old people regard it as a feng shui tree. The growth of branches and leaves indicates the prosperity and future direction of the village.

Street market is almost another standard configuration of Dali Village. In some small villages, the street market is simply a flat land next to the intersection, while in other villages, there is a public vegetable washing pool, which attracts Cangshan stream: everyone just picks vegetables from the ground and puts them on the stall as soon as they are washed.

Bai traditional houses with white walls and gray edges are embedded in green fields, not to mention how fresh and refined they are. Their basic structure is a quadrangle surrounded by "three squares and one illuminated wall", and the most special one is a four-character inscription book with a large illuminated wall. Some are family precepts such as "farming and reading", some are landscape words such as "Jade and Silver Cang", some are historical allusions such as "Colorful Yunnan", and some are related to the surname of the host family. For example, Li Bai calls himself a layman of violets, and the Li family can proudly write "Violet Legacy" on the wall. ...

Relying on mountains to eat, relying on water to eat, Dali's food is also rivers and lakes.

Rhododendrons and wild mushrooms on Cangshan Mountain can only be eaten in the right season; Crucian carp shell fish and sour and hot fish cooked by sour papaya can be tasted all year round; Raw skin is a semi-cooked pig skin cut directly from the "roast pig", which has a rough ridge beauty between eating and drinking; Plum soaking in wine gently eased the rush of rice wine, and the sweet plum flavor was as intoxicating as "romantic love".

However, the most Jianghu-flavored local food in Dali is milk fans: there is a saying that this dried cheese product comes from the grassland army that attacked Dali in the south!

On top of the worldly rivers and lakes full of worldly wisdom and fireworks, there is also the "immortal rivers and lakes" in Dali. Bai people have a unique belief in the Lord, that is, each village has its own main temple, which worships the patron saint of its own village.

Our master comes from a variety of backgrounds, some are folk heroes, some are emperors and princes, some are from Buddhist gods such as Guanyin Bodhisattva or the Great Dark God, and some can even be stones.

Interestingly, these gods also have secular desires. They can be ambiguous, or they can't communicate because of their holidays. This is probably the love-hate relationship in Jianghu.

Although it is only an underdeveloped town, Dali has always been the first choice for people in western Yunnan to go out to work or buy a house, and its rivers and lakes are also expanding rapidly outside Yunnan.

Hippies in Europe and America noticed the warm climate and friendly aborigines in Dali. They not only turned Huguo Road named to commemorate the "national protection movement" into a foreigner street, but also made Dali people the first group in Yunnan to come into contact with authentic western food after the reform and opening up.

In the first 65,438+00 years of the 20th century, Dali, with its free breath, became synonymous with "poetry and distance" in the hearts of many young people. However, with the development of tourism, people's roads have become more and more colorful.

Just as rivers and lakes have never been utopias, the trend of commercialization can't hide the unique charm of Cangshan Erhai Lake, and new immigrants and sojourners coming to Dali are still in an endless stream. In addition to the common identities such as freelancer, artist, musician and barista, in recent years, the phenomenon of short-term residence in Dali has also risen.

For the "old Dali" who has lived for many years, moving to the villages (or towns) around the ancient city is also a way for them to regain their past Dali feeling.

Today's Dali is still a Jianghu and an ideal country for many people. Various homestays in santorini or Tuscany or new Chinese style, new farms with organic life or vegetarian experience, and various creative markets ... Although chivalrous Dali has gradually become as "small and fresh" as quiet years, in the famous mountain and sea city Dali, rivers and lakes only exist in another form, and rivers and lakes are endless!

-End-

Wentuanshu

Edit | ZZZ

Photo editor | Tao

Map editor | Wu Pan

Photo Seal | Yang Mao

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