How many commendable "secrets" are hidden in Pingliang, an "unknown city"?

Pingliang, the most dangerous "skinny" in Gansu, is located at the junction of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia provinces.

It is the center of the geographical triangle of Lanzhou and Baiyin, an important transit point of the second passage of the Eurasian Continental Bridge, and was once the eastern fortress of the ancient Silk Road.

Like countless unknown cities in China, she is low-key but super meaningful.

Pingliang passed through the Millennium and witnessed the germination of Chinese civilization, from toddler to hundred flowers. Han and Xiongnu, Tang and Tubo, Song and Xixia ... Pingliang has seen too many collisions and responses.

Pingliang is not as obvious as Xi 'an and Dunhuang, but it hides hundreds of thousands of years of history in countless "small landscapes". In the valley of the Loess Plateau, you can meet people and meet gods.

1. Guanzhong Gateway, War and Peace

In Pingliang go on road trip, it is going up and down between the high and low places of the plateau. For hundreds of millions of years, due to the long-term cutting of Jinghe River system and Weihe River system and serious soil erosion, many geomorphological wonders such as ditches, beams, headlands and valleys have formed here on the Loess Plateau.

China's childhood stories are among these wonders.

The history of the Loess Plateau is much longer than the history of human activities, and the farthest end of human history is within reach in Pingliang.

600 thousand years ago, there were traces of human existence here. The skull of "Jingchuan Man" discovered in 1970s is 30,000-50,000 years ago, which is the same as the famous Neanderthals.

A long-standing gift from the Loess Plateau. The chilly winter wind, wrapped in the yellow sand in the northwest, slammed into the Liupan Mountain Range that stretched here, stagnated and deposited layer by layer, reaching a depth of 100 meters. At this time, China ancestors did not know what copper and iron were, and the loess layer formed by wind was loose and delicate, which was a real gift in their eyes. In addition, the extremely thick soil layer eliminates the worry about the loss of soil fertilizer, and it is logical that the embryonic form of civilization was born here.

Pingliang Lingtai County can be said to be the chief "witness" of Pingliang's long history. In those days, Lingtai was the capital of the ancient secret kingdom and a thorn in Zhou Wenwang's side. War broke out inevitably. After the capture of this place, Zhou Wenwang built a platform here to worship heaven, hence the name Lingtai. The back of history is out of reach, but countless bronzes unearthed here reveal to the world the glory left by time.

In the story of Pingliang, which is located in the traffic hub since ancient times, war is an indispensable protagonist. Even the name "Pingliang" originated from the war. During the Sixteen Kingdoms Period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Fu Jian (that is, Fu Jian, who successfully unified the north, but lost to Xie 'an in the battle of Feishui) destroyed the former cool, and took the meaning of "pacifying the cool country" to set up Pingliang County, which governed most areas of Kongtong District and Huating.

One of them, Jingchuan, has been the gateway of Guanzhong since ancient times and is called "the first city in West Chang 'an". Gu Zuyu, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, commented on Jingzhou (formerly known as Jingchuan) in Notes on Reading History and Geography: "It is also a system of blocking rivers and longkou outside, with a cool chin, supplemented by Wei Ji, and stable in Guanzhong. "

Historically, the regime from the desert grassland often crossed Pingliang in Ningxia and advanced to Guanzhong on the way south. Numerous threats from northwest tribes have also led to numerous counterattacks. When the sword meets the soldier, Zhou Muwang crusades against Xirong, and the romantic story of meeting the Queen Mother of the West in Jingchuan can also be born.

Because of this tradition, Pingliang is of course famous in history: "Flying General" Li Guang, Huang Fusong who suppressed the Yellow turban insurrectionary uprising, Wu Jun, Wu Lin and Liu Yong who resisted gold ... Perhaps it is because of that kind of blood that Kongtong Wushu was born here, inspiring countless Pingliang people to keep fit and defend their country.

In addition to leaving a name of Pingliang, the road to war also left a cultural symbol-Zuo Gong Liu, a willow planted on the new Long March in Shaanxi and Gansu when Zuo was the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu and the Western Expedition. Finally, on the westbound road where the yellow sand flies, a spectacle of "green for thousands of miles" was formed beyond the Great Wall. Today, in Liu Hu Park in Pingliang, you can see hundreds of Zuogong willows planted that year.

2. Pingliang people: My family lives in the Loess Plateau.

The reason why Pingliang people are entangled in the Loess Plateau is nothing more than that it used to be both the core and the border of civilization. Due to the talent of the Loess Plateau, Pingliang people have never lost at the starting line. However, earlier human activities mean longer consumption. Endless logging, reclamation and chaos are eroding the Loess Plateau all the time. From time to time, the Loess Plateau once again faces Pingliang people with a scarce attitude.

Pingliang people like to eat wheat, which fully embodies their cultural gene of facing the loess and facing the sky. Exactly the same spaghetti. On the dining table of Pingliang people, pasta is by no means a simple noodle. Lingtai Dragon Noodle, Lingtai Furnace Toothed Steamed Bread, Nianpi, Chongxin Crispy Box, Noodle Noodle ... are all enough to tempt and kill the gluttony in the stomach of pasta lovers.

For a long time, Pingliang's dietary customs are mainly based on food, and there is not much adjustment of meat, eggs and vegetables, which has created Pingliang people's taste of being sour and spicy. For a long time, seasoning to improve the richness of recipes is the most astute response of China people to life.

However, the authentic Pingliang flavor can only be found in a bowl of mutton buns. Mutton is the favorite of nomadic people. Choose it to match crispy bread outside and mysterious bread inside. Symbols of two civilizations, in this way, in the bowl, were scalded by steaming soup to create a harmonious tacit understanding.

Pingliang people also love Zhuanglang to warm the pot, which is rich, frugal and delicious. The most authentic warm pot takes the earthen casserole of the farmer as the container, and meatballs, ribs and earthen pork provide the most direct satisfaction and impact. The bottom side dishes, radish slices, bean sprouts, potato powder and old tofu turn greasy into invisible. All kinds of ingredients are soaked in chicken soup, and the charcoal fire is slow. The overflowing aroma is enough to make people willing to be an ordinary person who eats meat and drinks.

China is the most secular country, where food, clothing, housing and transportation, laughter and scolding are always the same theme. Pingliang people failed to avoid customs. For thousands of years, farming and nomadism collided and blended, and Pingliang people lived endlessly in this environment.

3. Wonderland Buddhism on the Loess Plateau

Pingliang people, who are secular to the extreme, have the joy and extroversion of northwest people in their bones, which is close to excitement. The singing of shadow play is loud and exciting, and it takes a certain amount of energy to penetrate the eardrum and sing a legend about the present and the present, as if to break the bondage of time and space to emotion.

There is another joke. Laugh and lose face, say and sing the most serious and simple truth in the most casual way. Pingliang people have their own understanding of life and are willing to be alert in exaggeration.

Most of these folk operas are entrusted with China people's beautiful longing for secular life, but there are always some disappointments in reality. These fetters often drive people to seek another spiritual sustenance. For China people, being born is the second good thing after they can't stand secular life.

Although Pingliang is close to the bustling Guanzhong, it is still a good place for people who avoid the world. The reason lies in the famous Taoist mountain Kongtong Mountain. Kongtong Mountain is a typical Danxia landform, with peculiar ups and downs. The mountain is hidden in green vegetation all day long, and there are clouds from time to time.

Pingliang is a fertile ground for myths and legends. According to legend, the Yellow Emperor invited 1200-year-old people to visit Kongtong Mountain. According to legend, Hua Xushi stepped on huge footprints and gave birth to Fuxi. A civilized childhood, just like a person's childhood, always has some fantastic ideas. But it also confirms that Pingliang in ancient times flourished early because of the germination of civilization.

Since the ancient legend of Huangdi's question came into being, Qin Huang and Wu Han have come here one after another to find traces of immortality. This group of people gathered together to practice Buddhism, built Taoist temples on the mountains, and created a beautiful Gu Zhuo. At first glance, they seem to grow on the mountain by themselves. In fact, the relative height of Kongtong Mountain is less than 700 meters, which is really "the mountain is not high, and there are immortals that make it famous".

In addition to the "native" Taoism, Pingliang also has "outsider" Buddhism.

Kongtong Mountain is famous for its famous Taoist mountains and Buddhist temples. However, it is breathtaking that there are Buddhist grottoes stretching for hundreds of miles on both sides of the Jinghe River. Its amazing scale and simple and solemn style are enough to shock everyone who is in awe of history.

Pingliang is an important node of Jinghe River Basin, and Jingchuan County is the town with the closest relationship between Pingliang and Jinghe River, so the grottoes here are the most dense. There are 822 grottoes, big and small, scattered on the rocks on both sides of Jinghe River like the Milky Way, which proves that Buddha's light shines here is not just an adjective.

Wang Mu Palace Grottoes at the foot of Huishan Mountain in the west of Jingchuan County are named after the Queen Mother, but it is one of the earliest Buddhist grottoes in Longdong. The stubborn stone has been transformed into a statue of Zhuang Yan Bao of Buddha and Bodhisattva bit by bit under the painstaking efforts of skilled craftsmen. The Central Tower Grottoes are masterpieces of carving art, and they also witness Pingliang people's persistence in faith.

The grottoes in Jinghe River basin have the style structure of Hexi Grottoes, and the artistic track of the transition from the early to the late period of Yungang Grottoes can also be seen. However, Pingliang people do not blindly follow and imitate grottoes, they have their own unique views. The South Cave Temple is the best example.

South Cave Temple was dug in the Northern Wei Dynasty, which is a rare grotto with the same cave in seven buddha. In addition, according to experts' research, the South Cave Temple started from the relief at the top of the cave and carved down little by little. Grottoes and stone statues are natural, as if craftsmen are not carving, but just gently brushing away the soil on the stone statues to make them see the light of day again.

It seems that the charm of Jinchuan Grottoes should be found in those empty caves. There was a dogma in early Buddhism that no statues should be erected. Of the more than 800 caves in Jingchuan, only 35 have statues. Apart from weathering and erosion, other empty caves are more places where monks practice penance. Perhaps, on the contrary, its emptiness and coldness can better express the piety and vicissitudes here.

I have to say that this "unknown" city has an unspeakable attraction. Walking in Pingliang, you will find that the city has a leisurely attitude of "accustomed to the autumn moon and spring breeze". Historic sites all over the city are the best footnotes of the city's long history.

Standing on the Kongtong Mountain, looking around, history has touched every inch of land here with a gentle gesture of compassion and never changed.

refer to

1 Selected Historical Stories of Wangmeng Pingliang

2 Liu Wanmin's History of Pingliang

3 chinese national geography, p. 664&; 692 issue