Main tourism methods during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

Types of tourism in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

During the Wei and Jin dynasties, everyone from emperors and generals to Han scholars could find their own "Tao" in the mountains and rivers. In their view, mountains and rivers include the Confucian moral concept of "a benevolent person loves mountains and a wise man loves water", the Taoist moral concept of "retreating to mountains and forests, returning to nature, and taking care of oneself", and the Buddhist philosophy of "living in silence to practice, nothing more than prajna" Moral values ??have formed a variety of tourism forms and also have diverse tourism cultural characteristics.

1. Travel activities of emperors, generals and ministers

If you are looking for a travel enthusiast among the emperors of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Cao Cao must be the first. His footprints are almost all over the country. Although most of the time he has combat missions, when facing great rivers and mountains, he is actually a tourist deep in his heart. When he faced the sea, he would write the poem "Landing the Jieshi in the east to see the sea", and he would sigh on the warship in Chibi, "I am an old man, but I am ambitious for thousands of miles."

Cao Cao, who faces Jieshi to the east

The Southern Qi Emperor Xiao Baojuan was also a travel enthusiast, but his travel was a waste of people and money. Because every time he travels, he always drives away the people along the way, hangs curtains all the way, and sends heavy troops to guard, "everywhere in the east, west, north, and south, people are driven away." Everywhere he goes, he likes to take his beloved Concubine Pan with him in a huge carriage. Even if it is windy and snowy, the carriage is as warm as spring. Every time he travels, he always leaves countless people with their homes broken and their lives destroyed. It’s okay not to do this kind of imperial travel.

2. Tourism activities of religious people

The Wei and Jin Dynasties were one of the periods when Buddhism spread fastest in China. In ancient times, the spread of religion was mainly based on monks preaching scriptures. While the monks are preaching scriptures, it is also a religious tourism activity. Kumarajiva, a famous eminent monk in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, came to Chang'an from the Western Regions and relied on his superb Buddhist practice to become the main force in spreading Buddhism. During his twelve years in China, he traveled throughout China's mountains and rivers, cleverly combining the Buddhist teachings of the Western Regions with Chinese culture. The footprints of his travels were the footprints of the spread of Buddhism. He was also the leader of religious tourism at that time, leading countless monks of imitation.

The Transmission of Kumarajiva

There are also some outstanding travelers in Taoism. Since Taoism believes in immortality and the existence of immortals, many Taoist believers go to famous mountains and rivers in person to look for immortals. Ge Hong, who wrote "Baopuzi", is such an outstanding traveler. He traveled throughout the south of the Yangtze River throughout his life, taking it as his duty to practice medicine, treat diseases, and collect folklore. While traveling, he practiced Taoism and practiced medicine. Combining what he saw along the way, he wrote "Baopuzi", a work of profound significance to Taoism. He left his footprints in many places across the country and became the origin of many legends. Many places have become tourist hotspots today.

3. Tourism with a special mission

The Wei and Jin Dynasties were a period of rapid development of culture and science and technology, which also gave rise to the need to examine nature, explore natural laws, and better understand nature. Inspection-type tourism for the purpose of serving human beings. The famous geographer Li Daoyuan is one of the outstanding representatives.

Li Daoyuan, who investigated the water system

Li Daoyuan was born in a family of officials and loved landscapes since childhood. He once accompanied Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty on a tour and found that many geographical records at that time were inconsistent with reality, so he came up with the idea of ????personally investigating and correcting the errors. At his own expense, he traveled to various parts of the country to conduct research on mountains, rivers, and shopping attractions, and wrote "Bu Jing Zhu", which recorded the sources, tributaries, and areas through which more than a thousand rivers flowed, as well as the customs, customs, and landforms along the cliffs. It is a great work of geography and a very detailed travelogue. It is the first masterpiece of later landscape travel notes by literati.

4. Natural scenery leisure travel

In order to stay away from politics and find spiritual support, many literati in the Wei and Jin Dynasties avoided disasters by escaping reality and focusing on mountains and rivers. "Book of Jin" records Ruan Ji's experience of "originally having the ambition to help the world, but there are many stories in the world, and there are few celebrities who are complete, so they are not involved in world affairs", so Ruan Ji "climbs mountains and rivers, and forgets to return after a long time." There were many scholars who had the same thoughts and experiences as him. A large number of scholars, including Tao Yuanming, Liu Ling, and Xiang Xiu, all wanted to find the Tao of nature deep in the quiet valleys of the mountains and appreciate the overlap of spirit and Tao in the mountains and rivers. This was also the most popular way of traveling at that time.

Lantinghui

The Eastern Jin Dynasty was located in the south of the Yangtze River. After the development of the south of the Yangtze River, the landscape became more beautiful and more suitable for literati to visit. The Orchid Pavilion gathering headed by Wang Xizhi can be regarded as a regular tourist project among the gentry. The Orchid Pavilion they selected is a beautiful place with "high mountains, lush forests and bamboos, surrounded by clear streams and rapids", so in the eyes of Wang Xizhi and others , here "so it is a joy to travel with your eyes and entertain your mind, as well as to have audio-visual entertainment."

5. Tourism for Ordinary People

Tourism during the Wei and Jin Dynasties mainly occurred among upper-class groups, but ordinary people also had travel needs. Although they are tied to the land and do not have the economic foundation for long-distance travel, the wisdom of the masses is infinite. They will take advantage of all available opportunities to get close to nature and relax their body and mind. Although they can only carry out short-distance travel in a small area, it can be regarded as participating in the natural landscape, which is also a kind of progress of the times.

Women traveling on March 3rd

What ordinary people look forward to most are some special festivals. During these festivals, princes and nobles will have fun with the people and gather together in some specific places. Some blessing activities are held, which are carnivals for ordinary people. For example, according to the "Book of Jin", on the third day of March every year, "from the ministers to the common people, they all go to the Luo River." Regardless of their status, everyone dances and washes in the river together to ward off disasters and evil spirits. This kind of event is a rare opportunity for ordinary people to relax. Many young people from ordinary families "play in the meanders of the river, stretch their hands, or wash their bare feet." They also play and play by the river, and drink their own drinks by the river. Drinks and enjoy rare leisure time.