Shanxi Travel Notes (4) Yanmen Pass

Songs of the Hu people in Yanmen

Tang Dynasty: Cui Hao

Gaoshandai County is adjacent to Yan in the east, and the Hu people in Yanmen are nearby.

Liberate the Hu Ying to chase the birds, and hunt the Akita on behalf of the horse.

The wildfires on the mountain tops are burning in the cold, and the isolated peaks are wet and smokey in the rain.

Hearing that there is no fighting in western Liaoning, he often sleeps drunkenly in restaurants.

I start my travelogue of Yanmen Pass by Cui Hao, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty. The meaning of the title is very obvious. As an ancient border fortress, Yanmen Pass has long lost its military significance. , inside and outside the customs, good-neighborly unity, national harmony, "able to hunt Qiutian on behalf of horses", "always drunk and sleeping in restaurants", a peaceful and prosperous scene.

Yanmen Pass is located on the Gouzhu ridge in the north of the ancient city of Dai County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province. It controls the Central Plains in the south and the desert plains in the north. It is a grand military defense project in ancient China. It is also a treasure of China's Great Wall culture and pass culture. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" says, "Yanmen Mountain is where geese fly out", hence the name; at the same time, it also explains the dangers of breaking through the pass. Legend has it that every spring, geese from the south fly north, carrying reed leaves in their mouths, flying to Yanmen and circling for a long time, until the leaves fall before they can pass the pass. There is a trend of "one man can guard the pass, and ten thousand men cannot open it".

"There are nine fortresses in the world, and Yanmen is the first." First, during the Warring States Period, Li Mu, the famous general of the Zhao State, defeated more than 100,000 Xiongnu cavalry in the Yanmen area, so that "for more than ten years after that, the Xiongnu did not dare to invade Zhao." Later, when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came, the famous generals Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Li Guang of the Han Dynasty galloped inside and outside the Yanmen Ancient Fortress, fought bloody battles, and defeated the Xiongnu. Then in the Song Dynasty, Yang Liulang led troops to fight against the Liao (Khitan) people in Sanguan. A loyal family of Yang family members spilled their blood on the border. In modern times, the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army ambushed a Japanese transport convoy at Yanmen Pass, shocking both China and foreign countries, and frightening the Japanese invaders. In the more than two thousand years of history since the Warring States Period, Yanmen has become an important defense fortress for the Han Dynasty to attack the Huns, the Tang Dynasty to defend against the Turks, the Song Dynasty to defend the Khitans, and the Ming Dynasty to resist the Oala.

Yanmen Pass is not only a battleground for military strategists, but also a symbol of peace. During the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, when Zhaojun went out to the fortress to get married, it was from here that people gathered in front of and behind him, and there was a huge flow of water, which brought about the Han Dynasty for more than sixty years. The war was peaceful, and Zhaojun's expedition to the fortress brought the advanced Han culture and advanced production technology to the Central Plains at that time, which made Han and Hungary prosperous in commerce, and the people's economic and cultural exchanges were frequent. After more than two thousand years of disputes, in the 20th century today, within and outside the Pass, Greater China has long unified the world, and all ethnic groups are united as never before. For this reason, the Pass is not closed. In the tide of reform and opening up, Yanmen Pass has become a famous tourist attraction. .

When approaching Yanmen Pass, on the beacon tower, Mao Zedong’s cursive calligraphy of “Yanmen Pass” is as powerful as a rainbow. In front of the Mingyue Tower Square, a character relief wall stands against the mountain facing the south. 56 historical figures seem to be weeping and telling about the ups and downs of Yanmen Pass for more than two thousand years. Mingyue Tower is the north gate of the ancient Yanmen Siege City. There is a gate inside the siege city and it is the first gateway into Yanmen Pass City. Passing through Mingyue Tower and entering the stone-paved road is the ancient Yanmen Village of "Bianguan Village". At the southern end of the village, there is a well pavilion with a hexagonal spire. There is an ancient well inside, and a spring gushes out of the well. It is called "Leopard Tu Spring". It is one of the few historical sites preserved in the Yanmenguan Scenic Area.

The ancient battlefield of Yanmenguan has survived to this day including the Zhao Great Wall in the Warring States Period, the Ming Great Wall, the siege city, Guancheng, Wengcheng, Aicheng, forts, soldier caves, beacon towers, school grounds, soldiers' pans, villages, and ancient pass roads. Wait, it constitutes the desolate, dignified, vigorous and grand border style of Yanmenguan Scenic Area.

We continued walking along the newly built Border Trade Street based on history. A "Jiangnantong" square was placed across the roadside, which coincided with the "Mobeida" square in the north, meaning to enter. This archway enters the road to the south of the Yangtze River in the Central Plains. Entering the small north gate outside the west gate of Guancheng is the Wengcheng Gate, the momentum of Yanmen Pass is highlighted. You can see that Guancheng has a circumference of two miles, a wall of two feet high, a stone base and a brick body, battlements as teeth, and three openings, namely the East Gate, the West Gate, and the West Gate. Small North Gate. A tower was built on the east gate, called the Wild Goose Tower, and a stone plaque was inlaid on the front of the door with the word "Natural Danger" written horizontally. The tour guide said that Yanlou is a replica rebuilt on the ruins of the Ming Dynasty. There is a Yang Liulang Temple built on the west gate. There is a stone plaque inlaid on the door, with the word "geographical advantage" written horizontally. The pass is V-shaped. The situation is dangerous and the barriers are tight. The small north gate does not have a top floor, but the masonry structure is particularly strong. On both sides of the bluestone gate of the inconspicuous "Yanmen Pass", there are vigorous and vigorous couplets "Three sides rush to the unparalleled ground; nine fortresses respect the first pass". Both the forehead and the couplets were written by Fu Shan, a thinker and calligrapher from Shanxi during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There is the "Jingbian Temple" on the north side outside the east gate, and the Guandi Temple on the right side outside the west gate. The entire Guancheng building is majestic and majestic.

Continue to climb the stairs, climb up the Yanmenguan Great Wall, climb up to the Yanta Pagoda, creep on the high mountains, and look around from the top, with undulating peaks, the winding Great Wall, green mountains and green ridges, no desert smoke, but the sound of Hu Ying chasing Stuffing birds; in front of the forest of steles, it was known that all the historical celebrities were surprised or sighed, sad or weeping; how could they not know that the flowers on the willow bank were already blooming and flourishing.

Walking along the ancient path of the Great Wall in the afterglow of the setting sun, in the autumn colors and autumn winds, the late autumn outside the Great Wall has the warmth of early winter in the twilight, and the Great Wall looks even more vast in the setting sun.

This situation makes people unable to help but be generous. I lament the tragedy of history, and even more praise the tranquility of this life!