Zhu Yong Cultural Notes: The Phoenix, Hometown Under the Straw Sandals

Author: Zhu Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The significance of the phoenix has far surpassed the concept of geography. Whether from a tourism or cultural perspective, the phoenix seems to have been nurturing a dream long ago. As Zhu Yong said: For a wanderer, having something to hold onto is ultimately a blessing, even if it's just a dilapidated old house or an ancient ferryboat. Whether it exists in memory or imagination, and regardless of how humble it may appear to others, for the displaced, it is the entirety of their soul. The phoenix is what brought Zhu Yong into the public eye. Before that, all the impressions Xiangxi left on people were of the kind depicted in The Bandits of Wulong Mountain: towering and rugged mountains, treacherous terrain, and impoverished, lawless lands where ten out of every hundred people were bandits. Even the world-famous Zhangjiajie was merely a developed bandit hideout. However, Zhu Yong's Phoenix—Hometown Beneath the Straw Sandals presented me with a completely new Xiangxi: warm, charming, and refined. Just looking at the black-and-white photographs scattered throughout the pages—the weathered ancient city walls, waterside stilt houses, carved wooden doors, winding wooden bridges, misty cobblestone streets—resemble the Jiangnan region, captivating the heart.