Works of Li Bihua. 10, True or False Beauty Soup

Author: Li Bihua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: This book is a collection of essays by Li Bihua. Li Bihua studied, worked, and filmed in Japan, where she developed a keen interest in Japan's refined culture. The book primarily draws its themes from Japan's folk customs, daily life, sake, hot springs, cuisine, literature, celebrities, and film. It often contrasts Japanese culture with Chinese life, connecting the past and present, with a writing style that is both profound and evocative.
Content: In late spring, cherry blossoms fall like rain, covering the ground in crimson; in late autumn, maple leaves change color, turning the mountains into a tapestry of deep and shallow reds. The leaves, weathered by time, become even more poignant. At these times, it is the season when the Japanese people enjoy hot springs. During winter vacations, after a long journey, they finally arrive, immersing themselves naked in open-air hot springs. The body and mind relax, experiencing the joy of upper cold, lower hot, outer cold, and inner heat, making it almost unbearable to return to the mortal world. Hot springs are actually nature's unexpected gifts. A geothermal boiler with temperatures above a thousand degrees doesn't cause disaster; molten rock heats the groundwater, and just so, there's a hole where boiling, mineral-rich spring water gushes forth. Through the ingenuity of humans, it is adjusted, designed, processed, and arranged to become one of the great paradises on earth. Like all beautiful natural gifts in the world, hot springs are originally free. After completing a project, I reward myself with a hot spring bath. For us, the location doesn't matter—we just want to find an open-air, outdoor hot spring, a mountain bath, and lie in it, forgetting the world.
In travel books and promotional pamphlets, the happy-go-lucky ones are always enjoying themselves, wrapped in large towels in the hot spring, floating in a small wooden tub with sake or iced drinks. In reality, the proper way is to fold a wet towel and place it on one's head, not covering anything indecent. Embrace yourself freely—no one cares about anyone else's modesty. It's too vulgar for hot spring visitors to take "here I am" photos. Besides, cameras can't withstand the steamy water vapor and are easily damaged. So, people never took such souvenir photos.