Literary Landmark Exhibition Hall

Author: Wu Xinlei et al / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-09-01
Features: I grew up drinking the clear, sweet spring water of Jinan. The Yuquan Spring on the west side of Buzhengsi Street (now Shengfuqian Street) was our family's long-standing source of water. In my childhood, I roamed freely by the springs and lakes, playing near the overflowing water from the flower wall street. I would step over the flowing spring water to see the "three streams" of Baotu Spring and plunge into the cool waters of Heihu Spring like a dog, following the clear streams of Baihua Island and Qushuiting to the edge of Quhua Bridge and the shores of Daming Lake. I would buy lotus seeds and lotus flowers from the women in "big foot basins" and always visited the back courtyard of Liquan Pickled Vegetables Shop to see the large fish over a meter long in the spring pool before buying pickled vegetables, often forgetting the pickles themselves. Back then, Jinan's spring water was so clear, so sweet, so abundant, flowing day and night, endless and boundless. In late spring, by the springs and lakes, ten thousand willow branches swayed in the wind, and fluffy willow catkins danced in the air, making me lose myself in a daze, as if drunk with joy.
### II. Reflection of Mount Foshan
In Lao Can's Journey, when Lao Can visited Daming Lake, he saw the reflection of Mount Qianfu: Upon reaching the Iron Temple, looking south, he saw the opposite Mount Qianfu with its Buddhist temples and monk lodgings, interwoven with towering pines and cypresses. Red ones were as fiery as flames, white ones as snow, blue ones as indigo, and green ones as emerald. Among them were scattered clusters of scarlet maples, as if they were a large painting by the Song Dynasty artist Zhao Qianli, forming a screen stretching dozens of miles. He was admiring it when suddenly, a fisherman's song drifted over. Looking down, he realized that the clear lake was as smooth as a mirror. The reflection of Mount Qianfu was clearly visible in the water, the pavilions and trees appearing even more radiant than the real mountain. This passage, dominated by visual sensations, highlights the vibrant colors and uses appropriate metaphors. It vividly depicts the scenery of Mount Foshan from a distance on a clear autumn day and the reflection in the lake, a masterful and lifelike portrayal of landscape in Lao Can's Journey. Some believe that the reflection of Mount Foshan in this passage is purely Liu E's imagination, but this is not true. The reflection of Mount Foshan is recorded in literary works. Lao Can's Journey is by no means the first to describe it. During the Jin and Yuan dynasties, Yuan Haowen wrote the poem "Looking at the mountains within the waters is even better, a pile of misty smoke that cannot be gathered" (Boating on Daming Lake). The Ming Dynasty poets Zhang Hemiao and Liu Chi also composed poems praising the reflection of Mount Foshan. "The reflection of Mount Foshan falls into Mirror Lake in autumn, and the mountains viewed from the lake flow like green" (Zhang Hemiao, Ten Poems on Boating in the Lake). "The reflection sways like green peaks, and the clear waves paint the pavilions" (Liu Chi, Daming Lake). In my childhood, living near Daming Lake, I too saw the reflection of mountains in the lake. However, it is now rare to see such a sight. With the increasing number of high-rise buildings in Jinan and the lack of "clear as a mirror" water in Daming Lake, the reflection of Mount Foshan in my childhood memories remains like a dream.
### III. Baotu Spring
In the third chapter of Lao Can's Journey, Lao Can visits Baotu Spring: This Baotu Spring is one of the seventy-two springs in Jinan Prefecture. In the large pool, there is an area of about four or five mu, with both ends connected to streams. The water in the pool flows with a gurgling sound. In the center of the pool, there are three large springs gushing up from the bottom, reaching over two feet high. These three streams are wider than buckets. On the north side of the pool is an Lüzu Temple, where a pavilion is set up, with four or five tables and over a dozen benches for selling tea, allowing visitors to rest. This is a realistic description that remained largely true until the 1940s and 1950s, though by then, the pavilion in front of the temple was filled with various stalls selling snacks, toys, incense, paper money, fortune-tellers, face-painters, and beggars, with people of all walks of life bustling and noisy. I remember that whenever I had minor ailments like headaches or fevers in my childhood, my father would take me from Jianzi Lane and Flower Wall Street to Baotu Spring. The spring water overflowing by the stone-paved roads would always wet my shoes. From a distance, the roaring sound of the "three streams" could be heard. After playing in the pool at Baotu Spring, I was dragged into the incense-filled Lüzu Temple to kowtow three times, and on the way home, I would buy a bag of finely processed black peanut kernels from Kang Zongtai or a string of Wang Junqing's special "sour and sticky" (tanghulu), both famous snack artisans on Ximen Street (now the western section of Quancheng Road). This way, I would be cured of my ailments and return to my lively self. Now, Kang, Wang, and my father are all gone. Baotu Spring has been dry for years, and the solemn statue of Lüzu has long vanished. Reflecting on the past and present, I can only sigh in despair.
### IV. Jinxiang Spring
Jinxiang Spring is one of Jinan's four famous springs (Baotu, Jinxiang, Heihu, and Pearl). Originally located in the Shangzhi Academy east of Baotu Spring, it was expanded into Baotu Spring Park after the liberation. In Lao Can's Journey, Lao Can exits Baotu Spring and enters the "Jinquan Academy," where he sees a square pool about two zhang in size, which is Jinxiang Spring. After looking around for a while, he cannot see the golden line but is pointed out by a scholar. He then sees "a line on the water surface, like a floating silk, swaying." As to why this line appears, Lao Can speculates, "Perhaps there are two springs at the bottom, with opposing forces, squeezing out this line in the middle?" The name "Jinxiang Spring" first appears in Northern Song Dynasty records. According to Wang Kanzhi's Shuishui YanTan Lu, it was located in Zhang's Garden in Qizhou City. "A square stone pool, over a zhang in width and length. Clear and transparent to the bottom. A golden line rises in the center of the pool, slightly above the water surface. If a drop of oil is dripped into one corner, the line moves away. If the line is disturbed by a stick, it disappears, and the water returns to normal. It is not visible on cloudy days." It is also said that Su Dongpo composed a poem praising Jinxiang Spring: "Bringing the flags of guns to the western border of Qizhou, I test the golden line in the south of the city." Zeng Gong also wrote a poem: "The jade pool often floats with fresh mist, the golden line is uncertain in the southern spring. Without wind, the dust remains clean, breaking the ice silk into a piece of heaven." Now, in Baotu Spring Park, there are two pools, both inscribed with "Jinxiang Spring." The larger pool is the original Jinxiang Spring. In my childhood, I did not see the golden line there and did not hear from older generations about seeing it either. The smaller pool was newly built when Baotu Spring Park was expanded after the liberation. I did once see a thin, swaying line of water like a silk thread on the surface. However, with the weakening of the spring water, this golden line has long disappeared.
### V. Wang Xiaoyu
In the second chapter of Lao Can's Journey, Lao Can listens to Heiniu and Bai Niu (Wang Xiaoyu) perform the Liuhua Drumming at Minghuajū. Regarding Wang Xiaoyu's appearance, the author briefly mentions, "A melon-seed face, fair skin, and an average appearance, but she is graceful without coquetry, pure without coldness." He focuses instead on her storytelling art. Wang Xiaoyu begins with a steady tone, her beautiful voice and melodious singing making the audience feel "as if an ironing board had pressed on every part of my body, leaving no place uncomfortable; as if I had eaten a Ginseng fruit, with every pore feeling refreshed." Gradually, her singing grows higher, soaring up three or four layers, "like climbing Mount Tai from the western peak of Mount Aolai." "The higher it gets, the more dangerous, and the more dangerous, the more extraordinary." Then, she suddenly descends, turning and twisting "like a flying snake weaving through the thirty-six peaks of Mount Huangshan." Afterward, her singing lowers, gradually becoming silent, and then a faint sound emerges from the depths, suddenly rising "like Japanese firecrackers, one rocket soaring into the sky, transforming into a thousand colorful streaks scattered in all directions." The zither accompanies with rolling fingers, "like the spring morning in a flower garden, with birds singing chaotically." Just as the chaos unfolds, "suddenly, a loud sound, and both the person and the string fall silent." Using abundant metaphors and precise, vivid literary language, the author transforms the invisible music into a tangible image, awakening the reader's rich imagination and association. He vividly depicts the extraordinary and heart-stirring art of Wang Xiaoyu's storytelling. This Minghuajū, as the elders say, was located west of the southern gate of Daming Lake and no longer exists. Wang Xiaoyu was indeed a real person. Although the description of her storytelling art in Lao Can's Journey is somewhat exaggerated, her fame and skill surpassing others at the time were historical facts. Ai Ying, in "From Wang Xiaoyu to Liuhua Drumming," cites a passage from Red Dress Liu Jingting in Notes from the Old Learning Studio, published in 1916, which says: "In the early years of the Guangxu reign, the sisters Heiniu and Bai Niu in Licheng could sing Jia Funxi's drum songs. They once performed at Minghuajū, captivating the time. They were known as the 'Red Dress Liu Jingting.'" Ai Ying adds a note: "Bai Niu is also known as Wang Xiaoyu. The description of her singing in Lao Can's Journey is also quite skillful, but it can only convey what is conveyable." The materials cited by Ai Ying are credible. Wang Yimin, in "A Preliminary Collection of Poems from Baiduwo" (Jicheng Poem), also mentions Wang Xiaoyu and her storytelling art: "Drum singing, unknown to its origins, Wang Xiaoyu gained fame in Jinan for this art. In the year Bingxu, I returned from Yi to Jinan and listened to her, finding it excellent. The following year,"