Local China -- Wuling Tujia: Wuling Tujia

Author: Zhang Lianggao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2001-03-01
Features: Most people first learn about Wuling from reading "The Peach Blossom Spring": "In the Taiyuan years of the Jin Dynasty, a fisherman from Wuling made his living fishing." This fisherman discovered the Peach Blossom Spring and, upon returning, told the world a mysterious and beautiful story. The "Wuling" refers to the Wuling Mountains at the border of Sichuan and Hubei, where there are everywhere extraordinary peaks, cliffs, gorges, and caves. Even if a skilled geographer were to describe them, they would inevitably overlook certain aspects. The wish of this book is to loudly proclaim Wuling, this "Peach Blossom Spring," and its residents, the "Tujia people," urging numerous "governors" and "Liu Zijie" to visit here. Here, the cultural heritage is so rich that even a Tujia scholar would find it difficult to pen a comprehensive introduction. What we know is limited and does not go deeper than the fisherman who discovered the Peach Blossom Spring. Even well-known places like the old Shangshun City in Yongshun, the Yuhuangdong Grottoes in Dayong, and the Huangsiqiao Ancient City in Fenghuang, we have not personally experienced. Therefore, we can only leave them unaddressed for now. Some parts of Wuling, such as Zhangjiajie, have long been renowned worldwide and require no further embellishment from us, so we prefer to omit them. Other peripheral areas of Wuling, such as the Xiangxi region, have long been depicted with poetic charm in Mr. Shen Congwen's writings, making it impossible for us to compete. However, if we were to ask Mr. Shen to describe the deeper realms of Wuling, he would surely not use the same style. We are no different from the fisherman of old—unable to help ourselves but to be eager to introduce, regardless of our limited knowledge, which is "not worth mentioning in the ways of the world." The only confidence we have is that compared to the fisherman of old, we have cameras. Wuling's extraordinary peaks and caves, cliffs and giant waterfalls, can rival any scenic spot in the world. Even more remarkable is its climate, which is almost spring-like all year round. In areas above 1,000 meters in altitude, people often roast fires in summer, though the purpose is to remove moisture; on highland plateaus above 1,500 meters, roasting fires become a necessity for heating. On this line of latitude at 30°N, to the east lies Wuhan, to the west lies Chongqing, both known as "furnaces," yet here is such a large cool world just a short distance away. For the sake of summer relief alone, we would not go overboard in calling Wuling the "Switzerland of Southern China." The entire Switzerland is north of the 46°N latitude line, equivalent to Heilongjiang Province in China, with a cool climate, without...