Jinling Five Records

Author: Huang Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-01-01
Features: The writings about Nanjing written in the past were compiled together. After rereading them, the author couldn’t help but feel a bit strange. The author had only lived in Nanjing for a very short period and had passed through it several times, hardly more than a fleeting visitor. Yet, for some reason, the author had developed an unusual affection for the city. The earliest piece in this collection is "White Gate Autumn Willow," written in winter 1942. A young student, fleeing afar, passed through Nanjing, which had already become the "capital" under the puppet regime of the enemy invaders. Naturally, this evoked the emotions inherent in any Chinese person. Four years later, the author became a journalist and spent a brief but extraordinary period in Nanjing. It was an era of devastation, with widespread destruction and suffering among the people. This "calamity" was twofold—the plunder by the enemy and puppet forces, and the ruthless "recovery" by the "new elite." The author also witnessed the stark contrast between heroic struggles and shameless debauchery. In autumn 1949, the author made another brief visit and witnessed the joyous welcome of the Nanjing people to liberation. Three decades later, upon returning, the author found himself in the aftermath of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. The times had changed, and so had the social nature. The Chinese people, after enduring another historical disaster, had begun to start anew and move forward. Obstacles on the path had been cleared, and the ruins had been repaired. The people’s hearts were filled with excitement, yet also with a sense of gravity. The author had witnessed all of this. Of course, all of this was also history. In this collection of writings, the author often mentions many historical stories that occurred in this place in the past, giving it a strong sense of "nostalgia for the past." The author believes that Nanjing is truly saturated with a historical atmosphere. A poet who comes here will never lack themes for poetry. If all the poems by Chinese poets about Jinling (Nanjing) were compiled, they would form an astonishingly vast collection. However, the author could never forget a poem by Fu Qingzhu, a scholar from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, titled "Jinling Without Nostalgia for the Past." The first two lines of the poem say: "Jinling is indeed ancient, and poets are always filled with longing." It is a powerful call that deserves a wake-up call for anyone who enjoys reminiscing about the past. Of course, Fu Qingzhu did not oppose "nostalgia for the past" without principle. He opposed those "refined scholars" who "were too fat to beat the drum" and "passed the Qinhuai River like uncouth men." China has many ancient capitals, such as Chang’an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Beijing, all of which were once renowned historical cities. But none are like Nanjing—it is almost an unparalleled historical museum. Nanjing’s history as a capital, though intermittent, spans no more than three hundred years, which is not particularly long. However, it has seen numerous dynastic changes and tremendous social transformations. Especially, it has often been closely tied to historical national wars, a feature rarely found in other ancient capitals. The Six Dynasties were periods of partial rule, and the Southern Tang and Southern Ming were even more pitiful and short-lived. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom established its capital in Nanjing for only ten years. In these short dynasties, many relics were left behind, attracting the attention of poets. The best works of poets always express the emotions and desires of the people. Although times have changed, some old conflicts no longer exist, but as history and the cells forming national consciousness and emotions, their influence still lingers. The situation with prose seems similar. The Dream of Splendor in the East (Dongjing Menghua Lu), Old Events of Lin’an (Wulin Jiushi), and The Dream of Liang (Mengliang Lu) are not ordinary local customs records; The Temple Records of Luoyang (Luoyang Garan Ji) and The Miscellaneous Records of Banqiao (Banqiao Zaji) are not books solely about temples and entertainment venues. They are all products of specific eras, expressing similar emotions. This is unlike Xi’an, which, despite its eventual downfall after the Han and Tang dynasties, left behind works like The Yellow Map of the Three Capitals (Sanfu Huangtu) and The Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital (Xijing Zaji), which describe the grandeur of the founding era and the stories of noble families, without a trace of melancholy or decline. The implications are worth pondering. This may be a notable phenomenon in the history of Chinese literature. Many famous ancient poems possess a magical power. They use extremely concise language to convey profound and far-reaching imagery, often something that longer prose cannot achieve. The author often reflects on the mysteries hidden within these works, discovering that beyond factors like rhythm, color, action, and sound, poets have even more important tools. They stir the readers’ hearts, open the windows of memory, and mobilize the forces of national and historical emotions to enhance the impact of their poetry. For example, Liu Yuxi’s famous Five Poems on Jinling and Wei Zhuang’s The City of the Terrace (Tai Cheng) serve as illustrations. These two middle-to-late Tang poets not only share emotional connections with all feudal-era poets who wrote nostalgic poems about Jinling but are practically their representatives. Except for the national sentiments expressed by the late Ming poets, almost no new ideological content was added over a thousand years. Their works were dirges for the old era and old dynasties. In his poem The Alley of the White Robes (Wuyi Xiang), Liu Yuxi explicitly mentions "the Vermilion Bird Bridge," "the Alley of the White Robes," and "before the halls of Wang and Xie." In Wei Zhuang’s The City of the Terrace, he writes about "the Six Dynasties," "the City of the Terrace," and "(the Yangtze) River." Beyond these, the poem consists of natural scenery—wildflowers, the setting sun, swallows, and rain, birds, willow trees, and long embankments. All of these are inanimate things, yet under the poet’s arrangement, they release an unimaginable power, shaking the readers’ hearts. The intensity of this impact varies depending on the reader’s era, thoughts, emotions, and cultural background. It is somewhat like the release of atomic energy, but its trigger and constraints are even more miraculous and flexible—something that natural scientists and engineers cannot achieve.