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Hover over the green Chinese Pinyin and a brief definition will pop up; click on the word to see it's Glossary definition. |
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wordschapter thirteen continued |
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上有天堂 下有苏杭
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"In Heaven There is Paradise
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Every schoolchild in China learns about Hangzhou and West Lake from an early age. Many well-known Chinese myths are set in and around West Lake. Many of China's most famous poets lived here or spent significant portions of time here during their lives. There are many poems, known by all educated Chinese anywhere, that are set at West Lake. Let's take a brief look at Hangzhou's history.
While Hangzhou's history can be traced back more than 50,000 years to the Upper Paleolithic Period, "modern day" Hangzhou began around 2200 BC. That's B.C.
It gained importance when the Grand Canal was built (581-618 A.D.) with Beijing as the northern terminus and Hangzhou as the southern terminus. The canal still operates today. (Last year I took an overnight boat trip down the canal from Suzhou to Hangzhou. Very cool.) As a result, Hangzhou began to flourish as a major trade, political and cultural center.
During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-970), Hangzhou was established as the capital of the Wuyue Kingdom. During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), Hangzhou was the national capital. Thus, Hangzhou is one of the seven cities in China that have served as capital cities throughout Chinese history. (The other six are Anyang, Xi'an, Luoyang, Nanjing, Kaifeng, and Beijing.)
During much of the Southern Song period, the Mongols from the north led by Genghis Kahn and later Kublai Khan were attempting to conquer everyone and everything. The Southern Song were successful in slowing Khan's march to the south. But finally, Kublai Khan successfully "unified" China and he became The Great Khan and Emperor of China. In 1279, he established the Yuan Dynasty and the national capital of China was moved to Beijing. Marco Polo arrived in Hangzhou shortly thereafter.
Nevertheless, Hangzhou has remained a regional capital and economic center since then.
Through the years, many figures in Chinese history, literature, myth and lore have called Hangzhou their "home" at some period of time. Among the literary figures, many well-known poets have penned poems about Hangzhou and West Lake. Two of the most famous Chinese poets, and indeed, the two most famous Hangzhou-based poets, are Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo (aka Su Shi).
Five years ago, in my first year in China, I used one of Su's poems in an piece I wrote here at Chuck @ China about my first Mid-Autumn Moon Festival here in China. You can find that piece and poem here. Little did I realize in 1998 that I would be spending the 2001 Mid-Autumn Moon Festival sitting on the shore of West Lake with a group of former Jinzhou students, a bottle of wine, and reading that poem as we gazed up at the moon thinking of home - their home in Northeast China and mine in the U.S. Their is magic in the words of Chinese poets. And some of that magic comes from the waters of West Lake.
Bai Juyi is another well-known poet. Many of his poems written at or about West Lake. Here's one:
A Spring Outing by West Lake
"North of Gushan Temple,
Cloud mists hug the newly brimming banks.
Here and there first orioles contend in sunny trees;
To which households do new swallows wing, bearing their spring mud?
Riotous flowers more and more dazzle the eye,
The short grass barely covers the horses' hooves.
I most love walking for hours east of the lake,
Where green willows shade the white bank.
- Bai Ju Yi
Another one of his poems, and one that is OFTEN quoted by Hangzhou people, is his remembrance of Hangzhou after he left Hangzhou to return to his hometown in North China.
Remembering the South
Remembering the Fair South,
As always, it is Hangzhou I most recall:
Amongst the mountain temples
I search for the osmanthus petals
From which the moon did fall.
From the official's pavilion I watch
The surging Qiantang tidal bore.
When shall I revisit Hangzhou once more.
- Bai Ju Yi
(*Note: the Qiantang River lies just to the south of Hangzhou and runs off the mouth of the Hangzhou Bay. Because of it's strange configuration, every year on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the Qiantang experiences one of earth's rare events: a tidal bore. It was thence so , it is so now. You can find out more about it here.)
Bai Zhu Yi and Su Dongpo (Su Shi) are amongst the most prolific of poets in ancient China. Not all of their poems are Hangzhou-based. But they both spent time in Hangzhou - interestingly enough - as government officials. And their legacy to Hangzhou involves more than just the beautiful poems they wrote about a beautiful place.
Today's West Lake features two long causeways crossing two corners of the lake. Each was built during the time of those poets and named after them. The Bai Causeway and the Su Causeway are two of the most beautiful parts of that most beautiful lake - West Lake. You can find some pictures of both in the next section of this Chapter. But first........
A myth may or may not be true. These days, in English, the term "myth" implies a nice story, but not true. China has lots of old myths. Here is one of the most famous old Chinese myths. Everyone in China knows it as it has been passed down through scores of generations....
Whenever my Chinese friends from afar first come to visit in Hangzhou, the first thing they want to see are some of the places in the story. Those places are still here. So, read the story (I have paraphrased it from a few sources) and,if one day you find yourself in Hangzhou, let me know and I'll show you around West Lake and the places where the story takes place.
And, if find yourself believing the story really happened. That's the magic of Hangzhou.
One day, two snakes got bored. These weren't ordinary snakes, though. Lady White Snake was, in the Snake World, the most beautiful and elegant of snakes. Her maid, Lady Green Snake, was her boon companion. So, on a whim, they decided to travel to Hangzhou in search of fun and adventure. Of course, in order to appear normal, they used their magical powers to turn themselves into two beautiful women.
As soon as they arrived, they knew they had to visit West Lake which they had heard so much about. When they arrived at the north end of the lake, they were standing on The Broken Bridge (Duan Qiao). Suddenly, it began raining heavily. Of course, they didn't have an umbrella. I mean, they were snakes!
Just then, a handsome man was hailing a water taxi at The Broken Bridge. He couldn't help but notice the two beauties and he asked them if he could give them a lift. (Yeah, that line worked in ancient China, too.) His name was Xu Xian and he told them he was going across to the south side of the lake because that's where he lived and worked. Of course, the two "tourists" had just arrived in Hangzhou so they had no idea where they were going (still true today in HZ) they just wanted to get out of the rain. And Lady White Snake was enamored of Xu Xian, so they jumped in the boat and said, "Yeah! Us also."
When they reached the south shore, it was still raining. The women suddenly became shy. "Where do you live?" asked Gentleman Xu. Lady White Snake got flustered and then said, "In that large house over there". Actually, the large house she was pointing at hadn't existed moments before. But she was a clever and magical snake and so she had used her snake-charm to conjure up the large house.
"Well," said Xu, ever the gentlemen, "You two better take my umbrella. I'll come by your house tomorrow and get it." (Chinese back then, just as Chinese today are deathly afraid of the rain....and sun. It's a cultural trait, I am convinced. China is the umbrella capital of the world...no make that the universe.)
The next day, sure enough, Gentleman Xu came by. And thus began the romance of Gentleman Xu and Lady White Snake in Hangzhou. He was a poor apothecary but despite that, he often gave free medicine to the poor and hopeless. Lady White Snake admired him for his good looks, his good heart, and his simple ways. Their love grew deeper until, at last, they got married and Lady White Snake became pregnant with is child (in that order according to the tale).
Ah, but their was an evil monk who lived in the E-mei Mountains, Fa Hai, by name, who was a jealous monk. He wasn't jealous of Xu; but in fact, he knew who AND what Lady White Snake was. A SNAKE. He came down from the mountain and befriended Xu. (Afterall, he was a monk. What could a young man fear from an old monk, right?)
He tried to tell Young Xu that his wife was really a snake with wicked powers posing as a beautiful women. But Xu would hear none of that. Fa decided to teach him a lesson.
Fa Hai knew that the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching and so he gave Xu a bottle of the finest Chinese Bai Jiu. He knew that everyone drinks Bai Jiu on that festival AND he knew that if Lady White Snake imbibed, she would lose her magical powers and quickly revert to her true state - a Snake. "Oh, won't Young Gentleman Xu be surprised then!"
So what happened next???? Check back tomorrow and find out.
Here's another version: http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/WhiteSnake.htm
During the summer of 2003, my students and I decided to make a video of The Lady Snake Story as a class project - but updated for 2003. If you want to view it, go here.
Among all the poems and stories I have read about Hangzhou's West Lake, this one, written by a foreigner, best sums up my feelings:
"Once I saw a painting of West Lake.
Such perfection, on earth, I could not believe existed.
Today, when I arrived at West Lake for the first time,
I realized that the painting is far from perfect."
- a Japanese envoy to China
500 years ago
Sources:
HANGZHOU THRU THE AGES
Background and history of Hangzhou from other sources old and new, East and West.
WEST LAKE TOUR
A photo tour of Hangzhou's West Lake.
HANGZHOU TOUR
An illustrated tour of some of the most beautiful, famous, and interesting spots in and around Hangzhou.
HANGZHOU THRU MY EYES
Hangzhou today, IMHO.
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