Wednesday, 4/15/09 Shennong Stream

press the forward arrow for Chinese music

We took a ferry ride to the entrance of Shennong Stream and went on small boats for a ride on the Daning River (or the Shennong Stream) to the Lesser Three Gorges. Narrower than the great Three Gorges, these remarkable canyons are considered just as impressive as their larger counterparts. We saw some hanging coffins high up in the cliffs.

Back on board the Sheena, we went through Wu Gorge, known for its magnificent scenery of lush green mountains, and then through the Three Gorges.

The Three Gorges on the Yangtze River are Famous for their breathtaking scenery, and are praised as nature's art gallery and wonderland. Of the three Gorges, the Qutang Gorge is magnificent and precipitous, the Wuxia Gorge is deep and beautiful and the Xiling Gorge has rapids and many rocks. The water in the Mini Three Gorges is clean and both banks are blanketed with trees and have many historical sites, scenic spots and lovely legends. Today, a huge dam is being built along the Three Gorges. After completion, it will offer visitors a new look amidst the precipitous gorges

We went near, but didn't visit Baodingshan. Baodingshan (Precious Crown Hill), 15 kilometers northeast of Dazu, is well known for its comprisal of more than 10,000 magnificent sculptures, which were created under the direction of a distinguished local Buddhist monk Zhao Zhifeng in the Song Dynasty (9601279). It has a history of over 800 years. The cliffside carvings in Dafowan (Great Buddha Bend) are best preserved and most numerous. Dafowan is a U-shaped valley. Altogether, 31 niches are arranged in a row on the 30-meter high, 500-meter long precipitous cliffside. The carvings are chiefly about reincarnations of the Sutra. In each niche are groups of sculptures with Buddhist inscriptions, tenets, or eulogies, telling serial stories from the Sutra, just like scrools of ancient picture books. The grottoes at the Precious Crown Hill are characterized by their distinct national style, local themes, and secularized renditions. These features make the grottoes a treasure house of grotto art in China.

Baodingshan consists of a monastic complex and two grotto areas, Little Buddha Bend (Xiaofowan) and Great Buddha Bend (Dafowan) [fig. 1]. Located on a remote, rocky outcropping at an elevation of approximately 500 meters, fifteen kilometers north of Dazu City in Sichuan Province, Baodingshan, was an active religious site into at least the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644 CE) with primary construction at the site dating from the Southern Song period (1127-1270 CE)

We continued through the Qutang Gorge, the shortest and narrowest of the three Gorges.

Yueyang Tower

Located on the west city wall, the Yueyang Tower is one of the three famous towers in South China. The predecessor of Yueyang Tower was a structure built in the Three Kingdoms period (220 -280 AD) for reviewing military parades. In the fifth year of the Emperor Qingli of the Song Dynasty, it was rebuilt, and the famous Song Dynasty essay writer Fan Zhongyan wrote his famous essay Notes on Yueyang Tower, which was considered matchless in literary beauty and profound thought. The lines in the essay of “be concerned before anyone else becomes concerned; enjoy yourself only after everyone else finds enjoyment,” have become household words in China.

Yueyang Tower is a three-story wooden structure supported by four pillars. It is nineteen meters tall and has upturned eaves and a helmet shaped roof. The structure is a unique combination of artistic tastes, mechanics, architecture, and craftsmanship. The Tower affords a spectacular view of Dongting Lake.

The Chimes of Marquis Yi

In the summer of 1978, a set of chimes, consisting of 64 pieces, were unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of the State of Zeng (430 BC) in Suixian County. These chimes were arranged in 8 groups in three different rows. On the surface of the chimes were engraved with 2,800 Chinese characters on music, the earliest record ever found in the world. The chimes now are able to perform music that is pleasant to the ear. This set of chimes is unique both in the history of music, but also in the history of bronze casting. The chimes are now on display in the Museum of Hubei province.

Ma-Jiang

Later this afternoon, Arthur went to see Dr Zhang for more acupuncture, and Martha went to have a Ma-jiang lesson. (click here to learn more about Mah Jiang, or Mah Jong)