Unforgettable Suoxiyu
Unforgettable Suoxiyu, by Jun Qing. By the shore of the Bohai Sea in Dalian, I received your letter sent from far away at the foot of Yuelu Mountain. Reading this letter, I forgot that I was on the northern seaside where water and sky merge in one color and blue waves stretch for thousands of miles, and instead seemed to be in the Suoxiyu Scenic Area, where green peaks stand like a forest and green trees are like a sea. That green filling the eyes, that cicada song filling the ears, that murmuring stream, that gentle cool breeze... Ah, my heart, as if I had drunk rich, mellow wine, felt a little tipsy...
Unforgettable Suoxiyu
Jun Qing
In Dalian, on the shore of the Bohai Sea, I received your letter sent from the distant foot of Yuelu Mountain. Reading this letter, I forgot that I was on the northern seaside where water and sky merge in one color and blue waves stretch for thousands of miles, and instead felt as if I were again in the Suoxiyu Scenic Area, where green peaks stand like a forest and green trees spread like a sea. That expanse of emerald color, that chorus of cicadas filling the ears, that murmuring stream, that gentle cool breeze……
Ah, my heart, as if I had drunk rich, mellow wine, felt somewhat tipsy and intoxicated.
How could I not be intoxicated? Such beautiful scenery, such rare views, such warm hosts! But I am very sorry that although my heart was intoxicated, the article has still not been sent to this day, so that you had to send a letter all the way from Changsha, thousands of miles away, to urge me for it.
People often feel ashamed of themselves in the presence of beautiful things. Facing the beautiful scenery of Suoxiyu, I truly do not know how to describe and portray its beauty. I only feel that the power of words, in such circumstances, is pitifully weak!
I remember Lenin once said: all analogies are lame. This is very true. There is simply no analogy that is entirely appropriate for Suoxiyu. Do people not often use “scenery like a painting” to describe the beauty of scenery? But in my view, no matter how beautiful the painting, it is not as beautiful as Suoxiyu, and no matter how brilliant the painter, he cannot paint the graceful bearing and spirit of Suoxiyu.
I also tried relying on a camera. But although I used the most modern high-grade camera and the best color film, the photographs still lacked the majestic, expansive spirit and the fresh, elegant charm of Suoxiyu.
Is that not so? Before going to Suoxiyu, I had also seen some photographs taken of Suoxiyu and articles describing it. I admit that most of these photographs and articles were well taken and wonderfully written, with no lack of fine works, even works that could be called masterpieces; but when I arrived at Suoxiyu and saw the scenery there with my own eyes, I deeply felt that those photographs and articles were eclipsed and could not compare with it.
This is probably also one important reason why I still have not written an article describing Suoxiyu.
Because I know well that my clumsy pen is likewise unable to depict even one-thousandth or one-ten-thousandth of this supremely beautiful scenery.
But although the article has still not been sent, the scenery of Suoxiyu often lingers in my memory. When climbing the towering, majestic Changbai Mountain, I thought of it; when crossing the vast forest sea of the Guandong Mountains, I thought of it; when swimming at the seaside bathing beach of Bangchui Island in Dalian and gazing at the vast, boundless sea where water and sky are one blue, I thought of it. Late at night in Erdao Baihe, while chatting with friends who had come along about everything under the sun, I thought of it, and again and again with a proud expression I told my companions about it and boasted of it. This even made my friends joke that I was “obsessed with Suoxiyu and can never forget Suoxiyu.”
Yes, how could I not be obsessed? And how could I forget it?
Especially that Ten-Mile Gallery.
Ah, gallery, this name is truly good; it truly deserves to be called a gallery. Walking upward along the winding mountain stream with its murmuring water, you will be astonished to see that all along the way, on both sides, green peaks rise high and green trees are like clouds. Walking in this valley flanked on both sides, one feels as if walking in a deep, secluded little alley. Looking up, above is a strip of blue sky, and on both sides are countless green peaks. These green peaks rise one after another straight from the ground, piercing the clouds, with a thousand postures and ten thousand forms, supremely beautiful. They are so many, one after another, each with its own characteristics, each with its own posture. Some resemble an old herb gatherer carrying a basket of grass on his back, some resemble a young maiden holding fresh flowers, some resemble skyscrapers, some resemble medieval castles, some have twin peaks piercing the clouds like two pointed bamboo shoots, and some stand alone like a long rocket…… they are extremely beautiful. I am truly amazed: what miraculous power did Heaven use to create for nature such endlessly changing, supremely beautiful scenery? It is no exaggeration to say that each of these green peaks is a wonderful painting and a beautiful poem. On both sides of this Ten-Mile Gallery are these countless paintings and countless poems. They line up before you one after another, opening their green arms to embrace you, smile at you, and whisper to you. Ah, friend, placed in such a beautiful environment, how could you not be enchanted, not intoxicated?
Our warm and modest hosts repeatedly asked us to name these peaks on both sides, because this was still a treasure “raised in the depths of the boudoir, unknown to others.” In the past, few people had come here, and the thousands of green peaks in myriad forms rising above the primeval forest still had no names of their own. But naming them was truly too difficult. As I quoted earlier: all analogies are lame. These peaks are so beautiful and varied, and when viewed from different angles they take different shapes. How could one find appropriate names for them? If done poorly, it would even belittle, uglify, or distort them. For example, some peaks people called “Pig Bajie Carrying His Wife,” “Delicate Girl Angering Her Mother,” “Cat Teasing Chicken,” “Dog Jumping Rock,” and so on. These are either unbearably vulgar or far-fetched; not only do they fail to express their features or describe their marvel, but they belittle and even uglify them, truly ruining the scenery. Such names would be better absent. It must be said that it is difficult: the beauty of nature cannot be properly captured by a simple label or analogy. Moreover, people have different aesthetic tastes and different feelings, so it is better to let the wise see wisdom and the benevolent see benevolence, and freely give play to each person's imagination. Of course, I do not oppose all naming. Good names are not only necessary, but can also increase the charm of the scenery and people's aesthetic interest. The Goddess Peak of the Three Gorges is like this. I merely feel that the peaks here are too beautiful. You simply cannot describe them or compare them. Perhaps for this reason, among the ten or twenty people traveling with us, not one left any name for these peaks. Because no one was willing or dared, with shallow knowledge, to scribble on these supremely beautiful peaks. Perhaps there was another reason too: there are simply too many peaks here. It is not like mountains elsewhere, which have only a few peaks. Take Huangshan, for instance; at most it has only “seventy-two peaks,” while here there are thousands of peaks. It is simply like a forest, densely packed, layer upon layer, forming a vast, boundless sea of peaks. Facing these countless peaks, who could think up so many appropriate names, and who could remember so many names as numerous as stars?
The multitude of peaks, the strangeness of peaks, the verdure of peaks, and the beauty of peaks are among the most prominent features of the scenery around Suoxiyu. This Ten-Mile Gallery may be said to concentrate and display these features relatively well. It really is like a long gallery. Walking in this gallery and looking at the scenery on both sides, one truly feels as if one were inside a painting. It seems as if one has also become a dot in this painting, completely merged with nature.
However, this Ten-Mile Gallery is only one among the many scenic spots of Suoxiyu. Other places also each have their own characteristics and each have their own wonders. Take Yaochi, for example; that is another enchanting scene. This Yaochi, also called Tianchi, is not in a valley, but high atop a mountain peak. This peak is very high and very steep. One must climb several hundred stone steps along cliffs and precipices, and only after reaching the summit does the view suddenly open up, presenting a marvelous scene like another world. There, amid the surrounding mountains where ten thousand peaks rise, a stretch of emerald green lake water ripples. On the lake surface, the water is as level as a mirror, with scarcely a ripple. The blue sky and white clouds above, and the green mountains and green waters around, are all reflected on the lake surface. It is extremely beautiful. This is another wonderful painting, and moreover, this lake is neither boundless to the eye nor completely visible at a glance; instead, following the layer upon layer of peaks, it extends forward in twists and turns. The peaks turn with the water, and the water winds around the peaks, extending all the way into the depths of countless mountains and the deep recesses of the peaks. It is like a beautiful, subtle poem, and while giving people the greatest enjoyment of beauty, it also leads their imagination into a hazy, mysterious, profound, and enchanting realm. Ah, at such a time, I really want to row a small boat, cut through those ten thousand waves of green, and following the thousand-turn, ten-thousand-bend green peaks, travel into the depths of the mountains, to fully explore the secrets of that hidden world and the mystery of Yaochi. I want even more to transform into a white crane, spreading my wings between blue sky and green water, above green peaks and green trees, and fully take in this lake light beyond the ninth heaven and these mountain colors for eight hundred li.
Ah, friend, tell me, how could such scenery not enchant people, and how could it make people forget it?
Blessed are the people who live and work in this fairyland-like beautiful Suoxiyu, and those fortunate enough to visit here are surely also greatly blessed in life.
I will never forget: one day, several responsible comrades from the county accompanied us up the mountain for a day of sightseeing. When we returned, everyone was tired. Not long after dinner, I went to bed to rest. In the middle of the night, I suddenly woke and heard voices speaking outside. Looking out through the window, in the moonlight I saw several responsible comrades from the county still in the open space outside the house, discussing plans for how to develop Suoxiyu. They planned to start building a sluice downstream of the Ten-Mile Gallery, raising the water level of the small stream flowing along the Ten-Mile Gallery so that boats could travel on it. In this way, people could ride boats and row oars along the mountain stream, enjoying the gallery scenery on both sides. They also planned to add some boats to Yaochi so that visitors could boat and tour on the lake. They also wanted to build pavilions, terraces, and towers in national style on the mountains on both sides of Yaochi to adorn the scenery…… They spoke so enthusiastically and energetically that they forgot the fatigue of the day and forgot that the night was already deep. All they were thinking about was how to make this scenic resort, “raised in the depths of the boudoir, unknown to others,” even more beautiful, and how to let more tourists from home and abroad share the beautiful scenery of Suoxiyu.
Ah, what broad-mindedness and what beautiful souls!
All right, I will write to here. If you think it has some interest, then publish it as an essay; that will also settle a literary debt. No, this debt I still have not repaid. Because I know well that this poor article of mine is far from capturing the grace and spirit of Suoxiyu. At most, it merely expresses my longing for Suoxiyu. But what can be done? It is still what I said earlier: in the presence of such beautiful scenery, I can only feel ashamed of my clumsy pen and hate my own inability.