In eastern Guizhou's Shichian County, there is a high mountain called Fodingshan, which was once a Buddhist shrine in eastern Guizhou, on a par with Fanjing Mountain.
At the foot of the mountain is an ancient village called Yao Shang. In the center of the village is a cliff rock. Two large trees are disjointed and have been growing in the gap for hundreds of years.
Because of an old and beautiful legend, this landscape is known as Haikou Shishi.
It is said that a man and a woman who truly love each other and come to pray under the tree will be blessed by the gods and will grow old together with their son hand in hand.
There is an ancient and romantic people living here called the Gelao.
The folk song "Love Sister Goes Down to the River to Wash Her Clothes", which was once popular all over the country, originated here.
The elder sister went down to the river to wash her clothes, and the water splashed on the lang.
All love does not come easily.
At that time, there was a beautiful girl named Jugun. Though she was a rich girl, she often changed into her maid's clothes and went to the river to wash her clothes because she was in love with the woodcutter.
At the age of 16, Jinju was betrothed by her family to the son of a judge. In desperation, she made a pact with the woodcutter to run away, but was caught halfway by officials.
The magistrate ordered the woodcutter to be tied to a rock, pushed into the water and drowned, eventually turning into a large tree on the riverbank.
Ju Geun was so indignant that she came to the river every day and sang poems and love songs to the big tree while washing her clothes, pouring out her love for her.
God felt that this pair of lovers, after the death of Jin, also turned her into a tree, forever and ever with her lover, the sea withered.
The Gelao people can sing and dance well, but do not have their own words. Those beautiful legends are passed down from generation to generation through singing.
They sing songs about history, heroes and love.
Loving someone, the Gelao never bury it in their hearts. They communicate their love with straightforward and crude songs.
Sitting in the flowery window of a hammock, a young girl from "Love Seed," watching her lover pass by downstairs, would sing: the hair of the Masan tree is moss, Lang's arrival lowers the sister's bad or bad (Gelao, presumably corn). Sister hid the embroidery floor of the soles of the shoes, after receiving the low or bad shoes, to Lang.
If the lover is interested, she picks them up and sings, "The mulberry tree is full of moss, low and yellow." Wear your shoes, autumn will be planted for my sister low shoes.
The gene of yearning for and pursuing beautiful love has been y rooted in the blood of the Gelao people.
In the depths of the walled village, I met an older woman who was wrapping a yellow water dam. She used to work in the city, so she has seen the world.
A woman in her fifties doesn't avoid love, she says. You city people swallow your words when you talk about a date, and your elders have to go on blind dates. Our young people here, girls and boys have a pair of eyes and singing a song is good enough.
I asked my aunt to sing a song, she cleared her throat and opened her mouth. Three fir trees grow as long as each other. Cut a fir tree to set up a wing, set up a flowery window, and look well to Lang.
Is it good? After singing, the older woman continued to smile and bow her head, a shy cloud on her face, perhaps remembering that her heart was beating a deer at the time.
I stood frozen for a moment. Whispering, Auntie, you're a tease.
The Gelao people honor bamboo, which is planted in the yards of every household.
It is not easy to make a living in the mountains, but the Gelao have never left the mountains for generations because they are convinced that they are the descendants of the king of the bamboo and have the same indomitable character as the bamboo.
They sang when they were happy, sang when they were unhappy, sang and danced when they had a good harvest, and expressed their discontent in song when they were oppressed.
However, for thousands of years, this nation has never bowed its head in the face of suffering.
Simple and sincere feelings have shaped a sentient people.
The grandest annual event of the Gelao ethnic group at the foot of Fodong Mountain is the Bird Worship Festival on the first day of February.
Legend has it that a long time ago, the local Gelao people were struck by a plague, and one by one, the people in the village were infected and died.
Seeing that the village was about to be plunged into extinction, on the first day of February, a vulture brought an immortal herb that saved
At the entrance to the village, there was an eagle eagle with a lingzhi in its mouth and a gourd in its talons. I think this is the eagle that saved the whole village.
The lingzhi in my mouth must have been the immortal herb that saved my life back then, but where was the gourd?
The old men in the village said that every time the village was in danger, the divine eagle would appear.
Legend has it that after the plague, a flash flood nearly destroyed the village, or that the vulture grabbed a gourd and threw it into the monstrous flood, helping the villagers escape the catastrophe.
The Gelao people fear the gods and know how to be grateful to heaven and earth.
On the first day of February, the clansmen clean their ancestral halls and open spaces and invite Buddhists, Taoist groups or theater groups to worship and entertain the gods in a bird-worship festival.
On the day of the festival, people will scramble to place bazan and other food on trees in the mountains for the birds to eat in return for the God's birds saving their lives.
Fo Ding Mountain and the Waigu Village at the foot of the mountain are now famous tourist attractions.
The Gelao people, who live off the mountain, have also begun to buy and sell tourism, opening restaurants, lodges and rehabilitation centers.
It was lunchtime when I arrived that day. I bought some yellow rice cakes from outside and slipped into a nearby restaurant for a break.
The owner's wife came over to say hello. Seeing that I didn't need to eat, she cheerfully pointed to the water fountain on the side. There was ice water in it, which she poured and drank, and turned to go about her business.
This is a people who know how to be grateful and have a sense of humor about life.
The harmony of this people is reflected everywhere, from the Six Harmonies Pagoda in the village to the Six Harmonies Gate in the Activity Square.
The Gelao people worship harmony, eat Liuhe Banquet, step on the Liuhe Bridge, sing and dance, sing and dance, drink tea and sip wine, all of which highlight the word harmony.
Local folklore experts told me that Liuhe refers to harmony between husband and wife, parental kindness, neighborly harmony, family harmony, environmental beauty and social harmony.
The Gelao never speak ill of others or covet nature. The Six Harmonies have penetrated into their bone marrow and are integrated into their blood genes to live in harmony with the world***.
Fo Ding Mountain and Waigu Village
Fo Ding Mountain, located on the southwest edge of Shiqian County, is the second highest peak in Qiandong after Fanjing Mountain. Like Fanjing Mountain, it has historically been a Buddhist shrine in Qiandong, and Fodingshan Nature Reserve is a well-preserved area of broad-leaved evergreen forests in the middle-subtropical zone, except for the Fanjing Mountain National Nature Reserve.On December 19, 2014, Fodingshan was promoted to the status of a national nature reserve.
Waigu Village, at the foot of the mountain, is inhabited by more than 2,000 Gelao ethnic people. The village is surrounded by lush primitive forests, secluded and elegant, with green mountains, green water and birdsong. The Baoxi River flows through the village and the water is cool and refreshing. The people on both sides of the river are simple and idyllic.
The unique footstools, lattice windows, lotus ponds and stone alleys are unforgettable. During the fall harvest, the eaves of every house are covered with golden corn and red peppers, making the harvest a fascinating sight.
Recommended Food
Shinshin Tofu
Shinshin Tofu is made by kneading and freezing the juice of maple leaves. Its shape is like jelly, its color is like jade, and it has a light tea fragrance in the mouth. It has the effect of reducing fire, cooling and detoxification. It is suitable for summer consumption and can prevent and control various diseases caused by hepatitis and lung heat.
Ying Zhigang: Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.
He has worked in the media for 20 years. He was a reporter for the People's Daily China Economic Weekly, director of the news center of the People's Daily Sunan Channel, and editor-in-chief of the China Daily Jiangsu Channel. Suzhou Cai Bo Zongchuang Media Co. was founded in 2015.
Traveler: Lotto inspired traveler (CCTV image spokesman of the year), Tongcheng traveler, donkey mother traveler, Touniu big player, China National Geographic network columnist, etc.
Travel writer: published "mixed in the days of beautiful women," "the highest mission," "suddenly have nostalgia", "scattered a tenderness," and so on.