Nanjing, the Capital of Six Dynasties(中国南京·六朝古都)-儿歌荟萃-万维博客-万维读者网（电脑版）

网络日志正文

		Nanjing, the Capital of Six Dynasties(中国南京·六朝古都)	2020-07-22 08:40:47

2018-08-20

Iconic Nanjing0001.JPG

【Aiden in English】

Mixed between the constant ingestion of food and sweating, this summer trip was sprinkled with visits to friends in China. Friends typically meant old college folks Mom hadn’t seen in three decades, so most of the time, I felt detached from the conversation, hence the time to write these journal entries. Each friend often gave long; elaborate hellos cut short by my mom to fit in the time slot within a busy week. Regardless, they talk a bit, catching up on some face-to-face time.

There I stood, staying silent, smiling, and nodding for the next 10 minutes as my mother wandered about everything from Grandma’s condition to the terrible dog days. Eventually, the conversation grinds to a halt, and they realize I’m standing in the corner of their vision. They ask the general queries: “How old are you? What grade are you in? What do you want to do?”

I answer with the least number of words possible. Besides, I justified my actions by giving more time for Mom to re-acquaint with old friends. This generally leads to a meal, then a trip to a local attraction. Today’s attraction isn’t as regional as its popularity; the dubbed ‘local attraction’ has enough popularity to grant it the title of UNESCO Heritage. By now, that means nothing about its importance (the world is a whole of heritage and shouldn’t be labeled), but wherever that title goes, so do people.

Purple Mtn Scenic Area wasn’t as crowded as the city, but crowding a temple doesn’t take many people. Buddhist temples are among the quieter places in China, mainly because their sacred aspects limit the loud shouting. The places we visited today were a part of the scenic complex, Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum, the Ming Filial Mausoleum, the Spirit Valley Temple, and a string of temples dedicated to critical Buddhist figures, such as Tripitaka (Tang Monk) and Bodhisattva (Guanyin). While I may not know much about Buddhism, my childhood was filled with enough ‘Journey to the West’ to understand the red mat placed in neat rows before the Buddha and God as prayer mats. No one prayed, but not a lot of people took pictures, which in today’s day is a symbol of respect.

I'm not going to lie; this journey through the temples was quite strenuous. The thing about ancient Chinese monuments was that the emperors ordering construction always had a large available workforce. Therefore, everything can be made to enormous proportions without an extreme amount of time, such as in European projects. Examples of these massive projects completed in short periods are the Great Wall, Terra-cotta Warriors, the Forbidden City, and much more, including the Ming Filial Mausoleum, a terrifyingly large grave for one person. In addition to the spectacular decoration with balusters, civil officers, and generals in Wengzhong Path, animals were also used as protectors. Lions, horses, unicorns, Xiezhi, elephants, and camels became popular on the Stone Elephant Road. A large ring around a garden brings us to the focus: the first emperor’s grave. Compared to the rest of the area, it seemed a bit small. Essentially, the tomb layer behind a moderately sized shrine is empty of decor yet filled with people. Behind lay a mound of grass, and underneath, some decomposed pile of dirt previously known as the "Tomb of Emperor Ming Taizhu Here." That officially marked the end of the historical section of today; the rest was for friends and food, which, as the days pass, this China visit is growing closer and closer.

Later, we met another friend. And another. One of them used to be an old neighbor from my grandma’s younger years, which seems impossibly unfathomable. A few hellos and painful gift-giving ceremonies later, Mom and I stepped back into the hotel room, and as usual, we were sweaty and dehydrated. As for tomorrow, more of the same. Friends, family, a banquet, and a bit of history await.

【红霞译】

暑假藉回国之际我们走亲访友，既然参加聚会必定湖吃海喝，只要赶赴饭局终将大汗淋漓，而到场的朋友一般都是妈妈学生时代并且久违卅年的老同学，因此多数情况下，甭管他们谈论什么我都插不上嘴接不上岔，只能粗略地划拉几笔流水账。大家凑在一起往往有说不完的话聊不完的天，妈妈争分夺秒，将仅有的一周行程安排得满满登登，这样总算在故乡逗留期间亲自拜见各位父老乡亲。

我站在旁边一言不发，接下来十分钟里，时而咧嘴微笑，时而点头致意，妈妈则打开话匣子，从外婆的身体状况到离谱的三伏天气，好不容易收住谈话，这时他们方才注意到我依旧站在眼皮底下，进而聊起家常话：“多大喽？上几年级啦？想干什么呀？”

我尽量简略作答，以便省出时间让妈妈多跟老朋友唠唠嗑，通常总会狠搓一顿，酒足饭饱之后再满世界转悠。今天的景点当地人并不稀罕，但因其名声在外而被认定“联合国教科文组织世界遗产所在地”，其实没啥值得大惊小怪的，殊不知如今世界遗产遍地开花，但“花赶春潮人逐梦，絮追风信棹随波”，凡是名胜古迹的地方常常人满为患。

紫金山风景区没有南京城拥挤，正巧寺庙本身也容不下过多民众，中国的佛教圣地都比较安静，主要因为庙内严禁喧哗。今个儿我们的目的地位于景区内，诸如中山陵、明孝陵及灵谷寺及一系列供奉玄藏（唐僧）与菩萨（观世音）这种著名佛祖的庙宇，尽管我并不了解佛教，但童年时代看过无数遍电视片《西游记》，多少对佛尊神祗前排列整齐的祷告红垫略知一二。前来膜拜的教徒有限，现场照相的游客屈指可数，表明人们怀揣敬仰之意。

论真格的，参观寺庙非常消耗体力，要知道中国历代古迹都是基于皇帝指令全民老少齐上阵的结果，因此兴建任何玩艺毋需像欧洲那样花费很长时间，短期完工的例子不胜枚举，譬如长城、兵马俑、故宫等等，明孝陵同样也不例外。偌大的墓地竟是为一个人所建，里面除了装饰翁仲路神道两侧的望柱、文臣、武将之外，动物也被搬出来充当护驾。石像路上狮子、骏马、麒麟、獬豸、大象、骆驼等姿态威武，花园周围有一条主道直捣腹地：明朝朱元璋坟地。坦率地说，与整个陵园相比，陵墓显得小了点；从本质上讲，墓地位于面积适中的神殿背后，平淡无奇的过道上挤满了人群，后院有一个长满青草的土包，土包下方石块上刻有“此山明太祖之墓”。至此，我们今天的出游正式宣告结束，剩下的时间便用来与朋友吃喝玩乐，日月如梭光阴似箭，这趟回国之旅逐渐接近尾声。

稍后不久，我们与一拨又一拨的朋友见面，其中有一家先前曾是外婆前后院的老邻居，简直不可思议。寒暄了几句并赠送阔别礼物之后，我和妈妈返回酒店，跟往常一样，浑身汗流浃背几近虚脱。明天将是今天的翻版，朋友、家人、宴会、历史文化正呼唤着我们。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2018: Nanjing Ming Filial Mausoleum, China(南京明孝陵)

2018: Nanjing Spirit Valley Temple, China(南京灵谷寺)

2017: Speyer—2027 Years of Glory, DE(德国尖塔城—二千零廿七年颂歌)

2017: Speyer the Emperor Burial Place, DEU(德国尖塔城—皇陵圣地)

2017: Speyer Cathedral, Germany(德国尖塔城大教堂)

2017: Mannheim—UNESCO City of Music, DEU(德国沼泽地市—联合国科教文之音乐城)

2017: Ludwigshafen—BASF SE, DEU(德国名将港—世界最大的化学公司巴斯夫总部)

2017: Heidelberg the University Town, DEU(德国荒山市—大学城)

2017: Heidelberg—UNESCO City of Literature, DEU(德国荒山市—联合国科教文之文学城)

2017: Heidelberg Castle, Germany(德国荒山市城堡)