Increase knowledge! How do cultural people watch the tide?
Author: Zhou Sunyu
The Qiantang River tide is famous all over the world for its majestic momentum and spectacular sights, and is known as the "Wonder of the World".
As the eighteenth month of the lunar calendar approaches, the Qianjiang tide has entered the best viewing moment of the year.
Right now, walking into Haining, Zhejiang, you can see the scene of the article "Watching the Tide" in the Chinese textbook.
"The river tide hasn't come yet, and the seawall embankment has already been crowded. Everyone looks east, waiting, hoping...the tide is coming! The white line quickly moved towards us, gradually elongated, thickened, and traversed the surface of the river. When I got closer, I saw the white waves rolling and forming a wall of water more than two feet high. The waves were getting closer and closer, like thousands of white war horses advancing side by side, galloping in mighty; the sound was like a mountain breaking and the ground cracking, It seemed that the earth was shaking."
——Excerpt from Zhao Zongcheng and Zhu Mingyuan's "Watching the Tide"
According to statistics, in order to see the tidal scenery, Haining, Zhejiang, will accept hundreds of thousands of tourists at this season of the year. But you may not know that such a lively scene did not only arise in the modern era. In fact, it was more than two thousand years ago on the banks of the Qiantang River. There is the custom of watching the tide, even more solemn and exquisite.
Qiantang tide is coming soon.
Photo by Zhou Sunyu
No one can refuse the Emperor Watching the tide, no exception
According to research by researchers, the earliest history of people watching the tide can be traced back to the Han and Wei dynasties. "Zhuangzi" has recorded that "the water of Zhejiang, the mountains and the rolling houses, the thunder and the thunder, have the tendency to swallow the sky and fertile days."
As early as this period, the wise ancients began to explore the mystery behind the ebb and flow of the tide, trying to grasp its whereabouts.
The Eastern Han philosopher Wang Chong pointed out the relationship between tides, tides, moon, and terrain in his book "Lun Heng". This is the world's earliest physical explanation of the causes of tides.
In the Tang and Song dynasties, people have clearly discovered that August is the best time to watch the tide, and the tide has formed a fashion in society. From a modern perspective, this history is like a large-scale "star chase". "Action, in the face of the magnificent Qiantang tide, everyone is transformed into a "tide chasing tribe", whether it is a flat-headed citizen or a high-ranking official.
Qianjiang tide is "a thin line of sky".
Photo by Zhou Sunyu
The poet Meng Haoran once wrote the poem "Waiting the tide with Yan Qiantang ascending the barrier building" to describe the grand occasion when watching the tide:
Baili heard the thunder and stopped playing.
The Fuzhong rode out, and the river is waiting to see the tide.
The clouds are bright in the autumn and the sky is wide in the floating sky.
The turbulent waves come like snow, and a dignified one grows cold.
Simple explanation: Qianjiang tide is coming, people quickly put aside their work, officials one by one rode to the "best check-in point" on the riverside to wait for the tide.
As the tide officially debuted, the waves rolled up like white snow, and everyone present was shocked.
In addition to Meng Haoran, Li Bai, Fan Zhongyan, Du Fu and others have also written poems for watching the tide. Among these people, Su Dongpo is undoubtedly a "big fan" of the tide. Just "Watching the Tide on August 15" wrote in one breath. Five songs were written.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, the government even designated the eighteenth month of the lunar calendar as an annual grand festival. On this day, sailors, sacrifices, tide watching, tide-making performances, etc. were reviewed.
Zhou Mi’s "Old Events in Wulin" records that on August 18th, Emperor Gaozong of Song and Xiaozong of Song Dynasty went to the Zhejiang Pavilion to watch the tide. Said: "The Qiantang River tide is also nothing in the world."
It can be seen that at that time, even the emperor could not refuse this spectacular Qiantang tide.
The tumbling Qiantang tide.
Photo by Zhou Sunyu
After watching the day tide, watching the night tide, watching the head tide, watching the tail tide
When the time came to the Ming Dynasty, the "tide chasers" loved the tide to a higher level. It was no longer enough for them to watch the tide during the day, and the custom of watching the tide at night was born.
Compared with the turbulent and turbulent day tide, the night tide is more dim and quiet. Without the hustle and bustle of the day, the sound, color, and rhyme of the night tide are particularly prominent in the quiet night.
Ming dynasty opera writer Gao Lian once described in his "Four Seasons You Appreciation Records": "Zhejiang tides are flooded, and most people watch from day to day in August. There are few observers who know the night. The midnight and midnight moon sky is horizontal, the rivers are quiet, and the water passes by. Swallowing toad light, it is a wonder. The wind is steep and cold, the tide rises in Haimen, the moon shadows and the silver waves, the light shakes and sprays the snow, the clouds move on the jade shore, the waves roll and thunder, the white wind is blowing, the flying and bending, the momentum is like The sound of the mountains makes people want to stand up. Gu Yun:'The sound of a hundred thousand soldiers is in the middle of the night.' Believe it!"
At the same time, as the Qiantang River in the Ming Dynasty gradually moved south, the best tide viewing point also changed, gradually shifting from Hangzhou to nearby Haining (in ancient Hangzhou), so the Ming Dynasty also called the Qianjiang tide the Haining tide.
During the period of the Republic of China, people became more particular about watching tides, and even launched a "special train for watching tides."
Relevant documents record: "Except for watching tides up and down the river, most people tend to Haining. Special trains for watching tides will be opened during the period to facilitate visitors. People from afar, if they arrive on schedule, the car is full. Food is provided in the car. . You can drink and eat as you go."
Today, the enthusiasm of tourists is still unabated. According to statistics, Haining, Zhejiang will accept hundreds of thousands of tourists at this time of year.
Tourists waiting for the tide.
Photo by Zhou Sunyu
On September 23, the reporter came to the Haining Tide Viewing Resort Park in Zhejiang Province. Although the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed and the weather is hot, two hours before the arrival of the tide, thousands of tourists are waiting on the banks of the Qiantang River. The family went out together with their mouths."
During the waiting time, "naughty" tourists from time to time reported "false information" in the crowd, which caused the scene to boo again and again.
When the "Silver Dragon" appeared on the river, the people on the scene seemed to be ignited by fuse, and instantly boiled. However, compared with the ancient literati, people now prefer to pick up their mobile phones to "be in the same frame as the tide."
Nowadays, in Haining, Zhejiang, a unique theory of "seeing the four scenic spots in one tide, three times" has been formed, that is, watching the "first-line tide of Jiang Heng Bai Lian" in Yanguan Town and the "thrilling encounter tide" in the big gap. Yancang watched the "returning tide of the stormy waves and the shore", and watched the "midnight tide in the middle of the moon" at night.
"Watching the tide" has become a way of life for people to enjoy themselves and to be socially friendly.
Data map: Qiantang River tide.
Photo by Wang Gang
Not only watch the tide but also make the tide
Due to the limitation of the level of technology and cognition, the ancients attributed the turbulent tide to the "Tide God" at work. Therefore, the eighteenth of the lunar calendar was also regarded as the "Tide God's Birthday". On this day, the people will pass a series of The activity prays for the "God of Tide" to bless the stability of life. The most distinctive feature is the birth of the word "Tide".
As the name suggests, "Tide" is a kind of competitive sport.
Zhou Mi of the Song Dynasty described it in detail in "Old Wulin Events", "Hundreds of Wu Ershan people, all wearing tattoos, holding ten large colorful flags, vying to be the first to bravely, rushing forward, and haunting the waves of whales. The body can be changed, and the tail of the flag is not wet, so as to boast of energy."
It is not difficult to see that compared to the current surfing, the ancient "tide" is more difficult.
Not only do all kinds of thrilling stunts, but also the colorful flags in your hands are not wet.
Therefore, the winners of "trends" are regarded as warriors. Not only can they receive silver and money rewards, they also arrange flowers and reds, drums and blows, and are welcomed by tens of thousands of people. Civil women are also proud of being able to marry "trends".
Data map: Qiantang River tide.
Photo by Wang Gang
To this day, although the traditional meaning of “running tide” no longer exists, it has been replaced by the Qiantang River International Surfing Competition (which will be suspended after 2020 due to epidemic prevention and control), but the term “running tide” has continued to this day. Used to describe those who are brave and enterprising.
Behind this more than two thousand years of "chasing the tide", the Qiantang tide has become a special historical and cultural textbook. There are magnificent historical changes, poetry and poetry by literati and poets, and construction by working people. The enterprising spirit of water conservancy, resistance to disasters, and optimism in facing life.