Recently, I feel like an ant sighing at the vastness of this world, the wisdom is so ancient, and I am so ignorant and humble. In my spare time, I would like to share an ancient book with you. Of course I can’t read classical Chinese, so I read a simple and popular translation.
I have been obsessed with Xinjiang in the past two years, and beyond the Qilian Mountains in the west, there are many legends from ancient times to the present. And I am increasingly interested in myths, legends, ancestors, and ancient legends. Every moment in this world is wonderful, with stories and legends circulating, and everything you do so far, whether you are a criminal or a great man, a maggot or a tree, is all writing the story of this era. As time goes by, it slowly becomes a legend. Believe it or not, it feels like it is just a matter of fact, and the truth may not necessarily be false. I no longer believe everything I can "see" in front of me.
The Classic of Mountains and Seas is recommended as the ancestor of all books. It is not a classic book. It is a geographical magazine from ancient times, telling the ancestors' experiences of mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, so it is named "The Classic of Mountains and Seas". The whole book has only more than 30,000 words. If you read it at an overview, you can finish it in two or three hours. If we taste it deeply, we still cannot fully understand it with the wisdom and research of mankind so far.
It is said that this book was not written by one person, but a hodgepodge of many ancient deeds and legends. The place names and mountains and rivers described in the book have been gradually partially confirmed by scholars' understanding and research, but the legendary people, gods and beasts may not be real?
Since the development of mankind, how many rare and exotic animals have become extinct? How many mountains and rivers have changed and the geography has been overturned? How many legends have been rewritten, re-edited and deified?
Mountains and rivers seem to be immobile, but all we can see is the moonlight of the mountains and rivers for decades before and after us. Looking at the mountains and rivers for thousands of years, maybe the mountains and rivers are as changeable as clouds and mist. What does the shell fossil found on the top of Mount Everest mean?
Just like in modern times, Lop Nur is the size of Taiwan Province. This land of rippling blue waves was an oasis where merchants gathered hundreds of years ago, but it turned into a desert in just a few years. The feeling of being in it is indeed as shocking as being in another world. And how many things are imaginable in the world thousands of years ago or even ancient times?
Just like the legend of Nuwa picking five-color stones from Mount Buzhou in the west to mend the sky. Buzhou Mountain is said to be the northwest area of today's Kunlun Mountains. I have set foot in the majestic Kunlun Mountains, where the Altyn Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains border the northwest of Kunlun Mountains. There are indeed a large number of five-color stones in the local area, and local people have already turned collecting five-color stones into a business. Traveling to uninhabited land without any hesitation, facing the wind and sand in search of beautiful jade.
Just like Emperor Yan recorded in "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", it is said that Emperor Yan was the Shennong clan, and Dujiangyan was a water conservancy project created by the Shennong clan. And Emperor Yan appears in the Hai Jing part of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. When I saw the cobblestones inlaid on the canyon on the way into Tibet, I could imagine the mighty floods in ancient times. When the descendants of Shennong controlled the water thousands of years ago, the amount of water must have been much greater than it is now. And after the flood control is successful, no matter how mythical it is, it cannot be overstated.
Just like the nine-tailed four-body, three-body country, and one-armed country recorded in the book, isn't it possible that the ancestors judged their customs, clothing, and attire? The exact location of the legendary ancient battlefield where the Yellow Emperor fought against Chi You can also be found in reality. The saying that the bow should not be directed towards Xuanyuan Terrace also exemplifies the respect of the ancestors of the Chinese people for the Yellow Emperor.
Everything mentioned above is actually not just citing scriptures to pretend to be a ghost. Rather, I am thinking about so many ancient records and descriptions, and the confusing truth. It's like a little person walking into the Garden of Eden, dazzled by all the fresh flowers and plants, and imagining.
Just a taste of the ancient wisdom of our ancestors is like a child opening a magical candy box. I am not qualified to talk about mysteries or make mysteries, and what I share with you is not the exquisite geography or legends. It's that vast, curious and inexplicable feeling of loneliness.
This world is so incredible. I look up at the long river of history like an ant. I am horrified, uneasy and unable to stop being curious. The mysterious power in the dark and all the incredible legends seem to be true.
All conditioned phenomena are like bubbles in a dream, like dew or lightning, and should be viewed as such.