Tianshui

cctv.com 02-12-2004 14:39

Tianshui is three hours east of Lanzhou on the northern part of the yellow earth plateau. It's the hometown of Fuxi, the first emperor and the man credited in folklore with being the ancestor of the Chinese people. Tianshui was also a leading trade center on the ancient Silk Road. It was a major stop on the way westward from Xi'an and that's why many grottoes from the time are scattered throughout the area. One of them, called Maijishan, is a top tourist attraction and numbers among the four most celebrated grottoes in China. It's up there with the Dunhuang grotto in northwest Gansu province.

Fuxi temple

In many Chinese legends, Fuxi is the ancestor and a great ancient emperor. He was born here in Tianshui and that's why we have a temple for him here. Now as an emperor, his temple was built that this central line was reserved for emperors who came here and worship him."

The temple was first built more than five hundred years ago during the Ming Dynasty. Half a millennium may have passed but the people here still remember Fuxi twice a year in elaborate ceremonies.

The statue of Fuxi sits in the temple compound's central hall. Fuxi wears clothes made of leaves and has a pair of unusually bright eyes. Legend has it that his acute observation of nature inspired him to come up with 8 diagrams that were believed to explain all the laws of the world. But apart from being a philosopher, Fuxi was also a great inventor. It's said Fuxi developed the net, allowing people to catch fish and wild animals. It's also about this time that the domestication of animals takes place. Fuxi was obviously a busy man. The list of his achievements goes on and on and his reign marked the dawn of civilization for the people of the time. But his most incredible claim to fame is his legendary status as the ancestor of the Chinese people. He apparently married his own sister Nvwa and started populating the planet. What Nvwa couldn't produce herself, she made from clay.

Gao Shihua, Curator of Tianshui Museum, said to our reporter, "Fuxi and Nvwa were not real people. We believe they are the names of two ancient Chinese tribes. There are still different opinions about when they were around. Our research shows they lived some six to seven thousand years ago. And there is a lot of evidence from the Neolithic period in Tianshui to support the theory."

"It's really difficult for people today to understand the legend of a brother-sister marriage. Actually a lot of folklore has a strong cultural background. There are a lot of historic records about Fuxi and Nvwa creating human beings and these legends are still alive in the north and south of China. These legends share many similarities with the Adam and Eve story. We believe the Fuxi-Nvwa account reflects the earliest form of marriage in human society - marriage between brothers and sisters. At that time, there were actually such unions. It's a roundabout reflection and a mystifying interpretation of history."

Sixty-four cypress trees used to grow in the temple's courtyard. Now there are just 37 left. They were planted according to points dictated by the 8 diagrams. Many local people still believe these old trees have the power to cure and heal. Actually the idea of old trees having supernatural powers is a common theme in Chinese superstition so it's hardly surprising that these ones have earned this reputation.

It's also worth taking a close look at the temple's extraordinary woodcarvings. This carving was made from a single piece of wood. Designs such as the dragon and the phoenix were reserved for royal families. There were also stories that Fuxi was half human and half snake. The snake was a popular totem of the time and is the origin of the dragon.

Gao Shihua also introduce us the mysterious Xiantian Eight Diagrams, "The Xiantian Eight Diagrams is designed by Fuxi. This one is called a Yang yao, representing all the elements that are Yang, and this broken one is called Yin Yao, representing all Yin elements. Yao means meet or clash, indicating that all the elements in the world are acting on and influencing each other. When he observed nature, Fuxi discovered that everything in the world is the result of a combination of Yin and Yang. He used eight diagrams to represent the eight elements in nature. In the south we have the sky and in the north the earth. The west is water and the east is fire. The northwest is wind, the southeast thunder, the northeast mountains and the southwest rivers. The very center is the Yin and Yang fish."

Tianshui has several star-rated hotels and the Fuxi Temple is right in the downtown area. Many people here are Muslim so you can find many very good Muslim restaurants.

Ceramics

There are also many old buildings in Tianshui city worth checking out, such as the Nanguosi Temple and the Yuquanguan Temple.

No wonder in the Chinese legends, Nvwa created human beings with clays. They are so easy to manipulate yet so delicate. In today's Tianshui it's part of their family heritage."

Kang Cunliang who is a local sculptor, show us his skilled artistry in ceramics. He started to learn ceramics from his father when he was 12. People in the region have a long tradition of using pottery bowls and pots and these kinds of products used to be the main objects made in the area. But tradition is merging with modern commerce now. At the Tianshui Pottery and Sculpture Company, the employees are making replicas of the ceramics discovered in the area. This man is making a model for an alabaster mold that will be used to make more statues. This one is called the "oriental smile", the most famous sculpture in Maijishan. A young monk secretly smiles to himself in a way that's puzzled visitors for a thousand years. Why is he so happy?

Carpet

Tianshui was a major trade center on the Silk Road and carpet used to be a main product China exported on the camel back. In today's Tianshui, people are still making carpet in the most traditional way, only on a much bigger scale.

A lot of credit for the region's carpet must go to the sheep of Northwest China. They produce raw materials needed for the products. The weavers have three different ways of making a carpet. They can follow the design on the paper or have the design painted directly on to the woolen threads. The third approach is called the Tibetan weaving and this is how you do it.

The carpet factory we visit in downtown Tianshui takes orders from all over China and the world. They are especially in demand in Europe and Asia. After all these years, nobody has been able to come up with a machine that does a better job than a person. That's why the best carpets are still hand-made.

Shadow puppet show

Another deep-rooted tradition in the area that also requires a deft touch is the shadow puppet show. The puppets are made from ox hide so they're strong and durable. The art of waving these thin and translucent puppets into life is no less mysterious when you see how it's done.

The sheer pleasure of watching a show like this is to enjoy the subtle movements of the characters. The world comes alive on the little stage. This small troupe has some three hundred puppets that include all kinds of figures from modern and ancient times. The music that goes with it is called Qinqiang, a local opera well known in China for its deafening singing style. If you visit the region around Chinese New Year, you will find these puppet shows staged at the entrance of many villages. They really do draw a crowd. They're cheap, exciting and warm people鈥檚 hearts in the middle of the winter.

Maijishan

Winter is not the best time to visit. The region is famed for its rare vegetation and you won't want to see much of it in the cold wind. But you could see another beauty, a stern landscape that still exhibits a stoic life force.

Each Autumn, local farmers pile up hay stacks for winter. It's shaped like this so that the rain would fall from the two sides without soaking up the inside. This is food for the cattle for the winter and if it's soaked up, the cattle won't eat it. And it's also the namesake of one of China's greatest grottos, Maijishan.

Few people come to visit Maijishan in the winter and the advantage of that is you more or less have the place to yourself.

The highest grotto here is some 80 meters high on the cliff. So if you have heart problems, or you are afraid of height, or if you are drunk, you'd better stay down there, don't come up with me.

The sheer height of the place can make you feel dizzy. You do have to watch your step if you come when there's been a snowfall.

It's amazing to see such huge statue. Image a thousand years ago, when the pilgrims came over here and saw the huge statue look down at them from the high cliff, the feeling must be overwhelming.

Even though I am not a pilgrim, this place is overwhelming. Most of the pilgrims of the past were Silk Road traders hoping for a safe journey. They must have really needed to pray because grottos flourished along the route and a great deal of effort was expended on them. The Buddha sitting in the center is sixteen meters high. The huge relief on the cliff is some one thousand and four hundred years old.

You might wonder how such a gigantic project was completed in the ancient time. In fact, at the time, people would log the forests down hill and pile them up against the cliff and then work on the logs. When the project is finished, they would take the logs away.

It sounds a little bit like the way the ancient Egyptians built their pyramids. This kind of mural is unique to Majishan 鈥you just can't find this light touch anywhere else. The problem is that the wet weather and frequent earthquake have taken their toll. There are about four hundred grottoes and eight thousand earthen sculptures remaining in Majishan. They span 12 dynasties and reflect the twists and turns of the art over that time. Many of the figures were made from clay built around a rock core. You can find different styles of different times in the same grotto. Take a look at how the clothing and hairstyles vary and the way the architecture changes. You can also find examples of the ideal aesthetic - slim tilted almond eyes and small mouth.

Another spectacle near Tianshui is Daxiangshan, a mountain where all kinds of Chinese gods are worshiped. It's one and a half hour's drive west of Tianshui, in Gangu county. On the mountain there are temples worshiping gods of different domains. These gods each have their own specialist areas such as medicine, carpentry, wealth, and even birth. But, for travelers, the must-see Buddha is Sakyamuni, sitting half-way up the mountain.

He looks so serene and contended. Smile a little bit like this. But his face is actually much bigger than what you can see from down here. There is an interesting story about it. Once upon a time there was a merchant who promised to repaint the face of the Buddha with gold, only to discover that the gold he prepared is far from enough. Eventually, the mustache of the Buddha was painted twice as big as it should be."

The statue is 23 meters high and from the limited viewpoints at his foot you can always see him smiling an amiable smile. The ratio of the head to the body is different from that of a normal person because the designers thought about how it would be seen when it was finished. Construction started on the huge statue about 13 hundred years ago and records show the project took three hundred years to complete.

The last grotto on our trip is hidden deep in the mountains to the west of Tianshui. To get there, we leave the fine yellow earth behind and hit the gravel.

There used to be a temple built suspending around this small hill, and it's like the relief is just on the back wall of the temple. The central figure is again Sakyamuni and he is 41 meters high, taking up more than half of the whole cliff. Once again, the work was completed more than a thousand years ago. And the reliefs are clay applied to a rock base. The colours have gently faded over time.

Conviction, patience, devotion, these are the traits the workers would have needed to complete this great work.

There are a number of nature reserves around Majishan where you can go camping, hiking or horse riding. In winter, the beauty of the area really takes your breath away.

Tianshui, water from heaven turns into snow from heaven in winter's time. Most people come around to visit Tianshui for the cool climate. But if you come around here in winters time and run into a beautiful snow fall like this, I think it'll worth your while.

Editor:Zhang  Source:CCTV.com