The mountain which Yuan Tiangang cut off belongs to the Panlong Range. Even if there would be no emperor produced in the lower reaches from the cutoff point, but backward on the upper reaches, there still exists “the vein of the dragon”. Therefore, it was no wonder that Empress Wu Zetian was finally born in Guangyuan City of Sichuan Province.
It is said that the Bronze Bell of the Tang Dynasty kept presently in Langzhong Museum was cast by Pu Zhenying, head of Qinglin Shrine in Hechuan County, for the purpose of celebrating Empress Wus birthday. After the bell was made, Pu Zhenying had it put into a boat and the boat set off for the capital city of Changan. The boat sailed against the current toward the upper reaches. When it got to Langzhong there came bad news that Empress Wu had passed away. At this moment, someone warned Pu Zhenying that he had better not send the bell to Changan. If he did, the court would think that he wanted to curse Empress Wu for death. Because in Chinese“songzhong”or“giving a bell” has the same sound as “attending to a dying person”, the court would award him no prizes, on the contrary, he might be given a death sentence.
After hearing this, Pu Zhenying dared not send the bell to Changan, so he left it in Langzhong.14.尋墓地袁李相爭建天宮二師言和
唐朝風水大師袁天罡因故來到閬中後，被閬中仙境般的風景所陶醉，不願再離開閬中了。於是，他就住了下來，專門從事風水與天文的研究。
另一位風水大師李淳風很敬重袁天罡。他追隨袁天罡到了閬中也住了下來。他向袁天罡學習，並一起研究數學與天文。
他倆死後均葬在閬中，墓地至今完好。
然而，他們生前為爭一塊墓地，卻留下一段趣聞：
他倆年老的時候，都想為自己尋找一個死後安身之地。雖是朋友，但在尋找最好的墳地問題上，兩人都做得很秘密。最後，他倆各自找到了一個看似“九龍捧聖”的地方。
當他倆開始建造各自的墳墓時，才發現他們選擇了同一地方。於是，他們發生了爭吵。袁說：“這個地方是我的。我選它的時候，就在地下埋了一枚有孔銅錢。”李說：“不，這地方是我的，不是你的。我選中它時，在地下埋了一枚金針。”為了證實各自的說法，他們挖開泥土，隻見一枚金針恰好穿過銅錢的孔中。
袁凝視著李，笑道：“你我都喜歡這個地方，幹脆我們一起建個天宮院吧。”
天宮院就是這樣被建起來的。14.Tiangong Courtyard and
YuanLi Contending for a Tomb SiteYuan Tiangang, a fengshui specialist, came to Langzhong for some reason. He was fascinated by the fairyland scenery of Langzhong and was unwilling to ever leave again. So he settled down and specialized in fengshui and astronomy.
Another fengshui specialist Li Chunfeng, who admired Yuan Tiangang very much, pursued Yuan to Langzhong and lived there too. He learned from Yuan and studied math and astronomy with him.
They both died and were buried in Langzhong. Both of their tombs are still intact today.
Moreover, there is an interesting story about these two contending for a tomb site.
As time went on, whether Yuan or Li grew old, both of them wanted to find a resting place for themselves after their death. Though they were friends, when it comes to exploring the best tomb site, each of them did it secretly. Finally, each of them found a place on their own which looked like nine dragons holding a crown.
But only when they started to build their respective tombs did they know they had selected the same site, so they had a quarrel. Yuan said,“This place is mine. When I selected it, I buried a punched coin under the earth.” “No,” Li said. “Its mine, not yours. When I chose it, I stuck a golden needle down into the earth!” In order to prove their respective sayings, they dug out the earth and a coin with a golden needle right through its hole appeared.
Yuan gazed at Li, smiling,“You like this place, and me too. Lets build a Tiangongyuan (meaning a courtyard like a heavenly palace ) together!”
So the Tiangong Courtyard was built.15.貴妃命喪馬嵬驛太真魂寄永安寺
當我第一次參觀永安寺時，就被它那輝煌的建築而震驚——紅牆內是一組巨大的四合院建築群，占地1 700平方米，儼然像一座古代皇宮。
2003年4月以前，永安寺被用做當地一所學校達數十年之久。它能容納9個教學班，約五百多學生。
與此同時，我被兩個問題所困擾：
第一，大多數寺院都建在縣城附近。為什麼永安寺離閬中城那麼遠？
第二，大多數寺院都傾向於建在一座峻峭的山上。要麼在山頂，要麼在山腰，要不就在山腳，且前麵有一塊開闊的場地。也就是說，在大多數寺廟處，能欣賞到遠景。可永安寺不是這樣，它坐落在群山環抱中一塊凸起的台地上。從空中鳥瞰，它臥在盆底。這是為什麼呢？
一位姓李的永安寺看管工作人員給我講了一個傳奇的故事，讓我迷霧頓開。
眾所皆知，楊貴妃乃玄宗愛妃（真名楊玉環，道號太真）被認為是中國古代四大美女之一。她在安史之亂時，被勒死於馬嵬驛。楊死了之後，玄宗很寂寞，非常思念她。一天晚上，他做了一個夢。在夢裏，楊哭著告訴他，她的真正故鄉在蜀北鳳凰山，並不在山西或陝西。她死後想與父母在一起。她回故鄉一看，父母的墳已夷為平地。於是她找閻王詢問父母的下落。閻王告訴她，她父母的魂魄已到了閬中印盒山。於是，貴妃要求玄宗在印盒山給她們全家建一座宮殿，以使他們的靈魂得到安息。玄宗點頭應允，至此夢境結束。
安史之亂平定後，玄宗想把楊貴妃的墳遷到他們的皇家陵園。他派人去馬嵬驛完成此任。當派去的人挖開墳墓，撬開棺材時，才吃驚地發現，棺材裏竟然沒有屍體。
當這件事報告給玄宗時，他突然明白了楊貴妃的魂魄真的到了印盒山，於是，他派人到閬中建造寺院，並親自給寺院命名——永安寺。
如果建永安寺的初衷是為存放楊貴妃的靈魂，那麼永安寺就是楊貴妃的化身。她又成了一名村姑，依然漂亮，孤寂地呆在崇山峻嶺之中。她正在贖罪。從某種意義上說，正是她把繁盛的唐朝弄到衰敗的地步。
盡管如此，她（它）還是渴望被外界了解。15.Yongan Temple and the Legend concerning Yang Guifei
When I first visited Yongan Temple, I was startled by its magnificent constructions—a big quadrangle complex with red walls, covering an area of 1,700 square metres. It looks really like an ancient imperial palace.
It had been used as a local school for decades by April of 2003. It could hold 9 classes with more than 500 students.
But I was in the meantime puzzled by two questions:
First, most Buddhist temples were built not far from the county seat. Why was this one constructed so far from Langzhong Town?
Second, most Buddhist temples tend to sit on a goodlooking mountain, either on the top, or somewhere on the slope, or at the foot with an open ground in its front. That is to say, most temples enjoy a distant view. But Yongan Temple doesnt. It lies on a raised terrain surrounded by mountains. From a birds eye view, Yongan Temple is located at the bottom of a basin. Why is that?
Fortunately, the curator of Yongan Temple, a Mr. Li told me a legend which shed some light on my puzzle:
As everybody knows, Yang Guifei, namely Yang Yuhuan, Emperor Xuanzongs concubine, who was regarded as one of the four most beautiful women in ancient China, was put to death by force at Maweiyi during the AnShi Rebellion (755 AD-763 AD). Without Yang, Xuanzong felt lonely. He missed Yang very much. One night he had a dream in which Yang tearfully told him that her real birthplace was at Mt. Fenghuang (Phoenix) in northern Sichuan, rather than in Shanxi or Shaanxi. After her death, she wanted to live with her parents. But when she got home, she found her parents tombs had been leveled to the ground. Then she went to ask Pluto (the King of Hell) where her parents were. Pluto told her that her parents souls had flown to Mt. Yinhe (Seal Box) of Langzhong. So Yang asked Xuanzong to build a palace for her at Mt. Yinhe so that the souls of her family could be at peace there. Xuanzong nodded and thus ended the dream.
After the AnShi Rebellion was put down, Xuanzong wanted to move Yangs tomb back to their imperial graveyard. He sent people to Maweiyi to fulfill the task. They dug out the tomb, opened the coffin. Alas, no body was there!
When this matter was reported to Emperor Xuanzong, he understood at once that Yangs soul had really gone to Mt. Yinhe. So he dispatched people to go to Langzhong and build a temple. He named it in person—Yongan (Restingpeacefullyforever) Temple.
If originally built for accommodating Yang Guifeis soul, Yongan Temple is certainly the embodiment of Yang. She is back to being a country woman again, still beautiful, but alone and lonely on a lowlying mound encircled by mountains. She is atoning for her crimes. To some extent, it is she who turned the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline.
However, she is expecting to be known by the outside world.16.“韓娥”名震閬苑“木蘭”花香巴蜀
北朝民歌《木蘭辭》記述了一個叫木蘭的女子，女扮男裝，代父從軍，征戰沙場，凱旋回朝，建功受封，辭官還鄉的傳奇故事。然而在四川閬中，也誕生了一個木蘭式的巾幗英雄，她就是韓娥，被譽為“蜀中花木蘭”。
韓娥生於元朝末年,三歲喪父，七歲失母，由叔父韓立代養。韓立正直善良，眼見元政暴虐，宮廷腐敗，常撫掌歎息，因而鄙棄功名，閑居在家。每逢閑暇，便教韓娥讀書習劍。叔母杜氏也十分賢達，待娥如親生女兒一般。
韓娥十二歲時，農民起義如火如荼。紅巾軍領袖徐壽輝派明玉珍從巫峽進攻四川，攻克重慶，並向川西北挺進。起義軍勢如破竹，元軍望風逃竄。潰敗的官兵為匪為盜，燒殺搶掠。韓立擔心侄女在戰亂中被掠受辱，對韓娥說：“女孩子防身最為重要。你都這麼大了，在這兵荒馬亂的年月，我擔心你被亂軍擄去遭侮辱。為此，我已為你縫製了一套男子裝。你可穿著，若被擄掠，見你是個男子，或可幸免。”
韓娥女扮男裝。不久，果被亂軍擄去，充當馬夫。後來這支亂軍被王起岩義軍包圍，韓娥殺掉潰軍頭領，投降了義軍。王起岩召見韓娥，問她姓名，韓娥隨口答道：“韓關保”。王起岩見“他”年少英俊，勇武機靈，又勸其給他部將宜賓人羅甲作了義子。羅甲視“他”如親子，韓娥待甲如親父。
1360年，紅巾軍領袖徐壽輝被部將陳友諒殺害，明玉珍在重慶被部將擁為隴蜀王。1363年，明玉珍建立大夏政權，宣布獨立，隨即派兵征雲南。在雲南戰場上，無論嚴寒酷暑，韓娥從不裸浴，並且總是遲睡早起,不卸衣甲。日子久了，有戰友生奇，問她：“小將軍為何遲睡早起,不卸衣甲？”韓娥泰然答道：“等候義父呼喚，操心軍旅安危，怎好怠慢貪眠？況且戰事吃緊，敵寇當前，怎能解衣卸甲？”有的戰友與她嬉戲調笑：“小將軍武力過人，何不裸身一搏？”韓娥正色回絕：“我韓關保不敢嬉戲，恐義父見怪。”眉宇間充滿難犯的正氣。有時，征戰告捷，軍中飲宴，或星夜操勞，羅甲留飲，她以天生不飲，飲則生病為辭謝絕。在長期的軍旅生活中，韓娥舉止檢點，謹小慎微，事無大小，都盡力完成，因而全軍上下信而不疑，深得羅甲喜歡，軍中事務都交韓娥辦理。羅甲常常情不自禁地向人誇耀說：“我關保兒勝親生，我要為他婚配，續我香火！”
羅甲要給韓娥婚配，韓娥推卻不成，隻得從命。新婚之夜，新娘情意綿綿，“新郎”支支吾吾，同床不成。久而久之，這對夫婦鬧不和了。羅甲召見關保，大加指責，勸其夫婦和好。關保隻好默忍不語。
從雲南凱旋回來，王起岩部駐紮在宜賓。1369年，韓娥同王起岩到成都辦事。行至成都度緣橋，偶遇韓立夫婦。麵對這位英姿煥發的戎裝小將，叔父母都認不出來。韓娥指著頭上幼時刀痕給二老看，叔父母才認出侄女。叔女久別重逢，不勝感慨。韓立向王起岩說明原委，乞還韓娥女兒裝。王起岩頓感詫異：“難道我軍中也出了個木蘭嗎？”遂將此事報告給成都府衙。經查，韓關保果乃女兒身。成都府衙又將此事報告給大夏朝廷，朝廷表彰為“貞烈女”。韓娥要求還鄉，得到批準。從此，韓娥結束了十二年的戎馬生涯，重新穿上了女裝。軍中同事得知，無不發出“同行十二年， 不知木蘭是女郎”的感慨。後來，由叔父母做主，嫁與同她一起從征的新都人馬複宗。
韓娥死後，她的兒子在新都縣赤岸山上建有木蘭寺，並於每年二月初舉辦“木蘭會”，這一習俗沿襲至今。
在閬中思依鎮木蘭鄉韓娥故裏，也建有木蘭廟。16.Mulan in Sichuan
The Poem of Mulan, was a ballad widely spread in the North Dynasty. It tells of a girl called Mulan who disguised herself as a man to join the army in place of her father. She had victories in the battles. After the war, she went to the court to see the emperor. The emperor gave her awards and appointed her an official. She refused and only asked to return home. For 12 years in the army, her mates didnt know that she or Mulan was a female.
However, in Langzhong of Sichuan, there was also produced a heroine in the type of Mulan. Her real name was Han E. She was acclaimed as“Mulan in Sichuan”.
Han E was born at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Her father passed away when she was three years old. Her mother was gone when she was seven. So she was adopted by her uncle Han Li. Han Li was a kindhearted, upright person. When he saw that the Yuan government was brutal and corrupt, he resigned and stayed at home. When there was time, he directed Han E on book reading and fencing practice. Her aunt was also kind to her and treated her as her own daughter.
When Han E was twelve, peasants uprising broke out here and there. Xu Shouhui, the top leader of the Red Turban Army, ordered Ming Yuzhen to attack Sichuan through the Wuxia Valley. Ming Yuzhen took Chongqing and drove on to northwestern Sichuan. The uprising army charged so violently that the Yuan government troops escaped hurriedly in disorder. The defeated soldiers became bandits and robbers while fleeing. Han Li and his wife were afraid that their niece would be seized and abused, so they said to Han E, “Girls should always protect themselves. This is the most important thing. You are grown up now, in this war chaos, we are afraid you will be abducted and insulted. Therefore, we have made a suit of male clothes for you. You can wear it. If you are captured, when they see you are a boy, maybe you will be spared from harm.”
So Han E disguised herself as a male. Shortly after, she was really pressganged by a band of routed soldiers to be a groom. Later, this band was surrounded by Wang Qiyans uprising troop. Han E killed the band head and surrendered to the uprising troop. Wang Qiyan summoned Han E and asked what her name was. “Han Guanbao,” she answered causally (In Chinese, E sounds like a female given name and Guanbao a male given name). General Wang Qiyan saw that Han Guanbao was young, handsome and brave, he liked “him” very much and recommended “him” to be the adopted son of Luo Jia, who was his subordinate officer. Luo Jia treated Han as his own son and Han treated Luo as her own father.
In 1360, Xu Shouhui, the top leader of the Red Turban Army, was killed by his subordinate Chen Youliang. Meanwhile, Ming Yuzhen was acclaimed as Longshu King by his subordinates in Chongqing. In 1363, Ming Yuzhen declared independence and the establishment of the Daxia Regime based in Chongqing. Then he dispatched troops to carry out an expedition to Yunnan Province. In the military life there, Han E never had a nude bath, no matter whether it was in severe cold or in severe heat. She always went to bed late with clothes on and got up early. As time went on, some mate felt strange, asking, “Why do you sleep late and get up early? Why dont you take off your clothes when sleep?” Han E answered calmly, “Im prepared for the call of my adoptive dad. Im concerned about the safety of our troop. How can I indulge in playing and sleeping? Besides, the situation is in a tense state, and the enemy may attack us any time, how can I take off my clothes and armour?” Some mate teased her, “Since you are so strong, why dont you have a wrestle with us with bare body?” Han E flatly refused, “I dare not play for fun. Im afraid my adoptive dad will blame me.” Sometimes, when there was a feast to celebrate the victory of a battle, or because of tiredness, she was invited to dinner by Luo Jia, she never drank wine. She made an excuse that she was born not to drink. If she drank, she would definitely be sick. In her long military career, Han E kept a cautious and reserved manner. Anything, whether important or minor, she would pay great attention to. Therefore, Han E was trusted by the superior and the subordinate in the whole army. Luo Jia believed in her and entrusted all the military affairs to her. He often could not help boasting, “My Guanbao is superior to my biological son. Ill marry him a wife so that my family tree can continue growing.”
After returning in triumph from Yunnan, Wang Qiyans troop was stationed in Yibin. In 1369, Han E and General Wang Qiyan went to Chengdu on an errand. When they reached Duyuan Bridge, Han E caught sight of an old couple who seemed familiar to her. She walked fast to them and recognized that they were her uncle and aunt. To their surprise, they could hardly recognize her—a young general in military uniform. Only when Han E showed them the knife scar on her head which was made in her youth did they recognize their niece. After a long separation they met again. How excited they were! Han Li told Wang Qiyan the reason and asked to resume Han Es female image. Wang Qiyan could not believe his ears. “Is there another Mulan in my army?” he asked himself. However, he reported this matter to the government office in Chengdu. After physical examination, they found that Han Guanbao was truly a virgin. Then, the Chengdu government office reported this thing to the Daxia Regime court in Chongqing. The court praised her as “chaste and unyielding girl”. Han E asked to return home. Her request was approved. And with that she concluded her twelve year military career. She wore female dress again. Having learned this, her colleagues in the troop all felt surprised that “he” was originally a female. Afterwards, as suggested by her uncle and aunt, Han E married Ma Fuzong, a Xinduborn, who was her mate in the army.
After Han E died, her son built a Mulan Temple on the Chiyan Mountain in Xindu County. There was a “Mulan Party” in February each year, and the custom remained till today.
In Mulan Township of Langzhong City, Han Es home town, there was also built a Mulan Temple.