Wan Yan Linqing's "Two-door Revision"

If "You 'an Garden" and "Looking at the willows in the long river" are good places for old Beijingers to go for an outing in spring, then "boating in the second door" is a good place to cool off in summer. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the scenery around the second gate outside Dongbianmen was excellent, not only the river was clear and shaded by green trees, but also there were gorgeous pavilions, foggy rivers and lined merchant ships. Here, man and nature live in harmony, reflecting the unique ecological beauty of the canal and attracting countless tourists. This is a good place for the civilian class to spend the summer.

Tonghui River is 82 kilometers long and has 24 sluices. In the Ming Dynasty, the river section from Clarification Gate to Weicun Gate was closed in the imperial city, and navigation was no longer possible. Water transportation could only take the Datong Bridge outside Dongbianmen. From Dongbianmen to Tongzhou, there are five gates. From west to east, there are Touzha Datong Gate, No.2 Qingfeng Gate, No.3 Gaobeidian Gate, No.4 Garden Gate and No.5 Puji Gate in turn. Beijingers habitually call the first three doors only one, two or three, and there is no such thing as four or five.

As an important section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal in Ming and Qing Dynasties, Erzha has experienced hundreds of years of prosperity. The custom of "two-door boating" began in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty and flourished in Qing Dynasty. Outside the Dongbianmen, people collectively take big boats or painted boats, and some individuals take small boats with awnings and walk slowly along the water to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the strait. Those who pay attention to ostentation and extravagance order wine and tea from restaurants in the city and send them to the boat. Local women paddle wooden pots to sell water chestnuts and chicken head rice. There are many wine shops, tea stalls, food stalls and variety shows on both sides of Erzha. Visitors can drink tea and wine while listening to music.

Looking at the colorful scenery of flowers and plants on both sides of the strait, listening to the gurgling sound of running water, and listening to the sound of children blowing reeds with reed leaves, people seem to be in a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, so they have been called Yanjing Qinhuai or North Qinhuai since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Lao Zongmao, a scholar in the Ming Dynasty, wrote a poem "Crossing the Breeze Gate": "The red boat has a white board and smoke, and Yangzhou has a good sentence. Looking up at Datong Bridge, the scenery is picturesque. The Qingfeng-xiangguang fracture only passed through Ping Jin, and immediately stopped the channel transfer. Don't say that Yingying's clothes are all water, and some calves are better than her. " It not only praised the beautiful scenery of the canal, but also praised the superiority of water transportation over horses and chariots. Yan Linqing, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, described the beautiful scenery here in detail in Hong Xue Karma Map and Erzha Xiutu: "In Erzha area, the streams are clear and the trees are shaded, and the Princess Mountain Forest is quite attractive ... or a boat, a winding river bank, a stream, or a walk into the mountain forest, there is always wind. In Wan Yan Linqing's works, Erza has beautiful scenery and can freely "go boating". At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Zhen Jun mentioned Erzha in his book "The Odyssey of Heaven": "From May to July, boats were painted with green curtains, tables were sung in restaurants, and people were suspected on Qinhuai River." "Lunch will be held in the brake. It is not difficult for a luxury person to waste thousands of dollars by drinking a little wine, asking for a song board or reading water. "In his works, the second gate in summer can eat, drink and be merry, and there are many activities, which are no less than those on the Qinhuai River. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, the poet De Shuoting wrote in Zhuzhi's poem "A String of Grass Beads" that "it is fun to explore the secluded place by boat and eat small fish soup". The most important thing is to look at the East Building, with masts like Jiangnan. It mentioned the fish soup specially made with fresh fish from Tonghui River, which was very delicious.

Erza's beautiful environment and prosperous business not only attract long-distance businessmen and tourists, but also become a gathering place for literati. Because Zhangjiawan in Tongzhou has the classic land and pawnshop of Cao Xueqin's family, and Shuinanzhuang, east of Qingfeng Gate, has the ancestral grave of Dunhuang scholars, Cao Xueqin and his friend Dunmin have to go through the second gate to Tongzhou or Shuinanzhuang.

Unfortunately, Cao Xueqin's poems about Erzha have not been found yet, but Dunmin left many poems about Erzha, vividly describing the elegant beauty and the prosperity of wine flags here. For example, "The second gate is too late to watch the pavilion": "Entering by boat, the breeze is blowing, and the curtain of Lu' an Village is particularly secluded. The sound of the waves is endless, and the sunset is an independent bridge. "After Cao Xueqin's death, Dunmin wrote" Drink on the river, drink on the wall, and hang Xueqin "when meeting with friends in Wangdonglou. The poem says: "The flowers are dark and bright on both sides, and spring comes back to the scene. The water is gone, and the poet's space is gone. When I go upstairs, I think of drunkards. The river is dry, the trees are snowing, and thousands of villages are far-reaching. Looking at it for no reason, the crow flies to Xiao Temple in Cold Forest. "When Dunmin was drinking with his friends, he was moved by what he saw and missed his old friends. There is deep sadness and yearning between the lines, especially the last sentence, "Crows fly at dusk in Hanlin Temple", which vividly expresses the desolation and loneliness of the author after losing his best friend.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, with the rise of modern shipping and railways, water transport withdrew from the historical stage. In the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (190 1), the Qing court directly converted tribute grain into sashimi silver and put it into the state treasury, thus ending the water transportation history of Tonghui River. The waterwheels that come and go are gone, and the scenery of Tonghui River remains the same, leaving only large painted boats and small awning boats that are purely for fun. The river is clearer and more suitable for summer. In particular, the lush weeping willows and locust trees on both sides of the second gate shade the sun, and people from the city have come here to enjoy the scenery and enjoy the cool. They either take a nap in the teahouse on the shore or row in the river, enjoying the cool wind blowing from the water.

The reason why old Beijingers prefer Erzha has a lot to do with their unique conditions.

First, the water surface is large, and large cruise ships can pass through. There are many rivers in Beijing, but many rivers suitable for sightseeing can only be driven by boats and cannot carry more tourists. Kunming Lake and Long River are forbidden to pass, only open to the royal family, and Shichahai is only allowed to pass by boats with lotus roots. The second door is not restricted by these conditions, and ships of all sizes can enter and exit freely. Coupled with the beautiful scenery, it is naturally very popular.

Second, the unique water landscape. Because the water flow is blocked, a high gap is formed, so every time the gate is opened, the water potential is like flood discharge, the sound of water is like thunder, and the water waves roll, just like rolling up thousands of piles of snow. This is a very spectacular scene in Beijing without coastline, which often attracts countless tourists. People who come here to play will usually abandon their ships and go ashore five or six feet away from the gate to fully appreciate the spectacular momentum when the second gate releases water. This beautiful scene is completely included in The Legend of Hong Xue's Fate and The Revision of Two Doors written by Wan Yan Linqing, which enables us to have a glimpse of this wonderful scene today. In the works of other literati, the water potential of Erzha is also mentioned. For example, Dunmin's poem "Yong Qing Feng Gate Flowing Water" said: "The stone dam is full of rapids and the surfing is long. Cold snow in thousands of feet, white frost curtain. Raindrops don't explode, and autumn is twice as cold. The water surprised me and I wanted to whistle full of waves. " When the floodgate is opened, the current is swift and the sound of water is deafening. It is very cool to visit here in summer.

Third, low consumer prices have attracted ordinary people. On both sides of the second gate, there are many reed mats and fences as courtyard walls. Many people even open restaurants in their own yards, using local materials to prepare delicious meals for tourists, similar to today's farmhouse music. When tourists are tired of boating or after sightseeing, they usually choose to have tea or taste tea in these restaurants. The meals are basically the favorite foods of old Beijingers, such as fried boxes, mixed jellyfish, kidney beans, spiced dried tofu, smoked eggs, fried tofu, fried liver tips and sesame tofu, which are very suitable for ordinary people's daily consumption.

Fourth, cooling off summer heat with entertainment is the most popular. In addition to restaurants, restaurants and tea shops, there are various folk art performances on both sides of Erza, such as yangko, lion dance, river lanterns, singing drums and lotus flowers, storytelling and singing operas with Huang Er, and many actresses. There are many entertainment programs suitable for both refined and popular tastes. In many activities, the "Two Lions" dance is very good, which is very prominent in Beijing. "Chaoyang District Records" recorded this famous stunt: "In those days, there was a scene at the second gate that made the audience feel blocked, that is, the old Beijing proverb said that the lion at the second gate would swim in the water." When dancing the lion, the 13 bronze bell under the lion's neck vibrates far away. The lion is jumped in the river by a boatman who is good at water, commonly known as the' water lion'. The spectacle attracted thousands of people in Beijing. A pair of "Wutai Stones in Tongling" are like Youlong in the water, dancing in the waves, and the cheers on both sides are like thunder. "