Riding the wind of rebirth

"No matter what, Jingyang has transformed from 'everything for industrial development' to a place with riverside green spaces and stone carving parks that enhance spiritual civilization. I think the good aspects outweigh the bad aspects." This was my uncle's conclusion.

There aren't any loudspeakers playing music for square dancing yet, since MP3 players and lightweight batteries are still quite expensive, and most retired women can't afford them.

However, the park management thoughtfully placed a sound system playing light music next to the circular plaza in front of the stone carving wall. Some elderly people were dancing ballroom dances there, and there were instructors providing guidance. The atmosphere was quite joyful.

Zhou Zhizhi is quite supportive of these non-disruptive cultural and recreational activities. Many people here know Auntie San and greet her when they see her. They are either old acquaintances from the neighborhood or classmates from the senior university.

My uncle, this retired bureau chief, is far less influential than my aunt, who retired from the community police station.

After a walk to digest their food, the family chatted and laughed as they went home. Nothing happened that night. The next day, they got into a car and headed towards Baima Pass.

"Baima Pass was actually called Mianzhu Pass during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms period, and the Wei and Jin Dynasties. It was only during the Tang Dynasty that it was renamed Lutou Pass." Zhou Zhi explained the place to Mai Xiaomiao, his cousin Anxin, and Li Laosan while driving: "Until 907 AD, Wang Jian established the Great Shu regime in Shu and claimed that Emperor Gaozu of Han had ridden a white horse through this place to become the King of Hanzhong. Liu Bei and Pang Tong had also exchanged horses at the foot of the mountain, with Liu Bei giving his white horse to Pang Tong. Thus, the pass was officially named Baima Pass."

"Liu Bei's white horse? Isn't that Dilu?" Li Laosan asked. "This horse is unlucky for its master; it can't be tamed unless it's a true dragon."

“This is a small loophole in Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile. “In the beginning of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, through the words of Kuai Yue, it is emphasized that this horse has a ‘white forehead and a white forehead.’ According to this, the horse’s base color would not be white. However, when it is written in Chapter 63 that Pang Tong is killed, it is called a ‘white horse.’ Obviously, Luo Guanzhong forgot about the earlier content when he wrote the later part.”

"Then what color should this horse be?" Li Laosan asked.

“We need to analyze this in detail. First of all, Liu Yiqing’s commentary on Shishuo Xinyu in the Southern Dynasties quoted the Xiangma Jing, which clearly records: ‘A horse with a white forehead that extends to its teeth is called Yuyan, also known as Dilu.’ This statement is the same as the statement made by Kuai Yue when judging horses, indicating that the core feature of Dilu is a white forehead spot.”

"If it were a pure white horse, the white spots on its forehead would not be visible in the contrast; the white spots would only be visible on a dark coat. Therefore, Dilu should be a dark-colored horse with white spots on its head."

"What color should Lu be? Actually, we can confirm it through the name Lu. The character Lu first appeared in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty. Its ancient form is generally believed to resemble a kind of 'double-layered ding' from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, with a furnace or stove plate for placing fuel at the bottom to heat food, similar to a modern 'hot pot'. Later, it evolved into the character 'lu' (炉) for stove."

"Because a stove, when heated, will inevitably turn black, the character 'Lu' quickly acquired the meaning of 'black' in classical Chinese. For example, in the *Book of Songs*, 'Lu Ling,' it says, 'Lu Ling, a beautiful and benevolent person.' In Zhang Hua's *Record of Diverse Things* from the Jin Dynasty, it says, 'In the state of Han, there is a black dog named Lu,' where 'Lu' means black dog."

"In Sima Xiangru's 'Shanglin Fu' from the Han Dynasty, there is a line: 'Cormorants, flocks of them float on it.' Here, 'Cormorants' refers to a type of black water bird."

The Book of Han, Biography of Yang Xiong, records his words: "The jade maiden has nowhere to gaze upon her clear pupil, and the concubine of the Fufei can never display her moth-like eyebrows." Here, "lu" refers to a pupil, and pupils are black.

"Going back to 'Dilu', 'Lu' means black and 'Di' means indeed or clearly, so 'Dilu' means 'indeed very black,' which is the same pattern as the naming of horses at that time, such as 'Wuzhui' and 'Chitu'."

"So, all things considered, Dilu should be a black horse with a white patch on its forehead that extends all the way to its nose and then to the sides of its mouth, covering its entire upper lip." "Isn't Tangyuan the same?!" Mai Xiaomiao said.

"Hey, it really is!" Tangyuan is Guan Tingting's Border Collie, with a black face and white nose. Zhou Zhi couldn't help but laugh and said, "It really is pretty much the same!"

Thirty kilometers is not too far, and the car soon arrived at Luojiang. After driving another five kilometers, the vehicle came to the foot of a small mountain.

Located on the northern edge of the Sichuan Plain, this pass was renamed from Mianzhu Pass to Lutou Pass during the Tang Dynasty because of this mountain, which was called Lutou Mountain.

Li Laosan got out of the car and looked around. Looking at the gate tower on the hilltop, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed: "This doesn't look like a place where one man can hold off ten thousand. Why is it called a pass?"

In his mind, a place called "Guan" (关) should at least be of the same level as the Kuimen Pass he had seen in the Three Gorges.

Zhou Zhi explained to everyone: "This is the southernmost of the five most famous passes on the Jinniu Road. The so-called five passes on the Jinniu Road are Jiameng Pass, Jianmen Pass, Fucheng Pass, Jiangyou Pass, and here, Baima Pass."

"Therefore, judging from the location, Baima Pass was actually used as an important logistics and rest base for the Five Passes of Jiannan. By the time the enemy's main force had arrived here, the defending forces were basically doomed."

"Historical facts also tell us that this is indeed the case. Although Liu Bei lost Pang Tong here, it did not hinder his great cause of taking over Xichuan. However, when Wei's General Deng Ai secretly crossed Yinping, broke through Jiangyou, and advanced to this place, Zhuge Liang's eldest son Zhuge Zhan and his son Zhuge Shang, Zhang Fei's grandson Zhang Zun, Li Hui's nephew Li Qiu, and Huang Quan's son Huang Chong died in battle one after another. Baima Pass was lost, and then the capital of Shu was in danger. Liu Shan surrendered, and Shu Han was destroyed."

After walking along the newly built tree-lined path on Lutou Mountain for about ten minutes, you will arrive at Baimaguan Tower. The tower is made of earthen yellow stone bricks, and you can see the three characters "Baimaguan" when you look up.

The three characters were said to be written by Su Dongpo, Zhou Zhi's idol. Zhou Zhi was very familiar with Su Shi's calligraphy. He stood downstairs and studied it carefully for a while, feeling that the white character did indeed look like Su Shi's handwriting, but he had some doubts about the characters for "horse" and "gate". However, Li Laosan kept urging everyone to enter the pass, so there was no time to study it in detail.

The location of Baima Pass offers a very open view, with lush trees and a beautiful environment. In front of the city gate is a large flat area of ​​about ten acres, which was probably the training ground for the garrison troops to ride their horses.

The gate tower is about four or five stories high. With its crenellations and upturned eaves, it looks majestic and ancient. Standing high on the mountaintop, it has quite an imposing presence.

Once you climb the gate tower, you'll have a direct feel for the military significance of Baima Pass.

Although the mountain is not high, one can still see its range from the gate tower. This is an important watershed between the plains and hills, where "the waters flowing eastward flow into the Fu River, and the waters flowing westward gather to form the Tuo River." Beyond this point, to the southeast lies the flat plains of Sichuan, making this the northern gateway to Chengdu. Truly, "The river locks the Twin Dragon Terrace, the pass is majestic with five horses guarding it; Yizhou is like the lungs and heart of Sichuan, this place is its vital throat."

"No wonder Liu Shan surrendered so readily once this place fell. Where was Jiang Wei at that time?" (End of Chapter)