Thoughts on湯山溫泉Tangshan Hot Spring Mountain, Nanjing

Thoughts on湯山溫泉Tangshan Hot Spring Mountain, Nanjing I shared my first hot spring bath in北投 陽明山Yangming Mountain in Taipei, Taiwan with my grandmother. She told me: “You are five, grandmother is 50.” Grandmother was hiding in the water, and beckoning me toward the huge wood bath tub, bubbling with steaming hot spring water. The air was filled with a sulfur mineral smell. Water was coming from pipes in the mountain linked to the hot spring. I was afraid of the steaming heat. Embarrassed that I took off clothes under her look, I slipped into it, and it was warm but not horribly hot. I thought it was strange why she was like the Japanese. I never washed together with anybody as this was not the Chinese custom. We laughed at entire Japanese families soaking in a large bath pool as “有禮無體 Though you have the façade of etiquette, you don’t have fundamental substance.” The closest root of the language spoken by the Japanese in the Tokyo region is the local dialect of Suzhou ancient Wu State capital. It is not the other way around.Then, I realized that using hot spring baths was her cultural habit, as TangShan hot springs was near the Chinese capital in Nanking. In the same region, 350,000 year old Nanking ape-men’s skulls were found. When I visit there I wonder if I will hear the apes of TangShan howling in the sparkling agate night. 蔣緯國 Jiang Wei Guo’s father戴傳賢Dai Chuan Xian bought Nanjing land at the top of a hill.Later, the land was used as Yi Ning school ground. Ning 寧 is so named after the ancient Nanjing compound of 江寧府 Jiang Ning Prefecture. Dai Chuan Xian was a Buddhist, and his brother was a principal and an educator, so he bought the temple land and then used it also for a school. Later, they relocated the school to Taichung, Taiwan. It still uses Yi Ning Middle School as the name for the private school. History background of Nanjing. Nanjing possesses ample water resources, both from the Yangtze River and ground water, and it has several natural hot springs such as湯山Tangshan Hot Spring in 江寧Jiangning. Natural lakes such as玄武湖 Xuanwu Lake and 莫愁湖Mochou Lake are located in the center of the city and easily accessible to the public, while hills like Purple Mountain are covered with evergreen trees and host various historical and cultural sites. The famous strategist and politician in三國the Three Kingdoms Period, 諸葛亮Zhuge Liang, was so pleased by Nanjing's geographic position, he gave the following praise: “With Purple Mountain as twining dragon and Stone Wall as crouching tiger, Jinling (old-name of Nanjing) is absolutely a home of emperors.” (钟山龙蟠，石头虎踞，真乃帝王之宅也) Jiang Wei Guo later went to Tang Shan hot spring when he was in his 80s.He was an old man. He reminisced about the hot bath when he was a boy, with his father.Zhu Jia Hua was his godfather; he invited an Austrian professor for geology research. A retired German marshal was dancing to a Strauss waltz with a Czech violinist in the villa hall. In Germany when they were both young, they received German training, Dr. Chu in social sciences, and Jiang in the military artillery armor school. Dr. Chu studied medicine in Shanghai's Tong Ji University, founded by the Germans. 難以想像﹐湯山曾有的金陵溫泉盛世, 清泉汨湧。如今, 害怕看到渾水﹐工人洗澡間, 成為低下的貧民游樂場所景點。正如﹐我從龍門石窟看到的鮮卑女孩﹐已對過去時代﹐北魏的盛世一無所知,茫然不復記憶.

Bewildered about the Past Glory, on Luoyang capital and Nanking capital

It is hard to imagine the sparkling hot spring surging out and the past beauty of wonder, be it a nationalist-run or a Wu State kingdom. I am frightened to see the dirty water, and the communist public pool bath with workmen soaking there. This is just like what I have seen with the Xian Bei girl in the glorious Longmen Grotto by the Yi River. Toward her ancestral past, somehow, she ought to have a sense of pride. I thought that Northern Wei dynasty's ruling scored some good points. The bible of the Northern Bei dynasty stone inscription tablet is still stored in the Confucius temple. The non-Han people were so eager to be honored and recognized by the Chinese Han.

水經注訴說著 那久遠的史前史﹐大禹開闢拓寬谷道﹐伊水注入黃河﹐兩岸有龍門及香山對立。龍門與香山﹐二山永恆的相望. The Book of Rivers tells us that long ago, in prehistory, Da Yu, the first emperor of Xia Dynasty, widened the valley, allowing the Yi River to connect with the Yellow River. By the side of the Yi River, the Longmen and Xiang Fragrant Mountain are facing each other. Comment by Free Mind: This pristine environment was marred by invaders from the north and west, who carved Buddhas and statuettes in the side of the mountain, during the Northern Dynasty. The Sui Dynasty unified the north and south split. It is difficult to imagine the thriving times for the fountain resort.Right now the hot springs resort is in a declining state. Just like when we travel in Longmen Grotto in Luoyang. The green-eyed Xianbei race, a mixture of white Slavic and Arabic genes with wheat complexion but Chinese smooth delicate skin texture toward their once glorified past is without any trace of memory.The Northern Dynasty occupied North China and was assimilated into the Chinese race. Yi water is flowing by with different occupiers.They are peddling the Guanyin pendants with smiles. I bought the dark green nephrite jade Guanyin pendant from the Xianbei girl, with an inset Guanyin portrait. It is real solid natural stone. The 13,000 temples were burned and the dynasty changed. It ushered in another dynasty. A man in the name of depicting the temples, secretly drew down the Luoyang city map. So to this day, we have this secret book of Luoyang blueprint prior to its burning.The mixed blood emperor, of Xian Bei race of Slavic father, and Chinese mother, Bei Wei Xiao Wen Di, North Wei Xiao Wen emperor, ordered that in the court to give up non-Chinese customs, and the official language must be Han language, or else they would be fired. I asked the Xian Bei girl:Do you know that you look like a foreigner to me? She smiled in her mystical disbelief:No. Is that so? That pair of green eyes is shimmering in the distant light of another race, another culture that went extinct on the horizon. But the Yi Water River still moves quietly toward the Yellow River to see the grand world. 龍門與香山 隔著伊水 二山永恆的相望 幾番風雨 青山依然在 幾度夕陽紅 Longmen and Xiang Shan Yi River flowing between them Two mountains forever facing each other A few times of Wind and Rain The Green Mountain is still here after how many red sunsets? -- Written by Catherine Chuang