Chapter 917 - 649: The Four Great Ancient Capitals
"It wasn't until after 1959 in modern times that we in the Dragon Country undertook a massive renovation of Qingyun Palace, clearing pond sites, repairing palatial halls, building hotels, and opening gardens, revitalizing the ancient Qingyun Palace, turning it into a place of enjoyment for the people of Dragon Country."
Xia Liang was explaining the history of Qingyun Palace to Tina while driving towards Qingyun Palace.
Tina was astonished upon hearing this, and thought Dragon Country truly deserved its status as one of the world's four ancient civilizations, as even a single palace here boasts such a long history.
Seeing Tina's amazement, Xia Liang smiled. The cultural heritage of Dragon Country is indeed extraordinary, especially in Qingyun City, which is ranked alongside Cairo, Athens, and Roma as one of the world's four ancient capitals.
In the early 1920s, there were only four recognized ancient capitals in Dragon Country: Qingyun, Jinling, Luoyang, and Shangjing.
By the 1930s, this list had expanded to seven ancient capitals, with the addition of Kaifeng, Hangzhou, and Anyang.
Until 2004, Zhengzhou was added, further increasing the number of ancient capitals to eight.
However, the most renowned ones were initially the four ancient capitals, and regardless of how many new ones are added, Qingyun has always held the top position among Dragon Country's ancient capitals.
Throughout history, thirteen dynasties have established their capitals here, spanning over a millennium, especially during the prosperous eras of the Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang Dynasties, which imbued Qingyun with a rich cultural atmosphere.
Interestingly, anytime something is constructed in Qingyun, archaeological findings are inevitable.
No matter the project, an archaeological team is ready even before construction starts.
Modern Qingyun is known for two things: numerous colleges and countless ancient tombs. So when schools in Qingyun build new campuses, unless they uncover an ancient tomb, they wouldn't dare call themselves Qingyun schools.
In the colleges of Qingyun, there's a saying: "Going to school is like visiting a grave, everyone is a disciple of the Tomb Sect."
Over the generations, the graves of both nobles and commoners have been excavated in these schools, enough to rewrite a comprehensive history of Dragon Country.
Previously, Xia Liang saw a news story about Wudaokou Vocational and Technical College in Yanjing discovering nearly a hundred ancient tombs, yet before he could be pleased, he saw messages from Qingyun colleges saying: "Is that all?"
...
While idly chatting with Tina, they finally arrived at the foot of Li Mountain.
Although it's not the weekend today, when the two got out of the car, they were once again greeted by a sea of people.
"So many people?"
Tina gulped nervously; despite witnessing the vibrant evening scenes of Dragon Country last night, she was still quite startled.
She had assumed Dragon Country was only bustling at night—she hadn't expected the day to be even more lively.
"Ms. Tina, shall we go in?"
Xia Liang smiled and said.
Tina nodded dumbly, even forgetting to take pictures for memories, as she followed Xia Liang inside.
"Ms. Tina, Qingyun Palace is divided into several parts: the Palace City District, between the Palace City and Liao Wall, outside the Liao Wall, and within the Li Mountain Palace."
"The Palace City District is further divided into sections: the Palace Gate, East District, Middle District, and West District, and right now we are at the Palace Gate."
"There are four Palace Gates: Jinyang Gate in the north, Kaiyang Gate in the east, Zhaoyang Gate in the south, and Wangjing Gate in the west."
"The Wangjing Gate faces Qingyun, and outside the gate are the Watermelon Garden, Flower Viewing Terrace, Lotus Garden, and Powder Plum Terrace, which are all royal gardens in the palace."
"..."
As they walked further inside, Xia Liang continued introducing the surroundings to Tina, while she curiously observed around, frequently taking photos with her phone.
Strolling leisurely, they soon arrived at the East District of the Palace City, where they first encountered the Pear Garden.
The Pear Garden was where Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei trained disciples within Qingyun Palace.
According to the Old Book of Tang, Tang Xuanzong chose three hundred young talents from musical divisions to teach in the Pear Garden, and nowadays, actors are called "Pear Garden disciples" due to this origin.
Aside from the Pear Garden, there's also the Yaoguang Tower, which serves as the north gate of the main building in the East District, the Feishuang Hall, where Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei's chambers were located.
It's said that the name Feishuang Hall originated because, every winter, when Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei came to bathe in the hot springs at Qingyun Pond, flakes of snow would dance in the air. The falling snow would turn into frost, as the steam from the hot springs would dissolve the snowflakes before they touched the ground.
In front of Feishuang Hall, Tina took a few photos with Xia Liang before they proceeded southward and arrived at the Imperial Bath Nine Dragons Hall.
This was the largest bathing area in Qingyun Palace, which reportedly was initially constructed with white stone. It gleamed like jade, with fish, dragons, flowers, and birds carved on the stone steps, under which two white stone lotuses were positioned. The spring water gushed upwards and cascaded onto these lotuses, earning it the name Lotus Bath.
Xia Liang felt a bit emotional, marveling at how those ancient emperors enjoyed themselves. He doubted that only Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei had used such a grand bathhouse, imagining the scenes at the time were utterly extravagant!
Unfortunately, by the end of the Tang Dynasty, most of the Nine Dragons Bath was destroyed, and the current thing before them was merely an elegant artificial lake.
Along the lake's embankment were nine stone dragons lined up, with fresh spring water spouting from their mouths, a construction made later to fit the name Nine Dragons Bath.
"Mr. Xia Liang, what's ahead? There are so many stone tablets."
After walking a while, Tina suddenly pointed ahead and asked.
"Ms. Tina, this is the Stone Tablet Forest of Huaqing Palace, one of the famous attractions in Huaqing Palace."
Xia Liang smiled and guided her towards the direction of the stone forest.
"Currently, Huaqing Palace houses seven historical steles, sixteen poetic rocks, seven stone carvings, and four pairs of stone engravings."
"Afterward, Dragon Country carved additional steles and poetic stones totaling more than 69, among which the Northern Wei Hot Spring Ode Stele and the Hot Spring Inscription Stele are notably famous."
"The Hot Spring Inscription Stele was inscribed and erected by Tang Taizong Li Shimin in 647, placed within the Royal Writing Pavilion to the left of the south gate of Tangquan Palace."
"Unfortunately, the original stele has vanished; in recent years, based on rubbings from the original stele, Huaqing Pool replicated it, now housed in the Imperial Bath Ruins Museum. This stele pioneered the introduction of the running script to steles."
"The Northern Wei Hot Spring Ode Stele was composed and inscribed by Yuan Chang, the prefect of Yongzhou during Northern Wei. In the Tang Dynasty, it was known as the Glass Stele, with 588 words engraved. It's the earliest physical material of Huaqing Palace, and in the 1980s, Dragon Country listed it as a national restricted stele."
At this time, many tourists were also visiting the Stone Tablet Forest but mostly older ones.
Ordinary visitors come to the forest mostly out of curiosity, while only enthusiasts of calligraphy and history linger, savoring the flavor of the words carved on the stone steles.