According to legend, Lingnan is rich in litchi, and Yang Yuhuan, the imperial concubine of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, liked it very much. In order to satisfy Yang Yuhuan's fondness for litchi, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered a special post station from Fuzhou, Sichuan (now Fuling, Chongqing) to Chang 'an.
Since the Qin Dynasty established a unified feudal centralized regime, a nationwide transportation and communication network was quickly established. With Xianyang and Qin Dou as the center, "Yan Qi is poor in the east, Antarctic Wu Chu is above the rivers and lakes, and the seaside view is complete" (Hanshu? 6? Jia Shanchuan). As the main road network in the Qin Dynasty, Chidao "has a road width of 50 steps, a tree height of three feet, a thick outside, hidden golden globes and pine trees". That is to say, plant a pine tree at a pace of 5 feet, 50 steps and 25 feet (about 80 meters), 10 meters, which is very beautiful. Such avenues are found all over the country, and the ancient meridian road was also opened at this time, that is, from the south of Duxian County to Qinling Mountain for Hanzhong.
Woods Town, Xixiang, namely "the south exit of Nanziwu Road", is located about 58 kilometers southwest of Xixiang County. Woods Road, which originated in Qin Dynasty, has been an important post road from the south of Chang 'an to the south of Woods Valley and across Qinling Mountains to Hanzhong, Ankang and Bashu since Qin and Han Dynasties. It is the main artery of land and water traffic at the junction of three counties (Xixiang, Yangxian and Shiquan), and it was easily subordinate to it in history (Anyang in the Western Han Dynasty, Nanxiang in the Shu and Han Dynasties, Gold in the Western Wei Dynasty, Daye in Sui Dynasty in two years, Shiquan in the Republic of China and this county after the founding of the People's Republic of China). Therefore, Woods Town has become an important military, transportation and commercial center in the northeast of Xixiang County for a long time.
During the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, "Litchi Road" was opened, and Woods Town in the south, that is, Woods Town in Xixiang, used the new line of Woods Road in the north; Going south, going out of Ziwu Road, passing Xixiang and Zhenba to Fuzhou, Sichuan, has become another shortcut from Qin to Shu after Jinniu Road.
According to the records in the Nine Classics of the Tang Dynasty, the post station system in the Tang Dynasty mainly followed the Han system, and a post station was set up every 30 miles on the main roads called official roads all over the country. Judging from the basic situation of the "Litchi Road" recognized by the academic circles, the picked litchi leaves are sealed in bamboo tubes, preserved by local methods to prevent them from being squeezed and dismantled on the way, and then put into cages and loaded with horses. A change in 20 miles, a change in 60 miles, tight whip and urgent hoof, 500 miles a day, four or five days to Chang' an. There is no doubt that the official said, "My concubine loves litchi, so she will give birth to it, so mail it, travel thousands of miles, and the taste has not changed." The historical data in Old Tang Book and New Tang Book show that the distance from Fuling to Chang 'an is more than 1000 kilometers, which enriches the true description of the transportation process of Litchi Road by Du Mu, a poet in the late Tang Dynasty: "Looking back at Chang 'an, there are piles of embroideries. Riding the world of mortals and laughing, no one knew it was litchi. "
Therefore, today, Duanjiaying and Tangxing Temple in Woods Town of Xixiang naturally become one of the important stations and nodes on Woods Road and "Litchi Road".
By the Northern Song Dynasty, the Meridian Road was still the main business route from Chang 'an to Yangzhou (Yangxian, Chenggu and Xixiang) and Jinzhou (Ankang). "Business travel usually enters a foreign country from the meridian" (a mirror of continuous capital management). In the Southern Song Dynasty, the old line of Meridian Road west of Maji Town in Shiquan became an important passage from Hanzhong, Ankang and Xiangyang to Beijing-Hangzhou Post Road in the northwest border.
Compared with the ancient road relics and relics left on the old and new routes of Woods Road, the route south of the south exit of Woods Road, namely the Xixiang section of "Litchi Road", is relatively few. In addition to Tangxing Temple, Dawulang Han Tomb (unearthed with five baht and bronze dagger of Han Dynasty, all hidden in the county cultural relics library), the remains of the ancient plank road in Huanlu Village of Baimianxia, Xixiang, the remains of the ancient plank road in Shangtianba Village of Luo Zhen Town, and the three-way poems of the former Woods Town Government Courtyard (Spring Mountain Tour, Copper Flute in Horse, Boat Tour in Hanshui),
New Tang book? 6? "The Biography of Xuanzong Yang Guifei" said: "My concubine loves litchi, and she must want to give birth to it. She mailed it, went to Wan Li Road, and the taste did not change. When she arrived in Beijing. " There are also related records in the Six Classics of Tang Dynasty: Princess Gaozu was the secretariat of Jinzhou, and her father was Zhou Shu's secretary. The princess was lonely in her early years and should have been in Shu when she was young. "Supplement to National History" records that he was "born in Shu and loved litchi", so he loved litchi from childhood. The litchi produced in Fuzhou in the middle of Shu is closest to Chang 'an. From numerous literature and history data and related cultural relics investigation data, it is known that the tablet "Bronze Flute before the Horse" carved in the ugly year of Hongzhi in Ming Dynasty (1505) is "Hate the face of the demon?" Consultation? What's the matter with you? Even the emperor knocked at the door? What's the story? Lang Shuo is pregnant? Zong opened up a "litchi post road" to transport litchi for his favorite princess, which vividly reproduced the scene of transporting litchi.
"Chang' an looks back at the embroidered pile, and the top of the mountain opens a thousand times. When I was riding the world of mortals and laughing, no one knew it was litchi. " -From Du Mu's "Three Poems of Crossing the Huaqing Palace" in the late Tang Dynasty, this poem chose to send lychees to the imperial concubine for flying, vividly revealing that the rulers spared no expense to make a fuss and waste people's money in order to satisfy their appetite, which effectively lashed the arrogance and extravagance of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Yang Guifei. The first two sentences of the poem pave the way for the background, and the last two sentences introduce the theme of the description and prompt the theme of the poem.
This epic was written by Du Mulu when he arrived in Chang 'an via Huaqing Palace, feeling that Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei were extravagant and misunderstood their own country. Huaqing Palace was once a playground for Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Yang Guifei. According to "Biography of Yang Guifei in the New Tang Dynasty", "My concubine loves lychee, and she must be born, so she rode it for thousands of miles, and her taste has not changed, and she has arrived in the capital". As a result, many policemen were exhausted and the post horse fell dead on the way from Sichuan to Chang 'an. The quatrains crossing the Qing Palace intercepted this historical fact, attacked the arrogance, extravagance and ignorance of feudal rulers, satirized the present with history and warned the monarch.
"Chang 'an Looking Back at Embroidered Piles" describes the scenery the poet saw when he looked back at Huaqing Palace in Chang 'an. The word "looking back" is not only a true writing, but also a link between the past and the future. The poet overlooks Mount Li in the capital, where there are lush trees and flowers, and countless layered and magnificent buildings are hidden among them, just like a pile of splendid scenery. Suddenly, a sense of responsibility for reviewing and reflecting on history arises spontaneously, and a sense of history arises spontaneously. It is the following three sentences, "A thousand doors open at the top of the mountain", which is a link between the preceding and the following and is a review of history. The opening of Mount Li's "Thousands of Gates on the Peak" describes the luxury of Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei's life in those years, and sets a question for readers: Why should the "Thousands of Gates on the Peak" be opened? The last two sentences, "The world of mortals laughs when riding a princess, and no one knows it is litchi", are the answers. It turns out that this is all caused by Yang Guifei. When she saw "riding the world of mortals" galloping past, she knew that the litchi that gave her appetite had arrived, so she "laughed" happily.
Others thought it was an urgent document, but who thought it would be fresh litchi in Fuzhou immediately! The conclusion of the poem is not only the crowning touch of the whole poem, but also the bane of "An Shi Rebellion". The purpose of reciting the anecdote of Tianbao is to warn the later monarchs not to delay the state affairs because of their pursuit of pleasure. However, the poet did not write about the tragic situation of An Shi, Xuanzong's hasty escape, Ma Youpo's performance, nor did he list Xuanzong's amusement, extravagance and luxury life. But to give litchi a thousand miles to win a smile from the imperial concubine.
Su Shi, a great writer, has a poem "Litchi Tan", which describes the scene of Yang Guifei eating litchi at that time. The poem sighs: "Flying over the mountains and storks across the sea, the wind branches are like new flowers. The beauty in the palace is broken, and the dust is splashed with blood for thousands of years. " Many people put their lives in the relay races over mountains and mountains again and again, and the result is "shocking dust and spilling blood". At last, litchi came to the palace like a new pick. Mr. Su Lao's poem can be summed up in a vernacular: the litchi that Yang Guifei stuffed into her mouth was soaked with the blood and sweat of others.
Yang Guifei loves litchi. At that time, in order to eat fresh litchi, the dignitaries in the north specially opened the "Litchi Road" to transport litchi from south to north. From common sense, the south is thousands of miles away from Chang 'an, and even the fastest horse can't arrive within the shelf life of litchi.
So, where did Yang Guifei eat litchi? How does litchi get to Chang 'an?
In order to make Yang Guifei want to eat fresh litchi, the court also specially opened a "litchi road" to transport litchi from south to north, and a "litchi road" to transport litchi from south to north.
As a result, a thousand miles of tribute made Bomei people happy, which became a major manifestation of Tang Xuanzong's abuse of state machinery and neglect of state affairs. So, where did litchi come from? How many miles is "Wan Li Road"?
Yan Gengwang, a historian, deliberately sorted out and compared the records of the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, and found an intriguing phenomenon: in the Tang Dynasty, it was often said that litchi came from Lingnan, while the records after the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty showed that cloudy litchi came from Fuzhou, Sichuan (now Fuling District, Chongqing). According to historical records, litchi is a typical southern fruit. Today, the main producing areas are in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, and only Hejiang County in Luzhou has large-scale production in Sichuan.
In the eyes of the people in the Tang Dynasty, the litchi that Yang Guifei ate came from Lingnan, which not only conformed to the story of litchi's long-distance tribute and people's poverty, but also conformed to the people's intention of satirizing current politics at that time. However, litchi has one characteristic-it is not easy to preserve. According to the speed of the post horse, it is impossible for fresh litchi in Lingnan to reach Chang 'an in four or five days. Therefore, the litchi eaten by the imperial concubine should be from other places.
"Yang Fei loves to eat raw litchi. She married in Fuling, from Dazhou to Xixiang, and entered Woods Valley. I've only been in Chang 'an for three days, and the color, smell and taste have not changed. "Litchi Road is particularly eye-catching in the road of Sichuan and Shaanxi because of the story of riding a princess in the world of mortals, but from the historical facts since the Han and Tang Dynasties, Chencang Road and Xiexie Road are the most important of the four roads crossing the Qinling Mountains. Zan ramp is relatively close, and it is usually used the most. Although Chencang Road is long and circuitous, it is relatively flat and convenient for water transportation, which attracts much attention in wartime.
"Biography of Yang Guifei in the New Tang Dynasty" says: "I like litchi, and I will be born with it. She mailed it, went to Wan Li Road, and the taste did not change. When she arrived in Beijing. " Everyone knows the historical events in the second half of Xuanzong, "until the drum war, from Yuyang boom, the world shook, breaking the tune of rainbow skirts and feather clothes." Paying tribute for thousands of miles and enjoying the beauty of the people have become a major manifestation of Xuanzong's abuse of state machinery and neglect of state affairs. So, where did litchi come from? "Wan Li Road" is Wan Li? Several vague details in historical materials have become several important bases for future generations to judge the coma degree of Xuanzong. At that time, Emperor Tang Ming and Yang Guifei were both in Chang 'an. In today's developed society, it takes a long time to enter Sichuan. How did the ancients enter Chang 'an at that time?
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Litchi Road started from Changshou Lake in Changshou District, Chongqing, generally along provincial roads S 102 and S202, and went north along Mingyue Mountain. Go to Tanzhi Town, Kaijiang County, and go around Mingyue Mountain in the west. Use Xinning River in Kaijiang County to cross Qilixia Mountain and enter Xuanhan County. Turn into G2 10 National Road along Zhouhe River in Xuanhan County in Luojiang Town, Dazhou, pass through Daba Mountain and Qinling Mountain successively, and reach Guanzhong Plain. The whole journey is about 1800 Li. On the way, there is a barrier between the parallel folded mountains in eastern Sichuan and the Qinling-Bashan mountains. Litchi Road is not forced to cross, but skillfully uses natural valleys to break through these obstacles.
Litchi Road in Chang 'an, Tang Dou is restricted by biological species, so it is impossible for litchi to grow northward. Due to the steep Wushan mountain range, litchi in Sichuan cannot expand eastward. In terms of spatial location, this is the nearest litchi producing area to Chang 'an. The choice of fresh litchi in Fuzhou as the product of Chigong in the Tang Dynasty was not a question of trust, but a careful feasibility consideration.
In ancient times, especially during the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Meridian Road was an important passage from Chang 'an, the capital of China, to Hanzhong and Bashu in the south. Meridian road is also called meridian plank road. The plank road is actually a way for people in ancient mountainous areas to dig roads, which shows the wisdom of ancient working people. So what is a plank road? In the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang said in a letter to his brother Zhu Gejin: "The pavilion beam enters the mountainside and the column stands in the water." There is Yan Shigu's annotation in Hanshu, and it is also quoted in Zitongzhi Bamboo Slips, that is, "Stacks are pavilions, now called pavilion roads, and wooden frames are stacks." "Continued Annals of Hannan" said in more detail: "Those who block the way with big stones will be burned with wages, poured with vinegar and crushed with a sledgehammer. If you can't work on the cliff, dig holes, cross the giant trees, cover them with boards, and clamp them with nails. If you can't cross the depth of the stream, a huge slate will be covered with a long purlin. Although the line is narrow, the wall stands thousands of miles, so it's easy for the deliveryman? It also uses dazzling stone railings as horse walls, hence the name of this plank road. " In today's words, it is simply a road made by burning stone and quenching vinegar to dig roads in deep mountains and cliffs, and to make holes and erect trees in places that cannot be dug. There is a saying in the Warring States Policy Qin Ce that "the plank road is a thousand miles away, leading to Shu Han", which shows that the plank road was built during the Warring States period.
Since the Tang Dynasty, the meridian has gradually disappeared in the dust of history. The glory of the past gradually drifted away, leaving people with only a few words of written records and vague memories passed down from mouth to mouth. But it did exist, it was brilliant, and there were many stories.